Chapter II: Part 2

FERO′NIA, the Roman goddess of orchards, was patroness of enfranchised slaves. Some authors think Feronia is the same as Juno.

FERTILITY, see Lupercus.

FESTIVALS, see Thalia.

FIDELITY, see Iolaus.

FI′DES, the goddess of faith and honesty, had a temple in the Capitol of Rome.

FINE ARTS, see Minerva.

FIRE, see Salamander, Vesta, and Vulcan.

FIRE INSURANCE, see Canopus.

FISHERMAN, see Glaucus.

FLATH′-IN′NIS, in Celtic mythology, is Paradise.

FLEECE, GOLDEN, see Golden Fleece, Argonauts, and Jason.

FLIES, see Muscarius.

FLOCKS, see Pales.

FLO′RA, goddess of flowers and gardens, was wife of Zephyrus. She enjoyed perpetual youth. Her Grecian name was Chloris.

FLORA′LIA were licentious games instituted in honour of the goddess Flora.

FLOWERS, see Flora, Chloris, Hortensis, and Zephyrus.

FLUTE, see Marsyas.

FORTU′NA, the goddess of fortune, had a temple erected to her by Servius Tullius. She was supposed to be able to bestow riches or poverty on mankind, and was esteemed one of the most potent of the ancient goddesses. She is usually represented as standing on a wheel, with a bandage over her eyes, and holding a cornucopia.

FRAUD, one of the evil deities, was represented as a goddess with a human face and a serpent’s body, and in the end of her tail was a scorpion’s sting. She lived in the river Cocytus, and nothing but her head was ever seen.

FREY′R. The Scandinavian god of fertility and peace. The patron god of Sweden and Iceland.

FREY′JA. The Scandinavian Venus. The goddess of love.

FRI′GA. The Saxon goddess of earthly enjoyments. The name Friday is derived from her. In Scandinavian mythology she is the goddess of marriage.

FRO. The Scandinavian god of tempests and winds.

FROGS, see Clowns of Lycia.

FRUITS, see Ceres and Pomona.

FUNERALS, see Libitina and Manes.

FURIES, THE, were the three daughters of Acheron and Nox. They were the punishers of evildoers. Their names were Tisiphone, Megæra, and Alecto, and were supposed to personify rage, slaughter, and envy.

FUTURITY, see Cassandra.

GA′BRIEL, in Jewish mythology is the prince of fire and thunder, and the angel of death to the favoured people of God.

GALATÆ′A. A sea nymph. Polyphemus, one of the Cyclops, loved her, but she disdained his attentions and became the lover of Acis, a Sicilian shepherd.

GALLAN′TES, madmen, from Galli (which see).

GAL′LI were priests of Cybele who used to cut their arms with knives when they sacrificed, and acted so like madmen that demented people got the name of Gallantes.

GAN′ESA. The Indian Mercury. The god of wisdom and prudence.

GANGA. One of the three Indian river goddesses.

GANYMEDE, a beautiful Phrygian youth, son of Tros, King of Troy. He succeeded Hebe in the office of cup-bearer to Jupiter. He is generally represented sitting on the back of a flying eagle.

GARDENS, see Pomona.

GATES, see Janus.

GAUTA′MA. The chief deity of Burmah.

GENII were domestic divinities. Every man was supposed to have two of these genii accompanying him; one brought him happiness, the other misery.

GEN′ITOR. A Lycian name of Jupiter.

GEOMETRY, see Mercury.

GE′RYON was a triple-bodied monster who lived at Gades, where his numerous flocks were guarded by Orthos, a two-headed dog, and by Eurythion, a seven-headed dragon. These guardians were destroyed by Hercules, and the cattle taken away.

GIMLET, see Dædalus.

GIRDLE, see Cestus.

GLAU′CUS was a fisherman who became a sea-god through eating a sea-weed, which he thought invigorated the fishes and might strengthen him.

GLAUKO′PIS. A name given to Minerva, because she had blue eyes.

GNO′MES, a name given by Plato to the invisible deities who were supposed to inhabit the earth.

GNOS′SIS, a name given to Ariadne, from the city of Gnossus in Crete.

GOAT, see Iphigenia, Mendes, and Venus.

GOAT’S FEET, see Capripedes.

GOLDEN APPLE, see Atalanta.

GOLDEN FLEECE, THE, was a ram’s hide, sometimes described as white, and at other times as purple and golden. It was given to Phryxus, who carried it to Colchis, where King Æta entertained Phryxus, and the hide was hung up in the grove of Mars. Jason and forty-nine companions fetched back the golden fleece. See Argonauts.

GOPY′A. Indian mythological nymphs.

GOR′GONS, THE, were three sisters, named Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. They petrified every one they looked at. Instead of hair their heads were covered with vipers. Perseus conquered them, and cut off the head of Medusa, which was placed on the shield of Minerva, and all who fixed their eyes thereon were turned into stone.

GRACES, THE, were the attendants of Venus. Their names were, Aglaia, so called from her beauty and goodness; Thalia, from her perpetual freshness; and Euphrosyne, from her cheerfulness. They are generally depicted as three cheerful maidens with hands joined, and either nude or only wearing transparent robes,--the idea being that kindnesses, as personified by the Graces, should be done with sincerity and candour, and without disguise. They were supposed to teach the duties of gratitude and friendship, and they promoted love and harmony among mankind.

GRACES (fourth), see Pasithea.

GRAD′IVUS. A name given to Mars by the Romans. It meant the warrior who defended the city against all external enemies.

GRA′GUS. The name by which Jupiter was worshipped in Lycia.

GRANARIES, see Tutelina.

GRAP′SIOS. A Lycian name of Jupiter.

GRASSHOPPER, see Tithonus.

GRIEF, see Niobe.

HA′DA. The Babylonian Juno.

HA′DES. The Greek name of Pluto, the god of hell, the word signifying hidden, dark, and gloomy; the infernal regions; sometimes written, _Ades_.

HAILSTORMS, see Nuriel.

HALCY′ONE, one of the Pleiades, was a daughter of Atlas and Pelione.

HALCY′ONS were sea-birds, supposed to be the Greek king-fishers. They made their nests on the waves, and during the period of incubation the sea was always calm. Hence the modern term Halcyon Days.

HAMADRY′ADES were wood-nymphs, who presided over trees.

HAPPINESS, see Genii.

HAROE′RIS. The Egyptian god, whose eyes are the sun and moon.

HAR′PIES were animals with the heads and breasts of women, the bodies of birds, and the claws of lions. Their names were Aello, Ocypete, and Celeno. They were loathsome creatures, living in filth, and poisoning everything they came in contact with.

