Part 7

=Polyhymnia= (Polyhymʹnia). Daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. One of the Muses who presided over singing and rhetoric.

=Polyphemus= (Polypheʹmus), one of the most celebrated of the Cyclops, a son of the nymph Thoosa and Neptune, or Poseidon, as the Greeks called the god of the sea. He captured Ulysses and twelve of his companions, and it is said that six of them were eaten. The remainder escaped by the ingenuity of Ulysses, who destroyed Polyphemus's one eye with a fire-brand.

"Charybdis barks and Polyphemus roars." Francis.

=Polyxena= (Polyxʹena). Daughter of Hecuba and Priam, king of Troy. It was by her treachery that Achilles was shot in the heel.

=Pomona= (Pomoʹna). The Roman goddess of fruit-trees and gardens.

"So to the sylvan lodge They came, that like Pomona's arbor smiled With flowerets decked and fragrant smells." Milton.

=Poplar-Tree=, see Heliades.

=Portunus= (Portuʹnus) (Palaemon), son of Ino, was the Roman god of harbors.

=Poseidon= (Poseiʹdon). The Greek name of Neptune, god of the sea.

=Pracriti= (Pracʹriti). The Hindoo goddess of nature.

=Predictions=, see Cassandra.

=Priam= (Priʹam). The last king of Troy. See Paris.

=Priapus= (Priaʹpus), the guardian of gardens and god of natural reproduction, was the son of Venus and Bacchus.

"Priapus could not half describe the grace (Though god of gardens) of this charming place." Pope.

=Prisca= (Prisʹca). Another name of Vesta.

=Procris= (Proʹcris). Daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens. See Cephalus, her husband.

=Progne= (Progʹne), wife of Tereus. Commonly called Procne, whose sister was Philomela. See Itys and Tereus.

"Complaining oft gives respite to our grief, From hence the wretched Progne sought relief." F. Lewis.

=Prometheus= (Promeʹtheus), the son of Japetus and father of Deucalion. He presumed to make clay men, and animate them with fire which he had stolen from heaven. This so displeased Jupiter that he sent him a box full of evils, which Prometheus refused; but his brother Epimetheus, not so cautious, opened it, and the evils spread over all the earth. Jupiter then punished Prometheus by commanding Mercury to bind him to Mount Caucasus, where a vulture daily preyed upon his liver, which grew in the night as much as it had been reduced in the day, so that the punishment was a prolonged torture. Hercules at last killed the vulture and set Prometheus free.

=Prophecy=, see Nereus.

=Proserpine= (Proserʹpine). A daughter of Jupiter and Ceres. Pluto carried her off to the infernal regions and made her his wife. She was known by the names of "the Queen of Hell," Hecate, Juno Inferna, and Libitina. She was called by the Greeks Persephone.

"He sung, and hell consented To hear the poet's prayer, Stern Proserpine relented, And gave him back the fair." F. Lewis.

=Proteus= (Proʹteus). A marine deity, who could foretell events and convert himself at will into all sorts of shapes. According to later legends, Proteus was a son of Poseidon.

"The changeful Proteus, whose prophetic mind, The secret cause of Bacchus' rage divined." The Lusiad.

"What chain can hold this varying Proteus fast?" Budgell.

=Psyche= (Psyʹche). The wife of Cupid. The name is Greek, signifying the soul or spirit.

=Pygmalion= (Pygmaʹlion). A famous sculptor who had resolved to remain unmarried, but he made such a beautiful statue of a goddess that he begged Venus to give it life. His request being granted, Pygmalion married the animated statue.

"Few, like Pygmalion, doat on lifeless charms, Or care to clasp a statue in their arms."

=Pylades= (Pyʹlades). The son of Strophius, King of Phanote, and husband of Electra; famous on account of his faithful friendship with Orestes.

"His wine Was better, Pylades, than thine. ... If you please To choose me for your Pylades." F. Lewis.

