EXPLANATORY CHART OF GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY: SHOWING THE ORIGIN, RELATIONSHIP AND DESCENT OF CHIEF MYTHS

The relationship of these mythical personages are quite unlike those of mortals and are full of inconsistencies. To reconcile all the contradictions of the poets and mythologists is impossible. Perhaps this chart is as consistent with their fabulous tales as can well be made.

CHAOS
Produced EREBUS, god of darkness, NOX,goddess of night, and TERRA, Earth.
- TITAN
Oldest of the twelve Titans.
- - JUNO, wife and sister of Jupiter, queen of the gods, and of Heaven and Earth.- By Them´is.
Astræa, the goddess of justice; Nemesis, of vengeance.
By Juno.
Mars, the god of war; by Venus, Anteros, Harmonia; the goddess of youth; oncecupbearer to Jupiter.
THE CYCLOPS
Giants, at first three in number:
Arges,
Brontes,
Steropes.
JUPITER
or Zeus, the most powerful of all the gods; kingof gods and men, had
Hebe, by her husband Hercules, Alexiares and Anicetus.
Typhon, by the monster Echidna, Chimæra and Sphinx.
Vulcan, the god of fire and of blacksmiths, and husband of Venus; by hiswife Venus, Cupid; by Medusa, Cacus, by Juno, Cæculus.
By Lato´na.
Apollo, the god of poetry, music, eloquence, medicine, the finearts, augury, and archery.
Diana, the goddess of hunting, the patroness of chastity, presided also over childbirth.
By Ma´ia.
TERRA or TITÆA
produced
CŒLUS orURANUS,
Heaven.
BRIAREUS
A famous giant called by men Ægæon, and by the gods Braireus.
Mercury, the messenger of the gods, the god of eloquence and commerce, thepatron of travellers, thieves, and knaves, and the conductor of the souls of the dead to the infernal regions. ByPenelope, Pan. By the Greeks he was called Hermes.
By Mnemos´y-ne.
The Nine Muses.
TETHYS
Wife of Oceanus; for offspring, see [Oceanus]
Cli´o presided over History. -See [Dictionary of Mythology].
Calli´o-pe presided over eloquence and epic poetry.
Er´ato presided over lyric and amorous poetry.
Thali´a presided over pastoral and comic poetry and festivals.
Melpom´e-ne presided over tragedy.
Terpsich´o-re presided over dancing.
Euter´pe presided over music.
Polyhym´nia presided over singing and rhetoric.
Ura´nia presided over astronomy.
THEA
Wife of Hyperion; the mother of rivers, and of about three thousand daughters,called Ocean´i-des.
By Euryn´o-me.
Graces.
Agla´ia -Three beautiful virgins, attendants on Venus; presided over kindness and good offices, and were supposed to give to beauty its charms; represented dancing in a circle with their hands joined.
Thali´a
Euphros´y-ne
CŒLUS or URANUS,
i.e. Heaven, and
TERRA orTITÆA,
i.e. Earth.
-hadSATURN
or Cronos,
god of Time, had by Rhea sameas Ops, same as Cybele.
By Sem´e-le.
Bacchus, god of wine; by his wife Ariadne, Thoas, Œnopion, Ceranus, Tauropolis,and others.
By Metis.
Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, war, and the liberal and useful arts.
By Dione.
Venus, said to have been borne in the foam of the sea; the goddess of love and beauty,and mistress of the graces; wife of Vulcan; for offspring, see [Vulcan].
MNEMOSYNE
Mother of the nine Muses.
By Ceres.
Pros´erpine, wife of Pluto, queen of hell, presidedover death. She was stolen away by Pluto while gathering flowers in Sicily, and became the mother of the [Fates] and[Furies], which see under [Dictionary].
By Euro´pa.
Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Æ´acus, threeinflexible judges of Hades.
THEMIS
Mother of Astræa, goddess of Justice.
By Leda. -See [Dictionary of Mythology].
Castor and Pollux.
By Dan´a-e.
Per´seus.
By Anti´o-pe.
Amphi´on and Zethus.
CYBELE
OPS or RHEA, wife of Saturn; the goddess of all things; styled MagnaMater or Great Mother, Bona Mater or Good Mother; for off-spring, see Saturn.
By Segesta.
Æolus, whose offspring were the various Winds.
By Alcmena.
Hercules, whose descendants were the Heraclidæ.
VESTA, the goddess of fire, and patroness of Vestal Virgins, who had the care of thesacred fire in the temple of Vesta at Rome, which was kept continually burning.
CERES, the goddess of corn and harvest. The famous Eleusinian mysteries werecelebrated in honor of Ceres, during the representation of which it was death to speak; as it was also to reveal afterwards what tookplace.
LATONIA, celebrated for her beauty, and for being greatly beloved by Jupiter and persecuted byJuno.
