Fig. 27.—Euterpe. Vatican.
According to the art-distribution made, probably, at the time of the Alexandrine school, Calliope represents epic poetry and science generally, her attributes being a roll of parchment and a pen. Clio is the muse of history, and is likewise characterised by a roll and pen, so that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish her from Calliope. Euterpe represents lyric poetry, and is distinguished by her double flute. Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, generally appears with a tragic mask, a club or sword, and a garland of vine leaves. Terpsichore is the muse of dancing, and has a lyre and plectrum. To Erato is assigned erotic poetry, together with geometry and the mimic art; she generally bears a large stringed instrument. Thalia, the muse of comedy, is distinguished by a comic mask, an ivy garland, and a crook. Polyhymnia presides over the graver chant of religious service; she may be recognised by her dress, wrapped closely round her, and her grave, thoughtful countenance, but is without attribute of any kind. Lastly, Urania, the muse of astronomy, holds in one hand a celestial globe, and in the other a small wand.
Several European museums possess ancient groups of the Muses, among which, perhaps, the finest is that preserved in the Vatican. From this group are copied our engravings of Melpomene and Euterpe (Figs. 26 and 27). The original of Polyhymnia (Fig. 25) is in the Berlin Museum.
The Romans venerated a number of fountain-nymphs of song and prophecy under the name of Camenæ, among whom the Egeria of the history of Numa is well known. The Roman writers seem to have identified these goddesses with the Muses at pleasure.
3. The Charites (Gratiæ).—The Charites generally appear in the train of the goddess of love, whom it was their duty to clothe and adorn. They are often found, however, in attendance on other gods, since all that is charming and graceful, either to the senses or the intellect, was supposed to proceed from them.
Their names are Aglaïa, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. They were commonly represented as the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, the Oceanid. Later writers, however, make them the daughters of Dionysus and Aphrodite. They were venerated as the source of all that makes human life more beautiful and pleasant, without whom there could be no real enjoyment of life. Thus, even the gods would not sit down to banquets without the Charites; and whenever men came together to feast, they first called on them and offered them the first bowl. Music, eloquence, art, and poetry received the higher consecration only at their hands; whence Pindar terms his songs a gift from them. Wisdom, bravery, kindly benevolence, and gratitude—in fine, all those qualities which become men most, and make them agreeable in the eyes of their fellow-men, were supposed to proceed from the Charites.
The Graces of the Romans were simply transferred from the mythology of the Greeks, and have, therefore, the same meaning as the Charites.
Art represented the Charites or Graces as blooming maidens, of slender, comely form, characterised by an expression of joyous innocence. In their hands they often hold flowers, either roses or myrtles. They are less often distinguished by definite attributes than by a mutual intertwining of arms. In earlier Greek art they always appear fully clothed; but gradually their clothing became less and less, until at length, in the age of Scopas and Praxiteles, when nude figures had become common, it entirely disappeared. There are, however, few ancient statues of the Charites in existence.
4. Themis and the Horæ (Seasons).—In intimate connection with the Charites we find the Horæ, the daughters of Zeus and Themis. They were generally represented as three in number—Eunomia, Dice, and Irene. They represent the regular march of nature in the changes of the seasons, and Themis, who personifies the eternal laws of nature, and as the daughter of Uranus and Gæa ranks among the most ancient deities, is consequently their mother. Themis is the representative of the reign of law among gods and men; at Zeus’ command she calls together the assemblies of the gods. She also occupies a similar position on earth, as presiding over national assemblies and the laws of hospitality. Her daughters, the Horæ, appear in a similar though in a subordinate and attendant character. In Homer they figure as the servants of Zeus, who watch the gates of heaven, now closing them with thick clouds, now clearing the clouds away. They also appear as the servants and attendants of other divinities, such as Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, and the Muses. Like their mother, they preside over all law and order in human affairs; and under their protection thrives all that is noble and beautiful and good.
We know but little concerning the worship of the Horæ among the Greeks. The Athenians celebrated a special festival in their honour, but they recognised only two—Thallo, the season of blossom, and Carpo, the season of the ripened fruit. The adoption of four Horæ, corresponding to the four seasons of the year, appears to have arisen at a later period.
Fig. 28.—The Horæ. Relief from the Villa Albani.
In plastic art Themis is generally represented with a balance in one hand and a palm branch in the other. The Horæ generally appear as lovely girls dancing with their garments tucked up, and adorned with flowers, fruit, and garlands. Subsequently they were distinguished by various attributes, typical of the different seasons. Such is the case in the engraving (Fig. 28), after a relief in the Villa Albani.
5. Nice (Victoria).—Nice is nothing but a personification of the irresistible and invincible power exercised by the god of heaven by means of his lightning. She also appears in the company of Pallas Athene, who was herself honoured by the Athenians as the goddess of victory. Victory does not seem to have had many separate temples or festivals, since she generally appears only in attendance on her superior deities.
Fig. 29.—Victoria. United Collections in Munich.
Far more extensive was the veneration of Victoria at Rome, a fact for which the warlike character of the people easily accounts. Her chief shrine was on the Capitol, where successful generals were wont to erect statues of the goddess in remembrance of their exploits. The most magnificent statue of this kind was one erected by Augustus in fulfilment of a vow after his victory at Actium. The proper festival of the goddess took place on the 12th of April.
In both Greek and Roman art Victory was represented as a winged goddess. She is distinguished by a palm branch and laurel garland, which were the customary rewards of bravery among the ancients. Large statues of the goddess are seldom met with, though she is often depicted on vases, coins, and small bronzes. The museum of Cassel has a small bronze statue of the goddess, whilst a fine alto-relievo in terra-cotta exists in the Royal Collection at Munich (Fig. 29).
6. Iris.—Iris was originally a personification of the rainbow, but she was afterwards converted into the swift messenger of the gods, the rainbow being, as it were, a bridge between earth and heaven. In this character she makes her appearance in Homer, but, later still, she was again transformed into a special attendant of Hera. Her swiftness was astounding; “Like hail or snow,” says Homer, “that falls from the clouds,” she darts from one end of the world to the other—nay, dives to the hidden depths of the ocean and into the recesses of the lower world, executing the commands of the gods.
