Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome 22

Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome 22

It was soon after this sad event that Theseus joined the world-renowned

Calydonian Boar-hunt, in which he took a leading part. He also formed one

of the brave band who shared in the perils of the Argonautic expedition.

 

The remarkable friendship which existed between Theseus and Pirithöus

originated under such peculiar circumstances that it is worthy of mention.

 

Hearing upon one occasion that his herds, pasturing in the plains of

Marathon, had been carried off by Pirithöus, Theseus collected together an

armed force and sallied forth to punish the plunderer. But, when the two

heroes met face to face, both were seized with an impulse of sympathetic

admiration for each other. Pirithöus, holding out his hand in token of

peace, exclaimed, "What satisfaction shall I render thee, oh Theseus? Be

thou thyself the judge." Theseus seized the proffered hand and replied, "I

ask nought save thy {266} friendship;" whereupon the heroes embraced each

other and swore eternal fidelity.

 

When, soon afterwards, Pirithöus became united to Hippodamia, a Thessalian

princess, he invited Theseus to the wedding-feast, which was also attended,

among other guests, by a large number of Centaurs, who were friends of

Pirithöus. Towards the end of the banquet Eurytion, a young Centaur, heated

and flushed with wine, seized the lovely bride and sought by force to carry

her off. The other Centaurs, following his example, each endeavoured to

capture a maiden. Pirithöus and his followers, aided by Theseus, who

rendered most valuable assistance, attacked the Centaurs, and after a

violent hand-to-hand struggle in which many perished, forced them to

relinquish their prey.

 

After the death of Hippolyte Theseus sought the hand of Phædra, the sister

of his former bride Ariadne, to whom he became united. For some years they

lived happily together, and their union was blessed by the birth of two

sons. During this time Hippolytus, the son of the Amazonian queen, had been

absent from home, having been placed under the care of the king's uncles in

order to be educated. When, having grown to manhood, he now returned to his

father's palace, his young stepmother, Phædra, fell violently in love with

him; but Hippolytus failed to return her affection, and treated her with

contempt and indifference. Filled with rage and despair at his coldness

Phædra put an end to her existence; and when she was discovered by her

husband she held in her hand a letter, accusing Hippolytus of being the

cause of her death, and of having conspired against the honour of the king.

 

Now Poseidon had upon one occasion promised to grant Theseus whatever

request he should demand; he therefore called upon the sea-god to destroy

Hippolytus, whom he cursed in the most solemn manner. The father's awful

malediction fell but too soon upon his innocent son; for, as the latter was

driving his chariot along the sea-shore, between Troezen and Athens, a

{267} monster, sent by Poseidon, rose out of the deep, and so frightened

the horses that they became altogether unmanageable. As they rushed on in

their mad career the chariot was dashed to pieces, and the unfortunate

youth, whose feet had become entangled in the reins, was dragged along

until life was nearly extinct.

 

In this condition he was found by the unhappy Theseus, who, having

ascertained the true facts of the case from an old servant of Phædra, had

hastened to prevent the catastrophe. But he arrived too late, and was only

able to soothe the last moments of his dying son by acknowledging the sad

mistake which he had committed, and declaring his firm belief in his honour

and innocence.

 

After these events Theseus was persuaded by his friend Pirithöus, who had

also about this time lost his young wife, Hippodamia, to join him in a

journey through Greece, with the object of carrying off by force the most

beautiful maidens whom they should chance to meet.

 

Arrived at Sparta they beheld, in the temple of Artemis, Helen, the

daughter of Zeus and Leda, who was engaged in performing sacred dances in

honour of the goddess. Although the maiden was only nine years old the fame

of her beauty, which was destined to play so important a part in the

history of Greece, had already spread far and wide. Theseus and Pirithöus

forcibly abducted her, and then having cast lots for her, she fell to

Theseus, who placed her under the charge of his mother Æthra.

 

Pirithöus now requested Theseus to assist him in his ambitious scheme of

descending to the lower world and carrying off Persephone, the queen of

Hades. Though fully alive to the perils of the undertaking Theseus would

not forsake his friend, and together they sought the gloomy realm of

Shades. But Aïdes had been forewarned of their approach, and scarcely had

the two friends set foot within his dominions when, by his orders, they

were seized, bound with chains, and secured to an enchanted rock at the

entrance of Hades. Here the two {268} friends languished for many years,

until Heracles passed by in his search for Cerberus, when he released

Theseus; but in obedience to an injunction of the gods, left Pirithöus to

endure for ever the punishment of his too daring ambition.

