Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome 8

Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome 8

Metra was a twofold divinity, and represented, in one phase of her

character, all-pervading love; in the other she was the light of heaven;

and as Artemis, in her character as Selene, was the only Greek female

divinity who represented celestial light, the Greek settlers, according to

their custom of fusing foreign deities into their own, seized at once upon

this point of resemblance, and decided that Metra should henceforth be

regarded as identical with Artemis.

 

In her character as the love which pervades all nature, and penetrates

everywhere, they believed her also to be present in the mysterious Realm of

Shades, where she exercised her benign sway, replacing to a certain extent

that ancient divinity Hecate, and partly usurping also the place of

Persephone, as mistress of the lower world. Thus they believed that it was

she who permitted the spirits of the departed to revisit the earth, in

order to communicate with those they loved, and to give them timely warning

of coming evil. In fact, this great, mighty, and omnipresent power of love,

as embodied in the Ephesian Artemis, was believed by the great thinkers of

old, to be the ruling spirit of the universe, and it was to her influence,

that all the mysterious and beneficent workings of nature were ascribed.

 

There was a magnificent temple erected to this divinity at Ephesus (a city

of Asia Minor), which was ranked among the seven wonders of the world, and

was unequalled in beauty and grandeur. The interior of this {93} edifice

was adorned with statues and paintings, and contained one hundred and

twenty-seven columns, sixty feet in height, each column having been placed

there by a different king. The wealth deposited in this temple was

enormous, and the goddess was here worshipped with particular awe and

solemnity. In the interior of the edifice stood a statue of her, formed of

ebony, with lions on her arms and turrets on her head, whilst a number of

breasts indicated the fruitfulness of the earth and of nature. Ctesiphon

was the principal architect of this world-renowned structure, which,

however, was not entirely completed till two hundred and twenty years after

the foundation-stone was laid. But the labour of centuries was destroyed in

a single night; for a man called Herostratus, seized with the insane desire

of making his name famous to all succeeding generations, set fire to it and

completely destroyed it.[34] So great was the indignation and sorrow of the

Ephesians at this calamity, that they enacted a law, forbidding the

incendiary's name to be mentioned, thereby however, defeating their own

object, for thus the name of Herostratus has been handed down to posterity,

and will live as long as the memory of the famous temple of Ephesus.

 

BRAURONIAN ARTEMIS.

 

In ancient times, the country which we now call the Crimea, was known by

the name of the Taurica Chersonnesus. It was colonized by Greek settlers,

who, finding that the Scythian inhabitants had a native divinity somewhat

resembling their own Artemis, identified her with the huntress-goddess of

the mother-country. The worship of this Taurian Artemis was attended with

the most barbarous practices, for, in accordance with a law which she had

enacted, all strangers, whether male or female, landing, or shipwrecked on

her shores, were sacrificed upon her altars. It is supposed that this

decree was {94} issued by the Taurian goddess of Chastity, to protect the

purity of her followers, by keeping them apart from foreign influences.

 