NEPTUNE, the god of the sea, the father of rivers and fountains, and, next to Jupiter, themost powerful deity; had by Amphitrite, TRITON, his father’s companion and herald.
OCEANUS
The god of water, to whom the ancients recommended themselves when going ona voyage, had by Tethys.
PLUTO, the god of the infernal regions, of death and funerals; the dogCer´berus, a frightful mastiff with three heads, and a tail like a serpent, watches at hisfeet, and three Har´pies, winged monsters, hover about him.
- AMPHITRITE had byNeptuneTRITON, who had no offspring.
CYLMENE had byJapetusATLAS, also Menœtius, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and others.
PHORCYS had byCeto
- The Gorgons, viz., Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale; three sisters whose heads were covered with vipers.
The Graiæ, viz., Pephredo, Enyo, and Dinon.
ACHELOUS had byCalliope.The Sirens were three sea nymphs, named Parthen´ope,Lige´ia, and Leuco´sia, having the form ofa woman above the waist, and the rest of the body like a flying fish.
The Harpies, viz., Aello, Ocypete, and Celæus.
HYPERION, god of the Sun, had by Thea, AURORA, the goddess of the morning; representedriding in a rose-colored chariot drawn by white horses, usually covered with a veil, the morning star appearing overhead. She was calledrosy-fingered, because she scattered roses; by Tithon´us, a mortal, she had Memnonand Æmathion.
JAPETUS, father of mankind, had by Clymene, ATLAS, also Prometheus, Epimetheus,Menœtius, and others, called Japitonides.
EREBUS and NOX -had- Light, or Day, Somnus, Mors, and Charon, the Ferryman -Nox or Night, Mors or Death, Somnus or Sleep, and Morpheus(the minister of Somnus, who brought dreams to men) were infernal divinities.
Momus, god of laughter and satire, son of Somnusand Nox.
Ancient Roman Sun-god—Janus, the god of the year, presided over the gates of heaven,and over peace and war; represented with two faces. His temple in Rome was open in time of war and shut in time of peace.
CHAOS
Produced EREBUS, god of darkness, NOX, goddess of night, and TERRA,Earth.
TERRA or TITÆA
produced
CŒLUS or URANUS, Heaven.
CŒLUS or URANUS,
i.e. Heaven, and
TERRA orTITÆA, i.e. Earth. had
TITAN
Oldest of the twelve Titans.
THE CYCLOPS
Giants, at first three innumber:
Arges,
Brontes,
Steropes.
BRIAREUS
A famous giant called by men Ægæon,and by the gods Braireus.
TETHYS
Wife of Oceanus; for offspring, see[Oceanus].
THEA
Wife of Hyperion; the mother of rivers, and ofabout three thousand daughters, called Ocean´i-des.
SATURN
or Cronos,
god of Time, had by Rhea same as Ops, same asCybele.
JUNO, wife and sister of Jupiter, queen of the gods, and of Heaven and Earth.
JUPITER
or Zeus, the most powerful of all the gods; king of gods and men, had
By Them´is.
Astræa, the goddess of justice; Nemesis, of vengeance.
By Juno.
Mars, the god of war; by Venus, Anteros, Harmonia; the goddess of youth; oncecupbearer to Jupiter.
Hebe, by her husband Hercules, Alexiares and Anicetus.
Typhon, by the monster Echidna, Chimæra and Sphinx.
Vulcan, the god of fire and of blacksmiths, and husband of Venus; byhis wife Venus, Cupid; by Medusa, Cacus, by Juno, Cæculus.
By Lato´na.
Apollo, the god of poetry, music, eloquence, medicine, the finearts, augury, and archery.
Diana, the goddess of hunting, the patroness of chastity, presided also over childbirth.
By Ma´ia.
Mercury, the messenger of the gods, the god of eloquence and commerce, thepatron of travellers, thieves, and knaves, and the conductor of the souls of the dead to the infernal regions.By Penelope, Pan. By the Greeks he was called Hermes.
By Mnemos´y-ne.
The Nine Muses.
Cli´o presided over History.
Calli´o-pe presided over eloquence and epic poetry. (See [Dictionary ofMythology].)
Er´ato presided over lyric and amorous poetry. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
Thali´a presided over pastoral and comic poetry and festivals. (See [Dictionary ofMythology].)
Melpom´e-ne presided over tragedy. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
Terpsich´o-re presided over dancing. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
Euter´pe presided over music. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
Polyhym´nia presided over singing and rhetoric. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
