palace for the ruler of the waves, in whose depths was situated the goodly structure. Here were his steeds, glorious with their golden manes and brazen hoofs. Borne along in his chariot by these swift ministers of his will, he passes over the tumbling billows of the deep, whose waving crest sinks to perfect stillness on his approach, and whose monsters, recognising their sovereign lord, gambol in a thousand fantastic gaieties around his gliding car,' of which the great legendary poet of Greece has thus sung: In the deeps of ocean-flood, Where his glorious palace stood, He his fleet-footed steeds in their car is arraying; All brazen their hoofs;-see their shoulders, that laves See, gold the gods form in a vesture of light, And wide smiles the ocean with joy at his sight!2 Homeric description of his equipage. Poseidon at The island of Calaureia, in the Saronic Gulf, where flourished the Sacrifices to ancient Amphictyony which honoured Poseidon by sacrifices, was to Calaureia. him what Delos was to Apollo, whilst the isthmus of Corinth, and Onchestus, in Boeotia, were renowned for his worship, and dignified by his traditionary residence. But far above other favoured spots was the rocky Acropolis of Athens, whence, by a stroke of his mighty trident, sprang forth a well of water. This sacred place Athēnē subsequently claimed for herself, by planting the sacred olive-tree of 1 II. viii. 27. ἔνθα δὲ οι κλυτὰ δώματα βένθεσι λίμνης, Χρυσὸν δ ̓ αὐτὸς ἔδυνε περὶ χρον· γέντο δ ̓ ἱμάσθλην Βῆ δ ̓ ἐλάαν ἐπὶ κύματ ̓ ἄταλλε δὲ κήτὲ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ Strab. viii. 374. Hom. Il. xiii, 21-29. Erectheus and its effects. Decision of Pandrosus. The decision pronounced by Erectheus on this occasion in favour of Athēnē exasperated Poseidon against the Erectheids, whose family he succeeded in entirely overthrowing. The Athenians took especial care to dignify their early prince Theseus, by asserting that he was the son of Poseidon, and the immediate successor of the Erectheids, whose fame he so far surpassed by his glorious reign. Contentious Whatever was the extent of the realms of Poseidōn, his history is character of full of contentious disputation with other deities for the possession of Poseidon. some favourite spot. He disputed the claim of Hērē to Argolis, 2 though it had been adjudged to that goddess by important river gods,' upon whom he avenged himself by drying up their streams. With Zeus and Dionysus, too, he disputed possession, with the former of Ægina, with the latter of Naxos; while the same grasping spirit led Acquires the him to claim the entire sovereignty of Corinth from Helios. Here he was more successful, for though to Helios was adjudged the Acropolis of Corinth, to Poseidon was awarded the Isthmus.3 sovereignty of the isthmus. Creates the horse. One of the most prominent and ancient myths connected with this deity is his creation of the horse; whence he is considered the first instructor of mankind in the art of managing and training this animal by means of the bridle, and is the especial patron of horseraces. Hence, too, he is styled the " Equine Prince," and he is generally found on horseback, or borne along in a chariot drawn by his ocean steeds. The site of the creation of this noble animal is placed by the most ancient authority in Thessaly, where, too, Poseidōn presented to Peleus those famous horses which figured with such distinction at Troy. Temporary One of the most peculiar tenets in Grecian mythology, in common servitude of with the Hindoo system, was the temporary captivity and servitude of the gods. the gods to certain of the human race. Thus Poseidon, as well as Apollo, were degraded by a protracted slavery under Laomedōn, king of Troy, though we must not forget that it was at the especial command of Zeus. As they toil on and drudge in a human capacity, it is but meet that they should receive the usual wages earned by frail humanity. Yet we find both of these powerful deities defrauded of their just reward. To build the mighty walls of imperial Troy had refuses their been the task assigned by Laomedon, the despot of that city. But he not only refusing the stipulated reward, but by the addition of fierce threats, he laid the foundation of that deep animosity which Poseidōn Laomedon reward. 1 Cephisseus, Inachus, and Asterion: Paus, ii, 15. Plut. Symp. ix. 6. 3 Paus. ii. 1. 5 Ιππιος άναξ. Hom. II. xxiii. 307; Pind. Pyth, vi. 50. • Hom. II. xxiii, 277. 1 servitude afterwards evinced against the Trojans. The doctrine of divine Doctrine of servitude, however simple and consonant with the early notions of the obnoxious to non-speculative poet, in after ages became highly obnoxious to the philosophic philosophic school of Greece; and even Pindar, as far as possible, smooths down traditions appearing to him derogatory to the dignity of the celestial nature. THE LEGEND OF APHRODITE Greece. We now pass on to notice one of the most distinguished deities among the twelve of Olympus, whose all-pervading influence is everywhere acknowledged. APHRODITE, with whose history are interwoven Aphrodite the golden tissues of love-with whose supremacy the joyous, the goddess of beauty. pathetic, and the tragic are alternately connected, is by the Homerid of Chios depicted by the various influences shown in early legend; while in more modern poets her agency