Divine Riddles: a Sourcebook for Greek Religion and Mythology

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Divine Riddles: A Sourcebook for Greek Religion and Mythology

What follows is a collection of excerpts from Greek literary sources in translation. The intent is to give students an overview of Greek mythology as expressed by the Greeks themselves. But any such collection is inherently flawed: the process of selection and abridgement produces a falsehood because both the narrative and meta-narrative are destroyed when the continuity of the composition is interrupted. Nevertheless, this seems the most expedient way to expose students to a wide range of primary source information. I have tried to keep my voice out of it as much as possible and will intervene as editor (in this Times New Roman font) only to give background or exegesis to the text. All of the texts in Gaudy Old Style are excerpts from Greek or Latin texts (primary sources) that have been translated into English.

Ancient Texts

In the field of Classics, we refer to texts by Author, name of the book, book number, chapter number and line number.1 Every text, regardless of language, uses the same numbering system. Homer’s Iliad, for example, is divided into 24 books and the lines in each book are numbered. Hesiod’s Theogony is much shorter so no book divisions are necessary but the lines are numbered. Below is an example from Homer’s Iliad, Book One, showing the English translation on the left and the Greek original on the right. When citing this text we might say that Achilles is first mentioned by Homer in Iliad 1.7 (i.7 is also acceptable). [1] Sing, goddess, about the anger of Achilles [1] μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος son of Peleus, [2] οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκε, [2] which brought countless evils upon the Achaeans. [3] πολλὰς δ' ἰφθίμους ψυχὰς Ἄϊδι προί̈αψεν [3] Many a brave soul did it send hurrying [4] ἡρώων, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσιν down to Hades, [4] and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs [5] οἰωνοῖσί τε πᾶσι, Διὸς δ' ἐτελείετο βουλή, and vultures, [6] ἐξ οὗ δὴ τὰ πρῶτα διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε [5] for so were the wishes of Zeus fulfilled [6] from the day on which they first began to [7] Ἀτρεί̈δης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος quarrel; Ἀχιλλεύς. [7] the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles.2

Muthos, Logos, Faith and Reason: The word ‘myth’ comes to English from ancient Greek but the meaning has changed somewhat over the centuries. The Archaic Greek meaning of muthos, was ‘statement,’ ‘utterance’ or any sort of spoken declaration or story: Simply ‘that which is said.’ The Archaic meaning of logos was ‘story,’ ‘account’ or ‘argument’ implying a computation of things; of ideas or facts. In that sense, a logos could be constructed out of a series of muthoi. By the Classical period of Ancient Greece the two words had taken on very distinct and even oppositional meanings: Muthos was associated with unsubstantiated or fantastic utterances while logos referred to a statement, argument or proposition derived from a computation of verifiable evidence. This is not to say that logos is ‘true’ and muthos ‘false:’ but rather that the former operates in the realm of the empirical while the latter operates in the realm of the metaphysical. Aristotle, the father of scientific method, thought that myth, or poetry as it was more commonly called, was actually a superior method for the communication of ideas because it deals with the general while more pragmatic forms such as history can only deal with the particular. Aristotle, Poetics 1451a. 35 – b. 5 The work of Herodotus might be put into verse, and it would still be a species of history, with metre no less than without it. The true difference is that one relates what has happened,

1 Book and chapter numbers are used where applicable. 2 This is the Samuel Buttler translation (1898), edited by E. Garvin. Divine Riddles - 3

the other what may happen. Poetry, therefore, is a more philosophical and a higher thing than history: for poetry tends to express the universal, history the particular.

There were others, however, who thought that the myths were nonsense and that reason and rational investigation, philosophy and history, provided a better source of knowledge. Pausanias i.3.3 There are many false beliefs current among the mass of mankind, since they are ignorant of history and consider trustworthy whatever they have heard from childhood in choruses and tragedies...3

Pausanias viii. 2.6-7 All through the ages, many events that have occurred in the past, and even some that occur today, have been generally discredited because of the lies built up on a foundation of fact. Those who like to listen to the miraculous are themselves apt to add to the marvel, and so they ruin truth by mixing it with falsehood.

But most of the ancient Greeks believed that the stories we now call myths were based in actual fact; that these things did occur and that the people and events depicted in these stories were real. It was a matter of religious necessity, just as today one could not claim to be a Christian and also deny the truth of the miracles of Jesus, in ancient Greece one could not claim to be pious without accepting the truth of the stories of the gods. Even Pausanias, cited above for his scepticism, eventually concedes: Pausanias viii.2.44 I for my part believe this story; it has been a legend among the Arcadians from of old, and it has the additional merit of probability. For the men of those days, because of their righteousness and piety, were guests of the gods, eating at the same table; the good were openly honored by the gods, and sinners were openly visited with their wrath. Nay, in those days men were changed to gods, who down to the present day have honors paid to them… Pausanias viii.8.3 When I began to write my history I was inclined to count these legends as foolishness, but on getting as far as Arcadia I grew to hold a more thoughtful view of them, which is this. In the days of old those Greeks who were considered wise spoke their sayings not straight out but in riddles5, and so the legends about Cronus I conjectured to be one sort of Greek wisdom. In matters of divinity, therefore, I shall adopt the received tradition.

The Greeks understood that mankind must be very old indeed, but they had no empirical knowledge of the more distant past. Plutarch likens it to geography:

3 In all fairness, Pausanias is here referring to the myth that Theseus was the founder of Athenian democracy, what we might call a myth of political expediency rather than tradition. 4 See also Pausanias viii.8.3, reproduced in the section below. 5 The original is αἴνιγμα (ainigma) from whence we derive the English ‘enigma.’ Divine Riddles - 4

Plutarch, Theseus 1.1 Just as the historians, in their geographical sections, fill the parts of the earth which elude their knowledge with explanatory notes like ‘What lies beyond is sandy desert without water and full of wild beasts,’ or ‘blind marsh,’ or ‘Scythian cold,’ or ‘frozen sea,’ so in the writing of my Parallel Lives, now that I have traversed those periods of time which are accessible to probable reasoning and which afford a basis for a history dealing with facts, I might well say of the earlier periods ‘What lies beyond is full of marvels and unreality, a land of poets and fabulists, of doubt and obscurity

To compound the problem, Ancient Greece seems to have been an amalgam of at least three earlier cultures and their religious traditions were, therefore, a blending of a variety of mythic and religious beliefs. Diodorus iv.1.1-2 I am not unaware that the writers of antiquities in many things fall short of the truth in their editions. For being that ancient things are (as it were) scraped out of the rubbish with very great difficulty, they greatly perplex the writer. And because the reconstruction of times wherein things were done cannot now be so exact as to infer an infallible argument for the truth of the actions related, therefore it is that the reader despises the authors of these stories. And the multitude and variety of the gods, demi-gods, and other famous men, whose genealogies are to be treated of, add much more to the difficulty. And the greatest vexation of all is that the writers of antiquities and mythologies differ exceedingly in their relations one from another, [2] and therefore the most famed and noted historians of later times have altogether waved treatises of ancient things, and applied themselves to composing histories only of such as have happened in times a little before their own.

Divine Inspiration The idea that only God, or the gods,6 can have true knowledge, and that man only acquires a sampling of this knowledge from the divine, is both ancient and current: Christians believe that the various authors of the Bible, especially the Apostles who composed the books of the New Testament, were merely conduits for the word of God. Muslims also believe that the Prophet Mohamed was given the Quran (Koran) by God through a vision.7 The ancients too believed that true knowledge was the sole possession of the gods but that the gods would occasionally impart glimpses of that universal knowledge to man, through the poets, seers and oracles. All of our extant works of epic poetry that treat of things divine or things very ancient, begin with the invocation of the gods as the source of knowledge.

6 Note that when referring to the God of a monotheistic religion we use the upper case G, when referring to the gods or a god in a polytheistic religion we use the lower case g. 7 Quran 2.4.32: “Glory to thee: of knowledge we have none, save what Thou hast taught us: in truth it is Thou who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom” Divine Riddles - 5

Hesiod, Theogony 1 - 29 [1] From the Heliconian Muses let us begin to sing, who hold the great and holy mount of Helicon, and dance on soft feet about the deep-blue spring and the altar of the almighty son of Cronus… And one day they taught Hesiod glorious song while he was shepherding his lambs under holy Helicon, and this word first the goddesses said to me -- the Muses of Olympus, daughters of Zeus who holds the aegis: [26] “Shepherds of the wilderness, wretched things of shame, mere bellies, we know how to speak many false things as though they were true; but we know, when we will, to utter true things.” So said the ready-voiced daughters of great Zeus.

The phrase “we know how to speak many false things…” may be a reference to the nature of the information that the gods impart. Divine wisdom is always given in riddles, parables; stories which are not literally ‘true’ but are representations of a divine truth. Truth, is a much more complex issue than one might initially suppose. Is it true, for example, that the sun rose this morning? Of course not. The sun doesn’t ‘rise,’ the earth rotates into the sun’s rays, but we still express the untruth of the rising sun every day because it is a convenient expression of the world as we observe it. In the ancient world it was not merely a matter of convenience, it was more the fact that the world around them was strange and often inexplicable. Ancient mythographers were looking for explanations and the simplest (still employed by many today) was the Intelligent Design theory. If some god or gods created the world we live in, who better than they to tell us how and why they did it? Ovid, Metamorphoses i.1 My design leads me to speak of forms changed into new bodies. You gods, (for you it was who changed them,) favour my attempts, and bring down the lengthened narrative from the very beginning of the world, even to my own times.

The Origins of Things

It seems a universally human characteristic to ponder the origins of our world, and it seems equally universal that ancient humans, unable to come up with a better explanation, attributed their existence, and the world they existed in, to some superior and sentient being(s). A brief walk in the countryside at night is enough to make anyone appreciate why these early peoples often assumed the gods to be above the earth and the canopy of the stars to be some indication of a divine force. Ovid, a Roman poet of the first century BC, equated this ‘looking up’ to human curiosity and saw in that the distinction between man and animal: Ovid, Metamorphoses i.85 And, whereas other animals bend their looks downwards upon the Earth, to Man, god gave a countenance to look on high and to behold the heavens, and to raise his face erect to the stars.

Compare this to Johannes Kepler’s epitaph: “My mind was in the stars, my body held firm on the earth” (Mens coelestis erat, corporis umbra iacet). Theology, philosophy and what we now call science are not so different, all looking to the heavens for some revelations about the nature of man. Hesiod, a Greek from Boeotia, composed several texts on the nature of the gods and the origins of man and the world around us. These texts, combined with the works of Homer, comprise the main canon of the Greek mythical past and the foundations of the Greek identity. Herodotus ii.53 …whence the several gods had their birth, or whether they all were from the beginning, and of what form they are, the Greeks did not learn till yesterday, as it were, or the day before: for Hesiod and Homer, I suppose, were four hundred years before my time1 and not more, and these are they who made a Theogony for the Hellenes and gave the titles to the gods and distributed to them honours and arts, and set forth their forms: but the poets who are said to have been before these men were really in my opinion after them. Of these things the first are said by the priestesses of Dodona,2 and the latter things, those namely which have regard to Hesiod and Homer, by myself.

The Formation of the Earth and the Birth of the Gods: Hesiod, Theogony 104 – 115: Invocation [104] Hail, children of Zeus! Grant lovely song and celebrate the holy race of the deathless gods who are for ever, those that were born of Earth and starry Heaven and gloomy Night and them that briny Sea did rear. Tell how at the first gods and earth came to be, and rivers, and the boundless sea with its raging swell, and the gleaming stars, and the wide heaven above, and the gods who were born of them, givers of good things, and how they divided their wealth, and how they shared their honours amongst them, and also how at

1 Herodotus was writing in the 430s BC, which would put Hesiod and Homer ca. 830 BC. Most scholars today agree with a mid-ninth century date for Homer but suggest that Hesiod was likely later. 2 Dodona is a temple and sanctuary of Zeus in N. Western Greece. Divine Riddles - 7 the first they took many-folded Olympus. These things declare to me from the beginning, ye Muses who dwell in the house of Olympus, and tell me which of them first came to be. Descent from Chaos: Theogony 116 - 138 [116 - 138] Verily at the first Chaos came to be, but next wide-bosomed Earth, the ever- sure foundations of all the deathless ones who hold the peaks of snowy Olympus, and dim Tartarus in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth, and Eros (Love), fairest among the deathless gods, who unnerves the limbs and overcomes the mind and wise counsels of all gods and all men within them. From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night; but of Night were born Aether and Day, whom she conceived and bare from union in love with Erebus. And Earth first bare starry Heaven, equal to herself, to cover her on every side, and to be an ever-sure abiding-place for the blessed gods. And she brought forth long Hills, graceful haunts of the goddess-Nymphs who dwell amongst the glens of the hills. She bare also the fruitless deep with his raging swell, Pontus, without sweet union of love. But afterwards she lay with Heaven and bare deep-swirling Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis and Mnemosyne and gold-crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys. After them was born Cronus the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty father. Cyclopes: Theogony 139 – 146 [139 - 146] And again, she bare the Cyclopes, overbearing in spirit, Brontes, and Steropes and stubborn-hearted Arges, who gave Zeus the thunder and made the thunderbolt: in all else they were like the gods, but one eye only was set in the midst of their fore-heads. And they were surnamed Cyclopes (Orb-eyed) because one orbed eye was set in their foreheads. Strength and might and craft were in their works.

Revolt of Cronus against Heaven: Theogony 147 - 169 [147 - 163] And again, three other sons were born of Earth and Heaven, great and doughty beyond telling, Cottus and Briareos and Gyes, presumptuous children. From their shoulders sprang an hundred arms, not to be approached, and each had fifty heads upon his shoulders on their strong limbs, and irresistible was the stubborn strength that was in their great forms. For of all the children that were born of Earth and Heaven, these were the most terrible, and they were hated by their own father from the first. And he used to hide them all away in a secret place of Earth so soon as each was born, and would not suffer them to come up into the light: and Heaven rejoiced in his evil doing. But vast Earth groaned within, being straitened, and she made the element of grey flint and shaped a great sickle, and told her plan to her dear sons. And she spoke, cheering them, while she was vexed in her dear heart: [164 - 169] `My children, gotten of a sinful father, if you will obey me, we should punish the vile outrage of your father; for he first thought of doing shameful things.' So she said; but fear seized them all, and none of them uttered a word. But great Cronus the wily took courage and answered his dear mother: [170 - 180] `Mother, I will undertake to do this deed, for I reverence not our father of evil name, for he first thought of doing shameful things.' So he said: and vast Earth rejoiced Divine Riddles - 8 greatly in spirit, and set and hid him in an ambush, and put in his hands a jagged sickle, and revealed to him the whole plot. And Heaven came, bringing on night and longing for love, and he lay about Earth spreading himself full upon her. Then the son from his ambush stretched forth his left hand and in his right took the great long sickle with jagged teeth, and swiftly lopped off his own father's members and cast them away to fall behind him. The Giants and Aphrodite: Theogony 181 – 210 And not vainly did they fall from his hand; for all the bloody drops that gushed forth Earth received, and as the seasons moved round she bare the strong Erinyes3 and the great Giants with gleaming armour, holding long spears in their hands and the Nymphs whom they call Meliae all over the boundless earth. And so soon as he had cut off the members with flint and cast them from the land into the surging sea, they were swept away over the main a long time: and a white foam spread around them from the immortal flesh, and in it there grew a maiden. First she drew near holy Cythera, and from there, afterwards, she came to sea-girt Cyprus, and came forth an awful and lovely goddess, and grass grew up about her beneath her shapely feet. Her gods and men call Aphrodite, and the foam-born goddess and rich-crowned Cytherea, because she grew amid the foam, and Cytherea because she reached Cythera, and Cyprogenes because she was born in billowy Cyprus, and Philommedes because sprang from the members.4 And with her went Eros, and comely Desire followed her at her birth at the first and as she went into the assembly of the gods. This honour she has from the beginning, and this is the portion allotted to her amongst men and undying gods, -- the whisperings of maidens and smiles and deceits with sweet delight and love and graciousness. Titans: Theogony 207 – 210 [207 - 210] But these sons whom be begot himself great Heaven used to call Titans (Strainers) in reproach, for he said that they strained and did presumptuously a fearful deed, and that vengeance for it would come afterwards. Children of Night: Theogony 211 - 232 [211 - 225] And Night bare hateful Doom and black Fate and Death, and she bare Sleep and the tribe of Dreams. And again the goddess murky Night, though she lay with none, bare Blame and painful Woe, and the Hesperides who guard the rich, golden apples and the trees bearing fruit beyond glorious Ocean. Also she bare the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates, Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos, who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of men and of gods: and these goddesses never cease from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty. Also deadly Night bare Nemesis to afflict mortal men, and after her, Deceit and Friendship and hateful Age and hard-hearted Strife. [226 - 232] But abhorred Strife bare painful Toil and Forgetfulness and Famine and tearful Sorrows, Fightings also, Battles, Murders, Manslaughters, Quarrels, Lying Words,

3 The Furies, the avenging goddesses who pursue the guilty. At Athens they were called the Semnai Theai: The August Goddesses (Paus. i.28.6). 4 Homer nowhere acknowledges this tradition, but maintains that Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. See Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite. Divine Riddles - 9

Disputes, Lawlessness and Ruin, all of one nature, and Oath who most troubles men upon earth when anyone wilfully swears a false oath. Medusa and the Gorgons: Theogony 270 - 294 [270 - 294] And again, Ceto bare to Phoreys the fair-cheeked Graiae, sisters grey from their birth: and both deathless gods and men who walk on earth call them Graiae, Pemphredo well-clad, and saffron-robed Enyo, and the Gorgons who dwell beyond glorious Ocean in the frontier land towards Night where are the clear- voiced Hesperides, Sthenno, and Euryale, and Medusa who suffered a woeful fate: she was mortal, but the two were undying and grew not old. With her lay the Dark-haired One in a soft meadow amid spring flowers. And when Perseus cut off her head, there sprang forth great Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus who is so called because he was born near the springs (pegae) of Ocean; and that other, because he held a golden blade (aor) in his hands. Now Pegasus flew away and left the earth, the mother of flocks, and came to the deathless gods: and he dwells in the house of Zeus and brings to wise Zeus the thunder and lightning. But Chrysaor was joined in love to Callirrhoe, the daughter of glorious Ocean, and begot three-headed Geryones. Him mighty Heracles slew in sea-girt Erythea by his shambling oxen on that day when he drove the wide-browed oxen to holy Tiryns, and had crossed the ford of Ocean and killed Orthus and Eurytion the herdsman in the dim stead out beyond glorious Ocean. Cerberus and other Monsters: Theogony 306 - 332 [306 - 332] Men say that Typhaon the terrible,5 outrageous and lawless, was joined in love to her, the maid with glancing eyes. So she conceived and brought forth fierce offspring; first she bare Orthus the hound of Geryones, and then again she bare a second, a monster not to be overcome and that may not be described, Cerberus who eats raw flesh, the brazen- voiced hound of Hades, fifty-headed, relentless and strong. And again she bore a third, the evil-minded Hydra of Lerna, whom the goddess, white-armed Hera nourished, being angry beyond measure with the mighty Heracles. And her Heracles, the son of Zeus, of the house of Amphitryon, together with warlike Iolaus, destroyed with the unpitying sword through the plans of Athena the spoil-driver. She was the mother of Chimaera who breathed raging fire, a creature fearful, great, swift-footed and strong, who had three heads, one of a grim- eyed lion; in her hinderpart, a dragon; and in her middle, a goat, breathing forth a fearful blast of blazing fire. Her did Pegasus and noble Bellerophon slay; but Echidna was subject in love to Orthus and brought forth the deadly Sphinx which destroyed the Cadmeans, and the Nemean lion, which Hera, the good wife of Zeus, brought up and made to haunt the hills of Nemea, a plague to men. There he preyed upon the tribes of her own people and had power over Tretus of Nemea and Apesas: yet the strength of stout Heracles overcame him. Sun and Moon: Theogony 371 - 74 [371 - 74] And Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and bare great Helius (Sun) and clear Selene (Moon) and Eos (Dawn) who shines upon all that are on earth and upon the deathless Gods who live in the wide heaven.

5 Not to be confused with Typhoeus Divine Riddles - 10

Leto and Hecate: Theogony 404 - 452 [404 – 452] Again, Phoebe came to the desired embrace of Coeus. Then the goddess through the love of the god conceived and brought forth dark-gowned Leto, always mild, kind to men and to the deathless gods, mild from the beginning, gentlest in all Olympus. Also she bare Asteria of happy name, whom Perses once led to his great house to be called his dear wife. And she conceived and bare Hecate whom Zeus the son of Cronus honoured above all. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the unfruitful sea. She received honour also in starry heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods. For to this day, whenever anyone of men on earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favour according to custom, he calls upon Hecate. Great honour comes full easily to him whose prayers the goddess receives favourably, and she bestows wealth upon him; for the power surely is with her. For as many as were born of Earth and Ocean amongst all these she has her due portion. The son of Cronus did her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was her portion among the former Titan gods: but she holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in earth, and in heaven, and in sea. Also, because she is an only child, the goddess receives not less honour, but much more still, for Zeus honours her. Whom she will she greatly aids and advances: she sits by worshipful kings in judgement, and in the assembly whom she will is distinguished among the people. And when men arm themselves for the battle that destroys men, then the goddess is at hand to give victory and grant glory readily to whom she will. Good is she also when men contend at the games, for there too the goddess is with them and profits them: and he who by might and strength gets the victory wins the rich prize easily with joy, and brings glory to his parents. And she is good to stand by horsemen, whom she will: and to those whose business is in the grey discomfortable sea, and who pray to Hecate and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker, easily the glorious goddess gives great catch, and easily she takes it away as soon as seen, if so she will. She is good in the byre with Hermes to increase the stock. The droves of kine and wide herds of goats and flocks of fleecy sheep, if she will, she increases from a few, or makes many to be less. So, then. Albeit her mother's only child, she is honoured amongst all the deathless gods. And the son of Cronus made her a nurse of the young who after that day saw with their eyes the light of all-seeing Dawn. So from the beginning she is a nurse of the young, and these are her honours. Zeus, and the other Children of Cronus: Theogony 453 – 506 [453 – 506] But Rhea was subject in love to Cronus and bare splendid children, Hestia, Demeter, and gold-shod Hera and strong Hades, pitiless in heart, who dwells under the earth, and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker,6 and wise Zeus, father of gods and men, by whose thunder the wide earth is shaken. These great Cronus swallowed as each came forth from the womb to his mother's knees with this intent, that no other of the proud sons of Heaven should hold the kingly office amongst the deathless gods. For he learned from Earth and starry Heaven that he was destined to be overcome by his own son, strong though he was, through the contriving of great Zeus. Therefore he kept no blind outlook, but watched and swallowed down his children: and unceasing grief seized Rhea. But when she was about to

6 Poseidon Divine Riddles - 11 bear Zeus, the father of gods and men, then she besought her own dear parents, Earth and starry Heaven, to devise some plan with her that the birth of her dear child might be concealed, and that retribution might overtake great, crafty Cronus for his own father and also for the children whom he had swallowed down. And they readily heard and obeyed their dear daughter, and told her all that was destined to happen touching Cronus the king and his stout-hearted son. So they sent her to Lyetus, to the rich land of Crete, when she was ready to bear great Zeus, the youngest of her children. Him did vast Earth receive from Rhea in wide Crete to nourish and to bring up. Thither came Earth carrying him swiftly through the black night to Lyctus first, and took him in her arms and hid him in a remote cave beneath the secret places of the holy earth on thick-wooded Mount Aegeum; but to the mightily ruling son of Heaven, the earlier king of the gods, she gave a great stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Then he took it in his hands and thrust it down into his belly: wretch! He knew not in his heart that in place of the stone his son was left behind, unconquered and untroubled, and that he was soon to overcome him by force and might and drive him from his honours, himself to reign over the deathless gods. Zeus Defeats Cronus: Theogony 492 – 506 [492–506] After that, the strength and glorious limbs of the prince increased quickly, and as the years rolled on, great Cronus the wily was beguiled by the deep suggestions of Earth, and brought up again his offspring, vanquished by the arts and might of his own son, and he vomited up first the stone which he had swallowed last. And Zeus set it fast in the wide-pathed earth at goodly Pytho under the glens of Parnassus, to be a sign thenceforth and a marvel to mortal men. And he set free from their deadly bonds the brothers of his father, sons of Heaven whom his father in his foolishness had bound. And they remembered to be grateful to him for his kindness, and gave him thunder and the glowing thunderbolt and lightening: for before that, huge Earth had hidden these. In them he trusts and rules over mortals and immortals. Titanomachy: Theogony 617 – 735 [617] But when first their father was vexed in his heart with Obriareus and Cottus and Gyes,7 he bound them in cruel bonds, because he was jealous of their exceeding manhood and comeliness and great size: and he made them live beneath the wide-pathed earth, where they were afflicted, being set to dwell under the ground, at the end of the earth, at its great borders, in bitter anguish for a long time and with great grief at heart. But the son of Cronus and the other deathless gods whom rich-haired Rhea bore from union with Cronus, brought them up again to the light at Earth's advising. For she herself recounted all things to the gods fully, how that with these they would gain victory and a glorious cause to vaunt themselves. For the Titan gods and as many as sprang from Cronus had long been fighting together in stubborn war with heart-grieving toil, the lordly Titans from high Othyrs, but the gods, givers of good, whom rich-haired Rhea bare in union with Cronus, from Olympus. So they, with bitter wrath, were fighting continually with one another at that time for ten full years, and the hard strife had no close or end for either side, and the issue of the war hung evenly balanced. But when he had provided those three with all things fitting, nectar

7 The sons of Earth and Heaven, see above line 147. Divine Riddles - 12 and ambrosia which the gods themselves eat, and when their proud spirit revived within them all after they had fed on nectar and delicious ambrosia, then it was that the father of men and gods spoke amongst them: [644] `Hear me, bright children of Earth and Heaven, that I may say what my heart within me bids. A long while now have we, who are sprung from Cronus and the Titan gods, fought with each other every day to get victory and to prevail. But do you show your great might and unconquerable strength, and face the Titans in bitter strife; for remember our friendly kindness, and from what sufferings you are come back to the light from your cruel bondage under misty gloom through our counsels.' [654] So he said. And blameless Cottus answered him again: `Divine one, you speak that which we know well: nay, even of ourselves we know that your wisdom and understanding is exceeding, and that you became a defender of the deathless ones from chill doom. And through your devising we are come back again from the murky gloom and from our merciless bonds, enjoying what we looked not for, O lord, son of Cronus. And so now with fixed purpose and deliberate counsel we will aid your power in dreadful strife and will fight against the Titans in hard battle.' [664] So he said: and the gods, givers of good things, applauded when they heard his word, and their spirit longed for war even more than before, and they all, both male and female, stirred up hated battle that day, the Titan gods, and all that were born of Cronus together with those dread, mighty ones of overwhelming strength whom Zeus brought up to the light from Erebus beneath the earth. An hundred arms sprang from the shoulders of all alike, and each had fifty heads growing upon his shoulders upon stout limbs. These, then, stood against the Titans in grim strife, holding huge rocks in their strong hands. And on the other part the Titans eagerly strengthened their ranks, and both sides at one time showed the work of their hands and their might. The boundless sea rang terribly around, and the earth crashed loudly: wide Heaven was shaken and groaned, and high Olympus reeled from its foundation under the charge of the undying gods, and a heavy quaking reached dim Tartarus and the deep sound of their feet in the fearful onset and of their hard missiles. So, then, they launched their grievous shafts upon one another, and the cry of both armies as they shouted reached to starry heaven; and they met together with a great battle-cry. [687 - 712] Then Zeus no longer held back his might; but straight his heart was filled with fury and he showed forth all his strength. From Heaven and from Olympus he came forthwith, hurling his lightning: the bold flew thick and fast from his strong hand together with thunder and lightning, whirling an awesome flame. The life-giving earth crashed around in burning, and the vast wood crackled loud with fire all about. All the land seethed, and Ocean's streams and the unfruitful sea. The hot vapour lapped round the earthborn Titans: flame unspeakable rose to the bright upper air: the flashing glare of the thunder- stone and lightning blinded their eyes for all that there were strong. Astounding heat seized Chaos: and to see with eyes and to hear the sound with ears it seemed even as if Earth and wide Heaven above came together; for such a mighty crash would have arisen if Earth were being hurled to ruin, and Heaven from on high were hurling her down; so great a crash was there while the gods were meeting together in strife. Also the winds brought rumbling earthquake and dust storm, thunder and lightning and the lurid thunderbolt, which are the shafts of great Zeus, and carried the clangour and the war cry into the midst of the two hosts. Divine Riddles - 13

An horrible uproar of terrible strife arose: mighty deeds were shown and the battle inclined. But until then, they kept at one another and fought continually in cruel war. [713] And amongst the foremost Cottus and Briareos and Gyes insatiate for war raised fierce fighting: three hundred rocks, one upon another, they launched from their strong hands and overshadowed the Titans with their missiles, and buried them beneath the wide- pathed earth, and bound them in bitter chains when they had conquered them by their strength for all their great spirit, as far beneath the earth to Tartarus. For a brazen anvil falling down from heaven nine nights and days would reach the earth upon the tenth: and again, a brazen anvil falling from earth nine nights and days would reach Tartarus upon the tenth. Round it runs a fence of bronze, and night spreads in triple line all about it like a neck-circlet, while above grow the roots of the earth and unfruitful sea. There by the counsel of Zeus who drives the clouds the Titan gods are hidden under misty gloom, in a dank place where are the ends of the huge earth. And they may not go out; for Poseidon fixed gates of bronze upon it, and a wall runs all round it on every side. There Gyes and Cottus and great- souled Obriareus live, trusty warders of Zeus who holds the aegis. Tartarus: Theogony 736 – 57 [736] And there, all in their order, are the sources and ends of gloomy earth and misty Tartarus and the unfruitful sea and starry heaven, loathsome and dank, which even the gods abhor. It is a great gulf, and if once a man were within the gates, he would not reach the floor until a whole year had reached its end, but cruel blast upon blast would carry him this way and that. And this marvel is awful even to the deathless gods. [744] There stands the awful home of murky Night wrapped in dark clouds. In front of it the son of Iapetus8 stands immovably upholding the wide heaven upon his head and unwearying hands, where Night and Day draw near and greet one another as they pass the great threshold of bronze: and while the one is about to go down into the house, the other comes out at the door. And the house never holds them both within; but always one is without the house passing over the earth, while the other stays at home and waits until the time for her journeying come; and the one holds all-seeing light for them on earth, but the other holds in her arms Sleep the brother of Death, even evil Night, wrapped in a vaporous cloud. Hades: Theogony 758 – 806 [758] And there the children of dark Night have their dwellings, Sleep and Death, awful gods. The glowing Sun never looks upon them with his beams, neither as he goes up into heaven, nor as he comes down from heaven. And the former of them roams peacefully over the earth and the sea's broad back and is kindly to men; but the other has a heart of iron, and his spirit within him is pitiless as bronze: whomsoever of men he has once seized he holds fast: and he is hateful even to the deathless gods. [767] There, in front, stand the echoing halls of the god of the lower-world, strong Hades, and of awful Persephone.9 A fearful hound guards the house in front, pitiless, and

8 Atlas. 9 For the marriage of Hades and Persephone see below: The Gods and Goddesses: Demeter; Hades Divine Riddles - 14 he has a cruel trick. On those who go in he fawns with his tail and both his ears, but suffers them not to go out back again, but keeps watch and devours whomsoever he catches going out of the gates of strong Hades and awful Persephone. [775] And there dwells the goddess loathed by the deathless gods, terrible Styx, eldest daughter of back-flowing Ocean. She lives apart from the gods in her glorious house vaulted over with great rocks and propped up to heaven all round with silver pillars. Rarely does the daughter of Thaumas, swift- footed Iris, come to her with a message over the sea's wide back. But when strife and quarrel arise among the deathless gods, and when any of them who live in the house of Olympus lies, then Zeus sends Iris to bring in a golden jug the great oath of the gods from far away, the famous cold water which trickles down from a high and beetling rock. Far under the wide-pathed earth a branch of Oceanus flows through the dark night out of the holy stream, and a tenth part of his water is allotted to her. With nine silver- swirling streams he winds about the earth and the sea's wide back, and then falls into the main; but the tenth flows out from a rock, a sore trouble to the gods. For whoever of the deathless gods that hold the peaks of snowy Olympus pours a libation of her water is forsworn, lies breathless until a full year is completed, and never comes near to taste ambrosia and nectar, but lies spiritless and voiceless on a strewn bed: and a heavy trance overshadows him. But when he has spent a long year in his sickness, another penance and harder follows after the first. For nine years he is cut off from the eternal gods and never joins their councils of their feasts, nine full years. But in the tenth year he comes again to join the assemblies of the deathless gods who live in the house of Olympus. Such an oath, then, did the gods appoint the eternal and primaeval water of Styx to be: and it spouts through a rugged place. Zeus and Typhoeus: Theogony 820 - 880 [820] But when Zeus had driven the Titans from heaven, huge Earth bare her youngest child Typhoeus of the love of Tartarus, by the aid of golden Aphrodite. Strength was with his hands in all that he did and the feet of the strong god were untiring. From his shoulders grew an hundred heads of a snake, a fearful dragon, with dark, flickering tongues, and from under the brows of his eyes in his marvellous heads flashed fire, and fire burned from his heads as he glared. And there were voices in all his dreadful heads which uttered every kind of sound unspeakable; for at one time they made sounds such that the gods understood, but at another, the noise of a bull bellowing aloud in proud ungovernable fury; and at another, the sound of a lion, relentless of heart; and at another, sounds like whelps, wonderful to hear; and again, at another, he would hiss, so that the high mountains re-echoed. And truly a thing past help would have happened on that day, and he would have come to reign over mortals and immortals, had not the father of men and gods been quick to perceive it. But he thundered hard and mightily: and the earth around resounded terribly and the wide heaven above, and the sea and Ocean's streams and the nether parts of the earth. Great Olympus reeled beneath the divine feet of the king as he arose and earth groaned thereat. And through the two of them heat took hold on the dark-blue sea, through the thunder and lightning, and through the fire from the monster, and the scorching winds and blazing thunderbolt. The whole earth seethed, and sky and sea: and the long waves raged along the beaches round and about, at the rush of the deathless gods: and there arose an endless shaking. Hades trembled where he rules over the dead below, and the Titans under Tartarus Divine Riddles - 15 who live with Cronus, because of the unending clamour and the fearful strife. So when Zeus had raised up his might and seized his arms, thunder and lightning and lurid thunderbolt, he leaped form Olympus and struck him, and burned all the marvellous heads of the monster about him. But when Zeus had conquered him and lashed him with strokes, Typhoeus was hurled down, a maimed wreck, so that the huge earth groaned. And flame shot forth from the thunder- stricken lord in the dim rugged glens of the mount, when he was smitten. A great part of huge earth was scorched by the terrible vapour and melted as tin melts when heated by men's art in channelled crucibles; or as iron, which is hardest of all things, is softened by glowing fire in mountain glens and melts in the divine earth through the strength of Hephaestus. Even so, then, the earth melted in the glow of the blazing fire. And in the bitterness of his anger Zeus cast him into wide Tartarus.10 Zeus, King of the Gods: Theogony 881 –85 [881] But when the blessed gods had finished their toil, and settled by force their struggle for honours with the Titans, they pressed far-seeing Olympian Zeus to reign and to rule over them, by Earth's prompting. So he divided their dignities amongst them. The Division of the Realms: Iliad xv. 184 – 193. … We were three brothers whom Rhea bore to Cronus- Zeus, myself,11 and Hades who rules the world below. Heaven and earth were divided into three parts, and each of us was to have an equal share. When we cast lots, it fell to me to have my dwelling in the sea for evermore; Hades took the darkness of the realms under the earth, while air and sky and clouds were the portion that fell to Zeus; but earth and great Olympus are the common property of all. Metis and Zeus: Theogony 886 – 900 [886-900] Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis his wife first, and she was wisest among gods and mortal men. But when she was about to bring forth the goddess bright-eyed Athena, Zeus craftily deceived her with cunning words and put her in his own belly, as Earth and starry Heaven advised. For they advised him so, to the end that no other should hold royal sway over the eternal gods in place of Zeus; for very wise children were destined to be born of her, first the maiden bright-eyed Tritogeneia, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding; but afterwards she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit, king of gods and men. But Zeus put her into his own belly first, that the goddess might devise for him both good and evil. Lesser Children of Zeus: Theogony 901 - 17 [901-906] Next he married bright Themis who bare the Horae (Hours), and Eunomia (Order), Dike (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace), who mind the works of mortal men, and the Moerae (Fates) to whom wise Zeus gave the greatest honour, Clotho, and Lachesis, and Atropos who give mortal men evil and good to have.

10 See Ovid, Metamorphoses v.341 – 68, where Typhoeus is said to be held under Sicily. 11 Poseidon is speaking here. Divine Riddles - 16

[907-911] And Eurynome, the daughter of Ocean, beautiful in form, bare him three fair- cheeked Charites (Graces), Aglaea, and Euphrosyne, and lovely Thaleia, from whose eyes as they glanced flowed love that unnerves the limbs: and beautiful is their glance beneath their brows. [912-914] Also he came to the bed of all-nourishing Demeter, and she bare white-armed Persephone whom Aidoneus12 carried off from her mother; but wise Zeus gave her to him. [915-917] And again, he loved Mnemosyne with the beautiful hair: and of her the nine gold-crowned Muses were born who delight in feasts and the pleasures of song. Zeus, Father of the Gods: Theogony 918 – 29 [918-920] And Leto was joined in love with Zeus who holds the aegis, and bore Apollo and Artemis delighting in arrows, children lovely above all the sons of Heaven. [921-923] Lastly, he made Hera his wife: and she was joined in love with the king of gods and men, and brought forth Hebe and Ares and Eileithyia. [924-929] But Zeus himself gave birth from his own head to bright-eyed Tritogeneia,13 the awful, the strife-stirring, the host-leader, the unwearying, the queen, who delights in tumults and wars and battles. But Hera without union with Zeus -- for she was very angry and quarrelled with her mate -- bore famous Hephaestus, who is skilled in crafts more than all the sons of Heaven.

12 Hades 13 Athena The Origins of Man

The Five Ages in Hesiod Hesiod, Works and Days 109ff. [109] First of all the deathless gods who dwell on Olympus made a golden race of mortal men who lived in the time of Cronus when he was reigning in heaven. And they lived like gods without sorrow of heart, remote and free from toil and grief: miserable age rested not on them; but with legs and arms never failing they made merry with feasting beyond the reach of all evils. When they died, it was as though they were overcome with sleep, and they had all good things; for the fruitful earth unforced bare them fruit abundantly and without stint. They dwelt in ease and peace upon their lands with many good things, rich in flocks and loved by the blessed gods. [121] But after earth had covered this generation -- they are called pure spirits dwelling on the earth, and are kindly, delivering from harm, and guardians of mortal men; for they roam everywhere over the earth, clothed in mist and keep watch on judgements and cruel deeds, givers of wealth; for this royal right also they received; -- then they who dwell on Olympus made a second generation which was of silver and less noble by far. It was like the golden race neither in body nor in spirit. A child was brought up at his good mother's side an hundred years, an utter simpleton, playing childishly in his own home. But when they were full grown and were come to the full measure of their prime, they lived only a little time in sorrow because of their foolishness, for they could not keep from sinning and from wronging one another, nor would they serve the immortals, nor sacrifice on the holy altars of the blessed ones as it is right for men to do wherever they dwell. Then Zeus the son of Cronus was angry and put them away, because they would not give honour to the blessed gods who live on Olympus. [140] But when earth had covered this generation also -- they are called blessed spirits of the underworld by men, and, though they are of second order, yet honour attends them also -- Zeus the Father made a third generation of mortal men, a bronze race, sprung from ash-trees; and it was in no way equal to the silver age, but was terrible and strong. They loved the lamentable works of Ares and deeds of violence; they ate no bread, but were hard of heart like adamant, fearful men. Great was their strength and unconquerable the arms which grew from their shoulders on their strong limbs. Their armour was of bronze, and their houses of bronze, and of bronze were their implements: there was no black iron. These were destroyed by their own hands and passed to the dank house of chill Hades, and left no name: terrible though they were, black Death seized them, and they left the bright light of the sun. [156] But when earth had covered this generation also, Zeus the son of Cronus made yet another, the fourth, upon the fruitful earth, which was nobler and more righteous, a god-like race of hero-men who are called demi-gods, the race before our own, throughout the boundless earth. Grim war and dread battle destroyed a part of them, some in the land of Cadmus at seven- gated Thebe when they fought for the flocks of Oedipus, and some, when it had brought them in ships over the great sea gulf to Troy for rich-haired Helen's sake: there death's end enshrouded a part of them. But to the others father Zeus the son of Cronus gave a living and an abode apart from men, and made them dwell at the ends of earth. And they live untouched by sorrow in the islands of the blessed along the shore of Divine Riddles - 18 deep swirling Ocean, happy heroes for whom the grain-giving earth bears honey-sweet fruit flourishing thrice a year, far from the deathless gods, and Cronus rules over them; for the father of men and gods released him from his bonds. And these last equally have honour and glory. [169c] And again far-seeing Zeus made yet another generation, the fifth, of men who are upon the bounteous earth. [170] Thereafter, would that I were not among the men of the fifth generation, but either had died before or been born afterwards. For now truly is a race of iron, and men never rest from labour and sorrow by day, and from perishing by night; and the gods shall lay sore trouble upon them. But, notwithstanding, even these shall have some good mingled with their evils. And Zeus will destroy this race of mortal men also when they come to have grey hair on the temples at their birth. The father will not agree with his children, nor the children with their father, nor guest with his host, nor comrade with comrade; nor will brother be dear to brother as aforetime. Men will dishonour their parents as they grow quickly old, and will carp at them, chiding them with bitter words, hard-hearted they, not knowing the fear of the gods. They will not repay their aged parents the cost their nurture, for might shall be their right: and one man will sack another's city. There will be no favour for the man who keeps his oath or for the just or for the good; but rather men will praise the evil-doer and his violent dealing. Strength will be right and reverence will cease to be; and the wicked will hurt the worthy man, speaking false words against him, and will swear an oath upon them. Envy, foul-mouthed, delighting in evil, with scowling face, will go along with wretched men one and all. And then Aidos and Nemesis, with their sweet forms wrapped in white robes, will go from the wide-pathed earth and forsake mankind to join the company of the deathless gods: and bitter sorrows will be left for mortal men, and there will be no help against evil.

In contrast to Hesiod’s rather fatalistic view, Ovid presents a more progressive view, suggesting that the succession of the ages had more to do with man’s changing relationship to nature and the advent of technology. Ovid is a Roman writing in Latin. Many of the names of the gods are in their Latin equivalents. Ovid, Metamorphoses i.76 – 88 [76] But an animated being, more holy than these, more fitted to receive higher faculties, and which could rule over the rest, was still wanting. Then Man was formed. Whether it was that the Artificer of all things, the original of the world in its improved state, framed him from divine elements, [80] or whether the Earth, being newly made, and but lately divided from the lofty ether, still retained some divine force which tempered with the waters of the stream the son of Iapetus1 fashioned after the image of the gods, who rule over all things. And, whereas other animals bend their looks downwards upon the Earth, [85] to man he gave a countenance to look on high and to behold the heavens, and to raise his face erect to the stars. Thus, that which had been lately rude earth and without any regular shape, being changed, assumed the form of Man, till then unknown. [89] The Golden Age was first founded, which, without any avenger, of its own accord, without laws, practised both faith and rectitude. Punishment, and the fear of it, did not

1 Prometheus Divine Riddles - 19 exist, and threatening decrees were not read upon the brazen tables, fixed up to view, nor yet did the suppliant multitude dread the countenance of its judge; but all were in safety without any avenger. [95] The pine-tree, cut from its native mountains, had not yet descended to the flowing waves, that it might visit a foreign region; and mortals were acquainted with no shores beyond their own. Not as yet did deep ditches surround the towns; no trumpets of straightened, or clarions of crooked brass, no helmets, no swords then existed. [100] Without occasion for soldiers, the minds of men, free from care, enjoyed an easy tranquillity. [101] The Earth itself, too, in freedom, untouched by the harrow, and wounded by no ploughshares, of its own accord produced everything; and men, contented with the food created under no compulsion, gathered the fruit of the arbute-tree, and the strawberries of the mountain, [105] and cornels, and blackberries adhering to the prickly bramble-bushes, and acorns which had fallen from the wide-spreading tree of Jove.2 Then it was an eternal spring; and the gentle Zephyrs, with their soothing breezes, cherished the flowers produced without any seed. Soon, too, the Earth unploughed yielded crops of grain, and the land, [110] without being renewed, was whitened with the heavy ears of corn. Then, rivers of milk, then, rivers of nectar were flowing, and the yellow honey was distilled from the green holm oak. [113] Afterwards (Saturn3 being driven into the shady realms of Tartarus), the world was under the sway of Jupiter;4 then the Silver Age succeeded, inferior to that of gold, but more precious than that of yellow brass. Jupiter shortened the duration of the former spring, and divided the year into four periods by means of winters, and summers, and unsteady autumns, and short springs. Then, for the first time, did the parched air glow with sultry heat, [120] and the ice, bound up by the winds, was pendant. Then, for the first time, did men enter houses; those houses were caverns, and thick shrubs, and twigs fastened together with bark. Then, for the first time, were the seeds of Ceres5 buried in long furrows, and the oxen groaned, pressed by the yoke of the ploughshare. [125] The Age of Bronze succeeded, as the third in order, after these; fiercer in disposition, and more prone to horrible warfare, but yet free from impiety. The last Age was of hard iron. Immediately every species of crime burst forth, in this age of degenerated tendencies; modesty, truth, and honor took flight; [130] in their place succeeded fraud, deceit, treachery, violence, and the cursed hankering for acquisition. The sailor now spread his sails to the winds, and with these, as yet, he was but little acquainted; and the trees, which had long stood on the lofty mountains, now, as ships bounded through the unknown waves. [135] The ground, too, hitherto common as the light of the sun and the breezes, the cautious measurer marked out with his lengthened boundary. [137] And not only was the rich soil required to furnish corn and due sustenance, but men even descended into the entrails of the Earth; and riches were dug up, the incentives to vice, which the Earth had hidden, and had removed to the Stygian shades. [140] Then destructive iron came forth, and gold, more destructive than iron; then War came forth,

2 Another name for Zeus common in Roman writers. 3 The Roman name for Cronus. 4 The Roman name for Zeus. 5 Roman Name for Demeter. Divine Riddles - 20 that fights through the means of both, and that brandishes in his blood-stained hands the clattering arms. Men live by rapine; the guest is not safe from his host, [145] nor the father- in-law from the son-in-law; good feeling, too, between brothers is a rarity. The husband is eager for the death of the wife, she for that of her husband. Horrible stepmothers then mingle the ghastly wolfsbane; the son prematurely makes inquiry into the years of his father. Piety lies vanquished, and the virgin Astraea6 is the last of the heavenly deities to abandon the Earth, now drenched in slaughter.

Prometheus While Hesiod attributes the creation of mankind to Zeus, another tradition claims that Prometheus created mankind. Both agree that Prometheus was the great patron of mankind amongst the gods, always working to improve our lot by giving us knowledge of useful things. Apollodorus i. 7.1 i.7 [1] Prometheus moulded men out of water and earth and gave them also fire, which, unknown to Zeus, he had hidden in a stalk of fennel. But when Zeus learned of it, he ordered Hephaestus to nail his body to Mount Caucasus, which is a Scythian mountain. On it Prometheus was nailed and kept bound for many years. Every day an eagle swooped on him and devoured the lobes of his liver, which grew by night. That was the penalty that Prometheus paid for the theft of fire until Hercules afterwards released him, as we shall show in dealing with Hercules.

Theogony 507 – 559 [507] Now Iapetus took to wife the neat-ankled maid Clymene, daughter of Ocean, and went up with her into one bed. And she bore him a stout-hearted son, Atlas: also she bore very glorious Menoetius and clever Prometheus, full of various wiles, and scatter-brained Epimetheus who from the first was a mischief to men who eat bread; for it was he who first took of Zeus the woman, the maiden whom he had formed. But Menoetius was outrageous, and far-seeing Zeus struck him with a lurid thunderbolt and sent him down to Erebus because of his mad presumption and exceeding pride. And Atlas through hard constraint upholds the wide heaven with unwearying head and arms, standing at the borders of the earth before the clear-voiced Hesperides; for this lot wise Zeus assigned to him. And ready- witted Prometheus he bound with inextricable bonds, cruel chains, and drove a shaft through his middle, and set on him a long- winged eagle, which used to eat his immortal liver; but by night the liver grew as much again everyway as the long-winged bird devoured in the whole day. That bird Heracles, the valiant son of shapely-ankled Alcmene, slew; and delivered the son of Iapetus from the cruel plague, and released him from his affliction -- not without the will of Olympian Zeus who reigns on high, that the glory of Heracles the Theban-born might be yet greater than it was before over the plenteous earth. This, then, he regarded, and honoured his famous son; though he was angry, he ceased from the wrath

6 The goddess of justice. Divine Riddles - 21 which he had before because Prometheus matched himself in wit with the almighty son of Cronus. [535 – 542] For when the gods and mortal men had a dispute at Mecone,7 even then Prometheus was forward to cut up a great ox and set portions before them, trying to befool the mind of Zeus. Before the rest he set flesh and inner parts thick with fat upon the hide, covering them with an ox paunch; but for Zeus he put the white bones dressed up with cunning art and covered with shining fat. Then the father of men and of gods said to him: [543] `Son of Iapetus, most glorious of all lords, good sir, how unfairly you have divided the portions!' [545] So said Zeus whose wisdom is everlasting, rebuking him. But wily Prometheus answered him, smiling softly and not forgetting his cunning trick: [548] `Zeus, most glorious and greatest of the eternal gods, take whichever of these portions your heart within you bids.' So he said, thinking trickery. But Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, saw and failed not to perceive the trick, and in his heart he thought mischief against mortal men which also was to be fulfilled. With both hands he took up the white fat and was angry at heart, and wrath came to his spirit when he saw the white ox-bones craftily tricked out: and because of this the tribes of men upon earth burn white bones to the deathless gods upon fragrant altars. But Zeus who drives the clouds was greatly vexed and said to him: [559] `Son of Iapetus, clever above all! So, sir, you have not yet forgotten your cunning arts!'