In art Iris was represented with wings, like Nice, to whom she, in many respects, bears a strong resemblance. She may be distinguished from the latter, however, by her herald’s staff (Caduceus). A very much injured specimen, from the east pediment of the Parthenon at Athens, is now preserved in the British Museum.
7. Hebe (Juventas).—Hebe was the daughter of Zeus and Hera, and, according to her natural interpretation, represented the youthful bloom of Nature. In the fully developed mythology of the Greeks she appears as the cupbearer of the gods, to whom, at meals, she presents the sweet nectar. It may at first seem strange that the daughter of the greatest of the divinities of Greece should be relegated to so inferior a position. This, however, is easily explained by the old patriarchal custom of the Greeks, by which the young unmarried daughters, even in royal palaces, waited at table on the men of the family and the guests.
In post-Homeric poetry and legend Hebe no longer appears as cupbearer of the gods, the office having been assigned to Ganymedes. This was either in consequence of the promotion of the son of the King of Troy, or on account of Hebe’s marriage with the deified Heracles.
Hebe occupies no important place in the religious system of the Greeks; she seems to have been chiefly honoured in connection with her mother Hera, or now and then with Heracles.
Fig. 30.—Hebe. From Antonio Canova.
Juventas, or Juventus, is the corresponding deity of the Romans; but, as was the case with so many others, they contrived to bring her into a more intimate connection with their political life by honouring in her the undying and unfading vigour of the state. She had a separate chapel in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.
With regard to the artistic representation of Hebe, statues of this goddess appear to have been very rare in ancient times; at least, among all the numerous statues that have been discovered, none can be safely identified with Hebe. She is the more often met with on ornamental vases and reliefs, on which the marriage of Heracles and Hebe is a favourite subject. She is usually depicted as a highly-graceful, modest maiden, pouring out nectar from an upraised vessel. She appears thus in the world-renowned masterpiece of the Italian sculptor Canova, so well known from casts. In default of an ancient statue, we give an engraving of this work (Fig. 30).
8. Ganymedes.—A similar office in Olympus was filled by the son of Tros, the King of Troy, Ganymedes, who was made immortal by Zeus, and installed as cupbearer of the gods. Neither Homer nor Pindar, however, relate the episode of Zeus sending his eagle to carry off Ganymedes. This feature of the story, which is a favourite subject of artistic representation, is first found in Apollodorus. The Roman poet, Ovid, then went a step farther, and made the ruler of Olympus transform himself into an eagle, in order to carry off his favourite.
Fig. 31.—Ganymedes and the Eagle. From Thorwaldsen.
The rape of the beautiful boy is often portrayed in ancient art. The most famous monument is a bronze group of Leochares, an artist who flourished in the fourth century B.C. A copy of it still exists in the celebrated statue of Ganymedes in the Vatican collection. In modern art the story has been treated with still greater frequency. There is an extremely beautiful group of this kind by Thorwaldsen, in which Ganymedes is represented as giving the eagle drink out of a bowl (Fig. 31).
1. Helios (Sol).—Helios (Latin Sol), the sun-god, belongs to that small class of deities who have preserved their physical meaning intact. His worship was confined to a few places, the most important of which was the island of Rhodes. An annual festival, attended with musical and athletic contests, was here celebrated with great pomp in honour of the sun-god. He is portrayed by the poets as a handsome youth with flashing eyes and shining hair covered with a golden helmet. His daily office was to bring the light of day to gods and men, which he performed by rising from Oceanus in the east, where the Ethiopians live, and completing his course along the firmament. For this purpose the post-Homeric poets endow him with a sun-chariot drawn by four fiery horses; and though Homer and Hesiod do not attempt to explain how he passed from the west where he sets, to the east where he rises, later poets obviate the difficulty by making him sail round half the world in a golden boat (according to others a golden bed); and thus he was supposed again to arrive at the east. In the far west Helios had a splendid palace, and also a celebrated garden, which was under the charge of the Hesperides. He is described as the son of the Titans Hyperion and Thea, whence he himself is called a Titan. By his wife Perse, a daughter of Oceanus, he became the father of Æëtes, King of Colchis, celebrated in the legend of the Argonauts, and of the still more celebrated sorceress Circe. Another son of Helios was Phaëthon, who, in attempting to drive his father’s horses, came to an untimely end.
Helios sees and hears every thing; whence he was believed to bring hidden crimes to light, and was invoked as a witness at all solemn declarations and oaths.
All the stories relating to Helios were gradually transferred to the Roman Sol, who was originally a Sabine deity, chiefly by means of the Metamorphoses of Ovid. The untiring charioteer of the heavens was also honoured as the patron of the race-course; but he never attained a prominent position in religious worship.
Helios, or Sol, is depicted as a handsome youth, his head encircled by a crown, which gives forth twelve bright rays corresponding to the number of the months, his mantle flying about his shoulders as he stands in his chariot. It was chiefly in Rhodes, however, that Helios was made the subject of the sculptor’s art. Here, in 280 B.C., was erected in his honour the celebrated colossal statue which has acquired a world-wide celebrity under the name of the Colossus of Rhodes, and which was reckoned as one of the seven “wonders of the world.” It was the work of Chares of Lindus, and was 105 feet in height.
2. Selene (Luna).—As Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo, so is Selene the twin sister of Helios; he representing the sun, she the moon. Selene, however, never really enjoyed divine honours in Greece. The poets depict her as a white-armed goddess, whose beautiful tresses are crowned with a brilliant diadem. In the evening she rises from the sacred river of Oceanus, and pursues her course along the firmament of heaven in her chariot drawn by two white horses. She is gentle and timid, and it is only in secret that she loves beautiful youths and kisses them in sleep. Poets delight to sing of the secret love she cherished for the beautiful Endymion, the son of the King of Elis. She caused him to fall into an eternal sleep, and he now reposes in a rocky grotto on Mount Latmus, where Selene nightly visits him, and gazes with rapture on his countenance.
