希腊罗马神话英文讲义

1 The Beginning of the world

Before earth and sea and heavens became known the face of nature was one crude, formless mass. Land and sea and air were mingled together. The universe was a uniform darkness, without sun and moon, and the earth was no more than an embryo heap. In the middle of the pervading gloom sat Chaos and his wife, the goddess of Night (Nyx), who reigned but did not rule, for the whole space was lifeless. Centuries later, with the birth of Light and Day, earth and sea and air came into existence. Still later, the union of Gaea (Earth) and Uranus (Heaven) gave birth to the Titans, the Cyclopes and the Centimani, all giants in stature and strength. Afraid that his own gigantic children might usurp his throne, Uranus drove them all back to the earth, and thus roused the resentment of the mother Gaea. At her instigation one of her sons, Kronus (Saturn), attacked and wounded Uranus with a sickle he had taken from his mother, and took over as supreme ruler of the universe. He married his own sister Rhea and entrusted the management of the sun to his brother Hyperion and the moon to his sister Phoebe. He ruled his realm peacefully until an oracle prophesied that he would one day be dethroned by one of his own children. To avert the disaster he took the excessive precaution of swallowing up all his five children one by one immediately after their birth. These were Hestia (Vesta), Demeter (Ceres), Hera (Juno), Poseidon (Neptune) and Hades (Pluto). When Rhea bore the last child, Zeus (Jupiter) by name, Kronus wanted to get rid of him in the same fashion. But the mother wrapped up a piece of stone in the infant’s swathes and handed it over to the unsuspecting father. Thus Zeus was saved, and sent to Mt Ida, where the mountain nymphs did all their power to protect him from any harm. By the time Kronus became aware of the deception it was too late, for young Zeus suddenly appeared before him and easily deposed him. With the help of a nauseous potion, Zeus forced his father to disgorge his five brothers and sisters. But Kronus and his Titans were not reconciled to their defeat. They made war on Zeus and his brothers and sisters. Acting on the advice of his mother Rhea, Zeus released the Cyclopes from under the earth and armed himself of their thunderbolts, for the Cyclopes were thunderbolt-makers. The rebellious Titans were soon reduced to submission and cast down into Tartarus. Zeus became the undisputed ruler on Olympus. He made his sister Hera his queen, and distributed power among his brothers and sisters and his sons and daughters. Among others, Poseidon ruled over the vast expanse of seas and oceans, and Pluto was created lord of the lower world. Thus, for untold centuries, the Olympians reigned supreme in the universe, lording it over man and beast alike, until they were dethroned and superseded by a new, monotheistic faith.

2 The Olympian Gods

Between Macedon and Thessaly of northern Greece there stood a lofty mountain range whose cloudy summit rushed into the very heavens. On the culminating point of the range, Mt Olympus, was bathed in bliss and brightness the home of the gods,

where Zeus ruled as the father of gods and men. Zeus was not an autocrat by any standards. All the gods submitted to his final word, it was true, but Zeus made them all sit on a committee, a council of twelve members, embracing six gods and six goddesses. First in the Olympian crowd sat Zeus himself, the overlord of gods and men and the wielder of the thunderbolt. Next to him was Hera, his proud and jealous queen. Poseidon, as has been told earlier, was ruler of the sea, and Hades, king of the lower world, had no seat in the council chamber. Apollo was the god of the sun, music, poetry and prophecy, while his twin sister Artemis (Diana) was the goddess of the moon and the chase. Athena (Minerva), the goddess of wisdom and patroness of domestic arts, personified pure intellect; Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, represented home life and family happiness. The blustering Ares (Mars) was the god of war, and the charming Aphrodite (Venus) the goddess of love and beauty. The lame god of fire, Hephaestus (Vulcan), was the forger of the thunder-bolts of Zeus and the fashioner of arms and all sorts of metal work for the gods and heroes. The wing-footed messenger Hermes (Mercury) was the god of invention and commerce and patron of thieves. And the goddess of grains and harvests, Demeter, supervised agriculture and stood for mother of civilization.

All the major gods mentioned above assumed human forms of peerless beauty and grace. Often moved by human feelings and desires, they frequently gave way to fits of anger and jealousy and became involved in the ceaseless brawls of the world of man. Among themselves at Olympus they intrigued and scrambled for supremacy; down in the world of mortals they experienced rivalries and frustrations, and enjoyed earthly friendships and loves. A crowed of immortal celestials who looked and behaved in a perfectly human fashion-- that is what the pantheon at Olympus actually was.

3 Prometheus

Prometheus (forethought) was a Titan. In the war between Zeus and the giants he had stood on the side of the new Olympian gods. Out of clay he fashioned the first man, to whom. Athena gave soul and holy breath. Prometheus bestowed on his creation the gift of fire, which raised man above all animals. Later, at a joint meeting of gods and men held to decide what part of burnt offerings should be allotted to the gods and what to men, Prometheus cut up an ox and divided it into two portions: under the skin he placed the flesh, and under the fat he put the bones, for he new the greedy Zeus loved fat, Zeus saw through the trick and felt displeased at the Titan’s favor towards men. So in a masterful fashion he deprived mankind of the gift of fire. However, Prometheus managed to steal fire from heaven and secretly brought it down to men. Flying into a rage at this wanton act of defiance, Zeus had him chained to a rock on Mount Caucasus, where a ravenous vulture ever tore at his liver which ever grew again. His period of ordeal was to be thirty thousand years. Prometheus faced his bitter fate firmly and never quailed before all the fiery majesty of Zeus. The two were at last reconciled by Heracles (Hercules), who, coming over in quest of the golden apples (see p.164), slew the eagle and set the benefactor of mankind free.

4 Pandora

After the theft of fire Zeus became increasingly hostile to men. One day he commanded his son Hephaestus to mold an image of a beautiful maiden out of clay and asked the gods and goddesses to endow her with different kinds of gifts. Among others, Athena clothed her in a gorgeous robe and Hermes gave her the power of telling lies. A charming young lady, she was the first woman that ever lived. Zeus called her Pandora, for she had received from each of the gods and goddesses a gift which was harmful to men.

Zeus decided to send her down to men as a present. So Hermes the messenger brought her to Epimetheus (afterthought), brother of Prometheus. The greatness of her beauty enslaved the hearts of all who looked upon her, and Epimetheus joyfully received her into his house. He had quiet forgotten Prometheus’warning never to accept anything from Zeus. The pair lived a happy life for some time. Then misfortune befell the human world.