The myth of Prometheus’ trick is used to explain the sacrificial practices of the Greeks. Just as Christians, Jews and other faiths give thanks to their God before eating a meal, so too the Greeks thanked the gods by sharing a portion with them in the form of a sacrifice. Passages that refer to these sacrifices often make it sound like the ritual is primarily religious, but we have to keep in mind that the ‘victims’ were cooked and the meat distributed:

Homer, Iliad i. 458 – 67 When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley-meal, they drew back the heads of the victims and killed and flayed them. They cut out the thigh-bones, wrapped them round in two layers of fat, set some pieces of raw meat on the top of them, and then Chryses laid them on the wood fire and poured wine over them, while the young men stood near him with five-pronged spits in their hands. When the thigh-bones were burned and they had tasted the inward meats, they cut the rest up small, put the pieces upon the spits, roasted them till they were done, and drew them off: then, when they had finished their work and the feast was ready, they ate it, and every man had his full share, so that all were satisfied.

Zeus, wanting mankind to remain in a state of nature, kept the secret of fire from them. Prometheus, who loved mankind, stole the fire and gave it to man:

7 Mecone is the earlier name of Sicyon. See Strabo viii.6.25 who says that even before that it was called Aegialeia. It was founded by Aegialeus (Pausanias ii.7) Divine Riddles - 22

Hesiod, Works and Days 53 - 105 [53] Zeus who gathers the clouds said to him in anger: “Son of Iapetus, surpassing all in cunning, you are glad that you have outwitted me and stolen fire -- a great plague to you yourself and to men that shall be. But I will give men as the price for fire an evil thing in which they may all be glad of heart while they embrace their own destruction.” [60] So said the father of men and gods, and laughed aloud. And he bade famous Hephaestus make haste and mix earth with water and to put in it the voice and strength of human kind, and fashion a sweet, lovely maiden-shape, like to the immortal goddesses in face; and Athena to teach her needlework and the weaving of the varied web; and golden Aphrodite to shed grace upon her head and cruel longing and cares that weary the limbs. And he charged Hermes the guide, the Slayer of Argus, to put in her a shameless mind and a deceitful nature. [69] So he ordered. And they obeyed the lord Zeus the son of Cronus. Forthwith the famous Lame God moulded clay in the likeness of a modest maid, as the son of Cronus purposed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athena girded and clothed her, and the divine Graces and queenly Persuasion put necklaces of gold upon her, and the rich-haired Hours crowned her head with spring flowers. And Pallas Athena bedecked her form with all manners of finery. Also the Guide, the Slayer of Argus, contrived within her lies and crafty words and a deceitful nature at the will of loud thundering Zeus, and the Herald of the gods put speech in her. And he called this woman Pandora,8 because all they who dwelt on Olympus gave each a gift, a plague to men who eat bread. [83] But when he had finished the sheer, hopeless snare, the Father sent glorious Argus- Slayer, the swift messenger of the gods, to take it to Epimetheus as a gift. And Epimetheus did not think on what Prometheus had said to him, bidding him never take a gift of Olympian Zeus, but to send it back for fear it might prove to be something harmful to men. But he took the gift, and afterwards, when the evil thing was already his, he understood. [90] For before this the tribes of men lived on earth remote and free from ills and hard toil and heavy sickness which bring the Fates upon men; for in misery men grow old quickly. But the woman took off the great lid of the jar with her hands and scattered all these and her thought caused sorrow and mischief to men. Only Hope remained there in an unbreakable home within under the rim of the great jar, and did not fly out at the door; for ere that, the lid of the jar stopped her, by the will of Aegis-holding Zeus who gathers the clouds. But the rest, countless plagues, wander amongst men; for earth is full of evils and the sea is full. Of themselves diseases come upon men continually by day and by night, bringing mischief to mortals silently; for wise Zeus took away speech from them. So is there no way to escape the will of Zeus. Despite this ‘sharing’ of the feast with Zeus and the other gods, Zeus was still angry with Prometheus for tricking him and continued his efforts to keep mankind in a state of nature: Pandora: Theogony 548 – 616 [561] So spoke Zeus in anger, whose wisdom is everlasting; and from that time he was always mindful of the trick, and would not give the power of unwearying fire to the Melian9

8 The name means ‘all gifts.’ 9 Inexplicably, Evelyn-White translates Μελίῃσι as ‘Melian’ as if to suggest that mankind came from Melos. The Greek refers to the Ash tree. See Works and Days 145. Divine Riddles - 23

race of mortal men who live on the earth. But the noble son of Iapetus outwitted him and stole the far-seen gleam of unwearying fire in a hollow fennel stalk. And Zeus who thunders on high was stung in spirit, and his dear heart was angered when he saw amongst men the far-seen ray of fire. Forthwith he made an evil thing for men as the price of fire; for the very famous Limping God formed of earth the likeness of a shy maiden as the son of Cronus willed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athena girded and clothed her with silvery raiment, and down from her head she spread with her hands a broidered veil, a wonder to see; and she, Pallas Athena, put about her head lovely garlands, flowers of new-grown herbs. Also she put upon her head a crown of gold which the very famous Limping God made himself and worked with his own hands as a favour to Zeus his father. On it was much curious work, wonderful to see; for of the many creatures which the land and sea rear up, he put most upon it, wonderful things, like living beings with voices: and great beauty shone out from it. [585] But when he had made the beautiful evil to be the price for the blessing, he brought her out, delighting in the finery which the bright-eyed daughter of a mighty father had given her, to the place where the other gods and men were. And wonder took hold of the deathless gods and mortal men when they saw that which was sheer guile, not to be withstood by men. [590] For from her is the race of women and female kind: of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men to their great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth. And as in thatched hives bees feed the drones whose nature is to do mischief -- by day and throughout the day until the sun goes down the bees are busy and lay the white combs, while the drones stay at home in the covered skeps and reap the toil of others into their own bellies -- even so Zeus who thunders on high made women to be an evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil. And he gave them a second evil to be the price for the good they had: whoever avoids marriage and the sorrows that women cause, and will not wed, reaches deadly old age without anyone to tend his years, and though he at least has no lack of livelihood while he lives, yet, when he is dead, his kinsfolk divide his possessions amongst them. And as for the man who chooses the lot of marriage and takes a good wife suited to his mind, evil continually contends with good; for whoever happens to have mischievous children, lives always with unceasing grief in his spirit and heart within him; and this evil cannot be healed. [613] So it is not possible to deceive or go beyond the will of Zeus; for not even the son of Iapetus, kindly Prometheus, escaped his heavy anger, but of necessity strong bands confined him, although he knew many a while.

The Giants (Gigantomachy) We have seen above that Hesiod (Theogony 170 – 210) described the birth of the Giants from the blood of Uranus as it washed across the earth. The famous war between the gods and the giants, the Gigantomachy, is nowhere attested by Hesiod or Homer and may be a later confusion with the Titanomachy. In Ovid’s version of the story mankind was created out of the blood of the Giants: Divine Riddles - 24

Diodorus, iv.15.1 – 2 [1] Afterwards, when the giants fought with the immortal gods at Pallene, Heracles aided the gods, and, after a great slaughter made by him of those sons of the earth, he became greatly renowned. For Zeus gave the epithet ‘Olympian’ to those who assisted him in that war, by this title of honour to distinguish the courageous from the coward; and he gave this epithet to Dionysus and Heracles, though their mothers were mortals, not only because they were the offspring of Zeus, but likewise for that they were like him in virtuous qualities, doing good generally to all mankind. [2] But Prometheus, because he stole fire from heaven and handed it to men, was clapped in chains by Zeus, who caused an eagle to seize and feed continually upon his liver; but Heracles, seeing that he suffered so much for his kindness to mankind, shot the bird with an arrow and then, having pacified Zeus, freed this common benefactor from all further trouble.

Ovid, Metamorphoses i.151 – 62 [151] And that the lofty realms of ether might not be more safe than the Earth, they say that the Giants aspired to the sovereignty of heaven, and piled the mountains, heaped together, even to the lofty stars. Then the omnipotent Father, hurling his lightning, broke through Olympus, and struck Ossa away from Pelion, that lay beneath it.10 While the dreadful carcasses lay overwhelmed beneath their own structure, they say that the Earth was wet, drenched with the plenteous blood of her sons, and that she gave life to the warm gore; and that, lest no memorial of this ruthless race should be surviving, she shaped them into the form of men. But that generation, too, was a despiser of the Gods above, and most greedy of ruthless slaughter, and full of violence: you might see that they derived their origin from blood.

This violent and impious race of man would have to be destroyed by the gods and replaced with a more gentle being and this sets up the legend of The Flood.

10 Three mountains in north-eastern Greece, Olympus the northernmost, then Ossa and Pelion to the south. Moral Philosophy and Religious Thought

Greek philosophical, moral and political thought was dominated by one single idea, commonly referred to as the Tragic Trilogy. It involves three psychological conditions, three mental states: First is Hubris, a sense of entitlement, an inflated ego; too much ambition; second is Atê, carelessness, recklessness, foolishness; and third is Nemesis, divine punishment and the downfall of the afflicted. These conditions, of course, follow each other in sequence, one leading to the next. Solon, Fragment 13.1-32, 65-76 (West). Glorious children of Memory and Olympian Zeus, Pierian Muses, hear me as I pray: Grant me olbos1 from the blessed gods, and from all Men a noble reputation always. With these may I be sweet to my friends, bitter to my enemies, an object of reverence to the former, to the latter a dreadful vision to see. Indeed, I long to have wealth, but I do not wish to acquire it unjustly: for dike2 is certain to come afterward. Ploutos3 which the gods grant stays beside a man enduring and sound from its uttermost foundation to its pinnacle. But that ploutos which men revere through hubris does not come in decorous fashion but, persuaded by their unjust deeds, it attends them against its will and quickly comes to be mingled with atê. This latter grows from a small beginning, like a fire, trivial at first, but a grievous evil in the end. For the deeds of hubris do not prosper long for mortals: rather, Zeus oversees the end of all things. Suddenly, as the wind quickly scatters the clouds in spring when it whips up the depths of the weariless sea with its teaming waves and over the grain-bearing earth it destroys the noble works of men, arriving at last at the lofty seat of the gods, the heavens, and leaving behind a sparkling clear sky for all to see — the might of the sun shines brightly over the good rich earth and no trace of clouds is any longer to be seen: in such fashion comes the punishment of Zeus. Nor does he indulge his wrath at each transgression, as would a mortal man, and yet never does it escape his eye forever just who possesses a criminal spirit: such a one stands revealed altogether in the end. But while some pay the penalty immediately, others do so later. And others still themselves escape, nor does the allotted wrath of the gods come upon them,

1 Olbos can be translated as ‘happiness’ or ‘wealth’ but wealth in a holistic way: good health, family, lack of want, reasonable comfort and, most importantly, a good reputation. 2 Justice 3 Wealth as in riches, money, material wealth. Divine Riddles - 26

yet it comes with dread certainty in later times: the innocent pay for their deeds, either their children or the family line thereafter. Indeed, there is danger involved in every undertaking, nor does one know, at the time some project is being undertaken, how things will turn out for him. Instead, one who attempts to act nobly and well with no warning falls into great atê, grievous to bear, yet to another who acts out of wickedness god gives good fortune in all things, a lucky escape from his thoughtless folly. Of ploutos no bound lies clearly marked for men: those of us who now possess the richest livings seek to double their goods. Who might satisfy them all? The immortals have granted mortals means of profit, but atê arises therefrom. The latter, when Zeus sends it as an agent of punishment, besets now one man, now another.

The Tragic Trilogy is so named because many of the Attic playwrights employed it as a basic plot structure. The downfall of the protagonist in most tragic plays can be easily identified with some crime against the gods, usually involving hubris. The downfall of Agamemnon, for example, is so explained: Aeschylus, Agamemnon 375 - 80 Now it stands revealed! [375] The penalty for reckless crime is ruin when men breathe a spirit of pride above just measure, because their mansions teem with more abundance than is good for them. But let there be such wealth as brings no distress, enough to satisfy [380] a sensible man. For riches do not protect the man who in wantonness has kicked the mighty altar of Justice into obscurity.

One of the pervasive themes of the myth cycle is that sins are passed from generation to generation. Agamemnon has himself committed enough sins, but he is cursed by the sins of his father as well. Aeschylus, Agamemnon 764 – 70 But an old hubris4 tends to come forth [765] in evil men, sooner or later, at the fated hour of birth, a young Hubris and that irresistible, unconquerable, unholy spirit, Recklessness, [770] and for the household black Curses, which resemble their parents.

The Tragic Trilogy often refers to Zeus as a god of justice… Hesiod, Works and Days 1 – 10. Muses of Pieria who give glory through song, come hither, tell of Zeus your father and chant his praise. Through him mortal men are famed or un-famed, sung or unsung alike, as great Zeus wills. For easily he makes strong, and easily he brings the strong man low; easily he humbles the proud and raises the obscure, and easily he straightens the crooked and blasts the proud, -- Zeus who thunders aloft and has his dwelling most high.

4 The reference here is to the crimes of Atreus, Agamemnon’s father. Divine Riddles - 27

… but also to a sort of meta-divine law to which even the gods are subject. Pindar Fr. 169.1-4 Law the king of all, Of mortals and immortals, Guides and justifies the violent act With its supreme hand

This very famous fragment of Pindar’s poetry has been much disputed by scholars, but it seems to suggest that law, Nomos, rules over the gods and men and that any act of force or violence must be sanctioned by law. The Gods and Goddesses

Most of what we know about the various conceptions of and stories about the gods and goddesses has to be gleaned from anecdotal references in a variety of sources. We do, however, have a few detailed narratives that we can use as benchmarks. We have already encountered Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days and to this we can add a collection of prayers and stories called the Homeric Hymns. The authorship of these hymns is disputed but they are usually ascribed to the Homeric Corpus. Aside from Homer and Hesiod, the most detailed descriptions of the gods is the Metamorphoses of Ovid, a Roman poet of the late first century BC. Below are reproduced several of the Homeric Hymns and much of Metamorphoses with other sources added where applicable.

Aphrodite (Venus) To Aphrodite, Homeric Hymn #5. [1-6] Muse, tell me the deeds of golden Aphrodite the Cyprian, who stirs up sweet passion in the gods and subdues the tribes of mortal men and birds that fly in air and all the many creatures that the dry land rears, and all the sea: all these love the deeds of rich- crowned Cytherea. [7-32] Yet there are three hearts that she cannot bend nor yet ensnare. First is the daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis, bright-eyed Athena; for she has no pleasure in the deeds of golden Aphrodite, but delights in wars and in the work of Ares, in strife and battles and in preparing famous crafts. She first taught earthly craftsmen to make chariots of war and cars variously wrought with bronze, and she, too, teaches tender maidens in the house and puts knowledge of goodly arts in each one's mind. Nor does laughter-loving Aphrodite ever tame in love Artemis, the huntress with shafts of gold; for she loves archery and the slaying of wild beasts in the mountains, the lyre also and dancing and thrilling cries and shady woods and the cities of upright men. Nor yet does the pure maiden Hestia love Aphrodite's works. She was the first-born child of wily Cronus and youngest too,1 by will of Zeus who holds the aegis, -- a queenly maid whom both Poseidon and Apollo sought to wed. But she was wholly unwilling, nay, stubbornly refused; and touching the head of father Zeus who holds the aegis, she, that fair goddess, swore a great oath which has in truth been fulfilled, that she would be a maiden all her days.2 So Zeus the Father gave her a high honour instead of marriage, and she has her place in the midst of the house and has the richest portion. In all the temples of the gods she has a share of honour, and among all mortal men she is chief of the goddesses. [33-44] Of these three Aphrodite cannot bend or ensnare the hearts. But of all others there is nothing among the blessed gods or among mortal men that has escaped Aphrodite. Even the heart of Zeus, who delights in thunder, is led astray by her; though he is greatest of all and has the lot of highest majesty, she beguiles even his wise heart whenever she pleases, and mates him with mortal women, unknown to Hera, his sister and his wife, the grandest far in beauty among the deathless goddesses -- most glorious is she whom wily

1 Cronus swallowed his children as they were born. Hestia, first born, was the first swallowed and, therefore, the last to emerge when they were all freed by Zeus. As the last to emerge from Cronus, she is the youngest. 2 Athena, Artemis and Hestia are the virgin goddesses, never engaging in sex and so immune to Aphrodite. Divine Riddles - 29

Cronus with her mother Rhea did beget: and Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, made her his chaste and careful wife. [45-52] But upon Aphrodite herself Zeus cast sweet desire to be joined in love with a mortal man, to the end that, very soon, not even she should be innocent of a mortal's love; lest laughter-loving Aphrodite should one day softly smile and say mockingly among all the gods that she had joined the gods in love with mortal women who bare sons of death to the deathless gods, and had mated the goddesses with mortal men. [53-74] And so he put in her heart sweet desire for Anchises3 who was tending cattle at that time among the steep hills of many-fountained Ida,4 and in shape was like the immortal gods. Therefore, when laughter-loving Aphrodite saw him, she loved him, and terribly desire seized her in her heart. She went to Cyprus, to Paphos, where her precinct is and fragrant altar, and passed into her sweet-smelling temple. There she went in and put to the glittering doors, and there the Graces bathed her with heavenly oil such as blooms upon the bodies of the eternal gods -- oil divinely sweet, which she had by her, filled with fragrance. And laughter-loving Aphrodite put on all her rich clothes, and when she had decked herself with gold, she left sweet-smelling Cyprus and went in haste towards Troy, swiftly travelling high up among the clouds. So she came to many-fountained Ida, the mother of wild creatures and went straight to the homestead across the mountains. After her came grey wolves, fawning on her, and grim-eyed lions, and bears, and fleet leopards, ravenous for deer: and she was glad in heart to see them, and put desire in their breasts, so that they all mated, two together, about the shadowy valleys. [75-88] But she herself came to the neat-built shelters, and him she found left quite alone in the homestead -- the hero Anchises who was comely as the gods. All the others were following the herds over the grassy pastures, and he, left quite alone in the homestead, was roaming hither and thither and playing thrillingly upon the lyre. And Aphrodite, the daughter of Zeus5 stood before him, being like a pure maiden in height and mien, that he should not be frightened when he took heed of her with his eyes. Now when Anchises saw her, he marked her well and wondered at her mien and height and shining garments. For she was clad in a robe out-shining the brightness of fire, a splendid robe of gold, enriched with all manner of needlework, which shimmered like the moon over her tender breasts, a marvel to see. Also she wore twisted brooches and shining earrings in the form of flowers; and round her soft throat were lovely necklaces. [91-105] And Anchises was seized with love, and said to her: “Hail, lady, whoever of the blessed ones you are that are come to this house, whether Artemis, or Leto, or golden Aphrodite, or high-born Themis, or bright-eyed Athena. Or, maybe, you are one of the Graces come hither, who bear the gods company and are called immortal, or else one of those who inhabit this lovely mountain and the springs of rivers and grassy meads. I will make you an altar upon a high peak in a far seen place, and will sacrifice rich offerings to you at all seasons. And do you feel kindly towards me and grant that I may become a man

3 The son of Capys and Themis. Themis was the daughter of Ilus, founder of Ilium, now known as Troy. 4 In Anatolia, Turkey. The region around Mt. Ida is called The Troad because Troy is located nearby. 5 Hesiod (Theogony 190) has it that Aphrodite was born of the foam of the sea that came about from the castration of Uranus. Homer nowhere acknowledges this tradition and asserts that Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione (Iliad v.370; xx.105) Divine Riddles - 30 very eminent among the Trojans, and give me strong offspring for the time to come. As for my own self, let me live long and happily, seeing the light of the sun, and come to the threshold of old age, a man prosperous among the people.” [106-142] Thereupon Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus answered him: “Anchises, most glorious of all men born on earth, know that I am no goddess: why do you liken me to the deathless ones? Nay, I am but a mortal, and a woman was the mother that bore me. Otreus of famous name is my father, if you have heard of him, and he reigns over all Phrygia rich in fortresses.6 But I know your speech well beside my own, for a Trojan nurse brought me up at home: she took me from my dear mother and reared me thenceforth when I was a little child. So comes it, then, that I well know you tongue also. And now the Slayer of Argus with the golden wand has caught me up from the dance of huntress Artemis, her with the golden arrows. For there were many of us, nymphs and marriageable maidens, playing together; and an innumerable company encircled us: from these the Slayer of Argus with the golden wand rapt me away. He carried me over many fields of mortal men and over much land untilled and unpossessed, where savage wild-beasts roam through shady valleys, until I thought never again to touch the life-giving earth with my feet. And he said that I should be called the wedded wife of Anchises, and should bear you goodly children. But when he had told and advised me, he, the strong Slayer of Argos, went back to the families of the deathless gods, while I am now come to you: for unbending necessity is upon me. But I beseech you by Zeus and by your noble parents -- for no base folk could get such a son as you -- take me now, stainless and unproved in love, and show me to your father and careful mother and to your brothers sprung from the same stock. I shall be no ill-liking daughter for them, but a likely. Moreover, send a messenger quickly to the swift- horsed Phrygians, to tell my father and my sorrowing mother; and they will send you gold in plenty and woven stuffs, many splendid gifts; take these as bride-piece. So do, and then prepare the sweet marriage that is honourable in the eyes of men and deathless gods.” [143-144] When she had so spoken, the goddess put sweet desire in his heart. And Anchises was seized with love, so that he opened his mouth and said: [145-154] “If you are a mortal and a woman was the mother who bare you, and Otreus of famous name is your father as you say, and if you are come here by the will of Hermes the immortal Guide, and are to be called my wife always, then neither god nor mortal man shall here restrain me till I have lain with you in love right now; no, not even if far-shooting Apollo himself should launch grievous shafts from his silver bow. Willingly would I go down into the house of Hades, O lady, beautiful as the goddesses, once I had gone up to your bed.” [155-167] So speaking, he caught her by the hand. And laughter-loving Aphrodite, with face turned away and lovely eyes downcast, crept to the well-spread couch which was already laid with soft coverings for the hero; and upon it lay skins of bears and deep-roaring lions which he himself had slain in the high mountains. And when they had gone up upon the well-fitted bed, first Anchises took off her bright jewelry of pins and twisted brooches and earrings and necklaces, and loosed her girdle and stripped off her bright garments and laid

6 Phrygia was a kingdom to the north-east of Ilium. The only other reference to Otreus is Iliad iii.186 where Priam says that he allied with the Phrygians in a war against the Amazons. Divine Riddles - 31 them down upon a silver-studded seat. Then by the will of the gods and destiny he lay with her, a mortal man with an immortal goddess, not clearly knowing what he did. [168-176] But at the time when the herdsmen drive their oxen and hardy sheep back to the fold from the flowery pastures, even then Aphrodite poured soft sleep upon Anchises, but herself put on her rich raiment. And when the bright goddess had fully clothed herself, she stood by the couch, and her head reached to the well-hewn roof-tree; from her cheeks shone unearthly beauty such as belongs to rich-crowned Cytherea. Then she aroused him from sleep and opened her mouth and said: [177-179] “Up, son of Dardanus! -- why sleep you so heavily? -- and consider whether I look as I did when first you saw me with your eyes.” [180-184) So she spoke. And he awoke in a moment and obeyed her. But when he saw the neck and lovely eyes of Aphrodite, he was afraid and turned his eyes aside another way, hiding his comely face with his cloak. Then he uttered winged words and entreated her: [185-190 “So soon as ever I saw you with my eyes, goddess, I knew that you were divine; but you did not tell me truly. Yet by Zeus who holds the aegis I beseech you, leave me not to lead a palsied life among men, but have pity on me; for he who lies with a deathless goddess is no healthy man afterwards.” [191-201] Then Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus answered him: “Anchises, most glorious of mortal men, take courage and be not too fearful in your heart. You need fear no harm from me nor from the other blessed ones, for you are dear to the gods: and you shall have a dear son who shall reign among the Trojans, and children's children after him, springing up continually. His name shall be Aeneas, because I felt awful grief in that I laid me in the bed of mortal man: yet are those of your family always the most like to gods of all mortal men in beauty and in stature. [202-217] “Verily wise Zeus carried off golden-haired Ganymedes because of his beauty, to be amongst the Deathless Ones and pour drink for the gods in the house of Zeus -- a wonder to see -- honoured by all the immortals as he draws the red nectar from the golden bowl. But grief that could not be soothed filled the heart of Tros; for he knew not from where the heaven-sent whirlwind had caught up his dear son, so that he mourned him always, unceasingly, until Zeus pitied him and gave him high- stepping horses such as carry the immortals as recompense for his son. These he gave him as a gift. And at the command of Zeus, the Guide, the slayer of Argus, told him all, and how his son would be deathless and ageless, even as the gods. So when Tros heard these tidings from Zeus, he no longer kept mourning but rejoiced in his heart and rode joyfully with his storm-footed horses. [218-238] “So also golden-throned Eos rapt away Tithonus who was of your clan and like the deathless gods. And she went to ask the dark-clouded Son of Cronus that he should be deathless and live eternally; and Zeus bowed his head to her prayer and fulfilled her desire. Too simply was queenly Eos: she thought not in her heart to ask youth for him and to strip him of the slough of deadly age. So while he enjoyed the sweet flower of life he lived rapturously with golden-throned Eos, the early- born, by the streams of Ocean, at the ends of the earth; but when the first grey hairs began to ripple from his comely head and noble chin, queenly Eos kept away from his bed, though she cherished him in her house and nourished him with food and ambrosia and gave him rich clothing. But when loathsome old age pressed full upon him, and he could not move nor lift his limbs, this seemed to her Divine Riddles - 32 in her heart the best counsel: she laid him in a room and put to the shining doors. There he babbles endlessly, and no more has strength at all, such as once he had in his supple limbs. [239-246] “I would not have you be deathless among the deathless gods and live continually after such sort. Yet if you could live on such as now you are in look and in form, and be called my husband, sorrow would not then enfold my careful heart. But, as it is, harsh old age will soon enshroud you -- ruthless age which stands someday at the side of every man, deadly, wearying, dreaded even by the gods. (ll. 247-290) “And now because of you I shall have great shame among the deathless gods henceforth, continually. For until now they feared my jibes and the wiles by which, or soon or late, I mated all the immortals with mortal women, making them all subject to my will. But now my mouth shall no more have this power among the gods; for very great has been my madness, my miserable and dreadful madness, and I went astray out of my mind who have gotten a child beneath my girdle, mating with a mortal man. As for the child, as soon as he sees the light of the sun, the deep-breasted mountain Nymphs who inhabit this great and holy mountain shall bring him up. They rank neither with mortals nor with immortals: long indeed do they live, eating heavenly food and treading the lovely dance among the immortals, and with them the Sileni7 and the sharp-eyed Slayer of Argus mate in the depths of pleasant caves; but at their birth pines or high-topped oaks spring up with them upon the fruitful earth, beautiful, flourishing trees, towering high upon the lofty mountains (and men call them holy places of the immortals, and never mortal lops them with the axe); but when the fate of death is near at hand, first those lovely trees wither where they stand, and the bark shrivels away about them, and the twigs fall down, and at last the life of the Nymph and of the tree leave the light of the sun together. These Nymphs shall keep my son with them and rear him, and as soon as he is come to lovely boyhood, the goddesses will bring him here to you and show you your child. But, that I may tell you all that I have in mind, I will come here again towards the fifth year and bring you my son. So soon as ever you have seen him -- a scion to delight the eyes -- you will rejoice in beholding him; for he shall be most godlike: then bring him at once to windy Ilion. And if any mortal man asks you who got your dear son beneath her girdle, remember to tell him as I bid you: say he is the offspring of one of the flower-like Nymphs who inhabit this forest-clad hill. But if you tell all and foolishly boast that you lay with rich-crowned Aphrodite, Zeus will smite you in his anger with a smoking thunderbolt. Now I have told you all. Take heed: refrain and name me not, but have regard to the anger of the gods.” [291] When the goddess had so spoken, she soared up to windy heaven. [292-293] Hail, goddess, queen of well-built Cyprus! With you have I begun; now I will turn me to another hymn.

7 The Satyrs, often called the Sileni after Silenus, the most famous of the Satyrs. Divine Riddles - 33

Apollo Homeric Hymn 3. To Apollo To Delian Apollo [1-18] I will remember and not be unmindful of Apollo who shoots afar. As he goes through the house of Zeus, the gods tremble before him and all spring up from their seats when he draws near, as he bends his bright bow. But Leto alone stays by the side of Zeus who delights in thunder; and then she unstrings his bow, and closes his quiver, and takes his archery from his strong shoulders in her hands and hangs them on a golden peg against a pillar of his father's house. Then she leads him to a seat and makes him sit: and the Father gives him nectar in a golden cup welcoming his dear son, while the other gods make him sit down there, and queenly Leto rejoices because she bare a mighty son and an archer. Rejoice, blessed Leto, for you bore glorious children, the lord Apollo and Artemis who delights in arrows; her in Ortygia, and him in rocky Delos, as you rested against the great mass of the Cynthian hill hard by a palm-tree by the streams of Inopus. [19-29] How, then, shall I sing of you who in all ways are a worthy theme of song? For everywhere, O Phoebus,8 the whole range of song is fallen to you, both over the mainland that rears heifers and over the isles. All mountain-peaks and high headlands of lofty hills and rivers flowing out to the deep and beaches sloping seawards and havens of the sea are your delight. Shall I sing how at the first Leto bare you to be the joy of men, as she rested against Mount Cynthus in that rocky isle, in sea- girt Delos -- while on either hand a dark wave rolled on landwards driven by shrill winds -- whence arising you rule over all mortal men? [30-50] Among those who are in Crete, and in the township of Athens, and in the isle of Aegina and Euboea, famous for ships, in Aegae and Eiresiae and Peparethus near the sea, in Thracian Athos and Pelion's towering heights and Thracian Samos and the shady hills of Ida, in Scyros and Phocaea and the high hill of Autocane and fair-lying Imbros and smouldering Lemnos and rich Lesbos, home of Macar, the son of Aeolus, and Chios, brightest of all the isles that lie in the sea, and craggy Mimas and the heights of Corycus and gleaming Claros and the sheer hill of Aesagea and watered Samos and the steep heights of Mycale, in Miletus and Cos, the city of Meropian men, and steep Cnidos and windy Carpathos, in Naxos and Paros and rocky Rhenaea -- so far roamed Leto in travail with the god who shoots afar, to see if any land would be willing to make a dwelling for her son. But they greatly trembled and feared, and none, not even the richest of them, dared receive Phoebus, until queenly Leto set foot on Delos and uttered winged words and asked her: [51-61] “Delos, if you would be willing to be the abode of my son Phoebus Apollo and make him a rich temple --; for no other will touch you, as you will find: and I think you will never be rich in oxen and sheep, nor bear vintage nor yet produce plants abundantly. But if you have the temple of far-shooting Apollo, all men will bring you hecatombs and gather here, and incessant savour of rich sacrifice will always arise, and you will feed those who dwell in you from the hand of strangers; for truly your own soil is not rich.”9

8 Phoebus means ‘shining one’ in Greek. Apollo is often associated with the sun. 9 Delos is a small but wealthy island in the Aegean Sea. If not for the lucrative traffic of pilgrims to the temple of Apollo there, the economy might not have been so robust. Divine Riddles - 34

[62-82] So spoke Leto. And Delos rejoiced and answered and said: “Leto, most glorious daughter of great Coeus, joyfully would I receive your child the far-shooting lord; for it is all too true that I am ill-spoken of among men, whereas thus I should become very greatly honoured. But this saying I fear, and I will not hide it from you, Leto. They say that Apollo will be one that is very haughty and will greatly lord it among gods and men all over the fruitful earth. Therefore, I greatly fear in heart and spirit that as soon as he sets the light of the sun, he will scorn this island -- for truly I have but a hard, rocky soil -- and overturn me and thrust me down with his feet in the depths of the sea; then will the great ocean wash deep above my head for ever, and he will go to another land such as will please him, there to make his temple and wooded groves. So, many-footed creatures of the sea will make their lairs in me and black seals their dwellings undisturbed, because I lack people. Yet if you will but dare to swear a great oath, goddess, that here first he will build a glorious temple to be an oracle for men, then let him afterwards make temples and wooded groves amongst all men; for surely he will be greatly renowned. [83-88] So said Delos. And Leto swore the great oath of the gods: “Now hear this, Earth and wide Heaven above, and dropping water of Styx (this is the strongest and most awful oath for the blessed gods), surely Phoebus shall have here his fragrant altar and precinct, and you he shall honour above all.” [89-101] Now when Leto had sworn and ended her oath, Delos was very glad at the birth of the far-shooting lord. But Leto was racked nine days and nine nights with pangs beyond wont. And there were with her all the chiefest of the goddesses, Dione and Rhea and Ichnaea and Themis and loud-moaning Amphitrite and the other deathless goddesses save white- armed Hera, who sat in the halls of cloud-gathering Zeus. Only Eilithyia, goddess of sore travail, had not heard of Leto's trouble, for she sat on the top of Olympus beneath golden clouds by white-armed Hera's contriving, who kept her close through envy, because Leto with the lovely tresses was soon to bear a son faultless and strong. [102-114] But the goddesses sent out Iris from the well-set isle to bring Eilithyia, promising her a great necklace strung with golden threads, nine cubits long. And they bade Iris call her aside from white-armed Hera, lest she might afterwards turn her from coming with her words. When swift Iris, fleet of foot as the wind, had heard all this, she set to run; and quickly finishing all the distance she came to the home of the gods, sheer Olympus, and forthwith called Eilithyia out from the hall to the door and spoke winged words to her, telling her all as the goddesses who dwell on Olympus had bidden her. So she moved the heart of Eilithyia in her dear breast; and they went their way, like shy wild-doves in their going. [115-122] And as soon as Eilithyia the goddess of sore travail set foot on Delos, the pains of birth seized Leto, and she longed to bring forth; so she cast her arms about a palm tree and kneeled on the soft meadow while the earth laughed for joy beneath. Then the child leaped forth to the light, and all the goddesses washed you purely and cleanly with sweet water, and swathed you in a white garment of fine texture, new-woven, and fastened a golden band about you. [123-130] Now Leto did not give Apollo, bearer of the golden blade, her breast; but Themis duly poured nectar and ambrosia with her divine hands: and Leto was glad because she had borne a strong son and an archer. But as soon as you had tasted that divine heavenly Divine Riddles - 35 food, O Phoebus, you could no longer then be held by golden cords nor confined with bands, but all their ends were undone. Forthwith Phoebus Apollo spoke out among the deathless goddesses: [131-132] “The lyre and the curved bow shall ever be dear to me, and I will declare to men the unfailing will of Zeus.” [133-139] So said Phoebus, the long-haired god who shoots afar and began to walk upon the wide-pathed earth; and all goddesses were amazed at him. Then with gold all Delos was laden, beholding the child of Zeus and Leto, for joy because the god chose her above the islands and shore to make his dwelling in her: and she loved him yet more in her heart, and blossomed as does a mountain-top with woodland flowers. [140-164] And you, O lord Apollo, god of the silver bow, shooting afar, now walked on craggy Cynthus, and now kept wandering about the island and the people in them. Many are your temples and wooded groves, and all peaks and towering bluffs of lofty mountains and rivers flowing to the sea are dear to you, Phoebus, yet in Delos do you most delight your heart; for there the long robed Ionians gather in your honour with their children and shy wives: mindful, they delight you with boxing and dancing and song, so often as they hold their gathering. A man would say that they were deathless and ageless if he should then come upon the Ionians so met together. For he would see the graces of them all, and would be pleased in heart gazing at the men and well- girded women with their swift ships and great wealth. And there is this great wonder besides -- and its renown shall never perish -- the girls of Delos, hand-maidens of the Far-shooter; for when they have praised Apollo first, and also Leto and Artemis who delights in arrows, they sing a strain-telling of men and women of past days, and charm the tribes of men. Also they can imitate the tongues of all men and their clattering speech: each would say that he himself were singing, so close to truth is their sweet song. [165-178] And now may Apollo be favourable and Artemis; and farewell all you maidens. Remember me in after time whenever any one of men on earth, a stranger who has seen and suffered much, comes here and asks of you: `Whom think ye, girls, is the sweetest singer that comes here, and in whom do you most delight?' Then answer, each and all, with one voice: `He is a blind man, and dwells in rocky Chios: his lays are evermore supreme.' As for me, I will carry your renown as far as I roam over the earth to the well-placed this thing is true. And I will never cease to praise far-shooting Apollo, god of the silver bow, whom rich- haired Leto bore.

To Pythian Apollo [179-181] O Lord, Lycia is yours and lovely Maeonia and Miletus, charming city by the sea, but over wave-girt Delos you greatly reign your own self. [182-206] Leto's all-glorious son goes to rocky Pytho, playing upon his hollow lyre, clad in divine, perfumed garments; and at the touch of the golden key his lyre sings sweet. Thence, swift as thought, he speeds from earth to Olympus, to the house of Zeus, to join the gathering of the other gods: then straightway the undying gods think only of the lyre and song, and all the Muses together, voice sweetly answering voice, hymn the unending gifts the gods enjoy and the sufferings of men, all that they endure at the hands of the deathless gods, and how they live witless and helpless and cannot find healing for death or Divine Riddles - 36 defence against old age. Meanwhile the rich-tressed Graces and cheerful Seasons dance with Harmonia and Hebe and Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, holding each other by the wrist. And among them sings one, not mean nor puny, but tall to look upon and enviable in mien, Artemis who delights in arrows, sister of Apollo. Among them sport Ares and the keen-eyed Slayer of Argus, while Apollo plays his lyre stepping high and featly and a radiance shines around him, the gleaming of his feet and close-woven vest. And they, even gold-tressed Leto and wise Zeus, rejoice in their great hearts as they watch their dear son playing among the undying gods. [207-228] How then shall I sing of you -- though in all ways you are a worthy theme for song? Shall I sing of you as wooer and in the fields of love, how you went wooing the daughter of Azan along with god-like Ischys the son of well-horsed Elatius, or with Phorbas sprung from Triops, or with Ereutheus, or with Leucippus and the wife of Leucippus.... [LACUNA] ....you on foot, he with his chariot, yet he fell not short of Triops. Or shall I sing how at the first you went about the earth seeking a place of oracle for men, O far- shooting Apollo? To Pieria first you went down from Olympus and passed by sandy Lectus and Enienae and through the land of the Perrhaebi. Soon you came to Iolcus and set foot on Cenaeum in Euboea, famed for ships: you stood in the Lelantine plain, but it pleased not your heart to make a temple there and wooded groves. From there you crossed the Euripus, far-shooting Apollo, and went up the green, holy hills, going on to Mycalessus and grassy-bedded Teumessus, and so came to the wood-clad abode of Thebe; for as yet no man lived in holy Thebe, nor were there tracks or ways about Thebe's wheat-bearing plain as yet. [229-238] And further still you went, O far-shooting Apollo, and came to Onchestus, Poseidon's bright grove: there the new- broken cold distressed with drawing the trim chariot gets spirit again, and the skilled driver springs from his car and goes on his way. Then the horses for a while rattle the empty car, being rid of guidance; and if they break the chariot in the woody grove, men look after the horses, but tilt the chariot and leave it there; for this was the rite from the very first. And the drivers pray to the lord of the shrine; but the chariot falls to the lot of the god. [239-243] Further yet you went, O far-shooting Apollo, and reached next Cephissus' sweet stream which pours forth its sweet- flowing water from Lilaea, and crossing over it, O worker from afar, you passed many-towered Ocalea and reached grassy Haliartus. [244-253] Then you went towards Telphusa: and there the pleasant place seemed fit for making a temple and wooded grove. You came very near and spoke to her: “Telphusa, here I am minded to make a glorious temple, an oracle for men, and hither they will always bring perfect hecatombs, both those who live in rich Peloponnesus and those of Europe and all the wave-washed isles, coming to seek oracles. And I will deliver to them all counsel that cannot fail, giving answer in my rich temple.” [254-276] So said Phoebus Apollo, and laid out all the foundations throughout, wide and very long. But when Telphusa saw this, she was angry in heart and spoke, saying: “Lord Phoebus, worker from afar, I will speak a word of counsel to your heart, since you are minded to make here a glorious temple to be an oracle for men who will always bring hither perfect hecatombs for you; yet I will speak out, and do you lay up my words in your heart. The trampling of swift horses and the sound of mules watering at my sacred springs will always irk you, and men will like better to gaze at the well-made chariots and stamping, swift-footed Divine Riddles - 37 horses than at your great temple and the many treasures that are within. But if you will be moved by me -- for you, lord, are stronger and mightier than I, and your strength is very great -- build at Crisa below the glades of Parnassus: there no bright chariot will clash, and there will be no noise of swift-footed horses near your well-built altar. But so the glorious tribes of men will bring gifts to you as Iepaeon (`Hail- Healer'), and you will receive with delight rich sacrifices from the people dwelling round about.” So said Telphusa, that she alone, and not the Far-Shooter, should have renown there; and she persuaded the Far- Shooter. [277-286] Further yet you went, far-shooting Apollo, until you came to the town of the presumptuous Phlegyae who dwell on this earth in a lovely glade near the Cephisian lake, caring not for Zeus. And thence you went speeding swiftly to the mountain ridge, and came to Crisa beneath snowy Parnassus, a foothill turned towards the west: a cliff hangs over if from above, and a hollow, rugged glade runs under. There the lord Phoebus Apollo resolved to make his lovely temple, and thus he said: [287-293 “In this place I am minded to build a glorious temple to be an oracle for men, and here they will always bring perfect hecatombs, both they who dwell in rich Peloponnesus and the men of Europe and from all the wave-washed isles, coming to question me. And I will deliver to them all counsel that cannot fail, answering them in my rich temple.” [294-299] When he had said this, Phoebus Apollo laid out all the foundations throughout, wide and very long; and upon these the sons of Erginus, Trophonius and Agamedes, dear to the deathless gods, laid a footing of stone. And the countless tribes of men built the whole temple of wrought stones, to be sung of for ever. [300-310] But nearby was a sweet flowing spring, and there with his strong bow the lord, the son of Zeus, killed the bloated, great she-dragon, a fierce monster wont to do great mischief to men upon earth, to men themselves and to their thin-shanked sheep; for she was a very bloody plague. She it was who once received from gold-throned Hera and brought up fell, cruel Typhaon to be a plague to men. Once on a time Hera bare him because she was angry with father Zeus, when the Son of Cronus bare all-glorious Athena in his head. Thereupon queenly Hera was angry and spoke thus among the assembled gods: [311-330] “Hear from me, all gods and goddesses, how cloud-gathering Zeus begins to dishonour me wantonly, when he has made me his true-hearted wife. See now, apart from me he has given birth to bright-eyed Athena who is foremost among all the blessed gods. But my son Hephaestus whom I bare was weakly among all the blessed gods and shrivelled of foot, a shame and disgrace to me in heaven, whom I myself took in my hands and cast out so that he fell in the great sea. But silver-shod Thetis the daughter of Nereus took and cared for him with her sisters: would that she had done other service to the blessed gods! O wicked one and crafty! What else will you now devise? How dare you by yourself give birth to bright-eyed Athena? Would not I have borne you a child? I, who was at least called your wife among the undying gods who hold wide heaven. Beware now lest I devise some evil thing for you hereafter: yes, now I will contrive that a son be born me to be foremost among the undying gods -- and that without casting shame on the holy bond of wedlock between you and me. And I will not come to your bed, but will consort with the blessed gods far off from you.” Divine Riddles - 38

[331-333] When she had so spoken, she went apart from the gods, being very angry. Then straightway large-eyed queenly Hera prayed, striking the ground flatwise with her hand, and speaking thus: [334-362] “Hear now, I pray, Earth and wide Heaven above, and you Titan gods who dwell beneath the earth about great Tartarus, and from whom are sprung both gods and men! Harken you now to me, one and all, and grant that I may bear a child apart from Zeus, no wit lesser than him in strength -- nay, let him be as much stronger than Zeus as all-seeing Zeus than Cronus.' Thus she cried and lashed the earth with her strong hand. Then the life- giving earth was moved: and when Hera saw it she was glad in heart, for she thought her prayer would be fulfilled. And thereafter she never came to the bed of wise Zeus for a full year, not to sit in her carved chair as aforetime to plan wise counsel for him, but stayed in her temples where many pray, and delighted in her offerings, large-eyed queenly Hera. But when the months and days were fulfilled and the seasons duly came on as the earth moved round, she bare one neither like the gods nor mortal men, fell, cruel Typhaon, to be a plague to men. Straightway large-eyed queenly Hera took him and bringing one evil thing to another such, gave him to the dragoness; and she received him. And this Typhaon used to work great mischief among the famous tribes of men. Whosoever met the dragoness, the day of doom would sweep him away, until the lord Apollo, who deals death from afar, shot a strong arrow at her. Then she, rent with bitter pangs, lay drawing great gasps for breath and rolling about that place. An awful noise swelled up unspeakable as she writhed continually this way and that amid the wood: and so she left her life, breathing it forth in blood. Then Phoebus Apollo boasted over her: [363-369] “Now rot here upon the soil that feeds man! You at least shall live no more to be a fell bane to men who eat the fruit of the all-nourishing earth, and who will bring hither perfect hecatombs. Against cruel death neither Typhoeus shall avail you nor ill-famed Chimera, but here shall the Earth and shining Hyperion make you rot.” [370-374] Thus said Phoebus, exulting over her: and darkness covered her eyes. And the holy strength of Helios made her rot away there; wherefore the place is now called Pytho,10 and men call the lord Apollo by another name, Pythian; because on that spot the power of piercing Helios made the monster rot away. [375-378] Then Phoebus Apollo saw that the sweet-flowing spring had beguiled him, and he started out in anger against Telphusa; and soon coming to her, he stood close by and spoke to her: [379-381] “Telphusa, you were not, after all, to keep to yourself this lovely place by deceiving my mind, and pour forth your clear flowing water: here my renown shall also be and not yours alone?” [382-387] Thus spoke the lord, far-working Apollo, and pushed over upon her a crag with a shower of rocks, hiding her streams: and he made himself an altar in a wooded grove very near the clear-flowing stream. In that place all men pray to the great one by the name Telphusian, because he humbled the stream of holy Telphusa.11 [388-439] Then Phoebus Apollo pondered in his heart what men he should bring in to be his ministers in sacrifice and to serve him in rocky Pytho. And while he considered this,

10 From the Greek word putho, ‘to rot’ or ‘decay.’ 11 He created an underground hot spring, the steam of which rises through the crevasse. Divine Riddles - 39 he became aware of a swift ship upon the wine-like sea in which were many men and goodly, Cretans from Cnossos, the city of Minos, they who do sacrifice to the prince and announce his decrees, whatsoever Phoebus Apollo, bearer of the golden blade, speaks in answer from his laurel tree below the dells of Parnassus. These men were sailing in their black ship for traffic and for profit to sandy Pylos and to the men of Pylos. But Phoebus Apollo met them: in the open sea he sprang upon their swift ship, like a dolphin in shape, and lay there, a great and awesome monster, and none of them gave heed so as to understand; but they sought to cast the dolphin overboard. But he kept shaking the black ship every way and made the timbers quiver. So they sat silent in their craft for fear, and did not loosen the sheets throughout the black, hollow ship, nor lowered the sail of their dark-prowed vessel, but as they had set it first of all with oxhide ropes, so they kept sailing on; for a rushing south wind hurried on the swift ship from behind. First they passed by Malea, and then along the Laconian coast they came to Taenarum, sea-garlanded town and country of Helios who gladdens men, where the thick- fleeced sheep of the lord Helios feed continually and occupy a glad-some country. There they wished to put their ship to shore, and land and comprehend the great marvel and see with their eyes whether the monster would remain upon the deck of the hollow ship, or spring back into the briny deep where fishes shoal. But the well-built ship would not obey the helm, but went on its way all along Peloponnesus: and the lord, far-working Apollo, guided it easily with the breath of the breeze. So the ship ran on its course and came to Arena and lovely Argyphea and Thryon, the ford of Alpheus, and well-placed Aepy and sandy Pylos and the men of Pylos; past Cruni it went and Chalcis and past Dyme and fair Elis, where the Epei rule. And at the time when she was making for Pherae, exulting in the breeze from Zeus, there appeared to them below the clouds the steep mountain of Ithaca, and Dulichium and Same and wooded Zacynthus. But when they were passed by all the coast of Peloponnesus, then, towards Crisa, that vast gulf began to heave in sight which through all its length cuts off the rich isle of Pelops. There came on them a strong, clear west- wind by ordinance of Zeus and blew from heaven vehemently, that with all speed the ship might finish coursing over the briny water of the sea. So they began again to voyage back towards the dawn and the sun: and the lord Apollo, son of Zeus, led them on until they reached far-seen Crisa, land of vines, and into haven: there the sea-coursing ship grounded on the sands. [440-451] Then, like a star at noonday, the lord, far-working Apollo, leaped from the ship: flashes of fire flew from him thick and their brightness reached to heaven. He entered into his shrine between priceless tripods, and there made a flame to flare up bright, showing forth the splendour of his shafts, so that their radiance filled all Crisa, and the wives and well-girded daughters of the Crisaeans raised a cry at that outburst of Phoebus; for he cast great fear upon them all. From his shrine he sprang forth again, swift as a thought, to speed again to the ship, bearing the form of a man, brisk and sturdy, in the prime of his youth, while his broad shoulders were covered with his hair: and he spoke to the Cretans, uttering winged words: [452-461] “Strangers, who are you? Whence come you sailing along the paths of the sea? Are you for traffic, or do you wander at random over the sea as pirates do who put their own lives to hazard and bring mischief to men of foreign parts as they roam? Why rest you so and are afraid, and do not go ashore nor stow the gear of your black ship? For that is the Divine Riddles - 40 custom of men who live by bread, whenever they come to land in their dark ships from the main, spent with toil; at once desire for sweet food catches them about the heart.” [462-473] So speaking, he put courage in their hearts, and the master of the Cretans answered him and said: “Stranger -- though you are nothing like mortal men in shape or stature, but are as the deathless gods -- hail and all happiness to you, and may the gods give you good. Now tell me truly that I may surely know it: what country is this, and what land, and what men live herein? As for us, with thoughts set otherwards, we were sailing over the great sea to Pylos from Crete (for from there we declare that we are sprung), but now are come on shipboard to this place by no means willingly -- another way and other paths -- and gladly would we return. But one of the deathless gods brought us here against our will.” [474-501] Then far-working Apollo answered them and said: “Strangers who once dwelt about wooded Cnossos but now shall return no more each to his loved city and fair house and dear wife; here shall you keep my rich temple that is honoured by many men. I am the son of Zeus; Apollo is my name: but you I brought here over the wide gulf of the sea, meaning you no hurt; nay, here you shall keep my rich temple that is greatly honoured among men, and you shall know the plans of the deathless gods, and by their will you shall be honoured continually for all time. And now come, make haste and do as I say. First loose the sheets and lower the sail, and then draw the swift ship up upon the land. Take out your goods and the gear of the straight ship, and make an altar upon the beach of the sea: light fire upon it and make an offering of white meal. Next, stand side by side around the altar and pray: and in as much as at the first on the hazy sea I sprang upon the swift ship in the form of a dolphin, pray to me as Apollo Delphinius; also the altar itself shall be called Delphi and overlooking for ever.12 Afterwards, sup beside your dark ship and pour an offering to the blessed gods who dwell on Olympus. But when you have put away craving for sweet food, come with me singing the hymn, the Paean (Hail, Healer!), until you come to the place where you shall keep my rich temple.” [502-523] So said Apollo. And they readily harkened to him and obeyed him. First they unfastened the sheets and let down the sail and lowered the mast by the forestays upon the mast- rest. Then, landing upon the beach of the sea, they hauled up the ship from the water to dry land and fixed long stays under it. Also they made an altar upon the beach of the sea, and when they had lit a fire, made an offering of white meal, and prayed standing around the altar as Apollo had bidden them. Then they took their meal by the swift, black ship, and poured an offering to the blessed gods who dwell on Olympus. And when they had put away craving for drink and food, they started out with the lord Apollo, the son of Zeus, to lead them, holding a lyre in his hands, and playing sweetly as he stepped high and featly. So the Cretans followed him to Pytho, marching in time as they chanted the Paean after the manner of the Cretan paean-singers and of those in whose hearts the heavenly Muse has put sweet- voiced song. With tireless feet they approached the ridge and straightway came to Parnassus and the lovely place where they were to dwell honoured by many men. There Apollo brought them and showed them his most holy sanctuary and rich temple. [524-525] But their spirit was stirred in their dear breasts, and the master of the Cretans asked him, saying:

12 The temple of Apollo at Delphi became the most sacred of all religious sites in the Greek World. Divine Riddles - 41

[526-530] “Lord, since you have brought us here far from our dear ones and our fatherland, -- for so it seemed good to your heart, -- tell us now how we shall live. That we would know of you. This land is not to be desired either for vineyards or for pastures so that we can live well thereon and also minister to men.” [531-544] Then Apollo, the son of Zeus, smiled upon them and said: `Foolish mortals and poor drudges are you, that you seek cares and hard toils and straits! Easily will I tell you a word and set it in your hearts. Though each one of you with knife in hand should slaughter sheep continually, yet would you always have abundant store, even all that the glorious tribes of men bring here for me. But guard you my temple and receive the tribes of men that gather to this place, and especially show mortal men my will, and do you keep righteousness in your heart.13 But if any shall be disobedient and pay no heed to my warning, of if there shall be any idle word or deed and outrage as is common among mortal men, then other men shall be your masters and with a strong hand shall make you subject for ever. All has been told you: do you keep it in your heart.” [545-546] And so, farewell, son of Zeus and Leto; but I will remember you and another hymn also.