In later times she was often confounded with Artemis, Hecate, and Persephone. The same remarks apply to the Roman Luna. The latter, however, had a temple of her own on the Aventine, which was supposed to have been dedicated to her by Servius Tullius. Like her brother Sol, she was honoured in Rome in connection with the circus, and was held to preside over the public games.
In sculpture, Selene, or Luna, may be recognised by the half moon on her forehead, and by the veil over the back of her head; she also bears in her hand a torch. The sleeping Endymion was a frequent subject of representation on sarcophagi and monuments.
3. Eos (Aurora).—Eos, the goddess of the dawn, was also a daughter of Hyperion and Thea, and a sister of Selene and Helios. She was first married to the Titan Astræus, by whom she became the mother of the winds—Boreas, Zephyrus, Eurus, and Notus (north, west, east, and south winds). This is a mythological mode of intimating the fact that the wind generally rises at dawn. After Astræus, who, like most of the Titans, had rebelled against the sovereignty of Zeus, and had been cast into Tartarus, Eos chose the handsome hunter Orion for her husband. The gods, however, would not consent to their union, and Orion was slain by the arrows of Artemis, after which Eos married Tithonus, the son of the King of Troy. She begged Zeus to bestow on him immortality, but, having forgotten to ask for eternal youth, the gift was of doubtful value, since Tithonus at last became a shrivelled-up, decrepid old man, in whom the goddess took no pleasure.
Memnon, King of Æthiopia, celebrated in the story of the Trojan war, was a son of Eos and Tithonus. He came to the assistance of Troy, and was slain by Achilles. Since then, Eos has wept without ceasing for her darling son, and her tears fall to the earth in the shape of dew.
Eos is represented by the poets as a glorious goddess, with beautiful hair, rosy arms and fingers—a true picture of the invigorating freshness of the early morning. Cheerful and active, she rises early from her couch, and, enveloped in a saffron-coloured mantle, she harnesses her horses Lampus and Phaëthon (Brightness and Lustre), in order that she may hasten on in front of the sun-god and announce the day.
The views and fables connected with Eos were transferred by the Roman writers to the person of their goddess Aurora[4] without undergoing any alteration.
4. The Mater Matuta of the Romans was a deity very similar to the Eos of the Greeks. She was the goddess of the early dawn, and was held in high estimation among the Roman women as a deity who assisted them in childbirth. Like the Greek Leucothea, she was also regarded as a goddess of the sea and harbours, who assisted those in peril.
Representations of this goddess are found now and then on vases and gems. She either appears driving a chariot and four horses, as harnessing the steeds of Helios, or as gliding through the air on wings and sprinkling the earth with her dew.
4. The Stars.—Only a few of the stars are of any importance in mythology. Phosphorus and Hesperus, the morning star and the evening star, which were formerly regarded as two distinct beings, were represented in art in the guise of beautiful boys with torches in their hands. There were also several legends relating to Orion, whom we have already alluded to as the husband of Eos. He himself was made a constellation after having been slain by the arrows of Artemis, while his dog was Sirius, whose rising announces the hottest season of the year. All kinds of myths were invented about other constellations; among others, the Hyades, whose rising betokened the advent of the stormy, rainy season, during which the sailor avoids going to sea. The story went that they were placed among the constellations by the gods out of pity, because they were inconsolable at the death of their brother Hyas, who was killed by a lion whilst hunting. Connected with them are the Pleiades, i.e., the stars of mariners, so called because on their rising in May the favourable season for voyages begins. They were seven in number, and were likewise set in the heavens by the gods. Finally, we must not forget to mention Arctus, the Bear. Tradition asserted that this was none other than the Arcadian nymph Callisto, who had been placed among the constellations by Zeus when slain in the form of a she-bear by Artemis. She had broken her vows of chastity, and borne a son, Arcas, to Zeus.
5. The Winds.—The four chief winds have been already alluded to as the sons of Eos. They were especially venerated by those about to make voyages, who then solicited their favour with prayers and offerings. Otherwise, they maintained their character of pure natural forces, and were, consequently, of little importance in mythology. The rude north wind, Boreas, or Aquilo, was especially dreaded on account of his stormy violence, and was hence regarded as a bold ravisher of maidens. Thus an Attic legend asserts that he carried off Orithyia, the daughter of Erechtheus, as she was playing on the banks of the Ilissus. She bore him Calaïs and Zetes, well known in the story of the Argonauts. Boreas, however, stood in high favour among the Athenians, who erected an altar and chapel to him, because, during the Persian war, he had partially destroyed the fleet of Xerxes off Cape Sepias.
As Boreas is the god of the winter storm, so Zephyrus appears as the welcome messenger of Spring; on which account one of the Horæ was given him to wife. Zephyrus was called Favonius by the Romans, to intimate the favourable influence he exercised on the prosperous growth of the vegetable world.
These, together with the other chief winds, Notus (south wind) and Eurus (east wind) were sometimes said to reside in separate places; at other times they were said to dwell together in the Wind-mountain, on the fabulous island of Æolia, where they were ruled over by King Æolus.
Fig. 32.—Asclepius. Berlin.
1. Asclepius (Æsculapius).—It was only in later times that the necessity of having special gods of birth and healing made itself felt; at all events, Asclepius, or Æsculapius, as he is called by the Romans, does not appear as a god in Homer. The worship of this deity, who was said to be the son of Apollo, appears to have originated in Epidaurus, the seat of his principal shrine, and thence to have become generally diffused. In Epidaurus his priests erected a large hospital, which enjoyed a great reputation. The common method of cure consisted in allowing those who were sick to sleep in the temple, on which occasion, if they had been zealous in their prayers and offerings, the god appeared to them in a dream and discovered the necessary remedy.