becomes unbounded. There were, however, three memorable exceptions to her universal sway— Athēnē, Hestia, and Artemis The trine that 'scaped the soothing snares of love. Exceptions to her sway. The early simplicity of the first Homer stands out strongly in this myth when compared with the guarded language of his successor, the Homerid of Chios. The former fully sings the divine lineage of the Trojan hero Eneas, and everywhere acknowledges him as the son of Aphrodite; whilst the templar bard of Delos introduces her Caution of severely enjoining Anchises not to disclose the parentage of Æneas: But shouldst thou aught reveal or madly boast, Cythera's vanquished charms divine, Indignant Zeus shall blast thee with his bolt.3 the bard of Delos. arises from In Hesiod, as in the Homeric hymn, the goddess, rising from the Aphrodite foam of the sea, first approaches the island of Cythera; she now pro- the foam of ceeds to Cyprus; whilst beneath her gentle steps, even from the the sea. barren sea-coast, flowers spring up. Accompanied by Eros and Himeros,' she enters the assembly of the gods, every one of whom, struck with admiration at her surpassing loveliness, desires her as his consort. The supremacy of Aphrodītē is indicated (as in the case of Dionysus) by the vengeance she inflicts upon those who neglect her divinity, or despise her power. Anchises and One of the most celebrated myths in connection with Aphrodite, Myth of and standing in connection with the Trojan war, was her fondness for Aphrodite. Anchises, the father of Eneas, who greatly distinguished himself amongst the Trojan heroes. It was Zeus who had surreptitiously 1 II. vii. 452. 3 Hom. Hymn, Aphrodītē, 7. Εἰ δὲ κεν εξείπης, καὶ ἐπεύξεαι ἄφρονι θυμῷ Ἐν φιλότητι μιγῆναι ἐϋστεφάνῳ Κυθερείς, Hymn, Apoll. 287-289. Of the same nature is the genesis of the Apsaras in the Hindu Mythology; their name is from " Apo," water, and "Sara," to move. • Love and Desire, Worship of Aphrodite. Corinthian worship of Aphrodite. inspired her with this flame, and the result was as we have already related. Her cestus, or magic girdle, had such power in kindling love, that Hērē scrupled not to borrow it from the lovely Aphrodite when desirous to stimulate the affection of Zeus.' The worship of Aphroditē in Greece was of a purely Hellenic character, and appears to have been very early introduced into that country. One exception, however, to the simplicity of her worship is strongly marked in the case of Corinth, where this is found to be of an eminently Asiatic cast, which is easily accounted for by the magnificence and wealth introduced by a vast and prosperous commerce. Aphrodite sides with the Trojans. Paris saved by Aphrodite. During the fierce struggle between the Greeks and Trojans, Aphrodītē sided with the latter; nor is this to be wondered at, when we reflect on her intimate connection with the royal family of Troy, as well as the decision given in her favour by the beautiful Paris, whom she afterwards saved before the walls of Troy from the fury of the incensed Menelaus Who thirsting for his blood, with brazen spear, Sprang forward yet again; him, snatched from death, And fragrant in his chamber gently laid.3 1 Hom. Il. 214. 2 Aphrodite, the ideal of female grace and loveliness, formed the fairest subject for the exercise of Hellenic genius. Cos and Cnidus were renowned for their splendid representations of this divinity. Vide Hirt, Mythol. Bilder. iv. 133. 3 Αὐτὰρ ὅ ἂψ ἐπόρουσε, κατακτάμεναι μενεαίνων, Ἔγχει χαλχείῳ· τὸν δ ̓ ἐξήρπαξ' ̓Αφροδίτη. Ρεῖα μάλ' ὥστε θεός· ἐκάλυψε δ' ἀρ ἠέρι πολλῇ, Κἀδ' δ ̓ εἷς ἐν θαλάμῳ ἐνώδει, κηώεντι. Hom. Il. iii. 379-382, Here. In close connection with this legend stands HERE-the bitter, Myth of haughty, and unrelenting Here, the prime moving power of the Trojan war, and the powerful guardian deity of Jason. This eldest daughter of Cronos and Rhea, and the sister of Zeus, was reared by Oceanus and Tethys, as Zeus had seized on the throne of Cronos: she afterwards became the consort of the mighty Thunderer. When raised to this high dignity, the Olympian gods honoured her with the same reverence which they paid to Zeus.3 The obstinate, contentious, and Her violent jealous character of Here, however, is a perpetual source of discomfort to the imperial Thunderer. She even joins in the grand conspiracy of the gods for putting Zeus in chains. Her sovereign lord is sometimes so exasperated with her as to proceed to the most violent measures. On one occasion we find the queen of heaven suspended in the clouds, with her hands chained together, and two anvils suspended from her feet. Terrified with threats of a similar vengeance, she is afterwards more placable, and has recourse to artifice to compass her objects." character. of Here. The most renowned sanctuary of Here was at the foot of Mount Sanctuary Euboea, between Argolis and Mycene. In this was placed her noble and statue statue by Polycletus, ever afterwards considered the grand ideal of the goddess, who is represented as a majestic woman of mature age, with a noble forehead and full lustrous eyes. 1 Ἐπεὶ φίλος δεν Ιήσων. 2. T. 2. Hom. Odyss. xii. 72. 3 Hom. Il. xv. 85. 5 11. xix. 97. 2 Hom. Il. xvi. 432. II. viii. 400. Her hair is decked with a crown or diadem. The diadem, sceptre, veil, and peacock, are her usual characteristics. Vide Müller, Dor. ii. 10. [H. G.] F |