When he was preoccupied with teaching men the art of living, Prometheus had left a big cask in the care of Epimetheus. He had warned his brother not to open the lid. Pandora was a curious woman, and had been feeling bitterly frustrated that her husband had repeatedly forbidden het to take a look at the contents of the cask. One day, when Epimetheus was out, she lifted the lid and out from it came strife and war, plague and all the sickness, theft and violence, grief and sorrow, and all the other evils that the human world was henceforward to experience. Only hope stayed within the mouth of the jar and never flew out. So men always have hope within their bosoms.

5 The Four Ages

There had been four ages since the human world first came into existence, the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Age of Bronze and the Age of Iron.

The Golden Age was the best of all. It was an age when Kronus sat on the throne. Bounteous nature satisfied all the wants of men. There were no extremes of cold and heat. And the evils of the human world were still kept in the cask which Epimetheus guarded and Pandora was not yet made to open. Men lived a blissful life, for ever young, always feasting and revelling, and knowing neither toil nor sorrow. When death came it came like a peaceful sleep, and they became good spirits watching over mortal men.

The Silver Age was one in which the human race was somewhat inferior in body and mind. The period of helpless infancy lasted a hundred years, and the time of manhood, short and troubled, men spent in ignorance and evil. They no longer worshipped the gods and offered no sacrifices. However, as the race of the Silver Age was not entirely devoid of virtue, they had some honor and lived on as spirits under the earth. During the Age of Bronze men further degenerated. Clad in bronze and armed with weapons of bronze, they lived in houses of bronze. Ruthless and ferocious, they

delighted in war and perished in ceaseless internecine strife. When they died they descended into the darkness of the lower world.

The last age, that of Iron, was one of endless care and grief. There was no family love, no sense of filial duty, and no friendship and hospitality. Nor was there any faith, truth and justice. Evil was rampant, might was right, and the flames of war scorched the earth. It was a race of men deserted by gods.

6 The Flood

Towards the end of the Age of Bronze the human world became very wicked. Men grew greedy, insolent and impious. Neither right nor law respected any longer, and the rule of hospitality was forgotten. Disguised in human form, Zeus visited Arcadia and Thessaly, and was disguised with the deadly sins of men. He decided to clear the earth of them all. Without hesitation he released the rainy south wind and called upon the merciless Poseidon to help. Soon the whole world was submerged in a boundless ocean, and the entire human race perished in the unprecedented flood, all but two humble Thessalians.

These were an old childless couple, kind and pious and contented with life. The man was called Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha. Son of Prometheus, Deucalion had been forewarned by his father of the forthcoming flood and had made himself a huge chest. When the roaring deluge came the couple took refuge in it and floated for nine days until it touched land again on Mt Parnassus.

The once bustling world presented an unnerving sight. It was now all death and devastation. Feeling lonely and insecure, the old couple prayed to the gods for help. An oracle instructed them to cast the bones of their mother about. The son of the wise Titan, having divined the true meaning of the mysterious command, started throwing stones behind him. A miracle occurred. The stones that the man cast became men; those that the woman threw were turned into women. To Deucalion a son was born later, Hellene by name, who had three sons, Aeolus, Dorus and Xuthus. Aeolus and Dorus became the ancestors respectively of the Aeolians and Dorians. Xuthus had two sons, Ion and Achaeus: the former the progenitor of the Ionians, and the latter of the Achaeans. The land was repeopled, and the Heroic Age had begun.

7 Zeus and Hera

After he had deposed his father, Zeus looked about for a spouse. And one of his sisters, the beautiful and majestic Hera, won his heart. He wooed the lady and was only too readily accepted. At the marriage feast, to which all the residents of Olympus were invited, Hera was declared queen of Heaven and goddess of marriage. They were perfectly happy for a time, but not for long. For Zeus was somewhat lecherous while Hera was intolerably jealous. Despite the fact that Zeus was all-ruling and all powerful, he frequently found it necessary to be on the look-out for his queen. Whenever he slipped down Olympus to seek new love, he saw to it that some

clouds were spread to throw his wife off the scent. Hera, for her part, while ultimately submitting to the will of Zeus, kept the father of gods and men under close and constant observation, and was never accommodating enough to reconcile herself with her husband’s new attachments. She had been for ever on the run, trying to keep track of Zeus and devise ways of revenge not always on the all-conquering god, but rather on his hopeless mistresses. Zeus was always able to get away, but the ladies were often left behind to the tender mercies of the queen. Zeus’ zest for life knew no limits, while Hera’s persecution of her rivals and their children were relentless and not at all always justifiable. She viciously transformed comely Callisto into an ungainly bear; she maliciously kept Io wandering in the form of a heifer, giving her no peace; and she spared no effort to molest Heracles until the hero was tormented to a miserable death. Not infrequently did she inflame the rage of Zeus so that the father of gods and men punished her severely. On one occasion Zeus hung her in the clouds, tying two heavy anvils to her dangling feet. But apart from these petty squabbles and miner imperfections of character, they were quite a happy, almighty couple, revered as king and queen of heaven, he, a sky-god, bringer of light, arbiter of right and wrong and giver of reward and punishment, and she, a special guardian of women and a goddess who presided over childbirth.

Zeus and Hera had three children, Ares, Hephaestus and Hebe. Ares (Mars) was the hateful god of war and Hephaestus the physically handicapped god of forge. But Hebe was for ever young, rosy and blooming, representing youth and happiness. At the celestial table on Olympus she had served to bear cups of wine to the gods and was ever at the wish of Zeus to pour out nectar. On one solemn occasion, however, the goodness tripped over something and fell, and was thus forced to resign her office. She was endowed with the power of restoring youth and vigor to gods and men. When Heracles had lived out his earthly life span and his soul had come up to Olympus to take his rightful seat there, she married the hero and lived a blissful life .