=Pylotis= (Pyloʹtis). A Greek name of Minerva.

=Pyracmon= (Pyrʹacmon), one of the chiefs of the Cyclopes.

=Pyramus and Thisbe= (Pyrʹamus and Thisʹbe). Two Babylonian lovers, the children of hostile neighbors. See Shakespeare's burlesque of the story of their loves, in "Midsummer Night's Dream."

=Pyrois= (Pyʹrois) (luminous). One of the four chariot horses of Sol, the Sun.

=Pythia= (Pyʹthia). The priestess of Apollo at Delphi, who delivered the answers of the oracle. Also the name of the Pythian games celebrated in honor of Apollo's victory over the dragon Python.

=Python= (Pyʹthon). A famous serpent killed by Apollo, which haunted the caves of Parnassus. See Septerion.

=Quadratus= (Quadraʹtus). A surname given to Mercury, because some of his statues were four-sided.

=Quadrifrons= (Quadʹrifrons). Janus was sometimes depicted with four faces instead of the usual two, and he was then called Janus Quadrifrons.

=Quies= (Quiʹes). The Roman goddess of rest; she had a temple just outside the Colline gate of Rome.

=Quietus= (Quieʹtus). One of the names of Pluto.

=Quirinus= (Quiriʹnus). A name given to Mars during wartime; Virgil refers to Jupiter under the same name.

=Quoit=, see Hyacinthus.

=Race=, see Atalanta.

=Radamanthus= (Radamanʹthus), see Rhadamanthus.

=Rage=, see Furies.

=Rainbow=, see Iris.

=Rama= (Raʹma). A Hindoo god, who was the terrestrial representative of Vishnu.

=Ram's Hide=, see Golden Fleece.

=Reeds=, see Pan, also Syrinx.

=Rembha= (Remʹbha). The Hindoo goddess of pleasure.

=Reproduction=, see Priapus.

=Rest=, see Quies.

=Revenge=, see Ate.

=Rhadamanthus= (Rhadamanʹthus), a son of Jupiter and Europa, was the ruler of the Greeks in the Asiatic islands, and judge of the dead in the infernal regions.

"These are the realms of unrelenting fate: And awful Rhadamanthus rules the state. He hears and judges each committed crime, Inquires into the manner, place, and time; The conscious wretch must all his acts reveal, Loth to confess, unable to conceal; From the first moment of his vital breath, To the last hour of unrepenting death." Dryden.

=Rhamnusia= (Rhamnuʹsia). A name of Nemesis, from Rhamnus, a town in Attica, where she had a temple in which was her statue, made of one stone ten cubits high.

=Rhea= (Rheʹa). The Greek name of Cybele. She was a daughter of Uranus and Gaea, and was called Mother of the gods.

=Rhetoric=, see Calliope, also Polyhymnia.

=Riches=, see Plutus.

=Riddle=, see Sphinx.

=Rimmon= (Rimʹmon). A Phrygian god of whom Milton says--

"... Rimmon, whose delightful seat Was fair Damascus, on the fertile banks Of Abana and Pharpar, lucid streams."

=Riot=, see Saturnalia.

=River of Fire=, see Phlegethon.

=Roads=, see Vialis.

=Robber=, see Cacus, Coeculus.

=Romulus= (Romʹulus). The traditional founder of Rome. He was a son of Mars and Ilia, and twin brother of Remus. The infants were thrown into the Tiber, but were miraculously saved and suckled by a she-wolf, till they were found by Faustulus, a shepherd, who brought them up. Remus was killed in a quarrel with his brother, and Romulus became the first King of Rome.

=Rumia Dea= (Rumiʹa Dea). The Roman goddess of babes in arms.

=Rumina= (Ruʹmina). Roman pastoral deities, who protected suckling cattle.

=Runcina= (Runciʹna). The goddess of weeding or cleansing the ground.