The story of Apollo’s arrival in Delphi is also told by Ovid as following the Great Flood: Ovid, Metamorphoses i. 434 – 51 … when, therefore, the Earth, covered with mud by the late deluge, [435] was thoroughly heated by the ethereal sunshine and a penetrating warmth, it produced species of creatures innumerable; and partly restored the former shapes, and partly gave birth to new monsters. She, indeed, might have been unwilling, but then she produced you as well, you enormous Python; and you, unheard-of serpent, [440] was a source of terror to this new race of men, so vast a part of a mountain did you occupy. [441] The god that bears the bow,14 and that had never before used such arms, but against the deer and the timorous goats, destroyed him, overwhelmed with a thousand arrows, his quiver being well-nigh exhausted, as the venom oozed forth through the black wounds; [445] and that length of time might not efface the fame of the deed, he instituted sacred games, with contests famed in story, called “Pythia,” from the name of the serpent so conquered. In these, whosoever of the young men conquered in boxing, in running, or in chariot-racing, received the honor of a crown of beechen leaves. [450] As yet the laurel existed not, and Phoebus15 used to bind his temples, graceful with long hair, with garlands from any tree.

This is followed in Metamorphoses by the story of Apollo and Daphne, reproduced in the section below: The Myth Cycles; Thebaid.

13 People would come to Delphi from all over the ancient world. For a fee, they could ask a question to the god. The Pythia, a priestess, would sit on a tripod that spanned the chasm and as the steam rose and enveloped her, she would begin to speak the language of the gods in answer to the question. The priests would then translate the answer for the ‘customer.’ These answers were called Delphic Oracles and were believed to predict the future. 14 Apollo 15 Another name for Apollo Divine Riddles - 42

Ares (Mars) To Ares, Homeric Hymn #8. [1-17] Ares, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider, golden- helmed, doughty in heart, shield-bearer, saviour of cities, harnessed in bronze, strong of arm, unwearying, mighty with the spear, O defence of Olympus, father of warlike Victory, ally of Themis, stern governor of the rebellious, leader of righteous men, sceptred king of manliness, who whirl your fiery sphere among the planets in their sevenfold courses through the ether wherein your blazing steeds ever bear you above the third firmament of heaven; hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless youth! Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life, and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away bitter cowardice from my head and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul. Restrain also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife. Rather, O blessed one, give you me boldness to abide within the harmless laws of peace, avoiding strife and hatred and the violent fiends of death.

Ares, impetuous, self-serving and short-tempered, is far from the favourite son of Zeus. After being chased from the field of battle by Diomedes and Athena, he complained to his father but was soundly rebuked: Iliad v.888 - 98 [888] Zeus looked angrily at him and said, "Do not come whining here, fickle one. I hate you worst of all the gods in Olympus, for you are ever fighting and making mischief. You have the intolerable and stubborn spirit of your mother Hera: it is all I can do to manage her, and it is her doing that you are now in this plight: still, I cannot let you remain longer in such great pain; you are my own off-spring, and it was by me that your mother conceived you; if, however, you had been the son of any other god, you are so destructive that by this time you should have been lying lower than the sons of Heaven."16

Artemis (Diana) To Artemis, Homeric Hymn #27 [1-20] I sing of Artemis, whose shafts are of gold, who cheers on the hounds, the pure maiden, shooter of stags, who delights in archery, own sister to Apollo with the golden sword. Over the shadowy hills and windy peaks she draws her golden bow, rejoicing in the chase, and sends out grievous shafts. The tops of the high mountains tremble and the tangled wood echoes awesomely with the outcry of beasts: earthquakes and the sea also where fishes shoal. But the goddess with a bold heart turns every way destroying the race of wild beasts: and when she is satisfied and has cheered her heart, this huntress who delights in arrows slackens her supple bow and goes to the great house of her dear brother Phoebus Apollo, to the rich land of Delphi, there to order the lovely dance of the Muses and Graces. There she hangs up her curved bow and her arrows, and heads and leads the dances, gracefully arrayed, while all they utter their heavenly voice, singing how neat-ankled Leto bare children supreme among the immortals both in thought and in deed.

16 The Titans, sent to Tartarus by Zeus. Divine Riddles - 43

[21-22] Hail to you, children of Zeus and rich-haired Leto! And now I will remember you and another song also.

Athena (Minerva) To Athena, Homeric Hymn #28. [1-16] I begin to sing of Pallas Athena, the glorious goddess, bright-eyed, inventive, unbending of heart, pure virgin, saviour of cities, courageous, Tritogeneia. From his awful head wise Zeus himself bare her arrayed in warlike arms of flashing gold, and awe seized all the gods as they gazed. But Athena sprang quickly from the immortal head and stood before Zeus who holds the aegis, shaking a sharp spear: great Olympus began to reel horribly at the might of the bright-eyed goddess, and earth round about cried fearfully, and the sea was moved and tossed with dark waves, while foam burst forth suddenly: the bright Son of Hyperion stopped his swift-footed horses a long while, until the maiden Pallas Athena had stripped the heavenly armour from her immortal shoulders. And wise Zeus was glad. [17-18] And so hail to you, daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis! Now I will remember you and another song as well.

Demeter (Ceres) To Demeter, Homeric Hymn #2. [1-3] I begin to sing of rich-haired Demeter, awful goddess -- of her and her trim-ankled daughter17 whom Aidoneus18 rapt away, given to him by all-seeing Zeus the loud-thunderer. [4-18] Apart from Demeter, lady of the golden sword and glorious fruits, she was playing with the deep-bosomed daughters of Oceanus19 and gathering flowers over a soft meadow, roses and crocuses and beautiful violets, irises also and hyacinths and the narcissus, which Earth made to grow at the will of Zeus and to please the Host of Many,20 to be a snare for the bloom-like girl -- a marvellous, radiant flower. It was a thing of awe whether for deathless gods or mortal men to see: from its root grew a hundred blooms and is smelled most sweetly, so that all wide heaven above and the whole earth and the sea's salt swell laughed for joy. And the girl was amazed and reached out with both hands to take the lovely toy; but the wide-pathed earth yawned there in the plain of Nysa, and the lord, Host of Many, with his immortal horses sprang out upon her -- the Son of Cronus, He who has many names.21 [19-32] He caught her up reluctant on his golden car and bore her away lamenting. Then she cried out shrilly with her voice, calling upon her father, the Son of Cronus, who is most high and excellent. But no one, either of the deathless gods or of mortal men, heard her voice, nor yet the olive-trees bearing rich fruit: only tender-hearted Hecate, bright-coiffed,

1717 Persephone, the daughter of Demeter and Zeus (Theogony 912-14). 18 Another name for Hades. 19 For their names, see below lines 405-33. 20 Hades, again. 21 Speaking or writing the name of Hades was something of a taboo, so he is given several alternative epithets. Divine Riddles - 44 the daughter of Perses,22 heard the girl from her cave, and the lord Helios, Hyperion's bright son, as she cried to her father, the Son of Cronus. But he was sitting aloof, apart from the gods, in his temple where many pray, and receiving sweet offerings from mortal men. So he, that Son of Cronus, of many names, who is Ruler of Many and Host of Many, was bearing her away by leave of Zeus on his immortal chariot -- his own brother's child and all unwilling. [33-39] And so long as she, the goddess, yet beheld earth and starry heaven and the strong-flowing sea where fishes shoal, and the rays of the sun, and still hoped to see her dear mother and the tribes of the eternal gods, so long hope calmed her great heart for all her trouble.... [LACUNA] ....and the heights of the mountains and the depths of the sea rang with her immortal voice: and her queenly mother heard her. [40-53] Bitter pain seized her heart, and she rent the covering upon her divine hair with her dear hands: her dark cloak she cast down from both her shoulders and sped, like a wild- bird, over the firm land and yielding sea, seeking her child. But no one would tell her the truth, neither god nor mortal men; and of the birds of omen none came with true news for her. Then for nine days queenly Demeter wandered over the earth with flaming torches in her hands, so grieved that she never tasted ambrosia and the sweet draught of nectar, nor sprinkled her body with water. But when the tenth enlightening dawn had come, Hecate, with a torch in her hands, met her, and spoke to her and told her news: [54-58] “Queenly Demeter, bringer of seasons and giver of good gifts, what god of heaven or what mortal man has rapt away Persephone and pierced with sorrow your dear heart? For I heard her voice, yet saw not with my eyes who it was. But I tell you truly and shortly all I know.” [59-73] So, then, said Hecate. And the daughter of rich- haired Rhea answered her not, but sped swiftly with her, holding flaming torches in her hands. So they came to Helios, who is watchman of both gods and men, and stood in front of his horses: and the bright goddess enquired of him: “Helios, do you at least regard me, goddess as I am, if ever by word or deed of mine I have cheered your heart and spirit. Through the fruitless air I heard the thrilling cry of my daughter whom I bore, sweet scion of my body and lovely in form, as of one seized violently; though with my eyes I saw nothing. But you -- for with your beams you look down from the bright upper air over all the earth and sea -- tell me truly of my dear child, if you have seen her anywhere, what god or mortal man has violently seized her against her will and mine, and so made off.” [74-87] So said she. And the Son of Hyperion answered her: “Queen Demeter, daughter of rich-haired Rhea, I will tell you the truth; for I greatly reverence and pity you in your grief for your trim-ankled daughter. None other of the deathless gods is to blame, but only cloud- gathering Zeus who gave her to Hades, her father's brother, to be called his buxom wife. And Hades seized her and took her loudly crying in his chariot down to his realm of mist and gloom. Yet, goddess, cease your loud lament and keep not vain anger unrelentingly: Aidoneus, the Ruler of Many, is no unfitting husband among the deathless gods for your child, being your own brother and born of the same stock: also, for honour, he has that third share which he received when division was made at the first, and is appointed lord of those among whom he dwells.”

22 Son of the Titan, Crius. Divine Riddles - 45

[88-89] So he spoke, and called to his horses: and at his chiding they quickly whirled the swift chariot along, like long- winged birds. [90-112] But grief yet more terrible and savage came into the heart of Demeter, and thereafter she was so angered with the dark-clouded Son of Cronus that she avoided the gathering of the gods and high Olympus, and went to the towns and rich fields of men, disfiguring her form a long while. And no one of men or deep-bosomed women knew her when they saw her, until she came to the house of wise Celeus23 who then was lord of fragrant Eleusis.24 Vexed in her dear heart, she sat near the wayside by the Maiden Well, from which the women of the place were used to draw water, in a shady place over which grew an olive shrub. And she was like an ancient woman who is cut off from childbearing and the gifts of garland-loving Aphrodite, like the nurses of king's children who deal justice, or like the house-keepers in their echoing halls. There the daughters of Celeus, son of Eleusis, saw her, as they were coming for easy-drawn water, to carry it in pitchers of bronze to their dear father's house: four were they and like goddesses in the flower of their girlhood, Callidice and Cleisidice and lovely Demo and Callithoe who was the eldest of them all. They knew her not, -- for the gods are not easily discerned by mortals -- but standing nearby her spoke winged words: [113-117) “Old mother, whence and who are you of folk born long ago? Why are you gone away from the city and do not draw near the houses? For there in the shady halls are women of just such age as you, and others younger; and they would welcome you both by word and by deed.” [118-1440 Thus they said. And she, that queen among goddesses answered them saying: “Hail, dear children, whosoever you are of woman-kind. I will tell you my story; for it is not unseemly that I should tell you truly what you ask. Doso is my name, for my stately mother gave it me. And now I am come from Crete over the sea's wide back, -- not willingly; but pirates brought me from there by force of strength against my liking. Afterwards they put in with their swift craft to Thoricus, and there the women landed on the shore in full throng and the men likewise, and they began to make ready a meal by the stern-cables of the ship. But my heart craved not pleasant food, and I fled secretly across the dark country and escaped my masters, that they should not take me unpurchased across the sea, there to win a price for me.25 And so I wandered and am come here: and I know not at all what land this is or what people are in it. But may all those who dwell on Olympus give you husbands and birth of children as parents desire, so you take pity on me, maidens, and show me this clearly that I may learn, dear children, to the house of what man and woman I may go, to work for them cheerfully at such tasks as belong to a woman of my age. Well could I nurse a new born child, holding him in my arms, or keep house, or spread my masters' bed in a recess of the well-built chamber, or teach the women their work.' [145-146] So said the goddess. And straightway the unwed maiden Callidice, goodliest in form of the daughters of Celeus, answered her and said:

23 Kings of Eleusis and father of Demophon and Triptolemus 24 The cult of Demeter at Eleusis was one of the most important in Athens. Unfortunately, it was a mystery cult and its secrets were so closely and devotedly guarded that we know nothing about it today. 25 There was a lucrative trade in slaves in the ancient world. Pirates would often kidnap travelers and take them to a foreign country to be sold. Divine Riddles - 46

(ll. 147-168) “Mother, what the gods send us, we mortals bear perforce, although we suffer; for they are much stronger than we. But now I will teach you clearly, telling you the names of men who have great power and honour here and are chief among the people, guarding our city's coif of towers by their wisdom and true judgements: there is wise Triptolemus and Dioclus and Polyxeinus and blameless Eumolpus and Dolichus and our own brave father. All these have wives who manage in the house, and no one of them, so soon as she has seen you, would dishonour you and turn you from the house, but they will welcome you; for indeed you are godlike. But if you will, stay here; and we will go to our father's house and tell Metaneira, our deep-bosomed mother, all this matter fully, that she may bid you rather come to our home than search after the houses of others. She has an only son, late-born, who is being nursed in our well-built house, a child of many prayers and welcome: if you could bring him up until he reached the full measure of youth, any one of womankind who should see you would straightway envy you, such gifts would our mother give for his upbringing.” [169-183] So she spoke: and the goddess bowed her head in assent. And they filled their shining vessels with water and carried them off rejoicing. Quickly they came to their father's great house and straightway told their mother according as they had heard and seen. Then she bade them go with all speed and invite the stranger to come for a measureless hire. As hinds or heifers in spring time, when sated with pasture, bound about a meadow, so they, holding up the folds of their lovely garments, darted down the hollow path, and their hair like a crocus flower streamed about their shoulders. And they found the good goddess near the wayside where they had left her before, and led her to the house of their dear father. And she walked behind, distressed in her dear heart, with her head veiled and wearing a dark cloak which waved about the slender feet of the goddess. [184-211] Soon they came to the house of heaven-nurtured Celeus and went through the portico to where their queenly mother sat by a pillar of the close-fitted roof, holding her son, a tender scion, in her bosom. And the girls ran to her. But the goddess walked to the threshold: and her head reached the roof and she filled the doorway with a heavenly radiance. Then awe and reverence and pale fear took hold of Metaneira, and she rose up from her couch before Demeter, and bade her be seated. But Demeter, bringer of seasons and giver of perfect gifts, would not sit upon the bright couch, but stayed silent with lovely eyes cast down until careful Iambe placed a jointed seat for her and threw over it a silvery fleece. Then she sat down and held her veil in her hands before her face. A long time she sat upon the stool without speaking because of her sorrow, and greeted no one by word or by sign, but rested, never smiling, and tasting neither food nor drink, because she pined with longing for her deep-bosomed daughter, until careful Iambe -- who pleased her moods in aftertime also -- moved the holy lady with many a quip and jest to smile and laugh and cheer her heart. Then Metaneira filled a cup with sweet wine and offered it to her; but she refused it, for she said it was not lawful for her to drink red wine, but bade them mix meal and water with soft mint and give her to drink. And Metaneira mixed the draught and gave it to the goddess as she asked. So the great queen Demeter received it to observe the sacrament....26 [LACUNA]

26 One of few details we do know about the rites of Demeter: the Holy Communion in which initiates drank a mixture of barley-meal and mint. Divine Riddles - 47

[212-223] And of them all, well-girded Metaneira first began to speak: “Hail, lady! For I think you are not meanly but nobly born; truly dignity and grace are conspicuous upon your eyes as in the eyes of kings that deal justice.27 Yet we mortals bear perforce what the gods send us, though we be grieved; for a yoke is set upon our necks. But now, since you are come here, you shall have what I can bestow: and nurse me this child whom the gods gave me in my old age and beyond my hope, a son much prayed for. If you should bring him up until he reach the full measure of youth, any one of womankind that sees you will straightway envy you, so great reward would I give for his upbringing.” [224-230] Then rich-haired Demeter answered her: “And to you, also, lady, all hail, and may the gods give you good! Gladly will I take the boy to my breast, as you bid me, and will nurse him. Never, I believe, through any heedlessness of his nurse shall witchcraft hurt him nor yet the Undercutter: for I know a charm far stronger than the Woodcutter, and I know an excellent safeguard against woeful witchcraft.”28 [231-247] When she had so spoken, she took the child in her fragrant bosom with her divine hands: and his mother was glad in her heart. So the goddess nursed in the palace Demophon, wise Celeus' goodly son whom well-girded Metaneira bore. And the child grew like some immortal being, not fed with food nor nourished at the breast: for by day rich- crowned Demeter would anoint him with ambrosia as if he were the offspring of a god and breathe sweetly upon him as she held him in her bosom. But at night she would hide him like a brand in the heart of the fire, unknown to his dear parents. And it wrought great wonder in these that he grew beyond his age; for he was like the gods face to face. And she would have made him deathless and ageless, had not well-girded Metaneira in her heedlessness kept watch by night from her sweet-smelling chamber and spied. But she wailed and smote her two hips, because she feared for her son and was greatly distraught in her heart; so she lamented and uttered winged words: [248-249] “Demophon, my son, the strange woman buries you deep in fire and works grief and bitter sorrow for me.” [250-255] Thus she spoke, mourning. And the bright goddess, lovely-crowned Demeter, heard her, and was angry with her. So with her divine hands she snatched from the fire the dear son whom Metaneira had born unhoped-for in the palace, and cast him from her to the ground; for she was terribly angry in her heart. Forthwith she said to well-girded Metaneira: [256-274] “Witless are you mortals and dull to foresee your lot, whether of good or evil, that comes upon you. For now in your heedlessness you have wrought folly past healing; for -- be witness the oath of the gods, the relentless water of Styx -- I would have made your dear son deathless and ageless all his days and would have bestowed on him everlasting honour, but now he can in no way escape death and the fates. Yet shall unfailing honour always rest upon him, because he lay upon my knees and slept in my arms. But, as the years move round and when he is in his prime, the sons of the Eleusians shall ever wage war and dread strife with one another continually. Lo! I am that Demeter who has share of honour and is the

27 Until very recently it was believed that nobility were a special breed of humans – innately endowed with wisdom and beauty such that they were easily recognizable to each other. Regardless of their circumstances, one noble is obligated to offer hospitality to another. 28 The Undercutter and the Woodcutter are both names for the worm that causes teething and toothaches. Divine Riddles - 48 greatest help and cause of joy to the undying gods and mortal men. But now, let all the people build be a great temple and an altar below it and beneath the city and its sheer wall upon a rising hillock above Callichorus. And I myself will teach my rites, that hereafter you may reverently perform them and so win the favour of my heart.” [275-281] When she had so said, the goddess changed her stature and her looks, thrusting old age away from her: beauty spread round about her and a lovely fragrance was wafted from her sweet-smelling robes, and from the divine body of the goddess a light shone afar, while golden tresses spread down over her shoulders, so that the strong house was filled with brightness as with lightning. And so she went out from the palace. [281-291] And straightway Metaneira's knees were loosed and she remained speechless for a long while and did not remember to take up her late-born son from the ground. But his sisters heard his pitiful wailing and sprang down from their well-spread beds: one of them took up the child in her arms and laid him in her bosom, while another revived the fire, and a third rushed with soft feet to bring their mother from her fragrant chamber. And they gathered about the struggling child and washed him, embracing him lovingly; but he was not comforted, because nurses and handmaids much less skilful were holding him now. [292-300] All night long they sought to appease the glorious goddess, quaking with fear. But, as soon as dawn began to show, they told powerful Celeus all things without fail, as the lovely-crowned goddess Demeter charged them. So Celeus called the countless people to an assembly and bade them make a goodly temple for rich-haired Demeter and an altar upon the rising hillock.29 And they obeyed him right speedily and harkened to his voice, doing as he commanded. As for the child, he grew like an immortal being. [301-320] Now when they had finished building and had drawn back from their toil, they went every man to his house. But golden-haired Demeter sat there apart from all the blessed gods and stayed, wasting with yearning for her deep-bosomed daughter. Then she caused a most dreadful and cruel year for mankind over the all-nourishing earth: the ground would not make the seed sprout, for rich-crowned Demeter kept it hid. In the fields the oxen drew many a curved plough in vain, and much white barley was cast upon the land without avail. So she would have destroyed the whole race of man with cruel famine and have robbed them who dwell on Olympus of their glorious right of gifts and sacrifices, had not Zeus perceived and marked this in his heart. First he sent golden-winged Iris to call rich- haired Demeter, lovely in form. So he commanded. And she obeyed the dark-clouded Son of Cronus, and sped with swift feet across the space between. She came to the stronghold of fragrant Eleusis, and there finding dark-cloaked Demeter in her temple, spoke to her and uttered winged words: [321-323] “Demeter, father Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, calls you to come join the tribes of the eternal gods: come therefore, and let not the message I bring from Zeus pass unobeyed.” [324-333] Thus said Iris imploring her. But Demeter's heart was not moved. Then again the father sent forth all the blessed and eternal gods besides: and they came, one after the other, and kept calling her and offering many very beautiful gifts and whatever right she might be pleased to choose among the deathless gods. Yet no one was able to persuade her mind and will, so wrath was she in her heart; but she stubbornly rejected all their words: for

29 The remains of the temple are still there, the subject of ongoing archaeological work. Divine Riddles - 49 she vowed that she would never set foot on fragrant Olympus nor let fruit spring out of the ground, until she beheld with her eyes her own fair-faced daughter. [334-346] Now when all-seeing Zeus the loud-thunderer heard this, he sent the Slayer of Argus whose wand is of gold to Erebus,30 so that having won over Hades with soft words, he might lead forth chaste Persephone to the light from the misty gloom to join the gods, and that her mother might see her with her eyes and cease from her anger. And Hermes obeyed, and leaving the house of Olympus, straightway sprang down with speed to the hidden places of the earth. And he found the lord Hades in his house seated upon a couch, and his shy mate with him, much reluctant, because she yearned for her mother. But she was afar off, brooding on her fell design because of the deeds of the blessed gods. And the strong Slayer of Argus drew near and said: [347-356] “Dark-haired Hades, ruler over the departed, father Zeus bids me bring noble Persephone forth from Erebus unto the gods, that her mother may see her with her eyes and cease from her dread anger with the immortals; for now she plans an awful deed, to destroy the weakly tribes of earthborn men by keeping seed hidden beneath the earth, and so she makes an end of the honours of the undying gods. For she keeps fearful anger and does not consort with the gods, but sits aloof in her fragrant temple, dwelling in the rocky hold of Eleusis.” [357-359] So he said. And Aidoneus, ruler over the dead, smiled grimly and obeyed the behest of Zeus the king. For he straightway urged wise Persephone, saying: [360-369] “Go now, Persephone, to your dark-robed mother, go, and feel kindly in your heart towards me: be not so exceedingly cast down; for I shall be no unfitting husband for you among the deathless gods, that am own brother to father Zeus. And while you are here, you shall rule all that lives and moves and shall have the greatest rights among the deathless gods: those who defraud you and do not appease your power with offerings, reverently performing rites and paying fit gifts, shall be punished for evermore.” [370-383] When he said this, wise Persephone was filled with joy and hastily sprang up for gladness. But he on his part secretly gave her sweet pomegranate seed to eat, taking care for himself that she might not remain continually with grave, dark- robed Demeter. Then Aidoneus the Ruler of Many openly got ready his deathless horses beneath the golden chariot. And she mounted on the chariot, and the strong Slayer of Argus took reins and whip in his dear hands and drove forth from the hall, the horses speeding readily. Swiftly they traversed their long course, and neither the sea nor river-waters nor grassy glens nor mountain- peaks checked the career of the immortal horses, but they clave the deep air above them as they went. And Hermes brought them to the place where rich-crowned Demeter was staying and checked them before her fragrant temple. [384-404] And when Demeter saw them, she rushed forth as does a Maenad down some thick-wooded mountain, while Persephone on the other side, when she saw her mother's sweet eyes, left the chariot and horses, and leaped down to run to her, and falling upon her neck, embraced her. But while Demeter was still holding her dear child in her arms, her heart suddenly misgave her for some snare, so that she feared greatly and ceased fondling her daughter and asked of her at once: `My child, tell me, surely you have not tasted any food while you were below? Speak out and hide nothing, but let us both know. For if you

30 Hermes Divine Riddles - 50 have not, you shall come back from loathly Hades and live with me and your father, the dark-clouded Son of Cronus and be honoured by all the deathless gods; but if you have tasted food, you must go back again beneath the secret places of the earth, there to dwell a third part of the seasons every year: yet for the two parts you shall be with me and the other deathless gods. But when the earth shall bloom with the fragrant flowers of spring in every kind, then from the realm of darkness and gloom you shall come up once more to be a wonder for gods and mortal men. And now tell me how he rapt you away to the realm of darkness and gloom, and by what trick did the strong Host of Many beguile you?' [405-433] Then beautiful Persephone answered her thus: “Mother, I will tell you all without error. When luck-bringing Hermes came, swift messenger from my father the Son of Cronus and the other Sons of Heaven, bidding me come back from Erebus that you might see me with your eyes and so cease from your anger and fearful wrath against the gods, I sprang up at once for joy; but he secretly put in my mouth sweet food, a pomegranate seed, and forced me to taste against my will. Also I will tell how he rapt me away by the deep plan of my father the Son of Cronus and carried me off beneath the depths of the earth, and will relate the whole matter as you ask. All we were playing in a lovely meadow, Leucippe and Phaeno and Electra and Ianthe, Melita also and Iache with Rhodea and Callirhoe and Melobosis and Tyche and Ocyrhoe, fair as a flower, Chryseis, Ianeira, Acaste and Admete and Rhodope and Pluto and charming Calypso; Styx too was there and Urania and lovely Galaxaura with Pallas who rouses battles and Artemis delighting in arrows: we were playing and gathering sweet flowers in our hands, soft crocuses mingled with irises and hyacinths, and rose-blooms and lilies, marvellous to see, and the narcissus which the wide earth caused to grow yellow as a crocus. That I plucked in my joy; but the earth parted beneath, and there the strong lord, the Host of Many, sprang forth and in his golden chariot he bore me away, all unwilling, beneath the earth: then I cried with a shrill cry. All this is true, sore though it grieves me to tell the tale.' [434-437] So did they turn, with hearts at one, greatly cheer each the other's soul and spirit with many an embrace: their heart had relief from their grief while each took and gave back joyousness. [438-440] Then bright-coiffed Hecate came near to them, and often did she embrace the daughter of holy Demeter: and from that time the lady Hecate was minister and companion to Persephone. [441-459] And all-seeing Zeus sent a messenger to them, rich-haired Rhea, to bring dark- cloaked Demeter to join the families of the gods: and he promised to give her what right she should choose among the deathless gods and agreed that her daughter should go down for the third part of the circling year to darkness and gloom, but for the two parts should live with her mother and the other deathless gods. Thus he commanded. And the goddess did not disobey the message of Zeus; swiftly she rushed down from the peaks of Olympus and came to the plain of Rharus, rich, fertile corn-land once, but then in nowise fruitful, for it lay idle and utterly leafless, because the white grains were hidden by design of trim-ankled Demeter. But afterwards, as springtime waxed, it was soon to be waving with long ears of corn, and its rich furrows to be loaded with grain upon the ground, while others would already be bound in sheaves. There first she landed from the fruitless upper air: and glad Divine Riddles - 51

were the goddesses to see each other and cheered in heart. Then bright-coiffed Rhea said to Demeter: [460-469] “Come, my daughter; for far-seeing Zeus the loud- thunderer calls you to join the families of the gods, and has promised to give you what rights you please among the deathless gods, and has agreed that for a third part of the circling year your daughter shall go down to darkness and gloom, but for the two parts shall be with you and the other deathless gods: so has he declared it shall be and has bowed his head in token. But come, my child, obey, and be not too angry unrelentingly with the dark-clouded Son of Cronus; but rather increase forthwith for men the fruit that gives them life.” [470-482] So spoke Rhea. And rich-crowned Demeter did not refuse but straightway made fruit to spring up from the rich lands, so that the whole wide earth was laden with leaves and flowers. Then she went, and to the kings who deal justice, Triptolemus and Diocles, the horse-driver, and to doughty Eumolpus and Celeus, leader of the people, she showed the conduct of her rites and taught them all her mysteries, to Triptolemus and Polyxeinus and Diocles also, -- awful mysteries which no one may in any way transgress or pry into or utter, for deep awe of the gods checks the voice. Happy is he among men upon earth who has seen these mysteries; but he who is uninitiate and who has no part in them, never has lot of like good things once he is dead, down in the darkness and gloom. [483-489] But when the bright goddess had taught them all, they went to Olympus to the gathering of the other gods. And there they dwell beside Zeus who delights in thunder, awful and reverend goddesses. Right blessed is he among men on earth whom they freely love: soon they do send Pluto as guest to his great house, Pluto who gives wealth to mortal men. [490-495] And now, queen of the land of sweet Eleusis and sea-girt Paros and rocky Antron, lady, giver of good gifts, bringer of seasons, queen Demeter, be gracious, you and your daughter all beauteous Persephone, and for my song grant me heart-cheering substance. And now I will remember you and another song also.

For Ovid’s version of this story see below under Hades.

Dionysus (Bacchus) Dionysus is the youngest of the gods of Olympus. Although he is included in the Homeric Hymns¸ he is nowhere mentioned in the Iliad. To Dionysus, Homeric Hymn #7.31 [1-16] I will tell of Dionysus, the son of glorious Semele,32 how he appeared on a jutting headland by the shore of the fruitless sea, seeming like a stripling in the first flush of manhood: his rich, dark hair was waving about him, and on his strong shoulders he wore a

31 Homeric Hymn #1 is To Dionysus and seems to have related the story of his birth. It survives only as a few lines and has been left out of this collection. 32 The story of the birth of Dionysus, and myths associated with this god, see below under Myth Cycles; Thebaid; Semele, Dionysus. Divine Riddles - 52 purple robe. Presently there came swiftly over the sparkling Tyrsenian Sea33 pirates on a well- decked ship -- a miserable doom led them on. When they saw him they made signs to one another and sprang out quickly, and seizing him straightway, put him on board their ship exultingly; for they thought him the son of heaven-nurtured kings. They sought to bind him with rude bonds, but the bonds would not hold him, and the withes fell far away from his hands and feet: and he sat with a smile in his dark eyes. Then the helmsman understood all and cried out at once to his fellows and said: [17-24] “Madmen! What god is this whom you have taken and bind, strong that he is? Not even the well-built ship can carry him. Surely this is either Zeus or Apollo who has the silver bow, or Poseidon, for he looks not like mortal men but like the gods who dwell on Olympus. Come, then, let us set him free upon the dark shore at once: do not lay hands on him, lest he grow angry and stir up dangerous winds and heavy squalls.” [25-31] So said he: but the master chid him with taunting words: “Madman, mark the wind and help hoist sail on the ship: catch all the sheets. As for this fellow we men will see to him: I reckon he is bound for Egypt or for Cyprus or to the Hyperboreans or further still. But in the end he will speak out and tell us his friends and all his wealth and his brothers, now that providence has thrown him in our way.”34 [32-54] When he had said this, he had mast and sail hoisted on the ship, and the wind filled the sail and the crew hauled taut the sheets on either side. But soon strange things were seen among them. First of all sweet, fragrant wine ran streaming throughout all the black ship and a heavenly smell arose, so that all the sailors were seized with amazement when they saw it. And all at once a vine spread out both ways along the top of the sail with many clusters hanging down from it, and a dark ivy-plant twined about the mast, blossoming with flowers, and with rich berries growing on it; and all the thole-pins were covered with garlands. When the pirates saw all this, then at last they bade the helmsman to put the ship to land. But the god changed into a dreadful lion there on the ship, in the bows, and roared loudly: amidships also he showed his wonders and created a shaggy bear which stood up ravening, while on the forepeak was the lion glaring fiercely with scowling brows. And so the sailors fled into the stern and crowded bemused about the right-minded helmsman, until suddenly the lion sprang upon the master and seized him; and when the sailors saw it they leapt out overboard one and all into the bright sea, escaping from a miserable fate, and were changed into dolphins. But on the helmsman Dionysus had mercy and held him back and made him altogether happy, saying to him: [55-57] “Take courage, good...; you have found favour with my heart. I am loud-crying Dionysus whom Cadmus' daughter Semele bore in union with Zeus.” [58-59] Hail, child of fair-faced Semele! He who forgets you can in no wise order sweet song.

33 Tyrrhenian Sea. The Tyrrhenians were of Pelasgain origin from the area of Dodona. They colonized the north- western area of the Italian peninsula later called Etruria, but their habitation extended some distance south. Rome itself may have originally been a Tyrrhenian settlement. 34 When pirates, often slave traders, captured a wealthy or noble person, they would ransom the captive rather than sell them as a slave. Divine Riddles - 53

To Dionysus, Homeric Hymn #26. [1-9] I begin to sing of ivy-crowned Dionysus, the loud- crying god, splendid son of Zeus and glorious Semele.35 The rich- haired Nymphs received him in their bosoms from the lord his father and fostered and nurtured him carefully in the dells of Nysa, where by the will of his father he grew up in a sweet-smelling cave, being reckoned among the immortals. But when the goddesses had brought him up, a god often hymned, then began he to wander continually through the woody valleys, thickly wreathed with ivy and laurel. And the Nymphs followed in his train with him for their leader; and the boundless forest was filled with their outcry. [10-13] And so hail to you, Dionysus, god of abundant clusters!36 Grant that we may come again rejoicing to this season, and from that season onwards for many a year.

Gaia (Terra) To Gaia, Mother Earth, Homeric Hymn #30. [1-16] I will sing of well-founded Earth, mother of all, eldest of all beings. She feeds all creatures that are in the world, all that go upon the goodly land, and all that are in the paths of the seas, and all that fly: all these are fed of her store. Through you, O queen, men are blessed in their children and blessed in their harvests, and to you it belongs to give means of life to mortal men and to take it away. Happy is the man whom you delight to honour! He has all things abundantly: his fruitful land is laden with corn, his pastures are covered with cattle, and his house is filled with good things. Such men rule orderly in their cities of fair women: great riches and wealth follow them: their sons exult with ever-fresh delight, and their daughters in flower-laden bands play and skip merrily over the soft flowers of the field. Thus is it with those whom you honour O holy goddess, bountiful spirit. [17-19] Hail, Mother of the gods, wife of starry Heaven; freely bestow upon me for this my song substance that cheers the heart! And now I will remember you and another song also.

Hades (Pluto) Hades is not included in the Homeric Hymns for obvious reasons: no one wanted to invoke the god of the underworld and few would even mention his name either in voice or in print. The most famous story associated with Hades is his marriage to Persephone.37

Hephaestus (Vulcan) To Hephaestus, Homeric Hymn #20. [1-7] Sing, clear-voiced Muses, of Hephaestus famed for inventions. With bright-eyed Athena he taught men glorious gifts throughout the world, -- men who before used to dwell

35 For the birth of Dionysus see below under Myth Cycles; Thebaid; Semele. 36 Cluster of grapes, that is… Dionysus is god of wine and the vine. 37 See Theogony 758 -806 above: The Origin of Things: The Formation of the Earth and the Birth of the Gods: Hades. Divine Riddles - 54 in caves in the mountains like wild beasts. But now that they have learned crafts through Hephaestus the famed worker, easily they live a peaceful life in their own houses the whole year round. [8] Be gracious, Hephaestus, and grant me success and prosperity!

The Infidelity of Aphrodite: Ovid, Metamorphoses v.170 – 191 [170] Love has captivated even this Sun, who rules all things by his ethereal light. I will relate the loves of the Sun. This god is supposed to have been the first to see the adultery of Venus with Mars;38 this god is the first to see everything. He was grieved at what was done, and showed to the husband, the son of Juno,39 the wrong done to his bed, and the place of the intrigue. [175] Both his senses, and the work which his skilful right hand was then holding, quitted him on the instant. Immediately, he files out some slender chains of brass, and nets, and meshes, which can escape the eye. The finest threads cannot surpass that work, nor yet the cobweb that hangs from the top of the beam. [180] He makes it so, too, as to yield to a slight touch, and a gentle movement, and skilfully arranges it drawn around the bed. When the wife and the gallant come into the same bed, being both caught through the artifice of the husband, and chains prepared by this new contrivance, they are held fast in the very midst of their embraces. [185] The Lemnian god40 immediately threw open the folding doors of ivory, and admitted the Deities. There they lay disgracefully bound. And yet many a one of the gods, not the serious ones, could fain wish thus to become disgraced. The gods of heaven laughed, and for a long time was this the most noted story in all heaven. [190] The Cytherean goddess exacts satisfaction of the Sun, in remembrance of this betrayal; and, in her turn, disturbs him with the like passion, who had disturbed her secret amours. Aphrodite then bore Harmonia, a mortal woman, and she became the wife of Cadmus. See below Myth Cycles; Thebaid; Cadmus.

Hera (Juno) To Hera, Homeric Hymn #12. [1-5] I sing of golden-throned Hera whom Rhea bore. Queen of the immortals is she, surpassing all in beauty: she is the sister and the wife of loud-thundering Zeus, -- the glorious one whom all the blessed throughout high Olympus reverence and honour even as Zeus who delights in thunder.

Hera was the wife of Zeus but their relationship was not always a healthy one. They fought bitterly over a number of issues, including the conduct and outcome of the Trojan war. At one point, Hera decides to trick her husband to get her way:

38 Aphrodite and Ares. 39 Referring to Vulcan (Hephaestus) the son of Juno (Hera). Hephaestus and Aphrodite were married but the latter had an affair with Ares (Mars), the god of war. 40 The island of Lemnos was the favorite haunt of Hephaestus. Divine Riddles - 55

Iliad xiv. 156 – 353 Then she turned her eyes to Zeus as he sat on the topmost crests of many-fountained Ida, and loathed him. She set herself to think how she might hoodwink him, and in the end she deemed that it would be best for her to go to Ida and array herself in rich attire, in the hope that Zeus might become enamoured of her, and wish to embrace her. While he was thus engaged a sweet and careless sleep might be made to steal over his eyes and senses. [166] She went, therefore, to the room which her son Hephaestus had made her, and the doors of which he had cunningly fastened by means of a secret key so that no other god could open them. Here she entered and closed the doors behind her. She cleansed all the dirt from her fair body with ambrosia, then she anointed herself with olive oil, ambrosial, very soft, and scented especially for herself- if it were so much as shaken in the bronze- floored house of Zeus, the scent pervaded the universe of heaven and earth. With this she anointed her delicate skin, and then she plaited the fair ambrosial locks that flowed in a stream of golden tresses from her immortal head. She put on the wondrous robe which Athena had worked for her with consummate art, and had embroidered with manifold devices; she fastened it about her bosom with golden clasps, and she girded herself with a girdle that had a hundred tassels: then she fastened her earrings, three brilliant pendants that glistened most beautifully, through the pierced lobes of her ears, and threw a lovely new veil over her head. She bound her sandals on to her feet, and when she had arrayed herself perfectly to her satisfaction, she left her room and called Aphrodite to come aside and speak to her. "My dear child," said she, "will you do what I am going to ask of you, or will refuse me because you are angry at my being on the Danaan side, while you are on the Trojan?" [193] Zeus's daughter Aphrodite answered, "Hera, august queen of goddesses, daughter of mighty Cronus, say what you want, and I will do it for at once, if I can, and if it can be done at all." [197] Then Hera told her a lying tale and said, "I want you to endow me with some of those fascinating charms, the spells of which bring all things mortal and immortal to your feet. I am going to the world's end to visit Oceanus (from whom all we gods proceed) and mother Tethys: they received me in their house, took care of me, and brought me up, having taken me over from Rhaea when Zeus imprisoned great Cronus in the depths that are under earth and sea. I must go and see them that I may make peace between them; they have been quarrelling, and are so angry that they have not slept with one another this long while; if I can bring them round and restore them to one another's embraces, they will be grateful to me and love me for ever afterwards." [212] Thereon laughter-loving Aphrodite said, "I cannot and must not refuse you, for you sleep in the arms of Zeus who is our king." [215] As she spoke she loosed from her bosom the curiously embroidered girdle into which all her charms had been wrought- love, desire, and that sweet flattery which steals the judgement even of the most prudent. She gave the girdle to Hera and said, "Take this girdle wherein all my charms reside and lay it in your bosom. If you will wear it I promise you that your errand, be it what it may, will not be bootless." When she heard this Hera smiled, and still smiling she laid the girdle in her bosom. Aphrodite now went back into the house of Zeus, while Hera darted down from the summits of Olympus. She passed over Pieria and fair Emathia, and went on and on till she came to the snowy ranges of the Thracian Divine Riddles - 56 horsemen, over whose topmost crests she sped without ever setting foot to ground. When she came to Athos she went on over the waves of the sea till she reached Lemnos, the city of noble Thoas. There she met Sleep, own brother to Death, and caught him by the hand, saying, "Sleep, you who lord it alike over mortals and immortals, if you ever did me a service in times past, do one for me now, and I shall be grateful to you ever after. Close Zeus's keen eyes for me in slumber while I hold him clasped in my embrace, and I will give you a beautiful golden seat, that can never fall to pieces; my clubfooted son Hephaestus shall make it for you, and he shall give it a footstool for you to rest your fair feet upon when you are at table." [242] Then Sleep answered, "Hera, great queen of goddesses, daughter of mighty Cronus, I would lull any other of the gods to sleep without compunction, not even excepting the waters of Oceanus from whom all of them proceed, but I dare not go near Zeus, nor send him to sleep unless he bids me. I have had one lesson already through doing what you asked me, on the day when Zeus's mighty son Heracles set sail from Ilium after having sacked the city of the Trojans. At your bidding I suffused my sweet self over the mind of aegis- bearing Zeus, and laid him to rest; meanwhile you hatched a plot against Heracles, and set the blasts of the angry winds beating upon the sea, till you took him to the goodly city of Cos away from all his friends. Zeus was furious when he awoke, and began hurling the gods about all over the house; he was looking more particularly for me, and would have flung me down through space into the sea where I should never have been heard of any more, had not Night who cows both men and gods protected me. I fled to her and Zeus left off looking for me in spite of his being so angry, for he did not dare do anything to displease Night. And now you are again asking me to do something on which I cannot venture." [263] And Hera said, "Sleep, why do you take such notions as those into your head? Do you think Zeus will be as anxious to help the Trojans, as he was about his own son? Come, I will marry you to one of the youngest of the Graces, and she shall be your own- Pasithea, whom you have always wanted to marry." [270] Sleep was pleased when he heard this, and answered, "Then swear it to me by the dread waters of the river Styx; lay one hand on the bounteous earth, and the other on the sheen of the sea, so that all the gods who dwell down below with Cronus may be our witnesses, and see that you really do give me one of the youngest of the Graces- Pasithea, whom I have always wanted to marry." [277] Hera did as he had said. She swore, and invoked all the gods of the nether world, who are called Titans, to witness. When she had completed her oath, the two enshrouded themselves in a thick mist and sped lightly forward, leaving Lemnos and Imbrus behind them. Presently they reached many-fountained Ida, mother of wild beasts, and Lectum where they left the sea to go on by land, and the tops of the trees of the forest soughed under the going of their feet. Here Sleep halted, and ere Zeus caught sight of him he climbed a lofty pine-tree- the tallest that reared its head towards heaven on all Ida. He hid himself behind the branches and sat there in the semblance of the sweet-singing bird that haunts the mountains and is called Chalcis by the gods, but men call it Cymindis. Hera then went to Gargarus, the topmost peak of Ida, and Zeus, driver of the clouds, set eyes upon her. As soon as he did so he became inflamed with the same passionate desire for her that he had felt when they had first enjoyed each other's embraces, and slept with one another without their dear parents knowing anything about it. He went up to her and said, "What do you Divine Riddles - 57 want that you have come here from Olympus- and that too with neither chariot nor horses to convey you?" [300] Then Hera told him a lying tale and said, "I am going to the world's end, to visit Oceanus, from whom all we gods proceed, and mother Tethys; they received me into their house, took care of me, and brought me up. I must go and see them that I may make peace between them: they have been quarrelling, and are so angry that they have not slept with one another this long time. The horses that will take me over land and sea are stationed on the lowermost spurs of many-fountained Ida, and I have come here from Olympus on purpose to consult you. I was afraid you might be angry with me later on, if I went to the house of Oceanus without letting you know." [312] And Zeus said, "Hera, you can choose some other time for paying your visit to Oceanus- for the present let us devote ourselves to love and to the enjoyment of one another. Never yet have I been so overpowered by passion neither for goddess nor mortal woman as I am at this moment for you- not even when I was in love with the wife of Ixion who bore me Pirithous, peer of gods in counsel, nor yet with Danae the daintily-ancled daughter of Acrisius, who bore me the famed hero Perseus. Then there was the daughter of Phoenix, who bore me Minos and Rhadamanthus: there was Semele, and Alcmena in Thebes by whom I begot my lion-hearted son Heracles, while Semele became mother to Bacchus the comforter of mankind. There was queen Ceres again, and lovely Leto, and yourself- but with none of these was I ever so much enamoured as I now am with you." [329] Hera again answered him with a lying tale. "Most dread son of Cronus," she exclaimed, "what are you talking about? Would you have us enjoy one another here on the top of Mount Ida, where everything can be seen? What if one of the ever-living gods should see us sleeping together, and tell the others? It would be such a scandal that when I had risen from your embraces I could never show myself inside your house again; but if you are so minded, there is a room which your son Hephaestus has made me, and he has given it good strong doors; if you would so have it, let us go thither and lie down." [341] And Zeus answered, "Hera, you need not be afraid that either god or man will see you, for I will enshroud both of us in such a dense golden cloud, that the very sun for all his bright piercing beams shall not see through it." [346] With this the son of Cronus caught his wife in his embrace; whereon the earth sprouted them a cushion of young grass, with dew-bespangled lotus, crocus, and hyacinth, so soft and thick that it raised them well above the ground. Here they laid themselves down and overhead they were covered by a fair cloud of gold, from which there fell glittering dew- drops. [352] Thus, then, did the sire of all things repose peacefully on the crest of Ida, overcome at once by sleep and love, and he held his spouse in his arms.