8 Io

Io was the daughter of a river-god. She was loved, wooed and won by Zeus. Hera became so jealous that she flew down from Olympus one day to wreak vengeance on her rival. Zeus, however, had foreseen her arrival and changed Io into a beautiful white heifer. Seeing the deceit, Hera requested the heifer as a present and Zeus had to yield to her wish. Then she entrusted the heifer to the care of a hundred-eyed monster, Argus, from whose ever-wakeful eyes no escape was possible. Unable to endure to see her so unhappy, Zeus sent Hermes down to destroy the monster. Disguised as a shepherd, Hermes lulled Argus to sleep with his dulcet songs and tedious stories, then slew him and set Io free. But Hera’s jealous wrath was not to be appeased yet. She sent a gadfly to harry the heifer and drive her from land to land. In her agony the heifer passed over the strait which divides Europe and Asia. Whence the stripe of water got its name Bosporus, the way of the cow. She wandered over the sea, which incidentally derived from her its name the Ionian Sea. Eventually she arrived in Egypt where she was restored to her natural form. She settled down

and gave birth to a son. Some of her descendants remained in Egypt and ruled as kings for a long time.

9 Callisto

In the charming retinue of Artemis (Diana) there was a beautiful nymph called Callisto. Zeus loved her passionately and often sought her company. Before the year was out she bore him a son, Arcas by name, who later became the eponymous ancestor of the Archadians. Zeus’frequent absences from Mt Olmpus aroused Hera’s suspicions. In time the vengeful queen discovered the truth and devised an effectual scheme of retaliation. One day Callisto suddenly found herself changed into a bear, with monstrous bushy jaws and blood-shot eyes, though she remained human in heart. She instantly left her son and went into hiding in the forest.

Years passed. Little Arcas had matured to youthful manhood. He was hunting merrily in the woods one day when a huge gray bear suddenly appeared before him. Both were amazed, he terrified at the sight of the grisly bear, and the bear having recognized her own son in the young hunter. The young man leveled his spear at the slowly approaching bear and was about to pounce upon it when Zeus intervened to stop the folly. For he had not been able to find the whereabouts of his beloved mistress until quite recently and he had been secretly shielding her from all danger and harm. Now he transformed his son into a little bear, and sent both mother and son into the high heavens, where they have remained to this day, known as the constellation of the Great and Little Bear.

10 Athena

On one occasion Zeus suffered a racking headache. When all the gods, including Apollo, the god of medicine, had tried in vain to offer an efficacious remedy, the father of gods and men summoned Hephaestus to split open his head. This the god of fire did, and to the wonder of all the Olympians, a goddess, full-grown and full-armed, issued from the cleavage, radiating light and splendor. She was Athena, goddess of wisdom and knowledge and patroness of Athens.

The story of Athena becoming patron goddess of Athens concerns the rivalry between the goddess and Poseidon. When the city of Athens was first built by a Phoenician, both Poseidon and Athena vied for the honor of naming it. It was then agreed that whoever offered the most useful object for men would became the patron of the city. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and produced a horse, whereas Athena had an olive tree to present, an emblem of peace and plenty. As the horse was deemed as signifying strife and sorrow. Athens was named after the goddess, who forthwith took the city under her protection.

Athena was the goddess of arts and crafts and woman’s handiwork. She was so deft with her hands the she tolerated no challenge to her skill in this respect. A Lydian maid, Arachne by name, did not seem to think much of A thena’s dexterity, for she frequently boasted that she could beat the goddess if she had the opportunity to do

so. The goddess was quite irritated. Disguised as an old woman, she went to advise Arachne to be modest. But the ignorant craftswoman wantonly dared the goddess herself to come down and compete with her. At this blatant piece of defiance the goddess cast down her disguise and accepted the challenge. The two contestants immediately set about embroidering different designs. While the goddess worked on the story of her rivalry with Poseidon, Arachne began to weave a delicate web. When both pieces were finished, Arachne saw, to her surprise, that she had been beaten, for the goddess’ design was infinitely superior. She felt so chagrined that she tied a piece of silk to hang herself. But just before she breathed her last the goddess changed her into a spider, condemning her to weave for ever.

Though often represented as fully armed, helmet and breastplate and all that, she favored patriotic defence. Almost the only goddess who was virgin and free of scandal, Athena seldom exhibited the weaknesses of the gentler sex. She cut a pretty martial figure in the world of myth, and enjoyed worship among the ancients.

11 Apollo

Among the crowed of Olympian gods the one most widely worshipped was Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto (Latona). According to Greek mythology, Leto was driven by Hera from land to land until at last Poseidon took pity on her and brought the island of Delos out of water for her to live on. There she gave birth to the twins, Apollo and Artemis.

Apollo was the sun-god. Dressed in a purple robe, he sat in his bright eastern palace at dawn and made ready to start his daily journey across the sky. During the day he rode in his chariot of gold and ivory, and brought light, life and love to the vast world below. At dusk he came to the end of his journey in the far western sea and got on his golden boat to return to his eastern abode.

Apollo was the god of music and poetry. He was the inspirer of all emotions which find expression in lofty song. With his lyre of gold and the harmonious accents of his god-like voice he led the choir of the muses at Olympus . The dulcet music from his lyre was so inspiring that stones marched into their places in rhythmic time and of their own volition when he help Poseidon build up the walls of Troy . On one occasion, challenged to a contest by the mortal musician Marsyas, he first excelled him and then flayed him to death for his presumption. On another he lost out to Pan at a musical contest and transformed the ears of the judge, King Midas, into those of an ass.

His son, Orpheus, inherited such skill from the father that his harp moved man and beast alike .

Apollo was the god of prophecy. As revealer he made known the hidden things of Zeus. Men turned to him for advice and guidance in cases of perplexity. Though seldom in direct intercourse with mortals, he granted a special communication of counsel through oracles. His oracle at Delphi was the most renowned because the most stoutly believed of all.

Apollo represented youthful, manly beauty. His golden hair, stately bearing and

radiant air all combined to make him the admiration of the world. A fair maiden, by the name of Clytie, was so enamoured of his beauty and glory that from dawn to dusk she knelt on the ground, her hands outstretched towards the sun-god, and her eyes gazing at his golden-wheeled carriage racing across the azure sky. Though her love was not requited she had never changed her mind about Apollo. The gods were moved at the pathetic sight, and metamorphosed her into a sunflower.

Apollo was also the god of health and healing. His son, Aesculapius, possessed such magic power to call back the dead to life that Zeus felt it advisable to get rid of the mortal physician with his thunderbolt and thus put an end to such interference with his divine authority. Apollo was not happy about this at all. As the Cyclopes had helped make the thunderbolts for Zeus, Apollo would have certainly slain the meddlesome giants had the father of gods and men not intervened himself. Apollo was banished from Olympus to serve a mortal on earth for a year . Because of his more intimate intercourse with the human world he knew more about the bitter life of the mortals, and he was obviously more sympathetic towards them. He slew Python, the monster, which made havoc on a vast area around, and was incidentally known at times by the alias Pythia. “The fire-robed god” thus was a blessing to the world of man.

