D EPARTED G O D S.
THE G O D S O F O U R FATHERS.
REV . J . NQRADENBURGH, Ph . D ., D. D
P a e sm a O F r m : N o a m DAKO TA U m ve n s n v.
C I N C I N N ATI : C R AN STO N 81 . STO VV E.
N EW Y O R K : HUN T EATO N .
1 89 1 .
01 0 mg 5 mm,
HD B D B ER YF G RAN 'B AN D C R N ES ’I ‘ (D I N OR ,
Rec ogn i t ion of the i r Pu res t F l l l a l Devot io n , Sta i n les s C ha rac te rs .
AN D
R i pe nmg Sc ho l a rs h i p ,
3 El im i na te th i s vo l u m e.
THE AUTHO R .
p RE F HC E .
N HE present work is a concluding volume of
a series in which are treated in a popular way ,and yet with a fair degree of thoroughness
,the
great rel igions of the world,both living and ex
tinct . “Living Religions possesses peculiar
interes t in that i t discusses the faiths of the
p resent heathen world in fields now mapped out
and occupied for Chris tian miss ionary conquest.“Fi re from Strange Altars ” is no t less im
portant in that it attempts to place in systematic
array many of the ascertained facts con cerning
the archaic li teratures and old cults of Israel ’s
neighbors,from the earlies t period which history
has reached to that when these mighty empires,
which shook the world while i t was yet but
young, dropped in pieces with the advent of
more advanced poli ti cal and religious ideas,
more efficient engines-
of war,and wiser military
organizations and plans for defense or conques t .
The present volume,i t i s beli eved
,will command
an equally generous welcome,both because of its
connection with the class ic nations,and much
3
4 P R EFACE.
more because i t treats of the religions of our own
fathers before.
the light of Christian i ty shot i ts
mild and beneficent rays into the w orld ’s first
gloom .
The student of the Greek and Latin classicshas had his attention too frequently confined to
dry details concerning the genealogies of the
gods or the myths which relate their adventures
and exploits— presenting the moral character of
the d ivinities in a light i n which li ttle,to say
the least,can be found for unqualified oommen
dation ; while th e Germanic and Cel tic nationshave failed to receive any adequate hearing.
While th e author in this work does not neglect
mythology,he endeavors to awaken a more l ively
interest in the religions of the peoples with
whom he has to do . Such a work can not but
give new interest to the studies of the classic
s tuden t,while the general reader will b e i n o
structed and ed ified i n i ts perusal . The Chris
tian scholar also will not fai l to appreciate i ts
value . It will increase h is reverence for h is
fathers,wh o walked by this uncertain but only
light,while he will more and more rej oice that
all other religious ligh ts of the world have been
eclipsed by th e true and gloriou s light of the
Sun of Righteousness .J ULY
,1 891 .
CONTENTS .
I .
THE R EL I G I O N O F G R EECE.
PAG E .
G REAT ZEUS 1 1
G O DS AN D HALF-GO DS 28
N YMPES AN D MO N STERS , PR I ESTS AN D ORACLES 77
I I .
THE R EL I G I O N O F THE ETR USCAN S.
R EL I G I ON O F THE ETRUSCAN S
I I I .
THE R EL I G I ON O F THE R OMAN S.
THE G REAT G O DS .
P RI ESTS AN D FEST I V ALSTHE MO RAL I TY O F STO I C I SM
I V .
THE R EL I G I O N O F THE D R U I D S.
1 . THE CHI EF or THE G O DS AN D THE CU L TU R E
HEROTHE SU N -G OD
THE CLASS I CS AN D THE I N SCRI P T I ON S
CON TEN TS.
V .
THE R EL I G I ON O F THE N O R SE.
THE O F THE WO R L D’
S MO R N I N G
THE WAR R I OR AN D THE THU N DER ERG O DS AN D N O O OD S
TEE D OOM OF THE UN I VERSE
LU ST O I: I nnU STR R T IONS
STATUE O F ZEUS OLYMP I OS ,MO U N T O LYMPUS ,BRON ZE STATUE O F APO LLO ,
STATUE O F PALLAS ATHEN E ,
PALLAS ATHEN E,
ABDUCT I O N O F CASSAN D RA FRO M THE TEMPLEPALLAS ,
TEE PARTHEN O N,
ARES,
ARTEMI S O F THE EPHESI AN S,
TEMPLE O F ARTEM I S,AT EPHESUS
,
FEST I VAL I N HO N O R O P D EMETER,
HERACLES SL AY I N O THE LERN E AN HYD R A,
THESEUS AN D THE M I N OTAUR ,FOOT-RACE
, OLYMP I AN FEST I V AL ,
THE HOMER I C ZEUS,
THE CHO I CE O F HERACLES,
I R E PAN TI I EO N,O R TEMPLE O R AL L THE G ODS
,
J UP I TER ,TEMPLE OF V ESTARUI N S O F T I I E TEMPLE O F SATURN AT ROME
,
J AN U !
8 L I ST OF I L L USTRATI ON S.
STATUE O F A V ESTAL V I RG I N ,
ROMAN PR I EST AN D PR I ESTESS,
STO N EHEN GE (RESTORED) ,D R U I D I OAL STO N ES , CARN AC , BRI TTAN Y ,FAI RI ES
,
O D I N WELCOMES A HERO TO V ALHAL,
FR EY,O R FR I GG ,
SCAN D I N AV I AN RUN ES,
THOR ,THO R ’
S D WELL I N G I N ASGARD,
TY R,SO N O F O D I N AN D FR I GG
,
HEATHEN TEMPLE N EAR STRASB URG, GER MAN Y ,
1 .
G REAT ZEUS.
HE Pelasgians worshiped the Supreme God ,nameless
,and without temple or image , on
high mounta in-tops,the natural al tars erected
and consecrated by the power and presence of
God . Zeus may have meant at one time merely
the heavens,the lumini ferous abode of the i n
visible God . In the mid s t of the idolatrous andpolytheis ti c worship of later times
,the God no t
made with hands or apprehended by the phys
ical senses,s till dwel t on the top s of the sacred
mountains,in th e brightness of his glory, form
less and unapproachable . There was a pious
dread of naming or representing the D ivine
Being ; hence there were altars to the Unknown ,the Great
,the Pure
,and the Merciful . This
early Pelasgian god demanded the sacrifice of
human victims,and the Greek religion was not
emancipated from these bloody rites till after the
lapse of many centuries .