“Such fiends to scourge mankind, so fierce, so fell,
Heaven never summoned from the depth of hell.
A virgin face, with wings and hookëd claws,
Death in their eyes, and famine in their jaws,
While proof to steel their hides and plumes remain
We strike the impenetrable fiends in vain.”

HARPI′KRUTI. The Egyptian name of the god Harpocrates.

HARPOC′RATES, son of Isis, was the god of silence and meditation. He is usually represented as a young man, holding a finger of one hand to his lips, while in the other hand he holds a cornucopia.

HARVEST, see Segesta.

HAWK, see Nysus.

HA′ZIS. The Syrian war-god.

HEALTH, see Hygeia and Salus.

HEA′VEN, QUEEN OF, see Belisama. God of, see Cœlus.

HE′BE was the goddess of youth. She was cup-bearer to Jupiter and the gods, until she had an awkward fall at a festival, and so displeased Jupiter that she was deprived of her office, and Ganymede was appointed in her stead.

“Wreathed smiles,
Such as hung on Hebe’s cheek,
And love to live in dimples sleek.”

MILTON.

“Bright Hebe waits; by Hebe ever young
The whirling wheels are to the chariot hung.”

POPE.

HEC′ATE. There were two goddesses known by this name, but the one generally referred to in modern literature is Hecate, or Prosperine, the name by which Diana was known in the infernal regions. In heaven her name was Luna, and her terrestrial name was Diana.

HEC′UBA. The mother of Paris, was allotted to Ulysses after the destruction of Troy, and was afterwards changed into a hound.

“What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba?”

SHAKESPEARE.

HEIFER, see Ino.

HEL′ENA when a child was so beautiful that Theseus and Perithous stole her, but she was restored by Castor and Pollux. She became the wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta, but eloped with Paris, and thus caused the Trojan War. After the death of Paris she married Deiphobus, his brother, and then betrayed him to Menelaus. She was strangled by order of Polyxo, king of Rhodes.

HE′LIADES were the daughters of Sol, and the sisters of Phaeton, at whose death they were so sad that they stood mourning till they became metamorphosed into poplar trees, and their tears were turned into amber.

HEL′ICON. A mountain in Bœotia sacred to the Muses, from which place the fountain Hippocrene flowed.

“Yet still the doating rhymer dreams,
And sings of Helicon’s bright streams;
But Helicon for all his clatter
Yields only uninspiring water.”

BROOM, 1720.

HELICO′NIDES. A name of the Muses, from Mount Helicon.

HELIOP′OLIS, in Elysium, was the city of the sun.

HE′LIOS. The Grecian sun-god, who went home every evening in a golden boat which had wings.

HEL′IOTROPE. Clytie was turned into this flower by Apollo. See Clytie.

HEL′LE was drowned in the sea, into which she fell from off the back of the golden ram, on which she and Phryxus were escaping from the oppression of their stepmother Ino. The episode gave the name of the Hellespont to the part of the sea where Helle was drowned, and it is now called the Dardanelles.

HELLESPONTIA′CUS. A title of Priapus.

HEMPH′TA. The Egyptian god Jupiter.

HEPHÆS′TOS. The Greek Vulcan.

HE′RA. The Greek name of Juno.

HER′ACLES, is the same as Hercules.

HER′CULES was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena. The goddess Juno hated him from his birth, and sent two serpents to kill him, but though only eight months old he strangled the snakes. As he got older he was set by his master Eurystheus what were thought to be twelve impossible tasks, which have long been known as the “Twelve Labours of Hercules.” They were:--

_First_, To slay the Nemean Lion.

_Second_, To destroy the Hydra which infested the marshes of Lerna.

_Third_, To bring to Eurystheus the Arcadian Stag with the golden horns and brazen hoofs.

_Fourth_, To bring to his master the Boar of Erymanthus.

_Fifth_, To cleanse the stable of King Augeas, in which 3000 oxen had been kept for thirty years, but had never been cleaned out.

_Sixth_, To destroy the Stymphalides, terrible carnivorous birds.

_Seventh_, To capture the Bull which was desolating Crete.

_Eighth_, To capture the mares of Diomedes, which breathed fire from their nostrils, and ate human flesh.

_Ninth_, To procure the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons.

_Tenth_, To bring to Eurystheus the flesh-eating oxen of Geryon, the monster king of Gades.

_Eleventh_, To bring away some of the golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides.

_Twelfth_, To bring up from Hades the three-headed dog, Cerberus.

All these tasks he successfully accomplished, and, besides, he assisted the gods in their wars with the giants. Several other wonderful feats are mentioned under other headings, as Antæus, Cacus, etc. His death was brought about through his endeavours to preserve Deianira from the attacks of Nessus, the centaur, whom he killed. The centaur, before he expired, gave his mystic tunic to Deianira, who in turn gave it to Hercules, and he put it on, but his doing so brought on an illness of which he could not be cured. In a fit of desperation he cast himself into a funeral pile on Mount Æta; but Jupiter had him taken to heaven in a four-horse chariot, and only the mortal part of Hercules was consumed.

“Let Hercules himself do what he may,
The cat will mew, and dog will have his day.”

SHAKESPEARE.

HERDSMEN, see Bubona.

HER′MÆ were statues of Hermes (Mercury), which were set up in Athens for boundaries, and as direction marks for travellers.

HER′MANU′BIS, see Anubis.

HERMATHE′NAE were statues of Mercury and Minerva placed together.

HER′MES. A Greek name of the god Mercury.

“Hermes obeys. With golden pinions binds
His flying feet, and mounts the western winds.”

VIRGIL.

HERMI′ONE, daughter of Mars and Venus, who was turned into a serpent, and allowed to live in the Elysian fields. There was another Hermione, daughter of Menelaus; she was betrothed to Orestes, but was carried away by Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles.

HE′RO. A priestess of Venus, with whom Leander was so enamoured that he swam across the Hellespont every night to visit her, but at last was drowned; when Hero threw herself into the sea and was drowned also.

HEROES, see Valhalla.

HESPER′IDES. Three daughters of Hesperus, King of Italy. They kept in their garden the golden apples which Juno gave Jupiter on their wedding day. See Hercules.

HES′PERUS, brother of Atlas, was changed into the evening star.

“To the ocean now I fly,
And those happy climes that lie
Where day never shuts his eye,
Upon the broad fields of the sky;
There I suck the liquid air,
All amidst the gardens fair
Of Hesperus and his daughters three,
That sing about the golden tree.”

MILTON.

HES′TIA. The Greek name of Vesta.

HIEROGLY′PHICS, see Mercury.

HIGHWAYS, see Janus.

HIL′DUR. The Scandinavian Mars.

HIP′PIA. A name of Minerva.

