Part 210

=Atreus= (_ā´trūs_).--Son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and brother of Thyestes. By his first wife, Cleola, he was the father of Plisthenes, and by his second--Aërope, widow of his son Plisthenes--the father of the heroes Agamemnon and Menelaus, and a daughter, Anaxibia. Atreus became king of Mycenæ. His brother, Thyestes, having seduced his wife Aërope, Atreus banished him. Thyestes then sent, from his place of exile, Atreus’s son Plisthenes to slay his own father, but the converse actually took place, Atreus unwittingly killing his son. Atreus took terrible revenge on Thyestes for this. He recalled him to Mycenæ, and in a banquet placed before him the flesh of Thyestes’ two sons, whom he had slain, and Thyestes unknowingly partook of the horrible repast. After the feast, Atreus produced the heads of Thyestes’ sons, and convinced him of what had been done. Thyestes fled with horror, and the gods cursed Atreus and his house. The country was now visited by famine, and Atreus, following the advice of the oracle, went in search of Thyestes. In the course of his wanderings he married, as his third wife, Thyestes’ daughter Pelopia, thinking she was the daughter of Thesprotus. Pelopia became, by her own father, the mother of Ægisthus, who afterwards slew his uncle, Atreus, because the latter had commanded him to kill his father, Thyestes. This tragic story forms the foundation of several Greek plays.

=Atropos= (_at´rop-os_).--One of the Fates or Parcæ (_q.v._).

=Atys= (_ā´tis_).--A beautiful shepherd of Phrygia, beloved by Cybele (_sib´el-ē_). Having proved unfaithful, the goddess caused him to become mad, and he was changed into a fir tree.

=Augeas= (_aw´je-as_), or =Augias= (_aw-jī´as_).--A king of Elis, whose stable, containing three thousand head of cattle, uncleansed for thirty years, was cleaned out in one day by Hercules (_q.v._).

=Aulis= (_aw´lis_).--A harbor in Bœotia, where the Greek fleet assembled before sailing for Troy.

=Aurora= (_aw-ror´a_).--The goddess of the dawn, called Eos (_ē´ōz_) by the Greeks; daughter of Hyperion and Thia, wife of Tithonus. She is represented as rising, at the close of every night, from the river Oceanus, in her rose-colored chariot drawn by swift horses, and opening with her rosy fingers the gates of the East. She bore Memnon to Tithonus.

=Auster= (_aws´ter_); the Greek _Notus_, the southwest wind. In the winter it brought fogs and rain; but in the summer it was a harmful dry and parching wind.

=Autolycus= (_aw-tol´ik-us_).--A very dexterous robber, who could transform himself into various shapes. He was the son of Mercury (the god of cunning and theft) and Chione (_kī´on-ē_), and the father of Anticlea, the mother of Ulysses, who was celebrated for his cunning.

=Avatar.=--The incarnation or descent of the deity Vishnu, of which nine are believed to be past, and the tenth is yet to come, when Vishnu will descend from heaven on a white-winged horse, and introduce on earth a golden age of virtue and peace.

=Avernus lacus= (_a-ver´nus lā´kus_).--Lake Avernus. A lake near Cumæ, enclosed by steep and wooded hills, whose deadly exhalations were said to kill the birds flying over it. Near it was the cave of the Sibyl, through which Æneas (see _Æneid_, Book VI.) descended to the lower world. Sometimes Avernus is used to mean the lower world itself. In the latter sense it is used in the well-known quotation, _Facilis descensus Averno_, “The descent to hell is easy.”

=Azazel.=--Ewald considers Azazel to have been a demon belonging to the pre-Mosaic religion. Another opinion identifies him with Satan, or the devil. Milton makes him Satan’s standard bearer.

=Azrael=.--Meaning in Hebrew “help of God.” In the Jewish and the Mohammedan mythology, the name of an angel who watches over the dying, and separates the soul from the body.

=B=

=Baal.=--A sun god, the center of whose worship was Phœnicia, whence it spread to neighboring countries.