The worship of this deity was introduced into Rome in the year 291 B.C., in consequence of a severe pestilence which for years had depopulated town and country. The Sibylline books were consulted, and they recommended that Asclepius of Epidaurus should be brought to Rome. The story goes that the sacred serpent of the god followed the Roman ambassadors of its own accord, and chose for its abode the Insula Tiberina at Rome, where a temple was at once erected to Æsculapius. A gilded statue was added to the temple in the year 13 B.C. The method already mentioned of sleeping in the temple was also adopted here.
Fig. 33.—Head of Asclepius. British Museum.
In art, Asclepius is represented as a bearded man of ripe years, with singularly noble features, from which the kindly benevolence of a benefactor of mankind looks forth. He is generally accompanied by a serpent, as a symbol of self-renovating vital power, which he is feeding and caressing, or which is more commonly represented as creeping up his staff. Such is the conception in the engraving (Fig. 32), which is after a statue preserved at Berlin. As the god of healing, he has also other attributes—a bowl containing the healing draught, a bunch of herbs, a pine-apple, or a dog; the latter being a symbol of the vigilance with which the physician watches disease.
There are numerous extant statues of the god, although the great statue in gold and ivory of the temple at Epidaurus has been entirely lost. A fine head of colossal proportions was discovered on the Isle of Melos, and is now an ornament of the British Museum (Fig. 33). There is, on the other hand, a very fine statue without a head in existence at Athens, near the temple of Zeus. There are, moreover, celebrated statues in Florence, Paris, and Rome (Vatican); in the last case, of a beardless Æsculapius.
2. Inferior Deities of Birth and Healing.—The Greeks also honoured Ilithyia as a goddess of birth. This appears to have been originally a surname of Hera, as a deity who succoured women in childbirth. Hygiea was looked on as a goddess of health, and was described as a daughter of Asclepius.
The Romans had no need of a special goddess presiding over birth, although they honoured a deity often identified with Hygiea, whom they called Strenia, or Salus. As guardian of the chamber of birth, they honoured Carna, or Cardea, who was supposed to drive away the evil Striges (screech owls) that came at night to suck the blood of the new-born child. Carna was further regarded as the protectress of physical health. Another of these inferior deities, of whom men sought long life and continued health, bore the name of Anna Perenna (the circling year).
Fig. 34.—Night and the Fates. From Carstens.
1. Mœræ (Parcæ).—The Mœræ, better known by the Latin name of Parcæ, really denote that portion of a man’s life and fortune which is determined from his birth; so that, in this sense, there are as many Mœræ as individuals. The Greeks, however, who were wont to revere all such indefinite numbers under the sacred number three, generally recognised three. These they regarded as the dark and inexplicable powers of fate, daughters of the night. Their names were Clotho (spinner), Lachesis (allotter), and Atropos (inevitable).
Only two Parcæ were originally known to the Romans, but a third was afterwards added to make their own mythology harmonise with that of the Greeks.
The popular conception of the Parcæ as grave hoary women was not followed in art, where they always appear as young. In the first instance, their attributes were all alike, separate functions not yet having been allotted to them. But at a subsequent period it was Clotho who spun, Lachesis who held, and Atropos who cut the thread of life. This arrangement was first adopted by later artists, who generally give Clotho a spindle, Lachesis a roll of parchment, and Atropos a balance, or let the last point to the hour of death on a dial. Such is the case in a talented creation of Carstens, in which the conception of modern times is brought into harmony with the ideal of antiquity (Fig. 34).
2. Nemesis, Tyche (Fortuna), and Agathodæmon (Bonus Eventus).—Nemesis really denotes the apportionment of that fate which is justly deserved, and a consequent repugnance to that which is not. Homer does not acknowledge Nemesis as a goddess, and so it is probable that her claim to public veneration dates from a later period. She was regarded as a goddess of equality, who watches over the equilibrium of the moral universe, and sees that happiness and misfortune are allotted to man according to merit. Hence arose, subsequently, the idea of an avenging deity, who visits with condign punishment the crimes and wickedness of mankind. In this character she resembles the Furies. The Romans likewise introduced Nemesis into their system; at least her statue stood on the Capitol, though popular superstition never regarded her with a friendly eye.
The various conceptions of Nemesis are again displayed in works of art. The kindly, gentle goddess, who dispenses what is just, is depicted as a young woman of grave and thoughtful aspect, holding in her hand the instruments of measurement and control (cubit, bridle, and rudder). As the stern avenger of human crimes, she appears with wings in a chariot drawn by griffins, with a sword or whip in her hand.
Tyche, the goddess of good fortune, was, according to common accounts, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. She was usually honoured as the tutelary deity of towns, and as such had temples and statues in many populous cities of Greece and Asia. In course of time, however, the idea gained ground that Tyche was the author of evil as well as of good fortune. She resembled, in this respect, the Fortuna of the Romans, who was regarded as the source of all that is unexpected in human life. Servius Tullius was said to have introduced into Rome the worship of Fortuna, whose favourite he had certainly every reason to regard himself. He erected a temple to her under the name of Fors Fortuna, and made the 24th of June the common festival of the goddess. Later, her worship became still more extensive. Under the most different surnames, some of which referred to the state (Fortuna populi Romani), and others to every description of private affairs, she had a great number of temples and chapels erected in her honour. She had also celebrated temples in Antium and Præneste.
Ancient artists endowed this goddess with various attributes, the most important of which was the rudder, which she held in her hand in token of her power to control the fortunes of mankind. She is also endowed with a sceptre for the same purpose, and with a horn of plenty as the giver of good fortune; sometimes she is also represented with the youthful Plutus in her arms. The later conception of an impartial goddess of fate is apparent in those art-monuments which depict her standing on a ball or wheel. Among the larger existing works, we may mention a copy preserved in the Vatican of a Tyche by Eutychides of Sicyon, which was formerly exhibited in Antioch. The goddess here wears a mural crown on her head as the tutelary deity of towns, and has a sheaf of corn in her right hand.