12 Daphne

Daphne was a lovely blooming nymph. As she was frolicking in the woods one day she saw Apollo the sun-god gazing at her with more than amazement and admiration in his eye. The beaming face of the sun put her to flight. The eager Apollo followed her closely behind, calling out to her to stop. His passion having been kindled by her beauty and grace, he was afraid that this might be the last time he saw her. The nimble nymph made the best of her legs, but the ardent Apollo pressed hard upon her. Through rough fields and pathless woods she ran, but the sound of his pursuing feet ever grow nearer. As he ran he entreated his beloved to slow down, for he feared that she might tumble over and bruise her sparkling skin on the rugged roads. But the fugitive nymph never cared so much as to throw one glance backwards. At last she was quite breathless and cried to her father, a river-god, for help. No sooner had prayer been uttered than answered, for she had instantly found herself glued to the ground and a layer of soft bark growing over her fair skin. She had been turned into a laurel tree. Sighing, Apollo embraced the tree trunk, which responded by shrinking back. To show his undying love for the nymph, he decided that the laurel would be his favourite tree and should be the prize of honour and renown for deathless poets and poetry. Thus the most accomplished poet always desires to be made a poet laureate.

13 Niobe

Niobe, the queen of Thebes, had indeed good reason to be proud of herself. On both sides of her family, she was descended from the gods. Her husband was a gifted and

accomplished musician. And she was both wealthy and powerful. But what made her the happiest lady in the world was her fourteen children, seven manly sons and seven beautiful daughters. They were all so strong and fair that the whole world looked upon them with admiration.

It happened at the time that every spring the Theban women gathered at the temple of Leto to offer laurels at the altars of the great mother who had given birth to two grand children, Apollo and Artemis. The piety and reverence shown by her women made Niobe jealous and wrathful. When the priestess of Leto called the women again to the shrine of the mistress of Zeus one spring, Niobe decided to put an end to the folly once and for all. In her pretty flowing robe she came to the gathering and reproached the crowd for their fanatical faith in a goddess whom they had never seen. She declared herself nobler and greater, and demanded to be worshipped in place of Leto, who, she said, was no more than a humble mother of two children. The frightened women yielded their allegiance to the queen, and left the shrine in silence. Leto was neglected.

Standing on top of a hill overlooking Thebes, Leto saw all this and was bent on her vengeance. She sought out Apollo and Artemis and told them the story. Before long, the impatient avengers arrived outside Thebes in hidden clouds. The seven sons of Niobe were frolicking on the playground, two practising horsemanship and two wrestling while the other princes happily stood by. Apollo held out his bow. One by one the princes fell under his unfailing shafts. Even the youngest, who prayed for mercy, was not spared.

Niobe was utterly changed. She was all sorrow and grief, but her insolent spirit was not subdued. She came to the dead bodies of her sons with her daughters and let out a torrent of irreverent language at Leto and her children. This time it was Artemis’turn to draw her bowstring. Almost in a twinkling of an eye all the seven vivacious daughters fell, weltering in their blood, and soon ceased to breathe. Niobe became numb of feeling. She sat amidst the fourteen dead bodies, motionless, her eyes blank, her tears coursing down her cold cheeks. Her excruciating anguish had turned her into a stone! Later, a gust of wind swept her to her homeland in Asia, where she could still be seen sitting on top of a hill, tears of bitterness streaming out of her strong sockets.

14 Artemis

Just as Apollo drove his golden chariot across the heavens during the day, worshipped as the sun-god, so Artemis raced across the sky in solemn pomp at night, revered as the moon-goddess. Sitting in an airy chariot drawn by milk-white steeds, “the queen of wide air” shed silver light all over the sleeping world below. Though she remained single all her life the maiden heart of the goddess was at least for once thrilled as she saw the beautiful youth Endymion sleeping. She might have felt tenderness towards Orion, but she had probably regarded him more as a hunting companion. She was chaste and fair and serene. She was the paragon of maiden modesty and

grace. Just as Apollo represents manly beauty, so Artemis stands for feminine chastity and virginity. As their patron goddess she took it upon herself to protect marrying girls and young women in trouble. It was to her altar that those maidens turned for love and happiness.

The twin sister of Apollo was also the goddess of hunting and wild life. Dressed in a short hunting-suit coming up to the knee and followed by a team of boisterous lovely nymphs, Artemis had always her bow of pearl and crystal-shining quiver with her and roamed the forest in pursuit of game. When she felt hot and tired she would retire to a spring to bathe. It was here that young Actaeon inadvertently came and suffered cruel treatment at the hands of the goddess. Indeed, the goddess could be thoroughly ruthless and ceased to be lovely the moment the wicked side of her nature got the upper hand in her. The tragedy of Niobe was just a case in point.

15 Actaeon

When she was tired with hunting Artemis used to bathe in a little mountain spring．One hot summer afternoon she was refreshing herself in the cool，quiet brook with her nymphs when she heard a rustle behind the bushes ．She felt quite annoyed to find that a young hunter was peeping admiringly at her naked form．Her nymphs gave a shrill cry and crowded around the goddess．But young Actaeon had seen the huntress．

Actaeon loved the chase．He had been scouring the woods every day．On this particular afternoon he felt so tired with running about that he unwittingly came over to the spring in search of water，and thus surprised t Artemis bathing．The irritated goddess was not to be appeased．She splashed water in the hunter's face，and no sooner had the water drops fallen on Actaeon than he was transformed into a stag ．Just at this moment he heard the howling of his pack of fifty hounds coming up to him．He was suddenly seized with fear ，and presently fled．The dogs，all driven mad by the goddess，pursued him closely behind．Running as fast as his legs could carry him，Actaeon was soon out of breath ．Feeling certain that he was doomed，he dropped to the ground and made no further attempt to stir．The dogs closed in on their former master and tore him to pieces．

