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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew, by
+Josephine Preston Peabody
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
+
+Author: Josephine Preston Peabody
+
+
+Release Date: November, 2005  [EBook #9313]
+This file was first posted on September 20, 2003
+Last Updated: May 10, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD GREEK FOLK STORIES TOLD ANEW ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Tonya Allen, and Project
+Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+OLD GREEK FOLK STORIES TOLD ANEW
+
+By Josephine Preston Peabody
+
+1897
+
+
+
+
+PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
+
+
+Hawthorne, in his _Wonder-Book_ and _Tanglewood Tales_, has told, in a
+manner familiar to multitudes of American children and to many more who
+once were children, a dozen of the old Greek folk stories. They have
+served to render the persons and scenes known as no classical
+dictionary would make them known. But Hawthorne chose a few out of the
+many myths which are constantly appealing to the reader not only of
+ancient but of modern literature. The group contained in the collection
+which follows will help to fill out the list; it is designed to serve
+as a complement to the _Wonder-Book_ and _Tanglewood Tales_, so that
+the references to the stories in those collections are brief and
+allusive only. In order to make the entire series more useful, the
+index added to this number of the _Riverside Literature Series_ is made
+to include also the stories contained in the other numbers of the
+series which contain Hawthorne's two books. Thus the index serves as a
+tolerably full clue to the best-known characters in Greek mythology.
+
+_Once upon a time, men made friends with the Earth. They listened to
+all that woods and waters might say; their eyes were keen to see
+wonders in silent country places and in the living creatures that had
+not learned to be afraid. To this wise world outside the people took
+their joy and sorrow; and because they loved the Earth, she answered
+them._
+
+_It was not strange that Pan himself sometimes brought home a
+shepherd's stray lamb. It was not strange, if one broke the branches of
+a tree, that some fair life within wept at the hurt. Even now, the
+Earth is glad with us in springtime, and we grieve for her when the
+leaves go. But in the old days there was a closer union, clearer speech
+between men and all other creatures, Earth and the stars about her._
+
+_Out of the life that they lived together, there have come down to us
+these wonderful tales; and, whether they be told well or ill, they are
+too good to be forgotten._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+THE WOOD-FOLK
+
+THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS
+
+PROMETHEUS
+
+THE DELUGE
+
+ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE
+
+ICARUS AND DAEDALUS
+
+PHAETHON
+
+NIOBE
+
+ADMETUS AND THE SHEPHERD
+
+ALCESTIS
+
+APOLLO'S SISTER
+
+   I. DIANA AND ACTAEON
+
+  II. DIANA AND ENDYMION
+
+THE CALYDONIAN HUNT
+
+ATALANTA'S RACE
+
+ARACHNE
+
+PYRAMUS AND THISBE
+
+PYGMALION AND GALATEA
+
+OEDIPUS
+
+CUPID AND PSYCHE
+
+THE TRIAL OF PSYCHE
+
+STORIES OP THE TROJAN WAR
+
+    I. THE APPLE OF DISCORD
+
+   II. THE ROUSING OF THE HEROES
+
+  III. THE WOODEN HORSE
+
+THE HOUSE OF AGAMEMNON
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS
+
+    I. THE CURSE OF POLYPHEMUS
+
+   II. THE WANDERING OF ODYSSEUS
+
+  III. THE HOME-COMING
+
+
+
+
+
+THE WOOD-FOLK.
+
+
+Pan led a merrier life than all the other gods together. He was beloved
+alike by shepherds and countrymen, and by the fauns and satyrs, birds
+and beasts, of his own kingdom. The care of flocks and herds was his,
+and for home he had all the world of woods and waters; he was lord of
+everything out-of-doors! Yet he felt the burden of it no more than he
+felt the shadow of a leaf when he danced, but spent the days in
+laughter and music among his fellows. Like him, the fauns and satyrs
+had furry, pointed ears, and little horns that sprouted above their
+brows; in fact, they were all enough like wild creatures to seem no
+strangers to anything untamed. They slept in the sun, piped in the
+shade, and lived on wild grapes and the nuts that every squirrel was
+ready to share with them.
+
+The woods were never lonely. A man might wander away into those
+solitudes and think himself friendless; but here and there a river
+knew, and a tree could tell, a story of its own. Beautiful creatures
+they were, that for one reason or another had left off human shape.
+Some had been transformed against their will, that they might do no
+more harm to their fellow-men. Some were changed through the pity of
+the gods, that they might share the simple life of Pan, mindless of
+mortal cares, glad in rain and sunshine, and always close to the heart
+of the Earth.
+
+There was Dryope, for instance, the lotus-tree. Once a careless, happy
+woman, walking among the trees with her sister Iole and her own baby,
+she had broken a lotus that held a live nymph hidden, and blood dripped
+from the wounded plant. Too late, Dryope saw her heedlessness; and
+there her steps had taken root, and there she had said good-by to her
+child, and prayed Iole to bring him sometimes to play beneath her
+shadow. Poor mother-tree! Perhaps she took comfort with the birds and
+gave a kindly shelter to some nest.
+
+There, too, was Echo, once a wood-nymph who angered the goddess Juno
+with her waste of words, and was compelled now to wait till others
+spoke, and then to say nothing but their last word, like any
+mocking-bird. One day she saw and loved the youth Narcissus, who was
+searching the woods for his hunting companions. "Come hither!" he
+called, and Echo cried "Hither!" eager to speak at last. "Here am
+I,--come!" he repeated, looking about for the voice. "I come," said
+Echo, and she stood before him. But the youth, angry at such mimicry,
+only stared at her and hastened away. From that time she faded to a
+voice, and to this day she lurks hidden and silent till you call.
+
+But Narcissus himself was destined to fall in love with a shadow. For,
+leaning over the edge of a brook one day, he saw his own beautiful face
+looking up at him like a water-nymph. He leaned nearer, and the face
+rose towards him, but when he touched the surface it was gone in a
+hundred ripples. Day after day he besought the lovely creature to have
+pity and to speak; but it mocked him with his own tears and smiles, and
+he forgot all else, until he changed into a flower that leans over to
+see its image in the pool.
+
+There, too, was the sunflower Clytie, once a maiden who thought nothing
+so beautiful as the sun-god Phoebus Apollo. All the day long she used
+to look after him as he journeyed across the heavens in his golden
+chariot, until she came to be a fair rooted plant that ever turns its
+head to watch the sun.
+
+Many like were there. Daphne the laurel, Hyacinthus (once a beautiful
+youth, slain by mischance), who lives and renews his bloom as a
+flower,--these and a hundred others. The very weeds were friendly....
+
+But there were wise, immortal voices in certain caves and trees. Men
+called them Oracles; for here the gods spoke in answer to the prayers
+of folk in sorrow or bewilderment. Sometimes they built a temple around
+such a befriending voice, and kings would journey far to hear it speak.
+
+As for Pan, only one grief had he, and in the end a glad thing came of
+it.
+
+One day, when he was loitering in Arcadia, he saw the beautiful
+wood-nymph Syrinx. She was hastening to join Diana at the chase, and
+she herself was as swift and lovely as any bright bird that one longs
+to capture. So Pan thought, and he hurried after to tell her. But
+Syrinx turned, caught one glimpse of the god's shaggy locks and bright
+eyes, and the two little horns on his head (he was much like a wild
+thing, at a look), and she sprang away down the path in terror.
+
+Begging her to listen, Pan followed; and Syrinx, more and more
+frightened by the patter of his hoofs, never heeded him, but went as
+fast as light till she came to the brink of the river. Only then she
+paused, praying her friends, the water-nymphs, for some way of escape.
+The gentle, bewildered creatures, looking up through the water, could
+think of but one device.
+
+Just as the god overtook Syrinx and stretched out his arms to her, she
+vanished like a mist, and he found himself grasping a cluster of tall
+reeds. Poor Pan!
+
+The breeze that sighed whenever he did--and oftener--shook the reeds
+and made a sweet little sound,--a sudden music. Pan heard it, half
+consoled.
+
+"Is it your voice, Syrinx?" he said. "Shall we sing together?"
+
+He bound a number of the reeds side by side; to this day, shepherds
+know how. He blew across the hollow pipes and they made music!
+
+
+
+
+THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS
+
+
+Pan came at length to be such a wonderful piper with his syrinx (for so
+he named his flute) that he challenged Apollo to make better music if
+he could. Now the sun-god was also the greatest of divine musicians,
+and he resolved to punish the vanity of the country-god, and so
+consented to the test. For judge they chose the mountain Tmolus, since
+no one is so old and wise as the hills. And, since Tmolus could not
+leave his home, to him went Pan and Apollo, each with his followers,
+oreads and dryads, fauns, satyrs, and centaurs.
+
+Among the worshippers of Pan was a certain Midas, who had a strange
+story. Once a king of great wealth, he had chanced to befriend
+Dionysus, god of the vine; and when he was asked to choose some good
+gift in return, he prayed that everything he touched might be turned
+into gold. Dionysus smiled a little when he heard this foolish prayer,
+but he granted it. Within two days, King Midas learned the secret of
+that smile, and begged the god to take away the gift that was a curse.
+He had touched everything that belonged to him, and little joy did he
+have of his possessions! His palace was as yellow a home as a dandelion
+to a bee, but not half so sweet. Row upon row of stiff golden trees
+stood in his garden; they no longer knew a breeze when they heard it.
+When he sat down to eat, his feast turned to treasure uneatable. He
+learned that a king may starve, and he came to see that gold cannot
+replace the live, warm gifts of the Earth. Kindly Dionysus took back
+the charm, but from that day King Midas so hated gold that he chose to
+live far from luxury, among the woods and fields. Even here he was not
+to go free from misadventure.
+
+Tmolus gave the word, and Pan uprose with his syrinx, and blew upon the
+reeds a melody so wild and yet so coaxing that the squirrels came, as
+if at a call, and the birds hopped down in rows. The trees swayed with
+a longing to dance, and the fauns looked at one another and laughed for
+joy. To their furry little ears, it was the sweetest music that could
+be.
+
+But Tmolus bowed before Apollo, and the sun-god rose with his golden
+lyre in his hands. As he moved, light shook out of his radiant hair as
+raindrops are showered from the leaves. His trailing robes were purple,
+like the clouds that temper the glory of a sunset, so that one may look
+upon it. He touched the strings of his lyre, and all things were silent
+with joy. He made music, and the woods dreamed. The fauns and satyrs
+were quite still; and the wild creatures crouched, blinking, under a
+charm of light that they could not understand. To hear such a music
+cease was like bidding farewell to father and mother.
+
+With one accord they fell at the feet of Apollo, and Tmolus proclaimed
+the victory his. Only one voice disputed that award.
+
+Midas refused to acknowledge Apollo lord of music,--perhaps because the
+looks of the god dazzled his eyes unpleasantly, and put him in mind of
+his foolish wish years before. For him there was no music in a golden
+lyre!
+
+But Apollo would not leave such dull ears unpunished. At a word from
+him they grew long, pointed, furry, and able to turn this way and that
+(like a poplar leaf),--a plain warning to musicians. Midas had the ears
+of an ass, for every one to see!
+
+For a long time the poor man hid this oddity with such skill that we
+might never have heard of it. But one of his servants learned the
+secret, and suffered so much from keeping it to himself that he had to
+unburden his mind at last. Out into the meadows he went, hollowed a
+little place in the turf, whispered the strange news into it quite
+softly, and heaped the earth over again. Alas! a bed of reeds sprang up
+there before long, and whispered in turn to the grass-blades. Year
+after year they grew again, ever gossipping among themselves; and to
+this day, with every wind that sets them nodding together, they murmur,
+laughing, "_Midas has the ears of an ass: Oh, hush, hush!_"
+
+
+
+
+PROMETHEUS.
+
+
+In the early days of the universe, there was a great struggle for
+empire between Zeus and the Titans. The Titans, giant powers of heaven
+and earth, were for seizing whatever they wanted, with no more ado than
+a whirlwind. Prometheus, the wisest of all their race, long tried to
+persuade them that good counsel would avail more than violence; but
+they refused to listen. Then, seeing that such rulers would soon turn
+heaven and earth into chaos again, Prometheus left them to their own
+devices, and went over to Zeus, whom he aided so well that the Titans
+were utterly overthrown. Down into Tartarus they went, to live among
+the hidden fires of the earth; and there they spent a long term of
+bondage, muttering like storm, and shaking the roots of mountains. One
+of them was Enceladus, who lay bound under Aetna; and one, Atlas, was
+made to stand and bear up the weight of the sky on his giant shoulders.
+
+Zeus was left King of gods and men. Like any young ruler, he was eager
+to work great changes with his new power. Among other plans, he
+proposed to destroy the race of men then living, and to replace it with
+some new order of creatures. Prometheus alone heard this scheme with
+indignation. Not only did he plead for the life of man and save it, but
+ever after he spent his giant efforts to civilize the race, and to
+endow it with a wit near to that of gods.
+
+In the Golden Age, men had lived free of care. They took no heed of
+daily wants, since Zeus gave them all things needful, and the earth
+brought forth fruitage and harvest without asking the toil of
+husbandmen. If mortals were light of heart, however, their minds were
+empty of great enterprise. They did not know how to build or plant or
+weave; their thoughts never flew far, and they had no wish to cross the
+sea.
+
+But Prometheus loved earthly folk, and thought that they had been
+children long enough. He was a mighty workman, with the whole world for
+a workshop; and little by little he taught men knowledge that is
+wonderful to know, so that they grew out of their childhood, and began
+to take thought for themselves. Some people even say that he knew how
+to make men,--as we make shapes out of clay,--and set their five wits
+going. However that may be, he was certainly a cunning workman. He
+taught men first to build huts out of clay, and to thatch roofs with
+straw. He showed them how to make bricks and hew marble. He taught them
+numbers and letters, the signs of the seasons, and the coming and going
+of the stars. He showed them how to use for their healing the simple
+herbs that once had no care save to grow and be fragrant. He taught
+them how to till the fields; how to tame the beasts, and set them also
+to work; how to build ships that ride the water, and to put wings upon
+them that they may go faster, like birds.
+
+With every new gift, men desired more and more. They set out to see
+unknown lands, and their ambitions grew with their knowledge. They were
+like a race of poor gods gifted with dreams of great glory and the
+power to fashion marvellous things; and, though they had no endless
+youth to spend, the gods were troubled.
+
+Last of all, Prometheus went up secretly to heaven after the treasure
+of the immortals. He lighted a reed at the flame of the sun, and
+brought down the holy fire which is dearest to the gods. For with the
+aid of fire all things are possible, all arts are perfected.
+
+This was his greatest gift to man, but it was a theft from the immortal
+gods, and Zeus would endure no more. He could not take back the secret
+of fire; but he had Prometheus chained to a lofty crag in the Caucasus,
+where every day a vulture came to prey upon his body, and at night the
+wound would heal, so that it was ever to suffer again. It was a bitter
+penalty for so noble-hearted a rebel, and as time went by, and Zeus
+remembered his bygone services, he would have made peace once more. He
+only waited till Prometheus should bow his stubborn spirit, but this
+the son of Titans would not do. Haughty as rock beneath his daily
+torment, believing that he suffered for the good of mankind, he endured
+for years.
+
+One secret hardened his spirit. He was sure that the empire of Zeus
+must fall some day, since he knew of a danger that threatened it. For
+there was a certain beautiful sea-nymph, Thetis, whom Zeus desired for
+his wife. (This was before his marriage to Queen Juno.) Prometheus
+alone knew that Thetis was destined to have a son who should be far
+greater than his father. If she married some mortal, then, the prophecy
+was not so wonderful; but if she were to marry the King of gods and
+men, and her son should be greater than he, there could be no safety
+for the kingdom. This knowledge Prometheus kept securely hidden; but he
+ever defied Zeus, and vexed him with dark sayings about a danger that
+threatened his sovereignty. No torment could wring the secret from him.
+Year after year, lashed by the storms and scorched by the heat of the
+sun, he hung in chains and the vulture tore his vitals, while the young
+Oceanides wept at his feet, and men sorrowed over the doom of their
+protector.
+
+At last that earlier enmity between the gods and the Titans came to an
+end. The banished rebels were set free from Tartarus, and they
+themselves came and besought their brother, Prometheus, to hear the
+terms of Zeus. For the King of gods and men had promised to pardon his
+enemy, if he would only reveal this one troublous secret.
+
+In all heaven and earth there was but one thing that marred the new
+harmony,--this long struggle between Zeus and Prometheus; and the Titan
+relented. He spoke the prophecy, warned Zeus not to marry Thetis, and
+the two were reconciled. The hero Heracles (himself an earthly son of
+Zeus) slew the vulture and set Prometheus free.
+
+But it was still needful that a life should be given to expiate that
+ancient sin,--the theft of fire. It happened that Chiron, noblest of
+all the Centaurs (who are half horses and half men), was wandering the
+world in agony from a wound that he had received by strange mischance.
+For, at a certain wedding-feast among the Lapithae of Thessaly, one of
+the turbulent Centaurs had attempted to steal away the bride. A fierce
+struggle followed, and in the general confusion, Chiron, blameless as
+he was, had been wounded by a poisoned arrow. Ever tormented with the
+hurt and never to be healed, the immortal Centaur longed for death, and
+begged that he might be accepted as an atonement for Prometheus. The
+gods heard his prayer and took away his pain and his immortality. He
+died like any wearied man, and Zeus set him as a shining archer among
+the stars.
+
+So ended a long feud. From the day of Prometheus, men spent their lives
+in ceaseless enterprise, forced to take heed for food and raiment,
+since they knew how, and to ply their tasks of art and handicraft, They
+had taken unresting toil upon them, but they had a wondrous servant at
+their beck and call,--the bright-eyed fire that is the treasure of the
+gods.
+
+
+
+
+THE DELUGE.
+
+
+Even with the gifts of Prometheus, men could not rest content. As years
+went by, they lost all the innocence of the early world; they grew more
+and more covetous and evil-hearted. Not satisfied with the fruits of
+the Earth, or with the fair work of their own hands, they delved in the
+ground after gold and jewels; and for the sake of treasure nations made
+war upon each other and hate sprang up in households. Murder and theft
+broke loose and left nothing sacred.
+
+At last Zeus spoke. Calling the gods together, he said: "Ye see what
+the Earth has become through the baseness of men. Once they were
+deserving of our protection; now they even neglect to ask it. I will
+destroy them with my thunderbolts and make a new race."
+
+But the gods withheld him from this impulse. "For," they said, "let not
+the Earth, the mother of all, take fire and perish. But seek out some
+means to destroy mankind and leave her unhurt."
+
+So Zeus unloosed the waters of the world and there was a great flood.
+
+The streams that had been pent in narrow channels, like wild steeds
+bound to the ploughshare, broke away with exultation; the springs
+poured down from the mountains, and the air was blind with rain.
+Valleys and uplands were covered; strange countries were joined in one
+great sea; and where the highest trees had towered, only a little
+greenery pricked through the water, as weeds show in a brook.
+
+Men and women perished with the flocks and herds. Wild beasts from the
+forest floated away on the current with the poor sheep. Birds, left
+homeless, circled and flew far and near seeking some place of rest,
+and, finding none, they fell from weariness and died with human folk,
+that had no wings.
+
+Then for the first time the sea-creatures--nymphs and
+dolphins--ventured far from their homes, up, up through the swollen
+waters, among places that they had never seen before,--forests whose
+like they had not dreamed, towns and deluged farmsteads. They went in
+and out of drowned palaces, and wondered at the strange ways of men.
+And in and out the bright fish darted, too, without a fear. Wonderful
+man was no more. His hearth was empty; and fire, his servant, was dead
+on earth.
+
+One mountain alone stood high above this ruin. It was Parnassus, sacred
+to the gods; and here one man and woman had found refuge. Strangely
+enough, this husband and wife were of the race of the Titans,--Deucalion,
+a son of Prometheus, and Pyrrha, a child of Epimetheus, his brother; and
+these alone had lived pure and true of heart.
+
+Warned by Prometheus of the fate in store for the Earth, they had put
+off from their home in a little boat, and had made the crest of
+Parnassus their safe harbor.
+
+The gods looked down on these two lonely creatures, and, beholding all
+their past lives clear and just, suffered them to live on. Zeus bade
+the rain cease and the floods withdraw.
+
+Once more the rivers sought their wonted channels, and the sea-gods and
+the nymphs wandered home reluctantly with the sinking seas. The sun
+came out; and they hastened more eagerly to find cool depths. Little by
+little the forest trees rose from the shallows as if they were growing
+anew. At last the surface of the world lay clear to see, but sodden and
+deserted, the fair fields covered with ooze, the houses rank with moss,
+the temples cold and lightless.
+
+Deucalion and Pyrrha saw the bright waste of water sink and grow dim
+and the hills emerge, and the earth show green once more. But even
+their thankfulness of heart could not make them merry.
+
+"Are we to live on this great earth all alone?" they said. "Ah! if we
+had but the wisdom and cunning of our fathers, we might make a new race
+of men to bear us company. But now what remains to us? We have only
+each other for all our kindred."
+
+"Take heart, dear wife," said Deucalion at length, "and let us pray to
+the gods in yonder temple."
+
+They went thither hand in hand. It touched their hearts to see the
+sacred steps soiled with the water-weeds,--the altar without fire; but
+they entered reverently, and besought the Oracle to help them.
+
+"Go forth," answered the spirit of the place, "with your faces veiled
+and your robes ungirt; and cast behind you, as ye go, the bones of your
+mother."
+
+Deucalion and Pyrrha heard with amazement. The strange word was
+terrible to them.
+
+"We may never dare do this," whispered Pyrrha. "It would be impious to
+strew our mother's bones along the way."
+
+In sadness and wonder they went out together and took thought, a little
+comforted by the firmness of the dry earth beneath their feet. Suddenly
+Deucalion pointed to the ground.
+
+"Behold the Earth, our mother!" said he. "Surely it was this that the
+Oracle meant. And what should her bones be but the rocks that are a
+foundation for the clay, and the pebbles that strew the path?"
+
+Uncertain, but with lighter hearts, they veiled their faces, ungirt
+their garments, and, gathering each an armful of the stones, flung them
+behind, as the Oracle had bidden.
+
+And, as they walked, every stone that Deucalion flung became a man; and
+every one that Pyrrha threw sprang up a woman. And the hearts of these
+two were filled with joy and welcome.
+
+Down from the holy mountain they went, all those new creatures, ready
+to make them homes and to go about human work. For they were strong to
+endure, fresh and hardy of spirit, as men and women should be who are
+true children of our Mother Earth.
+
+
+
+
+ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE.
+
+
+When gods and shepherds piped and the stars sang, that was the day of
+musicians! But the triumph of Phoebus Apollo himself was not so
+wonderful as the triumph of a mortal man who lived on earth, though
+some say that he came of divine lineage. This was Orpheus, that best of
+harpers, who went with the Grecian heroes of the great ship Argo in
+search of the Golden Fleece.
+
+After his return from the quest, he won Eurydice for his wife, and they
+were as happy as people can be who love each other and every one else.
+The very wild beasts loved them, and the trees clustered about their
+home as if they were watered with music. But even the gods themselves
+were not always free from sorrow, and one day misfortune came upon that
+harper Orpheus whom all men loved to honor.
+
+Eurydice, his lovely wife, as she was wandering with the nymphs,
+unwittingly trod upon a serpent in the grass. Surely, if Orpheus had
+been with her, playing upon his lyre, no creature could have harmed
+her. But Orpheus came too late. She died of the sting, and was lost to
+him in the Underworld.
+
+For days he wandered from his home, singing the story of his loss and
+his despair to the helpless passers-by. His grief moved the very stones
+in the wilderness, and roused a dumb distress in the hearts of savage
+beasts. Even the gods on Mount Olympus gave ear, but they held no power
+over the darkness of Hades.
+
+Wherever Orpheus wandered with his lyre, no one had the will to forbid
+him entrance; and at length he found unguarded that very cave that
+leads to the Underworld where Pluto rules the spirits of the dead. He
+went down without fear. The fire in his living heart found him a way
+through the gloom of that place. He crossed the Styx, the black river
+that the gods name as their most sacred oath. Charon, the harsh old
+ferryman who takes the Shades across, forgot to ask of him the coin
+that every soul must pay. For Orpheus sang. There in the Underworld the
+song of Apollo would not have moved the poor ghosts so much. It would
+have amazed them, like a star far off that no one understands. But here
+was a human singer, and he sang of things that grow in every human
+heart, youth and love and death, the sweetness of the Earth, and the
+bitterness of losing aught that is dear to us.
+
+Now the dead, when they go to the Underworld, drink of the pool of
+Lethe; and forgetfulness of all that has passed comes upon them like a
+sleep, and they lose their longing for the world, they lose their
+memory of pain, and live content with that cool twilight. But not the
+pool of Lethe itself could withstand the song of Orpheus; and in the
+hearts of the Shades all the old dreams awoke wondering. They
+remembered once more the life of men on Earth, the glory of the sun and
+moon, the sweetness of new grass, the warmth of their homes, all the
+old joy and grief that they had known. And they wept.
+
+Even the Furies were moved to pity. Those, too, who were suffering
+punishment for evil deeds ceased to be tormented for themselves, and
+grieved only for the innocent Orpheus who had lost Eurydice. Sisyphus,
+that fraudulent king (who is doomed to roll a monstrous boulder uphill
+forever), stopped to listen. The daughters of Danaus left off their
+task of drawing water in a sieve. Tantalus forgot hunger and thirst,
+though before his eyes hung magical fruits that were wont to vanish out
+of his grasp, and just beyond reach bubbled the water that was a
+torment to his ears; he did not hear it while Orpheus sang.
+
+So, among a crowd of eager ghosts, Orpheus came, singing with all his
+heart, before the king and queen of Hades. And the queen Proserpina
+wept as she listened and grew homesick, remembering the fields of Enna
+and the growing of the wheat, and her own beautiful mother, Demeter.
+Then Pluto gave way.
+
+They called Eurydice and she came, like a young guest unused to the
+darkness of the Underworld. She was to return with Orpheus, but on one
+condition. If he turned to look at her once before they reached the
+upper air, he must lose her again and go back to the world alone.
+
+Rapt with joy, the happy Orpheus hastened on the way, thinking only of
+Eurydice, who was following him. Past Lethe, across the Styx they went,
+he and his lovely wife, still silent as a Shade. But the place was full
+of gloom, the silence weighed upon him, he had not seen her for so
+long; her footsteps made no sound; and he could hardly believe the
+miracle, for Pluto seldom relents. When the first gleam of upper
+daylight broke through the cleft to the dismal world, he forgot all,
+save that he must know if she still followed. He turned to see her
+face, and the promise was broken!
+
+She smiled at him forgivingly, but it was too late. He stretched out
+his arms to take her, but she faded from them, as the bright snow, that
+none may keep, melts in our very hands. A murmur of farewell came to
+his ears,--no more. She was gone.
+
+He would have followed, but Charon, now on guard, drove him back. Seven
+days he lingered there between the worlds of life and death, but after
+the broken promise, Hades would not listen to his song. Back to the
+Earth he wandered, though it was sweet to him no longer. He died young,
+singing to the last, and round about the place where his body rested,
+nightingales nested in the trees. His lyre was set among the stars; and
+he himself went down to join Eurydice, unforbidden.
+
+Those two had no need of Lethe, for their life on earth had been wholly
+fair, and now that they are together they no longer own a sorrow.
+
+
+
+
+ICARUS AND DAEDALUS.
+
+
+Among all those mortals who grew so wise that they learned the secrets
+of the gods, none was more cunning than Daedalus.
+
+He once built, for King Minos of Crete, a wonderful Labyrinth of
+winding ways so cunningly tangled up and twisted around that, once
+inside, you could never find your way out again without a magic clue.
+But the king's favor veered with the wind, and one day he had his
+master architect imprisoned in a tower. Daedalus managed to escape from
+his cell; but it seemed impossible to leave the island, since every
+ship that came or went was well guarded by order of the king.
+
+At length, watching the sea-gulls in the air,--the only creatures that
+were sure of liberty,--he thought of a plan for himself and his young
+son Icarus, who was captive with him.
+
+Little by little, he gathered a store of feathers great and small. He
+fastened these together with thread, moulded them in with wax, and so
+fashioned two great wings like those of a bird. When they were done,
+Daedalus fitted them to his own shoulders, and after one or two
+efforts, he found that by waving his arms he could winnow the air and
+cleave it, as a swimmer does the sea. He held himself aloft, wavered
+this way and that with the wind, and at last, like a great fledgling,
+he learned to fly.
+
+Without delay, he fell to work on a pair of wings for the boy Icarus,
+and taught him carefully how to use them, bidding him beware of rash
+adventures among the stars. "Remember," said the father, "never to fly
+very low or very high, for the fogs about the earth would weigh you
+down, but the blaze of the sun will surely melt your feathers apart if
+you go too near."
+
+For Icarus, these cautions went in at one ear and out by the other. Who
+could remember to be careful when he was to fly for the first time? Are
+birds careful? Not they! And not an idea remained in the boy's head but
+the one joy of escape.
+
+The day came, and the fair wind that was to set them free. The father
+bird put on his wings, and, while the light urged them to be gone, he
+waited to see that all was well with Icarus, for the two could not fly
+hand in hand. Up they rose, the boy after his father. The hateful
+ground of Crete sank beneath them; and the country folk, who caught a
+glimpse of them when they were high above the tree-tops, took it for a
+vision of the gods,--Apollo, perhaps, with Cupid after him.
+
+At first there was a terror in the joy. The wide vacancy of the air
+dazed them,--a glance downward made their brains reel. But when a great
+wind filled their wings, and Icarus felt himself sustained, like a
+halcyon-bird in the hollow of a wave, like a child uplifted by his
+mother, he forgot everything in the world but joy. He forgot Crete and
+the other islands that he had passed over: he saw but vaguely that
+winged thing in the distance before him that was his father Daedalus.
+He longed for one draught of flight to quench the thirst of his
+captivity: he stretched out his arms to the sky and made towards the
+highest heavens.
+
+Alas for him! Warmer and warmer grew the air. Those arms, that had
+seemed to uphold him, relaxed. His wings wavered, drooped. He fluttered
+his young hands vainly,--he was falling,--and in that terror he
+remembered. The heat of the sun had melted the wax from his wings; the
+feathers were falling, one by one, like snowflakes; and there was none
+to help.
+
+He fell like a leaf tossed down the wind, down, down, with one cry that
+overtook Daedalus far away. When he returned, and sought high and low
+for the poor boy, he saw nothing but the bird-like feathers afloat on
+the water, and he knew that Icarus was drowned.
+
+The nearest island he named Icaria, in memory of the child; but he, in
+heavy grief, went to the temple of Apollo in Sicily, and there hung up
+his wings as an offering. Never again did he attempt to fly.
+
+
+
+
+PHAETHON.
+
+
+Once upon a time, the reckless whim of a lad came near to destroying
+the Earth and robbing the spheres of their wits.
+
+There were two playmates, said to be of heavenly parentage. One was
+Epaphus, who claimed Zeus as a father; and one was Phaethon, the
+earthly child of Phoebus Apollo (or Helios, as some name the sun-god).
+One day they were boasting together, each of his own father, and
+Epaphus, angry at the other's fine story, dared him to go prove his
+kinship with the Sun.
+
+Full of rage and humiliation, Phaethon went to his mother, Clymene,
+where she sat with his young sisters, the Heliades.
+
+"It is true, my child," she said, "I swear it in the light of yonder
+Sun. If you have any doubt, go to the land whence he rises at morning
+and ask of him any gift you will; he is your father, and he cannot
+refuse you."
+
+As soon as might be, Phaethon set out for the country of sunrise. He
+journeyed by day and by night far into the east, till he came to the
+palace of the Sun. It towered high as the clouds, glorious with gold
+and all manner of gems that looked like frozen fire, if that might be.
+The mighty walls were wrought with images of earth and sea and sky.
+Vulcan, the smith of the gods, had made them in his workshop (for
+Mount-Aetna is one of his forges, and he has the central fires of the
+earth to help him fashion gold and iron, as men do glass). On the doors
+blazed the twelve signs of the Zodiac, in silver that shone like snow
+in the sunlight. Phaethon was dazzled with the sight, but when he
+entered the palace hall he could hardly bear the radiance.
+
+In one glimpse through his half-shut eyes, he beheld a glorious being,
+none other than Phoebus himself, seated upon a throne. He was clothed
+in purple raiment, and round his head there shone a blinding light,
+that enveloped even his courtiers upon the right and upon the
+left,--the Seasons with their emblems, Day, Month, Year, and the
+beautiful young Hours in a row. In one glance of those all-seeing eyes,
+the sun-god knew his child; but in order to try him he asked the boy
+his errand.
+
+"O my father," stammered Phaethon, "if you are my father indeed," and
+then he took courage; for the god came down from his throne, put off
+the glorious halo that hurt mortal eyes, and embraced him tenderly.
+
+"Indeed, thou art my son," said he. "Ask any gift of me and it shall be
+thine; I call the Styx to witness."
+
+"Ah!" cried Phaethon rapturously. "Let me drive thy chariot for one
+day!"
+
+For an instant the Sun's looks clouded. "Choose again, my child," said
+he. "Thou art only a mortal, and this task is mine alone of all the
+gods. Not Zeus himself dare drive the chariot of the Sun. The way is
+full of terrors, both for the horses and for all the stars along the
+roadside, and for the Earth, who has all blessings from me. Listen, and
+choose again." And therewith he warned Phaethon of all the dangers that
+beset the way,--the great steep that the steeds must climb, the numbing
+dizziness of the height, the fierce constellations that breathe out
+fire, and that descent in the west where the Sun seems to go headlong.
+
+But these counsels only made the reckless boy more eager to win honor
+of such a high enterprise.
+
+"I will take care; only let me go," he begged.
+
+Now Phoebus' had sworn by the black river Styx, an oath that none of
+the gods dare break, and he was forced to keep his promise.
+
+Already Aurora, goddess of dawn, had thrown open the gates of the east
+and the stars were beginning to wane. The Hours came forth to harness
+the four horses, and Phaethon looked with exultation at the splendid
+creatures, whose lord he was for a day. Wild, immortal steeds they
+were, fed with ambrosia, untamed as the winds; their very pet names
+signified flame, and all that flame can do,--Pyrois, Eoüs, Aethon,
+Phlegon.
+
+As the lad stood by, watching, Phoebus anointed his face with a philter
+that should make him strong to endure the terrible heat and light, then
+set the halo upon his head, with a last word of counsel.
+
+"Follow the road," said he, "and never turn aside. Go not too high or
+too low, for the sake of heavens and earth; else men and gods will
+suffer. The Fates alone know whether evil is to come of this. Yet if
+your heart fails you, as I hope, abide here and I will make the
+journey, as I am wont to do."
+
+But Phaethon held to his choice and bade his father farewell. He took
+his place in the chariot, gathered up the reins, and the horses sprang
+away, eager for the road.
+
+As they went, they bent their splendid necks to see the meaning of the
+strange hand upon the reins,--the slender weight in the chariot. They
+turned their wild eyes upon Phaethon, to his secret foreboding, and
+neighed one to another. This was no master-charioteer, but a mere lad,
+a feather riding the wind. It was holiday for the horses of the Sun,
+and away they went.
+
+Grasping the reins that dragged him after, like an enemy, Phaethon
+looked down from the fearful ascent and saw the Earth far beneath him,
+dim and fair. He was blind with dizziness and bewilderment. His hold
+slackened and the horses redoubled their speed, wild with new liberty.
+They left the old tracks. Before he knew where he was, they had
+startled the constellations and well-nigh grazed the Serpent, so that
+it woke from its torpor and hissed.
+
+The steeds took fright. This way and that they went, terrified by the
+monsters they had never encountered before, shaking out of their silver
+quiet the cool stars towards the north, then fleeing as far to the
+south among new wonders. The heavens were full of terror.
+
+Up, far above the clouds, they went, and down again, towards the
+defenceless Earth, that could not flee from the chariot of the Sun.
+Great rivers hid themselves in the ground, and mountains were consumed.
+Harvests perished like a moth that is singed in a candle-flame.
+
+In vain did Phaethon call to the horses and pull upon the reins. As in
+a hideous dream, he saw his own Earth, his beautiful home and the home
+of all men, his kindred, parched by the fires of this mad chariot, and
+blackening beneath him. The ground cracked open and the sea shrank.
+Heedless water-nymphs, who had lingered in the shallows, were left
+gasping like bright fishes. The dryads shrank, and tried to cover
+themselves from the scorching heat. The poor Earth lifted her withered
+face in a last prayer to Zeus to save them if he might.
+
+Then Zeus, calling all the gods to witness that there was no other
+means of safety, hurled his thunderbolt; and Phaethon knew no more.
+
+His body fell through the heavens, aflame like a shooting-star; and the
+horses of the Sun dashed homeward with the empty chariot.
+
+Poor Clymene grieved sore over the boy's death; but the young Heliades,
+daughters of the Sun, refused all comfort. Day and night they wept
+together about their brother's grave by the river, until the gods took
+pity and changed them all into poplar-trees. And ever after that they
+wept sweet tears of amber, clear as sunlight.
+
+
+
+
+NIOBE.
+
+
+There are so many tales of the vanity of kings and queens that the half
+of them cannot be told.
+
+There was Cassiopaeia, queen of Aethiopia, who boasted that her beauty
+outshone the beauty of all the sea-nymphs, so that in anger they sent a
+horrible sea-serpent to ravage the coast. The king prayed of an Oracle
+to know how the monster might be appeased, and learned that he must
+offer up his own daughter, Andromeda. The maiden was therefore chained
+to a rock by the sea-side, and left to her fate. But who should come to
+rescue her but a certain young hero, Perseus, who was hastening
+homeward after a perilous adventure with the snaky-haired Gorgons.
+Filled with pity at the story of Andromeda, he waited for the dragon,
+met and slew him, and set the maiden free. As for the boastful queen,
+the gods forgave her, and at her death she was set among the stars.
+That story ended well.
+
+But there was once a queen of Thebes, Niobe, fortunate above all women,
+and yet arrogant in the face of the gods. Very beautiful she was, and
+nobly born, but above all things she boasted of her children, for she
+had seven sons and seven daughters.
+
+Now there came the day when the people were wont to celebrate the feast
+of Latona, mother of Apollo and Diana; and Niobe, as she stood looking
+upon the worshippers on their way to the temple, was filled with
+overweening pride.
+
+"Why do you worship Latona before me?" she cried out. "What does she
+possess that I have not in greater abundance? She has but two children,
+while I have seven sons and as many daughters. Nay, if she robbed me
+out of envy, I should still be rich. Go back to your houses; you have
+not eyes to know the rightful goddess."
+
+Such impiety was enough to frighten any one, and her subjects returned
+to their daily work, awestruck and silent.
+
+But Apollo and Diana were filled with wrath at this insult to their
+divine mother. Not only was she a great goddess and a power in the
+heavens, but during her life on earth she had suffered many hardships
+for their sake. The serpent Python had been sent to torment her; and,
+driven from land to land, under an evil spell, beset with dangers, she
+had found no resting-place but the island of Delos, held sacred ever
+after to her and her children. Once she had even been refused water by
+some churlish peasants, who could not believe in a goddess if she
+appeared in humble guise and travel-worn. But these men were all
+changed into frogs.
+
+It needed no word from Latona herself to rouse her children to
+vengeance. Swift as a thought, the two immortal archers, brother and
+sister, stood in Thebes, upon the towers of the citadel. Near by, the
+youth were pursuing their sports, while the feast of Latona went
+neglected. The sons of Queen Niobe were there, and against them Apollo
+bent his golden bow. An arrow crossed the air like a sunbeam, and
+without a word the eldest prince fell from his horse. One by one his
+brothers died by the same hand, so swiftly that they knew not what had
+befallen them, till all the sons of the royal house lay slain. Only the
+people of Thebes, stricken with terror, bore the news to Queen Niobe,
+where she sat with her seven daughters. She would not believe in such a
+sorrow.
+
+"Savage Latona," she cried, lifting her arms against the heavens,
+"never think that you have conquered. I am still the greater."
+
+At that moment one of her daughters sank beside her. Diana had sped an
+arrow from her bow that is like the crescent moon. Without a cry, nay,
+even as they murmured words of comfort, the sisters died, one by one.
+It was all as swift and soundless as snowfall.
+
+Only the guilty mother was left, transfixed with grief. Tears flowed
+from her eyes, but she spoke not a word, her heart never softened; and
+at last she turned to stone, and the tears flowed down her cold face
+forever.
+
+
+
+
+ADMETUS AND THE SHEPHERD.
+
+
+Apollo did not live always free of care, though he was the most
+glorious of the gods. One day, in anger with the Cyclopes who work at
+the forges of Vulcan, he sent his arrows after them, to the wrath of
+all the gods, but especially of Zeus. (For the Cyclopes always make his
+thunderbolts, and make them well.) Even the divine archer could not go
+unpunished, and as a penalty he was sent to serve some mortal for a
+year. Some say one year and some say nine, but in those days time
+passed quickly; and as for the gods, they took no heed of it.
+
+Now there was a certain king in Thessaly, Admetus by name, and there
+came to him one day a stranger, who asked leave to serve about the
+palace. None knew his name, but he was very comely, and moreover, when
+they questioned him he said that he had come from a position of high
+trust. So without further delay they made him chief shepherd of the
+royal flocks.
+
+Every day thereafter, he drove his sheep to the banks of the river
+Amphrysus, and there he sat to watch them browse. The country-folk that
+passed drew near to wonder at him, without daring to ask questions. He
+seemed to have a knowledge of leech-craft, and knew how to cure the
+ills of any wayfarer with any weed that grew near by; and he would pipe
+for hours in the sun. A simple-spoken man he was, yet he seemed to know
+much more than he would say, and he smiled with a kindly mirth when the
+people wished him sunny weather.
+
+Indeed, as days went by, it seemed as if summer had come to stay, and,
+like the shepherd, found the place friendly. Nowhere else were the
+flocks so white and fair to see, like clouds loitering along a bright
+sky; and sometimes, when he chose, their keeper sang to them. Then the
+grasshoppers drew near and the swans sailed close to the river banks,
+and the country-men gathered about to hear wonderful tales of the
+slaying of the monster Python, and of a king with ass's ears, and of a
+lovely maiden, Daphne, who grew into a laurel-tree. In time the rumor
+of these things drew the king himself to listen; and Admetus, who had
+been to see the world in the ship Argo, knew at once that this was no
+earthly shepherd, but a god. From that day, like a true king, he
+treated his guest with reverence and friendliness, asking no questions;
+and the god was well pleased.
+
+Now it came to pass that Admetus fell in love with a beautiful maiden,
+Alcestis, and, because of the strange condition that her father Pelias
+had laid upon all suitors, he was heavy-hearted. Only that man who
+should come to woo her in a chariot drawn by a wild boar and a lion
+might ever marry Alcestis; and this task was enough to puzzle even a
+king.
+
+As for the shepherd, when he heard of it he rose, one fine morning, and
+left the sheep and went his way,--no one knew whither. If the sun had
+gone out, the people could not have been more dismayed. The king
+himself went, late in the day, to walk by the river Amphrysus, and
+wonder if his gracious keeper of the flocks had deserted him in a time
+of need. But at that very moment, whom should he see returning from the
+woods but the shepherd, glorious as sunset, and leading side by side a
+lion and a boar, as gentle as two sheep! The very next morning, with
+joy and gratitude, Admetus set out in his chariot for the kingdom of
+Pelias, and there he wooed and won Alcestis, the most loving wife that
+was ever heard of.
+
+It was well for Admetus that he came home with such a comrade, for the
+year was at an end, and he was to lose his shepherd. The strange man
+came to take leave of the king and queen whom he had befriended.
+
+"Blessed be your flocks, Admetus," he said, smiling. "They shall
+prosper even though I leave them. And, because you can discern the gods
+that come to you in the guise of wayfarers, happiness shall never go
+far from your home, but ever return to be your guest. No man may live
+on earth forever, but this one gift have I obtained for you. When your
+last hour draws near, if any one shall be willing to meet it in your
+stead, he shall die, and you shall live on, more than the mortal length
+of days. Such kings deserve long life."
+
+So ended the happy year when Apollo tended sheep.
+
+
+
+
+ALCESTIS.
+
+
+For many years the remembrance of Apollo's service kept Thessaly full
+of sunlight. Where a god could work, the people took heart to work
+also. Flocks and herds throve, travellers were befriended, and men were
+happy under the rule of a happy king and queen.
+
+But one day Admetus fell ill, and he grew weaker and weaker until he
+lay at death's door. Then, when no remedy was found to help him and the
+hope of the people was failing, they remembered the promise of the
+Fates to spare the king if some one else would die in his stead. This
+seemed a simple matter for one whose wishes are law, and whose life is
+needed by all his fellow-men. But, strange to say, the substitute did
+not come forward at once.
+
+Among the king's most faithful friends, many were afraid to die. Men
+said that they would gladly give their lives in battle, but that they
+could not die in bed at home like helpless old women. The wealthy had
+too much to live for; and the poor, who possessed nothing but life,
+could not bear to give up that. Even the aged parents of Admetus shrunk
+from the thought of losing the few years that remained to them, and
+thought it impious that any one should name such a sacrifice.
+
+All this time, the three Fates were waiting to cut the thread of life,
+and they could not wait longer.
+
+Then, seeing that even the old and wretched clung to their gift of
+life, who should offer herself but the young and lovely queen,
+Alcestis? Sorrowful but resolute, she determined to be the victim, and
+made ready to die for the sake of her husband.
+
+She took leave of her children and commended them to the care of
+Admetus. All his pleading could not change the decree of the Fates.
+Alcestis prepared for death as for some consecration. She bathed and
+anointed her body, and, as a mortal illness seized her, she lay down to
+die, robed in fair raiment, and bade her kindred farewell. The
+household was filled with mourning, but it was too late. She waned
+before the eyes of the king, like daylight that must be gone.
+
+At this grievous moment Heracles, mightiest of all men, who was
+journeying on his way to new adventures, begged admittance to the
+palace, and inquired the cause of such grief in that hospitable place.
+He was told of the misfortune that had befallen Admetus, and, struck
+with pity, he resolved to try what his strength might do for this man
+who had been a friend of gods.
+
+Already Death had come out of Hades for Alcestis, and as Heracles stood
+at the door of her chamber he saw that awful form leading away the
+lovely spirit of the queen, for the breath had just departed from her
+body. Then the might that he had from his divine father Zeus stood by
+the hero. He seized Death in his giant arms and wrestled for victory.
+
+Now Death is a visitor that comes and goes. He may not tarry in the
+upper world; its air is not for him; and at length, feeling his power
+give way, he loosed his grasp of the queen, and, weak with the
+struggle, made escape to his native darkness of Hades.
+
+In the chamber where the royal kindred were weeping, the body of
+Alcestis lay, fair to see, and once more the breath stirred in her
+heart, like a waking bird. Back to its home came her lovely spirit, and
+for long years after she lived happily with her husband, King Admetus.
+
+
+
+
+APOLLO'S SISTER.
+
+
+I. DIANA AND ACTAEON.
+
+Like the Sun-god, whom men dreaded as the divine archer and loved as
+the divine singer, Diana, his sister, had two natures, as different as
+day from night.
+
+On earth she delighted in the wild life of the chase, keeping holiday
+among the dryads, and hunting with all those nymphs that loved the
+boyish pastime. She and her maidens shunned the fellowship of men and
+would not hear of marriage, for they disdained all household arts; and
+there are countless tales of their cruelty to suitors.
+
+Syrinx and Atalanta were of their company, and Arethusa, who was
+changed into a fountain and ever pursued by Alpheus the river-god, till
+at last the two were united. There was Daphne, too, who disdained the
+love of Apollo himself, and would never listen to a word of his suit,
+but fled like Syrinx, and prayed like Syrinx for escape; but Daphne was
+changed into a fair laurel-tree, held sacred by Apollo forever after.
+
+All these maidens were as untamed and free of heart as the wild
+creatures they loved to hunt, and whoever molested them did so at his
+peril. None dared trespass in the home of Diana and her nymphs, not
+even the riotous fauns and satyrs who were heedless enough to go
+a-swimming in the river Styx, if they had cared to venture near such a
+dismal place. But the maiden goddess laid a spell upon their unruly
+wits, even as the moon controls the tides of the sea. Her precincts
+were holy. There was one man, however, whose ill-timed curiosity
+brought heavy punishment upon him. This was Actaeon, a grandson of the
+great king Cadmus.
+
+Wearied with hunting, one noon, he left his comrades and idled through
+the forest, perhaps to spy upon those woodland deities of whom he had
+heard. Chance brought him to the very grove where Diana and her nymphs
+were wont to bathe. He followed the bright thread of the brook, never
+turning aside, though mortal reverence should have warned him that the
+place was for gods. The air was wondrous clear and sweet; a throng of
+fair trees drooped their branches in the way, and from a sheltered
+grotto beyond fell a mingled sound of laughter and running waters. But
+Actaeon would not turn back. Roughly pushing aside the laurel branches
+that hid the entrance of the cave, he looked in, startling Diana and
+her maidens. In an instant a splash of water shut his eyes, and the
+goddess, reading his churlish thought, said: "Go now, if thou wilt, and
+boast of this intrusion."
+
+He turned to go, but a stupid bewilderment had fallen upon him. He
+looked back to speak, and could not. He put his hand to his head, and
+felt antlers branching above his forehead. Down he fell on hands and
+feet; these likewise changed. The poor offender! Crouching by the brook
+that he had followed, he looked in, and saw nothing but the image of a
+stag, bending to drink, as only that morning he had seen the creature
+they had come out to kill. With an impulse of terror he fled away,
+faster than he had ever run before, crashing through bush and bracken,
+the noise of his own flight ever after him like an enemy.
+
+Suddenly he heard the blast of a horn close by, then the baying of
+hounds. His comrades, who had rested and were ready for the chase, made
+after him. This time he was their prey. He tried to call and could not.
+His antlers caught in the branches, his breath came with pain, and the
+dogs were upon him,--his own dogs!
+
+With all the eagerness that he had often praised in them, they fell
+upon him, knowing not their own master. And so he perished, hunter and
+hunted.
+
+Only the goddess of the chase could have devised so terrible a revenge.
+
+
+II. DIANA AND ENDYMION.
+
+But with the daylight, all of Diana's joy in the wild life of the woods
+seemed to fade. By night, as goddess of the moon, she watched over the
+sleep of the earth,--measured the tides of the ocean, and went across
+the wide path of heaven, slow and fair to see. And although she bore
+her emblem of the bow, like a silver crescent, she was never terrible,
+but beneficent and lovely.
+
+Indeed, there was once a young shepherd, Endymion, who used to lead his
+flocks high up the slopes of Mount Latmos to the purer air; and there,
+while the sheep browsed, he spent his days and nights dreaming on the
+solitary uplands. He was a beautiful youth and very lonely. Looking
+down one night from the heavens near by and as lonely as he, Diana saw
+him, and her heart was moved to tenderness for his weariness and
+solitude. She cast a spell of sleep upon him, with eternal youth, white
+and untroubled as moonlight. And there, night after night, she watched
+his sheep for him, like any peasant maid who wanders slowly through the
+pastures after the flocks, spinning white flax from her distaff as she
+goes, alone and quite content.
+
+Endymion dreamed such beautiful dreams as come only to happy poets.
+Even when he woke, life held no care for him, but he seemed to walk in
+a light that was for him alone. And all this time, just as the Sun-god
+watched over the sheep of King Admetus, Diana kept the flocks of
+Endymion, but it was for love's sake.
+
+
+
+
+THE CALYDONIAN HUNT.
+
+
+In that day of the chase, there was one enterprise renowned above all
+others,--the great hunt of Calydon. Thither, in search of high
+adventure, went all the heroes of Greece, just as they joined the quest
+of the Golden Fleece, and, in a later day, went to the rescue of Fair
+Helen in the Trojan War.
+
+For Oeneus, king of Calydon, had neglected the temples of Diana, and
+she had sent a monstrous boar to lay waste all the fields and farms in
+the country. The people had never seen so terrible a beast, and they
+soon wished that they had never offended the goddess who keeps the
+woods clear of such monsters. No mortal device availed against it, and,
+after a hundred disasters, Prince Meleager, the son of Oeneus, summoned
+the heroes to join him in this perilous hunt.
+
+The prince had a strange story. Soon after his birth, Althea, the
+queen, had seen in a vision the three Fates spinning the thread of life
+and crooning over their work. For Clotho spins the thread, Lachesis
+draws it out, and Atropos waits to cut it off with her glittering
+shears. So the queen beheld them, and heard them foretell that her baby
+should live no longer than a brand that was then burning on the hearth.
+Horror inspired the mother. Quick as a thought she seized the brand,
+put out the flame, and laid it by in some safe and secret place where
+no harm could touch it. So the child gathered strength and grew up to
+manhood.
+
+He was a mighty hunter, and the other heroes came gladly to bear him
+company. Many of the Argonauts were there,--Jason, Theseus, Nestor,
+even Atalanta, that valorous maiden who had joined the rowers of the
+Argo, a beloved charge of Diana. Boyish in her boldness for wild
+sports, she was fleet of foot and very lovely to behold, altogether a
+bride for a princely hunter. So Meleager thought, the moment that he
+saw her face.
+
+Together they all set out for the lair of the boar, the heroes and the
+men of Calydon,--Meleager and his two uncles. Phlexippus and Toxeus,
+brothers of Queen Althea.