Divine Riddles - 58

Hermes (Mercury) The Homeric Hymn to Hermes has as much to do with Apollo as it does Hermes: To Hermes, Homeric Hymn #4. [1-29] Muse, sing of Hermes, the son of Zeus and Maia, lord of Cyllene41 and Arcadia rich in flocks, the luck-bringing messenger of the immortals whom Maia bare, the rich- tressed nymph, when she was joined in love with Zeus, -- a shy goddess, for she avoided the company of the blessed gods, and lived within a deep, shady cave. There the son of Cronus used to lie with the rich-tressed nymph, unseen by deathless gods and mortal men, at dead of night while sweet sleep should hold white-armed Hera fast. And when the purpose of great Zeus was fixed in heaven, she was delivered and a notable thing was come to pass. For then she bare a son, of many shifts, blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods. Born with the dawning, at mid-day he played on the lyre, and in the evening he stole the cattle of far-shooting Apollo on the fourth day of the month; for on that day queenly Maia bare him. So soon as he had leaped from his mother's heavenly womb, he lay not long waiting in his holy cradle, but he sprang up and sought the oxen of Apollo. But as he stepped over the threshold of the high-roofed cave, he found a tortoise there and gained endless delight. For it was Hermes who first made the tortoise a singer. The creature fell in his way at the courtyard gate, where it was feeding on the rich grass before the dwelling, waddling along. When he saw it, the luck- bringing son of Zeus laughed and said: [30-38] “An omen of great luck for me so soon! I do not slight it. Hail, comrade of the feast, lovely in shape, sounding at the dance! With joy I meet you! Where got you that rich gaud for covering, that spangled shell -- a tortoise living in the mountains? But I will take and carry you within: you shall help me and I will do you no disgrace, though first of all you must profit me. It is better to be at home: harm may come out of doors. Living, you shall be a spell against mischievous witchcraft; but if you die, then you shall make sweetest song.” [39-61] Thus speaking, he took up the tortoise in both hands and went back into the house carrying his charming toy. Then he cut off its limbs and scooped out the marrow of the mountain-tortoise with a scoop of grey iron. As a swift thought darts through the heart of a man when thronging cares haunt him, or as bright glances flash from the eye, so glorious Hermes planned both thought and deed at once. He cut stalks of reed to measure and fixed them, fastening their ends across the back and through the shell of the tortoise, and then stretched ox hide all over it by his skill. Also he put in the horns and fitted a cross-piece upon the two of them, and stretched seven strings of sheep-gut. But when he had made it he proved each string in turn with the key, as he held the lovely thing. At the touch of his hand it sounded marvellously; and, as he tried it, the god sang sweet random snatches, even as youths bandy taunts at festivals. He sang of Zeus the son of Cronus and neat-shod Maia, the converse which they had before in the comradeship of love, telling all the glorious tale of his own begetting. He celebrated, too, the handmaids of the nymph, and her bright home, and the tripods all about the house, and the abundant cauldrons.

41 The highest peak of the mountain range that separates Arcadia from Achaea, in the Peloponnese. Divine Riddles - 59

[62-67] But while he was singing of all these, his heart was bent on other matters. And he took the hollow lyre and laid it in his sacred cradle, and sprang from the sweet-smelling hall to a watch-place, pondering sheet trickery in his heart -- deeds such as knavish folk pursue in the dark night-time; for he longed to taste flesh. [68-86] The Sun was going down beneath the earth towards Ocean with his horses and chariot when Hermes came hurrying to the shadowy mountains of Pieria,42 where the divine cattle of the blessed gods had their steads and grazed the pleasant, unmown meadows. Of these the Son of Maia, the sharp-eyed slayer of Argus then cut off from the herd fifty loud- lowing kine, and drove them straggling-wise across a sandy place, turning their hoof-prints aside. Also, he bethought him of a crafty ruse and reversed the marks of their hoofs, making the front behind and the hind before, while he himself walked the other way. Then he wove sandals with wicker-work by the sand of the sea, wonderful things, unthought of, unimagined; for he mixed together tamarisk and myrtle-twigs, fastening together an armful of their fresh, young wood, and tied them, leaves and all securely under his feet as light sandals. The brushwood the glorious Slayer of Argus plucked in Pieria as he was preparing for his journey, making shift as one making haste for a long journey. [87-89] But an old man tilling his flowering vineyard saw him as he was hurrying down the plain through grassy Onchestus. So the Son of Maia began and said to him: [90-93] “Old man, digging about your vines with bowed shoulders, surely you shall have much wine when all these bear fruit, if you obey me and strictly remember not to have seen what you have seen, and not to have heard what you have heard, and to keep silent when nothing of your own is harmed.” [94-114] When he had said this much, he hurried the strong cattle on together: through many shadowy mountains and echoing gorges and flowery plains glorious Hermes drove them. And now the divine night, his dark ally, was mostly passed, and dawn that sets folk to work was quickly coming on, while bright Selene, daughter of the lord Pallas, Megamedes' son,43 had just climbed her watch-post, when the strong Son of Zeus drove the wide-browed cattle of Phoebus Apollo to the river Alpheus.44 And they came unwearied to the high-roofed byres and the drinking-troughs that were before the noble meadow. Then, after he had well- fed the loud-bellowing cattle with fodder and driven them into the byre, close-packed and chewing lotus and began to seek the art of fire. He chose a stout laurel branch and trimmed it with the knife.... [LACUNA)] ....held firmly in his hand: and the hot smoke rose up. For it was Hermes who first invented fire- sticks and fire. Next he took many dried sticks and piled them thick and plenty in a sunken trench: and flame began to glow, spreading afar the blast of fierce-burning fire. [115-137] And while the strength of glorious Hephaestus was beginning to kindle the fire, he dragged out two lowing, horned cows close to the fire; for great strength was with him. He threw them both panting upon their backs on the ground, and rolled them on their sides, bending their necks over, and pierced their vital chord. Then he went on from task to task: first he cut up the rich, fatted meat, and pierced it with wooden spits, and roasted flesh

42 The district around Mt. Olympus, between Thessaly to the south and Macedonia to the north. 43 This is the only known reference to either a Pallas or a Megamedes in connection to Selene. The Moon, Selene, was the daughter of Hyperion and Theia (Theog. 371 44 This river flows from Elis into Laconia, near Pylos. Divine Riddles - 60 and the honourable chine and the paunch full of dark blood all together. He laid them there upon the ground, and spread out the hides on a rugged rock: and so they are still there many ages afterwards, a long, long time after all this, and are continually. Next glad-hearted Hermes dragged the rich meats he had prepared and put them on a smooth, flat stone, and divided them into twelve portions distributed by lot, making each portion wholly honourable. Then glorious Hermes longed for the sacrificial meat, for the sweet savour wearied him, god though he was; nevertheless his proud heart was not prevailed upon to devour the flesh, although he greatly desired. But he put away the fat and all the flesh in the high- roofed byre, placing them high up to be a token of his youthful theft. And after that he gathered dry sticks and utterly destroyed with fire all the hoofs and all the heads. [138-154] And when the god had duly finished all, he threw his sandals into deep- eddying Alpheus, and quenched the embers, covering the black ashes with sand, and so spent the night while Selene's soft light shone down. Then the god went straight back again at dawn to the bright crests of Cyllene, and no one met him on the long journey either of the blessed gods or mortal men, nor did any dog bark. And luck-bringing Hermes, the son of Zeus, passed edgeways through the key-hole of the hall like the autumn breeze, even as mist: straight through the cave he went and came to the rich inner chamber, walking softly, and making no noise as one might upon the floor. Then glorious Hermes went hurriedly to his cradle, wrapping his swaddling clothes about his shoulders as though he were a feeble babe, and lay playing with the covering about his knees; but at his left hand he kept close his sweet lyre. [155-161] But the god did not pass unseen by the goddess his mother; but she said to him: “How now, you rogue! Whence come you back so at night-time, you that wear shamelessness as a garment? And now I surely believe the son of Leto will soon have you forth out of doors with unbreakable cords about your ribs, or you will live a rogue's life in the glens robbing by whiles. Go to, then; your father got you to be a great worry to mortal men and deathless gods.” [162-181] Then Hermes answered her with crafty words: “Mother, why do you seek to frighten me like a feeble child whose heart knows few words of blame, a fearful babe that fears its mother's scolding? Nay, but I will try whatever plan is best, and so feed myself and you continually. We will not be content to remain here, as you bid, alone of all the gods unfed with offerings and prayers. Better to live in fellowship with the deathless gods continually, rich, wealthy, and enjoying stories of grain, than to sit always in a gloomy cave: and, as regards honour, I too will enter upon the rite that Apollo has. If my father will not give it to me, I will seek -- and I am able -- to be a prince of robbers. And if Leto's most glorious son shall seek me out, I think another and a greater loss will befall him. For I will go to Pytho45 to break into his great house, and will plunder therefrom splendid tripods, and cauldrons, and gold, and plenty of bright iron, and much apparel; and you shall see it if you will.' [182-189] With such words they spoke together, the son of Zeus who holds the aegis, and the lady Maia. Now Eros the early born was rising from deep-flowing Ocean, bringing light to men, when Apollo, as he went, came to Onchestus,46 the lovely grove and sacred

45 Delphi, the temple of Apollo there. 46 See above, To Pythian Apollo 229. Divine Riddles - 61 place of the loud-roaring Holder of the Earth. There he found an old man grazing his beast along the pathway from his court-yard fence, and the all-glorious Son of Leto began and said to him. [190-200] “Old man, weeder of grassy Onchestus, I am come here from Pieria seeking cattle, cows all of them, all with curving horns, from my herd. The black bull was grazing alone away from the rest, but fierce-eyed hounds followed the cows, four of them, all of one mind, like men. These were left behind, the dogs and the bull -- which is great marvel; but the cows strayed out of the soft meadow, away from the pasture when the sun was just going down. Now tell me this, old man born long ago: have you seen one passing along behind those cows?” [201-211] Then the old man answered him and said: “My son, it is hard to tell all that one's eyes see; for many wayfarers pass to and fro this way, some bent on much evil, and some on good: it is difficult to know each one. However, I was digging about my plot of vineyard all day long until the sun went down, and I thought, good sir, but I do not know for certain, that I marked a child, whoever the child was, that followed long-horned cattle -- an infant who had a staff and kept walking from side to side: he was driving them backwards way, with their heads toward him.” [212-218] So said the old man. And when Apollo heard this report, he went yet more quickly on his way, and presently, seeing a long-winged bird, he knew at once by that omen that thief was the child of Zeus the son of Cronus. So the lord Apollo, son of Zeus, hurried on to goodly Pylos seeking his shambling oxen, and he had his broad shoulders covered with a dark cloud. But when the Far-Shooter perceived the tracks, he cried: [219-226] “Oh, oh! Truly this is a great marvel that my eyes behold! These are indeed the tracks of straight-horned oxen, but they are turned backwards towards the flowery meadow. But these others are not the footprints of man or woman or grey wolves or bears or lions, nor do I think they are the tracks of a rough-maned Centaur -- whoever it be that with swift feet makes such monstrous footprints; wonderful are the tracks on this side of the way, but yet more wonderfully are those on that.” [227-234] When he had so said, the lord Apollo, the Son of Zeus hastened on and came to the forest-clad mountain of Cyllene and the deep-shadowed cave in the rock where the divine nymph brought forth the child of Zeus who is the son of Cronus. A sweet odour spread over the lovely hill, and many thin-shanked sheep were grazing on the grass. Then far-shooting Apollo himself stepped down in haste over the stone threshold into the dusky cave. [235-253] Now when the Son of Zeus and Maia saw Apollo in a rage about his cattle, he snuggled down in his fragrant swaddling-clothes; and as wood-ash covers over the deep embers of tree-stumps, so Hermes cuddled himself up when he saw the Far- Shooter. He squeezed head and hands and feet together in a small space, like a new born child seeking sweet sleep, though in truth he was wide awake, and he kept his lyre under his armpit. But the Son of Leto was aware and failed not to perceive the beautiful mountain-nymph and her dear son, albeit a little child and swathed so craftily. He peered in every corner of the great dwelling and, taking a bright key, he opened three closets full of nectar and lovely ambrosia. And much gold and silver was stored in them, and many garments of the nymph, some purple and some silvery white, such as are kept in the sacred houses of the blessed gods. Divine Riddles - 62

Then, after the Son of Leto had searched out the recesses of the great house, he spoke to glorious Hermes: [254-259] “Child, lying in the cradle, make haste and tell me of my cattle, or we two will soon fall out angrily. For I will take and cast you into dusty Tartarus and awful hopeless darkness, and neither your mother nor your father shall free you or bring you up again to the light, but you will wander under the earth and be the leader amongst little folk.” [260-277] Then Hermes answered him with crafty words: “Son of Leto, what harsh words are these you have spoken? And is it cattle of the field you are come here to seek? I have not seen them: I have not heard of them: no one has told me of them. I cannot give news of them, nor win the reward for news. Am I like a cattle-liter, a stalwart person? This is no task for me: rather I care for other things: I care for sleep, and milk of my mother's breast, and wrappings round my shoulders, and warm baths. Let no one hear the cause of this dispute; for this would be a great marvel indeed among the deathless gods, that a child newly born should pass in through the forepart of the house with cattle of the field: herein you speak extravagantly. I was born yesterday, and my feet are soft and the ground beneath is rough; nevertheless, if you will have it so, I will swear a great oath by my father's head and vow that neither am I guilty myself, neither have I seen any other who stole your cows -- whatever cows may be; for I know them only by hearsay.” [278-280] So, then, said Hermes, shooting quick glances from his eyes: and he kept raising his brows and looking this way and that, whistling long and listening to Apollo's story as to an idle tale. [281-292] But far-working Apollo laughed softly and said to him: “O rogue, deceiver, crafty in heart, you talk so innocently that I most surely believe that you have broken into many a well- built house and stripped more than one poor wretch bare this night, gathering his goods together all over the house without noise. You will plague many a lonely herdsman in mountain glades, when you come on herds and thick-fleeced sheep, and have a hankering after flesh. But come now, if you would not sleep your last and latest sleep, get out of your cradle, you comrade of dark night. Surely hereafter this shall be your title amongst the deathless gods, to be called the prince of robbers continually.” [293-300] So said Phoebus Apollo, and took the child and began to carry him. But at that moment the strong Slayer of Argus had his plan, and, while Apollo held him in his hands, sent forth an omen, a hard-worked belly-serf, a rude messenger,47 and sneezed directly after.48 And when Apollo heard it, he dropped glorious Hermes out of his hands on the ground: then sitting down before him, though he was eager to go on his way, he spoke mockingly to Hermes: [301-303] “Fear not, little swaddling baby, son of Zeus and Maia. I shall find the strong cattle presently by these omens, and you shall lead the way.” [304-306] When Apollo had so said, Cyllenian Hermes sprang up quickly, starting in haste. With both hands he pushed up to his ears the covering that he had wrapped about his shoulders, and said:

47 A very odd phrase indeed: It clearly refers to a hired labourer rather than a slave, but what a ‘belly-servant/labourer might be is not certain. Evelyn-White’s translation “rude” is a bit conservative, the Greek atasthalon suggests irresponsible and impious criminality. 48 A sneeze was considered a good omen Divine Riddles - 63

[307-312] “Where are you carrying me, Far-Worker, hastiest of all the gods? Is it because of your cattle that you are so angry and harass me? O dear, would that all the sort of oxen might perish; for it is not I who stole your cows, nor did I see another steal them -- whatever cows may be, and of that I have only heard report. Nay, give right and take it before Zeus, the Son of Cronus.” [313-326] So Hermes the shepherd and Leto's glorious son kept stubbornly disputing each article of their quarrel: Apollo, speaking truly.... [LACUNA] ....not fairly sought to seize glorious Hermes because of the cows; but he, the Cyllenian, tried to deceive the god of the Silver Bow with tricks and cunning words. But when, though he had many wiles, he found the other had as many shifts, he began to walk across the sand, himself in front, while the Son of Zeus and Leto came behind. Soon they came, these lovely children of Zeus, to the top of fragrant Olympus, to their father, the Son of Cronus; for there were the scales of judgement set for them both. There was an assembly on snowy Olympus, and the immortals who perish not were gathering after the hour of gold-throned Dawn. [327-329] Then Hermes and Apollo of the Silver Bow stood at the knees of Zeus: and Zeus who thunders on high spoke to his glorious son and asked him: [330-332] “Phoebus, whence come you driving this great spoil, a child new born that has the look of a herald? This is a weighty matter that is come before the council of the gods.” [333-364] Then the lord, far-working Apollo, answered him: “O my father, you shall soon hear no trifling tale though you reproach me that I alone am fond of spoil. Here is a child, a burgling robber, whom I found after a long journey in the hills of Cyllene: for my part I have never seen one so pert either among the gods or all men that catch folk unawares throughout the world. He stole away my cows from their meadow and drove them off in the evening along the shore of the loud-roaring sea, making straight for Pylos. There were double tracks, and wonderful they were, such as one might marvel at, the doing of a clever sprite; for as for the cows, the dark dust kept and showed their footprints leading towards the flowery meadow; but he himself -- bewildering creature -- crossed the sandy ground outside the path, not on his feet nor yet on his hands; but, furnished with some other means he trudged his way -- wonder of wonders! -- as though one walked on slender oak-trees. Now while he followed the cattle across sandy ground, all the tracks showed quite clearly in the dust; but when he had finished the long way across the sand, presently the cows' track and his own could not be traced over the hard ground. But a mortal man noticed him as he drove the wide-browed kine straight towards Pylos. And as soon as he had shut them up quietly, and had gone home by crafty turns and twists, he lay down in his cradle in the gloom of a dim cave, as still as dark night, so that not even an eagle keenly gazing would have spied him. Much he rubbed his eyes with his hands as he prepared falsehood, and himself straightway said roundly: ‘I have not seen them: I have not heard of them: no man has told me of them. I could not tell you of them, nor win the reward of telling.’” [365-367] When he had so spoken, Phoebus Apollo sat down. But Hermes on his part answered and said, pointing at the Son of Cronus, the lord of all the gods: [368-386] “Zeus, my father, indeed I will speak truth to you; for I am truthful and I cannot tell a lie. He came to our house to-day looking for his shambling cows, as the sun was newly rising. He brought no witnesses with him nor any of the blessed gods who had Divine Riddles - 64 seen the theft, but with great violence ordered me to confess, threatening much to throw me into wide Tartarus. For he has the rich bloom of glorious youth, while I was born but yesterday -- as he too knows -- nor am I like a cattle-lifter, a sturdy fellow. Believe my tale (for you claim to be my own father), that I did not drive his cows to my house -- so may I prosper -- nor crossed the threshold: this I say truly. I reverence Helios greatly and the other gods, and you I love and him I dread. You yourself know that I am not guilty: and I will swear a great oath upon it: -- No! by these rich-decked porticoes of the gods. And some day I will punish him, strong as he is, for this pitiless inquisition; but now do you help the younger.” [387-396] So spoke the Cyllenian, the Slayer of Argus, while he kept shooting sidelong glances and kept his swaddling-clothes upon his arm, and did not cast them away. But Zeus laughed out loud to see his evil-plotting child well and cunningly denying guilt about the cattle. And he bade them both to be of one mind and search for the cattle; and guiding Hermes to lead the way and, without mischievousness of heart, to show the place where now he had hidden the strong cattle. Then the Son of Cronus bowed his head and goodly Hermes obeyed him, for the will of Zeus who holds the aegis easily prevailed with him. [397-404] Then the two all-glorious children of Zeus hastened both to sandy Pylos, and reached the ford of Alpheus, and came to the fields and the high-roofed byre where the beasts were cherished at night-time. Now while Hermes went to the cave in the rock and began to drive out the strong cattle, the son of Leto, looking aside, saw the cowhides on the sheer rock. And he asked glorious Hermes at once: [405-408] “How were you able, you crafty rogue, to flay two cows, new-born and babyish as you are? For my part, I dread the strength that will be yours: there is no need you should keep growing long, Cyllenian, son of Maia!” [409-414] So saying, Apollo twisted strong twigs with his hands meaning to bind Hermes with firm bands; but the bands would not hold him, and the twigs of chatsetree fell far from him and began to grow at once from the ground beneath their feet in that very place.49 And intertwining with one another, they quickly grew and covered all the wild-roving cattle by the will of thievish Hermes, so that Apollo was astonished as he gazed. [414-435] Then the strong slayer of Argus looked furtively upon the ground with eyes flashing fire.... desiring to hide.... [LACUNA] ....Very easily he softened the son of all- glorious Leto as he would, stern though the Far-shooter was. He took the lyre upon his left arm and tried each string in turn with the key, so that it sounded awesomely at his touch. And Phoebus Apollo laughed for joy; for the sweet throb of the marvellous music went to his heart, and a soft longing took hold on his soul as he listened. Then the son of Maia, harping sweetly upon his lyre, took courage and stood at the left hand of Phoebus Apollo; and soon, while he played shrilly on his lyre, he lifted up his voice and sang, and lovely was the sound of his voice that followed. He sang the story of the deathless gods and of the dark earth, how at the first they came to be, and how each one received his portion. First among the gods he honoured Mnemosyne, mother of the Muses, in his song; for the son of Maia was of her following. And next the goodly son of Zeus hymned the rest of the immortals according to their order in age, and told how each was born, mentioning all in order as he struck the lyre upon his arm. But Apollo was seized with a longing not to be allayed, and he opened his mouth and spoke winged words to Hermes:

49 The Chastetree is common in the Mediterranean region. Its berries have medicinal uses. Divine Riddles - 65

[436-462] “Slayer of oxen, trickster, busy one, comrade of the feast, this song of yours is worth fifty cows, and I believe that presently we shall settle our quarrel peacefully. But come now, tell me this, resourceful son of Maia: has this marvellous thing been with you from your birth, or did some god or mortal man give it you -- a noble gift -- and teach you heavenly song? For wonderful is this new-uttered sound I hear, the like of which I vow that no man nor god dwelling on Olympus ever yet has known but you, O thievish son of Maia. What skill is this? What song for desperate cares? What way of song? For verily here are three things to hand all at once from which to choose, -- mirth, and love, and sweet sleep. And though I am a follower of the Olympian Muses who love dances and the bright path of song -- the full-toned chant and ravishing thrill of flutes -- yet I never cared for any of those feats of skill at young men's revels, as I do now for this: I am filled with wonder, O son of Zeus, at your sweet playing. But now, since you, though little, have such glorious skill, sit down, dear boy, and respect the words of your elders. For now you shall have renown among the deathless gods, you and your mother also. This I will declare to you exactly: by this shaft of cornel wood I will surely make you a leader renowned among the deathless gods, and fortunate, and will give you glorious gifts and will not deceive you from first to last.” [463-495] Then Hermes answered him with artful words: “You question me carefully, O Far-worker; yet I am not jealous that you should enter upon my art: this day you shall know it. For I seek to be friendly with you both in thought and word. Now you well know all things in your heart, since you sit foremost among the deathless gods, O son of Zeus, and are goodly and strong. And wise Zeus loves you as all right is, and has given you splendid gifts. And they say that from the utterance of Zeus you have learned both the honours due to the gods, O Far-worker, and oracles from Zeus, even all his ordinances. Of all these I myself have already learned that you have great wealth. Now, you are free to learn whatever you please; but since, as it seems, your heart is so strongly set on playing the lyre, chant, and play upon it, and give yourself to merriment, taking this as a gift from me, and do you, my friend, bestow glory on me. Sing well with this clear-voiced companion in your hands; for you are skilled in good, well-ordered utterance. From now on bring it confidently to the rich feast and lovely dance and glorious revel, a joy by night and by day. Whoever with wit and wisdom enquires of it cunningly, him it teaches through its sound all manner of things that delight the mind, being easily played with gentle familiarities, for it abhors toilsome drudgery; but whoever in ignorance enquires of it violently, to him it chatters mere vanity and foolishness. But you are able to learn whatever you please. So then, I will give you this lyre, glorious son of Zeus, while I for my part will graze down with wild-roving cattle the pastures on hill and horse-feeding plain: so shall the cows covered by the bulls calve abundantly both males and females. And now there is no need for you, bargainer though you are, to be furiously angry.” [496-502] When Hermes had said this, he held out the lyre: and Phoebus Apollo took it, and readily put his shining whip in Hermes' hand, and ordained him keeper of herds. The son of Maia received it joyfully, while the glorious son of Leto, the lord far-working Apollo, took the lyre upon his left arm and tried each string with the key. Awesomely it sounded at the touch of the god, while he sang sweetly to its note. [503-512] Afterwards they two, the all-glorious sons of Zeus turned the cows back towards the sacred meadow, but themselves hastened back to snowy Olympus, delighting in Divine Riddles - 66 the lyre. Then wise Zeus was glad and made them both friends. And Hermes loved the son of Leto continually, even as he does now, when he had given the lyre as token to the Far- shooter, who played it skilfully, holding it upon his arm. But for himself Hermes found out another cunning art and made himself the pipes whose sound is heard afar. [513-520] Then the son of Leto said to Hermes: “Son of Maia, guide and cunning one, I fear you may steal form me the lyre and my curved bow together; for you have an office from Zeus, to establish deeds of barter amongst men throughout the fruitful earth. Now if you would only swear me the great oath of the gods, either by nodding your head, or by the potent water of Styx, you would do all that can please and ease my heart.” [521-549] Then Maia's son nodded his head and promised that he would never steal anything of all the Far-shooter possessed, and would never go near his strong house; but Apollo, son of Leto, swore to be fellow and friend to Hermes, vowing that he would love no other among the immortals, neither god nor man sprung from Zeus, better than Hermes: and the Father sent forth an eagle in confirmation. And Apollo swore also: “Verily I will make you only to be an omen for the immortals and all alike, trusted and honoured by my heart. Moreover, I will give you a splendid staff of riches and wealth: it is of gold, with three branches, and will keep you scatheless, accomplishing every task, whether of words or deeds that are good, which I claim to know through the utterance of Zeus. But as for sooth-saying, noble, heaven-born child, of which you ask, it is not lawful for you to learn it, nor for any other of the deathless gods: only the mind of Zeus knows that. I am pledged and have vowed and sworn a strong oath that no other of the eternal gods save I should know the wise- hearted counsel of Zeus. And do not you, my brother, bearer of the golden wand, bid me tell those decrees which all- seeing Zeus intends. As for men, I will harm one and profit another, sorely perplexing the tribes of unenviable men. Whosoever shall come guided by the call and flight of birds of sure omen, that man shall have advantage through my voice, and I will not deceive him. But whoever shall trust to idly-chattering birds and shall seek to invoke my prophetic art contrary to my will, and to understand more than the eternal gods, I declare that he shall come on an idle journey; yet his gifts I would take. [550-568] “But I will tell you another thing, Son of all- glorious Maia and Zeus who holds the aegis, luck-bringing genius of the gods. There are certain holy ones, sisters born -- three virgins gifted with wings:50 their heads are besprinkled with white meal, and they dwell under a ridge of Parnassus. These are teachers of divination apart from me, the art which I practised while yet a boy following herds, though my father paid no heed to it. From their home they fly now here, now there, feeding on honey-comb and bringing all things to pass. And when they are inspired through eating yellow honey, they are willing to speak truth; but if they be deprived of the gods' sweet food, then they speak falsely, as they swarm in and out together. These, then, I give you; enquire of them strictly and delight your heart: and if you should teach any mortal so to do, often will he hear your response -- if he has good fortune. Take these, Son of Maia, and tend the wild roving, horned oxen and horses and patient mules.” [568a-573] So he spoke. And from heaven father Zeus himself gave confirmation to his words, and commanded that glorious Hermes should be lord over all birds of omen and grim-eyed lions, and boars with gleaming tusks, and over dogs and all flocks that the wide

50 The Thriai: Nymphs of Mt. Parnassus. Divine Riddles - 67 earth nourishes, and over all sheep; also that he only should be the appointed messenger to Hades, who, though he takes no gift, shall give him no mean prize. [574-578] Thus the lord Apollo showed his kindness for the Son of Maia by all manner of friendship: and the Son of Cronus gave him grace besides. He consorts with all mortals and immortals: a little he profits, but continually throughout the dark night he cozens the tribes of mortal men. [579-580] And so, farewell, Son of Zeus and Maia; but I will remember you and another song also.

Hestia (Vesta) To Hestia, Homeric Hymn #24. [1-5] Hestia, you who tend the holy house of the lord Apollo, the Far-shooter at goodly Pytho, with soft oil dripping ever from your locks, come now into this house, come, having one mind with Zeus the all-wise -- draw near, and withal bestow grace upon my song.

Poseidon (Neptune) To Poseidon, Homeric Hymn #22. [1-5] I begin to sing about Poseidon, the great god, mover of the earth and fruitless sea, god of the deep who is also lord of Helicon51 and wide Aegae.52 A two-fold office the gods allotted you, O Shaker of the Earth, to be a tamer of horses and a saviour of ships! [6-7] Hail, Poseidon, Holder of the Earth, dark-haired lord! O blessed one, be kindly in heart and help those who voyage in ships!

Poseidon took the side of the Greeks in the Trojan War, but his anger at the Greeks, especially Odysseus, originates from the insult of the palisade constructed by the Greeks on the beach: Iliad, vii. 444 - 463 Thus did the Achaeans toil, and the gods, seated by the side of Zeus the lord of lightning, marvelled at their great work; but Poseidon, lord of the earthquake, spoke, saying, "Father Zeus, what mortal in the whole world will again take the gods into his counsel? See you not how the Achaeans have built a wall about their ships and driven a trench all round it, without offering hecatombs to the gods? The fame of this wall will reach as far as dawn itself, and men will no longer think anything of the one which Phoebus Apollo and I built with so much labour for Laomedon." Zeus was displeased and answered, "What, O shaker of the earth, are you talking about? A god less powerful than yourself might be alarmed at what they are doing, but your fame reaches as far as dawn itself. Surely when the Achaeans have gone home with their ships, you can shatter their wall and Ring it into the sea; you can cover the beach with sand again, and the great wall of the Achaeans will then be utterly effaced."

51 A river running from Mt. Olympus for about 15km. Also a mountain in Boeotia sacred to Apollo. 52 The Aegean Sea is meant here. Divine Riddles - 68

Zeus (Jupiter) Only one of the Homeric Hymns is addressed to Zeus, and it is a mere four lines: To the Son of Cronus, Most High, Homeric Hymn #23. [1-3] I will sing of Zeus, chiefest among the gods and greatest, all-seeing, the lord of all, the fulfiller who whispers words of wisdom to Themis as she sits leaning towards him. [4] Be gracious, all-seeing Son of Cronus, most excellent and great!

Zeus was by far the most powerful of the gods and in the confidence of that power, often acts the tyrant – even towards his own wife, Hera. When the dispute between Achilles and Agamemnon arose, Thetis, the mother of Achilles, asked Zeus for his assistance; but Hera, who supports the Achaeans, is concerned that Zeus will help the Trojans to avenge Achilles: Iliad i. 531 – 601 [531] When the pair53 had thus laid their plans, they parted- Zeus to his house, while the goddess quitted the splendour of Olympus, and plunged into the depths of the sea. The gods rose from their seats, before the coming of their sire. Not one of them dared to remain sitting, but all stood up as he came among them. There, then, he took his seat. But Hera, when she saw him, knew that he and the old merman's daughter, silver-footed Thetis, had been hatching mischief, so she at once began to upbraid him. "Trickster," she cried, "which of the gods have you been taking into your counsels now? You are always settling matters in secret behind my back, and have never yet told me, if you could help it, one word of your intentions." [544] "Hera," replied the sire of gods and men, "you must not expect to be informed of all my counsels. You are my wife, but you would find it hard to understand them. When it is proper for you to hear, there is no one, god or man, who will be told sooner, but when I mean to keep a matter to myself, you must not pry nor ask questions." [551] "Dread son of Cronus," answered Hera, "what are you talking about? I? Pry and ask questions? Never. I let you have your own way in everything. Still, I have a strong misgiving that the old man of the sea’s daughter Thetis has been talking you over, for she was with you and had hold of your knees this self-same morning. I believe, therefore, that you have been promising her to give glory to Achilles, and to kill many people at the ships of the Achaeans." [560] And Zeus the gatherer of clouds replied: "I can do nothing but you suspect me and find it out. You will take nothing by it, for I shall only dislike you the more, and it will go harder with you. Granted that it is as you say; I mean to have it so; sit down and hold your tongue as I bid you for if I once begin to lay my hands about you, though all heaven were on your side it would profit you nothing." [568] On this Hera was frightened, so she curbed her stubborn will and sat down in silence. But the heavenly beings were disquieted throughout the house of Zeus, till the

53 Zeus and Thetis. Divine Riddles - 69 cunning workman Hephaestus began to try and pacify his mother Hera. "It will be intolerable," said he, "if you two fall to wrangling and setting heaven in an uproar about a pack of mortals. If such ill counsels are to prevail, we shall have no pleasure at our banquet. Let me then advise my mother- and she must herself know that it will be better- to make friends with my dear father Zeus, lest he again scold her and disturb our feast. If the Olympian Thunderer wants to hurl us all from our seats, he can do so, for he is far the strongest, so give him fair words, and he will then soon be in a good humour with us." [584] As he spoke, he took a double cup of nectar, and placed it in his mother's hand. "Cheer up, my dear mother," said he, "and make the best of it. I love you dearly, and should be very sorry to see you get a thrashing; however grieved I might be, I could not help for there is no standing against Zeus. Once before when I was trying to help you, he caught me by the foot and flung me from the heavenly threshold. All day long from morn till eve, was I falling, till at sunset I came to ground in the island of Lemnos, and there I lay, with very little life left in me, till the Sintians came and tended me." [595] Hera smiled at this, and as she smiled she took the cup from her son's hands. Then Hephaestus drew sweet nectar from the mixing-bowl, and served it round among the gods, going from left to right; and the blessed gods laughed out a loud applause as they saw him ing bustling about the heavenly mansion. [600] Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun they feasted, and every one had his full share, so that all were satisfied. Apollo struck his lyre, and the Muses lifted up their sweet voices, calling and answering one another. But when the sun's glorious light had faded, they went home to bed, each in his own abode, which lame Hephaestus with his consummate skill had fashioned for them. So Zeus, the Olympian Lord of Thunder, hied him to the bed in which he always slept; and when he had got on to it he went to sleep, with Hera of the golden throne by his side.

The Myth Cycles

The Greek myth cycles are a confusing, discordant, chronologically impossible jumble that cannot be presented in any coherent or systematic structure. The reason is likely that these myths represent at least three traditions, possibly more, each originating from a distinct ethno-cultural group all of whom settled, in various waves of migration, in and around the Greek peninsula. Over a period of centuries, these cultures coalesced into what we now know as Greek culture.

Pelasgians Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Book I [2] …it is evident that the country now called Hellas had in ancient times no settled population; on the contrary, migrations were of frequent occurrence, the several tribes readily abandoning their homes under the pressure of superior numbers. Without commerce, without freedom of communication either by land or sea, cultivating no more of their territory than the exigencies of life required, destitute of capital, never planting their land (for they could not tell when an invader might not come and take it all away, and when he did come they had no walls to stop him), thinking that the necessities of daily sustenance could be supplied at one place as well as another, they cared little for shifting their habitation, and consequently neither built large cities nor attained to any other form of greatness. The richest soils were always most subject to this change of masters; such as the district now called Thessaly, Boeotia, most of the Peloponnese, Arcadia excepted, and the most fertile parts of the rest of Hellas. The goodness of the land favoured the aggrandizement of particular individuals, and thus created faction which proved a fertile source of ruin. It also invited invasion. Accordingly Attica, from the poverty of its soil enjoying from a very remote period freedom from faction, never changed its inhabitants. And here is no inconsiderable exemplification of my assertion that the migrations were the cause of there being no correspondent growth in other parts. The most powerful victims of war or faction from the rest of Hellas took refuge with the Athenians as a safe retreat; and at an early period, becoming naturalized, swelled the already large population of the city to such a height that Attica became at last too small to hold them, and they had to send out colonies to Ionia. [3] There is also another circumstance that contributes not a little to my conviction of the weakness of ancient times. Before the Trojan war there is no indication of any common action in Hellas, nor indeed of the universal prevalence of the name; on the contrary, before the time of Hellen, son of Deucalion, no such appellation existed, but the country went by the names of the different tribes, in particular of the Pelasgian. It was not till Hellen and his sons grew strong in Phthiotis, and were invited as allies into the other cities, that one by one they gradually acquired from the connection the name of Hellenes; though a long time elapsed before that name could fasten itself upon all. The best proof of this is furnished by Homer. Born long after the Trojan War, he nowhere calls all of them by that name, nor indeed any of them except the followers of Achilles from Phthiotis, who were the original Hellenes: in his poems they are called Danaans, Argives, and Achaeans. He does not even use the term barbarian, probably because the Hellenes had not yet been marked off from the rest of the world by one distinctive appellation. It appears therefore that the several Divine Riddles - 71

Hellenic communities, comprising not only those who first acquired the name, city by city, as they came to understand each other, but also those who assumed it afterwards as the name of the whole people, were before the Trojan war prevented by their want of strength and the absence of communication from displaying any collective action.

The Histories, by Herodotus of Halicarnassus, probably published in 429/8 BC, is the oldest extant historical narrative. The subject of the Histories is the Persian Wars, but Herodotus offers a vast amount of background information. This is his version of early Greek history: Herodotus i .57 - 58. 57. What language however the Pelasgians used to speak I am not able with certainty to say. But if one must pronounce judging by those that still remain of the Pelasgians who dwelt in the city of Creston above the Tyrsenians, and who were once neighbours of the tribe now called Dorian, dwelling then in the land which is now called Thessaliotis, and also by those that remain of the Pelasgians who settled at Plakia and Skylake in the region of the Hellespont, who before that had been settlers with the Athenians, and of the natives of the various other towns which are really Pelasgian, though they have lost the name,--if one must pronounce judging by these, the Pelasgians used to speak a Barbarian language. If therefore all the Pelasgian tribe was such as these, then the Attic tribe, being Pelasgian, at the same time when it changed and became Hellenic, unlearnt also its language. For the people of Creston do not speak the same language with any of those who dwell about them, nor yet do the people of Phakia, but they speak the same language one as the other: and by this it is proved that they still keep unchanged the form of language which they brought with them when they migrated to these places. 58. As for the Hellenic genus, it has used ever the same language, as I clearly perceive, since it first took its rise; but since the time when it parted off feeble at first from the Pelasgian genus, setting forth from a small beginning it has increased to that great number of tribes which we see, and chiefly because many Barbarian tribes have been added to it besides. Moreover it is true, as I think, of the Pelasgian genus also, that so far as it remained Barbarian it never made any great increase.

Divine Riddles - 72

The Danaid

The Danaid is the story of the ancestors and descendants of Danaus, after whom the people of the region are called Danaans. But Homer, it must be pointed out, refers to all of the Greeks as Danaans, Achaeans and Argives interchangeably. This could also be called the Pelasgain Epic since Pelasgus, the patronym of the Pelasgian people, is named as one of the early members of this clan. We begin with the Pelasgians and the Danaid because the Hellenes and the Dorians are said to have migrated to the Greek peninsula after the Pelasgians, and the Pelasgian myth cycle suggests that they were autochthonous, born of the soil, and had always been there.

Inachus and Phoroneus Inachus was either the son of Ocean and Tethys, or an autochthon (born of the soil). He had two sons, Aegialeus who died childless, and Phoroneus who became king of the land now called Argos.

Pausanias ii.15.4 – 5 The oldest tradition in the region now called Argolis is that when Inachus was king he named the river after himself and sacrificed to Hera. [2.15.5] There is also another legend which says that Phoroneus was the first inhabitant of this land, and that Inachus, the father of Phoroneus, was not a man but the river. This river, with the rivers Cephisus and Asterion, judged concerning the land between Poseidon and Hera. They decided that the land belonged to Hera, and so Poseidon made their waters disappear. For this reason neither Inachus nor either of the other rivers I have mentioned provides any water except after rain. In summer their streams are dry except those at Lerna. Phoroneus, the son of Inachus, was the first to gather together the inhabitants, who up to that time had been scattered and living as isolated families. The place into which they were first gathered was named the City of Phoroneus.

Pausanias ii.19.5 [ii.19.5] … there is a fire which they keep burning, calling it the fire of Phoroneus. For they do not admit that fire was given to mankind by Prometheus, but insist in assigning the discovery of fire to Phoroneus.

Apis (Serapis) The son of Phoroneus. He abdicated the throne to his brother, Pelasgus, and moved to Egypt. There and in Greece he is worshiped as Serapis. In Egypt his worship is associated with the Apis Bull. Niobe The daughter of Phoroneus, she was the first woman with whom Zeus mated and their sons were Argus and Pelasgus (Paus. ii.22.5; 34.4 / Apollodorus ii.1.1). Divine Riddles - 73

Pelasgus The son of Phoroneus or, as some claim, an autochthon.

Pausanias viii.1.4 – 6 [8.1.4] The Arcadians say that Pelasgus was the first inhabitant of this land. It is natural to suppose that others accompanied Pelasgus, and that he was not by himself; for otherwise he would have been a king without any subjects to rule over. However, in stature and in prowess, in beauty and in wisdom, Pelasgus excelled his fellows, and for this reason, I think, he was chosen to be king by them. Asius1 the poet says of him:– The godlike Pelasgus on the wooded mountains Black earth gave up, that the race of mortals might exist.2

[8.1.5] Pelasgus on becoming king invented huts that humans should not shiver, or be soaked by rain, or oppressed by heat. Moreover; he it was who first thought of coats of sheep- skins, such as poor folk still wear in Euboea and Phocis. He too it was who checked the habit of eating green leaves, grasses, and roots always inedible and sometimes poisonous. [8.1.6] But he introduced as food the nuts of trees, not those of all trees but only the acorns of the edible oak. Some people have followed this diet so closely since the time of Pelasgus that even the Pythian priestess, when she forbade the Lacedaemonians to touch the land of the Arcadians, uttered the following verses: In Arcadia are many men who eat acorns, Who will prevent you; though I do not grudge it you.

It is said that it was in the reign of Pelasgus that the land was called Pelasgia.

Lycaon The story of Lycaon seems to represent two traditions but the most common has him the son of Pelasgus. The less common has Lycaon (perhaps an earlier character of the same name) several generations older, but in both the outcome is the same. For other versions see Pausanias viii.2.1 – 3 and Apollodorus Library iii.8.

Ovid, Metamorphoses i. 209 – 239 [209] “He,3 indeed, (dismiss your cares) has suffered dire punishment; but what was the offence and what the retribution, I will inform you. The report of the iniquity of the age had reached my ears; wishing to find this not to be the truth, I descended from the top of Olympus, and, a god in a human shape, I surveyed the earth. It was an endless task to enumerate how great an amount of guilt was everywhere discovered; the report itself was below the truth.”

1 Asius of Samos, a poet who lived ca. 700 BC. None of his works are extant. 2 In this version of the legend, Pelasgus was an autochthon. 3 Lycaon: Divine Riddles - 74

[216] I had now passed Maenalus,4 to be dreaded for its dens of beasts of prey, and the pine-groves of cold Lycaeus, together with Cyllene.5 After this, I entered the realms and the inhospitable abode of the Arcadian tyrant, just as the late twilight was bringing on the night. [220] I gave a signal that a god had come, and the people commenced to pay their adorations. In the first place, Lycaon derided their pious supplications. Afterwards, he said, I will make trial, by a plain proof, whether this is a god, or whether he is a mortal; nor shall the truth remain a matter of doubt. He then makes preparations to destroy me, when sunk in sleep, by an unexpected death; this mode of testing the truth pleases him. [225] And not content with that, with the sword he cuts the throat of a hostage that had been sent from the nation of the Molossians, and then softens part of the quivering limbs, in boiling water, and part he roasts with fire placed beneath. [230] Soon as he had placed these on the table, I, with avenging flames, overthrew the house upon the household gods, worthy of their master. Alarmed, he himself takes to flight, and having reached the solitude of the country, he howls aloud, and in vain attempts to speak; his mouth gathers rage from himself, and through its usual desire for slaughter, it is directed against the sheep, and even still delights in blood. [235] His garments are changed into hair, his arms into legs; he becomes a wolf, and he still retains vestiges of his ancient form. His hoariness is still the same, the same violence appears in his features; his eyes are bright as before; he is still the same image of ferocity.

Callisto Callisto was the daughter of Lycaon and a priestess of Diana (Artemis). One day, when she was out hunting in the forest she was noticed by Zeus:

Ovid, Metamorphoses ii. 417 - 507 [417] The lofty Sun had now obtained a position beyond the mid-course, when she enters a grove which no generation had ever cut. Here she puts her quiver off from her shoulders, and unbends her pliant bow, and lies down on the ground, which the grass had covered, and presses her painted quiver, with her neck laid on it. When Jupiter saw her thus weary, and without a protector, he said, “For certain, my wife will know nothing of this stolen embrace; or, if she should chance to know, is her scolding, is it, I say, of such great consequence?” [425] Immediately he puts on the form and dress of Diana,6 and says, “O Virgin! One portion of my train, upon what mountains have you been hunting?” The virgin raises herself from the turf, and says, “Hail, Goddess, who are, in my opinion, greater than Jove, even if he himself should hear it.” [430] He both smiles and he hears it, and is pleased at being preferred to himself; and he gives her kisses, not very moderate, nor such as would be given by a virgin. He stops her as she is preparing to tell him in what wood she has been hunting, by an embrace, and he does not betray himself without the commission of violence. She, indeed, on the other hand, as far as a woman could do [435] (would that you had seen her, daughter of Saturn,7 then you would have been more merciful), she, indeed, I say, resists;

4 A town in Arcadia 5 A mountain that divides Arcadia from Achaea. 6 The Latin name for Artemis 7 The poet is addressing Juno (Hera). Divine Riddles - 75 but what damsel, or who besides, could prevail against Jupiter? Jove, now the conqueror, seeks the heavens above; the grove and the conscious wood is now her aversion. Making her retreat thence, [440] she is almost forgetting to take away her quiver with her arrows, and the bow which she had hung up. [441] Behold, Dictynna,8 attended by her train, as she goes along the lofty Maenalus, and exulting in the slaughter of the wild beasts, beholds her, and calls her, thus seen. Being so called, she drew back, and at first was afraid lest Jupiter might be under her shape; [445] but after she saw the Nymphs walking along with her, she perceived that there was no deceit, and she approached their train. Alas! How difficult it is not to betray a crime by one’s looks! She scarce raises her eyes from the ground, nor, as she used to do, does she walk by the side of the goddess, nor is she the foremost in the whole company; but she is silent, [450] and by her blushes she gives signs of her injured honor. And Diana, but for the fact, that she is a virgin, might have perceived her fault by a thousand indications; the Nymphs are said to have perceived it. [453] The horns of the Moon were now rising again in her ninth course, when the hunting goddess, faint from her brother’s flames, lighted on a cool grove, out of which a stream ran, flowing with its murmuring noise, and borne along the sand worn fine by its action. When she had approved of the spot, she touched the surface of the water with her foot; and commending it as well, she says, “All onlookers are far off; let us bathe our bodies, with the stream poured over them.” [460] She of Parrhasia9 blushed; they all put off their clothes; she alone sought an excuse for delay. Her garment was removed as she hesitated, which being put-off, her fault was exposed with her naked body. [465] Cynthia10 said to her, in confusion, and endeavoring to conceal her stomach with her hands, “Begone afar hence, and pollute not the sacred springs;” and she ordered her to leave her train. [466] The spouse of the great Thunderer had perceived this sometime before, and had put off the severe punishment designed for her, to a proper time. There is now no reason for delay; and now the boy Arcas (that, too, was a grief to Juno) was born of the mistress of her husband. [470] Wherefore, she turned her thoughts, full of resentment, and her eyes upon her, and said, “This thing, forsooth, alone was wanting, you adulteress, that you should be pregnant, and that my injury should become notorious by your labors, and that thereby the disgraceful conduct of my husband, Jupiter, should be openly declared. You shall not go unpunished; for I will spoil that shape of your, on which you pride yourself, [475] and by which you, mischievous one, do charm my husband.” [476] Thus she spoke; and seizing her straight in front by the hair, threw her on her face to the ground. She suppliantly stretched forth her arms; those arms began to grow rough with black hair, and her hands to be bent, and to increase to hooked claws, and to do the duty of feet, [480] and the mouth, that was once admired by Jupiter, to become deformed with a wide opening; and lest her prayers, and words not needed, should influence her feelings, the power of speech is taken from her; an angry and threatening voice, and full of

8 Dictynna is a surname for Britomartis, a huntress diety from Crete. With the introduction of Artemis into the local myth cycle, Dictynna is completely absorbed under the image of Artemis. 9 An early name for Arcadia after Parrhasius, one of Lycaon’s sons. The area was renamed after Arcas, son of Callisto and Zeus. 10 A surname for Artemis, after Mt. Cynthus on the island of Delos where she and Apollo were born. Divine Riddles - 76 terror, is uttered from her hoarse throat. [485] Still, her former understanding remains in her, even thus become a bear; and expressing her sorrows by her repeated groans, she lifts up her hands, such as they are, to heaven and to the stars, and she deems Jove ungrateful, though she cannot call him so. Ah! How often, not daring to rest in the lonely wood, [490] did she wander about before her own house, and in the fields once her own. Ah! How often was she driven over the crags by the cry of the hounds; and, a huntress herself, she fled in alarm, through fear of the hunters! Often, seeing the wild beasts, did she lie concealed, forgetting what she was; and, a bear herself, dreaded the he-bears seen on the mountains, [495] and was alarmed at the wolves, though her father was among them.11 [496] Behold! Arcas, the offspring of the daughter of Lycaon, ignorant of who is his parent, approaches her, thrice five birthdays being now nearly past; and while he is following the wild beasts, while he is choosing the proper woods, and is enclosing the Erymanthian12 forests with his platted nets, [500] he meets with his mother. She stood still, upon seeing Arcas, and was like one recognizing another. He drew back, and, in his ignorance, was alarmed at her keeping her eyes fixed upon him without ceasing; and, as she was desirous to approach still nearer, he would have pierced her breast with the wounding spear. [505] Omnipotent Jove averted this, and removed both them and such wickedness; and placed them, carried through vacant space with a rapid wind, in the heavens, and made them neighboring Constellations.