HIP′PIUS. A name of Neptune.

HIPPOCAM′PUS. The name of Neptune’s favourite horse.

HIPPOCRE′NIDES, a name of the Muses, from the fountain of Hippocrene (the horse fountain), which was formed by a kick of the winged horse Pegasus.

HIPPOLY′TE, queen of the Amazons, daughter of Mars. Her father gave her a famous girdle, which Hercules was required to procure (see Hercules). She was conquered by Hercules, and given by him in marriage to Theseus.

HIPPOLY′TUS was son of Theseus and Hippolyte; he was killed by a fall from a chariot, but was raised to life again by Diana, or, as some say, by Æsculapius.

HIPPO′NA was a rural divinity, the goddess of horses.

HISTORY, see Clio and Saga.

HONEY, see Aristæus and Dryads.

HOPE, see Pandora.

HO′RÆ were the daughters of Sol and Chronis.

HORSE, see Cyllaros.

HORSE RACES, see Neptune.

HORSES, see Hippona.

HORTEN′SIS, a name of Venus, because she looked after plants and flowers in gardens.

HO′RUS. A name of Sol, the Egyptian day god.

HOSTIL′INA. A rural divinity; goddess of growing corn.

HUNGER, see Erisichthon.

HUNTING, see Diana.

HUNTSMEN, see Pan.

HYACIN′THUS was a boy greatly loved by Apollo; but he was accidentally slain by him with a quoit. Apollo caused to spring from his blood the flower Hyacinth.

HY′ADES were seven daughters of Atlas and Æthra, and they form a constellation which, when it rises with the sun, threatens rain.

HY′DRA. A famous monster serpent, which had many heads. It was slain by Hercules. See Hercules.

HYGE′IA, the goddess of health, was a daughter of Æsculapius and Epione. She was represented as a young woman feeding a serpent, which is twined round her arm.

HY′LAS. A beautiful boy beloved by Hercules. The nymphs were jealous of him, and spirited him away while he was drawing water for Hercules.

HY′MEN, the Grecian god of marriage, was either the son of Bacchus and Venus, or, as some say, of Apollo and one of the Muses. He was represented as a handsome youth, holding in his hand a burning torch.

“Some few there are of sordid mould
Who barter youth and bloom for gold:
But Hymen, gen’rous, just, and kind,
Abhors the mercenary mind;
Such rebels groan beneath his rod,
For Hymen’s a vindictive god.”

Dr. COTTON, 1736.

HYMN, see Pæan.

HYPE′RION. Son of Cœlus and Terra. The model of manly beauty, synonymous with Apollo. The personification of the sun.

“So excellent a king; that was to this
Hyperion to a satyr.”

SHAKESPEARE.

HYPERMNES′TRA. One of the fifty daughters of Danaus, who were collectively called the Danaides. She was the one who refused to kill her husband on the wedding night. See Danaus.

IAC′CHUS. A name of Bacchus.

IAP′ETOS. The father of Atlas. See Japetus.

IB′LEES. The Arabian Satan.

IC′ARUS, son of Dædalus, who with his father made themselves wings with which to fly from Crete. They were fixed to the shoulders by wax. Icarus flew too near the sun, and the heat melting the wax, caused the wings to drop off, and he fell into the sea and was drowned.

ICHNOBA′TE. One of Actæon’s hounds; it means tracker.

IDÆ′A. A name of Cybele, from Mount Ida, where she was worshipped.

IDÆ′AN MOTHER. Cybele was sometimes so called.

IDA′LIA. A name of Venus, from Mount Idalus.

IMPERA′TOR was a name of Jupiter, given to him at Præneste.

I′NACHUS was one of the earliest of the demigods or heroes.

INCENDIARY, see Erostratus.

INCENSE, see Venus.

IN′CUBUS. A Roman name of Pan, meaning The Nightmare. See Innus.

INDIG′ETES were deified mortals, gods of the fourth order. They were peculiar to some district.

IN′DRA. The Hindoo Jupiter; his wife was Indrant, who presides over the winds and thunder.

INFANTS, see Natio.

IN′NUS. A name of Pan, the same as Incubus.

I′NO, second wife of Athamas, King of Thebes, father of Phryxus and Helle. Ino had two children, who could not ascend the throne while Phryxus and Helle were alive. Ino therefore persecuted them to such a degree that they determined to escape. They did so on a ram, whose hide became the Golden Fleece (see Phryxus and Helle). Ino destroyed herself, and was changed by Neptune into a sea-goddess.

INO′A were festivals in memory of Ino.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC, see Euterpe.

I′O was a daughter of Inachus, and a priestess of Juno at Argus. Jupiter courted her, and was detected by Juno, when the god turned Io into a beautiful heifer. Juno demanded the beast of Jupiter, and set the hundred-eyed Argus to watch her. Jupiter persuaded Mercury to destroy Argus, and Io was set at liberty, and restored to human shape. Juno continued her persecutions, and Io had to wander from place to place till she came to Egypt, where she became wife of King Osiris, and won such good opinions from the Egyptians that after her death she was worshipped as the goddess Isis.

IOLA′US, son of Iphicles, assisted Hercules in conquering the Hydra, by burning with hot irons the place where the heads were cut off; and for his assistance he was restored to youth by Hebe. Lovers used to go to his monument at Phosis and ratify their vows of fidelity.

IO′THUN. Celtic mythological monsters, or giants.

IPH′ICLUS was twin brother of Hercules, and father of Iolaus.

IPHIGENI′A was a daughter of Agamemnon. He made a vow to Diana, which involved the sacrifice of Iphigenia, but just at the critical moment she was carried to heaven, and a beautiful goat was found on the altar in her place.

I′RIS, daughter of Thaumas and Electra, was the attendant of Juno, and one of the messengers of the gods. Her duty was to cut the thread which detained expiring souls. She is the personification of the rainbow.

IRON, see Vulcan.

I′SIS, wife of Osiris, see Io.

I′TYS was killed by his mother Progne when six years old, and given to his father Tereus as food. The gods were so enraged at this that they turned Itys into a pheasant, Progne into a swallow, and Tereus into an owl.

IXI′ON was son of Phlegyas, King of the Lapithæ. For attempting to produce thunder, Jupiter cast him into hell, and had him bound to a wheel, surrounded with serpents, which is for ever turning over a river of fire.

“The powers of vengeance, while they hear,
Touched with compassion, drop a tear;
Ixion’s rapid wheel is bound,
Fixed in attention to the sound.”

F. LEWIS.

“Or, as Ixion fix’d, the wretch shall feel
The giddy motion of the whirling wheel.”

POPE.

J′ANI was a place in Rome where there were three statues of Janus, and it was a meeting-place for usurers and creditors.