 

While Theseus was imprisoned in the under world Castor and Pollux, the

brothers of Helen, invaded Athens, and demanded the restoration of their

young sister. Seeing his country threatened with the horrors of warfare, an

Athenian citizen named Academus, who knew of Helen's place of concealment,

repaired to the camp of the Dioscuri, and informed them where they would

find her. Æthra at once resigned her charge, whereupon the brothers took

leave of Athens, and, accompanied by Helen, returned to their native

country.

 

But the prolonged absence of Theseus gave rise to other troubles of a more

serious character. Thinking the opportunity favourable for a revolt, a

faction, headed by Menesthius, a descendant of Erechtheus, arrogated to

themselves supreme power, and seized the reins of government.

 

Returned to Athens, Theseus at once took active measures to quell the

insubordination which existed on all sides. He expelled Menesthius from

office, rigorously punished the ringleaders of the revolt, and placed

himself once more upon the throne. But his hold upon the people was gone.

His former services were all forgotten, and, finding at length that

dissensions and revolts were rife, he voluntarily abdicated the throne, and

retired to his estates in the island of Scyros. Here Lycomedes, king of the

island, feigned to receive him with the utmost friendship; but being, as it

is supposed, in league with Menesthius, he led the old king to the summit

of a high rock, under pretence of showing him his estates, and

treacherously killed him by pushing him over the cliff.

 

Many centuries after his death, by the command of the oracle of Delphi,

Cimon, the father of Miltiades, at the conclusion of the Persian war,

brought the remains of Theseus, the great benefactor of Athens, to that

city, {269} and in his honour a temple was erected, which exists to the

present day, and serves as a museum of art.

 

OEDIPUS.

 

Laius, king of Thebes, the son of Labdacus, and a direct descendant of

Cadmus, was married to Jocaste, the daughter of a noble Theban. An oracle

having foretold that he would perish by the hand of his own son, he

determined to destroy the infant to whom Jocaste had just given birth. With

the consent of his wife, whose affection for her husband overcame her love

for her child, he pierced the feet of the babe, bound them together, and

handed the infant over to a servant, with instructions to expose him on

Mount Cithæron to perish. But instead of obeying this cruel command, the

servant intrusted him to a shepherd who was tending the flocks of Polybus,

king of Corinth, and then returned to Laius and Jocaste, and informed them

that their orders had been obeyed. The parents were satisfied with the

intelligence, and quieted their conscience by the reflection that they had

thus prevented their son from committing the crime of parricide.

 

Meanwhile the shepherd of king Polybus had unbound the feet of the infant,

and in consequence of their being much swollen he called him Oedipus, or

Swollen-foot. He then carried him to the king, his master, who, pitying the

poor little waif, enlisted for him the kind offices of his wife, Merope.

Oedipus was adopted by the king and queen as their own son, and grew up in

the belief that they were his parents, until one day a Corinthian noble

taunted him at a banquet with not being the son of the king. Stung at this

reproach the youth appealed to Merope, but receiving an equivocal, though

kindly answer, he repaired to Delphi to consult the oracle. The Pythia

vouchsafed no reply to his inquiry, but informed him, to his horror, that

he was fated to kill his father and to marry his own mother.

 

Filled with dismay, for he was tenderly attached to Polybus and Merope,

Oedipus determined not to return {270} to Corinth, and took instead the

road leading to Boeotia. On his way a chariot passed him, in which sat an

old man with two servants, who rudely pushed the pedestrian out of the

path. In the scuffle which ensued Oedipus struck the old man with his heavy

stick, and he fell back dead on the seat of the chariot. Struck with dismay

at the unpremeditated murder which he had committed, the youth fled, and

left the spot without learning that the old man whom he had killed was his

father, Laius, king of Thebes.