Callisto and her son Arcas are the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations.

Asclepius Arcas, son of Callisto and Zeus, was married to Erato and they had a son, Elatus. Elatus had a son Ischys who had an affair with Coronis, the daughter of Phlegyas.

Pausanias ii.26.3 – [2.26.3] That the land is especially sacred to Asclepius is due to the following reason. The Epidaurians say that Phlegyas came to the Peloponnesus, ostensibly to see the land, but really to spy out the number of the inhabitants, and whether the greater part of them was warlike. For Phlegyas was the greatest soldier of his time, and making forays in all directions he carried off the crops and lifted the cattle. [2.26.4] When he went to the Peloponnesus, he was accompanied by his daughter, who all along had kept hidden from her father that she was with child by Apollo. In the country of the Epidaurians she bore a son, and exposed him on the mountain called Nipple at the present day, but then named Myrtium. As the child lay exposed he was given milk by one of the goats that pastured about the mountain, and was guarded by the watch-dog of the herd. And when Aresthanas (for this was the herdsman's name) [2.26.5] discovered that the tale of the goats was not full, and that the watch-dog also was absent from the herd, he left, they say, no stone unturned, and on finding the child desired to take him up. As he drew near he saw lightning that flashed from the child, and, thinking that it was something divine, as in fact it was, he turned away. Presently it was reported over every land and sea that Asclepius was discovering everything he wished

11 A reference to Zeus Lycaeus, Zeus of the Wolves. 12 A mountain range in Arcadia. Divine Riddles - 77

to heal the sick, and that he was raising dead men to life. [2.26.6] There is also another tradition concerning him. Coronis, they say, when with child with Asclepius, had intercourse with Ischys, son of Elatus. She was killed by Artemis to punish her for the insult done to Apollo, but when the pyre was already lighted Hermes is said to have snatched the child from the flames. [2.26.7] The third account is, in my opinion, the farthest from the truth; it makes Asclepius to be the son of Arsinoe, the daughter of Leucippus. For when Apollophanes the Arcadian, came to Delphi and asked the god if Asclepius was the son of Arsinoe and therefore a Messenian, the Pythian priestess gave this response: Oh Asclepius, born to bestow great joy upon mortals, Pledge of the mutual love I enjoyed with Phlegyas' daughter, Lovely Coronis, who bare thee in rugged land Epidaurus. This oracle makes it quite certain that Asclepius was not a son of Arsinoe, and that the story was a fiction invented by Hesiod, or by one of Hesiod's interpolators, just to please the Messenians. [2.26.8] There is other evidence that the god was born in Epidaurus for I find that the most famous sanctuaries of Asclepius had their origin from Epidaurus. In the first place, the Athenians, who say that they gave a share of their mystic rites to Asclepius, call this day of the festival Epidauria, and they allege that their worship of Asclepius dates from then. Again, when Archias, son of Aristaechmus, was healed in Epidauria after spraining himself while hunting about Pindasus, he brought the cult to Pergamus. [2.26.9] From the one at Pergamus has been built in our own day the sanctuary of Asclepius by the sea at Smyrna. Further, at Balagrae of the Cyreneans there is an Asclepius called Healer, who like the others came from Epidaurus. From the one at Cyrene was founded the sanctuary of Asclepius at Lebene, in Crete. There is this difference between the Cyreneans and the Epidaurians, that whereas the former sacrifice goats, it is against the custom of the Epidaurians to do so. [2.26.10] That Asclepius was considered a god from the first, and did not receive the title only in course of time, I infer from several signs, including the evidence of Homer, who makes Agamemnon say about Machaon: Talthybius, with all speed go summon me hither Machaon, Mortal son of Asclepius. As who should say, "human son of a god."13

Asclepius, or Aesculapius, was the Greek god of medicine.

Argus Argus was the brother of Pelasgus, son of Niobe and Zeus. The tradition about Argus is confused but the solution seems to be to admit two men, both named Argus. There is an Argus, son of Niobe and brother of Pelasgus (Apollod. ii.1/ Paus. ii.22.5); and an Argus son of Agenor, son of Ecbasus, son of Argus. This second Argus is surnamed Panoptes (‘All Seeing’ or ‘All Eyes’). His story is told as part of the story of Zeus and Io, below.

Io Io was the daughter of Iasus, son of Ecbasus, son of Argus Panoptes.

13 The quote appears to be from Iliad iv.194, but Pausanias has misquoted somewhat. Divine Riddles - 78

Ovid, Metamorphoses i. 567 - 624 [567] There is a grove of Haemonia, which a wood, placed on a craggy rock, encloses on every side. They call it Tempe; through this the river Peneus, flowing from the bottom of mount Pindus, rolls along with its foaming waves, [570] and in its mighty fall, gathers clouds that scatter a vapor like thin smoke, and with its spray besprinkles the tops of the woods, and wearies places, far from near to it, with its noise. This is the home; this the abode, these are the retreats of the great river; residing here in a cavern formed by rocks, he gives law to the waters, [575] and to the Nymphs that inhabit those waters. The rivers of that country first repair thither, not knowing whether they should congratulate, or whether console the parent; the poplar-bearing Spercheus, and the restless Enipeus, the aged Apidanus, the gentle Amphrysus, and Aeas, [580] and, soon after, the other rivers, which, as their current leads them, carry down into the sea their waves, wearied by wanderings.14 Inachus alone is absent, and, hidden in his deepest cavern, increases his waters with his tears, and in extreme wretchedness bewails his daughter Io as lost; he knows not whether she now enjoys life, or whether she is among the shades below; [585] but her, whom he does not find anywhere, he believes to be nowhere, and in his mind he dreads the worst. [587] Jupiter had seen Io as she was returning from her father’s stream, and had said, “O maid, worthy of Jove, and destined to make I know not whom happy in your marriage, [590] repair to the shades of this lofty grove (and he pointed at the shade of the grove) while it is warm, and while the Sun is at his height, in the midst of his course. But if you are afraid to enter the lonely abodes of the wild beasts alone, you shall enter the recesses of the groves, safe under the protection of a god, and that a god of no common sort; but with me, who hold the sceptre of heaven in my powerful hand; [595] me, who hurl the wandering lightning—Do not fly from me;” for now she was flying. And now she had left behind the pastures of Lerna,15 and the Lircaean plains planted with trees, when the god covered the earth far and wide with darkness overspreading, and arrested her flight, and forced her modesty. [600] In the meantime Juno16 looked down upon the midst of the fields, and wondering that the fleeting clouds had made the appearance of night under bright day, she perceived that they were not the vapors from a river, nor were they raised from the moist earth, and then she looked around to see where her husband was, [605] as being one who by this time was full well acquainted with the intrigues of a husband who had been so often detected. After she had found him not in heaven, she said, “I am either deceived, or I am injured;” and having descended from the height of heaven, she alighted upon the earth, and commanded the mists to retire. He had foreseen the approach of his wife, [610] and had changed the features of the daughter of Inachus into a sleek heifer. As a cow, too, she is beautiful. The daughter of Saturn,17 though unwillingly, extols the appearance of the cow; and likewise inquires, whose it is, and whence, or of what herd it is, as though ignorant of the truth. Jupiter falsely asserts that it was produced out of the earth, [615] that the owner may cease to be inquired after. The daughter of Saturn begs her of him as a gift. What can

14 The geography here is confused. Tempe is in N. Central Greece between Mt. Ossa and Mt. Olympus. Mt. Peneus is west of that by about 100km. The scene of these events is in Argolis, some distance to the south. 15 A town in the Argolis, named for the stream that passes through the area. 16 Hera, the wife of Zeus (Jupiter). 17 Saturn is Latin for Cronus, father of Juno (Hera). Divine Riddles - 79 he do? It is a cruel thing to deliver up his own mistress, and not to give her up is a cause of suspicion. It is shame which persuades him on the one hand, love dissuades him on the other. His shame would have been subdued by his love; [620] but if so trifling a gift as a cow should be refused to the sharer of his descent and his couch, she might well seem not to be a cow. [621] The rival now being given up to her, the goddess did not immediately lay aside all apprehension; and she was still afraid of Jupiter, and was fearful of her being stolen, until she gave her to Argus, the son of Aristor, to be kept by him.18 [625] Argus had his head encircled with a hundred eyes. Two of them used to take rest in their turns, the rest watched, and used to keep on duty. In whatever manner he stood, he looked towards Io; although turned away, he still used to have Io before his eyes. [667] Nor can the ruler of the Gods above, any longer endure so great miseries of the granddaughter of Phoroneus;19 and he calls his son Mercury20, whom the bright Pleiad, Maia, brought forth, and orders him to put Argus to death. [670] There is but little delay to take wings upon his feet, and his soporiferous wand in his hand, and a cap for his hair. After he had put these things in order, the son of Jupiter leaps down from his father’s high abode upon the earth, and there he takes off his cap, and lays aside his wings; his wand alone was retained. [675] With this, as a shepherd, he drives some she-goats through the pathless country, taken up as he passed along, and plays upon oaten straws joined together.

Hermes lulled Argus to sleep with his lyre:

Ovid Metamorphoses i.712 – 22 [712] The Cyllenian god being about to say such things, perceived that all his eyes were sunk in sleep, and that his sight was wrapped in slumber. At once he puts an end to his song, and strengthens his slumbers, stroking his languid eyes with his magic wand. There is no delay; he wounds him, as he nods, with his crooked sword, where the head is joined to the neck; and casts him, all blood-stained, from the rock, and stains the craggy cliff with his gore. Argus, You liest low, and the light which you had in so many eyes is now extinguished; and one night takes possession of a whole hundred eyes. The daughter of Saturn takes them, and places them on the feathers of her own bird, and she fills its tail with starry gems.

Hera was so enraged that she sent a gad-fly to torment Io. Attempting to escape the fly, Io began to run and didn’t stop until she arrived in Egypt.

Ovid, Metamorphoses i.723 – 47. [723] Immediately, she was inflamed with rage, and deferred not the time of expressing her wrath; and she presented a dreadful Fury before the eyes and thoughts of the Argive mistress, and buried in her bosom invisible stings, and drove her, in her fright, a wanderer through the whole earth. You, O Nile, didst remain, as the utmost boundary of her long

18 This is Argus Panoptes, severally called the son of Agenor, Arestor, Inachus or Argus. He is also said to be autochthonous. Not to be confused with Argus, the son of Zeus and Niobe. 19 Phoroneus was the son of Inachus. Some sources have Io the sister of Phoroneus, some have her five generations later. The more distant connection seems to fit better with the lineage for Argus. 20 The Latin name for Hermes. See the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. Divine Riddles - 80

wanderings. Soon as she arrived there, she fell upon her knees, placed on the edge of the bank, and raising herself up, with her neck thrown back, [730] and casting to Heaven those looks which then alone she could, by her groans, and her tears, and her mournful lowing, she seemed to be complaining of Jupiter, and to be begging an end of her sorrows. [734] He, embracing the neck of his wife with his arms, entreats her, at length, to put an end to her punishment; and he says, “Lay aside your fears for the future; she shall never more be the occasion of any trouble to you;” and then he bids the Stygian waters to hear this oath. As soon as the goddess is pacified, Io receives her former shape, and she becomes what she was before; the hairs flee from off of her body, her horns decrease, and the orb of her eye becomes less; [740] the opening of her jaw is contracted; her shoulders and her hands return, and her hoof, vanishing, is disposed of into five nails; nothing of the cow remains to her, but the whiteness of her appearance; and the Nymph, contented with the service of two feet, is raised erect on them; [745] and yet she is afraid to speak, lest she should low like a cow, and timorously tries again the words so long interrupted. Now, as a goddess, she is worshipped by the linen-wearing crowds.21 [747] To her, at length, Epaphus is believed to have been born from the seed of great Jove, and throughout the cities he possesses temples joined to those of his parent. Danaus Danaus and Egyptus were the sons of Belus, son of Libya and Poseidon. Libya was the daughter of Epaphus, the son of Io and Zeus. Danaus had fifty daughters and Egyptus fifty sons. When Egyptus, then king of Egypt, decreed that his sons should marry their cousins, Danaus and his daughters fled, emmigrating to Argos, the homeland of Io. Aeschylus’ Suppliant Women tells the story of their arrival in Argos. The two following plays are now lost, but they told the story of how the sons of Egyptus besieged Argos and, to end the war, Danaus agreed that his daughters would marry the sons of Egyptus. On the wedding day, however, Danaus gave each of his daughters a dagger and ordered them to murder their husbands that night. The only one who refused was Hypermnestra, who spared her husband Lyncaeus.

Pausanias ii.19.3 – 5. [2.19.3] The most famous building in the city of Argos is the sanctuary of Apollo Lycius. The modern image was made by the Athenian Attalus, but the original temple and wooden image were the offering of Danaus. I am of opinion that in those days all images, especially Egyptian images, were made of wood. The reason why Danaus founded a sanctuary of Apollo Lycius was this. On coming to Argos he claimed the kingdom against Gelanor, the son of Sthenelas. Many plausible arguments were brought forward by both parties, and those of Sthenelas were considered as fair as those of his opponent; so the people, who were sitting in judgment, put off, they say, the decision to the following day. [2.19.4] At dawn a wolf fell upon a herd of oxen that was pasturing before the wall, and attacked and fought with the bull that was the leader of the herd. It occurred to the Argives that Gelanor was like the bull and Danaus like the wolf, for as the wolf will not live with men, so Danaus up to that time had not lived with them. It was because the wolf overcame the bull that Danaus won the

21 The people of Egypt. The Egyptian goddess Isis was thought by the Greeks to be Io. Divine Riddles - 81

kingdom. Accordingly, believing that Apollo had brought the wolf on the herd, he founded a sanctuary of Apollo Lycius. [2.19.5] Here is dedicated the throne of Danaus,

When Danaus died he was succeeded by Lynceus. Acrisius and Proetus Lynceus, the son of Egyptus, and Hypermnestra, the daughter of Danaus, had a son Abas. Abas married Aglaia and they had two sons, Acrisius and Proetus.

Pausanias 2.16.2 [2.16.2] …the sons of Abas, the son of Lynceus, divided the kingdom between themselves; Acrisius remained where he was at Argos, and Proetus took over the Heraeum, Mideia, Tiryns, and the Argive coast region. Traces of the residence of Proetus in Tiryns remain to the present day.

Danae and Zeus Danae was the daughter of Acrisius. Arcrisius consulted the Oracle at Delphi asking about children and was told that his daughter would bear a son who would kill him.

Apollodorus ii.4.1 When Acrisius inquired of the oracle how he should get male children, the god said that his daughter would give birth to a son who would kill him. Fearing that, Acrisius built a bronze chamber underground and there imprisoned Danae. However, she was seduced, as some say, by Proetus, whence arose the quarrel between them; but some say that Zeus had intercourse with her in the shape of a stream of gold which poured through the roof into Danae's lap. When Acrisius afterwards learned that she had got a child Perseus, he would not believe that she had been seduced by Zeus, and putting his daughter with the child in a chest, he cast it into the sea. The chest was washed ashore on Seriphus, and Dictys took up the boy and reared him.

Perseus Apollodorus ii.4. 2 – 3. [2] Polydectes, brother of Dictys, was then king of Seriphus and fell in love with Danae, but could not get access to her, because Perseus was grown to man's estate. So he called together his friends, including Perseus, under the pretext of collecting contributions towards a wedding gift for Hippodamia, daughter of Oenomaus. Now Perseus having declared that he would not stick even at the Gorgon's head, Polydectes required the others to furnish horses, and not getting horses from Perseus ordered him to bring the Gorgon's head.22

22 The translation seems vague and confusing but that is the fault of the original Greek, not the translator. The passage seems to suggest that Perseus, as the only adult relative of his mother, Danae, was her guardian and refused to allow Polydectes to court her. Polydectes then pretended to be amassing a bride price for Hippodamia and ordered his clients, Perseus included, to contribute. When Perseus proved unwilling, Polydectes ordered Perseus to find Medusa and bring to him her head. Divine Riddles - 82

So under the guidance of Hermes and Athena he made his way to the daughters of Phorcus: Enyo, Pephredo, and Dino; for Phorcus had them by Ceto, and they were sisters of the Gorgons, and old women from their birth. The three had but one eye and one tooth, and these they passed to each other in turn. Perseus got possession of the eye and the tooth, and when they asked them back, he said he would give them up if they would show him the way to the nymphs. Now these nymphs had winged sandals and a shoulder-bag. They had also the cap of Hades. When the Phorcides had shown him the way, he gave them back the tooth and the eye, and coming to the nymphs got what he wanted. So he slung the purse about him, fitted the sandals to his ankles, and put the cap on his head. Wearing it, he saw whom he pleased, but was not seen by others. And having received also from Hermes an adamantine sickle he flew to the ocean and caught the Gorgons asleep. They were Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Now Medusa alone was mortal; for that reason Perseus was sent to fetch her head. But the Gorgons had heads twined about with the scales of dragons, and great tusks like swine's, and brazen hands, and golden wings, by which they flew; and they turned to stone such as beheld them. So Perseus stood over them as they slept, and while Athena guided his hand and he looked with averted gaze on a brazen shield, in which he beheld the image of the Gorgon, he beheaded her. When her head was cut off, there sprang from the Gorgon the winged horse Pegasus and Chrysaor, the father of Geryon; these she had by Poseidon. [3] So Perseus put the head of Medusa in the shoulder bag and went back again; but the Gorgons started up from their slumber and pursued Perseus: but they could not see him on account of the cap, for he was hidden by it. Arriving in Ethiopia, of which Cepheus was king, he found the king's daughter Andromeda set out to be the prey of a sea monster. For Cassiopeia, the wife of Cepheus, vied with the Nereids in beauty and boasted to be better than them all; hence the Nereids were angry, and Poseidon, sharing their wrath, sent a flood and a monster to invade the land. But Ammon23 having predicted deliverance from the calamity if Cassiopeia's daughter Andromeda were exposed as a prey to the monster, Cepheus was compelled by the Ethiopians to do it, and he bound his daughter to a rock. When Perseus beheld her, he loved her and promised Cepheus that he would kill the monster, if he would give him the rescued damsel for his wife. These terms having been sworn to, Perseus withstood and slew the monster and released Andromeda. However, Phineus, who was a brother of Cepheus, and to whom Andromeda had been first betrothed, plotted against him; but Perseus discovered the plot, and by showing the Gorgon turned him and his fellow conspirators at once into stone. And having come to Seriphus he found that his mother and Dictys had taken refuge at the altars on account of the violence of Polydectes; so he entered the palace, where Polydectes had gathered his friends, and with averted face he showed the Gorgon's head; and all who beheld it were turned to stone, each in the attitude which he happened to have struck. Having appointed Dictys king of Seriphus, he gave back the sandals and the shoulder-bag and the cap to Hermes, but the Gorgon's head he gave to Athena. Hermes restored the aforesaid things to the nymphs and Athena inserted the Gorgon's head in the middle of her shield. But it is alleged by some that Medusa was

23 The Egyptian Ammon is equivalent to the Greek Zeus. Divine Riddles - 83

beheaded for Athena's sake; and they say that the Gorgon was fain to match herself with the goddess even in beauty. Perseus then returned to Greece with his mother Danae and his wife Andromeda:

Pausanias ii.16.2 – 3 Afterwards Acrisius, learning that Perseus himself was not only alive but accomplishing great achievements, retired to Larisa on the Peneus. And Perseus, wishing at all costs to see the father of his mother and to greet him with fair words and deeds, visited him at Larisa. Being in the prime of life and proud of his inventing the discus, he gave displays before all, and Acrisius, as luck would have it, stepped unnoticed into the path of the discus. [2.16.3] So the prediction of the god to Acrisius found its fulfillment, nor was his fate prevented by his precautions against his daughter and grandson. Perseus, ashamed because of the gossip about the homicide, on his return to Argos induced Megapenthes, the son of Proetus, to make an exchange of kingdoms; taking over himself that of Megapenthes, he founded Mycenae. For on its site the cap (myces) fell from his scabbard, and he regarded this as a sign to found a city. I have also heard the following account. He was thirsty, and the thought occurred to him to pick up a mushroom (myces) from the ground. Drinking with joy water that flowed from it, he gave to the place the name of Mycenae. Perseus and Andromeda had several children including the sons Electryon and Alcaeus. Electryon became king of Mycenae and he married Anaxo, the daughter of his brother Alcaeus. They had a daughter Alcmene and she married Amphitryon, the son of Alcaeus, her own uncle. By Amphitryon Alcmene had Iphicles, but she was raped by Zeus and bore Heracles. Heracles To Heracles, Homeric Hymn #25. [1-8] I will sing of Heracles, the son of Zeus and much the mightiest of men on earth. Alcmena bore him in Thebes, the city of lovely dances, when the dark-clouded Son of Cronus had lain with her. Once he used to wander over unmeasured tracts of land and sea at the bidding of King Eurystheus, and himself did many deeds of violence and endured many; but now he lives happily in the glorious home of snowy Olympus, and has neat-ankled Hebe for his wife. [9] Hail, lord, son of Zeus! Give me success and prosperity.

The Birth of Heracles, Iliad xix. 90 – 133. All things are in the hand of heaven, and Folly, eldest of Zeus's daughters, shuts men's eyes to their destruction. She walks delicately, not on the solid earth, but hovers over the heads of men to make them stumble or to ensnare them. [95] "Time was when she fooled Zeus himself, who they say is greatest whether of gods or men; for Hera, woman though she was, beguiled him on the day when Alcmena was to bring forth mighty Heracles in the fair city of Thebes. He told it out among the gods saying, 'Hear me all gods and goddesses, that I may speak even as I am minded; this day shall Eileithia, helper of women who are in labour, bring a man child into the world who shall be lord over all that dwell about him who are of my blood and lineage.' Then said Hera all crafty and full of guile, 'You will play false, and will not hold to your word. Swear me, O Divine Riddles - 84

Olympian, swear me a great oath, that he who shall this day fall between the feet of a woman, shall be lord over all that dwell about him who are of your blood and lineage.' [112] "Thus she spoke, and Zeus suspected her not, but swore the great oath, to his much ruing thereafter. For Hera darted down from the high summit of Olympus, and went in haste to Achaean Argos where she knew that the noble wife of Sthenelus son of Perseus then was. She being with child and in her seventh month, Hera brought the child to birth though there was a month still wanting, but she stayed the offspring of Alcmena, and kept back Eileithea. [120] Then she went to tell Zeus the son of Cronus, and said, 'Father Zeus, lord of the lightning- I have a word for your ear. There is a fine child born this day, Eurystheus, son to Sthenelus the son of Perseus; he is of your lineage; it is well, therefore, that he should reign over the Argives.' [125] "On this Zeus was stung to the very quick, and in his rage he caught Folly by the hair, and swore a great oath that never should she again invade starry heaven and Olympus, for she was the bane of all. Then he whirled her round with a twist of his hand, and flung her down from heaven so that she fell on to the fields of mortal men; and he was ever angry with her when he saw his son groaning under the cruel labours that Eurystheus laid upon him.

The Labours of Heracles Although amongst the most famous of the ancient myths, there are few primary sources that refer to the Twelve Labours of Heracles in quite that way. Homer and Hesiod both mention Heracles and refer to certain specific feats he performed, but they each seem unaware of any tradition of twelve, or ten, labours. Two ancient sources offer us details of the Twelve Labour tradition, Apollodorus and Diodorus, both of whom, coincidentally, included the stories in works called Bibliotheka (Library). There are many differences and discrepancies between the two accounts including Apollodorus’ claim that Heracles was only expected to perform ten labours but, since he cheated on two, two more were added. Diodorus says that the charge was, from the beginning, twelve. While the descriptions of the labours themselves are standardized, the order is not. Below is Diodorus’ version.

Diodorus iv.9.1 – 11.2 [1] Perseus (they say) was the son of Zeus by Danae, the daughter of Acrisius, and that Perseus begat Electryon of Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus, and that Electryon begat Alcmene of Eurydice the daughter of Pelops, and that Zeus (deceiving Alcmene) lay with her, and begat Heracles. [2] By this genealogy Heracles descended from the chiefest of the gods, both immediately by his mother, and more remotely by his great grandfather Perseus. His virtue and valour were not only evident from his acts, but might be concluded and foreseen by what happened before he was born: for when Zeus lay with Alcmene, he lengthened the night threefold so that, spending so much time in procreating this child was a sign how extraordinary strong he was likely to be. [3] They say that Zeus lay not with her out of any amorous pang of love, as with other women, but merely for procreation sake, and therefore, willing that his embraces at this time should be lawful, he forbore all violence; and knowing that the woman's chastity was such, that no arguments would prevail with her, Divine Riddles - 85 he deceived her by taking upon him the shape of Amphitryon. [4] And when the time of her delivery drew near, then Zeus, full of thoughts concerning the birth of Heracles, in the presence of all the gods, declared that he would make him who would be born that day the king of the descendants of Perseus. Whereupon Hera, enraged with jealousy, with the assistance of Eileitheia, her daughter, gave a check to the delivery of Alcmene, and brought forth Eurystheus before his full term. [5] But though Zeus was thus outwitted by Hera, yet, that he might perform his promise, he took care to preserve the honour and reputation of Heracles; and therefore it is reported, that he prevailed with Hera to consent that Eurystheus being made king according to his promise, Heracles, (who should be subject to him), performing twelve labours, (such as Eurystheus should impose upon him), should be taken into the society of the immortal gods. [6] Alcmene being delivered, out of fear of Juno's jealousy, exposed the child in a place which is now, from him, called Heracles' Field. About which time Athena, together with Hera, walking abroad, found the infant, and, much admiring his beauty, Athena persuaded Hera to suckle it: the child drawing the breast with more violence than at his age was usual, Hera, not able to endure the pain, cast away the infant whom Minerva took up and brought home to his mother to be nursed by her. [7] The accident here seems very strange and remarkable, for the mother, who owed a natural affection to her own child, exposed him to destruction; but she who hated him, as a stepmother, (unknowingly) preserved her natural enemy. [10.1] Afterwards Juno sent two serpents to devour the child: but he took them with both his hands by their throats, and strangled them. Upon which account the Argives (coming to understand what was done) called him Heracles,24 because Juno was the occasion of his glory and fame, for he was before called Alcides. Others are named by their parents, but he gained his name by his valour. [2] In after times it happened that Amphitryon, being banished from Tiryns, settled himself in Thebes; here Heracles was educated, here he was instructed and greatly improved in all laudable exercises, insomuch that he excelled all others in strength of body, and also in the excellent endowments of his mind. Being now grown up to man's estate, he first freed Thebes from tyrannical slavery, and thereby made a grateful return to the country where he was bred. [3] The Thebans at that time were under the tyranny of Erginus, king of the Minyans, who every year exacted tribute from them, not without scorn and contempt. Heracles, undaunted by the power of the overlords accomplished a feat worthy of fame: For when those who were sent from the Minyans to effect the tribute acted insolently towards the people, he cut off their ears and cast them out of the city; [4] whereupon Erginus demanded the delivery of the malefactor, and Creon, the prince of Thebes, (dreading the power of Erginus) resolved to deliver him up. But Heracles stirred up the young men of the city to arm themselves, in order to recover the liberty of their country, and to that end gathered all the arms that were in the temples, formerly dedicated to the gods by their ancestors, of the spoils of their enemies, for none of the citizens had any arms of their own because the Minyans had disarmed the city so that the Thebans had not the least thought of a revolt. [5] Intelligence being brought that Erginus with an army approached the city, Heracles set upon him in a narrow pass (where Erginus’ superior numbers were of little use) and

24 The name Heracles in Greek is made up of Hera and kleos, meaning ‘the glory of Hera.’ Divine Riddles - 86 killed Erginus and cut almost his whole army to pieces. He then suddenly attacked the city of the Orchomenians entering unexpectedly, and burnt the palace of the Minyae, and razed the city to the ground. [6] The fame of this notable exploit was quickly heard over all Greece, since such a sudden and unexpected achievement was the subject of every man's admiration, and Creon the king (taken with the valour of the young man) gave him his daughter Megara as his wife, and committed to him the care and charge of the city as if Heracles had been his own son. But Eurystheus, king of Argos, jealous of Heracles's growing greatness, sent for him to perform the labours he was to impose upon him. [7] When Heracles refused, Zeus commanded him to obey king Eurystheus. So Heracles went to Delphi, and inquired of the oracle concerning this matter, who answered him that it was the will of the gods, that he should perform twelve labours at the command of Eurystheus, and that when he had finished them he should receive the reward of immortality.25 [11.1] Hereupon Heracles became exceedingly sad and melancholy; for he judged it very much below him to be at the beck of his inferior, and to disobey his father Zeus a second time he concluded was both unprofitable and impossible. While he was in this perplexity, Hera struck him with madness, amplified by his pre-existing condition, and in his state of madness he attacked Iolaus who only saved himself by fleeing. Further angered, Heracles fell upon his own children by Megara, who were next in his way, and struck them through with his arrows, as if they had been his enemies. [2] As soon as the madness left him, and understood what he had done, he almost sunk under the weight of his misery, (being pitied by everybody), and shut himself up in his own house a long time from the converse and society of men.

Labour One: the Nemean Lion, Diodorus iv.11.2 - 4 At length, time moderating his grief, resolving to undertake all the difficulties that were enjoined him, he went to Eurystheus, [3] who in the first place commanded him to kill the lion in the forest of Nemea, which was of a monstrous size, not to be pierced or wounded by sword, spear, or stones, and therefore not to be dealt with by mere force and strength of hand. His walks were commonly between Mycenae and Nemea, near the mountain (from what happened to it) called Treton. For at the foot of this hill there was a den, in which this monster used to lurk. [4] Heracles here meeting with him, laid hold of him, whereupon the beast beginning to fly to his den, he resolutely pursued him, having before stopped up one of the mouths of the den, and having trapped the lion, he wrapped his arms about its neck and strangled it. Then he clothed himself with the lion’s skin, which was big enough to cover his whole body, and ever after it was a protection in all conflicts.

Labour Two: The Lernean Hydra, Diodorus iv.11.5 [5] His second task was to kill the hydra of Lerna. This monster had A hundred necks rising out of one body, and upon every neck the head of a snake, and when one of these was cut off, two others grew up in its place and therefore this monster was accounted invincible, and not without good reason, for, from the part that was lost, arose another of the same nature to take its place. Against this difficulty he invented a stratagem; he commanded Iolaus

25 Apollodorus (ii.4.12) says that the charge was ten labours, but that two were discounted for cheating. Divine Riddles - 87 to sear the part that was cut off with a firebrand that thereby the blood might be stopped, by this method the beast was killed, and he dipped the points of his arrows in the monster’s blood so that wherever they struck, the wound would be incurable.26

Labour Three: The Erymanthian Boar, Diodorus iv.12.1 [12.1] The third command was that he should bring to him alive the Erymanthean boar, which lived on Mt. Lampeia, in Arcadia.27 This turned out to be his most difficult task: for he that fought with this beast had to be so precise as diligently to watch the exact time and fittest opportunity in the management of the conflict; for if he should let the boar loose while he was in his full strength, the champion was in danger of being torn to pieces by the tusks; and if he wounded him too seriously, he might kill him and his labour would be lost and his victory imperfect. [2] But Heracles so prudently managed the combat that he brought the boar alive to Eurystheus, who was so terrified to see Heracles arriving at the city gates with the boar on his shoulders, that Eurystheus hid himself in a bronze vessel.

Labour Four: The Cerynitian Hind, Diodorus iv.13.1 [13.1] Afterwards Heracles received a further command, that he shall capture the swift hind28 that had golden horns, and bring him to the king. This he performed more by art and subtlety, than strength of body, for some say he took her in a net, others by tracing her to the pleet where she rested, and there laying hold of her when she was asleep; but others say that he ran her down, and so gained her by swiftness of foot. However it was, it is certain he performed this labour not by force or any hazard, but by art and skill.

Labour Five: The Stymphalian Birds, Diodorus iv.13.2 [13.2] Being next commanded to drive away the birds that were about the Stymphalian lake, by art and contrivance he easily performed this: This lake was occupied by an innumerable number of birds which destroyed and ate up all the fruits in the neighborhood and they were so numerous that no force could prevail to get rid of them. Since there was need of art and contrivance in this matter, he invented a bronze pan and, by the mighty sound it made when it was struck, Heracles frightened the birds, and by the continual noise drove them at length quite far away, so that the lake was never infested with them afterwards.

Labour Six: The Stable of Augeas, Diodorus iv.13.3 [13.3] This labour being now at an end, Eurystheus, commanded him to cleanse Augias's stable without any assistance. In this stable there were vast heaps of dung which had been accumulating for many years. Heracles, therefore, to avoid the ignominy of this contempt cast upon him, scorned to carry out the muck and dung upon his shoulders, but in one day's time, without any disgrace to himself, cleansed the stable by turning the course of the river Peneus through it; in which thing the ingenuity of Heracles is admirable, who so executed the proud command of his master as to avoid everything that was base and unbecoming and which would compromise his immortal honour.

26 This was, according to Apollodorus (ii.5.2) the first labour that was discounted by Eurystheus because Heracles had the help of Iolaus. 27 Apollodorus (ii.5.3) has the Cerynitian Hind (a deer) as the third labour and the boar as the fourth. 28 A hind is a deer. Divine Riddles - 88

Labour Seven: The Cretan Bull, Diodorus iv.13.4 [4] Next was imposed upon him the bringing the bull out of Crete with which (they say) Pasiphae fell in love.29 To this end therefore, he sailed to the island and, with the assistance of king Minos, transported the beast (for which he had made so long a voyage) to the Peloponnese.30

The Olympic Games, Diodorus iv.14.1 – 3 Having performed this labour Heracles instituted the Olympic games, and for that purpose chose out a place he judged most convenient for the reception of such a pompous assembly, which were the fields all along the banks of the river Alpheus. Here he ordered the solemnity of these games to the honour of his father Zeus, and appointed to the victors a crown for a reward, recalling the general good and benefit of mankind he had done without taking any monetary reward. [2] In every contest he was victor, without any opposition; for, by reason of his remarkable strength and valour, none dared contend with him, although the contests were of a contrary and different nature one from another: for it is difficult for a champion in boxing or in the Pancration to also be victorious in the Stadion and equally difficult for those that are usually victors in light contests to prevail against them that are eminent in heavy contests. Heracles, however, prevailed in all these disciplines, carrying away the prize from the chiefest among them. It is natural, therefore, that the Olympic Games be honoured above all other such events, having been instituted by such a noble hero. [3] And here we are not to omit giving an account of the rewards given to him by the gods for his virtue; for, when he retired himself from wars and betook himself to his ease and quietness, and to follow sports, panegyrics, and festivals, every one of the gods presented him with their several gifts: Athena gave him an embroidered hood, Hephaestus a club and a breast-plate; and between these two was a contest who should excel in their several arts, while the one wrought and bestowed what was for pleasure and ornament in time of peace, and the other what was for defence in time of war. Poseidon presented him with horses. Hermes with a sword, Apollo a bow, and taught him the art of archery. And Demeter, to expiate the slaughter of the centaurs, instituted in honour of Heracles some small mysteries.

Labour Eight: The Mares of Diomedes, Diodorus iv.15.3 – 4 [3] Afterwards he was enjoined to bring away the mares of Diomedes king of Thrace, which were kept in stalls of brass, and (by reason of their strength and fierceness) tied up in iron chains. Their provender was not from the product of the earth, but they were fed with the flesh of miserable strangers that came thither, cut in small pieces for that purpose. Heracles, to gain possession of them, laid their own master Diomedes before them, who, satiating their hunger by his flesh who bad wickedly taught them to feed upon flesh, thereby became tame and manageable. [4] Eurystheus, when they were brought to him, dedicated

29 The wife of King Minos. In this myth, Poseidon sent Minos a magnificent bull with orders that it be sacrificed. The king’s wife fell in love with the bull so Minos set it free and sacrificed another in its place. Pasiphae visited the bull in the fields and having joined with it, she gave birth to the Minotaur. 30 Apollodorus (ii.5.7) says that Minos refused to help Heracles. Divine Riddles - 89 them to Hera, and their breed continued to the time of Alexander the Great.31 When he had performed this labour, he sailed with Jason to Colchis, to bring away the golden fleece by force of arms. But of this we shall speak when we come to the expedition of the Argonauts.

Labour Nine: The Belt of Ares (Hippolyte), Diodorus iv.16.1 – 4 [1] Then he was commanded to strip Hippolyte the Amazon of her belt. Hereupon, resolving upon a war against the Amazons, he sailed into Pontus, from him called Euxinus, and arriving at the mouth of the river Thermedon he encamped near the city Themiscyra, the seat-royal of the Amazons; and first he demanded the belt to be delivered to him, which being refused, he joined battle with them. [2] The choice and most noble of the Amazons were drawn up against Heracles, the rest of the army opposed the other ordinary troops, so that there was a very sharp engagement. The first that fought hand to hand with him was Aella, so called from her swiftness; but she found her enemy swifter than herself: the second was Philippis, who upon the first onset received a mortal wound, and fell down dead. Then Prothoe entered the list, who, they say, seven times baffled her enemy in single combat; but she being at length slain, he killed the fourth, called Eribea. She was so confident in her strength and feats of arms that she used to boast she needed none to second her; but, meeting with one stronger than herself, she presently experienced the vanity of her boasting. [3] After these Celaino, Eurybea, and Phoebe, companions with Diana in hunting, (who never used to miss their mark, yet now could none of them hit one), in defending one another, were all killed together upon the spot. Then he overcame Deaneira, Asteria, Marpe, Tecmessa, and Alcippe. The last mentioned had vowed perpetual virginity, and kept their oaths, but could not preserve their lives. Melanippe also, the general of the Amazons, (who was famous and highly admired everywhere for her valour), then lost her command. [4] The chief of the Amazons being thus cut off, he forced the rest to fly, and killing most of them in the pursuit, wholly destroyed and rooted up that nation. Of the prisoners he gave Antiope to Theseus, but Melanippe he discharged, having first taken from her belt.

Labour Ten: The oxen of Geryon, Diodorus iv.17.1 – 18.2 [1] After this, a tenth labour was imposed upon him by Eurystheus and that was to drive away the oxen of Geryon that pastured in Iberia near to the ocean. Heracles, perceiving he could not perform, this task without much trouble and great preparation, set forth a brave fleet, add manned it with such a number of seamen and soldiers as such an expedition justly required: [2] for it was noised abroad through the whole world that Chrysaor (so called from his riches) king of Iberia, had three sons, strong bodied men, and famous for their sagacity in martial affairs, and that each of them had great armies of valiant men constantly at hand attending upon them, which was the reason Eurystheus imposed this task upon him, conceiving this expedition was greater than he was ever able to perform: [3] but Heracles undertook this with as much confidence as he bad done those before, and commanded forces to be raised in Crete, whence he resolved to set forth, this island being the most convenient port from whence to make any expedition into any part of the world. Before he set sail, mighty honours were conferred upon him by the inhabitants; in grateful return for

31 Apollodorus (ii.5.8) says that the mares were set free and were killed by beasts on Mt. Olympus. Divine Riddles - 90 which favours he freed the island from wild beasts, so that no hurtful creatures, such as bears, wolves, serpents, and such like, remained there ever after. He did these things in reverence to the island, because it was reported that Zeus was bred and born there. [18.2] … Heracles having passed through a great part of Africa arrived at the ocean near Gades,32 where he erected two pillars, one on each side of the strait upon the continent.33 Thence (with his fleet sailing along with him) he passed over into Iberia, where he found the sons of Chrysaor with three mighty armies. These at a distance he challenged to a single combat and having at length slain the three generals, he gained Iberia, and drove away those remarkable herds of cattle.

Labour Eleven: Cerberus, Diodorus iv.25.1; 26.1 [25.1] …Having finished his tenth labour, Eurystheus imposed another task upon him, and that was, that he should bring Cerberus out of Hades. Preparing himself, therefore, to perform this, to be better enabled thereunto, he went to Athens to be initiated into the mysterious rites of Eleusium, where Museus the son of Orpheus was then high priest. [26.1] Having now done with this digression relating to Orpheus,34 we return to Heracles: [1] when he entered the land of Hades, the mythographers say, Persephone kindly received him as her brother, and gave him liberty to loose Theseus and Perithous from their chains; and at length, contrary to the expectations of all men, brought up the dog tied in his chain, and presented him to open view.

Diodorus’ account of the capture of Cerberus is oddly brief. A better account is given by Apollodorus who lists this as the twelfth: Apollodorus ii.5.12 2.5.12] A twelfth labour imposed on Hercules was to bring Cerberus from Hades. Now this Cerberus had three heads of dogs, the tail of a dragon, and on his back the heads of all sorts of snakes. When Hercules was about to depart to fetch him, he went to Eumolpus at Eleusis, wishing to be initiated. However it was not then lawful for foreigners to be initiated: since he proposed to be initiated as the adoptive son of Pylius. But not being able to see the mysteries because he had not been cleansed of the slaughter of the centaurs, he was cleansed by Eumolpus and then initiated. And having come to Taenarum in Laconia, where is the mouth of the descent to Hades, he descended through it. But when the souls saw him, they fled, save Meleager and the Gorgon Medusa. And Hercules drew his sword against the Gorgon, as if she were alive, but he learned from Hermes that she was an empty phantom. And being come near to the gates of Hades he found Theseus and Pirithous, him who wooed Persephone in wedlock and was therefore bound fast. And when they beheld Hercules, they stretched out their hands as if they should be raised from the dead by his might. And Theseus, indeed, he took by the hand and raised up, but when he would have brought up Pirithous, the earth quaked and he let go. And he rolled away also the stone of Ascalaphus. And wishing to provide the souls with blood, he slaughtered one of the kine of Hades. But Menoetes, son of Ceuthonymus, who tended the king, challenged Hercules to wrestle, and,

32 Cadiz, Spain. 33 The Strait of Gibraltar is still often called The Pillars of Hercules. On the European side the pillar is the Rock of Gibraltar, on the African side Jebel Mus.a 34 Diodorus iv.25.2 – 4 is a digression on Orpheus, see below. Divine Riddles - 91 being seized round the middle, had his ribs broken; howbeit, he was let off at the request of Persephone. When Hercules asked Pluto for Cerberus, Pluto ordered him to take the animal provided he mastered him without the use of the weapons which he carried. Hercules found him at the gates of Acheron, and, cased in his cuirass and covered by the lion's skin, he flung his arms round the head of the brute, and though the dragon in its tail bit him, he never relaxed his grip and pressure till it yielded. So he carried it off and ascended through Troezen. But Demeter turned Ascalaphus into a short-eared owl, and Hercules, after showing Cerberus to Eurystheus, carried him back to Hades.

Labour Twelve: The Apple of Hesperides, Diodorus iv.26.2 – 4 [2] The last labour enjoined him was to fetch away the golden apples of the Hesperides, to which purpose he passed over a second time into Africa.35 The mythographers vary in their writings concerning this; for some affirm that there were really golden apples in some of the gardens of the Hesperides, guarded continually by a terrible dragon. Others say, that there are sheep of exquisite beauty in the Hesperides, and that from thence they are poetically called golden apples as Venus, from her beauty, is called golden Venus. [3] Others will have it, that the fleeces upon the sheep's backs are of that colour, that they glitter like gold, and thence have been so called. And by the dragon they understand the shepherd of the flocks, who, being a man of a strong body and stout heart, preserved the flocks and killed the thieves that attempted to steal them. But let everyone judge of this matter as he thinks best himself: [4] for Heracles killed the keeper, and brought away the apples or sheep (whichever they were) to Eurystheus, trusting now, that since all his tasks were performed, (according to the oracle of Apollo), he would be rewarded with immortality.

35 The Gardens of the Hesperides are in Cyrenaica, now the area around Benghazi in modern Libya. Divine Riddles - 92

Thebaid

For the Thebaid, the Saga of the city of Thebes, we return to the Pelasgian origin myth and to the descendants of Io in Egypt. Io bore Epaphus, the son of Zeus, and he married Memphis, the daughter of Nile. To them were born Lysianassa and Libya and by Poseidon Libya bore Belus and Agenor. Agenor migrated to the Levant, into the area now called Lebanon, and married Telephassa. Their sons were Cadmus, Phoenix, Cylix, Thasus and Phineus. Their daughter was Europa. Europa One day, while Europa was playing with her friends on the shore near Tyre, Zeus noticed her:

Ovid, Metamorphoses ii. 846 – 75 [846] Majesty and love do not agree, nor can they dwell in the same house.36 The father and the ruler of the gods, whose right hand is armed with the three-forked flames, who shakes the world with his nod, laying aside the dignity of empire, [850] assumes the appearance of a bull; and mixing with the oxen, he lows, and, in all his beauty, walks about upon the shooting grass. For his color is that of snow, which neither the soles of hard feet have trodden upon, nor the watery South wind melted. His neck swells with muscles; dewlaps hang from between his shoulders. [855] His horns are small indeed, but such as you might maintain were made with the hand, and more transparent than a bright gem. There is nothing threatening in his forehead; nor is his eye formidable; his countenance expresses peace. [858] The daughter of Agenor is surprised that he is so beautiful, and that he threatens no attack; but although so gentle, she is at first afraid to touch him. By and by she approaches him, and holds out flowers to his white mouth. The lover rejoices, and till his hoped-for pleasure comes, he gives kisses to her hands; scarcely, oh scarcely, does he defer the rest. And now he plays with her, and skips upon the green grass; [865] and now he lays his snow- white side upon the yellow sand. And, her fear now removed by degrees, at one moment he gives his breast to be patted by the hand of the virgin; at another, his horns to be wreathed with new-made garlands. The virgin of royal birth even ventured to sit down upon the back of the bull, not knowing upon whom she was pressing. [870 Then the God, by degrees moving from the land, and from the dry shore, places the fictitious hoofs of his feet in the waves near the brink. Then he goes still further, and carries his prize over the expanse of the midst of the ocean. She is frightened and, borne off, looks back on the shore she has left; and with her right hand she grasps his horn, [875] while the other is placed on his back; her waving garments are ruffled by the breeze.

