Hades (hā´dez).—See “[Pluto].”
Hæmon (hē´mon).—Son of Creon, king of Thebes. He loved Antigone, and killed himself on hearing that she was condemned by Creon to be shut up in a subterranean cave.
Harmonia (har-mō´ni-a).—Daughter of Mars and Venus, and wife of Cadmus. On the wedding-day Cadmus received a necklace, which afterwards became famous, inasmuch as it became fatal to all who possessed it.
Harpocrates (har-pok´ra-tēz).—The god of mystery and silence, and, on that account, represented as having been born with his finger in his mouth. He was the son of Osiris. His statue stood at the entrance of most of the Egyptian temples.
Harpyiæ (har´pi-ē).—The Harpies—i. e. the Robbers or Spoilers, hideous rapacious monsters, half bird and half woman. They were three in number. Homer described them as carrying off people who had disappeared.
Hebe (hē-bē).—The goddess of youth, daughter of Jupiter and Juno. She was the cup-bearer to the gods, in which office she was afterwards supplanted by Ganymede. She became the wife of Hercules after he was deified.
Hecate (hek´a-tē).—Daughter of Perses and Asteria, the presider over enchantments, etc. She was looked upon as a kind of threefold goddess—viz., Luna (the moon) in heaven, Diana on earth, and Proserpine in the lower world—and is accordingly represented with three bodies or three heads. Dogs, honey and black female lambs were sacrificed to her.
Hector (hek´tor).—Eldest son of Priam, king of Troy, and Hecuba, and husband of Andromache. He was the chief hero of the Trojans in their war with the Greeks. He was slain in single combat by Achilles, who chased him thrice round the walls of the city, and, after having slain him, tied his body to his chariot and dragged it thrice round the walls. The character of Hector as a warrior, husband, father and son is very finely drawn by Homer in the Iliad.
Hecuba (hek´u-ba).—Wife of Priam, king of Troy. After the fall of Troy she was carried away as a slave by the Greeks and suffered great misfortunes.
Heimdall.—In northern tales a god who lived in the celestial fort Himinsbjorg, under the farther extremity of the bridge Bifrost, and kept the keys of heaven. He is the watchman or sentinel of Asgard, sees even in sleep, can hear the grass grow, and even the wool on a lamb’s back. Heimdall, at the end of the world, will wake the gods with his trumpet.