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Title: Myths of Hellas
or, Greek tales
Author: C. Witt
Author of introduction, etc.: Arthur Sidgwick
Translator: Frances Younghusband
Release date: August 7, 2026 [eBook #79300]
Language: English
Original publication: London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1891
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79300
Credits: Al Haines
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYTHS OF HELLAS ***
[Frontispiece: HERA
_from an Ancient Statue now in the Vatican Museum at Rome_]
MYTHS OF HELLAS
OR
GREEK TALES
TOLD IN GERMAN BY
PROFESSOR C. WITT
HEAD MASTER OF THE ALTSTADT GYMNASIUM AT KÖNIGSBERG
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
(_with the Author's sanction_)
BY
FRANCES YOUNGHUSBAND
_WITH A PREFACE_
BY
ARTHUR SIDGWICK, M.A.
FELLOW AND TUTOR OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, OXFORD
LATE ASSISTANT-MASTER AT RUGBY SCHOOL
FIFTH EDITION
LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET
1891
_All rights reserved_
PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON
TO ALL ENGLISH CHILDREN
BUT ESPECIALLY TO C. I. W. AND TO E. R. Y. AND O. Y.
WHOSE PLEASURE IN THESE STORIES
HAS MADE ME WISH
TO BRING THEM WITHIN THE REACH OF OTHER CHILDREN
I DEDICATE THIS TRANSLATION
F. M. Y.
PREFACE.
The following collection of legends about the Greek gods and heroes,
to which I have been asked to write a few words of introduction, is a
translation of a little book by Professor C. Witt which has been
received in Germany with great favour by the public and the press.
This popularity has been due, not merely to the intrinsic beauty of
the stories, but to the skill shown in the selection, and in the
simplicity of the style. The last quality it has been the aim of the
translator to retain in the English version; and the success of the
book in Germany suggests a hope that the translation may become a
favourite in this country.
That there still exists a demand for some such book, notwithstanding
the deserved popularity of Kingsley's 'Heroes,' Cox's Mythological
Tales, and Church's Stories from Greek and Latin Writers, seems to be
shown by the large number of encouraging letters received by the
translator from persons engaged or interested in education.
That Greek stories, simply told, will be acceptable to children,
common sense would tell us, even apart from experience. Children
impartially welcome all tales of incident and wonder, if they can
understand the language in which they are written, and if their
pleasure is not dashed by the medicinal flavour of a moral. And even
a moral will not deter them if it be not too explicit or obtrusive.
Again, from the teacher's point of view as well as the child's, there
seems to be every reason in favour of presenting to them at an early
age the stories of Greek mythology. There is first the obvious fact
that such reading trains and cultivates the imaginative faculties,
and that it is good to vary the 'Arabian Nights' and the German and
Norse fairy-tales with such totally different material as the Greek
stories. There are also other reasons arising from the altered
position of Greek in education.
Without entering on any controverted question, it is clear that even
in classical schools the teaching of Greek will have in the future to
occupy fewer hours, and probably to begin at a later age, than
hitherto. The much greater number of subjects now taught, and
necessarily and rightly taught, makes this inevitable. And if the
same good, or anything like the same good, is to be got out of the
fewer hours, there must be considerable modification of method. And
one obvious modification is, that much which before was taught slowly
and painfully by means of the Greek authors, should be learnt quickly
and pleasurably by means of an English rendering. To take a very
humble example: The present writer would have a much less weary
memory of his early struggles with the 'Alcestis' of Euripides at the
age of twelve, if he had been familiar from the age of six with such
a version of the story as is presented in this volume. In short, to
bring to the study of a language--always a difficult and tedious
business to a beginner--some knowledge of the matter with which the
literature deals, and some interest in the people and their life,
must tend to lighten and shorten the process of learning. And to
this end the following little book is offered as a small contribution.
The aim and hope of the translator may be thus summed up in two or
three words. All children will get pleasure out of these stories,
and that is much. Many children will perhaps get the elements of
culture, and that is more. And some may get at once pleasure,
culture, and a little real preparation for severer studies; and so
receive a benefit, though doubtless of a humbler kind, yet something
like that which Pope's 'Homer' has given to so many generations of
schoolboys.
A. S.
OXFORD: _November_, 1882.
NOTES.
NOTE ON THE SOURCES OF THE STORIES.
The stories have been taken by the Author from many sources, but
chiefly from a Greek writer, Apollodorus, who lived in the second
century B.C., and collected the old mythological tales. A good deal
has also been taken from the poems of Hesiod and Homer, and from the
tragedies of Sophocles; but in these cases it has been necessary to
exercise some care in the selection of what would be suitable for a
book intended to be placed in the hands of children. Several of the
details have been supplied by the ancient works of art which have
come down to us.
NOTE ON THE NAMES OF THE GODS.
As it is probable that many readers will be more familiar with the
Latin names of the gods, whilst the stories in this book, being
derived from Greek sources, give naturally the Greek names, the
following list will perhaps be useful, which shows the corresponding
names of each god in the two languages:--
_Greek._ _Latin._
Aphrodītē. Venus.
Apollon. Apollo.
Artemis. Diana.
Athēnē. Minerva.
Kronos. Saturnus.
Dēmētēr. Ceres.
Dionusos or Bacchos. Bacchus.
Hephaistos. Vulcanus.
Hēra. Iuno.
Hermes. Mercurius.
Persephonē. Proserpina.
Plouton. Pluto.
Poseidon. Neptunus.
Zeūs. Iuppiter.
Also the hero and demi-god Herakles is called Hercules by the Romans.
The young reader will naturally ask why, if the stories are the same,
the names are in most cases so different. And the answer is briefly
this: Each nation had originally its own gods, with different names
and quite different ideas attaching to them. But the Greeks were a
far more gifted and imaginative people than the Romans, and, when
communication was established between the countries, became in many
ways their teachers. Many Romans learned Greek, and the Greek
stories became current. But as the Romans naturally adhered to the
old names of their own gods, there arose in this way an
identification. The old Latin ideas about their gods gave way to, or
were incorporated with, the much richer and more poetical Greek
fancies and traditions; and thus the Greek mythology was almost
bodily adopted by the Roman writers.
For example, the god Saturnus was originally a Latin rustic god,
presiding (as the name shows) over the important work of _sowing_
corn. But when the identification took place, all the stories about
Kronos were gradually attached to him, and thus we find him in the
Roman poets the father of Iuppiter, and the old dispossessed king of
the gods.
In a few cases (as Apollo, Pluto, Bacchus), the name was adopted as
well as the story, the termination being Latinised. Sometimes it was
corrupted, as Proserpina from Persephone; and sometimes a chance
resemblance (as that between the Latin Hercules, originally Herculus,
and the Greek Herakles) determined the identification.
Accordingly when we say, as is often said, that the Greek Artemis
(for example) is 'called Diana in Latin,' we are using language
which, without the above explanation, is liable to mislead the
beginner.
A. S.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
I. The Beginning of all Things
II. The Golden Age
III. Prometheus and Epimetheus
IV. Deucalion and Pyrrha
V. The Rape of Persephone
VI. Marpessa
VII. Artemis
VIII. The Giants Otus and Ephialtes
IX. Endymion
X. Io
XI. Danaus and Aegyptus
XII. Phaëthon
XIII. Salmoneus and Sisyphus
XIV. Bellerophon
XV. Daedalus and Icarus
XVI. Europa and Cadmus
XVII. The Building of Thebes
XVIII. Semele
XIX. Dionysus
XX. Melampus and Bias
XXI. Tantalus. Pelops
XXII. Niobe
XXIII. Meleager and Atalanta
XXIV. Admetus and Alcestis
XXV. Perseus
XXVI. Heracles:--
1. The War with the Teleboae
2. The Birth and Youth of Heracles
3. The Madness of Heracles, and his First Six Labours
4. The Last Six Labours
5. The Murder of Iphitus and the Vengeances of Heracles
6. The Marriage of Heracles with Deianira, and his Death
XXVII. The Quest of the Argonauts:--
1. The Golden Fleece
2. The Journey to Colchis
3. The Fight for the Golden Fleece
4. The Journey Home
5. Medea's Revenge
XXVIII. Theseus
XXIX. Oedipus
XXX. The Seven against Thebes
XXXI. The Epigoni
XXXII. Eros and Psyche
{1}
MYTHS OF HELLAS.
I.
THE BEGINNING OF ALL THINGS.
Long ago, in the beginning of time, there was nothing but a huge dark
mass called Chaos. In this Chaos were hidden all things that now
exist, the earth and the sky, light and darkness, fire and water, and
everything else, but they were not yet severed one from the other,
and were so mingled and confused that nothing had a separate form of
its own. After the Chaos had lasted for a long time it parted
asunder, and the earth was divided from the heaven. The sun and the
moon and the stars mounted up above into the sky, but the water and
the stones and the trees liked better to remain below with the earth.
There was a god in the sky called Uranus, and on earth there was a
goddess called Gaea. They became husband and wife, and had several
children, of whom six were ugly and twelve were beautiful. The ugly
ones had, each of them, either a hundred arms, or else only one eye.
Those who had a hundred arms had also fifty heads, and they were as
big as mountains, and very {2} frightful. The others had only one
eye apiece, and it was placed in the middle of their foreheads and
was as large as a cart wheel. But the beautiful brothers and sisters
were formed like men, only they were much larger and grander. Six of
them were gods, and were called Titans; there were also six
goddesses, who were called Titanides.
The gods lived on the summit of a very high mountain called Mount
Olympus, which almost reached the sky, and Uranus was king over them
all. He could not bear the sight of his hundred-armed and one-eyed
children because they were so hideous, so he thrust them into a dark
pit below the earth, called Tartarus, and would not let them come out
of it again. But the mother Gaea loved even her ugly children, and
was angry with Uranus for banishing them into darkness and misery.
And she said to her son Cronus, who was the youngest of the beautiful
gods, that if he would promise to fetch up his hundred-armed and
one-eyed brothers out of Tartarus, she would help him to dethrone
Uranus and himself become king of the gods. Cronus promised that he
would do this, and Gaea created the bright cutting steel, and made
with it a sharp sickle which she gave to her son, and told him to
stab Uranus with it when he was asleep. Cronus did as she desired
him, and thus Uranus lost his kingly power.
Cronus now ruled over the world in his father's stead, and the other
gods had to obey him. He took one of the Titanides called Rhea to be
his wife, and made her the queen. He also fetched up his ugly
brothers from Tartarus, but he soon became afraid of them and drove
them back into the dark pit. The {3} mother Gaea now saw how little
she had gained by her treachery to her husband, and she told Cronus
that he should lose his kingly power through one of his children just
as Uranus had done. This frightened him so much that whenever Rhea
had a child, he took it and swallowed it. He swallowed five of them
in this way, and poor Rhea was very sad because she had no children
left. Then Gaea told her, next time she had a child, to take a stone
and wrap it in swaddling clothes and give it to Cronus to swallow as
if it were the baby, but keep the real child in some safe place till
it was grown up. Rhea did so, and Cronus swallowed the stone she
gave him, thinking it was the little boy that had just been born, but
Rhea hid the child in a cave in the island of Crete where a beautiful
goat named Amalthea nourished him with her milk. And there were
armed men there, who, whenever the baby cried, danced about and
clashed their shields and spears together as if they were treading a
war-dance for their own amusement, but it was really to prevent
Cronus from hearing the crying. The boy was named Zeus, and in a
year he was quite grown up, and was the most beautiful and most
powerful of all the gods. When Cronus was asleep, Rhea used to go to
the cave and talk to him.
At last the time came when Zeus was to wage war against his father,
and then Gaea gave her daughter Rhea a bowl containing a sweet
medicine for Cronus to drink. Rhea went to her husband and said,
'The mother Gaea is no longer angry with you, and she has sent you
this sweet drink.' Cronus took the bowl and drank it up; it tasted
very nice, but after he had {4} swallowed it he began to feel very
uncomfortable, and presently he was sick. Then out came the stone
and the children that he had swallowed, the youngest first, and the
eldest last; there were two gods and three goddesses, and they were
all quite grown up. The names of the gods were Poseidon and Pluto,
and the names of the goddesses were Hera, Demeter, and Hestia.
Then the young gods made war against the old ones, and they sent for
the hundred-armed and one-eyed monsters out of Tartarus, that they
might help them. The One-eyed were very skilful at smith's work, and
they were so grateful to Zeus for setting them free that they forged
for him valuable weapons, thunder and lightning. The old gods took
their stand on Mount Othrys, and the young ones on Mount Olympus, and
between them was a wide far-stretching valley where they fought.
When there was a battle the whole earth resounded at the tread of the
gods. The Hundred-armed always threw a hundred pieces of rock at
once, and Zeus hurled thunderbolt after thunderbolt, till the woods
were in flames and the rivers boiled. The war lasted for ten years,
but at last the young gods triumphed. They thrust their enemies into
Tartarus, and set the Hundred-armed and the One-eyed to keep guard
over them.
Zeus was now the king of the gods, and he married his sister Hera and
made her the queen. He also gave an empire to each of his brothers:
all the sea was made subject to Poseidon, and Pluto became king of
the Lower World, where the dead are. These gods had children, who
were also gods, and had each their part in the government of the
universe. The good goat {5} Amalthea was already dead, but Zeus
honoured her by making one of her horns a wonder, which became famous
all over the world. Whoever had it might wish for anything he liked
to eat or drink, and immediately it was there; and for this reason it
was called the Horn of Plenty, because it produced in abundance
everything that could be desired in the way of food.
The mother Gaea had planned the overthrow of Cronus because he had
driven back his hundred-armed and one-eyed brothers into Tartarus.
But she found herself worse off than ever, for the only result of her
revenge was that now her beautiful children were imprisoned instead
of the ugly ones. This made her very angry with the young gods, and
she could not bear to see them powerful and happy. So she brought
into the world some hideous monsters to make war against the young
gods. They were called Giants, and had enormous strength and
courage. They tore up masses of rock and dashed them up into the air
till the vault of heaven rang again, but the gods only laughed at it,
for the stones were powerless to hurt them by the time they had
reached so great a height, and there was no mountain high enough for
the Giants to climb from it to the top of Mount Olympus.
The Giants went on in this way for a long time, but they found that,
do what they would, they could not inflict any injury upon the gods,
and only got laughed at for their pains, so they resolved to try
another plan. They made up their minds to build a ladder by which
they might climb up to the abode of the gods, and they set to work to
uproot a mountain called Ossa, and roll it on to the top of another
mountain called {6} Pelion. But whilst they were doing this, Zeus
hurled a mighty thunderbolt against Ossa and made it fall down again,
and the gods rushed down to the earth to fight the Giants, shouting
their war-cry. The fight lasted for a whole day, for the Giants were
very strong, but at last the gods gained the victory, and they
crushed each of the Giants beneath a huge mountain, which did not
kill him, but prevented his ever getting up again. One of them tried
to escape over the Mediterranean Sea, but the goddess Athene, who was
the daughter of Zeus, tore off a great three-cornered piece of land
and threw it after him. It hit him just as he was in the middle of
the sea, and he fell down and was buried beneath it. After some time
the land became covered with forests and cities, and it is now called
the Island of Sicily. Every now and then the Giants turn on one side
beneath their mountains, and then people say, 'It is an earthquake';
and sometimes they become quite furious with impatience, and then
their fiery breath bursts through the mountains and puffs out molten
iron and stones.
After the Giants were conquered, Gaea created a truly terrific being,
far worse than they had been. She brought him out of a great crack
that she made in the earth, and she called her son Typhöeus and was
quite pleased to see how hideous he was, for she thought that such a
monstrous creature would surely be able to conquer the young gods.
He could see over the tops of the highest mountains, and when he
stretched out his hands they reached right round the world. He had a
hundred heads, each of them with a different kind of voice, so that
he could speak like a {7} man, bellow like a bull, roar like a lion,
bark like a dog, and hiss like a snake. All the other gods were
afraid of him and hid themselves, but Zeus armed himself with
thunderbolts and went out to fight him. Typhöeus threw large masses
of rock at him, and screamed with all his hundred mouths at once, but
Zeus scorched him with lightning, till at last bright flames burst
out all over the giant's body. Then Typhöeus howled and dashed
himself to the ground, rolling over and over to try and put out the
flames, but he could not succeed in doing so, for Zeus went on
hurling thunderbolts at him, and the trees all round became red hot.
At last Gaea began to fear that the whole earth would melt, and so
she seized Typhöeus and flung him down into Tartarus, where he died.
After this Gaea gave up fighting with the young gods, for she knew
that they were stronger than she was, but it was a very long time
before she really made friends with them.
{8}
II.
THE GOLDEN AGE.
It was during the time when Cronus was reigning over the gods that
men were first created, and this was called the Golden Age. In the
Golden Age it was always springtime, and beautiful flowers blossomed
the whole year round in the woods and meadows. It was not necessary
for men to labour at tilling the ground, for the earth brought forth
of itself everything they could possibly require: apples and melons
and grapes and other fruits grew wild everywhere, and in the brooks
there flowed a delicious kind of water that tasted like milk. Men,
too, were good and happy, and they all lived for a long time, for
three hundred years and more, and did not get old and grey, but
always remained young. They had no need of houses, but lived out of
doors with the beautiful earth for a carpet and the sky for a roof.
Neither were there any distinctions such as we have now between rich
and poor, or the upper and lower classes, but all were equal and
lived together as friends. When they had lived for a long time and
had had enough of life, they fell into a deep sleep and never woke
again: that was their death.
The Golden Age came to an end at last, but those who had lived during
that time became guardian spirits who still wander unseen over the
earth and kind to us who are now alive.
{9}
III.
PROMETHEUS AND EPIMETHEUS.
After the Golden Age was over, the world went on just as it does now;
summer and winter followed each other, and there were times of bad
weather as well as of bright sunshine; there were also many people
who had not everything they wanted, but were obliged to struggle
against hunger and cold and other evils. But they were happy and
contented, and had still a spark of the god-like spirit left in them,
so that under the pressure of need they learnt all kinds of useful
arts.
There were two brothers of the race of the gods, whose father had
been a Titan and had fought against Zeus. These brothers were kind
to men and lived among them; one of them was called Prometheus, or
the Fore-thinker, because he was always looking forward and planning
for the future; and the other was called Epimetheus, or the
Afterthinker, because he never thought seriously about things till
they had already taken place. Zeus had not gifted men with fire, but
Prometheus foresaw that by the help of fire they would be able to
make out of bronze and iron many useful tools and weapons which would
add to their comfort. So he begged Zeus to give it to them, but Zeus
said, 'They will become too clever, and at last they will think {10}
themselves equal to the gods.' Prometheus thought it would be a
noble thing to scorn the anger of Zeus and bring down fire to the
earth in order to benefit mankind, and though he knew that Zeus would
punish him severely for doing so, he was willing to bear that. He
took a reed in which there was a great deal of pith of the same kind
that still grows in warm countries and is used for fuel, and he
climbed up to the sun with this reed in his hand, and held it in the
blaze till it caught fire and burned like tinder. Then he came down
to earth again, and made a fire which gave out warmth and a clear
blaze, so that all men wondered at it. And when it was dark Zeus
looked down upon the earth. There appeared to be a great many stars
there, but the lights which he saw were not stars,--they were the
flickering fires that men had kindled, and Zeus knew it, and was
very, very angry.
Now at that time there were no such things as diseases and cares
among men, so Zeus resolved to send them these unwelcome guests,
because they had obtained fire against his will. The god Hephaestus
fashioned a marvellously beautiful woman out of clay, and Zeus gave
life to her, and the other gods endowed her with many of those gifts
that call forth the love of men. They gave her goodly gifts
indeed--good-nature, pleasant speech, and skill in many arts, but no
one gave her an honourable, straightforward mind. The gods called
her Pandora, or the All-gifted, because they had all brought her some
gift. Hermes, the messenger of the gods, took her to Epimetheus and
said, 'Zeus sends this beautiful woman to be your wife.' Prometheus
had warned his brother not to {11} accept any gift from Zeus, because
he knew that he would act treacherously, but when Epimetheus saw the
lovely woman, he forgot that she had come from Zeus and took her home
to live with him. Pandora showed him a golden casket which she said
contained her dowry, and as he was very anxious to see the precious
jewels he expected to find in it, he begged her to open it. But when
she had taken off the lid, instead of any jewels, there were a number
of winged figures inside with corpse-like faces who struggled out and
flew about all over the world: these were the diseases and cares that
Zeus had said he would send. They fly into the houses of men and
nestle beside them without anyone being able to see or hear them come
in. Even now it often happens that when a man is seated at dinner
with his guests, well and happy, one of the diseases flies in without
any one knowing it, and in the night it seizes upon him and puts an
end to all his enjoyment. Zeus had meant to send into the world a
still worse fellow, called Foreboding, so that men might know all
their troubles beforehand, and thus lose all pleasure in life.
Foreboding was in the casket with the others, but when Pandora took
off the lid, he was in such a hurry to get out that his wings caught
in the inner edge of the casket, and when Pandora shut down the lid
again she did not see that he was left behind. If Foreboding had
come into the world, everyone would have known in childhood of the
diseases and troubles in store for him in his old age, and would thus
have lost all his spirits, even in his days of health.
Thus did Zeus punish men by sending disease and {12} care among them;
but for Prometheus, who had taken the fire to them, he reserved a far
severer punishment. He commanded two gods to carry him to Mount
Caucasus, and the god Hephaestus, who was an excellent smith, bound
him to a rock with strong iron chains so that he could neither move
hand nor foot; but Hephaestus did so very unwillingly, for it seemed
to him that Prometheus had done a great and god-like thing in braving
the wrath of Zeus. Every morning a huge eagle came and pecked open
the body of Prometheus and ate his liver, and every night the liver
grew again and the body healed over it. Prometheus suffered
inexpressible agony, but he never would beg for mercy from Zeus nor
say that he was sorry for having brought down the fire, for he was
still of the same mind about it.
But after many years had passed, there came a great hero named
Heracles, who shot the eagle with his bow and arrow and delivered
Prometheus. Prometheus was now free, but he was still obliged to
wear on his finger a ring of the chain with which he had been bound
to remind him of his punishment, and from that time it has always
been the custom for people to wear rings as reminders.
{13}
IV.
DEUCALION AND PYRRHA.
After disease and care had come into the world, men became unkind and
unfriendly; instead of peace there was now constant war, and murder
and theft were more common every day. The gods were much displeased
at these crimes, and Zeus said he would destroy the whole race of men
by a great flood. There were, however, one man and one woman,
Deucalion and Pyrrha, who took no part in the crimes that were
committed, but who lived peacefully and uprightly, fearing the gods.
Deucalion was the son of Prometheus, who knew everything that the
gods had resolved upon though he was chained to Mount Caucasus, and
when the great flood was about to take place, he advised Deucalion to
provide against it by building a chest that could float on the water,
so that when the flood began, he and his wife might take shelter in
it.
Then a mighty rain poured down from heaven which lasted for nine days
and nine nights. The valleys were soon filled with water, and the
people fled for safety to the tops of the highest mountains; but the
flood rose higher and higher till at last the waves washed right over
the mountains, so that the people perished miserably in the water.
The great chest {14} floated about on the top of the waves, and
Deucalion and Pyrrha who were safely shut up inside it, could hear
the pouring rain and the cries of the drowning people. When they
were all drowned, the rain ceased and the waters began to abate, and
on the next day the bottom of the chest grated against dry land.
Then Deucalion burst it open, and he and Pyrrha came out into the
sunshine, but all they could see was a wide stretch of sea with only
the tops of the highest mountains standing out above it. The
mountain where the chest had stranded was called Parnassus, and was
specially dedicated to the gods. Before this time Zeus had once
wanted to know where the middle of the earth was, and had let fly two
doves at the same moment from the two ends of the world to see where
they would meet: they met on Mount Parnassus, and thus it was proved
beyond a doubt, that this mountain must be the centre of the earth.
Deucalion and Pyrrha were now the only ones remaining of the whole
human race, and it was on account of their piety that Zeus had
allowed them to save themselves instead of destroying them with the
others. The waters abated until they no longer covered the earth,
and then the grass and flowers and trees bloomed forth again as they
do in spring, and Zeus sent Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to
tell Deucalion and Pyrrha that they might ask for anything they
pleased, and he would grant it. They determined to ask that there
might again be men on the earth, and Hermes told them to go into the
valley where there were a great many stones lying, and to take up the
stones and throw them over their shoulders. They did {15} so, and
this was what happened: every stone that Deucalion threw became a
man, and every stone that Pyrrha threw became a woman. Deucalion was
their king, and he taught them to cultivate the land, and many other
useful arts. And after some time had passed the whole earth was
filled with people as before, and no one would have known that the
great Flood had ever taken place.
{16}
V.
THE RAPE OF PERSEPHONE.
The goddess Demeter had a daughter named Persephone, who lived in the
island of Sicily. Her mother had given her several maidens to be her
playfellows, and she herself often came down from Mount Olympus to
see her daughter. The maidens played and danced together, or
wandered about over the hills and valleys looking for beautiful
flowers, and were as happy as the days were long. One day whilst
they were all scattered about looking for flowers, it happened that
Persephone strayed away from the others and was quite alone. Then
suddenly the earth opened beside her, and out of it there came a
chariot drawn by fierce coal-black horses, in which was a man with a
pale face and a black beard and a golden circlet round his hair. He
put out his hand and took hold of the beautiful Persephone, and drew
her into the chariot beside him. She screamed out to her companions,
but it was of no use, for the man with the pale face and the black
beard held her fast, and the horses ran like lightning till very soon
they had disappeared under the earth and she could no longer be seen
or heard. Her companions had heard her cries and they ran to look
for {17} her, but they could not tell what had become of her.
Now when Demeter found that her daughter had been carried off she was
very much distressed, and she lighted a torch and wandered all over
the world trying to find her. She lit up every cranny and cavern
with her torch, and climbed all the highest mountains, asking gods
and men if they had seen her child, but no trace of her could she
find.
I must tell you that the pale dark man was the god Pluto, the king of
the Lower World. It was so dismal down there that no woman would
consent to be his wife, so he made up his mind to carry off the
beautiful Persephone by force, and Zeus had given him leave to do
this, but he did not tell Demeter about it. Demeter wandered about
for a whole year, growing every day sadder and sadder, till at last
the sun-god, Helios, took pity on her. Helios could see everything
that happened on the earth, and he had been looking on when Pluto ran
away with Persephone, so he told Demeter that her daughter was in the
Lower World, and that the gods knew all about it and allowed it.
Then Demeter was angry with Zeus and the other gods for having given
her so much pain, and she refused to live with them any longer, but
remained on earth among men.
The gods were sorry for this, for they honoured and loved Demeter, so
after a little while Zeus proposed that a council of all the gods
should be held, and that they should judge between Demeter and Pluto.
A day was appointed, and they all came together, Demeter and Pluto
among the rest; and it was decided that if {18} Persephone had as yet
eaten nothing since she left the earth she should return to her
mother, but that otherwise she should remain in the Lower World. Now
Persephone had been so sad in the Lower World that during all this
time she had neither eaten nor drunk anything but once. This was one
day when, as she was walking by the side of the river that flows
through the Lower World and came to some pomegranate trees laden with
beautiful red fruit, she plucked a pomegranate and ate it; and Pluto
told this in the assembly of the gods, hoping that it would make good
his claim to keep her. But the gods decreed that as she had eaten
nothing but a pomegranate in the Lower World she should not remain
there altogether, but only for a third of the year, and that during
the remaining two thirds she should be allowed to live on the earth.
So it was arranged in this way: as long as the ears of corn were
below the ground, Persephone had to remain in the Lower World with
her husband, but as soon as the blades appeared above the soil, she
too came up into the sunlight to her mother.
At this time corn was already growing upon the earth, for Demeter had
created it for the use of men, and she often wore a wreath of
wheat-ears round her head. But when she was wandering over the earth
looking for her daughter, she found that no one understood the best
means of making it grow, and as she knew that men would be more
peaceful and friendly if they cultivated the ground and surrounded
themselves with beautiful plants, she determined to teach them how to
do so. Demeter loved all men, but most of all a man named
Triptolemus, and she gave him a {19} chariot drawn by two winged
dragons, and put into his hand a quantity of corn, which she told him
to strew over the earth. Triptolemus flew through the air in his
chariot, scattering the grains of corn as he went; and then there
fell a gentle rain which made them sink into the ground, so that they
became firmly rooted, and soon shot forth little blades. The people
were much pleased when the corn grew up and ripened, and Triptolemus
taught them all that he had learnt from Demeter about the best way of
cultivating it and turning it to good account. Soon there were
fields of waving corn all over the earth, and instead of always going
out hunting, men tilled the ground and waited for the harvest. When
it was ripe, they raised altars of earth and green grass, and laid
the fresh ears upon them us a thank-offering to the gods for having
sent rain and sunshine to make the corn grow. Demeter especially was
held in great honour, and they prayed to her when they sowed their
crops.
{20}
VI.
MARPESSA.
There was once a king of Greece named Evenus, who had a beautiful
daughter called Marpessa. There was also a brave and noble hero
called Idas, and he came one day to the king and asked him to let him
have Marpessa for his wife. Marpessa would have been quite willing
to agree to this, but the old king was very selfish, and he said that
he would not let his daughter leave him to marry anyone. So Idas had
to go away with a heavy heart, but the sea-god Poseidon was his
friend, and he gave him a wonderful chariot in which to carry off the
beautiful Marpessa by stealth. The chariot was drawn by very swift
horses, and it had wings on both sides which flapped as the horses
ran, so that nothing on earth could go faster than this chariot.
One day when Marpessa went to the well to draw water, she found Idas
waiting there for her in the winged chariot, and she got up beside
him and drove away. The old king saw them go, and he was very angry
and said that he would fetch back Marpessa and kill Idas. He had the
swiftest team of horses in the whole country, and he drove them
furiously along the track of the other chariot, but even at their
utmost speed {21} they could not go fast enough to please him. At
last he came to a river, and then he knew that it was hopeless to
pursue his daughter and Idas any further, and he stabbed the horses
and broke the chariot to pieces, and then he threw himself into the
river and was drowned.
Idas was far on in front, and he thought there was no fear now of
anyone attempting to interfere between him and the beautiful
Marpessa. But there was a mighty god named Apollo, who loved
Marpessa, and was not willing that Idas should have her for his wife,
for he wanted to marry her himself. He was very beautiful in face
and in form, and had the appearance of a youth just reaching the age
of manhood. He was the brother of Artemis the goddess of the woods,
and carried a bow of pure silver, while round his neck there hung a
golden quiver full of arrows, and he could always hit whatever he
aimed at, even if it were many miles off. He came and seized the
horses' bridle, and said to Idas that he must either give up the
maiden or else fight with him. Idas was very brave and was always
quite ready to fight, and he at once jumped down from the chariot and
prepared to begin the struggle. But at that moment there fell a
thunderbolt on the ground between them, and they heard the voice of
Zeus calling to them, and saying, 'The maiden shall decide.'
So Marpessa had to choose between a god and a hero, and she looked
down and thought for a moment. Then she raised her eyes and held out
her hand to Idas, and said, 'When I am old, you will be old also, and
will honour me and take care of me, but {22} Apollo always remains
young, and in my old age he would thrust me away and would take
another wife.' So Marpessa made her choice and preferred to marry
the hero Idas, and Apollo bad to go away without her.
{23}
VII.
ARTEMIS
Artemis was the goddess of the woods. She was the daughter of Zeus
and of the goddess Leto, who had gone through many troubles before
Artemis was born. For Zeus had married the beautiful Leto secretly,
and when Hera heard of it she was very angry, and drove her away from
Mount Olympus. Leto took shelter on the earth, but Hera commanded
the earth to deny her rest, and whenever she lay down it began to
tremble under her and quaked horribly. She fled like a hunted deer
from one end of the world to the other, till after long wanderings
she came to the floating island of Delos over which the earth had no
power, and here at last she could rest. The island was not fixed to
the bottom of the sea, and the waves played roughly with it and
tossed it about, so the sea-god Poseidon, who was sorry for Leto,
caused four granite pillars to spring up and hold it fast, and ever
since that time it has stood perfectly still. Leto had two children,
a boy and a girl, and Zeus named them Apollo and Artemis. After the
children were born, Hera became kinder, and allowed Leto to come back
to Mount {24} Olympus, and desired the earth to give her rest
wherever she wished. The island of Delos was ever afterwards held in
great esteem by the Greeks, and they came from long distances in
beautifully decked ships to honour the island by offering sacrifices
upon it.
Artemis was a glorious goddess, and she chose the woods for her
dominion, and the chase for her occupation. She delighted in
wandering through the forests with the nymphs who attended her,
killing wolves and wild-boars. But she was kind to the tame animals
that she met, and stroked and petted them. Her favourite creatures
were some beautiful hinds, and she punished anyone who killed them.
Artemis towered a head above all her nymphs, and she was also easily
to be recognised by her godlike beauty, and by her golden bow and
quiver of golden arrows. In the evening she often laid aside her
weapons and danced in the moonlight with her maidens; their light
footsteps did not even bend the grass, only the next morning, traces
of them could be seen in the dew. Often too, when the chase led them
past a clear forest lake overshadowed by sweet-smelling trees, they
undressed and bathed in the pleasant pool, and the nymphs splashed
about in the water and had all kinds of games. Artemis did not
marry, for she said she would neither be the wife of a god nor of a
man, but would always have her home in the forest among her nymphs.
There was once a hunter named Actaeon, who loved hunting better than
anything else, and who honoured Artemis, the goddess of the chase,
above all other gods and goddesses. He had fifty splendid hounds who
were very fond of their master, and in the morning when he came out
of his house they used to crowd {25} round him barking for joy and
licking his hands; he had given each of them a special name, and he
patted them and talked to them as if they could understand him. They
always went out hunting with him, and chased the wild animals which
he shot with his arrows. One day Actaeon was out hunting, and it was
so hot that about noon he gave his dogs a rest and let them go to
sleep, whilst he himself strolled about among the cool bushes looking
for a spring where he might quench his thirst. Presently he heard a
splashing of water and the laughter of maidens' voices, and going a
little nearer, he pushed aside the branch of a tree and beheld the
glorious goddess and her nymphs in the bath. He could not turn away
his eyes, and for a little while Artemis did not notice him, but when
she looked up and saw the hunter who had so forgotten himself, her
eyes filled with anger at his having dared to watch her. She raised
her beautiful hand, and in a moment Actaeon was changed into a stag
with long light feet and branching horns, but still able to think
like a man. He shuddered and rushed away to the place where he had
left his dogs; they awoke, but they did not know him, and gave chase
to him. He tried to make them understand by looking back and calling
to them, but no words would come out of his mouth, only a sound like
the cry of a stag, and at last they overtook him and tore him to
pieces. Thus he was miserably killed by his own dogs, as a
punishment for not having turned away his eyes when he came upon the
severe goddess at her bath. The dogs wandered for a long time
through the forest looking for their master, pining {26} because they
could not find him, and refusing to eat. But there was a skilled
artist who took pity on them, and he made an image of clay so exactly
like Actaeon, that the dogs thought it was their master himself, and
were comforted.
{27}
VIII.
THE GIANTS OTUS AND EPHIALTES.
There was once a woman who had so great a love for the sea that she
was never tired of looking at it. One day, as she was sitting on the
shore, the god Poseidon came driving over the waves in his chariot,
for the sea was subject to him. When he saw the beautiful woman who
was gazing at it so tenderly, a great love for her sprang up in his
heart, and he took her to be his wife. Sometime afterwards she had
two children, called Otus and Ephialtes, and by the time they were a
year old they were two yards in height and a yard in width. Every
year the children grew two yards in height and a yard in width, so
that when they were nine years old they were so big and strong that
they could tear up the largest oak trees and break them in two across
their knees. But they were ignorant and foolish, and instead of
honouring the gods, they made a silly plan to get up to Mount
Olympus, where the gods lived, and overturn everything that they had
arranged. They settled that Hera, the queen of the gods, should be
the wife of Otus, and that Artemis, the goddess of the woods, should
be the wife of Ephialtes, and that the other gods should be loaded
with chains and imprisoned in dark caves; and they said they would
change everything on the earth, {28} and throw all the mountains into
the sea till it was choked up, and then make rivers flow where there
had been land before.
The gods could hear this foolish talk, for the giants' voices were as
loud as the most tremendous gale, and Ares, the god of war, armed
himself and went out to fight them. But the giants were stronger
than he, and they fastened him to the ground with two iron rings
round his body, attached to chains which they held in their hands and
pulled whenever he tried to get up, so that he could not move without
great pain. They gave him nothing to eat or drink, and at mid-day
the sun beat down upon his face and scorched him with its heat. None
of the gods dared to try and free Ares by force, so Zeus commanded
Hermes, the Messenger, to get him away by stealth. Hermes was the
most cunning of all the gods, and at night, when the giants were
asleep, he went and drew Ares out of the iron rings so cautiously
that they made no noise, and the giants did not awake. The two gods
then ran away, and the next morning the giants saw that their rings
were empty, which made them very angry.
They went on for some time in their old way, boasting of all the
wonderful things they were going to do, till one day the goddess
Artemis changed herself into a little white doe. The giants were
lying in the forest side by side, with their great hunting spears in
their hands, when the little doe came running out of the wood and
passed right between them. They both raised their spears at the same
moment and threw them at her, but she was so swift that they did not
hit her,--instead of that each giant was stabbed by his brother's
spear, and they both bled to death.
{29}
IX.
ENDYMION.
As long as Zeus was with the gods on Mount Olympus, Hera, the queen
of the gods, was his wife, but from time to time he came to live on
the earth for a little while, and then he married a noble and
beautiful woman who was his wife whilst he remained among men.
Once Zeus married a very beautiful princess whom he loved dearly, and
they had a little boy named Endymion. When Endymion had grown up to
be a young man, his father told him that he might wish for whatever
he liked and he would grant it. Endymion might have chosen to become
a mighty king, but he had no desire for anything of the sort.
Instead of that, his wish was that he might go to sleep and never
wake again, but always have pleasant dreams. And Zeus granted him
what he asked. There was a lonely valley which no one ever came
near. Soft green grass grew there, and sweet-smelling flowers, and
there were shady trees, with birds singing and making their nests
among the branches, and a brook flowing through it that chattered
pleasantly night and day. Endymion lay down under a tree beside the
brook and went to sleep, and he never grew any older, but slept on
for ever, dreaming happily, immortal like the gods.
{30}
Now there was a mild, gentle goddess, the goddess of the moon, whose
name was Selene. As she passed along the heaven with the little
stars by her side, she used to look down upon Endymion lying asleep,
and she gazed at the beautiful son of Zeus until she felt a deep love
for him spring up in her heart, so that he was continually in her
thoughts. She shed her softest and mildest rays upon him, and then
Endymion dreamt more happily than ever. It was like no other love,
for she could neither speak to him nor caress him, she could only
look at him from a distance; but she has always remained true to him,
and has never loved another as she loved the sleeping Endymion.
{31}
X.
IO
There was once a princess named Io, whose father was king of the town
of Argos, in Greece. Zeus loved Io because she was fair and gentle,
and he often came down to earth in order to be with her. But Hera
was angry with Zeus for going away from her, and one day when he went
to see the beautiful Io, she followed him. Then Zeus changed Io into
a white cow, and pretended that he had only come to look at the cow.
But Hera knew it was Io, and she begged him so earnestly to make her
a present of the cow that he could not refuse. Hera gave the white
cow into the charge of the watchman Argus, who had a hundred eyes
that slept by turns so that half of them were always on the watch.
He took her to a sacred grove and tied her to an olive tree, and then
he climbed a little hill that was close by, and sat there day and
night watching her. Io ate grass and flowers when she was hungry,
but she was very sad and lowed mournfully, for she longed to see her
father and her playfellows again.
After some time Zeus commanded the crafty god Hermes to steal away
the cow, and Hermes went into the wood and began to play upon the
shepherd's flute. Argus called him to his side for the playing
pleased {32} him well, so Hermes came and played all his most
beautiful tunes, whilst Argus stretched himself out on the grass and
enjoyed himself more than he had ever done in his life before. Then
all the hundred eyes fell asleep at once, and Hermes took a sharp
sickle and cut off his head. After that he loosed the cow, and was
preparing to take her home to her father, but Hera, who had seen what
he had done, was very angry, and she came down and commanded him to
let go the cow. As Hera was mightier than he, Hermes was obliged to
obey, and then Hera made a great insect as large as a bat, which
buzzed horribly and tormented Io. She ran away in order to try and
escape from it, but it pursued her all over the country, and even
though she swam across a wide sea and went on through the country on
the further side, still the insect kept flying round and round her
and gave her no peace. For a whole year she fled from it, till at
last when she had reached the land of Egypt in Africa she was so
tired that she could go no further. Hera was just then asleep, and
Zeus was able to come quickly down and kill the cruel gad-fly; then
he stroked the back of the cow with his hand and she received back
her human form, but she was pale and wasted, and not so beautiful as
before. After this she remained in Egypt where the people of the
country were good to her, but Hera was even more unkind than before,
and when after a time Io had a little son, she caused the child to be
stolen from her. Then Io was again in great distress, and she set
out to seek for her child. She journeyed from morning to night
without stopping, and she had gone through the whole country without
{33} being able to find it and was beginning to be terribly afraid
that it must have perished, when someone told her that Hera had given
it to a queen in the land of Syria to take care of. It was a long
way off, and the journey was full of danger on account of robbers and
wild beasts, but Io set off at once for the land of Syria, and when
she got there, the queen gave back the child to her.
After this, Hera left off persecuting Io, and the King of Egypt asked
her to be his wife and made her the queen. But she could never
forget her past troubles, and as often as she saw a white cow, she
thought of how she too had once been a cow, and had eaten grass and
flowers.
{34}
XI.
DANAUS AND AEGYPTUS.
There were once two kings, called Danaus and Aegyptus, who were
brothers, and whose dominions lay side by side. They lived in
Africa, and were descended from Io, who had now been dead a long
time. Aegyptus had fifty sons, and Danaus had fifty daughters. But
the sons of Aegyptus were wicked men, and they tried to kill their
uncle; so Danaus built a great ship with fifty oars, and when it was
ready, he and his fifty daughters got into it and sailed away; each
daughter took an oar, and Danaus steered. They sailed far away over
the sea till they came to the country of Argos in Greece, where the
father of Io had been king. The Argives (as the people of Argos were
called) wondered when they saw the ship with the old man and the
fifty maidens in it, but they received them kindly and gave them a
large piece of land to live upon, and also a herd of fine cattle.
Danaus tilled the ground, and his daughters took care of the cattle.
Danaus was very wise, and he gave the Argives much good counsel, till
at last they wished he could be their king. But they had a king
already, who though he was not nearly so wise as Danaus, had a great
many soldiers to fight {35} for him, and he was by no means willing
to give up the kingdom. This led to many disputes among the people,
and a civil war had nearly broken out, when it happened that the
king, and Danaus, and many of the Argives, were assembled one day in
a field where there were a number of sheep and cattle feeding, and
all at once a great wolf rushed out of the forest, who, passing by
the sheep and cows, ran straight at the great bull that belonged to
the flock and tore him to pieces. The Argives felt sure that this
must be a sign from heaven, for never before had a wolf been able to
kill a strong bull. And there was a soothsayer among them who
declared that as the bull had been overcome by the wolf, so would the
king be overcome by Danaus and deprived of his kingdom. When the
king heard that, he was afraid that he might lose his life as well as
his dominions, and he fled hastily out of the country.
So Danaus became king, and lived in the beautiful palace with his
daughters. His brother's sons heard that he was king of Argos, and
that his daughters were beautiful maidens, and they thought they
would like to be reconciled to their uncle and to have their cousins
for their wives. So they built a ship like the one that Danaus had
sailed away in, and came to Argos, and when they arrived there, they
said to their uncle that they desired to be at peace with him, and
begged him to give them his daughters in marriage. Danaus agreed to
do so, and he called his daughters together and allotted one of them
to each brother. A few days afterwards the wedding was celebrated
with the greatest magnificence, and many sacrifices were offered to
the gods. But Danaus took his daughters aside and gave to each {36}
one a shining dagger, telling her to hide it in her dress and kill
her husband with it when he was asleep. That night the fifty princes
slept in fifty chambers and their wives with them, and about midnight
each wife took out her dagger and stabbed her husband with it. The
only one who did not do so was Hypermnestra, the most beautiful of
all, who was married to one of the brothers named Lynceus. He was
not wicked like the rest, but noble and brave, and Hypermnestra awoke
him and said, 'Thy brothers have been killed by their wives, prepare
to flee for thy life.' She gave him an unlighted torch, and told
him, when he reached the mountain near the city, to light it and hold
it up in the air, so that she might know that he had not been seized
by the king's soldiers, but had been able to make his escape. She
led him out of the palace and pointed out to him the direction in
which he was to go; then she ascended to the roof, which, like all
the roofs of the Greek houses, was not sloping like ours, but flat,
so that people could walk upon it. Hypermnestra remained there for a
long time with her eyes fixed on the mountain before any light
appeared, but at last she saw a little flame which came from the
torch, and then she knew that Lynceus was safe. Then she went down
again with a brave heart, though she had good reason to fear that her
father would be very angry.
The next morning, Hypermnestra's sisters came to Danaus, each holding
in her hand the bloody head of her husband which she had seized by
the hair, and Danaus praised them for what they had done; but when he
asked Hypermnestra why she had not also brought him a bloody head,
she said, 'I have helped {37} Lynceus to escape.' Now Hypermnestra
was the king's favourite daughter, but he was so angry with her for
having disobeyed him, that he struck her and pushed her away from
him, and said that she should be tried publicly, and shut up
meanwhile in a dark underground dungeon, as if she had been guilty of
some crime. He called together all the old wise men in the land to
be her judges, and they came and sat in the market-place to pass
sentence. Danaus declared that whatever they decided on should be
certainly carried out, and when the judges asked him if he would
indeed abide by what they said, he swore that even if they condemned
Hypermnestra to death, the sentence should be executed. The
beautiful Hypermnestra was led into the market-place by the king's
spearmen, and the judges questioned her. Then they consulted
together and found that they were all agreed, and they said, 'What
Hypermnestra deserves is that she be the king's best-beloved
daughter, and that Lynceus come back and be the king's son-in-law.'