The interesting story of Iphigenia, a priestess in the temple of Artemis at

Tauris, forms the subject of one of Schiller's most beautiful plays. The

circumstances occurred at the commencement of the Trojan war, and are as

follows:--The fleet, collected by the Greeks for the siege of Troy, had

assembled at Aulis, in Boeotia, and was about to set sail, when Agamemnon,

the commander-in-chief, had the misfortune to kill accidentally a stag

which was grazing in a grove, sacred to Artemis. The offended goddess sent

continuous calms that delayed the departure of the fleet, and Calchas, the

soothsayer, who had accompanied the expedition, declared that nothing less

than the sacrifice of Agamemnon's favorite daughter, Iphigenia, would

appease the wrath of the goddess. At these words, the heroic heart of the

brave leader sank within him, and he declared that rather than consent to

so fearful an alternative, he would give up his share in the expedition and

return to Argos. In this dilemma Odysseus and other great generals called a

council to discuss the matter, and, after much deliberation, it was decided

that private feeling must yield to the welfare of the state. For a long

time the unhappy Agamemnon turned a deaf ear to their arguments, but at

last they succeeded in persuading him that it was his duty to make the

sacrifice. He, accordingly, despatched a messenger to his wife,

Clytemnæstra, begging her to send Iphigenia to him, alleging as a pretext

that the great hero Achilles desired to make her his wife. Rejoicing at the

brilliant destiny which awaited her beautiful daughter, the fond mother at

once obeyed the command, and sent her to Aulis. When the maiden arrived at

her destination, and discovered, to her horror, the dreadful fate which

awaited her, she threw herself in an agony of grief at her father's feet,

and with sobs and tears entreated him to have mercy on her, and to spare

her young life. But alas! her doom was sealed, and her now repentant and

{95} heart-broken father was powerless to avert it. The unfortunate victim

was bound to the altar, and already the fatal knife was raised to deal the

death-blow, when suddenly Iphigenia disappeared from view, and in her place

on the altar, lay a beautiful deer ready to be sacrificed. It was Artemis

herself, who, pitying the youth and beauty of her victim, caused her to be

conveyed in a cloud to Taurica, where she became one of her priestesses,

and intrusted with the charge of her temple; a dignity, however, which

necessitated the offering of those human sacrifices presented to Artemis.

 

Many years passed away, during which time the long and wearisome siege of

Troy had come to an end, and the brave Agamemnon had returned home to meet

death at the hands of his wife and Aegisthus. But his daughter, Iphigenia,

was still an exile from her native country, and continued to perform the

terrible duties which her office involved. She had long given up all hopes

of ever being restored to her friends, when one day two Greek strangers

landed on Taurica's inhospitable shores. These were Orestes and Pylades,

whose romantic attachment to each other has made their names synonymous for

devoted self-sacrificing friendship. Orestes was Iphigenia's brother, and

Pylades her cousin, and their object in undertaking an expedition fraught

with so much peril, was to obtain the statue of the Taurian Artemis.

Orestes, having incurred the anger of the Furies for avenging the murder of

his father Agamemnon, was pursued by them wherever he went, until at last

he was informed by the oracle of Delphi that, in order to pacify them, he

must convey the image of the Taurian Artemis from Tauris to Attica. This he

at once resolved to do, and accompanied by his faithful friend Pylades, who

insisted on sharing the dangers of the undertaking, he set out for Taurica.

But the unfortunate youths had hardly stepped on shore before they were

seized by the natives, who, as usual, conveyed them for sacrifice to the

temple of Artemis. Iphigenia, discovering that they were Greeks, though

unaware of their near relationship to herself, thought the {96} opportunity

a favourable one for sending tidings of her existence to her native

country, and, accordingly, requested one of the strangers to be the bearer

of a letter from her to her family. A magnanimous dispute now arose between

the friends, and each besought the other to accept the precious privilege

of life and freedom. Pylades, at length overcome by the urgent entreaties

of Orestes, agreed to be the bearer of the missive, but on looking more

closely at the superscription, he observed, to his intense surprise, that

it was addressed to Orestes. Hereupon an explanation followed; the brother

and sister recognized each other, amid joyful tears and loving embraces,

and assisted by her friends and kinsmen, Iphigenia escaped with them from a

country where she had spent so many unhappy days, and witnessed so many

scenes of horror and anguish.

 

The fugitives, having contrived to obtain the image of the Taurian Artemis,

carried it with them to Brauron in Attica. This divinity was henceforth

known as the Brauronian Artemis, and the rites which had rendered her

worship so infamous in Taurica were now introduced into Greece, and human

victims bled freely under the sacrificial knife, both in Athens and Sparta.

The revolting practice of offering human sacrifices to her, was continued

until the time of Lycurgus, the great Spartan lawgiver, who put an end to

it by substituting in its place one, which was hardly less barbarous,

namely, the scourging of youths, who were whipped on the altars of the

Brauronian Artemis in the most cruel manner; sometimes indeed they expired

under the lash, in which case their mothers, far from lamenting their fate,

are said to have rejoiced, considering this an honourable death for their

sons.

 

SELENE-ARTEMIS.

 

Hitherto we have seen Artemis only in the various phases of her terrestrial

character; but just as her brother Apollo drew into himself by degrees the

attributes of that more ancient divinity Helios, the sun-god, so, in like

manner, she came to be identified in later times {97} with Selene, the

moon-goddess, in which character she is always represented as wearing on

her forehead a glittering crescent, whilst a flowing veil, bespangled with

stars, reaches to her feet, and a long robe completely envelops her.