Greek l i terature bears traces of a pre-classicalstage in theology . The three gods wh o‘
sh ar ed
among themselves the dominion of the worldth e earth
,the sea
,and the realm of the
shades— may have been originally the same god .
1 1
1 2 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Persephone,the wife of Hades
,according to an
Orphic myth,was united with Father Zeus in
the form of a snake . In the Pontic cul t there
is li ttle or no distinc tion between the Chthonian
Zeus and the supreme Zeus . Plato also makes
Pluto,the god of wealth
,closely resemble Zeus
abounding in riches . The god is Stil l more
closely connected with the sea . He gives the
fair winds,so welcome to mariners
,and his tem
ples are frequently built on headlands overlook
ing the sea . He also protects the landings of
voyagers . Poseidon occasionally bears the des
ignati on of Zeus Enal i os, or“ Zeus of the Sea .
”
The Pelasgic Zeus was differentiated,and there
resulted three brothers— Zeus,Poseidon
,and
I I ades .
Some of his sons may also have been devel
oped out of his character . He bore epithets by
which he was distinguished as the god of war
the strong one,the helper in the confli ct
,and
the giver of triumph . The Zéu s of the Carians
was represented equipped with a battle-ax,and
clad in the complete armor of a sold ier . Ares,
the god of war,was a later development .
Th i s Zeus became the chief of the O lympicgods
,th e father of gods
,and the god of gods .
Paul quotes from a Greek poet,
“We are his
offspring .
”
(Acts xvii , This clause is from
GREAT ZEUS.1 3
a hymn of Clean thes,a Stoic philosopher , who
was born at Assos in the Troad , about B . C . 264.
This may well be characterized as gne of the
pures t conceptions of God to be found in a l l
heathendom . It does no t descend to th e l ow
pantheism which,more than anything else , d i sfig
ures the Stoic sys tem . We present a translation
of the hymnO thou
,who
,under several names , art
adored,but whose power i s entire and infinite !
O Zeus,first of immortal s , sovereign of nature ,
govei'nor of all , and supreme legislator of a l l
th ings,accept my suppliant prayer ; for to man
is given the right to invoke thee ! Whatever
l ives and moves on this earth drew its being
from thee ; we are a faint Simil itude of thy
divinity .
“ I will address,then , my prayers to thee ,
and never will I cease to praise thy wondrous
power . That universe,suspended over our
heads,and which seems to roll around the earth
,
obeys thee ; i t moves along , and silently sub
mi ts to thy mandate . The thunder,minis ter of
thy laws,rests under thy invincible hands ;
flaming,gifted with an immortal l ife
,i t strikes
,
and all nature is terrified . Thou directest the
universal spirit which animates all things,and
l ives in all beings .
I 4 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Such,O almighty king
,is thy unbounded
sway ! In heaven,on earth
,or in the floods
below,there i s nought performed or produced
without thee,except the evil which springs
from the heart of ~ the wicked . By thee,con
fusion i s changed into order ; by thee , the w ar
ring elements are united . By a happy agree
ment,thou so blendes t good with evil as to
produce a genera l and eternal harmony of the
world . Wretched being,who seeks after good
,
and yet perceives not the universal l aw which
points out the way to render him at once good
and happy. He abandons the pursui t of V irtueand j ustice
,and rove s where each pass ion moves
him . Sordid wealth,fame
,and sensual pleas
ures become , by turns,the obj ec ts of h is
pursuit .“O God
,from whom a l l gifts descend
,wh o s i t
tes t in thick darkness,thunder-ruling Lord
,dispel
th is ignorance from the mind of man ; deign to
enlighten his soul ; draw it to that e ternal rea
son which serves as thy guide and support i n
the government of the world ; so that, honored
with a portion of this ligh t,we may
,i n our
turn,be able to honor thee
,by celebrating thy
great works unceasingly in a hymn ! This i s
the proper duty of man . For,surely
,nothing
can be more delightful to the inhabi tants of the
1 6 DEPAR TED GOD S.
times undesigned utterances and allusions , which
elsewhere have been denied . Indeed,no portion
of classical literature should be neglected , if we
would unders tand our subj ect . We must no t be
startled i f we find that quite frequently magic ,and other supers titi ons
,had more ii i fluence to
captivate and sway the common mind than all
the great gods and goddesses .
The poets and tragic writers have furnished
us with many noble expressions concerning God .
“No one is free but Zeus,
” says IZEschyl u s .
And again : “He fill s the world , and is above
it.” He is called by Terpander“ the beginning
of all things,and the conductor of all . Pindar
says that “God gover neth all things accordingto his will ; and again : “ Zeus obtained some
thing more than what the gods possessed .
”
Xenophanes gives utterance to the noble though t“ There is but one God
,greatest among men and
gods,and not like mor tals in form or mind .
Hesiod speaks of “ the eye of Zeus,which sees
all and knows all . In Homer,Zeus i s called
“ the father,the most glorious
,the greatest
,who
rules over all— mortals and immortal s .” Soph
oc l es has a pure ideal,when he says : “Courage
,
courage , my child ! There is still in heaven the
great Zeus , who watches over all things and
rules . Commit thy exceeding bitter grief to him,
GREAT ZE US. 1 7
and be not too angry agains t thy enemies,nor
forget them .
There is an approximation to the GoldenRule in Isocrates “Do not to others what youwould not suffer from them
,and be towards
others what you would wish I should be towards
you .
” Hesych i us makes an ancient hero, Bouzy
ges,say more clearly : “Do to others what you
would should be done to you .
” There i s no one
good but God— all men are Sinners . God looksfavorably on the pious , and cherishes them in life
and after death . He delighteth more in a pure
heart than in all sacrifices . Says Menander °
Fini sh your sacrifice to God with faith,being
ju s t and adorned with puri ty of soul as with abrilliant garment . If you hear the thunder
,do
not fly,s ince your conscience makes you no r e
proach ; for God seeth you , and holde th himselfnear you .
” “Good thoughts are the greatestgift of God
,says jEschyl us .
“Worship is due
the gods,
” says Aristotle,
“ because they are
the source of the greatest benefits we have r e
ceived,and we owe them intelligence as well as
life .
”
We present from the tragic wri ters a few more
sentences
“ Look thou on h im who looks on al l from heaven ,G uardian of suffer i ng men ,
I 8 DEPAR TED GOD S.