That did not please Danaus, for he wished to have Hypermnestra
punished, but because of his oath, he was obliged to let her go free
and live in the palace as before. He also made a sacred treaty with
Lynceus, and he came back to be the husband of Hypermnestra. As long
as Danaus lived, he was next to him in power and wealth, and after
the death of his father-in-law, he succeeded him as king of Argos.
The other daughters of Danaus, who had killed their husbands, were
held in greater esteem by their father, but the gods caused them to
die early, and when they came into the Lower World, they inflicted on
them a {38} never-ending punishment. There was a stream of rushing
water, close to which a great vessel had been placed, and each of the
Danaïdes, or daughters of Danaus, was given a bucket and commanded to
fill the vessel with water from the stream, and was told that she was
never to stop pouring in the water till the vessel was quite full.
The Danaïdes did as they were required, but the vessel was full of
holes, so that as fast as they tried to fill it, the water ran back
again into the stream, and though they did their utmost by pouring it
in as fast as possible, it was of no use,--they were never able to
accomplish their task, and were obliged to go toiling on at it in
vain for ever.
{39}
XII.
PHAËTHON.
Helios was the sun-god, and he used to drive along the sky in his
shining chariot drawn by four milk-white horses, who bathed
themselves every evening in the great stream Oceanus that flows right
round the world. As he looked down from the sky, he saw a beautiful
woman whom he loved and longed to have for his wife, so he came down
to the earth and was married to her, and they had a son named
Phaëthon. When Phaëthon was a little boy, his mother used to point
up to the sky where his father was, and teach him to throw up kisses
to him. As he grew up to be a young man he was distinguished from
all others by his brave spirit and remarkable beauty, but though it
was evident that he was the son of a god, there were many people who,
because they were jealous of him, tried to vex him by saying that
this was not really the case. This made him very anxious to show
that Helios was in truth his father, and he resolved to find some
means of proving it beyond a doubt. So he set out for the stream
Oceanus, and when Helios brought his horses there in the evening he
was rejoiced to find his son waiting for him, and he kissed him many
times. Then he asked him if he had any special reason for taking
such a long {40} journey in order to see him, and Phaëthon said it
was because he had something to ask him, which he longed for more
than anything else in the world. Helios promised to grant his wish,
never suspecting what it was, and to please Phaëthon, he even sealed
the promise by his oath as a god that he would give him whatever he
should ask. The gods swore by the river Styx which flowed through
the Lower World, and anyone who ventured to break that oath had to
suffer a severe punishment,--for nine years he had to lie on the
ground as if he were dead, and for nine years afterwards he was shut
out from the company of the other gods. So when Helios had confirmed
his promise by this solemn oath, Phaëthon was full of joy, and he
said that his wish was that on the following day he might be allowed
to take his father's place in driving the chariot of the sun. Helios
was terrified at his audacity, and he told him that this was what no
mortal could do and that he must give up all thought of such a thing.
But Phaëthon was light-hearted, and he delighted in danger and
thought he could accomplish anything he pleased, however hard it
might be. He thought too, that if he had once driven the chariot of
the sun and could tell people of all he had seen whilst he was doing
this, everyone would be ready to acknowledge that he was indeed the
son of Helios. So he would not give up his wish, and as Helios had
sworn by the Styx, he was obliged to grant it, though he felt sure
that it would be the death of the boy. The next morning the fiery
horses were harnessed as usual, and Phaëthon clambered up into the
shining chariot, more proud and happy than he had ever been in his
life. The horses flew along {41} the usual path, and Phaëthon,
looking down, could see the trees and houses and rivers on the earth.
As long as he was near the earth he was very happy, but when they had
got higher than eagles can fly, his head began to swim, and the
horses soon found out that it was not Helios who was guiding them
with his godlike wisdom, and they refused to obey the rein and keep
in the right path, but flew up and down just as they pleased. First
they went too near the heaven, and then they flew down lower and came
too near the earth; and the flowers withered and the streams dried
up, and it became so hot that the mountains began to melt. As they
passed over Africa they came so near to the earth that all the people
of the land were burnt black by the heat of the sun, and the black
colour continued in their children and grandchildren, so that they
were given the name of Moors, or black people. The goddess Gaea, who
was queen of the earth, saw the trees and flowers and springs
perishing miserably from the fierce blaze of the sun, and she begged
Zeus not to let the earth be destroyed. Then Zeus took a thunderbolt
and hurled it at Phaëthon, who fell dead from the chariot. Helios
saw it with deep sorrow. He rushed forward and seized the reins and
guided the chariot back into the right path, but for many days after
this the heaven was covered with black clouds, and the sun-god would
not let his face be seen.
{42}
XIII.
SALMONEUS AND SISYPHUS.
There was a country of Greece called Elis, and there was once a king
of Elis named Salmoneus, whom the gods favoured in all manner of
ways. If he went to war with another king he was sure to gain the
victory. His fields brought forth abundant harvests, and his flocks
prospered and increased. Never was there a hailstorm or any other
disaster in his country. But Salmoneus was presumptuous and thought
he could get everything he wished by his own cleverness, and at last
he came to despise the gods and to consider himself on equal terms
with them. He commanded the people to call him Zeus and to offer
sacrifices to him, and he had a chariot drawn by fiery horses, with
dried cows' hides and copper kettles hanging from it, which clashed
and rumbled together and made a tremendous noise as he drove along,
and then the people had to shout, 'Zeus is thundering!' He had also
burning torches in the chariot which he threw right and left among
the people, and then they had to shout, 'Zeus is lightning!' And
whoever was hit by the torches was immediately killed by the king's
spearmen, that it might seem as if he had been struck dead by his
lightning. The gods let Salmoneus go on for {43} some time in this
foolish way, but at last when he was one day driving through the
streets with his thunder and lightning, a real thunderbolt came down
from heaven which struck the king and killed him in a moment. Then
the people fell to the earth in fear, and one of them said in a
half-whisper, 'Zeus has indeed thundered!'
Salmoneus had a brother named Sisyphus, who was king of the city of
Corinth, and surpassed all other men in deceit and craftiness. There
was a cunning robber, not far from Corinth, who was very clever in
stealing cattle, and when he had carried off a herd he took care to
make it impossible for it to be recognised again. He painted over
any white spots on the bodies or foreheads of the animals, and had
various ways of obliterating all other marks by which they could be
identified. Sisyphus had a beautiful herd on which the robber had
for some time cast envious eyes, and one dark night he stole them
away and painted over all the marks that distinguished them from any
other animals. The next day Sisyphus went to the robber's dwelling
and told him to give up his cattle, but the robber said he had not
got them, and that Sisyphus might see for himself whether they were
there or not. Then the king said that he had marked each of his
cattle with a little notch on the fore foot, and that all the animals
he could find marked in that way would be his. The robber had never
thought of looking out for such a mark as this, and he was thus
outwitted by the king and obliged to give back the beautiful herd.
No one could cheat Sisyphus, but he cheated and robbed many people,
and was wicked and treacherous. {44} He lay in wait for those who
happened to be passing through his country and spoiled them of their
goods, and then he killed them by crushing them beneath a huge stone.
He even tried to cheat the gods, for when he died and came into the
Lower World, he begged Pluto to give him leave to go back to the
Upper World again for one day in order to divide his kingdom between
his sons, and as he swore by the most sacred oaths that he would
return at the end of that time, Pluto granted his request; but
Sisyphus did not return until a messenger was sent to fetch him from
the earth for the second time. And because he had been so wicked and
deceitful both in life and in death, the gods laid upon him a heavy
punishment, to which there was no end. He was told to roll a
fearfully heavy stone up the side of a mountain, until he had brought
it to the top and let it fall down the further side. But it was an
enchanted stone, and every time that, with the greatest effort,
Sisyphus had at last got it almost to the top of the mountain, it
suddenly rolled back with a crash into the depths from which he had
brought it, so that he had to begin his work all over again; and thus
he never could succeed in accomplishing his task, and his toil was
never at an end.
{45}
XIV.
BELLEROPHON.
In the city of Corinth there were two young brothers, the sons of
Glaucus, the son of Sisyphus, one of whom was called Bellerophon, and
was gifted by the gods with great strength and beauty. But one day,
when he was out hunting with his brother, he threw his spear at a
hind, and the spear missed its aim and accidentally hit his brother,
who died of the wound. Bellerophon was very much grieved, and wished
he could have been killed himself rather than have done this; but
nevertheless he had to leave his father's house and the city of
Corinth, for everyone who killed another by accident was banished.
He set out, not knowing who would receive him, but he determined
first of all to seek for someone who would purge him from the stain
of blood; for the Greeks held that whoever had killed another, even
though unintentionally, was defiled, and needed to be purified by
means of sacrifices and baths. It was not everyone who understood
how to do this, but Bellerophon heard that King Proetus was learned
in these matters, and he went to him and begged him to purify him.
Proetus did what was necessary, and as the young hero pleased him, he
begged him to stay with him and be his guest, and {46} treated him as
his own son. But the queen was so much struck with the beauty of
Bellerophon that she longed to have him for her husband, and she had
a secret conversation with him, and proposed that they should both
flee out of the country and be married. But Bellerophon could not
have acted so ungratefully towards his kind host if the queen had
been the most beautiful woman in the world, and he told her plainly
that he would not do as she wished. Then all her fondness was turned
into hatred and a fierce desire to kill him, and she went to her
husband and said that Bellerophon had begged her to go away with him
and be his wife, and that when she had refused, he had got angry and
had said he should put the king to death. The king believed his wife
and was exceedingly angry, but as Bellerophon was his guest, he would
not himself lay hands on him. He thought of another way of taking
his life, and concealing his resentment, asked Bellerophon if he
would take a message from him to his father-in-law Iobates, who was
king of Lycia. It was a long distance by sea as well as by land to
the country of Lycia, but Bellerophon was glad to do anything to
please Proetus, and he at once promised to go. Proetus took a wooden
tablet, and made signs upon it to signify that his father-in-law was
to put the messenger to death, and then he covered the tablet with
another, and tied a string round it. This was the way in which all
letters were sent at that time, for paper and ink were not yet
invented.
Bellerophon took the letter and set out, suspecting nothing. He
travelled for some time till he came to the sea, where he found a
ship about to sail to the {47} opposite coast, so he got into it, and
after a few days' journey, arrived at the country of King Iobates who
received him in a very friendly manner. It was not then the custom
to ask a guest his name and his business as soon as he arrived, and
for nine days Iobates entertained Bellerophon without knowing who he
was, and every day he sacrificed a bull, and feasted with his guest.
The Greeks used to cut off the thigh-bones of the animals they
sacrificed, for the gods; they covered these bones with skin and
placed them in the fire to make a pleasant odour for them, and then
they consumed the rest of the animal themselves. On the tenth day,
King Iobates asked his guest what his name was and whether he had
brought any message, and Bellerophon told his name and delivered the
letter which Proetus had sent. But when the king had made out the
meaning of the signs, he was greatly troubled, for he had become very
fond of the young hero, and the idea of killing him had been far from
his thoughts. Still, as his son-in-law urged him to do this, he
supposed that Bellerophon must have committed some great crime, and
he determined to carry out the wishes of Proetus. He might have
murdered Bellerophon in his sleep, but he would not do that,--he
willed rather that he should die like a hero, fighting for his life.
There was at that time in the land of Lycia a horrible monster called
the Chimaera, whose forepart was like a lion, her back like a dragon,
and in the middle she was a goat. At night the Chimaera remained on
her mountain, but in the daytime she came down and laid waste the
cornfields and devoured men and cattle, causing great distress all
over the country. The king asked Bellerophon {48} whether he had
courage enough to encounter the monster, and Bellerophon said yes,
for he longed to be a real hero whose exploits men relate in song,
and he was ready to venture upon any errand however dangerous it
might be. So he armed himself with spear and sword, and set out in
search of the Chimaera. The gods were pleased with him for his
courage, but they knew that he must perish in the fight if they did
not help him. He had not gone far when there came down from heaven a
beautiful horse with wings like a bird, which flew round and round
him. This horse was called Pegasus, and belonged to the gods.
Bellerophon was delighted with the beautiful animal, and tried to
attract him by whistling and coaxing. At last he persuaded him to
come near enough to be stroked, and after that the hero soon
succeeded in placing himself on his back, and they flew away together
through the air. Bellerophon was the first man who had ever ridden
upon such a horse. He would have found Pegasus a perfect steed if he
had understood what was said to him, but instead of doing as he
wished, he always went the wrong way. So he dismounted and continued
his journey on foot, and Pegasus flew round him in beautiful curves,
and was his travelling companion. By-and-by he met an old man who
was a soothsayer, and he asked the hero how he came to possess such a
beautiful animal. Bellerophon told him all about it, and added that
he wished he knew how to make the horse obedient to his will, and
then the soothsayer said that he would soon come to a place dedicated
to the goddess Athene, and that if anyone who was in need of counsel
chose to sleep in the temple, {49} the goddess would often help him
by a dream. Bellerophon resolved to try this, and as the stars were
beginning to shine, he reached the temple of Athene; and he went in
and stretched himself on the floor with his head resting on the step
of the altar for a pillow, while the horse slept outside the door.
When it was nearly morning, the goddess Athene appeared to him in a
dream and told him that she loved all brave heroes, and was glad to
help him. She showed him a golden ribbon, and said that if he put it
into the mouth of the horse and held the two ends in his hand, it
would be a means of communication between them. She placed the
golden ribbon in his hand, and he awoke, still holding it. It was
the first bridle, and had been invented by the goddess Athene. He
went out at once, put the ribbon into the mouth of the horse, and
swung himself on to his back. Then they flew away, and the steed
obeyed the rein, and went just where the hero wished. Bellerophon
was very much pleased at this, and he offered up prayers and thanks
to Athene for the help she had given him.
After this Bellerophon continued his journey through the air, and
when it was evening he came to a mountain by the sea from which he
saw a flame of fire ascending, and this showed him where the Chimaera
was. He flew towards the place on the back of Pegasus, and perceived
the horrible form of the monster. Pegasus hovered over her, and
Bellerophon shot an arrow which wounded her in the neck and gave her
great pain; this made her furious, and she stood up on her hind feet
and puffed out her fiery breath into the air, hoping to scorch
Bellerophon to death. But he was so {50} high up that he was not
hurt by it, and he shot her in the back with another arrow, so that
she rolled about in pain, howling horribly, and then he sent a third
arrow into her side. She had now only strength enough to moan, and
in a little while she was dead. Then Bellerophon could come down to
the mountain which was no longer unsafe for people to set foot upon;
he slept there that night, and in the morning he cut off the head of
the Chimaera, and set out upon his way home again.
When Bellerophon stood before Iobates with the head of the Chimaera
in his hand, the king was very much astonished, for he had thought
there was not a chance that he would escape being killed by her. But
he was still desirous of carrying out the wishes of Proetus, and he
therefore sent the hero to fight against a barbarous people on the
outskirts of his kingdom, who lived by plunder and robbery. No one
who had hitherto been sent against them had ever returned alive, but
the gods helped Bellerophon, and he slew a great many of the robbers
and drove away the rest.
A third time the king sent him away, and now it was to fight against
a still stronger people. But after a few days had passed, there came
messengers to tell him that the hero had put the enemy to flight and
was about to return. Then the king chose out the strongest Lycian
youths, and set them in ambush on the road leading to the city. In
the evening, however, Bellerophon entered the palace unhurt. The
king thought he must have come by another road, and he asked him if
he had met nothing on the way. Bellerophon answered, 'Near the city
there were some {51} cowardly knaves lying in ambush, whom I slew.'
Then the king knew that Bellerophon must be under the protection of
the gods, and he laid aside all thoughts of doing him any injury, and
told him that on account of the request of Proetus he had sent him on
these expeditions in order that he might meet his death, but that
from henceforth he would be his friend. He gave him the most
beautiful of all his daughters for his wife, and begged him to stay
with him and take part in the government of the country. The wedding
soon took place, and from that time Bellerophon had a kingly staff
like Iobates, and sat beside him on the throne to give judgment in
all cases of difficulty. The Lycians gave him some of their land for
his own, of which one part consisted of corn-fields, another part was
a wine country, and the third was planted with beautiful fruit trees.
The winged horse Pegasus was well taken care of, and Bellerophon ever
treasured him as one of his dearest friends.
{52}
XV.
DAEDALUS AND ICARUS.
There was once a king of Crete called Minos, who had a great many
ships and soldiers; and there was also a clever artist named
Daedalus, who had built a wonderful house for Minos with such an
immense number of rooms in it that no one who entered it could ever
find his way out again. There lived a monster in the house, and
every year prisoners were taken to it, who wandered about trying in
vain to find their way out again, until at last the monster came and
devoured them. This wonderful house was called the Labyrinth.[1]
The king wanted Daedalus to spend his time and skill in inventing
other wonderful things for him, and when he wished to leave the
island he refused to let him go, and placed soldiers all along the
shore to prevent him from getting to any ship. Then Daedalus said to
himself, 'My art has hitherto served the king,--it shall now serve
me.' So he went into his workshop, and made a pair of large wings
for himself and a pair of small ones for his little son Icarus, and
every night when it was dark they fastened their wings on to their
shoulders with wax, and practised flying like the birds; and they
soon became quite accustomed to using them. When they had {53}
learnt to fly properly, they fastened on their wings early one
morning and set off to fly to the island of Sicily, although that is
a good hundred miles from the island of Crete. On the shore stood
the soldiers whom the king had placed there to prevent them from
leaving, but they could not catch them, and the two flew away
together over the wide sea. At first Icarus was timid, but when a
good stretch of the way lay behind them he became bolder, and began
to think that flying was very pleasant work. At mid-day, however,
the sun came out very hot, and Daedalus, who was flying on in front
to show the way, called out to his child to tell him to beware of the
sun and not go too near it. But Icarus thought, 'The sun looks so
kind, I am sure he will do me no harm.' And he flew higher and
higher, for Daedalus was on in front and did not see him, until the
wax with which his wings were fastened began to melt. He felt the
strokes becoming more feeble, and called to his father for help, but
though Daedalus turned quickly round it was too late,--the boy could
no longer support himself in the air, and he fell into the sea before
his father's eyes. All the great skill of Daedalus was of no avail
now, for Icarus was killed by the great fall, and he could do nothing
to save him, but was obliged to fly on to the end of his journey all
alone.
[1] For more about the Labyrinth, see p. 186.
{54}
XVI.
EUROPA AND CADMUS.
In the land of Phenicia which lies in Asia, there was once a king who
had a son named Cadmus and a daughter named Europa, and he was both
fond and proud of his children, for Cadmus was brave, and Europa was
beautiful. One day Europa was by the sea in a meadow full of lovely
flowers, when there came a stately bull, who walked round and round
her. It was Zeus, who had changed himself into a bull in order to
carry off the beautiful maiden to be his wife. At first Europa was
afraid of the bull, but he had such nice soft eyes that she could not
help being kind to him. She stroked him and made friends with him,
and then she gathered some flowers and twined them into a wreath, and
when the bull stretched himself on the ground, she climbed on to his
back and placed the beautiful wreath round his horns. But he
instantly sprang up, and ran away with her so fast that she did not
venture to jump off, but could only hold on to his horns and scream
with all her might. The people in the field heard her cries, and
soon they saw the bull run into the sea with her and swim away. They
went and told the old king, and he at once sent off a ship in
pursuit, but though it sailed about in all directions, it came {55}
back in the evening without having been able to find any trace of
Europa. The old king was very much troubled and would neither eat
nor drink, and on the third day he called his son Cadmus and
commanded him to set out in search of his sister and not to turn back
until he had found her.
Cadmus chose companions for his journey, and they launched a ship and
sailed away. They passed through many lands inquiring for the
beautiful Europa and the bull, but nobody had seen them. At last
they came into the land of Greece, and when Cadmus again inquired for
his sister, the people told him that he had better go to Delphi and
ask the priestess of Apollo about her. The city of Delphi was on
Mount Parnassus, the centre of the earth, and there was a temple of
Apollo there which was an Oracle or prophetic temple. If anyone
wished to know something past or future which he could not find out
in any other way, he went to the temple of Apollo and asked the
priestess, who was called the Pythia, about it. There was a narrow
opening in the floor of the temple which had not been made by man,
and which went deep down into the earth. A wonderful odour ascended
from the crevice, and a golden three-legged stool, called a Tripod,
was placed over the opening. When anyone came to ask a question, the
Pythia seated herself upon the Tripod and became inspired by the
odour, and the god Apollo directed what she should say in answer, so
that her predictions were divine utterances. These predictions were
called Oracles.
Cadmus accordingly went to Delphi, and took with him a beautiful
golden cup as a present for the god, that {56} he might answer him
graciously. There were many costly vessels of gold and silver and
other similar things in the temple, which had been given in this way
as presents. Cadmus asked the Pythia where Europa had gone, and she
answered that it was Zeus who in the form of the bull had carried her
away and had hidden her from all men, and that Cadmus was no longer
to seek for her, but to follow the white cow and to found a city in
the place where she should lie down. She also told him that his
father was dead and that a stranger had taken possession of his
kingdom.
Cadmus did not understand which was the cow he was to follow, but he
left the temple, and when he came outside he saw a spotless white cow
who looked at him as if she had been waiting for him. She started
off along the road, and he followed her. They walked on all day and
all night, and in the morning they found themselves on a beautiful
hill with a fertile country all round, and there the cow lay down.
Cadmus desired to sacrifice the cow to the gods, and he sent one of
his companions to some bushy ground near at hand where he heard a
spring bubbling, to draw some water for the sacrifice. But the
companion did not come back, so Cadmus sent another, but he did not
come back either. Then he went himself, and found a hideous dragon
keeping watch by the spring, who had devoured his two companions.
The dragon started up with the intention of devouring him also, but
Cadmus drew a sharp sword, and thrust it into the neck of the monster
with such force that a great stream of blood gushed out and he died.
Cadmus was still standing looking at the dragon when the goddess
Athene appeared to him and told {57} him that he must take out the
dragon's teeth and sow them in the ground, and that from this strange
seed there would spring warriors who would help him to build a city
and would be his subjects. Then the goddess disappeared, and Cadmus
took out the teeth, of which there were a great many, and put them
into his helmet; and as he turned away from the spring, he saw a
plough standing in the field with two bulls yoked to it. Cadmus
drove the plough up and down, and dropped the teeth one by one into
the furrows which it had made. For a short time they remained just
where he had placed them, but presently they began to disturb the
soil by their movements and to rise above it by degrees. First there
appeared a row of brazen helmets, and then a row of bearded faces
underneath the helmets, and then followed glittering coats of mail,
and when the warriors got their arms free, they were able to help
themselves completely out, and brushed off the dust that was clinging
to them. They were clothed in brass from head to foot, and each held
in his right hand a spear, and in his left a shield. Cadmus was
afraid of the armed band, and thought of a plan for making them
quarrel with one another. He took up a number of little stones and
threw them at the newly-born warriors from behind a bush, and as they
could not see where the stones came from, each of them thought that
his neighbour had struck him, and hit him back again, so that there
was soon a fierce battle raging among them, and man after man was
killed. When there were only five left, Cadmus stepped forward and
proclaimed peace, and said, 'The gods have given you to me as my
subjects; let us build a city.' They agreed to do as {58} he said,
and built a city on the hill which they called the Cadmea, after
Cadmus their king, and by degrees many people came to settle in it.
The five warriors who had sprung from the dragon's teeth were called
Sparti or Sown Men, and they were the next in power to the king. The
gods loved Cadmus, and they gave him a beautiful wife called
Harmonia, who was the daughter of Ares, the god of war, and of
Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. All the gods gave costly wedding
gifts, and when the marriage was celebrated in the Cadmea, the
guests, both gods and men, feasted together.
Zeus had carried Europa across the Mediterranean Sea to the land
which lies opposite to Asia, and all the country on this side of the
Mediterranean Sea has ever since that time been called Europe.
{59}
XVII.
THE BUILDING OF THEBES.
After the death of Cadmus many more people came to live in the
Cadmea, and when there was no more room on the hill, they established
themselves in the plain round it and built more and more houses, till
there came to be a great city to which they gave the name of Thebes.
The Cadmea then became the castle or citadel of Thebes; the king's
palace was inside it, and it was fortified with very strong walls, so
that it the city were besieged by enemies, the inhabitants could take
shelter in the citadel and hurl darts and javelins at their enemies
from its walls.
There was once a king of Thebes named Amphion, who could sing most
beautifully, and also play upon the lyre. When he sang, it was
impossible for anyone to resist stopping to listen, however great a
hurry he might be in, and even the very stones would detach
themselves from their places in order to come nearer to him. Amphion
knew this, and one day he said to himself, 'Since I have such power
over the stones, I will make them serve me.' So he sat down in the
middle of the city, and began to sing in a loud voice which was
echoed by the distant hills. Then there was a sound of rumbling and
scuffling, for every stone {60} that heard the song, no matter how
far off it was, came rushing towards Amphion, and they heaped
themselves one upon the other till at last a great stone wall was
built up all round the city; and the Thebans took hatchets and
crowbars and broke open seven spaces in it, where they erected seven
great gates.
{61}
XVIII.
SEMELE.
Cadmus and Harmonia had two daughters, one of whom was a very
beautiful maiden named Semele. Zeus loved Semele and made her his
wife secretly, and she was so happy that she wished for nothing else
than that the king of the gods should always continue to love her as
he did then. But Hera was very angry about it, and she took the form
of an old nurse to whom Semele told all her secrets, and came one day
into the palace when the nurse had gone to the river to wash clothes.
She was the only person who knew that Zeus was the husband of Semele,
and Hera, who had taken her form, pretended that she had come back in
order to give her some advice about it. She told her that she ought
to make trial of Zeus, and beg him to come to her, if it were only
for once, in all the glory and splendour with which he surrounded
'himself when he was with Hera, and that if he refused to do so, it
would prove that he was not really Zeus, but some mortal who had
deceived her. She said this in order to make Semele suspicious and
distrustful, and because she wanted to bring about her destruction;
and when she had finished talking she went quickly back to Mount
Olympus, and no one knew that she had been in the Cadmea.
{62}
Semele did not for a moment believe that her husband was any other
than Zeus, but she was dazzled with the thought that she might
persuade her lover to come to her surrounded with the glory of the
gods, and so she took Hera's advice, and next time that Zeus came to
see her, she begged him to swear by the Styx that he would grant her
the request she was about to make. Hera had advised her to make him
swear by the Styx, because that was the oath which the gods could
never break if they bound themselves by it. Zeus swore without any
misgiving, for he expected her to wish that suddenly beautiful
flowers should spring up all round the Cadmea, or that he should fly
with her through the air, or perform some other such miracle; but
when Semele begged that he would come to her that evening exactly as
if he were coming to Hera, he regretted that he had sworn so rashly,
and told her that the fulfilment of such a wish as that, would cost
her her life. But Semele thought that he despised her, and did not
care to show himself to her in all his godlike splendour, and she
persisted in her request; and as he had sworn by the Styx, Zeus was
obliged to submit to her foolish will. When the evening came, a
terrible rumbling sound was heard in the air, and it thundered and
lightened, and Zeus came down from Mount Olympus in the chariot of
the gods. He entered the Cadmea, and Semele beheld his countenance
glowing with unspeakable beauty and majesty, but the splendour and
glory that surrounded him was a sight which no mortal could bear, and
she was struck dead by that one look.
{63}
XIX.
DIONYSUS.
Dionysus was the son of Zeus and of Semele, and Hera hated him as she
had hated his mother, and would have killed him if she could; so as
soon as he was born, Zeus commanded Hermes to take him away secretly
to a king called Athamas, that Hera might not know where he was.
Athamas promised to take care of him, and the queen, whose name was
Ino, told everyone that he was her own child, and brought him up with
her two little boys. But Hera found out where the little Dionysus
was, and she was so angry with King Athamas for having consented to
hide him from her, that she punished him by making him quite mad.
She falsified his sight so that everything seemed to him quite
different from what it really was, and one day when he was coming
home from hunting and saw Ino sitting on the grass in front of the
house with her two little boys by her side, he thought she was a doe
with two little fawns, and he took an arrow and shot one of the
children right through the heart, so that he was killed instantly.
Ino saw that her husband was mad, and she immediately snatched up the
other child and fled away with it, but Athamas pursued her with
another arrow on his bow-string till they came to the {64} sea, and
then, as Ino could flee no farther, she rushed into the sea with her
little boy, and they were both drowned. They were scarcely dead when
Athamas regained his right senses and knew what he had done, and he
was so grieved and shocked that he left his country altogether, and
wandered for a long time in strange lands, till at last he settled
down again, as you will hear in another story.[1]
Meanwhile Hera was looking everywhere for the little Dionysus, but
she could not find him, for she did not know that a young heifer who
was grazing in front of the house was the form into which Zeus had
changed the child to hide him from her. In the night Hermes came and
took the heifer up into his arms, and it became a child again. Then
he took the boy a long, long journey, almost to the end of the world,
till at last he reached a lonely region where seven nymphs lived by a
beautiful river far from the dwellings of men, and he gave him into
the charge of the nymphs, who promised to bring him up and take great
care of him. Hera was seated on Mount Olympus, the throne of the
gods, and she cast her eyes all round the world to see what had
become of Dionysus, but as she expected to find him again in the
charge of some king, she did not think of looking for him in the
country of the nymphs.
When Dionysus grew up to be a young man, he was very beautiful, and
Zeus loved him so much that he gifted him with the might of a god.
Immediately his face gained a new expression, and his eyes glowed
with a fire that is never seen in the eyes of men. {65} Dionysus
thought he would like to give proof of his new power by bestowing
some precious gift upon men, and he resolved that he would create out
of water and sunshine a sweet drink that should give them courage and
cheerfulness, and that a beautiful plant should be the means of
producing this drink. So he created the Vine with its purple grapes,
in which, ever since that time, the sun has every year brewed the
drink bestowed upon men by the god Dionysus.
Dionysus did not wish to live in concealment any longer, for Hera had
no power to injure him now that he had become a god, and he desired
to be known and honoured like the other gods. He determined
therefore to travel through the whole world, and Zeus gave him a
train of men and women to follow and serve him who were called
Bacchantes, or followers of Bacchus, which is another name for
Dionysus. He set out on his pleasure-journey, driving in a golden
chariot drawn by two tame spotted panthers which he guided with a
golden rein, and round him danced the Bacchantes, holding in their
hands wands twined round with ivy, and with ivy wreaths on their
heads. Cups of the most delicious wine were passed from mouth to
mouth, and the whole air was filled with the sounds of singing and
flute-playing. There was an old man named Silenus, who had formerly
lived with the nymphs, and had been accustomed to play with Dionysus
when he was a child, and dance him on his knees. He now joined in
the procession, and he was so fond of the wine that he was always
intoxicated. His body became bloated with drinking so much wine, so
that he could not walk steadily, but was obliged to ride on an ass,
and {66} often in his drunken condition, he sate facing the wrong way
and holding the tail of the ass in his hands as a bridle.
Wherever Dionysus went he caused the vine to grow, and he was good to
those who honoured him, but he punished all who disobeyed him. One
day, while he was on his journey through the world, he halted at
mid-day in a cool wood near the sea, and when the Bacchantes had
given the thirsty panthers some sweet wine to drink, the whole train
of followers lay down under the trees and went to sleep. Dionysus,
however, was filled with a desire to visit the island of Naxos, which
he loved above all other lands, and he went down to the shore where
there was just then a ship sailing by, and asked the ship-men if they
would carry him to Naxos; and they said 'Yes,' and sailed up to the
land and took him in. They did not know who he was, but supposed him
to be a mortal youth, and seeing that he was so beautiful, they made
up their minds to sell him for a slave, for they were not good men,
but thieves. Dionysus lay down in the ship and went to sleep. When
he awoke, they had already sailed past the island, so he begged them
to turn back and set him on shore at Naxos, but they laughed and told
him they were going to sell him for a slave. Dionysus had only
wanted to make trial of them, and now the ship suddenly stood still,
and though they tried with all their might to row on farther, it was
as immovable as if it had been fastened to the bottom of the sea with
a hundred chains. And vines and ivy-bushes sprang up and covered the
sides of the ship with green foliage, and a spray of ivy twined
itself round the mast {67} right up to the top, so that the ship
looked like a beautiful garden in the middle of the sea. But the
sight of it gave no pleasure to the ship-men; their flesh began to
creep, and they were seized with an irresistible desire to jump into
the sea. And as they jumped they were changed into dolphins, and for
the rest of their lives they swam about in the sea, thieving fishes
as they had been thieving men. Then Dionysus clapped his hands, and
the panther-drawn chariot came over the sea to him followed by the
Bacchantes, the sea making a pathway for them so that they scarcely
wetted their feet. Dionysus got into his chariot and guided it to
Naxos, and the Bacchantes followed it, skipping along on the crests
of the waves.
After Dionysus had travelled over the whole world, it was fitting
that he should take up his abode on Mount Olympus with the other
gods, and Hera did not make any difficulty about it. But before he
did so, he brought his mother Semele from out of the Lower World, and
Zeus made her immortal, so that she also had a place among the gods,
and Hera no longer bore her any ill-will.
[1] See page 150.
{68}
XX.
MELAMPUS AND BIAS.
In the city of Pylos there lived a man named Melampus, who was very
rich, and had a great deal of land and many servants. One day, as
the servants were coming home from their work in the fields, they
found a nest of snakes in a hollow oak, and they drove out the snakes
and began to beat them to death with their sticks and cudgels. Just
then Melampus came by, and when he saw what the servants were doing,
he let them kill the old snakes, but finding among them two young
ones less than a foot long, he took them up and carried them home.
The little snakes were now very well off, for Melampus made them a
bed of leaves and gave them plenty of food to eat. They were not
poisonous snakes, but nice harmless little creatures, and when they
grew older they had a great wish to do Melampus some service, as a
return to him for having saved their lives and taken such care of
them. So one day, when he was asleep, the snakes crept up to him,
one on each side, and licked his ears with their fine sharp little
tongues, and when he awoke he found he could understand what the
birds and insects said, and he was ever afterwards able to discover
things that were hidden from other men, because the birds told him
about them.
{69}
At this time there reigned over the city of Pylos a king named
Neleus, who had an only daughter called Pero. She was so beautiful
that no one who had once seen her ever cared to look at any other
woman, and many princes came to Pylos to ask for her hand in
marriage, but King Neleus said that whoever wished to have her for
his wife must first bring him the cattle of Iphiclus, and that he
would not part with her on any other condition. These cattle were
renowned for their strength and beauty, and they were always spoken
of as the cattle of Iphiclus, although Iphiclus himself had been dead
a long time, and his son Phylacus now owned them. They were guarded
by a great fierce dog with a terrific voice, and if anyone came to
try and steal them, he barked so loudly that all the servants of
Phylacus came rushing out to seize the thief and carry him off to
prison. Nor could Phylacus be induced to part with the cattle for
any sum of money; so when the suitors heard that the king insisted
upon having the cattle of Iphiclus, they thought it was a hopeless
case and went away home again.
Now amongst those who came to sue for the hand of the beautiful Pero,
there was a man named Bias, the brother of Melampus, who loved her so
dearly and wished so much to have her for his wife, that he lost all
his spirits and fell into deep despondency because he could not think
of any means of obtaining the cattle. Melampus had a great affection
for his brother and longed to help him in this difficulty, so he
asked the birds if there was any way by which he could succeed in
procuring the cattle for Bias. The birds answered that if he would
be willing to be seized {70} by the servants and put into prison for
a year, he would be able to obtain the cattle at the end of that
time. Melarnpus was quite ready to do this for his brother, and he
set out at once, promising Bias that at the end of the year he would
return with the beautiful herd. When he came to the field where the
cattle of Iphiclus were grazing, it happened to him just as the birds
had foretold, and he was taken prisoner by the servants and thrust
into a dark dungeon. He could never see the sun there, but he was
able to count the days, for he could hear the birds singing, and when
they began to chirp in the morning, he knew that a new day must have
dawned upon the earth. At last, when there was only one day wanting
to make up the full year, he heard some wood-worms talking together
in one of the rafters of the house, and he listened to what they were
saying. One asked, 'Have you nearly finished the work?' and the
others answered, 'Before the sun goes down, the beam will be eaten
through and the house must fall.' Then Melampus understood that the
house was not safe, and he called the gaoler and told him that they
ought both to leave it without delay, for that before the setting of
the sun it would fall. The gaoler was not inclined to believe him,
for the house appeared to be in perfect condition, but Melampus would
not leave off warning and entreating him, and at last he took him to
another prison. They had scarcely left the house when they heard a
great noise, and as they looked back it fell in ruins. The gaoler
was very much astonished that Melampus should have known of this
beforehand, and he told King Phylacus about it.
The old king was at this time in great sorrow on {71} account of his
son, who was named Iphiclus after his grandfather. He had been
married for many years, but the gods gave him no children, and the
old king feared that after his death the kingdom would fall into the
hands of a stranger instead of being still governed by one of his own
race. He did not know why the gods were angry with his son, and no
one was able to tell him. When therefore he heard from the gaoler
how Melampus had foretold the downfall of the prison, he thought that
he must be a wise man, and he asked him whether he could find any
means of freeing him from his anxiety. Melarnpus answered that he
would try to do so if the king would promise him the beautiful cattle
as his reward, and Phylacus did not think this too great a price, but
swore to give them to him. Melampus then begged that the king's
servants might kill a cow and cut it in pieces, and that they would
take him to an open field, and leave him alone with the flesh beside
him. They did as he wished, and when the servants had gone away, a
number of birds of all sizes came flocking towards the pieces of
flesh. Melampus, however, would not let them come too near, but kept
them off with a stick, and said, 'Whichever of you can tell me why
the gods are angry with Iphiclus the Younger, shall have the best
piece of meat as a reward.' Then an old raven, nearly a hundred
years old, began to croak and said, 'When Iphiclus was a little boy,
his father placed a sacrifice under a sacred oak, but found himself
obliged to return to the house for something he had forgotten.
Meanwhile the little Iphiclus was left alone, and he took the
sacrificial knife and thrust it into the oak because he was {72}
frightened at the way it glittered. I was sitting on the tree
looking on when he did this. In the course of time, however, the
bark has quite grown over the knife, so that it cannot now be seen.'
Melampus gave the raven a great piece of flesh, and he took it in his
claws and flew away with it, and Melampus said, 'Whichever of you can
tell me how this maybe expiated, shall have the next best piece.'
Then a vulture came forward who was skilled in medicine, and a
physician among the birds, and who knew how to give counsel, and he
said, 'You must dig the knife out of the tree, and when you have
found it, scrape off the rust and pour it into a bowl of wine. Let
the king's son drink that, and then the gods will send him an heir.'
The vulture received the second best piece, and Melampus went away,
leaving the birds to feast upon the remainder of the flesh. He went
back to the palace and asked for an axe, with which he struck the
oak, and at the first stroke he discovered the knife. It was quite
red with rust, and he drew it out and scraped off the rust into a
bowl of wine and told the king that his son must drink some of this
every morning for ten days, and then the gods would be gracious to
him. Some time after this the wife of Iphiclus had a little son,
which was a great joy to the old king.
He did not fail to give Melampus the reward he had promised, and Bias
took the cattle to the palace of Neleus and again asked to be allowed
to marry the beautiful Pero. The king made no further objection, and
the wedding was celebrated that very same day.
The god Apollo loved Melampus because he was a {73} good man, and he
gifted him with the art of knowing the future by means of various
signs, and of understanding how to propitiate the wrath of the gods.
Many people came to ask advice of him when they were in trouble or
difficulty, and among others, Proetus the king of Argos, sent to beg
for his help, for he was in great distress. This king had three
daughters who were beautiful and virtuous, but they refused to offer
sacrifices to the god Dionysus, and therefore Dionysus punished them
by taking away their reason, so that they became mad. They ran about
the city, dancing and screaming and tearing their clothes, and if
anyone tried to restrain them they became wilder still, and foamed at
the mouth, so that no one could see them without feeling deeply
grieved. It was on account of this that Proetus sent to Melampus to
beg him to make his daughters well again. Melampus agreed to do so
if the king would promise him a third of his dominions as a reward;
but when Proetus heard of the condition, avarice prevailed over his
love for his daughters, and he refused to part with any of his land.
But the evil became worse and worse, for all the women in the country
were seized with the same disease as the princesses, and ran about
the streets and fields, raging as if they were intoxicated. Many had
taken their little children with them, thinking that they were young
deer which they must sacrifice to Dionysus, and it was a ghastly
sight to see them murder their own children, not knowing what they
were doing. The whole land was in such great trouble that the king
sent a messenger to tell Melampus that he would give him the third
part of his dominions if he would put an end to the misery, but
Melampus {74} now said that he must also give his brother Bias a
third, or he would do nothing for him. The king was very loth to
give away so much fertile territory, but he feared that he might at
last be obliged to win over Melampus at any price, and perhaps lose
his whole kingdom, so he promised to give him what he asked. Then
Melarnpus went to Argos and placed himself at the head of all the
young men in the city, whom he had told beforehand what they were to
do. They marched out of the city in an orderly band, till they met
the raving women who had formed themselves into a sort of wild army
with the princesses at their head. As soon as they saw the army of
youths they took flight, and the men pursued them, shouting as if
they were at war, till they reached the sea and could go no farther.
Then Melampus offered many sacrifices, until the gods were
propitiated and the women had their reason restored. After this,
they all returned to the city. The eldest princess, who was the most
afflicted of all, had fallen down dead during the chase, but the
other two came back to the palace and lived with their father as
before, and from this time they honoured Dionysus and offered
sacrifices to him.
Melampus and Bias now became princes, and they ruled over the land
which King Proetus gave them according to his promise.
{75}
XXI.
TANTALUS. PELOPS.
In the land of Phrygia, which lies in Asia Minor, there was once a
king named Tantalus, whom the gods loaded with all manner of favours.
They gave him great wealth, so that he was richer than any other
king, and they treated him as a friend and came to his house as
guests, and sometimes they allowed him to ascend to Mount Olympus in
one of their chariots and to drink nectar and eat ambrosia at their
table. But Tantalus was presumptuous, and turned the friendship with
which the gods honoured him to bad uses, for he stole nectar and
ambrosia and gave them to other men to taste, and he also repeated
things that he had heard the gods speak of among themselves, about
which he ought to have kept silence. He even once invited the gods
to a banquet in order to try and deceive them, and for this purpose
he killed his beautiful young son Pelops, and cut him in pieces and
roasted the flesh; and when the gods sat down to the banquet he
brought in the flesh and laid it before them, thinking that they
would eat it without knowing what it was. The goddess Demeter was at
this time in great trouble because her daughter Persephone had been
stolen away from her, and as she sat buried in sad thoughts, she eat
a {76} shoulder-piece without paying attention to what she was doing.
But the other gods did not eat any of the flesh, for they knew
directly what it was, and they were very angry with Tantalus. Zeus
commanded that Pelops should come to life again, and he was even more
beautiful than before, but his right shoulder was missing, for
Demeter had eaten it. The goddess could not replace it, but she took
a piece of ivory and cut out a shoulder, which she fitted into the
right place, so that it looked like the other limbs, only it was more
white and shining.
After this the gods would have nothing more to do with Tantalus, and
as they no longer blessed his fields or flocks, his prosperity was
now at an end, for the fields produced miserable crops, and the
flocks were diminished by plagues and diseases, and also by the
ravages of wolves and lions. Tantalus became worse and worse, and
committed many other crimes, and after his death the gods laid upon
him a never-ending punishment. He found himself standing in
beautiful clear water which reached up to his chin, and close above
his head there hung branches of magnificent fruit trees quite weighed
down with the quantity of fruit they bore, but whenever he tried to
sip the water it sank before him till there was nothing to be seen
but the black earth, and whenever he tried to gather some fruit the
branches raised themselves into the air, so that though he was
parched with thirst and was perpetually straining to quench it, if
but for a moment, he was never able to reach either the water or the
fruit.[1]
{77}
After the death of Tantalus, his son Pelops was king of Phrygia. But
there came another king, with an army of soldiers, who fought against
him and drove him away, so that he was obliged to leave his country
and travel into strange lands. After some time he came to the city
of Elis, in Greece, where at that time, there was a king called
Oenomaus who had a lovely daughter named Hippodamia. A great many
heroes desired to marry her, and the king had sent to ask the Oracle
which of them he should choose for her husband, but the answer that
he received was that when his daughter married, he himself would die.
He at once determined that his daughter should never marry; and as he
had two horses that could run like the wind and there were none in
the whole country that could compare with them in speed, he said that
anyone who wished to marry his daughter must compete with him in a
chariot race, and if he won the race he should have the maiden for
his wife, but if he failed to do so he must die. Hippodamia was so
beautiful that many heroes were willing to risk their lives for the
chance of winning her, and agreed to the conditions. At some
distance from the city there stood an altar to Poseidon, which was
the goal, and on each occasion the princess drove with the suitor for
her hand. Oenomaus used to let them start on in front whilst he
remained behind to sacrifice a ram to the gods, and when the
sacrifice was offered, he mounted the chariot with his lance in his
hand, and urged on the horses to their utmost speed. The race never
lasted long, for he very soon overtook the suitor and pierced him
through the back with his lance, so that he fell down dead from the
chariot.