=Sacrifices= were ceremonious offerings made to the gods. To every deity a distinct victim was allotted, and the greatest care was always taken in the selection of them. Anything in any way blemished was considered as an insult to the god. At the time of the sacrifice the people were called together by heralds led by a procession of musicians. The priest, clothed in white, was crowned with a wreath made of the leaves of the tree which was sacred to the particular god to whom the sacrifice was offered. The victim had its horns gilt, and was adorned with a chaplet similar to that of the priest, and was decorated with bright-colored ribbons. The priest then said, "Who is here?" to which the spectators replied, "Many good people." "Begone all ye who are profane," said the priest; and he then began a prayer addressed to all the gods. The sacrifice was begun by putting corn, frankincense, flour, salt, cakes, and fruit on the head of the victim. This was called the Immolation. The priest then took a cup of wine, tasted it, and handed it to the bystanders to taste also; some of it was then poured between the horns of the victim, and a few of the saturated hairs were pulled off and put in the fire which was burning on the altar. Then, turning to the east, the priest drew with his knife a crooked line along the back of the beast from the head to the tail, and told the assistants to kill the animal. This was done directly, and the entrails of the victim taken out and carefully examined by the Haruspices to find out what was prognosticated. The carcase was then divided, and the thighs, covered with fat, were put in the fire, and the rest of the animal was cut up, cooked, and eaten. This feast was celebrated with dancing, music, and hymns, in praise of the god in whose honor the sacrifice was made. On great occasions as many as a hundred bullocks were offered at one time; and it is said that Pythagoras made this offering when he found out the demonstration of the forty-seventh proposition of the book of Euclid.

=Saga= (Saʹga). The Scandinavian goddess of history. The word means a _saw_ or saying; hence Sagas, which embody Scandinavian legends, and heroic or mythical traditions.

=Sagittarius= (Sagittaʹrius), see Chiron.

=Sails=, see Daedalus.

=Salamanders= (Salʹamanʹders). The genii who, according to Plato, lived in fire.

"The spirits of fiery termagants in flame, Mount up and take a Salamander's name." Pope.

=Salatia= (Salaʹtia), or Salacia, a Roman goddess of the salt water. See Amphitrite.

=Salii= (Salʹii). The priests of Mars who had charge of the sacred shields.

=Salmoneus= (Salmoʹneus). A king of Elis who, for trying to imitate Jupiter's thunders, was sent by the god straight to the infernal regions.

=Salus= (Saʹlus). The Roman goddess of health.

=Sappho= (Sapʹpho), a celebrated poetess, a native of Lesbos, who flourished in the seventh century B.C. Her only connection with the goddesses of the time is that the Greeks called her "The tenth Muse."

=Sarcasm=, see Momus.

=Saron= (Saʹron), a sea-god.

=Sarpedon= (Sarpeʹdon), son of Jupiter by Europa. He accompanied Glaucus, when the latter set out to assist Priam against the Greeks in the Trojan War. He was slain by Patroclus.

=Saturn= (Satʹurn), king of the Universe, was father of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto. These gods quarreled amongst themselves as to the division of their father's kingdom, which ended in Jupiter having heaven and earth, Neptune the sea, and Pluto the infernal regions.

=Saturnalia= (Saturnaʹlia). Festivals held in honor of Saturn about the 16th or 18th of December. Principally famous for the riotous disorder which generally attended them.

=Saturnius= (Saturʹnius). A name given to Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, as sons of Saturn.

=Satyavrata= (Satyaʹvraʹta). The Hindoo god of law. The same as Menu.

=Satyrs= (Satʹyrs). Spirits of the woodland, half men, half goats, and fond of wine and women. They were the attendants of Dionysus, and were similar in most respects to the fauns who attended Pan. See Silenus.

"Five satyrs of the woodland sort. . . . . . . With asses' hoofs, great goggle eyes, And double chins of monstrous size." Yalden.