=Bacchantes= (_bak-an´tez_), or =Bacchæ= (_bak´ē_).--Priestesses of Bacchus.

=Bacchus= (_bak´us_); called Dionysus (_dī-on-ī´sus_) by the Greeks. The god of wine; was the son of Jupiter and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus. Bacchus went on a traveling expedition through Syria and Asia, returning to Europe through Thrace, during which he taught men the cultivation of the vine and the elements of civilization. He married Ariadne (_q.v._). Feasts in honor of Bacchus were called Bacchanalia, and were of a very noisy and riotous character. The vine, ivy and laurel were sacred to him, as were also the tiger, lynx, panther, ass, serpent and dolphin. Rams were usually sacrificed to his honor.

=Banshee.=--The domestic spirit of certain Irish or Scottish families, supposed to wail shortly before the death of one of the family. The banshee is allowed only to families of pure stock.

=Baldur= (_bâl´dör_,) or =Balder= (_bâl´der_).--In old Norse mythology, a son of Odin, and one of the principal gods. Baldur’s characteristics are those of a sun-god. He is the “whitest” of the gods, and so beautiful and bright that a light emanates from him. He is the wisest, most eloquent and mildest of the Ases, His dwelling is Breidablik. His wife is Nanna. He is finally slain, at the instigation of Loki, by a twig of mistletoe in the hands of the blind god Hodur. Baldur is specifically a Northern god; among the other Germanic races there is no existing record of him whatsoever.

=Bellerophon= (_bel-ler´o-fon_).--Son of Glaucus and grandson of Sisyphus. He incurred the hatred of Antea, wife of Proetus, king of Argos, who sent him to his father-in-law (Iobates) with a letter requesting the latter to put the young man to death. Iobates selected what seemed to be a sure method of compassing his death, by asking him to go and kill the Chimæra (_kī-mē´ra_) (_q.v._). Bellerophon, however, obtained possession of the winged horse Pegasus (_q.v._), which enabled him to rise in the air. He then slew the monster with his arrows. Iobates then sent him against the Solymi, a warlike race in Lycia, and afterwards against the Amazons; but in these expeditions also he was successful. Finally, he attempted to fly to heaven on Pegasus; but Jupiter sent a gad-fly to sting the horse, which threw its rider on to the earth.

=Bellona= (_bel-lō´na_).--The Roman goddess of war, sister of Mars.

=Belphegor.=--A god of evil, worshiped by the Moabites. An archfiend who had been an archangel.

=Belus.=--The name of the Chaldean sun-god.

=Berg Folk.=--Pagan spirits doomed to live on the Scandinavian hills till the day of redemption.

=Bertha.=--The white lady who guards good German children, but is the terror of the bad, who fear her iron nose and big feet. Corresponds to the Italian La Befana.

=Bheem.=--One of the five brotherhoods of Indian demigods, famous for strength.

=Bifrost.=--In Norse mythology, a bridge between earth and heaven, over which none but the gods could travel. It leads to the palace of the Fates.

=Bilskirnir.=--A wonderful palace built by Thor for the use of peasants after death.

=Bona Dea= (_bon´a de´a_), or =Fauna=, or =Fatua=.--A Roman goddess, sister, wife or daughter of Faunus. She was the goddess of chastity and prophecy, and revealed her oracles to females only. During her annual festival on the first of May, in the house of the consul or prætor, no male person was allowed to be present.

=Boreas= (_bor´e-as_).--The north wind; was the son of Astræus and Aurora, and brother of the other three winds, Notus, Zephyrus and Hesperus. He was worshiped at Athens, where a festival was celebrated in his honor.

=Bosphorus=, or =Bosporus=.--The Straits of Constantinople, so called from Io, who, in the form of a heifer, swam across it (Bosphorus = Ox-ford). See “Io.”

=Brahma.=--The supreme god of the Hindus, represented with four heads and four arms. He is regarded as the creator of the universe, and forms, with Vishnu the preserver, and Síva the destroyer, the divine triad.

=Briareus= (_brī-ār´e-us_).--A hundred-armed giant, also called Ægæon (_q.v._). Pope thus expresses his admiration for Handel:--

“Strong in new arms the giant Handel stands, Like bold Briareus with a hundred hands.”