+
+All was ready. Nets were stretched from tree to tree, and the dogs were
+let loose. The heroes lay in wait. Suddenly the monster, startled by
+the shouts of the company, rose hideous and unwieldy from his
+hiding-place and rushed upon them. What were hounds to such as he, or
+nets spread for a snare? Jason's spear missed and fell. Nestor only
+saved his life by climbing the nearest tree. Several of the heroes were
+gored by the tusks of the boar before they could make their escape. In
+the midst of this horrible tumult, Atalanta sped an arrow at the
+creature and wounded him. Meleager saw it with joy, and called upon the
+others to follow. One by one they tried without success, but he, after
+one false thrust, drove his spear into the side of the monster and laid
+him dead.
+
+The heroes crowded to do him honor, but he turned to Atalanta, who had
+first wounded the boar, and awarded her the shaggy hide that was her
+fair-won trophy. This was too much for the warriors, who had been
+outdone by a girl. Phlexippus and Toxeus were so enraged that they
+snatched the prize from the maiden, churlishly, and denied her victory.
+Maddened at this, Meleager forgot everything but the insult offered to
+Atalanta, and he fell upon the two men and stabbed them. Only when they
+lay dead before him did he remember that they were his own kinsmen.
+
+In the mean time news had flown to the city that the pest was slain,
+and Queen Althea was on her way to the temple to give thanks for their
+deliverance. At the very gates she came upon a multitude of men
+surrounding a litter, and drawing near she saw the bodies of her two
+brothers. Swift upon this horror came a greater shock,--the name of the
+murderer, her own son Meleager. All pity left the mother's heart when
+she heard it; she thought only of revenge. In a lightning-flash she
+remembered that brand which she had plucked from the fire when her son
+was but a new-born babe,--the brand that was to last with his life.
+
+She ordered a pyre to be built and lighted, and straightway she went to
+that hiding-place where she had kept the precious thing all these,
+years, and brought it back and stood before the flames. At the last
+moment her soul was torn between love for her son and grief for her
+murdered brothers. She stretched forth the brand, and plucked it again
+from the tongues of fire. She cried out in despair that the honor of
+her house should require such an expiation. But, covering her eyes, she
+flung the brand into the flames.
+
+At the same time, far away with his companions, and unwitting of these
+things, Meleager was struck through with a sudden pang. Wondering and
+helpless, the heroes gathered about, to behold him dying of some
+unknown agony, while he strove to conquer his pain. Even as the brand
+burned in the fire before the wretched queen, Meleager was consumed by
+a mysterious death, blessing with his last breath friends and kindred,
+his dear Atalanta, and the mother who had brought him to this doom,
+though he knew it not. At last the brand fell into ashes, and in the
+forest the hero lay dead.
+
+The king and queen fell into such grief when all was known, that Diana
+took pity upon them and changed them into birds.
+
+
+
+
+ATALANTA'S RACE.
+
+
+Even if Prince Meleager had lived, it is doubtful if he could ever have
+won Atalanta to be his wife. The maiden was resolved to live unwed, and
+at last she devised a plan to be rid of all her suitors. She was known
+far and wide as the swiftest runner of her time; and so she said that
+she would only marry that man who could outstrip her in the race, but
+that all who dared to try and failed must be put to death.
+
+This threat did not dishearten all of the suitors, however, and to her
+grief, for she was not cruel, they held her to her promise. On a
+certain day the few bold men who were to try their fortune made ready,
+and chose young Hippomenes as judge. He sat watching them before the
+word was given, and sadly wondered that any brave man should risk his
+life merely to win a bride. But when Atalanta stood ready for the
+contest, he was amazed by her beauty. She looked like Hebe, goddess of
+young health, who is a glad serving-maiden to the gods when they sit at
+feast.
+
+The signal was given, and, as she and the suitors darted away, flight
+made her more enchanting than ever. Just as a wind brings sparkles to
+the water and laughter to the trees, haste fanned her loveliness to a
+glow.
+
+Alas for the suitors! She ran as if Hermes had lent her his winged
+sandals. The young men, skilled as they were, grew heavy with weariness
+and despair. For all their efforts, they seemed to lag like ships in a
+calm, while Atalanta flew before them in some favoring breeze--and
+reached the goal!
+
+To the sorrow of all on-lookers, the suitors were led away; but the
+judge himself, Hippomenes, rose and begged leave to try his fortune. As
+Atalanta listened, and looked at him, her heart was filled with pity,
+and she would willingly have let him win the race to save him from
+defeat and death; for he was comely and younger than the others. But
+her friends urged her to rest and make ready, and she consented, with
+an unwilling heart.
+
+Meanwhile Hippomenes prayed within himself to Venus: "Goddess of Love,
+give ear, and send me good speed. Let me be swift to win as I have been
+swift to love her."
+
+Now Venus, who was not far off,--for she had already moved the heart of
+Hippomenes to love,--came to his side invisibly, slipped into his hand
+three wondrous golden apples, and whispered a word of counsel in his
+ear.
+
+The signal was given; youth and maiden started over the course. They
+went so like the wind that they left not a footprint. The people
+cheered on Hippomenes, eager that such valor should win. But the course
+was long, and soon fatigue seemed to clutch at his throat, the light
+shook before his eyes, and, even as he pressed on, the maiden passed
+him by.
+
+At that instant Hippomenes tossed ahead one of the golden apples. The
+rolling bright thing caught Atalanta's eye, and full of wonder she
+stooped to pick it up. Hippomenes ran on. As he heard the flutter of
+her tunic close behind him, he flung aside another golden apple, and
+another moment was lost to the girl. Who could pass by such a marvel?
+The goal was near and Hippomenes was ahead, but once again Atalanta
+caught up with him, and they sped side by side like two dragon-flies.
+For an instant his heart failed him; then, with a last prayer to Venus,
+he flung down the last apple. The maiden glanced at it, wavered, and
+would have left it where it had fallen, had not Venus turned her head
+for a second and given her a sudden wish to possess it. Against her
+will she turned to pick up the golden apple, and Hippomenes touched the
+goal.
+
+So he won that perilous maiden; and as for Atalanta, she was glad to
+marry such a valorous man. By this time she understood so well what it
+was like to be pursued, that she had lost a little of her pleasure in
+hunting.
+
+
+
+
+ARACHNE.
+
+
+Not among mortals alone were there contests of skill, nor yet among the
+gods, like Pan and Apollo. Many sorrows befell men because they grew
+arrogant in their own devices and coveted divine honors. There was once
+a great hunter, Orion, who outvied the gods themselves, till they took
+him away from his hunting-grounds and set him in the heavens, with his
+sword and belt, and his hound at his heels. But at length jealousy
+invaded even the peaceful arts, and disaster came of spinning!
+
+There was a certain maiden of Lydia, Arachne by name, renowned
+throughout the country for her skill as a weaver. She was as nimble
+with her fingers as Calypso, that nymph who kept Odysseus for seven
+years in her enchanted island. She was as untiring as Penelope, the
+hero's wife, who wove day after day while she watched for his return.
+Day in and day out, Arachne wove too. The very nymphs would gather
+about her loom, naiads from the water and dryads from the trees.
+
+"Maiden," they would say, shaking the leaves or the foam from their
+hair, in wonder, "Pallas Athena must have taught you!"
+
+But this did not please Arachne. She would not acknowledge herself a
+debtor, even to that goddess who protected all household arts, and by
+whose grace alone one had any skill in them.
+
+"I learned not of Athena," said she, "If she can weave better, let her
+come and try."
+
+The nymphs shivered at this, and an aged woman, who was looking on,
+turned to Arachne.
+
+"Be more heedful of your words, my daughter," said she. "The goddess
+may pardon you if you ask forgiveness, but do not strive for honors
+with the immortals."
+
+Arachne broke her thread, and the shuttle stopped humming.
+
+"Keep your counsel," she said. "I fear not Athena; no, nor any one
+else."
+
+As she frowned at the old woman, she was amazed to see her change
+suddenly into one tall, majestic, beautiful,--a maiden of gray eyes and
+golden hair, crowned with a golden helmet. It was Athena herself.
+
+The bystanders shrank in fear and reverence; only Arachne was unawed
+and held to her foolish boast.
+
+In silence the two began to weave, and the nymphs stole nearer, coaxed
+by the sound of the shuttles, that seemed to be humming with delight
+over the two webs,--back and forth like bees.
+
+They gazed upon the loom where the goddess stood plying her task, and
+they saw shapes and images come to bloom out of the wondrous colors, as
+sunset clouds grow to be living creatures when we watch them. And they
+saw that the goddess, still merciful, was spinning, as a warning for
+Arachne, the pictures of her own triumph over reckless gods and
+mortals.
+
+In one corner of the web she made a story of her conquest over the
+sea-god Poseidon. For the first king of Athens had promised to dedicate
+the city to that god who should bestow upon it the most useful gift.
+Poseidon gave the horse. But Athena gave the olive,--means of
+livelihood,--symbol of peace and prosperity, and the city was called
+after her name. Again she pictured a vain woman of Troy, who had been
+turned into a crane for disputing the palm of beauty with a goddess.
+Other corners of the web held similar images, and the whole shone like
+a rainbow.
+
+Meanwhile Arachne, whose head was quite turned with vanity, embroidered
+her web with stories against the gods, making light of Zeus himself and
+of Apollo, and portraying them as birds and beasts. But she wove with
+marvellous skill; the creatures seemed to breathe and speak, yet it was
+all as fine as the gossamer that you find on the grass before rain.
+
+Athena herself was amazed. Not even her wrath at the girl's insolence
+could wholly overcome her wonder. For an instant she stood entranced;
+then she tore the web across, and three times she touched Arachne's
+forehead with her spindle.
+
+"Live on, Arachne," she said. "And since it is your glory to weave, you
+and yours must weave forever." So saying, she sprinkled upon the maiden
+a certain magical potion.
+
+Away went Arachne's beauty; then her very human form shrank to that of
+a spider, and so remained. As a spider she spent all her days weaving
+and weaving; and you may see something like her handiwork any day among
+the rafters.
+
+
+
+
+PYRAMUS AND THISBE.
+
+
+Venus did not always befriend true lovers, as she had befriended
+Hippomenes, with her three golden apples. Sometimes, in the enchanted
+island of Cyprus, she forgot her worshippers far away, and they called
+on her in vain.
+
+So it was in the sad story of Hero and Leander, who lived on opposite
+borders of the Hellespont. Hero dwelt at Sestos, where she served as a
+priestess, in the very temple of Venus; and Leander's home was in
+Abydos, a town on the opposite shore. But every night this lover would
+swim across the water to see Hero, guided by the light which she was
+wont to set in her tower. Even such loyalty could not conquer fate.
+There came a great storm, one night, that put out the beacon, and
+washed Leander's body up with the waves to Hero, and she sprang into
+the water to rejoin him, and so perished.
+
+Not wholly unlike this was the fate of Halcyone, a queen of Thessaly,
+who dreamed that her husband Ceyx had been drowned, and on waking
+hastened to the shore to look for him. There she saw her dream come
+true,--his lifeless body floating towards her on the tide; and as she
+flung herself after him, mad with grief, the air upheld her and she
+seemed to fly. Husband and wife were changed into birds; and there on
+the very water, at certain seasons, they build a nest that floats
+unhurt,--a portent of calm for many days and safe voyage for the ships.
+So it is that seamen love these birds and look for halcyon weather.
+
+But there once lived in Babylonia two lovers named Pyramus and Thisbe,
+who were parted by a strange mischance. For they lived in adjoining
+houses; and although their parents had forbidden them to marry, these
+two had found a means of talking together through a crevice in the
+wall.
+
+Here, again and again, Pyramus on his side of the wall and Thisbe on
+hers, they would meet to tell each other all that had happened during
+the day, and to complain of their cruel parents. At length they decided
+that they would endure it no longer, but that they would leave their
+homes and be married, come what might. They planned to meet, on a
+certain evening, by a mulberry-tree near the tomb of King Ninus,
+outside the city gates. Once safely met, they were resolved to brave
+fortune together.
+
+So far all went well. At the appointed time, Thisbe, heavily veiled,
+managed to escape from home unnoticed, and after a stealthy journey
+through the streets of Babylon, she came to the grove of mulberries
+near the tomb of Ninus. The place was deserted, and once there she put
+off the veil from her face to see if Pyramus waited anywhere among the
+shadows. She heard the sound of a footfall and turned to behold--not
+Pyramus, but a creature unwelcome to any tryst--none other than a
+lioness crouching to drink from the pool hard by.
+
+Without a cry, Thisbe fled, dropping her veil as she ran. She found a
+hiding-place among the rocks at some distance, and there she waited,
+not knowing what else to do.
+
+The lioness, having quenched her thirst (after some ferocious meal),
+turned from the spring and, coming upon the veil, sniffed at it
+curiously, tore and tossed it with her reddened jaws,--as she would
+have done with Thisbe herself,--then dropped the plaything and crept
+away to the forest once more.
+
+It was but a little after this that Pyramus came hurrying to the
+meeting-place, breathless with eagerness to find Thisbe and tell her
+what had delayed him. He found no Thisbe there. For a moment he was
+confounded. Then he looked about for some sign of her, some footprint
+by the pool. There was the trail of a wild beast in the grass, and near
+by a woman's veil, torn and stained with blood; he caught it up and
+knew it for Thisbe's.
+
+So she had come at the appointed hour, true to her word; she had waited
+there for him alone and defenceless, and she had fallen a prey to some
+beast from the jungle! As these thoughts rushed upon the young man's
+mind, he could endure no more.
+
+"Was it to meet me, Thisbe, that you came to such a death!" cried he.
+"And I followed all too late. But I will atone. Even now I come
+lagging, but by no will of mine!"
+
+So saying, the poor youth drew his sword and fell upon it, there at the
+foot of that mulberry-tree which he had named as the trysting-place,
+and his life-blood ran about the roots.
+
+During these very moments, Thisbe, hearing no sound and a little
+reassured, had stolen from her hiding-place and was come to the edge of
+the grove. She saw that the lioness had left the spring, and, eager to
+show her lover that she had dared all things to keep faith, she came
+slowly, little by little, back to the mulberry-tree.
+
+She found Pyramus there, according to his promise. His own sword was in
+his heart, the empty scabbard by his side, and in his hand he held her
+veil still clasped. Thisbe saw these things as in a dream, and suddenly
+the truth awoke her. She saw the piteous mischance of all; and when the
+dying Pyramus opened his eyes and fixed them upon her, her heart broke.
+With the same sword she stabbed herself, and the lovers died together.
+
+There the parents found them, after a weary search, and they were
+buried together in the same tomb. But the berries of the mulberry-tree
+turned red that day, and red they have remained ever since.
+
+
+
+
+PYGMALION AND GALATEA.
+
+
+The island of Cyprus was dear to the heart of Venus. There her temples
+were kept with honor, and there, some say, she watched with the Loves
+and Graces over the long enchanted sleep of Adonis. This youth, a
+hunter whom she had dearly loved, had died of a wound from the tusk of
+a wild boar; but the bitter grief of Venus had won over even the powers
+of Hades. For six months of every year, Adonis had to live as a Shade
+in the world of the dead; but for the rest of time he was free to
+breathe the upper air. Here in Cyprus the people came to worship him as
+a god, for the sake of Venus who loved him; and here, if any called
+upon her, she was like to listen.
+
+Now there once lived in Cyprus a young sculptor, Pygmalion by name, who
+thought nothing on earth so beautiful as the white marble folk that
+live without faults and never grow old. Indeed, he said that he would
+never marry a mortal woman, and people began to think that his daily
+life among marble creatures was hardening his heart altogether.
+
+But it chanced that Pygmalion fell to work upon an ivory statue of a
+maiden, so lovely that it must have moved to envy every breathing
+creature that came to look upon it. With a happy heart the sculptor
+wrought day by day, giving it all the beauty of his dreams, until, when
+the work was completed, he felt powerless to leave it. He was bound to
+it by the tie of his highest aspiration, his most perfect ideal, his
+most patient work.
+
+Day after day the ivory maiden looked down at him silently, and he
+looked back at her until he felt that he loved her more than anything
+else in the world. He thought of her no longer as a statue, but as the
+dear companion of his life; and the whim grew upon him like an
+enchantment. He named her Galatea, and arrayed her like a princess; he
+hung jewels about her neck, and made all his home beautiful and fit for
+such a presence.
+
+Now the festival of Venus was at hand, and Pygmalion, like all who
+loved Beauty, joined the worshippers. In the temple victims were
+offered, solemn rites were held, and votaries from many lands came to
+pray the favor of the goddess. At length Pygmalion himself approached
+the altar and made his prayer.
+
+"Goddess," he said, "who hast vouchsafed to me this gift of beauty,
+give me a perfect love, likewise, and let me have for bride, one like
+my ivory maiden." And Venus heard.
+
+Home to his house of dreams went the sculptor, loath to be parted for a
+day from his statue, Galatea. There she stood, looking down upon him
+silently, and he looked back at her. Surely the sunset had shed a flush
+of life upon her whiteness.
+
+He drew near in wonder and delight, and felt, instead of the chill air
+that was wont to wake him out of his spell, a gentle warmth around her,
+like the breath of a plant. He touched her hand, and it yielded like
+the hand of one living! Doubting his senses, yet fearing to reassure
+himself, Pygmalion kissed the statue.
+
+In an instant the maiden's face bloomed like a waking rose, her hair
+shone golden as returning sunlight; she lifted her ivory eyelids and
+smiled at him. The statue herself had awakened, and she stepped down
+from the pedestal, into the arms of her creator, alive!
+
+There was a dream that came true.
+
+
+
+
+OEDIPUS.
+
+
+Behind the power of the gods and beyond all the efforts of men, the
+three Fates sat at their spinning.
+
+No one could tell whence these sisters were, but by some strange
+necessity they spun the web of human life and made destinies without
+knowing why. It was not for Clotho to decree whether the thread of a
+life should be stout or fragile, nor for Lachesis to choose the fashion
+of the web; and Atropos herself must sometimes have wept to cut a life
+short with her shears, and let it fall unfinished. But they were like
+spinners for some Power that said of life, as of a garment, _Thus it
+must be_. That Power neither gods nor men could withstand.
+
+There was once a king named Laius (a grandson of Cadmus himself), who
+ruled over Thebes, with Jocasta his wife. To them an Oracle had
+foretold that if a son of theirs lived to grow up, he would one day
+kill his father and marry his own mother. The king and queen resolved
+to escape such a doom, even at terrible cost. Accordingly Laius gave
+his son, who was only a baby, to a certain herdsman, with instructions
+to put him to death.
+
+This was not to be. The herdsman carried the child to a lonely
+mountain-side, but once there, his heart failed him. Hardly daring to
+disobey the king's command, yet shrinking from murder, he hung the
+little creature by his feet to the branches of a tree, and left him
+there to die.
+
+But there chanced to come that way with his flocks, a man who served
+King Polybus of Corinth. He found the baby perishing in the tree, and,
+touched with pity, took him home to his master. The king and queen of
+Corinth were childless, and some power moved them to take this
+mysterious child as a gift. They called him Oedipus (Swollen-Foot)
+because of the wounds they had found upon him, and, knowing naught of
+his parentage, they reared him as their own son. So the years went by.
+
+Now, when Oedipus had come to manhood, he went to consult the Oracle at
+Delphi, as all great people were wont, to learn what fortune had in
+store for him. But for him the Oracle had only a sentence of doom.
+According to the Fates, he would live to kill his own father and wed
+his mother.
+
+Filled with dismay, and resolved in his turn to conquer fate, Oedipus
+fled from Corinth; for he had never dreamed that his parents were other
+than Polybus and Merope the queen. Thinking to escape crime, he took
+the road towards Thebes, so hastening into the very arms of his evil
+destiny.
+
+It happened that King Laius, with one attendant, was on his way to
+Delphi from the city Thebes. In a narrow road he met this strange young
+man, also driving in a chariot, and ordered him to quit the way.
+Oedipus, who had been reared to princely honors, refused to obey; and
+the king's charioteer, in great anger, killed one of the young man's
+horses. At this insult Oedipus fell upon master and servant; mad with
+rage, he slew them both, and went on his way, not knowing the half of
+what he had done. The first saying of the Oracle was fulfilled.
+
+But the prince was to have his day of triumph before the doom. There
+was a certain wonderful creature called the Sphinx, which had been a
+terror to Thebes for many days. In form half woman and half lion, she
+crouched always by a precipice near the highway, and put the same
+mysterious question to every passer-by. None had ever been able to
+answer, and none had ever lived to warn men of the riddle; for the
+Sphinx fell upon every one as he failed, and hurled him down the abyss,
+to be dashed in pieces.
+
+This way came Oedipus towards the city Thebes, and the Sphinx crouched,
+face to face with him, and spoke the riddle that none had been able to
+guess.
+
+"_What animal is that which in the morning goes on four feet, at noon
+on two, and in the evening upon three?_"
+
+Oedipus, hiding his dread of the terrible creature, took thought, and
+answered "Man. In childhood he creeps on hands and knees, in manhood he
+walks erect, but in old age he has need of a staff."
+
+At this reply the Sphinx uttered a cry, sprang headlong from the rock
+into the valley below, and perished. Oedipus had guessed the answer.
+When he came to the city and told the Thebans that their torment was
+gone, they hailed him as a deliverer. Not long after, they married him
+with great honor to their widowed queen, Jocasta, his own mother. The
+destiny was fulfilled.
+
+For years Oedipus lived in peace, unwitting; but at length upon that
+unhappy city there fell a great pestilence and famine. In his distress
+the king sent to the Oracle at Delphi, to know what he or the Thebans
+had done, that they should be so sorely punished. Then for the third
+time the Oracle spoke his own fateful sentence; and he learned all.
+
+Jocasta died, and Oedipus took the doom upon himself, and left Thebes.
+Blinded by his own hand, he wandered away into the wilderness. Never
+again did he rule over men; and he had one only comrade, his faithful
+daughter Antigone. She was the truest happiness in his life of sorrow,
+and she never left him till he died.
+
+
+
+
+CUPID AND PSYCHE.
+
+
+Once upon a time, through that Destiny that overrules the gods, Love
+himself gave up his immortal heart to a mortal maiden. And thus it came
+to pass.
+
+There was a certain king who had three beautiful daughters. The two
+elder married princes of great renown; but Psyche, the youngest, was so
+radiantly fair that no suitor seemed worthy of her. People thronged to
+see her pass through the city, and sang hymns in her praise, while
+strangers took her for the very goddess of beauty herself.
+
+This angered Venus, and she resolved to cast down her earthly rival.
+One day, therefore, she called hither her son Love (Cupid, some name
+him), and bade him sharpen his weapons. He is an archer more to be
+dreaded than Apollo, for Apollo's arrows take life, but Love's bring
+joy or sorrow for a whole life long.
+
+"Come, Love," said Venus. "There is a mortal maid who robs me of my
+honors in yonder city. Avenge your mother. Wound this precious Psyche,
+and let her fall in love with some churlish creature mean in the eyes
+of all men."
+
+Cupid made ready his weapons, and flew down to earth invisibly. At that
+moment Psyche was asleep in her chamber; but he touched her heart with
+his golden arrow of love, and she opened her eyes so suddenly that he
+started (forgetting that he was invisible), and wounded himself with
+his own shaft.
+
+Heedless of the hurt, moved only by the loveliness of the maiden, he
+hastened to pour over her locks the healing joy that he ever kept by
+him, undoing all his work. Back to her dream the princess went,
+unshadowed by any thought of love. But Cupid, not so light of heart,
+returned to the heavens, saying not a word of what had passed.
+
+Venus waited long; then, seeing that Psyche's heart had somehow escaped
+love, she sent a spell upon the maiden. From that time, lovely as she
+was, not a suitor came to woo; and her parents, who desired to see her
+a queen at least, made a journey to the Oracle, and asked counsel.
+
+Said the voice: "The princess Psyche shall never wed a mortal. She
+shall be given to one who waits for her on yonder mountain; he
+overcomes gods and men."
+
+At this terrible sentence the poor parents were half distraught, and
+the people gave themselves up to grief at the fate in store for their
+beloved princess. Psyche alone bowed to her destiny. "We have angered
+Venus unwittingly," she said, "and all for sake of me, heedless maiden
+that I am! Give me up, therefore, dear father and mother. If I atone,
+it may be that the city will prosper once more."
+
+So she besought them, until, after many unavailing denials, the parents
+consented; and with a great company of people they led Psyche up the
+mountain,--as an offering to the monster of whom the Oracle had
+spoken,--and left her there alone.
+
+Full of courage, yet in a secret agony of grief, she watched her
+kindred and her people wind down the mountain-path, too sad to look
+back, until they were lost to sight. Then, indeed, she wept, but a
+sudden breeze drew near, dried her tears, and caressed her hair,
+seeming to murmur comfort. In truth, it was Zephyr, the kindly West
+Wind, come to befriend her; and as she took heart, feeling some
+benignant presence, he lifted her in his arms, and carried her on wings
+as even as a sea-gull's, over the crest of the fateful mountain and
+into a valley below. There he left her, resting on a bank of hospitable
+grass, and there the princess fell asleep.
+
+When she awoke, it was near sunset. She looked about her for some sign
+of the monster's approach; she wondered, then, if her grievous trial
+had been but a dream. Near by she saw a sheltering forest, whose young
+trees seemed to beckon as one maid beckons to another; and eager for
+the protection of the dryads, she went thither.
+
+The call of running waters drew her farther and farther, till she came
+out upon an open place, where there was a wide pool. A fountain
+fluttered gladly in the midst of it, and beyond there stretched a white
+palace wonderful to see. Coaxed by the bright promise of the place, she
+drew near, and, seeing no one, entered softly. It was all kinglier than
+her father's home, and as she stood in wonder and awe, soft airs
+stirred about her. Little by little the silence grew murmurous like the
+woods, and one voice, sweeter than the rest, took words. "All that you
+see is yours, gentle high princess," it said. "Fear nothing; only
+command us, for we are here to serve you."
+
+Full of amazement and delight, Psyche followed the voice from hall to
+hall, and through the lordly rooms, beautiful with everything that
+could delight a young princess. No pleasant thing was lacking. There
+was even a pool, brightly tiled and fed with running waters, where she
+bathed her weary limbs; and after she had put on the new and beautiful
+raiment that lay ready for her, she sat down to break her fast, waited
+upon and sung to by the unseen spirits.
+
+Surely he whom the Oracle had called her husband was no monster, but
+some beneficent power, invisible like all the rest. When daylight waned
+he came, and his voice, the beautiful voice of a god, inspired her to
+trust her strange destiny and to look and long for his return. Often
+she begged him to stay with her through the day, that she might see his
+face; but this he would not grant.
+
+"Never doubt me, dearest Psyche," said he. "Perhaps you would fear if
+you saw me, and love is all I ask. There is a necessity that keeps me
+hidden now. Only believe."
+
+So for many days Psyche was content; but when she grew used to
+happiness, she thought once more of her parents mourning her as lost,
+and of her sisters who shared the lot of mortals while she lived as a
+goddess. One night she told her husband of these regrets, and begged
+that her sisters at least might come to see her. He sighed, but did not
+refuse.
+
+"Zephyr shall bring them hither," said he. And on the following
+morning, swift as a bird, the West Wind came over the crest of the high
+mountain and down into the enchanted valley, bearing her two sisters.
+
+They greeted Psyche with joy and amazement, hardly knowing how they had
+come hither. But when this fairest of the sisters led them through her
+palace and showed them all the treasures that were hers, envy grew in
+their hearts and choked their old love. Even while they sat at feast
+with her, they grew more and more bitter; and hoping to find some
+little flaw in her good fortune, they asked a thousand questions.
+
+"Where is your husband?" said they. "And why is he not here with you?"
+
+"Ah," stammered Psyche. "All the day long--he is gone, hunting upon
+the mountains."
+
+"But what does he look like?" they asked; and Psyche could find no
+answer.
+
+When they learned that she had never seen him, they laughed her faith
+to scorn.
+
+"Poor Psyche," they said. "You are walking in a dream. Wake, before it
+is too late. Have you forgotten what the Oracle decreed,--that you were
+destined for a dreadful creature, the fear of gods and men? And are you
+deceived by this show of kindliness? We have come to warn you. The
+people told us, as we came over the mountain, that your husband is a
+dragon, who feeds you well for the present, that he may feast the
+better, some day soon. What is it that you trust? Good words! But only
+take a dagger some night, and when the monster is asleep go, light a
+lamp, and look at him. You can put him to death easily, and all his
+riches will be yours--and ours."
+
+Psyche heard this wicked plan with horror. Nevertheless, after her
+sisters were gone, she brooded over what they had said, not seeing
+their evil intent; and she came to find some wisdom in their words.
+Little by little, suspicion ate, like a moth, into her lovely mind; and
+at nightfall, in shame and fear, she hid a lamp and a dagger in her
+chamber. Towards midnight, when her husband was fast asleep, up she
+rose, hardly daring to breathe; and coming softly to his side, she
+uncovered the lamp to see some horror.
+
+But there the youngest of the gods lay sleeping,--most beautiful, most
+irresistible of all immortals. His hair shone golden as the sun, his
+face was radiant as dear Springtime, and from his shoulders sprang two
+rainbow wings.
+
+Poor Psyche was overcome with self-reproach. As she leaned towards him,
+filled with worship, her trembling hands held the lamp ill, and some
+burning oil fell upon Love's shoulder and awakened him.
+
+He opened his eyes, to see at once his bride and the dark suspicion in
+her heart.
+
+"O doubting Psyche!" he exclaimed with sudden grief,--and then he flew
+away, out of the window.
+
+Wild with sorrow, Psyche tried to follow, but she fell to the ground
+instead. When she recovered her senses, she stared about her. She was
+alone, and the place was beautiful no longer. Garden and palace had
+vanished with Love.
+
+
+
+
+THE TRIAL OF PSYCHE.
+
+
+Over mountains and valleys Psyche journeyed alone until she came to the
+city where her two envious sisters lived with the princes whom they had
+married. She stayed with them only long enough to tell the story of her
+unbelief and its penalty. Then she set out again to search for Love.
+
+As she wandered one day, travel-worn but not hopeless, she saw a lofty
+palace on a hill near by, and she turned her steps thither. The place
+seemed deserted. Within the hall she saw no human being,--only heaps of
+grain, loose ears of corn half torn from the husk, wheat and barley,
+alike scattered in confusion on the floor. Without delay, she set to
+work binding the sheaves together and gathering the scattered ears of
+corn in seemly wise, as a princess would wish to see them. While she
+was in the midst of her task, a voice startled her, and she looked up
+to behold Demeter herself, the goddess of the harvest, smiling upon her
+with good will.
+
+"Dear Psyche," said Demeter, "you are worthy of happiness, and you may
+find it yet. But since you have displeased Venus, go to her and ask her
+favor. Perhaps your patience will win her pardon."
+
+These motherly words gave Psyche heart, and she reverently took leave
+of the goddess and set out for the temple of Venus. Most humbly she
+offered up her prayer, but Venus could not look at her earthly beauty
+without anger.
+
+"Vain girl," said she, "perhaps you have come to make amends for the
+wound you dealt your husband; you shall do so. Such clever people can
+always find work!"
+
+Then she led Psyche into a great chamber heaped high with mingled
+grain, beans, and lintels (the food of her doves), and bade her
+separate them all and have them ready in seemly fashion by night.
+Heracles would have been helpless before such a vexatious task; and
+poor Psyche, left alone in this desert of grain, had not courage to
+begin. But even as she sat there, a moving thread of black crawled
+across the floor from a crevice in the wall; and bending nearer, she
+saw that a great army of ants in columns had come to her aid. The
+zealous little creatures worked in swarms, with such industry over the
+work they like best, that, when Venus came at night, she found the task
+completed.
+
+"Deceitful girl," she cried, shaking the roses out of her hair with
+impatience, "this is my son's work, not yours. But he will soon forget
+you. Eat this black bread if you are hungry, and refresh your dull mind
+with sleep. To-morrow you will need more wit."
+
+Psyche wondered what new misfortune could be in store for her. But when
+morning came, Venus led her to the brink of a river, and, pointing to
+the wood across the water, said, "Go now to yonder grove where the
+sheep with the golden fleece are wont to browse. Bring me a golden lock
+from every one of them, or you must go your ways and never come back
+again."
+
+This seemed not difficult, and Psyche obediently bade the goddess
+farewell, and stepped into the water, ready to wade across. But as
+Venus disappeared, the reeds sang louder and the nymphs of the river,
+looking up sweetly, blew bubbles to the surface and murmured: "Nay,
+nay, have a care, Psyche. This flock has not the gentle ways of sheep.
+While the sun burns aloft, they are themselves as fierce as flame; but
+when the shadows are long, they go to rest and sleep, under the trees;
+and you may cross the river without fear and pick the golden fleece off
+the briers in the pasture."
+
+Thanking the water-creatures, Psyche sat down to rest near them, and
+when the time came, she crossed in safety and followed their counsel.
+By twilight she returned to Venus with her arms full of shining fleece.
+
+"No mortal wit did this," said Venus angrily. "But if you care to prove
+your readiness, go now, with this little box, down to Proserpina and
+ask her to enclose in it some of her beauty, for I have grown pale in
+caring for my wounded son."
+
+It needed not the last taunt to sadden Psyche. She knew that it was not
+for mortals to go into Hades and return alive; and feeling that Love
+had forsaken her, she was minded to accept her doom as soon as might
+be.
+
+But even as she hastened towards the descent, another friendly voice
+detained her. "Stay, Psyche, I know your grief. Only give ear and you
+shall learn a safe way through all these trials." And the voice went on
+to tell her how one might avoid all the dangers of Hades and come out
+unscathed. (But such a secret could not pass from mouth to mouth, with
+the rest of the story.)
+
+"And be sure," added the voice, "when Proserpina has returned the box,
+not to open it, however much you may long to do so."
+
+Psyche gave heed, and by this device, whatever it was, she found her
+way into Hades safely, and made her errand known to Proserpina, and was
+soon in the upper world again, wearied but hopeful.
+
+"Surely Love has not forgotten me," she said. "But humbled as I am and
+worn with toil, how shall I ever please him? Venus can never need all
+the beauty in this casket; and since I use it for Love's sake, it must
+be right to take some." So saying, she opened the box, heedless as
+Pandora! The spells and potions of Hades are not for mortal maids, and
+no sooner had she inhaled the strange aroma than she fell down like one
+dead, quite overcome.
+
+But it happened that Love himself was recovered from his wound, and he
+had secretly fled from his chamber to seek out and rescue Psyche. He
+found her lying by the wayside; he gathered into the casket what
+remained of the philter, and awoke his beloved.
+
+"Take comfort," he said, smiling. "Return to our mother and do her
+bidding till I come again."
+
+Away he flew; and while Psyche went cheerily homeward, he hastened up
+to Olympus, where all the gods sat feasting, and begged them to
+intercede for him with his angry mother.
+
+They heard his story and their hearts were touched. Zeus himself coaxed
+Venus with kind words till at last she relented, and remembered that
+anger hurt her beauty, and smiled once more. All the younger gods were
+for welcoming Psyche at once, and Hermes was sent to bring her hither.
+The maiden came, a shy newcomer among those bright creatures. She took
+the cup that Hebe held out to her, drank the divine ambrosia, and
+became immortal.
+
+Light came to her face like moonrise, two radiant wings sprang from her
+shoulders; and even as a butterfly bursts from its dull cocoon, so the
+human Psyche blossomed into immortality.
+
+Love took her by the hand, and they were never parted any more.
+
+
+
+
+STORIES OF THE TROJAN WAR.
+
+
+I. THE APPLE OF DISCORD.
+
+There was once a war so great that the sound of it has come ringing
+down the centuries from singer to singer, and will never die.
+
+The rivalries of men and gods brought about many calamities, but none
+so heavy as this; and it would never have come to pass, they say, if it
+had not been for jealousy among the immortals,--all because of a golden
+apple! But Destiny has nurtured ominous plants from little seeds; and
+this is how one evil grew great enough to overshadow heaven and earth.
+
+The sea-nymph Thetis (whom Zeus himself had once desired for his wife)
+was given in marriage to a mortal, Peleus, and there was a great
+wedding-feast in heaven. Thither all the immortals were bidden, save
+one, Eris, the goddess of Discord, ever an unwelcome guest. But she
+came unbidden. While the wedding-guests sat at feast, she broke in upon
+their mirth, flung among them a golden apple, and departed with looks
+that boded ill. Some one picked up the strange missile and read its
+inscription: _For the Fairest_; and at once discussion arose among the
+goddesses. They were all eager to claim the prize, but only three
+persisted.
+
+Venus, the very goddess of beauty, said that it was hers by right; but
+Juno could not endure to own herself less fair than another, and even
+Athena coveted the palm of beauty as well as of wisdom, and would not
+give it up! Discord had indeed come to the wedding-feast. Not one of
+the gods dared to decide so dangerous a question,--not Zeus
+himself,--and the three rivals were forced to choose a judge among
+mortals.
+
+Now there lived on Mount Ida, near the city of Troy, a certain young
+shepherd by the name of Paris. He was as comely as Ganymede
+himself,--that Trojan youth whom Zeus, in the shape of an eagle, seized
+and bore away to Olympus, to be a cup-bearer to the gods. Paris, too,
+was a Trojan of royal birth, but like Oedipus he had been left on the
+mountain in his infancy, because the Oracle had foretold that he would
+be the death of his kindred and the ruin of his country. Destiny saved
+and nurtured him to fulfil that prophecy. He grew up as a shepherd and
+tended his flocks on the mountain, but his beauty held the favor of all
+the wood-folk there and won the heart of the nymph Oenone.
+
+To him, at last, the three goddesses entrusted the judgment and the
+golden apple. Juno first stood before him in all her glory as Queen of
+gods and men, and attended by her favorite peacocks as gorgeous to see
+as royal fan-bearers.
+
+"Use but the judgment of a prince, Paris," she said, "and I will give
+thee wealth and kingly power."
+
+Such majesty and such promises would have moved the heart of any man;
+but the eager Paris had at least to hear the claims of the other
+rivals. Athena rose before him, a vision welcome as daylight, with her
+sea-gray eyes and golden hair beneath a golden helmet.
+
+"Be wise in honoring me, Paris," she said, "and I will give thee wisdom
+that shall last forever, great glory among men, and renown in war."
+
+Last of all, Venus shone upon him, beautiful as none can ever hope to
+be. If she had come, unnamed, as any country maid, her loveliness would
+have dazzled him like sea-foam in the sun; but she was girt with her
+magical Cestus, a spell of beauty that no one can resist.
+
+Without a bribe she might have conquered, and she smiled upon his dumb
+amazement, saying, "Paris, thou shalt yet have for wife the fairest
+woman in the world."
+
+At these words, the happy shepherd fell on his knees and offered her
+the golden apple. He took no heed of the slighted goddesses, who
+vanished in a cloud that boded storm.
+
+From that hour he sought only the counsel of Venus, and only cared to
+find the highway to his new fortunes. From her he learned that he was
+the son of King Priam of Troy, and with her assistance he deserted the
+nymph Oenone, whom he had married, and went in search of his royal
+kindred.
+
+For it chanced at that time that Priam proclaimed a contest of strength
+between his sons and certain other princes, and promised as prize the
+most splendid bull that could be found among the herds of Mount Ida.
+Thither came the herdsmen to choose, and when they led away the pride
+of Paris's heart, he followed to Troy, thinking that he would try his
+fortune and perhaps win back his own.
+
+The games took place before Priam and Hecuba and all their children,
+including those noble princes Hector and Helenus, and the young
+Cassandra, their sister. This poor maiden had a sad story, in spite of
+her royalty; for, because she had once disdained Apollo, she was fated
+to foresee all things, and ever to have her prophecies disbelieved. On
+this fateful day, she alone was oppressed with strange forebodings.
+
+But if he who was to be the ruin of his country had returned, he had
+come victoriously. Paris won the contest. At the very moment of his
+honor, poor Cassandra saw him with her prophetic eyes; and seeing as
+well all the guilt and misery that he was to bring upon them, she broke
+into bitter lamentations, and would have warned her kindred against the
+evil to come. But the Trojans gave little heed; they were wont to look
+upon her visions as spells of madness. Paris had come back to them a
+glorious youth and a victor; and when he made known the secret of his
+birth, they cast the words of the Oracle to the winds, and received the
+shepherd as a long-lost prince.
+
+Thus far all went happily. But Venus, whose promise had not yet been
+fulfilled, bade Paris procure a ship and go in search of his destined
+bride. The prince said nothing of this quest, but urged his kindred to
+let him go; and giving out a rumor that he was to find his father's
+lost sister Hesione, he set sail for Greece, and finally landed at
+Sparta.
+
+There he was kindly received by Menelaus, the king, and his wife, Fair
+Helen.
+
+This queen had been reared as the daughter of Tyndarus and Queen Leda,
+but some say that she was the child of an enchanted swan, and there was
+indeed a strange spell about her. All the greatest heroes of Greece had
+wooed her before she left her father's palace to be the wife of King
+Menelaus; and Tyndarus, fearing for her peace, had bound her many
+suitors by an oath. According to this pledge, they were to respect her
+choice, and to go to the aid of her husband if ever she should be
+stolen away from him. For in all Greece there was nothing so beautiful
+as the beauty of Helen. She was the fairest woman in the world.
+
+Now thus did Venus fulfil her promise and the shepherd win his reward
+with dishonor. Paris dwelt at the court of Menelaus for a long time,
+treated with a royal courtesy which he ill repaid. For at length while
+the king was absent on a journey to Crete, his guest won the heart of
+Fair Helen, and persuaded her to forsake her husband and sail away to
+Troy.
+
+King Menelaus returned to find the nest empty of the swan. Paris and
+the fairest woman in the world were well across the sea.
+
+
+II. THE ROUSING OF THE HEROES.
+
+When this treachery came to light, all Greece took fire with
+indignation. The heroes remembered their pledge, and wrath came upon
+them at the wrong done to Menelaus. But they were less angered with
+Fair Helen than with Paris, for they felt assured that the queen had
+been lured from her country and out of her own senses by some spell of
+enchantment. So they took counsel how they might bring back Fair Helen
+to her home and husband.
+
+Years had come and gone since that wedding-feast when Eris had flung
+the apple of discord, like a firebrand, among the guests. But the spark
+of dissension that had smouldered so long burst into flame now, and,
+fanned by the enmities of men and the rivalries of the gods, it seemed
+like to fire heaven and earth.
+
+A few of the heroes answered the call to arms unwillingly. Time had
+reconciled them to the loss of Fair Helen, and they were loath to leave
+home and happiness for war, even in her cause.
+
+One of these was Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who had married Penelope,
+and was quite content with his kingdom and his little son Telemachus.
+Indeed, he was so unwilling to leave them that he feigned madness in
+order to escape service, appeared to forget his own kindred, and went
+ploughing the seashore and sowing salt in the furrows. But a messenger,
+Palamedes, who came with the summons to war, suspected that this sudden
+madness might be a stratagem, for the king was far famed as a man of
+many devices. He therefore stood by, one day (while Odysseus,
+pretending to take no heed of him, went ploughing the sand), and he
+laid the baby Telemachus directly in the way of the ploughshare. For
+once the wise man's craft deserted him. Odysseus turned the plough
+sharply, caught up the little prince, and there his fatherly wits were
+manifest! After this he could no longer play madman. He had to take
+leave of his beloved wife Penelope and set out to join the heroes,
+little dreaming that he was not to return for twenty years. Once
+embarked, however, he set himself to work in the common cause of the
+heroes, and was soon as ingenious as Palamedes in rousing laggard
+warriors.
+
+There remained one who was destined to be the greatest warrior of all.
+This was Achilles, the son of Thetis,--foretold in the day of
+Prometheus as a man who should far outstrip his own father in glory and
+greatness. Years had passed since the marriage of Thetis to King
+Peleus, and their son Achilles was now grown to manhood, a wonder of
+strength indeed, and, moreover, invulnerable. For his mother,
+forewarned of his death in the Trojan War, had dipped him in the sacred
+river Styx when he was a baby, so that he could take no hurt from any
+weapon. From head to foot she had plunged him in, only forgetting the
+little heel that she held him by, and this alone could be wounded by
+any chance. But even with such precautions Thetis was not content.
+Fearful at the rumors of war to be, she had her son brought up, in
+woman's dress, among the daughters of King Lycomedes of Scyros, that he
+might escape the notice of men and cheat his destiny.
+
+To this very palace, however, came Odysseus in the guise of a merchant,
+and he spread his wares before the royal household,--jewels and ivory,
+fine fabrics, and curiously wrought weapons. The king's daughters chose
+girdles and veils and such things as women delight in; but Achilles,
+heedless of the like, sought out the weapons, and handled them with
+such manly pleasure that his nature stood revealed. So he, too, yielded
+to his destiny and set out to join the heroes.
+
+Everywhere men were banded together, building the ships and gathering
+supplies. The allied forces of Greece (the Achaeans, as they called
+themselves) chose Agamemnon for their commander-in-chief. He was a
+mighty man, king of Mycenae and Argos, and the brother of the wronged
+Menelaus. Second to Achilles in strength was the giant Ajax; after him
+Diomedes, then wise Odysseus, and Nestor, held in great reverence
+because of his experienced age and fame. These were the chief heroes.
+After two years of busy preparation, they reached the port of Aulis,
+whence they were to sail for Troy.
+
+But here delay held them. Agamemnon had chanced to kill a stag which
+was sacred to Diana, and the army was visited by pestilence, while a
+great calm kept the ships imprisoned. At length the Oracle made known
+the reason of this misfortune and demanded for atonement the maiden
+Iphigenia, Agamemnon's own daughter. In helpless grief the king
+consented to offer her up as a victim, and the maiden was brought ready
+for sacrifice. But at the last moment Diana caught her away in a cloud,
+leaving a white hind in her place, and carried her to Tauris in
+Scythia, there to serve as a priestess in the temple. In the mean time,
+her kinsfolk, who were at a loss to understand how she had disappeared,
+mourned her as dead. But Diana had accepted their child as an offering,
+and healing came to the army, and the winds blew again. So the ships
+set sail.
+
+Meanwhile, in Troy across the sea, the aged Priam and Hecuba gave
+shelter to their son Paris and his stolen bride. They were not without
+misgivings as to these guests, but they made ready to defend their
+kindred and the citadel.
+
+There were many heroes among the Trojans and their allies, brave and
+upright men, who little deserved that such reproach should be brought
+upon them by the guilt of Prince Paris. There were Aeneas and
+Deiphobus, Glaucus and Sarpedon, and Priam's most noble son Hector,
+chief of all the forces, and the very bulwark of Troy. These and many
+more were bitterly to regret the day that had brought Paris back to his
+home. But he had taken refuge with his own people, and the Trojans had
+to take up his cause against the hostile fleet that was coming across
+the sea.
+
+Even the gods took sides. Juno and Athena, who had never forgiven the
+judgment of Paris, condemned all Troy with, him and favored the Greeks,
+as did also Poseidon, god of the sea. But Venus, true to her favorite,
+furthered the interests of the Trojans with all her power, and
+persuaded the warlike Mars to do likewise. Zeus and Apollo strove to be
+impartial, but they were yet to aid now one side, now another,
+according to the fortunes of the heroes whom they loved.
+
+Over the sea came the great embassy of ships, sped hither safely by the
+god Poseidon; and the heroes made their camp on the plain before Troy.
+First of all Odysseus and King Menelaus himself went into the city and
+demanded that Fair Helen should be given back to her rightful husband.
+This the Trojans refused; and so began the siege of Troy.
+
+
+III. THE WOODEN HORSE.
+
+Nine years the Greeks laid siege to Troy, and Troy held out against
+every device. On both sides the lives of many heroes were spent, and
+they were forced to acknowledge each other enemies of great valor.
+
+Sometimes the chief warriors fought in single combat, while the armies
+looked on, and the old men of Troy, with the women, came out to watch
+far off from the city walls. King Priam and Queen Hecuba would come,
+and Cassandra, sad with foreknowledge of their doom, and Andromache,
+the lovely young wife of Hector, with her little son whom the people
+called _The City King_. Sometimes Fair Helen came to look across the
+plain to the fellow-countrymen whom she had forsaken; and although she
+was the cause of all this war, the Trojans half forgave her when she
+passed by, because her beauty was like a spell, and warmed hard hearts
+as the sunshine mellows apples. So for nine years the Greeks plundered
+the neighboring towns, but the city Troy stood fast, and the Grecian
+ships waited with folded wings.
+
+The half of that story cannot be told here, but in the tenth year of
+the war many things came to pass, and the end drew near. Of this tenth
+year alone, there are a score of tales. For the Greeks fell to
+quarrelling among themselves over the spoils of war, and the great
+Achilles left the camp in anger and refused to fight. Nothing would
+induce him to return, till his friend Patroclus was slain by Prince
+Hector. At that news, indeed, Achilles rose in great might and returned
+to the Greeks; and he went forth clad in armor that had been wrought
+for him by Vulcan, at the prayer of Thetis. By the river Scamander,
+near to Troy, he met and slew Hector, and afterwards dragged the hero's
+body after his chariot across the plain. How the aged Priam went alone
+by night to the tent of Achilles to ransom his son's body, and how
+Achilles relented, and moreover granted a truce for the funeral honors
+of his enemy,--all these things have been so nobly sung that they can
+never be fitly spoken.
+
+Hector, the bulwark of Troy, had fallen, and the ruin of the city was
+at hand. Achilles himself did not long survive his triumph, and,
+ruthless as he was, he ill-deserved the manner of his death. He was
+treacherously slain by that Paris who would never have dared to meet
+him in the open field. Paris, though he had brought all this disaster
+upon Troy, had left the danger to his countrymen. But he lay in wait
+for Achilles in a temple sacred to Apollo, and from his hiding-place he
+sped a poisoned arrow at the hero. It pierced his ankle where the water
+of the Styx had not charmed him against wounds, and of that venom the
+great Achilles died. Paris himself died soon after by another poisoned
+arrow, but that was no long grief to anybody!
+
+Still Troy held out, and the Greeks, who could not take it by force,
+pondered how they might take it by craft. At length, with the aid of
+Odysseus, they devised a plan.
+
+A portion of the Grecian host broke up camp and set sail as if they
+were homeward bound; but, once out of sight, they anchored their ships
+behind a neighboring island. The rest of the army then fell to work
+upon a great image of a horse. They built it of wood, fitted and
+carved, and with a door so cunningly concealed that none might notice
+it. When it was finished, the horse looked like a prodigious idol; but
+it was hollow, skilfully pierced here and there, and so spacious that a
+band of men could lie hidden within and take no harm. Into this
+hiding-place went Odysseus, Menelaus, and the other chiefs, fully
+armed, and when the door was shut upon them, the rest of the Grecian
+army broke camp and went away.
+
+Meanwhile, in Troy, the people had seen the departure of the ships, and
+the news had spread like wildfire. The great enemy had lost
+heart,--after ten years of war! Part of the army had gone,--the rest
+were going. Already the last of the ships had set sail, and the camp
+was deserted. The tents that had whitened the plain were gone like a
+frost before the sun. The war was over!
+
+The whole city went wild with joy. Like one who has been a prisoner for
+many years, it flung off all restraint, and the people rose as a single
+man to test the truth of new liberty. The gates were thrown wide, and
+the Trojans--men, women, and children--thronged over the plain and
+into the empty camp of the enemy. There stood the Wooden Horse.
+
+No one knew what it could be. Fearful at first, they gathered around
+it, as children gather around a live horse; they marvelled at its
+wondrous height and girth, and were for moving it into the city as a
+trophy of war.
+
+At this, one man interposed,--Laocoön, a priest of Poseidon. "Take
+heed, citizens," said he. "Beware of all that comes from the Greeks.
+Have you fought them for ten years without learning their devices? This
+is some piece of treachery."
+
+But there was another outcry in the crowd, and at that moment certain
+of the Trojans dragged forward a wretched man who wore the garments of
+a Greek. He seemed the sole remnant of the Grecian army, and as such
+they consented to spare his life, if he would tell them the truth.
+
+Sinon, for this was the spy's name, said that he had been left behind
+by the malice of Odysseus, and he told them that the Greeks had built
+the Wooden Horse as an offering to Athena, and that they had made it so
+huge in order to keep it from being moved out of the camp, since it was
+destined to bring triumph to its possessors.
+
+At this, the joy of the Trojans was redoubled, and they set their wits
+to find out how they might soonest drag the great horse across the
+plain and into the city to ensure victory. While they stood talking,
+two immense serpents rose out of the sea and made towards the camp.
+Some of the people took flight, others were transfixed with terror; but
+all, near and far, watched this new omen. Rearing their crests, the
+sea-serpents crossed the shore, swift, shining, terrible as a risen
+water-flood that descends upon a helpless little town. Straight through
+the crowd they swept, and seized the priest Laocoön where he stood,
+with his two sons, and wrapped them all round and round in fearful
+coils. There was no chance of escape. Father and sons perished
+together; and when the monsters had devoured the three men, into the
+sea they slipped again, leaving no trace of the horror.
+
+The terrified Trojans saw an omen in this. To their minds, punishment
+had come upon Laocoön for his words against the Wooden Horse. Surely,
+it was sacred to the gods; he had spoken blasphemy, and had perished
+before their eyes. They flung his warning to the winds. They wreathed
+the horse with garlands, amid great acclaim; and then, all lending a
+hand, they dragged it, little by little, out of the camp and into the
+city of Troy. With the close of that victorious day, they gave up every
+memory of danger and made merry after ten years of privation.
