The Student's Mythology A Compendium of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Hindoo, Chinese, Thibetian, Scandinavian, Celtic, Aztec, and Peruvian Mythologies

_Ans._ Like most of the races inhabiting the American continent, the Peruvians believed in one Supreme God, immaterial and infinite. This sublime doctrine did not, however, lead...

_Ans._ It has none of the grace and poetic beauty which characterize the fables of Greece and Rome; and it differs equally from the more mystical superstitions of the Persians a...

_Ans._ There exists much difference of opinion on this point. The word has been variously deduced from the Saxon, "dry," a magician, from the German, "druthin," a master or lord...

_Ans._ Among the most celebrated were, the oracles of Jupiter at Dodo´na; of Apollo, at Delphi; of Trophonius, near Lebe´dea in Boeotia; of Jupiter Ammon, in the deserts of Lybi...

_Ans._ He was king of Ithaca, and had been, like many other princes of Greece, a suitor of the beautiful Helen. Believing that he had no hope for success among so many competito...

_Ans._ It was quite open above, and the dramas were always acted in the light of day, beneath the bright canopy of a southern heaven. The Romans at a later period introduced awn...

_Ans._ Its incongruity. On the one hand we find their priests inculcating the most sublime truths of natural religion, and the purest maxims of morality, while on the other, the...

_Ans._ This word is derived from the Greek, _Mythos_, a myth or fable, and _logos_, a discourse. A myth is, properly speaking, an allegory or fable invented to convey some impor...

_Ans._ He was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. At the time of his father's assassination, Orestes, then a child, was saved by his sister Electra, who sent him secretly to...

_Ans._ Everything relating to this poet is involved in obscurity. The two biographies of him which were formerly attributed to Herodotus and Plutarch, are evidently fabulous; th...

_Ans._ There is, strictly speaking, no state or national religion in China, but all forms of worship are tolerated, unless they are considered politically dangerous. Among the p...

_Ans._ She was the daughter of Jupiter and Latona, and the twin-sister of Apollo. This goddess had three names. On earth she was called Diana, and was honored as the goddess of...

_Ans._ This hero was the son of Glaucus, and grandson of Sis´yphus, king of Corinth. Having accidentally killed one of his relatives, he fled, as was usual in such circumstances...

_Ans._ They teach one supreme deity, called Brahma, and like the Persians seem to have some idea of the Trinity, speaking of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, as one God. The modern Hin...

_Ans._ He was the king and father of gods and men. He is generally represented as a majestic man with a beard, sitting on a throne of gold and ivory. He brandishes the thunder i...

_Ans._ As standing upright in a chariot made of a sea-shell; for a sceptre, he holds a trident, that is, a fork with three barbed tines; he is arrayed in a blue mantle, and is g...

_Ans._ This name was given to a certain class of household deities, which were worshipped by the Romans in the penetralia, or innermost part of their dwellings. The greater Pena...

_Ans._ Because they were closely connected with the religious observances of the Greeks. They were begun and ended with solemn sacrifices, and formed a part in the celebration o...

_Ans._ He was the son of Saturn and Ops, and the brother of Jupiter and Neptune. In the division of his father's kingdom, the infernal regions were allotted to him, and he is th...

_Ans._ He was a Trojan chief, the son of Venus and Anchi´ses. He was born on Mount Ida, where he was nurtured by the Dryads until he had attained his fifth year, when he was bro...

_Ans._ Meleager was the son of Oeneus and Althea, king and queen of Calydon. After his birth, the Fates entered the chamber of Althea, and foretold that the life of the child sh...

_Ans._ She was the goddess of the morning and sister of the sun and moon. She is represented as seated in a golden chariot drawn by milk-white horses; her countenance is brillia...

_Ans._ He was the son of Jupiter and Lato´na. This god was, with his twin-sister Diana, born at Delos, an island in which Lato´na had taken refuge from the anger of Juno. This g...

_Ans._ She was the goddess of love and beauty. She sprang from the froth of the sea; for this reason the Greeks called her Aphrodi´te, from Aphros, meaning foam. As soon as she...