{78}
Thirteen heroes had already lost their lives, and Oenomaus thought
that he had found a very good way of preventing his daughter from
ever being married. But Pelops heard of the beautiful Hippodamia,
and though he heard, too, of the cruel king who put all her suitors
to death, he resolved to set out for Elis and try his chance of
winning the maiden, for he was a true hero, brave and fearless. It
was a prize well worth trying for, for whoever won it would not only
have the beautiful princess for his wife, but would also inherit the
kingdom, for Oenomaus had no other child. Pelops came to Elis, and
Oenomaus told him, as he had told the others, that he must be
prepared to race with him, and fixed the race for the following day.
The king had outrun many swifter horses than those of Pelops, and if
the hero had not set to work cunningly he must have lost his life,
but he had thought of a plan by which he might get the better of the
king, if he could secure the help of the man to whom was entrusted
the care of the horses and chariot of Oenomaus. He watched until
this man took the horses to bathe in the river, and he followed him
there to have an opportunity of speaking to him privately and
promised him a great reward if, on the next day, he would leave out
some necessary part of the king's equipment, so that he might be
delayed in the race. Oenomaus was such a cruel man that his servants
had no affection for him, and the man promised Pelops that he would
help him to win the race.
The next day, many people came to the open space outside the city
where the race was to be run. They felt sorry for the hero, for his
horses were far less {79} strong and spirited than those of the king,
which pawed the ground with impatience, and snuffed the air in their
eagerness to set out. Oenomaus told his daughter to get into the
chariot with Pelops, and when he had the beautiful maiden sitting by
his side, Pelops felt how happy he would be if he could obtain her
for his wife, and he urged on his horses with all his might.
Meanwhile Oenomaus took a sacrificial knife and killed a ram, and
then he laid a part of the flesh in the flame of the fire that burnt
on the altar, and prayed to the gods to enable him to get the better
of Pelops and kill him. When the sacrifice was ended, he mounted his
chariot, with the reins in his left hand and a sharp-pointed lance in
his right hand, and the moment he shook the reins, the horses started
off at their utmost speed, and the chariot could not be seen for the
dust that it raised. He came close to Pelops, and raised his lance
to smite him. But the unfaithful servant had taken out the nails
which prevent the wheel from slipping off the axle, and just as
Oenomaus was overtaking the other chariot, the wheel rolled on one
side, and the chariot turned over. The king was thrown out, and he
fell upon a stone and was killed instantly.
So Pelops was the victor, and the sentence of the Oracle was
fulfilled. As soon as the beautiful Hippodamia had ended her
mourning for her father, she was married to Pelops, who became king
of Elis and ruled the country well and wisely. Long after his death
the Greeks still remembered him, and named the great peninsula in
which Elis lies, Peloponnesus, or the Island of Pelops.
[1] From this story comes the English word 'to tantalize.'
{80}
XXII.
NIOBE.
Niobe was the daughter of Tantalus, and the wife of King Amphion, who
by means of his singing and playing had built a wall round Thebes.[1]
She and her husband were rich and prosperous, but beyond all their
other treasures they prized their twelve noble and beautiful
children. There were six sons and six daughters, and they were the
pride of Niobe's heart. She looked down upon all other women because
they were none of them so fortunate as herself, and once she even
dared to say that she was superior to the goddess Leto, for that Leto
had only two children, and she had six times as many. When Leto
heard this she was stung to the quick, and she went weeping to her
children and told them of it. These children were the god Apollo and
the goddess Artemis, and they were very angry with Niobe for vexing
their mother, and resolved to punish her for her pride.
One day the sons of Niobe were in the courtyard wrestling with each
other, for they were skilled in wrestling as becomes young heroes,
and the mother and {81} sisters were standing by, watching them. All
at once one of the youths groaned, sank down, and died. He had been
hit by one of the arrows of Apollo, which were invisible and deadly,
killing instantly whoever was hit by them. The mother, brothers and
sisters gathered round the youth, unable to believe that he was dead,
when suddenly a maiden sank upon her knees, heaved a sigh, and died
also. She had been hit by one of the arrows of Artemis, which were
invisible like those of Apollo. Son after son, and daughter after
daughter was killed by the unseen arrows, and Niobe knew that this
was a punishment for her pride. The youth who was first struck down
was not yet cold when the only one of all her children left to Niobe
was the youngest daughter, whom she loved best of all. The little
girl had always found protection in her mother's lap, and now, when
the fear that she must die like her brothers and sisters came over
her, she ran to her mother and clung to her knees for shelter. Niobe
took her up in her arms, and wrapping her veil round her as if it
could shield her from the unseen enemy, she looked up to heaven and
cried from her inmost soul, 'Spare me but this one!' But at that
moment she felt her daughter convulsed in her arms, and the last of
her children was dead.
There was great distress throughout the city. King Amphion tore his
hair and threw himself on the earth with frantic cries of grief, and
the citizens wept and lamented. But Niobe shed no tears, no word of
sorrow came out of her mouth, and she kept her eyes fixed on the
ground, still clasping her youngest daughter to her {82} breast,
while the other corpses lay around her. The night came on and the
others went into the house, but Niobe remained standing in the
starlight amongst her dead children, and when the people came back in
the morning, she had turned to stone.
[1] See p. 50.
{83}
XXIII.
MELEAGER AND ATALANTA.
King Oeneus lived in the city of Calydon with his wife Althaea, and
they had already several children when another little son was born to
them. When the child was about seven days old, his mother awoke one
night and saw a fire burning on the hearth, and by the fire three
women standing, who were taller and statelier than any women she had
ever seen before: they were the three Fates, who are the goddesses
that decide whether the lives of men shall be brightened by happiness
or made heavy with misfortune. One of them said, 'I gift this child
with bravery.' The second said, 'I bestow upon him a generous
heart.' The third said, 'I grant him life until the day when this
firebrand shall be burnt to ashes.' Then they all disappeared, and
Althaea, to once got up and took the piece of stick from the fire,
and when she had put it out by pouring water upon it, she stowed it
away in the chest where she kept her most precious treasures. The
parents named their child Meleager, and he grew up to be a strong and
noble youth, fond of the chase and of war.
After Meleager had become a man, it happened one year that King
Oeneus raised a number of altars of green turf in the fields at
harvest-time, and placed on {84} each altar some of the corn that was
first cut, in order to show his gratitude to the gods for having
caused the fruits of the earth to grow and ripen; every god and every
goddess had an altar except Artemis the goddess of the chase, who was
forgotten. She was very angry with the king on account of this, and
sent a fierce wild boar to destroy his land. This boar was much
larger than any other that had ever been seen, and he had two long
pointed tusks which made him very frightful to look at. He roamed
about the country, and wherever he found a newly-sown field he tore
up the ground and laid it waste, and he ripped open the young trees
with his tusks, and broke in among the flocks, killing men and
cattle. He was so fierce and powerful that no hunter had courage to
attack him, and at last the evil became so serious that the king sent
messengers to a number of heroes to ask them to come to Calydon, and
all set out together to hunt the boar. All who were summoned
promised to come, and at the appointed time they assembled at
Calydon. There came also a maiden who was armed with a
hunting-spear, and who would not play with the king's daughters, but
said she wished to go to the hunt with the heroes.
The maiden's name was Atalanta, and she had a strange history. She
was the child of a king and queen who had wished very much to have a
little son, and had begged the gods to send them one. Instead of
this, however, a girl was born to them, and the father was so angry
that he commanded his servants to take the child to a mountain that
was clothed with forests, and leave it there to be devoured by wild
beasts. For a night and a day the child lay in the forest, and it
was {85} nearly dead of starvation when a she-bear came by, who
drooped her head sadly because her little cubs had been taken from
her by some hunters. The child was frightened at the great black
beast and began to cry, but the bear looked kindly at it, and when
she saw what bright eyes the baby had, she growled gently and licked
it with her warm tongue. Soon the child forgot its fear, and when
the bear put her full udder to its mouth, it began to suck, for it
was hungry and thirsty; and from that time the bear came again every
day and gave it food and played with it. After some time had passed,
it happened that some hunters came up the mountain in pursuit of a
deer, and one of them in bending back a bush caught sight of the
beautiful little girl, who was lying on the grass playing with
flowers. He took her up and called to the other hunters to come and
look at her, and they were so delighted at finding her that they let
the deer escape. One of them carried her home in his arms, and they
were as well satisfied as if they had had a most successful hunt.
The house where the hunters lived was in the midst of the green-wood,
and they made a soft bed for the child, and fed her with sweet milk.
At first she cried continually, for she missed her bear sadly, but
the hunters played with her and were so kind to her that she soon
became happy again. The hunters named her Atalanta, and when she
grew bigger, they took her with them when they went out hunting.
Atalanta enjoyed roaming through the woods and running after the wild
animals more than anything else, and she let the hunters have no
peace till they gave her a spear of her own. Her feet became swift
and {86} her arms strong, and she killed many animals and was a very
skilful huntress, but whenever a she-bear came across her path she
took great care to do her no harm. She was taller and stronger than
other maidens, and at the same time very beautiful. When she heard
of the hunt that King Oeneus had proclaimed, she at once set out for
Calydon, expecting greatly to enjoy the dangerous chase.
King Oeneus entertained the heroes for nine days, and they amused
themselves with feasts and all kinds of games. The tenth day was
fixed for the hunt, and it was agreed that whoever should kill the
boar was to receive the skin and the head as the prize of honour.
There were present, however, some brothers of Queen Althaea who were
ill-mannered and discourteous, and who said that Atalanta should not
go with them, for that it would be a disgrace to them all their lives
if they went out hunting with a woman; but Meleager had conceived a
great love for Atalanta, and would not allow her to be excluded. So
she set out with the others for the forest where the boar had his
lair. They were attended by their servants, who roused the wild
beast by making a great clapping with their hands, and drove him out
into an open space in the middle of the forest, while the heroes
stood round among the trees. At first he remained in the middle of
the open space tearing up the earth with his tusks, his eyes burning
like fire and his bristles standing up straight from his back, and
grunting so frightfully that the heart of many a brave hero beat, and
that not altogether for joy. But when the heroes hurled their spears
at him, the boar rushed to where the first spear came {87} from and
ripped open the body of the hero with his tusks, so that he was soon
lying dead in a pool of his own blood. After this he spied another
hero, and with him it fared no better than with the first. Then
another hero aimed at him, but he shot too high, and the spear hit
one of his friends and pierced him through; so three lives were
already sacrificed, and yet the boar had not lost a drop of blood.
It was now the turn of Atalanta to throw her spear, and she hit the
wild boar in the back causing the blood to gush out; then someone
else hit him in the eye, and at last the spear of Meleager pierced
his side at a vital spot and inflicted a mortal wound. He could no
longer stand up, and was obliged to vent his fury on the innocent
earth, and after rolling about in great pain for a little while, he
died.
The heroes cut off his head, and severed his skin from his body and
gave it to Meleager as the prize of honour, because it was he who had
given the wild boar his death-wound. But Meleager said, 'Atalanta
was the first to hit the beast,' and he presented her with the prize
as a token of love and regard. The skin made in truth a splendid
mantle, reaching from the maiden's shoulder right down to her feet,
and as she stood in the forest, radiant with beauty, with the skin
thrown over her left shoulder, and with the bleeding head in one hand
while in the other she held her hunting-spear, she looked like the
goddess Artemis returning from the chase. But the brothers of Queen
Althaea who had wished to prevent Atalanta from going out hunting
with them, were greatly annoyed, and they spoke rudely to her and
snatched away the prize from her. This made Meleager very angry, and
a violent quarrel {88} took place, in which Meleager drew his sword
and slew his uncles: he was quickly roused to anger, and they had
provoked him beyond his power of endurance, but, as soon as they were
dead he felt very sorry for his mother's sake, for he knew that she
was very fond of her brothers, unmannerly fellows though they were.
The servants made biers out of green branches and laid the dead men
upon them, and they all, both heroes and servants, went back together
into the city.
But a man who had taken the part of the two brothers went on in front
to the palace and told the queen that her brothers had been murdered
by Meleager. Then the queen's sorrow passed all bounds, and she wept
and tore her hair. It was the custom at that time, that if a man was
murdered his relations should avenge his death upon the murderer, as
this was considered a way of doing honour to his memory, and in the
first burst of her resentment she fetched the piece of stick on which
the life of Meleager depended, and threw it into a fire that happened
to be burning on the hearth. The flames gradually consumed it, and
as the last spark went out, Meleager, who was on his way home with
the other heroes, fell down dead. By the time the queen heard that
her son was dead however, her anger had already passed away, and she
was filled with unspeakable remorse for having cut short his life.
She did not weep as she had done before, but she felt that she could
not bear to live any longer, and she went into her bed-chamber and
hanged herself. When this was known, everyone was deeply grieved;
the old king would not leave his room, and for a long time refused to
eat or drink, and the heroes {89} dispersed to their homes without
caring to stay for the hunting feast.
Atalanta went back to her forest leaving the skin of the boar behind
her, for she would have had no pleasure in keeping what would always
have reminded her of the death of Meleager. She roamed about the
forest as before from morning till night, and was never so happy as
when she was among the green trees. Now the fame of her beauty had
spread far and wide, and many suitors came to ask her to marry them.
But she did not wish to marry, and as her suitors would not leave off
pressing her, she said that anyone who liked might race with her, and
if he beat her he should be her husband, but if she overtook him he
must die. Many of her lovers lost their lives in this manner, for
though Atalanta always gave a good start, she very soon overtook her
competitor and stabbed him in the back with her hunting-spear.
After a time, however, a man named Milanion resolved to try his
chance, who was beloved by the goddess Aphrodite on account of his
great beauty, and as she was unwilling that he should lose his life
like the others, she gave him three golden apples and told him how to
make use of them. He hid them in the folds of his dress, and as soon
as he heard Atalanta coming up behind him, he took out one of the
apples and threw it down on the ground where it glittered so
beautifully in the sunshine that Atalanta could not resist stooping
to pick it up. Milanion thus gained a minute, and the next time he
found that she was close behind him he threw down the second apple,
and again Atalanta allowed him to escape while she stopped for {90}
it. A third time the same thing happened when they were at a very
short distance from the goal, and thus Milanion reached it first and
won the race, and Atalanta became his wife and went home with him.
And he was such a noble hero that she never repented of having
allowed herself to be conquered by the golden apples.
{91}
XXIV.
ADMETUS AND ALCESTIS.
Apollo once displeased Zeus by acting against his wishes, and the
king of the gods said that for a punishment he must serve a mortal
for the space of a year, and that the mortal must not know that he
was a god, but treat him just like any other slave. So Apollo
entered the service of the young king Admetus, who made him the
keeper of his flocks. Admetus was a good master, and Apollo found
himself well-treated, and he repaid the kindness he received by
making the flocks prosper and increase till there were none like them
in the whole country. Admetus had never had such a good herdsman,
and he treated him even better than his other servants. When the
year had passed, Apollo told him who he was, and said that if ever
Admetus was in need and prayed to him, lie would come and help him.
Then Apollo went back to Olympus, and Admetus had another herdsman,
but Apollo still blessed the flocks, so that they continued to
prosper.
Time passed by and Admetus wished to marry, and he travelled through
the country seeking for the fairest and noblest woman in the land to
be his wife. He heard that no one could compare with Alcestis, the
{92} daughter of King Pelias, and he went to her father and asked to
be allowed to marry her. But the king said that his daughter was not
to be won so easily, and that whoever wanted her for his wife must
come and sue for her in a chariot drawn by a lion and a wild boar.
Admetus was a brave hero and a skilled huntsman, but his heart sank
when he heard this, for he feared he should never be able to procure
such a team as this, and tame them for his service. Then he
remembered how Apollo had promised to help him in the time of need,
and he prayed to him, and Apollo came and asked what he wanted. When
he had been told what it was, he went into the forest with Admetus,
and gave chase to a lion whom he caught and held fast by the mane,
although the lion roared horribly and tried to snap at him with his
great jaws. Presently he spied a boar and pursued him also, making
the lion run by his side; and when he had caught the boar, he grasped
him by the ear and dragged him along too, so that he had the lion on
one side of him and the boar on the other. The wild animals looked
at each other angrily and tried to bite one another, but Apollo would
not let them do so. He brought them out of the forest and harnessed
them to a magnificent chariot, and he had a goad with which he
pricked them whenever they tried to hurt one another, until at last
they were tame and obedient to the rein. Admetus however would not
have been able to keep them under control, so Apollo drove them
himself, and thus Admetus arrived at the palace of King Pelias with
the god for his charioteer, and with the team that the king had
required, and a second time asked for his daughter's {93} hand in
marriage. The king could no longer refuse, and when he had promised
that Admetus should have the beautiful Alcestis for his wife, Apollo
drove back into the forest and released the two wild animals. Soon
afterwards the wedding was celebrated in the palace with great
magnificence, and Apollo was one of the guests. As a
wedding-present, he brought a promise from the goddesses of Fate,
that if ever Admetus were sick and in danger of death and one of his
nearest relations would consent to die instead of him, the life thus
offered would be accepted instead of the life of Admetus, and he
would become well again.
Admetus and Alcestis loved each other dearly, and lived happily
together for many years. But after some time had passed, Admetus was
smitten with a sore sickness, and everyone said that he must die
unless his life could be saved according to the promise of Apollo.
The people thought that as his father and mother were now very old
and could not hope to live much longer in any case, they would be
willing to die instead of Admetus; but they loved life more than they
loved their son, and would not part with it until they were obliged.
Then the beautiful Alcestis went into her chamber and prayed to the
gods that they would allow her to give up her life to save her
husband, and when she had ended her prayer, she lay down on the bed
and died. At the same moment Admetus became suddenly well, and was
able to stand up and walk about. He did not know how it was that he
had been so quickly cured until he went into the chamber of Alcestis,
and saw her lying dead upon the couch; then he understood how it was,
but he felt that {94} he would much rather have died himself. All
through the palace there was loud lamentation, for all the household
loved Alcestis dearly because she was so good and kind to them.
Admetus would not leave her couch, but sat beside it holding her cold
hand, which was ever wet with his tears. Night came on, and morning
dawned again, but he gave no heed to it, and the corpse had already
become quite cold--when suddenly it began to grow warm again, and
presently Alcestis heaved a deep sigh, opened her eyes, and was once
more alive.
Never before had such a wonder taken place, and this was how it came
to pass. When Alcestis died, her shade passed into the Lower World,
and the Shadow-Leader, who conducted the dead thither, told the queen
of the Lower World the reason of her death. So many shadows came
into their dominions who had had a sad end, that the gods of the
Lower World had at last exhausted all their pity, and ceased to weep
for them. But when the queen heard how Alcestis had died in the full
bloom of her youth and beauty in order that Admetus might live, she
was deeply moved, and commanded the Shadow-Leader to take her back to
the Upper World and restore her to life.
So Alcestis awoke to life again, and she lived with her husband in
happiness and prosperity for many years after this; gods and men
united to do them honour, and when they had reached a good old age,
they both died at the same time.
{95}
XXV.
PERSEUS.
There was once a king of Argos called Acrisius, who had an only
daughter. Her name was Danaë and she was very beautiful, but the
Oracle said that she would have a son through whom Acrisius would
lose his life. This frightened Acrisius very much, and he had a
large brazen room made for Danaë to live in under the earth, where
she had everything she wished for, but she was never allowed to see
the light of day, nor any man. Her father thought he would thus be
able to prevent her from marrying secretly and having a son, and for
a time everything went on according to his wishes. But Zeus, the
king of the gods, loved Danaë, and he one day changed himself into a
beautiful golden shower of rain, whose shining drops fell down
through the brazen roof. Thus Zeus was married to Danaë, and not
long afterwards she had a son. Acrisius was very angry, and he had
the mother and son shut up in a wooden chest and cast into the sea.
The chest was tossed about on the waves, and floated far away. On
the third day it reached an island where there happened to be a man
on the shore fishing, who was the brother of the king of the island.
He drew the chest to land and forced open the lid, and when he {96}
saw the lovely woman and her child inside it, he took them, just as
they were, into the house to show them to the king his brother, who
promised to protect them and treat them kindly. Acrisius thought
they had perished in the sea, but they were safe on the island, and
Danaë was quite happy in taking care of her son, whom she named
Perseus. In the course of time, Perseus grew up to be a young man,
and he was beautiful and brave and strong.
The king of the island wanted to have Danaë for his wife, but she did
not wish to marry him. Then the king thought that if it were not for
Perseus he might compel her to do so, and he sought to find some
excuse for sending Perseus away on a far journey. So one day he
called his friends together, and Perseus among the rest. He told
them that he was going to sue for a bride, and that he wished each of
them to bring him some present to offer to her father; for it was the
custom in those days that anyone who wanted to win a bride should
give costly presents to the father of the lady he wished to marry.
They all agreed to do as the king desired, and he asked most of his
friends to give him splendid horses, but from Perseus he demanded a
gift that would involve a difficult and dangerous journey to a
distant land. At the far end of the world there lived three sisters
called Gorgons, who instantly turned to stone everyone that looked at
them; the only one of the three who was mortal was called Medusa, and
the king commanded Perseus to bring him her head, hoping that he
would perish in the attempt.
Perseus had no fear, and at once set out in quest of the Gorgon's
head. There were three nymphs who {97} had three precious things
without which it would have been useless for him to try and obtain
it, but no one knew where these nymphs lived except the three Grey
Sisters, who lived far away from any inhabited land, and would never
reveal the secret of where the nymphs were to be found unless they
were compelled to do so. They were the sisters of the Gorgons, and
had been quite grey ever since their birth, and they had only one
tooth and one eye between them, which they used in turns. Perseus
went to the cavern where the Grey Sisters lived, and watched till one
of them took out the eye and the tooth to pass them to her sister,
when he sprang forward and snatched them out of her hand, and said
that he would not give them back till they told him where the nymphs
lived. So they were obliged to tell him, and then he gave them back
their eye and tooth, and went on to the nymphs who were kind to him
and gave him the three precious things. These were,--first, a pouch
in which to place the head of Medusa after he had cut it off;
secondly, a pair of sandals which enabled anyone who put them on to
fly through the air; and, thirdly the helmet of Pluto, which made
whoever wore it invisible. The gods loved Perseus because he was so
brave, and Hermes came down to earth and gave him a sickle of very
sharp steel with which to cut off the head of the Gorgon. Perseus
put on the sandals, and taking the other things with him, he flew to
the great stream Oceanus which flows round the world. There was a
rocky island in the middle of the stream covered with rank weeds and
full of serpents, and here the Gorgons lived in a cave. When Perseus
reached them it was about noonday, and {98} they were asleep. They
were larger than mortal women, and had great teeth like tusks and
brazen hands and golden wings, and they had live snakes twined among
their hair, and everyone who looked at them was turned to stone.
Perseus heard them snoring, and he went into the cave on tip-toe so
as not to wake them. He was obliged to go backwards, for if he had
looked at them he would have been turned to stone; but he had a
polished shield which he held up before him as a mirror, and he could
see them in the mirror without being harmed. They had stretched
themselves out in a row, and lay asleep leaning one against the
other; Medusa was smaller than the others, and by this he was able to
recognise her. Her head was resting on a stone, and Perseus held up
the shield before her and cut through her neck with the sickle till
the head fell off, and then he took it up, put it into the pouch
without looking at it, and flew away. But the bleeding trunk still
palpitated, and the other two Gorgons awoke and saw it, and they
darted out of the cavern after Perseus, that they might seize him and
tear him to pieces with their iron claws. They flew through the air
looking for him, and they had sharp eyes with which they could see to
a great distance, but they could not find Perseus because he had on
the helmet of Pluto which made him invisible, and were obliged to
return without him. Perseus was meanwhile on his way home with the
dead head in his pouch.
After some days he came to a country in Africa, where there was a
king whose name was Cepheus. The queen was called Cassiopea, and she
was very beautiful {99} and very proud of her beauty, and every day
she went down to the sea that she might have the pleasure of looking
at her picture in the water. One day she said that she was more
beautiful than the sea-nymphs, and the nymphs heard it and were so
angry with her that they begged Poseidon, the sea-god, to punish her
for her pride. Then Poseidon created a huge monster which came up
every day out of the sea and wasted the land, devouring men and
cattle, so that there was great distress among the people. They
asked the Oracle what they should do, and the Oracle said that they
must give the king's daughter to the monster to devour, and then he
would not come again any more. The king's daughter was called
Andromeda, and she was beautiful like her mother, but she was not
vain of her beauty, and the king and queen loved her very dearly.
She was their only child, and they cherished her as their most
precious treasure, and refused to give her up to be food for the
horrible monster. But at last they were obliged to consent to this,
and the day came when Andromeda was to be taken to a rock in the sea
and bound fast with iron chains, so that she could not run away when
the monster came to devour her. The king and queen wept bitterly,
and many people followed them to the shore, weeping also.
They had just reached the rock when Perseus also approached it, and
he took the helmet off his head so that he could be seen, and asked
why the beautiful princess was to be chained to it. They told him
all about it, and he said that if they would promise to let him have
Andromeda for his wife, he would undertake to kill the monster and
deliver her. The king had {100} already promised Andromeda in
marriage to a brother of his named Phineus, but though she was in
such great peril, Phineus did not trouble himself much about it, and
had no intention of risking his life for her. Perseus, however, felt
very differently; he longed to have her for his wife, and the parents
promised him that if he slew the monster he should be their
son-in-law. Soon afterwards the monster appeared, rising up from the
bottom of the sea, and making great waves as he swam along. Perseus
waited till he came near the shore, and then flew down and struck him
a mighty blow on the neck with his sword. The monster snapped at him
with his great jaws, but Perseus had already flown up high above him,
and before the monster could look round he had received another
wound, and he lashed his tail in fury till the water was quite red
with his blood, but he could not reach Perseus who flew round him and
struck him again and again, till at last he bled to death.
Then there was great joy among the people: the chains were taken off
from Andromeda, and the king and queen kissed her, feeling as if she
had been raised from the dead. They went back into the city, and
Perseus walked by the side of Andromeda who liked well the appearance
of the brave and noble hero. On the seventh day the marriage took
place, and they offered sacrifices, and danced and sang and feasted.
Phineus however was not there, but in the middle of the marriage
feast he came into the hall of the palace at the head of a large band
of armed servants, and said that he would kill Perseus and all who
sided with him, for that Andromeda had been promised to him, and
{101} ought to be his wife. Then a struggle took place in the hall,
and Perseus slew several of the servants, but they were twenty to
one, and it was no fair fight. At last Perseus cried out with a loud
voice, 'Let all who are on my side turn away their faces,' and then
he thrust his hand into the pouch, drew forth the head of Medusa, and
held it out towards Phineus and his servants, and in a moment they
were all turned to stone.
The king gave Perseus a beautiful ship, in which he sailed with
Andromeda to the island where his mother was. He found her in sore
distress, for the king of the island had tried to compel her to marry
him, and she had fled for refuge to the altar. Those who took refuge
at an altar were under the protection of the gods as long as they
remained there, and no one dared to touch them; but the king
commanded that no one should bring Danaë anything to eat, and he
placed watchmen all round to see that his orders were obeyed, for he
thought that when she was absolutely starving the would be compelled
to leave the altar, and then he would be able to seize her and make
her his wife. But at this moment Perseus arrived at the island in
his ship, and when he heard where his mother was, he went to her, and
she told him everything, which made him very angry. The treacherous
king heard that Perseus had come back, and he was afraid, and
summoned his servants to go with him to the altar to kill Perseus.
Then Perseus again drew forth the head of Medusa and turned them all
to stone, and he gave the kingdom to the king's brother, who had
always been kind to Danaë.
{102}
Danaë had a great love for her father, although he had thrust her
away from him, and as Perseus also wished very much to see his
grandfather, they determined to pay him a visit, and they sailed with
Andromeda to Argos in the ship that Cepheus had given them. But when
the old Acrisius heard that his daughter and her son were coming, he
was afraid, for he remembered what the Oracle had said, and he left
the country, telling no one where he was going; so that when the ship
reached Argos, Acrisius was not there. And as it happened that a
rich king had lately died, and that games were to be celebrated in
his honour, Perseus thought he would go and take part in these games,
for anyone could go that liked, and those who did best would receive
prizes by which their names would become known and honoured
throughout Greece. Acrisius also went to the games, for he wanted to
see what was going on, and he thought that there he would surely be
safe from his grandson. No one knew who Perseus was, but he excelled
all others and won the best prizes. One of the things they did was
to try who could throw farthest a plate of stone called a discus.
Perseus was just going to take his turn at throwing the discus, when
it slipped out of his hand, and flying sideways, hit the old Acrisius
on the head and killed him. Thus it happened that Acrisius was
running to meet his fate at the very moment when he thought he was
escaping from it. Perseus was very sorrowful when he heard that it
was his grandfather, the king of Argos, whom he had killed
accidentally, and he had the corpse brought to Argos and buried with
great magnificence. The kingdom of Argos was now his, but he could
never {103} forget that he had killed his grandfather, and this made
the country so distasteful to him that he was glad to exchange with
another king who ruled over the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns.
Perseus gave the three precious things by means of which he had
obtained the head of Medusa, to Hermes, to be returned to the nymphs,
and the Gorgon's head he presented to the goddess Athene, who
fastened it to her shield. He lived honoured and esteemed to the end
of his days, and his wife Andromeda bore him many beautiful children.
{104}
XXVI.
HERACLES.
1. _The War with the Teleboae._
Perseus had been dead a long time, and his son Electryon who
succeeded him as king was already an old man, when a dispute arose
between him and a nephew of his named Pterelaus. Pterelaus was king
of the Teleboae, who lived on several islands, and he maintained that
he had a better right to the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns than
Electryon, because he was descended from the eldest son of Perseus;
and one day he sent his sons, and many of the Teleboae with them, in
ships to Mycenae, and told them to say to Electryon that he must be
prepared to give up the kingdom to him. Electryon was very angry,
and sent the Teleboae away without paying any attention to their
message. They left the city, but on their way back to their ships
they came upon the king's droves of cattle which were tended by his
sons and servants, and they began to fight with them, and the fight
did not stop till all the sons of Electryon were killed but one, and
also all the sons of Pterelaus except one, who had remained behind
with the ships and had taken no part in the fight. The Teleboae had
however got rather the best {105} of it, and those of them who were
left drove the cattle to their ships and sailed away. Some time
afterwards it happened that Electryon got back his cattle, for the
Teleboae had given them as a present to a king who paid them to him
for ransom; but the cattle could not make up for the loss of his sons
for whom he grieved bitterly, and he determined to be revenged on
Pterelaus and told his servants to prepare to start with him for the
islands of the Teleboae.
There was at that time at Mycenae a young hero named Amphitryon, who
had come to ask for the hand of Electryon's daughter Alcmene in
marriage, and it was arranged that he should have charge of the
kingdom during the absence of Electryon. But one day, just before
the king was to start on his expedition, it happened that he was
overlooking his flocks with Amphitryon, when the young hero threw his
stick at a cow that was leaving the herd, and the stick bounded back
by accident from the cow's horns and hit the aged Electryon on the
head, so that he was killed instantly. Amphitryon was obliged to
leave the kingdom on account of this unintentional murder, and he
went to Thebes, where King Creon purged him from the stain of blood
by means of numerous sacrifices. During his absence, however, a
brother of Electryon, named Sthenelus, contrived to gain possession
of the kingdom for himself, and to banish the two children of
Electryon,--his daughter Alcmene, and the one son who had not been
killed by the Teleboae. They were obliged to give way to Sthenelus,
who was stronger than they, and came to live in Thebes where
Amphitryon was, but Alcmene said that though she loved him she would
never marry {106} him till he had avenged the murder of her brothers.
Amphitryon accordingly prepared to march against the Teleboae, and
sought to find brave heroes who would consent to go with him.
He first of all asked King Creon for his help, but Creon was just
then in great trouble at home, for a fox had for some time taken up
his abode in the fortress Cadmea, and had devoured numbers of people;
he was under the protection of the gods, and it had been decreed by
the Fates that he should never be caught. So the Thebans, finding
that they could not get rid of him, had made a truce with him by
which they agreed to give him a boy every month to devour, and on
this condition he spared the rest of the people. Creon therefore
promised to go with Amphitryon if he would first help him to deliver
the country from the terrible fox. Now Amphitryon had heard that
there was a wonderful dog in Athens which was also under the
protection of the gods, and that it had been decreed that nothing
that he pursued would ever escape him; so he went to the hero who
owned the dog, and promised him a share of the spoil which he hoped
to bring back from the islands of the Teleboae if he would lend him
the dog for a time, and the hero agreed to do so. Amphitryon took
the dog back to Thebes and set out with him in pursuit of the fox,
and the dog ran after him as fast as lightning. The Thebans thought
that now one or other of the prophecies must prove false; either the
fox who was never to be caught would be overtaken, or the dog who was
never to pursue in vain would be battled. But when the dog had got
so close to the fox that he was on the point of snapping at him, they
both {107} remained motionless, and the Thebans saw that they had
been turned to stone.
Then Creon said that he was quite willing to accompany Amphitryon,
and the hero of Athens agreed to go also, and many other heroes, and
they all embarked for the islands of the Teleboae, but they could not
conquer King Pterelaus, for he had many soldiers and knew well the
art of war. The daughter of Pterelaus, however, had seen Amphitryon
from the city walls and had conceived a great love for him which made
her secretly sorry when the Teleboae conquered, and glad when one day
they were the losers; and she resolved to betray her father and her
fellow-citizens into the hands of Amphitryon, because she thought
that if she helped him to gain the victory, he would feel grateful to
her and would make her his wife. Now Pterelaus was immortal through
the good-will of Poseidon, who had given him a golden hair which he
kept carefully hidden away under his grey locks, for it had the power
of keeping him alive. But one day while he was asleep, his daughter
came in on tiptoe, sought for the golden hair and pulled it out,--and
immediately his breath stopped short, and Pterelaus was dead.
The Teleboae could no longer resist their enemies now that they were
deprived of the advice of their wise king, and in a short time
Amphitryon had gained possession of the chief town and of all the
islands, and had avenged upon the Teleboae the slaughter of the sons
of Electryon. The daughter of Pterelaus thought that she would now
be the wife of Amphitryon, but things turned out very differently
from her expectations, for as soon as Amphitryon saw her, he drew his
sword and {108} stabbed her; he knew that she had killed her father,
but he did not know why she had done so. Then the heroes carried the
booty to their ships and sailed away home.
2. _The Birth and Youth of Heracles._
Alcmene was so very beautiful that Zeus, the king of the gods, loved
her, and when Amphitryon was far away with the other heroes, Zeus
took his form and went to Alcmene. He acted and spoke just like
Amphitryon, and told her all about the battles and how they had won
the victory, and he even showed her the helmets and shields of the
Teleboae, for he had made Hermes, the messenger of the gods, steal
them from the booty of Amphitryon. Alcmene had no suspicion that it
was any other than her lover who had come back after fulfilling her
wishes with regard to the Teleboae, and she promised to marry him
that very day; and Zeus kissed her and became her husband. Some time
after this, Amphitryon returned to Thebes and was very much
astonished when Alcmene told him that she had already been married to
him. They could not understand it, and asked the seer Tiresias what
it meant. He told them that it was Zeus in the form of Amphitryon
who had been with Alcmene, and the Theban women thought it was a
great honour for her to have been married for a time to the king of
the gods. The wedding was now celebrated over again, and all the
heroes who had been to the war with the Teleboae feasted with
Amphitryon and Alcmene till far into the night. Some time
afterwards, Alcmene had two children whom she named Heracles and
Iphicles; {109} one was the son of Zeus, and the other the son of
Amphitryon. There was no difficulty in knowing which was the child
of the god, for Heracles was far bigger than such young children
usually are. Gods and men took pleasure in the fine strong child,
all but the goddess Hera, who hated him, and even before his birth
began to do all she could to injure him. Zeus had decreed that the
next child born of the race of Perseus should rule over the cities of
Mycenae and Tiryns, thinking that this would be Heracles, for Alcmene
was the granddaughter of Perseus; but Hera persuaded the goddesses
who arranged about the birth of children to let a son of Sthenelus,
Alcmene's uncle, be born first. His father named him Eurystheus, and
as he had been born before Heracles, he became king of the two cities
of Mycenae and Tiryns after the death of Sthenelus.
Heracles was about eight months old, when one morning, just as it was
beginning to grow light, Hera sent two great snakes into the room
where he was sleeping, near the bed of Alcmene, in one of the shields
which Amphitryon had brought back from the country of the Teleboae as
part of the spoil. The snakes crept into the shield and began to
twine themselves round the child. Just then Alcmene woke, and she
jumped up and ran to call the people of the house to kill the snakes,
though she was afraid it was even then too late, and that the child
must have already been crushed to death by them. But when she came
back with the others, she saw Heracles sitting up in the shield and
holding one of the snakes in each hand; he had seized them each by
the neck, and was squeezing them so tight that their tongues were
hanging out, and very {110} soon they were dead. Then he threw them
away and went to sleep again; and the Thebans knew that a mighty hero
had been born in their city.
When Heracles grew older, he learned all the things that heroes need
to know,--how to guide the war-chariot, how to use the spear and bow,
and how to fight with the fist and the sword. He was taught all this
by the noblest heroes, and also by a Centaur named Chiron, who, like
all the Centaurs, had a curious form--half of their body was that of
a man, and the other half that of a horse. Chiron had been specially
gifted with immortality, and he was very wise, and taught Heracles
many things, especially how to know the stars, and how to heal
wounds, and he told him stories of the gods and of the old heroes.
Heracles could easily be distinguished from all other men, for when
he was eighteen years old he measured eight feet in height, and he
had marvellous strength, and his eyes glittered like coals of fire.
He had moreover a generous nature, and was always ready to help all
true and good men. Amphitryon made him keeper of his flocks which
pastured on Mount Cithaeron, and never before had such a lordly
herdsman been seen. It happened once that a lion took up his abode
on the mountain, and broke in among the flocks, and Heracles thought
to himself, 'If I were to kill the lion, my flocks would not only be
able to feed in safety, but I should also get a handsome skin to
dress myself in.' So he set out for the mountain-passes where the
lion had his lair, armed with nothing but a strong stick and a knife.
When he came to the lion's cave, the huge beast sprang out upon him,
but Heracles gave him a {111} good blow on the nose which made him
stagger back, and when he had nearly beaten him to death with his
stick, he finally gave him a mortal blow with the knife. Then he sat
down quietly, and cut open the body of the lion and took off the
skin, which he put on as a cloak as soon as it was dry. The jaws
covered his head like a helmet, while the rest of the skin fell from
his shoulders to his knees, and he twisted the fore-feet into a knot
over his chest in order to prevent the wind from blowing it off. In
this fashion he came down from the mountain, and anyone who had seen
him from behind would have thought that a lion had grown out of his
shoulders. It never occurred to him, however, that he had done
anything out of the way in killing the lion.
Some time afterwards, there came along the road some men who had been
sent by Erginus, the king of the powerful Minyae, to demand tribute
from the Thebans. Ten years before this a Theban had thrown a stone
at the father of Erginus and hit him on the head, so that he was
carried home dying. Before he expired he charged his son to avenge
his blood, and Erginus made war upon the Thebans and killed a number
of them. He had also made them give him a hundred cows every year
for the last nine years, and the messengers were now on their way to
fetch the tribute for the tenth time. Heracles asked them who they
were and where they were going, and when he heard that they were the
messengers of the Minyae, his blood boiled so that he grew quite red
in the face, for it angered him to think that the city of Thebes, to
which he himself belonged, should pay tribute to a foreign {112}
king. He told the messengers to return and never come again, and
when they refused to obey, he threw them on the ground,
notwithstanding their numbers, and tied their hands behind their
backs; then he cut off their ears and noses, and told them to take
these to the king for tribute. Thus outraged, the messengers
returned and entreated the king to avenge them, and Erginus swore
that he would not leave a man alive in Thebes, nor one stone upon
another. But Heracles went to Thebes and called the citizens to
arms, saying that he would be their leader. The gods equipped him
right gloriously for the fight: Hermes gave him a sword, Apollo a bow
and arrows, Hephaestus trappings of pure gold, and Athene a coat of
mail. But a sword was too light and delicate a weapon for the
powerful hand of Heracles, so he went out into the forest and tore up
a stout young oaktree, which he trimmed and used as a club. When the
battle began, Heracles looked, in comparison with the Minyae, like a
lion among a flock of sheep. He killed King Erginus and put his army
to flight, and obliged the Minyae to give the Thebans two hundred
cows every year tor the future. King Creon had a beautiful daughter
named Megara, and he gave her to Heracles for a wife out of gratitude
to him for having conquered the Minyae.
3. _The Madness of Heracles, and his First Six Labours._
Heracles loved his wife very dearly, and the gods sent them three
beautiful children, all of whom were sons. They lived a peaceful and
happy life together, Heracles went out hunting and killed wild
beasts, and when he {113} came home he played with his children. But
Hera still hated him, and she one day afflicted him with such
terrible madness that in his delusion he seized his children and
threw them into the fire, so that they perished miserably. When the
madness left him he could hardly endure life, so distressed was he at
what he had done, and he could not bear to remain in the place where
such a misfortune had happened to him. He left Thebes and went,
first of all, to a man who knew how to purge him from the stain of
blood; then he betook himself to Delphi and asked the Pythia where he
must live in the future. The Pythia answered, 'Go to Mycenae and
serve King Eurystheus for twelve years; allow him to impose upon you
twelve hard Labours, and accomplish these to the best of your power.'
Heracles was well pleased with this sentence, and was quite willing
to perform the most difficult tasks, even such as would be set him by
a deadly enemy like Eurystheus who hated and feared Heracles,
thinking that he would some day take away the kingdom from him
because it had belonged to his own grandfather Electryon. Heracles
went to Mycenae and said to Eurystheus that he would serve him for
the space of twelve years, and that during that time he would
accomplish any twelve tasks that Eurystheus might choose to set him.
The king was very glad to hear this, and he at once commanded
Heracles to bring him the skin of the Nemean lion, hoping that he
would perish in trying to secure it.
The Nemean lion had his lair near the town of Nemea, and his fame had
spread far and wide. He had never bled from a wound, for his skin
was so thick that no steel could pierce it. Heracles set out in
pursuit of {114} the lion, and when he had found him, he shot at him
with his bow and arrows, but they bounded off as if from the hardest
stone. Finding that the arrows were of no use, Heracles then
attacked him with his club, but the lion did not care to fight with
him and ran away into the thickest part of the forest. Heracles ran
after him, and chased him from morning till night. At last he came
to a great cave and ran in there. Heracles noticed that the cave had
another mouth, and he thought to himself, 'If I were to go in after
him, he would still be able to escape.' So he first of all brought
stones and blocked up one of the entrances, while the lion, who had
never run so far before in one day, lay quietly in the dark inside,
tired and frightened, and then he went into the cave and wrestled
with him. The roaring of the lion echoed horribly from the walls of
the cave, but Heracles was not frightened, and he wound his arm round
the neck of the beast and pressed him with all his might against his
own body until he died. Heracles could not take off his skin for he
had brought no knife with him, so he hoisted the whole lion on to his
shoulders, and went back to Mycenae. When he threw the huge beast on
to the ground before Eurystheus, the king turned pale for his bad
conscience made him afraid, and he thought, 'If he can strangle a
lion like this, he would certainly not find it difficult to make an
end of me.' So he at once sent him off to perform his second Labour,
which was to destroy the Lernean Hydra, and during his absence he had
an iron room built under the earth that looked like a cage for wild
beasts, for it had a grating of iron bars. This was for {115}
Eurystheus to get into when Heracles came back, in order that he
might speak to him through the grating, so terribly afraid was he of
the strong man.
Heracles set out in a war chariot, taking with him his young cousin
Iolaus as his charioteer, and they soon came to the marshy district
near the town of Lerne, where the Hydra lived. The Hydra was a huge
snake with one body and nine heads, the centre one of which was
immortal. She devoured any men or beasts that came near her, and
destroyed the fields of corn. She had her den in a cavern close by a
clear running stream, and when Heracles and Iolaus arrived at the
place, she was lying stretched out on the ground, for she had just
swallowed a few cows. She looked at the heroes with all her staring
eyes, but did not move, because she was not hungry. However Heracles
did not care to wait, so he threw burning javelins at her, which
scorched her skin and made her furious with pain. She crept out of
the cavern and glided up a tall oak tree, and all her nine heads shot
down venom at Heracles from above him. But Heracles was on the
alert; he held his club in his right hand, and twined his left arm
round the Hydra just at the place where the ninefold neck grew out of
her body, and when she lashed her tail about, he pressed her still
more tightly against himself, so that she would have been only too
glad to run away if she could. Now the Hydra had formed a friendship
with a great lobster, and he, seeing that his friend was in danger,
crept up to Heracles and scratched his foot with his claws. But he
got decidedly the worst of it, for Heracles smote his shell with his
club and broke it into a thousand pieces, so that the {116} poor
lobster died. Then Heracles heaved a mighty blow on one of the
Hydra's nine heads and struck it off, but two new heads immediately
sprang from the bleeding neck, and every time he smote off a head,
two more sprang up to replace it. Heracles now saw that he must set
to work in a different manner, so he told Iolaus to set the forest on
fire, and to pass a piece of burning wood over each neck as soon as
he had cut off the head. In this way all the roots from which the
heads grew were burnt away, and Heracles was thus able to kill all
the heads that were mortal. The last was immortal, but he hewed it
off also, and buried it, and rolled a huge stone on to the top of it.
After this, there came a rain which extinguished the burning forest.
The gall of the Hydra was the worst poison in the world, so Heracles
cut open the Hydra's body and dipped his arrows into the gall, which
made them absolutely deadly: if a man were only scratched even, by an
arrow poisoned in this way, he must die.
Eurystheus was in his cage when Heracles came back from his conflict
with the Hydra, and he commanded him to catch the Ceryneian hind, and
bring her alive to Mycenae. This hind was under the protection of
Artemis the goddess of the chase, and was very beautiful: her coat
was milk-white, and her horns were of the purest gold. She could run
so fast that the wind was quite out of breath when he tried to race
with her, and, after having run the whole day long, she would skip
about quite merrily without being in the least tired. At the command
of Eurystheus, Heracles gave chase to her, and they took neither rest
nor food, nor did they need rain or sunshine, but ran on day and
{117} night without stopping for a whole year. At last they came to
a river, and while the hind was hesitating whether she should jump
into it, Heracles quickly took an unpoisoned arrow and shot at her.