+
+That very night Sinon the spy opened the hidden door of the Wooden
+Horse, and in the darkness, Odysseus, Menelaus, and the other chiefs
+who had lain hidden there crept out and gave the signal to the Grecian
+army. For, under cover of night, those ships that had been moored
+behind the island had sailed back again, and the Greeks were come upon
+Troy.
+
+Not a Trojan was on guard. The whole city was at feast when the enemy
+rose in its midst, and the warning of Laocoön was fulfilled.
+
+Priam and his warriors fell by the sword, and their kingdom was
+plundered of all its fair possessions, women and children and treasure.
+Last of all, the city itself was burned to its very foundations.
+
+Homeward sailed the Greeks, taking as royal captives poor Cassandra and
+Andromache and many another Trojan. And home at last went Fair Helen,
+the cause of all this sorrow, eager to be forgiven by her husband, King
+Menelaus. For she had awakened from the enchantment of Venus, and even
+before the death of Paris she had secretly longed for her home and
+kindred. Home to Sparta she came with the king after a long and stormy
+voyage, and there she lived and died the fairest of women.
+
+But the kingdom of Troy was fallen. Nothing remained of all its glory
+but the glory of its dead heroes and fair women, and the ruins of its
+citadel by the river Scamander. There even now, beneath the foundations
+of later homes that were built and burned, built and burned, in the
+wars of a thousand years after, the ruins of ancient Troy lie hidden,
+like mouldered leaves deep under the new grass. And there, to this very
+day, men who love the story are delving after the dead city as you
+might search for a buried treasure.
+
+
+
+
+THE HOUSE OF AGAMEMNON.
+
+
+The Greeks had won back Fair Helen, and had burned the city of Troy
+behind them, but theirs was no triumphant voyage home. Many were driven
+far and wide before they saw their land again, and one who escaped such
+hardships came home to find a bitter welcome. This was the chief of all
+the hosts, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and Argos. He it was who had
+offered his own daughter Iphigenia to appease the wrath of Diana before
+the ships could sail for Troy. An ominous leave-taking was his, and
+calamity was there to greet him home again.
+
+He had entrusted the cares of the state to his cousin Aegisthus,
+commending also to his protection Queen Clytemnestra with her two
+remaining children, Electra and Orestes.
+
+Now Clytemnestra was a sister of Helen of Troy, and a beautiful woman
+to see; but her heart was as evil as her face was fair. No sooner had
+her husband gone to the wars than she set up Aegisthus in his place, as
+if there were no other king of Argos. For years this faithless pair
+lived arrogantly in the face of the people, and controlled the affairs
+of the kingdom. But as time went by and the child Orestes grew to be a
+youth, Aegisthus feared lest the Argives should stand by their own
+prince, and drive him away as an usurper. He therefore planned the
+death of Orestes, and even won the consent of the queen, who was no
+gentle mother! But the princess Electra, suspecting their plot,
+secretly hurried her brother away to the court of King Strophius in
+Phocis, and so saved his life. She was not, however, to save a second
+victim.
+
+The ten years of war went by, and the chief, Agamemnon, came home in
+triumph, heralded by all the Argives, who were as exultant over the
+return of their lawful king as over the fall of Troy. Into the city
+came the remnant of his own men, bearing the spoils of war, and, in the
+midst of a jubilant multitude, King Agamemnon sharing his chariot with
+the captive princess, Cassandra.
+
+Queen Clytemnestra went out to greet him with every show of joy and
+triumph. She had a cloth of purple spread before the palace, that her
+husband might come with state into his home once more; and before all
+beholders she protested that the ten years of his absence had bereaved
+her of all happiness.
+
+The unsuspicious king left his chariot and entered the palace; but the
+princess Cassandra hesitated and stood by in fear. Poor Cassandra! Her
+kindred were slain and the doom of her city was fulfilled, but the
+curse of prophecy still followed her. She felt the shadow of coming
+evil, and there before the door she recoiled, and cried out that there
+was blood in the air. At length, despairing of her fate, she too went
+in. Even while the Argives stood about the gates, pitying her madness,
+the prophecy came true.
+
+Clytemnestra, like any anxious wife, had led the travel-worn king to a
+bath; and there, when he had laid by his arms, she and Aegisthus threw
+a net over him, as they would have snared any beast of prey, and slew
+him, defenceless. In the same hour Cassandra, too, fell into their
+hands, and they put an end to her warnings. So died the chief of the
+great army and his royal captive.
+
+The murderers proclaimed themselves king and queen before all the
+people, and none dared rebel openly against such terrible authority.
+But Aegisthus was still uneasy at the thought that the Prince Orestes
+might return some day to avenge his father. Indeed, Electra had sent
+from time to time secret messages to Phocis, entreating her brother to
+come and take his rightful place, and save her from her cruel mother
+and Aegisthus. But there came to Argos one day a rumor that Orestes
+himself had died in Phocis, and the poor princess gave up all hope of
+peace; while Clytemnestra and Aegisthus made no secret of their relief,
+but even offered impious thanks in the temple, as if the gods were of
+their mind! They were soon undeceived.
+
+Two young Phocians came to the palace with news of the last days of
+Orestes, so they said; and they were admitted to the presence of the
+king and queen. They were, in truth, Orestes himself and his friend
+Pylades (son of King Strophius), who had ventured safety and all to
+avenge Agamemnon. Then and there Orestes killed Aegisthus and
+Clytemnestra, and appeared before the Argives as their rightful prince.
+
+But not even so did he find peace. In slaying Clytemnestra, wicked as
+she was, he had murdered his own mother, a deed hateful to gods and
+men. Day and night he was haunted by the Furies.
+
+These dread sisters never leave Hades save to pursue and torture some
+guilty conscience. They wear black raiment, like the wings of a bat;
+their hair writhes with serpents fierce as remorse, and in their hands
+they carry flaming torches that make all shapes look greater and more
+fearful than they are. No sleep can soothe the mind of him they follow.
+They come between his eyes and the daylight; at night their torches
+drive away all comfortable darkness. Poor Orestes, though he had
+punished two murderers, felt that he was no less a murderer himself.
+
+From land to land he wandered in despair that grew to madness, with one
+only comrade, the faithful Pylades, who was his very shadow. At length
+he took refuge in Athens, under the protection of Athena, and gave
+himself up to be tried by the court of the Areopagus. There he was
+acquitted; but not all the Furies left him, and at last he besought the
+Oracle of Apollo to befriend him.
+
+"Go to Tauris, in Scythia," said the voice, "and bring from thence the
+image of Diana which fell from the heavens." So he set out with his
+Pylades and sailed to the shore of Scythia.
+
+Now the Taurians were a savage people, who strove to honor Diana, to
+their rude minds, by sacrificing all the strangers that fell into their
+hands. There was a temple not far from the seaside, and its priestess
+was a Grecian maiden, one Iphigenia, who had miraculously appeared
+there years before, and was held in especial awe by Thoas, the king of
+the country round about. Sorely against her will, she had to hallow the
+victims offered at this shrine; and into her presence Orestes and
+Pylades were brought by the men who had seized them.
+
+On learning that they were Grecians and Argives (for they withheld
+their names), the priestess was moved to the heart. She asked them many
+questions concerning the fate of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and the
+warriors against Troy, which they answered as best they could. At
+length she said that she would help one of them to escape, if he would
+swear to take a message from her to one in Argos.
+
+"My friend shall bear it home," said Orestes. "As for me, I stay and
+endure my fate."
+
+"Nay," said Pylades; "how can I swear? for I might lose this letter by
+shipwreck or some other mischance."
+
+"Hear the message, then," said the high-priestess. "And thou wilt keep
+it by thee with thy life. To Orestes, son of Agamemnon, say Iphigenia,
+his sister, is dead indeed unto her parents, but not to him. Say that
+Diana has had charge over her these many years since she was snatched
+away at Aulis, and that she waits until her brother shall come to
+rescue her from this duty of bloodshed and take her home."
+
+At these words their amazement knew no bounds. Orestes embraced his
+lost sister and told her all his story, and the three, breathless with
+eagerness, planned a way of escape.
+
+The king of Tauris had already come to witness the sacrifice. But
+Iphigenia took in her hands the sacred image of Diana, and went out to
+tell him that the rites must be delayed. One of the strangers, said
+she, was guilty of the murder of his mother, the other sharing his
+crime; and these unworthy victims must be cleansed with pure sea-water
+before they could be offered to Diana. The sacred image had been
+desecrated by their touch, and that, too, must be solemnly purged by no
+other hands than hers.
+
+To this the king consented. He remained to burn lustral fires in the
+temple; the people withdrew to their houses to escape pollution, and
+the priestess with her victims reached the seaside in safety.
+
+Once there, with the sacred image which was to bring them good fortune,
+they hastened to the Grecian galley and put off from that desolate
+shore. So, with his new-found sister and his new hope, Orestes went
+over the seas to Argos, to rebuild the honor of the royal house.
+
+
+
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS.
+
+
+I. THE CURSE OF POLYPHEMUS.
+
+Of all the heroes that wandered far and wide before they came to their
+homes again after the fall of Troy, none suffered so many hardships as
+Odysseus.
+
+There was, indeed, one other man whose adventures have been likened to
+his, and this was Aeneas, a Trojan hero. He escaped from the burning
+city with a band of fugitives, his countrymen; and after years of peril
+and wandering he came to found a famous race in Italy. On the way, he
+found one hospitable resting-place in Carthage, where Queen Dido
+received him with great kindliness; and when he left her she took her
+own life, out of very grief.
+
+But there were no other hardships such as beset Odysseus, between the
+burning of Troy and his return to Ithaca, west of the land of Greece.
+Ten years did he fight against Troy, but it was ten years more before
+he came to his home and his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus.
+
+Now all these latter years of wandering fell to his lot because of
+Poseidon's anger against him. For Poseidon had favored the Grecian
+cause, and might well have sped home this man who had done so much to
+win the Grecian victory. But as evil destiny would have it, Odysseus
+mortally angered the god of the sea by blinding his son, the Cyclops
+Polyphemus. And thus it came to pass.
+
+Odysseus set out from Troy with twelve good ships. He touched first at
+Ismarus, where his first misfortune took place, and in a skirmish with
+the natives he lost a number of men from each ship's crew. A storm then
+drove them to the land of the Lotus-Eaters, a wondrous people, kindly
+and content, who spend their lives in a day-dream and care for nothing
+else under the sun. No sooner had the sailors eaten of this magical
+lotus than they lost all their wish to go home, or to see their wives
+and children again. By main force, Odysseus drove them back to the
+ships and saved them from the spell.
+
+Thence they came one day to a beautiful strange island, a verdant place
+to see, deep with soft grass and well watered with springs. Here they
+ran the ships ashore, and took their rest and feasted for a day. But
+Odysseus looked across to the mainland, where he saw flocks and herds,
+and smoke going up softly from the homes of men; and he resolved to go
+across and find out what manner of people lived there. Accordingly,
+next morning, he took his own ship's company and they rowed across to
+the mainland.
+
+Now, fair as the place was, there dwelt in it a race of giants, the
+Cyclopes, great rude creatures, having each but one eye, and that in
+the middle of his forehead. One of them was Polyphemus, the son of
+Poseidon. He lived by himself as a shepherd, and it was to his cave
+that Odysseus came, by some evil chance. It was an enormous grotto, big
+enough to house the giant and all his flocks, and it had a great
+courtyard without. But Odysseus, knowing nought of all this, chose out
+twelve men, and with a wallet of corn and a goatskin full of wine they
+left the ship and made a way to the cave, which they had seen from the
+water.
+
+Much they wondered who might be the master of this strange house.
+Polyphemus was away with his sheep, but many lambs and kids were penned
+there, and the cavern was well stored with goodly cheeses and cream and
+whey.
+
+Without delay, the wearied men kindled a fire and sat down to eat such
+things as they found, till a great shadow came dark against the
+doorway, and they saw the Cyclops near at hand, returning with his
+flocks. In an instant they fled into the darkest corner of the cavern.
+
+Polyphemus drove his flocks into the place and cast off from his
+shoulders a load of young trees for firewood. Then he lifted and set in
+the entrance of the cave a gigantic boulder of a door-stone. Not until
+he had milked the goats and ewes and stirred up the fire did his
+terrible one eye light upon the strangers.
+
+"What are ye?" he roared then, "robbers or rovers?" And Odysseus alone
+had heart to answer.
+
+"We are Achaeans of the army of Agamemnon," said he. "And by the will
+of Zeus we have lost our course, and are come to you as strangers.
+Forget not that Zeus has a care for such as we, strangers and
+suppliants."
+
+Loud laughed the Cyclops at this. "You are a witless churl to bid me
+heed the gods!" said he. "I spare or kill to please myself and none
+other. But where is your cockle-shell that brought you hither?"
+
+Then Odysseus answered craftily: "Alas, my ship is gone! Only I and my
+men escaped alive from the sea."
+
+But Polyphemus, who had been looking them over with his one eye, seized
+two of the mariners and dashed them against the wall and made his
+evening meal of them, while their comrades stood by helpless. This
+done, he stretched himself through the cavern and slept all night long,
+taking no more heed of them than if they had been flies. No sleep came
+to the wretched seamen, for, even had they been able to slay him, they
+were powerless to move away the boulder from the door. So all night
+long Odysseus took thought how they might possibly escape.
+
+At dawn the Cyclops woke, and his awakening was like a thunderstorm.
+Again he kindled the fire, again he milked the goats and ewes, and
+again he seized two of the king's comrades and served them up for his
+terrible repast. Then the savage shepherd drove his flocks out of the
+cave, only turning back to set the boulder in the doorway and pen up
+Odysseus and his men in their dismal lodging.
+
+But the wise king had pondered well. In the sheepfold he had seen a
+mighty club of olive-wood, in size like the mast of a ship. As soon as
+the Cyclops was gone, Odysseus bade his men cut off a length of this
+club and sharpen it down to a point. This done, they hid it away under
+the earth that heaped the floor; and they waited in fear and torment
+for their chance of escape.
+
+At sundown, home came the Cyclops. Just as he had done before, he drove
+in his flocks, barred the entrance, milked the goats and ewes, and made
+his meal of two more hapless men, while their fellows looked on with
+burning eyes. Then Odysseus stood forth, holding a bowl of the wine
+that he had brought with him; and, curbing his horror of Polyphemus, he
+spoke in friendly fashion: "Drink, Cyclops, and prove our wine, such as
+it was, for all was lost with our ship save this. And no other man will
+ever bring you more, since you are such an ungentle host."
+
+The Cyclops tasted the wine and laughed with delight so that the cave
+shook. "Ho, this is a rare drink!" said he. "I never tasted milk so
+good, nor whey, nor grape-juice either. Give me the rest, and tell me
+your name, that I may thank you for it."
+
+Twice and thrice Odysseus poured the wine and the Cyclops drank it off;
+then he answered: "Since you ask it, Cyclops, my name is Noman."
+
+"And I will give you this for your wine, Noman," said the Cyclops; "you
+shall be eaten last of all!"
+
+As he spoke his head drooped, for his wits were clouded with drink, and
+he sank heavily out of his seat and lay prone, stretched along the
+floor of the cavern. His great eye shut and he fell asleep.
+
+Odysseus thrust the stake under the ashes till it was glowing hot; and
+his fellows stood by him, ready to venture all. Then together they
+lifted the club and drove it straight into the eye of Polyphemus and
+turned it around and about.
+
+The Cyclops gave a horrible cry, and, thrusting away the brand, he
+called on all his fellow-giants near and far. Odysseus and his men hid
+in the uttermost corners of the cave, but they heard the resounding
+steps of the Cyclopes who were roused, and their shouts as they called,
+"What ails thee, Polyphemus? Art thou slain? Who has done thee any
+hurt?"
+
+"Noman!" roared the blinded Cyclops; "Noman is here to slay me by
+treachery."
+
+"Then if no man hath hurt thee," they called again, "let us sleep." And
+away they went to their homes once more.
+
+But Polyphemus lifted away the boulder from the door and sat there in
+the entrance, groaning with pain and stretching forth his hands to feel
+if any one were near. Then, while he sat in double darkness, with the
+light of his eye gone out, Odysseus bound together the rams of the
+flock, three by three, in such wise that every three should save one of
+his comrades. For underneath the mid ram of each group a man clung,
+grasping his shaggy fleece; and the rams on each side guarded him from
+discovery. Odysseus himself chose out the greatest ram and laid hold of
+his fleece and clung beneath his shaggy body, face upward.
+
+Now, when dawn came, the rams hastened out to pasture, and Polyphemus
+felt of their backs as they huddled along together; but he knew not
+that every three held a man bound securely. Last of all came the kingly
+ram that was dearest to his rude heart, and he bore the King of Ithaca.
+Once free of the cave, Odysseus and his fellows loosed their hold and
+took flight, driving the rams in haste to the ship, where, without
+delay, they greeted their comrades and went aboard.
+
+But as they pushed from shore, Odysseus could not refrain from hailing
+the Cyclops with taunts, and at the sound of that voice Polyphemus came
+forth from his cave and hurled a great rock after the ship. It missed
+and upheaved the water like an earthquake. Again Odysseus called,
+saying: "Cyclops, if any shall ask who blinded thine eye, say that it
+was Odysseus, son of Laertes of Ithaca."
+
+Then Polyphemus groaned and cried: "An Oracle foretold it, but I waited
+for some man of might who should overcome me by his valor,--not a
+weakling! And now"--he lifted his hands and prayed,--"Father Poseidon,
+my father, look upon Odysseus, the son of Laertes of Ithaca, and grant
+me this revenge,--let him never see Ithaca again! Yet, if he must, may
+he come late, without a friend, after long wandering, to find evil
+abiding by his hearth!"
+
+So he spoke and hurled another rock after them, but the ship
+outstripped it, and sped by to the island where the other good ships
+waited for Odysseus. Together they put out from land and hastened on
+their homeward voyage.
+
+But Poseidon, who is lord of the sea, had heard the prayer of his son,
+and that homeward voyage was to wear through ten years more, with storm
+and irksome calms and misadventure.
+
+
+II. THE WANDERING OF ODYSSEUS.
+
+Now Odysseus and his men sailed on and on till they came to Aeolia,
+where dwells the king of the winds, and here they came nigh to good
+fortune.
+
+Aeolus received them kindly, and at their going he secretly gave to
+Odysseus a leathern bag in which all contrary winds were tied up
+securely, that only the favoring west wind might speed them to Ithaca.
+Nine days the ships went gladly before the wind, and on the tenth day
+they had sight of Ithaca, lying like a low cloud in the west. Then, so
+near his haven, the happy Odysseus gave up to his weariness and fell
+asleep, for he had never left the helm. But while he slept his men saw
+the leathern bag that he kept by him, and, in the belief that it was
+full of treasure, they opened it. Out rushed the ill-winds!
+
+In an instant the sea was covered with white caps; the waves rose
+mountain high; the poor ships struggled against the tyranny of the gale
+and gave way. Back they were driven,--back, farther and farther; and
+when Odysseus woke, Ithaca was gone from sight, as if it had indeed
+been only a low cloud in the west!
+
+Straight to the island of Aeolus they were driven once more. But when
+the king learned what greed and treachery had wasted his good gift, he
+would give them nothing more. "Surely thou must be a man hated of the
+gods, Odysseus," he said, "for misfortune bears thee company. Depart
+now; I may not help thee."
+
+So, with a heavy heart, Odysseus and his men departed. For many days
+they rowed against a dead calm, until at length they came to the land
+of the Laestrygonians. And, to cut a piteous tale short, these giants
+destroyed all their fleet save one ship,--that of Odysseus himself,
+and in this he made escape to the island of Circe. What befell there,
+how the greedy seamen were turned into swine and turned back into men,
+and how the sorceress came to befriend Odysseus,--all this has been
+related.
+
+There in Aeaea the voyagers stayed a year before Circe would let them
+go. But at length she bade Odysseus seek the region of Hades, and ask
+of the sage Tiresias how he might ever return to Ithaca. How Odysseus
+followed this counsel, none may know; but by some mysterious journey,
+and with the aid of a spell, he came to the borders of Hades. There he
+saw and spoke with many renowned Shades, old and young, even his own
+friends who had fallen on the plain of Troy. Achilles he saw, Patroclus
+and Ajax and Agamemnon, still grieving over the treachery of his wife.
+He saw, too, the phantom of Heracles, who lives with honor among the
+gods, and has for his wife Hebe, the daughter of Zeus and Juno. But
+though he would have talked with the heroes for a year and more, he
+sought out Tiresias.
+
+"The anger of Poseidon follows thee," said the sage. "Wherefore,
+Odysseus, thy return is yet far off. But take heed when thou art come
+to Thrinacia, where the sacred kine of the Sun have their pastures. Do
+them no hurt, and thou shalt yet come home. _But if they be harmed in
+any wise_, ruin shall come upon thy men; and even if thou escape, thou
+shalt come home to find strange men devouring thy substance and wooing
+thy wife."
+
+With this word in his mind, Odysseus departed and came once more to
+Aeaea. There he tarried but a little time, till Circe had told him all
+the dangers that beset his way. Many a good counsel and crafty warning
+did she give him against the Sirens that charm with their singing, and
+against the monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis, and the
+Clashing Rocks, and the cattle of the Sun. So the king and his men set
+out from the island of Aeaea.
+
+Now very soon they came to the Sirens who sing so sweetly that they
+lure to death every man who listens. For straightway he is mad to be
+with them where they sing; and alas for the man that would fly without
+wings!
+
+But when the ship drew near the Sirens' island, Odysseus did as Circe
+had taught him. He bade all his shipmates stop up their ears with
+moulded wax, so that they could not hear. He alone kept his hearing:
+but he had himself lashed to the mast so that he could in no wise move,
+and he forbade them to loose him, however he might plead, under the
+spell of the Sirens.
+
+As they sailed near, his soul gave way. He heard a wild sweetness
+coaxing the air, as a minstrel coaxes the harp; and there, close by,
+were the Sirens sitting in a blooming meadow that hid the bones of men.
+Beautiful, winning maidens they looked; and they sang, entreating
+Odysseus by name to listen and abide and rest. Their voices were
+golden-sweet above the sound of wind and wave, like drops of amber
+floating on the tide; and for all his wisdom, Odysseus strained at his
+bonds and begged his men to let him go free. But they, deaf alike to
+the song and the sorcery, rowed harder than ever. At length, song and
+island faded in the distance. Odysseus came to his wits once more, and
+his men loosed his bonds and set him free.
+
+But they were close upon new dangers. No sooner had they avoided the
+Clashing Rocks (by a device of Circe's) than they came to a perilous
+strait. On one hand they saw the whirlpool where, beneath a hollow
+fig-tree, Charybdis sucks down the sea horribly. And, while they sought
+to escape her, on the other hand monstrous Scylla upreared from the
+cave, snatched six of their company with her six long necks, and
+devoured them even while they called upon Odysseus to save them.
+
+So, with bitter peril, the ship passed by and came to the island of
+Thrinacia; and here are goodly pastures for the flocks and herds of the
+Sun. Odysseus, who feared lest his men might forget the warning of
+Tiresias, was very loath to land. But the sailors were weary and worn
+to the verge of mutiny, and they swore, moreover, that they would never
+lay hands on the sacred kine. So they landed, thinking to depart next
+day. But with the next day came a tempest that blew for a month without
+ceasing, so that they were forced to beach the ship and live on the
+island with their store of corn and wine. When that was gone they had
+to hunt and fish, and it happened that, while Odysseus was absent in
+the woods one day, his shipmates broke their oath. "For," said they,
+"when we are once more in Ithaca we will make amends to Helios with
+sacrifice. But let us rather drown than waste to death with hunger." So
+they drove off the best of the cattle of the Sun and slew them. When
+the king returned, he found them at their fateful banquet; but it was
+too late to save them from the wrath of the gods.
+
+As soon as they were fairly embarked once more, the Sun ceased to
+shine. The sea rose high, the thunderbolt of Zeus struck that ship, and
+all its company was scattered abroad upon the waters. Not one was left
+save Odysseus. He clung to a fragment of his last ship, and so he
+drifted, borne here and there, and lashed by wind and wave, until he
+was washed up on the strand of the island Ogygia, the home of the nymph
+Calypso. He was not to leave this haven for seven years.
+
+Here, after ten years of war and two of wandering, he found a kindly
+welcome. The enchanted island was full of wonders, and the nymph
+Calypso was more than mortal fair, and would have been glad to marry
+the hero; yet he pined for Ithaca. Nothing could win his heart away
+from his own country and his own wife Penelope, nothing but Lethe
+itself, and that no man may drink till he dies.
+
+So for seven years Calypso strove to make him forget his longing with
+ease and pleasant living and soft raiment. Day by day she sang to him
+while she broidered her web with gold; and her voice was like a golden
+strand that twines in and out of silence, making it beautiful. She even
+promised that she would make him immortal, if he would stay and be
+content; but he was heartsick for home.
+
+At last his sorrow touched even the heart of Athena in heaven, for she
+loved his wisdom and his many devices. So she besought Zeus and all the
+other gods until they consented to shield Odysseus from the anger of
+Poseidon. Hermes himself bound on his winged sandals and flew down to
+Ogygia, where he found Calypso at her spinning. After many words, the
+nymph consented to give up her captive, for she was kind of heart, and
+all her graces had not availed to make him forget his home. With her
+help, Odysseus built a raft and set out upon his lonely voyage,--the
+only man remaining out of twelve good ships that had left Troy nigh
+unto ten years before.
+
+The sea roughened against him, but (to shorten a tale of great peril)
+after many days, sore spent and tempest-tossed, he came to the land of
+the Phaeacians, a land dear to the immortal gods, abounding in gifts of
+harvest and vintage, in godlike men and lovely women.
+
+Here the shipwrecked king met the princess Nausicaa by the seaside, as
+she played ball with her maidens; and she, when she had heard of his
+plight, gave him food and raiment, and bade him follow her home. So he
+followed her to the palace of King Alcinous and Queen Arete, and abode
+with them, kindly refreshed, and honored with feasting and games and
+song. But it came to pass, as the minstrel sang before them of the
+Trojan War and the Wooden Horse, that Odysseus wept over the story, it
+was written so deep in his own heart. Then for the first time he told
+them his true name and all his trials.
+
+They would gladly have kept so great a man with them forever, but they
+had no heart to keep him longer from his home; so they bade him
+farewell and set him upon one of their magical ships, with many gifts
+of gold and silver, and sent him on his way.
+
+Wonderful seamen are the Phaeacians. The ocean is to them as air to the
+bird,--the best path for a swift journey! Odysseus was glad enough to
+trust the way to them, and no sooner had they set out than a sweet
+sleep fell upon his eyelids. But the good ship sped like any bee that
+knows the way home. In a marvellous short time they came even to the
+shore of the kingdom of Ithaca.
+
+While Odysseus was still sleeping, unconscious of his good fortune, the
+Phaeacians lifted him from the ship with kindly joy and laid him upon
+his own shore; and beside him they set the gifts of gold and silver and
+fair work of the loom. So they departed; and thus it was that Odysseus
+came to Ithaca after twenty years.
+
+
+III. THE HOME-COMING.
+
+Now all these twenty years, in the island of Ithaca, Penelope had
+watched for her husband's return. At first with high hopes and then in
+doubt and sorrow (when news of the great war came by some traveller),
+she had waited, eager and constant as a young bride. But now the war
+was long past; her young son Telemachus had come to manhood; and as for
+Odysseus, she knew not whether he was alive or dead.
+
+For years there had been trouble in Ithaca. It was left a kingdom
+without a king, and Penelope was fair and wise. So suitors came from
+all the islands round about to beg her hand in marriage, since many
+loved the queen and as many more loved her possessions, and desired to
+rule over them. Moreover, every one thought or said that King Odysseus
+must be dead. Neither Penelope nor her aged father-in-law Laertes could
+rid the place of these troublesome suitors. Some were nobles and some
+were adventurers, but they all thronged the palace like a pest of
+crickets, and devoured the wealth of the kingdom with feasts in honor
+of Penelope and themselves and everybody else; and they besought the
+queen to choose a husband from their number.
+
+For a long time she would hear none of this; but they grew so clamorous
+in their suit that she had to put them off with craft. For she saw that
+there would be danger to her country, and her son, and herself, unless
+Odysseus came home some day and turned the suitors out of doors. She
+therefore spoke them fair, and gave them some hope of her marriage, to
+make peace.
+
+"Ye princely wooers," she said, "now I believe that the king Odysseus,
+my husband, must long since have perished in a strange land; and I have
+bethought me once more of marriage. Have patience, therefore, till I
+shall have finished the web that I am weaving. For it is a royal shroud
+that I must make against the day that Laertes may die (the father of my
+lord and husband). This is the way of my people," said she; "and when
+the web is done, I will choose another king for Ithaca."
+
+She had set up in the hall a great loom, and day by day she wrought
+there at the web, for she was a marvellous spinner, patient as Arachne,
+but dear to Athena. All day long she would weave, but every night in
+secret she would unravel what she had wrought in the daytime, so that
+the web might never be done. For although she believed her dear husband
+to be dead, yet her hope would put forth buds again and again, just as
+spring, that seems to die each year, will come again. So she ever
+looked to see Odysseus coming.
+
+Three years and more she held off the suitors with this wile, and they
+never perceived it. For, being men, they knew nothing of women's
+handicraft. It was all alike a marvel to them, both the beauty of the
+web and this endless toil in the making! As for Penelope, all day long
+she wove; but at night she would unravel her work and weep bitterly,
+because she had another web to weave and another day to watch, all for
+nothing, since Odysseus never came. In the fourth year, though, a
+faithless servant betrayed this secret to the wooers, and there came an
+end to peace and the web, too!
+
+Matters grew worse and worse. Telemachus set out to find his father,
+and the poor queen was left without husband or son. But the suitors
+continued to live about the palace like so many princes, and to make
+merry on the wealth of Odysseus, while he was being driven from land to
+land and wreck to wreck. So it came true, that prophecy that, if the
+herds of the Sun were harmed, Odysseus should reach his home alone in
+evil plight to find Sorrow in his own household. But in the end he was
+to drive her forth.
+
+Now, when Odysseus woke, he did not know his own country. Gone were the
+Phaeacians and their ship; only the gifts beside him told him that he
+had not dreamed. While he looked about, bewildered, Athena, in the
+guise of a young countryman, came to his aid, and told him where he
+was. Then, smiling upon his amazement and joy, she shone forth in her
+own form, and warned him not to hasten home, since the palace was
+filled with the insolent suitors of Penelope, whose heart waited empty
+for him as the nest for the bird.
+
+Moreover, Athena changed his shape into that of an aged pilgrim, and
+led him to the hut of a certain swineherd, Eumaeus, his old and
+faithful servant. This man received the king kindly, taking him for a
+travel-worn wayfarer, and told him all the news of the palace, and the
+suitors and the poor queen, who was ever ready to hear the idle tales
+of any traveller if he had aught to tell of King Odysseus.
+
+Now who should come to the hut at this time but the prince Telemachus,
+whom Athena had hastened safely home from his quest! Eumaeus received
+his young master with great joy, but the heart of Odysseus was nigh to
+bursting, for he had never seen his son since he left him, an infant,
+for the Trojan War. When Eumaeus left them together, he made himself
+known; and for that moment Athena gave him back his kingly looks, so
+that Telemachus saw him with exultation, and they two wept over each
+other for joy.
+
+By this time news of her son's return had come to Penelope, and she was
+almost happy, not knowing that the suitors were plotting to kill
+Telemachus. Home he came, and he hastened to assure his mother that he
+had heard good news of Odysseus; though, for the safety of all, he did
+not tell her that Odysseus was in Ithaca.
+
+Meanwhile Eumaeus and his aged pilgrim came to the city and the palace
+gates. They were talking to a goatherd there, when an old hound that
+lay in the dust-heap near by pricked up his ears and stirred his tail
+feebly as at a well-known voice. He was the faithful Argus, named after
+a monster of many eyes that once served Juno as a watchman. Indeed,
+when the creature was slain, Juno had his eyes set in the feathers of
+her pet peacocks, and there they glisten to this day. But the end of
+this Argus was very different. Once the pride of the king's heart, he
+was now so old and infirm that he could barely move; but though his
+master had come home in the guise of a strange beggar, he knew the
+voice, and he alone, after twenty years. Odysseus, seeing him, could
+barely restrain his tears; but the poor old hound, as if he had lived
+but to welcome his master home, died that very same day.
+
+Into the palace hall went the swineherd and the pilgrim, among the
+suitors who were feasting there. Now how Odysseus begged a portion of
+meat and was shamefully insulted by these men, how he saw his own wife
+and hid his joy and sorrow, but told her news of himself as any beggar
+might,--all these things are better sung than spoken. It is a long
+story.
+
+But the end was near. The suitors had demanded the queen's choice, and
+once more the constant Penelope tried to put it off. She took from her
+safe treasure-chamber the great bow of Odysseus, and she promised that
+she would marry that one of the suitors who should send his arrow
+through twelve rings ranged in a line. All other weapons were taken
+away by the care of Telemachus; there was nothing but the great bow and
+quiver. And when all was ready, Penelope went away to her chamber to
+weep.
+
+But, first of all, no one could string the bow. Suitor after suitor
+tried and failed. The sturdy wood stood unbent against the strongest.
+Last of all, Odysseus begged leave to try, and was laughed to scorn.
+Telemachus, however, as if for courtesy's sake, gave him the bow; and
+the strange beggar bent it easily, adjusted the cord, and before any
+could stay his hand he sped the arrow from the string. Singing with
+triumph, it flew straight through the twelve rings and quivered in the
+mark!
+
+"Now for another mark!" cried Odysseus in the king's own voice. He
+turned upon the most evil-hearted suitor. Another arrow hissed and
+struck, and the man fell pierced.
+
+Telemachus sprang to his father's side, Eumaeus stood by him, and the
+fighting was short and bitter. One by one they slew those insolent
+suitors; for the right was theirs, and Athena stood by them, and the
+time was come. Every one of the false-hearted wooers they laid low, and
+every corrupt servant in that house; then they made the place clean and
+fair again.
+
+But the old nurse Eurycleia hastened up to Queen Penelope, where she
+sat in fear and wonder, crying, "Odysseus is returned! Come and see
+with thine own eyes!"
+
+After twenty years of false tales, the poor queen could not believe her
+ears. She came down into the hall bewildered, and looked at the
+stranger as one walking in a dream. Even when Athena had given him back
+his youth and kingly looks, she stood in doubt, so that her own son
+reproached her and Odysseus was grieved in spirit.
+
+But when he drew near and called her by her name, entreating her by all
+the tokens that she alone knew, her heart woke up and sang like a brook
+set free in spring! She knew him then for her husband Odysseus, come
+home at last.
+
+Surely that was happiness enough to last them ever after.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew, by
+Josephine Preston Peabody
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD GREEK FOLK STORIES TOLD ANEW ***
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diff --git a/9313-8.zip b/9313-8.zip
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+++ b/9313-h/9313-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,4252 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
+
+<!DOCTYPE html
+   PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <title>
+      Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew, by Josephine Preston Peabody
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
+    .toc2      { margin-left: 20%;}
+    div.fig    { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
+    div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
+    .figleft   {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
+    .figright  {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
+    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
+    .side      { float: right; font-size: 75%; width: 25%; padding-left: 0.8em;
+               border-left: dashed thin; margin-left: 0.8em; text-align: left;
+               text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;
+               font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew, by
+Josephine Preston Peabody
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
+
+Author: Josephine Preston Peabody
+
+
+Release Date: November, 2005  [EBook #9313]
+This file was first posted on September 20, 2003
+Last Updated: May 10, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD GREEK FOLK STORIES TOLD ANEW ***
+
+
+
+
+Text file produced by Juliet Sutherland, Tonya Allen, and Project
+Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders
+
+HTML file produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+    <div style="height: 8em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      OLD GREEK FOLK STORIES TOLD ANEW
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      By Josephine Preston Peabody
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      1897
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Hawthorne, in his <i>Wonder-Book</i> and <i>Tanglewood Tales</i>, has
+      told, in a manner familiar to multitudes of American children and to many
+      more who once were children, a dozen of the old Greek folk stories. They
+      have served to render the persons and scenes known as no classical
+      dictionary would make them known. But Hawthorne chose a few out of the
+      many myths which are constantly appealing to the reader not only of
+      ancient but of modern literature. The group contained in the collection
+      which follows will help to fill out the list; it is designed to serve as a
+      complement to the <i>Wonder-Book</i> and <i>Tanglewood Tales</i>, so that
+      the references to the stories in those collections are brief and allusive
+      only. In order to make the entire series more useful, the index added to
+      this number of the <i>Riverside Literature Series</i> is made to include
+      also the stories contained in the other numbers of the series which
+      contain Hawthorne's two books. Thus the index serves as a tolerably full
+      clue to the best-known characters in Greek mythology.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <i>Once upon a time, men made friends with the Earth. They listened to all
+      that woods and waters might say; their eyes were keen to see wonders in
+      silent country places and in the living creatures that had not learned to
+      be afraid. To this wise world outside the people took their joy and
+      sorrow; and because they loved the Earth, she answered them.</i>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <i>It was not strange that Pan himself sometimes brought home a shepherd's
+      stray lamb. It was not strange, if one broke the branches of a tree, that
+      some fair life within wept at the hurt. Even now, the Earth is glad with
+      us in springtime, and we grieve for her when the leaves go. But in the old
+      days there was a closer union, clearer speech between men and all other
+      creatures, Earth and the stars about her.</i>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <i>Out of the life that they lived together, there have come down to us
+      these wonderful tales; and, whether they be told well or ill, they are too
+      good to be forgotten.</i>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <b>CONTENTS</b>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> PUBLISHERS' NOTE. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_TOC"> DETAILED CONTENTS. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> THE WOOD-FOLK. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> PROMETHEUS. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> THE DELUGE. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> ICARUS AND DAEDALUS. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> PHAETHON. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> NIOBE. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> ADMETUS AND THE SHEPHERD. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> ALCESTIS. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> APOLLO'S SISTER. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> THE CALYDONIAN HUNT. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> ATALANTA'S RACE. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> ARACHNE. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> PYRAMUS AND THISBE. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> PYGMALION AND GALATEA. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> OEDIPUS. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> CUPID AND PSYCHE. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> THE TRIAL OF PSYCHE. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> STORIES OF THE TROJAN WAR. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> THE HOUSE OF AGAMEMNON. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS. </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_TOC" id="link2H_TOC"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <p>
+      <b>DETAILED CONTENTS.</b>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> THE WOOD-FOLK </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      THE WOOD-FOLK <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> PROMETHEUS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      PROMETHEUS <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> THE DELUGE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      THE DELUGE <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> ICARUS AND DAEDALUS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ICARUS AND DAEDALUS <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> PHAETHON </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      PHAETHON <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> NIOBE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      NIOBE <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> ADMETUS AND THE SHEPHERD </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ADMETUS AND THE SHEPHERD <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> ALCESTIS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ALCESTIS <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> APOLLO'S SISTER </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      APOLLO'S SISTER <br /> I. DIANA AND ACTAEON <br /> II. DIANA AND ENDYMION
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> THE CALYDONIAN HUNT </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      THE CALYDONIAN HUNT <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> ATALANTA'S RACE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ATALANTA'S RACE <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> ARACHNE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      ARACHNE <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> PYRAMUS AND THISBE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      PYRAMUS AND THISBE <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> PYGMALION AND GALATEA </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      PYGMALION AND GALATEA <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> OEDIPUS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      OEDIPUS <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> CUPID AND PSYCHE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      CUPID AND PSYCHE <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> THE TRIAL OF PSYCHE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      THE TRIAL OF PSYCHE <br /> STORIES OP THE TROJAN WAR <br /> I. THE APPLE OF
+      DISCORD <br /> II. THE ROUSING OF THE HEROES <br /> III. THE WOODEN HORSE
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> THE HOUSE OF AGAMEMNON </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      THE HOUSE OF AGAMEMNON <br />
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I. THE CURSE OF POLYPHEMUS <br /> II. THE WANDERING OF ODYSSEUS <br /> III.
+      THE HOME-COMING <br /> <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THE WOOD-FOLK.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Pan led a merrier life than all the other gods together. He was beloved
+      alike by shepherds and countrymen, and by the fauns and satyrs, birds and
+      beasts, of his own kingdom. The care of flocks and herds was his, and for
+      home he had all the world of woods and waters; he was lord of everything
+      out-of-doors! Yet he felt the burden of it no more than he felt the shadow
+      of a leaf when he danced, but spent the days in laughter and music among
+      his fellows. Like him, the fauns and satyrs had furry, pointed ears, and
+      little horns that sprouted above their brows; in fact, they were all
+      enough like wild creatures to seem no strangers to anything untamed. They
+      slept in the sun, piped in the shade, and lived on wild grapes and the
+      nuts that every squirrel was ready to share with them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woods were never lonely. A man might wander away into those solitudes
+      and think himself friendless; but here and there a river knew, and a tree
+      could tell, a story of its own. Beautiful creatures they were, that for
+      one reason or another had left off human shape. Some had been transformed
+      against their will, that they might do no more harm to their fellow-men.
+      Some were changed through the pity of the gods, that they might share the
+      simple life of Pan, mindless of mortal cares, glad in rain and sunshine,
+      and always close to the heart of the Earth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was Dryope, for instance, the lotus-tree. Once a careless, happy
+      woman, walking among the trees with her sister Iole and her own baby, she
+      had broken a lotus that held a live nymph hidden, and blood dripped from
+      the wounded plant. Too late, Dryope saw her heedlessness; and there her
+      steps had taken root, and there she had said good-by to her child, and
+      prayed Iole to bring him sometimes to play beneath her shadow. Poor
+      mother-tree! Perhaps she took comfort with the birds and gave a kindly
+      shelter to some nest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There, too, was Echo, once a wood-nymph who angered the goddess Juno with
+      her waste of words, and was compelled now to wait till others spoke, and
+      then to say nothing but their last word, like any mocking-bird. One day
+      she saw and loved the youth Narcissus, who was searching the woods for his
+      hunting companions. "Come hither!" he called, and Echo cried "Hither!"
+      eager to speak at last. "Here am I,&mdash;come!" he repeated, looking
+      about for the voice. "I come," said Echo, and she stood before him. But
+      the youth, angry at such mimicry, only stared at her and hastened away.
+      From that time she faded to a voice, and to this day she lurks hidden and
+      silent till you call.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Narcissus himself was destined to fall in love with a shadow. For,
+      leaning over the edge of a brook one day, he saw his own beautiful face
+      looking up at him like a water-nymph. He leaned nearer, and the face rose
+      towards him, but when he touched the surface it was gone in a hundred
+      ripples. Day after day he besought the lovely creature to have pity and to
+      speak; but it mocked him with his own tears and smiles, and he forgot all
+      else, until he changed into a flower that leans over to see its image in
+      the pool.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There, too, was the sunflower Clytie, once a maiden who thought nothing so
+      beautiful as the sun-god Phoebus Apollo. All the day long she used to look
+      after him as he journeyed across the heavens in his golden chariot, until
+      she came to be a fair rooted plant that ever turns its head to watch the
+      sun.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Many like were there. Daphne the laurel, Hyacinthus (once a beautiful
+      youth, slain by mischance), who lives and renews his bloom as a flower,&mdash;these
+      and a hundred others. The very weeds were friendly....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there were wise, immortal voices in certain caves and trees. Men
+      called them Oracles; for here the gods spoke in answer to the prayers of
+      folk in sorrow or bewilderment. Sometimes they built a temple around such
+      a befriending voice, and kings would journey far to hear it speak.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As for Pan, only one grief had he, and in the end a glad thing came of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One day, when he was loitering in Arcadia, he saw the beautiful wood-nymph
+      Syrinx. She was hastening to join Diana at the chase, and she herself was
+      as swift and lovely as any bright bird that one longs to capture. So Pan
+      thought, and he hurried after to tell her. But Syrinx turned, caught one
+      glimpse of the god's shaggy locks and bright eyes, and the two little
+      horns on his head (he was much like a wild thing, at a look), and she
+      sprang away down the path in terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Begging her to listen, Pan followed; and Syrinx, more and more frightened
+      by the patter of his hoofs, never heeded him, but went as fast as light
+      till she came to the brink of the river. Only then she paused, praying her
+      friends, the water-nymphs, for some way of escape. The gentle, bewildered
+      creatures, looking up through the water, could think of but one device.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Just as the god overtook Syrinx and stretched out his arms to her, she
+      vanished like a mist, and he found himself grasping a cluster of tall
+      reeds. Poor Pan!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The breeze that sighed whenever he did&mdash;and oftener&mdash;shook the
+      reeds and made a sweet little sound,&mdash;a sudden music. Pan heard it,
+      half consoled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Is it your voice, Syrinx?" he said. "Shall we sing together?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He bound a number of the reeds side by side; to this day, shepherds know
+      how. He blew across the hollow pipes and they made music!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Pan came at length to be such a wonderful piper with his syrinx (for so he
+      named his flute) that he challenged Apollo to make better music if he
+      could. Now the sun-god was also the greatest of divine musicians, and he
+      resolved to punish the vanity of the country-god, and so consented to the
+      test. For judge they chose the mountain Tmolus, since no one is so old and
+      wise as the hills. And, since Tmolus could not leave his home, to him went
+      Pan and Apollo, each with his followers, oreads and dryads, fauns, satyrs,
+      and centaurs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Among the worshippers of Pan was a certain Midas, who had a strange story.
+      Once a king of great wealth, he had chanced to befriend Dionysus, god of
+      the vine; and when he was asked to choose some good gift in return, he
+      prayed that everything he touched might be turned into gold. Dionysus
+      smiled a little when he heard this foolish prayer, but he granted it.
+      Within two days, King Midas learned the secret of that smile, and begged
+      the god to take away the gift that was a curse. He had touched everything
+      that belonged to him, and little joy did he have of his possessions! His
+      palace was as yellow a home as a dandelion to a bee, but not half so
+      sweet. Row upon row of stiff golden trees stood in his garden; they no
+      longer knew a breeze when they heard it. When he sat down to eat, his
+      feast turned to treasure uneatable. He learned that a king may starve, and
+      he came to see that gold cannot replace the live, warm gifts of the Earth.
+      Kindly Dionysus took back the charm, but from that day King Midas so hated
+      gold that he chose to live far from luxury, among the woods and fields.
+      Even here he was not to go free from misadventure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tmolus gave the word, and Pan uprose with his syrinx, and blew upon the
+      reeds a melody so wild and yet so coaxing that the squirrels came, as if
+      at a call, and the birds hopped down in rows. The trees swayed with a
+      longing to dance, and the fauns looked at one another and laughed for joy.
+      To their furry little ears, it was the sweetest music that could be.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Tmolus bowed before Apollo, and the sun-god rose with his golden lyre
+      in his hands. As he moved, light shook out of his radiant hair as
+      raindrops are showered from the leaves. His trailing robes were purple,
+      like the clouds that temper the glory of a sunset, so that one may look
+      upon it. He touched the strings of his lyre, and all things were silent
+      with joy. He made music, and the woods dreamed. The fauns and satyrs were
+      quite still; and the wild creatures crouched, blinking, under a charm of
+      light that they could not understand. To hear such a music cease was like
+      bidding farewell to father and mother.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With one accord they fell at the feet of Apollo, and Tmolus proclaimed the
+      victory his. Only one voice disputed that award.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Midas refused to acknowledge Apollo lord of music,&mdash;perhaps because
+      the looks of the god dazzled his eyes unpleasantly, and put him in mind of
+      his foolish wish years before. For him there was no music in a golden
+      lyre!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Apollo would not leave such dull ears unpunished. At a word from him
+      they grew long, pointed, furry, and able to turn this way and that (like a
+      poplar leaf),&mdash;a plain warning to musicians. Midas had the ears of an
+      ass, for every one to see!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a long time the poor man hid this oddity with such skill that we might
+      never have heard of it. But one of his servants learned the secret, and
+      suffered so much from keeping it to himself that he had to unburden his
+      mind at last. Out into the meadows he went, hollowed a little place in the
+      turf, whispered the strange news into it quite softly, and heaped the
+      earth over again. Alas! a bed of reeds sprang up there before long, and
+      whispered in turn to the grass-blades. Year after year they grew again,
+      ever gossipping among themselves; and to this day, with every wind that
+      sets them nodding together, they murmur, laughing, "<i>Midas has the ears
+      of an ass: Oh, hush, hush!</i>"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PROMETHEUS.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In the early days of the universe, there was a great struggle for empire
+      between Zeus and the Titans. The Titans, giant powers of heaven and earth,
+      were for seizing whatever they wanted, with no more ado than a whirlwind.
+      Prometheus, the wisest of all their race, long tried to persuade them that
+      good counsel would avail more than violence; but they refused to listen.
+      Then, seeing that such rulers would soon turn heaven and earth into chaos
+      again, Prometheus left them to their own devices, and went over to Zeus,
+      whom he aided so well that the Titans were utterly overthrown. Down into
+      Tartarus they went, to live among the hidden fires of the earth; and there
+      they spent a long term of bondage, muttering like storm, and shaking the
+      roots of mountains. One of them was Enceladus, who lay bound under Aetna;
+      and one, Atlas, was made to stand and bear up the weight of the sky on his
+      giant shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Zeus was left King of gods and men. Like any young ruler, he was eager to
+      work great changes with his new power. Among other plans, he proposed to
+      destroy the race of men then living, and to replace it with some new order
+      of creatures. Prometheus alone heard this scheme with indignation. Not
+      only did he plead for the life of man and save it, but ever after he spent
+      his giant efforts to civilize the race, and to endow it with a wit near to
+      that of gods.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the Golden Age, men had lived free of care. They took no heed of daily
+      wants, since Zeus gave them all things needful, and the earth brought
+      forth fruitage and harvest without asking the toil of husbandmen. If
+      mortals were light of heart, however, their minds were empty of great
+      enterprise. They did not know how to build or plant or weave; their
+      thoughts never flew far, and they had no wish to cross the sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Prometheus loved earthly folk, and thought that they had been children
+      long enough. He was a mighty workman, with the whole world for a workshop;
+      and little by little he taught men knowledge that is wonderful to know, so
+      that they grew out of their childhood, and began to take thought for
+      themselves. Some people even say that he knew how to make men,&mdash;as we
+      make shapes out of clay,&mdash;and set their five wits going. However that
+      may be, he was certainly a cunning workman. He taught men first to build
+      huts out of clay, and to thatch roofs with straw. He showed them how to
+      make bricks and hew marble. He taught them numbers and letters, the signs
+      of the seasons, and the coming and going of the stars. He showed them how
+      to use for their healing the simple herbs that once had no care save to
+      grow and be fragrant. He taught them how to till the fields; how to tame
+      the beasts, and set them also to work; how to build ships that ride the
+      water, and to put wings upon them that they may go faster, like birds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With every new gift, men desired more and more. They set out to see
+      unknown lands, and their ambitions grew with their knowledge. They were
+      like a race of poor gods gifted with dreams of great glory and the power
+      to fashion marvellous things; and, though they had no endless youth to
+      spend, the gods were troubled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Last of all, Prometheus went up secretly to heaven after the treasure of
+      the immortals. He lighted a reed at the flame of the sun, and brought down
+      the holy fire which is dearest to the gods. For with the aid of fire all
+      things are possible, all arts are perfected.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was his greatest gift to man, but it was a theft from the immortal
+      gods, and Zeus would endure no more. He could not take back the secret of
+      fire; but he had Prometheus chained to a lofty crag in the Caucasus, where
+      every day a vulture came to prey upon his body, and at night the wound
+      would heal, so that it was ever to suffer again. It was a bitter penalty
+      for so noble-hearted a rebel, and as time went by, and Zeus remembered his
+      bygone services, he would have made peace once more. He only waited till
+      Prometheus should bow his stubborn spirit, but this the son of Titans
+      would not do. Haughty as rock beneath his daily torment, believing that he
+      suffered for the good of mankind, he endured for years.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One secret hardened his spirit. He was sure that the empire of Zeus must
+      fall some day, since he knew of a danger that threatened it. For there was
+      a certain beautiful sea-nymph, Thetis, whom Zeus desired for his wife.
+      (This was before his marriage to Queen Juno.) Prometheus alone knew that
+      Thetis was destined to have a son who should be far greater than his
+      father. If she married some mortal, then, the prophecy was not so
+      wonderful; but if she were to marry the King of gods and men, and her son
+      should be greater than he, there could be no safety for the kingdom. This
+      knowledge Prometheus kept securely hidden; but he ever defied Zeus, and
+      vexed him with dark sayings about a danger that threatened his
+      sovereignty. No torment could wring the secret from him. Year after year,
+      lashed by the storms and scorched by the heat of the sun, he hung in
+      chains and the vulture tore his vitals, while the young Oceanides wept at
+      his feet, and men sorrowed over the doom of their protector.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last that earlier enmity between the gods and the Titans came to an
+      end. The banished rebels were set free from Tartarus, and they themselves
+      came and besought their brother, Prometheus, to hear the terms of Zeus.