I V ho, wor n wi th toi l , un to th ei r neigh bors come
AS supplian ts , and r ecei ve not justi ce due.
Zeus,the tr ue supplian t
’
s god ,
Ab ides , by wa i l of su fferer , un appeased .
F or not a subject h asten ing at th e heck
O f str ength above h i s own,
Reigns he subordinate to m igh tier power s ;N or does he pay th is h omage fr om below,
I V h i l e one sits th r oned i n m ajesty above.
Act i s for h im as speech ,
To h asten what h i s teem ing m ind resolves .
“ Zeu s, who leadeth man i n wisdom’
s way,
And fixeth fast the l aw,
Wisdom by pain to gain .
0 Zeus, whate
’
er he be,
I f th at name please h im Well ,By that on h im I call !Weigh ing a l l oth er names , I fa i l to guess
Augh t el se bu t Zeu s , i f I wou ld cas t asideC lear l y i n every deed ,
From off my sou l , th is weigh t of
Socrates taught that “ there i s a Being whose
eye pierces throughout al l nature,and whose ear
is open to every sound ; extending through all
time,extending to all places ; and whose bounty
and care can know no other bounds than those
fixed by his own creation .
“
l'
fi Mi i l l er , Sc i en ce of L angu age, Secon d Ser i es , pp . 460, 46 1 ;
B r ace, Th e Un kn own G od , p p . 90—1 01 .
TXenoPh on , Memorab i l i a i , 4.
GR EAT ZE US.1 9
Zeus is the lord of the upper regions , dwel l
ing especially on the summits of the most lofty
mountains,where he gathers about h im the dark
storm-clouds,shakes the world wi th his thunder
,
and hurls the fiery bol ts in his wrath . The Olympian deiti es form with Zeus a family
,over which
he presid es I n patriarchal dignity . They are
unable to stay the tide of his power, to thwart
his will,or to ruffle the deep sereni ty of his soul .
His tremendous nod confirms decrees which no
power can frustrate . He has established the
eternal“
order of events,and himself submits the
Fates of his own appointment . The destinies of
nations and of men are in his hands . He sets
kings upon their thrones,and he sanctions human
laws . He watches over social rights,secures the
fulfillmen t of contracts,and holds all men to the
observance of their oaths . He . sees the guil tyand the unjus t
,and attends to the punishment of
all wickedness . He is mild and merciful,but
has no respect for the treacherous,the arrogant
,
and the cruel . He is interested in the delibera
tions of assemblies . He is the god of hospital
ity, and regards the s tranger and the poor . He
presides over property,and watches over fences
and landmarks . All suppliants are under his
peculiar protection,and al l dwellings are in his
keeping . He sends weal th or poverty,heal th or
0 DEPAR TED GOD S.
sickness,hunger or plenty .
’
He is the father of
music and song . He is all-seeing,all-knowing
,
all-wise,all-su ffic i ng, all-causing, and all-accom
p l i sh i ng. He is the god of armies,and maintains
liberty among men .
There is another side to the c haracter of Zeus
which mus t have been due to mythology and the
poets . He is subj ect to passion and frailty ; he
feels pleasure and pain ; he is refreshed wi th am
br os i al food ; he inhales the savor of sacrifices .
Zeus me t with many adventures in his loves .
He was often moved by anger,j ealousy
,and
hatred . There were factions i n h is court,and
conspiracies against h is government . He some
times quarrels,i s not always steadfas t in pur
pose,i s controlled by desire
,and harbors resent
ment . He storms at other gods,and resorts to
unseem l v V i ol ence .
The popul ar god was doub tless this Zeus,
with all his very serious imperfections . He is
subj ect to all the i nfirmi ti es of the flesh . He is
not eternal ; his life had a beginning, and , ao
cording to the belief of some,will have an end .
Sometimes he seems to possess l i ttle power, and
other gods can hear d him with a measure of suc
cess . He is not faultless in h is moral character
in any of the relations of l ife . He dethroned
his father,proved unfai thful to hi s wife on re
22 DEPAR TED GODS.
peated occasions , and abused his own ch ildren .
Together with many n oble traits of character
were combined great"
weakness and monstrous
wickedness . The science of mythology explains,
to be sure,the origin of many of these i ncons i s
ten ci es ; but these explanations do not change
the character of the Zeus in whom the general
popular heart bel ieved .
Zeus did not become the chief of the gods
without a struggle . Accord ing to the oldes t
writers on the origin of things,Uranos and Gaea
,
or Heaven and Earth,gave b irth to th e Titans
,
of whom Cronos was the youngest . Of the sameparentage were also the Cyclopes ; and also
Cottos, B r i ar eos, and Gyes , each of whom hadfifty heads and a hundred arms . Uranos was
displeased when he saw his monstrous offspring,
and thrust them back again into the bosom of
Gaea . The mother,vexed at thi s outrage on the
part of her royal husband,called upon her sons
to avenge her wrongs . Not one dared to raiseh is arm against his father
,except Cr onos . Arm
ing himself with a sickle , or curved sword , Cro
nos waylaid and wounded his father,and from
the drops of blood which fell from the woundssprang the Furies and the Giants . Cronos now
reigned with his wife Rhea,who was als o h i s
s ister .
24 DEPAR TED GOD S.
char acteristically three in number : Thi soa,Neda
,
and Hagno .
On a mountain called Th aumasi um there was,
i n the time of P au san i us,a cave called Rhea’ s
Cave,which only Women sacred to the goddess
may enter . Here i t was that she cheated Cronos,
giving a s tone to swallow in the s tead of a child .
Tradition points to Mount Lycaeus as the place
of his birth .
*
Zeus gave h is father an emetic,by means of
which he was made to disgorge the chi ldren
whom he had swallowed .
The stone which he had swallowed was pre
served at Delphi,anointed every day, and at fes
ti va l s crowned with wool . Pau san i u s says that
stone -worship was the oldest worship among the
Greeks . Almost every temple had its sacred
s tone . The Argives had a rude stone called
Zeus Cappotas . The oldest idol of the Thespians
was a s tone . Another stone was preserved be
neath the pedesta l of Apollo at Delos . In the
Achaean Ph ar ae were thirty square d stones,each
bearing the name of a god .
There are but few traces of the worship of
Cronos . He had a temple at the foot of the
Acropolis in Athens,and sacrifices were offered
to him annually on Olympus .