Besides Fortuna, the Romans honoured a deity called Felicitas as the goddess of positive good fortune. Lucullus is said to have erected a temple to her in Rome, which was adorned with the works of art brought by Mummius from the spoils of Corinth. Even this did not suffice for the religious needs of the people, and we find that the belief in personal protecting deities grew rapidly among both Greeks and Romans. These deities were termed by the Greeks “dæmones,” and by the Romans “genii.” They were believed to be the invisible counsellors of every individual, accompanying him from birth to death, through all the stages of life, with advice and comfort. Offerings of wine, cake, incense, and garlands were made to them, particularly on birthdays.
1. Poseidon (Neptunus).—Poseidon, or Neptunus, as he was called by the Romans, was the son of Cronus and Rhea. Homer calls him the younger brother of Zeus, in which case his subjection to the latter is only natural. According to the common account, however, Zeus was the youngest of the sons of Cronus, but acquired the sovereignty over his brothers by having overthrown their cruel father. Poseidon was accordingly indebted to his brother for his dominion over the sea and its deities, and was therefore subject to him. He usually dwelt, not in Olympus, but at the bottom of the sea. Here he was supposed to inhabit, with Amphitrite his wife, a magnificent golden palace in the neighbourhood of Ægæ. Originally, like Oceanus and Pontus, he was a mere symbol of the watery element, but he afterwards attained an entirely independent personality. Even in Homer he no longer appears as the sea itself, but as its mighty ruler, who with his powerful arms upholds and circumscribes the earth. He is violent and impetuous, like the element he represents. When he strikes the sea with his trident, the symbol of his sovereignty, the waves rise with violence, dash in pieces the ships, and inundate the land far and wide. Poseidon likewise possesses the power of producing earthquakes, cleaving rocks, and raising islands in the midst of the sea. On the other hand, a word or look from him suffices to allay the wildest tempest. Virgil, in the first book of the Æneid, has given a beautiful description of the taming of the fierce elements by the god.
Poseidon was naturally regarded as the chief god of all the seafaring classes, such as fishermen, boatmen, and sailors, who esteemed him as their patron and tutelary deity. To him they addressed their prayers before entering on a voyage, to him they brought their offerings in gratitude for their safe return from the perils of the deep.
Poseidon, therefore, enjoyed the highest reputation among the seafaring Ionians. His temples, altars, and statues were most numerous in the harbours and seaport towns, and on islands and promontories. Among the numerous shrines of this deity we may mention that of Corinth, in the neighbourhood of which were celebrated in his honour the Isthmian games, which subsequently became a national festival in Greece, Pylus, Athens, and the islands of Rhodes, Cos, and Tenos.
It was only natural that many legends, local and provincial, should exist about a god who played such an important part in the lives of seafaring folk. In the Trojan epos he figures as a violent enemy of Troy, his indignation having been provoked by the injustice of the Trojan king, Laomedon. Poseidon had built the walls of Troy at the king’s request with the aid of Apollo, but Laomedon having cheated him in the matter of the stipulated reward, Poseidon thereupon sent a terrible sea-monster, which laid waste the crops and slew the inhabitants. They had recourse to the oracle, which counselled the sacrifice of the king’s daughter Hesione. The unhappy maiden was exposed to the monster, but was rescued by Heracles. The fable of this monster, which is manifestly a symbol of the inundation of the sea, is repeated in many succeeding stories (e.g., in the story of Perseus, who rescued in a similar way Andromeda, the daughter of the king of Æthiopia). There are numberless stories, in which Poseidon appears as the father of the different national heroes. The most important is, perhaps, the legend of Theseus, of which we shall speak later on. There was scarcely a Grecian town or district which did not lay claim to divine origin for the person of its founder or ancestral hero. Again, the conception of the wild stormy nature of the sea caused Poseidon to be represented as the father of various giants and monsters. By the nymph Thoösa he became the father of the savage Polyphemus, slain by Odysseus, who thus provoked the implacable enmity of Poseidon. The giant Antæus, who fought with Heracles, was also said to be a son of Poseidon; besides many other monsters, such as Procrustes, Cercyon, and the Aloïdæ.
The favourite animal of Poseidon was the horse, which he was supposed to have created. This may, perhaps, be due to the fact that the imagination of the Greeks pictured to itself the horses of Poseidon in the rolling and bounding waves. In Athens the origin of the horse was referred to the contest between Athene and Poseidon, as to who should make the land the most useful present. In Corinthian legend Poseidon appears as the father of the winged horse Pegasus by Medusa. This story is connected with the taming of the horse, which was ascribed to Poseidon. On account of his intimate connection with the horse, Poseidon was especially regarded as the patron of the games, and had, in consequence, an altar of his own on all race-courses. The competitors, before the races, solicited his favour with prayers and sacrifices.
Fig. 35.—Poseidon. Dolce Gem.
The dolphin and the pine-tree were held sacred to Poseidon, the latter probably because it was so extensively used in shipbuilding. Black steers, horses, rams, and wild boars were sacrificed to him.
The Romans not being a seafaring people, Neptune never stood in such high estimation among them as among the Greeks. In Rome his prominent characteristic was his connection with the horse and the race-course. These were placed under his special protection, for which reason the only temple he had in Rome stood in the Circus Flaminius.
The representation of Poseidon, or Neptune, in art harmonises tolerably well with the descriptions of the poets. He is accordingly represented as similar to his brother Zeus in size and figure, with broad deep chest, dark wavy hair, and piercing eyes.
Artists intimated the greater violence of his nature by giving him more angularity of face, and a more bristling and disordered head of hair than Zeus. The expression of his countenance is more grave and severe, and the kindly smile that plays around the mouth of Zeus is altogether wanting.
Ancient statues of Poseidon are comparatively rare. The Vatican Museum possesses a fine bust, and also a marble statue of the god. He is generally distinguished by the trident in his right hand; sometimes in its place we find a tiller. A band similar to a diadem denotes his dominion over the sea. Our engraving of the god is after a beautiful gem of the Dolce collection (Fig. 35).