+      For the King of gods and men had promised to pardon his enemy, if he would
+      only reveal this one troublous secret.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In all heaven and earth there was but one thing that marred the new
+      harmony,&mdash;this long struggle between Zeus and Prometheus; and the
+      Titan relented. He spoke the prophecy, warned Zeus not to marry Thetis,
+      and the two were reconciled. The hero Heracles (himself an earthly son of
+      Zeus) slew the vulture and set Prometheus free.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But it was still needful that a life should be given to expiate that
+      ancient sin,&mdash;the theft of fire. It happened that Chiron, noblest of
+      all the Centaurs (who are half horses and half men), was wandering the
+      world in agony from a wound that he had received by strange mischance.
+      For, at a certain wedding-feast among the Lapithae of Thessaly, one of the
+      turbulent Centaurs had attempted to steal away the bride. A fierce
+      struggle followed, and in the general confusion, Chiron, blameless as he
+      was, had been wounded by a poisoned arrow. Ever tormented with the hurt
+      and never to be healed, the immortal Centaur longed for death, and begged
+      that he might be accepted as an atonement for Prometheus. The gods heard
+      his prayer and took away his pain and his immortality. He died like any
+      wearied man, and Zeus set him as a shining archer among the stars.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So ended a long feud. From the day of Prometheus, men spent their lives in
+      ceaseless enterprise, forced to take heed for food and raiment, since they
+      knew how, and to ply their tasks of art and handicraft, They had taken
+      unresting toil upon them, but they had a wondrous servant at their beck
+      and call,&mdash;the bright-eyed fire that is the treasure of the gods.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THE DELUGE.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Even with the gifts of Prometheus, men could not rest content. As years
+      went by, they lost all the innocence of the early world; they grew more
+      and more covetous and evil-hearted. Not satisfied with the fruits of the
+      Earth, or with the fair work of their own hands, they delved in the ground
+      after gold and jewels; and for the sake of treasure nations made war upon
+      each other and hate sprang up in households. Murder and theft broke loose
+      and left nothing sacred.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last Zeus spoke. Calling the gods together, he said: "Ye see what the
+      Earth has become through the baseness of men. Once they were deserving of
+      our protection; now they even neglect to ask it. I will destroy them with
+      my thunderbolts and make a new race."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the gods withheld him from this impulse. "For," they said, "let not
+      the Earth, the mother of all, take fire and perish. But seek out some
+      means to destroy mankind and leave her unhurt."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Zeus unloosed the waters of the world and there was a great flood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The streams that had been pent in narrow channels, like wild steeds bound
+      to the ploughshare, broke away with exultation; the springs poured down
+      from the mountains, and the air was blind with rain. Valleys and uplands
+      were covered; strange countries were joined in one great sea; and where
+      the highest trees had towered, only a little greenery pricked through the
+      water, as weeds show in a brook.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Men and women perished with the flocks and herds. Wild beasts from the
+      forest floated away on the current with the poor sheep. Birds, left
+      homeless, circled and flew far and near seeking some place of rest, and,
+      finding none, they fell from weariness and died with human folk, that had
+      no wings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then for the first time the sea-creatures&mdash;nymphs and dolphins&mdash;ventured
+      far from their homes, up, up through the swollen waters, among places that
+      they had never seen before,&mdash;forests whose like they had not dreamed,
+      towns and deluged farmsteads. They went in and out of drowned palaces, and
+      wondered at the strange ways of men. And in and out the bright fish
+      darted, too, without a fear. Wonderful man was no more. His hearth was
+      empty; and fire, his servant, was dead on earth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One mountain alone stood high above this ruin. It was Parnassus, sacred to
+      the gods; and here one man and woman had found refuge. Strangely enough,
+      this husband and wife were of the race of the Titans,&mdash;Deucalion, a
+      son of Prometheus, and Pyrrha, a child of Epimetheus, his brother; and
+      these alone had lived pure and true of heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Warned by Prometheus of the fate in store for the Earth, they had put off
+      from their home in a little boat, and had made the crest of Parnassus
+      their safe harbor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gods looked down on these two lonely creatures, and, beholding all
+      their past lives clear and just, suffered them to live on. Zeus bade the
+      rain cease and the floods withdraw.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once more the rivers sought their wonted channels, and the sea-gods and
+      the nymphs wandered home reluctantly with the sinking seas. The sun came
+      out; and they hastened more eagerly to find cool depths. Little by little
+      the forest trees rose from the shallows as if they were growing anew. At
+      last the surface of the world lay clear to see, but sodden and deserted,
+      the fair fields covered with ooze, the houses rank with moss, the temples
+      cold and lightless.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Deucalion and Pyrrha saw the bright waste of water sink and grow dim and
+      the hills emerge, and the earth show green once more. But even their
+      thankfulness of heart could not make them merry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Are we to live on this great earth all alone?" they said. "Ah! if we had
+      but the wisdom and cunning of our fathers, we might make a new race of men
+      to bear us company. But now what remains to us? We have only each other
+      for all our kindred."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Take heart, dear wife," said Deucalion at length, "and let us pray to the
+      gods in yonder temple."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They went thither hand in hand. It touched their hearts to see the sacred
+      steps soiled with the water-weeds,&mdash;the altar without fire; but they
+      entered reverently, and besought the Oracle to help them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Go forth," answered the spirit of the place, "with your faces veiled and
+      your robes ungirt; and cast behind you, as ye go, the bones of your
+      mother."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Deucalion and Pyrrha heard with amazement. The strange word was terrible
+      to them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We may never dare do this," whispered Pyrrha. "It would be impious to
+      strew our mother's bones along the way."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In sadness and wonder they went out together and took thought, a little
+      comforted by the firmness of the dry earth beneath their feet. Suddenly
+      Deucalion pointed to the ground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Behold the Earth, our mother!" said he. "Surely it was this that the
+      Oracle meant. And what should her bones be but the rocks that are a
+      foundation for the clay, and the pebbles that strew the path?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Uncertain, but with lighter hearts, they veiled their faces, ungirt their
+      garments, and, gathering each an armful of the stones, flung them behind,
+      as the Oracle had bidden.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And, as they walked, every stone that Deucalion flung became a man; and
+      every one that Pyrrha threw sprang up a woman. And the hearts of these two
+      were filled with joy and welcome.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Down from the holy mountain they went, all those new creatures, ready to
+      make them homes and to go about human work. For they were strong to
+      endure, fresh and hardy of spirit, as men and women should be who are true
+      children of our Mother Earth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      When gods and shepherds piped and the stars sang, that was the day of
+      musicians! But the triumph of Phoebus Apollo himself was not so wonderful
+      as the triumph of a mortal man who lived on earth, though some say that he
+      came of divine lineage. This was Orpheus, that best of harpers, who went
+      with the Grecian heroes of the great ship Argo in search of the Golden
+      Fleece.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After his return from the quest, he won Eurydice for his wife, and they
+      were as happy as people can be who love each other and every one else. The
+      very wild beasts loved them, and the trees clustered about their home as
+      if they were watered with music. But even the gods themselves were not
+      always free from sorrow, and one day misfortune came upon that harper
+      Orpheus whom all men loved to honor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Eurydice, his lovely wife, as she was wandering with the nymphs,
+      unwittingly trod upon a serpent in the grass. Surely, if Orpheus had been
+      with her, playing upon his lyre, no creature could have harmed her. But
+      Orpheus came too late. She died of the sting, and was lost to him in the
+      Underworld.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For days he wandered from his home, singing the story of his loss and his
+      despair to the helpless passers-by. His grief moved the very stones in the
+      wilderness, and roused a dumb distress in the hearts of savage beasts.
+      Even the gods on Mount Olympus gave ear, but they held no power over the
+      darkness of Hades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Wherever Orpheus wandered with his lyre, no one had the will to forbid him
+      entrance; and at length he found unguarded that very cave that leads to
+      the Underworld where Pluto rules the spirits of the dead. He went down
+      without fear. The fire in his living heart found him a way through the
+      gloom of that place. He crossed the Styx, the black river that the gods
+      name as their most sacred oath. Charon, the harsh old ferryman who takes
+      the Shades across, forgot to ask of him the coin that every soul must pay.
+      For Orpheus sang. There in the Underworld the song of Apollo would not
+      have moved the poor ghosts so much. It would have amazed them, like a star
+      far off that no one understands. But here was a human singer, and he sang
+      of things that grow in every human heart, youth and love and death, the
+      sweetness of the Earth, and the bitterness of losing aught that is dear to
+      us.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the dead, when they go to the Underworld, drink of the pool of Lethe;
+      and forgetfulness of all that has passed comes upon them like a sleep, and
+      they lose their longing for the world, they lose their memory of pain, and
+      live content with that cool twilight. But not the pool of Lethe itself
+      could withstand the song of Orpheus; and in the hearts of the Shades all
+      the old dreams awoke wondering. They remembered once more the life of men
+      on Earth, the glory of the sun and moon, the sweetness of new grass, the
+      warmth of their homes, all the old joy and grief that they had known. And
+      they wept.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Even the Furies were moved to pity. Those, too, who were suffering
+      punishment for evil deeds ceased to be tormented for themselves, and
+      grieved only for the innocent Orpheus who had lost Eurydice. Sisyphus,
+      that fraudulent king (who is doomed to roll a monstrous boulder uphill
+      forever), stopped to listen. The daughters of Danaus left off their task
+      of drawing water in a sieve. Tantalus forgot hunger and thirst, though
+      before his eyes hung magical fruits that were wont to vanish out of his
+      grasp, and just beyond reach bubbled the water that was a torment to his
+      ears; he did not hear it while Orpheus sang.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, among a crowd of eager ghosts, Orpheus came, singing with all his
+      heart, before the king and queen of Hades. And the queen Proserpina wept
+      as she listened and grew homesick, remembering the fields of Enna and the
+      growing of the wheat, and her own beautiful mother, Demeter. Then Pluto
+      gave way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They called Eurydice and she came, like a young guest unused to the
+      darkness of the Underworld. She was to return with Orpheus, but on one
+      condition. If he turned to look at her once before they reached the upper
+      air, he must lose her again and go back to the world alone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Rapt with joy, the happy Orpheus hastened on the way, thinking only of
+      Eurydice, who was following him. Past Lethe, across the Styx they went, he
+      and his lovely wife, still silent as a Shade. But the place was full of
+      gloom, the silence weighed upon him, he had not seen her for so long; her
+      footsteps made no sound; and he could hardly believe the miracle, for
+      Pluto seldom relents. When the first gleam of upper daylight broke through
+      the cleft to the dismal world, he forgot all, save that he must know if
+      she still followed. He turned to see her face, and the promise was broken!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She smiled at him forgivingly, but it was too late. He stretched out his
+      arms to take her, but she faded from them, as the bright snow, that none
+      may keep, melts in our very hands. A murmur of farewell came to his ears,&mdash;no
+      more. She was gone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He would have followed, but Charon, now on guard, drove him back. Seven
+      days he lingered there between the worlds of life and death, but after the
+      broken promise, Hades would not listen to his song. Back to the Earth he
+      wandered, though it was sweet to him no longer. He died young, singing to
+      the last, and round about the place where his body rested, nightingales
+      nested in the trees. His lyre was set among the stars; and he himself went
+      down to join Eurydice, unforbidden.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Those two had no need of Lethe, for their life on earth had been wholly
+      fair, and now that they are together they no longer own a sorrow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      ICARUS AND DAEDALUS.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Among all those mortals who grew so wise that they learned the secrets of
+      the gods, none was more cunning than Daedalus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He once built, for King Minos of Crete, a wonderful Labyrinth of winding
+      ways so cunningly tangled up and twisted around that, once inside, you
+      could never find your way out again without a magic clue. But the king's
+      favor veered with the wind, and one day he had his master architect
+      imprisoned in a tower. Daedalus managed to escape from his cell; but it
+      seemed impossible to leave the island, since every ship that came or went
+      was well guarded by order of the king.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At length, watching the sea-gulls in the air,&mdash;the only creatures
+      that were sure of liberty,&mdash;he thought of a plan for himself and his
+      young son Icarus, who was captive with him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Little by little, he gathered a store of feathers great and small. He
+      fastened these together with thread, moulded them in with wax, and so
+      fashioned two great wings like those of a bird. When they were done,
+      Daedalus fitted them to his own shoulders, and after one or two efforts,
+      he found that by waving his arms he could winnow the air and cleave it, as
+      a swimmer does the sea. He held himself aloft, wavered this way and that
+      with the wind, and at last, like a great fledgling, he learned to fly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without delay, he fell to work on a pair of wings for the boy Icarus, and
+      taught him carefully how to use them, bidding him beware of rash
+      adventures among the stars. "Remember," said the father, "never to fly
+      very low or very high, for the fogs about the earth would weigh you down,
+      but the blaze of the sun will surely melt your feathers apart if you go
+      too near."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For Icarus, these cautions went in at one ear and out by the other. Who
+      could remember to be careful when he was to fly for the first time? Are
+      birds careful? Not they! And not an idea remained in the boy's head but
+      the one joy of escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The day came, and the fair wind that was to set them free. The father bird
+      put on his wings, and, while the light urged them to be gone, he waited to
+      see that all was well with Icarus, for the two could not fly hand in hand.
+      Up they rose, the boy after his father. The hateful ground of Crete sank
+      beneath them; and the country folk, who caught a glimpse of them when they
+      were high above the tree-tops, took it for a vision of the gods,&mdash;Apollo,
+      perhaps, with Cupid after him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At first there was a terror in the joy. The wide vacancy of the air dazed
+      them,&mdash;a glance downward made their brains reel. But when a great
+      wind filled their wings, and Icarus felt himself sustained, like a
+      halcyon-bird in the hollow of a wave, like a child uplifted by his mother,
+      he forgot everything in the world but joy. He forgot Crete and the other
+      islands that he had passed over: he saw but vaguely that winged thing in
+      the distance before him that was his father Daedalus. He longed for one
+      draught of flight to quench the thirst of his captivity: he stretched out
+      his arms to the sky and made towards the highest heavens.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Alas for him! Warmer and warmer grew the air. Those arms, that had seemed
+      to uphold him, relaxed. His wings wavered, drooped. He fluttered his young
+      hands vainly,&mdash;he was falling,&mdash;and in that terror he
+      remembered. The heat of the sun had melted the wax from his wings; the
+      feathers were falling, one by one, like snowflakes; and there was none to
+      help.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He fell like a leaf tossed down the wind, down, down, with one cry that
+      overtook Daedalus far away. When he returned, and sought high and low for
+      the poor boy, he saw nothing but the bird-like feathers afloat on the
+      water, and he knew that Icarus was drowned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The nearest island he named Icaria, in memory of the child; but he, in
+      heavy grief, went to the temple of Apollo in Sicily, and there hung up his
+      wings as an offering. Never again did he attempt to fly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PHAETHON.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Once upon a time, the reckless whim of a lad came near to destroying the
+      Earth and robbing the spheres of their wits.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There were two playmates, said to be of heavenly parentage. One was
+      Epaphus, who claimed Zeus as a father; and one was Phaethon, the earthly
+      child of Phoebus Apollo (or Helios, as some name the sun-god). One day
+      they were boasting together, each of his own father, and Epaphus, angry at
+      the other's fine story, dared him to go prove his kinship with the Sun.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Full of rage and humiliation, Phaethon went to his mother, Clymene, where
+      she sat with his young sisters, the Heliades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "It is true, my child," she said, "I swear it in the light of yonder Sun.
+      If you have any doubt, go to the land whence he rises at morning and ask
+      of him any gift you will; he is your father, and he cannot refuse you."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as might be, Phaethon set out for the country of sunrise. He
+      journeyed by day and by night far into the east, till he came to the
+      palace of the Sun. It towered high as the clouds, glorious with gold and
+      all manner of gems that looked like frozen fire, if that might be. The
+      mighty walls were wrought with images of earth and sea and sky. Vulcan,
+      the smith of the gods, had made them in his workshop (for Mount-Aetna is
+      one of his forges, and he has the central fires of the earth to help him
+      fashion gold and iron, as men do glass). On the doors blazed the twelve
+      signs of the Zodiac, in silver that shone like snow in the sunlight.
+      Phaethon was dazzled with the sight, but when he entered the palace hall
+      he could hardly bear the radiance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In one glimpse through his half-shut eyes, he beheld a glorious being,
+      none other than Phoebus himself, seated upon a throne. He was clothed in
+      purple raiment, and round his head there shone a blinding light, that
+      enveloped even his courtiers upon the right and upon the left,&mdash;the
+      Seasons with their emblems, Day, Month, Year, and the beautiful young
+      Hours in a row. In one glance of those all-seeing eyes, the sun-god knew
+      his child; but in order to try him he asked the boy his errand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O my father," stammered Phaethon, "if you are my father indeed," and then
+      he took courage; for the god came down from his throne, put off the
+      glorious halo that hurt mortal eyes, and embraced him tenderly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Indeed, thou art my son," said he. "Ask any gift of me and it shall be
+      thine; I call the Styx to witness."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah!" cried Phaethon rapturously. "Let me drive thy chariot for one day!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For an instant the Sun's looks clouded. "Choose again, my child," said he.
+      "Thou art only a mortal, and this task is mine alone of all the gods. Not
+      Zeus himself dare drive the chariot of the Sun. The way is full of
+      terrors, both for the horses and for all the stars along the roadside, and
+      for the Earth, who has all blessings from me. Listen, and choose again."
+      And therewith he warned Phaethon of all the dangers that beset the way,&mdash;the
+      great steep that the steeds must climb, the numbing dizziness of the
+      height, the fierce constellations that breathe out fire, and that descent
+      in the west where the Sun seems to go headlong.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But these counsels only made the reckless boy more eager to win honor of
+      such a high enterprise.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I will take care; only let me go," he begged.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now Phoebus' had sworn by the black river Styx, an oath that none of the
+      gods dare break, and he was forced to keep his promise.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Already Aurora, goddess of dawn, had thrown open the gates of the east and
+      the stars were beginning to wane. The Hours came forth to harness the four
+      horses, and Phaethon looked with exultation at the splendid creatures,
+      whose lord he was for a day. Wild, immortal steeds they were, fed with
+      ambrosia, untamed as the winds; their very pet names signified flame, and
+      all that flame can do,&mdash;Pyrois, Eoüs, Aethon, Phlegon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the lad stood by, watching, Phoebus anointed his face with a philter
+      that should make him strong to endure the terrible heat and light, then
+      set the halo upon his head, with a last word of counsel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Follow the road," said he, "and never turn aside. Go not too high or too
+      low, for the sake of heavens and earth; else men and gods will suffer. The
+      Fates alone know whether evil is to come of this. Yet if your heart fails
+      you, as I hope, abide here and I will make the journey, as I am wont to
+      do."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Phaethon held to his choice and bade his father farewell. He took his
+      place in the chariot, gathered up the reins, and the horses sprang away,
+      eager for the road.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As they went, they bent their splendid necks to see the meaning of the
+      strange hand upon the reins,&mdash;the slender weight in the chariot. They
+      turned their wild eyes upon Phaethon, to his secret foreboding, and
+      neighed one to another. This was no master-charioteer, but a mere lad, a
+      feather riding the wind. It was holiday for the horses of the Sun, and
+      away they went.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Grasping the reins that dragged him after, like an enemy, Phaethon looked
+      down from the fearful ascent and saw the Earth far beneath him, dim and
+      fair. He was blind with dizziness and bewilderment. His hold slackened and
+      the horses redoubled their speed, wild with new liberty. They left the old
+      tracks. Before he knew where he was, they had startled the constellations
+      and well-nigh grazed the Serpent, so that it woke from its torpor and
+      hissed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The steeds took fright. This way and that they went, terrified by the
+      monsters they had never encountered before, shaking out of their silver
+      quiet the cool stars towards the north, then fleeing as far to the south
+      among new wonders. The heavens were full of terror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Up, far above the clouds, they went, and down again, towards the
+      defenceless Earth, that could not flee from the chariot of the Sun. Great
+      rivers hid themselves in the ground, and mountains were consumed. Harvests
+      perished like a moth that is singed in a candle-flame.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In vain did Phaethon call to the horses and pull upon the reins. As in a
+      hideous dream, he saw his own Earth, his beautiful home and the home of
+      all men, his kindred, parched by the fires of this mad chariot, and
+      blackening beneath him. The ground cracked open and the sea shrank.
+      Heedless water-nymphs, who had lingered in the shallows, were left gasping
+      like bright fishes. The dryads shrank, and tried to cover themselves from
+      the scorching heat. The poor Earth lifted her withered face in a last
+      prayer to Zeus to save them if he might.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Zeus, calling all the gods to witness that there was no other means
+      of safety, hurled his thunderbolt; and Phaethon knew no more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His body fell through the heavens, aflame like a shooting-star; and the
+      horses of the Sun dashed homeward with the empty chariot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor Clymene grieved sore over the boy's death; but the young Heliades,
+      daughters of the Sun, refused all comfort. Day and night they wept
+      together about their brother's grave by the river, until the gods took
+      pity and changed them all into poplar-trees. And ever after that they wept
+      sweet tears of amber, clear as sunlight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      NIOBE.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      There are so many tales of the vanity of kings and queens that the half of
+      them cannot be told.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was Cassiopaeia, queen of Aethiopia, who boasted that her beauty
+      outshone the beauty of all the sea-nymphs, so that in anger they sent a
+      horrible sea-serpent to ravage the coast. The king prayed of an Oracle to
+      know how the monster might be appeased, and learned that he must offer up
+      his own daughter, Andromeda. The maiden was therefore chained to a rock by
+      the sea-side, and left to her fate. But who should come to rescue her but
+      a certain young hero, Perseus, who was hastening homeward after a perilous
+      adventure with the snaky-haired Gorgons. Filled with pity at the story of
+      Andromeda, he waited for the dragon, met and slew him, and set the maiden
+      free. As for the boastful queen, the gods forgave her, and at her death
+      she was set among the stars. That story ended well.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there was once a queen of Thebes, Niobe, fortunate above all women,
+      and yet arrogant in the face of the gods. Very beautiful she was, and
+      nobly born, but above all things she boasted of her children, for she had
+      seven sons and seven daughters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now there came the day when the people were wont to celebrate the feast of
+      Latona, mother of Apollo and Diana; and Niobe, as she stood looking upon
+      the worshippers on their way to the temple, was filled with overweening
+      pride.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Why do you worship Latona before me?" she cried out. "What does she
+      possess that I have not in greater abundance? She has but two children,
+      while I have seven sons and as many daughters. Nay, if she robbed me out
+      of envy, I should still be rich. Go back to your houses; you have not eyes
+      to know the rightful goddess."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such impiety was enough to frighten any one, and her subjects returned to
+      their daily work, awestruck and silent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Apollo and Diana were filled with wrath at this insult to their divine
+      mother. Not only was she a great goddess and a power in the heavens, but
+      during her life on earth she had suffered many hardships for their sake.
+      The serpent Python had been sent to torment her; and, driven from land to
+      land, under an evil spell, beset with dangers, she had found no
+      resting-place but the island of Delos, held sacred ever after to her and
+      her children. Once she had even been refused water by some churlish
+      peasants, who could not believe in a goddess if she appeared in humble
+      guise and travel-worn. But these men were all changed into frogs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It needed no word from Latona herself to rouse her children to vengeance.
+      Swift as a thought, the two immortal archers, brother and sister, stood in
+      Thebes, upon the towers of the citadel. Near by, the youth were pursuing
+      their sports, while the feast of Latona went neglected. The sons of Queen
+      Niobe were there, and against them Apollo bent his golden bow. An arrow
+      crossed the air like a sunbeam, and without a word the eldest prince fell
+      from his horse. One by one his brothers died by the same hand, so swiftly
+      that they knew not what had befallen them, till all the sons of the royal
+      house lay slain. Only the people of Thebes, stricken with terror, bore the
+      news to Queen Niobe, where she sat with her seven daughters. She would not
+      believe in such a sorrow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Savage Latona," she cried, lifting her arms against the heavens, "never
+      think that you have conquered. I am still the greater."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At that moment one of her daughters sank beside her. Diana had sped an
+      arrow from her bow that is like the crescent moon. Without a cry, nay,
+      even as they murmured words of comfort, the sisters died, one by one. It
+      was all as swift and soundless as snowfall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Only the guilty mother was left, transfixed with grief. Tears flowed from
+      her eyes, but she spoke not a word, her heart never softened; and at last
+      she turned to stone, and the tears flowed down her cold face forever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      ADMETUS AND THE SHEPHERD.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Apollo did not live always free of care, though he was the most glorious
+      of the gods. One day, in anger with the Cyclopes who work at the forges of
+      Vulcan, he sent his arrows after them, to the wrath of all the gods, but
+      especially of Zeus. (For the Cyclopes always make his thunderbolts, and
+      make them well.) Even the divine archer could not go unpunished, and as a
+      penalty he was sent to serve some mortal for a year. Some say one year and
+      some say nine, but in those days time passed quickly; and as for the gods,
+      they took no heed of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now there was a certain king in Thessaly, Admetus by name, and there came
+      to him one day a stranger, who asked leave to serve about the palace. None
+      knew his name, but he was very comely, and moreover, when they questioned
+      him he said that he had come from a position of high trust. So without
+      further delay they made him chief shepherd of the royal flocks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every day thereafter, he drove his sheep to the banks of the river
+      Amphrysus, and there he sat to watch them browse. The country-folk that
+      passed drew near to wonder at him, without daring to ask questions. He
+      seemed to have a knowledge of leech-craft, and knew how to cure the ills
+      of any wayfarer with any weed that grew near by; and he would pipe for
+      hours in the sun. A simple-spoken man he was, yet he seemed to know much
+      more than he would say, and he smiled with a kindly mirth when the people
+      wished him sunny weather.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Indeed, as days went by, it seemed as if summer had come to stay, and,
+      like the shepherd, found the place friendly. Nowhere else were the flocks
+      so white and fair to see, like clouds loitering along a bright sky; and
+      sometimes, when he chose, their keeper sang to them. Then the grasshoppers
+      drew near and the swans sailed close to the river banks, and the
+      country-men gathered about to hear wonderful tales of the slaying of the
+      monster Python, and of a king with ass's ears, and of a lovely maiden,
+      Daphne, who grew into a laurel-tree. In time the rumor of these things
+      drew the king himself to listen; and Admetus, who had been to see the
+      world in the ship Argo, knew at once that this was no earthly shepherd,
+      but a god. From that day, like a true king, he treated his guest with
+      reverence and friendliness, asking no questions; and the god was well
+      pleased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now it came to pass that Admetus fell in love with a beautiful maiden,
+      Alcestis, and, because of the strange condition that her father Pelias had
+      laid upon all suitors, he was heavy-hearted. Only that man who should come
+      to woo her in a chariot drawn by a wild boar and a lion might ever marry
+      Alcestis; and this task was enough to puzzle even a king.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As for the shepherd, when he heard of it he rose, one fine morning, and
+      left the sheep and went his way,&mdash;no one knew whither. If the sun had
+      gone out, the people could not have been more dismayed. The king himself
+      went, late in the day, to walk by the river Amphrysus, and wonder if his
+      gracious keeper of the flocks had deserted him in a time of need. But at
+      that very moment, whom should he see returning from the woods but the
+      shepherd, glorious as sunset, and leading side by side a lion and a boar,
+      as gentle as two sheep! The very next morning, with joy and gratitude,
+      Admetus set out in his chariot for the kingdom of Pelias, and there he
+      wooed and won Alcestis, the most loving wife that was ever heard of.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was well for Admetus that he came home with such a comrade, for the
+      year was at an end, and he was to lose his shepherd. The strange man came
+      to take leave of the king and queen whom he had befriended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Blessed be your flocks, Admetus," he said, smiling. "They shall prosper
+      even though I leave them. And, because you can discern the gods that come
+      to you in the guise of wayfarers, happiness shall never go far from your
+      home, but ever return to be your guest. No man may live on earth forever,
+      but this one gift have I obtained for you. When your last hour draws near,
+      if any one shall be willing to meet it in your stead, he shall die, and
+      you shall live on, more than the mortal length of days. Such kings deserve
+      long life."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So ended the happy year when Apollo tended sheep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      ALCESTIS.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      For many years the remembrance of Apollo's service kept Thessaly full of
+      sunlight. Where a god could work, the people took heart to work also.
+      Flocks and herds throve, travellers were befriended, and men were happy
+      under the rule of a happy king and queen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But one day Admetus fell ill, and he grew weaker and weaker until he lay
+      at death's door. Then, when no remedy was found to help him and the hope
+      of the people was failing, they remembered the promise of the Fates to
+      spare the king if some one else would die in his stead. This seemed a
+      simple matter for one whose wishes are law, and whose life is needed by
+      all his fellow-men. But, strange to say, the substitute did not come
+      forward at once.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Among the king's most faithful friends, many were afraid to die. Men said
+      that they would gladly give their lives in battle, but that they could not
+      die in bed at home like helpless old women. The wealthy had too much to
+      live for; and the poor, who possessed nothing but life, could not bear to
+      give up that. Even the aged parents of Admetus shrunk from the thought of
+      losing the few years that remained to them, and thought it impious that
+      any one should name such a sacrifice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All this time, the three Fates were waiting to cut the thread of life, and
+      they could not wait longer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, seeing that even the old and wretched clung to their gift of life,
+      who should offer herself but the young and lovely queen, Alcestis?
+      Sorrowful but resolute, she determined to be the victim, and made ready to
+      die for the sake of her husband.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She took leave of her children and commended them to the care of Admetus.
+      All his pleading could not change the decree of the Fates. Alcestis
+      prepared for death as for some consecration. She bathed and anointed her
+      body, and, as a mortal illness seized her, she lay down to die, robed in
+      fair raiment, and bade her kindred farewell. The household was filled with
+      mourning, but it was too late. She waned before the eyes of the king, like
+      daylight that must be gone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this grievous moment Heracles, mightiest of all men, who was journeying
+      on his way to new adventures, begged admittance to the palace, and
+      inquired the cause of such grief in that hospitable place. He was told of
+      the misfortune that had befallen Admetus, and, struck with pity, he
+      resolved to try what his strength might do for this man who had been a
+      friend of gods.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Already Death had come out of Hades for Alcestis, and as Heracles stood at
+      the door of her chamber he saw that awful form leading away the lovely
+      spirit of the queen, for the breath had just departed from her body. Then
+      the might that he had from his divine father Zeus stood by the hero. He
+      seized Death in his giant arms and wrestled for victory.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now Death is a visitor that comes and goes. He may not tarry in the upper
+      world; its air is not for him; and at length, feeling his power give way,
+      he loosed his grasp of the queen, and, weak with the struggle, made escape
+      to his native darkness of Hades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the chamber where the royal kindred were weeping, the body of Alcestis
+      lay, fair to see, and once more the breath stirred in her heart, like a
+      waking bird. Back to its home came her lovely spirit, and for long years
+      after she lived happily with her husband, King Admetus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      APOLLO'S SISTER.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      I. DIANA AND ACTAEON.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Like the Sun-god, whom men dreaded as the divine archer and loved as the
+      divine singer, Diana, his sister, had two natures, as different as day
+      from night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On earth she delighted in the wild life of the chase, keeping holiday
+      among the dryads, and hunting with all those nymphs that loved the boyish
+      pastime. She and her maidens shunned the fellowship of men and would not
+      hear of marriage, for they disdained all household arts; and there are
+      countless tales of their cruelty to suitors.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Syrinx and Atalanta were of their company, and Arethusa, who was changed
+      into a fountain and ever pursued by Alpheus the river-god, till at last
+      the two were united. There was Daphne, too, who disdained the love of
+      Apollo himself, and would never listen to a word of his suit, but fled
+      like Syrinx, and prayed like Syrinx for escape; but Daphne was changed
+      into a fair laurel-tree, held sacred by Apollo forever after.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All these maidens were as untamed and free of heart as the wild creatures
+      they loved to hunt, and whoever molested them did so at his peril. None
+      dared trespass in the home of Diana and her nymphs, not even the riotous
+      fauns and satyrs who were heedless enough to go a-swimming in the river
+      Styx, if they had cared to venture near such a dismal place. But the
+      maiden goddess laid a spell upon their unruly wits, even as the moon
+      controls the tides of the sea. Her precincts were holy. There was one man,
+      however, whose ill-timed curiosity brought heavy punishment upon him. This
+      was Actaeon, a grandson of the great king Cadmus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Wearied with hunting, one noon, he left his comrades and idled through the
+      forest, perhaps to spy upon those woodland deities of whom he had heard.
+      Chance brought him to the very grove where Diana and her nymphs were wont
+      to bathe. He followed the bright thread of the brook, never turning aside,
+      though mortal reverence should have warned him that the place was for
+      gods. The air was wondrous clear and sweet; a throng of fair trees drooped
+      their branches in the way, and from a sheltered grotto beyond fell a
+      mingled sound of laughter and running waters. But Actaeon would not turn
+      back. Roughly pushing aside the laurel branches that hid the entrance of
+      the cave, he looked in, startling Diana and her maidens. In an instant a
+      splash of water shut his eyes, and the goddess, reading his churlish
+      thought, said: "Go now, if thou wilt, and boast of this intrusion."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He turned to go, but a stupid bewilderment had fallen upon him. He looked
+      back to speak, and could not. He put his hand to his head, and felt
+      antlers branching above his forehead. Down he fell on hands and feet;
+      these likewise changed. The poor offender! Crouching by the brook that he
+      had followed, he looked in, and saw nothing but the image of a stag,
+      bending to drink, as only that morning he had seen the creature they had
+      come out to kill. With an impulse of terror he fled away, faster than he
+      had ever run before, crashing through bush and bracken, the noise of his
+      own flight ever after him like an enemy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly he heard the blast of a horn close by, then the baying of hounds.
+      His comrades, who had rested and were ready for the chase, made after him.
+      This time he was their prey. He tried to call and could not. His antlers
+      caught in the branches, his breath came with pain, and the dogs were upon
+      him,&mdash;his own dogs!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With all the eagerness that he had often praised in them, they fell upon
+      him, knowing not their own master. And so he perished, hunter and hunted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Only the goddess of the chase could have devised so terrible a revenge.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      II. DIANA AND ENDYMION.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      But with the daylight, all of Diana's joy in the wild life of the woods
+      seemed to fade. By night, as goddess of the moon, she watched over the
+      sleep of the earth,&mdash;measured the tides of the ocean, and went across
+      the wide path of heaven, slow and fair to see. And although she bore her
+      emblem of the bow, like a silver crescent, she was never terrible, but
+      beneficent and lovely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Indeed, there was once a young shepherd, Endymion, who used to lead his
+      flocks high up the slopes of Mount Latmos to the purer air; and there,
+      while the sheep browsed, he spent his days and nights dreaming on the
+      solitary uplands. He was a beautiful youth and very lonely. Looking down
+      one night from the heavens near by and as lonely as he, Diana saw him, and
+      her heart was moved to tenderness for his weariness and solitude. She cast
+      a spell of sleep upon him, with eternal youth, white and untroubled as
+      moonlight. And there, night after night, she watched his sheep for him,
+      like any peasant maid who wanders slowly through the pastures after the
+      flocks, spinning white flax from her distaff as she goes, alone and quite
+      content.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Endymion dreamed such beautiful dreams as come only to happy poets. Even
+      when he woke, life held no care for him, but he seemed to walk in a light
+      that was for him alone. And all this time, just as the Sun-god watched
+      over the sheep of King Admetus, Diana kept the flocks of Endymion, but it
+      was for love's sake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THE CALYDONIAN HUNT.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In that day of the chase, there was one enterprise renowned above all
+      others,&mdash;the great hunt of Calydon. Thither, in search of high
+      adventure, went all the heroes of Greece, just as they joined the quest of
+      the Golden Fleece, and, in a later day, went to the rescue of Fair Helen
+      in the Trojan War.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For Oeneus, king of Calydon, had neglected the temples of Diana, and she
+      had sent a monstrous boar to lay waste all the fields and farms in the
+      country. The people had never seen so terrible a beast, and they soon
+      wished that they had never offended the goddess who keeps the woods clear
+      of such monsters. No mortal device availed against it, and, after a
+      hundred disasters, Prince Meleager, the son of Oeneus, summoned the heroes
+      to join him in this perilous hunt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prince had a strange story. Soon after his birth, Althea, the queen,
+      had seen in a vision the three Fates spinning the thread of life and
+      crooning over their work. For Clotho spins the thread, Lachesis draws it
+      out, and Atropos waits to cut it off with her glittering shears. So the
+      queen beheld them, and heard them foretell that her baby should live no
+      longer than a brand that was then burning on the hearth. Horror inspired
+      the mother. Quick as a thought she seized the brand, put out the flame,
+      and laid it by in some safe and secret place where no harm could touch it.
+      So the child gathered strength and grew up to manhood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was a mighty hunter, and the other heroes came gladly to bear him
+      company. Many of the Argonauts were there,&mdash;Jason, Theseus, Nestor,
+      even Atalanta, that valorous maiden who had joined the rowers of the Argo,
+      a beloved charge of Diana. Boyish in her boldness for wild sports, she was
+      fleet of foot and very lovely to behold, altogether a bride for a princely
+      hunter. So Meleager thought, the moment that he saw her face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Together they all set out for the lair of the boar, the heroes and the men
+      of Calydon,&mdash;Meleager and his two uncles. Phlexippus and Toxeus,
+      brothers of Queen Althea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All was ready. Nets were stretched from tree to tree, and the dogs were
+      let loose. The heroes lay in wait. Suddenly the monster, startled by the
+      shouts of the company, rose hideous and unwieldy from his hiding-place and
+      rushed upon them. What were hounds to such as he, or nets spread for a
+      snare? Jason's spear missed and fell. Nestor only saved his life by
+      climbing the nearest tree. Several of the heroes were gored by the tusks
+      of the boar before they could make their escape. In the midst of this
+      horrible tumult, Atalanta sped an arrow at the creature and wounded him.
+      Meleager saw it with joy, and called upon the others to follow. One by one
+      they tried without success, but he, after one false thrust, drove his
+      spear into the side of the monster and laid him dead.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The heroes crowded to do him honor, but he turned to Atalanta, who had
+      first wounded the boar, and awarded her the shaggy hide that was her
+      fair-won trophy. This was too much for the warriors, who had been outdone
+      by a girl. Phlexippus and Toxeus were so enraged that they snatched the
+      prize from the maiden, churlishly, and denied her victory. Maddened at
+      this, Meleager forgot everything but the insult offered to Atalanta, and
+      he fell upon the two men and stabbed them. Only when they lay dead before
+      him did he remember that they were his own kinsmen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the mean time news had flown to the city that the pest was slain, and
+      Queen Althea was on her way to the temple to give thanks for their
+      deliverance. At the very gates she came upon a multitude of men
+      surrounding a litter, and drawing near she saw the bodies of her two
+      brothers. Swift upon this horror came a greater shock,&mdash;the name of
+      the murderer, her own son Meleager. All pity left the mother's heart when
+      she heard it; she thought only of revenge. In a lightning-flash she
+      remembered that brand which she had plucked from the fire when her son was
+      but a new-born babe,&mdash;the brand that was to last with his life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She ordered a pyre to be built and lighted, and straightway she went to
+      that hiding-place where she had kept the precious thing all these, years,
+      and brought it back and stood before the flames. At the last moment her
+      soul was torn between love for her son and grief for her murdered
+      brothers. She stretched forth the brand, and plucked it again from the
+      tongues of fire. She cried out in despair that the honor of her house
+      should require such an expiation. But, covering her eyes, she flung the
+      brand into the flames.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the same time, far away with his companions, and unwitting of these
+      things, Meleager was struck through with a sudden pang. Wondering and
+      helpless, the heroes gathered about, to behold him dying of some unknown
+      agony, while he strove to conquer his pain. Even as the brand burned in
+      the fire before the wretched queen, Meleager was consumed by a mysterious
+      death, blessing with his last breath friends and kindred, his dear
+      Atalanta, and the mother who had brought him to this doom, though he knew
+      it not. At last the brand fell into ashes, and in the forest the hero lay
+      dead.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The king and queen fell into such grief when all was known, that Diana
+      took pity upon them and changed them into birds.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      ATALANTA'S RACE.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Even if Prince Meleager had lived, it is doubtful if he could ever have
+      won Atalanta to be his wife. The maiden was resolved to live unwed, and at
+      last she devised a plan to be rid of all her suitors. She was known far
+      and wide as the swiftest runner of her time; and so she said that she
+      would only marry that man who could outstrip her in the race, but that all
+      who dared to try and failed must be put to death.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This threat did not dishearten all of the suitors, however, and to her
+      grief, for she was not cruel, they held her to her promise. On a certain
+      day the few bold men who were to try their fortune made ready, and chose
+      young Hippomenes as judge. He sat watching them before the word was given,
+      and sadly wondered that any brave man should risk his life merely to win a
+      bride. But when Atalanta stood ready for the contest, he was amazed by her
+      beauty. She looked like Hebe, goddess of young health, who is a glad
+      serving-maiden to the gods when they sit at feast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The signal was given, and, as she and the suitors darted away, flight made
+      her more enchanting than ever. Just as a wind brings sparkles to the water
+      and laughter to the trees, haste fanned her loveliness to a glow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Alas for the suitors! She ran as if Hermes had lent her his winged
+      sandals. The young men, skilled as they were, grew heavy with weariness
+      and despair. For all their efforts, they seemed to lag like ships in a
+      calm, while Atalanta flew before them in some favoring breeze&mdash;and
+      reached the goal!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To the sorrow of all on-lookers, the suitors were led away; but the judge
+      himself, Hippomenes, rose and begged leave to try his fortune. As Atalanta
+      listened, and looked at him, her heart was filled with pity, and she would
+      willingly have let him win the race to save him from defeat and death; for
+      he was comely and younger than the others. But her friends urged her to
+      rest and make ready, and she consented, with an unwilling heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile Hippomenes prayed within himself to Venus: "Goddess of Love,
+      give ear, and send me good speed. Let me be swift to win as I have been
+      swift to love her."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now Venus, who was not far off,&mdash;for she had already moved the heart
+      of Hippomenes to love,&mdash;came to his side invisibly, slipped into his
+      hand three wondrous golden apples, and whispered a word of counsel in his
+      ear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The signal was given; youth and maiden started over the course. They went
+      so like the wind that they left not a footprint. The people cheered on
+      Hippomenes, eager that such valor should win. But the course was long, and
+      soon fatigue seemed to clutch at his throat, the light shook before his
+      eyes, and, even as he pressed on, the maiden passed him by.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At that instant Hippomenes tossed ahead one of the golden apples. The
+      rolling bright thing caught Atalanta's eye, and full of wonder she stooped
+      to pick it up. Hippomenes ran on. As he heard the flutter of her tunic
+      close behind him, he flung aside another golden apple, and another moment
+      was lost to the girl. Who could pass by such a marvel? The goal was near
+      and Hippomenes was ahead, but once again Atalanta caught up with him, and
+      they sped side by side like two dragon-flies. For an instant his heart
+      failed him; then, with a last prayer to Venus, he flung down the last
+      apple. The maiden glanced at it, wavered, and would have left it where it
+      had fallen, had not Venus turned her head for a second and given her a
+      sudden wish to possess it. Against her will she turned to pick up the
+      golden apple, and Hippomenes touched the goal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So he won that perilous maiden; and as for Atalanta, she was glad to marry
+      such a valorous man. By this time she understood so well what it was like
+      to be pursued, that she had lost a little of her pleasure in hunting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      ARACHNE.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Not among mortals alone were there contests of skill, nor yet among the
+      gods, like Pan and Apollo. Many sorrows befell men because they grew
+      arrogant in their own devices and coveted divine honors. There was once a
+      great hunter, Orion, who outvied the gods themselves, till they took him
+      away from his hunting-grounds and set him in the heavens, with his sword
+      and belt, and his hound at his heels. But at length jealousy invaded even
+      the peaceful arts, and disaster came of spinning!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a certain maiden of Lydia, Arachne by name, renowned throughout
+      the country for her skill as a weaver. She was as nimble with her fingers
+      as Calypso, that nymph who kept Odysseus for seven years in her enchanted
+      island. She was as untiring as Penelope, the hero's wife, who wove day
+      after day while she watched for his return. Day in and day out, Arachne
+      wove too. The very nymphs would gather about her loom, naiads from the
+      water and dryads from the trees.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Maiden," they would say, shaking the leaves or the foam from their hair,
+      in wonder, "Pallas Athena must have taught you!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But this did not please Arachne. She would not acknowledge herself a
+      debtor, even to that goddess who protected all household arts, and by
+      whose grace alone one had any skill in them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I learned not of Athena," said she, "If she can weave better, let her
+      come and try."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The nymphs shivered at this, and an aged woman, who was looking on, turned
+      to Arachne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Be more heedful of your words, my daughter," said she. "The goddess may
+      pardon you if you ask forgiveness, but do not strive for honors with the
+      immortals."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Arachne broke her thread, and the shuttle stopped humming.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Keep your counsel," she said. "I fear not Athena; no, nor any one else."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As she frowned at the old woman, she was amazed to see her change suddenly
+      into one tall, majestic, beautiful,&mdash;a maiden of gray eyes and golden
+      hair, crowned with a golden helmet. It was Athena herself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The bystanders shrank in fear and reverence; only Arachne was unawed and
+      held to her foolish boast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In silence the two began to weave, and the nymphs stole nearer, coaxed by
+      the sound of the shuttles, that seemed to be humming with delight over the
+      two webs,&mdash;back and forth like bees.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They gazed upon the loom where the goddess stood plying her task, and they
+      saw shapes and images come to bloom out of the wondrous colors, as sunset
+      clouds grow to be living creatures when we watch them. And they saw that
+      the goddess, still merciful, was spinning, as a warning for Arachne, the
+      pictures of her own triumph over reckless gods and mortals.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In one corner of the web she made a story of her conquest over the sea-god
+      Poseidon. For the first king of Athens had promised to dedicate the city
+      to that god who should bestow upon it the most useful gift. Poseidon gave
+      the horse. But Athena gave the olive,&mdash;means of livelihood,&mdash;symbol
+      of peace and prosperity, and the city was called after her name. Again she
+      pictured a vain woman of Troy, who had been turned into a crane for
+      disputing the palm of beauty with a goddess. Other corners of the web held
+      similar images, and the whole shone like a rainbow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile Arachne, whose head was quite turned with vanity, embroidered
+      her web with stories against the gods, making light of Zeus himself and of
+      Apollo, and portraying them as birds and beasts. But she wove with
+      marvellous skill; the creatures seemed to breathe and speak, yet it was
+      all as fine as the gossamer that you find on the grass before rain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Athena herself was amazed. Not even her wrath at the girl's insolence
+      could wholly overcome her wonder. For an instant she stood entranced; then
+      she tore the web across, and three times she touched Arachne's forehead
+      with her spindle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Live on, Arachne," she said. "And since it is your glory to weave, you
+      and yours must weave forever." So saying, she sprinkled upon the maiden a
+      certain magical potion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Away went Arachne's beauty; then her very human form shrank to that of a
+      spider, and so remained. As a spider she spent all her days weaving and
+      weaving; and you may see something like her handiwork any day among the
+      rafters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PYRAMUS AND THISBE.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Venus did not always befriend true lovers, as she had befriended
+      Hippomenes, with her three golden apples. Sometimes, in the enchanted
+      island of Cyprus, she forgot her worshippers far away, and they called on
+      her in vain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So it was in the sad story of Hero and Leander, who lived on opposite
+      borders of the Hellespont. Hero dwelt at Sestos, where she served as a
+      priestess, in the very temple of Venus; and Leander's home was in Abydos,
+      a town on the opposite shore. But every night this lover would swim across
+      the water to see Hero, guided by the light which she was wont to set in
+      her tower. Even such loyalty could not conquer fate. There came a great
+      storm, one night, that put out the beacon, and washed Leander's body up
+      with the waves to Hero, and she sprang into the water to rejoin him, and
+      so perished.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not wholly unlike this was the fate of Halcyone, a queen of Thessaly, who
+      dreamed that her husband Ceyx had been drowned, and on waking hastened to
+      the shore to look for him. There she saw her dream come true,&mdash;his
+      lifeless body floating towards her on the tide; and as she flung herself
+      after him, mad with grief, the air upheld her and she seemed to fly.
+      Husband and wife were changed into birds; and there on the very water, at
+      certain seasons, they build a nest that floats unhurt,&mdash;a portent of
+      calm for many days and safe voyage for the ships. So it is that seamen
+      love these birds and look for halcyon weather.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there once lived in Babylonia two lovers named Pyramus and Thisbe, who
+      were parted by a strange mischance. For they lived in adjoining houses;
+      and although their parents had forbidden them to marry, these two had
+      found a means of talking together through a crevice in the wall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here, again and again, Pyramus on his side of the wall and Thisbe on hers,
+      they would meet to tell each other all that had happened during the day,
+      and to complain of their cruel parents. At length they decided that they
+      would endure it no longer, but that they would leave their homes and be
+      married, come what might. They planned to meet, on a certain evening, by a
+      mulberry-tree near the tomb of King Ninus, outside the city gates. Once
+      safely met, they were resolved to brave fortune together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So far all went well. At the appointed time, Thisbe, heavily veiled,
+      managed to escape from home unnoticed, and after a stealthy journey
+      through the streets of Babylon, she came to the grove of mulberries near
+      the tomb of Ninus. The place was deserted, and once there she put off the
+      veil from her face to see if Pyramus waited anywhere among the shadows.
+      She heard the sound of a footfall and turned to behold&mdash;not Pyramus,
+      but a creature unwelcome to any tryst&mdash;none other than a lioness
+      crouching to drink from the pool hard by.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without a cry, Thisbe fled, dropping her veil as she ran. She found a
+      hiding-place among the rocks at some distance, and there she waited, not
+      knowing what else to do.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lioness, having quenched her thirst (after some ferocious meal),
+      turned from the spring and, coming upon the veil, sniffed at it curiously,
+      tore and tossed it with her reddened jaws,&mdash;as she would have done
+      with Thisbe herself,&mdash;then dropped the plaything and crept away to
+      the forest once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was but a little after this that Pyramus came hurrying to the
+      meeting-place, breathless with eagerness to find Thisbe and tell her what
+      had delayed him. He found no Thisbe there. For a moment he was confounded.
+      Then he looked about for some sign of her, some footprint by the pool.
+      There was the trail of a wild beast in the grass, and near by a woman's
+      veil, torn and stained with blood; he caught it up and knew it for
+      Thisbe's.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So she had come at the appointed hour, true to her word; she had waited
+      there for him alone and defenceless, and she had fallen a prey to some
+      beast from the jungle! As these thoughts rushed upon the young man's mind,
+      he could endure no more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Was it to meet me, Thisbe, that you came to such a death!" cried he. "And
+      I followed all too late. But I will atone. Even now I come lagging, but by
+      no will of mine!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So saying, the poor youth drew his sword and fell upon it, there at the
+      foot of that mulberry-tree which he had named as the trysting-place, and
+      his life-blood ran about the roots.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During these very moments, Thisbe, hearing no sound and a little
+      reassured, had stolen from her hiding-place and was come to the edge of
+      the grove. She saw that the lioness had left the spring, and, eager to
+      show her lover that she had dared all things to keep faith, she came
+      slowly, little by little, back to the mulberry-tree.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She found Pyramus there, according to his promise. His own sword was in
+      his heart, the empty scabbard by his side, and in his hand he held her
+      veil still clasped. Thisbe saw these things as in a dream, and suddenly
+      the truth awoke her. She saw the piteous mischance of all; and when the
+      dying Pyramus opened his eyes and fixed them upon her, her heart broke.
+      With the same sword she stabbed herself, and the lovers died together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There the parents found them, after a weary search, and they were buried
+      together in the same tomb. But the berries of the mulberry-tree turned red
+      that day, and red they have remained ever since.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      PYGMALION AND GALATEA.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The island of Cyprus was dear to the heart of Venus. There her temples
+      were kept with honor, and there, some say, she watched with the Loves and
+      Graces over the long enchanted sleep of Adonis. This youth, a hunter whom
+      she had dearly loved, had died of a wound from the tusk of a wild boar;
+      but the bitter grief of Venus had won over even the powers of Hades. For
+      six months of every year, Adonis had to live as a Shade in the world of
+      the dead; but for the rest of time he was free to breathe the upper air.
