A great many years ago, the people, over almost all Europe and a large part of Asia, believed in gods whom they called Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Apollo, &c. They believed in goddesses too, such as Juno, Venus, Vesta, &c.
These people built temples in honor of their gods and goddesses, many of which were very splendid. In these temples they had statues of the particular gods to whom they were dedicated. Here, also, there were priests, who offered sacrifices to the gods, such as bulls, sheep, birds, &c.
This system, having its origin in the fancy of man, was called Mythology—which means a religion of fables. It is supposed to have been commenced by the Egyptians, three or four thousand years ago, when the greater part of the world was in a state of barbarism, or perhaps, uninhabited by man.
This mythology, or religion of fables, probably began in this way. Some poet, having heard of the great deeds of some warrior, made a poem about him, and not only told things which he did, but some things which he did not. He represented him as having power above other men, and as performing deeds which man, alone, could not do.
Some other poet, afterwards, took up the story, and added other wonderful tales about this great warrior. The story thus begun, would increase very fast; for it is very easy to tell great stories, and very easy for ignorant people to believe them too. Thus, in the course of two generations, the warrior became a being quite above mankind, and therefore a god.
When once such a system was begun, it was quite natural that it should increase. Every man of lively imagination could invent a god or a goddess, and the people were likely to adopt them, as fast as they could be manufactured. The priests and poets had both an interest in carrying on this business, for they either got a living by it, or gained freedom, fame and consequence among the people.
The Greeks, for many ages after they settled their country, which took place above three thousand seven hundred years ago, held constant communication with Egypt. To this country they went for education and for the arts. They not only imitated their buildings, furniture and curtains, but they adopted the Egyptian religion also. The Greeks were, however, a people of a great deal of genius. Beginning with Egyptian arts and customs, they modified or changed them, by the suggestions of their own taste and fancy. Thus, in time, they soon became superior, in many things, to the Egyptians, who were their schoolmasters.
The mythology of the Egyptians was soon changed, in the hands of the lively and inventive Greeks; and, indeed, it became so different, that it got the name at last of the Grecian mythology. A large part of the poetry and literature of the Greeks was filled with the achievements of their gods and goddesses. Men of the greatest genius, such as Homer, Hesiod, Anacreon, and others, wrote splendid pieces about the fabulous deities; and the people believed them all to be true.
According to these poets, Jupiter or Jove was the greatest of the gods. He was represented in the temples, as sitting on a throne, with the eagle, the most powerful of birds, at his side, as an emblem of his superiority. In his hand, he held thunderbolts, ready to hurl them forth upon his enemies. He was supposed to reside chiefly upon Olympus, a tall mountain of Greece, where he held councils with his deities.
The early history of Jupiter, as told by the poets, is droll enough. The ancients knew very little about astronomy or geography. So they divided the universe into three great kingdoms—the heavens, the earth, and the infernal regions. Titan, a powerful king, gave Saturn the kingdom of the earth, upon condition that he should kill all his male children. Saturn married a woman by the name of Ops. They had several children, but as soon as a boy was born, Saturn always ate him up.