=Briseis= (_brī-sē´is_).--Daughter of Brises and beloved by Achilles. She was the occasion of a feud between Achilles and Agamemnon.

=Bucephalus= (_bū-sef´a-lus_)--_i. e._ bull-headed. The favorite charger of Alexander the Great, so named because he was branded with a bull’s head. No one but Alexander was able to mount this celebrated horse, which always knelt down to receive his master. He died in India after carrying Alexander through all his campaigns. Alexander built a city near the place where he died, and named it Bucephala in memory of him.

=Busiris= (_bū-sī´ris_).--A king of Egypt who cruelly sacrificed strangers to Jupiter. He attempted to sacrifice Hercules, but the latter slew him and all his ministers.

=Buto= (_bū´tō_).--An Egyptian goddess identified with Latona.

=C=

=Cacus= (_kā´kus_).--Son of Vulcan; a huge giant and notorious robber; lived in a cave on Mount Aventine. He stole the oxen of Hercules, which the latter had taken from Geryon, in Spain, whereupon Hercules slew him.

=Cadmus= (_kad´mus_).--Son of the Phœnician king Agenor, and brother of Europa. His father sent him to search for his sister, who had been carried off by Jupiter, and he was directed to follow a certain cow, and to build a city on the spot where the cow fell down with fatigue. In this way he became the founder of Thebes, in Bœotia. Near this place was a well guarded by a dragon, which Cadmus slew, and sowed the teeth of the monster. From these arose armed men, who killed each other, with the exception of five, who were the ancestors of the Thebans. All this he did on the direction of Minerva, and Jupiter gave him Harmonia for his wife. The marriage was celebrated in the citadel of Thebes, and all the Olympian gods were present at the ceremony. Cadmus gave Harmonia a famous robe of state (peplus) and a necklace (see “Harmonia”) which he had received from Vulcan. Their children were Autonoë, Ino, Semele, Agave, Polydorus and Illyrius. Cadmus introduced among the Greeks an alphabet of sixteen letters.

=Cæneus= (_sē´nūs_).--Originally a maiden, named Cænis, who was beloved by Neptune and changed by him into a boy, and at the same time made invulnerable. In the lower worlds she recovered her female form.

=Calchas= (_kal´kas_).--The most eminent of the Greek soothsayers at the siege of Troy. He died of grief on meeting Mopsus, who was a wiser soothsayer, and predicted things which Calchas could not.

=Calliope= (_kal-lī´op-ē_).--The Muse of epic poetry. See “Musæ.”

=Callirrhoe= (_kal-lir´ro-ē_).--Second wife of Alcmæon. She induced her husband to get the peplus and necklace of Harmonia, whereupon he was slain. See “Alcmæon.”

=Callisto= (_kal-lis´tō_).--An Arcadian nymph beloved by Jupiter, by whom she became the mother of Arcas. Jupiter changed her into a she-bear, and afterwards placed her among the stars as _Ursa major_.

=Calpe= (_kal´pē_).--One of the Pillars of Hercules; now Gibraltar.

=Calydon= (_kal´i-dōn_).--A very ancient town in Ætolia. In the mountains around it the celebrated _Calydonian Boar Hunt_ took place. The story is as follows: During the reign of Œneus, king of Calydon, Diana sent a huge boar to devastate the country, because the king had neglected her divinity. All the heroes of the age joined together for the purpose of killing this boar. Meleager, son of Œneus, slew the boar, and gave its hide to Atalanta, with whom he was in love. See “Atalanta.”

=Calypso= (_kal-ip´sō_).--A nymph who ruled in the island of Ogygia, on which Ulysses was shipwrecked on his journey home from Troy. She desired Ulysses to marry her, and detained him on the island for seven years.

=Camenæ= (_kam-ē´nē_).--Originally prophetic nymphs belonging to the religion of ancient Italy, afterwards identified with the Muses.