 

DIANA.

 

The Diana of the Romans was identified with the Greek Artemis, with whom

she shares that peculiar tripartite character, which so strongly marks the

individuality of the Greek goddess. In heaven she was Luna (the moon), on

earth Diana (the huntress-goddess), and in the lower world Proserpine; but,

unlike the Ephesian Artemis, Diana, in her character as Proserpine, carries

with her into the lower world no element of love or sympathy; she is, on

the contrary, characterized by practices altogether hostile to man, such as

the exercise of witchcraft, evil charms, and other antagonistic influences,

and is, in fact, the Greek Hecate, in her later development.

 

The statues of Diana were generally erected at a point where three roads

met, for which reason she is called Trivia (from _tri_, three, and _via_,

way).

 

A temple was dedicated to her on the Aventine hill by Servius Tullius, who

is said to have first introduced the worship of this divinity into Rome.

 

The Nemoralia, or Grove Festivals, were celebrated in her honour on the

13th of August, on the Lacus Nemorensis, or forest-buried lake, near

Aricia. The priest who officiated in her temple on this spot, was always a

fugitive slave, who had gained his office by murdering his predecessor, and

hence was constantly armed, in order that he might thus be prepared to

encounter a new aspirant.

 

HEPHÆSTUS (VULCAN).

 

Hephæstus, the son of Zeus and Hera, was the god of fire in its beneficial

aspect, and the presiding deity over all workmanship accomplished by means

of this useful element. He was universally honoured, not only as the {98}

god of all mechanical arts, but also as a house and hearth divinity, who

exercised a beneficial influence on civilized society in general. Unlike

the other Greek divinities, he was ugly and deformed, being awkward in his

movements, and limping in his gait. This latter defect originated, as we

have already seen, in the wrath of his father Zeus, who hurled him down

from heaven[35] in consequence of his taking the part of Hera, in one of

the domestic disagreements, which so frequently arose between this royal

pair. Hephæstus was a whole day falling from Olympus to the earth, where he

at length alighted on the island of Lemnos. The inhabitants of the country,

seeing him descending through the air, received him in their arms; but in

spite of their care, his leg was broken by the fall, and he remained ever

afterwards lame in one foot. Grateful for the kindness of the Lemnians, he

henceforth took up his abode in their island, and there built for himself a

superb palace, and forges for the pursuit of his avocation. He instructed

the people how to work in metals, and also taught them other valuable and

useful arts.

 

It is said that the first work of Hephæstus was a most ingenious throne of

gold, with secret springs, which he presented to Hera. It was arranged in

such a manner that, once seated, she found herself unable to move, and

though all the gods endeavoured to extricate her, their efforts were

unavailing. Hephæstus thus revenged himself on his mother for the cruelty

she had always displayed towards him, on account of his want of comeliness

and grace. Dionysus, the wine god, contrived, however, to intoxicate

Hephæstus, and then induced him to return to Olympus, where, after having

released the {99} queen of heaven from her very undignified position, he

became reconciled to his parents.

 

He now built for himself a glorious palace on Olympus, of shining gold, and

made for the other deities those magnificent edifices which they inhabited.

He was assisted in his various and exquisitely skilful works of art, by two

female statues of pure gold, formed by his own hand, which possessed the

power of motion, and always accompanied him wherever he went. With the

assistance of the Cyclops, he forged for Zeus his wonderful thunderbolts,

thus investing his mighty father with a new power of terrible import. Zeus

testified his appreciation of this precious gift, by bestowing upon

Hephæstus the beautiful Aphrodite in marriage,[36] but this was a

questionable boon; for the lovely Aphrodite, who was the personification of

all grace and beauty, felt no affection for her ungainly and unattractive

spouse, and amused herself by ridiculing his awkward movements and

unsightly person. On one occasion especially, when Hephæstus good-naturedly

took upon himself the office of cup-bearer to the gods, his hobbling gait

and extreme awkwardness created the greatest mirth amongst the celestials,

in which his disloyal partner was the first to join, with unconcealed

merriment.