16 Orion

Orion was a giant hunter．He was the beautiful son of Poseidon．One day，when hunting in the forest，he caught sight of Artemis' nymphs，the seven Pleiades．He was so fascinated with their beauty that he started chasing them．In despair the charming maidens prayed to Artemis for help and were sent up by the goddess to the heavens as a constellation. Later he fell in love with another maiden，Merope by name，but impetuous and impatient，he ravished the maiden and enraged her father，King Oenopion of Chios．The king made him drunk and put out his eyes ．Following the sound of the Cyclopes' hammer，he went to Hephaestus，who sent a guide to travel

with him to the east，where the sun rose．Exposing his eyeballs to the rays of the sun，he was restored to his eye-sight．He became a constant companion of Artemis and followed the goddess in the chase with his dog Sirius．Apollo did not approve of this attachment，however．One day he dared his sister to shoot at a dark spot moving in the sea．Little did she suspect that she was aiming her arrow at Orion，for the dark spot turned out to be the head of Orion swimming in the ocean．Artemis was inconsolable．As she could not pull him back from the grasp of Death she sent him up to the sky as a constellation，with his hunting dog Sirius beside him．

17 Eros

Eros was the god of love, better known by his Lattin name Cupid. Son of Aphrodite by Ares, he took his place among the lesser gods of Olympus. He was represented as a little naked boy, with sparkling wings, and he carried his bow and arrows wherever he wandered. Shooting his thrilling darts in mischief, he inspired the passion of love and endowed all nature with life and the power of reproduction. The pert, naughty sprite had two kinds of arrows: the gold-tipped arrows used to quicken the pulse of love and the lead-tipped ones to palsy it. Besides, he had a torch to kindle hearts with. Though sometimes he was blindfolded, no man nor god, Zeus himself included, was safe from his mischief. At one time the imp was wounded by his own arrows and such burning love was awakened in him for the mortal maiden Psyche that he defied the persistent interference of his mother and plucked up his courage to plead with Zeus for justice. Another famous story where Eros figured as important was the Argonautic expedition. Medea, daughter of king Aeetes, was wounded by Eros’arrows, took Jason’s part in recovering the golden fleece and eventually became the hero’s wife.

18 Cupid and Psyche

There was once a princess, Psyche by name, whose delicate, radiant beauty won her the adoration of all who looked on her. The rumor went around that she was Aphrodite herself come down to reveal her matchless charm in human form. Little by little the goddess’shrine was neglected and her worship waned. Infuriated at the mortal beauty of her rival, the goddess told her son Cupid to avenge her by inspiring in the girl the hottest love for the lowest beings in the world. Cupid took up his quiver and bow and joyfully left.

Psyche had two elder sisters, who had by now been married to princely lords. As all came to admire but none was ready to marry the human goddess, her anxious parents went to consult an oracle respecting her future. The old couple were shocked to learn that their daughter was destined for no mortal soul but for a supernatural being. Following the advice of the oracle they dressed their daughter in bridal array and led her to the top of a mountain.

As she stood there alone in chill darkness, Zephyr, the gentle west wind, carried her

down softly to a wonderful palace in a flowery valley below. Though no human forms were visible around she felt loving caresses on her lips and a soft, sweet voice at her ears. Her fears were allayed and soon vanished. An invisible loving creature made her his bride that very night. Her husband told her, while tenderly embracing her, to be happy and never to seek to know his name and form, for curiosity would destroy their love and happiness. At daybreak he left, and Psyche was amazed to behold a magnificent palace with halls full of treasures and adornments of various kinds. Her life was made comfortable by invisible servants, soft music and sweet voices. But all the time her husband came at dusk and went at dawn, and she could see no one but herself. She felt lonely and homesick. At her repeated request her husband reluctantly agreed to allow her sisters to come to see her, but he warned her not to heed any of their persuasions.

When her sisters had wandered through the shining halls of gold and had seen the great amount of riches there, the worse side of their nature got the upper hand. They became maliciously jealous. They pressed Psyche to a confession that she had never seen her husband, and coaxed her into believing that he was, in fact, a monster waiting to devour her. Torn between disbelief and fear, Psyche took their advice and got a lamp and a knife ready for the night.

When she was sure that her husband had fallen asleep, she lighted the lamp. A shrill cry almost escaped. She lighted the lamp. A shrill cry almost escaped her when she beheld the sweetest and loveliest of all creatures in the world. It was Cupid himself and no other. Cupid had been so much bewitched by the enthralling beauty of Psyche that he had clean forgotten his mother’s command to disgrace her. He had fallen in love with her himself. Now in her enchantment she was careless to let a drop of oil fall on his shoulder. Thus aroused, he awoke to the faithlessness of his wife and tore himself away from her clasping embrace. As he left he told her that all their love must now become a pleasant dream. Then the palace vanished with him. Repenting of what she had done, She started a feverish search for her husband. She came in her wanderings to her eldest sister and told her that Cupid wanted to marry the older lady. Secretly overjoyed, her sister went up to the top of the mountain, to be wafted to the lovely palace below. When what she thought must be Zephyr came blowing by, she leapt down into the unfathomable valley and dashed herself to pieces. Cupid then wreaked vengeance on the other sister in the same way.

Wounded on the shoulder and love-sick, Cupid kept to himself in his mother’s chamber.

A telltale bird told his mother that he had been carrying on a love affair with a mortal whom Aphrodite hated so much. Threatening to strip her son of his powers, the goddess secured the support of Zeus himself in depriving Psyche of any possible sanctuary in any holy shrines. Demeter, among others, was sympathetic to the fugitive, but she gently drove her away from her altar. The desperate girl then decided to place herself at the tender mercies of the vengeful goddess.

The goddess’ wrath knew no bounds at the sight of her mortal rival. After having her sorely scourged, the goddess assigned her the impossible task of sorting out the different kinds of seeds and grains she had missed together. An ant took pity on her and summoned a troop of its friends to her rescue. Then the enraged goddess

ordered her to fetch a lock of golden fleece from the sheep grazing on a steep mountain side. The beasts were as untamed as wild lions and no mortal soul could hope to come back alive from their sharp horns and venomous teeth. A river nymph, however, told her to wait until the aggressive sheep slept in the shade and then collect their golden wool caught on the thicket. Detecting divine assistance in Psyche’s achievement, Aphrodite sent her immediately away on another hopeless mission. This time it was to fill a crystal urn from the icy source of Cocytus. Here the eagle of Zeus saw her plight and volunteered to help. The exasperated goddess then commanded the poor girl to go with a casket to the lower world and get some of Persephone’s beauty back for her. Now Psyche saw that she was face to face with no other than Death himself. In despair she went up to the top of a high tower and was about to cast herself down when the tower asked her to be patient and advised her how to accomplish her labour in the underworld. He warned her, among other things, not to open the box when she emerged again into the light of the day. Acting on his instruction, she appeased the dog Cerberus with honeyed bread, declined Persephone’s soft bed and dainty banquet and returned safely with some amount of the queen’s beauty to the upper air. However, curiosity was too strong for her as with Orpheus. As soon as she opened the box she fell down in a swoon. Fortunately Cupid came just in time to shut the sleep in the box and saved Psyche from a possible disaster.