+      Here in Cyprus the people came to worship him as a god, for the sake of
+      Venus who loved him; and here, if any called upon her, she was like to
+      listen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now there once lived in Cyprus a young sculptor, Pygmalion by name, who
+      thought nothing on earth so beautiful as the white marble folk that live
+      without faults and never grow old. Indeed, he said that he would never
+      marry a mortal woman, and people began to think that his daily life among
+      marble creatures was hardening his heart altogether.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But it chanced that Pygmalion fell to work upon an ivory statue of a
+      maiden, so lovely that it must have moved to envy every breathing creature
+      that came to look upon it. With a happy heart the sculptor wrought day by
+      day, giving it all the beauty of his dreams, until, when the work was
+      completed, he felt powerless to leave it. He was bound to it by the tie of
+      his highest aspiration, his most perfect ideal, his most patient work.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Day after day the ivory maiden looked down at him silently, and he looked
+      back at her until he felt that he loved her more than anything else in the
+      world. He thought of her no longer as a statue, but as the dear companion
+      of his life; and the whim grew upon him like an enchantment. He named her
+      Galatea, and arrayed her like a princess; he hung jewels about her neck,
+      and made all his home beautiful and fit for such a presence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the festival of Venus was at hand, and Pygmalion, like all who loved
+      Beauty, joined the worshippers. In the temple victims were offered, solemn
+      rites were held, and votaries from many lands came to pray the favor of
+      the goddess. At length Pygmalion himself approached the altar and made his
+      prayer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Goddess," he said, "who hast vouchsafed to me this gift of beauty, give
+      me a perfect love, likewise, and let me have for bride, one like my ivory
+      maiden." And Venus heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Home to his house of dreams went the sculptor, loath to be parted for a
+      day from his statue, Galatea. There she stood, looking down upon him
+      silently, and he looked back at her. Surely the sunset had shed a flush of
+      life upon her whiteness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He drew near in wonder and delight, and felt, instead of the chill air
+      that was wont to wake him out of his spell, a gentle warmth around her,
+      like the breath of a plant. He touched her hand, and it yielded like the
+      hand of one living! Doubting his senses, yet fearing to reassure himself,
+      Pygmalion kissed the statue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In an instant the maiden's face bloomed like a waking rose, her hair shone
+      golden as returning sunlight; she lifted her ivory eyelids and smiled at
+      him. The statue herself had awakened, and she stepped down from the
+      pedestal, into the arms of her creator, alive!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a dream that came true.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      OEDIPUS.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Behind the power of the gods and beyond all the efforts of men, the three
+      Fates sat at their spinning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No one could tell whence these sisters were, but by some strange necessity
+      they spun the web of human life and made destinies without knowing why. It
+      was not for Clotho to decree whether the thread of a life should be stout
+      or fragile, nor for Lachesis to choose the fashion of the web; and Atropos
+      herself must sometimes have wept to cut a life short with her shears, and
+      let it fall unfinished. But they were like spinners for some Power that
+      said of life, as of a garment, <i>Thus it must be</i>. That Power neither
+      gods nor men could withstand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was once a king named Laius (a grandson of Cadmus himself), who
+      ruled over Thebes, with Jocasta his wife. To them an Oracle had foretold
+      that if a son of theirs lived to grow up, he would one day kill his father
+      and marry his own mother. The king and queen resolved to escape such a
+      doom, even at terrible cost. Accordingly Laius gave his son, who was only
+      a baby, to a certain herdsman, with instructions to put him to death.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was not to be. The herdsman carried the child to a lonely
+      mountain-side, but once there, his heart failed him. Hardly daring to
+      disobey the king's command, yet shrinking from murder, he hung the little
+      creature by his feet to the branches of a tree, and left him there to die.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there chanced to come that way with his flocks, a man who served King
+      Polybus of Corinth. He found the baby perishing in the tree, and, touched
+      with pity, took him home to his master. The king and queen of Corinth were
+      childless, and some power moved them to take this mysterious child as a
+      gift. They called him Oedipus (Swollen-Foot) because of the wounds they
+      had found upon him, and, knowing naught of his parentage, they reared him
+      as their own son. So the years went by.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, when Oedipus had come to manhood, he went to consult the Oracle at
+      Delphi, as all great people were wont, to learn what fortune had in store
+      for him. But for him the Oracle had only a sentence of doom. According to
+      the Fates, he would live to kill his own father and wed his mother.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Filled with dismay, and resolved in his turn to conquer fate, Oedipus fled
+      from Corinth; for he had never dreamed that his parents were other than
+      Polybus and Merope the queen. Thinking to escape crime, he took the road
+      towards Thebes, so hastening into the very arms of his evil destiny.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It happened that King Laius, with one attendant, was on his way to Delphi
+      from the city Thebes. In a narrow road he met this strange young man, also
+      driving in a chariot, and ordered him to quit the way. Oedipus, who had
+      been reared to princely honors, refused to obey; and the king's
+      charioteer, in great anger, killed one of the young man's horses. At this
+      insult Oedipus fell upon master and servant; mad with rage, he slew them
+      both, and went on his way, not knowing the half of what he had done. The
+      first saying of the Oracle was fulfilled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the prince was to have his day of triumph before the doom. There was a
+      certain wonderful creature called the Sphinx, which had been a terror to
+      Thebes for many days. In form half woman and half lion, she crouched
+      always by a precipice near the highway, and put the same mysterious
+      question to every passer-by. None had ever been able to answer, and none
+      had ever lived to warn men of the riddle; for the Sphinx fell upon every
+      one as he failed, and hurled him down the abyss, to be dashed in pieces.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This way came Oedipus towards the city Thebes, and the Sphinx crouched,
+      face to face with him, and spoke the riddle that none had been able to
+      guess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "<i>What animal is that which in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on
+      two, and in the evening upon three?</i>"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Oedipus, hiding his dread of the terrible creature, took thought, and
+      answered "Man. In childhood he creeps on hands and knees, in manhood he
+      walks erect, but in old age he has need of a staff."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this reply the Sphinx uttered a cry, sprang headlong from the rock into
+      the valley below, and perished. Oedipus had guessed the answer. When he
+      came to the city and told the Thebans that their torment was gone, they
+      hailed him as a deliverer. Not long after, they married him with great
+      honor to their widowed queen, Jocasta, his own mother. The destiny was
+      fulfilled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For years Oedipus lived in peace, unwitting; but at length upon that
+      unhappy city there fell a great pestilence and famine. In his distress the
+      king sent to the Oracle at Delphi, to know what he or the Thebans had
+      done, that they should be so sorely punished. Then for the third time the
+      Oracle spoke his own fateful sentence; and he learned all.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jocasta died, and Oedipus took the doom upon himself, and left Thebes.
+      Blinded by his own hand, he wandered away into the wilderness. Never again
+      did he rule over men; and he had one only comrade, his faithful daughter
+      Antigone. She was the truest happiness in his life of sorrow, and she
+      never left him till he died.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CUPID AND PSYCHE.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Once upon a time, through that Destiny that overrules the gods, Love
+      himself gave up his immortal heart to a mortal maiden. And thus it came to
+      pass.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a certain king who had three beautiful daughters. The two elder
+      married princes of great renown; but Psyche, the youngest, was so
+      radiantly fair that no suitor seemed worthy of her. People thronged to see
+      her pass through the city, and sang hymns in her praise, while strangers
+      took her for the very goddess of beauty herself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This angered Venus, and she resolved to cast down her earthly rival. One
+      day, therefore, she called hither her son Love (Cupid, some name him), and
+      bade him sharpen his weapons. He is an archer more to be dreaded than
+      Apollo, for Apollo's arrows take life, but Love's bring joy or sorrow for
+      a whole life long.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Come, Love," said Venus. "There is a mortal maid who robs me of my honors
+      in yonder city. Avenge your mother. Wound this precious Psyche, and let
+      her fall in love with some churlish creature mean in the eyes of all men."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cupid made ready his weapons, and flew down to earth invisibly. At that
+      moment Psyche was asleep in her chamber; but he touched her heart with his
+      golden arrow of love, and she opened her eyes so suddenly that he started
+      (forgetting that he was invisible), and wounded himself with his own
+      shaft.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Heedless of the hurt, moved only by the loveliness of the maiden, he
+      hastened to pour over her locks the healing joy that he ever kept by him,
+      undoing all his work. Back to her dream the princess went, unshadowed by
+      any thought of love. But Cupid, not so light of heart, returned to the
+      heavens, saying not a word of what had passed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Venus waited long; then, seeing that Psyche's heart had somehow escaped
+      love, she sent a spell upon the maiden. From that time, lovely as she was,
+      not a suitor came to woo; and her parents, who desired to see her a queen
+      at least, made a journey to the Oracle, and asked counsel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Said the voice: "The princess Psyche shall never wed a mortal. She shall
+      be given to one who waits for her on yonder mountain; he overcomes gods
+      and men."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this terrible sentence the poor parents were half distraught, and the
+      people gave themselves up to grief at the fate in store for their beloved
+      princess. Psyche alone bowed to her destiny. "We have angered Venus
+      unwittingly," she said, "and all for sake of me, heedless maiden that I
+      am! Give me up, therefore, dear father and mother. If I atone, it may be
+      that the city will prosper once more."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So she besought them, until, after many unavailing denials, the parents
+      consented; and with a great company of people they led Psyche up the
+      mountain,&mdash;as an offering to the monster of whom the Oracle had
+      spoken,&mdash;and left her there alone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Full of courage, yet in a secret agony of grief, she watched her kindred
+      and her people wind down the mountain-path, too sad to look back, until
+      they were lost to sight. Then, indeed, she wept, but a sudden breeze drew
+      near, dried her tears, and caressed her hair, seeming to murmur comfort.
+      In truth, it was Zephyr, the kindly West Wind, come to befriend her; and
+      as she took heart, feeling some benignant presence, he lifted her in his
+      arms, and carried her on wings as even as a sea-gull's, over the crest of
+      the fateful mountain and into a valley below. There he left her, resting
+      on a bank of hospitable grass, and there the princess fell asleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When she awoke, it was near sunset. She looked about her for some sign of
+      the monster's approach; she wondered, then, if her grievous trial had been
+      but a dream. Near by she saw a sheltering forest, whose young trees seemed
+      to beckon as one maid beckons to another; and eager for the protection of
+      the dryads, she went thither.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The call of running waters drew her farther and farther, till she came out
+      upon an open place, where there was a wide pool. A fountain fluttered
+      gladly in the midst of it, and beyond there stretched a white palace
+      wonderful to see. Coaxed by the bright promise of the place, she drew
+      near, and, seeing no one, entered softly. It was all kinglier than her
+      father's home, and as she stood in wonder and awe, soft airs stirred about
+      her. Little by little the silence grew murmurous like the woods, and one
+      voice, sweeter than the rest, took words. "All that you see is yours,
+      gentle high princess," it said. "Fear nothing; only command us, for we are
+      here to serve you."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Full of amazement and delight, Psyche followed the voice from hall to
+      hall, and through the lordly rooms, beautiful with everything that could
+      delight a young princess. No pleasant thing was lacking. There was even a
+      pool, brightly tiled and fed with running waters, where she bathed her
+      weary limbs; and after she had put on the new and beautiful raiment that
+      lay ready for her, she sat down to break her fast, waited upon and sung to
+      by the unseen spirits.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Surely he whom the Oracle had called her husband was no monster, but some
+      beneficent power, invisible like all the rest. When daylight waned he
+      came, and his voice, the beautiful voice of a god, inspired her to trust
+      her strange destiny and to look and long for his return. Often she begged
+      him to stay with her through the day, that she might see his face; but
+      this he would not grant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Never doubt me, dearest Psyche," said he. "Perhaps you would fear if you
+      saw me, and love is all I ask. There is a necessity that keeps me hidden
+      now. Only believe."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So for many days Psyche was content; but when she grew used to happiness,
+      she thought once more of her parents mourning her as lost, and of her
+      sisters who shared the lot of mortals while she lived as a goddess. One
+      night she told her husband of these regrets, and begged that her sisters
+      at least might come to see her. He sighed, but did not refuse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Zephyr shall bring them hither," said he. And on the following morning,
+      swift as a bird, the West Wind came over the crest of the high mountain
+      and down into the enchanted valley, bearing her two sisters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They greeted Psyche with joy and amazement, hardly knowing how they had
+      come hither. But when this fairest of the sisters led them through her
+      palace and showed them all the treasures that were hers, envy grew in
+      their hearts and choked their old love. Even while they sat at feast with
+      her, they grew more and more bitter; and hoping to find some little flaw
+      in her good fortune, they asked a thousand questions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Where is your husband?" said they. "And why is he not here with you?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ah," stammered Psyche. "All the day long&mdash;he is gone, hunting upon
+      the mountains."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But what does he look like?" they asked; and Psyche could find no answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When they learned that she had never seen him, they laughed her faith to
+      scorn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Poor Psyche," they said. "You are walking in a dream. Wake, before it is
+      too late. Have you forgotten what the Oracle decreed,&mdash;that you were
+      destined for a dreadful creature, the fear of gods and men? And are you
+      deceived by this show of kindliness? We have come to warn you. The people
+      told us, as we came over the mountain, that your husband is a dragon, who
+      feeds you well for the present, that he may feast the better, some day
+      soon. What is it that you trust? Good words! But only take a dagger some
+      night, and when the monster is asleep go, light a lamp, and look at him.
+      You can put him to death easily, and all his riches will be yours&mdash;and
+      ours."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Psyche heard this wicked plan with horror. Nevertheless, after her sisters
+      were gone, she brooded over what they had said, not seeing their evil
+      intent; and she came to find some wisdom in their words. Little by little,
+      suspicion ate, like a moth, into her lovely mind; and at nightfall, in
+      shame and fear, she hid a lamp and a dagger in her chamber. Towards
+      midnight, when her husband was fast asleep, up she rose, hardly daring to
+      breathe; and coming softly to his side, she uncovered the lamp to see some
+      horror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there the youngest of the gods lay sleeping,&mdash;most beautiful,
+      most irresistible of all immortals. His hair shone golden as the sun, his
+      face was radiant as dear Springtime, and from his shoulders sprang two
+      rainbow wings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Poor Psyche was overcome with self-reproach. As she leaned towards him,
+      filled with worship, her trembling hands held the lamp ill, and some
+      burning oil fell upon Love's shoulder and awakened him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He opened his eyes, to see at once his bride and the dark suspicion in her
+      heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "O doubting Psyche!" he exclaimed with sudden grief,&mdash;and then he
+      flew away, out of the window.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Wild with sorrow, Psyche tried to follow, but she fell to the ground
+      instead. When she recovered her senses, she stared about her. She was
+      alone, and the place was beautiful no longer. Garden and palace had
+      vanished with Love.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THE TRIAL OF PSYCHE.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Over mountains and valleys Psyche journeyed alone until she came to the
+      city where her two envious sisters lived with the princes whom they had
+      married. She stayed with them only long enough to tell the story of her
+      unbelief and its penalty. Then she set out again to search for Love.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As she wandered one day, travel-worn but not hopeless, she saw a lofty
+      palace on a hill near by, and she turned her steps thither. The place
+      seemed deserted. Within the hall she saw no human being,&mdash;only heaps
+      of grain, loose ears of corn half torn from the husk, wheat and barley,
+      alike scattered in confusion on the floor. Without delay, she set to work
+      binding the sheaves together and gathering the scattered ears of corn in
+      seemly wise, as a princess would wish to see them. While she was in the
+      midst of her task, a voice startled her, and she looked up to behold
+      Demeter herself, the goddess of the harvest, smiling upon her with good
+      will.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Dear Psyche," said Demeter, "you are worthy of happiness, and you may
+      find it yet. But since you have displeased Venus, go to her and ask her
+      favor. Perhaps your patience will win her pardon."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These motherly words gave Psyche heart, and she reverently took leave of
+      the goddess and set out for the temple of Venus. Most humbly she offered
+      up her prayer, but Venus could not look at her earthly beauty without
+      anger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Vain girl," said she, "perhaps you have come to make amends for the wound
+      you dealt your husband; you shall do so. Such clever people can always
+      find work!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then she led Psyche into a great chamber heaped high with mingled grain,
+      beans, and lintels (the food of her doves), and bade her separate them all
+      and have them ready in seemly fashion by night. Heracles would have been
+      helpless before such a vexatious task; and poor Psyche, left alone in this
+      desert of grain, had not courage to begin. But even as she sat there, a
+      moving thread of black crawled across the floor from a crevice in the
+      wall; and bending nearer, she saw that a great army of ants in columns had
+      come to her aid. The zealous little creatures worked in swarms, with such
+      industry over the work they like best, that, when Venus came at night, she
+      found the task completed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Deceitful girl," she cried, shaking the roses out of her hair with
+      impatience, "this is my son's work, not yours. But he will soon forget
+      you. Eat this black bread if you are hungry, and refresh your dull mind
+      with sleep. To-morrow you will need more wit."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Psyche wondered what new misfortune could be in store for her. But when
+      morning came, Venus led her to the brink of a river, and, pointing to the
+      wood across the water, said, "Go now to yonder grove where the sheep with
+      the golden fleece are wont to browse. Bring me a golden lock from every
+      one of them, or you must go your ways and never come back again."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This seemed not difficult, and Psyche obediently bade the goddess
+      farewell, and stepped into the water, ready to wade across. But as Venus
+      disappeared, the reeds sang louder and the nymphs of the river, looking up
+      sweetly, blew bubbles to the surface and murmured: "Nay, nay, have a care,
+      Psyche. This flock has not the gentle ways of sheep. While the sun burns
+      aloft, they are themselves as fierce as flame; but when the shadows are
+      long, they go to rest and sleep, under the trees; and you may cross the
+      river without fear and pick the golden fleece off the briers in the
+      pasture."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thanking the water-creatures, Psyche sat down to rest near them, and when
+      the time came, she crossed in safety and followed their counsel. By
+      twilight she returned to Venus with her arms full of shining fleece.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "No mortal wit did this," said Venus angrily. "But if you care to prove
+      your readiness, go now, with this little box, down to Proserpina and ask
+      her to enclose in it some of her beauty, for I have grown pale in caring
+      for my wounded son."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It needed not the last taunt to sadden Psyche. She knew that it was not
+      for mortals to go into Hades and return alive; and feeling that Love had
+      forsaken her, she was minded to accept her doom as soon as might be.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But even as she hastened towards the descent, another friendly voice
+      detained her. "Stay, Psyche, I know your grief. Only give ear and you
+      shall learn a safe way through all these trials." And the voice went on to
+      tell her how one might avoid all the dangers of Hades and come out
+      unscathed. (But such a secret could not pass from mouth to mouth, with the
+      rest of the story.)
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And be sure," added the voice, "when Proserpina has returned the box, not
+      to open it, however much you may long to do so."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Psyche gave heed, and by this device, whatever it was, she found her way
+      into Hades safely, and made her errand known to Proserpina, and was soon
+      in the upper world again, wearied but hopeful.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Surely Love has not forgotten me," she said. "But humbled as I am and
+      worn with toil, how shall I ever please him? Venus can never need all the
+      beauty in this casket; and since I use it for Love's sake, it must be
+      right to take some." So saying, she opened the box, heedless as Pandora!
+      The spells and potions of Hades are not for mortal maids, and no sooner
+      had she inhaled the strange aroma than she fell down like one dead, quite
+      overcome.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But it happened that Love himself was recovered from his wound, and he had
+      secretly fled from his chamber to seek out and rescue Psyche. He found her
+      lying by the wayside; he gathered into the casket what remained of the
+      philter, and awoke his beloved.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Take comfort," he said, smiling. "Return to our mother and do her bidding
+      till I come again."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Away he flew; and while Psyche went cheerily homeward, he hastened up to
+      Olympus, where all the gods sat feasting, and begged them to intercede for
+      him with his angry mother.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They heard his story and their hearts were touched. Zeus himself coaxed
+      Venus with kind words till at last she relented, and remembered that anger
+      hurt her beauty, and smiled once more. All the younger gods were for
+      welcoming Psyche at once, and Hermes was sent to bring her hither. The
+      maiden came, a shy newcomer among those bright creatures. She took the cup
+      that Hebe held out to her, drank the divine ambrosia, and became immortal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Light came to her face like moonrise, two radiant wings sprang from her
+      shoulders; and even as a butterfly bursts from its dull cocoon, so the
+      human Psyche blossomed into immortality.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Love took her by the hand, and they were never parted any more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      STORIES OF THE TROJAN WAR.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      I. THE APPLE OF DISCORD.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There was once a war so great that the sound of it has come ringing down
+      the centuries from singer to singer, and will never die.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rivalries of men and gods brought about many calamities, but none so
+      heavy as this; and it would never have come to pass, they say, if it had
+      not been for jealousy among the immortals,&mdash;all because of a golden
+      apple! But Destiny has nurtured ominous plants from little seeds; and this
+      is how one evil grew great enough to overshadow heaven and earth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sea-nymph Thetis (whom Zeus himself had once desired for his wife) was
+      given in marriage to a mortal, Peleus, and there was a great wedding-feast
+      in heaven. Thither all the immortals were bidden, save one, Eris, the
+      goddess of Discord, ever an unwelcome guest. But she came unbidden. While
+      the wedding-guests sat at feast, she broke in upon their mirth, flung
+      among them a golden apple, and departed with looks that boded ill. Some
+      one picked up the strange missile and read its inscription: <i>For the
+      Fairest</i>; and at once discussion arose among the goddesses. They were
+      all eager to claim the prize, but only three persisted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Venus, the very goddess of beauty, said that it was hers by right; but
+      Juno could not endure to own herself less fair than another, and even
+      Athena coveted the palm of beauty as well as of wisdom, and would not give
+      it up! Discord had indeed come to the wedding-feast. Not one of the gods
+      dared to decide so dangerous a question,&mdash;not Zeus himself,&mdash;and
+      the three rivals were forced to choose a judge among mortals.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now there lived on Mount Ida, near the city of Troy, a certain young
+      shepherd by the name of Paris. He was as comely as Ganymede himself,&mdash;that
+      Trojan youth whom Zeus, in the shape of an eagle, seized and bore away to
+      Olympus, to be a cup-bearer to the gods. Paris, too, was a Trojan of royal
+      birth, but like Oedipus he had been left on the mountain in his infancy,
+      because the Oracle had foretold that he would be the death of his kindred
+      and the ruin of his country. Destiny saved and nurtured him to fulfil that
+      prophecy. He grew up as a shepherd and tended his flocks on the mountain,
+      but his beauty held the favor of all the wood-folk there and won the heart
+      of the nymph Oenone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To him, at last, the three goddesses entrusted the judgment and the golden
+      apple. Juno first stood before him in all her glory as Queen of gods and
+      men, and attended by her favorite peacocks as gorgeous to see as royal
+      fan-bearers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Use but the judgment of a prince, Paris," she said, "and I will give thee
+      wealth and kingly power."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such majesty and such promises would have moved the heart of any man; but
+      the eager Paris had at least to hear the claims of the other rivals.
+      Athena rose before him, a vision welcome as daylight, with her sea-gray
+      eyes and golden hair beneath a golden helmet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Be wise in honoring me, Paris," she said, "and I will give thee wisdom
+      that shall last forever, great glory among men, and renown in war."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Last of all, Venus shone upon him, beautiful as none can ever hope to be.
+      If she had come, unnamed, as any country maid, her loveliness would have
+      dazzled him like sea-foam in the sun; but she was girt with her magical
+      Cestus, a spell of beauty that no one can resist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without a bribe she might have conquered, and she smiled upon his dumb
+      amazement, saying, "Paris, thou shalt yet have for wife the fairest woman
+      in the world."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At these words, the happy shepherd fell on his knees and offered her the
+      golden apple. He took no heed of the slighted goddesses, who vanished in a
+      cloud that boded storm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From that hour he sought only the counsel of Venus, and only cared to find
+      the highway to his new fortunes. From her he learned that he was the son
+      of King Priam of Troy, and with her assistance he deserted the nymph
+      Oenone, whom he had married, and went in search of his royal kindred.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For it chanced at that time that Priam proclaimed a contest of strength
+      between his sons and certain other princes, and promised as prize the most
+      splendid bull that could be found among the herds of Mount Ida. Thither
+      came the herdsmen to choose, and when they led away the pride of Paris's
+      heart, he followed to Troy, thinking that he would try his fortune and
+      perhaps win back his own.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The games took place before Priam and Hecuba and all their children,
+      including those noble princes Hector and Helenus, and the young Cassandra,
+      their sister. This poor maiden had a sad story, in spite of her royalty;
+      for, because she had once disdained Apollo, she was fated to foresee all
+      things, and ever to have her prophecies disbelieved. On this fateful day,
+      she alone was oppressed with strange forebodings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But if he who was to be the ruin of his country had returned, he had come
+      victoriously. Paris won the contest. At the very moment of his honor, poor
+      Cassandra saw him with her prophetic eyes; and seeing as well all the
+      guilt and misery that he was to bring upon them, she broke into bitter
+      lamentations, and would have warned her kindred against the evil to come.
+      But the Trojans gave little heed; they were wont to look upon her visions
+      as spells of madness. Paris had come back to them a glorious youth and a
+      victor; and when he made known the secret of his birth, they cast the
+      words of the Oracle to the winds, and received the shepherd as a long-lost
+      prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus far all went happily. But Venus, whose promise had not yet been
+      fulfilled, bade Paris procure a ship and go in search of his destined
+      bride. The prince said nothing of this quest, but urged his kindred to let
+      him go; and giving out a rumor that he was to find his father's lost
+      sister Hesione, he set sail for Greece, and finally landed at Sparta.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There he was kindly received by Menelaus, the king, and his wife, Fair
+      Helen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This queen had been reared as the daughter of Tyndarus and Queen Leda, but
+      some say that she was the child of an enchanted swan, and there was indeed
+      a strange spell about her. All the greatest heroes of Greece had wooed her
+      before she left her father's palace to be the wife of King Menelaus; and
+      Tyndarus, fearing for her peace, had bound her many suitors by an oath.
+      According to this pledge, they were to respect her choice, and to go to
+      the aid of her husband if ever she should be stolen away from him. For in
+      all Greece there was nothing so beautiful as the beauty of Helen. She was
+      the fairest woman in the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now thus did Venus fulfil her promise and the shepherd win his reward with
+      dishonor. Paris dwelt at the court of Menelaus for a long time, treated
+      with a royal courtesy which he ill repaid. For at length while the king
+      was absent on a journey to Crete, his guest won the heart of Fair Helen,
+      and persuaded her to forsake her husband and sail away to Troy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      King Menelaus returned to find the nest empty of the swan. Paris and the
+      fairest woman in the world were well across the sea.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      II. THE ROUSING OF THE HEROES.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      When this treachery came to light, all Greece took fire with indignation.
+      The heroes remembered their pledge, and wrath came upon them at the wrong
+      done to Menelaus. But they were less angered with Fair Helen than with
+      Paris, for they felt assured that the queen had been lured from her
+      country and out of her own senses by some spell of enchantment. So they
+      took counsel how they might bring back Fair Helen to her home and husband.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Years had come and gone since that wedding-feast when Eris had flung the
+      apple of discord, like a firebrand, among the guests. But the spark of
+      dissension that had smouldered so long burst into flame now, and, fanned
+      by the enmities of men and the rivalries of the gods, it seemed like to
+      fire heaven and earth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A few of the heroes answered the call to arms unwillingly. Time had
+      reconciled them to the loss of Fair Helen, and they were loath to leave
+      home and happiness for war, even in her cause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of these was Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who had married Penelope, and
+      was quite content with his kingdom and his little son Telemachus. Indeed,
+      he was so unwilling to leave them that he feigned madness in order to
+      escape service, appeared to forget his own kindred, and went ploughing the
+      seashore and sowing salt in the furrows. But a messenger, Palamedes, who
+      came with the summons to war, suspected that this sudden madness might be
+      a stratagem, for the king was far famed as a man of many devices. He
+      therefore stood by, one day (while Odysseus, pretending to take no heed of
+      him, went ploughing the sand), and he laid the baby Telemachus directly in
+      the way of the ploughshare. For once the wise man's craft deserted him.
+      Odysseus turned the plough sharply, caught up the little prince, and there
+      his fatherly wits were manifest! After this he could no longer play
+      madman. He had to take leave of his beloved wife Penelope and set out to
+      join the heroes, little dreaming that he was not to return for twenty
+      years. Once embarked, however, he set himself to work in the common cause
+      of the heroes, and was soon as ingenious as Palamedes in rousing laggard
+      warriors.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There remained one who was destined to be the greatest warrior of all.
+      This was Achilles, the son of Thetis,&mdash;foretold in the day of
+      Prometheus as a man who should far outstrip his own father in glory and
+      greatness. Years had passed since the marriage of Thetis to King Peleus,
+      and their son Achilles was now grown to manhood, a wonder of strength
+      indeed, and, moreover, invulnerable. For his mother, forewarned of his
+      death in the Trojan War, had dipped him in the sacred river Styx when he
+      was a baby, so that he could take no hurt from any weapon. From head to
+      foot she had plunged him in, only forgetting the little heel that she held
+      him by, and this alone could be wounded by any chance. But even with such
+      precautions Thetis was not content. Fearful at the rumors of war to be,
+      she had her son brought up, in woman's dress, among the daughters of King
+      Lycomedes of Scyros, that he might escape the notice of men and cheat his
+      destiny.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To this very palace, however, came Odysseus in the guise of a merchant,
+      and he spread his wares before the royal household,&mdash;jewels and
+      ivory, fine fabrics, and curiously wrought weapons. The king's daughters
+      chose girdles and veils and such things as women delight in; but Achilles,
+      heedless of the like, sought out the weapons, and handled them with such
+      manly pleasure that his nature stood revealed. So he, too, yielded to his
+      destiny and set out to join the heroes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Everywhere men were banded together, building the ships and gathering
+      supplies. The allied forces of Greece (the Achaeans, as they called
+      themselves) chose Agamemnon for their commander-in-chief. He was a mighty
+      man, king of Mycenae and Argos, and the brother of the wronged Menelaus.
+      Second to Achilles in strength was the giant Ajax; after him Diomedes,
+      then wise Odysseus, and Nestor, held in great reverence because of his
+      experienced age and fame. These were the chief heroes. After two years of
+      busy preparation, they reached the port of Aulis, whence they were to sail
+      for Troy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But here delay held them. Agamemnon had chanced to kill a stag which was
+      sacred to Diana, and the army was visited by pestilence, while a great
+      calm kept the ships imprisoned. At length the Oracle made known the reason
+      of this misfortune and demanded for atonement the maiden Iphigenia,
+      Agamemnon's own daughter. In helpless grief the king consented to offer
+      her up as a victim, and the maiden was brought ready for sacrifice. But at
+      the last moment Diana caught her away in a cloud, leaving a white hind in
+      her place, and carried her to Tauris in Scythia, there to serve as a
+      priestess in the temple. In the mean time, her kinsfolk, who were at a
+      loss to understand how she had disappeared, mourned her as dead. But Diana
+      had accepted their child as an offering, and healing came to the army, and
+      the winds blew again. So the ships set sail.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, in Troy across the sea, the aged Priam and Hecuba gave shelter
+      to their son Paris and his stolen bride. They were not without misgivings
+      as to these guests, but they made ready to defend their kindred and the
+      citadel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There were many heroes among the Trojans and their allies, brave and
+      upright men, who little deserved that such reproach should be brought upon
+      them by the guilt of Prince Paris. There were Aeneas and Deiphobus,
+      Glaucus and Sarpedon, and Priam's most noble son Hector, chief of all the
+      forces, and the very bulwark of Troy. These and many more were bitterly to
+      regret the day that had brought Paris back to his home. But he had taken
+      refuge with his own people, and the Trojans had to take up his cause
+      against the hostile fleet that was coming across the sea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Even the gods took sides. Juno and Athena, who had never forgiven the
+      judgment of Paris, condemned all Troy with, him and favored the Greeks, as
+      did also Poseidon, god of the sea. But Venus, true to her favorite,
+      furthered the interests of the Trojans with all her power, and persuaded
+      the warlike Mars to do likewise. Zeus and Apollo strove to be impartial,
+      but they were yet to aid now one side, now another, according to the
+      fortunes of the heroes whom they loved.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Over the sea came the great embassy of ships, sped hither safely by the
+      god Poseidon; and the heroes made their camp on the plain before Troy.
+      First of all Odysseus and King Menelaus himself went into the city and
+      demanded that Fair Helen should be given back to her rightful husband.
+      This the Trojans refused; and so began the siege of Troy.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      III. THE WOODEN HORSE.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Nine years the Greeks laid siege to Troy, and Troy held out against every
+      device. On both sides the lives of many heroes were spent, and they were
+      forced to acknowledge each other enemies of great valor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Sometimes the chief warriors fought in single combat, while the armies
+      looked on, and the old men of Troy, with the women, came out to watch far
+      off from the city walls. King Priam and Queen Hecuba would come, and
+      Cassandra, sad with foreknowledge of their doom, and Andromache, the
+      lovely young wife of Hector, with her little son whom the people called <i>The
+      City King</i>. Sometimes Fair Helen came to look across the plain to the
+      fellow-countrymen whom she had forsaken; and although she was the cause of
+      all this war, the Trojans half forgave her when she passed by, because her
+      beauty was like a spell, and warmed hard hearts as the sunshine mellows
+      apples. So for nine years the Greeks plundered the neighboring towns, but
+      the city Troy stood fast, and the Grecian ships waited with folded wings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The half of that story cannot be told here, but in the tenth year of the
+      war many things came to pass, and the end drew near. Of this tenth year
+      alone, there are a score of tales. For the Greeks fell to quarrelling
+      among themselves over the spoils of war, and the great Achilles left the
+      camp in anger and refused to fight. Nothing would induce him to return,
+      till his friend Patroclus was slain by Prince Hector. At that news,
+      indeed, Achilles rose in great might and returned to the Greeks; and he
+      went forth clad in armor that had been wrought for him by Vulcan, at the
+      prayer of Thetis. By the river Scamander, near to Troy, he met and slew
+      Hector, and afterwards dragged the hero's body after his chariot across
+      the plain. How the aged Priam went alone by night to the tent of Achilles
+      to ransom his son's body, and how Achilles relented, and moreover granted
+      a truce for the funeral honors of his enemy,&mdash;all these things have
+      been so nobly sung that they can never be fitly spoken.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hector, the bulwark of Troy, had fallen, and the ruin of the city was at
+      hand. Achilles himself did not long survive his triumph, and, ruthless as
+      he was, he ill-deserved the manner of his death. He was treacherously
+      slain by that Paris who would never have dared to meet him in the open
+      field. Paris, though he had brought all this disaster upon Troy, had left
+      the danger to his countrymen. But he lay in wait for Achilles in a temple
+      sacred to Apollo, and from his hiding-place he sped a poisoned arrow at
+      the hero. It pierced his ankle where the water of the Styx had not charmed
+      him against wounds, and of that venom the great Achilles died. Paris
+      himself died soon after by another poisoned arrow, but that was no long
+      grief to anybody!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still Troy held out, and the Greeks, who could not take it by force,
+      pondered how they might take it by craft. At length, with the aid of
+      Odysseus, they devised a plan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A portion of the Grecian host broke up camp and set sail as if they were
+      homeward bound; but, once out of sight, they anchored their ships behind a
+      neighboring island. The rest of the army then fell to work upon a great
+      image of a horse. They built it of wood, fitted and carved, and with a
+      door so cunningly concealed that none might notice it. When it was
+      finished, the horse looked like a prodigious idol; but it was hollow,
+      skilfully pierced here and there, and so spacious that a band of men could
+      lie hidden within and take no harm. Into this hiding-place went Odysseus,
+      Menelaus, and the other chiefs, fully armed, and when the door was shut
+      upon them, the rest of the Grecian army broke camp and went away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, in Troy, the people had seen the departure of the ships, and
+      the news had spread like wildfire. The great enemy had lost heart,&mdash;after
+      ten years of war! Part of the army had gone,&mdash;the rest were going.
+      Already the last of the ships had set sail, and the camp was deserted. The
+      tents that had whitened the plain were gone like a frost before the sun.
+      The war was over!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole city went wild with joy. Like one who has been a prisoner for
+      many years, it flung off all restraint, and the people rose as a single
+      man to test the truth of new liberty. The gates were thrown wide, and the
+      Trojans&mdash;men, women, and children&mdash;thronged over the plain and
+      into the empty camp of the enemy. There stood the Wooden Horse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No one knew what it could be. Fearful at first, they gathered around it,
+      as children gather around a live horse; they marvelled at its wondrous
+      height and girth, and were for moving it into the city as a trophy of war.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this, one man interposed,&mdash;Laocoön, a priest of Poseidon. "Take
+      heed, citizens," said he. "Beware of all that comes from the Greeks. Have
+      you fought them for ten years without learning their devices? This is some
+      piece of treachery."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there was another outcry in the crowd, and at that moment certain of
+      the Trojans dragged forward a wretched man who wore the garments of a
+      Greek. He seemed the sole remnant of the Grecian army, and as such they
+      consented to spare his life, if he would tell them the truth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Sinon, for this was the spy's name, said that he had been left behind by
+      the malice of Odysseus, and he told them that the Greeks had built the
+      Wooden Horse as an offering to Athena, and that they had made it so huge
+      in order to keep it from being moved out of the camp, since it was
+      destined to bring triumph to its possessors.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this, the joy of the Trojans was redoubled, and they set their wits to
+      find out how they might soonest drag the great horse across the plain and
+      into the city to ensure victory. While they stood talking, two immense
+      serpents rose out of the sea and made towards the camp. Some of the people
+      took flight, others were transfixed with terror; but all, near and far,
+      watched this new omen. Rearing their crests, the sea-serpents crossed the
+      shore, swift, shining, terrible as a risen water-flood that descends upon
+      a helpless little town. Straight through the crowd they swept, and seized
+      the priest Laocoön where he stood, with his two sons, and wrapped them all
+      round and round in fearful coils. There was no chance of escape. Father
+      and sons perished together; and when the monsters had devoured the three
+      men, into the sea they slipped again, leaving no trace of the horror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The terrified Trojans saw an omen in this. To their minds, punishment had
+      come upon Laocoön for his words against the Wooden Horse. Surely, it was
+      sacred to the gods; he had spoken blasphemy, and had perished before their
+      eyes. They flung his warning to the winds. They wreathed the horse with
+      garlands, amid great acclaim; and then, all lending a hand, they dragged
+      it, little by little, out of the camp and into the city of Troy. With the
+      close of that victorious day, they gave up every memory of danger and made
+      merry after ten years of privation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That very night Sinon the spy opened the hidden door of the Wooden Horse,
+      and in the darkness, Odysseus, Menelaus, and the other chiefs who had lain
+      hidden there crept out and gave the signal to the Grecian army. For, under
+      cover of night, those ships that had been moored behind the island had
+      sailed back again, and the Greeks were come upon Troy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not a Trojan was on guard. The whole city was at feast when the enemy rose
+      in its midst, and the warning of Laocoön was fulfilled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Priam and his warriors fell by the sword, and their kingdom was plundered
+      of all its fair possessions, women and children and treasure. Last of all,
+      the city itself was burned to its very foundations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Homeward sailed the Greeks, taking as royal captives poor Cassandra and
+      Andromache and many another Trojan. And home at last went Fair Helen, the
+      cause of all this sorrow, eager to be forgiven by her husband, King
+      Menelaus. For she had awakened from the enchantment of Venus, and even
+      before the death of Paris she had secretly longed for her home and
+      kindred. Home to Sparta she came with the king after a long and stormy
+      voyage, and there she lived and died the fairest of women.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the kingdom of Troy was fallen. Nothing remained of all its glory but
+      the glory of its dead heroes and fair women, and the ruins of its citadel
+      by the river Scamander. There even now, beneath the foundations of later
+      homes that were built and burned, built and burned, in the wars of a
+      thousand years after, the ruins of ancient Troy lie hidden, like mouldered
+      leaves deep under the new grass. And there, to this very day, men who love
+      the story are delving after the dead city as you might search for a buried
+      treasure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THE HOUSE OF AGAMEMNON.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The Greeks had won back Fair Helen, and had burned the city of Troy behind
+      them, but theirs was no triumphant voyage home. Many were driven far and
+      wide before they saw their land again, and one who escaped such hardships
+      came home to find a bitter welcome. This was the chief of all the hosts,
+      Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and Argos. He it was who had offered his own
+      daughter Iphigenia to appease the wrath of Diana before the ships could
+      sail for Troy. An ominous leave-taking was his, and calamity was there to
+      greet him home again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had entrusted the cares of the state to his cousin Aegisthus,
+      commending also to his protection Queen Clytemnestra with her two
+      remaining children, Electra and Orestes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now Clytemnestra was a sister of Helen of Troy, and a beautiful woman to
+      see; but her heart was as evil as her face was fair. No sooner had her
+      husband gone to the wars than she set up Aegisthus in his place, as if
+      there were no other king of Argos. For years this faithless pair lived
+      arrogantly in the face of the people, and controlled the affairs of the
+      kingdom. But as time went by and the child Orestes grew to be a youth,
+      Aegisthus feared lest the Argives should stand by their own prince, and
+      drive him away as an usurper. He therefore planned the death of Orestes,
+      and even won the consent of the queen, who was no gentle mother! But the
+      princess Electra, suspecting their plot, secretly hurried her brother away
+      to the court of King Strophius in Phocis, and so saved his life. She was
+      not, however, to save a second victim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ten years of war went by, and the chief, Agamemnon, came home in
+      triumph, heralded by all the Argives, who were as exultant over the return
+      of their lawful king as over the fall of Troy. Into the city came the
+      remnant of his own men, bearing the spoils of war, and, in the midst of a
+      jubilant multitude, King Agamemnon sharing his chariot with the captive
+      princess, Cassandra.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Queen Clytemnestra went out to greet him with every show of joy and
+      triumph. She had a cloth of purple spread before the palace, that her
+      husband might come with state into his home once more; and before all
+      beholders she protested that the ten years of his absence had bereaved her
+      of all happiness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The unsuspicious king left his chariot and entered the palace; but the
+      princess Cassandra hesitated and stood by in fear. Poor Cassandra! Her
+      kindred were slain and the doom of her city was fulfilled, but the curse
+      of prophecy still followed her. She felt the shadow of coming evil, and
+      there before the door she recoiled, and cried out that there was blood in
+      the air. At length, despairing of her fate, she too went in. Even while
+      the Argives stood about the gates, pitying her madness, the prophecy came
+      true.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Clytemnestra, like any anxious wife, had led the travel-worn king to a
+      bath; and there, when he had laid by his arms, she and Aegisthus threw a
+      net over him, as they would have snared any beast of prey, and slew him,
+      defenceless. In the same hour Cassandra, too, fell into their hands, and
+      they put an end to her warnings. So died the chief of the great army and
+      his royal captive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The murderers proclaimed themselves king and queen before all the people,
+      and none dared rebel openly against such terrible authority. But Aegisthus
+      was still uneasy at the thought that the Prince Orestes might return some
+      day to avenge his father. Indeed, Electra had sent from time to time
+      secret messages to Phocis, entreating her brother to come and take his
+      rightful place, and save her from her cruel mother and Aegisthus. But
+      there came to Argos one day a rumor that Orestes himself had died in
+      Phocis, and the poor princess gave up all hope of peace; while
+      Clytemnestra and Aegisthus made no secret of their relief, but even
+      offered impious thanks in the temple, as if the gods were of their mind!
+      They were soon undeceived.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two young Phocians came to the palace with news of the last days of
+      Orestes, so they said; and they were admitted to the presence of the king
+      and queen. They were, in truth, Orestes himself and his friend Pylades
+      (son of King Strophius), who had ventured safety and all to avenge
+      Agamemnon. Then and there Orestes killed Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, and
+      appeared before the Argives as their rightful prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But not even so did he find peace. In slaying Clytemnestra, wicked as she
+      was, he had murdered his own mother, a deed hateful to gods and men. Day
+      and night he was haunted by the Furies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These dread sisters never leave Hades save to pursue and torture some
+      guilty conscience. They wear black raiment, like the wings of a bat; their
+      hair writhes with serpents fierce as remorse, and in their hands they
+      carry flaming torches that make all shapes look greater and more fearful
+      than they are. No sleep can soothe the mind of him they follow. They come
+      between his eyes and the daylight; at night their torches drive away all
+      comfortable darkness. Poor Orestes, though he had punished two murderers,
+      felt that he was no less a murderer himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      From land to land he wandered in despair that grew to madness, with one
+      only comrade, the faithful Pylades, who was his very shadow. At length he
+      took refuge in Athens, under the protection of Athena, and gave himself up
+      to be tried by the court of the Areopagus. There he was acquitted; but not
+      all the Furies left him, and at last he besought the Oracle of Apollo to
+      befriend him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Go to Tauris, in Scythia," said the voice, "and bring from thence the
+      image of Diana which fell from the heavens." So he set out with his
+      Pylades and sailed to the shore of Scythia.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the Taurians were a savage people, who strove to honor Diana, to their
+      rude minds, by sacrificing all the strangers that fell into their hands.
+      There was a temple not far from the seaside, and its priestess was a
+      Grecian maiden, one Iphigenia, who had miraculously appeared there years
+      before, and was held in especial awe by Thoas, the king of the country
+      round about. Sorely against her will, she had to hallow the victims
+      offered at this shrine; and into her presence Orestes and Pylades were
+      brought by the men who had seized them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On learning that they were Grecians and Argives (for they withheld their
+      names), the priestess was moved to the heart. She asked them many
+      questions concerning the fate of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and the warriors
+      against Troy, which they answered as best they could. At length she said
+      that she would help one of them to escape, if he would swear to take a
+      message from her to one in Argos.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My friend shall bear it home," said Orestes. "As for me, I stay and
+      endure my fate."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Nay," said Pylades; "how can I swear? for I might lose this letter by
+      shipwreck or some other mischance."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Hear the message, then," said the high-priestess. "And thou wilt keep it
+      by thee with thy life. To Orestes, son of Agamemnon, say Iphigenia, his
+      sister, is dead indeed unto her parents, but not to him. Say that Diana
+      has had charge over her these many years since she was snatched away at
+      Aulis, and that she waits until her brother shall come to rescue her from
+      this duty of bloodshed and take her home."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At these words their amazement knew no bounds. Orestes embraced his lost
+      sister and told her all his story, and the three, breathless with
+      eagerness, planned a way of escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The king of Tauris had already come to witness the sacrifice. But
+      Iphigenia took in her hands the sacred image of Diana, and went out to
+      tell him that the rites must be delayed. One of the strangers, said she,
+      was guilty of the murder of his mother, the other sharing his crime; and
+      these unworthy victims must be cleansed with pure sea-water before they
+      could be offered to Diana. The sacred image had been desecrated by their
+      touch, and that, too, must be solemnly purged by no other hands than hers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To this the king consented. He remained to burn lustral fires in the
+      temple; the people withdrew to their houses to escape pollution, and the
+      priestess with her victims reached the seaside in safety.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once there, with the sacred image which was to bring them good fortune,
+      they hastened to the Grecian galley and put off from that desolate shore.
+      So, with his new-found sister and his new hope, Orestes went over the seas
+      to Argos, to rebuild the honor of the royal house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS.
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      I. THE CURSE OF POLYPHEMUS.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Of all the heroes that wandered far and wide before they came to their
+      homes again after the fall of Troy, none suffered so many hardships as
+      Odysseus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was, indeed, one other man whose adventures have been likened to
+      his, and this was Aeneas, a Trojan hero. He escaped from the burning city
+      with a band of fugitives, his countrymen; and after years of peril and
+      wandering he came to found a famous race in Italy. On the way, he found
+      one hospitable resting-place in Carthage, where Queen Dido received him
+      with great kindliness; and when he left her she took her own life, out of
+      very grief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there were no other hardships such as beset Odysseus, between the
+      burning of Troy and his return to Ithaca, west of the land of Greece. Ten
+      years did he fight against Troy, but it was ten years more before he came
+      to his home and his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now all these latter years of wandering fell to his lot because of
+      Poseidon's anger against him. For Poseidon had favored the Grecian cause,
+      and might well have sped home this man who had done so much to win the
+      Grecian victory. But as evil destiny would have it, Odysseus mortally
+      angered the god of the sea by blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus.
+      And thus it came to pass.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Odysseus set out from Troy with twelve good ships. He touched first at
+      Ismarus, where his first misfortune took place, and in a skirmish with the
+      natives he lost a number of men from each ship's crew. A storm then drove
+      them to the land of the Lotus-Eaters, a wondrous people, kindly and
+      content, who spend their lives in a day-dream and care for nothing else
+      under the sun. No sooner had the sailors eaten of this magical lotus than
+      they lost all their wish to go home, or to see their wives and children
+      again. By main force, Odysseus drove them back to the ships and saved them
+      from the spell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thence they came one day to a beautiful strange island, a verdant place to
+      see, deep with soft grass and well watered with springs. Here they ran the
+      ships ashore, and took their rest and feasted for a day. But Odysseus
+      looked across to the mainland, where he saw flocks and herds, and smoke
+      going up softly from the homes of men; and he resolved to go across and
+      find out what manner of people lived there. Accordingly, next morning, he
+      took his own ship's company and they rowed across to the mainland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, fair as the place was, there dwelt in it a race of giants, the
+      Cyclopes, great rude creatures, having each but one eye, and that in the
+      middle of his forehead. One of them was Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon.
+      He lived by himself as a shepherd, and it was to his cave that Odysseus
+      came, by some evil chance. It was an enormous grotto, big enough to house
+      the giant and all his flocks, and it had a great courtyard without. But
+      Odysseus, knowing nought of all this, chose out twelve men, and with a
+      wallet of corn and a goatskin full of wine they left the ship and made a
+      way to the cave, which they had seen from the water.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Much they wondered who might be the master of this strange house.
+      Polyphemus was away with his sheep, but many lambs and kids were penned
+      there, and the cavern was well stored with goodly cheeses and cream and
+      whey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without delay, the wearied men kindled a fire and sat down to eat such
+      things as they found, till a great shadow came dark against the doorway,
+      and they saw the Cyclops near at hand, returning with his flocks. In an
+      instant they fled into the darkest corner of the cavern.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Polyphemus drove his flocks into the place and cast off from his shoulders
+      a load of young trees for firewood. Then he lifted and set in the entrance
+      of the cave a gigantic boulder of a door-stone. Not until he had milked
+      the goats and ewes and stirred up the fire did his terrible one eye light
+      upon the strangers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What are ye?" he roared then, "robbers or rovers?" And Odysseus alone had
+      heart to answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "We are Achaeans of the army of Agamemnon," said he. "And by the will of
+      Zeus we have lost our course, and are come to you as strangers. Forget not
+      that Zeus has a care for such as we, strangers and suppliants."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Loud laughed the Cyclops at this. "You are a witless churl to bid me heed
+      the gods!" said he. "I spare or kill to please myself and none other. But
+      where is your cockle-shell that brought you hither?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Odysseus answered craftily: "Alas, my ship is gone! Only I and my men
+      escaped alive from the sea."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Polyphemus, who had been looking them over with his one eye, seized
+      two of the mariners and dashed them against the wall and made his evening
+      meal of them, while their comrades stood by helpless. This done, he
+      stretched himself through the cavern and slept all night long, taking no
+      more heed of them than if they had been flies. No sleep came to the
+      wretched seamen, for, even had they been able to slay him, they were
+      powerless to move away the boulder from the door. So all night long
+      Odysseus took thought how they might possibly escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At dawn the Cyclops woke, and his awakening was like a thunderstorm. Again
+      he kindled the fire, again he milked the goats and ewes, and again he
+      seized two of the king's comrades and served them up for his terrible
+      repast. Then the savage shepherd drove his flocks out of the cave, only
+      turning back to set the boulder in the doorway and pen up Odysseus and his
+      men in their dismal lodging.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the wise king had pondered well. In the sheepfold he had seen a mighty
+      club of olive-wood, in size like the mast of a ship. As soon as the
+      Cyclops was gone, Odysseus bade his men cut off a length of this club and
+      sharpen it down to a point. This done, they hid it away under the earth
+      that heaped the floor; and they waited in fear and torment for their
+      chance of escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At sundown, home came the Cyclops. Just as he had done before, he drove in
+      his flocks, barred the entrance, milked the goats and ewes, and made his
+      meal of two more hapless men, while their fellows looked on with burning
+      eyes. Then Odysseus stood forth, holding a bowl of the wine that he had
+      brought with him; and, curbing his horror of Polyphemus, he spoke in
+      friendly fashion: "Drink, Cyclops, and prove our wine, such as it was, for
+      all was lost with our ship save this. And no other man will ever bring you
+      more, since you are such an ungentle host."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Cyclops tasted the wine and laughed with delight so that the cave
+      shook. "Ho, this is a rare drink!" said he. "I never tasted milk so good,
+      nor whey, nor grape-juice either. Give me the rest, and tell me your name,
+      that I may thank you for it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Twice and thrice Odysseus poured the wine and the Cyclops drank it off;
+      then he answered: "Since you ask it, Cyclops, my name is Noman."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And I will give you this for your wine, Noman," said the Cyclops; "you
+      shall be eaten last of all!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As he spoke his head drooped, for his wits were clouded with drink, and he
+      sank heavily out of his seat and lay prone, stretched along the floor of
+      the cavern. His great eye shut and he fell asleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Odysseus thrust the stake under the ashes till it was glowing hot; and his
+      fellows stood by him, ready to venture all. Then together they lifted the
+      club and drove it straight into the eye of Polyphemus and turned it around
+      and about.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Cyclops gave a horrible cry, and, thrusting away the brand, he called
+      on all his fellow-giants near and far. Odysseus and his men hid in the
+      uttermost corners of the cave, but they heard the resounding steps of the
+      Cyclopes who were roused, and their shouts as they called, "What ails
+      thee, Polyphemus? Art thou slain? Who has done thee any hurt?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Noman!" roared the blinded Cyclops; "Noman is here to slay me by
+      treachery."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Then if no man hath hurt thee," they called again, "let us sleep." And
+      away they went to their homes once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Polyphemus lifted away the boulder from the door and sat there in the
+      entrance, groaning with pain and stretching forth his hands to feel if any
+      one were near. Then, while he sat in double darkness, with the light of
+      his eye gone out, Odysseus bound together the rams of the flock, three by
+      three, in such wise that every three should save one of his comrades. For
+      underneath the mid ram of each group a man clung, grasping his shaggy
+      fleece; and the rams on each side guarded him from discovery. Odysseus
+      himself chose out the greatest ram and laid hold of his fleece and clung
+      beneath his shaggy body, face upward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, when dawn came, the rams hastened out to pasture, and Polyphemus felt
+      of their backs as they huddled along together; but he knew not that every
+      three held a man bound securely. Last of all came the kingly ram that was
+      dearest to his rude heart, and he bore the King of Ithaca. Once free of
+      the cave, Odysseus and his fellows loosed their hold and took flight,
+      driving the rams in haste to the ship, where, without delay, they greeted
+      their comrades and went aboard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But as they pushed from shore, Odysseus could not refrain from hailing the
+      Cyclops with taunts, and at the sound of that voice Polyphemus came forth
+      from his cave and hurled a great rock after the ship. It missed and
+      upheaved the water like an earthquake. Again Odysseus called, saying:
+      "Cyclops, if any shall ask who blinded thine eye, say that it was
+      Odysseus, son of Laertes of Ithaca."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Polyphemus groaned and cried: "An Oracle foretold it, but I waited
+      for some man of might who should overcome me by his valor,&mdash;not a
+      weakling! And now"&mdash;he lifted his hands and prayed,&mdash;"Father
+      Poseidon, my father, look upon Odysseus, the son of Laertes of Ithaca, and
+      grant me this revenge,&mdash;let him never see Ithaca again! Yet, if he
+      must, may he come late, without a friend, after long wandering, to find
+      evil abiding by his hearth!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So he spoke and hurled another rock after them, but the ship outstripped
+      it, and sped by to the island where the other good ships waited for
+      Odysseus. Together they put out from land and hastened on their homeward
+      voyage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Poseidon, who is lord of the sea, had heard the prayer of his son, and
+      that homeward voyage was to wear through ten years more, with storm and
+      irksome calms and misadventure.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      II. THE WANDERING OF ODYSSEUS.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Now Odysseus and his men sailed on and on till they came to Aeolia, where
+      dwells the king of the winds, and here they came nigh to good fortune.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Aeolus received them kindly, and at their going he secretly gave to
+      Odysseus a leathern bag in which all contrary winds were tied up securely,
+      that only the favoring west wind might speed them to Ithaca. Nine days the
+      ships went gladly before the wind, and on the tenth day they had sight of
+      Ithaca, lying like a low cloud in the west. Then, so near his haven, the
+      happy Odysseus gave up to his weariness and fell asleep, for he had never
+      left the helm. But while he slept his men saw the leathern bag that he
+      kept by him, and, in the belief that it was full of treasure, they opened
+      it. Out rushed the ill-winds!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In an instant the sea was covered with white caps; the waves rose mountain
+      high; the poor ships struggled against the tyranny of the gale and gave
+      way. Back they were driven,&mdash;back, farther and farther; and when
+      Odysseus woke, Ithaca was gone from sight, as if it had indeed been only a
+      low cloud in the west!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Straight to the island of Aeolus they were driven once more. But when the
+      king learned what greed and treachery had wasted his good gift, he would
+      give them nothing more. "Surely thou must be a man hated of the gods,
+      Odysseus," he said, "for misfortune bears thee company. Depart now; I may
+      not help thee."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, with a heavy heart, Odysseus and his men departed. For many days they
+      rowed against a dead calm, until at length they came to the land of the
+      Laestrygonians. And, to cut a piteous tale short, these giants destroyed
+      all their fleet save one ship,&mdash;that of Odysseus himself, and in this
+      he made escape to the island of Circe. What befell there, how the greedy
+      seamen were turned into swine and turned back into men, and how the
+      sorceress came to befriend Odysseus,&mdash;all this has been related.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There in Aeaea the voyagers stayed a year before Circe would let them go.