 

Not long after this occurrence the Sphinx (full details of whom have

already been given) was sent by the goddess Hera as a punishment to the

Thebans. Stationed on a rocky height just outside the city, she propounded

to the passers by riddles which she had been taught by the Muses, and

whoever failed to solve them was torn in pieces and devoured by the

monster, and in this manner great numbers of the inhabitants of Thebes had

perished.

 

Now on the death of the old king Laius, Creon, the brother of the widowed

queen, had seized the reins of government and mounted the vacant throne;

and when at length his own son fell a victim to the Sphinx, he resolved at

all costs to rid the country of this fearful scourge. He accordingly issued

a proclamation, that the kingdom and the hand of his sister Jocaste should

be awarded to him who should succeed in solving one of the riddles of the

Sphinx, it having been foretold by an oracle that only then would the

country be freed from the monster.

 

Just as this proclamation was being made in the streets of Thebes Oedipus,

with his pilgrim's staff in his hand, entered the city. Tempted by the

prospect of so magnificent a reward he repaired to the rock, and boldly

requested the Sphinx to propound to him one of her riddles. She proposed to

him one which she deemed impossible of solution, but Oedipus at once solved

it; whereupon the Sphinx, full of rage and despair, precipitated herself

into the abyss and perished. Oedipus {271} received the promised reward. He

became king of Thebes and the husband of Jocaste, the widow of his father,

king Laius.

 

For many years Oedipus enjoyed the greatest happiness and tranquillity.

Four children were born to him--two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, and two

daughters, Antigone and Ismene. But at last the gods afflicted the country

with a grievous pestilence, which made terrible havoc among the people. In

their distress they entreated the help of the king, who was regarded by his

subjects as a special favourite of the gods. Oedipus consulted an oracle,

and the response was that the pestilence would continue to rage until the

land was purified of the blood of king Laius, whose murderer was living

unpunished at Thebes.

 

The king now invoked the most solemn imprecations on the head of the

murderer, and offered a reward for any information concerning him. He then

sent for the blind old seer Tiresias, and implored him, by means of his

prophetic powers, to reveal to him the author of the crime. Tiresias at

first hesitated, but yielding to the earnest solicitations of the king, the

old prophet thus addressed him: "Thou thyself art the murderer of the old

king Laius, who was thy father; and thou art wedded to his widow, thine own

mother." In order to convince Oedipus of the truth of his words, he brought

forward the old servant who had exposed him as a babe on Mount Cithæron,

and the shepherd who had conveyed him to king Polybus. Horrified at this

awful revelation Oedipus, in a fit of despair, deprived himself of sight,

and the unfortunate Jocaste, unable to survive her disgrace, hanged

herself.

 

Accompanied by his faithful and devoted daughter Antigone, Oedipus quitted

Thebes and became a miserable and homeless outcast, begging his bread from

place to place. At length, after a long and painful pilgrimage, he found a

place of refuge in the grove of the Eumenides (at Colonus, near Athens),

where his last moments were soothed and tended by the care and devotion of

the faithful Antigone.

 

{272}

 

THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES.

 

After the voluntary abdication of Oedipus, his two sons, Eteocles and

Polynices, took possession of the crown and reigned over the city of

Thebes. But Eteocles, being an ambitious prince, soon seized the reins of

government himself, and expelled his brother from the throne.

 

Polynices now repaired to Argos, where he arrived in the dead of night.

Outside the gates of the royal palace he encountered Tydeus, the son of

Oeneus, king of Calydon. Having accidentally killed a relative in the

chase, Tydeus was also a fugitive; but being mistaken by Polynices in the

darkness for an enemy, a quarrel ensued, which might have ended fatally,

had not king Adrastus, aroused by the clamour, appeared on the scene and

parted the combatants.

 

By the light of the torches borne by his attendants Adrastus observed, to

his surprise, that on the shield of Polynices a lion was depicted, and on

that of Tydeus a boar. The former bore this insignia in honour of the

renowned hero Heracles, the latter in memory of the famous Calydonian

boar-hunt. This circumstance reminded the king of an extraordinary oracular

prediction concerning his two beautiful daughters, Argia and Deipyle, which

was to the effect that he would give them in marriage to a lion and a boar.

Hailing with delight what he regarded as an auspicious solution of the

mysterious prophecy, he invited the strangers into his palace; and when he

heard their history, and had convinced himself that they were of noble

birth, he bestowed upon Polynices his beautiful daughter Argia, and upon

Tydeus the fair Deipyle, promising at the same time that he would assist

both his sons-in-law to regain their rightful patrimony.

