S
Saga.—Goddess of history in Scandinavian mythology.
Salamander.—A fabulous animal supposed by the ancients to live in and have the quality of eating fire.
Salmoneus (sal-mō´nūs).—Son of Æolus and brother of Sisyphus. He presumed to imitate the thunder and lightning of Jupiter, and was consequently hurled down to Tartarus with a thunderbolt by the father of the gods.
Sarpedon (sar-pē´don).—(i) Son of Jupiter and Europa, king of the Lycians. Jupiter granted him the privilege of living three generations. (ii) Grandson of the preceding; assisted the Trojans in the Trojan war, but was slain by Patroclus.
Saturnus (sā-tur´nus); usually called Saturn (sat´urn); called by the Greeks Cronos.—A mythical king of Italy, whose reign was the “golden age.” He was the son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gæa (Earth), the husband of Rhea, and the father of Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, Neptune, etc. He was the god of agriculture and of civilization in general. He was dethroned from the government of the world by his son Jupiter. His temple in Rome was used as the state treasury.
Satyri (sat´er-ī), or Satyrs (sat´erz).—A kind of wood-deities, resembling apes, with two goats-feet, and very lascivious. The older Satyrs were generally called Sileni (sī-lē´nī), and the younger ones Satyrisci. They were described as fond of wine, sleep, and music.
Scamander (ska-man´der).—A celebrated river near Troy.
Scamandrius (ska-man´dri-us), or Scamander.—Son of Hector and Andromache (an-drom´a-kē), whom the Trojans called [Astyanax] (q.v.).
Sciron (sĩ´ron).—A famous robber of Attica, slain by Theseus. He compelled those he robbed to wash his feet on the Scironian rock (which was named after him), and at the completion of the process kicked them over the rock into the sea. At the base of the rock was a tortoise, which devoured them.