If any should be inclined to ask what Mythology has to do with men of the present day, the reply is plain. The works of art in our galleries and museums require a certain amount of knowledge of the mythology of the Greeks and Romans for the full appreciation of their subjects. There is hardly any literature in Europe which has not been more or less coloured by these legends; and in our own day their power to inspire the poet has by no means ceased. Nay, they have incorporated themselves into our very language: “Herculean strength” is almost as common an expression now as it was two thousand years ago; and we still talk of “chimerical” expectations, describe a man as “tantalised,” and use the Sphinx as the symbol of the mysterious.
The present work, translated from the German of O. Seemann, seems well adapted to convey a knowledge of these myths. It is illustrated with cuts after some of the masterpieces of ancient and modern art. Particular attention has been paid to this branch of the subject, and the principal works of art in each case are mentioned.
The distinction between Greek and Roman deities and heroes has been preserved, but the conventional spelling has been retained. A full index is appended, in which the quantities of the vowels are carefully marked.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
| PAGE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| INTRODUCTION. | |||
| I. | Subjects of Greek and Roman Mythology | [11] | |
| II. | Popular Ideas concerning the Gods | [13] | |
| PART I.—COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY | [17] | ||
| PART II.—THE GODS. | |||
| THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. | |||
| A.—SUPERIOR DEITIES. | |||
| Zeus (Jupiter) | [22] | ||
| Hera (Juno) | [31] | ||
| Pallas Athene (Minerva) | [34] | ||
| Apollo | [40] | ||
| Artemis (Diana) | [48] | ||
| Ares (Mars) | [51] | ||
| Aphrodite (Venus) | [56] | ||
| Hermes (Mercurius) | [62] | ||
| Hephæstus (Vulcanus) | [68] | ||
| Hestia (Vesta) | [71] | ||
| Janus | [74] | ||
| Quirinus | [77] | ||
| B.—SECONDARY DEITIES. | |||
| 1. | Attendant and Ministering Deities— | ||
| Eros (Amor) | [78] | ||
| The Muses | [80] | ||
| The Charites (Gratiæ) | [83] | ||
| Themis and the Horæ (Seasons) | [84] | ||
| Nice (Victoria) | [85] | ||
| Iris | [86] | ||
| Hebe (Juventas) | [87] | ||
| Ganymedes | [88] | ||
| 2. | The Phenomena of the Heavens— | ||
| Helios (Sol) | [89] | ||
| Selene (Luna) | [91] | ||
| Eos (Aurora) | [92] | ||
| The Stars | [93] | ||
| The Winds | [93] | ||
| 3. | Gods of Birth and Healing— | ||
| Asclepius (Æsculapius) | [94] | ||
| Inferior Deities of Birth and Healing | [96] | ||
| 4. | Deities of Fate— | ||
| The Mœræ (Parcæ) | [98] | ||
| Nemesis, Tyche (Fortuna), and Agathodæmon (Bonus Eventus) | [98] | ||
| THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. | |||
| Poseidon (Neptunus) | [100] | ||
| Amphitrite | [104] | ||
| Triton and the Tritons | [105] | ||
| Pontus and his Descendants— | |||
| Nereus and his Daughters | [105] | ||
| Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto | [106] | ||
| Proteus | [107] | ||
| Glaucus | [107] | ||
| Ino Leucothea, and Melicertes | [108] | ||
| The Sirens | [109] | ||
| The Race of Oceanus | [109] | ||
| THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. | |||
| Gæa (Tellus) | [112] | ||
| Rhea Cybele (Magna Mater Idæa) | [113] | ||
| Dionysus, or Bacchus (Liber) | [114] | ||
| The Nymphs | [123] | ||
| The Satyrs | [125] | ||
| Silenus | [126] | ||
| Greek and Roman Wood-Spirits— | |||
| Pan | [128] | ||
| Silvanus | [131] | ||
| Faunus and Fauna | [131] | ||
| Priapus | [133] | ||
| Saturnus and Ops | [133] | ||
| Vertumnus and Pomona | [135] | ||
| Flora | [136] | ||
| Pales | [136] | ||
| Terminus | [137] | ||
| Demeter (Ceres) | [137] | ||
| Persephone (Proserpina) | [143] | ||
| Hades (Pluto) | [146] | ||
| The Lower World | [147] | ||
| The Erinyes (Furiæ) | [150] | ||
| Hecate | [153] | ||
| Sleep and Death | [154] | ||
| ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND FAMILY. | |||
| The Penates | [156] | ||
| The Lares | [157] | ||
| The Larvæ, Lemures, and Manes | [158] | ||
| PART III.—THE HEROES. | |||
| INTRODUCTORY | [159] | ||
| THE CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF MANKIND | [162] | ||
| PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS— | |||
| The Lapithæ and the Centaurs | [165] | ||
| Theban Legend— | |||
| Cadmus | [170] | ||
| Actæon | [171] | ||
| Amphion and Zethus | [172] | ||
| Corinthian Legend— | |||
| Sisyphus | [179] | ||
| Glaucus | [180] | ||
| Bellerophon and the Legend of the Amazons | [180] | ||
| Argive Legend— | |||
| Io | [185] | ||
| Danaüs and the Danaïds | [186] | ||
| Prœtus and his Daughters | [187] | ||
| Perseus | [188] | ||
| The Dioscuri | [194] | ||
| Heracles (Hercules) | [197] | ||
| The Birth and Youth of Heracles | [198] | ||
| Heracles in the Service of Eurystheus | [199] | ||
| Deeds of Heracles after his Service | [206] | ||
| Death and Apotheosis | [211] | ||
| Heracles as God | [212] | ||
| Attic Legend— | |||
| Cecrops | [217] | ||
| Erechtheus, or Erichthonius | [218] | ||
| Theseus | [219] | ||
| Cretan Legend— | |||
| Minos and the Minotaur | [227] | ||
| Talos | [229] | ||
| COMBINED UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE— | |||
| The Calydonian Hunt | [230] | ||
| The Argonauts | [232] | ||
| The Theban Cycle | [237] | ||
| The Trojan Cycle | [241] | ||
| The Heroic Races of the Trojan War— | |||
| The Dardanidæ, or Race of Dardanus | [241] | ||
| The Pelopidæ, or Race of Pelops | [242] | ||
| The Æacidæ, or Race of Æacus | [245] | ||
| Nestor, the Locrian Ajax, Diomedes, and Odysseus | [247] | ||
| The War | [249] | ||
| The Return | [257] | ||
| MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS | [262] | ||