2. Amphitrite.—After Poseidon had attained an almost exclusive veneration as god of the sea, Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, was given him to wife. According to the usual account, he carried her away from Naxos. Others say that she fled to Atlas to avoid the rude wooing of the god, but Poseidon’s dolphin found her and fetched her back. She had three children by Poseidon—Triton, Rhode, and Benthesicyme.
In plastic art, Amphitrite is generally depicted as a slim and beautiful young woman, either nude or half clothed, riding in the chariot of Poseidon at his side, or by herself. On gems she also appears enthroned on the back of a mighty Triton, or riding a seahorse or dolphin. Her hair generally falls loosely about her shoulders. She is distinguished by the royal insignia of the diadem and sceptre, at times she also wields the trident of her husband.
The worship of Amphitrite was entirely unknown to the Romans, who recognised the sea-goddess Salacia as the wife of Neptune.
3. Triton and the Tritons.—Triton was the only son of Poseidon and Amphitrite; he never appears, however, to have enjoyed divine honours. This perhaps explains how it came to pass that he was subsequently degraded to the level of a fabulous sea-monster. The poet Apollonius Rhodius describes him as having a body, the upper parts of which were those of a man, while the lower parts were those of a dolphin. Such too is his appearance in works of art. Poets and artists soon revelled in the conception of a whole race of similar Tritons, who were regarded as a wanton, mischievous tribe, like the Satyrs on land.
The Tritons, as sea-deities of fantastic form, are of little importance in higher art, though they were all the more frequently employed in fountains and water-works. The fore-legs of a horse were sometimes added to the human body and dolphin’s tail, thus giving rise to the figure termed the Ichthyocentaur.
4. Pontus and his Descendants.—We have already spoken of Pontus and his race in our account of the Theogony. Here we can only mention those of his children who either enjoyed divine honours, or are of importance in art. The eldest among them was Nereus.
1. Nereus and his Daughters.—Nereus presents to us the calm and pleasant side of the sea. He appears as a kindly, benevolent old man, the good spirit of the Ægean sea, where he dwells with his fifty lovely daughters, the Nereids, ever ready to assist the storm-beaten sailor in the hour of need. Like all water-spirits, Nereus possessed the gift of prophecy, though he did not always choose to make use of it. Heracles sought him on his way to the garden of the Hesperides, in order to learn how he might get possession of the golden apples. In spite of his urgent entreaties, Nereus endeavoured to elude him by assuming every kind of shape, though he was at length vanquished by the persistence of the hero, who would not let him go until he had obtained the necessary information.
By his wife Doris, the daughter of Oceanus, he became the father of fifty, or, according to some, of a hundred daughters, who were all venerated as kindly, beneficent sea-nymphs. They are a charming, lovely tribe, who win the hearts of the sailors—now by their merry sports and dances, now by their timely assistance in the hour of danger. This joyous band generally forms the train of Poseidon and Amphitrite. Besides Amphitrite, the chosen bride of Poseidon, we find among them Thetis, the beautiful mother of Achilles, so celebrated in ancient poetry, who usually figures as their leader. Her beauty and grace were so great that Zeus himself became her lover. He surrendered her, however, to Peleus, son of Æacus, because an oracle had declared that the son of Thetis should become greater than his father.
In art Nereus generally appears as an old man with thin grey locks. He is commonly distinguished by a sceptre, or even a trident. The Nereids were depicted as graceful maidens, in earlier times slightly clothed, but later entirely nude, riding on dolphins, Tritons, or other fabulous monsters of the deep.
2. Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto.—Whilst Nereus and his daughters represent the sea in its peaceful aspect, Thaumas, the second son of Pontus, represents it as the world of wonders. By Electra, a daughter of Oceanus, he became the father of Iris, the messenger of the gods, and also of the Harpies. The latter personify the storm-winds. Originally fair maidens, they were afterwards represented as winged creatures, half man and half bird; they had the faces of maidens, but their bodies were covered with vultures’ feathers; they were pale and emaciated in appearance, and were continually tormented with an insatiable hunger. They are best known from the story of the Argonauts, where they appear as the tormentor of the blind king Phineus, whose table they continually robbed of its viands, which they either devoured or spoiled. They were regarded by the ancients as the ministers of sudden death, and were said to be either two or three in number. Phorcys and Ceto, the brother and sister of Thaumas, present to us the sea under its terrible aspect. This pair, from whose union sprang the Gorgons, the Grææ, and the dragon of the Hesperides, typify all the terrors and dangers of the deep. We shall have more to say concerning the Gorgons and Grææ in the story of Perseus.
5. Proteus.—Proteus is a deity of inferior rank. He is represented as an old man (the servant of Poseidon) endowed with the gift of prophecy. He plays the same part in the story of Troy as Nereus does in that of Heracles. His usual abode was the island of Pharos. It was thither that Menelaus turned after he had been driven to the coast of Egypt, on his return from Troy, to seek the advice of the “unerring old man of the sea.” But Proteus, being in no amiable mood, sought to elude the importunity of the hero by converting himself into a lion, a dragon, a panther, a wild boar, and many other forms. At length, however, he was vanquished by the persistence of Menelaus, and vouchsafed an answer. He was supposed to be the keeper of the fish who inhabit the depths of the sea, and of the other marine animals.
In works of art he generally appears like a Triton, i.e., with body ending in a fish’s tail. He is usually distinguished by a crook.
6. Glaucus.—Among the inferior sea-deities, Glaucus deserves mention as playing a part in the story of the Argonauts. He was really only a local god of the Anthedonians in Bœotia, and his worship was not extended to other places in Greece. But though he had no splendid temples, he stood in very high estimation among the lower classes of sailors and fishermen; indeed we find universally that the common people, in all their cares, turned rather to the inferior deities, whom they supposed to stand closer to them, than to the higher and more important gods. According to the story, Glaucus was originally a fisherman of Anthedon, who attained in a wonderful manner the rank of a god. One day, after having caught some fish, he laid them half dead on the turf close by. He was astonished to see, however, that on coming in contact with a certain herb, which was unknown to him, they were restored to life and sprang back into the sea. He himself now ate of this wonderful herb, and immediately felt himself penetrated by so wondrous a sensation of bliss and animation that, in his excitement, he too sprang into the sea. Oceanus and Thetis hereupon cleansed him from all his human impurities, and gave him a place among the sea-gods. He was venerated on many of the islands and coasts of Greece as a friendly deity, ever ready to assist the shipwrecked sailor or the castaway.