+      But at length she bade Odysseus seek the region of Hades, and ask of the
+      sage Tiresias how he might ever return to Ithaca. How Odysseus followed
+      this counsel, none may know; but by some mysterious journey, and with the
+      aid of a spell, he came to the borders of Hades. There he saw and spoke
+      with many renowned Shades, old and young, even his own friends who had
+      fallen on the plain of Troy. Achilles he saw, Patroclus and Ajax and
+      Agamemnon, still grieving over the treachery of his wife. He saw, too, the
+      phantom of Heracles, who lives with honor among the gods, and has for his
+      wife Hebe, the daughter of Zeus and Juno. But though he would have talked
+      with the heroes for a year and more, he sought out Tiresias.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "The anger of Poseidon follows thee," said the sage. "Wherefore, Odysseus,
+      thy return is yet far off. But take heed when thou art come to Thrinacia,
+      where the sacred kine of the Sun have their pastures. Do them no hurt, and
+      thou shalt yet come home. <i>But if they be harmed in any wise</i>, ruin
+      shall come upon thy men; and even if thou escape, thou shalt come home to
+      find strange men devouring thy substance and wooing thy wife."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this word in his mind, Odysseus departed and came once more to Aeaea.
+      There he tarried but a little time, till Circe had told him all the
+      dangers that beset his way. Many a good counsel and crafty warning did she
+      give him against the Sirens that charm with their singing, and against the
+      monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis, and the Clashing Rocks, and
+      the cattle of the Sun. So the king and his men set out from the island of
+      Aeaea.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now very soon they came to the Sirens who sing so sweetly that they lure
+      to death every man who listens. For straightway he is mad to be with them
+      where they sing; and alas for the man that would fly without wings!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But when the ship drew near the Sirens' island, Odysseus did as Circe had
+      taught him. He bade all his shipmates stop up their ears with moulded wax,
+      so that they could not hear. He alone kept his hearing: but he had himself
+      lashed to the mast so that he could in no wise move, and he forbade them
+      to loose him, however he might plead, under the spell of the Sirens.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As they sailed near, his soul gave way. He heard a wild sweetness coaxing
+      the air, as a minstrel coaxes the harp; and there, close by, were the
+      Sirens sitting in a blooming meadow that hid the bones of men. Beautiful,
+      winning maidens they looked; and they sang, entreating Odysseus by name to
+      listen and abide and rest. Their voices were golden-sweet above the sound
+      of wind and wave, like drops of amber floating on the tide; and for all
+      his wisdom, Odysseus strained at his bonds and begged his men to let him
+      go free. But they, deaf alike to the song and the sorcery, rowed harder
+      than ever. At length, song and island faded in the distance. Odysseus came
+      to his wits once more, and his men loosed his bonds and set him free.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But they were close upon new dangers. No sooner had they avoided the
+      Clashing Rocks (by a device of Circe's) than they came to a perilous
+      strait. On one hand they saw the whirlpool where, beneath a hollow
+      fig-tree, Charybdis sucks down the sea horribly. And, while they sought to
+      escape her, on the other hand monstrous Scylla upreared from the cave,
+      snatched six of their company with her six long necks, and devoured them
+      even while they called upon Odysseus to save them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, with bitter peril, the ship passed by and came to the island of
+      Thrinacia; and here are goodly pastures for the flocks and herds of the
+      Sun. Odysseus, who feared lest his men might forget the warning of
+      Tiresias, was very loath to land. But the sailors were weary and worn to
+      the verge of mutiny, and they swore, moreover, that they would never lay
+      hands on the sacred kine. So they landed, thinking to depart next day. But
+      with the next day came a tempest that blew for a month without ceasing, so
+      that they were forced to beach the ship and live on the island with their
+      store of corn and wine. When that was gone they had to hunt and fish, and
+      it happened that, while Odysseus was absent in the woods one day, his
+      shipmates broke their oath. "For," said they, "when we are once more in
+      Ithaca we will make amends to Helios with sacrifice. But let us rather
+      drown than waste to death with hunger." So they drove off the best of the
+      cattle of the Sun and slew them. When the king returned, he found them at
+      their fateful banquet; but it was too late to save them from the wrath of
+      the gods.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as they were fairly embarked once more, the Sun ceased to shine.
+      The sea rose high, the thunderbolt of Zeus struck that ship, and all its
+      company was scattered abroad upon the waters. Not one was left save
+      Odysseus. He clung to a fragment of his last ship, and so he drifted,
+      borne here and there, and lashed by wind and wave, until he was washed up
+      on the strand of the island Ogygia, the home of the nymph Calypso. He was
+      not to leave this haven for seven years.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here, after ten years of war and two of wandering, he found a kindly
+      welcome. The enchanted island was full of wonders, and the nymph Calypso
+      was more than mortal fair, and would have been glad to marry the hero; yet
+      he pined for Ithaca. Nothing could win his heart away from his own country
+      and his own wife Penelope, nothing but Lethe itself, and that no man may
+      drink till he dies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So for seven years Calypso strove to make him forget his longing with ease
+      and pleasant living and soft raiment. Day by day she sang to him while she
+      broidered her web with gold; and her voice was like a golden strand that
+      twines in and out of silence, making it beautiful. She even promised that
+      she would make him immortal, if he would stay and be content; but he was
+      heartsick for home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last his sorrow touched even the heart of Athena in heaven, for she
+      loved his wisdom and his many devices. So she besought Zeus and all the
+      other gods until they consented to shield Odysseus from the anger of
+      Poseidon. Hermes himself bound on his winged sandals and flew down to
+      Ogygia, where he found Calypso at her spinning. After many words, the
+      nymph consented to give up her captive, for she was kind of heart, and all
+      her graces had not availed to make him forget his home. With her help,
+      Odysseus built a raft and set out upon his lonely voyage,&mdash;the only
+      man remaining out of twelve good ships that had left Troy nigh unto ten
+      years before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sea roughened against him, but (to shorten a tale of great peril)
+      after many days, sore spent and tempest-tossed, he came to the land of the
+      Phaeacians, a land dear to the immortal gods, abounding in gifts of
+      harvest and vintage, in godlike men and lovely women.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the shipwrecked king met the princess Nausicaa by the seaside, as she
+      played ball with her maidens; and she, when she had heard of his plight,
+      gave him food and raiment, and bade him follow her home. So he followed
+      her to the palace of King Alcinous and Queen Arete, and abode with them,
+      kindly refreshed, and honored with feasting and games and song. But it
+      came to pass, as the minstrel sang before them of the Trojan War and the
+      Wooden Horse, that Odysseus wept over the story, it was written so deep in
+      his own heart. Then for the first time he told them his true name and all
+      his trials.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They would gladly have kept so great a man with them forever, but they had
+      no heart to keep him longer from his home; so they bade him farewell and
+      set him upon one of their magical ships, with many gifts of gold and
+      silver, and sent him on his way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Wonderful seamen are the Phaeacians. The ocean is to them as air to the
+      bird,&mdash;the best path for a swift journey! Odysseus was glad enough to
+      trust the way to them, and no sooner had they set out than a sweet sleep
+      fell upon his eyelids. But the good ship sped like any bee that knows the
+      way home. In a marvellous short time they came even to the shore of the
+      kingdom of Ithaca.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While Odysseus was still sleeping, unconscious of his good fortune, the
+      Phaeacians lifted him from the ship with kindly joy and laid him upon his
+      own shore; and beside him they set the gifts of gold and silver and fair
+      work of the loom. So they departed; and thus it was that Odysseus came to
+      Ithaca after twenty years.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      III. THE HOME-COMING.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Now all these twenty years, in the island of Ithaca, Penelope had watched
+      for her husband's return. At first with high hopes and then in doubt and
+      sorrow (when news of the great war came by some traveller), she had
+      waited, eager and constant as a young bride. But now the war was long
+      past; her young son Telemachus had come to manhood; and as for Odysseus,
+      she knew not whether he was alive or dead.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For years there had been trouble in Ithaca. It was left a kingdom without
+      a king, and Penelope was fair and wise. So suitors came from all the
+      islands round about to beg her hand in marriage, since many loved the
+      queen and as many more loved her possessions, and desired to rule over
+      them. Moreover, every one thought or said that King Odysseus must be dead.
+      Neither Penelope nor her aged father-in-law Laertes could rid the place of
+      these troublesome suitors. Some were nobles and some were adventurers, but
+      they all thronged the palace like a pest of crickets, and devoured the
+      wealth of the kingdom with feasts in honor of Penelope and themselves and
+      everybody else; and they besought the queen to choose a husband from their
+      number.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a long time she would hear none of this; but they grew so clamorous in
+      their suit that she had to put them off with craft. For she saw that there
+      would be danger to her country, and her son, and herself, unless Odysseus
+      came home some day and turned the suitors out of doors. She therefore
+      spoke them fair, and gave them some hope of her marriage, to make peace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Ye princely wooers," she said, "now I believe that the king Odysseus, my
+      husband, must long since have perished in a strange land; and I have
+      bethought me once more of marriage. Have patience, therefore, till I shall
+      have finished the web that I am weaving. For it is a royal shroud that I
+      must make against the day that Laertes may die (the father of my lord and
+      husband). This is the way of my people," said she; "and when the web is
+      done, I will choose another king for Ithaca."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had set up in the hall a great loom, and day by day she wrought there
+      at the web, for she was a marvellous spinner, patient as Arachne, but dear
+      to Athena. All day long she would weave, but every night in secret she
+      would unravel what she had wrought in the daytime, so that the web might
+      never be done. For although she believed her dear husband to be dead, yet
+      her hope would put forth buds again and again, just as spring, that seems
+      to die each year, will come again. So she ever looked to see Odysseus
+      coming.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Three years and more she held off the suitors with this wile, and they
+      never perceived it. For, being men, they knew nothing of women's
+      handicraft. It was all alike a marvel to them, both the beauty of the web
+      and this endless toil in the making! As for Penelope, all day long she
+      wove; but at night she would unravel her work and weep bitterly, because
+      she had another web to weave and another day to watch, all for nothing,
+      since Odysseus never came. In the fourth year, though, a faithless servant
+      betrayed this secret to the wooers, and there came an end to peace and the
+      web, too!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Matters grew worse and worse. Telemachus set out to find his father, and
+      the poor queen was left without husband or son. But the suitors continued
+      to live about the palace like so many princes, and to make merry on the
+      wealth of Odysseus, while he was being driven from land to land and wreck
+      to wreck. So it came true, that prophecy that, if the herds of the Sun
+      were harmed, Odysseus should reach his home alone in evil plight to find
+      Sorrow in his own household. But in the end he was to drive her forth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, when Odysseus woke, he did not know his own country. Gone were the
+      Phaeacians and their ship; only the gifts beside him told him that he had
+      not dreamed. While he looked about, bewildered, Athena, in the guise of a
+      young countryman, came to his aid, and told him where he was. Then,
+      smiling upon his amazement and joy, she shone forth in her own form, and
+      warned him not to hasten home, since the palace was filled with the
+      insolent suitors of Penelope, whose heart waited empty for him as the nest
+      for the bird.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Moreover, Athena changed his shape into that of an aged pilgrim, and led
+      him to the hut of a certain swineherd, Eumaeus, his old and faithful
+      servant. This man received the king kindly, taking him for a travel-worn
+      wayfarer, and told him all the news of the palace, and the suitors and the
+      poor queen, who was ever ready to hear the idle tales of any traveller if
+      he had aught to tell of King Odysseus.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now who should come to the hut at this time but the prince Telemachus,
+      whom Athena had hastened safely home from his quest! Eumaeus received his
+      young master with great joy, but the heart of Odysseus was nigh to
+      bursting, for he had never seen his son since he left him, an infant, for
+      the Trojan War. When Eumaeus left them together, he made himself known;
+      and for that moment Athena gave him back his kingly looks, so that
+      Telemachus saw him with exultation, and they two wept over each other for
+      joy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time news of her son's return had come to Penelope, and she was
+      almost happy, not knowing that the suitors were plotting to kill
+      Telemachus. Home he came, and he hastened to assure his mother that he had
+      heard good news of Odysseus; though, for the safety of all, he did not
+      tell her that Odysseus was in Ithaca.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile Eumaeus and his aged pilgrim came to the city and the palace
+      gates. They were talking to a goatherd there, when an old hound that lay
+      in the dust-heap near by pricked up his ears and stirred his tail feebly
+      as at a well-known voice. He was the faithful Argus, named after a monster
+      of many eyes that once served Juno as a watchman. Indeed, when the
+      creature was slain, Juno had his eyes set in the feathers of her pet
+      peacocks, and there they glisten to this day. But the end of this Argus
+      was very different. Once the pride of the king's heart, he was now so old
+      and infirm that he could barely move; but though his master had come home
+      in the guise of a strange beggar, he knew the voice, and he alone, after
+      twenty years. Odysseus, seeing him, could barely restrain his tears; but
+      the poor old hound, as if he had lived but to welcome his master home,
+      died that very same day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Into the palace hall went the swineherd and the pilgrim, among the suitors
+      who were feasting there. Now how Odysseus begged a portion of meat and was
+      shamefully insulted by these men, how he saw his own wife and hid his joy
+      and sorrow, but told her news of himself as any beggar might,&mdash;all
+      these things are better sung than spoken. It is a long story.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the end was near. The suitors had demanded the queen's choice, and
+      once more the constant Penelope tried to put it off. She took from her
+      safe treasure-chamber the great bow of Odysseus, and she promised that she
+      would marry that one of the suitors who should send his arrow through
+      twelve rings ranged in a line. All other weapons were taken away by the
+      care of Telemachus; there was nothing but the great bow and quiver. And
+      when all was ready, Penelope went away to her chamber to weep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, first of all, no one could string the bow. Suitor after suitor tried
+      and failed. The sturdy wood stood unbent against the strongest. Last of
+      all, Odysseus begged leave to try, and was laughed to scorn. Telemachus,
+      however, as if for courtesy's sake, gave him the bow; and the strange
+      beggar bent it easily, adjusted the cord, and before any could stay his
+      hand he sped the arrow from the string. Singing with triumph, it flew
+      straight through the twelve rings and quivered in the mark!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now for another mark!" cried Odysseus in the king's own voice. He turned
+      upon the most evil-hearted suitor. Another arrow hissed and struck, and
+      the man fell pierced.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Telemachus sprang to his father's side, Eumaeus stood by him, and the
+      fighting was short and bitter. One by one they slew those insolent
+      suitors; for the right was theirs, and Athena stood by them, and the time
+      was come. Every one of the false-hearted wooers they laid low, and every
+      corrupt servant in that house; then they made the place clean and fair
+      again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the old nurse Eurycleia hastened up to Queen Penelope, where she sat
+      in fear and wonder, crying, "Odysseus is returned! Come and see with thine
+      own eyes!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After twenty years of false tales, the poor queen could not believe her
+      ears. She came down into the hall bewildered, and looked at the stranger
+      as one walking in a dream. Even when Athena had given him back his youth
+      and kingly looks, she stood in doubt, so that her own son reproached her
+      and Odysseus was grieved in spirit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But when he drew near and called her by her name, entreating her by all
+      the tokens that she alone knew, her heart woke up and sang like a brook
+      set free in spring! She knew him then for her husband Odysseus, come home
+      at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Surely that was happiness enough to last them ever after.
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 6em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew, by
+Josephine Preston Peabody
+
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+</pre>
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+  </body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew, by
+Josephine Preston Peabody
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
+
+Author: Josephine Preston Peabody
+
+
+Release Date: November, 2005  [EBook #9313]
+This file was first posted on September 20, 2003
+Last Updated: May 10, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD GREEK FOLK STORIES TOLD ANEW ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Tonya Allen, and Project
+Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+OLD GREEK FOLK STORIES TOLD ANEW
+
+By Josephine Preston Peabody
+
+1897
+
+
+
+
+PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
+
+
+Hawthorne, in his _Wonder-Book_ and _Tanglewood Tales_, has told, in a
+manner familiar to multitudes of American children and to many more who
+once were children, a dozen of the old Greek folk stories. They have
+served to render the persons and scenes known as no classical
+dictionary would make them known. But Hawthorne chose a few out of the
+many myths which are constantly appealing to the reader not only of
+ancient but of modern literature. The group contained in the collection
+which follows will help to fill out the list; it is designed to serve
+as a complement to the _Wonder-Book_ and _Tanglewood Tales_, so that
+the references to the stories in those collections are brief and
+allusive only. In order to make the entire series more useful, the
+index added to this number of the _Riverside Literature Series_ is made
+to include also the stories contained in the other numbers of the
+series which contain Hawthorne's two books. Thus the index serves as a
+tolerably full clue to the best-known characters in Greek mythology.
+
+_Once upon a time, men made friends with the Earth. They listened to
+all that woods and waters might say; their eyes were keen to see
+wonders in silent country places and in the living creatures that had
+not learned to be afraid. To this wise world outside the people took
+their joy and sorrow; and because they loved the Earth, she answered
+them._
+
+_It was not strange that Pan himself sometimes brought home a
+shepherd's stray lamb. It was not strange, if one broke the branches of
+a tree, that some fair life within wept at the hurt. Even now, the
+Earth is glad with us in springtime, and we grieve for her when the
+leaves go. But in the old days there was a closer union, clearer speech
+between men and all other creatures, Earth and the stars about her._
+
+_Out of the life that they lived together, there have come down to us
+these wonderful tales; and, whether they be told well or ill, they are
+too good to be forgotten._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+THE WOOD-FOLK
+
+THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS
+
+PROMETHEUS
+
+THE DELUGE
+
+ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE
+
+ICARUS AND DAEDALUS
+
+PHAETHON
+
+NIOBE
+
+ADMETUS AND THE SHEPHERD
+
+ALCESTIS
+
+APOLLO'S SISTER
+
+   I. DIANA AND ACTAEON
+
+  II. DIANA AND ENDYMION
+
+THE CALYDONIAN HUNT
+
+ATALANTA'S RACE
+
+ARACHNE
+
+PYRAMUS AND THISBE
+
+PYGMALION AND GALATEA
+
+OEDIPUS
+
+CUPID AND PSYCHE
+
+THE TRIAL OF PSYCHE
+
+STORIES OP THE TROJAN WAR
+
+    I. THE APPLE OF DISCORD
+
+   II. THE ROUSING OF THE HEROES
+
+  III. THE WOODEN HORSE
+
+THE HOUSE OF AGAMEMNON
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS
+
+    I. THE CURSE OF POLYPHEMUS
+
+   II. THE WANDERING OF ODYSSEUS
+
+  III. THE HOME-COMING
+
+
+
+
+
+THE WOOD-FOLK.
+
+
+Pan led a merrier life than all the other gods together. He was beloved
+alike by shepherds and countrymen, and by the fauns and satyrs, birds
+and beasts, of his own kingdom. The care of flocks and herds was his,
+and for home he had all the world of woods and waters; he was lord of
+everything out-of-doors! Yet he felt the burden of it no more than he
+felt the shadow of a leaf when he danced, but spent the days in
+laughter and music among his fellows. Like him, the fauns and satyrs
+had furry, pointed ears, and little horns that sprouted above their
+brows; in fact, they were all enough like wild creatures to seem no
+strangers to anything untamed. They slept in the sun, piped in the
+shade, and lived on wild grapes and the nuts that every squirrel was
+ready to share with them.
+
+The woods were never lonely. A man might wander away into those
+solitudes and think himself friendless; but here and there a river
+knew, and a tree could tell, a story of its own. Beautiful creatures
+they were, that for one reason or another had left off human shape.
+Some had been transformed against their will, that they might do no
+more harm to their fellow-men. Some were changed through the pity of
+the gods, that they might share the simple life of Pan, mindless of
+mortal cares, glad in rain and sunshine, and always close to the heart
+of the Earth.
+
+There was Dryope, for instance, the lotus-tree. Once a careless, happy
+woman, walking among the trees with her sister Iole and her own baby,
+she had broken a lotus that held a live nymph hidden, and blood dripped
+from the wounded plant. Too late, Dryope saw her heedlessness; and
+there her steps had taken root, and there she had said good-by to her
+child, and prayed Iole to bring him sometimes to play beneath her
+shadow. Poor mother-tree! Perhaps she took comfort with the birds and
+gave a kindly shelter to some nest.
+
+There, too, was Echo, once a wood-nymph who angered the goddess Juno
+with her waste of words, and was compelled now to wait till others
+spoke, and then to say nothing but their last word, like any
+mocking-bird. One day she saw and loved the youth Narcissus, who was
+searching the woods for his hunting companions. "Come hither!" he
+called, and Echo cried "Hither!" eager to speak at last. "Here am
+I,--come!" he repeated, looking about for the voice. "I come," said
+Echo, and she stood before him. But the youth, angry at such mimicry,
+only stared at her and hastened away. From that time she faded to a
+voice, and to this day she lurks hidden and silent till you call.
+
+But Narcissus himself was destined to fall in love with a shadow. For,
+leaning over the edge of a brook one day, he saw his own beautiful face
+looking up at him like a water-nymph. He leaned nearer, and the face
+rose towards him, but when he touched the surface it was gone in a
+hundred ripples. Day after day he besought the lovely creature to have
+pity and to speak; but it mocked him with his own tears and smiles, and
+he forgot all else, until he changed into a flower that leans over to
+see its image in the pool.
+
+There, too, was the sunflower Clytie, once a maiden who thought nothing
+so beautiful as the sun-god Phoebus Apollo. All the day long she used
+to look after him as he journeyed across the heavens in his golden
+chariot, until she came to be a fair rooted plant that ever turns its
+head to watch the sun.
+
+Many like were there. Daphne the laurel, Hyacinthus (once a beautiful
+youth, slain by mischance), who lives and renews his bloom as a
+flower,--these and a hundred others. The very weeds were friendly....
+
+But there were wise, immortal voices in certain caves and trees. Men
+called them Oracles; for here the gods spoke in answer to the prayers
+of folk in sorrow or bewilderment. Sometimes they built a temple around
+such a befriending voice, and kings would journey far to hear it speak.
+
+As for Pan, only one grief had he, and in the end a glad thing came of
+it.
+
+One day, when he was loitering in Arcadia, he saw the beautiful
+wood-nymph Syrinx. She was hastening to join Diana at the chase, and
+she herself was as swift and lovely as any bright bird that one longs
+to capture. So Pan thought, and he hurried after to tell her. But
+Syrinx turned, caught one glimpse of the god's shaggy locks and bright
+eyes, and the two little horns on his head (he was much like a wild
+thing, at a look), and she sprang away down the path in terror.
+
+Begging her to listen, Pan followed; and Syrinx, more and more
+frightened by the patter of his hoofs, never heeded him, but went as
+fast as light till she came to the brink of the river. Only then she
+paused, praying her friends, the water-nymphs, for some way of escape.
+The gentle, bewildered creatures, looking up through the water, could
+think of but one device.
+
+Just as the god overtook Syrinx and stretched out his arms to her, she
+vanished like a mist, and he found himself grasping a cluster of tall
+reeds. Poor Pan!
+
+The breeze that sighed whenever he did--and oftener--shook the reeds
+and made a sweet little sound,--a sudden music. Pan heard it, half
+consoled.
+
+"Is it your voice, Syrinx?" he said. "Shall we sing together?"
+
+He bound a number of the reeds side by side; to this day, shepherds
+know how. He blew across the hollow pipes and they made music!
+
+
+
+
+THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS
+
+
+Pan came at length to be such a wonderful piper with his syrinx (for so
+he named his flute) that he challenged Apollo to make better music if
+he could. Now the sun-god was also the greatest of divine musicians,
+and he resolved to punish the vanity of the country-god, and so
+consented to the test. For judge they chose the mountain Tmolus, since
+no one is so old and wise as the hills. And, since Tmolus could not
+leave his home, to him went Pan and Apollo, each with his followers,
+oreads and dryads, fauns, satyrs, and centaurs.
+
+Among the worshippers of Pan was a certain Midas, who had a strange
+story. Once a king of great wealth, he had chanced to befriend
+Dionysus, god of the vine; and when he was asked to choose some good
+gift in return, he prayed that everything he touched might be turned
+into gold. Dionysus smiled a little when he heard this foolish prayer,
+but he granted it. Within two days, King Midas learned the secret of
+that smile, and begged the god to take away the gift that was a curse.
+He had touched everything that belonged to him, and little joy did he
+have of his possessions! His palace was as yellow a home as a dandelion
+to a bee, but not half so sweet. Row upon row of stiff golden trees
+stood in his garden; they no longer knew a breeze when they heard it.
+When he sat down to eat, his feast turned to treasure uneatable. He
+learned that a king may starve, and he came to see that gold cannot
+replace the live, warm gifts of the Earth. Kindly Dionysus took back
+the charm, but from that day King Midas so hated gold that he chose to
+live far from luxury, among the woods and fields. Even here he was not
+to go free from misadventure.
+
+Tmolus gave the word, and Pan uprose with his syrinx, and blew upon the
+reeds a melody so wild and yet so coaxing that the squirrels came, as
+if at a call, and the birds hopped down in rows. The trees swayed with
+a longing to dance, and the fauns looked at one another and laughed for
+joy. To their furry little ears, it was the sweetest music that could
+be.
+
+But Tmolus bowed before Apollo, and the sun-god rose with his golden
+lyre in his hands. As he moved, light shook out of his radiant hair as
+raindrops are showered from the leaves. His trailing robes were purple,
+like the clouds that temper the glory of a sunset, so that one may look
+upon it. He touched the strings of his lyre, and all things were silent
+with joy. He made music, and the woods dreamed. The fauns and satyrs
+were quite still; and the wild creatures crouched, blinking, under a
+charm of light that they could not understand. To hear such a music
+cease was like bidding farewell to father and mother.
+
+With one accord they fell at the feet of Apollo, and Tmolus proclaimed
+the victory his. Only one voice disputed that award.
+
+Midas refused to acknowledge Apollo lord of music,--perhaps because the
+looks of the god dazzled his eyes unpleasantly, and put him in mind of
+his foolish wish years before. For him there was no music in a golden
+lyre!
+
+But Apollo would not leave such dull ears unpunished. At a word from
+him they grew long, pointed, furry, and able to turn this way and that
+(like a poplar leaf),--a plain warning to musicians. Midas had the ears
+of an ass, for every one to see!
+
+For a long time the poor man hid this oddity with such skill that we
+might never have heard of it. But one of his servants learned the
+secret, and suffered so much from keeping it to himself that he had to
+unburden his mind at last. Out into the meadows he went, hollowed a
+little place in the turf, whispered the strange news into it quite
+softly, and heaped the earth over again. Alas! a bed of reeds sprang up
+there before long, and whispered in turn to the grass-blades. Year
+after year they grew again, ever gossipping among themselves; and to
+this day, with every wind that sets them nodding together, they murmur,
+laughing, "_Midas has the ears of an ass: Oh, hush, hush!_"
+
+
+
+
+PROMETHEUS.
+
+
+In the early days of the universe, there was a great struggle for
+empire between Zeus and the Titans. The Titans, giant powers of heaven
+and earth, were for seizing whatever they wanted, with no more ado than
+a whirlwind. Prometheus, the wisest of all their race, long tried to
+persuade them that good counsel would avail more than violence; but
+they refused to listen. Then, seeing that such rulers would soon turn
+heaven and earth into chaos again, Prometheus left them to their own
+devices, and went over to Zeus, whom he aided so well that the Titans
+were utterly overthrown. Down into Tartarus they went, to live among
+the hidden fires of the earth; and there they spent a long term of
+bondage, muttering like storm, and shaking the roots of mountains. One
+of them was Enceladus, who lay bound under Aetna; and one, Atlas, was
+made to stand and bear up the weight of the sky on his giant shoulders.
+
+Zeus was left King of gods and men. Like any young ruler, he was eager
+to work great changes with his new power. Among other plans, he
+proposed to destroy the race of men then living, and to replace it with
+some new order of creatures. Prometheus alone heard this scheme with
+indignation. Not only did he plead for the life of man and save it, but
+ever after he spent his giant efforts to civilize the race, and to
+endow it with a wit near to that of gods.
+
+In the Golden Age, men had lived free of care. They took no heed of
+daily wants, since Zeus gave them all things needful, and the earth
+brought forth fruitage and harvest without asking the toil of
+husbandmen. If mortals were light of heart, however, their minds were
+empty of great enterprise. They did not know how to build or plant or
+weave; their thoughts never flew far, and they had no wish to cross the
+sea.
+
+But Prometheus loved earthly folk, and thought that they had been
+children long enough. He was a mighty workman, with the whole world for
+a workshop; and little by little he taught men knowledge that is
+wonderful to know, so that they grew out of their childhood, and began
+to take thought for themselves. Some people even say that he knew how
+to make men,--as we make shapes out of clay,--and set their five wits
+going. However that may be, he was certainly a cunning workman. He
+taught men first to build huts out of clay, and to thatch roofs with
+straw. He showed them how to make bricks and hew marble. He taught them
+numbers and letters, the signs of the seasons, and the coming and going
+of the stars. He showed them how to use for their healing the simple
+herbs that once had no care save to grow and be fragrant. He taught
+them how to till the fields; how to tame the beasts, and set them also
+to work; how to build ships that ride the water, and to put wings upon
+them that they may go faster, like birds.
+
+With every new gift, men desired more and more. They set out to see
+unknown lands, and their ambitions grew with their knowledge. They were
+like a race of poor gods gifted with dreams of great glory and the
+power to fashion marvellous things; and, though they had no endless
+youth to spend, the gods were troubled.
+
+Last of all, Prometheus went up secretly to heaven after the treasure
+of the immortals. He lighted a reed at the flame of the sun, and
+brought down the holy fire which is dearest to the gods. For with the
+aid of fire all things are possible, all arts are perfected.
+
+This was his greatest gift to man, but it was a theft from the immortal
+gods, and Zeus would endure no more. He could not take back the secret
+of fire; but he had Prometheus chained to a lofty crag in the Caucasus,
+where every day a vulture came to prey upon his body, and at night the
+wound would heal, so that it was ever to suffer again. It was a bitter
+penalty for so noble-hearted a rebel, and as time went by, and Zeus
+remembered his bygone services, he would have made peace once more. He
+only waited till Prometheus should bow his stubborn spirit, but this
+the son of Titans would not do. Haughty as rock beneath his daily
+torment, believing that he suffered for the good of mankind, he endured
+for years.
+
+One secret hardened his spirit. He was sure that the empire of Zeus
+must fall some day, since he knew of a danger that threatened it. For
+there was a certain beautiful sea-nymph, Thetis, whom Zeus desired for
+his wife. (This was before his marriage to Queen Juno.) Prometheus
+alone knew that Thetis was destined to have a son who should be far
+greater than his father. If she married some mortal, then, the prophecy
+was not so wonderful; but if she were to marry the King of gods and
+men, and her son should be greater than he, there could be no safety
+for the kingdom. This knowledge Prometheus kept securely hidden; but he
+ever defied Zeus, and vexed him with dark sayings about a danger that
+threatened his sovereignty. No torment could wring the secret from him.
+Year after year, lashed by the storms and scorched by the heat of the
+sun, he hung in chains and the vulture tore his vitals, while the young
+Oceanides wept at his feet, and men sorrowed over the doom of their
+protector.
+
+At last that earlier enmity between the gods and the Titans came to an
+end. The banished rebels were set free from Tartarus, and they
+themselves came and besought their brother, Prometheus, to hear the
+terms of Zeus. For the King of gods and men had promised to pardon his
+enemy, if he would only reveal this one troublous secret.
+
+In all heaven and earth there was but one thing that marred the new
+harmony,--this long struggle between Zeus and Prometheus; and the Titan
+relented. He spoke the prophecy, warned Zeus not to marry Thetis, and
+the two were reconciled. The hero Heracles (himself an earthly son of
+Zeus) slew the vulture and set Prometheus free.
+
+But it was still needful that a life should be given to expiate that
+ancient sin,--the theft of fire. It happened that Chiron, noblest of
+all the Centaurs (who are half horses and half men), was wandering the
+world in agony from a wound that he had received by strange mischance.
+For, at a certain wedding-feast among the Lapithae of Thessaly, one of
+the turbulent Centaurs had attempted to steal away the bride. A fierce
+struggle followed, and in the general confusion, Chiron, blameless as
+he was, had been wounded by a poisoned arrow. Ever tormented with the
+hurt and never to be healed, the immortal Centaur longed for death, and
+begged that he might be accepted as an atonement for Prometheus. The
+gods heard his prayer and took away his pain and his immortality. He
+died like any wearied man, and Zeus set him as a shining archer among
+the stars.
+
+So ended a long feud. From the day of Prometheus, men spent their lives
+in ceaseless enterprise, forced to take heed for food and raiment,
+since they knew how, and to ply their tasks of art and handicraft, They
+had taken unresting toil upon them, but they had a wondrous servant at
+their beck and call,--the bright-eyed fire that is the treasure of the
+gods.
+
+
+
+
+THE DELUGE.
+
+
+Even with the gifts of Prometheus, men could not rest content. As years
+went by, they lost all the innocence of the early world; they grew more
+and more covetous and evil-hearted. Not satisfied with the fruits of
+the Earth, or with the fair work of their own hands, they delved in the
+ground after gold and jewels; and for the sake of treasure nations made
+war upon each other and hate sprang up in households. Murder and theft
+broke loose and left nothing sacred.
+
+At last Zeus spoke. Calling the gods together, he said: "Ye see what
+the Earth has become through the baseness of men. Once they were
+deserving of our protection; now they even neglect to ask it. I will
+destroy them with my thunderbolts and make a new race."
+
+But the gods withheld him from this impulse. "For," they said, "let not
+the Earth, the mother of all, take fire and perish. But seek out some
+means to destroy mankind and leave her unhurt."
+
+So Zeus unloosed the waters of the world and there was a great flood.
+
+The streams that had been pent in narrow channels, like wild steeds
+bound to the ploughshare, broke away with exultation; the springs
+poured down from the mountains, and the air was blind with rain.
+Valleys and uplands were covered; strange countries were joined in one
+great sea; and where the highest trees had towered, only a little
+greenery pricked through the water, as weeds show in a brook.
+
+Men and women perished with the flocks and herds. Wild beasts from the
+forest floated away on the current with the poor sheep. Birds, left
+homeless, circled and flew far and near seeking some place of rest,
+and, finding none, they fell from weariness and died with human folk,
+that had no wings.
+
+Then for the first time the sea-creatures--nymphs and
+dolphins--ventured far from their homes, up, up through the swollen
+waters, among places that they had never seen before,--forests whose
+like they had not dreamed, towns and deluged farmsteads. They went in
+and out of drowned palaces, and wondered at the strange ways of men.
+And in and out the bright fish darted, too, without a fear. Wonderful
+man was no more. His hearth was empty; and fire, his servant, was dead
+on earth.
+
+One mountain alone stood high above this ruin. It was Parnassus, sacred
+to the gods; and here one man and woman had found refuge. Strangely
+enough, this husband and wife were of the race of the Titans,--Deucalion,
+a son of Prometheus, and Pyrrha, a child of Epimetheus, his brother; and
+these alone had lived pure and true of heart.
+
+Warned by Prometheus of the fate in store for the Earth, they had put
+off from their home in a little boat, and had made the crest of
+Parnassus their safe harbor.
+
+The gods looked down on these two lonely creatures, and, beholding all
+their past lives clear and just, suffered them to live on. Zeus bade
+the rain cease and the floods withdraw.
+
+Once more the rivers sought their wonted channels, and the sea-gods and
+the nymphs wandered home reluctantly with the sinking seas. The sun
+came out; and they hastened more eagerly to find cool depths. Little by
+little the forest trees rose from the shallows as if they were growing
+anew. At last the surface of the world lay clear to see, but sodden and
+deserted, the fair fields covered with ooze, the houses rank with moss,
+the temples cold and lightless.
+
+Deucalion and Pyrrha saw the bright waste of water sink and grow dim
+and the hills emerge, and the earth show green once more. But even
+their thankfulness of heart could not make them merry.
+
+"Are we to live on this great earth all alone?" they said. "Ah! if we
+had but the wisdom and cunning of our fathers, we might make a new race
+of men to bear us company. But now what remains to us? We have only
+each other for all our kindred."
+
+"Take heart, dear wife," said Deucalion at length, "and let us pray to
+the gods in yonder temple."
+
+They went thither hand in hand. It touched their hearts to see the
+sacred steps soiled with the water-weeds,--the altar without fire; but
+they entered reverently, and besought the Oracle to help them.
+
+"Go forth," answered the spirit of the place, "with your faces veiled
+and your robes ungirt; and cast behind you, as ye go, the bones of your
+mother."
+
+Deucalion and Pyrrha heard with amazement. The strange word was
+terrible to them.
+
+"We may never dare do this," whispered Pyrrha. "It would be impious to
+strew our mother's bones along the way."
+
+In sadness and wonder they went out together and took thought, a little
+comforted by the firmness of the dry earth beneath their feet. Suddenly
+Deucalion pointed to the ground.
+
+"Behold the Earth, our mother!" said he. "Surely it was this that the
+Oracle meant. And what should her bones be but the rocks that are a
+foundation for the clay, and the pebbles that strew the path?"
+
+Uncertain, but with lighter hearts, they veiled their faces, ungirt
+their garments, and, gathering each an armful of the stones, flung them
+behind, as the Oracle had bidden.
+
+And, as they walked, every stone that Deucalion flung became a man; and
+every one that Pyrrha threw sprang up a woman. And the hearts of these
+two were filled with joy and welcome.
+
+Down from the holy mountain they went, all those new creatures, ready
+to make them homes and to go about human work. For they were strong to
+endure, fresh and hardy of spirit, as men and women should be who are
+true children of our Mother Earth.
+
+
+
+
+ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE.
+
+
+When gods and shepherds piped and the stars sang, that was the day of
+musicians! But the triumph of Phoebus Apollo himself was not so
+wonderful as the triumph of a mortal man who lived on earth, though
+some say that he came of divine lineage. This was Orpheus, that best of
+harpers, who went with the Grecian heroes of the great ship Argo in
+search of the Golden Fleece.
+
+After his return from the quest, he won Eurydice for his wife, and they
+were as happy as people can be who love each other and every one else.
+The very wild beasts loved them, and the trees clustered about their
+home as if they were watered with music. But even the gods themselves
+were not always free from sorrow, and one day misfortune came upon that
+harper Orpheus whom all men loved to honor.
+
+Eurydice, his lovely wife, as she was wandering with the nymphs,
+unwittingly trod upon a serpent in the grass. Surely, if Orpheus had
+been with her, playing upon his lyre, no creature could have harmed
+her. But Orpheus came too late. She died of the sting, and was lost to
+him in the Underworld.
+
+For days he wandered from his home, singing the story of his loss and
+his despair to the helpless passers-by. His grief moved the very stones
+in the wilderness, and roused a dumb distress in the hearts of savage
+beasts. Even the gods on Mount Olympus gave ear, but they held no power
+over the darkness of Hades.
+
+Wherever Orpheus wandered with his lyre, no one had the will to forbid
+him entrance; and at length he found unguarded that very cave that
+leads to the Underworld where Pluto rules the spirits of the dead. He
+went down without fear. The fire in his living heart found him a way
+through the gloom of that place. He crossed the Styx, the black river
+that the gods name as their most sacred oath. Charon, the harsh old
+ferryman who takes the Shades across, forgot to ask of him the coin
+that every soul must pay. For Orpheus sang. There in the Underworld the
+song of Apollo would not have moved the poor ghosts so much. It would
+have amazed them, like a star far off that no one understands. But here
+was a human singer, and he sang of things that grow in every human
+heart, youth and love and death, the sweetness of the Earth, and the
+bitterness of losing aught that is dear to us.
+
+Now the dead, when they go to the Underworld, drink of the pool of
+Lethe; and forgetfulness of all that has passed comes upon them like a
+sleep, and they lose their longing for the world, they lose their
+memory of pain, and live content with that cool twilight. But not the
+pool of Lethe itself could withstand the song of Orpheus; and in the
+hearts of the Shades all the old dreams awoke wondering. They
+remembered once more the life of men on Earth, the glory of the sun and
+moon, the sweetness of new grass, the warmth of their homes, all the
+old joy and grief that they had known. And they wept.
+
+Even the Furies were moved to pity. Those, too, who were suffering
+punishment for evil deeds ceased to be tormented for themselves, and
+grieved only for the innocent Orpheus who had lost Eurydice. Sisyphus,
+that fraudulent king (who is doomed to roll a monstrous boulder uphill
+forever), stopped to listen. The daughters of Danaus left off their
+task of drawing water in a sieve. Tantalus forgot hunger and thirst,
+though before his eyes hung magical fruits that were wont to vanish out
+of his grasp, and just beyond reach bubbled the water that was a
+torment to his ears; he did not hear it while Orpheus sang.
+
+So, among a crowd of eager ghosts, Orpheus came, singing with all his
+heart, before the king and queen of Hades. And the queen Proserpina
+wept as she listened and grew homesick, remembering the fields of Enna
+and the growing of the wheat, and her own beautiful mother, Demeter.
+Then Pluto gave way.
+
+They called Eurydice and she came, like a young guest unused to the
+darkness of the Underworld. She was to return with Orpheus, but on one
+condition. If he turned to look at her once before they reached the
+upper air, he must lose her again and go back to the world alone.
+
+Rapt with joy, the happy Orpheus hastened on the way, thinking only of
+Eurydice, who was following him. Past Lethe, across the Styx they went,
+he and his lovely wife, still silent as a Shade. But the place was full
+of gloom, the silence weighed upon him, he had not seen her for so
+long; her footsteps made no sound; and he could hardly believe the
+miracle, for Pluto seldom relents. When the first gleam of upper
+daylight broke through the cleft to the dismal world, he forgot all,
+save that he must know if she still followed. He turned to see her
+face, and the promise was broken!
+
+She smiled at him forgivingly, but it was too late. He stretched out
+his arms to take her, but she faded from them, as the bright snow, that
+none may keep, melts in our very hands. A murmur of farewell came to
+his ears,--no more. She was gone.
+
+He would have followed, but Charon, now on guard, drove him back. Seven
+days he lingered there between the worlds of life and death, but after
+the broken promise, Hades would not listen to his song. Back to the
+Earth he wandered, though it was sweet to him no longer. He died young,
+singing to the last, and round about the place where his body rested,
+nightingales nested in the trees. His lyre was set among the stars; and
+he himself went down to join Eurydice, unforbidden.
+
+Those two had no need of Lethe, for their life on earth had been wholly
+fair, and now that they are together they no longer own a sorrow.
+
+
+
+
+ICARUS AND DAEDALUS.
+
+
+Among all those mortals who grew so wise that they learned the secrets
+of the gods, none was more cunning than Daedalus.
+
+He once built, for King Minos of Crete, a wonderful Labyrinth of
+winding ways so cunningly tangled up and twisted around that, once
+inside, you could never find your way out again without a magic clue.
+But the king's favor veered with the wind, and one day he had his
+master architect imprisoned in a tower. Daedalus managed to escape from
+his cell; but it seemed impossible to leave the island, since every
+ship that came or went was well guarded by order of the king.
+
+At length, watching the sea-gulls in the air,--the only creatures that
+were sure of liberty,--he thought of a plan for himself and his young
+son Icarus, who was captive with him.
+
+Little by little, he gathered a store of feathers great and small. He
+fastened these together with thread, moulded them in with wax, and so
+fashioned two great wings like those of a bird. When they were done,
+Daedalus fitted them to his own shoulders, and after one or two
+efforts, he found that by waving his arms he could winnow the air and
+cleave it, as a swimmer does the sea. He held himself aloft, wavered
+this way and that with the wind, and at last, like a great fledgling,
+he learned to fly.
+
+Without delay, he fell to work on a pair of wings for the boy Icarus,
+and taught him carefully how to use them, bidding him beware of rash
+adventures among the stars. "Remember," said the father, "never to fly
+very low or very high, for the fogs about the earth would weigh you
+down, but the blaze of the sun will surely melt your feathers apart if
+you go too near."
+
+For Icarus, these cautions went in at one ear and out by the other. Who
+could remember to be careful when he was to fly for the first time? Are
+birds careful? Not they! And not an idea remained in the boy's head but
+the one joy of escape.
+
+The day came, and the fair wind that was to set them free. The father
+bird put on his wings, and, while the light urged them to be gone, he
+waited to see that all was well with Icarus, for the two could not fly
+hand in hand. Up they rose, the boy after his father. The hateful
+ground of Crete sank beneath them; and the country folk, who caught a
+glimpse of them when they were high above the tree-tops, took it for a
+vision of the gods,--Apollo, perhaps, with Cupid after him.
+
+At first there was a terror in the joy. The wide vacancy of the air
+dazed them,--a glance downward made their brains reel. But when a great
+wind filled their wings, and Icarus felt himself sustained, like a
+halcyon-bird in the hollow of a wave, like a child uplifted by his
+mother, he forgot everything in the world but joy. He forgot Crete and
+the other islands that he had passed over: he saw but vaguely that
+winged thing in the distance before him that was his father Daedalus.
+He longed for one draught of flight to quench the thirst of his
+captivity: he stretched out his arms to the sky and made towards the
+highest heavens.
+
+Alas for him! Warmer and warmer grew the air. Those arms, that had
+seemed to uphold him, relaxed. His wings wavered, drooped. He fluttered
+his young hands vainly,--he was falling,--and in that terror he
+remembered. The heat of the sun had melted the wax from his wings; the
+feathers were falling, one by one, like snowflakes; and there was none
+to help.
+
+He fell like a leaf tossed down the wind, down, down, with one cry that
+overtook Daedalus far away. When he returned, and sought high and low
+for the poor boy, he saw nothing but the bird-like feathers afloat on
+the water, and he knew that Icarus was drowned.
+
+The nearest island he named Icaria, in memory of the child; but he, in
+heavy grief, went to the temple of Apollo in Sicily, and there hung up
+his wings as an offering. Never again did he attempt to fly.
+
+
+
+
+PHAETHON.
+
+
+Once upon a time, the reckless whim of a lad came near to destroying
+the Earth and robbing the spheres of their wits.
+
+There were two playmates, said to be of heavenly parentage. One was
+Epaphus, who claimed Zeus as a father; and one was Phaethon, the
+earthly child of Phoebus Apollo (or Helios, as some name the sun-god).
+One day they were boasting together, each of his own father, and
+Epaphus, angry at the other's fine story, dared him to go prove his
+kinship with the Sun.
+
+Full of rage and humiliation, Phaethon went to his mother, Clymene,
+where she sat with his young sisters, the Heliades.
+
+"It is true, my child," she said, "I swear it in the light of yonder
+Sun. If you have any doubt, go to the land whence he rises at morning
+and ask of him any gift you will; he is your father, and he cannot
+refuse you."
+
+As soon as might be, Phaethon set out for the country of sunrise. He
+journeyed by day and by night far into the east, till he came to the
+palace of the Sun. It towered high as the clouds, glorious with gold
+and all manner of gems that looked like frozen fire, if that might be.
+The mighty walls were wrought with images of earth and sea and sky.
+Vulcan, the smith of the gods, had made them in his workshop (for
+Mount-Aetna is one of his forges, and he has the central fires of the
+earth to help him fashion gold and iron, as men do glass). On the doors
+blazed the twelve signs of the Zodiac, in silver that shone like snow
+in the sunlight. Phaethon was dazzled with the sight, but when he
+entered the palace hall he could hardly bear the radiance.
+
+In one glimpse through his half-shut eyes, he beheld a glorious being,
+none other than Phoebus himself, seated upon a throne. He was clothed
+in purple raiment, and round his head there shone a blinding light,
+that enveloped even his courtiers upon the right and upon the
+left,--the Seasons with their emblems, Day, Month, Year, and the
+beautiful young Hours in a row. In one glance of those all-seeing eyes,
+the sun-god knew his child; but in order to try him he asked the boy
+his errand.
+
+"O my father," stammered Phaethon, "if you are my father indeed," and
+then he took courage; for the god came down from his throne, put off
+the glorious halo that hurt mortal eyes, and embraced him tenderly.
+
+"Indeed, thou art my son," said he. "Ask any gift of me and it shall be
+thine; I call the Styx to witness."
+
+"Ah!" cried Phaethon rapturously. "Let me drive thy chariot for one
+day!"
+
+For an instant the Sun's looks clouded. "Choose again, my child," said
+he. "Thou art only a mortal, and this task is mine alone of all the
+gods. Not Zeus himself dare drive the chariot of the Sun. The way is
+full of terrors, both for the horses and for all the stars along the
+roadside, and for the Earth, who has all blessings from me. Listen, and
+choose again." And therewith he warned Phaethon of all the dangers that
+beset the way,--the great steep that the steeds must climb, the numbing
+dizziness of the height, the fierce constellations that breathe out
+fire, and that descent in the west where the Sun seems to go headlong.
+
+But these counsels only made the reckless boy more eager to win honor
+of such a high enterprise.
+
+"I will take care; only let me go," he begged.
+
+Now Phoebus' had sworn by the black river Styx, an oath that none of
+the gods dare break, and he was forced to keep his promise.
+
+Already Aurora, goddess of dawn, had thrown open the gates of the east
+and the stars were beginning to wane. The Hours came forth to harness
+the four horses, and Phaethon looked with exultation at the splendid
+creatures, whose lord he was for a day. Wild, immortal steeds they
+were, fed with ambrosia, untamed as the winds; their very pet names
+signified flame, and all that flame can do,--Pyrois, Eoues, Aethon,
+Phlegon.
+
+As the lad stood by, watching, Phoebus anointed his face with a philter
+that should make him strong to endure the terrible heat and light, then
+set the halo upon his head, with a last word of counsel.
+
+"Follow the road," said he, "and never turn aside. Go not too high or
+too low, for the sake of heavens and earth; else men and gods will
+suffer. The Fates alone know whether evil is to come of this. Yet if
+your heart fails you, as I hope, abide here and I will make the
+journey, as I am wont to do."
+
+But Phaethon held to his choice and bade his father farewell. He took
+his place in the chariot, gathered up the reins, and the horses sprang
+away, eager for the road.