=Scylla= (Scylʹla). A beautiful nymph who excited the jealousy of Neptune's wife, Amphitrite, and was changed by the goddess into a frightful sea-monster, which had six fearfully ugly heads and necks, and which, rising unexpectedly from the deep, used to take off as many as six sailors from a vessel, and carry them to the bottom of the sea. An alternative danger with the whirlpool, Charybdis, which threatened destruction to all mariners.

"There on the right her dogs foul Scylla hides, Charybdis roaring on the left presides." Virgil.

=Scylla= (Scylʹla). A daughter of Nysus, who was changed into a lark for cutting off a charmed lock of her father's hair. See Nysus.

=Sea=, see Neptune.

=Seasons=, see Vertumnus.

=Sea-Weed=, see Glaucus.

=Segetia= (Segeʹtia). A rural divinity who protected corn during harvest-time.

=Sem.= The Egyptian Hercules.

=Semele= (Semʹele), daughter of Cadmus and the mother of Bacchus (Dionysus), who was born in a miraculous manner after Jupiter had visited her, at her special request, in all his terrible splendor. She was deified after her death, and named Thyone.

=Semi-Dei= were the demi-gods.

=Semones= (Semoʹnes). Roman gods of a class between the "immortal" and the "mortal," such as the Satyrs and Fauns.

=Septerion= (Septeʹrion). A festival held every nine years at Delphi in honor of Apollo, at which the victory of that god over the Python was grandly represented.

=Serapis= (Seraʹpis). The Egyptian Jupiter, and generally considered to be the same as Osiris. See Apis.

=Serpent.= The Greeks and Romans considered the serpent as symbolical of guardian spirits, and as such were often engraved on their altars. See Aesculapius, Apollo, Chimaera, Eurydice, and Medusa.

"Pleasing was his shape, And lovely; never since of serpent kind, Lovelier; not those that in Illyria changed Hermione and Cadmus, or the god In Epidaurus, nor to which transformed Ammonian Jove, or Capitoline, was seen." Milton.

=Seshanaga= (Seshʹanagʹa). The Egyptian Pluto.

=Sewers=, see Cloacina.

=Sharp-sightedness=, see Lynceus.

=Shepherds=, see Pan.

=Shields=, see Ancilia.

=Ships=, see Neptune.

=Silence=, see Harpocrates and Tacita.

=Silenus= (Sileʹnus). A Bacchanalian demi-god, the chief of the Satyrs. He is generally represented as a fat, drunken old man, riding on an ass, and crowned with flowers.

"And there two Satyrs on the ground, Stretched at his ease, their sire Silenus found."

=Singing=, see Polyhymnia, Thamyris.

=Sirens, The= (Siʹrens). Sea nymphs, who by their music allured mariners to destruction. To avoid the snare when nearing their abode, Ulysses had the ears of his companions stopped with wax, and had himself tied to the mast of his ship. They thus sailed past in safety; but the Sirens, thinking that their charms had lost their powers, drowned themselves.

=Sisyphus= (Sisʹyphus), son of Aeolus and Enaretta. He was condemned to roll a stone to the top of a hill in the infernal regions, and as it rolled down again when he reached the summit, his punishment was perpetual.

"I turned my eye, and as I turned, surveyed A mournful vision! The Sisyphian shade. With many a weary step and many a groan, Up the high hill he leaves a huge round stone, The huge round stone, resulting with a bound Thunders impetuous down, and smokes along the ground." Pope.

"Thy stone, O Sisyphus, stands still Ixion rests upon his wheel, And the pale specters dance." F. Lewis.

=Siva= (Siʹva). In Hindoo mythology the "changer of form." He is usually spoken of as the "Destroyer and Regenerator."

=Slaughter=, see Furies.

=Slaves=, see Feronia.

=Sleep=, see Caduceus, Morpheus, and Somnus.

=Sleipner= (Sleipʹner). The eight-legged horse of Odin, the chief of the Scandinavian gods.