JA′NITOR. A title of Janus, from the gates before the doors of private houses being called Januæ.

JA′NUS. A king of Italy, said to have been the son of Cœlus, others say of Apollo; he sheltered Saturn when he was driven from heaven by Jupiter. Janus presided over highways, gates, and locks, and is usually represented with two faces. A brazen temple was erected to him in Rome, which was always open in time of war, and closed during peace.

“Old Janus, if you please,
Grave two-faced father.”

“In two-faced Janus we this moral find,--
While we look forward, we should glance behind.”

COLMAN.

JAP′ETUS, son of Cœlus and Terra, husband of Clymene. He was looked upon by the Greeks as the father of mankind. See Iapetos.

JA′SON was son of Æson, king of Iolcos; he was brought up by the centaur Chiron. His uncle Æta sent him to fetch the Golden Fleece from Colchis (see Argonauts). He went in the ship Argo with forty-nine companions, the flower of Greek youth. With the help of Juno they got safe to Colchis, but the King Ætes promised to restore the Golden Fleece only on condition that the Argonauts performed certain services. Jason was to tame the wild fiery bulls, and to make them plough the field of Mars; to sow in the ground the teeth of a serpent, from which would spring armed men who would fight against him who ploughed the field of Mars; to kill the fiery dragon which guarded the tree on which the Golden Fleece was hung. The fate of Jason and the rest of the Argonauts seemed certain; but Medea, the king’s daughter, fell in love with Jason, and with the help of charms which she gave him he overcame all the difficulties which the king had put in his way. He took away the Golden Fleece and Medea also. The king sent his son Absyrtus to overtake the fugitives, but Medea killed him, and strewed his limbs in his father’s path, so that he might be delayed in collecting them, and this enabled Jason and Medea to escape. After a time Jason got tired of Medea, and married Glauce, which cruelty Medea revenged by killing her children before their father’s eyes. Jason was accidentally killed by a beam of the ship Argo falling on him.

JOCAS′TA (otherwise Epicasta), wife of Laius, King of Thebes, who in after life married her own son, Œdipus, not knowing who he was, and, on discovering the fatal mistake, hanged herself.

JOVE. A very general name of Jupiter.

“From the great father of the gods above
My muse begins, for all is full of Jove.”

VIRGIL.

JUDGES IN HELL, THE, were Rhadamanthus for Asiatics; Æacus for Europeans; Minos was the presiding judge. See Triptolemus.

JUGATIN′US was one of the nuptial deities.

JU′NO was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, _alias_ Cybele. She was married to Jupiter, and became queen of all the gods and goddesses, and mistress of heaven and earth. Juno was the mother of Mars, Vulcan, Hebe, and Lucina. She prompted the gods to conspire against Jupiter, but the attempt was frustrated, and Apollo and Neptune were banished from heaven by Jupiter. Juno is the goddess of marriage, and the protectress of married women; and she had special regard for virtuous women. In the competition for the celebrated Golden Apple, which Juno, Venus, and Minerva each claimed as the fairest amongst the goddesses, Juno was much displeased when Paris gave the apple to Venus. The goddess is generally represented riding in a chariot drawn by peacocks, with a diadem on her head, and a sceptre in her hand.

JU′PITER, son of Saturn and Cybele (or Ops), was born on Mount Ida, in Crete, and nourished by the goat Amalthæa. When quite young Jupiter rescued his father from the Titans; and afterwards, with the help of Hercules, defeated the giants, the sons of earth, when they made war against heaven. Jupiter was worshipped with great solemnity under various names by most of the heathen nations. The Africans called him Ammon; the Babylonians, Belus; and the Egyptians, Osiris (see Jove). He was represented as a majestic personage seated on a throne, holding in his hands a sceptre and a thunderbolt; at his feet stood a spread eagle.

“By Jupiter, this shall not be revoked.”

SHAKESPEARE.

JUSTICE, see Astrea, Nemesis.

KALI. A Hindoo goddess, after whom Calcutta is named.

KA′LOC. One of the chief of the Mexican gods.

KAM′A. The Hindoo god of love.

KEB′LA. The point of the compass which worshippers look to during their invocations. Thus the Sol or Sun worshippers turn to the east, where the sun rises, and the Mohammedans turn towards Mecca.

KE′DERLI, in Mohammedan mythology, is a god corresponding to the English St. George, and is still invoked by the Turks when they go to war.

KI′UN. The Egyptian Venus.

KNEPH. An Egyptian god, having a ram’s head and a man’s body.

KRISH′NA. An Indian god, the revenger of wrongs; also called the Indian Apollo.

KRO′DO. The Saxon Saturn.

KU′MA′RA. The war-god of the Hindoos.

KU′VERA. The Hindoo god of riches.

LA′BE. The Arabian Circe, who had unlimited power of metamorphosis.

LA′BOUR, see Atlas, Hercules.

LABYRINTH, see Theseus.

LACH′ESIS. One of the three Fates or Parcæ. She spun the thread of life.

LACIN′IA. A name of Juno.

LACTURA. One of the goddesses of growing corn.

LA′DON. The dragon which guarded the apples in the garden of the Hesperides. Also the name of one of Actæon’s hounds. Also the river to which Syrinx fled when pursued by Pan, where she was changed into a reed, and where Pan made his first pipe.

LÆ′LAPS. One of Diana’s hunting dogs, which, while pursuing a wild boar, was petrified. Also the name of one of Actæon’s hounds.

LAKS′MI. Hindoo goddess of wealth and pleasure. One of the husbands of Vishnu.

LAMENTATION, see Cocytus.

LAM′IA. An evil deity amongst the Greeks and Romans, and the great dread of their children, whom she had the credit of constantly enticing away and destroying.

LAMP, see Lares and Penates.

LAM′POS. One of Aurora’s chariot horses, the other being Phæton.

LAOC′OON. One of the priests of Apollo, who was, with his two sons, crushed to death by serpents, because he opposed the admission of the wooden horse to Troy.

LAOM′EDON, son of Ilus, a Trojan king. He was famous for having, with the assistance of Apollo and Neptune, built the walls of Troy.

LAP′IS. The oath stone. The Romans used to swear by Jupiter Lapis.

LAP′ITHUS, son of Apollo. His numerous children were called Lapithæ, and they are notorious for their fight with the centaurs at the nuptial feast of Perithous and Hippodamia.

LA′RES and PEN′ATES were sons of Mercury and Lara, or, as other mythologists say, of Jupiter and Lamida. They belonged to the lower order of Roman gods, and presided over homes and families. Their statues were generally fixed within the doors of houses, or near the hearths. Lamps were sacred to them, as symbols of vigilance, and the dog was their sacrifice.