=Campus Martius= (_kam´pus mar´shi-us_)--_i. e._ the plain of Mars; so named because it was consecrated to the god Mars. An open plain outside the walls of Rome, where the Roman youths performed their gymnastic and warlike exercises, and where the Roman people met for the purpose of electing magistrates.

=Capitolium= (_kap-it-ō´li-um_).--The temple of Jupiter and the citadel of Rome.

=Cassandra= (_kas-san´dra_).--Daughter of Priam, king of Troy, and Hecuba. She possessed great beauty, and was beloved by Apollo, who bestowed on her the gift of prophecy. She disappointed him, however, whereupon the god ordained that no one should believe her predictions. On the fall of Troy she fell to the share of Agamemnon, who took her to Mycenæ, where she was murdered by Clytæmnestra.

=Castor= and =Pollux= (_kas´tor_, _pol´luks_).--Twin brothers, often called the Dioscuri (_di-os´ku-rī_), _i. e._ sons of Zeus (Jupiter), because they were the sons of Jupiter and Leda, the wife of Tyndareus, king of Sparta. Castor was famous for his skill in managing horses, and Pollux for his ability as a boxer. Castor was supposed to be mortal, while Pollux was immortal. They took part in the celebrated expedition of the Argonauts, and assisted the Romans against the Latins in the great battle of Lake Regillus. They were greatly attached to each other, and were placed by Jupiter among the stars as Gemini (_jem´in-ī_), _i. e._ twins, where they served as a guide to mariners. They were worshiped more especially as the protectors of sailors.

=Cauther.=--In Mohammedan mythology the lake of paradise, whose waters are as sweet as honey, as cold as snow, and as clear as crystal; and any believer who tastes thereof is said to thirst no more.

=Cecrops= (_sē´krops_).--The most ancient king of Attica, founder of Athens. He decided in favor of Athena (Minerva) when she and Neptune contended for the possession of Attica. The citadel of Athens was called Cecropia after him.

=Celeus= (_sel´e-us_).--King of Eleusis, husband of Metanira, and father of Triptolemus and Demophon. He entertained the goddess Ceres, who in return taught his son Triptolemus (_q.v._) agriculture.

=Centauri= (_sen-taw´rī_), or =Centaurs=--_i.e._ the bull-killers--were a fabulous race living in Thessaly, half men and half horses. They were defeated in a famous fight with the Lapithæ (_q.v._), and expelled from their country. Chiron (_kī´ron_) was the most celebrated of them (_q.v._).

=Cephalus= (_sef´al-us_).--Was beloved by Aurora, whose advances he rejected from love of his wife Procris. Aurora asked him to try the fidelity of Procris. Having metamorphosed him into a stranger, he appeared, laden with rich presents, before her. The presents caused her to yield, whereupon her husband discovered himself. She fled in shame to Crete, but afterwards returned, disguised as a youth, with a dog and spear (the gifts of Diana) that never missed their object. To obtain these, Cephalus promised to love the youth, who then made herself known to him as his wife Procris. In this way a reconciliation was effected. Afterwards Cephalus, while out hunting, accidentally killed her with the never-erring spear.

=Cepheus= (_sē´fūs_).--King of Ethiopia and father of Andromeda.

=Cerberus= (_ser´ber-us_).--The three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to the lower world.

=Ceres= (_sē´rēz_).--The goddess of agriculture, especially of the cultivation of corn; called Demeter (_dē-mē-tēr_) by the Greeks. She was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea, and sister of Jupiter and Pluto. She became by Jupiter the mother of Proserpine. The latter was carried off by Pluto. When Ceres found this out, she did not allow the earth to bring forth any fruits, and Jupiter was compelled to send Mercury into the lower world to fetch back Proserpine. Pluto consented, but gave Proserpine part of a pomegranate to eat. In consequence of this she was obliged to spend one-third of the year with Pluto. The earth then brought forth fruit again. This legend evidently refers to the concealment of seed-corn in the earth and its subsequent reappearance above the surface. The Romans sacrificed pigs to Ceres. The decrees of the senate were deposited in her temple.

=Ceyx= (_sē´ix_).--Son of Lucifer and husband of Alcyone.