In art he is represented as a Triton, rough and shaggy in appearance, his body covered with mussels or sea-weed. His hair and beard show that luxuriance which characterises sea-gods.
7. Ino Leucothea, and Melicertes.—Like Glaucus, Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, attained at once immortality and divine rank by a leap into the sea. She was a sister of Semele, the mother of Dionysus, and the wife of Athamas, king of Orchomenus. It was she who, after the unhappy death of Semele, took charge of the infant Dionysus. Hera, however, avenged herself by driving Athamas mad, whereupon he dashed Learchus, his eldest son by Ino, against a rock. He was about to inflict the same fate on Melicertes, his second son, when in frantic haste the unhappy mother sought to save her child by flight. Athamas, however, pursued her as far as the Isthmus, when Ino, seeing no hope of escape, cast herself from the rock Moluris into the sea. Here she was kindly received by the Nereids, who converted both her and her son into sea-deities. She henceforth bore the name of Leucothea, and her son that of Palæmon. They were both regarded as benevolent deities of the stormy sea, who came to the assistance of those who were shipwrecked or in other peril. They appear in this guise in the Odyssey, where Odysseus, who saw only certain death before him, is represented as having been saved by a scarf thrown to him by Leucothea.
8. The Sirens.—The Sirens must also be reckoned among the sea-deities. They are best known from the story how Odysseus succeeded in passing them with his companions without being seduced by their song. He had the prudence to stop the ears of his companions with wax, and to have himself bound to the mast. The Sirens were regarded as the daughters either of the river-god Achelous by one of the nymphs, or of Phorcys and Ceto. Only two Sirens are mentioned in Homer, but three or four were recognised in later times and introduced into various legends, such as that of the Argonauts, or the Sicilian story of the rape of Persephone. Demeter is said to have changed their bodies into those of birds, because they refused to go to the help of their companion, Persephone, when she was carried off by the god of the lower world.
In art they are represented, like the Harpies, as young women with the wings and feet of birds. Sometimes they appear altogether like birds, only with human faces; at other times with the arms and bodies of women, in which case they generally hold instruments of music in their hands. As their songs were death to those who were seduced by them, they are often depicted on tombs as spirits of death.
9. The Race of Oceanus.—Lastly, we must enumerate among the water-deities the numerous descendants of Oceanus, viz., the Oceanids, and also the rivers that are spread over the earth. The latter were believed to have their common source in the ocean encircling the earth, and thence to flow beneath the ground until they reached the surface in springs.
Oceanus himself appears in the myths which treat of the genealogy of the gods as the eldest son of Uranus and Gæa, and therefore, like his wife Tethys, a Titan. As he did not take part in the rebellion of the other Titans against the dominion of Zeus, he did not share their dreadful fate, but was allowed to remain in undisturbed enjoyment of his ancient domain. He was supposed to dwell on the most western shores of the earth, which he never left even to attend the assemblies of the gods.
On account of their great importance to the fertility of the soil, the river-gods enjoyed a great reputation among the Greeks, although their worship was entirely of a local nature. Only Achelous, the greatest of all the Greek rivers, appears to have enjoyed general veneration. The river-gods were believed to dwell either in the depths of the rivers themselves, or in rocky grottoes near their sources. They were depicted either as delicate youths, or as men in their prime, or as old men, according to the magnitude of the river. They all possess a conformity with the nature of their element, viz., that power of transformation which we discover in the other sea-deities. They also appear, like other water-spirits, to possess the gift of prophecy.
Among the Romans all flowing waters were held sacred. Fontus, the son of Janus, was especially esteemed as the god of springs and fountains in general; but, as among the Greeks, each river had its special deity. The most important of these was Tiberinus. The springs were popularly supposed to be inhabited by nymphs gifted with the powers of prophecy and magic, who sometimes honoured mortals with their favours, as Egeria did King Numa.
In art the river-gods were commonly represented in the guise of those animals whose forms they were most in the habit of assuming. They thus appear as serpents, bulls, or even as men with bulls’ heads. They were also portrayed, however, in purely human guise, with the exception of having small horns on either side of the head. Their attributes consist of urns and horns of plenty, symbols of the blessings that proceed from them.
We now come to a class of deities who stand in the most decided contrast to the gods of the heaven and the sea, whom we have previously described. It consists of those deities whose power is incessantly exerted either on the surface or in the depths of the earth, and who are accordingly brought into the closest connection with the life of man. The worship of these deities assumed among the Greeks a passionate and excited character, at first entirely strange to the Romans, though it gradually crept in here also.
Though the ancients saw in the earth, on the one hand, the fruitful source of all life in nature, they did not seek to disguise the fact that it is, on the other hand, also the open sepulchre into which all earthly existence sinks when its time is over. The worship of these deities was therefore celebrated with festivals of joy and mirth at the season of the revival of nature, and with mournful solemnities at the season of its decay. The devotees manifested both their mirth and mourning in a loud, noisy, passionate manner, usually designated orgiastic. An element of mystery never failed to introduce itself into the worship of these deities, who, in virtue of their dwellings, were able to inspire a greater feeling of awe than the bright forms of the gods of heaven. Their wrath also, which manifested itself in the sterility of the soil, was the subject of especial fear. Mysteries proper, or secret rites, existed only among the Greeks, but never found their way into the religious systems of Italy. We shall enumerate first the deities of the upper world, who preside over the growth of flocks and the fruits of the earth, and then those who inhabit the lower world.