LARK, see Scylla and Nysus.

LATO′NA, daughter of Cœus and Phœbus, mother of Apollo and Diana. Being admired so much by Jupiter, Juno was jealous, and Latona was the object of the goddess’s constant persecution.

LAUGHTER, see Momus and Venus.

LAU′REL, see Daphne.

LAVER′NA. The goddess of thieves.

LAW, see Menu.

LAWGIVER, see Nomius.

LAWS, see Themis.

LEAN′DER, see Hero.

LEATHER BOTTLE, see Ascolia.

LE′DA was the mother of Castor and Pollux, their father being Jupiter, in the shape of a swan. After her death she received the name of Nemesis.

LEM′NIUS. One of the names of Vulcan.

LEM′URES. The spectres of departed souls. Milton, in his “Ode to the Nativity,” says--

“Lemures moan with midnight plaint.”

They are sometimes referred to as the Manes of the dead.

LENÆ′US. One of the names of Bacchus.

LER′NA. The lake near Argos where Hercules conquered the Hydra.

LE′THE. One of the rivers of the infernal regions, of which the souls of the departed are obliged to drink to produce oblivion or forgetfulness of everything they did or knew while alive on the earth.

“A slow and silent stream,
Lethe, the river of oblivion, rolls
Her watery labyrinth, whereof who drinks
Forthwith his former state and being forgets,
Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain.”

MILTON.

LEUCOTH′EA. The name of Ino after she was transformed into a sea-nymph.

LEVA′NA. The deity who presided over new-born infants.

LEVEL, THE, see Dædalus.

LIAK′URA. Mount Parnassus.

LIBERAL ARTS, see Minerva.

LIB′ER PAT′ER. A name of Bacchus.

LIBERTY, see Bacchus.

LIB′ISSA. Queen of fays and fairies.

LIBITI′NA. The chief of the funeral deities.

LICENTIOUSNESS, see Belphegor.

LIGE′A. A Greek syren or sea-nymph.

LIGHTNING, see Agni.

LI′LITH. A Jewish myth who is a great enemy to new-born children. She was said to have been Adam’s first wife, but, refusing to submit to him, was turned from Paradise and made a spectre.

LI′NA. The goddess of the art of weaving.

LIN′DOR. A lover in the shape of a shepherd, like Corydon; a love-sick swain.

LION, see Atalanta, Chimæra.

LIVER, see Tityus and Prometheus.

LOCKS, see Janus.

LO′FEN. The Scandinavian god who guards friendship.

LOF′UA. The Scandinavian goddess who reconciles lovers.

LOKE. The Scandinavian Satan, the god of strife, the spirit of evil.

LO′TIS. A daughter of Neptune, who fled from Priapus, and only escaped from him by being transformed into a lotus-plant.

LO′TUS-PLANT, see Lotis.

LOVE, see Cupid, Eros, Venus.

LU′CIAN. The impersonation of folly, changed into an ass.

LU′CIFER. The morning star.

LUCI′NA. The goddess who presides at the birth of children. She was a daughter of Jupiter and Juno.

“Lucina, hail! So named from thine own grove,
Or from the light thou giv’st us from above.”

OVID.

LUD. In ancient British mythology the king of the Britons.

LU′NA. The name of Diana as a celestial divinity. See Diana and Hecate.

LU′PERCUS, or Pan. The Roman god of fertility; his festival day was 15th February, and the festivals were called Lupercalia.

LYCAON′IAN FOOD. Execrable viands, such as were supplied to Jupiter by Lycaon. To test the divine knowledge of the god he served up human flesh, which Jove discovered, and punished Lycaon by turning him into a wolf.

LYCIAN CLOWNS were turned into frogs by Latona or Ceres.

LYMNI′ADES. Nymphs who resided in marshes.

LYN′CEUS. One of the Argonauts. The personification of sharpsightedness.

LYRE. This musical instrument is constantly associated with the doings of the ancient deities. Amphion built the walls of Thebes by the music of his lyre. Arion charmed the dolphins in a similar way. Hercules broke the head of Linus, his music master, with the lyre he was learning to use; and Orpheus charmed the most savage beasts, and even the Harpies and gods of the infernal regions, with the enchanting music of the lyre. See Mercury.

MÆN′ADES. Priestesses of Bacchus.

MAGICIANS, see Telchines.

MAG′NA DE’A, a name of Ceres.

MAGPIES, see Pierides.

MA′HA′SOOR. The Hindoo god of evil.

MA′IA. The mother of the Grecian Mercury.

MAM′MON. The money-god.

MA′NES. The souls of the departed. The god of funerals and tombs.

“All have their Manes, and their Manes bear.
The few who’re cleansed to those abodes repair,
And breathe in ample fields the soft Elysian air.”

MANURING LAND, see Picumnus.

MARCH 24, Bellona’s Day. See Bellona.

MARI′NA. A name of Venus, meaning sea-foam, from her having been formed from the froth of the sea. See Aphrodite.

MARRIAGE, see Cama, Hymen, Juno, Jugatinus.

MARS, the god of war, was the son of Jupiter and Juno. Venus was his favourite goddess, and amongst their children were Cupid, Anteros, and Harmonia. In the Trojan War Mars took the part of the Trojans, but was defeated by Diomedes.

MARSHES, see Lymniades.

MAR′SYAS. The name of the piper who challenged Apollo to a musical contest, and, being defeated, was flayed to death by the god. He was the supposed inventor of the flute.

MA′RUT. The Hindoo god of tempestuous winds.

MATU′RA. One of the rural deities who protected the growing corn at time of ripening.

MAX′IMUS. One of the appellations of Jupiter, being the greatest of the gods.

MEASURES and WEIGHTS, see Mercury.

MEDE′A. Wife of Jason, chief of the Argonauts. See Jason.

“Now to Medæa’s dragons fix my reins.”

F. LEWIS.

“Let not Medea draw her murdering knife,
And spill her children’s blood upon the stage.”

LORD ROSCOMMON.

MEDICINE, see Apollo.

MEDITATION, see Harpocrates.

MEDU′SA. One of the Gorgons. Minerva changed her beautiful hair into serpents. She was conquered by Perseus, who cut off her head, and placed it on Minerva’s shield. Every one who looked at the head was turned into stone.

Ulysses, in the Odyssey, says he wished to see more of the inhabitants of Hades, but was afraid, as he says--

“Lest Gorgon, rising from the infernal lakes,
With horrors armed, and curls of hissing snakes,
Should fix me, stiffened at the monstrous sight,
A stony image in eternal night.”

POPE.

“Medusa with Gorgonian terror guards
The ford.”

MILTON.

“Remove that horrid monster, and take hence
Medusa’s petrifying countenance.”