Zeus carried Europa across the sea to Crete and there he raped her. Europa bore Rhadamanthus, Sarpedon and Minos. Minos would become king of Crete, but that sets up another Saga, to which we will return below. Agenor, the king of Tyre, sent his sons, all but Phoecix, in search of Europa:37

36 A wonderful line: Non bene convenient nec in una sede morantur Maiestas et amor: 37 The obvious metaphor is, here, the correct one: This is the story of Phoenician colonization of Europe. Divine Riddles - 93

Cadmus Ovid, Metamorphoses, iii. 1 – 10 [1] And now the God, having laid aside the shape of the deceiving Bull, had revealed himself, and reached the Dictaean land; when her father, ignorant of her fate, commands Cadmus to seek her thus ravished, and adds exile as the punishment, if he does not find her; [5] being both affectionate and unnatural in the self-same act. The son of Agenor, having wandered over the whole world, as an exile flies from his country and the wrath of his father, for who is there that can discover the intrigues of Jupiter? A suppliant, he consults the oracle of Phoebus, and inquires in what land he must dwell. [10] “A heifer,” Phoebus says, “will meet you in the lonely fields, one that has never borne the yoke, and free from the crooked plough. Under her guidance, go on your way; and where she shall lie down on the grass, there cause a city to be built, and call it the Boeotian city.”38 Scarcely had Cadmus well got down from the Castalian cave,39 [15] when he saw a heifer, without a keeper, slowly going along, bearing no mark of servitude upon her neck. He follows, and pursues her steps with leisurely pace, and silently adores Phoebus, the adviser of his way. And now he had passed the fords of the Cephisus, and the fields of Panope, [20] when the cow stood still and raising her forehead, expansive with lofty horns, towards heaven, she made the air reverberate with her lowings. And so, looking back on her companions that followed behind, she lay down, and reposed her side upon the tender grass. Cadmus returned thanks, and imprinted kisses upon the stranger land, [25] and saluted the unknown mountains and fields. He was now going to offer sacrifice to Jupiter, and commanded his servants to go and fetch some water for the libation from the running springs. An ancient grove was standing there, as yet profaned by no axe. There was a cavern in the middle of it, thick covered with twigs and osiers, [30] forming a low arch by the junction of the rocks; abounding with plenty of water. Hid in this cavern, there was a dragon sacred to Mars, adorned with crests and a golden color. His eyes sparkle with fire, and all his body is puffed out with poison; three tongues, too, are brandished, and his teeth stand in a triple row. [35] After the men who came from the Tyrian nation had touched this grove with ill- fated steps, and the urn let down into the water made a splash; the azure dragon stretched forth his head from the deep cave, and uttered dreadful hissings. The urns dropped from their hands; and the blood left their bodies, and a sudden trembling seized their astonished limbs. [40] He wreathes his scaly orbs in rolling spires, and with a spring becomes twisted into mighty folds; and rearing himself from below the middle into the light air, he looks down upon all the grove, and is of as large a size as if you were to look on him entire, [45] the serpent which separates the two Bears.40 There is no delay; he seizes the Phoenicians (whether they are resorting to their arms or to flight, or whether fear itself is preventing either step); some he kills with his sting, some with his long folds, some breathed upon by the venom of his baneful poison.

38 Boeotia is said to be named for the Greek word bous, ‘cow,’ after the cow that led Cadmus there. But the etymology is more likely the archaic form for ‘cow hide.’ 39 The oracular cave at Delphi. 40 In the night sky, the constellation Draco is between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Divine Riddles - 94

[50] The sun, now at its height, had made the shadows but small: the son of Agenor wonders what has detained his companion and goes to seek his men. His garment was a skin torn from a lion; his weapon was a lance with shining steel and a javelin; and a courage superior to any weapon. [55] When he entered the grove, and beheld the lifeless bodies, and the victorious enemy of immense size upon them, licking the horrid wounds with bloodstained tongue, he said, “Either I will be the avenger of your death, bodies of my faithful companions, or I will share in it.” [60] Thus he spoke, and with his right hand he raised a huge stone, and hurled the vast weight with a tremendous effort. And although high walls with lofty towers would have been shaken with the shock of it, yet the dragon remained without a wound; and, being defended by his scales as though with a coat of mail, and the hardness of his black hide, he repelled the mighty stroke with his skin. [65] But he did not overcome the javelin as well with the same hardness; which stood fast, fixed in the middle joint of his yielding spine, and sank with the entire point of steel into his entrails. Fierce with pain, he turned his head towards his back, and beheld his wounds, and bit the javelin fixed there. [70] And after he had twisted it on every side with all his might, with difficulty he wrenched it from his back; yet the steel stuck fast in his bones. [72] But then, when this newly inflicted wound has increased his wonted fury, his throat swelled with gorged veins, and white foam flowed around his pestilential jaws. [75] The Earth, too, scraped with the scales, sounds again, and the livid steam that issues from his infernal mouth, infects the tainted air. Sometimes he is enrolled in spires making enormous rings; sometimes he unfolds himself straighter than a long beam. Now with a vast impulse, like a torrent swelled with rain, he is borne along, [80] and bears down the obstructing forests with his breast. The son of Agenor gives way a little; and by the spoil of the lion he sustains the shock, and with his lance extended before him, pushes back his mouth, as it advances. The dragon rages, and vainly inflicts wounds on the hard steel, and fixes his teeth upon the point. [85] And now the blood began to flow from his poisonous palate, and had dyed the green grass with its spray. But the wound was slight; because he recoiled from the stroke, and drew back his wounded throat, and by shrinking prevented the blow from sinking deep, and did not suffer it to go very far. [90] At length, the son of Agenor, still pursuing, pressed the spear lodged in his throat, until an oak stood in his way as he retreated, and his neck was pierced, together with the trunk. The tree was bent with the weight of the serpent, and groaned at having its trunk lashed with the extremity of its tail. [95] While the conqueror was surveying the vast size of his vanquished enemy, a voice was suddenly heard (nor was it easy to understand whence it was, but heard it was). “Why, son of Agenor, are you thus contemplating the dragon you have slain? Even you yourself shall be seen in the form of a dragon.” He, for a long time in alarm, lost his color together with his presence of mind, [100] and his hair stood on end with a chill of terror. Lo! Pallas, the favourer of the hero, descending through the upper region of the air, [105] comes to him, and bids him sow the dragon’s teeth under the earth turned up, as the seeds of a future people. He obeyed; and when he had opened a furrow with the pressed plough, he scattered the teeth on the ground as ordered, the seed of a race of men. Afterwards (it is beyond belief) the turf began to move, and first appeared a point of a spear out of the furrows, next the coverings of heads nodding with painted cones; then the shoulders and the breast, and the arms laden with weapons Divine Riddles - 95 start up, [110] and a crop of men armed with shields grows apace. So, when the curtains are drawn up in the joyful theaters, figures are wont to rise, and first to show their countenances; by degrees the rest; and being drawn out in a gradual continuation, the whole appear, and place their feet on the lowest edge of the stage. [115] Alarmed with this new enemy, Cadmus is preparing to take arms, when one of the people that the earth had produced cries out, “Do not take up arms, nor engage yourself in civil war.” And then, engaged hand to hand, he strikes one of his earth-born brothers with the cruel sword, while he himself falls by a dart sent from a distance. [120] He, also, who had put him to death, lives no longer than the other, and breathes forth the air which he has so lately received. In a similar manner, too, the whole troop becomes maddened, and the brothers so newly sprung up, fall in fight with each other, by mutual wounds. And now the youths that had the space of so short an existence allotted them, [125] beat with throbbing breast their blood-stained mother, five only remaining, of whom Echion was one. He, by the advice of Tritonia, threw his arms upon the ground, and both asked and gave the assurance of brotherly concord. The Sidonian stranger had these as associates in his task, [130] when he built the city that was ordered by the oracle of Phoebus.

The story of Cadmus and the Dragon is, of course, merely a rationalization: Unable to deny that Cadmus himself is Phoenician, it claims that the people of Thebes are autochthonous, descendants of the teeth of the dragon. Harmonia (Hermione) Although Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, she and Ares were embroiled in a quite passionate love affair. See above; The Gods and Goddesses; Hephaestus; The Infidelity of Aphrodite: Ovid, Metamorphoses v.170 – 191. Hephaestus was able to put an end to the affair and humiliate the lovers, but he could not prevent the pregnancy: Aphrodite gave birth to a mortal woman, Harmonia.

Diodorus iv. 2.1 – 2 [1] Cadmus (they say) the son of Agenor, being sent out of Phoenicia by the king his father, to seek Europa, was commanded to bring her back, or he himself never to return into Phoenicia. After many long and tedious travels through many countries, not being able to find the lost lady in any place, despairing of ever returning into his own country, he came at length into Boeotia, and, by command of the oracle, built Thebes, where he resided, and married Hermione,41 the daughter of Aphrodite, by whom he had Semele, Ino, Autonoe, Agave, [2] and Polydorus.

Semele Diodorus iv. 2. 2 – 4 Semele was so beautiful that Zeus fell in love with her and lay with her; but making his addresses in a mean and ordinary manner, she looked upon it as if he did it in contempt of her, and therefore earnestly entreated him to come to his embraces with her in the same

41 Harmonia Divine Riddles - 96 manner as he did when he lay with Hera. [3] Whereupon, decking himself in his divine majesty, he approached to her in thunder and lightning, and so lay with her in light and splendour: but Semele being great with child, and not able to bear the flashes of lightning that shot round about her, miscarried, and she herself was consumed by the flame; and then Zeus took away the infant, and delivered it to Hermes, with orders to convey him to the cave in Nysa, (which lies between Phoenicia and the river Nile) and there to recommend him to the care of the nymphs, to be carefully bred up. [4] Hence from Zeus, whom the Greeks call Dio, and Nysa, he was called Dionysus, as Homer says in his hymns:

There is a certain town, Nysa, atop a thickly wooded mountain In far off Phoenicia, near the rivers of Egypt42

Dionysus Dionysus, Bacchus in Latin, is the god of wine. He is the youngest of the gods in the Greek tradition.

Diodorus iv. 2.5 – 5.4 [2.5] Being brought up by the nymphs in Nysa, they say, he found out the use of wine, and taught the way and manner of planting the vine; and, going almost into all parts of the world, he civilized many nations and countries, so that he was highly honoured of all. He found out likewise the manner of making drink of barley, which some call Zythus, for taste and fragrant smell not much inferior to wine, and this art he especially taught them whose country was not fit for planting or producing of vines. [6] He led along with him an army, not only of men, but of women, to execute punishments upon impious and wicked men. In Boeotia, (in gratitude to his own country) he set free all the cities, and upon the account of this freedom, built a city, and called it Eleuthera. [3.1] After he had spent three whole years in an expedition into India, he returned with many rich spoils into Boeotia, and was the first in triumph mounted upon an Indian elephant. [2] Therefore the Boeotians, and the rest of the Greeks and Thracians, to keep up the memory of the Indian expedition, instituted solemn sacrifices every third year to Dionysus, called Trieterica, at which time they are of opinion this god appears among men; [3] and therefore every third year, in most towns of Greece, the festivals of Dionysus, called Bacchanalia, are celebrated by a company of women and young girls, who (according to the solemn rites) carry javelins decked with flowers, and run about like furies, hallooing and setting forth the praises of the god. The married women likewise run to these sacrifices, and fill the air with loud and solemn hymns to Dionysus, as if he were then present amongst them, in imitation of the Maenads, which heretofore (at is said) went along with Bacchus. [4] Amongst many others who were impious and wicked, he especially inflicted punishment upon Pentheus and Lycurgus. But because the invention and use of wine is very grateful to mankind for its pleasant relish, and its strengthening and enlivening of the body, it is the custom at supper-time, when pure and unmixed wine is freely offered to all, to raise a cup to ‘The Good God’; but after supper, when the wine is mixed with water, to raise the

42 Homeric Hymns 1.1 (to Dionysus) repeated from Book I.15. Divine Riddles - 97 cup to Zeus the Saviour: for, from pure and unmixed wine many times proceeds madness; but, tempered and allayed with the water that comes from Zeus the Thunderer, it truly cheers and refreshes the spirits, and cures men of their madness and intoxication. [5] Amongst all the gods, (they say) Dionysus and Demeter deserve most to be honoured by mankind, because they were by their good inventions most benefited: for he found out the most pleasant drink and she the most strengthening food.

[4.4] In the time of battle he was furnished with warlike weapons, and a coat of mail covered with a panther's skin; in time of peace, when he celebrated solemn festivals, and came into the general assemblies, he was clothed with splendid and delicate apparel; and to prevent the head-ache by drinking of too much wine, he wore a head-band (mitra), and was called Mitrephorus. This gave occasion to kings afterwards to wear crowns.

[4.6] They attribute to him the carrying of a rod, for the reasons following: when wine was first found out, it was drank pure, not mixed with water, so that in many meetings and solemn festivals, many times men drank to that excess, that they grew mad and furious, and beat one another with clubs and staves, insomuch as some were grevously wounded, and others were killed; at which Dionysius was much offended, and though he did not altogether forbid the drinking of unmixed wine, because it was so pleasant and delicious, yet instead of clubs he ordered the use of wands and small rods. [5.1] Men have given him many surnames, according to the several acts or circumstances of his life. For he is called Bacchus, from the Bacchanals, that accompanied him; Lynaeus,43 from the pressing of grapes at the wine-press; Bromius,44 or Thunderer, because of the crash of thunder that was at the time of his birth; and for the same reason he was called Fireborn: [2] he was sumamed likewise Thriambus because he was the first (of whom ever any mention was made) that triumphed, when he returned laden with many spoils into his country from his Indian expedition. Many other names were assigned him, which would be both too tedious particularly to recite, and likewise foreign to the design of this history. [3] They held that he had two faces because there were two Dionysus’s; the ancient Dionysus, who always wore a long beard, because all in ancient times let their beards grow; and this later Bacchus, who was a spruce young man, as we have before declared. But some say that a double countenance was assigned him, because of the two special qualities wherewith drunkards are affected, being either raving mad, or transported with mirth. They say, likewise, that he carried satyrs along with him, who by their dancing and skipping in his sports and plays, made the god exceeding merry. [4] To conclude, as the muses pleased and delighted him with the knowledge of the liberal sciences, so the satyrs, with their tricks and antics and ridiculous gestures and actions, completed the happiness and comfort of his life. It is reported, likewise, he invented plays, and set up theatres and instituted music- schools, and freed all musicians that went along with him in his expeditions from public taxes; and hence it is, that posterity (after the example of Dionysius) have created societies of musicians, and decreed that all of that profession should be free. But, that we may keep

43 From the Greek lenos, a vat in which grapes are pressed in the process of making wine. 44 From the Greek bromios, loud. Divine Riddles - 98 within due bounds, we shall here put an end to our discourse concerning Bacchus and his actions in ancient times.

Actaeon Cadmus and Harmonia also had a daughter named Autonoe and she married Aristaeus. They had two sons, Polydorus who became king of Thebes, and Actaeon, who died young:

Ovid, Metamorphoses iii. 131 - 250 [131] And now Thebes was standing; now Cadmus, You might seem happy in your exile. Both Mars and Venus had become your father-in-law and mother-in-law; add to this, issue by a wife so illustrious, so many sons and daughters, and grandchildren, dear pledges of love; these, too, now of a youthful age. [135] But, forsooth, the last day of life must always be awaited by man, and no one ought to be pronounced happy before his death, and his last obsequies. Your grandson,45 Cadmus, was the first occasion of sorrow to thee, among so much prosperity, the horns, too, not his own, placed upon his forehead, and you, [140] O dogs, glutted with the blood of your master. But, if you diligently inquire into his case, you will find the fault of an accident, and not criminality in him; for what criminality did mistake embrace? [143] There was a mountain stained with the blood of various wild beasts; and now the day had contracted the meridian shadow of things, [145] and the sun was equally distant from each extremity of the heavens; when the Hyantian46 youth thus addressed the partakers of his toils, as they wandered along the lonely haunts of the wild beasts, with gentle accent: “Our nets are moistened, my friends, and our spears, too, with the blood of wild beasts; and the day has yielded sufficient sport; when the next morn, [150] borne upon her rosy chariot, shall bring back the light, let us seek again our proposed task. Now Phoebus is at the same distance from both lands, the Eastern and the Western, and is cleaving the fields with his heat. Cease your present toils, and take away the knotted nets.” The men execute his orders, and cease their labors. [155] There was a valley, thick set with pitch-trees and the sharp-pointed cypress; by name Gargaphie, sacred to the active Diana. In the extreme recess of this, there was a grotto in a grove, formed by no art; nature, by her ingenuity, had counterfeited art; for she had formed a natural arch, [160] in the native pumice and the light sand-stones. A limpid fountain ran murmuring on the right hand with its little stream, having its spreading channels edged with a border of grass. Here, when wearied with hunting, the goddess of the woods was wont to bathe her virgin limbs in clear water. [165] After she had entered there, she handed to one of the Nymphs, her armor-bearer, her javelin, her quiver, and her unstrung bow. Another Nymph put her arms under her mantle, when taken off: two removed the sandals from her feet. But Crocale, the daughter of Ismenus, more skilled than they, [170] gathered her hair, which lay scattered over her

45 Actaeon, the son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, the daughter of Cadmus. 46 The indigenous people of Boeotia were the Hyantes. Divine Riddles - 99 neck, into a knot, although she herself was with her hair loose. Nephele, and Hyale, and Rhanis, fetch water, Psecas and Phyale do the same, and pour it from their large urns. [173] And while the Titanian goddess was there bathing in the wonted stream, behold, the grandson of Cadmus, having deferred the remainder of his sport till next day, [175] came into the grove, wandering through the unknown wood, with uncertain steps; thus did his fate direct him. Soon as he entered the grotto, dropping with its springs, the Nymphs, naked as they were, on seeing a man, smote their breasts, and filled all the woods with sudden shrieks, [180] and gathering round Diana, covered her with their bodies. Yet the goddess herself was higher than they, and was taller than them all by the neck. The color that is wont to be in clouds, tinted by the rays of the sun when opposite, or that of the ruddy morning, [185] was on the features of Diana, when seen without her garments. She, although surrounded with the crowd of her attendants, stood sideways, and turned her face back; and how did she wish that she had her arrows at hand; and so she took up water, which she did have at hand, and threw it over the face of the man, [190] and sprinkling his hair with the avenging stream, she added these words, the presages of his future woe: “Now you may tell, if tell you can, how I was seen by you without my garments.” Threatening no more, she places on his sprinkled head the horns of a lively stag; [195] she adds length to his neck, and sharpens the tops of his ears; and she changes his hands into feet, and his arms into long legs, and covers his body with a spotted coat of hair; fear, too is added. The Autonoeian hero took to flight, and wondered that he was so swift in his speed; [200] but when he beheld his own horns in the wonted stream, he was about to say, “Ah, wretched me!” when no voice followed. He groaned; that was all his voice, and his tears trickled down a face not his own, but that of a stag. His former understanding alone remained. What should he do? Should he return home, and to the royal abode? or should he lie hid in the woods? [205] Fear hinders the one step, shame the other. [206] While he was hesitating, the dogs spied him, and first Melampus, and the good- nosed Ichnobates gave the signal, in full cry. Ichnobates, was a Gnossian dog; Melampus was of Spartan breed. Then the rest rush on, swifter than the rapid winds; [210] Pamphagus, and Dorcaeus, and Oribasus, all Arcadian dogs; and able Nebrophonus, and with Laelaps, fierce Theron, and Pterelas, excelling in speed, Agre in her scent, and Hylæus, lately wounded by a fierce boar, and Nape, begotten by a wolf, [215] and Poemenis, that had tended cattle, and Harpyia, followed by her two whelps, and the Sicyonian Ladon, having a slender girth; Dromas,4 too, and Canace, Sticte, and Tigris, and Alce, and Leucon with snow-white hair, and Asbolus, with black, and the able-bodied Lacon, and Aëllo, good at running, [220] and Thoüs, and swift Lycisca, with her Cyprian brother, Harpalus, too, having his black face marked with white down the middle, and Melaneus, and Lachne, with a wire-haired body, and Labros, and Agriodos, bred of a Dictaean sire, but of a Laconian dam, [225] and Hylactor, with his shrill note; and others too tedious to recount.47 [228] This pack, in eagerness for their prey, are borne over rocks and cliffs, and crags difficult of approach, where the path is steep, and where there is no road. He flies along the routes by which he has so often pursued; alas, he is now flying from his own servants. Fain would he have cried, “I am Actaeon, recognize your own master.” Words are wanting to his

47 As thought Ovid has not been tedious already! Divine Riddles - 100 wishes; the air resounds with their barking. Melanchaetes was the first to make a wound on his back, Theridamas the next; Oresitrophus fastened upon his shoulder. These had gone out later, but their course was shortened by a near cut through the hill. [235] While they hold their master, the rest of the pack come up, and fasten their teeth in his body. Now room is wanting for more wounds. He groans, and utters a noise, though not that of a man, still, such as a stag cannot make; and he fills the well-known mountains with dismal moans, [240] and suppliant on his bended knees, and like one in entreaty, he turns round his silent looks as though they were his arms. [242] But his companions, in their ignorance, urge on the eager pack with their usual cries, and seek Actaeon with their eyes; and cry out “Actaeon” aloud, as though he were absent. At his name he turns his head, as they complain that he is not there, and in his indolence, is not enjoying a sight of the sport afforded them. He wished, indeed, he had been away, but there he was; and he wished to see, not to feel as well, the cruel feats of his own dogs. They gather round him on all sides, and burying their jaws in his body, [250] tear their master in pieces under the form of an imaginary stag. And the rage of the quiver- bearing Diana is said not to have been satiated, until his life was ended by many a wound.

Antiope The tragedy of Antiope is a story of regency, infant kings, and the attempt by one family to usurp the throne from the royal family. Cadmus was succeeded by his grandson, Pentheus, the son of Agave and Echion. Pentheus was killed by the maenads before he could produce an heir so he was succeeded by Polydorus his cousin, who was the son of Autonoe and Aristaeus Polydorus married Nycteis, the daughter of Nycteus, and they had a son Labdacus. Polydorus died when Labdacus was still a child so a regent had to be appointed, someone to rule in his place until Labdacus came of age. That regent was his grandfather on his mother’s side, Nycteus. Antiope was the sister of Nycteis, the second daughter of Nycteus, and she was raped by Zeus.

Pausanias ii. 6.1 – 2 Antiope, the daughter of Nycteus, had a name among the Greeks for beauty, and there was also a report that her father was not Nycteus but Asopus, the river that separates the territories of Thebes and Plataea. [2.6.2] This woman Epopeus carried off but I do not know whether he asked for her hand or adopted a bolder policy from the beginning. The Thebans came against him in arms, and in the battle Nycteus was wounded. Epopeus also was wounded, but won the day. Nycteus they carried back ill to Thebes, and when he was about to die he appointed to be regent of Thebes his brother Lycus for Labdacus, the son of Polydorus, the son of Cadmus, being still a child, was the ward of Nycteus, who on this occasion entrusted the office of guardian to Lycus. He also besought him to attack Aegialea with a larger army and bring vengeance upon Epopeus; Antiope herself, if taken, was to be punished.

Antiope was indeed punished: She was imprisoned by Lycus and his wife, Dirce, and her sons, Zethus and Amphion, were cast out and raised as shepherds. When the boys grew up and came to know of their origin, they killed Lycus and Dirce to avenge their mother. Divine Riddles - 101

By that time Labdacus, king of Thebes, has also died leaving an infant heir, Laius. So Zethus and Amphion became the regents of Thebes. Until that time the city was still called Cadmeia, after Cadmus, but Zethus married Thebe and after he had expanded the city, he renamed it Thebes, after his wife. Amphion married Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus, and they had six sons and six daughters. Niobe Ovid, Metamorphoses vi. 157 - 217 [157] Manto, the daughter of Tiresias, foreknowing the future, urged by a divine impulse, had proclaimed through the middle of the streets, “Women, daughters of Ismene48, go all of you, [160] and give to Latona49 and the two children of Latona, the pious frankincense, together with prayers, and wreathe your hair with laurel; by my mouth does Latona command this.” Obedience is paid; and all the Theban women adorn their temples with leaves of laurel, as commanded, and offer frankincense on the sacred fires, and words of supplication. [165] Lo, Niobe comes, surrounded with a crowd of attendants, conspicuous for the gold interwoven in her Phrygian50 garments, and beautiful, so far as anger will allow; and tossing her hair, hanging down on both shoulders, with her graceful head, she stands still; and as she loftily casts around her haughty eyes, she says, [170] “What madness is this? What have you heard to make you prefer celestial apparitions to those who are seen? Why is Latona worshipped at the altars, and my divinity is still without its due devotion?51 Tantalus was my father, who alone was allowed to approach the tables of the gods above.52 The sister of the Pleiades is my mother;53 the most mighty Atlas is my grandsire, [175] who bears the ethereal skies upon his neck. Jupiter is my other grandsire; of him, too, I boast as my father-in-law. The Phrygian nations dread me; the palace of Cadmus is subject to me as its mistress; and the walls that were formed by the strings of my husband’s lyre, together with their people, are governed by me and my husband; [180] to whatever part of the house I turn my eyes, immense wealth is seen. To this is added a face worthy of a goddess. Add to this my seven daughters, and as many sons, and, at a future day, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law. Now inquire what ground my pride has for its existence; [185] and presume to prefer over me, Latona the Titaness, the daughter of some obscure Coeus,54 to whom, when in labour, the great earth once refused a little spot.55 Neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by water, was your goddess received; she was banished the world, till Delos, pitying the wanderer, said, [190] “You dost roam a stranger on the land, I in the waves;” and gave her an unstable place of rest. She was made the mother of two children, that is but the seventh part of my issue.

48 For the purposes of this myth, Ismene was the mother of Io and Ovid is calling the Theban women ‘daughters’ or descendants of Ismene, through Io. 49 Latin name for Leto, the mother of Artemis and Apollo. 50 Niobe was the daughter of Tantalus, king of Phrygia. 51 These lines have been re-translated by the editor. 52 Tantalus, the son of Zeus and Pluto, was king of Phrygia. He was invited to sit at the table of the gods and to share in the councils of Zeus. But Tantalus revealed the secrets he learned and was punished by the gods. 53 Dione, the daughter of Atlas. 54 Coeus was one of the Titans and father of Leto. 55 When Leto was pregnant, by Zeus, with Apollo and Artemis, Hera was so angry that Gaia, the Earth, was afraid to allow Leto to settle an give birth. Divine Riddles - 102

I am fortunate, and who shall deny it? And fortunate I shall remain; who, too, can doubt of that? Wealth has made me secure; [195] I am too great for Fortune possibly to hurt; and, though she should take away many things from me, even then much more will she leave me: my many blessings have now risen superior to apprehensions. Suppose it possible for some part of this multitude of my children to be taken away from me; still, thus stripped, I shall not be reduced to two, the number of Latona; an amount, by the number of which, how far, [200] I pray, is she removed from one that is childless? Go from the sacrifice; hasten away from the sacrifice, and remove the laurel from your hair!” They remove it, and the sacrifice they leave unperformed; and what they can do, they adore the divinity in gentle murmurs. [204] The Goddess was indignant; and on the highest top of Mount Cynthus, she spoke to her two children in such words as these: “Behold! I, your mother, proud of having borne you, and who shall yield to no one of the goddesses, except to Juno alone, am called in question whether I am a goddess and, for all future ages, I am driven from the altars devoted to me, unless you give me aid. [210] Nor is this my only grief; the daughter of Tantalus has added abusive language to her shocking deeds, and has dared to postpone you to her own children, and (what I wish may fall upon her), she has called me childless; and the profane wretch has discovered a tongue like her father’s.” To this relation Latona was going to add entreaties, [215] when Phoebus said, “Cease your complaints, ’tis prolonging the delay of her punishment.” Phoebe56 said the same; and, by a speedy descent through the air, they arrived, covered with clouds, at the citadel of Cadmus.

Artemis and Apollo then hunted down and killed every one of the seven sons and seven daughters of Niobe and Amphion. This story was very popular in the ancient world, and remains so today, because of the moral: never think too much of yourself, and certainly never compare yourself to the gods! Hubris is the one thing the gods despise most in humans. Oedipus The story of Oedipus is best told by Sophocles in his tragic trilogy which includes Oedipus The King, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone. Below are abridged versions:

Apollodorus iii.5.7 - 9 After Amphion's death Laius succeeded to the kingdom. And he married a daughter of Menoeceus; some say that she was Iocasta, and some that she was Epicasta. The oracle had warned him not to beget a son, for the son that should be begotten would kill his father; nevertheless, flushed with wine, he had intercourse with his wife. And when the babe was born he pierced the child's ankles with brooches and gave it to a herdsman to expose. But the herdsman exposed it on Cithaeron; and the shepherds of Polybus, king of Corinth, found the infant and brought it to his wife Periboea. She adopted him and passed him off as her own, and after she had healed his ankles she called him Oedipus, giving him that name on account of his swollen feet. When the boy grew up and excelled his fellows in strength, they spitefully twitted him with being supposititious. He inquired of Periboea, but could learn nothing; so he went to Delphi and inquired about his true parents. The god told

56 Artemis Divine Riddles - 103

him not to go to his native land, because he would murder his father and lie with his mother. On hearing that, and believing himself to be the son of his nominal parents, he left Corinth, and riding in a chariot through Phocis he fell in with Laius driving in a chariot in a certain narrow road. And when Polyphontes, the herald of Laius, ordered him to make way and killed one of his horses because he disobeyed and delayed, Oedipus in a rage killed both Polyphontes and Laius, and arrived in Thebes. [8] Laius was buried by Damasistratus, king of Plataea, and Creon, son of Menoeceus, succeeded to the kingdom. In his reign a heavy calamity befell Thebes. For Hera sent the Sphinx, whose mother was Echidna and her father Typhon; and she had the face of a woman, the breast and feet and tail of a lion, and the wings of a bird. And having learned a riddle from the Muses, she sat on Mount Phicium, and propounded it to the Thebans. And the riddle was this: What is that which has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed? Now the Thebans were in possession of an oracle which declared that they should be rid of the Sphinx whenever they had read her riddle; so they often met and discussed the answer, and when they could not find it the Sphinx used to snatch away one of them and gobble him up. When many had perished, and last of all Creon's son Haemon, Creon made proclamation that to him who should read the riddle he would give both the kingdom and the wife of Laius. On hearing that, Oedipus found the solution, declaring that the riddle of the Sphinx referred to man; for as a babe he is four-footed, going on four limbs, as an adult he is two-footed, and as an old man he gets besides a third support in a staff. So the Sphinx threw herself from the citadel, and Oedipus both succeeded to the kingdom and unwittingly married his mother, and begat sons by her, Polynices and Eteocles, and daughters, Ismene and Antigone. But some say the children were borne to him by Eurygania, daughter of Hyperphas. [9] When the secret afterwards came to light, Iocasta hanged herself in a noose, and Oedipus was driven from Thebes, after he had put out his eyes and cursed his sons, who saw him cast out of the city without lifting a hand to help him. And having come with Antigone to Colonus in Attica, where is the precinct of the Eumenides, he sat down there as a suppliant, was kindly received by Theseus, and died not long afterwards. . Seven against Thebes The story of the war against Thebes is most famously told by Aeschylus in the play Seven against Thebes. That a drama was produced in Athens that showed the Thebans in a poor light is not surprise, Athens and Thebes were long-time rivals and that grew to outright hatred after the Thebans supported Xerxes in the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC.

Pausanias ii.20.5 [2.20.5] A little farther on57 is a sanctuary of the Seasons. On coming back from here you see statues of Polynices, the son of Oedipus, and of all the chieftains who with him were killed in battle at the wall of Thebes. These men Aeschylus has reduced to the number of seven only, although there were more chiefs than this in the expedition, from Argos, from Messene, with some even from Arcadia. But the Argives have adopted the number seven from the drama of Aeschylus, and near to their statues are the statues of those who took

57 In the City of Argos. Divine Riddles - 104

Thebes: Aegialeus, son of Adrastus; Promachus, son of Parthenopaeus, son of Talaus; Polydorus, son of Hippomedon; Thersander; Alcmaeon and Amphilochus, the sons of Amphiaraus; Diomedes, and Sthenelus. Among their company were also Euryalus, son of Mecisteus, and Adrastus and Timeas, sons of Polyneices.

Diodorus iv. 65.1 – 9 [1] The sons being grown up to man’s estate, came to the knowledge of the wickedness committed in their family, and therefore, for the foulness of the deed, confined Oedipus, so that he should not stir abroad; and his sons took upon them the government, first agreeing together to rule yearly one after another by turns. Eteocles, the elder brother, reigned first, but when his year was out, he refused to give way to his brother: [2] Polynices demanded the government according to the covenant between them, but his brother turned to him the deaf ear; upon which Polynices fled to Adrastus king of Argos. At this time Tydeus the son of Oeneus, king of Calydonia, had fled out of Aetolia to Argos, for killing his nephews Alcathous and Lycopeus. [3] Adrastus kindly entertained them both, and by command of the oracle, gave his daughter Argeia in marriage to Polynices, and Deipyle to Tydeus, The young men being both in great honour and esteem, and highly approved of by the king for their virtuous qualifications, Adrastus promised to restore them both to their own countries. [4] Resolving therefore first to restore Polynices, he sent Tydeus on an embassy to Eteoclcs to debate the matter with him: in his return, it is said, he was set upon by fifty men, employed by Etcocles to way-lay him; all whom, notwithstanding, he slew, and came safe, beyond all seeming probability to Argos. Adrastus, being informed of this piece of treachery, prepared all things necessary for the war and procured Capaneus,58 Hippomedon,59 and Parthenopaus, the son of Atalanta, the daughter of Schoineus, to join with him. [5] Polynices also endeavoured to persuade Amphiaraus the soothsayer, to go along with them to the war against Thebes; but he, foreknowing he should fall in that war if he went, refused. Polynices therefore presented Amphiaraus's wife with a golden chain, (which, as is reported, was bestowed upon Harmonia by Aphrodite), to persuade her husband to join with them as one of their confederates. [6] There being some controversy about that time between Adrastus and Amphiaraus concerning the kingdom, they agreed to refer the whole matter in difference, both as to the kingdom and the war, to the decisive judgment of Eriphyle the sister of Adrastus, and wife to Amphiaraus. Hereupon she gave judgment for Adrastus, and that her husband should join with the rest in the war against Thebes. Amphiaraus, (although he thought he had been betrayed by his wife), yet prepared to go along with the other captains: but before he went, commanded his son Alcmaon, that after he was dead, he should kill Eriphyle [7] who afterwards executed his father's commands, by murdering his mother; but was some time after so terrified in conscience with the horridness of the fact, that he went stark mad. But to proceed; Adrastus, Polynices, and Tydeus, together with four other captains, Amphiarius, Capaneus, Hippomedon, and Parthenopaus, with a great army, marched against Thebes; [8] where Eteocles and Polynices killed each other. Capaneus, in attempting to scale the walls,

58 Capaneus of Argos, The son of Hipponous and Laodice. 59 The son of Aristomachus. Divine Riddles - 105 was likewise slain. The earth opened and swallowed up Amphiarius and his chariot together, and so he was never more seen. [9] All the rest of the generals likewise perished in this war except Adrastus, and a great slaughter there was among the soldiers, whom the Thebans would not suffer to be carried off the ground; so that Adrastus was forced to leave them unburied and return to Argos. The bodies of the slain thus lying unhurried at Cadmeia, none daring to inter them, the Athenians (always commendable above others for their humanity) took care of this matter, and buried them all. And these were the misfortunes that befell the seven that fought in the war at Thebes.

The Epigoni Diodorus iv. 66 [1] And these were the misfortunes that befell the seven that fought in the war at Thebes. But the children of them that were slain, called Epigoni, to revenge their fathers’ deaths, all joined together, and resolved to make war upon that city. The oracle of Apollo (upon inquiry) answered them that they should overcome Thebes if they made Alcmaon the son of Amphiaraus their general, [2] whereupon Alcmaon being accordingly (with unanimous consent) created commander-in-chief, consulted the oracle, both concerning the war against Thebes and the revenge that he was enjoined by his father to exact upon Eriphyle, his mother. [3] The oracle commanded him to perform both, because she not only received a chain of gold for what she did, which was the occasion of his father's death, but a rich gown likewise as a bribe, in order to the ruin of himself. Aphrodite heretofore bestowed this chain and garment upon Harmonia the wife of Cadmus; but both were given to Eriphyle; the chain by Polynices and the gown by Thersander, Polynice's son, that she might persuade Alcmaon to go to the Theban war. Alcmaon raised a great army, not only from Argos but from many other cities as well and this army he led against Thebes.

[4] The Thebans marched out against them and in a pitched battle were defeated by Alcmaon and his allies. The Theban army was defeated with such great losses that the citizens who remained feared they would be unable to defend the city, so they consulted the soothsayer, Teiresias about what they should do. He advised them to abandon the city as the only means left for their safety and preservation. [5] The Cadmeans followed his advice, and in the night the left the city, and fled to a province in Boeotia, called Tilphossus. The Epigoni afterwards entered and razed the city, and being now lords of all, (among others), possessed themselves of Daphne, the daughter of Teiresias whom (according to their vow) they devoted (as the chief of their spoils) to the oracle at Delphi.60

60 The daughter of Teiresias is more often called Manto. Diodorus seems to be confusing the legend of Daphne, daughter of Peneus, with that of Manto, daughter of Teiresias. Divine Riddles - 106

Hellenic Cycle61

The Danaid and the Thebaid trace the descent of two distinct clans both claiming origin from Io. The first clan was usually referred to as the House of Perseus and the second clan as the House of Cadmus. The third, and principle, clan in the Greek myth tradition was called the House of Deucalion or of Hellen, Deucalion’s son. All three of these clans eventually intermarry and become one Hellenic clan but their origin stories make them distinct. Below is the myth cycle that explains the origins of the Hellenic clan, the House of Deucalion. Deucalion was the son of Prometheus and he married Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora (See above The Origin of Man; Prometheus)

The Flood Zeus, perceiving the human race to be evil, proposed to the other gods that he planned to destroy them all:

Ovid, Metamorphoses i.244 – 312 [244] Some, by their words approve the speech of Jupiter, and give spur to him, indignantly exclaiming; others, by silent assent fulfil their parts. Yet the entire destruction of the human race is a cause of grief to them all, and they inquire what is to be the form of the earth in future, when destitute of mankind, who is to place frankincense on the altars and whether it is his design to give up the nations for a prey to the wild beasts? [250] The ruler of the Gods forbids them making these enquiries, to be alarmed (for that the rest should be his care); and he promises, that from a wondrous source he will raise a generation unlike the preceding race. [253] And now he was about to scatter his thunder over all lands; but he was afraid lest, perchance, the sacred ether might catch fire, from so many flames, and the extended sky might become inflamed. He remembers, too, that it was in the decrees of Fate, that a time should come, at which the sea, the earth, and the palace of heaven, seized by the flames, should be burned, and the laboriously-wrought fabric of the universe should be in danger of perishing. The weapons forged by the hands of the Cyclops are laid aside; [260] a different mode of punishment pleases him: to destroy mankind beneath the waves, and to let loose the rains from the whole tract of Heaven. [262] At once he shuts the North Wind in the caverns of Aeolis, and all those blasts which dispel the clouds drawn over the Earth; and then he sends forth the South Wind. With soaking wings the South Wind flies abroad, [265] having his terrible face covered with pitchy darkness; his beard is loaded with showers, the water streams down from his hoary locks, clouds gather upon his forehead, his wings and the folds of his robe drip with wet; and, as with his broad hand he squeezes the hanging clouds, a crash arises, and thence showers are poured in torrents from the sky. [270] Iris, the messenger of Juno, clothed in various colors, collects the waters, and bears a supply upwards to the clouds. The standing corn is beaten down, and the expectations of the husbandman, now lamented by him, are ruined, and the labors of a long year prematurely perish.

61 This is the editor’s own designation. Divine Riddles - 107

[274] Nor is the wrath of Jove satisfied with his own heaven; but Neptune, his azure brother, aids him with his auxiliary waves. He calls together the rivers, which, soon as they had entered the abode of their ruler, he says, “I must not now employ a lengthened exhortation; pour forth all your might, so the occasion requires. Open your abodes, and, each obstacle removed, give full rein to your streams.” [280] Thus he commanded; they return, and open the mouths of their fountains, and roll on into the ocean with unobstructed course. He himself struck the Earth with his trident, on which it shook, and with a tremor laid open the sources of its waters. [285] The rivers, breaking out, rush through the open plains, and bear away, together with the standing corn, the groves, flocks, men, houses, and temples, together with their sacred utensils. If any house remained, and, not thrown down, was able to resist ruin so vast, yet the waves, rising aloft, covered the roof of that house, and the towers tottered, overwhelmed beneath the stream. [291] And now sea and land had no mark of distinction; everything now was ocean; and to that ocean shores were wanting. One man takes possession of a hill, another sits in a curved boat, and plies the oars there where he had lately ploughed; another sails over the standing corn, [295] or the roof of his country-house under water; another catches a fish on the top of an elm-tree. An anchor (if chance so directs) is fastened in a green meadow, or the curving keels come in contact with the vineyards, now below them; and where of late the slender goats had cropped the grass, there unsightly sea-calves are now reposing their bodies. [301] The Nereids wonder at the groves, the cities, and the houses under water; dolphins get into the woods, and run against the lofty branches, and beat against the tossed oaks. The wolf swims among the sheep; the wave carries along the tawny lions; [305] the wave carries along the tigers. Neither does the powers of his lightning-shock avail the wild boar, nor his swift legs the stag, now borne away. The wandering bird, too, having long sought for land, where it may be allowed to light, its wings failing, falls down into the sea. The boundless range of the sea had overwhelmed the hills, [310] and the stranger waves beat against the heights of the mountains. The greatest part is carried off by the water: those whom the water spares, long fastings overcome, through scantiness of food.

Deucalion and Pyrrha Apollodorus, Library, i. 7.2 [2] And Prometheus had a son Deucalion. He reigning in the regions about Phthia, married Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora, the first woman fashioned by the gods. And when Zeus would destroy the men of the Bronze Age, Deucalion by the advice of Prometheus constructed a chest, and having stored it with provisions he embarked in it with Pyrrha. But Zeus by pouring heavy rain from heaven flooded the greater part of Greece, so that all men were destroyed, except a few who fled to the high mountains in the neighborhood. It was then that the mountains in Thessaly parted, and that all the world outside the Isthmus and Peloponnese was overwhelmed. But Deucalion, floating in the chest over the sea for nine days and as many nights, drifted to Parnassus, and there, when the rain ceased, he landed and sacrificed to Zeus, the god of Escape. And Zeus sent Hermes to him and allowed him to choose what he would, and he chose to get men. And at the bidding of Divine Riddles - 108

Zeus he took up stones and threw them over his head, and the stones which Deucalion threw became men, and the stones which Pyrrha threw became women. Hence people were called metaphorically people (laos) from laas, “a stone.” And Deucalion had children by Pyrrha, first Hellen, whose father some say was Zeus, and second Amphictyon, who reigned over Attica after Cranaus; and third a daughter Protogenia, who became the mother of Aethlius by Zeus.

Ovid, Metamorphoses i.313 - 415 [313] Phocis separates the Aonian from the Oetean region; a fruitful land while it was a land; [315] but at that time it had become a part of the sea, and a wide plain of sudden waters. There a lofty mountain rises towards the stars, with two tops, by name Parnassus, and advances beyond the clouds with its summit. When here Deucalion (for the sea had covered all other places), borne in a little ship, with the partner of his couch, first rested; [320] they adored the Corycian Nymphs, and the deities of the mountain, and the prophetic Themis, who at that time used to give out oracular responses. No man was there more upright than he, nor a greater lover of justice, nor was any woman more regardful of the deities than she. [324] Soon as Jupiter beholds the world overflowed by liquid waters, and sees that but one man remains out of so many thousands of late, and sees that but one woman remains out of so many thousands of late, both guiltless, and both worshippers of the gods, he disperses the clouds; and the showers being removed by the north wind, he both lays open the earth to the heavens, and the heavens to the earth. [330] The rage, too, of the sea does not continue; and his three-forked trident now laid aside, the ruler of the deep assuages the waters, and calls upon the azure Triton standing above the deep, and having his shoulders covered with the native purple shells; and he bids him blow his resounding trumpet, and, the signal being given, to call back the waves and the streams. [335] The hollow-wreathed trumpet is taken up by him, which grows to a great width from its lowest twist; the trumpet, which, soon as it receives the air in the middle of the sea, fills with its notes the shores lying under either sun. Then, too, as soon as it touched the lips of the god dripping with his wet beard, [340] and being blown, sounded the bidden retreat; it was heard by all the waters both of earth and sea, and stopped all those waters by which it was heard. Now the sea again has a shore; their channels receive the full rivers; the rivers subside; the hills are seen to come forth. [345] The ground rises, places increase in extent as the waters decrease; and after a length of time, the woods show their naked tops, and retain the mud left upon their branches. [348] The world was restored; which when Deucalion beheld to be empty, and how the desolate earth kept a profound silence, he thus addressed Pyrrha, with tears bursting forth:— “O cousin, O wife, O sole surviving woman; of my own clan; daughter of my father’s brother, and afterwards bound to me in marriage; whom now dangers themselves unite to me; we two are the whole people of the earth and all that the rising and setting sun shines upon;62

62 The translation of the lines spoken by Deucalion was somewhat obscure and even inaccurate; the editor has re- translated the passage. One of the main issues is patruelis origo (352) and soror (350). Clearly, soror cannot mean ‘sister’ when followed by patruelis. Pyrrha is the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora and, therefore, Deucalion’s cousin. See 390 below. Divine Riddles - 109

[355] of all the rest, the sea has taken possession. And even now there is no certain assurance of our lives; even yet do the clouds terrify my mind. What would now have been your feelings, if without me you had been rescued from destruction, O you deserving of compassion, in what manner could you have been able alone to support this terror? With whom for a consoler, to endure these sorrows? [360] For I, believe me, my wife, if the sea had only carried you off, should have followed you, and the sea should have carried me off as well. Oh that I could replace the people that are lost by the arts of my father, and infuse the soul into the moulded earth! [365] Now the mortal race exists in us two alone. Thus it has seemed good to the gods, and we remain as mere samples of mankind.” [367] He thus spoke, and they wept. They resolved to pray to the deities of heaven, and to seek relief through the sacred oracles. There is no delay; together they repair to the waters of Cephisus, [370] though not yet clear, yet now cutting their wonted channel. Then, when they have sprinkled the waters poured on their clothes and their heads, they turn their steps to the temple of the sacred goddess, the roof of which was defiled with foul moss, and whose altars were standing without fires. [375] Soon, as they reached the steps of the temple, each of them fell prostrate on the ground, and, trembling, gave kisses to the cold pavement. And thus they said: “If the Deities, prevailed upon by just prayers, are to be mollified, if the wrath of the Gods is to be averted, tell us, O Themis, by what art the loss of our race is to be repaired, and give thy assistance, O most gentle goddess to our ruined fortunes.” [381] The Goddess was moved, and gave this response: “Depart from my temple, and cover your heads, and loosen the garments girt around you, and throw behind your backs the bones of your great mother.” For a long time they are amazed; [385] and Pyrrha is the first by her words to break the silence, and then refuses to obey the commands of the goddess and begs her, with trembling lips, to grant her pardon, and dreads to offend the shades of her mother by casting her bones. In the meantime they reconsider the words of the response given, but involved in dark obscurity, and they ponder them among themselves. [390] Upon that, the son of Prometheus soothes the daughter of Epimetheus with these gentle words, and says, “Either is my discernment fallacious, or the oracles are just, and advise no sacrilege. The earth is the great mother; I suspect that the stones in the body of the earth are the bones meant; these we are ordered to throw behind our backs.” [395] Although she, descended from Titan, is moved by this interpretation of her husband, still her hope is involved in doubt; so much do they both distrust the advice of heaven; but what harm will it do to try? [398] They go down, and they veil their heads, and ungird their garments, and cast stones, as ordered, behind their footsteps. The stones [400] (who could have believed it, but that antiquity is a witness of the thing?) began to lay aside their hardness and their stiffness, and by degrees to become soft; and when softened, to assume a new form. Presently after, when they were grown larger, a milder nature, too, was conferred on them, [405] so that some shape of man might be seen in them, yet though but imperfect; and as if from the marble commenced to be wrought, not sufficiently distinct, and very like to rough statues. Yet that part of them which was humid with any moisture, and earthy, was turned into portions adapted for the use of the body. That which is solid, and cannot be bent, is changed into bones; [410] that which was just now a vein, still remains under the same name. And in a little time, by the interposition of the gods above, the stones thrown by the hands of the man, took the shape of a man, and the female race was renewed by the throwing of the Divine Riddles - 110 woman. Thence are we a hardy generation, and able to endure fatigue, [415] and we give proofs from what original we are sprung.

Hellen Deucalion and Pyrrha had a daughter named Protogeneia, and two sons, Amphictyon and Hellen. The Greeks, to this day, call themselves the Hellenes, the descendants of Hellen, and the country is called Hellas.

Herodotus i. 56 …the Lacedemonians and the Athenians had the pre-eminence, the first of the Dorian and the others of the Ionian race. For these were the most eminent races in ancient times, the second being a Pelasgian and the first a Hellenic race: and the one never migrated from its place in any direction, while the other was very exceedingly given to wanderings; for in the reign of Deucalion this race dwelt in Pthiotis, and in the time of Dorus the son of Hellen in the land lying below Ossa and Olympos, which is called Histiaiotis; and when it was driven from Histiaiotis by the sons of Cadmus, it dwelt in Pindos and was called Makednian; and thence it moved afterwards to Dryopis, and from Dryopis it came finally to Peloponnesus, and began to be called Dorian.

Thucydides i.3 Before the Trojan war there is no indication of any common action in Hellas, nor indeed of the universal prevalence of the name; on the contrary, before the time of Hellen, son of Deucalion, no such appellation existed, but the country went by the names of the different tribes, in particular of the Pelasgian. It was not till Hellen and his sons grew strong in Phthiotis, and were invited as allies into the other cities, that one by one they gradually acquired from the connection the name of Hellenes; though a long time elapsed before that name could fasten itself upon all. The best proof of this is furnished by Homer. Born long after the Trojan War, he nowhere calls all of them by that name, nor indeed any of them except the followers of Achilles from Phthiotis, who were the original Hellenes: in his poems they are called Danaans, Argives, and Achaeans.