 

The first care of Adrastus was to aid Polynices in regaining possession of

his lawful share in the government of Thebes. He accordingly invited the

most powerful chiefs in his kingdom to join in the expedition, {273} all of

whom readily obeyed the call with the exception of the king's

brother-in-law, Amphiaraus, the seer. As he foresaw a disastrous

termination to the enterprise, and knew that not one of the heroes, save

Adrastus himself, would return alive, he earnestly dissuaded the king from

carrying out his project, and declined to take any part in the undertaking.

But Adrastus, seconded by Polynices and Tydeus, was obstinately bent on the

achievement of his purpose, and Amphiaraus, in order to escape from their

importunities, concealed himself in a hiding-place known only to his wife

Eriphyle.

 

Now on the occasion of the marriage of Amphiaraus it had been agreed, that

if he ever differed in opinion with the king, his wife should decide the

question. As the presence of Amphiaraus was indispensable to the success of

the undertaking, and, moreover, as Adrastus would not enter upon it without

"the eye of the army," as he called his brother-in-law, Polynices, bent on

securing his services, determined to bribe Eriphyle to use her influence

with her husband and to decide the question in accordance with his wishes.

He bethought himself of the beautiful necklace of Harmonia, wife of Cadmus,

which he had brought with him in his flight from Thebes. Without loss of

time he presented himself before the wife of Amphiaraus, and held up to her

admiring gaze the glittering bauble, promising that if she revealed the

hiding-place of her husband and induced him to join the expedition, the

necklace should be hers. Eriphyle, unable to withstand the tempting bait,

accepted the bribe, and thus Amphiaraus was compelled to join the army. But

before leaving his home he extorted a solemn promise from his son Alcmæon

that, should he perish on the field of battle, he would avenge his death on

his mother, the perfidious Eriphyle.

 

Seven leaders were now chosen, each at the head of a separate detachment of

troops. These were Adrastus the king, his two brothers Hippomedon and

Parthenopæus, Capaneus his nephew, Polynices and Tydeus, and Amphiaraus.

 

{274}

 

When the army was collected they set out for Nemea, which was at this time

governed by king Lycurgus. Here the Argives, being short of water, halted

on the outskirts of a forest in order to search for a spring, when they saw

a majestic and beautiful woman seated on the trunk of a tree, nursing an

infant. They concluded from her noble and queenly appearance that she must

be a goddess, but were informed by her that she was Hypsipile, queen of the

Lemnians, who had been carried away captive by pirates, and sold as a slave

to king Lycurgus, and that she was now acting as nurse to his infant son.

When the warriors told her that they were in search of water, she laid the

child down in the grass, and led them to a secret spring in the forest,

with which she alone was acquainted. But on their return they found, to

their grief, that the unfortunate babe had been killed during their

absence, by a serpent. They slew the reptile, and then collecting the

remains of the infant, they buried them with funereal honours and proceeded

on their way.

 

The warlike host now appeared before the walls of Thebes, and each leader

placed himself before one of the seven gates of the city in readiness for

the attack. Eteocles, in conjunction with Creon, had made due preparations

to repel the invaders, and had stationed troops, under the command of

trusty leaders, to guard each of the gates. Then, according to the practice

of the ancients of consulting soothsayers before entering upon any

undertaking, the blind old seer Tiresias was sent for, who, after carefully

taking the auguries from the flight of birds, declared that all efforts to

defend the city would prove unavailing, unless the youngest descendant of

the house of Cadmus would offer himself as a voluntary sacrifice for the

good of the state.

 

When Creon heard the words of the seer his first thought was of his

favourite son Menoeceus, the youngest scion of the royal house, who was

present at the interview. He therefore earnestly implored him to leave the

city, and to repair for safety to Delphi. But the gallant youth heroically

resolved to sacrifice his life for the {275} benefit of his country, and

after taking leave of his old father, mounted the city walls, and plunging

a dagger into his heart, perished in the sight of the contending hosts.

 

Adrastus now gave his troops the word of command to storm the city, and

they rushed forward to the attack with great valour. The battle raged long

and furiously, and after heavy losses on both sides the Argives were routed

and put to flight.