=Charites= (_char´it-ēz_)--Gr., the =Graces=--were the goddesses who confer all grace. They were the daughters of Jupiter and were three in number, their names being Aglaia (_ag-lā´i-a_), _i. e._ the bright one; Euphrosyne (_ū-fros´i-nē_), _i. e._ the cheerful or mirthful one; and _Thalia_ (_thal-ī´a_), _i. e._ the blooming one. They were the personifications of grace and beauty, and enhanced by refinement and gentleness the enjoyments of life. They were the friends of the Muses and specially favored poetry.

=Charon= (_kär´on_).--Son of Erebus; was the ferryman of Hades who conveyed the souls of the departed across the rivers Acheron and Styx, receiving in return the obolus placed in the mouth of every corpse before burial.

=Charybdis= (_ka-rib´dis_).--A dangerous whirlpool between Italy and Sicily, opposite Scylla (_q.v._).

=Chibiabos.=--A musician, ruler in the land of spirits, and friend of Hiawatha. Personification of harmony in nature.

=Chimæra= (_ki-mē´ra_)--_i. e._ a she-goat.--A fabulous, fire-breathing monster with a lion’s head, a serpent’s tail, and a _goat’s_ body. She was killed by Bellerophon, mounted on Pegasus. The myth relates to a volcano in Lycia.

=Chione= (_ki´on-ē_).--Daughter of Dædalion. She was shot by Diana because she compared her beauty with that of the goddess.

=Chiron= (_kī´ron_).--A centaur famous for his knowledge of medicine, plants, music and divination. Son of Saturn and Philyra, the tutor of Æsculapius, Achilles and Hercules. Being accidentally wounded by one of the poisoned arrows of Hercules, he gave up his immortality and was changed into the constellation Sagittarius.

=Chloris= (_klor´is_).--The Greek goddess of flowers, identical with Flora.

=Chou.=--An Egyptian god corresponding to the Roman Hercules.

=Circe= (_sir´sē_).--Daughter of Helios (the sun) and Perse, famous for her magic arts. She lived on the Island of Ææa, on which Ulysses was cast on his voyage home from Troy. Circe met his companions, whom he had sent to explore the country, and offered them a magic cup, on tasting which they all became, with the single exception of Eurylochus, changed into swine. Ulysses, on hearing of it, obtained from Mercury the root _moly_, which fortified him against enchantment, and compelled Circe to restore his companions to their former shape. He then remained with her for a year, and she bore him a son, Telegonus.

=Clio= (_klē´o_).--The Muse of history. See “Musæ.”

=Clotho= (_klō´tho_).--The spinner of the thread of life; one of the Fates. See “Parcæ.”

=Clusium= (_klū´si-um_).--One of the oldest and most important of the twelve Etruscan cities, the residence of Porsena, in the neighborhood of which was the famous sepulchre of this king in the form of a labyrinth.

=Clytæmnestra= (_klī-tem-nes´tra_).--Daughter of Tyndarus and Leda, and sister of Helen, Castor and Pollux; wife of Agamemnon, and mother of Orestes, Electra and Iphigenia. While her husband was absent at Troy she lived with Ægisthus, and on his return the guilty pair murdered him. In revenge for this deed, her own son Orestes put her to death.

=Cnidus= (_knī´dus_), or =Gnidus=.--A city on the southwestern coast of Caria, in Asia Minor, highly celebrated for the statue of Venus, by Praxiteles, the famous sculptor, which stood in her temple there.

=Cocytus= (_ko-sī´tus_)--i.e. the river of wailing. A river in the lower world.

=Colchis= (_kol´chis_).--A country in Asia, lying on the eastern part of the Black Sea, celebrated on account of the Golden Fleece (see “Argonautæ”).

=Comus= (_kō´mus_).--The god of mirth and joy, represented as a winged youth.

=Concordia= (_kon-kor´di-a_).--The Roman goddess of concord. Camillus, in B. C. 367, erected a temple in her honor to celebrate the reconciliation between the patricians and plebians.