Most of the noble families of ancient Greece traced their lineage to Hellen through his sons, Dorus, Aeolus and Xuthus. In the Archaic and Classical periods four Greek tribes were discernible by their regional habitation and dialect; the Dorian, Aeolian and Ionian and Achaean tribes. The Dorians claimed to be descendants of Dorus, son of Hellen; the Aeolians the descendants of Aeolus; and the Ionians the descendants of Ion, the son of Xuthus, son of Hellen. In the Achaeans the descendants of Achaeus, son of Xuthus.

Apollodorus i.7.3 [3] Hellen had Dorus, Xuthus, and Aeolus by a nymph Orseis. Those who were called Greeks he named Hellenes after himself, and divided the country among his sons. Xuthus received Peloponnese and begat Achaeus and Ion by Creusa, daughter of Erechtheus, and from Achaeus and Ion the Achaeans and Ionians derive their names. Dorus received the country over against Peloponnese and called the settlers Dorians after himself. Aeolus reigned over the regions about Thessaly and named the inhabitants Aeolians. Divine Riddles - 111

In the excerpts below, we will attempt to trace these families from the generation of Deucalion to the generation of the Trojan War. We will begin with the family of Aetolus, then of Dorus, Achaeus and Ion.

Aeolus, the Descendants of: Aeolus, the son Hellen, married Enarete, the daughter of Deimachus.63 They had seven sons and five daughters and through these children most of the royal families of Greece trace their ancestry. Athamas, Nephele and Ino Apollodorus i.9.1 [1] Of the sons of Aeolus, Athamas ruled over Boeotia and begat a son Phrixus and a daughter Helle by Nephele. And he married a second wife, Ino, by whom he had Learchus and Melicertes. But lno plotted against the children of Nephele and persuaded the women to parch the wheat; and having got the wheat they did so without the knowledge of the men. But the earth, being sown with parched wheat, did not yield its annual crops; so Athamas sent to Delphi to inquire how he might be delivered from the dearth. Now Ino persuaded the messengers to say it was foretold that the infertility would cease if Phrixus were sacrificed to Zeus. When Athamas heard that, he was forced by the inhabitants of the land to bring Phrixus to the altar. But Nephele caught him and her daughter up and gave them a ram with a golden fleece, which she had received from Hermes, and borne through the sky by the ram they crossed land and sea. But when they were over the sea which lies between Sigeum and the Chersonese, Helle slipped into the deep and was drowned, and the sea was called Hellespont after her. But Phrixus came to the Colchians, whose king was Aeetes, son of the Sun and of Perseis, and brother of Circe and Pasiphae, whom Minos married. He received Phrixus and gave him one of his daughters, Chalciope. And Phrixus sacrificed the ram with the golden fleece to Zeus the god of Escape, and the fleece he gave to Aeetes, who nailed it to an oak in a grove of Ares. And Phrixus had children by Chalciope: Argus, Melas, Phrontis, and Cytisorus.

Ino was the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia. As the sister of Semele, she is the aunt of the god Dionysus (See above Theban Cycle). After the death of Semele and the birth of Dionysus from the thigh of Zeus, Ino cared for the infant Dionysus until he was turned over to the Nymphs. When Dionysus returned to Thebes to declare his divinity, Ino became one of his most ardent followers. Hera, angry that Dionysus, the son of her rival, is being cared for, seeks revenge on all and any humans who assist in her humiliation:

Ovid, Metamorphoses iv. 416 - 524 [416] But then the Divine power of Bacchus is famed throughout all Thebes; and his aunt is everywhere telling of the great might of the new Divinity; she alone, out of so many sisters, is free from sorrow, except that which her sisters have occasioned. [420] Juno beholds

63 Otherwise unattested. Divine Riddles - 112 her, having her soul elevated with her children, and her alliance with Athamas, and the god her foster-child. She cannot tolerate this, and says to herself, “Was the child of a concubine able to transform the Maeonian sailors,64 and to overwhelm them in the sea, and to give the entrails of the son to be torn to pieces by his mother,65 [425] and to cover the three daughters of Minyas with newly formed wings?66 Shall Juno be able to do nothing but lament these griefs unrevenged? And is that sufficient for me? Is this my only power? He himself instructs me what to do. It is right to be taught even by an enemy. And what madness can do, he shows enough, and more than enough, by the slaughter of Pentheus. [430] Why should not Ino, too, be goaded by madness, and submit to an example kindred to those of her sisters?” [432] There is a shelving path, shaded with dismal yew, which leads through profound silence to the infernal abodes. Here languid Styx exhales vapors;67 and the new-made ghosts descend this way, [435] and phantoms when they have enjoyed funeral rites. Horror and winter possess these dreary regions far and wide, and the ghosts newly arrived know not where the way is that leads to the Stygian city,68 or where is the dismal palace of the black Pluto. The wide city has a thousand passages, and gates open on every side. [440] And as the sea receives the rivers for the whole earth, so does that spot receive all the souls; nor is it too little for any amount of people, nor does it perceive the crowd to increase. The shades wander about, bloodless, without body and bones; and some throng the place of judgment; some the abode of the infernal prince. Some pursue various callings, in imitation of their former life; their own punishment confines others. [447] Juno, the daughter of Saturn, leaving her celestial habitation, submits to go thither, so much does she give way to hatred and to anger. Soon as she has entered there, and the threshold groans, pressed by her sacred body, [450] Cerberus raises his threefold mouth, and utters triple barkings at the same moment. She summons the Sisters, begotten of Night, terrible and implacable goddesses.69 They are sitting before the doors of the prison shut close with adamant, and are combing black vipers from their hair. [455] Soon as they recognize her amid the shades of darkness, these deities arise. This place is called “the accursed.” Tityus is giving his entrails to be mangled, and is stretched over nine acres. By thee, Tantalus, no waters are reached, and the tree which overhangs thee, starts away. [460] Sisyphus, you are either catching or you are pushing on the stone destined to fall again. Ixion is whirled round, and both follows and flies from himself. The granddaughters, too, of Belus, who dared to plot the destruction of their cousins, are everlastingly taking up the water which they lose. After the daughter of Saturn has beheld all these with a stern look, [465] and Ixion before all; again, after him, looking upon Sisyphus, she says, “Why does he alone, of all the brothers, suffer eternal punishment? And why does a rich palace contain the proud Athamas, who, with his wife, has ever despised me?” And then she explains the

64 For the story of Dionysus and the sailors see Homeric Hymn 7, To Dionysus. 65 A reference to Pentheus, who was torn to pieces by the Maenads, including his mother Agave, and the sisters of Semele, Ino and Autonoe (Ovid Met. iii.513). 66 Leucippe, Arsippe and Alcathoe (Alcithoe), who refused to join the other women in the worship of Dionysus and were turned into bats. 67 The Styx is a stream in Arcadia, the waters were thought to be poison. It was believed that these waters were also to gateway to Hades, where the River Styx flowed carrying the dead to the underwold. 68 The place in Hades where the dead are punished for their sins 69 These are the Furies, the avenging goddesses. In Greek they are called the Erinnyes. Divine Riddles - 113 cause of her hatred and of her coming, and what it is she desires. What she desires is, [470] that the palace of Cadmus shall not stand, and that the Sister Furies shall involve Athamas in crime. She mingles together promises, commands, and entreaties, and solicits the goddesses. When Juno has thus spoken, Tisiphone, with her locks dishevelled as they are, [470] shakes them, and throws back from her face the snakes crawling over it; and thus she says: “There is no need of a long preamble; whatever you command, consider it done: leave these hateful realms, and betake yourself to the air of a better heaven.” [479] Juno returns, overjoyed; and, preparing to enter heaven, Iris, the daughter of Thaumas, purifies her by sprinkling water. Nor is there any delay; the persecuting Tisiphone takes a torch reeking with gore, and puts on a cloak red with fluid blood, and is girt with twisted snakes, and then goes forth from her abode. [485] Mourning attends her as she goes, and Fright, and Terror, and Madness with quivering features. She now reaches the threshold; the Aeolian door-posts are said to have shaken, and paleness tints the maple door; the Sun, too, flies from the place. His wife is terrified at these prodigies; Athamas, too, is alarmed, and they are both preparing to leave the house. [490] The baneful Erinys stands in the way, and blocks up the passage; and extending her arms twisted round with folds of vipers, she shakes her locks; the snakes thus moved, emit a sound. Some lying about her shoulders, some gliding around her temples, send forth hissings and vomit forth corruption, and dart forth their tongues. [495] Then she tears away two snakes from the middle of her hair, which, with pestilential hand, she throws against them. But these creep along the breasts of Ino and Athamas, and inspire them with direful intent. Nor do they inflict any wounds upon their limbs; it is the mind that feels the direful stroke. [500] She had brought, too, with her a monstrous composition of liquid poison, the foam of the mouth of Cerberus, and the venom of Echidna; and purposeless aberrations, and the forgetfulness of a darkened understanding, and crime, and tears, and rage, and the love of murder. All these were blended together; [505] and, mingled with fresh blood she had boiled them in a hollow vessel of brass, stirred about with a stalk of green hemlock. And while they are trembling, she throws the maddening poison into the breasts of them both, and moves their inmost vitals. Then repeatedly waving her torch in the same circle, she swiftly follows up the flames thus excited with fresh flames. [510] Thus triumphant, and having executed her commands, she returns to the empty realms of the great Pluto; and she ungirds the snakes which she had put on. [512]Immediately the son of Aeolus, filled with rage, cries out, in the midst of his palace, “Ho! Companions, spread your nets in this wood; for here a lioness was just now beheld by me with two young ones.” [515] And, in his madness, he follows the footsteps of his wife, as though of a wild beast; and he snatches Learchus, smiling and stretching forth his little arms from the bosom of his mother, and three or four times he whirls him round in the air like a sling, and, frenzied, he dashes in pieces the bones of the infant against the hard stones. Then, at last, the mother being roused [520] (whether it was grief that caused it, or whether the power of the poison spread over her), yells aloud, and runs away distracted, with dishevelled hair; and carrying thee, Melicerta, a little child, in her bare arms, she cries aloud “Evoë, Bacche.” At the name of Bacchus, Juno smiles, and says, “May your foster-child do you this service.” Divine Riddles - 114

Apollodorus i.9.2 [2] But afterwards Athamas was bereft also of the children of Ino through the wrath of Hera; for he went mad and shot Learchus with an arrow, and Ino cast herself and Melicertes into the sea. Being banished from Boeotia, Athamas inquired of the god where he should dwell, and on receiving an oracle that he should dwell in whatever place he should be entertained by wild beasts, he traversed a great extent of country till he fell in with wolves that were devouring pieces of sheep; but when they saw him they abandoned their prey and fled. So Athamas settled in that country and named it Athamantia70 after himself, and he married Themisto, daughter of Hypseus, and begat Leucon, Erythrius, Schoeneus, and Ptous. The Molurian Rock can be seen on the road between Megara and Corinth:

Pausanias i.44.7 As to the Molurian, it is said that from it Ino flung herself into the sea with Melicertes, the younger of her children. Learchus, the elder of them, had been killed by his father. One account is that Athamas did this in a fit of madness; another is that he vented on Ino and her children unbridled rage when he learned that the famine which befell the Orchomenians and the supposed death of Phrixus were not accidents from heaven, but that Ino, the stepmother, had intrigued for all these things.[1.44.8] Then it was that she fled to the sea and cast herself and her son from the Molurian Rock. The son, they say, was landed on the Corinthian Isthmus by a dolphin, and honors were offered to Melicertes, then renamed Palaemon, including the celebration of the Isthmian games.

Sisyphus Sisyphus, the son of Aeolus, married Merope, the daughter of Atlas and Pleione. Merope is the seventh star in the Pleiades constellation, and the least visible because she hides in shame for having mated with a mortal.

Apollodorus i.9.3 [3] And Sisyphus, son of Aeolus, founded Ephyra, which is now called Corinth, and married Merope, daughter of Atlas. They had a son Glaucus, who had by Eurymede a son Bellerophon, who slew the fire-breathing Chimera. But Sisyphus is punished in Hades by rolling a stone with his hands and head in the effort to heave it over the top; but push it as he will, it rebounds backwards This punishment he endures for the sake of Aegina, daughter of Asopus; for when Zeus had secretly carried her off, Sisyphus is said to have betrayed the secret to Asopus, who was looking for her.

Pausanias ii.5.1 [5.1] On the summit of the Acrocorinthus is a temple of Aphrodite.71 The images are Aphrodite armed, Helius, and Eros with a bow. The spring, which is behind the temple, they say was the gift of Asopus to Sisyphus. The latter knew, so runs the legend, that Zeus

70 Even in Classical time no such town existed, but the location was thought to be the plain in Boeotia called Athamantia. 71 Acrocorinthus is the name of the acropolis in Corinth.

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had ravished Aegina, the daughter of Asopus, but refused to give information to the seeker before he had a spring given him on the Acrocorinthus. When Asopus granted this request Sisyphus turned informer, and on this account he receives--if anyone believes the story-- punishment in Hades.

Bellerophon Iliad vi.152 - 195 There is a city in the heart of Argos, pasture land of horses, called Ephyra, where Sisyphus lived, who was the craftiest of all mankind. He was the son of Aeolus, and had a son named Glaucus, who was father to Bellerophon, whom heaven endowed with the most surpassing comeliness and beauty. But Proetus devised his ruin, and being stronger than he, drove him from the land of the Argives, over which Zeus had made him ruler. For Antea, wife of Proetus, lusted after him, and would have had him lie with her in secret; but Bellerophon was an honourable man and would not, so she told lies about him to Proteus. 'Proetus,' said she, 'kill Bellerophon or die, for he would have had converse with me against my will.' The king was angered, but shrank from killing Bellerophon, so he sent him to Lycia with lying letters of introduction, written on a folded tablet, and containing much ill against the bearer. He bade Bellerophon show these letters to his father-in-law, to the end that he might thus perish; Bellerophon therefore went to Lycia, and the gods convoyed him safely. [172] "When he reached the river Xanthus, which is in Lycia, the king received him with all goodwill, feasted him nine days, and killed nine heifers in his honour, but when rosy- fingered dawn appeared upon the tenth day, he questioned him and desired to see the letter from his son-in-law Proetus. When he had received the wicked letter he first commanded Bellerophon to kill that savage monster, the Chimaera, who was not a human being, but a goddess, for she had the head of a lion and the tail of a serpent, while her body was that of a goat, and she breathed forth flames of fire; but Bellerophon slew her, for he was guided by signs from heaven. He next fought the far-famed Solymi, and this, he said, was the hardest of all his battles. Thirdly, he killed the Amazons, women who were the peers of men, and as he was returning thence the king devised yet another plan for his destruction; he picked the bravest warriors in all Lycia, and placed them in ambuscade, but not a man ever came back, for Bellerophon killed every one of them. Then the king knew that he must be the valiant offspring of a god, so he kept him in Lycia, gave him his daughter in marriage, and made him of equal honour in the kingdom with himself; and the Lycians gave him a piece of land, the best in all the country, fair with vineyards and tilled fields, to have and to hold.

Salmoneus Salmoneus, son of Aeolus, is the mythical founder of Elis, the area in the North West of the Peloponnese were Olympia is located, and the Olympic Games are held.

Apollodorus i.9.7 Salmoneus at first dwelt in Thessaly, but afterwards he came to Elis and there founded a city. And being arrogant and wishful to put himself on an equality with Zeus, he was punished for his impiety; for he said that he was himself Zeus, and he took away the sacrifices Divine Riddles - 116

of the god and ordered them to be offered to himself; and by dragging dried hides, with bronze kettles, at his chariot, he said that he thundered, and by flinging lighted torches at the sky he said that he made lightning. But Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt, and wiped out the city he had founded with all its inhabitants.

Pelias and Nelius Apollodorus i.9.8 - 9 [8] Now Tyro, daughter of Salmoneus and Alcidice, was brought up by Cretheus, brother of Salmoneus, and conceived a passion for the river Enipeus, and often would she follow its running waters and utter her plaint to them. But Poseidon in the likeness of Enipeus lay with her and she secretly gave birth to twin sons, whom she exposed. As the babes lay forlorn, a mare, belonging to some passing horsekeepers, kicked with its hoof one of the two infants and left a livid mark on its face. The horse-keeper took up both the 72 children and reared them; and the one with the livid mark he called Pelias, and the other Neleus. When they were grown up, they discovered their mother and killed their stepmother Sidero. For knowing that their mother was ill-used by her, they attacked her, but before they could catch her she had taken refuge in the precinct of Hera. However, Pelias cut her down on the very altars, and ever after he continued to treat Hera with disrespect. [9] But afterwards the brothers fell out, and Neleus, being banished, came to Messene, and founded Pylos… [10] But Pelias dwelt in Thessaly and married Anaxibia, daughter of Bias, but according to some his wife was Phylomache, daughter of Amphion; and he begat a son, Acastus, and daughters, Pisidice, Pelopia, Hippothoe, and Alcestis.

For the career and demise of Pelias see below; Jason and Medea.

Alcestis Apollodorus i.9.15 [15] When Admetus73 reigned over Pherae, Apollo served him as his slave,74 while Admetus wooed Alcestis, daughter of Pelias. Now Pelias had promised to give his daughter to him who should yoke a lion and a boar to a wagon, and Apollo yoked and gave them to Admetus, who brought them to Pelias and so obtained Alcestis. But in offering a sacrifice at his marriage, he forgot to sacrifice to Artemis; therefore when he opened the marriage chamber he found it full of coiled snakes. Apollo bade him appease the goddess and obtained as a favour of the Fates that, when Admetus should be about to die, he might be released from death if someone should choose voluntarily to die for him. And when the day of his death came neither his father nor his mother would die for him, but Alcestis died in

72 From the Greek pelios, bruised, black-and-blue, which would indeed be the look of someone who had been kicked in the face by a horse! 73 The son of Pheres, son of Cretheus. 74 Apollo was being punished by Zeus for killing the Cyclopes. He had to live for one year as a mortal, and a slave at that. Divine Riddles - 117

75 his stead. But the Maiden sent her up again, or, as some say, Hercules fought with Hades and brought her up to him. This story is given much more detailed treatment in the play, Alcestis by Euripides. Deion A son of Aeolus and Enarete. Deion became king of Phocis.

Apollodorus ix.4 [4] Deion reigned over Phocis and married Diomede, daughter of Xuthus; and there were born to him a daughter, Asterodia, and sons, Aenetus, Actor, Phylacus, and Cephalus, who married Procris, daughter of Erechtheus. But afterwards Dawn fell in love with him and carried him off.

Actor and Aegina Actor, the son of Deion, married Aegina, who was then seduced by Zeus and carried to an Island off the coast of Athens. There she gave birth to Aeacus. He became king of the Island and renamed it Aegina after his mother.

Aeacus and the Myrmidons Aeacus married Endeis and they had Telamon and Peleus. But he also had relations with a Nymph who bore another son, Phocus. According to Ovid, Hera, jealous of Zeus’ affair with Aegina and seeking to destroy their offspring, sent a plague to the Island that wiped out the population. Aeacus asked Zeus for help:

Ovid, Metamorphoses vii. [614] “Stupefied by so great an outburst of misery, I said, ‘O Jupiter! if stories do not falsely say that you did come into the embraces of Aegina, the daughter of Asopus, and you are not ashamed, great Father, to be the parent of myself; either restore my people to me, or else bury me, as well, in the sepulchre.’ He gave a signal by lightning, and by propitious thunders. [620] I accepted the omen, and I said, ‘I pray that these may be happy signs of your intentions: the omen which you give me, I accept as a pledge.’ By chance there was close by, an oak sacred to Jupiter, of seed from Dodona, but thinly covered with wide- spreading boughs. Here we beheld some ants, the gatherers of corn, in a long train, [625] carrying a heavy burden in their little mouths, and keeping their track in the wrinkled bark. While I was wondering at their numbers, I said, ‘Do you, most gracious Father, give me citizens as many in number, and replenish my empty walls.’ The lofty oak trembled, and made a noise in its boughs, moving without a breeze. [630] My limbs quivered, with trembling fear, and my hair stood on an end; yet I gave kisses to the earth and to the oak, nor did I confess that I had any hopes; and yet I did hope, and I cherished my own wishes in my mind. Night came on, and sleep seized my body wearied with anxiety. [635] In my dreams the same oak seemed to be present, and to bear as many branches, and as many animals in its branches, and to be trembling with a similar motion, and to be scattering the grain-bearing troop on the fields below. These suddenly grew, and seemed greater and greater, and raised themselves from the ground, and stood with their bodies upright; [640]

75 Persephone, the wife of Hades and Queen of the Underworld. Divine Riddles - 118 and laid aside their leanness, and the former number of their feet, and their sable hue, and assumed in their limbs the human shape. [643] “Sleep departs. When now awake, I censured the vision, and complained that there was no help for me from the gods above. But within my palace there was a great murmur, and I seemed to be hearing the voices of men, to which I had now become unaccustomed. While I was supposing that these, too, were a part of my dream, Telamon came in haste, and, opening the door, said, ‘Father, you will see things beyond your hopes or expectations; do come out.’ I did go out, and I beheld and recognized such men, [650] each in his turn, as I had seemed to behold in the vision of my sleep. They approached, and saluted me as their king. I offered up vows to Jupiter, and divided the city and the lands void of their former tillers, among this new-made people, and I called them Myrmidons, and did not deprive their name of the marks of their origin.76

Telamon The prowess of Phocus made Telamon and Peleus jealous, so they killed him.

Pausanias ii.29.2 [2.29.2] The Aeginetans dwell in the island over against Epidauria. It is said that in the beginning there were no men in it; but after Zeus brought to it, when uninhabited, Aegina, daughter of Asopus, its name was changed from Oenone to Aegina; and when Aeacus, on growing up, asked Zeus for settlers, the god, they say, raised up the inhabitants out of the earth. They can mention no king of the island except Aeacus, since we know of none even of the sons of Aeacus who stayed there; for to Peleus and Telamon befell exile for the murder of Phocus, while the sons of Phocus made their home about Parnassus, in the land that is now called Phocis.

Pausanias ii.29.9 – 10 [29.9] Beside the shrine of Aeacus is the grave of Phocus, a barrow surrounded by a basement, and on it lies a rough stone. When Telamon and Peleus had induced Phocus to compete at the pentathlon, and it was now the turn of Peleus to hurl the stone, which they were using for a discus, he intentionally hit Phocus. The act was done to please their mother; for, while they were both born of the daughter of Sciron, Phocus was not, being, if indeed the report of the Greeks be true, the son of a sister of Thetis. I believe it was for this reason, and not only out of friendship for Orestes, that Pylades plotted the murder of Neoptolemus. [29.10] When this blow of the discus killed Phocus, the sons of Endeis boarded a ship and fled. Afterwards Telamon sent a herald denying that he had plotted the death of Phocus. Aeacus, however, refused to allow him to land on the island, and bade him make his defence standing on board ship, or if he wished, from a mole raised in the sea. So he sailed into the harbor called Secret, and proceeded to make a mole by night. This was finished, and still remains at the present day. But Telamon, being condemned as implicated in the murder of Phocus, sailed away a second time and came to Salamis.

76 From the Greek myrmex, ‘ant.’ Divine Riddles - 119

Telamon remained on the island of Salamis and became king. His son, Ajax, fought at Troy.

Thetis and Peleus Peleus, son of Aeacus, fled to Phthiotis and married the Sea Nymph Thetis.

The Cypria Fragments 4 & 5 4. The author of the Cypria says that Thetis, to please Hera, avoided union with Zeus, at which he was enraged and swore that she would be the wife of a mortal. 5. For at the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the gods gathered together on Mt. Pelion to feast…

Ovid, Metamorphoses xi. 221 – [221] To Thetis, aged Proteus once had said, “Oh goddess of the waves, you shall conceive, and you shall be the mother of a youth who by heroic actions will surpass the deeds of his own father, and your son shall be superior to his father's power.” So Jupiter, although the flame of love for Thetis burned his breast, would not embrace the lovely daughter of the sea, and urged his grandson Peleus, son of Aeacus, to wed the green haired maid without delay. There is a curved bay of Haemonia, where like an arch, two bending arms project out in the waves, as if to form a harbor; but the water is not deep—although enough to hide a shoal of sand. It has a firm shore which will not retain a foot's impression, nor delay the step—no seaweeds grow in that vicinity. [229] There is a grove of myrtle near that place thick-hung with berries, blended of twin shades. A cave within the middle of that grove is found, and whether it was formed by art or nature is not known, although it seems a work of art. There Thetis often went, quite naked, seated on her dolphin, which was harnessed. Peleus seized her there when she was fast asleep: and after he had tried to win her by entreaties, while she long continued to resist him, he resolved to conquer her by violence, and seized her neck with both arms. She resorted then to all her usual art, and often changed her shape as it was known, so that he failed in his attempt. At first she was a bird, but while she seemed a bird he held her fast; and then she changed herself to a large tree, and Peleus clung with ardor to the tree; her third disguise was as a spotted tigress, which frightened him so that he lost his hold. Then, as he poured wine on the heaving sea, he prayed unto the sea green gods and gave them sacrifice of sheep entrails, and smoke of frankincense. He ceased not, till at last the prophet of Carpathia, as he rose up from a deep wave, said, “Listen to me, O son of Aeacus, and you shall have the bride your heart desires: when she at rest lies sleeping in the cool wave, you must bind her while she is unwary, with strong cords and complicated bonds, and never let her arts deceive you when she imitates a hundred varied forms, but hold her fast, whatever she may seem, until she shall at length assume the shape she had at first.” So Proteus cautioned him, and hid his face beneath the waves as his last words were said. [258] Now Titan was descending and the pole of his bright chariot as it downward bent illuminated the Hesperian main; and at that time the lovely Nereid, Thetis, departing from her ocean wave, entered the cavern for desired repose. Peleus was waiting there. Immediately, just as he seized upon the virgin's limbs, she changed her shape and persevered until convinced she could not overcome his hold—for her two arms were forced apart—she Divine Riddles - 120

groaned and said, “You could not overcome me in this way, but some divinity has given you the power.” Then she appeared as Thetis: and, when Peleus saw her now deprived of all deceptions, he embraced her and was father of the great Achilles.

Achilles Achilles, the son of Peleus and Thetis, was the greatest warrior of the Greeks at Troy. But his temper often got the best of him. Achilles and his temper are the subjects of Homer’s Iliad. The story of the youth of Achilles has been greatly embellished by later writers. Most famously, it is claimed that Thetis took the baby Achilles to Hades and dipped him in the river Styx to make his body impervious to mortal weapons; all except for the tendon above his heel by which the goddess held the baby. This tendon is still called the ‘Achilles Tendon’ and a person’s greatest vulnerability is still called the ‘Achilles’ Heel.’ The earliest version of this story occurs in Flavius P. Fulgentius’ Mythologies, a text probably written in the fifth century AD. Homer nowhere mentions any of this. The ancient traditions are reported by Apollonius of Rhodes (iv.869) and repeated in Apollodorus:

Apollodorus iii.6 When Thetis had got a babe by Peleus, she wished to make it immortal, and unknown to Peleus she used to hide it in the fire by night in order to destroy the mortal element which the child inherited from its father, but by day she anointed him with ambrosia. But Peleus watched her, and, seeing the child writhing on the fire, he cried out; and Thetis, thus prevented from accomplishing her purpose, forsook her infant son and departed to the Nereids. Peleus brought the child to Chiron, who received him and fed him on the inwards of lions and wild swine and the marrows of bears, and named him Achilles, because he had not put his lips to the breast; but before that time his name was Ligyron.

The descendants of Aeacus became the royalty of four regions: Aegina, Salamis, Epeirus and Cyprus, as well as one of the most prominent aristocratic families in Athens:

Pausanias ii.29.4 [29.4] From Peleus sprang the kings in Epeirus; but as for the sons of Telamon, the family of Ajax is undistinguished, because he was a man who lived a private life; though Miltiades, who led the Athenians to Marathon, and Cimon, the son of Miltiades, achieved renown;77 but the family of Teucer continued to be the royal house in Cyprus down to the time of Evagoras. Asius the epic poet says that to Phocus were born Panopeus and Crisus. To Panopeus was born Epeus, who made, according to Homer, the wooden horse; and the grandson of Crisus was Pylades, whose father was Strophius, son of Crisus, while his mother was Anaxibi, sister of Agamemnon. Such was the pedigree of the Aeacidae (family of Aeacus), as they are called, but they departed from the beginning to other lands.

77 Miltiades was the Athenian general who orchestrated the victory over the Persians at Marathon in 490 BC. Cimon, his son, fought against the Persian invasion of 480 and was the commander of allied Greek forces in the Aegean. He is credited with the formation of the Delian League. This family traces their origins to Philaeus, the son of Ajax, and are called the Philaidae. Divine Riddles - 121

Cephalus Cephalus was the son of Deion and brother of Actor. He married Procris, the daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens. In the following passage, Cephalus is narrating his own story:

Ovid, Metamorphoses vii.694 – 862 [694] “Procris was (if perchance the fame of Oreithyia may have more probably reached your ears) the sister of Oreithyia, the victim of violence.78 If you should choose to compare the face and the manners of the two, she was the more worthy to be carried off. Her father Erectheus united her to me; love, too, united her to me. I was pronounced happy, and so I was. Not thus did it seem good to the gods; or even now, perhaps, I should be so. [700] The second month was now passing, after the marriage rites, when the saffron-colored Aurora, dispelling the darkness in the morn, beheld me, as I was planting nets for the horned deer, from the highest summit of the ever-blooming Hymettus, and carried me off against my will. By the permission of the goddess, let me relate what is true; [705] Though she is comely with her rosy face, and though she possesses the confines of light, and possesses the confines of darkness, though she is nourished with the draughts of nectar, still I loved Procris; Procris was ever in my thoughts, Procris was ever on my lips. I alleged the sacred ties of marriage, our late embraces, and our recent union, [710] and the prior engagements of my forsaken bed. The goddess was provoked, and said, ‘Cease your complaints, ungrateful man; keep your Procris; but, if my mind is gifted with foresight, you will wish that you had not had her;” and thus, in anger, she sent me back to her. [713] “While I was returning, and was revolving the sayings of the goddess within myself, there began to be apprehensions that my wife had not duly observed the laws of wedlock. [715] Both her beauty and her age bade me be apprehensive of her infidelity; yet her virtue forbade me to believe it. But yet, I had been absent; and besides, she, from whom I was just returning, was an example of such criminality: but we that are in love, apprehend all mishaps. [720] I then endeavored to discover that, by reason of which I must feel anguish, and by bribes to make attempts upon her chaste constancy. Aurora encouraged this apprehension, and changed my shape, as I seemed then to perceive. I entered Athens, the city of Pallas, unknown to any one, and I went into my own house. The house itself was without fault, and gave indications of chastity, [725] and was in concern for the carrying off of its master. [726] “Having, with difficulty, made my way to the daughter of Erechtheus by means of a thousand artifices, soon as I beheld her, I was amazed, and was nearly abandoning my projected trial of her constancy; with difficulty did I restrain myself from telling the truth, with difficulty from giving her the kisses which I ought. She was in sorrow; [730] but yet no one could be more beautiful than she, even in her sadness; and she was consuming with regret for her husband, torn from her. Only think, Phocus, how great was the beauty of her, whom even sorrow did so much become. Why should I tell how often her chaste manners repulsed all my attempts? [735] How often she said, ‘I am reserved for but one, wherever he is; for that one do I reserve my joys.’ For whom, in his senses, would not that trial of her fidelity have been sufficiently great? Yet I was not content; and I strove to wound myself,

78 Oreithyia (Orithya) and Procris were two of the four daughters of Erechtheus, king of Athens. Boreas, the North Wind, fell in love with Oreithyia and when she refused his entreaties he ( Ovid Met. Vi.675 – 721). Divine Riddles - 122 while I was promising to give vast sums for but one night, [740] and forced her at last to waver, by increasing the reward. On this I cried out, ‘Lo! I, the gallant in disguise, to my sorrow, and lavish in promises, to my misery, am your real husband; You treacherous woman! You are caught, and I the witness.’ She said nothing: only, overwhelmed with silent shame, she fled from the house of treachery, together with her wicked husband; [745] and from her resentment against me, abhorring the whole race of men, she used to wander on the mountains, employed in the pursuits of Diana. Then, a more violent flame penetrated to my bones, thus deserted. [750] I begged forgiveness, and owned myself in fault; and that I too might have yielded to a similar fault, on presents being made; if presents so large had been offered. Upon my confessing this, having first revenged her offended modesty, she was restored to me, and passed the pleasant years in harmony with me. She gave me, besides, as though in herself she had given me but a small present, a dog as a gift, [755] which when her own Cynthia79 had presented to her, she had said, ‘He will excel all dogs in running.’ She gave her, too, a javelin, which, as you see, I am carrying in my hand. [757] “Do you inquire what was the fortune of the other present? Hear then: You will be astonished at the novelty of the wondrous fact. [760] The son of Laius had solved the verses not understood by the wit of others before him; and the mysterious propounder lay precipitated, forgetful of her riddle. But the genial Themis, indeed, did not leave such things unrevenged.80 Immediately another plague was sent forth against Aonian Thebes; and many of the peasants fed the savage monster, both by the destruction of their cattle, and their own as well. [765] We, the neighboring youth, came together, and enclosed the extensive fields with toils. With a light bound it leaped over the nets, and passed over the topmost barriers of the toils that were set. The couples were taken off the dogs, from which, as they followed, [770] it fled, and eluded them, no otherwise than as a winged bird. I myself, too, was requested, with eager demands, for my dog Laelaps; that was the name of my wife’s present. For some time already had he been struggling to get free from the couples, and strained them with his neck, as they detained him. Scarce was he well let loose; and yet we could not now tell where he was; [775] the warm dust had the prints of his feet, but he himself was snatched from our eyes. A spear does not fly swifter than he did, nor pellets whirled from the twisted sling, nor the light arrow from the Gortynian bow. The top of a hill, standing in the middle, looks down upon the plains below. [780] There I climb, and I enjoy the sight of an unusual chase; wherein the wild beast one while seemed to be caught, at another to elude his very bite; and it does not fly in a direct course, and straight onward, but deceives his mouth, as he pursues it, [785] and returns in circles, that its enemy may not have his full career against it. He keeps close to it, and pursues it, a match for him; and though like as if he has caught it, still he fails to catch it, and vainly snaps at the air. I was now turning to the resources of my javelin; while my right hand was poising it, and while I was attempting to insert my fingers in the thongs of it, I turned away my eyes; and again I had directed them, recalled to the same spot, when, most wondrous, [790] I beheld two marble statues in the middle of the plain; you would think the one was flying, the other barking in pursuit.

79 Cynthia is another name for Dianna – Artemis in Greek. 80 Themis is the goddess of law and equity and she had sanctuary at Thebes. For both of these reasons she would try to avenge the wrong of the murder of Laius. Divine Riddles - 123

Some god undoubtedly, if any god really did attend to them, desired them both to remain unconquered in this contest of speed.” [794] Thus far did he speak; and then he was silent. “But,” said Phocus, “what fault is there in that javelin?” whereupon he thus informed him of the demerits of the javelin. “Let my joys, Phocus, be the first portion of my sorrowful story. These will I first relate. O son of Aeacus, I delight to remember the happy time, during which, for the first years after my marriage, I was completely blessed in my wife, and she was happy in her husband. [800] A mutual kindness and social love possessed us both. Neither would she have preferred the bed of Jupiter before my love; nor was there any woman that could have captivated me, not even if Venus herself had come. Equal flames fired the breasts of us both. [804] The Sun striking the tops of the mountains with his early rays, I was wont generally to go with youthful ardor into the woods, to hunt; but I neither suffered my servants, nor my horses, nor my quick-scented hounds to go with me, nor the knotty nets to attend me; I was safe with my javelin. But when my right hand was satiated with the slaughter of wild beasts, I betook myself to the cool spots and the shade, [810] and the breeze which was breathing forth from the cool valleys. The gentle breeze was sought by me, in the midst of the heat. For the breeze was I awaiting; that was a refreshment after my toils: ‘Come, breeze,’ I was wont to sing, for I remember it full well, ‘and, most grateful, refresh me, and enter my breast; and, as you are wont, [800] be willing to assuage the heat with which I am parched.’ Perhaps I may have added (for so my destiny prompted me) many words of endearment, and I may have been accustomed to say, ‘You are my great delight; you do refresh and cherish me; you make me to love the woods and lonely haunts, [820] and your breath is ever courted by my face.’ I was not aware that someone was giving an ear, deceived by these ambiguous words; and thinking the name of the breeze, so often called upon by me, to be that of a Nymph, he believed some Nymph was beloved by me. [825] “The rash informer of an imaginary crime immediately went to Procris, and with his whispering tongue related what he had heard. Love is a credulous thing. When it was told her, she fell down fainting, with sudden grief; and coming to, after a long time, she declared that she was wretched, and born to a cruel destiny; and she complained about my constancy. Excited by a groundless charge, [830] she dreads that which, indeed, is nothing; and fears a name without a body; and, in her wretchedness, grieves as though about a real rival. Yet she is often in doubt, and, in her extreme wretchedness, hopes she may be deceived, and denies credit to the information; and unless she beholds it herself, will not pass sentence upon the criminality of her husband. [835] The following light of the morning had banished the night, when I sallied forth, and sought the woods; and being victorious in the fields, I said, ‘Come, breeze, and relieve my pain;’ and suddenly I seemed to hear I know not what groans in the midst of my words; yet I said, ‘Come hither, most delightful breeze.’ [840] Again, the falling leaves making a gentle noise, I thought it was a wild beast, and I discharged my flying weapon. It was Procris; and receiving the wound in the middle of her breast, she cried out, ‘Ah, wretched me!’ When the voice of my attached wife was heard, headlong and distracted, I ran towards that voice. [845] I found her dying, and staining her scattered vestments with blood, and drawing her own present (ah, wretched me!) from out of her wound; I lifted up her body, dearer to me than my own, in my guilty arms, and I bound up her cruel wounds with the garments torn from my bosom; and I endeavored to Divine Riddles - 124 stanch the blood, and besought her that she would not forsake me, [850] thus criminal, by her death. She, wanting strength, and now expiring, forced herself to utter these few words: [851] “‘I suppliantly beg you, by the ties of our marriage, and by the gods above, and my own gods, and if I have deserved anything well of you, by that as well, and by the cause of my death, my love even now enduring, [855] while I am perishing, do not allow the Nymph Aura [breeze] to share with you my marriage ties.’ She thus spoke; and then, at last, I perceived the mistake of the name, and informed her of it. But what avails informing her? She sinks; and her little strength flies, together with her blood. [860] And so long as she can look on anything, she gazes on me, and breathes out upon me, on my face, her unhappy life; but she seems to die free from care, and with a more contented look.”

The son of Cephalus was Arcisius. Arcisius had a son, Laertes, who sailed with Jason on the Argo. His son was Odysseus, who is one of the principal characters in the Trojan War Saga and the subject of Homer’s Odyssey. Cretheus Cretheus, son of Aeolus, married Tyro, daughter of Salmoneus (his own niece). Their son Aeson married Polymede (aka Amphinome) and they had a son, Jason.

Jason and the Argonauts Apollodorus i.9.16 - 26 [16] Aeson, son of Cretheus, had a son Jason by Polymede, daughter of Autolycus. Now Jason dwelt in Iolcus, of which Pelias was king after Cretheus. But when Pelias consulted the oracle concerning the kingdom, the god warned him to beware of the man with a single sandal. At first the king did not understand the oracle, but afterwards he apprehended it. For when he was offering a sacrifice at the sea to Poseidon, he sent for Jason, among many others, to participate in it. Now Jason loved husbandry and therefore lived in the country, but he hastened to the sacrifice, and in crossing the river Anaurus he lost a sandal in the stream and landed with only one. When Pelias saw him, he remembered the oracle, and going up to Jason asked him what, supposing he had the power, he would do if he had received an oracle that he should be murdered by one of the citizens. Jason answered, whether at haphazard or instigated by the angry Hera in order that Medea should prove a curse to Pelias, who did not honour Hera, “I would command him,” said he, “to bring the Golden Fleece.” No sooner did Pelias hear that than he bade him go in quest of the fleece. Now it was at Colchis in a grove of Ares, hanging on an oak and guarded by a sleepless dragon. Sent to fetch the fleece, Jason called in the help of Argus, son of Phrixus; and Argus, by Athena's advice, built a ship of fifty oars named Argo after its builder; and at the prow Athena fitted in a speaking timber from the oak of Dodona.81 When the ship was built, and he inquired of the oracle, the god gave him leave to assemble the nobles of Greece and sail away. And those who assembled were as follows: Tiphys, son of Hagnias, who steered the ship; Orpheus, son of Oeagrus; Zetes and Calais, sons of Boreas;82 Castor and Pollux, sons

81 The temple of Zeus at Dodona, where the Black Doves landed and where prophesies were heard. 82 Boreas, the North Wind, raped Oreithyia, the daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens. Zetes and Calais were her sons. Divine Riddles - 125 of Zeus;83 Telamon and Peleus, sons of Aeacus; Heracles, son of Zeus; Theseus, son of Aegeus; ldas and Lynceus, sons of Aphareus; Amphiaraus, son of Oicles; Caeneus, son of Coronus; Palaemon, son of Hephaestus or of Aetolus; Cepheus, son of Aleus; Laertes son of Arcisius;84 Autolycus, son of Hermes; Atalanta, daughter of Schoeneus; Menoetius, son of Actor; Actor, son of Hippasus ; Admetus, son of Pheres; Acastus, son of Pelias; Eurytus, son of Hermes; Meleager, son of Oeneus; Ancaeus, son of Lycurgus; Euphemus, son of Poseidon; Poeas, son of Thaumacus; Butes, son of Teleon; Phanus and Staphylus, sons of Dionysus; Erginus, son of Poseidon; Periclymenus, son of Neleus; Augeas, son of the Helios; Iphiclus, son of Thestius; Argus, son of Phrixus; Euryalus, son of Mecisteus; Peneleus, son of Hippalmus; Leitus, son of Alector; Iphitus, son of Naubolus; Ascalaphus and lalmenus, sons of Ares; Asterius, son of Cometes ; Polyphemus, son of Elatus. [17] These with Jason as admiral put to sea and touched at Lemnos. At that time it chanced that Lemnos was bereft of men and ruled over by a queen, Hypsipyle, daughter of Thoas, the reason of which was as follows. The Lemnian women did not honour Aphrodite, and she visited them with a terrible smell; therefore their spouses took captive women from the neighbouring country of Thrace and bedded with them. Thus dishonoured, the Lemnian women murdered their fathers and husbands, but Hypsipyle alone saved her father Thoas by hiding him. So having put in to Lemnos, at that time ruled by women, the Argonauts had intercourse with the women, and Hypsipyle bedded with Jason and bore sons, Euneus and Nebrophonus. [18] And after Lemnos they landed among the Doliones, of whom Cyzicus was king. He received them kindly. But having put to sea from there by night and met with contrary winds, they lost their bearings and landed again among the Doliones. However, the Doliones, taking them for a Pelasgian army (for they were constantly harassed by the Pelasgians), joined battle with them at night in mutual ignorance of each other. The Argonauts slew many and among the rest Cyzicus; but by day, when they knew what they had done, they mourned and cut off their hair and gave Cyzicus a costly burial and after the burial they sailed away and touched at Mysia. [19] There they left Heracles and Polyphemus. For Hylas, son of Thiodamas, a minion of Heracles, had been sent to draw water and was ravished away by nymphs on account of his beauty. But Polyphemus heard him cry out, and drawing his sword gave chase in the belief that he was being carried off by robbers. Falling in with Heracles, he told him; and while the two were seeking for Hylas, the ship put to sea. So Polyphemus founded a city Cius in Mysia and reigned as king; but Heracles returned to Argos. However Herodorus says that Heracles did not sail at all at that time, but served as a slave at the court of Omphale. But Pherecydes says that he was left behind at Aphetae in Thessaly, the Argo having declared with human voice that she could not bear his weight. Nevertheless Demaratus has recorded that Heracles sailed to Colchis; for Dionysius even affirms that he was the leader of the Argonauts. [20] From Mysia they departed to the land of the Bebryces, which was ruled by King Amycus, son of Poseidon and a Bithynian nymph. Being a doughty man he compelled the strangers that landed to box and in that way made an end of them. So going to the Argo as

83 The sons of Leda, wife of Tyndarius of Sparta. Castor and Pollux were the brothers of Clytemnestra and Helen. 84 Laertes, a descendant of Cephalus, was king of Ithaca and father of Odysseus. Divine Riddles - 126 usual, he challenged the best man of the crew to a boxing match. Pollux undertook to box against him and killed him with a blow on the elbow. When the Bebryces made a rush at him, the chiefs snatched up their arms and put them to flight with great slaughter. [21] Thence they put to sea and came to land at Salmydessus in Thrace, where dwelt Phineus, a seer who had lost the sight of both eyes. Some say he was a son of Agenor, but others that he was a son of Poseidon, and he is variously alleged to have been blinded by the gods for foretelling men the future; or by Boreas and the Argonauts because he blinded his own sons at the instigation of their stepmother; or by Poseidon, because he revealed to the children of Phrixus how they could sail from Colchis to Greece. The gods also sent the Harpies to him. These were winged female creatures, and when a table was laid for Phineus, they flew down from the sky and snatched up most of the victuals, and what little they left stank so that nobody could touch it. When the Argonauts would have consulted him about the voyage, he said that he would advise them about it if they would rid him of the Harpies. So the Argonauts laid a table of viands beside him, and the Harpies with a shriek suddenly pounced down and snatched away the food. When Zetes and Calais, the sons of Boreas, saw that, they drew their swords and, being winged, pursued them through the air. Now it was fated that the Harpies should perish by the sons of Boreas, and that the sons of Boreas should die when they could not catch up a fugitive. So the Harpies were pursued and one of them fell into the river Tigres in Peloponnese, the river that is now called Harpys after her; some call her Nicothoe, but others Aellopus. But the other, named Ocypete or, according to others, Ocythoe (but Hesiod calls her Ocypode)85 fled by the Propontis till she came to the Echinadian Islands, which are now called Strophades after her; for when she came to them she turned (estrapke) and being at the shore fell for very weariness with her pursuer. But Apollonius in the Argonautica says that the Harpies were pursued to the Strophades Islands and suffered no harm, having sworn an oath that they would wrong Phineus no more. [22] Being rid of the Harpies, Phineas revealed to the Argonauts the course of their 86 voyage, and advised them about the Clashing Rocks in the sea. These were huge cliffs, which, dashed together by the force of the winds, closed the sea passage. Thick was the mist that swept over them, and loud the crash, and it was impossible for even the birds to pass between them. So he told them to let fly a dove between the rocks, and, if they saw it pass safe through, to thread the narrows with an easy mind, but if they saw it perish, then not to force a passage. When they heard that, they put to sea, and on nearing the rocks let fly a dove from the prow, and as she flew the clash of the rocks nipped off the tip of her tail. So, waiting till the rocks had recoiled, with hard rowing and the help of Hera, they passed through, the extremity of the ship's ornamented poop being shorn away right round.87 Henceforth the Clashing Rocks stood still; for it was fated that, so soon as a ship had made the passage, they should come to rest completely. [23] The Argonauts now arrived among the Mariandynians, and there King Lycus received them kindly. There, Idmon the seer died of a wound inflicted by a boar; and there

85 An error, Hesiod calls her Ocypete (Theogony 267) 86 Now called the Bosphorus, this is the narrow passage between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. The modern city of Istanbul occupies both banks. 87 The ‘poop’ of a ship is the stern, or back end. It comes from the Latin puppis and French poupe. Divine Riddles - 127 too died Tiphys, and Ancaeus undertook to steer the ship. And having sailed past the Thermodon88 and the Caucasus they came to the river Phasis, which is in the Colchian land.89 When the ship was brought into port, Jason repaired to Aeetes, and setting forth the charge laid on him by Pelias invited him to give him the fleece. The other promised to give it if single-handed he would yoke the brazen-footed bulls. These were two wild bulls that he had, of enormous size, a gift of Hephaestus; they had brazen feet and puffed fire from their mouths. These creatures Aeetes ordered Jason to yoke and to sow dragon's teeth; for he had got from Athena half of the dragon's teeth which Cadmus sowed in Thebes. While Jason puzzled how he could yoke the bulls, Medea conceived a passion for him: Now she was a witch, daughter of Aeetes and Idyia, daughter of Ocean. And fearing lest he might be destroyed by the bulls, she, keeping the thing from her father, promised to help him to yoke the bulls and to deliver to him the fleece, if he would swear to have her to wife and would take her with him on the voyage to Greece. When Jason swore to do so, she gave him a drug with which she bade him anoint his shield, spear, and body when he was about to yoke the bulls; for she said that, anointed with it, he could for a single day be harmed neither by fire nor by iron. And she signified to him that, when the teeth were sown, armed men would spring up from the ground against him; and when he saw a close grouping of them he was to throw stones into their midst from a distance, and when they fought each other about that, he was then to kill them. On hearing that, Jason anointed himself with the drug, and being come to the grove of the temple he sought the bulls, and though they charged him with a flame of fire, he yoked them. And when he had sown the teeth, there rose armed men from the ground; and where he saw several together, he pelted them unseen with stones, and when they fought each other he drew near and slew them. But though the bulls were yoked, Aeetes did not give the fleece; for he wished to bum down the Argo and kill the crew. But before he could do so, Medea brought Jason by night to the fleece, and having lulled to sleep by her drugs the dragon that guarded it, she possessed herself of the fleece and in Jason’s company came to the Argo. She was attended, too, by her brother Apsyrtus. And with them the Argonauts put to sea by night. [24] When Aeetes discovered the daring deeds done by Medea, he started off in pursuit of the ship; but when she saw him near, Medea murdered her brother and cutting him limb from limb threw the pieces into the deep. Gathering the child’s limbs, Aeetes fell behind in the pursuit; wherefore he turned back, and, having buried the rescued limbs of his child, he called the place Tomi.90 But he sent out many of the Colchians to search for the Argo, threatening that if they did not bring Medea to him, they should suffer the punishment due to her; so they separated and pursued the search in diverse places. When the Argonauts were already sailing past the Eridanus River, Zeus sent a furious storm upon them, and drove them out of their course, because he was angry at the murder

8888 The Thermedon River, modern Terme, flows north through Turkey into the Black Sea near the city of Samsun. 89 In modern Georgia. The ancient Phasis River is now called the Rioni and empties into the Black Sea at the city of Poti, Georgia. 90 Originally a colony of Miletus, Tomi is a small town on the Black Sea coast in modern Romania. They seem to be a bit off course! According to Apollonius, Apsyrtus pursued Jason and Medea until Jason landed and set an ambush from which he killed Apsyrtus. Divine Riddles - 128 of Apsyrtus. And as they were sailing past the Apsyrtides Islands,91 the ship spoke, saying that the wrath of Zeus would not cease unless they journeyed to Ausonia and were purified by Circe for the murder of Apsyrtus. So when they had sailed past the Ligurian and Celtic nations and had voyaged through the Sardinian Sea, they skirted Tyrrhenia and came to Aeaea, where they supplicated Circe and were purified. [25] And as they sailed past the Sirens, Orpheus restrained the Argonauts by chanting a counter melody. Butes alone swam off to the Sirens, but Aphrodite carried him away and settled him in Lilybaeum.92 After the Sirens, the ship encountered Charybdis and Scylla and the Wandering Rocks,93 above which a great flame and smoke were seen rising. But Thetis with the Nereids steered the ship through them at the summons of Hera. Having passed by 94 the Island of Thrinacia, where are the kine of the Sun, they came to Corcyra, the island of the Phaeacians, of which Alcinous was king. But when the Colchians could not find the ship, some of them settled at the Ceraunian Mountains, and some journeyed to Illyria and colonized the Apsyrtides Islands. But some came to the Phaeacians, and finding the Argo there, they demanded of Alcinous that he should give up Medea. He answered, that if she already knew Jason, he would give her to him, but that if she were still a maid he would send her away to her father. However, Arete, wife of Alcinous, anticipated matters by marrying Medea to Jason; hence the Colchians settled down among the Phaeacians and the Argonauts put to sea with Medea. [26] Sailing by night they encountered a violent storm, and Apollo, taking his stand on the Melantian ridges, flashed lightning down, shooting a shaft into the sea. Then they perceived an island close at hand, and anchoring there they named it Anaphe, because it had loomed up unexpectedly. So they founded an altar of Radiant Apollo, and having offered sacrifice they betook them to feasting; and twelve handmaids, whom Arete had given to Medea, jested merrily with the chiefs; whence it is still customary for the women to jest at the sacrifice. Putting to sea from there, they were hindered from touching at Crete by Talos. Some say that he was a man of the Brazen Race, others that he was given to Minos by Hephaestus; he was a brazen man, but some say that he was a bull. He had a single vein extending from his neck to his ankles, and a bronze nail was rammed home at the end of the vein. This Talos kept guard, running round the island thrice every day; wherefore, when he saw the Argo standing inshore, he pelted it as usual with stones. His death was brought about by the wiles of Medea, whether, as some say, she drove him mad by drugs, or, as others say, she promised to make him immortal and then drew out the nail, so that all the ichor gushed out and he died. But some say that Poeas shot him dead in the ankle. After tarrying a single night there they put in to Aegina to draw water, and a contest arose among them concerning the drawing of the water. Thence they sailed betwixt Euboea and Locris and came to Iolcus, having completed the whole voyage in four months.