In the meantime Cupid went to Zeus for help. The father of gods and men held a meeting to which all gods, including Aphrodite, were invited. Zeus raised Psyche among the gods, and a grand feast was spread to celebrate the eternal union of the pair. Psyche was happy in the embrace of her love again.

19 Hermes

Immediately after he was born，Hermes was appointed god of thieves at Olympus．And a thief he became when he was barely more than a few hours old．Feeling hungry，the infant left his swaddling bands after nightfall to hunt for food．He chanced upon Apollo's oxen grazing on a meadow and drove a number of these animals away，tying twigs around the feet of the cattle to blur their footsteps．He killed two of these oxen and had a sumptuous dinner．Then he slipped back into his little cot in his mother's house．When Apollo came to question him Hermes feigned innocence．The infuriated sun-god dragged him up to Olympus，where he was convicted of the theft and made to return the cattle to their master．In reconciliation little Hermes gave Apollo the lyre he had made out of a tortoise shell，and Apollo was so pleased with the gift that he presented his little brother with a wand which could pacify conflicting forces.

In due time Hermes was appointed messenger of Zeus and the gods．The gods equipped him with a pair of winged sandal sand winged cap to enable him to travel swifter than sight．It was Hermes who took the messages of Zeus to the world below．

Hermes was a patron of travelers．His busts and statues were set up as boundary marks at cross-roads or street corners to guide passers-by. The Hermae, as these statues were called, were regarded as sacred, and their mutilation was sacrilegious and punishable by death. The destruction of the numerous Hermaes within the city of Athens aroused such a terrible excitement among its citizens that it might be no exaggeration to state that it altered the whole course of historic development of Athens

Hermes was the god of rain and wind and of commerce. He also took it upon himself to conduct the souls of the dead to the undersworld. It was evidently this herald of Zeus, holding a snake-encircled wand, who returned Persephone into the outstretched arms of mother-earth, Demeter.

20 Ares（Mars）

Son of Zeus and Hera, Ares was appointed god of war. He was terrible and majestic, and his march shook the world. Of all the major divinities at Olympus, he was the most hateful, loving strife and war and ever thirsty for blood. On the other hand he signified courage and victory in battle, and was devoutly worshipped by warriors going to war. Prayers were addressed to him before the war and spoils presented at his altar after it.

He was the one god who ever had to submit to the supremacy of his inferiors. At one time lack of tact and discretion led to his disgrace. He was fighting with two giants, Otus and Ephialtes, and finding himself no match for the two monstrous creatures, surrendered and was imprisoned in chains. He was set free in the end by the wileful Hermes, but not before he had suffered all the humiliations the giants chose to inflict on him.

He was as indiscreet as he was savage. A son of Poseidon’s, attempting to kidnap his daughter, incurred the war-god’s displeasure, so that he slew the youth without demur. In retaliation, Poseidon dragged him before a group of Athenian magistrates for trial. The court was held on a hill outside Athens. Ares presented his case and was acquitted. The hill was ever after called Areopagus, “the hill of Ares”, and the magistrates received the name of Areopagitae.

But Ares was not altogether without gentler feelings. From his union with Aphrodite, ridiculed as it was, sprang three beautiful children, Harmonia, Eros and Anteros. He fell in love with the charming Vestal virgin, Ilia, who bore him the twins, Romulus and Remus. The former was destined to become the founder of Rome. As he loved the riotous way of Roman life, Ares took the city under his protection and received a greater worship there than elsewhere in the ancient world.

21 Aphrodite(Venus)

Aphrodite was the goddess of surpassing beauty. Hers was a mysterious birth. On one of those days when the Olympians had begun to enjoy supremacy in the universe, the

floating bubbles of the sea glowed with divine radiance, and out of the wave rose a fair and lovely maiden, shining forth warmth and charm. She was then escorted by the ocean nymphs to Cyprus which henceforth became her sacred island. Her beauty was unrivalled, and she was rightly called the Beautiful. Over her deathless head was a golden crown, her eyes were deep and soft, and her brows warm. Her silky ringlets flowing over her delicate neck and white bosom, and her slender fingers and rosy-white feet all added to her captivating grace and elegance. To cap all her slim lily form of a figure aroused both the ardent admiration of the gods and the burning jealousy of the goddesses when she first took her place on Olympus.

She was appointed goddess of Love and Marriage. Sitting in her chariot drawn by sparrows, doves or swans, she travelled far and wide to inspire love in the hearts of all nature and move man and beast and animal and plant to reproduction. With the help of her little son, Eros, the god of love, she wrought many a tale of weal and woe in the life of gods and men. Herself a bit of flirt, she introduced the idea of free love into married life. She was never faithful to her husband Hephaestus, who incidentally on one occasion caught her in a net as she was lying with Ares, and held him both up to ridicule in front of the gods. She was kind and obliging and was ever ready to help young lovers in trouble. She loved Adonis, breathed life into the statue of Galatea and lent a helping hand to young Hippomenes in his race. But she effected the most ruthless persecution of Psyche out of petty jealousies. She excited an unchaste love in the breast of Helen and kindled the flames of the war of Troy, all out of gratitude for Paris who adjudged the apple of discord to her, the fairest of the goddesses. Had she behaved like a true and generous goddess thousands of lives might have been saved, millions spared the curse of slavery and Troy might have still stood where it had been for posterity to admire.

22 Venus and Adonis

Aphrodite loved Adonis more than she did heaven, for he was a brisk, lovely young hunter. She abandoned her residence at Olympus and took to the woods, where she dressed herself up like a huntress and kept the youth company all day long. With him she roved through bushy grounds and groves and over hills and dales, cheering hounds and pursuing game of a harmless sort. They had a great time together. However, she warned him many times not to chase wild beasts like lions and wolves, but the young man just laughed at the idea.

One day, after warning him thus, she left for Olympus in her chariot. Quite by chance Adonis’ hounds found a boar, which roused Adonis to enthusiasm. He hit the beast with a dart, but the boar, turning on him, buried its white tusk deep into his tender side and trampled him to death. When Aphrodite came back to find her lover cold in death, she burst into a passion of tears, Unable to wrest him back from the lower world, she sprinkled nectar on Adonis’ blood and turned it into anemone, a delicate purple flower.

