[401] Achilles himself was worshipped as a deity in certain localities; and the same is true of some other heroes. We may refer to the story of St Ansgar, quoted above (p. [255] f.). With such cases as that of 'Zeus Agamemnon' we shall have to deal later.
[402] According to Völsunga Saga, cap. 2, Sigmundr, the father of Sigurðr, had a divine mother (cf. p. [114]).
[403] Some resemblance to the case of Peleus and Thetis is shown by a story in Hrólfs S. Kraka, cap. 15, where an elf-woman bears a daughter to Helgi, the father of Hrólfr Kraki. Such incidents are not uncommon in folk-tales. We may note especially those cases in which the supernatural bride is a mermaid, perhaps representing the Swan-maiden of earlier times. Thetis has a good deal in common with the latter class of beings.
[404] Cf. Aeneas Sylvius, Hist. de Eur., cap. 26, and the first Daina in Schleicher's Handb. d. litau. Sprache. Night and day or dawn are also frequently personified—the last especially where, as in Greece, the sun is regarded as a male. But none of these lend themselves so readily as the sun and moon to the development of mythical stories. The personification of light, darkness, etc. in the abstract seems to belong to a much more advanced stage of thought.
[405] Eclipse-myths (usually of a simple character) are widespread and fairly common. A probable example is to be found in Gylfaginning, cap. 12 (cf. also Tylor, Primitive Culture4, I p. 328 ff.). But a good deal of scepticism is justifiable in regard to the interpretation of stories which are supposed to have originated in myths of sunrise and sunset. This remark applies even to those Polynesian and Red Indian stories which are commonly regarded as among the best examples of their class.
[406] The personification of the sun and the dawn in the Homeric poems is very similar to what we find in the north of Europe, e.g. in Gylfaginning, cap. 10 f., and the first four Dainos in Schleicher's Handbuch. The most important difference is that the Dawn-goddess, like other deities, has sexual relations with mortals (see the Addenda). But her true character is not for a moment forgotten.
[407] There is probably an allusion to this story in Il. III 144, although a different explanation is quoted by Plutarch (Theseus, cap. 34) from Istros. But the verse in question was condemned by some ancient, as well as modern, scholars. It is 'inorganic' (cf. Od. II 331) and due in all probability to the same process as Il. II 831 ff. (cf p. [244], note).
[408] This list is by no means exhaustive. We may mention also the story of Helen and Achilles in the 'White Isle' (cf. Pausanias III 19. 11) and that of Ariston's wife, related by Herodotus (VI 61). The Rhodian story (cf. Paus. III 19. 10) is obviously due in part to the influence of the Homeric poems; but it is at least questionable whether this Ἑλένη Δενδρῖτις was originally identical with the other Helen.
[409] Attention should be paid not only to the case of the Leucippides but also to the story of Phormion (Paus. III 16. 3).
[410] In Il. II 828 ff. (if the name Ἄδρηστος is taken from VI 37 ff. or XVI 694) we have apparently the case of an already existing character being turned to account as an eponymous hero.