=Sol.= The sun. The worship of the god Sol is the oldest on record, and though he is sometimes referred to as being the same as the god Apollo, there is no doubt he was worshiped by the Egyptians, Persians, and other nations long before the Apollo of the Greeks was heard of. See Surya.

"Sol through white curtains shot a timorous ray, And oped those eyes that must eclipse the day." Pope.

=Somnus= (Somʹnus). The Roman god of sleep, son of Erebus and Nox (Night). He was one of the infernal deities, and resided in a gloomy cave, void of light and air.

=Sospita= (Sosʹpita). A name of Juno, as the safeguard of women. She is called the "saving goddess."

=Soter= (Soʹter). A Greek name of Jupiter, meaning Savior or deliverer.

=Soul=, see Psyche.

=South Wind=, see Auster.

=Spear=, see Pelias.

=Sphinx, The.= A monster having the head and breast of a woman, the body of a dog, the tail of a serpent, the wings of a bird, the paws of a lion, and a human voice. She lived in the country near Thebes, and proposed to every passer-by the following enigma: "What animal is that which walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening." Oedipus solved the riddle thus: Man is the animal; for, when an infant he crawls on his hands and feet, in the noontide of life he walks erect, and as the evening of his existence sets in, he supports himself with a stick. When the Sphinx found her riddle solved she destroyed herself.

=Spider=, see Arachne.

=Spindle=, see Pallas.

=Spinning=, see Arachne, Ergatis.

=Spring=, see Vertumnus.

=Stable=, see Augaeas.

=Stars=, see Aurora.

=Sterentius= (Sterenʹtius). The Roman god who invented the art of manuring lands. See also Picumnus.

=Steropes= (Sterʹopes). One of the Cyclopes.

=Stone=, see Medusa and Phlegyas.

=Stone= (rolling), see Sisyphus.

=Streets=, see Apollo.

=Stymphalides= (Stymʹphaliʹdes). The carnivorous birds destroyed in the sixth labor of Hercules.

=Styx.= A noted river of hell, which was held in such high esteem by the gods that they always swore "By the Styx," and such an oath was never violated. The river has to be crossed in passing to the regions of the dead. See Achilles and Thetis.

"To seal his sacred vow by Styx he swore:-- The lake with liquid pitch,--the dreary shore." Dryden.

"... Infernal rivers that disgorge Into the burning lake their baleful streams, Abhorrèd Styx, the flood of deadly hate."

=Suada= (Suaʹda), the goddess of Persuasion. See Pitho.

=Success=, see Bonus Eventus.

=Sun=, see Aurora, Belus, Sol, and Surya.

=Sunflower=, see Clytie.

=Suradevi= (Suraʹdeʹvi). The Hindoo goddess of wine.

=Surgeon= (Surʹgeon), see Podalirius.

=Surya= (Suʹryʹa). The Hindoo god corresponding to the Roman Sol, the sun.

=Swallow=, see Itys.

=Swan=, see Cygnus and Leda.

=Swiftness=, see Atalanta.

=Swine=, see Circe.

=Sylphs.= Genii who, according to Plato, lived in the air.

"The light coquettes as Sylphs aloft repair, And sport and flutter in the fields of air." Pope.

=Sylvester= (Sylvesʹter). The name of Mars when he was invoked to protect cultivated land from the ravages of war.

=Syrinx.= The name of the nymph who, to escape from the importunities of Pan, was by Diana changed into reeds, out of which he made his celebrated pipes, and named them "The Syrinx."

=Tacita= (Tacʹita). The goddess of Silence. See Harpocrates, also Horus.

=Tantalus= (Tanʹtalus). Father of Niobe and Pelops, who, as a punishment for serving up his son Pelops as meat at a feast given to the gods, was placed in a pool of water in the infernal regions; but the waters receded from him whenever he attempted to quench his burning thirst. Hence the word "tantalizing".