Aphrodite was, however, still inconsolable. In grief and despair she flew to Zeus and

implored him to restore Adonis to her. Through she had Zeus’ sympathy, Hades was by no means prepared to comply with her request. After much dispute a compromise was worked out under which Adonis was to spend half the year above ground with Aphrodite, but the remaining six months in the Elysian Fields. Therefore, in spring time Adonis came back to the loving embrace of Aphrodite, but when winter came he had to return most reluctantly to Hades.

23 Pygmalion

Pygmalion, king of Cyprus, was a famous sculptor. He fashioned an ivory image of a woman so lovely that he fell in love with it. Every day he tried to deck Galatea up in gold and purple, for that was the name he had given to this mistress of his heart. He embraced and kissed it, but it remained a statue. In despair he went to Aphrodite’s shrine for help. Offering rich sacrifice and sending up a passionate prayer, he besought the goddess to give him a wife as graceful as Galatea. Back home, he went straight up to the statue. Even as he gazed at it a change came over it. A faint colour flushed in cheeks, a gleam shone forth from its eyes and its lips opened into a sweet smile. Pygmalion stood speechless when Galatea began to move towards him. She was simple and sweet and alive! Soon the room was ringing with her silver voice. The work of his own hands became his wife.

24 Poseidon

Poseidon was son of Kronus and Rhea, and brother of Zeus. After the war with the Titans, he supplanted Oceanus as the mighty and majestic god of the sea, governing all the waters encircling the earth. Considered next to none in power except Zeus, Poseidon ruled his kingdom with ruthless sway. He could summon all the hurricanes and stir up or calm down the stormy oceans. With a trident in his hand, he scudded across the waves in a chariot drawn by horses with bronze hoofs and golden manes. Although he had a seat on Olympus, he dwelled, most of the time, in his glittering golden palace in the deeps of the oceans.

Poseidon was ambitious and aggressive. Dissatisfied with the portion of power allotted to him, he plotted to topple Zeus from his exalted position. The plan did not come off, and he was banished to serve a mortal on earth. With the help of Apollo he built the famous walls of Troy for king Laomedon and was badly cheated by that treacherous monarch. On one occasion he quarreled with Athena over the naming of the new city Athens and was forced to concede defeat to the goddess of wisdom. On another he entered into a bitter dispute with Apollo over the sovereignty of Corinth and won the case in the end.

Poseidon presided over horses and horsemanship. It was with his swift-footed steeds that he helped the desperate lovers such as Idas and Pelops. Poseidon evidently had a benign mind and was ready to lend a helping hand to all who submitted to his dreadful

command.

Poseidon’s loves produced peculiar offspring. His wife, Amphitrite, bore him the tritons who were half-man and half-fish in form. When Demeter scorned his attentions and transformed herself into a mare, the unabashed Poseidon changed himself into a horse to continue his wooing. Out of their union a wonderful horse, Arion by name, was born, gifted with the power of speech and destined to win all the chariot-races in Greece. Poseidon kidnapped Theophane, a beautiful maiden, and taking her to an island, metamorphosed her into a sheep and himself into a ram. As a result the golden-fleeced ram came into being, which later carried Phrixus on its back to Colchis. Poseidon also made love to the still young and beautiful Medusa. When black blood dropped from the Gorgon’s severed head into the sea, Poseidon turned it into the famous Pegasus.

25 Dionysus

Dionysus was the god of wine and revelry. He was the son of Zeus by Semele. When his mother was burnt to death in the glory of Zeus, he was still a helpless infant. His father entrusted his upbringing to some mountain nymphs, who took the utmost care of him. Under the tutorship of Silenus, the Satyr, he was introduced to all the secrets of nature and the culture of the vine. He travelled far and wide in his chariot drawn by wild beasts. He was said to have been to India and Ethiopia. His worship was exotic and reminiscent of eastern orgies. Wherever he went, there was music and song and revelling. His attendants, known as the Bacchantes, were noted for their noise and disorder. A most unruly, rowdy crowd, they drank, danced and sang in a reckless way. The women Bacchantes were notorious for their excessive immodesty and scandalous excitement. In their rabid frenzy and intoxication they committed atrocious violence. They tore Orpheus, the gifted musician, limb from limb; and king Pentheus of Thebes, for frowning on the worship of Bacchus in his kingdom, suffered the same treatment at the hands of a band of these fanatical women, of whom his own mother was the leader.

26 Demeter and Persephone

Demeter(Ceres) was the goddess of grain. She loved her daughter Persephone so much that she considered her life, immortal as it was, meaningless without the girl. Persephone was a merry-hearted lovely maiden. As goddess of vegetation she helped her mother bless the world with plenty. When her duties were over the young goddess would go with her charming companions to the island of Sicily, to sing and dance and pick the loveliest flowers.

One day, the young maidens were thus singing happily together when King Pluto of the lower world happened to pass by. He was so infatuated with the sparkling beauty of Persephone that even the king of the infernal regions began to think that life without

love was not worth living. Acting in a manner, true to him, he roughly brushed aside the surrounding nymphs, took up their mistress in his arms and went straight back to his own kingdom under the earth. The frightened Persephone had time only to drop her girdle behind in a stream.

The bereaved mother refused to be comforted. She wandered all earth in search of her beloved daughter. Her face brightened up at the sight of the girdle, but it was a Sicilian fountain nymph, Arethusa, that revealed to her the whereabouts of Persephone. In her flight from the pursuit of Alpheus, the nymph told the mother, she had flowed through the underworld and saw her daughter sharing the throne of the black king. Demeter was desperate.

When Demeter mourned her loss all her duties were neglected. The earth turned sterile and bare, and famine threatened all creation. Demeter turned a deaf ear to the entreaties and prayers of the people, who then in despair looked up to Zeus for help. Soon after learning of the kidnap of her daughter, the goddess of tillage soared straight up to Olympus. There she gave Zeus no peace until the father of gods and men agreed to intervene on her behalf. He sent Hermes to restore Persephone to her mother on condition that she had not tasted any food during her stay in Hades. As she had been temped to eat some seeds of pomegranate there Zeus arranged a compromise between Demeter and Pluto. Persephone was to stay for one third of the year with Pluto and the rest of the year in the upper world. And so it was that when spring came and Persephone rose from the understand all nature came back to life, and the earth was blessed with bounty and fertility; but when Persephone had to return to the world of the dead, winter set in, and all the world withered and looked barren and lifeless.