* Pausan i u s,D esc r i p ti on of G reece, vi i i , 36 .
GR EAT ZEUS. 25
Zeus,with his brothers
,rebelled against hi s
father,and
,after ten years , was victorious , and
thru s t him into Tartarus , where he was gu arded
by the hundred-handers . Another account says
that he went to the Island of the Bles t,where
he ruled over the d eparted,and
,in connection
with Rhadamanthus,judged the shades . Plu
tarch places him on an island i a' the northern
seas,where he i s guarded by the hundred-handed
Briareus . Whatever may have been his des tiny ,he received
,as we have seen
,but small consi d
cration from the religions of the Greeks .
Zeus,in this great war agains t his father
,
had le t loose the Cyclopes,and they furnished
him with thunder-bolts .
Some of the philosophers have li ttle respect
for Hesiod and Homer,who have preserved for
us so many stories of the crimes of the gods .
When Pythagoras descended to the shades,
“he
saw the soul of Hesiod bound to a brazen pillar,
and gnashing its teeth , and that of Homer sus
pended from a tree, and snakes around i t as apunishment for the things that theyhad said of
the gods .“
Legends concerning confli c ts with primitivegiants , sometimes mons ters in form ,
and always
of superhuman strength,are abundant in the
D i ogenes Laer ti us , L i ves of Ph i l osoph ers , p . 347.
26 DEPAR TED GOD S.
early myths of most of the nations of th e earth .
Possibly there may,i n certain cases , be a refer
ence to primordial races ; but doubtless the mean
ing of these legends is largely exhausted When
connect them with the ever-recurring strug
MO UN T OLY MPUS .
gle between the bright and the dark powers of
nature and the later geologic preparation of the
world for i ts present inhabitants .
Speaking of the war of the gods agains t the
Ti tans,L en orman t says : “The localization and
the epic form with which Hes iod has clo thed thisnarrative were influenced by the tradition of a
GR EAT ZEUS. 27
great convulsion of the terrestrial crus t,occa
s i oned by the breaking forth of subterranean
fires,the scene of action being the Grecian coun
tri es,and the witnesses the men al ready inhabit
ing them,— doubtless that convulsion known to
geologis ts as the upheaval of Tenar u s,th e last
of the Plutonian crises which overwhelmed the
ancient world,the effect of which was felt from
the center of France to the coas ts of Syria .
The men who wi tnessed this frightful convulsion
of nature naturally imagined themselves to be in
the midst of a battle of the Titans,issued forth
from the Ch thon i an ‘
Sea against th e celestial pow
ers,combined with the Hecatonch i r s
,other ter
r estr i a l forces.
in conflict with the Ti tans,and
their imagination depictedi
these tremendous ad
ver sar i es,the ones s tationed on the summit of
Oth rys , the Others on the summit of Olympus ,reciprocally endeavoring to crush each other by
hurling burning rocks .”
‘ Len orman t, B egi n n ings of History , pp . 36 1,362.
G O D S AN D HALF -G O D S.
OSEI D ON i s placed by Gladstone among thefive greater gods of Greece . The four r e
maining gods are Zeus,Hera
,Apollo
,and Athene .
“ These five deities are all of them strongly
marked in ind ividual character,widely different
each from all the res t,and yet each effectually
subordinated to the fundamental condi tions of
the system,i n which the poet has assigned to
them commanding positi ons. They are also par
ti cu l ar ly associated in this important respect,that each of them is based upon a single leading
idea . It is not very easy to find,
’
in every case,
an Engl ish word which shal l satisfactor i ly ex
press this idea . For the p resent I would s tatethe case as fol l ows : The leading idea of Zeus is
pol ity,taking this word as the rendering of the
Greek P ol z'
tz'
lté. The leading idea of Poseidon
is physical,not mental force ; of Her é , nation
al i ty ; of Ath en é , mental force ; and of Apollo,obedience
,or conformity to the will of
The god which is the subj ect of Gladstone ’ s
G l adston e, Th e N i neteen th Cen tu r y , Mar ch 1 887, p . 460.
28
GODS AN D HAL F- GODS. 29
study is the Homeri c Poseidon . His ori ginal
character can no t be satisfactori ly determ ined .
A native and perhaps elemental god may have
furnished the basis of this character, but the
supers tructure contains many foreign elements .He is the sea-god
,and possessor of the trident ;
but he i s also the god of the hors e,th e god of
earthquakes,the god of the building art, the
god of special familie s and races,and “ the god
who stands personally related to rebellious pow
ers .” Some of these functions he possesses in
common with other d ivinities . He is the second
of the three brothers of Cronos,among whom
the dominion of the world was dis tributed by
lot . While Zeus has the wide heaven and Aido
neus has the gloomy underworld,to Poseidon
falls the gray sea . The earth is common to
them all . The three brothers originally stood
on an exact equality . Pose idon claims for him
self the same rank with Zeus,and never admi ts
even an advantage in point of age ; but, on the
other hand,he never resists . Zeus calls him
“ the oldest and the best of god s .” Poseidonspeaks as an equal when he says of Zeus : “Let
him not bully me,as i f I were a coward ; but
le t him keep his big words for his own sons
and daughters,who have no choice but to obey
30 DEPAR TED GOD S.
This gray god of the sea i s surpassed by
Zeus alone in his relations with women and
nymphs , and . in his many line s of des cendants .Briareus
,the hundred-handed
,known among
mortals as Aiga i on , is h is son ; and Th oosa,
daughter of Phor cu s , bore him Polyphemus . He
is the father of N au s i th oos and the royal l ine of
Sch er i e by P er i boi a . Turo bears to him Pelias
and Neleus , and from I ph imedei a he h as O tosand Ephialtes .* His paternal feeling seldom
rises higher than brute instinct . His strength
is not of intellect,but of hand ; not of heart,
but of gross physical frame . He seldom does
anything suggestive of real div ini ty .
Nereus was the old elemental god of the sea ,but since the arrival of Poseidon he has been
banished to the deep sea . His greater succes
sor i s confined to the surface of the waters . He
dwells in a palace,and the axle of his chariot i s
not wetted . In his own province his powers
are condi tional and limited,while other de ities ,
unchallenged,invade his realm .
But the god has important relations to the
land . He is the god of earthquakes . The
mountains and the forests tremble under h is
feet . On one o ccas ion he shook the earth so
violently that the god of the underworld leaped”‘ G l adston e, Th e N i n eteen th Cen tur y , Mar ch ,
1 887, p . 463.