1. Gæa (Tellus).—First among them is Gæa, or Mother Earth herself. This deity appears in the Cosmogony (or myths relating to the formation of the universe) as one of the primeval creative forces, having herself proceeded immediately from Chaos. In later times she acquired a more personal and plastic character, although she never attained any real importance in the religious system of the Greeks, owing to the existence of more definite and substantial deities, such as Rhea, Hestia, Demeter, and Themis. The worship of Tellus in Rome was more important, although here, too, it was somewhat thrown into the shade by the worship of Ceres and kindred deities.
The chief significance of Gæa lies in the fact that she is the source of all life and increase in nature. She is hence regarded as a mother who tends with loving care all her children. Under this aspect her praises are sung by Hesiod, and also in an ancient Dodonaic hymn. Like Demeter and other deities who dispense prosperity and abundance, she appears as tending and nourishing the young, and is often represented thus on ancient monuments.
At the same time Gæa is the common grave of mankind, and draws all things, with inexorable severity, down into her dark womb. She thus becomes a goddess of death and the lower world, and was on this account invoked, together with the Manes, as a witness of all solemn compacts and oaths.
A very ancient shrine of this goddess existed at Delphi, and the oracle there had once, said the Delphians, belonged to her.
In Rome, where she was also venerated as a goddess of marriage, her temple stood on the site of the house of Spurius Cassius. Festive offerings were made to her before and after seed-time. On the occasion of the Paganalia, she and Ceres were propitiated by the sacrifice of a pregnant sow, which was supposed to promote the prosperity of the coming year.
2. Rhea Cybele (Magna Mater Idæa).—Rhea is well known as the daughter of Uranus and Gæa, and the wife of Cronus, by whom she became the mother of Zeus and the other Cronidæ. She seems to have enjoyed only a limited measure of divine honours, until she was identified with the Phrygian goddess Cybele, who, like the Egyptian Isis, was an Asiatic symbol of fertility. She was worshipped throughout Lydia and Phrygia under the appellation of the “Mighty Mother.” Thence her worship, which was of a peculiarly noisy character, made its way through the Greek colonies into Greece itself, and towards the end of the second Punic war was, at the instance of the Sibylline books, introduced into Rome. Attalus, king of Pergamus, was on this occasion good enough to present the Romans with a sacred stone, which was regarded by the inhabitants of Pessinus as the great mother herself. After its arrival at Ostia, this stone was carried to Rome amid a solemn procession of Roman matrons. The day of its arrival (10th April) was ever afterwards kept as a festival, at which games were celebrated under the superintendence of the prætor. The worship of Cybele, however, never seems to have become naturalised in Rome, perhaps because Romans were not allowed to officiate as her priests.
The true home of the worship of Cybele was the district of Pessinus, a rough and rocky mountain land. It was here that she made her noisy processions, seated in a chariot drawn by lions or panthers, amid the boisterous music of her weird attendants, the Corybantes and Curetes. The myths that relate to the goddess bear a wild, fantastic character, similar to that of her rites. The best known among them is the story of her favourite, Attis, or Atys. He was a Phrygian youth of a beauty so exceptional that the great mother of the gods chose him for her husband. At first he returned her affection, but afterwards he proved faithless, and was about to marry a daughter of the king of Pessinus. But the vengeance of the angry goddess overtook him, for when the wedding guests were assembled at the festive banquet the goddess appeared in their midst, and filled those present with panic fear, and troubled their minds. Atys fled to the mountains, where he slew himself in a fit of frenzy. Afterwards, the goddess instituted a great mourning in memory of him, which took place about the time of the vernal equinox. The priests of the goddess marched, amid the loud noise of kettle-drums and fifes, to the mountains, in order to search for the lost youth; and when at length he, or an image representing him, was found, the priests, in an ecstasy of joy, danced about in wild excitement, gashing themselves with knives.
Representations of Rhea Cybele are rare. A statue representing her seated on a throne is shown in the Vatican. Her usual attribute is a kettle-drum.
3. Dionysus, or Bacchus (Liber).—Dionysus, or Bacchus, was regarded by Greeks and Romans alike as the god of wine and vineyards. In his more extended meaning he represents the blessings of the autumn. It is he who causes the fruits to ripen for the use of man; it is likewise he who dispenses to mankind all the advantages of civilisation and refinement, and of well-ordered political affairs.
Thebes was described as the birthplace of the god. His mother was Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, whom Zeus, the great god of heaven, honoured with his love. This very love, however, proved fatal to Semele, for the ever-jealous Hera came to her in the guise of her nurse, Beroë, and succeeded in exciting her suspicions as to the truth of her lover’s divinity. She insidiously persuaded Semele to make her lover swear to do what she desired, and then to put him to the test. Semele did so, and then besought Zeus to appear to her in the full majesty of his divine form. In vain did Zeus adjure her to take back her foolish request; she insisted on its fulfilment, and perished miserably, being burnt to ashes by the flame of Zeus, who approached her in a flash of lightning. Her unborn child was preserved by Zeus, who ordered Hermes to carry it to the nymphs of Nysa to be brought up. A later legend makes Ino, the sister of Semele, the foster-mother of Dionysus. The locality of this Nysa is somewhat uncertain, but it is generally supposed to be a district of Mount Pangæus in Thrace.
Dionysus, after growing up amid the solitude of the forest and strengthening himself by his contests with its wild beasts, at length planted the vine. Both the god and his attendants soon became intoxicated with its juice; after which, crowned with wreaths of laurel and ivy, and accompanied by a crowd of nymphs, satyrs, and fauns, he ranged the woods, which resounded with the loud and joyful cries of his inspired worshippers. The legend says that his education was then completed by Silenus, the son of Pan. In company with his preceptor and the rest of his train, he then set forth to spread his worship and the cultivation of the vine among the nations of the earth. He did not confine himself to mere vine-planting, however, but proved a real benefactor of mankind by founding cities, and by introducing more civilised manners and a more pleasant and sociable mode of life among men. On such as refused his favours his wrath fell with dreadful effect. Agave, the mother of the Theban king Pentheus, who had refused to receive him, and the rest of the Theban women, were driven mad by him; and in their frenzy they mistook the king for a wild boar and tore him to pieces.