_Ans._ She was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, and was worshipped as the goddess of fruits and corn. It is supposed that she first invented and taught the art of tilling the ear...

_Ans._ He was a king of Mauritania, the son of the Titan Jap´etus, and the nymph Clym´ene; he was, therefore, brother of Prometheus. He is represented as sustaining the heavens...

_Ans._ In Babylon. The famous tower of Babel or Belus, was there devoted to his worship, although the highest apartment of the edifice served also as an observatory, and was the...

_Ans._ He was the son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. He played so sweetly on the lyre accompanying the music with his voice, that he tamed wild beasts, stayed the course of ri...

_Ans._ He was the son of Æson, king of Thessaly, and was celebrated on account of his expedition in search of the Golden Fleece. He is also known as the husband of the famous so...

_Ans._ The Sibyllæ, or Sibyls, were certain females, supposed to be inspired by Heaven, who flourished at different times and in different parts of the world. According to the h...

he was now equipped for his labors by the liberality of the gods. He received a sword from Mercury, a bow from Apollo, a golden breastplate from Vulcan, horses from Neptune, and...

_Ans._ He was king of Mycenæ, and commander-in-chief of the Grecian forces during the siege of Troy. The combined fleet was detained for a long time at Aulis, owing to the wrath...

_Ans._ As clothed in complete armor. She has a golden helmet on her head, holds a lance in her right hand, and her left rests upon a shield to which is affixed the head of Medus...

_Ans._ As a young man, crowned with ivy and grape leaves; he sits in a chariot, drawn sometimes by panthers and lynxes, and sometimes by tigers and lions. He carries in his hand...

_Ans._ Osiris, Apis and Serapis, are three different names of one and the same god. Osiris was the son of Jupiter and of Niobe, the daughter of Phoroneus. He conquered Egypt, wh...

_Ans._ As a young man of cheerful countenance, having wings fixed to his helmet and his sandals, and carrying a rod in his hand, which is also winged, and entwined with serpents.

_Ans._ But a small portion, if any, of the Sacred Books were written by him, but the most ancient passages, which are in verse, were probably written soon after his time, when t...

_Ans._ Yes, many; the Centaurs, who were half man and half horse; also Geryon, who was king of the three Balearic Islands, now known as Ivica, Minorca and Majorca. For this reas...

_Ans._ He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, but was cast down from heaven on account of his deformed appearance. He landed in Lemnos, but broke his leg in the fall, and remained...

_Ans._ She was the daughter of Saturn and Ops or Rhea, and was, therefore, the sister of Jupiter. She was considered the guardian of homes and firesides, and was a household div...

_Ans._ He was the son of Coelum and Terra. He was married to Ops, or Rhea, and was the father of Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto. As we have already learned, Saturn devoured the rest...

_Ans._ This statue, now lost, was forty feet in height, on a pedestal of twelve feet. It was considered the finest work of art of the great Athenian sculptor, Phidias, and there...

_Ans._ He was a woodland deity, and was honored by the Romans as the god of shepherds and the patron of fishing and fowling. The Latins sometimes called him Incubus or the "Nigh...

_Ans._ This goddess, sometimes called by the Greeks, Rhea, and by the Latins, Ops, is considered to be a personification of the earth. She is goddess, not of cities only, but of...

_Ans._ As a warrior in splendid armor, standing in a chariot driven by Bello´na, a distracted woman, who holds a torch in her hand. Mars is fierce in aspect and brandishes a spe...

_Ans._ She was also goddess of justice; according to some, she was the daughter of Jupiter and Themis. When the Titans took up arms against Jupiter, Astræ´a descended to earth,...

_Ans._ She was the daughter of Phoebe and Coeus the Titan. When she was driven from heaven by the jealousy of Juno, she found an asylum in the island of Delos, where she gave bi...

The Muses are sometimes represented as crowned with palms, and seated in the shade of an arbor, playing upon different instruments; or again, as dancing in a circle with joined...

_Ans._ As seated in a golden chariot drawn by peacocks. She holds a sceptre in her hand, and is crowned with roses and lilies. Iris was the messenger of Juno, as Mercury was of...