32 DEPAR TED GODS.
character as god of the s ea .
“ Even where he
.was worshiped in the interior
,men believed
they heard the salt-waves resounding under his
His temple at Myca l e was the center of the
federal ins ti tutions which originated in Miletus
and Ephesus,and which uni ted twelve citie s .
His most famous fes tival was that celebrated
every second year on the Isthmus of Corin th .
The pine was sacred to him,and a row of these
trees sto od near his temple on the isthmus . A
eath of. pine-leaves was the priz e of victory
at the Is thmian games .
He is represented in works of art holding a
trident,and with a dolphin on his hand or under
his feet . Sometimes he rides a bull,a horse
,or
a sea-horse,or rides in a chariot
,and is often
'
surr ounded by the Nereids and other fabulousinhabitants of the sea .
The character of Apollo is one of the most
attractive of the whole Olympian court and hasbeen studied with almost affectionate reverence .
His worship was probably foreign,and may
have been introduced from Lycia or Crete ; but
it soon became an important part of the Hell en i c system . Apollo was now made the son
and interpreter of Zeus .
Cur ti us , Hi stor y of G reece, V OL I , p . 65.
GODS AN D HAL F—GODS. 33
Apollo ri ses on the vision of one familiar
with Greek antiquity as almos t a pure concep
tion,almos t an angelic d ivinity . To a form of
ideal beauty,combining youthful grace and vigor
with the fulles t perfection of manly strength,he
added unerring wisdom,complete insight into
futurity,an unstained life
,the magic power of
song,abili ty and will to save and heal
,together
with the dread prerogative of dealing out at his
pleasure destruction and death . Compassionate
on occas ions as Mercy herself, he shows at
times the keen and awful severi ty of a destroy
ing archangel . Eirobolos,
‘ s triking from afar,
’
he speeds his fatal shafts from his unfailing bow,
and smites whomsoever he will wi th a death
s troke which there is no escaping . Never of
fended without cause,never moved by caprice
,
he works the will of Zeus in all that he does
dispenses retributive j us tice,and purifies with
wholesome fear the souls of men . Partaker of
all the counsels of his father,and permitted to
use his discretion in communicating them to the
denizens of earth,he delivers h is oracular r e
sponses from the various spots which he has
chosen as his special abodes ; and , though some
times his repl ies may be of doubtful import,he
seldom sends away a vo tary unsatisfied . The
answers which he gives,or
,at any rate
,i s sup
34 DEPAR TED GODS.
posed to give,determine the decis ions of s tates
men and shape the course of history . War and
peace,treaties and alliances
,are made and u n
made as the Delphic and other oracles,inspired
by him,advise ; and the course of Hellenic col
on i zati on is almost entirely determined by his
decrees . Poet,prophe t
,physician
,harper
,god
of victory and angel of death i n one,Apollo
is always on the s ide of right— always true
to Zeus,and not much inferior to him in
An analogy has been traced be tween Apollo
and the Son of God . Gladstone says : “In
Apo l lo are represented the legendary anticipa
tions of a person to come,i n
_whom shoul d be
combined all the great offices in which God theSon i s now made known to man— as the Light
of our paths,the Physician of our disease s
,the
Judge of our misdeeds,and the Conqueror
and D isarmer,but not Abolisher
,of
The character of Apollo is s hown in his active
embracement of the will of Zeus . Returning to
this subj ect,Gladstone says To this most curt
ous and striking feature of the Apollo,I am not
aware that anything analogous has been found
in what are commonly known as Aryan tradi
R awl i n son ,Th e R el igi on s of th e An c i en tWor l d
, p p . 1 88—1 90.
TG l adston e, Hom er an d th e Homer i c Age, V ol . I I , p .
36 DEPAR TED GOD S.
tions,or in the results of Egyptian research .
When we approach the Semitic province,there is
a change . In the Assyrian system,as it is s e t
forth in the volume of Professor Sayce,the
character of Merodach appears to be related to
that of the god Hea,his father
,in a manner
much corresponding with the relation between
the Apollo and the Zeus of Homer. We are
now brought upon ground where remarkable co
incidences have already been disclosed,although
it i s impossible to forecast the bearings of future
Assyrian d iscoveries on what has been already
found . But if Merodach exhibits a correspond
ence wi th the Homeric conception,he corre
sponds als o with what may be his Semitic origi
nal ; namely , the undeveloped but most significant
tradition recorded in the book of Genesis r e
specting a future D eliverer, who was to bruisethe serpent’ s head
,and to undo his work by
restoring mankind to that very union with the
highest w ill which had been broken by trans
gr ess i on , and of which the Homeric Apollo ex
h i b i ts an unvarying and finished
This i s a daring comparison,but i t has reason
and weight .
The advent of Apollo-worsh ip marked an
epoch in the history of Greece . “ It resembledf G l adston e, Th e N i n eteen th Cen tu r y , May, 1 887 , p . 751 .
GODS AN D HAL F—GODS. 37
a second day of creation I n the his tory of their
Spiri tual development .” Great advancement was
made in the social order,and improvements i n
all that pertained to Hellenic civil ization were
inaugurated on every hand . Religion became
more spiri tual,music and song gave express ion
to the pure j oys of the heart,man was brought
into a closer and more blessed communion with
the gods,and the voice of great Zeus was heard
in the inspired utterances of the prophe ts . Th e
power of the Er i nnyes was broken , the cry of the
penitent was h eard and his s in pardoned,and a
reign of d ivine grace began .
The religi on of Apollo had i ts different phases .
In the mountain and fores t worship of Hyl ates ,on Cyprus
,and among the Magnetes
,wild cus
toms prevailed . Apollo as Delphinius is a sea
god ; and at Delphi he is “ the god of light andright, who guides the course o f States , the spiri tual center of the whole Hellenic world . In this
Apollo, Hellenic polytheism received i ts harmoni
ous completi on , and the loftiest glori fication ofwhich i t was
There had been , before the days of Homer , a
cult of the sun-god within Achaean terri tory .
The prevailing worship of Ithaca seems to have
been Sun-worship , as Gladstone has made out‘ Curti us , Hi sto ry of G reece . V o l . I . p p . 6 7 . 68.
4
38 DEPAR TED GODS.
with great probabili ty .