 

Aphrodite greatly preferred Ares to her husband, and this preference

naturally gave rise to much jealousy on the part of Hephæstus, and caused

them great unhappiness.

 

Hephæstus appears to have been an indispensable member of the Olympic

Assembly, where he plays the part of smith, armourer, chariot-builder, &c.

As already mentioned, he constructed the palaces where the gods resided,

fashioned the golden shoes with which they trod the air or water, built for

them their wonderful chariots, and shod with brass the horses of celestial

breed, which conveyed these glittering equipages over land and sea. He also

made the tripods which moved of themselves in and out of the celestial

halls, formed for Zeus the {100} far-famed ægis, and erected the

magnificent palace of the sun. He also created the brazen-footed bulls of

Aetes, which breathed flames from their nostrils, sent forth clouds of

smoke, and filled the air with their roaring.

 

Among his most renowned works of art for the use of mortals were: the

armour of Achilles and Æneas, the beautiful necklace of Harmonia, and the

crown of Ariadne; but his masterpiece was Pandora, of whom a detailed

account has already been given.

 

[Illustration]

 

There was a temple on Mount Etna erected in his honour, which none but the

pure and virtuous were permitted to enter. The entrance to this temple was

guarded by dogs, which possessed the extraordinary faculty of being able to

discriminate between the righteous and the unrighteous, fawning upon and

caressing the good, whilst they rushed upon all evil-doers and drove them

away.

 

Hephæstus is usually represented as a powerful, brawny, and very muscular

man of middle height and mature age; his strong uplifted arm is raised in

the act of striking the anvil with a hammer, which he holds in one hand,

whilst with the other he is turning a thunderbolt, which an eagle beside

him is waiting to carry to Zeus. The principal seat of his worship was the

island of Lemnos, where he was regarded with peculiar veneration.

 

VULCAN.

 

The Roman Vulcan was merely an importation from Greece, which never at any

time took firm root in Rome, nor entered largely into the actual life and

sympathies of the nation, his worship being unattended by the devotional

feeling and enthusiasm which characterized the religious rites of the other

deities. He still, however, retained in Rome his {101} Greek attributes as

god of fire, and unrivalled master of the art of working in metals, and was

ranked among the twelve great gods of Olympus, whose gilded statues were

arranged consecutively along the Forum. His Roman name, Vulcan, would seem

to indicate a connection with the first great metal-working artificer of

Biblical history, Tubal-Cain.

 

POSEIDON (NEPTUNE).

 

Poseidon was the son of Kronos and Rhea, and the brother of Zeus. He was

god of the sea, more particularly of the Mediterranean, and, like the

element over which he presided, was of a variable disposition, now

violently agitated, and now calm and placid, for which reason he is

sometimes represented by the poets as quiet and composed, and at others as

disturbed and angry.

 

[Illustration]

 

In the earliest ages of Greek mythology, he merely symbolized the watery

element; but in later times, as navigation and intercourse with other

nations engendered greater traffic by sea, Poseidon gained in importance,

and came to be regarded as a distinct divinity, holding indisputable

dominion over the sea, and over all sea-divinities, who acknowledged him as

their sovereign ruler. He possessed the power of causing at will, mighty

and destructive tempests, in which the billows rise mountains high, the

wind becomes a hurricane, land and sea being enveloped in thick mists,

whilst destruction assails the unfortunate mariners exposed to their fury.

On the other hand, his alone was the power of stilling the angry {102}

waves, of soothing the troubled waters, and granting safe voyages to

mariners. For this reason, Poseidon was always invoked and propitiated by a

libation before a voyage was undertaken, and sacrifices and thanksgivings

were gratefully offered to him after a safe and prosperous journey by sea.

 

The symbol of his power was the fisherman's fork or trident,[37] by means

of which he produced earthquakes, raised up islands from the bottom of the

sea, and caused wells to spring forth out of the earth.

 

Poseidon was essentially the presiding deity over fishermen, and was on

that account, more particularly worshipped and revered in countries

bordering on the sea-coast, where fish naturally formed a staple commodity

of trade. He was supposed to vent his displeasure by sending disastrous

inundations, which completely destroyed whole countries, and were usually

accompanied by terrible marine monsters, who swallowed up and devoured

those whom the floods had spared. It is probable that these sea-monsters

are the poetical figures which represent the demons of hunger and famine,

necessarily accompanying a general inundation.