ADDISON.

MEG′ÆRA. One of the three Furies.

MEG′ALE. A Greek name of Juno, meaning great.

MELICER′TA, see Palæmon.

MELLO′NA. One of the rural divinities, the goddess of bees.

MELPOM′ENE. One of the Muses, the goddess of tragedy.

MEMORY, see Mnemosyne.

MEN′DES. An Egyptian god like Pan. He was worshipped in the form of a goat.

MENELA′US. A Spartan king. The elopement of his wife Helen with Paris was the origin of the siege of Troy. See Helena.

ME′NU. The Hindoo god of law. See Satyavrata.

MERCHANTS, see Mercury.

MER′CURY, the son of Jupiter and Maia, was the messenger of the gods, and the conductor of the souls of the dead to Hades. He was the supposed inventor of weights and measures, and presided over orators and merchants. Mercury was accounted a most cunning thief, for he stole the bow and quiver of Apollo, the girdle of Venus, the trident of Neptune, the tools of Vulcan, and the sword of Mars, and he was therefore called the god of thieves. He is the supposed inventor of the lyre, which he exchanged with Apollo for the Caduceus. There was also an Egyptian Mercury, under the name of Thot, who is credited with having taught the Egyptians geometry and hieroglyphics.

“And there, without the power to fly,
Stands fix’d a tip-toe Mercury.”

LLOYD, 1750.

“Then fiery expedition be my wing,
Jove’s Mercury, and herald for a king.”

“Be Mercury, set feathers to thy heels
And fly, like thought, from them to me again.”

SHAKESPEARE.

ME′RU. The abode of the Hindoo god Vishnu. It is at the top of a mountain 80,000 leagues high. The Olympus of the Indians.

MI′DAS. A king of Phrygia, who begged of Bacchus the special gift that everything that he touched might be turned into gold. The request was granted, and as soon as he touched his food it also was turned to gold, and for fear of being starved he was compelled to ask the god to withdraw the power he had bestowed upon him. He was told to bathe in the river Pactolus. He did so, and the sands which he stood on were golden for ever after. It was this same king who, being appointed to be judge in a musical contest between Apollo and Pan, gave the Satyr the palm; whereupon Apollo, to show his contempt, bestowed on him a pair of asses’ ears. This gave rise to the term “Midas-eared,” as a synonym for ill-judged, or indiscriminate.

“He dug a hole, and in it whispering said,
What monstrous ears sprout from King Midas’ head.”

OVID.

MI′LO, a celebrated Cretan athlete, who is said to have felled an ox with his fist, and to have eaten the beast in one day. His statue is often seen with one hand in the rift of a tree trunk, out of which he is vainly trying to withdraw it. The fable is, that when he got an old man he attempted to split an oak tree, but having lost his youthful vigour, the tree closed on his hand and he was held a prisoner till the wolves came and devoured him.

MIMALLO′NES. The “wild women” who accompanied Bacchus, so called because they mimicked his actions.

MI′MIR. In Scandinavian mythology the god of wisdom.

MIND, see Erinnys.

MINER′VA, the goddess of wisdom, war, and the liberal arts, is said to have sprung from the head of Jupiter fully armed for battle. She was a great benefactress of mankind, and patroness of the fine arts. She was the tutelar deity of the city of Athens. She is also known by the names of Pallas, Parthenos, Tritonia, and Glaukopis. She was very generally worshipped by the ancients, and her temple at Athens, the Parthenon, still remains. She is represented in statues and pictures as wearing a golden helmet encircled with an olive branch, and a breastplate. In her right hand she carries a lance, and by her side is the famous Ægis or shield, covered with the skin of Amalthæa, the goat which nourished Jupiter; and for the boss of the shield is the head of Medusa. An owl, the emblem of meditation, is on the left; and a cock, the emblem of courage, on the right. The Elgin Marbles in the British Museum were brought from the Parthenon, her temple at Athens.

MI′NOS. The principal of the three judges of hell, before whom the spirits of the departed appeared and heard their doom.

MI′NOTAUR. The monster, half man, half bull, which Theseus slew.

MIRTH, see Momus.

MISERY, see Genii.

MITH′RA. A Persian divinity, the ruler of the universe, corresponding with the Roman Sol.

MNEMOS′YNE. Mother of the Muses and goddess of memory. Jupiter courted the goddess in the guise of a shepherd.

MOAK′IBAT. The recording angel of the Mohammedans.

MO′LOCH. A god of the Phœnicians to whom human victims, principally children, were sacrificed. Moloch is figurative of the influence which impels us to sacrifice that which we ought to cherish most dearly.

“First Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parents’ tears,
Though for the noise of drums and timbrels loud,
Their children’s cries unheard, that poured through fire
To this grim idol.”

MILTON.

MO′MUS. The god of sarcasm. The god who blamed Jove for not having made a window in man’s breast, so that his thoughts could be seen. His bitter jests occasioned his being driven from heaven in disgrace. He is represented as holding an image of Folly in one hand, and raising a mask from his face with the other. He is also described as the god of mirth or laughter.

MONE′TA. A name given to Juno by those writers who considered her the goddess of money.

MONEY, see Moneta.

MONEY-GOD, see Mammon.

MOON. The moon was, by the ancients, called _Hecate_ before and after setting; _Astarte_ when in crescent form; _Diana_ when in full. See Luna.

“Soon as the evening shades prevail
The moon takes up her wondrous tale,
And nightly to the list’ning earth
Repeats the story of her birth.”

ADDISON.

MOR′PHEUS. The god of sleep and dreams, the minister of Somnus.

“Morpheus, the humble god that dwells
In cottages and smoky cells;
Hates gilded roofs and beds of down,
And though he fears no prince’s frown,
Flies from the circle of a crown.”

Sir JOHN DENMAN.

MORS. Death, a daughter of Nox.

MOUNTAIN, see Atlas, Nymph.

MUL′CIBER. A name of Vulcan, sometimes spelled Mulcifer. See Vulcan.

MUN′IN. The Scandinavian god of memory, represented by the raven that was perched on Odin’s shoulder.

MUSCA′RIUS. A name given to Jupiter because he kept off the flies from the sacrifices.

MU′SES, THE, were nine daughters of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. They presided over the arts and sciences, music and poetry. Their names were, Calliope, Clio, Erato, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, and Urania. They principally resided in Mount Parnassus, at Helicon.

“Be thou the tenth Muse, ten times more in worth,
Than those old nine which rhymers advocate.”

SHAKESPEARE.

MUSIC, see Apollo, Muses.

MY′THRAS. The Egyptian name of Apollo.