* The ruling name of
Phoebus was given to this nature-power,and
this sun -god grows into and forms what may be
called the material and popular basis for the Ho
meric Apollo . The latter is, the god of the i nfluence of the sun on nature
,while
,as his subor
d i nate,Helios guides the orb in his daily course ;
j us t as Artemis per son i fies the power of the moon,While Selene guides her course .
Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto,and
was born on the island of Delos,which Pindar
says had been a barren rock,floating about in
the sea,but was at that time made s tationary by
being fastened down by pillars . The same also
happened to Rhodes,th e center of the worship
of Heli os . The child-god immediately seized a
bow,and announced his purpose to found an
oracle . His father gave h i m a lyre,a miter
wherewith to bind h is hair,and a car drawn by
swans . He set out for Delphi ; but the swanscarried him off to their home among the Hyper
bor eans,when ce he returned not till the succeed
ing summer . The solar character of these myths
is unquestionable . Apoll o gave oracles at other
places bes ides Delphi,and communicated the
prophetic gift to certain mortals . He was the
leader of the Muses,and was j ealous of his gift.
*G l adstone, Th e N i neteen th Cen tur y, May, 1 887.
40 DEPAR TED GODS.
nic s Apollo , when a branch of olive was carried
in procession,hung with three hundred and
sixty-five wreaths , and representations of the
sun,moon, plane ts , and stars .
The worship of Apol l o was introduced in
Rome in B . C . 320,when the city was V i si ted by
a pestilence .
The-
principal symbols of the god were the
how,th e lyre
,the tripod
,the laurel
,the palm
,
the wolf,the deer
,and the raven. Art
,in i ts
ripest period,sough t to combine in h im the
s trength of manhood and the perfection of eter
nal youth . His long hair is usually tied i n a
knot above his forehead . When represented as
the leader'
of th e Muses,h i s tresses fall about
his shoulders,and his long drapery 1 s gl r t at
the wais t
Athene,as a nature-goddess
,may have been
originally a personification of the bright upper
regions of the sky . As Pallas,she was connected
with storms .
Athene,i n the Olympian Assembly
,sat on
the left side of Zeus,Hera sitting on h i s right
side . Sh e was the goddess of war,and was
armed with spear and helmet,and the dread
aegi s of her father . While Apollo sometimes
took the aegi s in hand at the command of Zeus ,she assumed i t spontaneously . She was res ist
42 DEPAR TED GOD S.
less among heroes,and was
,as we shall see
,
more than a match for Ares himself. She a l so
fostered the arts of peace,and invented spinning
and weaving,the art of taming horses
,the flute
,
and the healing - art . She was the goddess of
pol ity,and of personal discipl ine and super i n
tendence .
Zeus,according to ancient story
,swallowed
his wife Metis,
“ intelligence,
” and Athene sprang
from his head full-grown . Sh e has been called“ a conscious impersonation of th e divine wis
dom .
” By many she has been considered an
almost faultless ideal female character . Homer
ranks her w ith Zeus and Apollo . She combined
purity,wisdom
,and strength ; and her influence
was healthful and ennobling . She was worshiped
with sacrifices,prayers
,and fes tivals .
It is difficult,if not imposs ible
,to describe
in a single Word the base,or leading idea
,of
the Homeric Athene. The shortes t account,per
haps,that can be given of her
,so as to convey
a living idea,is that she is the O lympian r eflec
tion of Odysseus . Like him,she i s p ol utr opos
many-sided,and full of resource . Like his
,her
purpose i s of iron,her methods are of the mate
rial,be i t hard or soft ; bes t adapted to the pur
pose,whatever i t may be . Like him
,she can
not be small, she must be large ; but she may be
GODS AN D HAL F—GODS.43
ei th er true or untrue as the occasion requires .
Like,though even beyond h i m
,she i s ful l of
fore though t,has no waste of power
,i s always in
measure , never in excess . In fact, these types
of character are so wedded to one another that
we may go a long
way with the absolute
parall el before we
reach those points , as
i t were upon the fringe
of each,where the lines
diverge — where the
human would pass
from consummate art
into exaggeration,i f i t
were absolutely assim
i l ated to the divine .
“ In him,as a man
,
limitation is necessary ;in her
,i t i s les s trace
able,as to her relations to the earth and man , than
in any other deity . Though he never fails,yet h e
may put up with a drawn battle,as in the Games .
Her success,from a practical point of V iew , i s
always assured . The cul minating threat of Zeus
to the assembled gods (I 1 . vii i , 1 8- 27) i s forthwi th softened down for her (39, Odysseusi s , in more than one case , carried away by pas
PAL L As ATHEN E
44 DEPAR TED GOD S.
sion into pure error of j udgment,with destruo
tive consequ ences . The neares t approach to
error that I can find in the conduct of Pallas i s
in the eighth Il iad . Sh e has no grace,
but much tact . Sh e is not,except in j ealousy
,
womanish ; but she never wholly ceases to be
feminine— never is she rough or coarse in her
dealings with men . Sh e never enters personally,
like Her é,into collision with Zeus . The reproach
against Here by her husband— that she would
like to eat Priam and his children raw (iv , 35)i s one that would be utterly incongruous if ad
dressed to Athene . Sh e is perpetually
thinking of the affairs and interests of those
she cares for,when they are themselves unmind
ful ; and she makes provision for them by unso
l i c i ted,as well as by sol icited
,in tervention . Sh e
never enters into mere contes ts of the tongue
never wastes a word . Athene,of the flashing
eye,presents to us a marked contrast be tween
the different internal centers of responsible ao
tion . Her intel lect i s a bow always Strung ; i t
i s ever ready,and al ive ; bu t her emotional na
ture i s as cons tantly under bi t and bridle . The
worst threats of Zeu s do not stir any passion,
nor even fear ; they are received with a low
murmur (1 1 . iv, or in silence (viii ,She is only bored or vexed (tetiemené) at the
46 DEPAR TED GOD S.
obstacle placed for th e moment in the way of
her plans . With so much power,and such reg
u l ati on of i t, i t is i n her nature to inspire the
human min d with a degree of faith and confi
dence,of which we have no other equally s trik
ing
He speaks of the Homeric goddess .
Hayman brings a heavy bill of charges against
the character of Athene . She never feels any
tend erness or affection ; She acknowledges no
obligation,and she is absolutely without p ity .
