Mosaics of Grecian History Part 13

So the G.o.ds a.s.sembled, in the presence of Cecrops himself, on the "hill of Erechtheus"--afterward known as the Athenian Acropolis--to witness the trial between the rival deities, as described in the following language. First; Neptune strikes the rock with his trident:

Lo! at the touch of his trident a wonder!

Virtue to earth from his deity flows; From the rift of the flinty rock, cloven asunder, A dark-watered fountain ebullient rose.

Inly elastic, with airiest lightness It leapt, till it cheated the eyesight; and, lo!

It showed in the sun, with a various brightness, The fine-woven hues of the heavenly bow.

"WATER IS BEST!" cried the mighty, broad-breasted Poseidon; "O Cecrops, I offer to thee To ride on the back of the steeds foamy-crested That toss their wild manes on the huge-heaving sea.

The globe thou shalt mete on the path of the waters, To thy ships shall the ports of far ocean be free; The isles of the sea shall be counted thy daughters, The pearls of the East shall be gathered for thee!"

Thus Neptune offered, as his gift--symbolized in the salt spring that he caused to issue from the rock--the dominion of the sea, with all the wealth and renown that flow from unrestricted commerce with foreign lands.

But Minerva was now to make her trial:

Then the G.o.ds, with a high-sounding paean, Applauded; but Jove hushed the many-voiced tide; "For now with the lord of the briny aege'an Athe'na shall strive for the city," he cried.

"See where she comes!" and she came, like Apollo, Serene with the beauty ripe wisdom confers; The clear-scanning eye, and the sure hand to follow The mark of the far-sighted purpose, were hers.

Strong in the mail of her father she standeth, And firmly she holds the strong spear in her hand; But the wild hounds of war with calm power she commandeth, And fights but to pledge surer peace to the land.

Chastely the blue-eyed approached, and, surveying The council of wise-judging G.o.ds without fear, The nod of her lofty-throned father obeying, She struck the gray rock with her nice-tempered spear.

Lo! from the touch of the virgin a wonder!

Virtue to earth from her deity flows: From the rift of the flinty rock, cloven asunder, An olive-tree, greenly luxuriant, rose-- Green but yet pale, like an eye-drooping maiden, Gentle, from full-blooded l.u.s.tihood far; No broad-staring hues for rude pride to parade in, No crimson to blazon the banners of war.

Mutely the G.o.ds, with a calm consultation, Pondered the fountain and pondered the tree; And the heart of Poseidon, with high expectation, Throbbed till great Jove thus p.r.o.nounced the decree: "Son of my father, thou mighty, broad-breasted Poseidon, the doom that I utter is true; Great is the might of thy waves foamy-crested When they beat the white walls of the screaming sea-mew; Great is the pride of the keel when it danceth, Laden with wealth, o'er the light-heaving wave-- When the East to the West, gayly floated, advanceth, With a word from the wise and a help from the brave.

But earth--solid earth--is the home of the mortal That toileth to live, and that liveth to toil; And the green olive-tree twines the wreath of his portal Who peacefully wins his sure bread from the soil,"

Thus Jove: and to heaven the council celestial Rose, and the sea-G.o.d rolled back to the sea; But Athena gave Athens her name, and terrestrial Joy from the oil of the green olive-tree.

Thus Jove decided in favor of the peaceful pursuits of industry on the land, as against the more alluring promises but uncertain results of commerce, thereby teaching this lesson in political economy--that a people consisting of mere merchants, and neglecting the cultivation of the soil, never can become a great and powerful nation. So Minerva, the G.o.ddess of wisdom, and patroness of all the liberal arts and sciences, became the tutelary deity of Athens.

The contest between her and Neptune was represented on one of the pediments of the Parthenon.

Of the history of Athens for many centuries subsequent to its alleged founding by Cecrops we have no certain information; but it is probable that down to about 683 B.C. it was ruled by kings, like all the other Grecian states. Of these kings the names of The'seus and Co'drus are the most noted. To the former is ascribed the union of the twelve states of Attica into one political body, with Athens as the capital, and other important acts of government which won for him the love of the Athenian people. Consulting the oracle of Delphi concerning his new government, he is said to have received the following answer:

From royal stems thy honor, Theseus, springs; By Jove beloved, the sire supreme of kings.