The purple-red blood flowed out over her little white coat, and she
groaned with pain. She forgot to run away, and Heracles was able to
seize her. He had only wounded her slightly with the arrow because
he did not want to do her any harm, and now he laid cooling herbs
upon the wound, and placing the hind on his shoulder, he carried her
to Mycenae, and as soon as Eurystheus had seen her, he set her free
again and let her run back into the forest.
That was the third Labour of Heracles. For the fourth, Eurystheus
commanded him to catch the Erymanthian boar alive. This boar lived
on Mount Erymanthus, and no huntsman who had tried to kill him had
ever come back alive, for the boar had always ripped open his body
with his tusks.
On his way to Mount Erymanthus, Heracles came to the country of the
Centaurs. They were a savage, unfriendly race, who had no regard for
the duties of hospitality; but one of them, named Pholus, was better
than the others, and he gave Heracles shelter in his cave. He made a
fire and roasted a calf for his guest, but he himself ate raw meat as
he was accustomed to do. Heracles enjoyed his meal very much for the
long journey had made him hungry, and as he was also thirsty, he
asked the Centaur for a draught of wine. Pholus said, 'It is true
that I have a great cask of wine in my cave, but it belongs to all
the Centaurs in common, and if they knew that you had drunk any of
it, they {118} might kill you.' But Heracles said he was not afraid,
so Pholus rolled out the cask and drew some wine from it. But the
wine had such a strong odour that the Centaurs smelt it, and they all
came to the cavern with clubs and spears to kill Heracles. At first
he defended himself with firebrands only, as he did not wish to do
more than drive them away, but finding that they would not leave him
alone, he seized his bow and shot at them with the poisoned arrows,
and everyone who was hit fell down dead. When the others saw that,
they took to flight, but Heracles had by this time grown furious, and
vowing that he would not leave one of them alive, he pursued them,
and they could not escape from his arrows. In their distress they
ran to the wise Centaur Chiron who had been the teacher of Heracles,
and embraced his knees, entreating him to ask Heracles to have mercy
on them. But Heracles would not stop shooting, and only took care
not to hit Chiron, and his eye was so true that he could be sure of
hitting nothing that he did not aim at. But an arrow went right
through the arm of one of the Centaurs who had embraced Chiron's
knees, and its point grazed his skin. Heracles was very much
distressed, he threw his bow down on the ground, and ran to get herbs
that heal poisonous wounds. But no herb had any power to heal the
Hydra's poison, and Chiron suffered horrible torture, so that his
immortality was a burden to him. Then he prayed to Zeus to take away
his immortality, and Zeus heard him and allowed him to die. But
Heracles did not stay with him till his death, for he was now more
angry with the Centaurs than ever, and he ran after them and overtook
them. They would all {119} have perished if Poseidon had not had
pity on them and caused a wall of granite to spring up suddenly out
of the earth round the Centaurs to protect them from him. Then
Heracles was obliged to leave them, and he turned back and went on
his way with a heavy heart, full of sad thoughts about Chiron. As
soon as he was out of sight, the wall sank back into the earth, and
the Centaurs were able to go home in peace.
When Heracles reached the foot of Mount Erymanthus he prepared a
noose in which to catch the wild boar, and soon afterwards he saw him
sharpening his tusks against an oak tree. Heracles raised a cry
which made the whole forest echo, and the strong boar took to flight.
It was winter, and the upper part of the mountain was covered with
deep snow. Heracles chased the boar up the mountain till he had
driven him into a snow-field, through which the wild beast plodded
panting, till he was quite tired out and could go no further, and
then Heracles slipped the noose over his neck and secured him. Then
he tied his feet together and threw him, feet uppermost, over his
left shoulder, putting his arm round his neck to prevent him from
using his tusks, and in this manner he journeyed back to Mycenae.
Most men would not have thought it very cheerful work to travel with
such a companion, but Heracles was not at all concerned; on the
contrary, it was the boar who was trembling. Heracles showed the
boar to Eurystheus through the grating, and then killed him.
Heracles now set out to perform his fifth Labour, and this time his
task was to cleanse the stables of Augeas in a single day. Augeas
was a rich king of {120} Elis, who had three thousand cattle. At
night the cattle always stood in a great court surrounded with walls,
close to the king's palace, and as it was quite ten years since the
servants had cleaned it out, there was enough refuse in the court to
build up a high mountain. Heracles went to Augeas and asked if he
would give him the tenth part of his flocks if he thoroughly cleansed
his stables in a single day. The king looked upon this as such an
absolutely impossible feat that he would not have minded promising
his kingdom as a reward for it, so he laughed and said, 'Set to work,
we shall not quarrel about the wages,' and he further promised
distinctly to give Heracles what he asked, and this he did in the
presence of Phyleus, his eldest son, who happened to be there. The
next morning Heracles set to work, but even his strong arms would
have failed to accomplish the task if they had not been aided by his
mother-wit. He compelled a mighty torrent to work for him, but you
would hardly guess how he did it. First he opened great gates on two
opposite sides of the court, and then he went to the stream, and when
he had blocked up its regular course with great stones, he conducted
it to the court that required to be cleansed, so that the water
streamed in at one end and streamed out at the other, carrying away
all the dirt with it. Before evening the stream had done its work
and was restored to its usual course.
But when Heracles demanded his reward, Augeas denied that he had
promised it. However he said that he would summon a court of justice
and would abide by its decision, for he thought to himself, 'The only
one who heard me make the promise is my son, and he {121} will not
witness against me.' A number of wise old men were accordingly
summoned to the palace to be judges, and Phyleus was called upon to
witness. But Phyleus cared more for justice than for his father's
advantage, and he said that Augeas had promised the tenth part of his
flocks to Heracles as a reward for cleansing the stables. Then
Augeas grew furious, and would not allow the judges to pronounce the
sentence, but banished both Heracles and Phyleus from the country,
threatening that if ever they were caught in his kingdom they would
forfeit their lives. Heracles went away without his reward, but he
promised himself that when the twelve Labours were accomplished, he
would come back and punish the king for his faithlessness.
Again Heracles set out at the command of Eurystheus, and this time he
had to drive away the Stymphalian birds,--this was his sixth Labour.
Near the city of Stymphalus, in the land of Arcadia, there was a
great lake, whose shores were covered with very dense forests where
countless birds had built their nests. These birds were as large as
cranes, and very thievish, and there was such a number of them that
if they had all flown out at once and assembled above the water, it
would have been pitch-dark all over the great lake. Heracles went to
the edge of the lake and listened to the noise that the birds made,
but he could not get at them, for they kept themselves hidden among
the thick boughs where no arrow could reach them. Heracles could not
think of any means of chasing them from among the trees, and was
almost in despair, when the goddess Athene, who loved all good and
brave men, {122} came to his assistance. She gave him a great iron
rattle that Hephaestus had made, and when Heracles shook it, it made
such a fearful noise that all the birds flew out screaming. Then
Heracles shot arrow after arrow among them; a great many of them fell
dead into the lake, and the rest were so much frightened that they
flew far away and never came back again.
4. _The Last Six Labours._
The seventh Labour that Eurystheus imposed upon Heracles was to bring
the Cretan bull to Mycenae. In the island of Crete lived King Minos,
who was very wise, and who was allowed to hold intercourse with the
gods. One day, when the Cretans were on the seashore offering
sacrifices to Poseidon, the king prayed that Poseidon would send him
a bull out of the sea for sacrifice, for he wanted to show the
Cretans what great regard the gods had for him. Immediately there
came, borne to the shore upon the swelling waves, a most beautiful
bull, and Minos was so fascinated by its beauty that he did not keep
his word, but sacrificed another bull and put the one that came out
of the sea among his flocks. Poseidon punished him by making the
bull mad; he killed the herdsmen and escaped into the forest, and did
so much damage that the king repented of having broken his word.
When Heracles came to him and said that he wanted to catch the bull,
Minos gladly supplied him with ropes and spears, for he would not
have minded paying a heavy price in order to get the plague removed
from the country. Heracles went into the forest and soon found his
way to the bull, {123} for he was guided to him by the bellowing he
made. When he came near, he threw a spear at him in order to
irritate him. The bull ran at him furiously, lowering his horns to
toss him into the air, but Heracles waited quietly till he came up,
and then he seized his horns and held them fast, so that the bull
could not raise his head again. They went on for some time pulling
at each other, and the bull dragged Heracles about from place to
place, bellowing horribly all the time. He was a huge powerful
animal, but he could not get his horns free, and only tired himself
to no purpose. At last he was quite exhausted, and Heracles made a
halter out of the rope he had brought with him and wound it round his
neck, and the bull followed him quite quietly. The Cretans ran
together to look at the strong man leading the fierce bull, and were
astonished to see the bull walking so quietly by his side. Heracles
got into his ship and sailed back to Mycenae with the bull, and when
he had led him through the city, he let him go free. You will hear
more of him again by-and-by.[1]
The eighth Labour of Heracles was that of procuring the horses of
Diomedes. Diomedes was a king of Thrace, a savage and cruel man, who
cared for nothing in the world but his fierce horses which he fed
upon human flesh; and every stranger that came into his country was
thrown to the horses. Heracles knew that he would not be able to
obtain the horses unless he first conquered the king and his people,
and he therefore took with him a number of brave heroes who were glad
to accompany him on this expedition. As soon as the ship landed in
Thrace, the heroes went to the stables, killed {124} the keeper, and
brought away the horses; one of them was going to bite, but Heracles
gave him such a sound blow that he had something else to think of.
They had almost reached the shore, when they looked back and saw King
Diomedes coming after them followed by a number of soldiers, so they
tied up the horses and turned round again. Then a fierce battle took
place, for the Thracians were a warlike people, but at last they were
all killed, and their king made prisoner. Heracles said that he
should die by the same death that he had inflicted on others, and he
loosed the horses of Diomedes and gave him to them to devour. The
king cried out in an agony to his horses, 'Have I not been kind to
you and taken care of you?' But they had become so fierce through
eating human flesh that they did not spare even their own master.
One tore off his arm, another bit him in the chest, and a third in
the thigh, and they soon tore him to pieces, so that he perished
miserably. Heracles then caught the horses again and took them home,
and when he had shown them to Eurystheus, he drove them to the foot
of Mount Olympus where they were devoured by wild beasts.
King Eurystheus had a daughter, who was continually begging him to
procure for her the girdle of the Queen of the Amazons. This
beautiful girdle was world-famed; it had been given to the queen by
Ares, the god of war, and she wore it as a mark of royalty.
Eurystheus knew that to secure the queen's girdle would be a task of
great danger and difficulty, and therefore he told Heracles that this
was to be his ninth Labour. So Heracles again set sail with his
companions, and they journeyed for many days till they came to the
{125} country of the Amazons, who lived in Asia, near the river
Thermodon. There were no men amongst them, but they were all women,
and very remarkable women, too. They liked war better than anything
else, and were so well skilled in riding and in shooting with the bow
that no army was feared so much as the army of the Amazons. When
Heracles reached their country, they happened to be in a meadow near
the sea practising with their weapons of war,--all but the queen, who
was sitting on the shore looking out over the sea, with her girdle
glittering in the sunshine. When she saw the ship coming, she
wondered who could be the strangers that ventured into her country,
and most of all she marvelled at the sight of Heracles who was
standing in the fore-part of the ship, dressed in his lion's skin and
grasping his club. She asked him who he was and what he wanted, and
he answered, 'I am Heracles, the son of Zeus, and I am performing
hard labours in the service of Eurystheus; he has sent me here to
fetch your girdle and take it back to Mycenae.' When the queen heard
that it was Heracles, whose deeds were spoken of all over the world,
she said that she would make him a present of the girdle, and came
towards the ship to greet him, holding out her hand. But Hera would
not allow Heracles to carry off the girdle without a struggle, and
taking the form of an Amazon, she went to the meadow where the others
were, and called out to them, 'A stranger is going to rob our queen.'
They all rushed down to the shore and began to shoot at the
strangers, killing many a brave man; but when Heracles saw that they
treated him and his followers as enemies, he thought that the queen
had meant to act treacherously, {126} and he slew her, and shot at
the Amazons with his arrows, and killed so many of them that they
were soon obliged to fly. He took the girdle from off the dead queen
and laid her corpse on the shore, and after the ship had sailed away,
the Amazons came and buried her.
Some days after this, the heroes landed at the city of Troy, where
they found all the people very sorrowful because an innocent maiden
was to suffer death on account of the crime of her father Laomedon,
the king of Troy. The gods Poseidon and Apollo, in order to try
Laomedon, had entered into an engagement with him, by which they
undertook to build a wall round the city that could never be
destroyed. The wall was soon finished, but Laomedon, who was very
miserly and who did not know that he had to deal with gods instead of
men, refused to give the reward that had been agreed upon. Both the
gods punished him for this. Apollo sent a pestilence into the land
which destroyed both men and cattle, and Poseidon created a monster
who came up every day out of the sea, and laid waste the fields
devouring every living thing that he met with. Even after the
pestilence had ceased, the monster still came every day, and took his
fill of blood. The Trojans asked the Oracle how they could get rid
of him, and the Oracle answered that the king's young daughter
Hesione must be given him to eat. The Trojans were very fond of the
beautiful maiden, but as they were all in danger of perishing, they
demanded of Laomedon that he should give up his daughter as a victim.
The king shed many tears, but at last he consented, and when the
heroes landed, Hesione had just been brought to the {127} shore, and
chained to a rock at the spot where the monster was accustomed to
leave the sea. Heracles heard from the Trojans how it had all
happened, and he went to the king and said that if he would give him
the two horses he had received from Zeus, he would slay the monster.
These horses had been given to Laomedon by Zeus to make up for the
loss of his son Ganymede, a most beautiful boy, whom Zeus had caused
his sacred eagle to steal away and carry off to Mount Olympus, where
Ganymede lived from that time with the gods, gifted with immortality
and eternal youth. When Heracles demanded these horses as his reward
for rescuing Hesione, Laomedon did not hesitate to promise them,
though they were the most beautiful horses in all the world, for he
felt willing to part with anything he possessed in order to save his
daughter. Then Heracles placed himself by the side of Hesione with a
naked sword in his hand, and when the horrible monster came out of
the sea, opening his huge jaws to devour the maiden, Heracles jumped
down his throat and wriggled himself down into his body, and then he
cut away all his entrails, so that the monster rolled about on the
ground in pain, howling horribly. When Heracles thought he was dead,
he crept up again out of the body and washed himself clean in the
sea. The king was very glad that his daughter was saved, but avarice
again took possession of him and prevented him from keeping his
promise to Heracles. He tried to deceive him with fair speeches, but
Heracles understood perfectly well that he was a faithless man, and
he told him that he would return and punish him.
Heracles sailed back to Mycenae, and gave the girdle {128} of the
Queen of the Amazons to Eurystheus. The king gave it to his daughter
who was very much pleased with it, and at the same time he told
Heracles that for his tenth Labour he was to fetch the cattle of
Geryon. Wonderful stories had been brought by sailors of an island
in the stream Oceanus, near the setting sun, where there lived a king
named Geryon who possessed the strength of three men, for he had
three bodies, six arms, and six legs. The sailors also told of the
king's wonderful reddish-brown cattle which formed the chief part of
his riches, and how no one dared to rob his flocks, because they were
guarded day and night by a dog with two heads, who barked until he
had roused a strong herdsman by whom the robber was killed without
much loss of time.
Heracles set out to look for the island, and went on and on towards
the West till he came to countries where the people were quite savage
and barbarous. By-and-by he reached the extreme end of Europe where
Africa is only separated from it by a narrow channel, and as he
wished to leave some token to show how far he had journeyed, he broke
off two huge rocks and set them up in the sea, and ever since that
time, the sailors who pass through these two mountains of rock look
up at them and say, 'Those are the Pillars of Heracles.' At last he
came to the end of the land, and as he stood on the shore wondering
how he should manage to reach the island of Geryon, the sun, which is
much hotter in those parts than it is here, smote upon his head.
This annoyed him very much, and as he was in the habit of paying back
anyone who did him an injury, he now took his bow and arrows and shot
at the sun-god. But {129} instead of being angry with him, Helios
the sun-god admired him for his boldness in being so ready to fight
even with gods, and he came down and gave him the golden shell in
which he travels from West to East in the evening after sunset. It
was an exceedingly large shell, and Heracles sailed over the sea in
it till he came to the island of Geryon. The beautiful herd was in a
meadow where the grass stood so high that it reached far above their
knees. When Heracles came to the herd, the great dog started up,
barking out of his two heads, but Heracles quickly put an end to
that, for he gave him such a blow with his club that his backbone was
broken through. The herdsman had however already awoke, and he came
running down, intending to kill the robber as he had killed many a
one before, but this time he himself met with his death by a blow
from the fist of Heracles, who then drove off the cattle towards the
sea. But someone told King Geryon that his cattle were being stolen,
and he ran after the robber in a great rage, throwing big stones at
him and screaming with all his might. Heracles waited till he came
up, and then they wrestled together. Geryon wound his six arms round
him hoping to throw him, but they both fell at the same time, and
Geryon was the undermost. Heracles set one knee on his body, but as
he leaned over to reach a stone to kill him with, Geryon managed to
spring up and tried to run away. Heracles, however, shot three
arrows through his three hearts, and he fell down dead.
Then Heracles went off with the herd, and when he had brought them
safely to the mainland he returned the shell to the sun-god, thanking
him heartily for his {130} help. He had to take the cattle through
many lands before they finally arrived in Greece, and on his way he
came to the part of Italy where Rome was afterwards built. It
happened to be the hot noontide, and Heracles lay down under the
shade of a tree and let the herd graze. Now it chanced that in a
cave under the Mount Aventinus there lived the giant Cacus, who was
very hideous to look at, and who could cook his food in his own
mouth, for fire and flames spouted out of it whenever he liked.
Cacus was a great robber, and when he saw the beautiful cattle he set
his mind on having some of them, but Heracles looked so strong that
he did not dare to take them by force, so he waited till he was
asleep, and then he came out of his cave and pulled several of the
cows backwards into it by their tails, so that the footprints in the
sand looked like those of cows that had been driven out of the cave
to pasture. When it became cooler, Heracles awoke and counted his
cattle; there were too few of them, but he could not find any traces
of the direction in which they had gone, and was obliged to pass on
without them. But just as they were going over Mount Aventinus one
of the bulls chanced to bellow, and those in the cave of Cacus
answered, because they wanted to go on with the others. Heracles
immediately knew what had become of his cattle, and hastened down to
the cave. The giant had shoved a huge fragment of rock in front of
the entrance, but Heracles in his anger was even stronger than usual,
and he threw down the rock with a noise that made the whole mountain
tremble. Cacus was afraid of him, and sat cowering in a corner of
the cave, spouting out smoke and {131} flames to prevent him from
coming near. But Heracles did not mind the flames, and he seized
Cacus by the neck and strangled him; then he dragged him out to the
light, and wondered to see how ugly he was. The stolen cattle came
out of the cave of their own accord and joined the others, and
Heracles drove them on further.
Some time after this, when he had nearly reached Mycenae and was
travelling along the sea-shore, Hera sent a great gnat that flew
about among the cattle humming and buzzing and stinging first one and
then another, till they became quite unmanageable and ran away in
different directions. Several jumped into the sea, and Heracles
jumped in after them and brought back all that he could reach,
pulling in some by their horns and driving others in front of him,
but the greater number of them swam out into the open sea and
perished. Then he set to work to collect those that had escaped into
the forest, and tired himself till nightfall with running after them,
which gave Hera great pleasure. All that he could recover he brought
to Mycenae, and Eurystheus sacrificed them to Hera.
Heracles had now only two more Labours to accomplish, and Eurystheus
pondered night and day as to what would be the most difficult and
dangerous task he could set him. At last he told him that for his
eleventh Labour he was to fetch three apples from the Garden of the
Hesperides, although no mortal knew where the Garden was. When Zeus
and Hera were married, the Earth had caused an apple tree to spring
up, which she gave them as her present, and which was covered with
apples of pure gold. Hera planted the tree {132} on an island in
Oceanus which had never been trodden by the foot of any mortal, and
in course of time a whole garden grew from it, in which all the trees
bore golden apples. The garden was tended by three nymphs called the
Singing Hesperides, and it was guarded by a dragon. Heracles never
allowed himself to be discouraged, however hard his task might be,
but always set about it in good spirits, confident of success, and he
now went about asking everyone where the Hesperides lived. One day
he came to a river, and some nymphs who were sitting on the bank
asked him where he was going. He said, 'King Eurystheus has sent me
to fetch him three apples from the Garden of the Hesperides, but I do
not know where the Garden is.' One of the nymphs said, 'We do not
know either, but Nereus, the old sea-god, can tell you, for he knows
everything, both in earth and heaven.' Then they told Heracles where
to find Nereus, and what to do in order to oblige him to answer his
questions. Nereus lived in the sea, but about mid-day he came up on
to the land and lay down in a grotto to sleep. When he was asleep,
Heracles came and seized him by the arms, and Nereus, waking up,
found himself a prisoner. He changed himself first into a wolf, and
then into a lion, and lastly into a dragon, hoping that Heracles
would be frightened and let go, but the nymphs had prepared him for
these tricks, and instead of loosening his hold on the sea-god, he on
the contrary held him tighter and tighter, till at last Nereus had to
give in, and ask him what he wanted. When he heard what it was, he
gave Heracles an exact description of where the Hesperides lived, and
how to get there; it was a very long {133} way off, even further than
to the island of King Geryon, but Heracles would not be disheartened,
and at once began his journey.
On the way he came to Libya, where there reigned a king named Antaeus
who would not allow any stranger to pass through his land without
wrestling with him; and hitherto he had overcome and killed them all,
for he was a son of the Earth, and his mother gave him new strength
every time he touched her. Heracles wrestled with Antaeus and threw
him on to the ground three times, but each time the king sprang up
again stronger than before. Then Heracles perceived that the Earth
gave him strength, and he raised him up in the air so that he did not
touch the earth at all, and squeezed him against his own body till he
died.
After this he continued his journey till he came to Egypt, where King
Busiris lived, who every year sacrificed a stranger to the gods.
Some time before this, the land had been unfruitful for nine years,
so that many people died of hunger, and a soothsayer in a distant
island who heard of this and hoped to earn a good reward without much
trouble, went to Egypt and told the king that he knew by his art that
the only way in which he could be reconciled to the gods was by
sacrificing a stranger to them every year. But instead of giving him
the reward he looked for, the king offered him up as the first
sacrifice, and after this he seized a stranger every year for the
same purpose. When Heracles entered the country, the king's servants
happened to be on the look-out for a stranger, for the time of the
yearly sacrifice had come round, and finding Heracles asleep by the
wayside, they bound him with {134} many strong cords and brought him
before the king. Heracles acted as if he had no choice but to submit
to this treatment, but when the priest came with the sacrificial
knife in his hand to give him the death-blow, he burst asunder the
cords, and snatching the knife from the priest, stabbed the king whom
nobody interfered to save, for he was a cruel man and greatly dreaded
by his subjects. After this, the Egyptians offered no more human
sacrifices, and yet their land remained fruitful, for the soothsayer
who had commanded the sacrifice was a false prophet.
Heracles passed on through other lands till he came to the extreme
end of the world where the giant Atlas lived, who had had an irksome
task imposed upon him by the gods. He had to support the vault of
heaven with his head and hands, and if he had neglected his duty even
for a moment, the heaven would have fallen and crushed the earth to
atoms. Heracles told Atlas of the errand on which he had been sent,
and Atlas, who was only too glad to have an opportunity of resting
his shoulders and stretching his legs, said that he would go and
fetch the apples, if Heracles would meanwhile take his place in
supporting the heaven. So Atlas went to the Garden, and the nymphs
gave him the apples because he was their uncle, so that it was not
long before he returned with them. But he found freedom so much more
agreeable than the fulfilment of his task, that when he came back he
said to Heracles, 'I have supported the heaven quite long enough, and
now you must take your turn. Heracles thought to himself, 'If my
wits fail me now, there will be no help for me,' so he pretended to
agree. {135} and said, 'Very well, but just let me first put my
lion's skin over my head to keep the heaven from pressing so heavily
upon it.' Then Atlas laid down the apples upon the ground and took
up his burden again, thinking it was just for a minute, but Heracles
took up the golden apples and went away and left him, and Atlas has
ever since been obliged to support the heaven because he let himself
be duped in this way. Heracles returned to Mycenae and showed
Eurystheus the golden apples, which glittered so brightly that when
the sun shone one could hardly bear to look at them; then he gave
them to the goddess Athene, who took them back to the Garden of the
Hesperides, for Hera would have been angry if she had kept them.
Eurystheus decreed that the twelfth and last Labour of Heracles
should be to fetch the hideous dog Cerberus from the Lower World.
There was a chain of bare, rugged mountains, in the centre of which
was a yawning chasm stretching down far below the earth, and anyone
who had the courage to go down it, came at last to the Lower World,
where the shades of the dead go when they leave the earth. The gate
of the Land of Shades was guarded by the great dog Cerberus, who
stood there as watchman, and let everyone go in, but no one pass out
again. His appearance was truly frightful, for he had three heads
glistening all over with serpents which grew there instead of hair,
and his tail was also an angry serpent with sharp teeth. As Heracles
went down the chasm, he made up his mind that he would not try and
steal the dog, but would tell Pluto that Eurystheus had commanded him
to fetch him, and beg that he might be allowed to take him away. At
{136} last he reached the Land of Shades, where there is neither day
nor night, but always grey twilight, and he saw many thousand shades
flitting about like moths in the dusk. They slipped away as soon as
he came near them, but their flight could not be heard but only seen,
for their forms were without substance. They were also without any
power of thinking, but Heracles knew that they could gain both speech
and consciousness by drinking blood, and as the flock of Pluto was
grazing near, he seized a cow with the intention of killing it; but
before he could do so, the herdsman ran after him in a rage and
struck him. Heracles let go the cow, and turning to the herdsman, he
rained blows upon him with his fists until he screamed with all his
might for help. Queen Persephone heard his cries, and coming out of
her palace, she begged Heracles to leave off beating the herdsman,
which he did for her sake. Then she asked him why he had come into
the Lower World, and when he told her, she took him to her husband,
King Pluto, who said he would allow him to take the dog to the Upper
World on condition that he captured him without the help of any
weapons. Heracles put on a shield that Pluto gave him and went back
to the gate, where Cerberus greeted him with a growl, showing all his
great teeth. However Heracles did not mind that, but grasping the
part of his neck which belonged to the middle head, he pinched it
tightly with his powerful fingers. The serpents bit him in the arm
and the leg, causing him great pain, but instead of letting go the
head he only pinched it the harder, so that at last the dog was
forced to give in, and he led him up the path without any further
difficulty. When they came {137} to the daylight however, Cerberus
moaned, and would not have gone any farther if Heracles had not
compelled him, being the stronger of the two, for the light of the
sun struck him just between the eyes, and hurt him so much that foam
dropped from his mouth; and wherever a drop of it fell on the ground,
there sprang up a plant called Nightshade, which still grows, and is
a deadly poison. When Heracles had taken the dog to Mycenae and
shown him to Eurystheus, he brought him to the mouth of the chasm,
and released him. Then Cerberus rushed back with great bounds into
his beloved darkness, and Heracles heard him barking joyfully, long
after he was out of sight.
[1] For the rest of the story of the Cretan bull, see p. 184.
5. _The Murder of Iphitus, and the Vengeances of Heracles._
Heracles had now served Eurystheus for twelve years, and had
performed twelve great Labours for him, the hardest that have ever
been accomplished by any man. During this time Megara had died, and
Heracles now washed to take another wife. He heard that in Oechalia
there was a beautiful maiden named Iole, the daughter of Eurytus, the
king of the island of Eubcea, but that Eurytus had proclaimed that no
one should marry her who could not shoot with the bow better than
himself and his sons. They were the best archers in the whole
country, and although many suitors came to Oechalia, yet when they
saw how well Eurytus could shoot, they all thought it was useless
even to string their bows, and went away home again in despair.
Heracles resolved that he also would go {138} and sue for Iole, and
he went out into the open field with Eurytus and his sons, in order
to contend with them for the prize. All showed marvellous skill in
shooting, but the arrow of Heracles pierced the breast of a wild dove
so far off that the others could scarcely see it till it was brought
down, and they were obliged to confess that he had beaten them. But
Eurytus taunted him and said, 'Would you have me give you my daughter
for your wife? When the gods send you children you throw them into
the fire.' Heracles was enraged with Eurytus for mocking at his
misfortune, and he went away vowing that he would one day be revenged
upon him.
Some time after this, a robber stole twelve of the finest cattle that
Eurytus possessed, and he sent his son Iphitus to look for them.
Iphitus went to several places in search of them, and finally came to
Tiryns where Heracles was. When Heracles saw Iphitus he was reminded
of the way in which his father had insulted him, and it made him so
angry that he struck the boy dead, though afterwards when he became
calmer he would gladly have recalled the deed. He went to Neleus,
the king of Pylos, and begged him to purge him from the stain of
blood, but Neleus, who was a friend of Eurytus, refused to do so, but
on the contrary banished him from the country, blaming him for what
he had done. Heracles found another wise man who consented to purify
him, but the gods were, notwithstanding this, still angry with him on
account of the murder of Iphitus, and as a punishment, they visited
him with a sore sickness, of which he could neither get well nor die,
and which {139} caused him terrible suffering. Heracles went to the
Oracle at Delphi and asked the Pythia what he could do to have the
sickness taken away from him, but Apollo, who inspired the Pythia as
to what she should say, would not give any answer. Then Heracles got
into a great rage, and he tore up from the ground the sacred Tripod
on which the priestess sat, and carried it away on his back. Apollo
saw the theft, and he came down from heaven and demanded the Tripod
back again. No other would have dared to meet his angry look, but
Heracles was not in the least afraid, and he refused to give it up.
They were just going to fight about it, and had already taken their
places for the struggle, when a thunderbolt fell upon the ground
between them. They knew that this was a warning from their father
Zeus, and they agreed to lay aside their ill-feeling and make peace;
Heracles gave back the Tripod, and Apollo pronounced the Oracle. It
was that Heracles must serve as a slave for the space of three years
and give the money for which he was sold to Eurytus, and that then
his illness would be at an end.
So Heracles allowed himself to be sold as a slave by Hermes, the
messenger of the gods, and he was bought by the beautiful Omphale,
queen of Lydia. Eurytus refused to take the money, but the gods
decided that it was the same as if he had done so, and Heracles was
freed from his sickness. Omphale made use of her strong slave for
all kinds of service, both in freeing the land from wild beasts, and
in punishing wicked robbers, so that the Lydians lived in peace and
safety; and Heracles loved the beautiful Omphale with all his heart,
ani was ready to do anything in the world in order to {140} please
her. She was very proud of being able to command the mighty hero as
if he were a little child, and in order to show the people how
obedient he was to her, she made him sit among her maidens in women's
clothes spinning at the distaff, whilst she dressed herself up in the
lion's skin, as if she were the man and he the woman, and Heracles
allowed her to do just as she would with him because of the great
love he bore her.
When the three years were ended, Heracles left the palace of Omphale,
and went through the cities of Greece asking if any heroes would set
out with him for Troy, for he meant to carry out his threat of
punishing King Laomedon for his faithlessness. So many heroes came
that they filled six large ships, and they sailed to Troy and
besieged the city. They set up ladders with which to climb over the
walls, and pressed on notwithstanding the stones and javelins that
the Trojans threw down upon them, but they would never have succeeded
in entering the city without the help of Heracles. When the city was
taken, Heracles passed a sentence of death upon the king and his
sons, and shot them all together, only sparing the youngest whose
name was Podarces, because he was too young to have had any part in
the treachery of his father. Heracles gave the beautiful Hesione to
the hero Telamon who had been the first to scale the wall, and as she
wept very much at leaving Troy, he told her that she might take one
of the prisoners with her. She did not take long to consider who it
should be, but immediately held out her hand to her little brother
Podarces. Then Heracles said that she must buy him, so she took off
her veil, which was the only one she had, {141} and threw it down fur
the purchase-money; and from that time her brother was called Priam,
which means Bought. He came to Greece with his sister Hesione, but
when he grew up to be a man he returned to Troy and became king of
the country.
When Augeas and the others who had wronged Heracles heard of the
punishment that had overtaken Laomedon, they were afraid, and
assembled all their warriors to protect them, for Heracles had
announced his intention of marching against them as soon as he
returned to Greece. But Hera, who still hated him, tried to destroy
him on his way home. She commanded the god of Slumber to send Zeus
into a deep sleep, and while he lay unconscious, she raised a
tremendous storm on the sea through which Heracles was sailing. All
his companions were very much frightened, but Heracles was not in the
least disturbed, and before the waves could make a wreck of the ship,
Zeus awoke, and seeing his son in danger, calmed the sea so that it
became quite smooth and the fishes came up again from the bottom to
play. Zeus knew that it was Hera who had raised the storm, and he
punished her for it. He tied her hands together with a golden chain,
and attached a heavy weight to each of her feet, and then he
suspended her in the clouds, where she was obliged to hang all day
long in great pain, with the winds and storms for her only companions.
Heracles was none the worse for the storm, and as soon as he had
landed in Greece with the other heroes, he led them against Elis, the
city of King Augeas, and conquered it. Augeas would now have gladly
parted with his whole herd if that would have saved his life, {142}
but Heracles killed him and all his sons except Phyleus, the one who
had refused to bear false witness against him and had been banished
by his father in consequence. He gave the country into the hands of
Phyleus, and then he led his followers from Elis to Pylos, where he
punished King Neleus for having refused to purge him from the stain
of blood. Of the whole race of the king, the only one who remained
alive after the visit of Heracles was a little boy named Nestor, whom
his father Neleus had sent to be brought up in a neighbouring
country, and who grew up to be a brave and wise hero.
6. _The Marriage of Heracles with Deianira, and his Death._
There was still one man left whom Heracles desired to punish, and
this was Eurytus. But he deferred his revenge for a time, in order
to undertake a pleasanter expedition to the court of King Oeneus, of
Calydon, whose beautiful daughter Deianira he wished to marry.
Deianira was a maiden who delighted in driving horses that had never
been broken in, and who knew how to use the lance and the bow. She
had another distinguished lover, the river-god Acheloüs, and as
neither he nor Heracles would give way to the other, they determined
to fight it out, and agreed that whichever conquered should have the
bride. Acheloüs came out of his stream in the form of a bull, and
Heracles had a hard struggle with him, for his opponent had the
strength of a bull, and at the same time the wisdom of a god.
Acheloüs ran at him intending to gore him with his horns, and if
Heracles had not been on his guard, he would have {143} been pierced
through. For a long time the struggle lasted, each trying to
overpower the other by strength or by craft, and when the river-god
laid his fore-feet upon the shoulders of Heracles who was clothed in
his lion's skin, and pressed his strong chest against him in the hope
of throwing him, it looked as if a lion and a bull had embraced each
other. But at last Heracles laid hold of one of the horns of
Acheloüs and tore at it with all his might till he succeeded in
breaking it off, and then the bull bellowed horribly, and ran back,
bleeding, into the river.
So Heracles remained the victor, and Oeneus gave him Deianira to be
his wife, and she was glad to have such a noble hero for her husband.
Heracles wanted to keep the horn as a trophy, but Acheloüs gave him
instead of it the wonderful horn of the goat Amalthea who had been
the nurse of Zeus.[1] This horn had been blessed by Zeus, and anyone
who held it in his hand might wish for anything he liked to eat or
drink, and immediately it was there. For this reason it was called
the Horn of Plenty, because it produced all kinds of food in
abundance.
Heracles lived many years in Calydon with Deianira, not spending his
time slothfully, but fighting against all the robbers and wicked men
in the neighbourhood. But one day it happened that the boy who held
the washing-basin and poured water over his hands before meals, was
careless and showered the water all over him. Heracles gave him what
he intended to be a little box on the ears, but a blow from him came
with such violence that the boy immediately fell down dead. {144}
Heracles was very much grieved, and he determined to leave the city
of Calydon, and set out with Deianira for Trachis where an old friend
of his lived. On the way they came to a broad river over which there
was no bridge, but the Centaur Nessus used to carry travellers across
on his horse's back for a trifling payment. Heracles entrusted
Deianira to him, and said that he himself would follow without help.
The Centaur, however, was so greatly charmed with the beauty of
Deianira, that as he swam with her across the stream he made up his
mind that he would carry her off. So when he had reached the other
side, instead of letting her jump off his back, he held her fast and
ran away with her. Deianira stretched out her arms to Heracles who
was still on the farther bank, and screamed for help. Then Heracles
took his bow and shot a poisoned arrow into the shoulder of the
Centaur, and he fell down and was obliged to let go his hold of
Deianira. Nessus felt that the poison would soon kill him, and he
longed to revenge himself on Heracles by doing him some injury. So
he said to Deianira, 'Take a cloth and dip it in my blood, and do not
let Heracles see it; but if ever you are afraid that he loves another
woman better than you, sprinkle the blood over his clothing, and he
will be unable to leave you. You must take care, however, not to
touch it yourself.' The blood had been poisoned by the arrow of
Heracles, and anyone whose skin was even touched by it must die, but
Deianira did not know this; she thought the Centaur was speaking in
good faith and determined to follow his advice, for she loved
Heracles with all her heart, and desired above all things that he
should always love her as much in return.
{145}
Nessus died soon after he had spoken to Deianira, and Heracles
continued his journey with her. When they came to Trachis which is
not far from Euboea, he remembered the vengeance that he had purposed
to execute upon Eurytus, and assembling all his companions, he set
sail for his island. Eurytus armed his sons and all his men of war,
and met him outside the walls of Oechalia. Then a battle was fought
in which many wounds were given and received, and Heracles slew
Eurytus and his sons, which, when the others saw, they gave up all
hope and betook themselves to flight. Heracles entered the city with
his companions and gave them leave to take any plunder they chose,
for all the people surrendered themselves and their possessions to
him, only asking that their lives might be spared.
Heracles now desired to offer a solemn sacrifice to Zeus as a token
of his gratitude for the victory, and he sent the herald Lichas to
procure from Deianira a festal robe suitable for the occasion.
Deianira was greatly afraid that Heracles might forsake her for the
beautiful Iole whom he had formerly wished to marry, and remembering
what the Centaur had told her to do if ever she had any special
reason for desiring that Heracles should be true to her, she took the
cloth which had been soaked in his blood, and smeared all the inner
side of the robe with it. Lichas took the robe to Heracles, and he
put it on. But when the blood had become warmed by the heat of his
body, it burst out into flames and burnt Heracles so terribly that in
his agony he seized Lichas by the feet and flung him three times
against the rocks, till his face was so battered that none of the
features could be {146} distinguished. Then he tried to tear off the
dress, but it clung so closely to his skin that pieces of his flesh
came off with it. He suffered unspeakable tortures, which made him
cry out with the pain and roll on the ground in agony, and then he
moaned so piteously that the very stones might have felt for him, but
no one dared to go near him. For a short time the pain made him
quite mad; then he controlled himself with a mighty effort and
resolved what he would do. He got into a ship that was going to
Greece, and when he arrived there he ascended Mount Oeta, accompanied
by some of his friends; the poison still caused him terrible
suffering, but he was able to bear it in silence now. On the top of
Mount Oeta he built a huge funeral pile and mounted to the top of it;
then he asked his friends to set fire to it, but none of them would
do so,--they only stood round weeping. Presently however a herdsman
came along the road, and Heracles called out to him, and said that he
would give him his bow and arrows if he would set fire to the funeral
pile. The herdsman consented to do so for the sake of the beautiful
bow, and he brought a burning torch with which he set the wood
alight. The wind fanned the flames and they mounted higher and
higher, but before they reached Heracles himself, a sound of thunder
and lightning was heard, and a cloud came down which covered the
funeral pile and in which he was carried up to the top of Mount
Olympus. The gods gifted him with immortality as a recompense for
his noble deeds, and they said that he should henceforth be as one of
themselves. Even Hera did not grudge him this reward, for her hatred
had at last been conquered by his grand {147} and godlike Labours,
and when Heracles appeared among the Immortals in the form of a god,
she led her daughter, the goddess Hebe, towards him, and said that he
should have her for his wife. Poor Deianira was already in the Lower
World, for when she heard of the evil that had been wrought by the
robe, she went into her bed-chamber and hanged herself.
Heracles was honoured on the earth as a god, and men built temples to
him, and kept his great deeds in constant remembrance.
[1] See page 3.
{148}
XXVII.
THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS.
1. _The Golden Fleece._
There was once a king in the land of Greece called Athamas, and he
had a wife and two children, whose names were Phrixus and Helle. But
the king loved another woman better than his wife, and he thrust away
his wife and made the other woman queen. The children had now a
step-mother, who at first was very kind to them, but afterwards when
she had children of her own it was a different thing, and Phrixus and
Helle had a bad time of it. Their own mother remained in the city
living on a dole that she received from the king, but she was not
allowed to enter the palace; sometimes, however, she used to come
secretly after dark, and then she kissed the children and gave them
little presents, which made them very happy. The step-mother was
always trying to find some means of getting rid of the children, and
at last she thought of a plan which she hoped would be successful.
When the time for sowing the corn came round, she ordered all the
women in the country to roast the seed secretly, so that though the
corn was sown as usual it did not spring up, for the seeds were dead
because they had been cooked. Then there was great distress all over
the country, and the {149} king sent messengers to Delphi to ask the
Oracle how the land could be made fruitful again. But the wicked
queen took the messengers aside and bribed them by the promise of a
great reward to deceive the king. They did not go to Delphi at all,
but hid themselves outside the city until there would have been time
to go and come back again, and then they sprinkled their clothes with
dust as if they had taken a long journey, and went to the king and
took him the message that the queen had put into their mouths,--which
was that he must sacrifice his son Phrixus to the gods, or else the
fields would never be fruitful again. The king was very unwilling to
do this, but the people pressed him until he consented to the
sacrifice, for they were afraid they would all die of hunger.
The true mother was very sad, and she wept all day and all night
because her son was going to be killed. And the gods had pity on
her, and sent Hermes, the messenger, to take her a ram covered all
over with golden wool that shone like the beautiful sun, and tell her
that the ram should carry away her children to a place of safety.
Then the mother was comforted, and after dark she fetched the
children from the palace by stealth and placed them both on the ram's
back. Phrixus sat in front and held on fast by the horns, and Helle
was behind with her arms round her brother. When they had taken
leave of their mother, the Golden Ram set out on his journey; first
he flew up as high as the clouds, and then he trotted along the path
of the birds, mid-way between heaven and earth, and it seemed to the
children, as they looked down, as if the houses and trees were all
running away from them. {150} They journeyed on all night in the
bright star-light, and when the sun rose they were already far from
home, and found themselves above the sea which lies between Europe
and Asia. Helle wanted to take a last look at the beautiful land of
Greece and turned round that she might see it better, but in her
eagerness she let go of her brother and fell far down into the sea,
and even before she touched the water she was dead from the effect of
the great fall. Phrixus was very, very sorry, and he shed so many
tears that the fishermen below thought it was beginning to rain.
Ever since that time the Greeks have called that sea the Hellespont,
which means the sea of Helle.
The Golden Ram flew on and on till he had passed over the Black Sea
and reached the city of Colchis, which was a very long way from the
kingdom of Athamas. Phrixus sacrificed the ram to the gods, and he
presented its golden fleece to Aeëtes the king of the country, who
hung it on a tree in a forest near the city and placed beside it a
powerful dragon that never went to sleep. Phrixus was kindly treated
by the king; he lived in his palace and sat at his table, and when he
grew up, Aeëtes gave him his daughter for a wife.
After this, a great misfortune befell King Athamas and the wicked
step-mother. He had incurred the anger of Hera,[1] and she afflicted
him with madness. One day as he was returning from hunting, he saw
his two young children playing in front of the palace, but they
seemed to him to be two young deer, and he took his bow and shot the
eldest boy right through the heart. He was just going to shoot the
other child, but {151} the mother, who was close by, saw that the
king was mad, and she took it up in her arms and ran away as fast as
she could. Athamas pursued her with his arrow on the string, until
the queen finding that she could not escape, threw herself into the
sea with her child, and they were both drowned. Athamas was overcome
with grief when his reason returned to him, and he left the kingdom
and went to the Oracle to ask what he should do. The answer he
received was that he was to settle in a land where he would be the
guest of wild beasts. Athamas did not know how this could be, but
after wandering about for a long time he came to an almost
uninhabited country, where he one day saw two or three wolves
devouring a sheep which they had killed. When Athamas came near them
they ran away, and as he had eaten nothing for several days and was
almost starving, he cut off a piece of the raw sheep and eat it
hastily, and then it occurred to him that he had eaten the wolves'
dinner, and was therefore their guest. So he wandered no longer, but
settled down in that place, and when others came to live in the same
neighbourhood, Athamas became their king, and ruled over them until
his death some years later.
[1] See page 63.
2. _The Journey to Colchis._
Some time had passed away and Phrixus was already dead, when it
happened that the king of Iolcus, in Greece, whose name was Pelias,
sent one day to the Oracle at Delphi to ask what would befall him in
the future, and the Oracle in reply told him to beware of the
One-sandalled man: the Greeks did not wear shoes {152} like ours, but
sandals, which were soles of leather, tied on to the feet with
straps. Many years passed by, and the king never saw a man with only
one sandal on, and had almost forgotten the warning of the Oracle.
But one day when he was going to offer a great sacrifice to Poseidon,
he invited all his friends to the banquet, and amongst others, Jason
his brother's son, who lived at some little distance from the city.