She i s busy and restless , unscrupulous in partner
ship,astute in pol icy
,and profound in dissimula
tion . She is keenly satirical and crafty,and
comprehends I I O motive s excep t th ose which are
base . She mocks the weak,and exults over them .
While fai thful in behalf of a comrade,she i s yet
heartless . She loves Odysseus for his roguery andcunning . Indeed
,these are the qual i ties which
she would doubtless mos t heartily commend .
Withal she would avoid no hazard to back a
friend,and is always ready and prompt . These
considerations can not but seriously deduct from
our admiration for her characters !:
Zeus,Athene
,and Apollo are in several re
spects placed far above all other divinities of the
926G l adston e, Th e N i neteen th Cen tur y , J u l y, 1 887, pp . 81 , 82.
TMah atfy, Soc i a l L i fe i n G reece, pp . 4 1 , 42.
48 DEPAR TED GOD S.
s ide their particular Olympian prerogatives.
Aside from Zeus,they are th e only divini ties dis
tin ctly named as having part i n that providence
which directs the affairs of men . They,too
,ex
bibit to men vi sible manifes tations of their provi den ti a l office . Neither makes use of instrumentsor secondary causes to produce corporal or men
tal effects . Both administer punishment by their
own authority . They s pontaneously recogniz e
and act upon the moral order of the world . In
the exercise of their powers and prerogatives they
overlap the provinces of other duties even in their
mos t pronounced specialties . They are set free
from the limitations of space and sense . Prayer
is addressed to them in all places . There are no
stages recognized in their j ourneys . Neither of
thes e deities is ever s tated to drink,or eat
,or
sleep . They are never wearied,they are never
wounded,and they never suffer pain . No pas
sion ever disturbs their pure h earts . Athene r e
mained the ma iden goddess,and Apollo
,in his
Homeric character,seems never to have been
moved by’
sexual desire . There is a passage in
th e “ Iliad ” which has been understood to signify
that Apollo ravished Marpessa,but the passage
yields to a different explanation . Neither of these
d iviniti es i s associated with any local home,and
thei r worship is not subj ec t to local l imitations.
GODS AN D HAL F- GODS.49
They exercise powers not wi thin the course of
nature or human experience . They assume at
will vari ous forms , and change the processes of
nature . For illustrations of these several pointsthe reader mus t be referred to the brilliant article
of Glads tone,where they are worked out in much
de tail .*
We now come to the discuss ion of the character
of the las t of the greater gods of G reece . Hera ,l ike most of the early Grecian d ivini ties
,was
doubtless at firs t of Pelasgian,or at least of for
ei gn, origin . She seems to have represente d the
fruitful earth,and her divine marriage with Zeus
was the ever-repeated union between Heaven andEa rth .
The ancien t Ayran idea derived all li fe from a
divine pair,whose fertil i ty sugges ted the concep
tion of them as a. bull and a cow . Zeus,i n the
form of a bull,carried off Europa . According to
Hesych i us , Europa is an epi thet o f Hera . She
is sometimes presented to us as the moon-goddess
under the epithe t Eil ei thyia . Euboea is one ofher epithets , the name of one of her nurses , the
name of the island in which she was brought up,
and the name of the mountain at whose foot was
her mos t celebrated temple . But this word,as
G l adsto ne, Th e N i neteen th Cen tu r y , J u l y 1 887 , pp . 92—1 02.
50 DEPAR TED GOD S.
well as her epithet B ounai a,contains the word
meaning cow.
She i s represented at Samos by the simple
symbol of a plank,and at Thespiae by a branch .
In some of the paintings she is hardly to be dis
ti ngu i sh ed from Artemis and Aphrodite . In
Tiryns and Mycenae,Henry Schliemann found
cow-headed figures,which he maintained are
idol s of this goddess . The horns— those of Isis
as well ; there was probably some connection be
tween Egypt and Mycenae— may be the symbolic
horns of the crescent representing the moon . We
may consider her epithet cow-eyed,
” of Homer,
as an interesting survival of her early character . *
In her character as a Greek goddess,she was
queen of heaven,and seemed to exercise all the
authority of her lord . She presided over child
birth,and her daughters
,the Ei l ei thyi ae, act as
her ministers . The patroness of marriages,she
was ever true to her own mari tal relations,and
demanded perfect puri ty among her devotees . Sh e
was strong,haughty
,full of intense hates and
likings,and justly j ealous of her husband . The
poets relate her bitter persecutions of the hero
ines,who becam e the obj ects of her husband ’ s u n
holy pass ion . She was much worshiped , and with
*Sch l i em an n,Mycen ae an d Ti r yn s , pp . V i , V l l , 10—1 3, 1 9
4 22,
362—364.
GODS AN D HAL F—GODS. 5]
tr ue devotion , and had many temples , many stat
ues,and many al tars to which the fai thful resorted .
In the O lympian court,the rank of Hera is
clearly recognized . She i s at once th e sis ter and
wife of Zeus ; the gods rise from their seats as
she enters the counci l ; and she parti cipates in
certain prerogatives of her lord . Like Athene,she
i s permitted to wield the thunder-bolt,she never
exercises any influence by personal contact with
mortals,but by the direct action of the mind
,and
she commands the services of other dei ties . The
nationality of her character gave her a large
place in the heart of Greece .
But her character someti mes descends very
low . She may almost be called a scold and ter
magan t. She i s deceitful,full of mischi evous
tricks,fr acti ons
,and rough-tongued . She l ies
,
and swears to i t ; and overreaches her husband ,no t by intellect
,but by artifice . She loses the
respect of the gods,and Homer is not in love with
her character .
Sh e possesses great energy of character,but
lacks all thos e o ther quali ties which make Athene
great and majes tic . Though occupying so con
sp i cuou s a posi tion , she suffers in compari son wi th
Leto,whose action in Homer i s so insignifican t .
The poet feels the utmost r everence for Leto,and
always treats her wi th honor,and on all occasions
52 DEPAR TED GOD S.
careful ly sh ields her from disparagement . Hera
is treated quite otherwise . A legend is recorded
that she was severely wounded i n the right breast
by Heracles,and yet no punishment seems to
have been accorded for the off ense ; indeed , no
notice whatever seems to have been taken of the
affair . Zeus is repeatedly roused to anger against
his spouse,and launches threats at her again and
again . In connection with Heracles she was sub
jected to severe corporal punishment by her lord .