+
+As they went, they bent their splendid necks to see the meaning of the
+strange hand upon the reins,--the slender weight in the chariot. They
+turned their wild eyes upon Phaethon, to his secret foreboding, and
+neighed one to another. This was no master-charioteer, but a mere lad,
+a feather riding the wind. It was holiday for the horses of the Sun,
+and away they went.
+
+Grasping the reins that dragged him after, like an enemy, Phaethon
+looked down from the fearful ascent and saw the Earth far beneath him,
+dim and fair. He was blind with dizziness and bewilderment. His hold
+slackened and the horses redoubled their speed, wild with new liberty.
+They left the old tracks. Before he knew where he was, they had
+startled the constellations and well-nigh grazed the Serpent, so that
+it woke from its torpor and hissed.
+
+The steeds took fright. This way and that they went, terrified by the
+monsters they had never encountered before, shaking out of their silver
+quiet the cool stars towards the north, then fleeing as far to the
+south among new wonders. The heavens were full of terror.
+
+Up, far above the clouds, they went, and down again, towards the
+defenceless Earth, that could not flee from the chariot of the Sun.
+Great rivers hid themselves in the ground, and mountains were consumed.
+Harvests perished like a moth that is singed in a candle-flame.
+
+In vain did Phaethon call to the horses and pull upon the reins. As in
+a hideous dream, he saw his own Earth, his beautiful home and the home
+of all men, his kindred, parched by the fires of this mad chariot, and
+blackening beneath him. The ground cracked open and the sea shrank.
+Heedless water-nymphs, who had lingered in the shallows, were left
+gasping like bright fishes. The dryads shrank, and tried to cover
+themselves from the scorching heat. The poor Earth lifted her withered
+face in a last prayer to Zeus to save them if he might.
+
+Then Zeus, calling all the gods to witness that there was no other
+means of safety, hurled his thunderbolt; and Phaethon knew no more.
+
+His body fell through the heavens, aflame like a shooting-star; and the
+horses of the Sun dashed homeward with the empty chariot.
+
+Poor Clymene grieved sore over the boy's death; but the young Heliades,
+daughters of the Sun, refused all comfort. Day and night they wept
+together about their brother's grave by the river, until the gods took
+pity and changed them all into poplar-trees. And ever after that they
+wept sweet tears of amber, clear as sunlight.
+
+
+
+
+NIOBE.
+
+
+There are so many tales of the vanity of kings and queens that the half
+of them cannot be told.
+
+There was Cassiopaeia, queen of Aethiopia, who boasted that her beauty
+outshone the beauty of all the sea-nymphs, so that in anger they sent a
+horrible sea-serpent to ravage the coast. The king prayed of an Oracle
+to know how the monster might be appeased, and learned that he must
+offer up his own daughter, Andromeda. The maiden was therefore chained
+to a rock by the sea-side, and left to her fate. But who should come to
+rescue her but a certain young hero, Perseus, who was hastening
+homeward after a perilous adventure with the snaky-haired Gorgons.
+Filled with pity at the story of Andromeda, he waited for the dragon,
+met and slew him, and set the maiden free. As for the boastful queen,
+the gods forgave her, and at her death she was set among the stars.
+That story ended well.
+
+But there was once a queen of Thebes, Niobe, fortunate above all women,
+and yet arrogant in the face of the gods. Very beautiful she was, and
+nobly born, but above all things she boasted of her children, for she
+had seven sons and seven daughters.
+
+Now there came the day when the people were wont to celebrate the feast
+of Latona, mother of Apollo and Diana; and Niobe, as she stood looking
+upon the worshippers on their way to the temple, was filled with
+overweening pride.
+
+"Why do you worship Latona before me?" she cried out. "What does she
+possess that I have not in greater abundance? She has but two children,
+while I have seven sons and as many daughters. Nay, if she robbed me
+out of envy, I should still be rich. Go back to your houses; you have
+not eyes to know the rightful goddess."
+
+Such impiety was enough to frighten any one, and her subjects returned
+to their daily work, awestruck and silent.
+
+But Apollo and Diana were filled with wrath at this insult to their
+divine mother. Not only was she a great goddess and a power in the
+heavens, but during her life on earth she had suffered many hardships
+for their sake. The serpent Python had been sent to torment her; and,
+driven from land to land, under an evil spell, beset with dangers, she
+had found no resting-place but the island of Delos, held sacred ever
+after to her and her children. Once she had even been refused water by
+some churlish peasants, who could not believe in a goddess if she
+appeared in humble guise and travel-worn. But these men were all
+changed into frogs.
+
+It needed no word from Latona herself to rouse her children to
+vengeance. Swift as a thought, the two immortal archers, brother and
+sister, stood in Thebes, upon the towers of the citadel. Near by, the
+youth were pursuing their sports, while the feast of Latona went
+neglected. The sons of Queen Niobe were there, and against them Apollo
+bent his golden bow. An arrow crossed the air like a sunbeam, and
+without a word the eldest prince fell from his horse. One by one his
+brothers died by the same hand, so swiftly that they knew not what had
+befallen them, till all the sons of the royal house lay slain. Only the
+people of Thebes, stricken with terror, bore the news to Queen Niobe,
+where she sat with her seven daughters. She would not believe in such a
+sorrow.
+
+"Savage Latona," she cried, lifting her arms against the heavens,
+"never think that you have conquered. I am still the greater."
+
+At that moment one of her daughters sank beside her. Diana had sped an
+arrow from her bow that is like the crescent moon. Without a cry, nay,
+even as they murmured words of comfort, the sisters died, one by one.
+It was all as swift and soundless as snowfall.
+
+Only the guilty mother was left, transfixed with grief. Tears flowed
+from her eyes, but she spoke not a word, her heart never softened; and
+at last she turned to stone, and the tears flowed down her cold face
+forever.
+
+
+
+
+ADMETUS AND THE SHEPHERD.
+
+
+Apollo did not live always free of care, though he was the most
+glorious of the gods. One day, in anger with the Cyclopes who work at
+the forges of Vulcan, he sent his arrows after them, to the wrath of
+all the gods, but especially of Zeus. (For the Cyclopes always make his
+thunderbolts, and make them well.) Even the divine archer could not go
+unpunished, and as a penalty he was sent to serve some mortal for a
+year. Some say one year and some say nine, but in those days time
+passed quickly; and as for the gods, they took no heed of it.
+
+Now there was a certain king in Thessaly, Admetus by name, and there
+came to him one day a stranger, who asked leave to serve about the
+palace. None knew his name, but he was very comely, and moreover, when
+they questioned him he said that he had come from a position of high
+trust. So without further delay they made him chief shepherd of the
+royal flocks.
+
+Every day thereafter, he drove his sheep to the banks of the river
+Amphrysus, and there he sat to watch them browse. The country-folk that
+passed drew near to wonder at him, without daring to ask questions. He
+seemed to have a knowledge of leech-craft, and knew how to cure the
+ills of any wayfarer with any weed that grew near by; and he would pipe
+for hours in the sun. A simple-spoken man he was, yet he seemed to know
+much more than he would say, and he smiled with a kindly mirth when the
+people wished him sunny weather.
+
+Indeed, as days went by, it seemed as if summer had come to stay, and,
+like the shepherd, found the place friendly. Nowhere else were the
+flocks so white and fair to see, like clouds loitering along a bright
+sky; and sometimes, when he chose, their keeper sang to them. Then the
+grasshoppers drew near and the swans sailed close to the river banks,
+and the country-men gathered about to hear wonderful tales of the
+slaying of the monster Python, and of a king with ass's ears, and of a
+lovely maiden, Daphne, who grew into a laurel-tree. In time the rumor
+of these things drew the king himself to listen; and Admetus, who had
+been to see the world in the ship Argo, knew at once that this was no
+earthly shepherd, but a god. From that day, like a true king, he
+treated his guest with reverence and friendliness, asking no questions;
+and the god was well pleased.
+
+Now it came to pass that Admetus fell in love with a beautiful maiden,
+Alcestis, and, because of the strange condition that her father Pelias
+had laid upon all suitors, he was heavy-hearted. Only that man who
+should come to woo her in a chariot drawn by a wild boar and a lion
+might ever marry Alcestis; and this task was enough to puzzle even a
+king.
+
+As for the shepherd, when he heard of it he rose, one fine morning, and
+left the sheep and went his way,--no one knew whither. If the sun had
+gone out, the people could not have been more dismayed. The king
+himself went, late in the day, to walk by the river Amphrysus, and
+wonder if his gracious keeper of the flocks had deserted him in a time
+of need. But at that very moment, whom should he see returning from the
+woods but the shepherd, glorious as sunset, and leading side by side a
+lion and a boar, as gentle as two sheep! The very next morning, with
+joy and gratitude, Admetus set out in his chariot for the kingdom of
+Pelias, and there he wooed and won Alcestis, the most loving wife that
+was ever heard of.
+
+It was well for Admetus that he came home with such a comrade, for the
+year was at an end, and he was to lose his shepherd. The strange man
+came to take leave of the king and queen whom he had befriended.
+
+"Blessed be your flocks, Admetus," he said, smiling. "They shall
+prosper even though I leave them. And, because you can discern the gods
+that come to you in the guise of wayfarers, happiness shall never go
+far from your home, but ever return to be your guest. No man may live
+on earth forever, but this one gift have I obtained for you. When your
+last hour draws near, if any one shall be willing to meet it in your
+stead, he shall die, and you shall live on, more than the mortal length
+of days. Such kings deserve long life."
+
+So ended the happy year when Apollo tended sheep.
+
+
+
+
+ALCESTIS.
+
+
+For many years the remembrance of Apollo's service kept Thessaly full
+of sunlight. Where a god could work, the people took heart to work
+also. Flocks and herds throve, travellers were befriended, and men were
+happy under the rule of a happy king and queen.
+
+But one day Admetus fell ill, and he grew weaker and weaker until he
+lay at death's door. Then, when no remedy was found to help him and the
+hope of the people was failing, they remembered the promise of the
+Fates to spare the king if some one else would die in his stead. This
+seemed a simple matter for one whose wishes are law, and whose life is
+needed by all his fellow-men. But, strange to say, the substitute did
+not come forward at once.
+
+Among the king's most faithful friends, many were afraid to die. Men
+said that they would gladly give their lives in battle, but that they
+could not die in bed at home like helpless old women. The wealthy had
+too much to live for; and the poor, who possessed nothing but life,
+could not bear to give up that. Even the aged parents of Admetus shrunk
+from the thought of losing the few years that remained to them, and
+thought it impious that any one should name such a sacrifice.
+
+All this time, the three Fates were waiting to cut the thread of life,
+and they could not wait longer.
+
+Then, seeing that even the old and wretched clung to their gift of
+life, who should offer herself but the young and lovely queen,
+Alcestis? Sorrowful but resolute, she determined to be the victim, and
+made ready to die for the sake of her husband.
+
+She took leave of her children and commended them to the care of
+Admetus. All his pleading could not change the decree of the Fates.
+Alcestis prepared for death as for some consecration. She bathed and
+anointed her body, and, as a mortal illness seized her, she lay down to
+die, robed in fair raiment, and bade her kindred farewell. The
+household was filled with mourning, but it was too late. She waned
+before the eyes of the king, like daylight that must be gone.
+
+At this grievous moment Heracles, mightiest of all men, who was
+journeying on his way to new adventures, begged admittance to the
+palace, and inquired the cause of such grief in that hospitable place.
+He was told of the misfortune that had befallen Admetus, and, struck
+with pity, he resolved to try what his strength might do for this man
+who had been a friend of gods.
+
+Already Death had come out of Hades for Alcestis, and as Heracles stood
+at the door of her chamber he saw that awful form leading away the
+lovely spirit of the queen, for the breath had just departed from her
+body. Then the might that he had from his divine father Zeus stood by
+the hero. He seized Death in his giant arms and wrestled for victory.
+
+Now Death is a visitor that comes and goes. He may not tarry in the
+upper world; its air is not for him; and at length, feeling his power
+give way, he loosed his grasp of the queen, and, weak with the
+struggle, made escape to his native darkness of Hades.
+
+In the chamber where the royal kindred were weeping, the body of
+Alcestis lay, fair to see, and once more the breath stirred in her
+heart, like a waking bird. Back to its home came her lovely spirit, and
+for long years after she lived happily with her husband, King Admetus.
+
+
+
+
+APOLLO'S SISTER.
+
+
+I. DIANA AND ACTAEON.
+
+Like the Sun-god, whom men dreaded as the divine archer and loved as
+the divine singer, Diana, his sister, had two natures, as different as
+day from night.
+
+On earth she delighted in the wild life of the chase, keeping holiday
+among the dryads, and hunting with all those nymphs that loved the
+boyish pastime. She and her maidens shunned the fellowship of men and
+would not hear of marriage, for they disdained all household arts; and
+there are countless tales of their cruelty to suitors.
+
+Syrinx and Atalanta were of their company, and Arethusa, who was
+changed into a fountain and ever pursued by Alpheus the river-god, till
+at last the two were united. There was Daphne, too, who disdained the
+love of Apollo himself, and would never listen to a word of his suit,
+but fled like Syrinx, and prayed like Syrinx for escape; but Daphne was
+changed into a fair laurel-tree, held sacred by Apollo forever after.
+
+All these maidens were as untamed and free of heart as the wild
+creatures they loved to hunt, and whoever molested them did so at his
+peril. None dared trespass in the home of Diana and her nymphs, not
+even the riotous fauns and satyrs who were heedless enough to go
+a-swimming in the river Styx, if they had cared to venture near such a
+dismal place. But the maiden goddess laid a spell upon their unruly
+wits, even as the moon controls the tides of the sea. Her precincts
+were holy. There was one man, however, whose ill-timed curiosity
+brought heavy punishment upon him. This was Actaeon, a grandson of the
+great king Cadmus.
+
+Wearied with hunting, one noon, he left his comrades and idled through
+the forest, perhaps to spy upon those woodland deities of whom he had
+heard. Chance brought him to the very grove where Diana and her nymphs
+were wont to bathe. He followed the bright thread of the brook, never
+turning aside, though mortal reverence should have warned him that the
+place was for gods. The air was wondrous clear and sweet; a throng of
+fair trees drooped their branches in the way, and from a sheltered
+grotto beyond fell a mingled sound of laughter and running waters. But
+Actaeon would not turn back. Roughly pushing aside the laurel branches
+that hid the entrance of the cave, he looked in, startling Diana and
+her maidens. In an instant a splash of water shut his eyes, and the
+goddess, reading his churlish thought, said: "Go now, if thou wilt, and
+boast of this intrusion."
+
+He turned to go, but a stupid bewilderment had fallen upon him. He
+looked back to speak, and could not. He put his hand to his head, and
+felt antlers branching above his forehead. Down he fell on hands and
+feet; these likewise changed. The poor offender! Crouching by the brook
+that he had followed, he looked in, and saw nothing but the image of a
+stag, bending to drink, as only that morning he had seen the creature
+they had come out to kill. With an impulse of terror he fled away,
+faster than he had ever run before, crashing through bush and bracken,
+the noise of his own flight ever after him like an enemy.
+
+Suddenly he heard the blast of a horn close by, then the baying of
+hounds. His comrades, who had rested and were ready for the chase, made
+after him. This time he was their prey. He tried to call and could not.
+His antlers caught in the branches, his breath came with pain, and the
+dogs were upon him,--his own dogs!
+
+With all the eagerness that he had often praised in them, they fell
+upon him, knowing not their own master. And so he perished, hunter and
+hunted.
+
+Only the goddess of the chase could have devised so terrible a revenge.
+
+
+II. DIANA AND ENDYMION.
+
+But with the daylight, all of Diana's joy in the wild life of the woods
+seemed to fade. By night, as goddess of the moon, she watched over the
+sleep of the earth,--measured the tides of the ocean, and went across
+the wide path of heaven, slow and fair to see. And although she bore
+her emblem of the bow, like a silver crescent, she was never terrible,
+but beneficent and lovely.
+
+Indeed, there was once a young shepherd, Endymion, who used to lead his
+flocks high up the slopes of Mount Latmos to the purer air; and there,
+while the sheep browsed, he spent his days and nights dreaming on the
+solitary uplands. He was a beautiful youth and very lonely. Looking
+down one night from the heavens near by and as lonely as he, Diana saw
+him, and her heart was moved to tenderness for his weariness and
+solitude. She cast a spell of sleep upon him, with eternal youth, white
+and untroubled as moonlight. And there, night after night, she watched
+his sheep for him, like any peasant maid who wanders slowly through the
+pastures after the flocks, spinning white flax from her distaff as she
+goes, alone and quite content.
+
+Endymion dreamed such beautiful dreams as come only to happy poets.
+Even when he woke, life held no care for him, but he seemed to walk in
+a light that was for him alone. And all this time, just as the Sun-god
+watched over the sheep of King Admetus, Diana kept the flocks of
+Endymion, but it was for love's sake.
+
+
+
+
+THE CALYDONIAN HUNT.
+
+
+In that day of the chase, there was one enterprise renowned above all
+others,--the great hunt of Calydon. Thither, in search of high
+adventure, went all the heroes of Greece, just as they joined the quest
+of the Golden Fleece, and, in a later day, went to the rescue of Fair
+Helen in the Trojan War.
+
+For Oeneus, king of Calydon, had neglected the temples of Diana, and
+she had sent a monstrous boar to lay waste all the fields and farms in
+the country. The people had never seen so terrible a beast, and they
+soon wished that they had never offended the goddess who keeps the
+woods clear of such monsters. No mortal device availed against it, and,
+after a hundred disasters, Prince Meleager, the son of Oeneus, summoned
+the heroes to join him in this perilous hunt.
+
+The prince had a strange story. Soon after his birth, Althea, the
+queen, had seen in a vision the three Fates spinning the thread of life
+and crooning over their work. For Clotho spins the thread, Lachesis
+draws it out, and Atropos waits to cut it off with her glittering
+shears. So the queen beheld them, and heard them foretell that her baby
+should live no longer than a brand that was then burning on the hearth.
+Horror inspired the mother. Quick as a thought she seized the brand,
+put out the flame, and laid it by in some safe and secret place where
+no harm could touch it. So the child gathered strength and grew up to
+manhood.
+
+He was a mighty hunter, and the other heroes came gladly to bear him
+company. Many of the Argonauts were there,--Jason, Theseus, Nestor,
+even Atalanta, that valorous maiden who had joined the rowers of the
+Argo, a beloved charge of Diana. Boyish in her boldness for wild
+sports, she was fleet of foot and very lovely to behold, altogether a
+bride for a princely hunter. So Meleager thought, the moment that he
+saw her face.
+
+Together they all set out for the lair of the boar, the heroes and the
+men of Calydon,--Meleager and his two uncles. Phlexippus and Toxeus,
+brothers of Queen Althea.
+
+All was ready. Nets were stretched from tree to tree, and the dogs were
+let loose. The heroes lay in wait. Suddenly the monster, startled by
+the shouts of the company, rose hideous and unwieldy from his
+hiding-place and rushed upon them. What were hounds to such as he, or
+nets spread for a snare? Jason's spear missed and fell. Nestor only
+saved his life by climbing the nearest tree. Several of the heroes were
+gored by the tusks of the boar before they could make their escape. In
+the midst of this horrible tumult, Atalanta sped an arrow at the
+creature and wounded him. Meleager saw it with joy, and called upon the
+others to follow. One by one they tried without success, but he, after
+one false thrust, drove his spear into the side of the monster and laid
+him dead.
+
+The heroes crowded to do him honor, but he turned to Atalanta, who had
+first wounded the boar, and awarded her the shaggy hide that was her
+fair-won trophy. This was too much for the warriors, who had been
+outdone by a girl. Phlexippus and Toxeus were so enraged that they
+snatched the prize from the maiden, churlishly, and denied her victory.
+Maddened at this, Meleager forgot everything but the insult offered to
+Atalanta, and he fell upon the two men and stabbed them. Only when they
+lay dead before him did he remember that they were his own kinsmen.
+
+In the mean time news had flown to the city that the pest was slain,
+and Queen Althea was on her way to the temple to give thanks for their
+deliverance. At the very gates she came upon a multitude of men
+surrounding a litter, and drawing near she saw the bodies of her two
+brothers. Swift upon this horror came a greater shock,--the name of the
+murderer, her own son Meleager. All pity left the mother's heart when
+she heard it; she thought only of revenge. In a lightning-flash she
+remembered that brand which she had plucked from the fire when her son
+was but a new-born babe,--the brand that was to last with his life.
+
+She ordered a pyre to be built and lighted, and straightway she went to
+that hiding-place where she had kept the precious thing all these,
+years, and brought it back and stood before the flames. At the last
+moment her soul was torn between love for her son and grief for her
+murdered brothers. She stretched forth the brand, and plucked it again
+from the tongues of fire. She cried out in despair that the honor of
+her house should require such an expiation. But, covering her eyes, she
+flung the brand into the flames.
+
+At the same time, far away with his companions, and unwitting of these
+things, Meleager was struck through with a sudden pang. Wondering and
+helpless, the heroes gathered about, to behold him dying of some
+unknown agony, while he strove to conquer his pain. Even as the brand
+burned in the fire before the wretched queen, Meleager was consumed by
+a mysterious death, blessing with his last breath friends and kindred,
+his dear Atalanta, and the mother who had brought him to this doom,
+though he knew it not. At last the brand fell into ashes, and in the
+forest the hero lay dead.
+
+The king and queen fell into such grief when all was known, that Diana
+took pity upon them and changed them into birds.
+
+
+
+
+ATALANTA'S RACE.
+
+
+Even if Prince Meleager had lived, it is doubtful if he could ever have
+won Atalanta to be his wife. The maiden was resolved to live unwed, and
+at last she devised a plan to be rid of all her suitors. She was known
+far and wide as the swiftest runner of her time; and so she said that
+she would only marry that man who could outstrip her in the race, but
+that all who dared to try and failed must be put to death.
+
+This threat did not dishearten all of the suitors, however, and to her
+grief, for she was not cruel, they held her to her promise. On a
+certain day the few bold men who were to try their fortune made ready,
+and chose young Hippomenes as judge. He sat watching them before the
+word was given, and sadly wondered that any brave man should risk his
+life merely to win a bride. But when Atalanta stood ready for the
+contest, he was amazed by her beauty. She looked like Hebe, goddess of
+young health, who is a glad serving-maiden to the gods when they sit at
+feast.
+
+The signal was given, and, as she and the suitors darted away, flight
+made her more enchanting than ever. Just as a wind brings sparkles to
+the water and laughter to the trees, haste fanned her loveliness to a
+glow.
+
+Alas for the suitors! She ran as if Hermes had lent her his winged
+sandals. The young men, skilled as they were, grew heavy with weariness
+and despair. For all their efforts, they seemed to lag like ships in a
+calm, while Atalanta flew before them in some favoring breeze--and
+reached the goal!
+
+To the sorrow of all on-lookers, the suitors were led away; but the
+judge himself, Hippomenes, rose and begged leave to try his fortune. As
+Atalanta listened, and looked at him, her heart was filled with pity,
+and she would willingly have let him win the race to save him from
+defeat and death; for he was comely and younger than the others. But
+her friends urged her to rest and make ready, and she consented, with
+an unwilling heart.
+
+Meanwhile Hippomenes prayed within himself to Venus: "Goddess of Love,
+give ear, and send me good speed. Let me be swift to win as I have been
+swift to love her."
+
+Now Venus, who was not far off,--for she had already moved the heart of
+Hippomenes to love,--came to his side invisibly, slipped into his hand
+three wondrous golden apples, and whispered a word of counsel in his
+ear.
+
+The signal was given; youth and maiden started over the course. They
+went so like the wind that they left not a footprint. The people
+cheered on Hippomenes, eager that such valor should win. But the course
+was long, and soon fatigue seemed to clutch at his throat, the light
+shook before his eyes, and, even as he pressed on, the maiden passed
+him by.
+
+At that instant Hippomenes tossed ahead one of the golden apples. The
+rolling bright thing caught Atalanta's eye, and full of wonder she
+stooped to pick it up. Hippomenes ran on. As he heard the flutter of
+her tunic close behind him, he flung aside another golden apple, and
+another moment was lost to the girl. Who could pass by such a marvel?
+The goal was near and Hippomenes was ahead, but once again Atalanta
+caught up with him, and they sped side by side like two dragon-flies.
+For an instant his heart failed him; then, with a last prayer to Venus,
+he flung down the last apple. The maiden glanced at it, wavered, and
+would have left it where it had fallen, had not Venus turned her head
+for a second and given her a sudden wish to possess it. Against her
+will she turned to pick up the golden apple, and Hippomenes touched the
+goal.
+
+So he won that perilous maiden; and as for Atalanta, she was glad to
+marry such a valorous man. By this time she understood so well what it
+was like to be pursued, that she had lost a little of her pleasure in
+hunting.
+
+
+
+
+ARACHNE.
+
+
+Not among mortals alone were there contests of skill, nor yet among the
+gods, like Pan and Apollo. Many sorrows befell men because they grew
+arrogant in their own devices and coveted divine honors. There was once
+a great hunter, Orion, who outvied the gods themselves, till they took
+him away from his hunting-grounds and set him in the heavens, with his
+sword and belt, and his hound at his heels. But at length jealousy
+invaded even the peaceful arts, and disaster came of spinning!
+
+There was a certain maiden of Lydia, Arachne by name, renowned
+throughout the country for her skill as a weaver. She was as nimble
+with her fingers as Calypso, that nymph who kept Odysseus for seven
+years in her enchanted island. She was as untiring as Penelope, the
+hero's wife, who wove day after day while she watched for his return.
+Day in and day out, Arachne wove too. The very nymphs would gather
+about her loom, naiads from the water and dryads from the trees.
+
+"Maiden," they would say, shaking the leaves or the foam from their
+hair, in wonder, "Pallas Athena must have taught you!"
+
+But this did not please Arachne. She would not acknowledge herself a
+debtor, even to that goddess who protected all household arts, and by
+whose grace alone one had any skill in them.
+
+"I learned not of Athena," said she, "If she can weave better, let her
+come and try."
+
+The nymphs shivered at this, and an aged woman, who was looking on,
+turned to Arachne.
+
+"Be more heedful of your words, my daughter," said she. "The goddess
+may pardon you if you ask forgiveness, but do not strive for honors
+with the immortals."
+
+Arachne broke her thread, and the shuttle stopped humming.
+
+"Keep your counsel," she said. "I fear not Athena; no, nor any one
+else."
+
+As she frowned at the old woman, she was amazed to see her change
+suddenly into one tall, majestic, beautiful,--a maiden of gray eyes and
+golden hair, crowned with a golden helmet. It was Athena herself.
+
+The bystanders shrank in fear and reverence; only Arachne was unawed
+and held to her foolish boast.
+
+In silence the two began to weave, and the nymphs stole nearer, coaxed
+by the sound of the shuttles, that seemed to be humming with delight
+over the two webs,--back and forth like bees.
+
+They gazed upon the loom where the goddess stood plying her task, and
+they saw shapes and images come to bloom out of the wondrous colors, as
+sunset clouds grow to be living creatures when we watch them. And they
+saw that the goddess, still merciful, was spinning, as a warning for
+Arachne, the pictures of her own triumph over reckless gods and
+mortals.
+
+In one corner of the web she made a story of her conquest over the
+sea-god Poseidon. For the first king of Athens had promised to dedicate
+the city to that god who should bestow upon it the most useful gift.
+Poseidon gave the horse. But Athena gave the olive,--means of
+livelihood,--symbol of peace and prosperity, and the city was called
+after her name. Again she pictured a vain woman of Troy, who had been
+turned into a crane for disputing the palm of beauty with a goddess.
+Other corners of the web held similar images, and the whole shone like
+a rainbow.
+
+Meanwhile Arachne, whose head was quite turned with vanity, embroidered
+her web with stories against the gods, making light of Zeus himself and
+of Apollo, and portraying them as birds and beasts. But she wove with
+marvellous skill; the creatures seemed to breathe and speak, yet it was
+all as fine as the gossamer that you find on the grass before rain.
+
+Athena herself was amazed. Not even her wrath at the girl's insolence
+could wholly overcome her wonder. For an instant she stood entranced;
+then she tore the web across, and three times she touched Arachne's
+forehead with her spindle.
+
+"Live on, Arachne," she said. "And since it is your glory to weave, you
+and yours must weave forever." So saying, she sprinkled upon the maiden
+a certain magical potion.
+
+Away went Arachne's beauty; then her very human form shrank to that of
+a spider, and so remained. As a spider she spent all her days weaving
+and weaving; and you may see something like her handiwork any day among
+the rafters.
+
+
+
+
+PYRAMUS AND THISBE.
+
+
+Venus did not always befriend true lovers, as she had befriended
+Hippomenes, with her three golden apples. Sometimes, in the enchanted
+island of Cyprus, she forgot her worshippers far away, and they called
+on her in vain.
+
+So it was in the sad story of Hero and Leander, who lived on opposite
+borders of the Hellespont. Hero dwelt at Sestos, where she served as a
+priestess, in the very temple of Venus; and Leander's home was in
+Abydos, a town on the opposite shore. But every night this lover would
+swim across the water to see Hero, guided by the light which she was
+wont to set in her tower. Even such loyalty could not conquer fate.
+There came a great storm, one night, that put out the beacon, and
+washed Leander's body up with the waves to Hero, and she sprang into
+the water to rejoin him, and so perished.
+
+Not wholly unlike this was the fate of Halcyone, a queen of Thessaly,
+who dreamed that her husband Ceyx had been drowned, and on waking
+hastened to the shore to look for him. There she saw her dream come
+true,--his lifeless body floating towards her on the tide; and as she
+flung herself after him, mad with grief, the air upheld her and she
+seemed to fly. Husband and wife were changed into birds; and there on
+the very water, at certain seasons, they build a nest that floats
+unhurt,--a portent of calm for many days and safe voyage for the ships.
+So it is that seamen love these birds and look for halcyon weather.
+
+But there once lived in Babylonia two lovers named Pyramus and Thisbe,
+who were parted by a strange mischance. For they lived in adjoining
+houses; and although their parents had forbidden them to marry, these
+two had found a means of talking together through a crevice in the
+wall.
+
+Here, again and again, Pyramus on his side of the wall and Thisbe on
+hers, they would meet to tell each other all that had happened during
+the day, and to complain of their cruel parents. At length they decided
+that they would endure it no longer, but that they would leave their
+homes and be married, come what might. They planned to meet, on a
+certain evening, by a mulberry-tree near the tomb of King Ninus,
+outside the city gates. Once safely met, they were resolved to brave
+fortune together.
+
+So far all went well. At the appointed time, Thisbe, heavily veiled,
+managed to escape from home unnoticed, and after a stealthy journey
+through the streets of Babylon, she came to the grove of mulberries
+near the tomb of Ninus. The place was deserted, and once there she put
+off the veil from her face to see if Pyramus waited anywhere among the
+shadows. She heard the sound of a footfall and turned to behold--not
+Pyramus, but a creature unwelcome to any tryst--none other than a
+lioness crouching to drink from the pool hard by.
+
+Without a cry, Thisbe fled, dropping her veil as she ran. She found a
+hiding-place among the rocks at some distance, and there she waited,
+not knowing what else to do.
+
+The lioness, having quenched her thirst (after some ferocious meal),
+turned from the spring and, coming upon the veil, sniffed at it
+curiously, tore and tossed it with her reddened jaws,--as she would
+have done with Thisbe herself,--then dropped the plaything and crept
+away to the forest once more.
+
+It was but a little after this that Pyramus came hurrying to the
+meeting-place, breathless with eagerness to find Thisbe and tell her
+what had delayed him. He found no Thisbe there. For a moment he was
+confounded. Then he looked about for some sign of her, some footprint
+by the pool. There was the trail of a wild beast in the grass, and near
+by a woman's veil, torn and stained with blood; he caught it up and
+knew it for Thisbe's.
+
+So she had come at the appointed hour, true to her word; she had waited
+there for him alone and defenceless, and she had fallen a prey to some
+beast from the jungle! As these thoughts rushed upon the young man's
+mind, he could endure no more.
+
+"Was it to meet me, Thisbe, that you came to such a death!" cried he.
+"And I followed all too late. But I will atone. Even now I come
+lagging, but by no will of mine!"
+
+So saying, the poor youth drew his sword and fell upon it, there at the
+foot of that mulberry-tree which he had named as the trysting-place,
+and his life-blood ran about the roots.
+
+During these very moments, Thisbe, hearing no sound and a little
+reassured, had stolen from her hiding-place and was come to the edge of
+the grove. She saw that the lioness had left the spring, and, eager to
+show her lover that she had dared all things to keep faith, she came
+slowly, little by little, back to the mulberry-tree.
+
+She found Pyramus there, according to his promise. His own sword was in
+his heart, the empty scabbard by his side, and in his hand he held her
+veil still clasped. Thisbe saw these things as in a dream, and suddenly
+the truth awoke her. She saw the piteous mischance of all; and when the
+dying Pyramus opened his eyes and fixed them upon her, her heart broke.
+With the same sword she stabbed herself, and the lovers died together.
+
+There the parents found them, after a weary search, and they were
+buried together in the same tomb. But the berries of the mulberry-tree
+turned red that day, and red they have remained ever since.
+
+
+
+
+PYGMALION AND GALATEA.
+
+
+The island of Cyprus was dear to the heart of Venus. There her temples
+were kept with honor, and there, some say, she watched with the Loves
+and Graces over the long enchanted sleep of Adonis. This youth, a
+hunter whom she had dearly loved, had died of a wound from the tusk of
+a wild boar; but the bitter grief of Venus had won over even the powers
+of Hades. For six months of every year, Adonis had to live as a Shade
+in the world of the dead; but for the rest of time he was free to
+breathe the upper air. Here in Cyprus the people came to worship him as
+a god, for the sake of Venus who loved him; and here, if any called
+upon her, she was like to listen.
+
+Now there once lived in Cyprus a young sculptor, Pygmalion by name, who
+thought nothing on earth so beautiful as the white marble folk that
+live without faults and never grow old. Indeed, he said that he would
+never marry a mortal woman, and people began to think that his daily
+life among marble creatures was hardening his heart altogether.
+
+But it chanced that Pygmalion fell to work upon an ivory statue of a
+maiden, so lovely that it must have moved to envy every breathing
+creature that came to look upon it. With a happy heart the sculptor
+wrought day by day, giving it all the beauty of his dreams, until, when
+the work was completed, he felt powerless to leave it. He was bound to
+it by the tie of his highest aspiration, his most perfect ideal, his
+most patient work.
+
+Day after day the ivory maiden looked down at him silently, and he
+looked back at her until he felt that he loved her more than anything
+else in the world. He thought of her no longer as a statue, but as the
+dear companion of his life; and the whim grew upon him like an
+enchantment. He named her Galatea, and arrayed her like a princess; he
+hung jewels about her neck, and made all his home beautiful and fit for
+such a presence.
+
+Now the festival of Venus was at hand, and Pygmalion, like all who
+loved Beauty, joined the worshippers. In the temple victims were
+offered, solemn rites were held, and votaries from many lands came to
+pray the favor of the goddess. At length Pygmalion himself approached
+the altar and made his prayer.
+
+"Goddess," he said, "who hast vouchsafed to me this gift of beauty,
+give me a perfect love, likewise, and let me have for bride, one like
+my ivory maiden." And Venus heard.
+
+Home to his house of dreams went the sculptor, loath to be parted for a
+day from his statue, Galatea. There she stood, looking down upon him
+silently, and he looked back at her. Surely the sunset had shed a flush
+of life upon her whiteness.
+
+He drew near in wonder and delight, and felt, instead of the chill air
+that was wont to wake him out of his spell, a gentle warmth around her,
+like the breath of a plant. He touched her hand, and it yielded like
+the hand of one living! Doubting his senses, yet fearing to reassure
+himself, Pygmalion kissed the statue.
+
+In an instant the maiden's face bloomed like a waking rose, her hair
+shone golden as returning sunlight; she lifted her ivory eyelids and
+smiled at him. The statue herself had awakened, and she stepped down
+from the pedestal, into the arms of her creator, alive!
+
+There was a dream that came true.
+
+
+
+
+OEDIPUS.
+
+
+Behind the power of the gods and beyond all the efforts of men, the
+three Fates sat at their spinning.
+
+No one could tell whence these sisters were, but by some strange
+necessity they spun the web of human life and made destinies without
+knowing why. It was not for Clotho to decree whether the thread of a
+life should be stout or fragile, nor for Lachesis to choose the fashion
+of the web; and Atropos herself must sometimes have wept to cut a life
+short with her shears, and let it fall unfinished. But they were like
+spinners for some Power that said of life, as of a garment, _Thus it
+must be_. That Power neither gods nor men could withstand.
+
+There was once a king named Laius (a grandson of Cadmus himself), who
+ruled over Thebes, with Jocasta his wife. To them an Oracle had
+foretold that if a son of theirs lived to grow up, he would one day
+kill his father and marry his own mother. The king and queen resolved
+to escape such a doom, even at terrible cost. Accordingly Laius gave
+his son, who was only a baby, to a certain herdsman, with instructions
+to put him to death.
+
+This was not to be. The herdsman carried the child to a lonely
+mountain-side, but once there, his heart failed him. Hardly daring to
+disobey the king's command, yet shrinking from murder, he hung the
+little creature by his feet to the branches of a tree, and left him
+there to die.
+
+But there chanced to come that way with his flocks, a man who served
+King Polybus of Corinth. He found the baby perishing in the tree, and,
+touched with pity, took him home to his master. The king and queen of
+Corinth were childless, and some power moved them to take this
+mysterious child as a gift. They called him Oedipus (Swollen-Foot)
+because of the wounds they had found upon him, and, knowing naught of
+his parentage, they reared him as their own son. So the years went by.
+
+Now, when Oedipus had come to manhood, he went to consult the Oracle at
+Delphi, as all great people were wont, to learn what fortune had in
+store for him. But for him the Oracle had only a sentence of doom.
+According to the Fates, he would live to kill his own father and wed
+his mother.
+
+Filled with dismay, and resolved in his turn to conquer fate, Oedipus
+fled from Corinth; for he had never dreamed that his parents were other
+than Polybus and Merope the queen. Thinking to escape crime, he took
+the road towards Thebes, so hastening into the very arms of his evil
+destiny.
+
+It happened that King Laius, with one attendant, was on his way to
+Delphi from the city Thebes. In a narrow road he met this strange young
+man, also driving in a chariot, and ordered him to quit the way.
+Oedipus, who had been reared to princely honors, refused to obey; and
+the king's charioteer, in great anger, killed one of the young man's
+horses. At this insult Oedipus fell upon master and servant; mad with
+rage, he slew them both, and went on his way, not knowing the half of
+what he had done. The first saying of the Oracle was fulfilled.
+
+But the prince was to have his day of triumph before the doom. There
+was a certain wonderful creature called the Sphinx, which had been a
+terror to Thebes for many days. In form half woman and half lion, she
+crouched always by a precipice near the highway, and put the same
+mysterious question to every passer-by. None had ever been able to
+answer, and none had ever lived to warn men of the riddle; for the
+Sphinx fell upon every one as he failed, and hurled him down the abyss,
+to be dashed in pieces.
+
+This way came Oedipus towards the city Thebes, and the Sphinx crouched,
+face to face with him, and spoke the riddle that none had been able to
+guess.
+
+"_What animal is that which in the morning goes on four feet, at noon
+on two, and in the evening upon three?_"
+
+Oedipus, hiding his dread of the terrible creature, took thought, and
+answered "Man. In childhood he creeps on hands and knees, in manhood he
+walks erect, but in old age he has need of a staff."
+
+At this reply the Sphinx uttered a cry, sprang headlong from the rock
+into the valley below, and perished. Oedipus had guessed the answer.
+When he came to the city and told the Thebans that their torment was
+gone, they hailed him as a deliverer. Not long after, they married him
+with great honor to their widowed queen, Jocasta, his own mother. The
+destiny was fulfilled.
+
+For years Oedipus lived in peace, unwitting; but at length upon that
+unhappy city there fell a great pestilence and famine. In his distress
+the king sent to the Oracle at Delphi, to know what he or the Thebans
+had done, that they should be so sorely punished. Then for the third
+time the Oracle spoke his own fateful sentence; and he learned all.
+
+Jocasta died, and Oedipus took the doom upon himself, and left Thebes.
+Blinded by his own hand, he wandered away into the wilderness. Never
+again did he rule over men; and he had one only comrade, his faithful
+daughter Antigone. She was the truest happiness in his life of sorrow,
+and she never left him till he died.
+
+
+
+
+CUPID AND PSYCHE.
+
+
+Once upon a time, through that Destiny that overrules the gods, Love
+himself gave up his immortal heart to a mortal maiden. And thus it came
+to pass.
+
+There was a certain king who had three beautiful daughters. The two
+elder married princes of great renown; but Psyche, the youngest, was so
+radiantly fair that no suitor seemed worthy of her. People thronged to
+see her pass through the city, and sang hymns in her praise, while
+strangers took her for the very goddess of beauty herself.
+
+This angered Venus, and she resolved to cast down her earthly rival.
+One day, therefore, she called hither her son Love (Cupid, some name
+him), and bade him sharpen his weapons. He is an archer more to be
+dreaded than Apollo, for Apollo's arrows take life, but Love's bring
+joy or sorrow for a whole life long.
+
+"Come, Love," said Venus. "There is a mortal maid who robs me of my
+honors in yonder city. Avenge your mother. Wound this precious Psyche,
+and let her fall in love with some churlish creature mean in the eyes
+of all men."
+
+Cupid made ready his weapons, and flew down to earth invisibly. At that
+moment Psyche was asleep in her chamber; but he touched her heart with
+his golden arrow of love, and she opened her eyes so suddenly that he
+started (forgetting that he was invisible), and wounded himself with
+his own shaft.
+
+Heedless of the hurt, moved only by the loveliness of the maiden, he
+hastened to pour over her locks the healing joy that he ever kept by
+him, undoing all his work. Back to her dream the princess went,
+unshadowed by any thought of love. But Cupid, not so light of heart,
+returned to the heavens, saying not a word of what had passed.
+
+Venus waited long; then, seeing that Psyche's heart had somehow escaped
+love, she sent a spell upon the maiden. From that time, lovely as she
+was, not a suitor came to woo; and her parents, who desired to see her
+a queen at least, made a journey to the Oracle, and asked counsel.
+
+Said the voice: "The princess Psyche shall never wed a mortal. She
+shall be given to one who waits for her on yonder mountain; he
+overcomes gods and men."
+
+At this terrible sentence the poor parents were half distraught, and
+the people gave themselves up to grief at the fate in store for their
+beloved princess. Psyche alone bowed to her destiny. "We have angered
+Venus unwittingly," she said, "and all for sake of me, heedless maiden
+that I am! Give me up, therefore, dear father and mother. If I atone,
+it may be that the city will prosper once more."
+
+So she besought them, until, after many unavailing denials, the parents
+consented; and with a great company of people they led Psyche up the
+mountain,--as an offering to the monster of whom the Oracle had
+spoken,--and left her there alone.
+
+Full of courage, yet in a secret agony of grief, she watched her
+kindred and her people wind down the mountain-path, too sad to look
+back, until they were lost to sight. Then, indeed, she wept, but a
+sudden breeze drew near, dried her tears, and caressed her hair,
+seeming to murmur comfort. In truth, it was Zephyr, the kindly West
+Wind, come to befriend her; and as she took heart, feeling some
+benignant presence, he lifted her in his arms, and carried her on wings
+as even as a sea-gull's, over the crest of the fateful mountain and
+into a valley below. There he left her, resting on a bank of hospitable
+grass, and there the princess fell asleep.
+
+When she awoke, it was near sunset. She looked about her for some sign
+of the monster's approach; she wondered, then, if her grievous trial
+had been but a dream. Near by she saw a sheltering forest, whose young
+trees seemed to beckon as one maid beckons to another; and eager for
+the protection of the dryads, she went thither.
+
+The call of running waters drew her farther and farther, till she came
+out upon an open place, where there was a wide pool. A fountain
+fluttered gladly in the midst of it, and beyond there stretched a white
+palace wonderful to see. Coaxed by the bright promise of the place, she
+drew near, and, seeing no one, entered softly. It was all kinglier than
+her father's home, and as she stood in wonder and awe, soft airs
+stirred about her. Little by little the silence grew murmurous like the
+woods, and one voice, sweeter than the rest, took words. "All that you
+see is yours, gentle high princess," it said. "Fear nothing; only
+command us, for we are here to serve you."
+
+Full of amazement and delight, Psyche followed the voice from hall to
+hall, and through the lordly rooms, beautiful with everything that
+could delight a young princess. No pleasant thing was lacking. There
+was even a pool, brightly tiled and fed with running waters, where she
+bathed her weary limbs; and after she had put on the new and beautiful
+raiment that lay ready for her, she sat down to break her fast, waited
+upon and sung to by the unseen spirits.
+
+Surely he whom the Oracle had called her husband was no monster, but
+some beneficent power, invisible like all the rest. When daylight waned
+he came, and his voice, the beautiful voice of a god, inspired her to
+trust her strange destiny and to look and long for his return. Often
+she begged him to stay with her through the day, that she might see his
+face; but this he would not grant.
+
+"Never doubt me, dearest Psyche," said he. "Perhaps you would fear if
+you saw me, and love is all I ask. There is a necessity that keeps me
+hidden now. Only believe."
+
+So for many days Psyche was content; but when she grew used to
+happiness, she thought once more of her parents mourning her as lost,
+and of her sisters who shared the lot of mortals while she lived as a
+goddess. One night she told her husband of these regrets, and begged
+that her sisters at least might come to see her. He sighed, but did not
+refuse.
+
+"Zephyr shall bring them hither," said he. And on the following
+morning, swift as a bird, the West Wind came over the crest of the high
+mountain and down into the enchanted valley, bearing her two sisters.
+
+They greeted Psyche with joy and amazement, hardly knowing how they had
+come hither. But when this fairest of the sisters led them through her
+palace and showed them all the treasures that were hers, envy grew in
+their hearts and choked their old love. Even while they sat at feast
+with her, they grew more and more bitter; and hoping to find some
+little flaw in her good fortune, they asked a thousand questions.
+
+"Where is your husband?" said they. "And why is he not here with you?"
+
+"Ah," stammered Psyche. "All the day long--he is gone, hunting upon
+the mountains."
+
+"But what does he look like?" they asked; and Psyche could find no
+answer.
+
+When they learned that she had never seen him, they laughed her faith
+to scorn.
+
+"Poor Psyche," they said. "You are walking in a dream. Wake, before it
+is too late. Have you forgotten what the Oracle decreed,--that you were
+destined for a dreadful creature, the fear of gods and men? And are you
+deceived by this show of kindliness? We have come to warn you. The
+people told us, as we came over the mountain, that your husband is a
+dragon, who feeds you well for the present, that he may feast the
+better, some day soon. What is it that you trust? Good words! But only
+take a dagger some night, and when the monster is asleep go, light a
+lamp, and look at him. You can put him to death easily, and all his
+riches will be yours--and ours."
+
+Psyche heard this wicked plan with horror. Nevertheless, after her
+sisters were gone, she brooded over what they had said, not seeing
+their evil intent; and she came to find some wisdom in their words.
+Little by little, suspicion ate, like a moth, into her lovely mind; and
+at nightfall, in shame and fear, she hid a lamp and a dagger in her
+chamber. Towards midnight, when her husband was fast asleep, up she
+rose, hardly daring to breathe; and coming softly to his side, she
+uncovered the lamp to see some horror.
+
+But there the youngest of the gods lay sleeping,--most beautiful, most
+irresistible of all immortals. His hair shone golden as the sun, his
+face was radiant as dear Springtime, and from his shoulders sprang two
+rainbow wings.
+
+Poor Psyche was overcome with self-reproach. As she leaned towards him,
+filled with worship, her trembling hands held the lamp ill, and some
+burning oil fell upon Love's shoulder and awakened him.
+
+He opened his eyes, to see at once his bride and the dark suspicion in
+her heart.
+
+"O doubting Psyche!" he exclaimed with sudden grief,--and then he flew
+away, out of the window.
+
+Wild with sorrow, Psyche tried to follow, but she fell to the ground
+instead. When she recovered her senses, she stared about her. She was
+alone, and the place was beautiful no longer. Garden and palace had
+vanished with Love.
+
+
+
+
+THE TRIAL OF PSYCHE.
+
+
+Over mountains and valleys Psyche journeyed alone until she came to the
+city where her two envious sisters lived with the princes whom they had
+married. She stayed with them only long enough to tell the story of her
+unbelief and its penalty. Then she set out again to search for Love.
+
+As she wandered one day, travel-worn but not hopeless, she saw a lofty
+palace on a hill near by, and she turned her steps thither. The place
+seemed deserted. Within the hall she saw no human being,--only heaps of
+grain, loose ears of corn half torn from the husk, wheat and barley,
+alike scattered in confusion on the floor. Without delay, she set to
+work binding the sheaves together and gathering the scattered ears of
+corn in seemly wise, as a princess would wish to see them. While she
+was in the midst of her task, a voice startled her, and she looked up
+to behold Demeter herself, the goddess of the harvest, smiling upon her
+with good will.
+
+"Dear Psyche," said Demeter, "you are worthy of happiness, and you may
+find it yet. But since you have displeased Venus, go to her and ask her
+favor. Perhaps your patience will win her pardon."
+
+These motherly words gave Psyche heart, and she reverently took leave
+of the goddess and set out for the temple of Venus. Most humbly she
+offered up her prayer, but Venus could not look at her earthly beauty
+without anger.
+
+"Vain girl," said she, "perhaps you have come to make amends for the
+wound you dealt your husband; you shall do so. Such clever people can
+always find work!"
+
+Then she led Psyche into a great chamber heaped high with mingled
+grain, beans, and lintels (the food of her doves), and bade her
+separate them all and have them ready in seemly fashion by night.
+Heracles would have been helpless before such a vexatious task; and
+poor Psyche, left alone in this desert of grain, had not courage to
+begin. But even as she sat there, a moving thread of black crawled
+across the floor from a crevice in the wall; and bending nearer, she
+saw that a great army of ants in columns had come to her aid. The
+zealous little creatures worked in swarms, with such industry over the
+work they like best, that, when Venus came at night, she found the task
+completed.
+
+"Deceitful girl," she cried, shaking the roses out of her hair with
+impatience, "this is my son's work, not yours. But he will soon forget
+you. Eat this black bread if you are hungry, and refresh your dull mind
+with sleep. To-morrow you will need more wit."
+
+Psyche wondered what new misfortune could be in store for her. But when
+morning came, Venus led her to the brink of a river, and, pointing to
+the wood across the water, said, "Go now to yonder grove where the
+sheep with the golden fleece are wont to browse. Bring me a golden lock
+from every one of them, or you must go your ways and never come back
+again."
+
+This seemed not difficult, and Psyche obediently bade the goddess
+farewell, and stepped into the water, ready to wade across. But as
+Venus disappeared, the reeds sang louder and the nymphs of the river,
+looking up sweetly, blew bubbles to the surface and murmured: "Nay,
+nay, have a care, Psyche. This flock has not the gentle ways of sheep.
+While the sun burns aloft, they are themselves as fierce as flame; but
+when the shadows are long, they go to rest and sleep, under the trees;
+and you may cross the river without fear and pick the golden fleece off
+the briers in the pasture."
+
+Thanking the water-creatures, Psyche sat down to rest near them, and
+when the time came, she crossed in safety and followed their counsel.
+By twilight she returned to Venus with her arms full of shining fleece.
+
+"No mortal wit did this," said Venus angrily. "But if you care to prove
+your readiness, go now, with this little box, down to Proserpina and
+ask her to enclose in it some of her beauty, for I have grown pale in
+caring for my wounded son."
+
+It needed not the last taunt to sadden Psyche. She knew that it was not
+for mortals to go into Hades and return alive; and feeling that Love
+had forsaken her, she was minded to accept her doom as soon as might
+be.
+
+But even as she hastened towards the descent, another friendly voice
+detained her. "Stay, Psyche, I know your grief. Only give ear and you
+shall learn a safe way through all these trials." And the voice went on
+to tell her how one might avoid all the dangers of Hades and come out
+unscathed. (But such a secret could not pass from mouth to mouth, with
+the rest of the story.)
+
+"And be sure," added the voice, "when Proserpina has returned the box,
+not to open it, however much you may long to do so."
+
+Psyche gave heed, and by this device, whatever it was, she found her
+way into Hades safely, and made her errand known to Proserpina, and was
+soon in the upper world again, wearied but hopeful.
+
+"Surely Love has not forgotten me," she said. "But humbled as I am and
+worn with toil, how shall I ever please him? Venus can never need all
+the beauty in this casket; and since I use it for Love's sake, it must
+be right to take some." So saying, she opened the box, heedless as
+Pandora! The spells and potions of Hades are not for mortal maids, and
+no sooner had she inhaled the strange aroma than she fell down like one
+dead, quite overcome.
+
+But it happened that Love himself was recovered from his wound, and he
+had secretly fled from his chamber to seek out and rescue Psyche. He
+found her lying by the wayside; he gathered into the casket what
+remained of the philter, and awoke his beloved.
+
+"Take comfort," he said, smiling. "Return to our mother and do her
+bidding till I come again."
+
+Away he flew; and while Psyche went cheerily homeward, he hastened up
+to Olympus, where all the gods sat feasting, and begged them to
+intercede for him with his angry mother.