On his way to Iolcus, Jason had to pass through a brook which had
become swollen by heavy rain, and one of his sandals got loose in the
water and remained sticking in the marshy soil. He could not get it
again because the water was too deep, and was obliged to walk half
bare-foot into the city. As soon as Pelias saw him, he was put in
mind of the Oracle, and he said to him, 'What should you do to get
rid of a man if you had been told that he was likely to kill you.'
Jason laughed and answered, 'I should send him to fetch the Golden
Fleece.' For it was a dangerous journey to Colchis, and the powerful
King Aeëtes would have parted with one of his eyes rather than with
the Golden Fleece, so there was every chance that anyone who ventured
on such an undertaking as that, would perish. Then Pelias said, 'The
Oracle has warned me to beware of you; choose your companions and set
out in search of it.'
Jason was a brave and fearless hero, and was quite ready for the
expedition. He sent messengers to summon all the noblest heroes to
come with him, and fifty were found willing to undertake the journey,
besides the strong Heracles, who also said that he would go with
them. There was a man in Iolcus, named Argus, {153} who was skilled
in shipbuilding, and he fashioned for them a great vessel with places
for fifty rowers. The goddess Athene sent a beam for it, made of
sacred oak, which could speak, and it was inserted in the front part
of the ship. She was a noble vessel, and all who saw her were filled
with wonder and delight. They called her the Argo, after the name of
the builder, and the heroes who sailed in her were called Argonauts.
When she was ready they pushed her out to sea, and each man took his
oar in his hand. Besides the rowers there was a hero who sat at the
helm, and Jason the leader, who had no special place assigned to him
in the ship. Many people came down to the shore to watch them sail
away, and wish them a prosperous journey. The ship went as fast as a
bird can fly, the helmsman steered, the rowers rowed, and the Sacred
Beam warned the heroes of the rocks below the water, so that they
might steer the ship clear of them.
After sailing for some days, they came to the beautiful island of
Lemnos, and as they were tired of rowing and wanted to rest, they
went on shore. There was not a single man in the island, only women.
Some time before this, the men had purposed to thrust away their
wives and take others, and so the women had killed them all, not even
excepting the old men and boys, and they determined to be a nation of
women only, like the Amazons. The only man left alive in the whole
island was the father of the Queen, Hypsipele, whom she loved very
dearly and resolved to save at any cost. There was a secret room in
the palace in which she hid him, and every day she took him food by
stealth, for if the other women had discovered what {154} she had
done they would perhaps have killed her.[1] The Argonauts were very
much astonished at seeing women do all the things that are usually
undertaken by men, such as ploughing fields, felling trees in the
wood, and practising with weapons of war. The heroes asked where the
men were, and they told them why they had killed them. They did not
however refuse to receive the strange heroes, but entertained them
hospitably, and the Argonauts enjoyed themselves very much on the
island. Many of them found it much more agreeable than sitting at
their oars in the ship, but after some time had passed, Jason called
them together, and they went back to the Argo and continued their
journey. They did not stop again till they had reached the country
of the Doliones, and then they knew that they had left Europe behind
them.
The Doliones always kept watchmen near the sea to give notice of any
ships that were coming, for there were a great many pirates cruising
about that sea who fell upon honest folk and robbed them, and the
Doliones had lately suffered much at their hands. When the Argo came
near their land, a number of the Doliones assembled on the shore and
asked the heroes what they wanted. Jason said, 'We are going to
Colchis to fetch the Golden Fleece, and we should like to rest here.'
On hearing this the Doliones received them kindly, and their king
came down to the shore and sent for several cattle and great skins of
wine to be brought. Fires were lighted, the cattle were killed and
roasted, and the Doliones feasted till the evening with the heroes,
who then sailed away. But a great storm came on, and it was so dark
that they could not even see the mast of {155} the ship. They were
unable to make head against the high waves, so they pulled in the
oars and let the ship dance to the whistling of the wind, but in this
way they lost their reckoning, and no longer knew either the
direction from which they had come, or that in which they desired to
go. At last the storm subsided, and they made for some land which
they could just distinguish not far from where they were, but when
they tried to land, the inhabitants came with weapons to drive them
away, for they thought they were pirates. The Argonauts killed many
enemies, but when the day dawned they discovered that they were the
Doliones,--neither party had recognised the other in the darkness.
Then there was great weeping for the dead, especially for the king
who had entertained the heroes so royally the day before, and had
been slain by them in the night. The Argonauts remained three days
longer in that country and celebrated magnificent games in honour of
the king,--running races, wrestling with one another, and measuring
their skill in shooting with the bow and in throwing the lance,--and
whoever did the best obtained the prize.
Then for the second time they sailed away from the land of the
Doliones. They were now not far from the Black Sea, and were
coasting along by the country of Mysia, when it happened that some of
the oars broke, and they had to stop and go into a forest to get some
new ones. Heracles went far into the forest to look for the best
trees, taking with him a boy named Hylas who served him and whom he
loved as his own son. Heracles was thirsty after his work, and he
told the boy to go to the nearest stream and draw him some {156}
water in a pitcher. Hylas found a clear transparent pool fringed
with lovely flowers, and stooped down to draw the water, but the
nymphs to whom it belonged saw him and were so struck by his great
beauty, for he was the most beautiful boy in all Greece, that they
came up from the bottom to draw him down into the pool; and they
seized him, one by the hand and another by the foot, and said, 'Come
down to our house, beautiful boy, and we will play with you.' Hylas
did not want to go, and he screamed and struggled with all his might,
but the nymphs were stronger than he, and dragged him down. When
Heracles heard his cry, he thought the boy must have been carried off
by robbers, so he took his oar and ran down to the brook, and not
finding him there, he rushed frantically through the forest in search
of him, saying that he would not go back to the ship without Hylas.
Meanwhile evening had come on, the other heroes had all returned to
the ship, and they sailed away, unmindful of Heracles. The next
morning they saw indeed that he was not there, but they could not
sail all the way back again, and they trusted that they would be able
to bring home the Golden Fleece without him. So Heracles returned to
Greece, where he accomplished his twelve great Labours.
Some days afterwards the heroes landed again, and this time it was in
a country where the king compelled every stranger who came into his
dominions to measure his strength with him in boxing, and he was so
practised a boxer that he had overcome and killed all who had
contended with him. When he heard that a ship with many heroes in it
had come to his land, he said {157} that if there was any brave man
among them, he was prepared to fight with him. Now there were two
heroes on board the Argo named Castor and Pollux, who were twin
brothers. Castor was skilled in managing untamed horses, and Pollux
excelled in boxing. Pollux resolved to punish the haughty king, so
he accepted his offer of boxing with him and very soon dealt him a
fatal blow. A great many of his followers had come to watch the
fight, expecting to see their king fell the stranger to the ground,
and when they saw that he was dead, they tried to kill Pollux in
order to avenge him; but the Argonauts seized their weapons, and soon
a number of their enemies were dead and the rest had taken to flight.
Farther on, the Argonauts came to a country where there lived a seer
named Phineus, who would gladly however have parted with his power of
reading the future if that would have delivered him from his misery.
He had once revealed the future contrary to the will of the gods, and
as a punishment they made him blind, and prevented him from having
anything to eat. Whenever a meal was spread before him, there came
from heaven two monstrous beings with faces and bodies like maidens,
but whose feet and wings were those of ravens. They were called
Harpies, and their names were Storm-foot and Swift-wing. They
snatched away the best part of the food and gobbled it up, and what
they left smelt so badly that Phineus could not eat it for loathing.
The old man was wasted away with hunger, and there was nothing left
of him but skin and bones. The Argonauts begged him to give them
good advice about their journey, and he promised to do so if {158}
they would rid him of the Harpies. It happened that among them were
two sons of Boreas, the god of the north wind; they had wings on
their shoulders and could fly like birds, but it had been decreed by
fate that if ever they failed to catch what they set out in pursuit
of, they must die immediately. They were quite willing to attack the
Harpies, and next time they came to snatch away the food from
Phineus, the heroes drew their swords, spread their wings, and set
out in chase of them. The Harpies flew backwards and forwards in all
directions over both sea and land, but at last Storm-foot was obliged
to give in, and her pursuer was just going to seize her when her
wings failed altogether, and she fell down into a river below, where
she was drowned. Swift-wing was still able to flutter a little, but
presently she also gave in, and fell among some soft grass. Her
pursuer came after her and pierced her through with his sword, and
then the heroes returned, the sword of one of them being still wet
with the blood of Swift-wing. From that time Phineus could eat his
meals in peace which was a great comfort to him. He told the
Argonauts that they would soon come to two wonderful rocks, and
instructed them what to do when they reached them, and he said that
if they passed these in safety they would arrive at Colchis without
further danger.
After rowing for half a day, the heroes came to the rocks of which
Phineus had told them, and never in their lives had they seen
anything so wonderful. They were two huge rocks, not fastened to the
bottom of the sea, but sailing about separately, and every now and
then they clashed together and great waves broke over them, and there
was a noise as if the rocks were going {159} to break in pieces, but
as they were made of the hardest stone, they remained quite sound.
They darted about so quickly, and clashed against each other so
constantly, that no ship had ever been able to pass them; every
vessel that had attempted it had been crushed to atoms, with every
soul on board. But the Argo was very swift, being rowed by fifty
heroes, and Phineus had told them to send out a dove in front of
them, and that if the dove passed through the rocks safely, they also
might venture; but if it were crushed, they would have to turn back,
for the speed of the Argo was just equal to that of a dove. So when
the rocks separated from one another, they sent out the dove, and it
arrived happily at the other side, with only a few of its
tail-feathers torn out. Next time the rocks opened a pathway, they
also steered through them, rowing with all their might. The ship
shot through like an arrow, and just the same thing happened to the
Argo as to the dove, for the decoration of the hinder-part of the
vessel was torn off, just as the bird's feathers had been. And when
the heroes looked back, they saw the rocks standing still: they had
played their game for the last time, for it had been decreed by fate
that if ever they allowed a ship to pass them, they would become
rooted to the ground. So that ever since that time, ships have been
able to sail past these rocks, as fast or as slowly as they please.
[1] For what afterwards happened to Hypsipele, see pages 215-17.
3. _The Fight for the Golden Fleece._
Some days after this, the heroes reached Colchis. Many people came
together to look at them, for never before had a ship reached their
country from Greece, {160} and besides this, the Argo was a noble
vessel, unlike anything the Colchians had ever seen, and she had a
number of brave heroes on board. The Argonauts had fastened ropes to
the ship with great stones at the end, and these they threw into the
sea to serve as anchors. Then Jason said that some one must take him
to the king, and a number of people accompanied him as far as the
palace. Jason was a noble-looking man, and for a mantle he wore the
skin of a spotted panther that he had killed himself. When he saw
king Aeëtes, he said that he had come from the home of Phrixus, and
that King Pelias had sent him to fetch the Golden Fleece. Now Aeëtes
prized the Golden Fleece more than all his other treasures, and had
no intention of parting with it; but as he was a crafty man, he said
that he would give it to Jason if he would be willing to give a proof
of his real desire for it, by ploughing a piece of land with two wild
bulls and sowing it with dragon's teeth. The king thought that if
Jason ventured to undertake this he would certainly perish, for the
bulls had brazen feet, and out of their mouths issued a stream of
fire which burnt up everything that came near them; besides this, he
knew that when the dragon's teeth were sown, armed men would rise up
from them and kill Jason, so that even if he succeeded in managing
the wild bulls, it would not be of much avail. But Aeëtes did not
tell Jason all this; and though Jason felt sure that the task which
the king assigned to him would be no easy one, he accepted it without
hesitation and agreed to meet him the next day in a field near the
city in order to accomplish it. When Jason went back to the ship,
the heroes asked him what the king had said, and he told {161} them.
Then as night was coming on, they lay down on the shore, wrapped
themselves up in their cloaks, and went to sleep.
King Aeëtes had a daughter called Medea who was a powerful
enchantress, and knew the properties of all kinds of herbs and how to
make use of them for good or evil. She used to go to the mountains
at night when the moon was shining to pluck herbs, and prepared all
manner of magic drinks from them; she also understood other kinds of
witchcraft. When she saw Jason standing in her father's palace, she
thought he looked like a true hero, and she felt a great love for him
and longed to help him. So in the night she left the palace and came
to the shore where the heroes were asleep. She at once recognised
Jason and awoke him, and he rubbed his eyes in astonishment at seeing
the maiden standing beside him in the moonlight, tall and beautiful,
with her long white veil thrown back. She said to him, 'My father,
the king, intends to kill you, but if you will swear to be my friend,
I will help you.' She told him all about the bulls and the dragon's
teeth, and said that it would not be possible for him to overcome
them without her help. The beautiful princess pleased Jason well,
and he promised that if he obtained the Golden Fleece through her
assistance, he would take her home with him to be his wife. Then
Medea gave him a box containing ointment which protected any one who
used it from being burnt by fire or wounded by steel for the space of
one whole day. She told him to anoint his shield, his spear and his
body with it the next morning, and then the bulls and the armed men
would not be able to do him any harm; she also taught him a trick
{162} which she said he would find useful as a means of defence
against the armed men. When they had talked for some time longer,
Medea wrapped her veil round her and went home; the people in the
palace were not surprised, for they thought she had been wandering
about on the mountain as usual, collecting herbs.
At day-break the king betook himself to the field with all his
courtiers and many other people, and Medea went also, attended by her
women. Near the field was a sacred forest in which the two bulls
were feeding; and in this same forest hung the Golden Fleece, from
which bright rays of light might be seen streaming as the trees were
swayed backwards and forwards by the wind. The plough was standing
ready in the field, and one of the king's servants held in his hand a
helmet which contained the dragon's teeth. Soon afterwards Jason
arrived with the Argonauts looking in such good spirits that the king
and his followers were astonished, for they did not know about the
ointment that had made him proof against fire and steel,--the
Argonauts knew about it, however, for Jason had told them. The king
commanded Jason to fetch the bulls, and he went into the forest and
soon found them. They came towards him bellowing loudly, with the
bright fire streaming from their mouths and nostrils, meaning to kick
him to death with their hoofs. But their fiery breath had no effect
on Jason, and their brazen hoofs could not do him any harm. He
seized them by the horns and dragged them along, and he was so strong
that although they struggled with all their might and tried to pull
first to the right and {163} then to the left, they were obliged to
follow him. It was a strange sight to see him coming out of the
forest with the fire streaming over his face and body, and the bulls
kicking him with their brazen hoofs, yet notwithstanding this, whole
and unscathed. He dragged the bulls to the plough and laid the yoke
upon their necks, then he drove them through the field making furrows
as he went along, and when they were stubborn and refused to go on,
he pricked them with a goad that he had in his hand. He went up and
down three times, until the king said it was enough, and then he
unharnessed the bulls and let them go back into the forest. The king
was very much astonished at his having performed the first part of
his task so successfully, but when he gave him the helmet with the
dragon's teeth in it, he felt sure that the armed men would at all
events make an end of him. Jason walked up and down the furrows, and
every here and there he threw in a tooth and stamped down a clod over
it with his foot. When he had finished he looked round,--the armed
men were already rising out of the ground, and in a little while the
whole fifty had sprung up; they were completely covered with brazen
armour, and had very angry faces. Then Jason remembered the trick
that Medea had taught him, and he took up stones from the ground and
threw them among the band of warriors without letting the king see
what he was doing. Every time one of the armed men felt a stone
strike him, he began to fight with his neighbour because he thought
it was he who had thrown it. So in a short time there was a fierce
battle raging amongst the armed men, and Jason found his task an easy
one: he {164} took his shield and spear, and killed the warriors in
the confusion, till at last they all lay dead on the ground, and the
earth was quite red with their blood.
All the people were full of admiration of the brave hero, and when
Jason took off his helmet and wiped his forehead, they thronged round
him, praising his great achievement. But the king was angry, and
went away with his courtiers without speaking a word to Jason. He
was still determined not to part with the Golden Fleece, and made up
his mind to kill the hero who had come to ask for it. When he
reached the palace, he chose out the strongest of his soldiers and
told them that he would himself lead them to the shore early the next
morning while the Argonauts were still asleep, and that they would
kill the heroes and burn the ship. Aeëtes expected to take the
Argonauts by surprise, but Medea went again that evening to Jason and
told him what her father intended. She also said that she would get
the Golden Fleece for him, and that they must flee away that night.
So they went together into the forest in which the Fleece hung;--high
up among the branches shone the golden light, and at the foot of the
tree was the dragon that never slept. Jason waited at a little
distance while Medea went alone to the dragon, for she was accustomed
to take him his food every day, and he knew her and allowed her to
stroke him. Medea spoke kindly to the dragon, and gave him some
bread that she had brought with her. But the bread had been soaked
in a sweet juice which throws every one who tastes it into the
deepest sleep, so when the dragon had swallowed it, his eyes closed
for the first time in his life and he fell asleep and snored so
loudly {165} that all the birds in the wood awoke and flew away.
Then Jason came forward and climbed up the tall oak and fetched down
the Fleece, and when he had done this, they went back to the shore.
Jason had thrown the Fleece over his arm, and the Argonauts, who were
on the look-out for him, could see him coming towards them with his
shining prize while he was still a long way off, and they pulled up
the great stones which had been used as anchors, and made everything
ready for their departure. But Medea went back once more to her
father's palace, and creeping quietly upstairs, she took her little
brother Absyrtus gently out of his bed, and then set out on her
flight. She took him with her, not because she loved her brother,
but because she thought he might be found useful in case her father
should pursue them. You will soon hear what happened to him.
4. _The Journey Home._
When they were all in the ship, the heroes pushed off and sailed
away. As it was midnight the helmsman had to steer by the stars, but
he knew how to guide the ship towards the setting sun which was the
direction in which Greece lay, and by daybreak they were already far
from the land. King Aeëtes came down to the shore with his
followers, who took with them weapons to fight with, and also torches
for burning the ship. But when they reached it, they stood rubbing
their eyes, for they could see neither the ship nor the heroes, and
when they looked towards the forest, there was the dragon in a deep
sleep, and the Golden Fleece {166} was gone. Soon the king heard
that Medea had fled and had taken with her the little Absyrtus, and
then he knew who it was that had helped the Argonauts, and he was
more angry than he had ever been in his life. He made his men get
ready the swiftest ship they had, and promised to reward them nobly
if they succeeded in overtaking the Argo.
They rowed with all their might, and towards evening they came in
sight of the Argo. Medea knew that all on board would be killed if
they fell into the hands of her father, and when his ship had almost
overtaken the Argo, she took a long knife and stabbed her brother
Absyrtus to death, and cut him in pieces before the eyes of Aeëtes
and flung the pieces into the sea. The king who had been so angry,
now tore his hair for grief; he no longer cared about the Golden
Fleece, and his only desire was to obtain the corpse of his son in
order to bury it, for at that time it was believed that those whose
bodies were not buried had no rest in the Lower World, and the king
would not for the world have let his child's body be eaten by the
fishes. He commanded his men to stop and look for the pieces, and by
the time they had collected them all, the Argo was far out of sight,
and they were obliged to turn back. The king grieved bitterly for
his dead son, and when he came home he buried him with great
magnificence. When that was done, the wish nearest his heart was to
catch the Argo, and he manned three ships with sailors, and told them
to go in search of her and never to return till they had found her.
They sailed about in all directions, but could not find a trace of
the ship anywhere, so as they were afraid to go back to the king
{167} without her, they moored on a strange island, where they
settled down and built houses and remained for the rest of their
lives. Aeëtes was meanwhile spending all his days in watching for
their return.
A violent storm now overtook the Argo. The sea was stirred up and
refused to carry peacefully on her bosom the ship in which the sister
had murdered her brother, and the waves rose as high as mountains, so
that those who were on board the ship had to hold on to the sides and
mast in order to avoid falling into the sea. At last the Sacred Beam
which was planted in the fore part of the vessel, spoke, and said
that the storm would not cease, nor would they have any prosperity in
their voyage, until Medea and Jason had been purged from the stain of
blood, and that they had better go to the enchantress Circe and beg
her to do this for them. So they sailed to the island where Circe
lived, and Medea and Jason left the others in the ship and went
ashore to the palace of the enchantress and placed themselves on the
hearth, which was the place sacred to those who came to sue for help.
Circe asked what their request was, and Medea told her all that had
happened and begged her to atone for their crimes. At first she
refused to do this, for King Aeëtes was her brother, and it was her
nephew that they had murdered; but at last she was persuaded, and
purified them with sacrifices and baths. When this had been done,
they went back to the ship and continued their voyage, and they had
now such lovely weather that the fishes came up from the bottom of
the sea and played merrily in the sunshine.
After some time the Argonauts came to the wicked {168} Sirens, who
were treacherous nymphs that lived in the sea. Their faces were
marvellously beautiful, and they sang so enchantingly that every one
who heard them was bewitched and could not help going to them. But
under the water they had great ugly claws instead of hands, and their
bodies ended in a hideous fish-tail. They clutched those who came to
them with their claws and ate them up, and all the reef where they
lived was strewn with the bones of the men they had eaten. But even
those who knew how cruel and treacherous they were, could no longer
believe it when they heard them sing, and could never resist jumping
into the sea and swimming towards them. When the Sirens saw the ship
approaching, full of noble heroes, they thought they were going to
have a grand feast and began to sing their sweetest songs. They
would have enticed even the Argonauts, and all the witchcraft of
Medea would have been powerless to save them, if there had not been a
hero on board, named Orpheus, who was famous all over Greece for his
singing and playing, and who had such marvellous power over the
hearts of men that no one who heard him could refrain from weeping,
however cruel and hard he might be. So the moment the Sirens began,
Orpheus took his lyre and sang in opposition to them, and he sang so
gloriously that the heroes listened to him rather than to the Sirens,
and the dolphins, who are very fond of music, came and followed the
ship till the song was ended.
The Argonauts next came to the Wandering Rocks, which swam about in
the sea and were shrouded in thick smoke, through which flames of
fire could be seen coming out of crevices in their sides. It seemed
as if {169} it were a sort of amusement to them to give chase to
ships and destroy them, and when they had dashed them to pieces,
there was the fire ready at hand to burn them up. No ship had ever
yet reached home in safety after passing them. But the goddess Hera
was unwilling to see the brave heroes on board the Argo perish
miserably, so she commanded the nymphs who lived at the bottom of the
sea to protect the vessel; these were not wicked nymphs like the
Sirens, but kind and friendly to brave heroes. A great splashing was
heard in the water, and ever so many nymphs came up from the bottom
of the sea, each one more beautiful than the last. They swam round
the ship, and when one of the rocks came towards her from the right,
meaning to crush her, they pushed her away to the left, and when a
rock came from the left, they pushed the ship to the right, and they
did it so fast that the rocks could not overtake her. This amused
them very much, and they laughed out merrily whenever the rocks shot
past them. Soon the Argonauts were again out in the open sea, and
they thanked the nymphs many times for their help. Then the nymphs
went back to their homes at the bottom of the sea.
After rowing for a long time, the heroes came to the island of Crete.
They would have liked to go on shore, but there was an iron watchman
who refused to allow any one to land without the king's express
permission. His name was Talos, and he had been made out of iron by
the blacksmith-god Hephaestus, who gave him to Minos the king of
Crete. Minos used him as a watchman, and made him run round the
{170} whole island three times every day and drive away any strangers
who might approach it. He was all iron, excepting a single vein that
ran from his head right down to his feet, and was fastened underneath
with iron nails which held in the life blood that ran through the
vein and kept him alive. When Talos saw the ship full of heroes
coming, he stood still and threw great stones at her. It would have
been of no use for the Argonauts to shoot spears and arrows at him in
return, for he could not be wounded; so Medea called out to him over
the water, 'Talos, if you will be kind to us and let us land, I will
show you how you may become immortal.' Talos was pleased at this,
and he began to make friendly grimaces, and shouted back his answer
in a voice that came out of his iron body like the sound of a great
trumpet. He said, 'First tell me how I may become immortal, and then
I will let you land.' But Medea answered him deceitfully, and she
called back, 'Draw out the nail that is in your foot, and all that is
mortal in you will flow out.' Talos believed her, and he sat down on
the shore and drew out the nail with some difficulty, for it had been
well hammered in. Then the red blood flowed out, and Talos was glad,
for he thought it was his mortality which was leaving him; but he
became weaker and weaker, and when the last drop of blood had flowed
out of his body, he was dead, and there was nothing left but a cold
lump of iron. The Argonauts could now sail to the land without
hindrance, and they clambered down out of the ship and hunted some
wild animals, which they cooked and made a feast of, on the shore.
The Argonauts sailed from Crete to Greece without {171} stopping, for
the gods gave them favourable winds, and when at last they came in
sight of the Grecian coast, they all rejoiced greatly at seeing their
beloved country again. They landed at that part of it which is
called the Isthmus, and is the road between the peninsula of
Peloponnesus and the rest of Greece, and there they drew the Argo up
on to the shore. The brave ship had been beaten against many a rock,
and had been so long in deep water that she was covered with green
slime. The Argonauts said that she should never be used for any
other journey, and they dedicated her to the sea-god Poseidon as a
thank-offering to him for having brought them home in safety. She
remained for a very long time standing on the Isthmus, and every one
who went by, looked at her and thought of the many dangers and
difficulties that the Argonauts had passed through. At last however,
the Sacred Beam died, and soon afterwards the Argo herself fell to
pieces, for the boards of which she was made had become quite rotten.
5. _Medea's Revenge._
When the heroes arrived in Greece, they separated and returned to
their own homes, and Jason and Medea went to Iolcus where king Pelias
lived. Pelias had thought that it would be quite impossible for
Jason ever to return, because of all the dangers he would meet with
in going to fetch the Golden Fleece, and he had killed his brother,
Jason's father, for fear he should in some way avenge the death of
his son,--so that when the young hero walked into the palace with the
Golden Fleece hanging over his arm, the king turned red and pale by
{172} turns. Jason did not know as yet of the injury that Pelias had
done him; but when he went to his father's house he found it empty,
and the people told him that his father had been killed by order of
the king. Jason was very sad at hearing this, and could no longer
take any pleasure in the thought of all the great deeds he had done;
but Medea told him not to grieve, for she would avenge the wrong he
had suffered. She thought, too, that if Pelias were dead, Jason
would be the king of Iolcus and she the queen, and she advised Jason
to dissemble, and behave as if he had forgiven the king, whilst she
herself went every day to the palace and made friends with his
daughters. One day she told them that if they had spirit enough to
venture on it, they could make their old father young again, though
his hair was already white and his face was covered with wrinkles.
The princesses would not believe Medea, but she said she would prove
it, and she took an old ram and slew him, and cut him up into several
pieces, and laid the pieces in a great caldron of boiling water, and
when she had poured a magic juice over them, a young lamb jumped out
of the caldron, and no trace of the ram could be seen. Then the
girls believed Medea, and begged her to give them the magic juice
with which to make their old father young again; but Medea gave them
instead, a liquid, which looked just like it, but which had no power
whatever. The king's daughters did not delay a single day, but the
next time their father was asleep, they went to him and killed him,
and one struck off his head, while the others cut the rest of his
body into pieces. They had a huge caldron standing ready on the
fire, into which they threw the pieces, {173} and then they poured
over them the liquid that Medea had given them, expecting to see
their father come out a young man. But Pelias was dead, and dead he
remained. The princesses watched the caldron for a long time, but at
last they were obliged to give up all hope, and then they broke out
into bitter wailing and rushed about the streets with dishevelled
hair, crying out that Medea had deceived them and made them kill
their father without knowing what they were doing. The people had
not cared for Pelias because he had been a cruel and severe man, but
they would not sanction the treachery by which he had come to his
end, and instead of choosing Jason for their new king, they chose the
son of Pelias, so that things turned out very differently from
Medea's expectations, and she and Jason had to leave the country.
They went to the city of Corinth, where King Creon ruled. He
received them with open arms, for he had heard of Jason's brave deeds
and was glad that he had come to live in his country, and he gave him
a beautiful house with meadows and vineyards and orchards all round
it. Jason and Medea lived there in peace for ten years, and the gods
sent them two children whom Medea loved dearly; they were the first
human beings she had ever really cared for. But the king had a
daughter named Glauce, who was only a child when Jason first went to
Corinth but had now grown up to be a very beautiful maiden, and Creon
was anxious that she should marry a noble hero, for she was his only
child, and her husband would be king of Corinth after his death and
would inherit all his riches. And as Jason pleased him well, he said
to him that if he would {174} get rid of Medea, he would give him his
daughter Glauce for his wife. Jason no longer cared for Medea as he
had once done, because she was of a gloomy, discontented nature, and
he thought that if he were rich, he could make up to her for the
wrong he would do her by taking another wife. So he told the king
that he would agree to his proposal, and he said to Medea that he
would give her a great deal of gold and silver, and the most
beautiful dresses that could be made, and that she should never want
for anything, but live just as if she were the richest queen in the
world. He also told her that he was making this new marriage for the
sake of his children, in order that they might have a king for their
father. Medea was very angry about it in her heart, but she
pretended to agree, and when the day came on which the marriage was
to be celebrated, she gave Jason a magnificent robe and begged him to
take it to Glauce as a present from herself. Jason took it without
any suspicion, and Glauce was very much pleased with it and went into
her bedchamber to put it on for the wedding. But the robe had been
dipped in a poisonous juice, and as soon as it became warm it burst
out into flames. Glauce could not tear it off, and she screamed for
help; her father and Jason came running to try and put out the fire,
but nothing they could do was of any use, and Glauce perished
miserably. Creon threw himself upon the dead body of his daughter
and tore his hair and wept bitterly, but Jason drew his sword and
rushed home to kill Medea. But as he came near the house, he looked
up at the sky and saw a chariot drawn by two winged dragons, in which
Medea was driving away. Medea had purposed to kill her two {175}
children before she went, because of the pain which she knew this
would cause Jason; but when she had taken up the dagger, the
children, who did not know what was in her mind, stood looking at her
with their pretty blue eyes, and she had not the heart to carry out
her intention, but caught them up in her arms and covered them with
kisses, and then fled away in the enchanted chariot.
{176}
XXVIII.
THESEUS
There was a great and famous city in Greece called Athens, about
which, when it was first built, there arose a strife between the
sea-god Poseidon and the wise goddess Athene, as to which of them
should be its protector, for the Greek cities were each under the
special care and guardianship of some god or goddess. As they could
not agree about it, the other gods said that they must each bring a
present to the city, and that it should belong to whichever of them
gave it the best present. The gods assembled one day in the
fortress, which had been built on a hill in the middle of the
city.[1] Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and out sprang
a noble animal which was the first horse that had ever been seen, and
the gods admired the beautiful creature very much. Then it was the
turn of Athene, and she brought forth the olive tree, which bears the
olives from which oil is made, and explained how the fruit could be
made use of. After this the gods gave their judgment, and they
said:--'This is such a stony land that the citizens would find the
noble horse of little service, for the horse cannot go well {177}
over uneven ground, but the olive-tree would flourish, and would be
useful to the citizens in many ways.' So the city was placed under
the guardianship of Athene and was named after her, and the citizens
planted olive-trees all over the country and found in these their
chief wealth. They took great care of the tree in the fortress from
which all the others had sprung, and it outlived its children and its
grandchildren. But after many years had passed, the country was
invaded by some enemies who laid waste all the beautiful houses and
temples and even burnt the sacred olive-tree itself down to the
roots. On the next day, however, when all round it there was nothing
to be seen but smoking ruins, behold! a new olive-tree had sprung
from the ashes of the old one, which grew, and became in time a large
tree.
The city of Athens was at one time ruled over by a king named Aegeus,
who had a wife but no children. This was a great sorrow to him, but
his brother Pallas was very glad of it, for he had fifty sons, and he
thought that if Aegeus died without children his sons would inherit
the kingdom. After a time however the wife of Aegeus died, and soon
afterwards he went to stay with a king who lived in the city of
Troezen, which was several days' journey from Athens; there he was
secretly married to the king's beautiful daughter Aethra, and his
great wish was fulfilled, for Aethra had a young son. Aegeus would
not however take him back to Athens with him, for he feared that his
brother's sons, the wild Pallantidae, would try to kill him. So he
resolved to leave the child to be brought up by his mother in
Troezen, and before he set out on {178} his journey home he buried
his sword and his sandals underneath a huge stone, and told Aethra
that when the child was strong enough to heave up the stone and take
the sword and sandals from under it, he must leave her and come to
him at Athens. After this he went back to his kingdom without
telling any one that the gods had given him a son. Aethra loved her
son very dearly; she named him Theseus, and brought him up with great
care, and he grew handsome and strong, and delighted above everything
in listening to his mother whilst she told him stories about all the
old heroes, and especially about the strong Heracles, who had killed
so many monsters and driven away all the robbers out of the land.
Theseus did not know who his father was, but when he had become a
young man and the down was beginning to grow upon his chin, Aethra
thought he would be strong enough to lift the stone, and she took him
to the place where it lay, and told him that underneath it were the
sword and sandals of his father who was Aegeus, the king of Athens.
Without much difficulty Theseus heaved up the huge stone, though it
had become deeply embedded in the earth; and then Aethra told him
that his father was still alive, and that he was to take the sword
and sandals and go to him at Athens; and Theseus rejoiced at hearing
this, and prepared to set off at once. It was a very dangerous
journey from Troezen to Athens for there were many robbers on the
way, and the old king wanted to give Theseus a ship, so that he might
go by sea with much less risk. His mother also was anxious that he
should take the easier journey, but Theseus was a brave {179} hero,
and instead of being afraid of the robbers, he was only eager to meet
with them. So they were obliged to let him have his own way, and
comforted themselves by praying to the gods to protect him.
Theseus accordingly set out on his journey, and he had not long left
Troezen when he came to a savage robber who lurked by the roadside,
and who was called the Club-carrier. He had a very ugly face, and
was lame, but very strong; and he used to lie on the grass among the
trees, and whenever a traveller passed by, he sprang out and struck
him down with a heavy iron club which he wielded quite easily, and
then he robbed him of his goods. When Theseus came along the road,
the robber sprang out to kill him; but Theseus avoided the blow, so
that the heavy club struck the earth beside him, and then he wrestled
with the robber. He at last succeeded in wrenching the club out of
his hand, and then he battered his head with it, so that the
Club-carrier died by the same weapon with which he had killed others.
This was the first heroic deed that Theseus had performed, and he
took the iron club away with him to serve both for a weapon and a
trophy.
Soon afterwards he came to a fir-wood, where there lived a robber
called the Fir-bender. He was tall and strong, with long bristly
hair, and he looked very fierce and wild. It was his delight to
seize travellers and torture them cruelly: he used to bend two
flexible fir-trees down to the ground, and tie each of the
traveller's feet to one of these trees, and then he let them spring
apart, and broke out into a hideous laugh when he saw the body torn
in two and one half hanging to each of the trees. Theseus knew that
the robber lived in the {180} forest, and he went straight to his
house. The Fir-bender came out to seize him, but Theseus wrestled
with him and threw him. He resolved to punish him with the torture
that he had himself devised, and he bent down two young fir-trees and
tore the robber's body in two, though he screamed horribly and
entreated Theseus to spare him. The Fir-bender had a daughter called
Perigune who lived with him in the forest. She was not at all like
her father, but was, on the contrary, gentle and good, and she used
to tend the plants and flowers that grew near their house. When she
saw that Theseus had killed her father, she was afraid and thought he
would kill her too, so she hid herself among some large-leaved
plants, and said to them, just as if they could understand her, that
if they would shelter her she would never pluck any of them again.
Theseus looked everywhere for her, but he could not see her on
account of the thick leaves. He guessed that she must have hidden
herself, and so he called out to her not to be afraid, for he would
not do her any harm. His voice sounded so kind that she was
encouraged to come out, and they sat and talked together, and
Perigune gave him some food, after which Theseus took leave of her
and went away. The girl never plucked any flowers from the plants
among which she had hidden herself, nor from any others of the same
kind, and when she became the wife of a hero she taught her children
that they must never do so either, and they in turn brought up their
children in the same way, so that no one who was of the race of the
robber ever injured any plants of that kind.
Theseus had heard that there was a fierce she-boar {181} in the
neighbourhood that did a great deal of damage, and he resolved that
he would rid the people of her. He came upon her footprints in the
grass, and followed them till he had tracked her to her den. She
started up to kill him with her tusks, and a fierce struggle
followed, in which Theseus handled his club valiantly, and at last
hit the boar a mighty blow on the head which cracked her skull and
made an end of her. Then Theseus wiped the dew from his forehead and
continued his journey. His road now lay along a rocky path above the
sea, and he presently came to a rock which was the abode of the
robber Sciron. He was a strong, powerful man, who amused himself in
a very horrible manner. He used to sit on a rock above the sea,
blocking up the road so that no one could pass, and he compelled
every traveller who came that way to wash his feet, and while they
were doing this he kicked them over the cliff, so that they fell down
into the sea where there lurked a great tortoise ready to eat them
up. Theseus treated the robber just as he had treated others; he was
the stronger of the two, and he compelled Sciron to do as he told
him, and wash his feet, and then he kicked him over the cliff, and
the tortoise seized him by the neck and gobbled him up.
That same evening Theseus reached the house of the wicked Stretcher,
whose custom it was to sit before his door and invite travellers to
lodge with him for the night. He always fed them sumptuously, but at
bed-time he brought out two bedsteads, a big one and a little one,
and he took the short people to the big bedstead and killed them by
stretching out their limbs till they were as long as the couch, (for
which reason he was called the {182} Stretcher) and the tall people
he laid upon the little bedstead and lopped off as much of their
limbs as extended beyond it, and then he left them to bleed to death.
Theseus behaved as if he did not know about the robber's wicked
practices: he ate and drank and carried on a cheerful conversation,
but when the robber led him into the sleeping-chamber, Theseus seized
him round the body, threw him on to the short bedstead, and then drew
his sword and hewed off his legs above the knees; then two great
streams of blood gushed forth, and the robber died. Theseus dragged
the body out into the open air where it was devoured by wolves,
vultures, and ravens, but he himself lay down to rest in the house
and slept till the morning, and when the day dawned, he went on his
way. The Stretcher was the last robber he met with, and ever after
this journey of his, travellers could go from Troezen to Greece
without fear of being robbed and killed, and as they journeyed they
thought of the young hero Theseus to whom they owed their safety.
Theseus soon afterwards arrived in Athens. He first of all bathed
himself in a stream near the city, for he was covered with dust and
blood, and when he was cleansed, he entered the town and was
conducted to his father's palace. He went in saying that he was a
stranger, and begged the king to show him hospitality. Aegeus was
now old, and he was very sorrowful, for he thought that his son must
be dead and that the wicked Pallantidae would succeed to the kingdom.
The witch Medea was with him, for he had received her when she fled
from Corinth in her chariot drawn by dragons.[2] {183} She was wise
and crafty in speech, and she had succeeded in gaining so great an
influence over the king that he asked her advice in all things, and
followed it. No one knew who Theseus was except Medea, but she knew,
for she could find out any secret by means of her magic arts. She
was not at all pleased that Theseus had come to Athens, for she
feared that the king would set greater store by his son than by her,
and that her power would now be at an end. So she told Aegeus that
the stranger was a kinsman of the Pallantidae, and that he had come
for the purpose of killing him. The poor old king believed what she
told him and was seized with fear, and he asked her what he had
better do to save his life. Medea answered that she would mix some
poison with the wine that Theseus was to drink, and Aegeus gave her
leave to do so. But while they were at dinner, it happened that
Theseus wanted to cut off a piece of roasted meat, and he drew his
sword to cut it, for the Greeks had not at that time learnt the use
of knives and forks. Then Aegeus recognised the sword, and he sprang
up and dashed the goblet from the table; the poisoned wine flowed all
over the floor, but Aegeus paid no attention to it, for he had flung
his arms round Theseus, and was embracing him and crying out, 'My
son, my son.' Both the father and son rejoiced greatly at thus
finding each other, and they had many things to ask and to tell, and
when Theseus related how he had destroyed the robbers, the joy of the
old king was doubled at finding that his son was so brave a hero.
Meanwhile he gave no thought to the wicked Medea who had intended to
poison Theseus, and she went out and called her dragon-car. It came
rushing through {184} the air towards her, and she got into it and
flew away, and has never been seen again.
The old king was quite happy now, and he sent a herald to proclaim
all through the city that Theseus was his son and the heir to his
kingdom. No one grudged him his happiness except the wicked Pallas
and his sons, who till now had been the chief men in the city. They
were rich and had a great many servants, and they assembled them all
in a little wood near the city, intending to leave some of them there
in ambush, and to lead the others towards the city and shout to
Theseus to come out and fight them. They thought that he would come
out against them with a few men only, and that after the battle had
begun, they would be joined by the servants left in the wood which
would make the odds very unequal; and they hoped that they would thus
be able to kill Theseus, and then go on into the city and murder the
old king. But after they had made all their preparations, one of the
servants went to Aegeus and revealed the treachery they were
planning. Then Theseus went out towards the wood, followed by a
number of the citizens, and slew the men who were in ambush there,
and when the rest heard that, they were afraid, and fled from the
country.
Theseus was anxious to perform some heroic deed which would benefit
the Athenians and make them love and honour him. There was at that
time a fierce bull in the country who killed men and cattle, and who
was called the Bull of Marathon, because he lived near Marathon,
which is close to Athens. It was the same beast that had formerly
been called the Cretan Bull, and had been brought by Heracles from
Crete, at the {185} command of Eurystheus, as his seventh Labour.[3]
Ever since that time the savage bull had been at large in Greece,
doing much damage. Theseus went out against him without either sword
or club, for he wished to overcome the bull by his own hero-strength
alone, and bring him alive to Athens; some of the citizens went with
him, but only to look on at a distance. When Theseus came in sight
of the bull, he stood still, and the bull rushed at him, bellowing
and lowering his head to run his horns into him and toss him up high
into the air, as he had tossed many a one before. But Theseus seized
him by the horns and dragged him aside, and then a mighty wrestling
took place,--the eyes of the young hero glowed like fire, and the
veins of his arms were swollen high with the effort he had to make.
When they had wrestled for some time, the bull grew tired and tried
to get free, but Theseus held him fast and dragged him into the city,
and all the Athenians came out to meet him, and they praised him and
said that he was like Heracles. Theseus then took the bull to the
temple of Apollo to sacrifice him to the god. He cut off the hairs
from the animal's forehead, as the custom was, and laid them in the
flame of the fire that was burning on the altar and prayed to Apollo,
and then he took up the sacrificial axe, and felled the great bull to
the ground with a single blow. The sacrifice was then performed in
the usual manner, and it was the most splendid animal that had ever
been offered to any god. The Athenians were proud of their strong
young prince, and they loved and honoured him.
Not long after this, the time came round when the {186} Athenians
were obliged to send their tribute to the king of Crete; it was,
indeed, a shameful tribute,--seven youths and seven maidens, who were
sent to perish there miserably. Minos, the king of Crete, had had a
son named Androgeus, who had once happened to come to Athens just
when there was a feast going on, and sports in which all the young
men vied with one another in feats of skill and strength; and he had
taken part in the sports, and had excelled all others and won the
prize of honour. But the Athenians were very angry at his having
beaten them, and they lay in wait for him as he was on his way home,
and fell upon him and killed him. When his father, King Minos, heard
of this, he swore that the Athenians should suffer for it, and he
prepared his ships and sailed with a mighty army to fight against
Athens. The gods took the part of Minos and sent a pestilence among
the Athenians; they also dried up their rivers and spoiled their
harvests, so that there was great distress throughout the country.
At last the Athenians were obliged to sue for peace, and Minos
granted it on condition that every nine years they should give him a
tribute of seven youths and seven maidens. There was a wonderful
house in Crete where the youths and maidens who were sent as tribute
met with a miserable death. The house was called the Labyrinth, and
it was as large as a town, and had countless courts and galleries.
Those who entered it without being familiar with its passages could
never find their way out again, and they hurried from one to another
of the numberless rooms looking for the entrance door, but all in
vain,--they only became more and more hopelessly lost in the
bewildering house, and {187} at last a monster who lived there, came
and ate them up. He was called the Minotaur, and he had the form of
a man, excepting his head, which was that of a bull, and he had a
bull's voice.
When the time for paying the tribute came round, all the youths and
maidens of Athens had to assemble in the market-place. Then two
brazen vessels were brought out, and they put a number of balls into
each of them; into one vessel they put as many balls as there were
youths in the city, and into the other as many balls as there were
maidens; seven of the balls in each vessel were black, and all the
rest were white. All the youths and maidens in turn had to put their
hand into one of the vessels and draw out a ball without looking, and
those who drew the black balls had to go on board the ship that was
waiting to take them to Crete. For this sorrowful journey the ship
always had black sails instead of white ones.
For the third time the Athenians were now obliged to pay the tribute
of seven youths and seven maidens to the king of Crete. When Theseus
heard about it, he begged his father to let him sail with them, for
he hoped that he would be able to kill the monster and deliver the
Athenians. The king was afraid that Theseus would never come back,
notwithstanding the great deeds he had already performed, and he
refused at first to give his consent; but Theseus said that it would
be a disgrace to him if he did not go, and he persisted in his
request till his father granted it. When the others had been chosen
by lot, they all went on board the ship which was ready to sail, and
Aegeus and many others went down to the shore to take leave of {188}
them. All were heart-broken at the parting excepting Theseus, but he
was in very good spirits, for he hoped this would be the last time
that such a journey would have to be made. The old king gave him a
white sail which he begged him to hoist if he came back in safety,
saying, 'If you are alive when the ship returns, let me know it by
this signal; but if on the contrary you have perished, the black sail
will tell me the sad news as soon as the ship comes in sight.'
Theseus promised to do as his father wished, and then he went on
board the vessel and gave the signal to the sailors, who plied their
oars and pushed off from the land. And Aegeus returned home and
prayed to the gods to bring his son back to him in safety.