=Corybantes= (_kor-i-ban´tes_).--Priests of Cybele (_sib´el-ē_), or Rhea, in Phrygia, who worshiped her with riotous dances to the sound of cymbals.

=Creusa= (_kre-ū´sa_).--Daughter of Priam and Hecuba, wife of Æneas, and mother of Ascanius. She perished at the capture of Troy.

=Cronos= (_kron´os_).--The Greek divinity corresponding to the Roman Saturnus (_q.v._).

=Cumæ= (_kū´mē_).--A very ancient town on the coast of Campania, said to have been founded B. C. 1050. It was celebrated as the residence of the earliest Sibyl. Tarquinius Superbus died here.

=Cupido= (_kū-pī´dō_), or =Cupid= (_kū´pid_); called Eros (_er´ōz_) by the Greeks. The god of love, son of Venus, his father being either Jupiter, Mars or Mercury. He is represented as a boy with golden wings, armed with a bow and a golden quiver full of arrows. He is so mischievous that he shoots his arrows at gods and men alike. Sometimes his eyes are covered, so that he acts blindly. He is the usual companion of his mother.

=Cybele= (_sib´e-lē_); called Rhea (_rē´a_) by the Greeks. A goddess, originally Phrygian, regarded as goddess of the earth. She was daughter of Uranus (_ū´ran-us_) and Ge (_jē_), and the wife of Saturn, and the mother of Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, Neptune, Ceres and Vesta. As Saturn devoured all her children, Cybele, just before the birth of Jupiter, went to Crete. When Jupiter was born, she gave Saturn a stone wrapped up like an infant, which the god, supposing it to be the child, swallowed. Cybele is usually figured seated on a throne and having a crown of towers on her head. She is frequently referred to as the “tower-crowned Cybele.” The lion was sacred to her.

=Cyclopes= (_sī-klō´pēz_), or =Cyclops= (_sī´klops_)--_i. e._ beings with one _circular eye_ in the middle of their foreheads. These were a fabulous race of giants living in Sicily. They were shepherds, but devoured human beings. They were also Vulcan’s workmen, volcanoes, especially Mount Ætna in Sicily, being regarded as their workshops, in which they made the armor for gods and heroes. The chief among them was Polyphemus (_q.v._).

=Cyllene= (_sil-lē´nē_).--The highest mountain in Peloponnesus, on which Mercury was born.

=Cynthus= (_sin´thus_).--A mountain of Delos, celebrated as the birthplace of Apollo and Diana, who are hence called, respectively, Cynthius and Cynthia (_sin´thi-a_).

=Cyprus= (_sī´prus_).--A large island in the Mediterranean, renowned in ancient, no less than in modern, times for its fertility. It was one of the chief seats of the worship of Venus.

=Cythera= (_si-thē´ra_).--An island in the Ægean Sea, celebrated for the worship of Venus.

=D=

=Dædalus= (_dē´da-lus_).--A mythical personage skillful as a sculptor and architect. He made the wooden cow for Pasiphaë, and when Pasiphaë gave birth to the monster, the Minotaur, Dædalus constructed the labyrinth in which it was kept. For doing this Minos, king of Crete, imprisoned him; but he escaped, and as Minos had seized all the ships on the coast of the island, Dædalus made wings for himself and his son Icarus, and they flew away. Dædalus flew safely over the Ægean, alighting at Cumæ, in Italy; but Icarus was slower in his flight, and the rising sun melted the wax by which the wings were fastened to his body, and he fell into the sea and was drowned; hence that part of the sea was called _Icarian_.

=Danae= (_dan´a-ē_).--Daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. Her father confined her in a brazen tower, as an oracle declared that she would have a son that would kill his grandfather. Here, however, Jupiter visited her in a golden shower, and she became the mother of Perseus. Acrisius then shut up mother and child in a chest, which he threw into the sea; but Jupiter caused the chest to come ashore at the island of Seriphos, when Dictys, a fisherman, found them and took them to the king of the country. See “Perseus.”

=Danai= (_dan´a-ī_).--The Greeks. See “Danaus.”