NAI′ADS, THE, were beautiful nymphs of human form who presided over springs, fountains, and wells. They resided in the meadows by the sides of rivers. Virgil mentions Ægle as being the fairest of them.

NAN′DI. The Hindoo goddess of joy.

NAR′AE. The name of the infernal regions amongst the Hindoos.

NA′RA′YAN. The mover of the waters. The Hindoo god of tides.

NARCIS′SUS, son of Cephisus and the Naiad Liriope, was a beautiful youth, who was so pleased with the reflection of himself which he saw in the placid water of a fountain that he could not help loving it, imagining that it must be some beautiful nymph. His fruitless endeavours to possess himself of the supposed nymph drove him to despair, and he killed himself. There sprang from his blood a flower, which was named after him, Narcissus.

“Narcissus so himself forsook,
And died to kiss his shadow in the brook.”

“Hadst thou Narcissus in thy face, to me
Thou would’st appear most ugly.”

SHAKESPEARE.

NASTR′OND. The Scandinavian place of eternal punishment, corresponding with Hades.

NA′TIO. A Roman goddess who took care of young infants.

NEMÆ′AN LION, see Hercules.

NEM′ESIS, the goddess of vengeance or justice, was one of the infernal deities. Her mother was Nox. She was supposed to be constantly travelling about the earth in search of wickedness, which she punished with the greatest severity. She is referred to by some writers under the name of Adrastæa. The Romans always sacrificed to this goddess before they went to war, because they wished to signify that they never took up arms but in the cause of justice.

“Forbear, said Nemesis, my loss to moan,
The fainting trembling hand was mine alone.”

Dr. J. WHARTON.

NEPHA′LIA. Grecian festivals in honour of Mnemosyne, the mother of the Muses.

NEP′TUNE, god of the sea, was a son of Saturn and Cybele, and brother of Jupiter and Pluto. He quarrelled with Jupiter because he did not consider that the dominion of the sea was equal to Jupiter’s empire of heaven and earth; and he was banished from the celestial regions, after having conspired with Pluto to dethrone Jupiter. Neptune was married to Amphitrite, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, by whom he had a son named Triton. He was also father of Polyphemus (one of the Cyclopes), Phoreus, and Proteus. Neptune is represented as being seated in a shell chariot, drawn by dolphins or sea-horses, and surrounded by Tritons and sea-nymphs. He holds in his hand a trident, with which he rules the waves. Though a marine deity, he was reputed to have presided over horse-training and horse-races; but he is principally known as the god of the ocean; and the two functions of the god are portrayed in the sea-horses with which his chariot is drawn, the fore-half of the animal being a horse, and the hind-half a dolphin. Ships were also under his protection, and whenever he appeared on the ocean there was a dead calm.

NERE′IDES, THE, were aquatic nymphs. They were daughters of Nereus and Doris, and fifty in number. They are generally represented as beautiful girls riding on dolphins, and carrying tridents in the right hand.

NERE′US. A sea deity, husband of Doris. He had the gift of prophecy, and foretold fates; but he had also the power of assuming various shapes, which enabled him to escape from the importunities of those who were anxious to consult him.

NES′SUS. The name of the Centaur which was destroyed by Hercules for insulting Dejanira.

NES′TOR. A grandson of Neptune, his father being Neleus, and his mother Chloris. Homer makes him one of the greatest of the Greek heroes. He was present at the famous battle between the Lapithæ and the Centaurs, and took a leading part in the Trojan war.

“... Here’s Nestor
Instructed by the antiquary times,
He must, he is, he cannot but be wise.”

SHAKESPEARE.

NICEPH′ORUS. A name of Jupiter, meaning the bearer of victory.

NID′HOGG. In Scandinavian mythology the dragon who dwells in Nastrond.

NIF′LHEIM. The Scandinavian hell. It was supposed to consist of nine vast regions of ice beneath the North Pole, where darkness reigns eternally. See Nastrond.

NIGHT, see Nox.

NIGHTINGALE, see Philomela.

NIGHTMARE, see Incubus.

NINE, THE, see Muses.

NI′OBE was a daughter of Tantalus, and is the personification of grief. By her husband Amphion she had seven sons and seven daughters. By the orders of Latona the father and sons were killed by Apollo, and the daughters (except Chloris) by Diana. Niobe, being overwhelmed with grief, escaped further trouble by being turned into a marble statue.

NO′MIUS. A lawgiver; one of the names of Apollo. This title was also given to Mercury for the part he took in inventing beneficent laws.

NORNS. Three Scandinavian goddesses, who wove the woof of human destiny.

NO′TUS. Another name for Auster, the south wind.

NOX was the daughter of Chaos, and sister of Erebus and Mors. She personified night, and was the mother of Nemesis and the Fates.

NUN′DINA. The goddess who took charge of children when they were nine days old--the day on which the Romans named their children.

NUPTIA′LIS. A title of Juno. When the goddess was invoked under this name, the gall of the victim was taken out and thrown behind the altar, signifying that there should be no gall (bitterness) or anger between married people.

NU′RIEL. In Hebrew mythology the god of hailstorms.

NYCTE′LIUS. A name given to Bacchus, because his festivals were celebrated by torchlight.

NYM′PHS. This was a general name for a class of inferior female deities who were attendants of the gods. Some of them presided over springs, fountains, wells, woods, and the sea. They are spoken of as land-nymphs or Naiads, and sea-nymphs or Nereides, though the former are associated also with fountains and rivers. The Dryades were forest-nymphs, and the Hama-dryades were nymphs who lived amongst the oak-trees--the oak being always specially venerated by the ancients. The mountain-nymphs were called Oreades.

“With flower-inwoven tresses torn,
The nymphs in twilight shade
Of tangled thickets mourn.”

MILTON.

NY′SÆ. The names of the nymphs by whom Bacchus was nursed. See Dionysius.

NY′SÆUS. A name of Bacchus, because he was worshipped at Nysa.

NY′SUS. A king of Megara who was invisible by virtue of a particular lock of hair. This lock his daughter Scylla cut off, and so betrayed her father to his enemies. She was changed into a lark, and the king into a hawk, and he still pursues his daughter, intending to punish her for her treachery.

OAN′NES. An Eastern god, represented as a monster, half man, half fish. He was said to have taught men the use of letters in the day-time, and at night to have retired to the depth of the ocean.

OATH, see Lapis.

OBAM′BOU. A devil of African mythology.

OCEAN, see Neptune.

OCEAN′IDES. Sea-nymphs, daughters of Oceanus and Tethys. Their numbers are variously estimated by different poets; some saying there were as many as 3000, while others say they were as few as sixteen. The principal of them are mentioned under their respective names, as Amphitrite, Doris, Metis, etc.