Ura´nia presided over astronomy. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
By Euryn´o-me.
Graces. (Three beautiful virgins, attendants on Venus; presided over kindness and good offices,and were supposed to give to beauty its charms; represented dancing in a circle with their hands joined.)
Agla´ia
Thali´a
Euphros´y-ne
By Sem´e-le.
Bacchus, god of wine; by his wife Ariadne, Thoas, Œnopion, Ceranus, Tauropolis,and others.
By Metis.
Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, war, and the liberal and useful arts.
By Dione.
Venus, said to have been borne in the foam of the sea; the goddess of love andbeauty, and mistress of the graces; wife of Vulcan; for offspring, see [Vulcan].
By Ceres.
Pros´erpine, wife of Pluto, queen of hell, presided over death. She was stolen awayby Pluto while gathering flowers in Sicily, and became the mother of the [Fates] and [Furies],which see under [Dictionary].
By Euro´pa.
Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Æ´acus, three inflexible judges of Hades.
By Leda.
Castor and Pollux. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
By Dan´a-e.
Per´seus. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
By Anti´o-pe.
Amphi´on and Zethus. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
By Segesta.
Æolus, whose offspring were the various Winds.
By Alcmena.
Hercules, whose descendants were the Heraclidæ.
VESTA, the goddess of fire, and patroness of Vestal Virgins, who had the care of thesacred fire in the temple of Vesta at Rome, which was kept continually burning.
CERES, the goddess of corn and harvest. The famous Eleusinian mysteries werecelebrated in honor of Ceres, during the representation of which it was death to speak; as it was also to reveal afterwards what tookplace.
LATONIA, celebrated for her beauty, and for being greatly beloved by Jupiter and persecuted byJuno.
NEPTUNE, the god of the sea, the father of rivers and fountains, and, next to Jupiter,the most powerful deity; had by Amphitrite, TRITON, his father’s companion and herald.
PLUTO, the god of the infernal regions, of death and funerals; the dogCer´berus, a frightful mastiff with three heads, and a tail like a serpent, watches at his feet, and threeHar´pies, winged monsters, hover about him.
MNEMOSYNE
Mother of the nine Muses.
THEMIS
Mother of Astræa, goddess of Justice.
CYBELE
OPS or RHEA, wife of Saturn; the goddess ofall things; styled Magna Mater or Great Mother, Bona Mater or Good Mother; for off-spring, seeSaturn.
OCEANUS
The god of water, to whom the ancientsrecommended themselves when going on a voyage, had by Tethys.
AMPHITRITE had by Neptune TRITON, who had no offspring.
CYLMENE had by Japetus ATLAS, also Menœtius, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and others.
PHORCYS had by Ceto {The Gorgons, viz., Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale; three sisters whose heads werecovered with vipers. {The Graiæ, viz., Pephredo, Enyo, and Dinon.
ACHELOUS had by Calliope. The Sirens were three sea nymphs, named Parthen´ope,Lige´ia, and Leuco´sia, having the form of a woman above the waist, and the rest of the body like a flyingfish.
The Harpies, viz., Aello, Ocypete, and Celæus.
HYPERION, god of the Sun, had by Thea, AURORA, the goddess of the morning; representedriding in a rose-colored chariot drawn by white horses, usually covered with a veil, the morning star appearing overhead. She was calledrosy-fingered, because she scattered roses; by Tithon´us, a mortal, she had Memnon and Æmathion.
JAPETUS, father of mankind, had by Clymene, ATLAS, also Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menœtius,and others, called Japitonides.
EREBUS and NOX had Light, or Day, Somnus, Mors, and Charon, the Ferryman
Nox or Night, Mors or Death, Somnus or Sleep, and Morpheus(the minister of Somnus, who brought dreams to men) were infernal divinities.
Momus, god of laughter and satire, son of Somnus and Nox.
Ancient Roman Sun-god—Janus, the god of the year, presided over the gates of heaven,and over peace and war; represented with two faces. His temple in Rome was open in time of war and shut in time of peace.

SCREENS OF LIGHT CAST BY INVISIBLE ATOMS

IMMENSELY ENLARGED REPRESENTATIONS OF ATOMS

(1) of Ordinary Matter; (2) of Radium