After some time the voyage came to an end, and the ship with the
black sails arrived in Crete. Minos sent his soldiers to conduct the
youths and maidens to a dungeon where they were to remain till the
next day, and as they passed through the streets many people crowded
to look at them, lamenting that the young lives should be sacrificed.
The procession went past the palace gate where King Minos was
standing with his daughter Ariadne, who was a very beautiful girl.
When Ariadne saw Theseus she could not help gazing at him, for she
thought he looked more like a true hero than any one she had ever
seen, though many heroes came to her father's court. She could not
bear to think that he must perish, and all night long, when every one
else was asleep, she lay awake on her couch thinking how she could
save him. In the morning she watched for an opportunity and went to
the prison, where she bad no difficulty in getting in because she was
the {189} king's daughter. She called Theseus apart, and told him
that she loved him and longed to save him, and she gave him a ball of
thread and said that he must secretly fasten one end of it to the
entrance of the Labyrinth and unravel it as he went along, so that he
might be able to find his way out again. She also gave him a sharp
sword which she had taken from her father's armoury, that he might be
armed for his struggle with the Minotaur. Theseus thanked the
beautiful Ariadne, and told her that he was the son of the king of
Athens, and that if he escaped in safety from the Labyrinth he would
take her home with him to be his wife. She willingly consented to
this, and then left the prison, and soon afterwards the guards came
to take the prisoners to the Labyrinth; they did not see the sword
and the ball of thread which Ariadne had given to Theseus, for he had
hidden them in his robe. When they reached the Labyrinth they led
the prisoners a long way into it and then left them, thinking that
they would never find their way out again, for they did not notice
that Theseus had unfastened his ball at the entrance and let the
thread pass through his fingers as he went along. When the guards
had turned back, the youths and maidens thought they would have to
wander about hopelessly until the Minotaur came and devoured them,
but Theseus spoke to them encouragingly, and said that by the help of
the gods he would slay the monster and bring them out of their
trouble. About mid-day they heard the monster bellowing in the
distance; he was still some way from them, but he scented human
blood, and as he came nearer his bellowing grew louder and louder.
The {190} others crowded together in a corner, each wanting to be the
last to meet him, but Theseus stood forward in the middle of the room
with his naked sword raised, waiting for his approach. He was as
tall again as a man, and he had powerful fists and a huge mouth, and
on his head were two great horns. He stretched out his arm to seize
Theseus and opened his mouth to bite off his head, but Theseus sprang
behind him and hewed off one of his legs at the knee joint, and then
the huge giant fell down and bellowed until the walls shook with the
noise he made. Theseus measured with his eye to see where his heart
must be, and taking careful aim, he stabbed him through the back at
that place. A great stream of blood gushed out, and the monster lay
on the ground groaning and moaning and beating about wildly with his
arms; he did not hit any one, however, and before long he was dead.
The youths and maidens all came round Theseus, and they fell down and
kissed his feet and hands. They waited till it was dark, and then
set out to leave the Labyrinth, Theseus going in front and winding up
the ball of thread as he went. They passed through room after room
and court after court, till at last they reached the door, where they
found Ariadne waiting for them; she had stolen away from the palace,
and was full of joy when she saw them arrive. Then they all went
together to the ship, which at once put out to sea, and by daybreak
they were already far away. King Minos thought his daughter must
have been carried off by robbers, for it never occurred to him that
she could have sailed away with the prisoners whom he believed to
have been devoured by the Minotaur, and he searched for her all over
the island. When he {191} heard, some time afterwards, what had
really happened, he was so amazed at the bravery of Theseus that he
never again ventured to demand the tribute from the Athenians.
When Theseus and his companions had sailed for some days, they came
to the island of Naxos, and as it was evening, they went ashore to
sleep. Naxos was the favourite country of Dionysus, the wine-god; he
often used to stay in the island, and he caused the finest vines to
grow there. Theseus and his companions slept on the shore, and
towards morning, Dionysus appeared to Theseus in a dream and said to
him, 'Rise up and return home at once with your friends, but leave
Ariadne behind you, for I myself have chosen her to be my wife.'
Theseus awoke very sorrowful at having to leave the beautiful
Ariadne, but he knew that he must do as the god commanded, and he
roused his companions and told them his dream, and then they went
softly down to the ship and sailed away, leaving Ariadne asleep on
the island. When it was bright daylight, Ariadne awoke and found
herself alone. She sprang up and ran down to the shore, and seeing
the ship some way out at sea, she thought they had forgotten her, and
waved her veil as a signal for them to come back. The ship's crew
saw her, but they sailed on all the same, and then Ariadne sat down
on the shore and wept bitterly, for she thought that Theseus had
abandoned her because he did not love her, and that she was left to
perish in misery and distress. As she sat thus weeping, with her
beautiful head resting on her hand, and with her mind full of sad
thoughts, she heard a sound of flute-playing on the island, which
came nearer and nearer, and a {192} crowd of men and women appeared
before her in a strange procession. The foremost was a marvellously
beautiful youth, who had a crown of vine-leaves on his head, and
drove in a golden chariot drawn by two spotted panthers. The youth
was Dionysus, and he went up to Ariadne and said, 'Do not be afraid;
I am the god who created the vine, and I love you, and am going to
make you my wife.' The marriage was celebrated that very day, and
all the woods and valleys in the island resounded with sweet music;
the Bacchantes danced and sang, and the old Silenus who had taken
care of Dionysus in his childhood[4] was intoxicated the whole day
long by way of doing honour to his master. Ariadne was now the wife
of the god Dionysus, and she became immortal, and was gifted with
perpetual youth.
The ship that carried away Theseus soon reached Athens, but Theseus
was so absorbed in thoughts of Ariadne that he forgot to hoist the
white sails which were to announce his safe return. The aged Aegeus
had passed many long hours since his son had left him in sitting on a
high rock from which he could see far over the sea. At last he spied
a sail coming towards him, but when it approached a little nearer, he
saw that it was a black one. Then he thought that the ship was
returning without Theseus, and he threw himself over into the sea
because he could not bear to live any longer. Some of the people who
were on the shore saw what he had done, and they at once got into a
boat and sailed to the place where he had disappeared, hoping to save
him; but they were too late, for when they found him he was already
dead. They laid the {193} corpse on a bier, and were standing sadly
round it when the ship came sailing in. The youths on board raised a
shout of joy at reaching their home again, but the others beckoned to
them to be silent, and pointed to the corpse. When Theseus knew that
his father had killed himself at the sight of the black sail, he was
very much distressed, and he threw himself upon the corpse shedding
bitter tears. In the evening the Athenians carried the bier to the
palace, and the next day they raised a funeral pyre, and when they
had burnt the body, they placed the ashes in a costly urn. Theseus
sorrowed long for his father, and bitterly regretted that he had not
remembered the white sail at the right time. Theseus was now king,
and he ruled over the city of Athens for a great number of years, and
performed many brave deeds. The Athenians had never before had such
a noble hero for their king, and they lived in peace and safety, for
their enemies feared Theseus and did not dare to attack them. It
happened once, that in sailing along the coast of Asia, Theseus
arrived at the country of the Amazons,--a nation of warlike
women,[5]--one of whom was standing on the shore when Theseus landed.
She was so beautiful that he determined to carry her off to be his
wife, but the Amazons never welcomed strangers, and when Theseus went
up to her she raised her lance, intending to pierce him with it.
Theseus however was not afraid, and putting his arms round the
maiden, he carried her off to the ship and his comrades rowed away as
fast as they could. The other Amazons came running down to the shore
when they heard the cries of their sister, but they could not {194}
overtake the ship. The Amazon that Theseus had carried off was named
Hippolyta. At first she was very angry with him, but soon she came
to love him with all her heart and had no wish to go home again.
When they reached Athens, Hippolyta became the wife of Theseus, and
the gods sent them a little son whom they named Hippolytus.
Hippolyta was now queen of Athens; but the Amazons had made up their
minds to deliver their sister and punish the stranger who had run
away with her, and they took ship and sailed to Greece. It was a
strange sight to see women with helmets on their heads and shields at
their sides, managing the vessels; and when they came to Greece every
one was afraid of them. They did not know who it was that had
carried off their sister, so they made inquiries; and when they found
it was Theseus, they set out for Athens, and as soon as they entered
his dominions they began to lay waste the cornfields and kill both
men and women. Some of the people escaped, however, and hastened to
the city to warn the king that the Amazons were marching towards it,
and he armed his people and led them out to the fight. Then a fierce
battle took place, and many of the Athenians were killed. Queen
Hippolyta stood on the wall of the city watching the battle, full of
anxiety lest Theseus should be killed by the Amazons, and she longed
so much to help him that at last she armed herself with a spear and
shield, and went out to take part in the fray. The Amazons thought
at first that she had come to join them, but when they found out what
was the real state of the case they became furious. They were now
more angry with her than with Theseus, and they hurled their lances
at her till one of them hit her in {195} the breast, and she sank
down and died. Theseus was standing by her, and when he saw that she
was dead, he was seized with uncontrollable fury, and he struck down
one after another of the Amazons until they were all killed. It was
a great victory, and the first that any one had ever gained over the
Amazons, but Theseus could take no pleasure in it because of the loss
of Hippolyta.
There was a nation in Greece called the Lapithae, whose king,
Pirithoüs, was a brave and noble hero. He had heard so much about
Theseus that he resolved to try whether he was as much of a hero as
every one said. So he entered his country and stole some cattle and
carried them away. When Theseus heard of it, he set out in pursuit
of Pirithoüs, who took no pains to escape from him, but rather the
contrary, for he had stolen the cattle, not for the sake of having
them, but because he wanted to see what Theseus would be like when he
was angry. When Theseus overtook him, Pirithoüs marvelled at his
strength and beauty and at the fire of his eyes which were glowing
with impatience for the fight, and Theseus on his part was so
delighted with the brave and manly appearance of Pirithoüs that he
quite forgot that he had been angry with him. Pirithoüs went up to
him holding out his hand, and said, 'I will atone for the theft I
have committed; you may impose upon me whatever punishment you will.'
Theseus gave him his hand in return, and said that he would impose no
punishment, but would rather make a sacred friendship with him. They
promised each other that they would be as brothers, and would always
be ready to stand by one another, and called upon Zeus {196} to
witness their oaths and bless their friendship, and then they
returned, each to his own country.
Some time after this, Pirithoüs invited a number of guests to
celebrate his marriage with a beautiful princess, and the most
honoured of all the guests was Theseus. All the great men among the
Lapithae were at the wedding, and also the savage Centaurs, who had
the lower part of their bodies formed like the bodies of horses. But
when the fierce Centaurs became intoxicated, they tried to run away
with the bride of Pirithoüs and the other women, and the marriage
feast ended in a bloody fight. The vessels that had been used at the
feast served for arms, and they threw goblets, dishes, and drinking
cups at one another. The Centaurs were stronger than the Lapithae,
and would certainly have gained the victory if the Lapithae had not
had the help of Theseus, who had brought his iron club with him and
struck down the Centaurs with it, till the dead bodies of those whom
he had killed lay upon the ground in heaps and the few that remained
took to flight. Then peace was restored, though not before a great
number of the Lapithae had perished, and Theseus returned home, glad
that he had been able to give this proof of his friendship for
Pirithoüs.
Theseus was always ready to help those who were in the right, and as
his fame spread far and wide, every one who was oppressed came to
Athens and stood before the Altar of Pity which had been raised in
the centre of the market-place. Then Theseus inquired into his case,
and if he found that he had been wronged, he took care to see that
justice was done. This gained for him the hatred of the wicked
oppressors, but all those who cared for justice honoured and loved
him.
{197}
Theseus had reigned for a long time, and his son Hippolytus had grown
up to be a man, when he resolved to marry again, and asked Minos the
king of Crete to let him have his daughter Phaedra, the sister of
Ariadne, for his wife. Minos had long before this forgiven Theseus
for having killed the Minotaur and carried off Ariadne, and he
willingly consented to give him his younger daughter in marriage.
Phaedra was many years younger than Theseus and had been quite a
child when he was in Crete, but she now became queen of Athens, and
Theseus loved her dearly and did all he could to please her. His
son, who had been named Hippolytus after his mother, did not live at
Athens, but in Troezen with his grandmother who had brought him up
since the death of Hippolyta. He was noble and virtuous, and he
loved the chase and all manly pursuits, and honoured, above all other
gods and goddesses, the huntress-goddess Artemis. Hippolytus came
one day to Athens on a visit, and when Phaedra saw him, she was so
dazzled by his youth and beauty that she began to love him
passionately, and after his return she used to spend many hours every
day sitting on the city walls and looking towards Troezen. She used
to take her old nurse there with her, and talk to her about
Hippolytus, and tell her how willingly she would give up honour and
riches for his sake. The next time Hippolytus came to Athens she had
a secret conversation with him, and begged him to flee away and take
her with him to be his wife. But Hippolytus was angry with her for
plotting such treachery against his father, and he was so shocked at
what she had said that he mounted his chariot and drove his spirited
horses {198} back towards Troezen. Phaedra now hated him for having
spurned her, and she thought of a plan by which she might revenge
herself upon him. She went to Theseus and told him with many tears
that Hippolytus had proposed to her to run away with him and become
his wife, and Theseus believed what she told him, and he was very,
very angry, and said that Hippolytus should atone for it with his
life.
Theseus was loved by the gods, and especially by Poseidon the
sea-god, who had once promised him that if ever he prayed to him in
any time of trouble, he would certainly grant his request, whatever
it might be. Many years had passed away since then, and Theseus had
never had so great a desire for anything as to think of asking the
sea-god for it; but now that Phaedra accused his son of this great
crime, he entreated Poseidon to fulfil his dearest wish and cause
Hippolytus to die immediately. At that moment, Hippolytus who was
driving along the sea-shore, saw the waves suddenly part asunder and
a hideous monster come out of them, who roared horribly. The
frightful appearance of the monster and the noise he made, rendered
the horses quite unmanageable, and Hippolytus could not hold them in.
They ran away with the chariot, dragging it over stones and rocks,
till at last it was upset, and Hippolytus was thrown out and trampled
to death. The people found his body and brought it to Athens, and
Theseus knew that Poseidon had granted his prayer. But when Phaedra
saw the corpse, she was so grieved and sick at heart that she went
into her sleeping chamber and hanged herself, and then the old nurse
told the king the whole truth. When Theseus knew {199} that his
innocent son had perished because of his virtue, he was quite
overcome with grief, and threw himself upon the corpse, kissing it
and weeping passionately, and for many days he shut himself up alone
in his palace and refused either to eat or drink.
Theseus thought that the best way of regaining his spirits would be
to undertake some new exploit which would give a fresh turn to his
thoughts. The wife of Pirithoüs was also dead, and the two heroes
determined to set out together to seek for two beautiful women whom
they might carry off to become their wives. They had heard that
Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, had a lovely daughter named Helena,
and they set out for Sparta, and reached it just at the time of the
festival of Artemis. The maidens of the city kept the festival by
dancing round the altar of the goddess, and Helena was among them,
and was distinguished from all the others by her marvellous beauty.
The two heroes rushed in among the maidens and seized Helena, and
when they had carried her off to a place of safety, they cast lots
for her, to see whose wife she should be. The lot fell to Theseus,
and he took her to his mother Aethra and begged her to take care of
the maiden until he should return for her, for he wanted to go and
help his friend also to carry off a wife by force. They were so bold
as to resolve that they would descend into the Land of Shades and
steal away the queen of the Lower World, although this was in
undertaking so daring that nothing like it had ever before been
attempted by any hero. They passed through the chasm which was the
entrance to the Lower World, and went down far below the earth till
at last they reached the Land of {200} Shades. They were now very
tired, and as they expected to have a hard struggle before they could
get possession of the queen, they thought they would rest a little
first, and sat down on a stone which they saw near them. But when
they wanted to get up again, they found that they had stuck fast to
the stone and could not move. The king of the Lower World, who knew
for what purpose they had dared to come into his dominions, had
prevented their getting up again, and he punished them by obliging
them to sit there for ever.
So the two heroes were kept prisoners in the Lower World; and
meanwhile, the brothers of Helena, whose names were Castor and
Pollux, set out to free their sister. Their mother was the beautiful
Leda, wife of King Tyndareus, who was sitting one day by the river
bank when a snow-white swan came sailing by. Leda was charmed with
his beauty and called him to come to her, and the swan came on shore
and embraced her. It was not a real swan however, but Zeus, who
loved the beautiful Leda, and had come to her in this form. Some
time after this, Leda had four children; there were two large eggs,
and out of each egg there came a little boy and a little girl. Two
of them were the children of Zeus, and their names were Pollux and
Helena; the other two were called Castor and Clytaemnestra. When
they grew up, the two brothers, Castor and Pollux, became glorious
heroes. No one understood so well how to tame wild horses as Castor,
and no one was so skilled in wrestling as Pollux.[6] They were also
kind and gentle, and loved one another so dearly that they shared
everything, and they performed {201} many heroic deeds together, and
won great fame. But in the course of time, Castor died and passed
into the Lower World, where he became an unthinking shade. Pollux
did not die, for it was decreed that as he was a son of Zeus he
should become immortal and live among the gods. But his immortality
was a burden to him, for he could not bear to live without his
brother, and he begged his father Zeus to grant them both the same
fate, so that they might either be both in Olympus or both in the
Lower World. Zeus was pleased at their love for one another, and he
said that they should both be in Olympus one day and both be in the
Lower World on the alternate day, and thus they should always remain
together. The two brothers were named the Dioscuri, or the children
of Zeus, and two bright stars which stand close to one another in the
sky are named after them.
At the time however when Theseus carried off Helena, the brothers
were still alive and in the first bloom of their youth. They set out
with their companions for Athens, thinking that Theseus must have
taken their sister to his capital; but when they reached it they were
told that he had gone away on an adventurous enterprise, and the
Athenians took a solemn oath that the maiden was not within their
walls. The brothers asked where she was hidden, and one of the
citizens who knew, told them; then they went away without doing any
harm to any one, and marched to Troezen, where they compelled Aethra
to let them take their beautiful sister home with them.
Theseus and Pirithoüs sat upon the stone for many years, until the
time came when Heracles was {202} commanded by Eurystheus to descend
into the Lower World and fetch up the three-headed dog Cerberus.[7]
When the captive heroes saw him, they called to him and told him of
their trouble, and begged him to help them. Then Heracles seized the
hand of Theseus with such a mighty grasp that the stone was compelled
to leave go and allow him to get up. He next seized hold of
Pirithoüs, but at that moment the earth quaked, and fearful sounds
were heard, which signified that the gods would not grant freedom to
Pirithoüs, but doomed him to sit upon the stone for ever, because he
had presumed to desire the queen of the Lower World for his wife.
So Theseus was obliged to leave his friend in the Land of Shades, and
he took leave of him and returned to the Upper World; but in the
meanwhile his hair had turned grey, and his appearance had become
very much altered. Now while he was a prisoner in the Lower World, a
mischief-making person had been telling the people that their king
spent all his time in going about on daring expeditions, and was of
no use to his subjects; so when Theseus came back to Athens, he found
that the people had no longer any affection or esteem for him. He
would not live amongst those who did not make him welcome, and he
left his country and got into a ship and sailed to the island of
Scyros. Part of the island belonged to a king named Lycomedes, but
the rest of it belonged to Theseus, and he had resolved to spend the
remaining days of his life there, so he went to the king and told him
so. The king was by no means pleased, for he was a cowardly man and
he thought that Theseus would not leave him in peaceful {203}
possession of his share, but would make himself king of the whole
island. He pretended, however, to welcome Theseus, and said that he
would take him to a mountain where he would have a view of the whole
country. They both climbed up the mountain, which had a steep
precipice on one side of it, and when Theseus was preoccupied in
looking at the country, Lycomedes got behind him and pushed him over
the cliff. Theseus died from the great fall, and thus the strong
hero lost his life at the hands of one cowardly man. They found his
body lying at the foot of the precipice with the bones broken, and
they buried him in the island.
Many years passed away, and the age of the heroes and the sons of the
gods had quite gone by, when the Athenians sent one day to the Oracle
at Delphi to inquire of the Pythia about the future. The Pythia told
them that they had better fetch the bones of Theseus from Scyros and
keep them in their city, because these bones would prove a great
blessing to them. They did not fail to attend to this direction, and
sent ships manned with a large number of Athenians to the island of
Scyros, to seek for the bones of Theseus and bring them home. But no
one could tell them where the grave of the hero was, for during that
long time it had been forgotten. They went all over the island
seeking for it, and at last it was revealed to them by a sign from
heaven: a mighty eagle swooped down on to a hill and pecked the
ground many times with his beak, then he soared up again and
disappeared among the clouds. The Athenians dug into the hill and
found a coffin containing bones much larger than the bones of the men
of that time, and {204} there was also a sword and spear in the same
coffin. They knew by the sign that had been given them from heaven
that these were the bones of Theseus, and they carried the coffin to
their finest ship and sailed home with it. The ship was beautifully
adorned with garlands and streamers, and when it reached Athens the
citizens put on their best clothes and came out to meet it, singing
and playing on the flute, just as if it were Theseus himself who was
returning to his country. They buried his bones in the middle of the
city, and consecrated the spot as a Refuge or place of safety: if,
for example, a slave were pursued by his master and he could succeed
in reaching the tomb of Theseus, the master had no longer any right
to touch him. In this manner the Athenians honoured the memory of
Theseus, who during his lifetime had always been so ready to take the
part of the weak against the strong. They also came in time to look
upon him as a god, and offered sacrifices to him.
[1] This fortress was afterwards called the Acropolis of Athens.
[2] See page 175.
[3] See page 122.
[4] See page 66.
[5] See page 125.
[6] See page 157.
[7] See page 135.
{205}
XXIX.
OEDIPUS.
There was once a king of Thebes called Laïus, and he had a wife whose
name was Jocasta. There was also a soothsayer in Thebes, who said
that if the queen had a son it would be a great misfortune, for that
when he grew up, he would kill his father and marry his mother. Some
time afterwards the queen had a little son, a strong child with
bright merry eyes; but Laïus determined to kill it in order to
prevent the prediction of the soothsayer from coming true, and he
told one of his servants to take the little child to a mountain
called Cithaeron, which was covered with forests, and leave it there
to be devoured by wild beasts; but before he sent it away, the king
tied a string tightly round its ankles, which made the little feet
swell. The servant did as he was told, and left the child lying in
the forest. But it happened that the cattle of Polybus, the king of
Corinth, were at that time pasturing on the mountain, and one of the
herdsmen who was in charge of them, chanced, in searching for a cow
that had gone astray, to go through the forest and to pass by the
spot where the child of King Laïus had been left to perish. He was
sorry for the poor little thing, and he took it up and untied the
string round its feet, and laid cooling {206} herbs upon the sore
places. King Polybus and his wife had no child, though they wished
very much for one, and the herdsman, who knew this, thought that they
might like to have the little stranger to bring up as their own son.
He took the beautiful little boy to Corinth and showed him to the
king and queen, who were very much pleased, and they said they would
keep him for their own, and told the herdsman not to let any one know
that he had found him in the forest. So Laïus thought that his child
had been devoured by wild beasts, while the Corinthians thought that
the gods had granted the wish of their queen and had sent her a
child, and nobody, not even the king and queen themselves, knew that
he was the son of Laïus and Jocasta. The child's feet were still
swollen when he was brought to Corinth, so they called him Oedipus,
which means Swollen-Foot.
Oedipus grew up to be brave and strong, and the king and queen, who
were very fond of him, treated him just as if they were his real
parents and never told him that he had not been born in Corinth.
When he was a young man, he went one day to Delphi to ask the Oracle
what would happen to him, and the priestess answered, 'You will kill
your father and marry your mother.' Oedipus shuddered, and resolved
to leave Corinth at once that he might never fulfil such a horrible
prediction. He ordered his chariot, and let his horses take
whichever road they pleased, for he did not care where he went, so
long as it was away from Corinth. By-and-by he came to a strange
country, and found himself in a narrow lane where there was not even
room for two chariots to pass one another, and whilst {207} he was
still in this narrow lane, he met a king who was coming in his
chariot from the opposite direction. The king commanded Oedipus to
stand aside and let him pass in such a haughty manner that Oedipus
refused to obey him, and after they had exchanged some angry words,
they seized their arms, and Oedipus before long struck the king a
deadly blow. The king was Laïus, the father of Oedipus, and thus a
part of the Oracle was already fulfilled; but Oedipus did not know
this, and he did not feel at all sorry for having killed the
stranger, as it was he who had begun the quarrel. He went on through
Greece and accomplished many brave deeds, and after some time he came
to the neighbourhood of Thebes, where he heard a strange story indeed.
On the mountain near Thebes, there was a monster called the Sphinx,
who could speak. She devoured both men and cattle, and no one had
been able to overcome her. She asked every one who came near her a
riddle which she had learnt from the Muses, who are the goddesses of
song, and she devoured every one who could not answer it; but it had
been decreed by fate that if any one should ever succeed in guessing
it, she would be obliged to throw herself down from the mountain and
die. Many people had already tried to do so, but they had all failed
and had been devoured by the Sphinx in consequence, so that no one
else would attempt it, and there was no end to the misery in the
land. The Thebans met together to consider what could be done, and
they agreed that if any one would answer the riddle and deliver the
city from the monster, he should, as a reward, be made king of
Thebes, and have Jocasta for his wife. King Laïus had been found
{208} dead in the narrow lane some time before, but it was not known
who had killed him.
When Oedipus heard that the Thebans had agreed to give the kingdom to
any one who would deliver them from the Sphinx, he said to himself,
'I dare not return to my father's country, and I will therefore seek
to win a kingdom for myself,' for he still thought that his father
was the king of Corinth. So he set out for the mountain where the
Sphinx lived. She was like a gigantic lioness, with a woman's head,
and powerful wings growing out of her shoulders, and all round her
lay the bones of the men whom she had devoured. It was a horrible
sight, but Oedipus was not afraid, and he desired her to tell him the
riddle. Then she began to sing, 'There is a creature of wondrous
kind; at first it goes on four legs, then on two, and at last it uses
three. There is none like it among all those that walk on the earth,
or swim in the water, or fly in the air.' Oedipus put his hand to
his forehead and thought for a while. Then it came into his mind
that as a little child, man crawls about on four legs, and that in
his old age he uses a stick, which is just like a third leg, and he
said, 'The wonderful creature is man.' As soon as the words had
passed his lips, the Sphinx threw herself from the mountain, and fell
down dead into the valley below. The Thebans, who were watching from
the city, saw what happened, and they came out to meet Oedipus with
shouts of joy. They hailed him as their king and led him into the
palace, and on the same day he was married to Queen Jocasta. Thus he
became the husband of his mother, and the whole of the prophecy was
fulfilled. But he did not know this, and was very happy. {209} He
lived in great riches, and to all seeming, in great honour, so that
there was no one who did not look upon him as a very fortunate man.
Many years had passed away, when there came a messenger to Thebes to
tell Oedipus that King Polybus was dead, and to beg him to return to
Corinth and be king of the city. But Oedipus would not return there
on account of the Oracle, for though King Polybus, whom he believed
to be his father, was dead, the queen was still alive, and he feared
that some madness might come over him and make him desire to marry
his mother. He told this to the messenger, who, as it happened, was
the old herdsman who had found Oedipus in the forest when he was a
child; and he, thinking to do the king a great service, told him in
return that he was not the son of Polybus, but a strange child who
had been found on Mount Cithaeron with his feet tied together by a
string. As soon as Jocasta heard this, she knew that Oedipus must be
her son, and when he began to inquire about his father, he found that
he must have been the king whom he had killed in the narrow lane.
All his prosperity and all his happiness had now left him at a single
blow, and there was not a man in Thebes who did not consider himself
better off than the king. He was so wretched that he put out his own
eyes because he could not bear to face the contemptuous looks of the
Thebans; and as for Jocasta, she went into her bedchamber and hanged
herself.
The Greeks believed that the presence of any one who had committed a
great crime, even though he had done so unintentionally, made them
unholy and brought misfortune upon them, and on account of this, the
{210} Thebans resolved to banish Oedipus from their city. He had two
sons who were strong youths and might have protected their father if
they had chosen, but they would not interfere, because they wanted to
rule over the city themselves. The blind king was led out of the
city, but when he came to the gate he turned round and prayed to the
gods to punish his sons. He would have been left quite alone to
stumble over every stone that lay in his path, if it had not been for
one of his daughters, who resolved to share his misery, and who left
the beautiful palace in order to take care of her unhappy father in
his distress. She was his eldest daughter, and her name was
Antigone. She and Oedipus wandered from place to place, living on
the food that kind people threw to them, and their couch at night was
often beneath the blue sky with a hard stone for their pillow, for
the people were afraid to allow the blind king to come into their
houses, because of the crimes that he had committed. Antigone
suffered from hunger and cold, and her feet were torn and bleeding
from the thorns, but she did not think much about that, it was the
misery of her father that pierced her heart.
After they had wandered for many years, they came at last to Athens
where Theseus, who was always willing to help those who were in
trouble was then king. In the middle of the city was the Altar of
Pity which he had erected,[1] and Oedipus seated himself on one of
the steps of the altar as a sign that he sought for help. Then
Theseus came and asked who he was, and when he heard his name,
instead of turning away from him {211} with a shudder as every one
else did, he took him by the hand and led him into the palace, where
he lived with Antigone during the rest of his life. Before long,
however, Oedipus died, and his body was solemnly burnt by the
Athenians, for the Oracle said that they must take great care of his
ashes, which would prove a blessing to the city.
[1] See page 196.
{212}
XXX.
THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES.
The sons of Oedipus were twins, and their names were Eteocles and
Polynices. When their father was banished from Thebes they succeeded
to the kingdom, and agreed that they would each reign in turn for one
year. Eteocles had his turn first; but he found it so pleasant to be
king that when the year came to an end he refused to give up the
sovereignty and drove his brother from the city. Polynices was now
an exile; but he determined that he would take no rest till he had
found some friends who would promise to help him to revenge himself
upon his brother. He set out for Argos, where King Adrastus lived,
and arrived there after dark one evening. In the darkness he
happened to jostle against another hero who was also going into the
palace, and from angry words they soon came to blows, and drew their
swords to fight one another. King Adrastus heard the clash of arms
from within the palace, and he took a torch and went out to see what
was the matter. He commanded the heroes to stop fighting, and asked
them what they wanted. Then Polynices explained how he had been
driven away from his country by his brother, and how he hoped that
the king would help {213} him to claim his rights. The other hero,
whose name was Tydeus, had been driven from his country on account of
a murder that he had committed unintentionally, and he had come to
request the king to help him to return home again. Whilst the heroes
were speaking, the king saw by the light of the torch the shining
brazen figures upon their shields. The Greek heroes used to wear
various kinds of devices on their shields by which they could be
recognised, such as serpents, griffins, eagles, and so forth. Now,
on the shield of Polynices there was a lion, and on that of Tydeus a
boar's head, and when Adrastus saw these, he remembered that once
when he had asked the Oracle to whom he should give his two daughters
in marriage, the Oracle had replied, 'To a lion and a wild boar.'
Adrastus had not understood the answer at the time, but he now
perceived that it must have referred to the two heroes, and he
therefore received them kindly, and said that he would give them his
daughters in marriage, and restore them to their homes. The wedding
soon took place, and Tydeus was married to the elder daughter, and
Polynices to the younger.
The king said that he would first help Polynices, and he assembled
his soldiers, and summoned several brave heroes to march with them.
Three heroes, Capaneus, Hippomedon, and Parthenopaeus, promised to do
so, which made six with the king and his two sons-in-law. There was
another hero in Argos, named Amphiaraus, who was very wise and could
foretell the future, and the king did not like going to war unless he
went too, for he was not only brave and fearless, but he always gave
good counsel. But when Adrastus summoned {214} him to march against
Thebes, he said he would not go, for he knew that they would not
conquer the city, but would all perish excepting Adrastus, who would
return alone. Amphiaraus knew this because he could see into the
future, but the others did not believe what he said and thought he
was afraid of going to the war, and Capaneus, who was a very
headstrong man, said, 'If the gods themselves should declare against
the expedition, I am resolved to conquer the city in spite of them.'
Even Adrastus did not believe that the war would end unhappily, and
he said so to Amphiaraus, and pressed him to accompany them. At last
it was agreed that Eriphyle, the wife of Amphiaraus, who was also the
sister of Adrastus, should decide the matter. There had once been a
bitter quarrel between Amphiaraus and Adrastus which had led to their
taking arms against each other, and when peace was restored, they had
agreed that if ever any dispute should again arise between them,
Eriphyle should decide about it, and that whatever she determined
should be done. So now Eriphyle had to decide about the going to
war. Amphiaraus foresaw that Polynices would try to bribe her and he
warned her to take no present from him, and she promised to obey.
But Polynices came to her secretly with a beautiful necklace and
veil, and said that he would give them to her if she would decide
that Amphiaraus should go to the war. These were no ordinary
ornaments, but had been given by the god Hephaestus to Cadmus and
Harmonia when they celebrated their marriage in the Cadmea,[1] and
had been handed down from father to son in the royal family of {215}
Thebes, till they had been worn, last of all, by Queen Jocasta. When
Eriphyle saw the glittering necklace and the snow-white veil, she
could not overcome her desire to possess them, and although she knew
quite well that if she counselled war it would cost her husband his
life, she promised to do so; and when the heroes came together to
hear her decision, she said, 'Amphiaraus shall go to the war.'
Amphiaraus knew that she must have been bribed by Polynices, but he
did not dare to make any further difficulty, and accordingly prepared
to set out; but before he left the city he called aside his two sons,
who were still young boys, and told them that when they were grown up
they were to kill their mother because she had decided upon his death.
There were thus seven princes who set out to march against Thebes,
and they were accompanied by a goodly band of soldiers, and all
except Amphiaraus were merry and in good spirits, for they did not
know that they were marching to their death. It was a long journey
to Thebes, and they had to travel for several days before they came
in sight of it. One day, as they were approaching the city of Nemea,
they had to pass through a forest where they met a woman carrying a
young child in her arms. The woman was a servant of King Lycurgus,
who ruled over the city of Nemea, and it was his child that she was
taking care of. Her name was Hypsipele, and her home was in the
island of Lemnos, where she had once been a queen herself.[2] The
women of Lemnos had killed all the men in the island and formed a
kingdom composed entirely of women, and they had made a law that any
woman who {216} should spare even her husband or son and not kill
him, should be severely punished. But Hypsipele loved her old father
too dearly not to be willing to brave the punishment, and she kept
him alive secretly, and used to take him food and talk to him when
the others were asleep. This went on for a great many years, but at
last the other women found it out, and then they killed the old
father, and sold the queen as a slave to some pirates who happened to
be sailing past the island at the time. The pirates sold her again
in Nemea, and this was how she came to be the slave of King Lycurgus,
and the nurse of his child. The heroes were very thirsty, for it was
just then mid-day, and they asked Hypsipele if she knew of a spring
where they could quench their thirst. She told them that farther
down in the valley there was a spring of beautiful clear water, and
said that she would show them the way to it. The child was
frightened at their shining armour and clanging weapons, so she left
it playing on the grass, and went alone with the men. They soon
reached the spring and quenched their thirst, and then they returned
to the place where they had left the child. But the child was gone,
and on a tree close by, there sat a great ugly serpent who had eaten
him up. The serpent was soon punished for his wickedness, for one of
the heroes pierced him through and through with his lance and killed
him, but Hypsipele wept and sobbed, for she felt sure that King
Lycurgus would kill her. The heroes were very sorry for her, and
they went with her to Nemea in the hope that they might be able to
save her from being punished. King Lycurgus thought at first that
they were enemies who were coming to attack the {217} city, but
Adrastus explained why they had come, and begged him not to be angry
with Hypsipele, as it was really they who were the cause of the
child's death. Lycurgus was very sorrowful at hearing about it, so
the heroes tried to comfort him, and said that they would honour his
child as no child had ever been honoured before, by celebrating
magnificent funeral games over its tomb. They took the child out of
the snake's body and burnt it on a pyre, and then they put the ashes
into a beautiful urn and buried them and heaped up a mound over them.
After this they held games near the mound, and vied with each other
in all kinds of sports such as heroes take pleasure in. Such games
as these were at that time only celebrated in memory of rich and
famous kings, and Lycurgus thanked the heroes for honouring his child
in this manner. From that time games were celebrated every third
year at Nemea, which were called the Nemean Games, and were famed far
and wide. Numbers of people came to them from all countries, and
whoever did best in any trial of skill received a crown as a prize.
When the funeral festivities were at an end, the heroes took leave of
Lycurgus, who promised that for their sake he would not do any harm
to Hypsipele. Amphiaraus warned them once again that they had better
return home, and said that the death of the child was a bad omen.
But when the gods meant to let misfortune overtake people, they
blinded their eyes and prevented them from listening to any warning
or good counsel, and thus the heroes rejected the advice of
Amphiaraus, and continued their march. After some days they came to
a mountain from which they could {218} see Thebes in the distance,
and there they halted and held a council, at which it was resolved
that before they began the war, Tydeus should go to Thebes and tell
Eteocles that he had better give up the kingdom to his brother
peaceably, for if he did not, the Argives would take possession of
the city by force. Tydeus set out for Thebes, and finding the Theban
heroes at a banquet, he delivered his message to them there.
Eteocles answered that he hated his brother and would rather die than
share the kingdom with him, and that he was not afraid of the
Argives, but was quite ready to fight them. On hearing this, Tydeus
prepared to return to the camp, but as Eteocles asked him to stay and
feast with him, he accepted the invitation, and they talked together
in a friendly manner as host and guest, although they were just going
to meet one another in deadly conflict. In those days when heroes
met they always took the opportunity of vying with one another in
feats of strength, and so when the banquet was over, Tydeus
challenged the Thebans to wrestle with him. First one presented
himself, and then another, but Tydeus was stronger than any of them,
and overcame them all. The Thebans were ashamed of themselves and
furious with Tydeus, and they placed an ambush of fifty youths in a
copse not far from the city, who rushed out and fell upon him as he
was returning home. It was an unequal struggle, but Tydeus killed
them all except one, who fled back into the city and told the Thebans
what had become of the others, and then they wondered still more at
the extraordinary strength of Tydeus.
When the princes understood that Eteocles would not give up the
kingdom peaceably, they led their army {219} against the city in
order to get possession of it by force. The gates were fastened with
strong bars, and on the walls stood the Thebans in arms, prepared to
beat off the enemy. There were seven gates in the walls of the city,
and Adrastus allotted one gate to each of the princes to attack with
his band of followers. The Thebans, on their side, had also placed
the seven gates under the special charge of their seven most valiant
heroes, each of whom had a band of men to fight under him. Then a
fierce battle took place,--the Argives tried to scale the walls by
means of ladders, and hurled javelins and arrows at their enemies,
while the Thebans rolled great stones to the top of the walls, and
just when there were a number of Argives upon one of the ladders and
they were hoping that in another moment they would have gained
possession of the wall, the Thebans let fall a huge stone, which
broke the ladder and crushed to death all those who were upon it.
Capaneus was the most impetuous of all the Argives, and wherever he
fought the Thebans gave way before him. He set up a ladder against
the wall and had climbed almost to the top of it, when, thinking that
the city was already in his hands, he looked up at the sky and cried
out in a mocking tone, 'The strength of heroes is mightier than the
will of the gods.' But as the presumptuous hero raised his foot to
place it upon the wall, there came a flash of lightning which
destroyed him in a moment, and the Thebans, who were inspired by this
with fresh courage, drove back the band of soldiers that he had been
leading. All day long the Argives fought against the city, but at
last the sun went down, and they were obliged to give over for the
time.
{220}
The next day Eteocles ascended a tower, and took with him a herald
whom he caused to make a proclamation to the Argives in the following
words: 'Ye heroes of Argos, Eteocles offers to fight alone with
Polynices, on the understanding that whichever of them gets the
better of the other shall be king of Thebes.' Polynices on his part
was also eager to fight with his brother, and readily accepted the
challenge to single combat. Then the Thebans came and encamped
outside the city to watch the fight; and the Argives in the plain
beyond planted their spears in the ground by their side, thinking
they would have no more use for them. Between the two armies was a
field, where the brothers were to engage in the deadly struggle. As
each of them took his shield and sword from his friends, he eyed the
other angrily, longing to begin the fight, and as soon as they were
armed they both rushed at one another, each of them so intent on
killing his brother that he forgot to cover himself with his shield.
And thus, at the same moment, each of the brothers ran his spear
through the body of his opponent, and they both sank down dead. But
this did not end the quarrel, for the two armies rose up, each
desirous of avenging the death of its champion upon the enemy, and a
fierce battle took place. Zeus gave the victory to the Thebans, and
all the Argives,--heroes and followers alike,--were slain: and thus
the prophecy of Amphiaraus was fulfilled. As for the seer himself,
he was standing in his war-chariot, urging on his horses that he
might not be overtaken by the enemy, when a Theban hero pursued him
hotly and gained steadily upon him till he had almost come up with
him. But Zeus, who loved Amphiaraus, hurled a {221} thunder-bolt
which clove the ground asunder in front of him, and he sank far down
into the earth. It closed over him before the eyes of his pursuer
who was thus unable to reach him, and Zeus granted him immortality
and took him to live among the gods on Mount Olympus. All the rest
of the Argives had by this time perished, excepting only Adrastus.
He had a horse, named Arion, who was of divine origin and was swifter
than any other horse in the world, so when the king took to flight,
the Thebans could not overtake him, and he returned alone to Argos,
as Amphiaraus had foretold.
A brother of Jocasta's, whose name was Creon, now became king of
Thebes, and he commanded that the fallen Thebans should be buried
with great honour, but that Polynices and the Argives should be left
unburied on the field of battle, to be food for dogs and vultures.
The Greeks believed that those whose bodies were not buried found no
rest in the Lower World, and they never offered such an insult as
this to the memory of any but their most deadly enemies. A herald
went through the city, proclaiming to the Thebans that if any one
dared to give burial to Polynices or any of the Argives, he would
have to answer for it with his life. Every one was afraid to disobey
excepting one, and that one was a woman,--Antigone, the sister of
Polynices. She had been very angry with her brothers for casting off
their father Oedipus in his time of need, but now that they were
dead, she wept for them and could not bear that either of them should
be dishonoured. So in the night she went to the field where the
corpses lay, and sought for that of her brother. It {222} was
disfigured with dust and blood, but she recognised it, and she
covered it over with loose sand and poured out the libations for the
dead which consisted of wine, milk, and honey, over the mound. When
a corpse had been covered over in this manner and had received the
due libations for the dead, the gods accepted it as if it had been
properly buried,--so that everything that was necessary had now been
done for the corpse of Polynices. But Creon had set watchmen round
the field to catch any one who should come to disobey his orders, and
just as Antigone had finished her work, the watch-men seized her and
took her as a prisoner to Creon, although they were loth to do this,
for every one loved the noble maiden. The king was very angry when
he heard what she had done, but nevertheless, if she would have
consented to admit that she had done wrong in disobeying his orders
and to beg for mercy, he would have been willing to spare her life.
But she scorned to save her life by such means, and instead of
begging for forgiveness, she spoke out boldly, and said: 'Higher than
thy commands do I esteem those laws which set before us that which is
noble and right.' Then the king was still more angry with her for
not being afraid of him, and he condemned her to a cruel death.
There was a cave outside the city, and the king commanded that she
should be shut up there and left to die of hunger. Her friends
accompanied her as far as the cave, weeping bitterly, but Antigone
herself shed no tears. A pitcher of water and a little bread had
been placed in the cave, and when Antigone had taken leave of her
friends, she went inside, and the workmen piled up stones against the
mouth of the cave and {223} walled her in. Thus the noble Antigone
died; but she did not wait for the lingering death of
starvation,--instead of that she made her veil into a noose and
hanged herself.
King Adrastus heard with grief and anger that Creon had refused to
allow the Argives to be buried, but as all the heroes of Argos had
died in the war and there were none but young boys left in the city,
he was unable to raise an army in order to compel him to do so. So
he went to Athens with a twig in his hand (which it was the custom
for those who wanted help to carry) and seated himself on the steps
of the Altar of Pity.[3] Theseus came and asked what he wanted, and
Adrastus told him of his misfortune and begged him to procure an
honourable burial for the Argives. When Theseus heard about it all,
he was very sorry for him, and he marched to Thebes at the head of a
band of heroes, and said that unless Creon at once countermanded his
wicked orders, he would destroy the city. Creon was afraid of
Theseus, so he granted all that he required, and the heroes were
buried with due honours.
[1] See page 58.
[2] See page 153.
[3] See page 196.
{224}
XXXI.
THE EPIGONI.
King Adrastus never ceased to grieve over his heroes who had been
slain by the Thebans, and when ten years had gone by, and the boys
who were then quite young had grown up to be men, he assembled them
and proposed to them to march against Thebes in order to avenge their
fathers. They were quite ready to do this, for they were true
heroes, with strong arms and brave hearts. Each of the seven heroes
who had accompanied Adrastus on the former expedition had left a son,
and these young men were called the Epigoni, or 'Those who come
after.' They chose a strong band of followers from among the youths
of Argos, and when they were all armed in readiness for the war, they
sent to the Oracle at Delphi to ask whom they should take for their
leader, for Adrastus was now too old and grey to head them himself.
The Oracle said that they had better choose the son of Amphiaraus,
who was named Alcmaeon, and who was wise and brave. Adrastus was
full of joy at seeing the army of young men set out on its march, and
trusted that the gods would give them the victory. The Epigoni took
the same road by which their fathers had gone ten years before, {225}
but instead of meeting with bad omens on the way, everything was now
most prosperous.