91 Off course indeed! The Eridanus is a river in Attica, near Athens, and the Apsyrtides Islands are in the N. Adriatic Sea. 92 A town on Sicily. 93 The Lipari Islands, just to the North West of the point where Sicily and the Italian Peninsula are closest. 94 Modern Kerkira (Corfu), on the west coast of Greece near the Albanian border. Divine Riddles - 129

The voyage of Jason and the Argonauts was re-enacted in 1985 by the explorer and writer, Tim Severin. His account is available at: http://www.timseverin.net/books_jason_voyage.html. The account of Jason and Medea in Iolcus is brief and a bit confused in Apollodorus. Both Ovid and Diodorus offer much more colourful narratives, but one will suffice here:

Jason and Medea Diodorus iv.50 – [50] The return of the heroes was not yet known; but the common report was throughout all Thessaly, that Jason and all his companions were destroyed some where or other about Pontus. Pelias therefore now thinkkng it a fit opportunity to cut off all that might in any probability seem to affect the kingdom, compelled Jason's father to drink bull's blood, and murdered his brother Promachus, who was then but a mere child. But when Amphinome his mother was sought for to be butchered, she acted the part of a manlike and noble spirit, worthy of remark; for running to the king's palace, she issued the most heavy curses upon his head, wishing that due vengeance might overtake him for his impiety; and then immediately stabbed herself, and so like a hero ended her days. Pelias having thus extinguished Jason's whole family, in a short time after paid for it, and received the due reward of his wickedness: for Jason in the night, entering a port of Thessaly not far from the city Iolchos, (yet out of view of the inhabitants), was by one informed of the sad state and condition of his family, and thereupon all the heroes were in readiness to assist Jason, and to undergo all hazards for that purpose; but there arose some difference of opinion amongst them; for some were for surprising the king with a sudden assault, others were for the raising of forces out of every country, and so to join against him in a common war: for it was impossible for three and-forty men, to think to overcome so potent a prince, both as to his riches and the number of his cities. In these different councils it is said, that Medea promised to kill the king by a stratagem, and deliver up the palace into their hands, without any hazard to any of them. The heroes wondering at what she said, asked how she would accomplish it? Who answered, that she had great variety of poisons of admirable strength and efficacy, some of them found out by her mother Hecate, and others by her sister Circe; that she had not as yet made use of them for the killing of any man, but now by the help of them, she would execute due and deserved punishment upon the wicked wretches; and told the Argonauts her whole design; after what manner she would get to the king; and promised that from some turret in the palace that looked towards the sea, she would give a sign to their watch by fire in the night, and by smoke in the day. [51] Hereupon she provided a hollow image of the goddess Artemis, in which she hid several sorts of poisons, and anointed her hair with a sort of ointment, which turned it all grey and hoary, and with the same ointment wrinkled up her face and her whole body, so that she looked like an old withered hag. Then taking the goddess with her, ordered in all respects so as to excite the common people to a superstitious adoration, she entered the city when it was light; whereupon the people came running in to her from all quarters as if she bad been an inspired priestess: and she herself commanded everybody to bear a reverend regard to the goddess, who was now by the special providence of the gods, come to them from the Hyperboreans, for the preservation of the king and the whole city. All being now employed every where in adoring the goddess, and preparing sacrifices in honour of her, the Divine Riddles - 130 whole city was possessed with such a fanatical fury of superstition, that Medea slily procured herself to be brought into the palace; where with her delusions she infatuated both Pelias and his daughters with such a pang of superstition, that they all believed the goddess was come to load the king's house with all manner of blessings; for she declared that Artemis, in a chariot drawn through the air by dragons, had passed over many parts of the world, and had now at length made choice of the king as the most pious prince to settle her image, and establish her worship there forever; adding, that she was commanded by the application of some medicines to give a check to his old age, and restore him to his former youth and strength, and bestow many other blessings upon him that might make his life comfortable to himself, and pleasing to the goddess. The king being amazed at this strange and unusual discourse, she promised him, forthwith, to give an assurance of the truth of what she said, by an example in her own body. To this end therefore she ordered one of Pelias’s daughters to bring her some spring-water; which being done, she shut lierself up in a little room, and bathing her body all over in the water, she cleansed herself of the ointment, and so being restored to her former vigour, as soon as she came into the king's presence, all the beholders were amazed: for they conceived that an old woman was transformed into a youthful and beautiful virgin by the power and providence of the gods. She forthwith likewise, by her witchcraft, caused the appearance of the shape of the dragons to appear, by which the goddess was drawn through the air from the Hyperboreans to continue as a guest with Pelias. These things done by her, being looked upon to be above the course of nature, the king highly honoured her, and believed all she said to be true; and it is said that he took his daughters aside, and ordered them to assist her, and do whatever she commanded, and that it was fitter his own children should apply medicines to his body than servants, in order to reap the benefits designed him by the favour of the gods. Pelias therefore having expressly commanded that his daughters should observe whatever Medea ordered to be done, in reference to the care of their father's body, were ready in all things to obey her. [52] About midnight, therefore, when Pelias was fast asleep, she said it was absolutely necessary that his body should be boiled in a cauldron, and though the young ladies easily and readily of their own accord, prepared themselves to obey her, yet she applied herself to another experiment for the gaining further credit to what she said: there was an old ram bred up in the stall, which she told the young ladies, she would first boil, and then it should come forth a lamb. Whereupon they agreed, and then it is said, she cut the ram into small pieces, and boiled them, till to their seeming, by the use of the enchanted drugs, she brought forth a young tamb out of the kettle, to the admiration and astonishment of the young women who now thinking they might with great assurance depend upon what she promised, resolved to observe her in all her commands; And all of them, but Alcestis (who out of a pious and natural affection to her father, would not lay hands upon him) cudgelled him to death. Whereupon Medea pretended that vows and firayers were first to be made to the moon, before his body was dissected, and cast into the cauldron: to which end, she carried the young ladies with torches and fire-brands to the top of the higliest part of the palace; where Medea to spin out time, mumbled out a long prayer in the language of Colchis, that the Argonauts might make the assault in the mean time; who now seeing the fire from the turret, Divine Riddles - 131 concluded the king was despatched; and therefore in a body they made hastily to the city; where presently mounting over the walls, they entered the palace with their drawn swords, and killed the watch that opposed them. As soon as Pelias's daughters were come down to boil their father, unexpectedly seeing Jason with the rest of the noble youth his companions, entered into the midst of the palace, they grievously cried out with exceeding sorrow and lamentation: having now not their power to revenge themselves upon Medea, nor time to purge themselves from the horrid fact that by her delusions they had committed, they had forthwith murdered themselves, if Jason (pitying their miserable condition) had not prevented them, and comforted them with this consideration, that their present misery was not occasioned by their own malicious contrivance, but that they were without any fault of theirs led aside by the deceit of another: he promised them likewise, that their whole family should be civilly and honourably used. [53.1] Having therefore called together a general assembly, he excused what was done, and declared that he had dealt far more gently with the authors of those injuries than they deserved; and what he had done, was far short of what he and his had suflered. Then he placed Acastus the eldest son of Pelias upon his father's throne, and carried himself with all due respect to the king's daughters; [2] and in performance of what he had promised, it is said, he at length married them to the greatest persons of quality. Alcestis, the eldest, he married to Admetus the Thessalian, the son of Pheretes; Amphinome to Andraimon, the brother of Leonteus; and Euadne to Canas the prince of Phocis, the son of Cephalus. And these were the things afterwards done by Jason. Then arriving with the rest of the heroes in the Isthmus of Peloponnesus he there sacrificed to Poseidon and dedicated the ship Argo to that god. [3] Having gained the special fevour of Creon kiug of Corinth, he was made free of the city and ever after dwelt among the Corinthians. [Some lines are omitted] [54.1] It is said that he and Medea, as man and wife, lived together ten years in Corinth, and of her first begat twins, Thessalus and Alcimena, and then a third called Tisandrus, much younger than the other two. [2] During all this timey they say Medea was greatly devoted of her husband, being eminent not only for the excelleney of her beauty but for her prudence and other virtuous qualifications. But it is said that when she grew old and her beauty began to decay, Jason fell in love with Glauce, the daughter of Creon, and courted the young lady to marry her. [3] The father agreed to the match, and appointed a day, but Jason they say, first applied himself to Medea, in order to persuade her to a voluntary divorce; telling her that he did not marry this other lady out of any aversion or disgust to her, [4] but that he might have children to be heirs to the royal family. Hearing this, Medea flew into a rage and appealed to the gods, the witnesses of his oath and vows, for revenge. However, it is said, Jason without any further regard to her, married the king's daughter. [5] Medea therefore being commanded to leave the city, having only one day allowed her by Creon to prepare for her departure, by the art of witchcraft she changed the form of her countenance, and entered the palace in the night, and by a root found out by Circe, her sister (which being kindled, was of such a nature, as it could not be extinguished) she set the palace on fire. And now all being in flame, Jason sprang out from the burning and escaped, but Glauce and her father Creon hemmed in on every side by the fire, were both consumed. Divine Riddles - 132

[6] Some historians say that Medea’s sons presented the new bride with poisoned plasters, which she applying to herself, miserably perished, and her father together with her, by only touching her body in endeavouring to help her. [7] Medea thus succeeding in her first attempt, proceeded sill to be further revenged upon Jason; for she was so far transported with rage and jealousy, yea, with implacable cruelty, that notwithstanding Jason's narrow escape, and the destruction of the bride, she further enhanced his misery by murdering his sons he had by her; for she cut all their throats (except one who made his escape) and buried them in the temple of Hera; and when she had done, at midnight fled with some of her faithful maid-servants from Corinth to Heracles at Thebes, who undertaking as a surety for Jason, that he should perform his vows made to her in Colchis, promised to assist her in taking revenge.

The more common version is that Medea went directly from Corinth to Athens and was received there by Augeas, the King. We will return to they story of Medea below, in the Athenian Saga.

Xuthus, Descendants of Xuthus, son of Hellen, married Creusa, the daughter of Erechtheus king of Athens. They had two sons, Achaeus and Ion.

Pausanias vii.1.2 – 3 [1.2] Later on, after the death of Hellen, Xuthus was expelled from Thessaly by the rest of the sons of Hellen, who charged him with having appropriated some of the ancestral property. But he fled to Athens, where he was deemed worthy to wed the daughter of Erechtheus, by whom he had sons, Achaeus and Ion. On the death of Erechtheus Xuthus was appointed judge to decide which of his sons should succeed him. He decided that Cecrops, the eldest of them, should be king, and was accordingly banished from the land by the rest of the sons of Erechtheus. [1.3] He reached Aegialus, made his home there, and there died.

Achaeus and Ion Pausanias vii. 1.3 - 4 … Of his sons, Achaeus with the assistance of allies from Aegialus and Athens returned to Thessaly and recovered the throne of his fathers: Ion, while gathering an army against the Aegialians and Selinus their king, received a message from Selinus, who offered to give him in marriage Helice, his only child, as well as to adopt him as his son and successor. [1.4] It so happened that the proposal found favour with Ion, and on the death of Selinus he became king of the Aegialians. He called the city he founded in Aegialus Helice after his wife, and called the inhabitants Ionians after himself. This, however, was not a change of name, but an addition to it, for the folk were named Aegialian Ionians. [1.5] At that time in the reign of Ion the Eleusinians made war on the Athenians, and these having invited Ion to be their leader in the war, he met his death in Attica, his tomb being in the deme of Potamus. The descendants of Ion became rulers of the Ionians, until Divine Riddles - 133 they themselves as well as the people were expelled by the Achaeans. The Achaeans at that time had themselves been expelled from Lacedaemon and Argos by the Dorians.

Protogeneia, Descendants of: Endymion Protogeneia, the daughter of Deucalion and Pyrrha, was raped by Zeus and she had a son, Aethlius. He led a group of Aeolian settlers to the area now called Elis. Aethlius married his cousin Calyce, the daughter of Aetolus and Enarete, and they had a son name Endymion.

Pausanias v.1.3 - 5 [v.1.3] The Eleans we know crossed over from Calydon and Aetolia generally. Their earlier history I found to be as follows. The first to rule in this land, they say, was Aethlius, who was the son of Zeus and of Protogeneia, the daughter of Deucalion, and the father of Endymion. The Moon, they say, fell in love with this Endymion and bore him fifty daughters. Others, with greater probability, say that Endymion married Asterodia, other say she was Cromia, the daughter of Itonus, the son of Amphictyon, others again say she was Hyperippe, the daughter of Arcas. But all agree that Endymion had three sons; Paeon, Epeius and Aetolus; and a daughter, Eurycyda. Endymion decided the succession by having his sons run a race at Olympia and Epeius won, succeeded to the throne and named his subjects Epeans. Of his brothers, they say that Aetolus remained at home, while Paeon, angry at losing the race, went into exile to the farthest place possible; the region beyond the River Axius and that region was named, after him, Paeonia.

The version recorded by Apollodorus is only slightly different, but the most striking fact about the Endymion myth is that there are only a few brief mentions of him in our primary sources, the excerpt below being the longest, and yet this myth is very well represented in later art.

Apollodorus i. 7.5 Calyce and Aethlius had a son Endymion who led Aeolians from Thessaly and founded Elis. But some say that he was a son of Zeus. As he was of surpassing beauty, the Moon fell in love with him, and Zeus allowed him to choose what he would, and he chose to sleep for ever, remaining deathless and ageless.

Later versions have it that Selene, the Moon, saw Endymion sleeping in a cave and was so moved by his beauty and so fearful of his mortality that she asked Zeus to allow him to stay as he was forever. What she meant, of course, is that he should stay young and beautiful, but she wasn’t specific enough in her request. Zeus granted the request, but literally, and Endymion stayed as he was, sleeping in a cave, forever. The moral of the story: Be careful what you wish for. Aetolus Aetolus, the son of Endymion, is the mythical founder of the Aetolian people: Divine Riddles - 134

Pausanias v.1.8 [1.8] Aetolus, who came to the throne after Epeius, was made to flee from Peloponnesus, because the children of Apis tried and convicted him of unintentional homicide. For Apis, the son of Jason, from Pallantium in Arcadia, was run over and killed by the chariot of Aetolus at the games held in honour of Azan. Aetolus, son of Endymion, gave to the dwellers around the Acheloiis their name, when he fled to this part of the mainland.95 But the kingdom of the Epeans fell to Eleius, the son of Eurycyda, daughter of Endymion and, believe the tale who will, of Poseidon. It was Eleius who gave the inhabitants their present name of Eleans in place of Epeans.

Augeas See The Labours of Heracles, #6.

Pausanias v.1.9 - 11 [1.9] Eleius had a son Augeas. Those who exaggerate his glory give a turn to the name ‘Eleius’ and make Helius to be the father of Augeas. This Augeas had so many cattle and flocks of goats that most of his land remained untilled because of the dung of the animals. Now he persuaded Heracles to cleanse for him the land from dung, either in return for a part of Elis or possibly for some other reward. [10] Heracles accomplished this feat too, turning aside the stream of the Menius into the dung. But, because Heracles had accomplished his task by cunning, without toil, Augeas refused to give him his reward, and banished Phyleus, the elder of his two sons, for objecting that he was wronging a man who had been his benefactor. He made preparations himself to resist Heracles, should he attack Elis; more particularly he made friends with the sons of Actor and with Amarynceus. [11] Amarynceus, besides being a good soldier, had a father, Pyttius, of Thessalian descent, who came from Thessaly to Elis. To Amarynceus, therefore, Augeas also gave a share in the government of Elis; Actor and his sons had a share in the kingdom and were natives of the country. For the father of Actor was Phorbas, son of Lapithus, and his mother was Hyrmina, daughter of Epeius. Actor named after her the city of Hyrmina, which he founded in Elis.

Aetolus, the son of Endymion and Pronoe had two sons; Pleuron and Calydon. Calydon founded the city that bears his name. Agenor, the son of Pleuron, married his cousin Epicaste, the daughter of Calydon. They had a daughter named Demonice, and she, by the god Ares, had a son, Thestius. Thestius married Eurythemis. They had several children including a daughter named Leda and another named Hypermnestra. Leda married Tyndarius of Sparta and their story is told below. Agenor and Epicaste also had a son, Porthaon and he was the father of Oeneus.

Oeneus and Althaea Althaea was the daughter of Thestius and Eurythemis and she married Oeneus, the ruler of Calydon.

95 The Achelous River flows south from Mt. Pindus into the Ionian Sea just west of the mouth of the Gulf of Corinth. It separates Acarnania, to the West, from Aetolia, to the East. Divine Riddles - 135

Iliad ix. 523 – 45 [523] "I have an old story in my mind- a very old one- but you are all friends and I will tell it. The Curetes and the Aetolians were fighting and killing one another round Calydon- the Aetolians defending the city and the Curetes trying to destroy it. For Artemis of the golden throne was angry and did them hurt because Oeneus had not offered her his harvest first-fruits. The other gods had all been feasted with hecatombs, but to the daughter of great Zeus alone he had made no sacrifice. He had forgotten her, or somehow or other it had escaped him, and this was a grievous sin. Thereon the archer goddess in her displeasure sent a prodigious creature against him- a savage wild boar with great white tusks that did much harm to his orchard lands, uprooting apple-trees in full bloom and throwing them to the ground. But Meleager son of Oeneus got huntsmen and hounds from many cities and killed it- for it was so monstrous that not a few were needed, and many a man did it stretch upon his funeral pyre. On this the goddess set the Curetes and the Aetolians fighting furiously about the head and skin of the boar.

Meleager The son of Oeneus and Althaea and the hero of the Myth of Calydonian Boar.

Iliad ix. 546 - 94 [546] "So long as Meleager was in the field things went badly with the Curetes, and for all their numbers they could not hold their ground under the city walls; but in the course of time Meleager was angered as even a wise man will sometimes be. He was incensed with his mother Althaea, and therefore stayed at home with his wedded wife fair Cleopatra, who was daughter of Marpessa daughter of Euenus, and of Ides the man then living. He it was who took his bow and faced Pheobus Apollo himself for fair Marpessa's sake; her father and mother then named her Alcyone, because her mother had mourned with the plaintive strains of the halcyon-bird when Phoebus Apollo had carried her off. Meleager, then, stayed at home with Cleopatra, nursing the anger which he felt by reason of his mother's curses. His mother, grieving for the death of her brother, prayed the gods, and beat the earth with her hands, calling upon Hades and on awful Persephone; she went down upon her knees and her bosom was wet with tears as she prayed that they would kill her son- and Erinys that walks in darkness and knows no ruth heard her from Erebus. [569] "Then was heard the din of battle about the gates of Calydon, and the dull thump of the battering against their walls. Thereon the elders of the Aetolians besought Meleager; they sent the chiefest of their priests, and begged him to come out and help them, promising him a great reward. They bade him choose fifty plough-gates, the most fertile in the plain of Calydon, the one-half vineyard and the other open plough-land. The old warrior Oeneus implored him, standing at the threshold of his room and beating the doors in supplication. His sisters and his mother herself besought him sore, but he the more refused them; those of his comrades who were nearest and dearest to him also prayed him, but they could not move him till the foe was battering at the very doors of his chamber, and the Curetes had scaled the walls and were setting fire to the city. Then at last his sorrowing wife detailed the horrors that befall those whose city is taken; she reminded him how the men are slain, and the city is given over to the flames, while the women and children are carried into captivity; Divine Riddles - 136 when he heard all this, his heart was touched, and he donned his armour to go forth. Thus of his own inward motion he saved the city of the Aetolians; but they now gave him nothing of those rich rewards that they had offered earlier, and though he saved the city he took nothing by it.

Another version of the story of Meleager and the Calydonian Boar is given by Apollodorus:

Apollodorus i.8.2 [2] Althaea had also a son Meleager, by Oeneus, though they say that he was begotten by Ares. It is said that, when he was seven days old, the Fates came and declared that Meleager should die when the brand burning on the hearth was burnt out. On hearing that, Althaea snatched up the brand and deposited it in a chest. Meleager grew up to be an invulnerable and gallant man, but came by his end in the following way. In sacrificing the first fruits of the annual crops of the country to all the gods Oeneus forgot Artemis alone. But she in her wrath sent a boar of extraordinary size and strength, which prevented the land from being sown and destroyed the cattle and the people that fell in with it. To attack this boar Oeneus called together all the noblest men of Greece, and promised that to him who should kill the beast he would give the skin as a prize. Now the men who assembled to hunt the boar were these: Meleager, son of Oeneus; Dryas, son of Ares; these came from Calydon; ldas and Lynceus, sons of Aphareus, from Messene; Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus and Leda, from Lacedaemon; Theseus, son of Aegeus, from Athens; Admetus, son of Pheres, from Pherae; Ancaeus and Cepheus, sons of Lycurgus, from Arcadia; Jason, son of Aeson, from Iolcus; Iphicles, son of Amphitryon, from Thebes; Pirithous, son of Ixion, from Larissa; Peleus, son of Aeacus, from Phthia; Telamon, son of Aeacus, from Salamis; Eurytion, son of Actor, from Phthia; Atalanta, daughter of Schoeneus, from Arcadia; Amphiaraus, son of Oicles, from Argos. With them came also the sons of Thestius. And when they were assembled, Oeneus entertained them for nine days; but on the tenth, when Cepheus and Ancaeus and some others disdained to go hunting with a woman, Meleager compelled them to follow the chase with her, for he desired to have a child also by Atalanta, though he had to wife Cleopatra, daughter of Idas and Marpessa. When they surrounded the boar, Hyleus and Ancaeus were killed by the brute, and Peleus struck down Eurytion undesignedly with a javelin. But Atalanta was the first to shoot the boar in the back with an arrow, and Amphiaraus was the next to shoot it in the eye; but Meleager killed it by a stab in the flank, and on receiving the skin gave it to Atalanta. Nevertheless the sons of Thestius, thinking scorn that a woman should get the prize in the face of men, took the skin from her, alleging that it belonged to them by right of birth if Meleager did not choose to take it. [3] But Meleager in a rage slew the sons of Thestius and gave the skin to Atalanta. However, from grief at the slaughter of her brothers Althaea kindled the brand, and Meleager immediately expired.

Divine Riddles - 137

The Lacedaemonian Saga

The Lacedaemonians, more commonly called Spartans, trace their descent from Tygete, daughter of Atlas and Pleione, and therefore one of the Pleiades. Zeus seduced Taygete and she bore a son named Lacedaemon. He married Sparta, moved to the region of the Peloponnese called Laconia, and founded a city named for his wife; Sparta. Their daughter, Eurydice, married Acrisius, the son of Abas of the Danaid family. She became the mother of Danae who, raped by Zeus, would bear Perseus. Pausanias iii.1.1 – 5 [1] According to the tradition of the Laeedaemonians themselves, Lelex, an authochthon, was the first king in this land, after whom his subjects were named Leleges. Lelex had a son, Myles, and a younger one Polycaon. Polycaon retired into exile, the place of this retirement and its reason I will set forth elsewhere. On the death of Myles his son Eurotas succeeded to the throne. He led down to the sea by means of a trench the stagnant water on the plain, and when it had flowed away, as what was left formed a river-stream, he named it Eurotas. [2] Having no male issue, he left the kingdom to Lacedaemon, whose mother was Taygete, after whom the mountain was named, while according to report his father was none other than Zeus. Lacedaemon was wedded to Sparta, a daughter of Eurotas. When he came to the throne, he first changed the names of the land and its inhabitants, calling them after himself, and next he founded and named after his wife a city, which even down to our own day has been called Sparta. [3] Amyclas, too, son of Lacedaemon, wished to leave some memorial behind him, and built a town in Laconia. Hyacinthus, the youngest and most beautiful of his sons, died before his father, and his tomb is in Amyclae below the image of Apollo. On the death of Amyclas the empire came to Argalus, the eldest of his sons, and afterwards, when Argalus died, to Cynortas. Cynortas had a son Oebalas. [4] He took a wife from Argos, Gorgophone the daughter of Perseus, and begat a son Tyndareus, with whom Hippocoon disputed about the kingship, claiming the throne on the ground of being the elder.96 With the aid of Icarius97 and his partisans he far surpassed Tyndareus in power, and forced him to retire in fear; the Lacedaemonians say that he went to Pellana, but a Messenian legend about him is that he fled to Aphareus in Messenia, Aphareus being the son of Perieres and the brother of Tyndareus on his mother's side. The story goes on to say that he settled at Thalamae in Messenia, and that his children were born to him when he was livingg there. [5] Subsequently Tyndareus was brought back by Heracles and recovered his throne. His sons too became kings, as did Menelaus, the son of Atreus and son-in-law of Tyndareus, and Orestes the husband of Hermione the daughter of Menelaus.

96 Oebalus had earlier been married to Bateia, and Hippocoon, their son, challenged the throne. 97 Icarius was the son of Oebalus and Gorgophone and the brother of Tyndarius. Divine Riddles - 138

Hyacinthus The son of Amylcas, son of Lacedaemon.

Ovid, Metamporphoses x. 162 - 216 [162] You also, Hyacinthus, would have been set in the sky, if Phoebus had been given time which the cruel fates denied for you. But in a way you are immortal too, though you have died. Always when warm spring drives winter out, [165] and Aries succeeds to Pisces,98 you rise and blossom on the green turf. And the love my father had for you was deeper than he felt for others. Delphi center of the world, had no presiding guardian, while the god frequented the Eurotas and the land of Sparta, never fortified with walls. [170] His lyre and his bow no longer fill his eager mind and now without a thought of dignity, he carried nets and held the dogs in leash, and did not hesitate to go with Hyacinthus on the rough, steep mountain ridges; and by all of such associations, his love was increased. Now Titan was about midway, [175] betwixt the coming and the banished night, and stood at equal distance from those two extremes.99 Then, when the youth and Phoebus were well stripped, and gleaming with rich olive oil, they tried a friendly contest with the discus.100 First Phoebus, well-poised, sent it awhirl through air, and cleft the clouds beyond with its broad weight; [180] from which at length it fell down to the earth, a certain evidence of strength and skill. Heedless of danger Hyacinthus rushed for eager glory of the game, resolved to get the discus. But it bounded back from off the hard earth, and struck full against your face, O Hyacinthus! [185] Deadly pale the god's face went—as pallid as the boy's. With care he lifted the sad huddled form. The kind god tries to warm you back to life, and next endeavors to attend your wound, and stay your parting soul with healing herbs. His skill is no advantage, for the wound is past all art of cure. [190] As if someone, when in a garden, breaks off violets, poppies, or lilies hung from golden stems, then drooping they must hang their withered heads, and gaze down towards the earth beneath them; [195] so, the dying boy's face droops, and his bent neck, a burden to itself, falls back upon his shoulder: “You are fallen in your prime defrauded of your youth, O Hyacinthus!” Moaned Apollo. “I can see in your sad wound my own guilt, and you are my cause of grief and self-reproach. My own hand gave you death unmerited—I only can be charged with your destruction.—[200] What have I done wrong? Can it be called a fault to play with you? Should loving you be called a fault? And oh, that I might now give up my life for you! Or die with you! But since our destinies prevent us you shall always be with me, and you shall dwell upon my care-filled lips. [205] The lyre struck by my hand, and my true songs will always celebrate you. A new flower you shall arise, with markings on your petals, close imitation of my constant moans: and there shall come another to be linked with this new flower, a valiant hero shall be known by the same marks upon its petals.” [209] And while Phoebus, Apollo, sang these words with his truth-telling lips, behold the blood of Hyacinthus, which had poured out on the ground beside him and there stained the grass, was changed from blood; and in its place a flower, more beautiful than Tyrian

98 Pisces is from February 24 to March 25. Aries begins on March 26 and lasts until April 26. 99 Noon. The reference here is to Helios, the sun. Not properly a Titan, but the son of the Titan Hyperion. 100 In ancient Greece, contestants in sport would compete naked, their bodies covered in olive oil. Divine Riddles - 139

dye,101 sprang up. It almost seemed a lily, were it not that one was purple and the other white. But Phoebus was not satisfied with this. For it was he who worked the miracle of his sad words inscribed on flower leaves. [215] These letters AI, AI, are inscribed on them. And Sparta certainly is proud to honor Hyacinthus as her son; and his loved fame endures; and every year they celebrate his solemn festival.

Cynortes, the son of Amylcas and brother of Hyacinthus, had a son, Oebalus. He married Gorgophone, the daughter of Perseus. Before Gorgophone married Oebalus she had been married to Perieres, the son of Aeolus and Enarete. By Perieres she had a son Leucippus and his daughter was Arsinoe.

Arsinoe Arsinoe, the daughter of Perieres and Gorgophone, was said by many to be the mother of Asclepius. Pausanias offers a reasonable argument proving that this story is false (see above, Danaid, Asclepius).

Tyndareus (Tyndarius) Oebalus and Gorgophone had a son, Tyndarius. He married Leda, the daughter of Thestius. Diodorus iv.33.5 [5] Afterwards it happened that Tyndareus was banished from Sparta by Hippocoon, whose sons likewise, being twenty in number, had killed Oeonus, the son of Licymnius, Heracles’ special friend. Heracles, understanding what they had done, made war upon them, and in a great battle routing them, slew multitudes of them, and took Sparta by storm, and restored Tyndareus, the father of the Dioscuri, to the kingdom upon this condition, that (inasmuch as he had gained it by conquest) he should keep it, and hereafter deliver it up entire to his posterity.102 In this battle there were very few killed on Heracles’ side, amongst whom were those famous men Iphiclus, and seventeen sons of Cepheus, for of twenty, three only escaped. On the other side, there fell Hippocoon himself, with ten of his sons and a great nomber of the Spartans.

Leda Leda was the daughter of Thestius, a descendant of Hellen through Protogeneia. She married Tyndareus. The stories of her childres are various, but all agree that she was the mother of two sons; Castor and Pollux, and two daughters; Clytemnestra and Helen. All agree, as well, that Helen was the daughter of Zeus and that Clytemnestra was the daughter of Tyndareus. The confusion comes with the brothers, twins who are called the Dioscuri.103 The epithet suggests that they were both sons of Zeus.

101 A redish-purple dye that was produced by the Spiny Dye-Murex, a species of snails only found around Tyre, in Modern Lebanon. Very rare and expensive in the ancient world, this is the origin of ‘Royal Purple.’ 102 That is, Tyndarius should keep the kingdom for his lifetime but when he died he was to turn it over to the sons of Heracles. Tyndarius did not keep the bargain. 103 The epithet is a compound of Dios – Kouroi: The ‘sons of Zeus.’ Divine Riddles - 140

The Cypria Fragment 7: Castor was mortal, and the fate of death was destined for him; but Polydeuces, scion of Ares, was immortal.

Apollodorus iii.10.6 - 7 [6]… Tyndareus and Leda had daughters; Timandra, whom Echemus married, and Clytemnestra, whom Agamemnon married; also another daughter Phylonoe, whom Artemis made immortal. [7] But Zeus in the form of a swan consorted with Leda, and on the same night Tyndareus cohabited with her; and she bore Pollux and Helen to Zeus, and Castor and Clytaemnestra toTyndareus. But some say that Helen was a daughter of Nemesis and Zeus; for that she, flying from the arms of Zeus, changed herself into a goose, but Zeus in his tum took the likeness of a swan and so enjoyed her; and as the fruit of their loves she laid an egg, and a certain shepherd found it in the groves and brought and gave it to Leda, and she put it in a chest and kept it and when Helen was hatched in due time, Leda brought her up as her own daughter.

Castor and Pollux – The Dioscuri Apollodorus iii.11.2 [2] Of the sons horn to Leda Castor practised the art of war, and Pollux the art of boxing, and on account of their manliness they were both called Dioscuri. And wishing to marry the daughters of Leucippus, they carried them off from Messene and wedded them; and Pollux had Mnesileus by Phoebe, and Castor had Anogon by Hilaira. And having driven captured of cattle from Arcadia, in company with Idas and Lynceus, sons of Aphareus, they allowed Idas to divide the spoil. He cut a cow in four and said that one half of the booty should be his who ate his share first, and that the rest should be his who ate his share second. And before they knew where they were, Idas had swallowed bis own share first and likewise his brother's, and with him had driven off the captured cattle to Messene. But the Dioscuri marched against Messene, and drove away that cattle and much else besides. And they lay in wait for ldas and Lynceus. But Lynceus spied Castor and revealed him to Idas, who killed him. Pollux chased them and slew Lynceus by throwing his spear, but in pursuing Lynceus he was wounded in the head with a stone thrown by him, and fell down in a swoon. And Zeus smote ldas with a thunderbolt, but Pollux he carried up to heaven. Nevertheless, as Pollux refused to accept immortality while his brother Castor was dead, Zeus permitted them both to be every other day among the gods and among mortals.

Homeric Hymn #33, To the Dioscuri [1 – 17] Bright-eyed Muses, tell of the Tyndaridae, the Sons of Zeus, glorious children of neat-ankled Leda, Castor the tamer of horses, and blameless Polydeuces.104 When Leda had lain with the dark-clouded Son of Cronus, she bare them beneath the peak of the great hill Taygetus; children who are delivers of men on earth and of swift-going ships when

104 aka Pollux. Divine Riddles - 141 stormy gales rage over the ruthless sea. Then the shipmen call upon the sons of great Zeus with vows of white lambs, going to the forepart of the prow; but the strong wind and the waves of the sea lay the ship under water, until suddenly these two are seen darting through the air on tawny wings. Forthwith they allay the blasts of the cruel winds and still the waves upon the surface of the white sea: fair signs are they and deliverance from toil. And when the shipmen see them they are glad and have rest from their pain and labour.

Castor and Pollux are the constellation Gemini, the Twins. The constellation is visible in the night sky from May 27 to June 26. In the Aegean Sea, this is the time when the winds are seas are most calm.

Helen Euripides, Helen 1.17 – 20 My own fatherland, Sparta, is not without fame, and my father is Tyndareus; but there is indeed a story that Zeus flew to my mother Leda, taking the form of a bird, a swan, [20] which accomplished the deceitful union, fleeing the pursuit of an eagle, if this story is true.

Euripides, Helen 1. 22 - 30 My name is Helen; I will tell the evils I have suffered. For the sake of beauty, three goddesses came to a deep valley on Mount Ida, to Paris: [25] Hera and Cypris105, and the virgin daughter of Zeus,106 wishing to have the judgment of their loveliness decided. Cypris offered my beauty, if misfortune is beautiful, for Paris to marry, and so she won. Paris, the shepherd of Ida, left his ox-stalls [30] and came to Sparta, to have me in marriage.

The Cypria Fragment 8 (Athenaeus viii.334B) And after them [The Dioscuri] she [Leda] bore a third child, Helen, a marvel to men. Rich-tressed Nemesis once gave her birth when she had been joined in love with Zeus the king of the gods by harsh violence. For Nemesis tried to escape him and liked not to lie in love with her father Zeus the son of Cronus; for shame and indignation vexed her heart. Therefore she fled him over the land and fruitless dark water. But Zeus ever pursued and longed in his heart to catch her. Now she took the form of a fish and sped over the waves of the loud-roaring sea, and now over Ocean’s stream and the furthest bounds of Earth, and now she sped over the furrowed land, always turning into such dread creatures as the dry land nurtures, that she might escape him.

Euripides, Agamemnon 49 – 70 Leda, the daughter of Thestius, had three children, maidens, [50] Phoebe, Clytemnestra my wife, and Helen; the foremost of the favored sons of Hellas came to woo Helen; but terrible threats of spilling his rival's blood were uttered by each of them, if he should fail to

105 Aphrodite 106 Athena Divine Riddles - 142 win the girl. [55] Now the matter filled Tyndareus, her father, with perplexity, whether to give her or not, how he might best succeed. This thought occurred to him: the suitors should swear to each other and join right hands and pour libations [60] with burnt-sacrifice, binding themselves by this curse: whoever wins the child of Tyndareus for wife, they will assist that man, in case a rival takes her from his house and goes his way, robbing her husband of his rights; and march against that man in armed array and raze his city to the ground, [65] Hellene no less than barbarian. Now when they had once pledged their word and old Tyndareus with no small cleverness had beguiled them by his shrewd device, he allowed his daughter to choose from among her suitors the one towards whom the sweet breezes of Aphrodite might carry her. [70] Her choice fell on Menelaus; would she had never taken him!

Apollodorus iii.10.7 – 9 And when she grew into a lovely woman, Theseus carried her off and brought her to Aphidnae. But when Theseus was in Hades, Pollux and Castor marched against Aphidnae, took the city, got possession of Helen, and led Aethra, the mother of Theseus, away captive. [8] Now the kings of Greece repaired to Sparta to win the hand of Helen. The wooers were these: Odysseus, son of Laertes; Diomedes, son of Tydeus; Antilochus, son of Nestor; Agapenor, son of Ancaeus; Sthenelus, son of Capaneus ; Amphimachus, son of Cteatus; Thalpius, son of Eurytus; Meges, son of Phyleus; Amphilochus, son of Amphiaraus; Menestheus, son of Peteos; Schedius and Epistrophus, sons of Iphitus; Polyxenus, son of Agasthenes; Peneleos, son of Hippalcimus; Leitus, son of Alector; Ajax, son of Oileus; Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, sons of Ares; Elephenor, son of Chalcodon; Eumelus, son of Admetus; Polypoetes, son of Peritbous; Leonteus, son of Coronus; Podalirius and Machaon, sons of Aesculapius; Philoctetes, son of Poeas; Eurypylus, son of Evaemon; Protesilaus, son of Iphiclus; Menelaus, son of Atreus; Ajax and Teucer sons of Telamon; Patroclus, son of Menoetius. [9] Seeing the multitude of them, Tyndareus feared that the preference of one might set the others quarrelling; but Odysseus promised that, if he would help him to win the hand of Penelope, he would suggest a way by which there would be no quarrel. And when Tyndareus promised to help him, Odysseus told him to exact an oath from all the suitors that they would defend the favoured bridegroom against any wrong that might be done him in respect of his marriage. On hearing that, Tyndareus put the suitors on their oath, and while he chose Menelaus to be the bridegroom of Helen, he solicited Icarius to bestow Penelope on Odysseus.

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Ancient Authors

Below are brief descriptions of the ancient authors from whose works this volume has been assembled. Wherever possible, the original English translation is also given. As far as the editor of this volume has been able to determine, all of the translations are in the Public Domain.

Aeschylus The first of the three great Athenian playwrights (which include Euripides and Sophocles). He was born at Eleusis in 525 and died in Gela, Sicily, in 456 BC. Aeschylus produced over seventy tragedies and won thirteen competitions, but only seven of his plays are extant: The Persae (Persians) Produced in 472 BC, tells the story of the humiliation of Xerxes at the Battle of Salamis. Seven against Thebes Aeschylus presented this play for the City Dionysia in 469/8, but lost to Sophocles. Aeschylus was so upset at the loss that he left Athens to live in Syracuse, hosted by the tyrant Hiero. Suppliants By 459 Aeschylus is back in Athens and with the presentation of Suppliants he defeated his rival Sophocles and won the City Dionysia. Agamemnon In 458 BC Aeschylus produced the Oresteia trilogy with includes Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides. Agamemnon’s return home after his victory at Troy. The murder of Agamemnon by his wife Clytemnestra. Libation Bearers The story of Orestes, son of Agamemnon, who fled into exile after the murder of Agamemnon. Orestes and his sister plot and carry out the revenge killing of Clytemnestra and her new husband, Aegisthus Eumenides Orestes, pursued by the Furies, seeks refuge on the Hill of Ares in Athens. There, Athena presides as judge to determine the guilt of Orestes. The eleven man jury votes six to five to convict, but Athena casts the final vote to acquit and, because of the tied jury, Orestes is acquitted. Prometheus Bound The date of this play is uncertain and even the authorship is now in question. Prometheus as he is bound to a mountain in punishment for helping mankind.

Aeschylus died in Gela, Sicily, in 456 (Plut. Cimon 8.8). On his grave-stone (which he commissioned before his death) there is no mention of his success as a playwright; only that he fought at the Battle Marathon (Paus. i.14.5). Divine Riddles - 144

His sons, Euporion and Bion, continued to present his plays for years after his death, Bion winning the Dionysia as late as 431 BC. The translations of Aeschylus herein are from the Edmund Doidge Anderson Morshead translation (1881), and the Herbert Weir Smyth translation, Loeb 1926.

Aesop A writer of fables who live around 570 BC. Very little is known of his life but he seems to have been a slave on Samos, serving two successive masters and eventually winning his freedom. His fables are often referred to by Classical Greek writers but no authoritative manuscripts survive. The current collection attributed to Aesop is the work of a 14th century monk. The Fables reproduced here are the George Fyler Townsend translation (1867).

Apollodorus An Athenian grammarian who flourished about 140 BC. He wrote many works but the only one extant is his Bibliotheke, or Library in three books. It is a collection of the traditions of Greek mythology beginning with the creation stories and breaking off with Theseus. The work is more of a catalogue or compendium than a narrative proper but it provides insight into earlier works now lost to us. The translation reproduced in this volume is that of James George Fraser (1921) for the Loeb Classical Library.

Aristotle Greek philosopher and founder of the ‘scientific method.’ Aristotle was born in Stageira in Chalcidice in 384 and died 322 BC. He studied in Athens, under Plato, from 367 until the death of Plato in 347. In 342 Aristotle moved to Macedon to become the tutor to Alexander, son of King Philip II. In 335, Aristotle returned to Athens and founded his own school, the Lyceum. Aristotle wrote prolifically and his extant works include: Physics; Politics; Rhetoric; Poetry; Nicomachian Ethics; Eudamian Ethics and others. The Constitution of Athens is attributed to Aristotle but may be the work of one of his students. The Poetics translation used herein is by S.H Butcher (1902).

Diodorus of Sicily Details of his life are unclear, but Diodorus likely died around 21 BC. He wrote a Universal History, Bibliotheca, in 40 books as a history of the world to 46 BC. He probably wrote his entire work between 60 and 36 BC. He has come under much criticism of late, not the least for his questionable chronology and seeming willingness to take his sources at face value with little or no critical evaluation or comparison. More recent scholarship, especially Peter Green's recent volume, takes a kinder view of his methods. The translation used herein is that of G. Booth (1814) but with substantial editing.

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Euripides The third of the three great Athenian playwrights (with Aeschylus and Sophocles), Euripides was born to wealthy parents, Mnesarchides and Cleito in 480 BC, the year of the Persian invasion of Greece. His life coincided with the rise to greatness of his home city, Athens and he was fortunate to die, in 406, without seeing Athens surrender to Sparta in 403. Euripides won the City Dionysia only five times but that is a reflection of his bold innovations rather than the quality of his works - the judges at these affairs tended toward conservatism. Despite the support of his audiences, Euripides faced harsh criticism from the literary elite of Athens and in 408 he left Athens for the court of King Archelaus of Macedon. Euripides lived and wrote there until his death in 406. Euripides wrote over 90 plays and although we know the names of 81 of these, only 19 are extant.

Hesiod Very little is known about the life of Hesiod but that he was from Boeotia, in central Greece, and lived about 750 BC. Two works of Hesiod survive; Theogony and Works and Days both of which were highly regarded in the ancient world, so much so that many ancients regarded Hesiod and Homer to be equally responsible for the defining characteristics of Greek identity and religion. The translations of Theogony and Works and Days in this volume is that of Hugh G. Evelyn- White (1914).

Homer The most famous and influential works of the ancient world are attributed to Homer who, if an historical person, likely lived around 850 BC. His two principal works are The Iliad and The Odyssey. Excerpts from the Iliad in this volume are from the Samuel Butler translation (1898).

Ovid. Publius Ovidius (Ovid) Naso was born in Italy in March of 43 BC in Sulmo, about 120km east of Rome. Ovid studied for the law but was more inclined to poetry and, very early in his legal career, he left Italy to study in Athens. Although he did serve as a magistrate for some time, his real vocation was poetry and he is remembered today as one of the greatest of the Latin poets. His works Amores (Loves), Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love), and Metamorphoses, amongst others, are still heralded amongst the greatest works of literature. The translation of Metamorphoses used herein is that of Henry T. Riley (1893).

Pausanias Wrote a Description of Greece (Hellados Periegesis), a tourist guide, in the late second century AD. The translation used herein is that of W.H.S. Jones and H.A. Ormerod, 1918, for the Loeb Classical Library. Divine Riddles - 146

Plutarch Plutarch of Chaeronea was a prominent political figure, a priest of Apollo at Delphi and confidant of emperors. He probably lived from ca. 50 to ca. 120 AD. A Philosopher and biographer, his interest was less in historical events and chronology than in the character and personality of the people involved in the events. His work Parallel Lives of Illustrious Greeks and Romans survives in 19 definite pairs, including comparisons, 4 likely pairs for which comparisons are lost, and 4 other Lives which likely belonged to lost collections. Also extant are many philosophical, moral, rhetorical works.

Sophocles Sophocles was born at Colonus, a small village just to the north-west of Athens, in 496/5 BC. The details of his family and his youth are obscure, but it seems probable that his father, Sophilus (or Sophillus) operated factories or hired out skilled slaves. What is certain is that his family was not aristocratic but was well-to-do; certain only because Sophocles was afforded the best education as a youth. He was only fifteen when he and his family fled to Salamis to witness the occupation of Athens by Xerxes, and after the Battle of Salamis Sophocles was a member of a boys' chorus which performed at the dedication of the trophy celebrating the victory. His first victory in the City Dionysia came in 468 with a play now lost, possibly called Triptolemus. Of his 123 productions only 7 survive, but we know that he won the City Dionysia 18 times. Sophocles' most famous plays are often grouped under the epithet 'The Theban Plays' and include (in the chronology of the myths themselves) Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone. While these plays might appear to form a trilogy, they were actually each one of three separate trilogies - nine plays in all, six of which are lost. The earliest of these trilogies was produced in 441/40 and featured Antigone.

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