Gods and Heroes

Zeus (Jupiter), the mighty divinity, overcame the Titans[1] and became the master of the heavens and the earth. But notwithstanding his hard struggle, he would not have been vic...

Clymene bore a son, named Phaëthon, who grew up a handsome and stately youth. His father was Phoebus (Apollo), the Sun-god. Once, when he boasted of his heavenly descent, his co...

The human race, which had been steadfast under misfortune, could not bear good fortune. It became sensual, effeminate, and haughty. Zeus heard of this human degeneracy, assumed...

Dædalus of Athens was a son of Metion, grandson of Erectheus. He was the most skilful man of his time--an architect, sculptor, and stone worker. His works were admired in variou...

She would have been esteemed the most blessed of mothers if she could have borne her happiness with moderation. Her husband Amphion was well-nigh equal to the divine singer Orph...

Acrisius was king in Argos. It was once foretold that he would be killed by the son of his daughter, Danaë. Thereupon he shut up his daughter and her son, Perseus by name, in a...

Upon a hill in the land of Phrygia stands a thousand year old oak, and close by it a linden of the same age, both surrounded by a low wall. Many a wreath has been hung upon the...

Dionysus (Bacchus) was the son of Zeus and Semele, daughter of Cadmus of Thebes. By the orders of Zeus the child was intrusted to Hermes, to be taken to Nysa, a majestic island...

The youngest of the sons of the Laconian king, Amyclas, was Hyacinthus. Phoebus Apollo beheld the beautiful boy, who soon became his favorite. He sought at first to elevate him...

Agenor, hearing of the extraordinary abduction of Europa,[19] called his son Cadmus to him and ordered him to bring back the maiden or never again enter his house. Cadmus wander...

Actæon was the son of the hunt-loving deity, Aristæus, and Autonoë, daughter of Cadmus. When he had passed the childhood age he was taken to the woody mountain of Pelion by the...

In Hypaipa, a little city of Lydia, dwelt a maiden of lowly birth named Arachne. Idmon, her father, was a dyer at Colophon and her mother, who died early, was born of poor paren...

Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia, daughter of Atlas the Titan, eldest brother of Prometheus. His divine descent was revealed on the very first day by his extraordinary shrewd...

Bellerophon, grandson of Sisyphus, received from the gods both beauty and manliness, but the heavenly gifts wrought his ruin. Hardly had Queen Antia looked upon him before she f...

Schoeneus married in Arcadia and entreated the gods to send him a son. When his spouse bore him a daughter, he became so enraged that he took the child from her mother, carried...

Orpheus was the hero-singer of the Thracians, who in the ancient times dwelt at the foot of the mountains Olympus, Parnassus, and Helicon. He was the son of Apollo[9] and the mu...

Salmoneus was a brother of Tantalus, whom Zeus punished so severely for his audacity. A similar fate overtook him also, for he had a spite against the gods and strove to be equa...

Tantalus, a rich and powerful king, was deemed worthy by Zeus to visit the gold-gleaming mansions of the gods on high Olympus and to partake of nectar and ambrosia at their tabl...