Speaking of this god, Homer's Ulysses says: "I saw the severe punishment of Tantalus. In a lake, whose waters approached to his lips, he stood burning with thirst, without the power to drink. Whenever he inclined his head to the stream, some deity commanded it to be dry, and the dark earth appeared at his feet. Around him lofty trees spread their fruits to view; the pear, the pomegranate, and the apple, the green olive, and the luscious fig quivered before him, which, whenever he extended his hand to seize them, were snatched by the winds into clouds and obscurity."

"There, Tantalus, along the Stygian bound, Pours out deep groans,--his groans through hell resound. E'en in the circling flood refreshment craves And pines with thirst amidst a sea of waves."

"... And of itself the water flies All taste of living wight, as once it fled The lip of Tantalus." Milton.

=Tartarus= (Tarʹtarus). An inner region of hell, to which the gods sent the exceptionally depraved.

=Telchines= (Telchiʹnes). People of Rhodes, who were envious sorcerers and magicians.

=Tellus= (Telʹlus). A name of Cybele, wife of Saturn, and the Roman deity of mother-earth.

=Tempests=, see Fro.

=Temple.= An edifice erected to the honor of a god or goddess in which the sacrifices were offered.

=Tenth Muse.= Sappho was so called.

=Tereus= (Terʹeus) was a son of Mars. He married Procne, daughter of the king of Athens, but became enamored of her sister Philomela, who, however, resented his attentions, which so enraged him that he cut out her tongue. When Procne heard of her husband's unfaithfulness she took a terrible revenge (see Itys). Procne was turned into a swallow, Philomela into a nightingale, Itys into a pheasant, and Tereus into a hoopoe, a kind of vulture, some say an owl.

=Tergemina= (Tergemiʹna). A name of Diana, alluding to her triform divinity as goddess of heaven, earth, and hell.

=Terminus= (Terʹminus). The Roman god of boundaries.

=Terpsichore= (Terpsichʹore). One of the nine Muses; she presided over dancing.

=Terra.= The Earth; one of the most ancient of the Grecian goddesses.

=Thalestris= (Thalesʹtris). A queen of the Amazons.

=Thalia= (Thaliʹa). One of the nine Muses; she presided over festivals, pastoral poetry and comedy.

=Thalia= (Thaliʹa). One of the Graces. (See Charities).

=Thamyris= (Thamʹyris). A skilful singer, who presumed to challenge the Muses to sing, upon condition that if he did not sing best they might inflict any penalty they pleased. He was, of course, defeated, and the Muses made him blind.

=Theia= (Theʹia) or =Thea=. A daughter of Uranus and Terra, wife of Hyperion.

=Themis= (Theʹmis), a daughter of Coelus and Terra, and wife of Jupiter, was the Roman goddess of laws, ceremonies, and oracles.

=Theseus= (Theʹseus). One of the most famous of the Greek heroes. He was a son of Aegeus, king of Athens. He rid Attica of Procrustes and other evil-doers, slew the Minotaur, conquered the Amazons and married their Queen.

"Breasts that with sympathizing ardor glowed, And holy friendship such as Theseus vowed." Budgell.

=Thesmorphonis= (Thesmorphoʹnis). A name of Ceres.

=Thetis= (Theʹtis). A sea-goddess, daughter of Nereus and Doris. Her husband was Peleus, king of Thessaly, and she was the mother of the famous Achilles, whom she rendered all but invulnerable by dipping him into the River Styx. See Achilles.

=Thief=, see Laverna, Mercury.

=Thor.= The Scandinavian war-god (son of Odin), who had rule over the aerial regions, and, like Jupiter, hurled thunder against his foes.

=Thor's Belt= is a girdle which doubles his strength whenever the war-god puts it on.

=Thoth.= The Mercury of the Egyptians.

=Thread of Life=, see Fates.

=Thunderbolts=, see Cyclops.

=Thunderer, The=, Jupiter. See Tonitrualis.

"O king of gods and men, whose awful hand Disperses thunder on the seas and land, Disposing all with absolute command." Virgil.

"The eternal Thunderer sat enthroned in gold." Homer.