 

Poseidon is generally represented as resembling his brother Zeus in

features, height, and general aspect; but we miss in the countenance of the

sea-god the kindness and benignity which so pleasingly distinguish his

mighty brother. The eyes are bright and piercing, and the contour of the

face somewhat sharper in its outline than that of Zeus, thus corresponding,

as it were, with his more angry and violent nature. His hair waves in dark,

disorderly masses over his shoulders; his chest is broad, and his frame

powerful and stalwart; he wears a short, curling beard, and a band round

his head. He usually appears standing erect in a graceful shell-chariot,

drawn by hippocamps, or sea-horses, with golden manes and brazen hoofs, who

bound over the dancing waves with such wonderful swiftness, that the

chariot scarcely touches {103} the water. The monsters of the deep,

acknowledging their mighty lord, gambol playfully around him, whilst the

sea joyfully smooths a path for the passage of its all-powerful ruler.

 

[Illustration]

 

He inhabited a beautiful palace at the bottom of the sea at Ægea in Euboea,

and also possessed a royal residence on Mount Olympus, which, however, he

only visited when his presence was required at the council of the gods.

 

His wonderful palace beneath the waters was of vast extent; in its lofty

and capacious halls thousands of his followers could assemble. The exterior

of the building was of bright gold, which the continual wash of the waters

preserved untarnished; in the interior, lofty and graceful columns

supported the gleaming dome. Everywhere fountains of glistening, silvery

water played; everywhere groves and arbours of feathery-leaved sea-plants

appeared, whilst rocks of pure crystal glistened with all the varied

colours of the rainbow. Some of the paths were strewn with white sparkling

sand, interspersed with jewels, pearls, and amber. This delightful abode

was surrounded on all sides by wide fields, where there were whole groves

of dark purple coralline, and tufts of beautiful scarlet-leaved plants, and

sea-anemones of every tint. Here grew bright, pinky sea-weeds, mosses of

all hues and shades, and tall grasses, which, growing upwards, formed

emerald caves and grottoes such as the Nereides love, whilst fish of

various kinds playfully darted in and out, in the full enjoyment of their

native element. Nor was illumination wanting in this fairy-like region,

which at night was lit up by the glow-worms of the deep.

 

But although Poseidon ruled with absolute power over the ocean and its

inhabitants, he nevertheless bowed submissively to the will of the great

ruler of Olympus, and appeared at all times desirous of conciliating him.

We {104} find him coming to his aid when emergency demanded, and frequently

rendering him valuable assistance against his opponents. At the time when

Zeus was harassed by the attacks of the Giants, he proved himself a most

powerful ally, engaging in single combat with a hideous giant named

Polybotes, whom he followed over the sea, and at last succeeded in

destroying, by hurling upon him the island of Cos.

 

These amicable relations between the brothers were, however, sometimes

interrupted. Thus, for instance, upon one occasion Poseidon joined Hera and

Athene in a secret conspiracy to seize upon the ruler of heaven, place him

in fetters, and deprive him of the sovereign power. The conspiracy being

discovered, Hera, as the chief instigator of this sacrilegious attempt on

the divine person of Zeus, was severely chastised, and even beaten, by her

enraged spouse, as a punishment for her rebellion and treachery, whilst

Poseidon was condemned, for the space of a whole year, to forego his

dominion over the sea, and it was at this time that, in conjunction with

Apollo, he built for Laomedon the walls of Troy.

 

Poseidon married a sea-nymph named Amphitrite, whom he wooed under the form

of a dolphin. She afterwards became jealous of a beautiful maiden called

Scylla, who was beloved by Poseidon, and in order to revenge herself she

threw some herbs into a well where Scylla was bathing, which had the effect

of metamorphosing her into a monster of terrible aspect, having twelve

feet, six heads with six long necks, and a voice which resembled the bark

of a dog. This awful monster is said to have inhabited a cave at a very

great height in the famous rock which still bears her name,[38] and was

supposed to swoop down from her rocky eminence upon every ship that passed,

and with each of her six heads to secure a victim.

 

Amphitrite is often represented assisting Poseidon in attaching the sea-horses to his chariot.