+
+They heard his story and their hearts were touched. Zeus himself coaxed
+Venus with kind words till at last she relented, and remembered that
+anger hurt her beauty, and smiled once more. All the younger gods were
+for welcoming Psyche at once, and Hermes was sent to bring her hither.
+The maiden came, a shy newcomer among those bright creatures. She took
+the cup that Hebe held out to her, drank the divine ambrosia, and
+became immortal.
+
+Light came to her face like moonrise, two radiant wings sprang from her
+shoulders; and even as a butterfly bursts from its dull cocoon, so the
+human Psyche blossomed into immortality.
+
+Love took her by the hand, and they were never parted any more.
+
+
+
+
+STORIES OF THE TROJAN WAR.
+
+
+I. THE APPLE OF DISCORD.
+
+There was once a war so great that the sound of it has come ringing
+down the centuries from singer to singer, and will never die.
+
+The rivalries of men and gods brought about many calamities, but none
+so heavy as this; and it would never have come to pass, they say, if it
+had not been for jealousy among the immortals,--all because of a golden
+apple! But Destiny has nurtured ominous plants from little seeds; and
+this is how one evil grew great enough to overshadow heaven and earth.
+
+The sea-nymph Thetis (whom Zeus himself had once desired for his wife)
+was given in marriage to a mortal, Peleus, and there was a great
+wedding-feast in heaven. Thither all the immortals were bidden, save
+one, Eris, the goddess of Discord, ever an unwelcome guest. But she
+came unbidden. While the wedding-guests sat at feast, she broke in upon
+their mirth, flung among them a golden apple, and departed with looks
+that boded ill. Some one picked up the strange missile and read its
+inscription: _For the Fairest_; and at once discussion arose among the
+goddesses. They were all eager to claim the prize, but only three
+persisted.
+
+Venus, the very goddess of beauty, said that it was hers by right; but
+Juno could not endure to own herself less fair than another, and even
+Athena coveted the palm of beauty as well as of wisdom, and would not
+give it up! Discord had indeed come to the wedding-feast. Not one of
+the gods dared to decide so dangerous a question,--not Zeus
+himself,--and the three rivals were forced to choose a judge among
+mortals.
+
+Now there lived on Mount Ida, near the city of Troy, a certain young
+shepherd by the name of Paris. He was as comely as Ganymede
+himself,--that Trojan youth whom Zeus, in the shape of an eagle, seized
+and bore away to Olympus, to be a cup-bearer to the gods. Paris, too,
+was a Trojan of royal birth, but like Oedipus he had been left on the
+mountain in his infancy, because the Oracle had foretold that he would
+be the death of his kindred and the ruin of his country. Destiny saved
+and nurtured him to fulfil that prophecy. He grew up as a shepherd and
+tended his flocks on the mountain, but his beauty held the favor of all
+the wood-folk there and won the heart of the nymph Oenone.
+
+To him, at last, the three goddesses entrusted the judgment and the
+golden apple. Juno first stood before him in all her glory as Queen of
+gods and men, and attended by her favorite peacocks as gorgeous to see
+as royal fan-bearers.
+
+"Use but the judgment of a prince, Paris," she said, "and I will give
+thee wealth and kingly power."
+
+Such majesty and such promises would have moved the heart of any man;
+but the eager Paris had at least to hear the claims of the other
+rivals. Athena rose before him, a vision welcome as daylight, with her
+sea-gray eyes and golden hair beneath a golden helmet.
+
+"Be wise in honoring me, Paris," she said, "and I will give thee wisdom
+that shall last forever, great glory among men, and renown in war."
+
+Last of all, Venus shone upon him, beautiful as none can ever hope to
+be. If she had come, unnamed, as any country maid, her loveliness would
+have dazzled him like sea-foam in the sun; but she was girt with her
+magical Cestus, a spell of beauty that no one can resist.
+
+Without a bribe she might have conquered, and she smiled upon his dumb
+amazement, saying, "Paris, thou shalt yet have for wife the fairest
+woman in the world."
+
+At these words, the happy shepherd fell on his knees and offered her
+the golden apple. He took no heed of the slighted goddesses, who
+vanished in a cloud that boded storm.
+
+From that hour he sought only the counsel of Venus, and only cared to
+find the highway to his new fortunes. From her he learned that he was
+the son of King Priam of Troy, and with her assistance he deserted the
+nymph Oenone, whom he had married, and went in search of his royal
+kindred.
+
+For it chanced at that time that Priam proclaimed a contest of strength
+between his sons and certain other princes, and promised as prize the
+most splendid bull that could be found among the herds of Mount Ida.
+Thither came the herdsmen to choose, and when they led away the pride
+of Paris's heart, he followed to Troy, thinking that he would try his
+fortune and perhaps win back his own.
+
+The games took place before Priam and Hecuba and all their children,
+including those noble princes Hector and Helenus, and the young
+Cassandra, their sister. This poor maiden had a sad story, in spite of
+her royalty; for, because she had once disdained Apollo, she was fated
+to foresee all things, and ever to have her prophecies disbelieved. On
+this fateful day, she alone was oppressed with strange forebodings.
+
+But if he who was to be the ruin of his country had returned, he had
+come victoriously. Paris won the contest. At the very moment of his
+honor, poor Cassandra saw him with her prophetic eyes; and seeing as
+well all the guilt and misery that he was to bring upon them, she broke
+into bitter lamentations, and would have warned her kindred against the
+evil to come. But the Trojans gave little heed; they were wont to look
+upon her visions as spells of madness. Paris had come back to them a
+glorious youth and a victor; and when he made known the secret of his
+birth, they cast the words of the Oracle to the winds, and received the
+shepherd as a long-lost prince.
+
+Thus far all went happily. But Venus, whose promise had not yet been
+fulfilled, bade Paris procure a ship and go in search of his destined
+bride. The prince said nothing of this quest, but urged his kindred to
+let him go; and giving out a rumor that he was to find his father's
+lost sister Hesione, he set sail for Greece, and finally landed at
+Sparta.
+
+There he was kindly received by Menelaus, the king, and his wife, Fair
+Helen.
+
+This queen had been reared as the daughter of Tyndarus and Queen Leda,
+but some say that she was the child of an enchanted swan, and there was
+indeed a strange spell about her. All the greatest heroes of Greece had
+wooed her before she left her father's palace to be the wife of King
+Menelaus; and Tyndarus, fearing for her peace, had bound her many
+suitors by an oath. According to this pledge, they were to respect her
+choice, and to go to the aid of her husband if ever she should be
+stolen away from him. For in all Greece there was nothing so beautiful
+as the beauty of Helen. She was the fairest woman in the world.
+
+Now thus did Venus fulfil her promise and the shepherd win his reward
+with dishonor. Paris dwelt at the court of Menelaus for a long time,
+treated with a royal courtesy which he ill repaid. For at length while
+the king was absent on a journey to Crete, his guest won the heart of
+Fair Helen, and persuaded her to forsake her husband and sail away to
+Troy.
+
+King Menelaus returned to find the nest empty of the swan. Paris and
+the fairest woman in the world were well across the sea.
+
+
+II. THE ROUSING OF THE HEROES.
+
+When this treachery came to light, all Greece took fire with
+indignation. The heroes remembered their pledge, and wrath came upon
+them at the wrong done to Menelaus. But they were less angered with
+Fair Helen than with Paris, for they felt assured that the queen had
+been lured from her country and out of her own senses by some spell of
+enchantment. So they took counsel how they might bring back Fair Helen
+to her home and husband.
+
+Years had come and gone since that wedding-feast when Eris had flung
+the apple of discord, like a firebrand, among the guests. But the spark
+of dissension that had smouldered so long burst into flame now, and,
+fanned by the enmities of men and the rivalries of the gods, it seemed
+like to fire heaven and earth.
+
+A few of the heroes answered the call to arms unwillingly. Time had
+reconciled them to the loss of Fair Helen, and they were loath to leave
+home and happiness for war, even in her cause.
+
+One of these was Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who had married Penelope,
+and was quite content with his kingdom and his little son Telemachus.
+Indeed, he was so unwilling to leave them that he feigned madness in
+order to escape service, appeared to forget his own kindred, and went
+ploughing the seashore and sowing salt in the furrows. But a messenger,
+Palamedes, who came with the summons to war, suspected that this sudden
+madness might be a stratagem, for the king was far famed as a man of
+many devices. He therefore stood by, one day (while Odysseus,
+pretending to take no heed of him, went ploughing the sand), and he
+laid the baby Telemachus directly in the way of the ploughshare. For
+once the wise man's craft deserted him. Odysseus turned the plough
+sharply, caught up the little prince, and there his fatherly wits were
+manifest! After this he could no longer play madman. He had to take
+leave of his beloved wife Penelope and set out to join the heroes,
+little dreaming that he was not to return for twenty years. Once
+embarked, however, he set himself to work in the common cause of the
+heroes, and was soon as ingenious as Palamedes in rousing laggard
+warriors.
+
+There remained one who was destined to be the greatest warrior of all.
+This was Achilles, the son of Thetis,--foretold in the day of
+Prometheus as a man who should far outstrip his own father in glory and
+greatness. Years had passed since the marriage of Thetis to King
+Peleus, and their son Achilles was now grown to manhood, a wonder of
+strength indeed, and, moreover, invulnerable. For his mother,
+forewarned of his death in the Trojan War, had dipped him in the sacred
+river Styx when he was a baby, so that he could take no hurt from any
+weapon. From head to foot she had plunged him in, only forgetting the
+little heel that she held him by, and this alone could be wounded by
+any chance. But even with such precautions Thetis was not content.
+Fearful at the rumors of war to be, she had her son brought up, in
+woman's dress, among the daughters of King Lycomedes of Scyros, that he
+might escape the notice of men and cheat his destiny.
+
+To this very palace, however, came Odysseus in the guise of a merchant,
+and he spread his wares before the royal household,--jewels and ivory,
+fine fabrics, and curiously wrought weapons. The king's daughters chose
+girdles and veils and such things as women delight in; but Achilles,
+heedless of the like, sought out the weapons, and handled them with
+such manly pleasure that his nature stood revealed. So he, too, yielded
+to his destiny and set out to join the heroes.
+
+Everywhere men were banded together, building the ships and gathering
+supplies. The allied forces of Greece (the Achaeans, as they called
+themselves) chose Agamemnon for their commander-in-chief. He was a
+mighty man, king of Mycenae and Argos, and the brother of the wronged
+Menelaus. Second to Achilles in strength was the giant Ajax; after him
+Diomedes, then wise Odysseus, and Nestor, held in great reverence
+because of his experienced age and fame. These were the chief heroes.
+After two years of busy preparation, they reached the port of Aulis,
+whence they were to sail for Troy.
+
+But here delay held them. Agamemnon had chanced to kill a stag which
+was sacred to Diana, and the army was visited by pestilence, while a
+great calm kept the ships imprisoned. At length the Oracle made known
+the reason of this misfortune and demanded for atonement the maiden
+Iphigenia, Agamemnon's own daughter. In helpless grief the king
+consented to offer her up as a victim, and the maiden was brought ready
+for sacrifice. But at the last moment Diana caught her away in a cloud,
+leaving a white hind in her place, and carried her to Tauris in
+Scythia, there to serve as a priestess in the temple. In the mean time,
+her kinsfolk, who were at a loss to understand how she had disappeared,
+mourned her as dead. But Diana had accepted their child as an offering,
+and healing came to the army, and the winds blew again. So the ships
+set sail.
+
+Meanwhile, in Troy across the sea, the aged Priam and Hecuba gave
+shelter to their son Paris and his stolen bride. They were not without
+misgivings as to these guests, but they made ready to defend their
+kindred and the citadel.
+
+There were many heroes among the Trojans and their allies, brave and
+upright men, who little deserved that such reproach should be brought
+upon them by the guilt of Prince Paris. There were Aeneas and
+Deiphobus, Glaucus and Sarpedon, and Priam's most noble son Hector,
+chief of all the forces, and the very bulwark of Troy. These and many
+more were bitterly to regret the day that had brought Paris back to his
+home. But he had taken refuge with his own people, and the Trojans had
+to take up his cause against the hostile fleet that was coming across
+the sea.
+
+Even the gods took sides. Juno and Athena, who had never forgiven the
+judgment of Paris, condemned all Troy with, him and favored the Greeks,
+as did also Poseidon, god of the sea. But Venus, true to her favorite,
+furthered the interests of the Trojans with all her power, and
+persuaded the warlike Mars to do likewise. Zeus and Apollo strove to be
+impartial, but they were yet to aid now one side, now another,
+according to the fortunes of the heroes whom they loved.
+
+Over the sea came the great embassy of ships, sped hither safely by the
+god Poseidon; and the heroes made their camp on the plain before Troy.
+First of all Odysseus and King Menelaus himself went into the city and
+demanded that Fair Helen should be given back to her rightful husband.
+This the Trojans refused; and so began the siege of Troy.
+
+
+III. THE WOODEN HORSE.
+
+Nine years the Greeks laid siege to Troy, and Troy held out against
+every device. On both sides the lives of many heroes were spent, and
+they were forced to acknowledge each other enemies of great valor.
+
+Sometimes the chief warriors fought in single combat, while the armies
+looked on, and the old men of Troy, with the women, came out to watch
+far off from the city walls. King Priam and Queen Hecuba would come,
+and Cassandra, sad with foreknowledge of their doom, and Andromache,
+the lovely young wife of Hector, with her little son whom the people
+called _The City King_. Sometimes Fair Helen came to look across the
+plain to the fellow-countrymen whom she had forsaken; and although she
+was the cause of all this war, the Trojans half forgave her when she
+passed by, because her beauty was like a spell, and warmed hard hearts
+as the sunshine mellows apples. So for nine years the Greeks plundered
+the neighboring towns, but the city Troy stood fast, and the Grecian
+ships waited with folded wings.
+
+The half of that story cannot be told here, but in the tenth year of
+the war many things came to pass, and the end drew near. Of this tenth
+year alone, there are a score of tales. For the Greeks fell to
+quarrelling among themselves over the spoils of war, and the great
+Achilles left the camp in anger and refused to fight. Nothing would
+induce him to return, till his friend Patroclus was slain by Prince
+Hector. At that news, indeed, Achilles rose in great might and returned
+to the Greeks; and he went forth clad in armor that had been wrought
+for him by Vulcan, at the prayer of Thetis. By the river Scamander,
+near to Troy, he met and slew Hector, and afterwards dragged the hero's
+body after his chariot across the plain. How the aged Priam went alone
+by night to the tent of Achilles to ransom his son's body, and how
+Achilles relented, and moreover granted a truce for the funeral honors
+of his enemy,--all these things have been so nobly sung that they can
+never be fitly spoken.
+
+Hector, the bulwark of Troy, had fallen, and the ruin of the city was
+at hand. Achilles himself did not long survive his triumph, and,
+ruthless as he was, he ill-deserved the manner of his death. He was
+treacherously slain by that Paris who would never have dared to meet
+him in the open field. Paris, though he had brought all this disaster
+upon Troy, had left the danger to his countrymen. But he lay in wait
+for Achilles in a temple sacred to Apollo, and from his hiding-place he
+sped a poisoned arrow at the hero. It pierced his ankle where the water
+of the Styx had not charmed him against wounds, and of that venom the
+great Achilles died. Paris himself died soon after by another poisoned
+arrow, but that was no long grief to anybody!
+
+Still Troy held out, and the Greeks, who could not take it by force,
+pondered how they might take it by craft. At length, with the aid of
+Odysseus, they devised a plan.
+
+A portion of the Grecian host broke up camp and set sail as if they
+were homeward bound; but, once out of sight, they anchored their ships
+behind a neighboring island. The rest of the army then fell to work
+upon a great image of a horse. They built it of wood, fitted and
+carved, and with a door so cunningly concealed that none might notice
+it. When it was finished, the horse looked like a prodigious idol; but
+it was hollow, skilfully pierced here and there, and so spacious that a
+band of men could lie hidden within and take no harm. Into this
+hiding-place went Odysseus, Menelaus, and the other chiefs, fully
+armed, and when the door was shut upon them, the rest of the Grecian
+army broke camp and went away.
+
+Meanwhile, in Troy, the people had seen the departure of the ships, and
+the news had spread like wildfire. The great enemy had lost
+heart,--after ten years of war! Part of the army had gone,--the rest
+were going. Already the last of the ships had set sail, and the camp
+was deserted. The tents that had whitened the plain were gone like a
+frost before the sun. The war was over!
+
+The whole city went wild with joy. Like one who has been a prisoner for
+many years, it flung off all restraint, and the people rose as a single
+man to test the truth of new liberty. The gates were thrown wide, and
+the Trojans--men, women, and children--thronged over the plain and
+into the empty camp of the enemy. There stood the Wooden Horse.
+
+No one knew what it could be. Fearful at first, they gathered around
+it, as children gather around a live horse; they marvelled at its
+wondrous height and girth, and were for moving it into the city as a
+trophy of war.
+
+At this, one man interposed,--Laocooen, a priest of Poseidon. "Take
+heed, citizens," said he. "Beware of all that comes from the Greeks.
+Have you fought them for ten years without learning their devices? This
+is some piece of treachery."
+
+But there was another outcry in the crowd, and at that moment certain
+of the Trojans dragged forward a wretched man who wore the garments of
+a Greek. He seemed the sole remnant of the Grecian army, and as such
+they consented to spare his life, if he would tell them the truth.
+
+Sinon, for this was the spy's name, said that he had been left behind
+by the malice of Odysseus, and he told them that the Greeks had built
+the Wooden Horse as an offering to Athena, and that they had made it so
+huge in order to keep it from being moved out of the camp, since it was
+destined to bring triumph to its possessors.
+
+At this, the joy of the Trojans was redoubled, and they set their wits
+to find out how they might soonest drag the great horse across the
+plain and into the city to ensure victory. While they stood talking,
+two immense serpents rose out of the sea and made towards the camp.
+Some of the people took flight, others were transfixed with terror; but
+all, near and far, watched this new omen. Rearing their crests, the
+sea-serpents crossed the shore, swift, shining, terrible as a risen
+water-flood that descends upon a helpless little town. Straight through
+the crowd they swept, and seized the priest Laocooen where he stood,
+with his two sons, and wrapped them all round and round in fearful
+coils. There was no chance of escape. Father and sons perished
+together; and when the monsters had devoured the three men, into the
+sea they slipped again, leaving no trace of the horror.
+
+The terrified Trojans saw an omen in this. To their minds, punishment
+had come upon Laocooen for his words against the Wooden Horse. Surely,
+it was sacred to the gods; he had spoken blasphemy, and had perished
+before their eyes. They flung his warning to the winds. They wreathed
+the horse with garlands, amid great acclaim; and then, all lending a
+hand, they dragged it, little by little, out of the camp and into the
+city of Troy. With the close of that victorious day, they gave up every
+memory of danger and made merry after ten years of privation.
+
+That very night Sinon the spy opened the hidden door of the Wooden
+Horse, and in the darkness, Odysseus, Menelaus, and the other chiefs
+who had lain hidden there crept out and gave the signal to the Grecian
+army. For, under cover of night, those ships that had been moored
+behind the island had sailed back again, and the Greeks were come upon
+Troy.
+
+Not a Trojan was on guard. The whole city was at feast when the enemy
+rose in its midst, and the warning of Laocooen was fulfilled.
+
+Priam and his warriors fell by the sword, and their kingdom was
+plundered of all its fair possessions, women and children and treasure.
+Last of all, the city itself was burned to its very foundations.
+
+Homeward sailed the Greeks, taking as royal captives poor Cassandra and
+Andromache and many another Trojan. And home at last went Fair Helen,
+the cause of all this sorrow, eager to be forgiven by her husband, King
+Menelaus. For she had awakened from the enchantment of Venus, and even
+before the death of Paris she had secretly longed for her home and
+kindred. Home to Sparta she came with the king after a long and stormy
+voyage, and there she lived and died the fairest of women.
+
+But the kingdom of Troy was fallen. Nothing remained of all its glory
+but the glory of its dead heroes and fair women, and the ruins of its
+citadel by the river Scamander. There even now, beneath the foundations
+of later homes that were built and burned, built and burned, in the
+wars of a thousand years after, the ruins of ancient Troy lie hidden,
+like mouldered leaves deep under the new grass. And there, to this very
+day, men who love the story are delving after the dead city as you
+might search for a buried treasure.
+
+
+
+
+THE HOUSE OF AGAMEMNON.
+
+
+The Greeks had won back Fair Helen, and had burned the city of Troy
+behind them, but theirs was no triumphant voyage home. Many were driven
+far and wide before they saw their land again, and one who escaped such
+hardships came home to find a bitter welcome. This was the chief of all
+the hosts, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and Argos. He it was who had
+offered his own daughter Iphigenia to appease the wrath of Diana before
+the ships could sail for Troy. An ominous leave-taking was his, and
+calamity was there to greet him home again.
+
+He had entrusted the cares of the state to his cousin Aegisthus,
+commending also to his protection Queen Clytemnestra with her two
+remaining children, Electra and Orestes.
+
+Now Clytemnestra was a sister of Helen of Troy, and a beautiful woman
+to see; but her heart was as evil as her face was fair. No sooner had
+her husband gone to the wars than she set up Aegisthus in his place, as
+if there were no other king of Argos. For years this faithless pair
+lived arrogantly in the face of the people, and controlled the affairs
+of the kingdom. But as time went by and the child Orestes grew to be a
+youth, Aegisthus feared lest the Argives should stand by their own
+prince, and drive him away as an usurper. He therefore planned the
+death of Orestes, and even won the consent of the queen, who was no
+gentle mother! But the princess Electra, suspecting their plot,
+secretly hurried her brother away to the court of King Strophius in
+Phocis, and so saved his life. She was not, however, to save a second
+victim.
+
+The ten years of war went by, and the chief, Agamemnon, came home in
+triumph, heralded by all the Argives, who were as exultant over the
+return of their lawful king as over the fall of Troy. Into the city
+came the remnant of his own men, bearing the spoils of war, and, in the
+midst of a jubilant multitude, King Agamemnon sharing his chariot with
+the captive princess, Cassandra.
+
+Queen Clytemnestra went out to greet him with every show of joy and
+triumph. She had a cloth of purple spread before the palace, that her
+husband might come with state into his home once more; and before all
+beholders she protested that the ten years of his absence had bereaved
+her of all happiness.
+
+The unsuspicious king left his chariot and entered the palace; but the
+princess Cassandra hesitated and stood by in fear. Poor Cassandra! Her
+kindred were slain and the doom of her city was fulfilled, but the
+curse of prophecy still followed her. She felt the shadow of coming
+evil, and there before the door she recoiled, and cried out that there
+was blood in the air. At length, despairing of her fate, she too went
+in. Even while the Argives stood about the gates, pitying her madness,
+the prophecy came true.
+
+Clytemnestra, like any anxious wife, had led the travel-worn king to a
+bath; and there, when he had laid by his arms, she and Aegisthus threw
+a net over him, as they would have snared any beast of prey, and slew
+him, defenceless. In the same hour Cassandra, too, fell into their
+hands, and they put an end to her warnings. So died the chief of the
+great army and his royal captive.
+
+The murderers proclaimed themselves king and queen before all the
+people, and none dared rebel openly against such terrible authority.
+But Aegisthus was still uneasy at the thought that the Prince Orestes
+might return some day to avenge his father. Indeed, Electra had sent
+from time to time secret messages to Phocis, entreating her brother to
+come and take his rightful place, and save her from her cruel mother
+and Aegisthus. But there came to Argos one day a rumor that Orestes
+himself had died in Phocis, and the poor princess gave up all hope of
+peace; while Clytemnestra and Aegisthus made no secret of their relief,
+but even offered impious thanks in the temple, as if the gods were of
+their mind! They were soon undeceived.
+
+Two young Phocians came to the palace with news of the last days of
+Orestes, so they said; and they were admitted to the presence of the
+king and queen. They were, in truth, Orestes himself and his friend
+Pylades (son of King Strophius), who had ventured safety and all to
+avenge Agamemnon. Then and there Orestes killed Aegisthus and
+Clytemnestra, and appeared before the Argives as their rightful prince.
+
+But not even so did he find peace. In slaying Clytemnestra, wicked as
+she was, he had murdered his own mother, a deed hateful to gods and
+men. Day and night he was haunted by the Furies.
+
+These dread sisters never leave Hades save to pursue and torture some
+guilty conscience. They wear black raiment, like the wings of a bat;
+their hair writhes with serpents fierce as remorse, and in their hands
+they carry flaming torches that make all shapes look greater and more
+fearful than they are. No sleep can soothe the mind of him they follow.
+They come between his eyes and the daylight; at night their torches
+drive away all comfortable darkness. Poor Orestes, though he had
+punished two murderers, felt that he was no less a murderer himself.
+
+From land to land he wandered in despair that grew to madness, with one
+only comrade, the faithful Pylades, who was his very shadow. At length
+he took refuge in Athens, under the protection of Athena, and gave
+himself up to be tried by the court of the Areopagus. There he was
+acquitted; but not all the Furies left him, and at last he besought the
+Oracle of Apollo to befriend him.
+
+"Go to Tauris, in Scythia," said the voice, "and bring from thence the
+image of Diana which fell from the heavens." So he set out with his
+Pylades and sailed to the shore of Scythia.
+
+Now the Taurians were a savage people, who strove to honor Diana, to
+their rude minds, by sacrificing all the strangers that fell into their
+hands. There was a temple not far from the seaside, and its priestess
+was a Grecian maiden, one Iphigenia, who had miraculously appeared
+there years before, and was held in especial awe by Thoas, the king of
+the country round about. Sorely against her will, she had to hallow the
+victims offered at this shrine; and into her presence Orestes and
+Pylades were brought by the men who had seized them.
+
+On learning that they were Grecians and Argives (for they withheld
+their names), the priestess was moved to the heart. She asked them many
+questions concerning the fate of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and the
+warriors against Troy, which they answered as best they could. At
+length she said that she would help one of them to escape, if he would
+swear to take a message from her to one in Argos.
+
+"My friend shall bear it home," said Orestes. "As for me, I stay and
+endure my fate."
+
+"Nay," said Pylades; "how can I swear? for I might lose this letter by
+shipwreck or some other mischance."
+
+"Hear the message, then," said the high-priestess. "And thou wilt keep
+it by thee with thy life. To Orestes, son of Agamemnon, say Iphigenia,
+his sister, is dead indeed unto her parents, but not to him. Say that
+Diana has had charge over her these many years since she was snatched
+away at Aulis, and that she waits until her brother shall come to
+rescue her from this duty of bloodshed and take her home."
+
+At these words their amazement knew no bounds. Orestes embraced his
+lost sister and told her all his story, and the three, breathless with
+eagerness, planned a way of escape.
+
+The king of Tauris had already come to witness the sacrifice. But
+Iphigenia took in her hands the sacred image of Diana, and went out to
+tell him that the rites must be delayed. One of the strangers, said
+she, was guilty of the murder of his mother, the other sharing his
+crime; and these unworthy victims must be cleansed with pure sea-water
+before they could be offered to Diana. The sacred image had been
+desecrated by their touch, and that, too, must be solemnly purged by no
+other hands than hers.
+
+To this the king consented. He remained to burn lustral fires in the
+temple; the people withdrew to their houses to escape pollution, and
+the priestess with her victims reached the seaside in safety.
+
+Once there, with the sacred image which was to bring them good fortune,
+they hastened to the Grecian galley and put off from that desolate
+shore. So, with his new-found sister and his new hope, Orestes went
+over the seas to Argos, to rebuild the honor of the royal house.
+
+
+
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS.
+
+
+I. THE CURSE OF POLYPHEMUS.
+
+Of all the heroes that wandered far and wide before they came to their
+homes again after the fall of Troy, none suffered so many hardships as
+Odysseus.
+
+There was, indeed, one other man whose adventures have been likened to
+his, and this was Aeneas, a Trojan hero. He escaped from the burning
+city with a band of fugitives, his countrymen; and after years of peril
+and wandering he came to found a famous race in Italy. On the way, he
+found one hospitable resting-place in Carthage, where Queen Dido
+received him with great kindliness; and when he left her she took her
+own life, out of very grief.
+
+But there were no other hardships such as beset Odysseus, between the
+burning of Troy and his return to Ithaca, west of the land of Greece.
+Ten years did he fight against Troy, but it was ten years more before
+he came to his home and his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus.
+
+Now all these latter years of wandering fell to his lot because of
+Poseidon's anger against him. For Poseidon had favored the Grecian
+cause, and might well have sped home this man who had done so much to
+win the Grecian victory. But as evil destiny would have it, Odysseus
+mortally angered the god of the sea by blinding his son, the Cyclops
+Polyphemus. And thus it came to pass.
+
+Odysseus set out from Troy with twelve good ships. He touched first at
+Ismarus, where his first misfortune took place, and in a skirmish with
+the natives he lost a number of men from each ship's crew. A storm then
+drove them to the land of the Lotus-Eaters, a wondrous people, kindly
+and content, who spend their lives in a day-dream and care for nothing
+else under the sun. No sooner had the sailors eaten of this magical
+lotus than they lost all their wish to go home, or to see their wives
+and children again. By main force, Odysseus drove them back to the
+ships and saved them from the spell.
+
+Thence they came one day to a beautiful strange island, a verdant place
+to see, deep with soft grass and well watered with springs. Here they
+ran the ships ashore, and took their rest and feasted for a day. But
+Odysseus looked across to the mainland, where he saw flocks and herds,
+and smoke going up softly from the homes of men; and he resolved to go
+across and find out what manner of people lived there. Accordingly,
+next morning, he took his own ship's company and they rowed across to
+the mainland.
+
+Now, fair as the place was, there dwelt in it a race of giants, the
+Cyclopes, great rude creatures, having each but one eye, and that in
+the middle of his forehead. One of them was Polyphemus, the son of
+Poseidon. He lived by himself as a shepherd, and it was to his cave
+that Odysseus came, by some evil chance. It was an enormous grotto, big
+enough to house the giant and all his flocks, and it had a great
+courtyard without. But Odysseus, knowing nought of all this, chose out
+twelve men, and with a wallet of corn and a goatskin full of wine they
+left the ship and made a way to the cave, which they had seen from the
+water.
+
+Much they wondered who might be the master of this strange house.
+Polyphemus was away with his sheep, but many lambs and kids were penned
+there, and the cavern was well stored with goodly cheeses and cream and
+whey.
+
+Without delay, the wearied men kindled a fire and sat down to eat such
+things as they found, till a great shadow came dark against the
+doorway, and they saw the Cyclops near at hand, returning with his
+flocks. In an instant they fled into the darkest corner of the cavern.
+
+Polyphemus drove his flocks into the place and cast off from his
+shoulders a load of young trees for firewood. Then he lifted and set in
+the entrance of the cave a gigantic boulder of a door-stone. Not until
+he had milked the goats and ewes and stirred up the fire did his
+terrible one eye light upon the strangers.
+
+"What are ye?" he roared then, "robbers or rovers?" And Odysseus alone
+had heart to answer.
+
+"We are Achaeans of the army of Agamemnon," said he. "And by the will
+of Zeus we have lost our course, and are come to you as strangers.
+Forget not that Zeus has a care for such as we, strangers and
+suppliants."
+
+Loud laughed the Cyclops at this. "You are a witless churl to bid me
+heed the gods!" said he. "I spare or kill to please myself and none
+other. But where is your cockle-shell that brought you hither?"
+
+Then Odysseus answered craftily: "Alas, my ship is gone! Only I and my
+men escaped alive from the sea."
+
+But Polyphemus, who had been looking them over with his one eye, seized
+two of the mariners and dashed them against the wall and made his
+evening meal of them, while their comrades stood by helpless. This
+done, he stretched himself through the cavern and slept all night long,
+taking no more heed of them than if they had been flies. No sleep came
+to the wretched seamen, for, even had they been able to slay him, they
+were powerless to move away the boulder from the door. So all night
+long Odysseus took thought how they might possibly escape.
+
+At dawn the Cyclops woke, and his awakening was like a thunderstorm.
+Again he kindled the fire, again he milked the goats and ewes, and
+again he seized two of the king's comrades and served them up for his
+terrible repast. Then the savage shepherd drove his flocks out of the
+cave, only turning back to set the boulder in the doorway and pen up
+Odysseus and his men in their dismal lodging.
+
+But the wise king had pondered well. In the sheepfold he had seen a
+mighty club of olive-wood, in size like the mast of a ship. As soon as
+the Cyclops was gone, Odysseus bade his men cut off a length of this
+club and sharpen it down to a point. This done, they hid it away under
+the earth that heaped the floor; and they waited in fear and torment
+for their chance of escape.
+
+At sundown, home came the Cyclops. Just as he had done before, he drove
+in his flocks, barred the entrance, milked the goats and ewes, and made
+his meal of two more hapless men, while their fellows looked on with
+burning eyes. Then Odysseus stood forth, holding a bowl of the wine
+that he had brought with him; and, curbing his horror of Polyphemus, he
+spoke in friendly fashion: "Drink, Cyclops, and prove our wine, such as
+it was, for all was lost with our ship save this. And no other man will
+ever bring you more, since you are such an ungentle host."
+
+The Cyclops tasted the wine and laughed with delight so that the cave
+shook. "Ho, this is a rare drink!" said he. "I never tasted milk so
+good, nor whey, nor grape-juice either. Give me the rest, and tell me
+your name, that I may thank you for it."
+
+Twice and thrice Odysseus poured the wine and the Cyclops drank it off;
+then he answered: "Since you ask it, Cyclops, my name is Noman."
+
+"And I will give you this for your wine, Noman," said the Cyclops; "you
+shall be eaten last of all!"
+
+As he spoke his head drooped, for his wits were clouded with drink, and
+he sank heavily out of his seat and lay prone, stretched along the
+floor of the cavern. His great eye shut and he fell asleep.
+
+Odysseus thrust the stake under the ashes till it was glowing hot; and
+his fellows stood by him, ready to venture all. Then together they
+lifted the club and drove it straight into the eye of Polyphemus and
+turned it around and about.
+
+The Cyclops gave a horrible cry, and, thrusting away the brand, he
+called on all his fellow-giants near and far. Odysseus and his men hid
+in the uttermost corners of the cave, but they heard the resounding
+steps of the Cyclopes who were roused, and their shouts as they called,
+"What ails thee, Polyphemus? Art thou slain? Who has done thee any
+hurt?"
+
+"Noman!" roared the blinded Cyclops; "Noman is here to slay me by
+treachery."
+
+"Then if no man hath hurt thee," they called again, "let us sleep." And
+away they went to their homes once more.
+
+But Polyphemus lifted away the boulder from the door and sat there in
+the entrance, groaning with pain and stretching forth his hands to feel
+if any one were near. Then, while he sat in double darkness, with the
+light of his eye gone out, Odysseus bound together the rams of the
+flock, three by three, in such wise that every three should save one of
+his comrades. For underneath the mid ram of each group a man clung,
+grasping his shaggy fleece; and the rams on each side guarded him from
+discovery. Odysseus himself chose out the greatest ram and laid hold of
+his fleece and clung beneath his shaggy body, face upward.
+
+Now, when dawn came, the rams hastened out to pasture, and Polyphemus
+felt of their backs as they huddled along together; but he knew not
+that every three held a man bound securely. Last of all came the kingly
+ram that was dearest to his rude heart, and he bore the King of Ithaca.
+Once free of the cave, Odysseus and his fellows loosed their hold and
+took flight, driving the rams in haste to the ship, where, without
+delay, they greeted their comrades and went aboard.
+
+But as they pushed from shore, Odysseus could not refrain from hailing
+the Cyclops with taunts, and at the sound of that voice Polyphemus came
+forth from his cave and hurled a great rock after the ship. It missed
+and upheaved the water like an earthquake. Again Odysseus called,
+saying: "Cyclops, if any shall ask who blinded thine eye, say that it
+was Odysseus, son of Laertes of Ithaca."
+
+Then Polyphemus groaned and cried: "An Oracle foretold it, but I waited
+for some man of might who should overcome me by his valor,--not a
+weakling! And now"--he lifted his hands and prayed,--"Father Poseidon,
+my father, look upon Odysseus, the son of Laertes of Ithaca, and grant
+me this revenge,--let him never see Ithaca again! Yet, if he must, may
+he come late, without a friend, after long wandering, to find evil
+abiding by his hearth!"
+
+So he spoke and hurled another rock after them, but the ship
+outstripped it, and sped by to the island where the other good ships
+waited for Odysseus. Together they put out from land and hastened on
+their homeward voyage.
+
+But Poseidon, who is lord of the sea, had heard the prayer of his son,
+and that homeward voyage was to wear through ten years more, with storm
+and irksome calms and misadventure.
+
+
+II. THE WANDERING OF ODYSSEUS.
+
+Now Odysseus and his men sailed on and on till they came to Aeolia,
+where dwells the king of the winds, and here they came nigh to good
+fortune.
+
+Aeolus received them kindly, and at their going he secretly gave to
+Odysseus a leathern bag in which all contrary winds were tied up
+securely, that only the favoring west wind might speed them to Ithaca.
+Nine days the ships went gladly before the wind, and on the tenth day
+they had sight of Ithaca, lying like a low cloud in the west. Then, so
+near his haven, the happy Odysseus gave up to his weariness and fell
+asleep, for he had never left the helm. But while he slept his men saw
+the leathern bag that he kept by him, and, in the belief that it was
+full of treasure, they opened it. Out rushed the ill-winds!
+
+In an instant the sea was covered with white caps; the waves rose
+mountain high; the poor ships struggled against the tyranny of the gale
+and gave way. Back they were driven,--back, farther and farther; and
+when Odysseus woke, Ithaca was gone from sight, as if it had indeed
+been only a low cloud in the west!
+
+Straight to the island of Aeolus they were driven once more. But when
+the king learned what greed and treachery had wasted his good gift, he
+would give them nothing more. "Surely thou must be a man hated of the
+gods, Odysseus," he said, "for misfortune bears thee company. Depart
+now; I may not help thee."
+
+So, with a heavy heart, Odysseus and his men departed. For many days
+they rowed against a dead calm, until at length they came to the land
+of the Laestrygonians. And, to cut a piteous tale short, these giants
+destroyed all their fleet save one ship,--that of Odysseus himself,
+and in this he made escape to the island of Circe. What befell there,
+how the greedy seamen were turned into swine and turned back into men,
+and how the sorceress came to befriend Odysseus,--all this has been
+related.
+
+There in Aeaea the voyagers stayed a year before Circe would let them
+go. But at length she bade Odysseus seek the region of Hades, and ask
+of the sage Tiresias how he might ever return to Ithaca. How Odysseus
+followed this counsel, none may know; but by some mysterious journey,
+and with the aid of a spell, he came to the borders of Hades. There he
+saw and spoke with many renowned Shades, old and young, even his own
+friends who had fallen on the plain of Troy. Achilles he saw, Patroclus
+and Ajax and Agamemnon, still grieving over the treachery of his wife.
+He saw, too, the phantom of Heracles, who lives with honor among the
+gods, and has for his wife Hebe, the daughter of Zeus and Juno. But
+though he would have talked with the heroes for a year and more, he
+sought out Tiresias.
+
+"The anger of Poseidon follows thee," said the sage. "Wherefore,
+Odysseus, thy return is yet far off. But take heed when thou art come
+to Thrinacia, where the sacred kine of the Sun have their pastures. Do
+them no hurt, and thou shalt yet come home. _But if they be harmed in
+any wise_, ruin shall come upon thy men; and even if thou escape, thou
+shalt come home to find strange men devouring thy substance and wooing
+thy wife."
+
+With this word in his mind, Odysseus departed and came once more to
+Aeaea. There he tarried but a little time, till Circe had told him all
+the dangers that beset his way. Many a good counsel and crafty warning
+did she give him against the Sirens that charm with their singing, and
+against the monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis, and the
+Clashing Rocks, and the cattle of the Sun. So the king and his men set
+out from the island of Aeaea.
+
+Now very soon they came to the Sirens who sing so sweetly that they
+lure to death every man who listens. For straightway he is mad to be
+with them where they sing; and alas for the man that would fly without
+wings!
+
+But when the ship drew near the Sirens' island, Odysseus did as Circe
+had taught him. He bade all his shipmates stop up their ears with
+moulded wax, so that they could not hear. He alone kept his hearing:
+but he had himself lashed to the mast so that he could in no wise move,
+and he forbade them to loose him, however he might plead, under the
+spell of the Sirens.
+
+As they sailed near, his soul gave way. He heard a wild sweetness
+coaxing the air, as a minstrel coaxes the harp; and there, close by,
+were the Sirens sitting in a blooming meadow that hid the bones of men.
+Beautiful, winning maidens they looked; and they sang, entreating
+Odysseus by name to listen and abide and rest. Their voices were
+golden-sweet above the sound of wind and wave, like drops of amber
+floating on the tide; and for all his wisdom, Odysseus strained at his
+bonds and begged his men to let him go free. But they, deaf alike to
+the song and the sorcery, rowed harder than ever. At length, song and
+island faded in the distance. Odysseus came to his wits once more, and
+his men loosed his bonds and set him free.
+
+But they were close upon new dangers. No sooner had they avoided the
+Clashing Rocks (by a device of Circe's) than they came to a perilous
+strait. On one hand they saw the whirlpool where, beneath a hollow
+fig-tree, Charybdis sucks down the sea horribly. And, while they sought
+to escape her, on the other hand monstrous Scylla upreared from the
+cave, snatched six of their company with her six long necks, and
+devoured them even while they called upon Odysseus to save them.
+
+So, with bitter peril, the ship passed by and came to the island of
+Thrinacia; and here are goodly pastures for the flocks and herds of the
+Sun. Odysseus, who feared lest his men might forget the warning of
+Tiresias, was very loath to land. But the sailors were weary and worn
+to the verge of mutiny, and they swore, moreover, that they would never
+lay hands on the sacred kine. So they landed, thinking to depart next
+day. But with the next day came a tempest that blew for a month without
+ceasing, so that they were forced to beach the ship and live on the
+island with their store of corn and wine. When that was gone they had
+to hunt and fish, and it happened that, while Odysseus was absent in
+the woods one day, his shipmates broke their oath. "For," said they,
+"when we are once more in Ithaca we will make amends to Helios with
+sacrifice. But let us rather drown than waste to death with hunger." So
+they drove off the best of the cattle of the Sun and slew them. When
+the king returned, he found them at their fateful banquet; but it was
+too late to save them from the wrath of the gods.
+
+As soon as they were fairly embarked once more, the Sun ceased to
+shine. The sea rose high, the thunderbolt of Zeus struck that ship, and
+all its company was scattered abroad upon the waters. Not one was left
+save Odysseus. He clung to a fragment of his last ship, and so he
+drifted, borne here and there, and lashed by wind and wave, until he
+was washed up on the strand of the island Ogygia, the home of the nymph
+Calypso. He was not to leave this haven for seven years.
+
+Here, after ten years of war and two of wandering, he found a kindly
+welcome. The enchanted island was full of wonders, and the nymph
+Calypso was more than mortal fair, and would have been glad to marry
+the hero; yet he pined for Ithaca. Nothing could win his heart away
+from his own country and his own wife Penelope, nothing but Lethe
+itself, and that no man may drink till he dies.
+
+So for seven years Calypso strove to make him forget his longing with
+ease and pleasant living and soft raiment. Day by day she sang to him
+while she broidered her web with gold; and her voice was like a golden
+strand that twines in and out of silence, making it beautiful. She even
+promised that she would make him immortal, if he would stay and be
+content; but he was heartsick for home.
+
+At last his sorrow touched even the heart of Athena in heaven, for she
+loved his wisdom and his many devices. So she besought Zeus and all the
+other gods until they consented to shield Odysseus from the anger of
+Poseidon. Hermes himself bound on his winged sandals and flew down to
+Ogygia, where he found Calypso at her spinning. After many words, the
+nymph consented to give up her captive, for she was kind of heart, and
+all her graces had not availed to make him forget his home. With her
+help, Odysseus built a raft and set out upon his lonely voyage,--the
+only man remaining out of twelve good ships that had left Troy nigh
+unto ten years before.
+
+The sea roughened against him, but (to shorten a tale of great peril)
+after many days, sore spent and tempest-tossed, he came to the land of
+the Phaeacians, a land dear to the immortal gods, abounding in gifts of
+harvest and vintage, in godlike men and lovely women.
+
+Here the shipwrecked king met the princess Nausicaa by the seaside, as
+she played ball with her maidens; and she, when she had heard of his
+plight, gave him food and raiment, and bade him follow her home. So he
+followed her to the palace of King Alcinous and Queen Arete, and abode
+with them, kindly refreshed, and honored with feasting and games and
+song. But it came to pass, as the minstrel sang before them of the
+Trojan War and the Wooden Horse, that Odysseus wept over the story, it
+was written so deep in his own heart. Then for the first time he told
+them his true name and all his trials.
+
+They would gladly have kept so great a man with them forever, but they
+had no heart to keep him longer from his home; so they bade him
+farewell and set him upon one of their magical ships, with many gifts
+of gold and silver, and sent him on his way.
+
+Wonderful seamen are the Phaeacians. The ocean is to them as air to the
+bird,--the best path for a swift journey! Odysseus was glad enough to
+trust the way to them, and no sooner had they set out than a sweet
+sleep fell upon his eyelids. But the good ship sped like any bee that
+knows the way home. In a marvellous short time they came even to the
+shore of the kingdom of Ithaca.
+
+While Odysseus was still sleeping, unconscious of his good fortune, the
+Phaeacians lifted him from the ship with kindly joy and laid him upon
+his own shore; and beside him they set the gifts of gold and silver and
+fair work of the loom. So they departed; and thus it was that Odysseus
+came to Ithaca after twenty years.
+
+
+III. THE HOME-COMING.
+
+Now all these twenty years, in the island of Ithaca, Penelope had
+watched for her husband's return. At first with high hopes and then in
+doubt and sorrow (when news of the great war came by some traveller),
+she had waited, eager and constant as a young bride. But now the war
+was long past; her young son Telemachus had come to manhood; and as for
+Odysseus, she knew not whether he was alive or dead.
+
+For years there had been trouble in Ithaca. It was left a kingdom
+without a king, and Penelope was fair and wise. So suitors came from
+all the islands round about to beg her hand in marriage, since many
+loved the queen and as many more loved her possessions, and desired to
+rule over them. Moreover, every one thought or said that King Odysseus
+must be dead. Neither Penelope nor her aged father-in-law Laertes could
+rid the place of these troublesome suitors. Some were nobles and some
+were adventurers, but they all thronged the palace like a pest of
+crickets, and devoured the wealth of the kingdom with feasts in honor
+of Penelope and themselves and everybody else; and they besought the
+queen to choose a husband from their number.
+
+For a long time she would hear none of this; but they grew so clamorous
+in their suit that she had to put them off with craft. For she saw that
+there would be danger to her country, and her son, and herself, unless
+Odysseus came home some day and turned the suitors out of doors. She
+therefore spoke them fair, and gave them some hope of her marriage, to
+make peace.
+
+"Ye princely wooers," she said, "now I believe that the king Odysseus,
+my husband, must long since have perished in a strange land; and I have
+bethought me once more of marriage. Have patience, therefore, till I
+shall have finished the web that I am weaving. For it is a royal shroud
+that I must make against the day that Laertes may die (the father of my
+lord and husband). This is the way of my people," said she; "and when
+the web is done, I will choose another king for Ithaca."
+
+She had set up in the hall a great loom, and day by day she wrought
+there at the web, for she was a marvellous spinner, patient as Arachne,
+but dear to Athena. All day long she would weave, but every night in
+secret she would unravel what she had wrought in the daytime, so that
+the web might never be done. For although she believed her dear husband
+to be dead, yet her hope would put forth buds again and again, just as
+spring, that seems to die each year, will come again. So she ever
+looked to see Odysseus coming.
+
+Three years and more she held off the suitors with this wile, and they
+never perceived it. For, being men, they knew nothing of women's
+handicraft. It was all alike a marvel to them, both the beauty of the
+web and this endless toil in the making! As for Penelope, all day long
+she wove; but at night she would unravel her work and weep bitterly,
+because she had another web to weave and another day to watch, all for
+nothing, since Odysseus never came. In the fourth year, though, a
+faithless servant betrayed this secret to the wooers, and there came an
+end to peace and the web, too!
+
+Matters grew worse and worse. Telemachus set out to find his father,
+and the poor queen was left without husband or son. But the suitors
+continued to live about the palace like so many princes, and to make
+merry on the wealth of Odysseus, while he was being driven from land to
+land and wreck to wreck. So it came true, that prophecy that, if the
+herds of the Sun were harmed, Odysseus should reach his home alone in
+evil plight to find Sorrow in his own household. But in the end he was
+to drive her forth.
+
+Now, when Odysseus woke, he did not know his own country. Gone were the
+Phaeacians and their ship; only the gifts beside him told him that he
+had not dreamed. While he looked about, bewildered, Athena, in the
+guise of a young countryman, came to his aid, and told him where he
+was. Then, smiling upon his amazement and joy, she shone forth in her
+own form, and warned him not to hasten home, since the palace was
+filled with the insolent suitors of Penelope, whose heart waited empty
+for him as the nest for the bird.
+
+Moreover, Athena changed his shape into that of an aged pilgrim, and
+led him to the hut of a certain swineherd, Eumaeus, his old and
+faithful servant. This man received the king kindly, taking him for a
+travel-worn wayfarer, and told him all the news of the palace, and the
+suitors and the poor queen, who was ever ready to hear the idle tales
+of any traveller if he had aught to tell of King Odysseus.
+
+Now who should come to the hut at this time but the prince Telemachus,
+whom Athena had hastened safely home from his quest! Eumaeus received
+his young master with great joy, but the heart of Odysseus was nigh to
+bursting, for he had never seen his son since he left him, an infant,
+for the Trojan War. When Eumaeus left them together, he made himself
+known; and for that moment Athena gave him back his kingly looks, so
+that Telemachus saw him with exultation, and they two wept over each
+other for joy.
+
+By this time news of her son's return had come to Penelope, and she was
+almost happy, not knowing that the suitors were plotting to kill
+Telemachus. Home he came, and he hastened to assure his mother that he
+had heard good news of Odysseus; though, for the safety of all, he did
+not tell her that Odysseus was in Ithaca.
+
+Meanwhile Eumaeus and his aged pilgrim came to the city and the palace
+gates. They were talking to a goatherd there, when an old hound that
+lay in the dust-heap near by pricked up his ears and stirred his tail
+feebly as at a well-known voice. He was the faithful Argus, named after
+a monster of many eyes that once served Juno as a watchman. Indeed,
+when the creature was slain, Juno had his eyes set in the feathers of
+her pet peacocks, and there they glisten to this day. But the end of
+this Argus was very different. Once the pride of the king's heart, he
+was now so old and infirm that he could barely move; but though his
+master had come home in the guise of a strange beggar, he knew the
+voice, and he alone, after twenty years. Odysseus, seeing him, could
+barely restrain his tears; but the poor old hound, as if he had lived
+but to welcome his master home, died that very same day.
+
+Into the palace hall went the swineherd and the pilgrim, among the
+suitors who were feasting there. Now how Odysseus begged a portion of
+meat and was shamefully insulted by these men, how he saw his own wife
+and hid his joy and sorrow, but told her news of himself as any beggar
+might,--all these things are better sung than spoken. It is a long
+story.
+
+But the end was near. The suitors had demanded the queen's choice, and
+once more the constant Penelope tried to put it off. She took from her
+safe treasure-chamber the great bow of Odysseus, and she promised that
+she would marry that one of the suitors who should send his arrow
+through twelve rings ranged in a line. All other weapons were taken
+away by the care of Telemachus; there was nothing but the great bow and
+quiver. And when all was ready, Penelope went away to her chamber to
+weep.
+
+But, first of all, no one could string the bow. Suitor after suitor
+tried and failed. The sturdy wood stood unbent against the strongest.
+Last of all, Odysseus begged leave to try, and was laughed to scorn.
+Telemachus, however, as if for courtesy's sake, gave him the bow; and
+the strange beggar bent it easily, adjusted the cord, and before any
+could stay his hand he sped the arrow from the string. Singing with
+triumph, it flew straight through the twelve rings and quivered in the
+mark!
+
+"Now for another mark!" cried Odysseus in the king's own voice. He
+turned upon the most evil-hearted suitor. Another arrow hissed and
+struck, and the man fell pierced.
+
+Telemachus sprang to his father's side, Eumaeus stood by him, and the
+fighting was short and bitter. One by one they slew those insolent
+suitors; for the right was theirs, and Athena stood by them, and the
+time was come. Every one of the false-hearted wooers they laid low, and
+every corrupt servant in that house; then they made the place clean and
+fair again.
+
+But the old nurse Eurycleia hastened up to Queen Penelope, where she
+sat in fear and wonder, crying, "Odysseus is returned! Come and see
+with thine own eyes!"
+
+After twenty years of false tales, the poor queen could not believe her
+ears. She came down into the hall bewildered, and looked at the
+stranger as one walking in a dream. Even when Athena had given him back
+his youth and kingly looks, she stood in doubt, so that her own son
+reproached her and Odysseus was grieved in spirit.
+
+But when he drew near and called her by her name, entreating her by all
+the tokens that she alone knew, her heart woke up and sang like a brook
+set free in spring! She knew him then for her husband Odysseus, come
+home at last.
+
+Surely that was happiness enough to last them ever after.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew, by
+Josephine Preston Peabody
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