OCE′ANUS, son of Cœlus and Terra, and husband of Tethys. Several mythological rivers were called his sons, as Alpheus, Peneus, etc., and his daughters were called the Oceanides. Some of the ancients worshipped him as the god of the seas, and invariably invoked his aid when they were about to start on a voyage. He was also thought to personify the immense stream which it was supposed surrounded the earth, and into which the sun and moon and other heavenly bodies sank every day.

OCRID′ION. A king of Rhodes, who was deified after his death.

OCY′PETE. One of the Harpies, who infected everything she touched. The word means swift of flight.

OCY′ROE. A daughter of Chiron, who had the gift of prophecy. She was metamorphosed into a mare.

O′DIN. In Scandinavian mythology the god of the universe, and reputed father of all the Scandinavian kings. His wife’s name was Friga, and his two sons were Thor and Balder.

Œ′AGRUS. Father of Orpheus.

Œ′DIPUS. A son of Laius, King of Thebes, best known as the solver of the famous enigma propounded by the Sphinx.

ŒNO′NE. Wife of Paris, a nymph of Mount Ida, who had the gift of prophecy.

OGYG′IA. An island, the abode of Calypso, in the Mediterranean Sea. It was so beautiful in sylvan scenery that even Mercury (who dwelt on Olympus) was charmed with the spot.

OINTMENT, see Phaon.

OLE′NUS. A daughter of Vulcan, wife of Lethæa, a woman who thought herself more beautiful than the goddesses, and as a punishment she and her husband were turned into stone statues.

OLIVES, see Aristæus.

OLYM′PIUS. A name of Jupiter, from Olympia, where the god had a splendid temple, which was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world.

OLYM′PUS was the magnificent mountain on the coast of Thessaly, 6000 feet high, where the gods were supposed to reside. There were several other smaller mountains of the same name.

“High heaven with trembling the dread signal took,
And all Olympus to the centre shook.”

POPE.

OLY′RAS. A river near Thermopylæ, which, it is said, attempted to extinguish the funeral pile on which Hercules was consumed.

OMOPHA′GIA. A Bacchanalian festival at which some uncooked meats were served.

OM′PHALE. The Queen of Lydia, to whom Hercules was sold as a bondsman for three years for the murder of Iphitus. Hercules fell in love with her, and led an effeminate life in her society, wearing female apparel, while Omphale wore the lion’s skin.

ONA′RUS. A priest of Bacchus, said to have married Ariadne after she had been abandoned by Theseus.

ONU′VA. The Venus of the ancient Gauls.

OPA′LIA. Roman festivals in honour of Ops, held on 14th of the calends of January.

OPIATE-ROD, see Caduceus.

“Eyes ... more wakeful than to drowse,
Charmed with Arcadian pipe--the pastoral reed
Of Hermes or his opiate-rod.”

MILTON.

OPS. Mother of the gods, a daughter of Cœlus and Terra. She was known by the several names of Bona Dea, Rhea, Cybele, Magna Mater, Proserpine, Tellus, and Thya; and occasionally she is spoken of as Juno and Minerva. She personified labour, and is represented as a comely matron, distributing gifts with her right hand, and holding in her left hand a loaf of bread. Her festival was the 14th day of the January calends.

ORACLES, see Themis.

ORÆ′A. Certain sacrifices offered to the goddesses of the seasons to invoke fair weather for the ripening of the fruits of the earth.

ORBO′NA. The goddess of orphans.

ORCHARDS, see Feronia.

O′READS were mountain nymphs, attendants on Diana.

ORGIES. Drunken revels. The riotous feasts of Bacchus were so designated.

ORI′ON. A famous handsome giant, who was blinded by Œnopion for a grievous wrong done to Merope, and he was expelled from Chios. The sound of the Cyclopes’ hammers led him to the abode of Vulcan, who gave him a guide. He then consulted an oracle, and had his sight restored, as Longfellow says, by fixing

“His blank eyes upon the sun.”

He was afterwards slain by Diana and placed amongst the stars, where his constellation is one of the most splendid.

ORI′THY′IA. A daughter of Erechtheus, whose lover, Boreas, carried her off while she was wandering by the river Ilissus. Her children were Zetes and Calais, two winged warriors who accompanied the Argonauts.

OR′MUZD. In Persian mythology the creator of all things.

O′ROS. The Egyptian Apollo.

ORPHANS, see Orbona.

OR′PHEUS was son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. He was married to Eurydice; but she was stung by a serpent, and died. Orpheus went down to Hades to claim her, and played so sweetly with his lute that Pluto allowed Eurydice to return to the earth with Orpheus, but on condition that he did not look behind him until he had reached the terrestrial regions. Orpheus, however, in his anxiety to see if she were following him, looked round, and Eurydice disappeared from his sight, instantly and for ever.

“Orpheus’ lute was strung with poets’ sinews.”

SHAKESPEARE.

OSI′RIS. The Egyptian god of the sun; he was worshipped under the form of an ox.

“... After these appeared
A crew who, under names of old renown,
Osiris, Isis, Orus, and their train,
With monstrous shapes and sorceries abused
Fanatic Egypt and her priests to seek
Their wandering gods, disguised in brutish forms
Rather than human.”

MILTON.

OS′SA. One of the mountains which the giants piled on the top of Olympus to enable them to ascend to heaven and attack the gods.

OX, see Apis.

OWL, see Æsculapius and Itys.

PACTO′LUS. The river in Lydia where Midas washed himself by order of Bacchus, and the sands were turned to gold.

PÆ′AN. A name given to Apollo, from _pæan_, the hymn which was sung in his honour after he had killed the serpent Python.

“With hymns divine the joyous banquet ends,
The Pæans lengthened till the sun descends.”

POPE.

PALÆ′MON, or Melicerta, a sea-god, son of Athamas and Ino.

PA′LES. The goddess of shepherds and protectress of flocks; her festivals were called Palilia.

“Pomona loves the orchard,
And Liber loves the wine,
And Pales loves the straw-built shed,
Warm with the breath of kine.”

MACAULAY.

“Great Pales help, the pastoral rites I sing,
With humble duty mentioning each thing.”

POPE.

PALLA′DIUM. A famous statue of the goddess Pallas (Minerva). She is sitting with a spear in her right hand, and in her left a distaff and spindle. Various accounts are given of the origin of it. Some writers say it fell from the skies. It was supposed that the preservation of the statue would be the preservation of Troy; and during the Trojan War the Greeks were greatly encouraged when they became the possessors of it.

PAL′LAS, or Minerva. The name was given to Minerva when she destroyed a famous giant named Pallas. See Minerva.

“Apollo, Pallas, Jove, or Mercury,
Inspire me that I may this treason find.”

SHAKESPEARE.