See rising towns, see wide-extended states, On thee dependent, ask their future fates!

Hence, hence with fear! Thy favored bark shall ride Safe o'er the surges of the foamy tide.

About half a century after the time of Cecrops another Egyptian, named Dan'a-us, is said to have fled to Greece, with a family of fifty daughters, and to have established a second Egyptian colony in the vicinity of Argos. He subsequently became king of Argos, and the inhabitants were called Dan'a-i. About the same time Cadmus, a Phoenician, is reported to have led a colony into Boeo'tia, bringing with him the Phoenician alphabet, the basis of the Grecian; and to have founded Cadme'a, which afterward became the citadel of Thebes. Another colony is said to have been led from Asia by Pe'lops, from whom the southern peninsula of Greece derived its name of Peloponne'sus, and of whom Agamemnon, King of Myce'nae, was a lineal descendant. About this time a people called the h.e.l.le'nes--but whether a Pelasgic tribe or otherwise is uncertain--first appeared in the south of Thessaly, and, gradually diffusing themselves over the whole country, became, by their martial spirit and active, enterprising genius, the ruling cla.s.s, and impressed new features upon the Grecian character. The h.e.l.lenes gave their name to the population of the whole peninsula, although the term Grecians was subsequently applied to them by the Romans.

In accordance with the Greek custom of attributing the origin of their tribes or nations to some remote mythical ancestor, Hel'len, a son of the fabulous Deuca'lion and Pyrrha, is represented as the father of the h.e.l.len'ic nation. His three sons were ae'o-lus, Do'rus, and Xu'thus, from the two former of whom are represented to have descended the aeo'lians and Do'rians; and from Achae'us and I'on, sons of Xuthus, the Achae'ans and Io'nians. These four h.e.l.len'ic or Grecian tribes were distinguished from one another by many peculiarities of language and inst.i.tutions. h.e.l.len is said to have left his kingdom to aeolus, his eldest son; and the aeolian tribe spread the most widely, and long exerted the most influence in the affairs of the nation; but at a later period it was surpa.s.sed by the fame and the power of the Dorians and Ionians.

III. THE HEROIC AGE.

The period from the time of the first appearance of the h.e.l.lenes in Thessaly to the return of the Greeks from the expedition against Troy--a period of about two hundred years--is usually called the Heroic Age. It is a period abounding in splendid fictions of heroes and demi-G.o.ds, embracing, among others, the twelve wonderful labors of Hercules; the exploits of the Athenian king The'seus, and of Mi'nos, King of Crete, the founder of Grecian law and civilization; the events of the Argonautic expedition; the Theban and Argol'ic wars; the adventures of Beller'ophon, Per'seus, and many others; and concluding with the Trojan war and the supposed fall of Troy. These seem to have been the times which the archangel Michael foretold to Adam when he said,

For in those days might only shall be admired, And valor and heroic virtue called: To overcome in battle, and subdue Nations, and bring home spoils with infinite Manslaughter, shall be held the highest pitch Of human glory; and, for glory done, Of triumph to be styled great conquerors, Patrons of mankind, G.o.ds, and sons of G.o.ds-- Destroyers rightly called, and plagues of men.

--Paradise Lost, B. XI.

THE LABORS OF HERCULES.

The twelve arduous labors of the celebrated hero Hercules, who was a son of Jupiter by the daughter of an early king of Mycenae, are said to have been imposed upon him by an enemy--Eurys'theus--to whose will Jupiter, induced by a fraud of Juno and the fury-G.o.ddess A'te, and unwittingly bound by an oath, had made the hero subservient for twelve years. Jupiter grieved for his son, but, unable to recall the oath which he had sworn, he punished Ate by hurling her from Olympus down to the nether world.

Grief seized the Thunderer, by his oath engaged; Stung to the soul, he sorrowed and he raged.