 

After the lapse of some days they reorganized their forces, and again

appeared before the gates of Thebes, when Eteocles, grieved to think that

there should be such a terrible loss of life on his account, sent a herald

into the opposite camp, with a proposition that the fate of the campaign

should be decided by single combat between himself and his brother

Polynices. The challenge was readily accepted, and in the duel which took

place outside the city walls, in the sight of the rival forces, Eteocles

and Polynices were both fatally wounded and expired on the field of battle.

 

Both sides now claimed the day, and the result was that hostilities

recommenced, and soon the battle raged with greater fury than ever. But

victory at last declared itself for the Thebans. In their flight the

Argives lost all their leaders, Adrastus excepted, who owed his safety to

the fleetness of his horse Arion.

 

By the death of the brothers, Creon became once more king of Thebes, and in

order to show his abhorrence of the conduct of Polynices in fighting

against his country, he strictly forbade any one to bury either his remains

or those of his allies. But the faithful Antigone, who had returned to

Thebes on the death of her father, could not endure that the body of her

brother should remain unburied. She therefore bravely disregarded the

orders of the king, and endeavoured to give sepulture to the remains of

Polynices.

 

When Creon discovered that his commands had been set at defiance, he

inhumanly condemned the devoted maiden to be entombed alive in a

subterranean vault. {276} But retribution was at hand. His son, Hæmon, who

was betrothed to Antigone, having contrived to effect an entrance into the

vault, was horrified to find that Antigone had hanged herself by her veil.

Feeling that life without her would be intolerable, he threw himself in

despair on his own sword, and after solemnly invoking the malediction of

the gods on the head of his father, expired beside the dead body of his

betrothed.

 

Hardly had the news of the tragic fate of his son reached the king, before

another messenger appeared, bearing the tidings that his wife Eurydice, on

hearing of the death of Hæmon, had put an end to her existence, and thus

the king found himself in his old age both widowed and childless.

 

Nor did he succeed in the execution of his vindictive designs; for

Adrastus, who, after his flight from Thebes, had taken refuge at Athens,

induced Theseus to lead an army against the Thebans, to compel them to

restore the dead bodies of the Argive warriors to their friends, in order

that they might perform due funereal rites in honour of the slain. This

undertaking was successfully accomplished, and the remains of the fallen

heroes were interred with due honours.

 

THE EPIGONI.

 

Ten years after these events the sons of the slain heroes, who were called

Epigoni, or descendants, resolved to avenge the death of their fathers, and

with this object entered upon a new expedition against the city of Thebes.

 

By the advice of the Delphic oracle the command was intrusted to Alcmæon,

the son of Amphiaraus; but remembering the injunction of his father he

hesitated to accept this post before executing vengeance on his mother

Eriphyle. Thersander, however, the son of Polynices, adopting similar

tactics to those of his father, bribed Eriphyle with the beautiful veil of

Harmonia, bequeathed to him by Polynices, to induce her son {277} Alcmæon

and his brother Amphilochus to join in this second war against Thebes.

 

Now the mother of Alcmæon was gifted with that rare fascination which

renders its possessor irresistible to all who may chance to come within its

influence; nor was her own son able to withstand her blandishments.

Yielding therefore to her wily representations he accepted the command of

the troops, and at the head of a large and powerful army advanced upon

Thebes.

 

Before the gates of the city Alcmæon encountered the Thebans under the

command of Laodamas, the son of Eteocles. A fierce battle ensued, in which

the Theban leader, after performing prodigies of valour, perished by the

hand of Alcmæon.

 

After losing their chief and the flower of their army, the Thebans

retreated behind the city walls, and the enemy now pressed them hard on

every side. In their distress they appealed to the blind old seer Tiresias,

who was over a hundred years old. With trembling lips and in broken

accents, he informed them that they could only save their lives by

abandoning their native city with their wives and families. Upon this they

despatched ambassadors into the enemy's camp; and whilst these were

protracting negotiations during the night, the Thebans, with their wives

and children, evacuated the city. Next morning the Argives entered Thebes

and plundered it, placing Thersander, the son of Polynices (who was a

descendant of Cadmus), on the throne which his father had so vainly contested.