The cult of Demeter and Persephone was best demonstrated in the Eleusinian Mysteries. Once every five years the Athenians celebrated at Eleusis, Attica, a famous important festival called Eleusinia, or the Eleusinian Mysteries. There were a set of religious rites performed at the sacrifice to the goddess of agriculture and her daughter, the goddess of vegetation. The secrets connected with the worship were known only to the initiated, who were taught the more hopeful doctrine of future life and thereby helped to lead a better and happier life. The ceremonies were sacred and kept secret, but it is certain that the rape of Persephone, Demeter’s search for her daughter and the return of the young goddess to the upper air were all represented there.

27 King Midas

Silenus, the Satyr, was Bacchus’ tutor and jovial companion. On one occasion, after an all-night carousal, he lost his way and went to King Midas of Phrygia for help. The king took him back to Bacchus, who was greatly pleased with the king’s good-will. As a token of gratitude the god of wine promised to grant any request the king might make of him. The old king, who was avaricious, besought of the god the gift turning everything he touched into gold. That the god did give him then and there, and the

king took his leave, secretly overjoyed.

Going into his garden, he snapped a branch from a tree, and the twig shone forth a golden hue. Then he picked up a stone, and lo, it glittered between his fingers. The great transforming power filled his heart with joyful pride. He decided to give a banquet at which to show his new power to his courtiers. When he was about to propose a toast, the wine cup turned itself into gold in his grip. No sooner had his hands touched the bread than it became solid gold. His favourite wine trickled from his jaws a fluid gold. Very soon hunger threatened the king’s very life. Cursing himself for his greed, the king now turned to the wine-god for help. Kneeling down before Bacchus, he prayed that the merciful god rid him of the golden touch. The god smiled and told him to go and wash himself in a nearby river. Hurling his body into the grateful little stream, the king laved himself thoroughly. The sands were turned to gold beneath his tread, but he was cured.

One day, as he wandered though the woods, he chanced upon Pan the god of woods and contending who could make sweet music. The two gods invited the king to act as judge. After the contest, Midas was dull enough to announce his decision in favour of Pan. The irritated Apollo turned his ears into a pair of erect and wide and generous-sized ears of an ass. To hide those long ears from sight Midas henceforward wore a turban in all the four seasons of the year. As he could not keep the truth back from his barber he forbade the poor fellow, on pain of death, to divulge the secret to anybody. Anxious to let it out, the barber went to the riverside, dug a hole there and whispered into it, “King Midas has ass’s ears,” In time, reeds grew out of the hole and were heard by all passers-by to say, “King Midas has ass’s ears!” So that before long the news spread throughout the land.

28 Pan

Pan’s parentage was a controversy, but most writers of Greek and Roman mythology are inclined to agree that he was the son of Hermes by the lovely nymph Penelope. He was a grim, shaggy, country sprite, with the upper part of a man and the body and legs of a goat. Haunting the mountains and woods with other Satyrs and cheerful nymphs, pan led a perfectly carefree life. He was worshipped as the god of woods and pastures, with prophetic power. He personified nature and country life. In olden times he was honored as a god good, just and holy.

Pan had a lustful nature. At one time he loved a charming nymph, Syrinx, but to his disappointment his love was not returned. One day Syrinx fled Pan with a fearful tread, which enkindled Pan’s love all the more. He ran after her and was almost overtaking her when she was turned, at her own request, into a clump of reeds by Mother Earth. Pan wept bitterly at the transformation. sadly he picked some pieces of the reeds and fashioned a pipe. He played so sweetly on it that Apollo was humbled before him.

At the time of the battle of Marathon Pan met the Athenian messenger to Sparta. He bade the man say to the Athenians that, although they had neglected him, he still felt kindly towards them and would aid them in their distress. When fighting against

overwhelming odds near Marathon the Athenians were amazed to see that the Persian cohorts were suddenly seized with a mysterious, unreasoning fear and fled the field in utter disorder. The great Pan had struck into the hearts of the Persians a kind of fear which has been ever since known as panic. After the war the Athenians gratefully dedicated a temple to Pan and instituted sacrifices and games in his honor. Ridiculed at first by the Olympian gods, Pan rose soon from a hanger-on of other gods like Dionysus to the status of the most influential gods. He was called the great god Pan and the universal Pan, and came to represent Olympus in the end. Early Christans believed that at the time of Jesus’crucification, a mariner was bidden by a supernatural voice to announce,“Great Pan is dead.” Henceforward the Olympian gods were dethroned and the oracles became dumb. The death of Pan thus heralded the beginning of a new era, the Christian era.

29 The Muses

The Nine Muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, drew from their parents what is necessary for all great creative work, for Zeus was the creating, regulating mind and Mnemosyne was indentified with arts and sciences. The favourite haunts of the Muses were Mt Helicon with its fountains, Aganippe and Hippocrene, and Mt Parnassus with its Castalian Spring. Each of the Muses presided over a distinct form of poetry, art and science: Clio, the muse of history; Calliope, the muse of epic poetry; Melpomene, the muse of tragedy; Thalia, the muse of comedy; Terpsichore, the muse of dance and song; Erato, the muse of love poetry; Euterpe ,the muse of lyric poetry; Urania, the muse of astronomy, and Polymnia, the muse of religious poetry or the pantomime. All of them were attendants of Apollo and formed his choir. They danced and sang delightfully at banquets of the Olympian gods; they frolicked around the sacred heights of Mt Parnassus and Mt Helicon or about the inspiring springs of Pieria. At the command of Athena, they took care of Pegasus which opened for them by a blow of its hoof the sacred spring of Hippocrene on Mt Helicon. When Apollo’s son Orpheus died they buried his limbs in a tomb which became a sacred shrine. They could be malicious, for when the daughters of Pierus were temerarious enough to contend with them in song on Mt Helicon, they turned these maidens spitefully into birds.

30 The Lower World

The Greeks preferred life to death. They would rather be a hireling in this world than wield kingly power among the dead. As to the whereabouts of the underworld, opinions seem to differ. Visitors to Hades often travelled far to the west. A dark, unexplored cave in the southernmost part of Peloponnesus was sometimes considered to be one of the gates to the lower world.

In the gloomy world of eternal darkness reigned its stern king, Pluto, son of Kronus