From his ambrosial head, where perched she sate, He s.n.a.t.c.hed the fury-G.o.ddess of debate: The dread, the irrevocable oath he swore, The immortal seats should ne'er behold her more; And whirled her headlong down, forever driven From bright Olympus and the starry heaven: Thence on the nether world the fury fell, Ordained with man's contentious race to dwell.

Full oft the G.o.d his son's hard toils bemoaned, Cursed the dire folly, and in secret groaned.

--HOMER'S Iliad, B. XIX. POPE'S Trans.

The following, in brief, are the twelve labors attributed to Hercules: 1. He strangled the Ne'mean lion, and ever after wore his skin. 2. He destroyed the Lernae'an hydra, which had nine heads, eight of them mortal and one immortal. 3. He brought into the presence of Eurystheus a stag famous for its incredible swiftness and golden horns. 4. He brought to Mycenae the wild boar of Eryman'thus, and slew two of the Centaurs, monsters who were half men and half horses. 5. He cleansed the Auge'an stables in one day by changing the courses of the rivers Alphe'us and Pene'us. 6. He destroyed the carnivorous birds of the lake Stympha'lus, in Arcadia. 7. He brought into Peloponnesus the prodigious wild bull which ravaged Crete. 8. He brought from Thrace the mares of Diome'de, which fed on human flesh. 9. He obtained the famous girdle of Hippol'y-te, queen of the Amazons.

10. He slew the monster Ge'ry-on, who had the bodies of three men united. 11. He brought from the garden of the Hesper'i-des the golden apples, and slew the dragon which guarded them. 12. He went down to the lower regions and brought upon earth the three-headed dog Cer'berus.

The favor of the G.o.ds had completely armed Hercules for his undertakings, and his great strength enabled him to perform them.

This entire fable of Hercules is generally believed to be merely a fanciful representation of the sun in its pa.s.sage through the twelve signs of the zodiac, in accordance with Phoenician mythology, from which the legend is supposed to be derived. Thus Hercules is the sun-G.o.d. In the first month of the year the sun pa.s.ses through the constellation Leo, the lion; and in his first labor the hero slays the Nemean lion. In the second month, when the sun enters the sign Virgo, the long-extended constellation of the Hydra sets--the stars of which, like so many heads, rise one after another; and, therefore, in his second labor, Hercules destroys the Lernaean hydra with its nine heads. In like manner the legend is explained throughout. Besides these twelve labors, however, Hercules is said to have achieved others on his own account; and one of these is told in the fable of Hercules and Antae'us, in which the powers of art and nature are supposed to be personified.

FABLE OF HERCULES AND ANTaeUS.

Antae'us--a son of Neptune and Terra, who reigned over Libya, or Africa, and dwelt in a forest cave--was so famed for his t.i.tanic strength and skill in wrestling that he was emboldened to leave his woodland retreat and engage in a contest with the renowned hero Hercules. So long as Antaeus stood upon the ground he could not be overcome, whereupon Hercules lifted him up in the air, and, having apparently squeezed him to death in his arms, threw him down; but when Antaeus touched his mother Earth and lay at rest upon her bosom, renewed life and fresh power were given him.

In this fable Antaeus, who personifies the woodland solitude and the desert African waste, is easily overcome by his adversary, who represents the river Nile, which, divided into a thousand arms, or irrigating ca.n.a.ls, prevents the arid sand from being borne away and then back again by the winds to desolate the fertile valley. Thus the legend is nothing more than the triumph of art and labor, and their reclaiming power over the woodland solitudes and the encroaching sands of the desert. An English poet has very happily versified the spirit of the legend, to which he has appended a fitting moral, doubtless suggested by the warning of his own approaching sad fate.[Footnote: This gifted poet, Mortimer Collins, died in 1876, at the age of forty-nine, a victim to excessive literary labor and anxiety.]

Deep were the meanings of that fable. Men Looked upon earth with clearer eyesight then, Beheld in solitude the immortal Powers, And marked the traces of the swift-winged Hours.

Because it never varies, all can bear The burden of the circ.u.mambient air; Because it never ceases, none can hear The music of the ever-rolling sphere-- None, save the poet, who, in moor and wood, Holds converse with the spirit of Solitude.