Creon was by this time dead, and the son of Eteocles, whose name was
Laodamas, was king of Thebes. When he heard that the Epigoni were
coming to avenge their fathers, he armed the citizens and marched out
to meet them, and a battle took place in front of the city gates, in
the very same field where the heroes who accompanied Adrastus had
fallen. The Epigoni thought of their fathers and fought the more
bravely, and though the Thebans held their ground steadily at first,
their courage gave way after their king, Laodamas, had been slain by
Alcmaeon, and they fled back into the city. The Epigoni encamped
before Thebes, saying that they would not raise the siege until they
had conquered it, and the Thebans meanwhile held counsel as to how
they might best save themselves from their vengeance. Among them was
the blind seer, Tiresias, who had long ago foretold to Laïus that if
a child were born to him, he would sin against both his father and
mother. He was now very old, with hair as white as snow, and he had
lived through all the prosperity and all the calamities of the
Thebans, and was greatly honoured by them, so they went to him to ask
his advice as to what they had better do. He said that they could
only hope to save their lives by artifice, and told them how to set
to work. According to his directions they sent a herald the next day
to the Epigoni, to announce that the Thebans were willing to make
some atonement for the slaughter of their fathers. The Epigoni did
not suspect any trick, and began to negotiate with the herald as to
what form the atonement should take, without {226} perceiving what
was going on in the city. But meanwhile the Thebans were pouring out
of it on the further side and taking with them whatever they regarded
as the most precious of their possessions, and they succeeded in
carrying off, not only their children, but also a good deal of
treasure. When the Epigoni had announced what they would demand as
an atonement, the herald returned to the city; but he only entered it
by one gate in order to pass out on the further side by the gate
through which the Thebans had fled, and he was not long in overtaking
them. Tiresias had accompanied the Thebans, led by a boy; on the way
he asked for something to drink, and the boy took him to a cool
spring, but as soon as he had tasted the water he sank down and died.
The Thebans buried him by the roadside, and then they marched on till
they came to a strange land, where they built another city.
Meanwhile a day went by, and then another, and still the Epigoni
waited for the herald to return. But when two days had passed
without any further sign of him, and no one appeared upon the city
walls, neither was there any smoke to be seen rising from the houses,
they began to suspect that the Thebans had fled. They climbed over
the walls without any resistance and entered the city, but they found
no one there. There was, however, a great deal of treasure in the
houses, for the Thebans had not been able to carry everything away
with them, and the heroes took an enormous booty. They chose out the
best things and sent them to Delphi as a present to Apollo, and the
remainder they divided among themselves. They made Thersander, the
son of Polynices, king of Thebes, and {227} proclaimed that those
among the Argives who chose to remain in Thebes instead of returning
home with Alcmaeon might settle there and have portions of the land
assigned to them for their own. Many people from the neighbourhood
came also into the city with their wives and children, so that before
long all the houses were once more inhabited. Alcmaeon led back the
remainder of the Argives to their own homes, for the Epigoni had now
avenged their fathers, and had won for themselves glory and renown.
Alcmaeon now remembered the oath that he had once sworn to his
father, before he set out with the other princes to march against
Thebes. Amphiaraus had then made both his sons swear that they would
avenge him upon Eriphyle for having allowed herself to be bribed by
the veil and necklace to give her voice in favour of what she knew
would cost him his life.[1] But it was a hard task for Alcmaeon, for
Eriphyle was his mother. He did not know what to do, so he went to
Delphi and asked the Oracle whether he should keep his promise to his
father or not. The Oracle said yes, that he must do this; and so he
returned home and killed his mother. When Eriphyle was dying, she
cursed every country that should shelter her murderer, and the curse
of the dying mother had such power that everything must needs carry
it into effect. Alcmaeon became mad, and wandered about from one
country to another till he came to a king named Phegeus, who knew how
to purify murderers, and who had compassion on him and purged him
from the stain of blood. Then the madness left him, and he was able
to rest once {228} more. Phegeus gave him his daughter in marriage,
and said that he should live in his country and have an honourable
position there. Alcmaeon was very glad of this, and he presented the
veil and necklace to his wife who was very much pleased with them.
In the spring however, the seed did not come up, which caused a
dearth throughout the land,--and this was owing to the curse of
Eriphyle. The king consulted a seer about it, and he said that the
land would not bear fruit so long as Alcmaeon remained in the kingdom.
So Alcmaeon had to take leave of his wife and quit the country, and
he set out not knowing whither to go. He went to Delphi and asked
the Pythia if there was any land that could receive him without
suffering for it; and she answered that he must go to the river-god
Acheloüs and ask him to help him, for that no one else could do so.
Alcmaeon therefore went to the river and called to Acheloüs, who came
up out of the water and asked what he wanted. Alcmaeon told him of
his distress and begged for his help, and the river-god took pity on
him and made his stream bring down sand and silt from the heights
above, until a new and fruitful country was formed by the side of the
river; and as it had not been in existence when Eriphyle cursed the
land that should give her son rest, Alcmaeon was able to remain
there, and he ploughed and sowed seed, and the earth brought forth
fruit. Acheloüs had a very beautiful daughter, and Alcmaeon became
so much attached to her, that he was unfaithful to his wife, and
married the daughter of the river-god. Several years passed by in
peace and prosperity; the gods sent them two sons, and Alcmaeon had
no thought of ever leaving his place of shelter. {229} But the
daughter of Acheloüs had heard of the beautiful veil and necklace,
and she never ceased to beg her husband to go and fetch them for her,
till at last he was obliged to yield, and set out for the country of
King Phegeus. He did not tell Phegeus the truth however, but said
that he was still obliged to wander about, and could only obtain rest
by taking the veil and necklace to Delphi and dedicating them to
Apollo. The daughter of Phegeus did not doubt his sincerity, and
readily parted with the precious ornaments for the sake of her
husband whom she loved dearly. But before Alcmaeon had reached home
again, King Phegeus heard that he had been unfaithful and had married
the daughter of Acheloüs, and he was very angry, and commanded his
sons to go after him and kill him. They were wild headstrong youths
who delighted in deeds of blood, and they overtook Alcmaeon and
killed him and took away both the treasures. Then they returned
home, thinking that their sister would rejoice at the vengeance that
had overtaken her husband; but though he had married another woman,
she was very sorry for his death and was angry with her brothers for
having killed him.
The daughter of Acheloüs waited long for Alcmaeon to return home; but
a good while afterwards, a stranger who happened to be passing that
way told her that he had been put to death by the sons of Phegeus.
Then it was her greatest wish to avenge his death, and she begged
Zeus that her two sons might at once become grown-up men. In that
same night the children grew up to be men, and their mother provided
them with weapons, and told them that their father had been murdered
by the sons of Phegeus, and that they were {230} to avenge him. They
set off for the country of Phegeus, but on their way they stopped to
rest at the house of a prince where it happened that the sons of
Phegeus were also staying, for they too were on a journey, and they
had with them the veil and the necklace. The young men did not know
each other, but as they were talking together at the feast, the sons
of Phegeus brought out the precious ornaments and showed them to the
others who thus recognised the murderers of their father, and they
drew their swords and killed them. Then they returned home to their
mother with the precious treasures. But the wise river-god said that
they were no real treasures, for they brought misfortune to whoever
possessed them; and he made his grandsons carry them to Delphi, and
present them as an offering to the god Apollo.
[1] See p. 215.
{231}
XXXII.
EROS AND PSYCHE.
There lived once a king and queen who had three daughters. The
youngest of them was named Psyche, and she was so wonderfully
beautiful that when she went through the streets, the people threw
flowers before her and kissed their hands to her, as they used to do
to the statues of the gods. The only one who did not delight in her
was the goddess Aphrodite. She was accustomed to drive through the
city in a chariot drawn by doves, and every time she did so it vexed
her afresh to see that the townspeople neglected her worship in order
to pay homage to the lovely Psyche, as if it were she and not
Aphrodite who was the goddess of beauty. And she called her son
Eros, who was the god of love, and commanded him to cause the
princess whom she hated to set her love upon the most unworthy of all
mortals.
Not long afterwards the old king asked the Oracle to whom he should
give his daughter Psyche in marriage, and the answer he received was
that she must be dressed as a bride and led to the top of a rocky
cliff that stood up high above the city, and that then all her
friends must say good-bye to her for ever, and leave her there alone
to be taken to the house of the husband {232} appointed for her. And
that if he refused to obey the Oracle, grievous misfortune would
befall him and all his household. The king and queen were greatly
distressed at this sentence, and the whole land mourned with them,
for why should the Oracle speak so mysteriously if it did not mean
that the appointed husband was some horrible monster? But they were
obliged to obey, lest some worse misfortune should overtake them.
Psyche was dressed as a bride and led to the rock, in a procession of
the citizens. The flutes and other musical instruments gave forth
joyous sounds; but louder still was heard the sound of mourning and
lamentation. The grey-haired father and mother wept bitterly as they
kissed their child for the last time, and then the wedding torches
were put out, and the procession wound sadly and silently back to the
city.
Psyche meanwhile was left alone upon the desolate rock; but very soon
a Wind-god came, who seized her in his arms and flew through the air
with her, till at last he put her down in a valley on the further
side of the hill. Psyche hid her face in her hands at first that she
might not see the horrible things she expected to find all round her;
but when she did venture timidly to open her eyes, she could scarcely
believe what she saw. She found herself seated in a meadow full of
flowers, with a clear stream running through it, and a wood near by,
in front of which there stood a most beautiful palace; its roof was
supported by pillars of pure gold, and its walls were covered with
sculptures wrought in silver. Full of astonishment, Psyche rose and
went towards the palace. As she approached it, she noticed that the
air was filled with a delicious scent, and when {233} she entered the
palace, she met with some new splendour at every step. The rooms
were furnished with great magnificence, and were filled with
beautiful ornaments of gold and silver. Then there fell upon her ear
the sweet voice of a nymph, which said, 'We are at your service, and
prepared to carry out your wishes, whatever they may be.' Psyche
thought she would like to refresh herself with some cool water, and
in a moment a beautiful bath was drawn forward by unseen hands and
placed before her. After she had bathed and anointed herself, she
went into the next room where she found a table spread with a
tempting meal, and all the while she was eating, sounds of sweet
music were heard and songs were sung by unseen nymphs. When Psyche
had finished, she felt in need of rest, and she lay down on a couch
and went to sleep. Meanwhile it became quite dark, and by-and-by she
was awakened by a gentle movement, and a sweet voice said to her, 'I
am thy husband, and this house is thine and mine,--all its splendours
are for thy pleasure,--but never seek to see my face, for then I
should be obliged to leave thee for ever.' The husband remained with
her until the day was about to dawn, and then he vanished.
The next day, and each following day, everything happened as before:
the unseen nymphs waited on Psyche and shortened the hours by singing
and playing to her, and with the darkness came the husband who
remained in the palace until morning.
The heart of Psyche was divided between joy and sorrow. Her kind
husband and the wonders and delights of the palace filled her with
joy, but tears often came to her eyes in thinking of her parents and
her {234} play-fellows. Once when she was looking towards the high
rock from which she had been brought by the Wind-god, she saw her two
sisters there, and she was filled with so great a longing to see them
again that when next her husband came to her, she begged him to send
for them. For a moment he hesitated, but then he promised to do as
she wished, and told her also that she might give them anything she
liked out of the treasures of the palace to take away with them as
presents; 'but,' he added, 'take care not to let them delude you into
making any attempt to see my face.' Psyche promised without any
misgiving, for she felt herself perfectly free from curiosity.
On the following day when the two sisters again appeared on the rock,
the Wind-god took them up on his shoulders and carried them into the
beautiful valley. Psyche received them with many embraces, and asked
them endless questions about her parents and play-fellows. Then she
led them into the palace and desired the music to sound, whilst she
showed them all the beautiful things. They were dumb with amazement,
and stood looking at one another; and then Psyche asked them to
choose whatever they liked best to take away with them, for they were
quite welcome to it. But the two sisters had wicked, envious
dispositions, and were not pleased that Psyche should be so much
better off than they were. They asked who was her husband, and when
she told them that he was kind and good, but that she had never seen
him and that she was forbidden ever to seek to do so, they made a
sign one to the other, and one of them pretended to cry, and said,
'Ah, dear sister, it must {235} then be true what the people say.
They say that every evening a hideous monster is seen to creep into
this valley,--a horrible serpent with bloody jaws.' And the other
sister pretended to weep also, and she said, 'When he gets to the
palace he takes the form of a man; but no doubt his countenance bears
the traces of his cruel nature, and that is the reason why he will
not let you look at him. Alas! only too soon shall we have to
deplore your miserable death.'
Psyche was herself so entirely free from falseness that she had no
suspicion of the treachery of her sisters. She was horror-struck at
what they said, and though at first she refused to believe that the
gentle voice she had so often heard could come from the jaws of a
monster, yet they so persisted in tormenting her with their crafty
speeches, that at last she ended by believing them, and was only
anxious to escape from the dreadful creature. When the eldest sister
saw this, she said to her, 'There is just one means of saving your
life. You must summon up your courage, and to-night, when the
monster is asleep, take your lamp in your hand and a sharp knife, and
go to his couch and pierce him through the heart with the knife.'
She said this because she thought that if Psyche disobeyed her
husband by looking at him when he was asleep, all her happiness would
be at an end. The two sisters gave Psyche no peace till she had made
up her mind to do as they said. Then they took as many of the
treasures of the palace as they could carry, and Psyche called to the
Wind-god to come and take them away again.
When it was dark, her husband came as usual; but she was afraid of
him, and could hardly find a word to {236} say in answer to his
friendly greeting. And at midnight, when he was fast asleep, she lit
a lamp, and taking a knife in her hand, went to his couch with the
intention of killing him. The light fell upon the couch, and there
she saw,--no monster, but Eros himself, the winged god of love,
radiant with beauty. The knife fell from her hand, and she felt that
she could never be weary of gazing at his glorious form. But as she
bent over him she forgot to take care that the lamp in her hand was
held straight, and a drop of hot oil was spilt, which fell upon his
shoulder and awoke him. He opened his eyes and saw Psyche bending
over him with the lamp in her hand. He looked at her very
sorrowfully, and said, 'Thou hast mistrusted me and transgressed my
command; my dwelling is no longer here. I am Eros, as thou hast
discovered. My mother Aphrodite is angry with thee, and she
commanded me to cause thee to love the most unworthy of men. But
when I saw thee, I was myself filled with love for thee, and
determined to hide thee from my mother that thou mightest be my wife.
Only in the deepest secrecy have I dared to act against her will.
And now thou hast disobeyed my command, and I must leave thee for
ever.' When he had said this, he took up his bow and quiver which
stood by the side of the couch, and flew away.
Psyche was filled with the bitterest remorse, and desired to live no
longer. When the day dawned, she went to the river and threw herself
into it. But the river-god was unwilling to kill anything so
beautiful, and he carried her on the top of his waters to the farther
shore, and set her down there. The birds were chirping in the trees,
and the morning sun looked down {237} so pleasantly on the river and
the meadows that a ray of hope sprang up in her heart, and she
thought, 'How if I could succeed in winning him back? They say that
he is the kindest of all the gods. I will go all over the world
seeking him.' So she set out, and took no heed of the roughness of
the way or of the thorns that pierced her feet, and wandered into all
corners of the world, hoping to find some trace of him.
After she had wandered for a long time, she came to the palace of
Aphrodite, and she said to herself, 'The goddess is indeed angry with
me, but is her anger mightier than my grief? I will enter her
service, and it may be that I shall succeed in gaining her good
will.' So she went into the palace, and offered herself as servant
to the goddess. Now Aphrodite knew that instead of doing Psyche any
injury, Eros had secretly married her, for a sea-gull that had made
its nest for a time in the valley had told her about it. She felt
therefore a grim joy when the unhappy girl put herself into her
power, and in a haughty tone she said to her, 'If your mind is set on
being beloved by a god, you will have to accomplish hard tasks, and
it will be the worse for you if you fail to perform them.' Then she
set her the first task. She piled up in front of the palace a great
heap of seeds,--wheat, beans, poppies, and peas,--all mixed together,
and saying, 'Before night comes all the seeds must be sorted,' she
went away. Psyche could not have done it in ten days. She sat down
by the heap, buried her face in her hands, and wept bitterly. But
there lived close by a great nation of ants, and one of them saw the
beautiful girl crying, and was sorry for her, and called {238} the
others to come and help her. Then there came an endless array of
ants, who set to work and soon sorted the seeds, though some of them
were so large that it took four, eight, or even ten ants to roll a
single seed to its place, and when Psyche looked up, the work was
done and the ants were marching away again. She kissed her hands to
them, and thanked them prettily for their kindness. When Aphrodite
came home in the evening and saw the seeds laid out in order, she
could find no fault with her industrious servant, but she gave her a
look that was far from friendly, for she would much rather have had
some excuse for blaming her.
The next morning she said to Psyche, 'There is a copse near by, where
there graze some sheep with golden fleeces. Go and fetch me three
tufts of their wool.' Psyche set out, and went slowly along the
river-side towards the wood. On the bank stood some reeds which
rustled in the morning breeze, and the rustling turned into words
like these, 'Take care what you do, for the golden-fleeced sheep are
fierce animals, and their bite is poisonous. Wait till mid-day, and
then go into the copse and look at the bushes.' So said the reeds,
and then they rustled again as before. Psyche thanked them, and sat
down by the side of the river until the shadows were at their
shortest. Then she knew it was mid-day, and she went into the copse
and found the sheep all lying asleep. She trod gently so as not to
wake them, and looked at the bushes which were covered with tufts of
golden wool, for the sheep had rubbed themselves against the bushes
and left part of their fleeces sticking to the thorns. Psyche took
the three best tufts and left the copse. When she came back {239}
and gave them to her mistress, Aphrodite was surprised, for she had
expected that Psyche would be bitten to death by the fierce sheep.
She said to her with an angry look, 'You have not yet finished your
day's work. Take your pitcher and ascend that hill. At the top of
it there is some black water. Fetch me some.'
Psyche started off obediently with her pitcher. When she reached the
hill, she saw before her a steep path leading up to the spring, but
near it were two dreadful dragons who looked as if they would not let
any one pass them alive. The water fell into a dark ravine by the
side of the path, and flowed deep down into the Lower World. It
bubbled angrily in the hollow, and called out to Psyche, 'What do you
want here? Go away, and be quick about it, or your life is not worth
much.' Psyche put down her pitcher and stood still, weeping
bitterly. But she had not been there long when there appeared a
great eagle, which circled round her several times and then seized
the handle of her pitcher in his beak and flew off with it to the
spring. The dragons howled, and raised themselves as high as they
could in the air that they might be the better able to shoot out
flames at him from their mouths, but their fiery breath was powerless
to scorch him. He came back with the filled pitcher which he set
down beside Psyche, and then he spread his wings again and had soon
disappeared among the clouds. Psyche cast a grateful glance after
him, took up her pitcher, and set out joyfully on her way home. When
Aphrodite saw her returning, she felt sure that she had come with an
empty pitcher, for she knew that if she {240} had attempted to pass
the dragons they would have killed her, and she thought that she
would now be able to imprison her in a damp dungeon and keep her
without sufficient food or sunshine. But when she looked into the
vessel, she saw that it was full of the black water which Psyche had
been desired to fetch. She was very angry, and poured it out upon
the ground, for it was of no use to her, and began to ponder what
task she could impose upon Psyche which would bring about her death
without fail.
The next morning Psyche was summoned to the presence of her harsh
mistress, who said to her, 'Take this golden casket to the Queen of
the Lower World, and ask her to send me some of the Salve of Beauty.'
Psyche left the palace, but she made up her mind that she would kill
herself at once rather than attempt to take the message, for she
shuddered at the horrors of the Lower World, and moreover she could
not hope that if she once entered its gates she would ever be allowed
to come out again. She ascended a high tower which was grey with old
age, meaning to throw herself down from it; but as she stood on the
top, the stones began to utter sounds, and the aged tower said, 'Do
not despair, I will give you good counsel. Go to Mount Taenarus, and
there you will find a dark chasm that leads down to the Lower World.
The ferry-man who will row you across the river Acheron demands
passage money; put two copper coins between your teeth, and hold out
your mouth to him, so that he may take his fare for himself. At the
gate of the Land of Shades there stands the hideous dog Cerberus.
For him take a honey-cake in each of your hands, and throw him one
{241} when you go in at the gate, and the other when you come out
again. And beware of letting either of the cakes out of your hand,
for then you would find yourself imprisoned for ever in the Lower
World. Persephone will fill the casket for you. Do not let anything
induce you to open it.' Then the tower ceased speaking, and Psyche
resolved to summon her courage and undertake the dreadful journey.
She put two copper coins between her teeth, and taking a honey-cake
in each hand, she went along the dark road until she reached the
gloomy twilight of the Lower World. Presently she met a lame man,
who was driving a lame, heavily-laden ass. He was holding up the
burden which was falling from off the ass, and he called out to
Psyche in a piteous voice, begging her to pick up a piece of rope
from the ground for him that he might tie the burden on with it. The
tender-hearted Psyche found it difficult to refuse, but she could not
have done what he wanted without neglecting the warning of the tower
on no account to let go of her honey-cakes; so she passed on without
answering, and immediately the man and the ass vanished. Psyche next
came to the river Acheron, and the surly ferryman Charon rowed her
over it in his boat after he had taken one of the copper coins from
her mouth. Close to the boat there swam an old man whose appearance
was most pitiful,--his strength was evidently failing him, and he
seemed about to sink. He stretched out one of his thin arms towards
Psyche, and begged her with beseeching gestures to hold out her hand
to him. But Psyche remembered the warning, and immediately the old
man disappeared. When they reached the further {242} shore, there
sat three old women by the road-side, spinning, who called out to her
in a pleasant voice and asked her to cut their thread for them. They
were nice, kind-looking old women, but Psyche remembered the warning,
and immediately they disappeared as the others had done.
After this, Psyche soon arrived at the gate of the Land of Shades, in
front of which stood the three-headed dog Cerberus. She threw him a
cake, and he let her go by. Then she saw flitting about her on all
sides, pale, silent shades, and she was seized with horror, but she
overcame it, and went on bravely to the palace of Queen Persephone
and delivered her message. Persephone filled the box and gave it
back to her. The fierce dog let her pass out when she gave him the
second honey-cake, Charon took the second coin out of her mouth and
rowed her back across the river, and at last she found herself in the
sunshine once more. She was very tired and sat down on a stone to
rest a little, and she thought to herself, 'I have gone through the
horrors of the Lower World, and have fulfilled the command of the
cruel goddess. But will she give me any thanks for it?' For some
time she sat buried in sad thoughts; then she said, 'How if I were to
open the casket and test the power of the wonderful salve? Perhaps
it would give me such beauty that Eros would come back to me.'
Quickly she lifted the cover, but there came out of the casket a
cloud of stupefying vapour which threw her into a deep sleep. Before
Psyche entered the Lower World, Aphrodite had sent a messenger to the
Queen to beg her, instead of filling the casket with the Salve of
Beauty, to put into it a {243} narcotic vapour, for she thought that
even if Psyche surmounted all the other difficulties in her path, she
might at last be conquered by the temptation of curiosity and open
the casket.
But Eros was not far off. He had seen how Psyche had gone through so
many dangers and horrors for love of him, and now he came and wiped
away the magic vapour which had settled on her face, and shut it up
again in the casket. Then he soared up to Olympus, the abode of the
gods, and entreated Zeus to gift Psyche with immortality, and allow
him to be married to her. Zeus granted his request, and sent down
Hermes, the messenger, to raise Psyche from the earth and bring her
into the assembly of the gods. Before them all, Zeus held out to her
a shell filled with nectar, the drink of the gods, and said to her,
'Drink immortality.' Even Aphrodite kissed her and blessed the
marriage, for her anger had been overcome by Psyche's faithful love.
The marriage was celebrated with great joyfulness,--Apollo and the
Muses sang, the Graces danced, and the whole vault of heaven
resounded with the mirth of the wedding guests.
The envious sisters were already dead. After they had plunged Psyche
into misery, they each hoped to become the bride of the unknown
husband, and each in turn went to the rock and threw herself from it,
expecting the Wind-god to carry her into the valley as he had done
before, but instead of that, they both fell down among sharp stones
and perished miserably. Thus did they come to a bad end; but Psyche
was enthroned as a goddess beside her Love, in the unending joy of
the blessed Immortals.
{245}
INDEX
_ABSYRTUS_. Son of Aeëtes king of Colchis. Is taken on board the
Argo by his sister Medea, 165. Is killed by Medea in order to delay
Aeëtes in his pursuit of the Argonauts, 166.
Achelōus. A river-god. Fights with Heracles for Deianira,
and is conquered by him, 142 and 143. Helps Alcmaeon in his distress
and gives him his daughter in marriage, 228.
_Acheron_. One of the rivers of the Lower World. Psyche is rowed
across it by Charon, 241.
_Acrisius_. King of Argos. Builds a brazen room for his daughter
Danaë, and afterwards shuts her up with her child in a chest and
turns them adrift, 95. Is accidentally killed by his grandson
Perseus, 102.
_Actaeon_. Is turned into a stag as a punishment fur looking at the
goddess Artemis when bathing, 24 and 25.
Admētus. Is helped by Apollo to win the hand of Alcestis,
91 to 93. Is restored to life through the sacrifice of Alcestis, 93
and 94.
_Adrastus_. King of Argos. Receives Polynices when banished by
Eteocles, 212 and 213. Marches with him against Thebes, 213 to 221.
Escapes through the speed of his horse Arion, 221. Begs Theseus to
procure an honourable burial for the Argives, 223. Sends the Epigoni
to avenge their fathers, 224.
_Axētēs_. King of Colchis. Receives Phrixus when
brought to his country by the Golden Ram, 150. Promises to let Jason
have the Golden Fleece on certain conditions, 160. Plots to kill
him, 164 and 165. Pursues Jason and Medea, but turns back to bury
his son Absyrtus, 166.
_Aegeūs_. King of Athens. Marries Aethra and becomes the
father of Theseus, 177. Receives Theseus at Athens, 182 and 183.
Parts unwillingly with Theseus that he may go to Crete to slay the
Minotaur, 187 and 188. Kills himself at sight of the black sail
which he believes to be the announcement of his son's death, 192.
_Aegyptus_. Brother of Danaus and king of a part of Africa, 34.
_Aethra_. Marries Aegeus and becomes the mother of Theseus, 177.
Keeps her son at Troezen till he is grown up, and then sends him to
his father at Athens, 177 to 179. Takes charge of Helena for a time,
till she is rescued by her brothers, 199 and 201.
_Africa_. Io is kindly received in Africa by the king of Egypt, 32
and 33. Danaus, her descendant, leaves the country for Argos, 34.
The inhabitants are burnt black by Phaëthon, 41. Cassiopea, wife of
Cepheus, king of a part of Africa, is punished by Poseidon for her
pride, 98 and 99. Perseus arrives and delivers Andromeda from the
monster, 99 and 100.
_Alcestis_. Daughter of King Pelias, 91. Is sued for by Admetus, 92
and 93. Dies in order that her husband may live, 93. Is restored to
life by Persephone, 94.
_Alcmaeon_. Son of Amphiaraus. Leads the Epigoni against Thebes,
224 to 226. Returns home and kills his mother in obedience to the
command of his father, 227. Goes to King Phegeus to be purified, and
marries his daughter, 227; but is obliged to leave the country, 228.
Asks the help of Acheloüs, who has pity on him and forms an island on
which he can live, 228. Marries the daughter of Acheloüs, 228. Is
killed by the brothers of his former wife, 229.
_Alcmēnē_. Daughter of Electryon. Is driven away
from Mycenae after her father's death by her uncle Sthenelus, and
takes refuge in Thebes, 105. Induces Amphitryon to make war upon the
Teleboae, 105 and 106. Is married to Zeus during his absence, but
afterwards marries Amphitryon. 108. Becomes the mother of Heracles
and Iphicles, 108. Finds Heracles attacked by serpents, 109.
_Altar of Pity_. Erected by Theseus in the market-place of Athens,
196. Oedipus goes there to sue for help, 210. Also Adrastus, 223.
_Althaea_. Wife of Oeneus king of Calydon, and mother of Meleager,
whose death she hastens by burning the brand on which his life
depends, 83 and 88.
_Amalthea_. The goat that nourished Zeus, 3. Her horn is converted
into the Horn of Plenty, 5; and becomes the property of Heracles, 143.
_Amazons_. A nation of women-soldiers. Heracles is sent by
Eurystheus to fetch the girdle of the Queen of the Amazons, 124 to
126. The women of Lemnos try to imitate them, 153. Theseus carries
off Hippolyta to be his wife, 193; and is in consequence attacked by
the Amazons, 194. He wins the first victory ever gained over them,
195.
_Amphiarus_. A seer, brother-in-law of Adrastus king of
Argos, 213. Advises against the expedition to Thebes, 214 and 217;
but is over-ruled by his wife Eriphyle, 214 and 215. Zeus interposes
to prevent his being killed in the battle, and takes him to dwell
among the gods, 220 and 221.
_Amphīon_. King of Thebes, and husband of Niobe, 59 and 80.
Builds a wall round the city by singing to the stones, 59 and 60.
Grieves for his children slain by Apollo and Artemis, 81.
_Amphitryon_. Comes to Mycenae to sue for the hand of Alcmene. and
accidentally kills her father, Electryon, 105. Takes refuge with
Creon, king of Thebes, 105; and delivers the city from a destroying
Fox, 106. Makes war upon the Teleboae at the desire of Alcmene, 105
to 108. Marries Alcmene, 108.
_Androgeus_. Son of Minos king of Crete. Goes to Athens to take
part in some games, and is killed by the Athenians on his way home,
186.
_Andromeda_. Daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopea, 98. Is delivered by
Perseus from the monster who was to have devoured her, 99. Is
married to him, 100.
_Antaeus_. King of Libya. Compels Heracles to wrestle with him,
133. His mother the Earth gives him new strength each time he
touches her, but Heracles raises him in his arms, and strangles him
to death, 133.
_Antigonē_. Daughter of Oedipus, 210. Chooses to share her
father's fate when he is banished from Thebes, and accompanies him
through all his wanderings, 210 and 211. Buries her brother
Polynices notwithstanding the prohibition of Creon, and is immured
for having dared to disobey him, 221 to 223.
_Aphroditē_. Goddess of beauty, 231. Gives her daughter
Harmonia to be the wife of Cadmus, 68. Gives Milanion three golden
apples that he may conquer Atalanta in the race, 89. Is angry with
Psyche, 231; and treats her cruelly, 237 to 243; but is afterwards
reconciled to her marriage with Eros, 243.
_Apollo_. Son of Zeus and Leto, and brother of Artemis, 23.
Disputes with Idas for Marpessa, 21. Gifts Melampus with the power
of knowing the future, 72. Punishes the pride of Niobe, 80 and 81.
Becomes for a time the slave of Admetus, 91. Helps Admetus to win
Alcestis, 92 and 93. Helps to arm Heracles for his fight with the
Minyae, 112. Refuses to pronounce the oracle demanded by Heracles,
139. Blesses the marriage of Eros and Psyche, 243. Theseus
sacrifices the Cretan Bull to Apollo, 185.--For the Temple of Apollo
at Delphi see page 55,--also _Delphi_.
_Arcadia_. Heracles drives the Stymphalian birds out of the country,
121 and 122.
_Arēs_. The god of war. Is made prisoner by Otus and
Ephialtes, 28. Gives his daughter Harmonia to be the wife of Cadmus,
58. Gives a beautiful girdle to the Queen of the Amazons, 124.
_Argo_. The vessel in which Jason and his friends sail to fetch the
Golden Fleece, 153. She is dedicated to Poseidon, 171.
_Argonauts_. The heroes who sailed in the Argo. For their
adventures, see pages 153 to 171.
_Argos_. The home of Io, 31. Her descendant Danaus finds a refuge
in Argos when obliged to flee from Egypt, and becomes king, 34 and
35. Lynceus succeeds him, 37. Melampus is sent for to Argos to
deliver the daughters of King Proetus from their mania, 73 and 74.
Danaë is driven away from Argos by her father, King Acrisius, 95.
Perseus becomes king of Argos, but exchanges it for the cities of
Mycenae and Tiryns, 103. Polynices comes to Argos to ask for help,
212. King Adrastus leads the Argives against Thebes, 213 to 223.
Their defeat is afterwards avenged by the Epigoni, 224 to 227.
_Argus_. (1) The hundred-eyed watchman placed by Hera in charge of
Io; 31. (2) The builder of the Argo, 152 and 153.
_Ariadnē_. Daughter of Minos, king of Crete. Helps Theseus
to overcome the Minotaur, and flees away with him, 188 to 190. At
Naxos, Theseus is commanded to abandon her, 191; and she becomes the
wife of the god Dionysus, 192.
_Arīon_. A horse of divine origin. Carries Adrastus back
to Argos after his defeat before Thebes, 221.
_Artemis_. Goddess of the chase, 24. Daughter of Zeus and Leto, and
sister of Apollo, 23. Punishes Actaeon for looking at her when
bathing, 25. Causes the death of Otus and Ephialtes, 28. Punishes
Niobe for her pride, 80 and 81. Sends a wild-boar to lay waste the
country round Calydon, 84.--Festival of Artemis celebrated at Sparta,
199.
_Asia_. The home of Europa and Cadmus, 54. The country of the
Amazons lies in Asia, 125 and 193. Phrixus is brought to the city of
Colchis in Asia by the Golden Ram, 150.
_Atalanta_. Is exposed in a forest and brought up by hunters, 84 to
86. Takes part in the Calydonian boar-hunt, 86 to 89. Allows
herself to be conquered by the golden apples in the race with
Milanion, 89 and 90.
_Athamas, King_. Father of Phrixus and Helle, 148. Dionysus is
placed under his charge by Zeus, 63. Hera is angry at this and
punishes Athamas by making him mad, 63 and 150. He kills his wife
and children in his madness, and is condemned to wander about till he
becomes the guest of wild beasts, 150 and 151.
_Athēnē_. Daughter of Zeus, and goddess of wisdom.
Buries one of the Giants beneath the island of Sicily, 6. Teaches
Bellerophon how to control the winged horse Pegasus, 49. Directs
Cadmus to sow the dragon's teeth and build a city with the help of
the warriors who should spring from them, 56 and 57. Received from
Perseus the Gorgon's head and fastens it to her shield, 103. Helps
to arm Heracles for his fight with the Minyae, 112. Helps Heracles
to drive away the Stymphalian birds, 121 and 122. Returns the apples
procured by Heracles from the Garden of the Hesperides, 135. Sends a
Sacred Beam for the Argo, 153. Claims the guardianship of the city
of Athens, 176 and 177.
_Athens_. Is named after Athene, 176 and 177. Amphitryon goes there
to fetch the dog who could not be baffled of his prey, 106. The city
is ruled over by Aegeus, 177. Theseus arrives at Athens, 182;
delivers the land from the Bull of Marathon, 184 and 185; and from
the tribute imposed by Minos, 185 to 191; succeeds his father as king
of Athens, 193; defeats the Amazons, 195; sets up an Altar of Pity in
the market-place, 196. Hippolytus comes to stay at Athens, 197 and
198. Oedipus finds a refuge there, 210. Adrastus comes to sue for
help, 223. The bones of Theseus are brought to Athens, 203 and 204.
_Atlas_. Is compelled to support the vault of heaven, 134. Fetches
the golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides fur Heracles, 134
and 135.
_Augeas_. King of Elis. Has his stables cleansed by Heracles in a
single day, 119 and 120. Refuses to give the reward agreed upon, 120
and 121. Is punished by Heracles for his treachery, 141 and 142.
_Aventīnus, Mt_. A mountain in Italy over which Heracles is
driving the cattle of Geryon when they are stolen by the Giant Cacus,
130.
_BACCHANTES_. Followers of Dionysus or Bacchus, 65 to 67.
_Beam, The Sacred_. A beam with the power of speech,--sent by Athene
to be inserted in the Argo, 153. It reproves Jason and Medea for
their crime, 167. Dies of old age, 171.
_Bellerophon_. Son of Glaucus, and grandson of Sisyphus, kings of
Corinth. 45. Kills his brother unintentionally, and goes to King
Proetus to be purged from the stain of blood, 45. Is sent by Proetus
to Iobates king of Lycia, 46. Slays the Chimaera by the help of the
winged horse Pegasus, 47 to 50. Marries the king's daughter and
settles in the country, 51.
_Bias_. Brother of Melampus. Obtains the hand of Pero, daughter of
king Neleus, through the kindness of his brother, 69 to 72. Obtains
also a third part of the dominions of Proetus, king of Argos, 73 and
74.
_Black Sea_. Crossed by Phrixus when carried by the Golden Ram to
Colchis, 150. Passed through by the Argonauts on their way to
Colchis, 155.
_Boreas_. The god of the North Wind, 158.
_Bull of Crete or of Marathon_. Sent by Poseidon to Minos for
sacrifice, 122. Taken to Mycenae by Heracles, 123. Captured by
Theseus and sacrificed to Apollo, 184 and 185.
_Busīris_. A king of Egypt who sacrificed a stranger every
year to the gods. Is killed by Heracles, 133 and 134.
_CACUS_. A giant living on Mt. Aventinus. Steals the cattle of
Heracles and is killed by him, 130 and 131.
_Cadmēa_. The fortress of Thebes. Named after Cadmus, 58.
Hera enters and gives bad advice to Semele, 61. It is visited by a
devastating Fox, whom Amphitryon overcomes with the help of the
Athenian Dog, 106.
_Cadmus_. Sets off in search of his sister Europa, 50. Is directed
to found a city, 56. Sows dragon's teeth, from which spring warriors
who help him to build the Cadmea, 57 and 58. Marries Harmonia, 58.
Is the father of Semele, 61.
_Calydon_. The country of Oeneus and the scene of the great
boar-hunt in which Meleager and Atalanta take part, 83-89. Heracles
goes there to sue for Deianira, 142, and spends some years there, 143.
_Capaneūs_. One of the Seven Heroes who march against
Thebes, 213 and 214. Is killed by lightning, 219.
_Cassiopēa_. Wife of Cepheus and mother of Andromeda.
Punished by Poseidon for her pride, 98 and 99.
_Castor._ Son of Tyndareus and Leda, and twin-brother of Pollux,
200. Takes part in the expedition of the Argonauts, 157. Rescues
his sister Helena, 201. Shares the fate of his brother Pollux after
death as well as through life, 201.
_Caucasus, Mt_. Prometheus is chained there, 12.
_Centaurs_. Monstrous creatures, half men, half horses. Quarrel
with Heracles, 117 to 119. Fight with the Lapithae, who overcome
them with the help of Theseus, 196. (See also _Chiron, Nessus, and
Pholus_.)
_Cepheus_. King of a part of Africa. Husband of Cassiopea and
father of Andromeda, 99 and 100.
_Cerberus_. A three-headed dog who stood as watchman at the gate of
the land of Shades. Heracles is sent to fetch him to the Upper
World, 135. He allows Psyche to pass him, 242.
_Ceryneian Hind_. A hind under the protection of Artemis, captured
by Heracles as his third Labour, 116 and 117
_Chaos_. The state of the universe before the creation of the heaven
and the earth, 1.
_Charon_. The ferryman who conducted mortals to the Lower World.
Rows Psyche across the river Acheron, 241.
_Chimaera_. A monster half-lion, half-goat, with a serpent's tail,
47. Killed by Bellerophon, 48 to 50.
_Chīron_. The wisest and best of the Centaurs. Instructs
Heracles, 100. Is killed by him unintentionally, 118 and 119.
_Circē_. An enchantress, sister of King Aeëtes. Purges
Jason and Medea from the blood of Absyrtus, 167.
_Cithaeron, Mt_. Heracles pastures the flocks of Amphitryon on this
mountain, and slays the lion whose skin he afterwards wears, 110 and
111. Oedipus is left there to perish by his parents, 205.
_Club-carrier_. One of the robbers killed by Theseus on his journey
to Athens, 179.
_Clytaemnestra_. Daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, 200.
_Colchis_. The city of King Aeëtes. Phrixus is brought there by the
Golden Ram, 150. The Argonauts reach Colchis, 159.
_Corinth_. The country of Sisyphus, 43. Bellerophon is obliged to
leave Corinth on account of the murder of his brother, 45. Jason and
Medea settle there, 173. Oedipus is brought there and adopted by
King Polybus, 205 and 206.
_Creon_ (1). King of Corinth. Receives Jason and Medea, and offers
his daughter Glauce to Jason for a wife, 173 and 174. (2). King of
Thebes. Purges Amphitryon from the blood of Electryon, 105.
Accompanies him on his expedition against the Teleboae, 106 & 107.
Gives his daughter Megara to Heracles for a wife, 112. (3). Brother
Jocasta. Becomes King of Thebes, 221. Refuses burial to the Argives
and condemns Antigone to death for disobeying his orders, 221 to 223.
Is compelled by Theseus to rescind them, 223.
_Crete_. Zeus is hidden in this island from his father when a child,
3. Daedalus makes the Labyrinth for King Minos, 52. Daedalus
escapes from Crete with his son Icarus, 52 and 53. Heracles is sent
by Eurystheus to fetch the Cretan bull to Mycenae, 122 and 123. The
Argonauts land after having caused Talos to kill himself, 169 and
170. Theseus goes to Crete as part of the tribute given by the
Athenians, kills the Minotaur and escapes with Ariadne, 187 to 190.
_Cronus_. Son of Uranus and Gala. Dethrones his father and succeeds
him as king of the gods, 2. Marries Rhea, 2. Is dispossessed by his
son Zeus, 3 and 4.
_DAEDALUS_. An artist employed by Minos king of Crete. Builds the
Labyrinth, 52. Escapes with his son Icarus, 52 and 53.
_Danaē_. Daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. Is married
to Zeus, and becomes the mother of Perseus, 95 and 96. Is shut up in
a chest by her father and cast adrift, 95. Is allowed to take refuge
on an island, 96. Is delivered by Perseus from the king, 101.
_Danaïdes_. The daughters of Danaus. They sail to Argos with their
father, 34. Kill their husbands at his command, 35 and 36. Are
condemned to unending punishment in the Lower World, 37 and 38.
Danaus. A descendant of Io. Flees from his home in Africa with his
daughters, and settles in Argos, 34. Becomes king of Argos, 35.
Commands his daughters to kill their husbands, and wishes to punish
Hypermnestra for failing to obey him, 36 and 37.
_Deianīra_. Daughter of Oeneus king of Calydon. Is wooed
by both Heracles and the river-god Acheloüs, who agree to fight for
her, 142. Marries Heracles, 143. Receives from the Centaur Nessus a
cloth dipped in his blood, 144. Smears with this cloth the robe of
Heracles, and thus causes his death, 145 and 146. Hangs herself in
despair, 147.
Dēos. A floating island. Leto takes refuge on it, and
Poseidon causes four pillars to spring up and hold it fast, 23.
Apollo and Artemis are born there, 23. The island is honoured by the
Greeks, 24.
_Delphi_. A city of Greece in which there was an oracle of Apollo,
55. (See _Oracle_.) Heracles carries off the sacred Tripod, 139.
The Epigoni present to Apollo the best of the spoil taken from
Thebes, 226. Acheloüs advises his grand-children to offer the veil
and necklace of Harmonia to Apollo at Delphi, 230.
_Dēmētēr_. Daughter of Cronus, 4. Seeks
for her daughter Persephone, 16 to 18. Creates corn and teaches
Triptolemus how to cultivate it, 18 and 19. Eats by mistake the
shoulder of Pelops, 75 and 76.
_Deucalion_. Son of Prometheus. Saves himself and his wife Pyrrha
in a wooden chest at the time of the great Flood, 13 and 14. They
re-people the earth by throwing stones behind them which become men
and women, 15.
_Diomēdēs_. A king of Thrace who fed his horses on
human flesh. Heracles is sent by Eurystheus to fetch the horses to
Mycenae; he conquers the king and throws him to be eaten by his own
horses, 123 and 124.
_Dionȳsus_. Son of Zeus and Semele. Is placed under the
charge of Athamas, 63; then under that of some nymphs, 64. Is gifted
by Zeus with divine power, 64 and 65. Creates the Vine, 65. Sets
out upon a triumphal journey round the world, 65. Punishes the
sailors who refuse to take him to Naxos, 66 and 67. Punishes the
daughters of Proetus who refuse to honour him, 73. Is received into
the abode of the gods, 67. Marries Ariadne, 192.
_Dioscūri_. The brothers Castor and Pollux, 201.
_Doliōnes_. A people in whose country the Argonauts land on
their way to Colchis, 154 and 155.
_EARTH, The_. Gives a golden apple-tree to Hera on her marriage with
Zeus, 131. Gives her son Antaeus new strength every time he touches
her, 133.
_Egypt_. Io is kindly received by the king, and becomes his wife, 32
and 33. Danaus leaves Egypt for Argos, 34. Heracles kills King
Busiris, 133 and 134.
_Electryon_. Son and successor of Perseus. His right is disputed by
Pterelaus king of the Teleboae, 104. He prepares to make an
expedition against the Teleboae, but is killed accidentally by
Amphitryon, 105.
_Elis_. A country of Greece. Ruled over by Salmoneus, 42. Pelops
goes to Elis to sue for Hippodamia, conquers her father in the
chariot-race, and becomes king, 77 to 79. Heracles cleanses the
stables of Augeas, king of Elis, 119 and 120. He marches against
Elis to punish Augeas for his faithlessness, and transfers the
kingdom to Phyleus, 141 and 142.
_Endymion_. A son of Zeus. Asks that he may sleep for ever, 29. Is
beloved by the goddess Selene, 30.
Ephialtēs. Brother of Otus, and son of Poseidon, 27. The
brothers fight against the gods, and make Ares prisoner, 28. They
are killed through a device of the goddess Artemis, 28.
_Epigoni_. The sons of the Seven Heroes defeated before Thebes.
They march against Thebes to avenge the death of their fathers, and
take possession of the city, 224 to 227.
_Epimēthēus_. Brother of Prometheus, 9. Zeus
sends Pandora to be his wife, 10 and 11.