_Ans._ Buddhism prevails in Thibet and Tartary. The people of these countries are more thoughtful than the Chinese, and more earnest with regard to religious matters. Their prie...

_Ans._ They were twin brothers, the sons of Jupiter and Leda. Castor was mortal like his mother, and when he died, Pollux grieved so much that Jupiter permitted him to share his...

_Ans._ It is believed that Æ´olus was a skillful astronomer who dwelt in a volcanic island. By noticing the clouds of smoke, and how they rose, he was enabled to foretell storms...

_Ans._ They were brave men, who had rendered themselves famous in life by illustrious actions. After their death, their countrymen believed that they were admitted among the god...

Oracles--Oracle of Jupiter at Dodona--Manner of giving Responses--Oracle of Delphi--Account given by Diodorus-- The Pythia--Remarkable Responses--Unsuccessful attempts made to p...

Celtic Mythology--Druidism--Derivation of the Word Druid-- Origin of Druidical Worship--Account given by Cæsar-- Characteristics--Divinities worshipped by the Druids--Esus-- His...

Mythology of the Ancient Peruvians--Belief in One God--Worship of the Sun, Moon, and Stars--Legend of Manco-Capac--Pretended Origin of the Inca Race--Legend of the Deluge--Tradi...

Eastern Mythology--Divinities of the Assyrians--Baal or Bel-- Tower of Babel--Proper Names of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians--Worship of Baal introduced among the Israelites...

Classic Games--Why connected with Mythology--Olympic Games--By Whom instituted--Time and Manner of their celebration-- Olympiads--Nature of the Contests--Qualifications required...

Æneas--His Parentage--His Flight from Troy--Interview with Andromache at Epirus--Prophecy of Helenus--Æneas driven by a Storm on the Coast of Africa--Received by Dido at Carthag...

The Greek Drama--Peculiarities of the Greek Theatre--Description of the Theatre of Bacchus at Athens--Stage Machinery--Dress of the Actors--Masks--The Chorus--Measures of the Ch...

Mexico--Mythology of the Aztecs--Its Peculiar Characteristics-- Belief of the Aztecs with regard to the Supreme Being-- Subordinate Deities--Huitzilopotchli--Legend of Quetzalco...

Mythology of Scandinavia--Compared with that of Greece and Rome--The Eddas--Account of the Creation--Form of the Earth --Asgard, Odin--Names of this Deity--Valhalla--Thor--Recov...

Venus--Aphrodite--Birth and Education of Venus--Marriage with Vulcan--How represented--Temples of Venus--The Graces--Cupid --Festivals of the Goddess--Birds and Plants Sacred to...

China--Absence of any State Religion in China--Doctrine of the Lettered--Confucius--His Writings--Honors paid him in China-- Difficulties occasioned among Christian Missionaries...

Apollo--His Parentage and Exploits--How represented--Story of Æsculapius--Banishment of Apollo from Heaven--Transformation of Hyacinthus and Cyparissus--Story of Admetus and Alc...

Bacchus (Dionysus)--Parentage of the God--How represented--Story of Semele--Infancy of Bacchus--Transformation of Nymphs into Stars--Silenus--How represented--Exploits of Bacchu...

Heroes Celebrated by the Poets--Agamemnon--Sacrifice of Iphigenia--Quarrel with Achilles--Murder of Agamemnon by Ægisthus and Clytemnestra--Achilles--His Parentage-- Discovered...

Ulysses--His Marriage with Penelope--Feigned Insanity--Exploits during the Siege of Troy--Lotus Eaters--Slaying of the Sacred Cattle by the Sailors--Their destruction--Ulysses i...

Orestes--Education at the Court of Strophius--Pylades--Murder of Clytemnestra--Orestes pursued by the Furies--Discovery of Iphigenia at Tauris--Circumstances added by the Tragic...

Goddesses of the Woods--Diana--Parentage and Attributes of this Goddess--How represented--Habits of Diana--Her Attendants-- Punishment of Chione--Story of Niobe--Temple of Diana...

Egyptian Divinities--Osiris--Apis and Serapis--Parentage of Osiris--His Death and Sepulture--Isis--Attributes--Emblematic representation--Rites of Isis forbidden at Rome--Condem...