From time to time he breathed forth fire and flames and when he changed his position the earth trembled.

Everything about the Greeks was personified and every grove, fountain, and river was the habitation of some nymph or satyr. Pan, the god of woods and fields, was everywhere.

The greater gods dwelt on high Olympus, where all was sunshine and clear air, where neither snow fell nor hail nor rain, nor was it ever shaken by the winds.

The religion of the Romans, as we know it from literature, was largely inherited from the Greeks and therefore was much like the Greek religion. They made gods of the sea, the sun, the lightning, and of all the great materials and forces in nature, but to these they gave names different from those of the Greeks. Like the Greeks, their gods were supposed to have human powers of mind, body, and feeling, but in all cases they were more than human.

Zeus (Jupiter) was the king and father of gods and men. With thunderbolts and lightning flashes he punished the crimes of mortals. His special messenger was the eagle. He presided at the councils held on Mount Olympus and called the gods together at his pleasure.

His brothers were Poseidon (Neptune), who ruled the sea, and Pluto (Orcus), king of the underworld, the abode of the dead.

Here (Juno) the glorious, sister and wife of Zeus, sat at his right, while at his left sat Pallas Athene (Minerva) goddess of wisdom, skilled in all the arts of war and peace.

The most beautiful of all the gods was Apollo (Phoebus), god of the sun, of music and poetry, and leader of the nine muses. His golden shafts often proved fatal to mortal man.

His twin sister was Artemis (Diana), goddess of the moon and of the chase. She is often represented with a stag and a quiver of arrows and wearing upon her forehead her emblem, the crescent moon.

Aphrodite (Venus), born of the sea foam, was the goddess of love and beauty.

Ares (Mars) was the god of war and Hephaestus (Vulcan) was the smith of the gods, who built their dwellings on Olympus and forged their weapons.

Hermes (Mercury), the winged messenger of the gods, doing their bidding, sped through the air with staff and winged cap and sandals.

In these stories we shall see how the will of the gods influences and directs the actions of heroes whose courage knows no bounds when a wrong must be righted or a friend's death avenged, who bravely face death upon the perilous seas or in fighting horrid monsters and yet who show the deepest reverence for customs and traditions and great tenderness for wife and child and friend and home.

Many of the best things in our present life and culture are inherited from the Greeks and Romans. We still find our greatest models in the remains of Grecian art, literature, and architecture. In all these fields we have inherited much from the Romans, but our greatest debt to them is to be found in our codes of law. The reading of stories from Greek and Roman heroes will give us, therefore, greater love for the beautiful and true in art, literature, and life.

The names of the Roman gods are given above in parentheses. The following table gives the pronunciation of the names of both the Greek and Roman gods:

In later times Phoebus Apollo (fē'bus a poľ'ō) was worshiped in

Rome under the Greek name Phoebus.

BOOK I

THE STORY OF ACHILLES

CHAPTER ONE

WHY THE GREEKS SAILED TO TROY

HELEN, daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, was the fairest of all the women in Greece-nay, of all the women on the face of the whole earth. All the princes of Greece were suitors for her in marriage, and assembled at Sparta, of which city Tyndareus 5 was king, that she and her father might make their choice among them.

While they awaited the choosing, Tyndareus said to them, "You do me much honor, my lords, by paying court to my daughter and desiring to have her to wife. Nevertheless, there 10 is something in this matter that makes me afraid. Ye are many, and my daughter can have but one of you for a husband. How, then, will the matter stand when she shall have made her choice? Will it not be that one, indeed, will be pleased and many offended, and that for one friend I shall have 15 a score or so of enemies? Listen, therefore, to me, and be sure that my daughter is of one mind with me. She would rather die unmarried, or even lay hands upon herself, than that she should bring trouble upon my house. And her resolve is this: Ye must all swear a great oath that ye will defend her and her 20 husband, whomsoever she may choose, with all your might, and that if he or she suffer any wrong, ye will avenge them to the very best of your power."

This King Tyndareus did by the counsel of Ulysses; and the reason why Ulysses gave this counsel was this. He thought

to himself, "The choice of the maid will scarce fall upon me, for I have but a poor kingdom, nor can I myself, for strength or beauty, be matched with some that are here. But there are other fair maidens in Greece besides Helen, as Penelope, who 5 is niece to King Tyndareus, and is likely to have a good portion.

If, then, I do good service to the king he will speak for me to his brother Icarius, and I shall have an advantage when I present my suit."

The words of Tyndareus pleased the suitors, and they swore 10 a great oath, each man by that which he held most sacred upon earth, that they would defend Helen and her husband against all injury that might be done to them.

Helen chose Menelaus, younger brother to Agamemnon, that was overlord of all the land of Greece. And Ulysses had his 15 wish, for Penelope, daughter of Icarius, was given him to wife. And now for a time all things went well and prosperously. Menelaus lived happily with his wife Helen, who bare him a daughter, Hermione by name. But when the child was scarce a year old there came a grievous trouble to the house of Mene20 laus, and on the whole land of Greece and on Asia also. Now it must be told how this came about.

Across the gæan Sea from Greece was the city of Troy, famous in ancient days. Here lived a strong, brave race of people, who had made their city great by their industry in 25 peace and their courage in war.

The king of Troy was Priam, who was much beloved by every one. He had many children, but one day another little son was born to King Priam, even Paris. When now the priest said that he would grow to be a danger and a trouble to his 30 family and his country, King Priam had his servants take the baby, and leave it on a barren mountain-side to die. There some shepherds found the child, and reared him carefully; and he grew to be a tall, beautiful youth, very active and skilful in all sorts of games.

pe něľ'ō pē ē jē'an

i kā'ri ŭs pri'am

men ĕ la'us

ag a měm'non

her mi'o në

Peleus, king of Thessaly, married Thetis of the sea. And these two called to their wedding feast all the gods, for Thetis was herself of the race of the gods. One only did they not call, and that one was Discord. But Discord came unbidden, bring5 ing with her a golden apple on which she had written these words, "To THE FAIREST." This she threw among the guests, and so departed.

And when these words were read aloud there was scarce woman or goddess in the whole company but thought that the 10 apple belonged of right to her, but three only were so bold as to claim it, and these three were Here, queen of the gods, and Athene, and Aphrodite. And when it was doubted who should judge in such a matter Zeus said to Hermes, the messenger, "There is a shepherd that keeps his sheep on Mount Ida, Paris 15 by name; he is son to Priam, king of Troy, and he is the most beautiful of mortal men. Let him be the judge between these three; for if a god should judge there will be no end to the quarrel; but if a mortal man, then it must needs come to an end with his life. Be thou, therefore, guide to these three, and 20 show them the place, and give also my message to this Paris." So Hermes took the three to Mount Ida, and they stood before Paris that he might judge which was the fairest of the three. Nor were they content that he judge by looks only. Here said to him, "Give thou thy voice to me, and I will give 25 thee lordship over the whole land of Asia," and Athene said, “I can make thee wise in counsel and skilful in war above all others." Last of all Aphrodite said, "I will give thee to wife the fairest woman in all the world." But whether Paris was moved by this promise, or whether he thought in his heart that 30 Aphrodite was in truth the fairest-as indeed she should have been of right, being queen of love-however this may be, this judgment of Paris was the beginning of many troubles.

It is not agreed among those who have written about these things how Helen was persuaded to leave her husband's house. 35 Some say that Paris carried her away by force, and some that he'rē a the'nē pē lus the'tis af rō di'tē zūs

her'mēz