Ergīnus. King of the Minyae. Demands tribute from the
Thebans, 111. Is attacked and conquered by Heracles, 112.
_Eriphȳlē_. Wife of Amphiaraus and sister of
Adrastus, 214. Decides that Amphiaraus shall march against Thebes,
215. Is killed by her son Alcmaeon, 227.
_Erōs_. The god of Love--son of Aphrodite, 231. Is
commanded by his mother to do Psyche an injury, but instead of that,
marries her secretly, 231 to 236. Is obliged to leave her, 236.
Obtains the gift of immortality for Psyche, and the sanction of the
gods to his marriage with her, 243.
_Erymanthus, Mt_. The home of the boar captured by Heracles as his
Fourth Labour, 117 to 119.
_Etēoclēs_. Son of Oedipus and Jocasta. Banishes
his brother Polynices from Thebes, 212. Defies the summons of the
Argives to surrender the kingdom, 218. Challenges Polynices to a
single combat, in which each brother kills the other, 220.
_Euboea_. The country of Eurytus. Heracles goes there to sue for
Iole, 137. Heracles conquers the city and kills Eurytus and his
sons, 145.
_Eurōpa_. Sister of Cadmus. Is carried off by Zeus in the
form of a bull, 54 and 58.
_Europe_. The country to which Europa was carried by the bull, and
which was called after her, 58. Heracles reaches the extreme limit
of Europe, 128. Phrixus and Helle are carried away from it into Asia
by the Golden Ram, 150.
_Eurȳstheūs_. Son of Sthenalus. Becomes king of
Mycenae and Tiryns, 109. Is served for twelve years by Heracles who
performs twelve Labours at his command, 113 to 137.
_Eurytus_. King of Euboea. Refuses to give his daughter Iole in
marriage to Heracles and taunts him with his former madness, 137. He
and his sons are killed by Heracles, 145.
_Evēnus_. Father of Marpessa. Refuses to let his daughter
marry Idas, 20. Pursues Idas and Marpessa, and being unable to
overtake them, drowns himself, 21.
_FATES_. Three goddesses who determine the course of men's lives.
They are present at the birth of Meleager, 83. They promise that
Admetus shall recover if one of his relatives will die for him, 93.
They decree that the Theban Fox shall never be caught, and that the
Athenian Dog shall never pursue in vain, 106.
_Fir-bender_. One of the robbers killed by Theseus on his journey to
Athens, 170 and 180.
_Flood_. Zeus destroys the whole race of men by a great Flood,
excepting Deucalion and Pyrrha, 13 to 15.
_GAEA_. Wife of Uranus and goddess of the earth, 1. Helps her son
Cronus to dethrone his father, 2. Plans the overthrow of Cronus, 3.
Creates Giants to fight against the gods, 5; also a monster named
Typhöeus, 6. Interferes to prevent Phaëthon from burning up the
earth, 41.
_Ganymede_. Son of Laomedon king of Troy. Is carried off to Olympus
by the sacred eagle of Zeus, 127.
_Garden of the Hesperides_. A garden in Oceanus where Hera planted
the golden apple-tree, given her by the Earth at her marriage with
Zeus. Heracles is sent by Eurystheus to fetch three golden apples
from it, 131 to 135.
_Geryon_, A three-headed king in the far West, possessor of a
beautiful herd of red-brown cattle. He loses his life in defending
them against Heracles, 128 and 129.
_Giants_. Huge monsters created by Gaea to fight against the gods.
They are defeated in a great battle, and buried beneath volcanic
mountains, 6.
_Glaucē_. Daughter of Creon king of Corinth. Is offered to
Jason as a bride, 173 and 174. Her death is caused by Medea, 174.
_Glaucus_. Son of Sisyphus, and father of Bellerophon, 45.
_Golden Age_. The time when men were first created, and lived long
and happy lives, 8.
_Golden Fleece_. The fleece of the ram who carried Phrixus to
Colchis. It is hung up on a tree in a forest near Colchis, 150.
Jason is sent to fetch it, 152. He carries it off from the forest,
165; and brings it safely to Iolcus, 171.
_Gorgons_. Three sisters with iron claws and golden wings and live
serpents instead of hair, who turned to stone everyone that looked at
them, 96 and 98. Perseus cuts off the head of Medusa, the youngest
Gorgon, 98.
_Graces_. Three beautiful daughters of Zeus. They dance at the
wedding of Eros and Psyche, 243.
_Grey Sisters_. Sisters of the Gorgons who had only one eye and one
tooth between them. Perseus goes to their cave and obliges them to
tell him where to find the nymphs who can help him obtain the head of
Medusa, 97.
_HARMONIA_. Daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. Is married to Cadmus,
58. Is presented by Hephaestus with a beautiful veil and necklace,
214
_Harpies_. Creatures with the bodies of maidens and the feet and
wings of ravens. They torment Phineus until they are killed by the
Argonauts, 157 and 158.
_Hēbē_. A goddess,--daughter of Hera. Is given by
her in marriage to Heracles, 147.
_Helena_. Daughter of Zeus and Leda, 200. Is carried off by Theseus
and Pirithoüs, 199. Is rescued by her brothers, Castor and Pollux,
201.
_Hēlios_. The sun-god. Tells Demeter that Pluto has
carried off her daughter, 17. Unwillingly grants the request of his
son Phaëthon to be allowed to drive the chariot of the sun, 39 to 41.
Lends Heracles his golden shell that he may sail in it to the island
of Geryon, 129.
_Hellē_. Daughter of King Athamas and sister of Phrixus.
Is carried away, with her brother, by the Golden Ram, but falls off
his back into the sea and is drowned, 148 to 150.
_Hellespont_. The sea which lies between Europe and Asia. Called
after Helle, 150.
_Hephaestus_. Fashions Pandora out of clay, 10. Binds Prometheus to
a rock on Mt. Caucasus, 12. Helps to arm Heracles for his fight with
the Minyae, 112. Makes the rattle which Heracles uses to drive away
the Stymphalian birds, 122. Makes an iron watchman for Minos king of
Crete, 169. Presents a beautiful veil and necklace to Cadmus and
Harmonia, 214.
_Hēra_. Daughter of Cronus, 4. Becomes the wife of Zeus
and queen of the gods, 4. Is presented by the Earth at her marriage
with a golden apple-tree, 131. Persecutes Leto, 23; and Io, 31 to
33. Gives treacherous advice to Semele, 61. Punishes Athamas for
receiving Dionysus, 63 and 150. Is reconciled to Dionysus and
Semele, 67. Causes Eurystheus to be born before Heracles and thus
become heir to the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns, 109. Sends serpents
to kill Heracles when a child, 109. Afflicts him with madness, 113.
Takes the form of an Amazon and leads an attack upon Heracles, 125.
Sends a great gnat to torment his cattle, 131. Raises a storm to
destroy him, 141; and is punished for this by Zeus, 141. Is
reconciled to Heracles and welcomes him among the gods, 147.
Protects the Argonauts in their passage through the Wandering Rocks,
169.
_Hēraclēs._ Son of Zeus and Alcmene, 108 and 109.
Strangles two serpents sent by Hera to kill him in his sleep, 109.
Is taught by the Centaur Chiron, 110. Kills a lion on Mt. Cithaeron
and dresses himself in the skin, 110 and 111. Conquers the Minyae
and kills their king, Erginus, 111 and 112. Marries Megara, 112.
Becomes mad, and throws his children into the fire, 113. Leaves
Thebes in consequence, and enters the service of Eurystheus for whom
he performs twelve Labours:--
1st Labour. Killing the Nemean Lion, 113 and 114.
2nd Labour. Killing the Lernean Hydra, 114 to 116.
3rd Labour. Capturing the Ceryneian Hind, 116 and 117.
4th Labour. Bringing the Erymanthian Boar to Mycenae, 117 and 119.
5th Labour. Cleansing the stables of Augeas in a single day, 119 to
121.
6th Labour. Driving away the Stymphalian Birds, 121 and 122.
7th Labour. Bringing the Cretan Bull to Mycenae, 122 and 123.
8th Labour. Bringing to Mycenae the fierce horses of Diomedes, 123
and 124.
9th Labour. Obtaining the girdle of the Queen of the Amazons, 124 to
126.
10th Labour. Fetching the cattle of Geryon, 128 to 131.
11th Labour. Procuring three golden apples from the Garden of the
Hesperides, 131 to 135.
12th Labour. Fetching the three-headed dog Cerberus from the Lower
World, 135 to 137.
Heracles delivers Prometheus from the eagle, 12. Fights with the
Centaurs and causes the death of Chiron unintentionally, 117 to 119.
Delivers Hesione from the monster, 126 and 127. Punishes Laomedon
her father for breaking his word to him, 140. Kills the giant Cacus
for stealing his cattle, 130 and 131. Wrestles with Nereus the
sea-god, 132. Wrestles with Antaeus, son of the Earth, and squeezes
him to death, 133. Kills Busiris who had been accustomed to
sacrifice a stranger every year to the gods, 133 and 134. Visits
Atlas, and takes his place for a time in supporting the heaven, 134
and 135. Goes to Oechalia to sue for Iole daughter of King Eurytus,
and is taunted by her father with his former madness, 137 and 138.
Punishes Eurytus for this, 145. Kills Iphitus, son of Eurytus, 138.
Is smitten with sickness, and when he asks the Oracle what he shall
do, is refused an answer, 139. Quarrels with Apollo about this and
carries off the sacred Tripod, 139. Enters the service of Omphale
queen of Lydia, with whom he remains for three years, 139 and 140.
Punishes Augeas for his faithlessness, 141 and 142. Goes to Calydon
to sue for Deianira, and wins her in a contest with the river-god
Acheloüs, 142 and 143. Marries Deianira and lives with her for some
time in Calydon, 143. Accidentally kills his servant-boy and has to
leave, and go to Trachin to be purified, 143 and 144. Is about to
celebrate his victory over Eurytus when he receives from Deianira a
robe poisoned with the blood of the Centaur Nessus, which causes him
such terrible suffering that he resolves to die, 145 and 146.
Ascends Mt. Oeta and builds a funeral pile which he causes to be set
alight, 146. But before the flames reach him, he is carried up to
Mt. Olympus and enthroned among the gods, 146 and 147. The goddess
Hebe is given to him for a wife, 147.
_Hermēs_. The Messenger of the gods. Takes Pandora to
Epimetheus, 10. Is sent to tell Deucalion and Pyrrha that they may
make any request they like, 14. Helps Ares to escape from captivity,
28. Kills the watchman Argus, and rescues Io, 31 and 32. Takes
Dionysus to King Athamus, 63; and afterwards to be brought up by some
nymphs, 64. Gives Perseus a sickle with which to cut off the head of
Medusa, 97. Returns to the nymphs the three Precious Things they had
lent to Perseus, 103. Steals part of the booty of Amphitryon for
Zeus, 108. Helps to arm Heracles for his fight with the Minyae, 112.
Brings the Golden Ram to carry away Phrixus and Helle, 149. Brings
Psyche into the assembly of the gods, 243.
_Hersīonē_. Daughter of Laomedon king of Troy. Is
rescued by Heracles from the monster, 126. Is given to the hero
Telamon after the conquest of Troy, and allowed to take her little
brother Podarces or Priam with her, 140 and 141.
_Hesperides_. Three nymphs who tended the garden of golden
apple-trees, 132. (See _Garden of Hesperides_.)
_Hestia_. Daughter of Cronus, 4.
_Hippodamīa_. Daughter of Oenamaus king of Elis. Her
father compels nil her suitors to compete with him in a chariot-race,
77. Pelops wins, and marries Hippodamia, 78 and 79.
_Hippolyta_. An Amazon carried off by Theseus to be his wife, 193
and 194. She is killed, fighting for him against her country-women,
195.
_Hippolytus_. Son of Theseus and Hippolyta, 194. Is beloved by
Phaedra, wife of Theseus, 197. She causes his death, 198.
_Hippomedon_. One of the Seven Heroes who march against Thebes, 213.
_Horn of Plenty_. The horn of the goat Amalthea, converted by Zeus
into a miraculous horn, 5. Is given to Heracles in exchange for the
horn of Acheloüs, 143.
_Hundred-armed_. Monsters, children of Uranus and Gaea, 1. Are
thrust into Tartarus, 2 and 3. Are released by Zeus and help him to
fight against the old gods, 4.
_Hydra_. A monster killed by Heracles, 114 to 116. Heracles poisons
his arrows with the Hydra's gall, 116; and uses them in shooting at
the Centaurs, 118; and 144.
_Hylas_. The most beautiful boy in Greece. Is dragged down into a
forest pool by the nymphs who live there, and never seen again, 155
and 156.
_Hypsipele_. Queen of Lemnos. Saves the life of her father when all
the other men in the island are killed, 153 and 154. Is banished in
consequence, and becomes nurse to the child of Lycurgus king of
Nemea, 215 to 217.
_[I-macro]CARUS_. Son of Daedalus. Flies away from Crete with his
father, but falls into the sea and is drowned, 52 and 53.
_Idas_. Carries off Marpessa in a winged chariot, 20. Is preferred
by her to the god Apollo, 21 and 22.
_Ino_. Wife of Athamas, and stepmother of Phrixus and Helle, 63 and
148. Tries to get Phrixus put to death, 148 and 149. Is killed in
trying to escape from her husband, in his madness, 63 and 150.
_Io_. Daughter of a king of Argos. Is beloved by Zeus, and changed
by him into a white cow to save her from Hera, 31. Hera gets
possession of the cow and puts her under the charge of the watchman
Argus, 31. She is rescued by Hermes, 31 and 32. Hera however
continues to torment her till she is protected by the king of Egypt
who marries her, 32 and 33.
_Iobatēs_. King of Lycia. Receives Bellerophon kindly, 47;
but at the request of Proetus, sends him on dangerous missions in the
hope of his being killed, 47 to 50; until, finding that he is under
the protection of the gods, he begs him to settle in the country and
gives him his daughter in marriage, 51.
_Iolus_. A cousin of Heracles. Accompanies him on his
expedition to destroy the Lernean Hydra, 115 and 116.
_Iolcus_. The city of King Pelias, 151. Jason sets out from Iolcus
in quest of the Golden Fleece, 152 and 153. Returns with the Fleece,
171. Is obliged to leave the city, 173.
_Iolē_. Daughter of Eurytus king of Oechalia. Is sought in
marriage by Heracles, but refused to him by her father, 137 and 138.
_Iphiclēs_. Son of Amphitryon and Alcmene, and half-brother
of Heracles, 108 and 109.
_Iphiclus_. (1) The owner of a famous herd of cattle demanded by
Neleus king of Pylos in return for the hand of his daughter Pero, 69.
(2) Grandson of the above. Melampus instructs him how to propitiate
the gods and obtain an heir, 71 and 72.
_Iphitus_. Son of Eurytus, king of Oechalia. Is killed by Heracles
in a fit of anger, 138.
_Isthmus_. The neck of land which connects the peninsula of
Peloponnesus with the rest of Greece. The Argonauts land there on
their return from Colchis, 171.
_Italy_. Heracles passes through the country when driving home the
cattle of Geryon to Mycenae, 130.
_JASON_. Nephew of Pelias, king of Iolcus, by whom he is sent to
fetch the Golden Fleece, 152. Reaches Colchis, 159; and accomplishes
the tasks demanded by Aeëtes, 160 to 164. Obtains possession of the
Fleece by the help of Medea, and escapes with her, 165. Is purified
by Circe from the blood of Absyrtus, 167. Arrives at Iolcus and
shows Pelias the Golden Fleece, 171. Goes to Corinth, where King
Creon offers him Glauce for his wife, 173. Presents her with a
marriage-robe which, unknown to him, has been poisoned by Medea, 174.
Sees Medea drive away in her dragon-car, 175.
_Jocasta_. Wife of Laïus king of Thebes, and mother of Oedipus, 205.
Marries Oedipus, not knowing who he is, 207 and 208. When it is
discovered, she hangs herself in her despair and grief, 209.
_LABYRINTH_. A wonderful house made for Minos king of Crete by the
artist Daedalus, 52 and 186. Theseus enters it and kills the
Minotaur, 189 and 190.
_Lïus_. King of Thebes and husband of Jocasta. Exposes
his son Oedipus on Mt. Cithaeron, 205. Is killed by his son
unknowingly, 206 and 207.
_Land of Shades_. See _Lower World_.
_Laodamas_. Son of Eteocles. Succeeds his father as king of Thebes,
and is killed in fighting against the Epigoni, 225.
_Laomedon_. King of Troy, and father of Ganymede, Hesione and Priam.
Tries to cheat the gods Apollo and Poseidon, and is punished by them,
126. Receives from Zeus two horses of the gods to console him for
the loss of Ganymede, 127. Promises the horses to Heracles if he
will deliver Hesione from the monster, but fails to keep his word,
126 and 127. Is punished by Heracles for his faithlessness, 140.
_Lapithae_. The subjects of Pirithoüs the friend of Theseus, 195.
They conquer the Centaurs with the help of Theseus, 196.
_Lēda_. Wife of Tyndareus king of Sparta. Marries Zeus in
the form of a swan, and becomes the mother of Pollux and Helena, as
well as of Castor and Clytaemnestra, 200.
_Lemnos_. An island inhabited by women only. The Argonauts rest
there on their way to Colchis, 153 and 154.
_Lernē_. The city near which was the abode of the Lernean
Hydra destroyed by Heracles, 115.
_Lēto_. Marries Zeus, and becomes the mother of Apollo and
Artemis, 23 and 24. Begs her children to punish Niobe, 80.
_Libya_. The country of Antaeus. Heracles wrestles with him, 133.
_Lichas_. A herald. Brings to Heracles the robe poisoned by
Deianira which causes him such agony that he beats Lichas to death
against the rocks, 145 and 146.
_Lower World_. Pluto is made king of the Lower World, 5. Persephone
is carried off to it by Pluto, 16 to 18. The Danaïdes are condemned
to never-ending punishment, 37 and 38. Tantalus is condemned to a
similar punishment, 76. Alcestis is allowed to return from the Lower
World, 94. Heracles goes there to fetch Cerberus, 135 to 137.
Theseus and Pirithoüs descend with the intention of carrying off
Persephone, 199 to 202. Castor and Pollux spend alternate days in
Olympus and in the Lower World, 201. The helmet of Pluto is lent to
Perseus, 97.
_Lycia_. The country of King Iobates. Bellerophon slays the
Chimaera, and afterwards settles in the country, 47 to 51.
_Lycomēdēs_. King of part of the island of Scyros,
202. Kills Theseus by treachery, 203.
_Lycurgus_. King of Nemea. The Nemean games are instituted in
memory of his child by the heroes marching through his country on
their way to Thebes, 215 to 217.
_Lydia_. The country of Queen Omphale, whom Heracles serves as a
slave for three years, 139 and 140.
_Lynceūs_. Son of Aegyptus. Is saved from death by his
wife Hypermnestra, 36. Succeeds Danaus as king of Argos, 37.
_MARPESSA_. Daughter of Evenus. Runs away with Idas, 20. Prefers
him to the god Apollo, 21 and 22.
_Medēa_. Daughter of Aeëtes king of Colchis. Helps Jason
to win the Golden Fleece, and escapes with him, 161 to 165. Kills
her brother Absyrtus, 166. Is purged by Circe from the stain of
blood, 167. Deceives Talos and makes him destroy himself, 169 and
170. Deludes the daughters of Pelias into killing their father, 172
and 173. Sends a poisoned robe to Glauce, 174. Flees away from
Corinth in her dragon-car, 175. Is at the court of Aegeus at Athens
when Theseus arrives, 183. Her plan for poisoning him fails, and she
flees away in her winged car, 183 and 184.
_Mediterranean_. The sea which one of the Giants is in the act of
crossing when buried by Athene under the island of Sicily, 6. Europa
is carried across it by Zeus, 58.
Medūsa. One of the three Gorgons. Is killed by Perseus, 96
to 98. Her head turns his enemies to stone, 101.
_Megara_. Daughter of Creon, king of Thebes. Becomes the wife of
Heracles, 112. Dies, 137.
_Melampus_. Learns the language of birds and insects, 68; and the
art of knowing the future, 72. Obtains the cattle of Iphiclus for
his brother Bias, 69 to 72. Restores the reason of the daughters of
Proetus, 73 and 74.
_Meleager_. Son of Oeneus and Althaea, king and queen of Calydon.
Takes part in the great boar-hunt which Atalanta also attends, and
dies in consequence of a quarrel with his uncles, 83 to 88.
_Mīlanion_. Wins the race with Atalanta by the help of
three golden apples which he drops at intervals, 89 and 90.
_Minos_. King of Crete. Father of Ariadne and Phaedra. Refuses to
let Daedalus leave his country, 52. Is sent a bull for sacrifice by
Poseidon, but fails to kill it, 122. Receives Heracles who delivers
him from the mad bull, 122 and 123. Is furnished by Hephaestus with
an iron watchman, 169. Demands from the Athenians a tribute of seven
youths and seven maidens, 186. Hears that Theseus has slain the
Minotaur and carried off his daughter Ariadne, 190 and 191. Gives
his daughter Phaedra in marriage to Theseus, 197.
_Minotaur_. A monster, half man, half bull, who lived in the
Labyrinth of Crete, 187. Is killed by Theseus, 189 and 190.
_Minyae_. The subjects of King Erginus. They are conquered by
Heracles and obliged to pay tribute to the Thebans, 112.
_Moors_. Name given to the people of Africa, burnt black by
Phaëthon, 41.
_Muses_. Nine beautiful goddesses of poetry, art and science. They
teach a riddle to the Sphinx, 207. They sing at the marriage of Eros
and Psyche, 243.
_Mycēnae_. A city of Greece. Perseus exchanges his kingdom
of Argos for the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns, 103. The right of his
son Electryon to succeed is disputed by Pterelaus, 104. Amphitryon
comes to Mycenae to sue for Alcmene, but is obliged to leave on
account of the unintentional murder of Electryon, 105. Sthenelus
drives away Alcmene and seizes the kingdom, 105. His son Eurystheus
succeeds him as king, 109. Heracles goes to Mycenae and serves
Eurystheus for twelve years, 113.
_Mysia_. A country of Asia Minor. The Argonauts land on their way
to Colchis, and leave Heracles and Hylas behind when they sail away,
155 and 156.
_NAXOS_. An island, the favourite land of the god Dionysus, 66 and
67. He finds Ariadne on the island and marries her, 191 and 192.
_Nēleūs_. King of Pylos. Demands the cattle of
Iphiclus in return for the hand of his daughter Pero, 69. Gives her
in marriage to Bias, 72. Refuses to purge Heracles from the murder
of Iphitus, 138. Heracles marches against him and kills him and all
his family, 142.
_Nemea_. A city of Greece. Heracles goes there to kill the Nemean
lion, 113. The Nemean Games are instituted in memory of the child of
King Lycurgus, 215 to 217.
_Nēreūs_. A sea-god. Is compelled by Heracles to
tell him how to obtain the golden apples from the Garden of the
Hesperides, 132.
_Nessus_. A Centaur. Carries Deianira across the river and tries to
run away with her, but is shot by Heracles with a poisoned arrow, 144.
_Nestor_. Son of Neleus king of Pylos. The only member of the
family of Neleus left alive after the revenge of Heracles, 142.
_Niobē_. Daughter of Tantalus, and wife of Amphion king of
Thebes. Boasts of her superiority to the goddess Leto, and is
punished by having all her children taken from her at once, 80 to 83.
_OCEANUS_. The great stream that flows right round the world. The
horses of Helios bathe in it every evening, 39. The Gorgons live on
an island in Oceanus, 97. On an island in Oceanus lives the
three-headed king Geryon, whose cattle Heracles is sent to fetch,
128. The golden apple-tree from which the Garden of the Hesperides
grows, is planted by Hera in Oceanus, 131 and 132.
_Oechalia_. The capital of Eurytus king of Euboea. The city is
destroyed by Heracles, 145.
_Oedipus_. Son of Laïus and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes. Is
exposed by his parents on Mt. Cithaeron because of the prediction
that he shall kill his father and marry his mother, 205. Is found by
a herdsman and taken to Polybus king of Corinth who adopts him, 206.
Kills his father not knowing who he is, 207. Goes to Thebes where he
delivers the country from the Sphinx, and is rewarded with the
kingdom and the hand of Jocasta, 207 and 208. Puts out his eyes in
despair, on discovering his parentage, 209. Is banished from Thebes,
and finds a refuge at Athens, where he dies, 210 and 211.
_Oeneūs_. King of Calydon, and father of Meleager and
Deianira. Inaugurates the great Calydonian boar-hunt, 83 to 88.
Receives Heracles, who comes to sue for Deianira, 142.
_Oenomus_. King of Elis. Makes all the suitors of his
daughter Hippodamia, vie with him in a chariot-race, and is killed in
racing with Pelops, 77 to 79.
_Oeta, Mt_. Heracles ascends the mountain and builds his funeral
pile upon it, 146.
_Olympus, Mt_. The abode of the gods, 2. The Giants try to climb up
into it, 5 and 6. Demeter comes down from it to the earth, 16 and
17. Hera drives Leto from it, 23; but afterwards receives her back
again, 24. Hera descends from it to give bad advice to Semele, 61.
Zeus descends and shows himself to Semele in god-like splendour, 62.
Dionysus and Semele are received among the gods, 67. Tantalus is
allowed sometimes to ascend to Mt. Olympus, 75. Ganymede is brought
to Mt. Olympus by the sacred eagle of Zeus, 127. Heracles is
enthroned as a god, 147. Psyche is received among the Immortals,
243. Heracles drives the horses of Diomedes to the foot of Mt.
Olympus, 124.
_Omphalē_. Queen of Lydia. Heracles sells himself to her
as a slave for three years, 139 and 140.
_One-eyed, The_. Monstrous children of Uranus and Gaea, 1. Are
thrust into Tartarus, 2 and 3. Are released by Zeus, and forge
weapons for him, 4.
_Oracle_. A temple of Apollo at Delphi, where the god vouchsafed
prophetic answers (also called Oracles) to those who came to enquire
concerning the future. Answers are given to Cadmus, 56; Oenomaus,
77; Acrisius, 95; the parents of Andromeda, 99; Heracles, 113 and
139; the Trojans, 126; Pelias, 151; the Athenians, 203; Oedipus, 206;
Adrastus, 213; Alcmaeon, 227; the parents of Psyche, 231.
_Orpheūs_. Delivers the Argonauts from the Sirens by
overpowering their song, 168.
_Ossa, Mt_. The Giants propose to set up this mountain on the top of
Mt. Pelion, and so climb up to Olympus, 6.
_Othrys, Mt_. The mountain from which the old gods fight with the
younger ones, 4.
_Otus_. Son of Poseidon and brother of Ephialtes, 27. He and his
brother fight against the gods and make Ares prisoner, 28. They are
killed through a device of Artemis, 28.
_PALLANTIDAE_. Sons of Pallas, the brother of Aegeus, 177. They lay
a plot to kill their Uncle and Theseus, 184.
_Pallas_. Brother of Aegeus king of Athens, 177.
_Pandōra_. Is fashioned by Hephaestus out of clay, and
endowed with gifts by all the gods, 10. Is sent to be the wife of
Epimetheus, anil takes with her, as her dowry, a casket full of
Diseases and Cares, 10 and 11.
_Parnassus_. A mountain sacred to the gods. Zeus proves it to be
the centre of the earth, 14. The chest in which Deucalion and Pyrrha
have been preserved during the Flood, strands there, 14. The sacred
Oracle of Apollo is located in Delphi, a city on Mt. Parnassus, 55.
_Parthenopaeus_. One of the Seven Heroes who marched against Thebes,
213.
_Pegasus_. A beautiful winged horse. Bellerophon becomes his
master, is taught by the goddess Athene how to control him, and by
his help overcomes the Chimaera, 48 to 50.
_Pelias_. King of Iolcus, 151; and father of Alcestis, 92. Gives
his daughter in marriage to Admetus, 92 and 93. Sends Jason to fetch
the Golden Fleece, 152. Kills the father of Jason during his
absence, 171. Is put to death by his own daughters, through the
treachery of Medea, 172 and 173.
_Pēlion, Mt_. The Giants propose to climb up from this
mountain to Olympus, 6.
_Peloponnesus_. A peninsula of Greece, named after Pelops, 79.
_Pelops_. Is killed by his father, and served up to the gods at a
banquet, 75; but is brought to life again by Zeus, 76. Is
dispossessed of his kingdom of Phrygia, 77. Travels to Elis, and
through craft conquers Oenomaus in the chariot-race, 77 to 79.
Marries Hippodamia, and becomes king of Elis, 79.
_Perigunē_. Daughter of the Fir-bender, one of the robbers
slain by Theseus on his way to Athens, 180.
Pēro. Daughter of Neleus, king of Pylos, 69. Becomes the
wife of Bias, 72.
_Persephonē_. Daughter of Demeter. Is carried off by Pluto
to be queen of the Lower World, 16 to 18. Sends back Alcestis to
live again for a time in the Upper World, 94. Receives Heracles when
he visits the Lower World, 136. Gives Psyche the casket for which
she has been sent by Aphrodite, 212.
_Perseūs_. Son of Zeus and Danaë, 95 and 96. Is sent by
the king of the island where his mother has taken refuge, to fetch
the head of Medusa, 96 to 98. Rescues Andromeda from the monster,
and is married to her, 99 to 101. Returns with the head of Medusa,
and rescues his mother from the king, who wants to marry her, 101.
Kills his grandfather unintentionally, and succeeds to the kingdom of
Argos, 102; but exchanges it for the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns,
103.
_Phaedra_. Daughter of Minos king of Crete. Is married to Theseus,
197. Loves Hippolytus and asks him to marry her, 197. Causes his
death when he refuses, and then hangs herself in despair, 198.
_Phaëthon_. Son of Helios, 39. Obtains leave from his father to
drive the chariot of the sun for a single day, 40. Falls from it,
and is killed by a thunderbolt, 41.
_Phēgeūs_. Purges Alcmaeon from the stain of
blood, and gives him his daughter in marriage, 227. Sends his sons
to kill Alcmaeon on account of his faithlessness, 229.
_Phenicia_. The home of Europa and Cadmus, 54.
_Phineūs_. (1) Brother of Cepheus. Disputes the right of
Perseus to marry Andromeda, and is turned to stone, 100 and 101. (2)
A seer whom the Argonauts deliver from the Harpies, 157 and 158.
_Pholus_. One of the Centaurs. Entertains Heracles in his cave, 117
and 118.
_Phrixus_. Son of King Athamas, and brother of Helle. His
stepmother lays a plot to kill him, hut he is rescued by a Golden Ram
and carried away to Colchis, where he marries the daughter of King
Aeëtes, 148 to 150.
_Phrygia_. The country of Tantalus, 75. His son Pelops is driven
away from his kingdom, 77.
_Phylacus_. Inherits the cattle of his father Iphiclus, 69. Agrees
to give them to Melampus if he will teach him how his son may
propitiate the gods and obtain an heir, 70 to 72.
_Phyleūs_. Son of Augeas king of Elis. Refuses to bear
false witness against Heracles, and is banished by his father, 120
and 121. Heracles restores him, and makes him king, 142.
_Pillars of Heracles_. Two mountains of rock set up by Heracles in
the sea between Europe and Africa, 128.
_Pīrithoüs_. King of the Lapithae. Forms a friendship with
Theseus, 195; who helps him to defeat the Centaurs, 196. Pirithoüs
is compelled to sit for ever on an iron seat in the Lower World, 200
and 202.
_Pluto_. Son of Cronus, 4. Is made king of the Lower World, 5.
Carries off Persephone, 16 to 18. Allows Sisyphus to return to the
earth for a single day, 44. Allows Heracles to take Cerberus to the
Upper World on condition that he captures him without weapons, 136.
_Podarces_. Son of Laomedon king of Troy. Is rescued by his sister
Hesione when the town is sacked by Heracles, 140. Receives the name
of Priam, 141.
_Pollux_. Son of Zeus and Leda, and brother of Castor, 200 and 201.
Rescues his sister Helena, 201. Takes part in the expedition of the
Argonauts, 157. Petitions Zeus that he and his brother Castor may be
allowed to share the same fate, 201.
_Polybus_. King of Corinth, 205. Adopts Oedipus, 206.
_Polynīces_. Son of Oedipus and Jocasta. Is banished from
Thebes by his brother Eteocles, and takes refuge with Adrastus king
of Argos, 212 and 213. Induces Adrastus to march an army against
Thebes, 213. Accepts his brother's challenge to single combat, in
which he gives and receives a mortal blow, 220.
_Poseidon_. Son of Cronus, 4. The sea is made subject to him, 4 and
5. Gives Idas a winged chariot in which to carry off Marpessa, 20.
Becomes the father of Otus and Ephialtes, 27. Punishes Cassiopea for
being vain of her beauty, 99. Gives Pterelaus a golden hair which
preserves him from death, 107. Sends Minos a bull for sacrifice, and
punishes him for keeping it back, 122. Punishes Laomedon for his
faithlessness, 126. The Argo is dedicated to Poseidon, 171.
Poseidon disputes with Athene the guardianship of Athens, 176. At
the request of Theseus, he creates the monster that destroys
Hippolytus, 198.
_Priam_. See _Podarces_.
_Proetus_. King of Argos. Cleanses Bellerophon from the murder of
his brother, 45; but thinking he has done him an injury, sends him to
Iobates, whom he desires to kill him, 46. Sends to beg Melampus to
restore his daughters to their right minds, 73 and 74.
_Promēthēus_. Brings down fire to the earth
against the will of Zeus, 9 and 10. Is chained, as a punishment, to
Mt. Caucasus where an eagle preys upon his liver, 12. Is delivered
by Heracles, 12. Warns his son Deucalion of the great flood about to
take place, 13.
Psȳchē. Is hated by Aphrodite on account of her
beauty, 231. Is carried away by the Wind-god, and secretly married
to Eros, 232 and 233. She disobeys his command that she shall never
seek to see him, and he is obliged to leave her, 236. Psyche enters
the service of Aphrodite, who requires her to accomplish hard tasks,
237 to 242. Zeus gifts Psyche with immortality, and sanctions her
marriage with Eros, 243.
_Pterelus_. Grandson of Perseus and king of the Teleboae.
Disputes the right of Electryon to the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns,
104. Amphitryon leads an expedition against him, and conquers him
through the treachery of his daughter, 106 and 107.
_Pylos_. The home of Melampus, 68; also of King Neleus and his
daughter Pero, 69. Heracles conquers the city, 142.
_Pyrrha_. Wife of Deucalion, who is saved with him in a wooden chest
at the time of the great Flood, 13 to 15.
_Pythia_. The Priestess of Apollo, through whom the prophetic
answers vouchsafed by the god were transmitted, 55. Answers are
given by her to Cadmus, 56; to Heracles, 113; to the Athenians, 203;
to Oedipus, 206. An answer is refused to Heracles, 139.
_RHEA_. Wife of Cronus, 2. Saves her son Zeus from being devoured
by his father, 3.
_Rome_. Heracles passes the spot where Rome was afterwards built, in
bringing the cattle of Geryon to Mycenae, 130.
_SALMONEUS_. King of Elis. Tries to imitate Zeus, and is destroyed
by a thunderbolt, 42 and 43.
_Sciron_. One of the robbers killed by Theseus on his journey to
Athens, 181.
Scyros. The island where Theseus proposed to spend the last days of
his life, 202. He is treacherously killed there by Lycomedes, 203.
The Athenians fetch his bones from the island, 203 and 204.
_Selēnē_. Goddess of the moon. Loves Endymion, 30.
_Semelē_. Daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia. Is secretly
married to Zeus, 61. Prevails on him to come to her clothed in the
glory of the gods, and dies at the sight, 61 and 62. Is gifted by
Zeus with immortality, 67.
_Shadow-leader_. The conductor of dead souls to the Lower World. He
takes Alcestis thither, 94.
_Sicily_. The goddess Athene buries one of the Giants beneath the
island, 6. Persephone is carried off from it by the god Pluto, 16.
Daedalus flies to it from the island of Crete, 53.
_Silēnus_. Plays with Dionysus when a child, 64. Follows
him in his journey through the world, 65 and 66; and helps to
celebrate his marriage with Ariadne, 192.
_Sirens_. Treacherous sea-nymphs, who attract sailors by their magic
singing and then tear them to pieces. The Argonauts escape them
through listening to the song of Orpheus, 168.
_Sīsyphus_. King of Corinth. Tries to cheat gods as well
as men, and is tormented in the Lower World with an unending
punishment, 43 and 44.
_Sparta_. The country of King Tyndareus, husband of Leda. Theseus
and Pirithoüs go there and carry off Helena, 199.
_Sparti_. The warriors who sprang from the dragon's teeth sown by
Cadmus, 58.
_Sphinx_. A monster with the head of a woman and the body of a
lioness. She propounds a riddle and devours everyone who fails to
answer it, 207 and 208. Oedipus guesses the riddle, and the Sphinx
dies, 208.
_Sthenelus_. Brother of Electryon. Drives his niece Alcmene and her
brother from Mycenae, and seizes the kingdom, 105. Becomes the
father of Eurystheus, 109.
_Storm-foot_. One of the Harpies from whom the Argonauts deliver
Phineus, 167 and 158.
_Stretcher, The_. One of the robbers killed by Theseus on his way to
Athens, 181 and 182.
_Stymphlus_. A city in Arcadia. Heracles drives away the
birds that infest the Stymphalian lake, 121 and 122.
_Styx_. A river of the Lower World, by which the gods swore an
inviolable oath, 40; 62.
_Swift-wing_. One of the Harpies from whom Phineus is delivered by
the Argonauts, 157 and 158.
_Syria_. Io travels to Syria to find her child, 33.
_TAENARUS, MT_. Psyche is directed to go there to find an entrance
to the Lower World, 240.
_Talōs_. An iron watchman, made by Hephaestus for Minos
king of Crete. Medea deludes him into killing himself, 169 and 170.
_Tantalus_. King of Phrygia, 65; and father of Niobe, 80. Kills his
son Pelops and offers the flesh to the gods at a banquet, 75. Is
condemned in the Lower World to an unending punishment, 76.
_Tartarus_. A dark pit below the earth into which the hundred-armed
and one-eyed monsters are banished by Uranus, 2. They are released
by Zeus, and the old gods whom he has defeated, take their place, 4.
Typhöeus is thrust into Tartarus, 7.
_Telamōn_. Receives the beautiful Hesione as a reward for
having been the first to scale the walls of Troy, 140.
_Tēleboae_. The subjects of King Pterelaus. They are sent
on an embassy to Electryon, and a quarrel takes place, 104.
Amphitryon marches against them at the desire of Alcmene, and
conquers their land, 105 to 107.
_Thebes_. Built by the descendants of Cadmus, 59. A wall is built
round it by means of the song of Amphion, 59 and 60. Alcmene takes
shelter there when driven by Sthenelus from Mycenae, 105. Amphitryon
delivers the city from the destroying Fox, 106. Heracles is born in
Thebes, 108 and 110. He delivers the land from the tribute imposed
by the Minyae, 111 and 112; but leaves the city after his madness,
113. Laïus and Jocasta are king and queen of Thebes, and Oedipus is
born there, 205. Oedipus delivers the land from the Sphinx, and
becomes king, 207 and 208; but on the discovery of his parentage, he
is banished, 209 and 210. His sons Eteocles and Polynices succeed
him, but Polynices is banished by his brother, 212. Polynices goes
to Argos, 212; and persuades Adrastus to lead an army against Thebes,
213. The Argives are defeated before Thebes, 218 to 220. Creon king
of Thebes refuses burial to the Argives, and immures Antigone for
disobeying his orders, 221 to 223. The Epigoni march against Thebes,
224 and 225. The Thebans decide to abandon the city, 225 and 226.
The Epigoni and others re-people it, 226 and 227.
_Thermōdon_. A river in Asia, near which was the country of
the Amazons, 125.
_Thersander_. Son of Polynices. Made king of Thebes by the Epigoni,
on their taking possession of the city, 226.
_Thēseūs_. Son of Aegeus king of Athens. Is
brought up at Troezen by his mother Aethra, 177 and 178. Is sent by
her to the court of his father at Athens, 179. Or: his way there, he
kills many robbers,--the Club-carrier, 179; the Fir-bender, 179 and
130; Sciron, 181; the Stretcher, 181 and 182. Reaches Athens, 182;
and is recognised by Aegeus, 183. Medea's attempt to poison him
fails, 183. The Pallantidae are foiled in their plan to murder him,
184. Theseus captures the Bull of Marathon, 184 and 185. Goes to
Crete as part of the tribute of seven youths and seven maidens, kills
the Minotaur, and escapes with Ariadne, 187 to 190. Is compelled to
leave Ariadne at Naxos, 191. Forgets to hoist the white sail, and
thus causes the death of his father, 192 and 193. Carries off
Hippolyta to be his wife, 193. Conquers the Amazons, 194 and 195.
Makes a friendship with Pirithoüs, and helps him to defeat the
Centaurs, 195 and 196. Erects an Altar of Pity in the market-place
of Athens, 196. Marries Phaedra, 197. Prays for the death of
Hippolytus, 198. Joins Pirithoüs in carrying off the beautiful
Helena, 199; and descends with him to the Lower World to try and get
possession of Persephone, 199. Finds himself unable to leave a stone
on which he had sat down for a moment, 200; but after many years is
released by Heracles, 201 and 202. On his return to Athens, finds
himself forgotten, and retires to Scyros, 202. Is there killed
treacherously by Lycomedes, 203. His bones are transferred to
Athens, 203 and 204.
_Thrace_. The country of Diomedes, whose fierce horses Heracles goes
to fetch, at the command of Eurystheus, 123.
_Tiresias_. A blind seer of Thebes. Explains the visit of Zeus to
Alcmene, 108. Foretells the fate of Oedipus, 205; and 225. Advises
the Thebans to abandon the city, 225. Goes with them, and dies
during the flight, 226.
_Tiryns_. Perseus exchanges his kingdom of Argos for the cities of
Mycenae and Tiryns, 103. The right of his son Electryon to succeed
is disputed by Pterelaus, 104. Sthenelus takes possession of the
kingdom, 105. He is succeeded by Eurystheus, 109.
_Titans, Titanides_. Children of Uranus and Gaea, 2. The father of
Prometheus was a Titan, 9.
_Trchis_. A city of Greece. Heracles leaves Calydon for
Trachis, 144; and goes from Trachis to Euboea, 145.
_Tripod_. A three-legged stool on which the Priestess of Apollo sat
when uttering her divine predictions, 55. Heracles carries off the
sacred Tripod from Delphi, 139.
_Triptolemus_. Is taught by Demeter how to sow corn and cultivate
the land, 19.
_Troezēn_. The home of Aethra, wife of King Aegeus, 177.
Theseus is brought up by her at Troezen, 177 and 178. Helena is
placed there under her care for a time, but is rescued by her
brothers, 199 and 201.
_Troy_. The country of King Laomedon, father of Ganymede. Apollo
and Poseidon build a wall round Troy, and punish Laomedon for
withholding the reward he has promised, 126. Heracles lands at Troy,
and rescues Hesione from the monster, 126 and 127. Returns to punish
Laomedon for his faithlessness, and conquers the city, 140.
_Tȳdeūs_. Is driven from his country on account of
an unintentional murder, and goes for refuge to Adrastus king of
Argos, 212 and 213. Takes part in the expedition against Thebes,
213. Bears a message to Eteocles, and distinguishes himself by feats
of strength, 218. Is killed before Thebes, with all the other
heroes, 220.
_Tyndareūs_. King of Sparta, 199; and husband of Leda, 200.
_Typhōeūs_. A monster created by Gaea to fight
against the gods, 6. Is conquered by Zeus, and flung into Tartarus,
7.
_URANUS_. God of the sky, 1. Is killed by his son Cronus, 2.
_WANDERING ROCKS_. The Argonauts pass through them in safety by the
help of Hera, 168 and 169.
_Wind-god_. Carries Psyche into the beautiful valley, 232. Brings
her two sisters to see her, 234; and takes them home again, 235.
_ZEŪS_. Son of Cronus and Rhea. Is hidden in the island of
Crete and nourished by the goat Amalthea, 3. Makes war against his
father and thrusts him into Tartarus, 4. Marries Hera, 4. Conquers
the Giants, 6; and Typhöeus, 7. Sends Pandora to bring Disease and
Care into the world, 10 and 11. Punishes Prometheus for bringing
down fire to the earth, 12. Destroys the world by a Flood, 13 and
14; and allows Deucalion and Pyrrha to re-people it, 14 and 15.
Stops the fight about to take place between Apollo and Idas, 21.
Marries Leto and becomes the father of Apollo and Artemis, 23.
Becomes the father of Endymion whom he gifts with perpetual sleep,
29. Hurls a thunderbolt at Phaëthon to prevent him from destroying
the earth, 41. Carries off Europa in the form of a bull, 54 and 58.
Marries Semele, and at her wish goes to her surrounded with the glory
of the gods, 62. Raises her from the Lower World to Olympus, 67.
Conceals his son Dionysus from Hera, 63; and gifts him with divine
power, 64 and 65. Imposes a punishment upon Apollo, 81. Marries
Danaë in the form of a golden shower, and becomes the father of
Perseus, 95 and 96. Marries Alcmene, and becomes the father of
Heracles, 108 and 100. Decrees that the next child born of the race
of Perseus shall rule over the cities of Mycenae anil Tiryns, 109.
Sends his sacred eagle to steal away Ganymede, 127. Interposes
between Heracles and Apollo, 139. Punishes Hera for trying to
destroy Heracles, 141. Marries Leda in the form of a swan, and
becomes the father of Pollux and Helena, 200. Grants the wish of
Pollux to share the fate of his brother Castor, 201. Causes the two
sons of Alcmaeon to grow up to manhood in a single night, 229.
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