And I remember how Antaeus heard, Deep in great oak-woods, the mysterious word Which said, "Go forth across the unshaven leas To meet unconquerable Hercules."

Leaving his cavern by the cedar-glen, This t.i.tan of the primal race of men, Whom the swart lions feared, and who could tear Huge oaks asunder, to the combat bare Courage undaunted. Full of giant grace, Built up, as 'twere, from earth's own granite base.

Colossal, iron-sinewed, firm he trod The lawns. How vain against a demi-G.o.d!

Oh, sorrow of defeat! He plunges far Into his forests, where deep shadows are, And the wind's murmur comes not, and the gloom Of pine and cedar seems to make a tomb For fallen ambition. p.r.o.ne the mortal lies Who dared mad warfare with the unpitying skies, But lo! as buried in the waving ferns, The baffled giant for oblivion yearns, Cursing his human feebleness, he feels A sudden impulse of new strength, which heals His angry wounds; his vigor he regains-- His blood is dancing gayly through his veins.

Fresh power, fresh life is his who lay at rest On bounteous Hertha's kind creative breast.

[Footnote: Hertha, a G.o.ddess of the ancient Germans, the same as Terra, or the Earth. Her favorite retreat was a sacred grove in an island of the ocean.]

Even so, O poet, by the world subdued, Regain thy health 'mid perfect solitude.

In noisy cities, far from hills and trees, The brawling demi-G.o.d, harsh Hercules, Has power to hurt thy placid spirit--power To crush thy joyous instincts every hour, To weary thee with woes for mortals stored, Red gold (coined hatred) and the tyrant's sword.

Then--then, O sad Antaeus, wilt thou yearn For dense green woodlands and the fragrant fern; Then stretch thy form upon the sward, and rest From worldly toil on Hertha's gracious breast; Plunge in the foaming river, or divide With happy arms gray ocean's murmuring tide, And drinking thence each solitary hour Immortal beauty and immortal power, Thou may'st the buffets of the world efface And live a t.i.tan of earth's earliest race.

--MORTIMER COLLINS.

THE ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION.

From what was probably a maritime adventure that plundered some wealthy country at a period when navigation was in its infancy among the Greeks, we get the fable of the Argonautic Expedition.

The generally accepted story of this expedition is as follows: Pe'lias, a descendant of ae'o-lus, the mystic progenitor of the Great aeol'ic race, had deprived his half-brother ae'son of the kingdom of Iol'cus in Thessaly. When Jason, son of aeson, had attained to manhood, he appeared before his uncle and demanded the throne. Pelias consented only on condition that Jason should first capture and bring to him the golden fleece of the ram which had carried Phrix'us and Hel'le when they fled from their stepmother I'no. h.e.l.le dropped into the sea between Sigae'um and the Cher'sonese, which was named from her h.e.l.lespon'tus; but Phrixus succeeded in reaching Col'chis, a country at the eastern extremity of the Euxine, or Black Sea. Here he sacrificed the ram, and nailed the fleece to an oak in the grove of Mars, where it was guarded by a sleepless dragon.

Joined by the princ.i.p.al heroes of Greece, Hercules among the number, Jason set sail from Iolcus in the ship Argo, after first invoking the favor of Jupiter, the winds, and the waves, for the success of the expedition. The ceremony on this occasion, as descried by the poets, reads like an account of the "christening of the ship" in modern times, but we seem to have lost the full significance of the act.

And soon as by the vessel's bow The anchor was hung up, Then took the leader on the prow In hands a golden cup, And on great father Jove did call; And on the winds and waters all Swept by the hurrying blast, And on the nights, and ocean ways, And on the fair auspicious days, And sweet return at last.

From out the clouds, in answer kind, A voice of thunder came, And, shook in glistening beams around, Burst out the lightning flame.

The chiefs breathed free, and, at the sign, Trusted in the power divine.

Hinting sweet hopes, the seer cried Forthwith their oars to ply, And swift went backward from rough hands The rowing ceaselessly.

--PINDAR. Trans. by Rev. H. F. CARY.