On one occasion she was suspended from heavenwi th chai ned hands, and anvils attached to her
feet . So terrible is thi s punishment that the res t
of the O lympian coi I r t are roused to indignation .
The respect which she receives from the other
great'
di vi n i ti es i s not so much because of her
personal quali ti es of mind and heart,as because
of her conspicuous position as th e wife of the
king of the gods .*
Her mythological presentation was certainly
not of‘ a nature to improve the character of those
women who might take her for their model ; since ,although she was possessed of certain great qual
ities— pass ion,fervor
,strong affecti on
,self-com
mand,courage
,acuteness— yet she was
,on the
whole,wanting in the main elements of female
* G l ad s ton e,The Contem por ary R evi ew,
Febr uar y 1 888, pp .
1 81 , 1 82.
GODS AN D HAL F - GODS.53
excellence— gentleness,softness
,tenderness , pa
ti ence, submission to wrong , self-renunciation, re t
i cence. She was a proud , grand , haugh ty, pow
er fu l queen ° not a kind,helpful
,pers uasive, lov
ing woman .
Ares,the son of Zeus and Hera
,was the god
of battles— “a personification of the wi ld
,im
petuous spiri t with which battles were fought .”
He was splendidly armed with helme t, shield ,cuirass
,and spear— swift of foot
,great of size
,
unsatiable of war,furious
,raging , murderous . His
companions were Fury,Strife, Dread , and Alarm .
He was largely,however
,u nder the authority of
Apollo and Athene,to whom he was compel led
to yield . His worship i s though t to have been
introduced from Thrace,and the roughness of his
character precluded its general adoption by the
refined Hellenes .
D iomedes,with the assistance of Athene
,
wounded Ares and
The fu r ious godU ttered a c ry as of n ine thousand men ,
O r of ten thousand , r ush i ng to the figh t.
And when to avenge himself,he aimed his
huge spear at Athene
She only stepped
Backwa rd a space , and with her power ful hand
Rawl i n son ,Th e R el igi on s of th e Anc ien t Wor l d, p . 1 96 .
54 DEPAR TED GODS.
Lifted a stone that l ay upon the plain ,
Black , h uge, and jagged,wh i ch th e men of ol d
Had p l aced ther e for a landmar k . Th is she h u r ledAt Mar s
,and str uck h im on the neck ; he fell
With nervous limbs , and cover ed , as he l ay,Seven acres of the field .
”
Hephaestus,was the god of fire, and mos t
skillful in smelting and metallurgy . He was the
AR ES .
ar ti ficer of the gods,forged the thunder-bolts of
Zeus,and provided the gods with armor and war
l ike weapons . In pre-Hellenic t imes he may have
been an elemental god . Zeus cast him out of
heaven . Addressing h i s mother Hera,he says
F or har d i t i s to str ive with J up iter .
Already on ce, wh en I took par t with theeHe sei zed me by the foot and flung me o
’
er
Th e battlemen ts of h eaven . Al l day I fell ,And wi th th e setting sun I str uck the earth
*Hom er,Th e I l i ad— B r yan t’s Tr an sl ati on , V , 1 075
- 1077
56 DEPAR TED GOD S.
bl ing along , sat down upon a splendid throne near
where Theti s
Such was his appearance when consul ted con
cerning the shield of Achilles“ It i s characteris tic of the many-sidedness
of the Greeks,and consequent upon the anthro
pomorph i sm which makes the O lympic community a reflecti on of earthly things
,that there
should be,even in this august conclave
,some
thing provocative of laugh ter,a discord to break
the monotony of the harmony,an element of
grotesqueness and
The marriage of Hephaestus and Aphrod ite ,the goddess of love and beauty, satisfied their
s ense of the humorous and ludicrous .
The ancient Greeks paid Hephaes tus no
worship . Small images of this god,however
,
stood on every hearth at Athens,and “ the
Amphidromia round the hearth-fire was the rite
whereby the newly-born chi ld was adopted into
the family .
” In the old Greek art,he is r epr e
sented as a bearded man in full dress,carrying a
hammer ; but in his later workman’ s clo thes he
has an und ign ified and comic appearance .
Hermes was “ the god of social li fe and i nter cour se in general
,of streets and doorways
,and
*Hom er , Th e I l i ad— B uckl ey ’
s Tr an s l ati on,xvi i i
,41 0—424 .
TR aW I inson , Th eR el i gi on s of th eAn c i en tW or l d, pp . 1 92
, 1 93.
GODS AN D HAL F- GODS. 57
of the palaestra . He is the'
imper sonati on of
cleverness and commercial smartness,the god of
invention,and the patron of thieves . He has
been called “ the Olympian man of business .
”
He carries messages , undertakes important mis
sions,and secures worldly prosperity . He became
the god of wisdom and learning,but hi s wisdom
was stri ctly of a business and worldly character,
and he was far from careful of the means which
he employed,so that he accomplished his pur
poses . He was always “ active,energetic
,frui t
fu l in resource , a keen bargainer, a bold story
teller,and a clever th ief. His practical shrewd
ness and kindness made h im the valued patron
of travelers and the cherishe d friend of the
weary . In his nature there was an element of
humor and drollery,which often served him well .
He invented speech,eloquence
,the alphabe t
,
weights and measures,numbers
,and music . The
representations Show him in his early manhood .
His head and ankl es are winged,to symbolize his
swiftness of movement . He exchanged hi s lyrewith Apo l lo for the caduceus or rod of wealth
,
which served also as a herald ’ s s taff . The statue
of Praxiteles,in the Her a i on at Olympia
,repre
sents the god leaning with his le ft hand on a
rock,and supporting thereon th e infant Bacchus .
The right arm has been los t.
58 DEPAR TED GOD S.
The mythologi cal relations of Hermes are di f
ficu l t to trace,and still more difficul t to explain .
He is sometimes connected w ith the mysterious
Cabiri . In the hymn to Aphrodite,Hermes and
the Sileni are the companions of the mountain
nymphs,and in Arcadia he is the father of Pan by
Penelope . For the ful l treatment of the ques tions suggested
by such relations larger works
must be consu lted .
Artemis,the twin s ister of
Apollo,possessed in a less
pronounced degree the same
attributes with her divine
brother puri ty,chas tity
,maj
esty,skill i n archery
,and
ministry of death . She was
endowed with the sam e exalted
type of beauty,and even took
part with her brother in his
favorite music and dance . In
one respect she differed from
Apollo— she was the goddess of the chase,and
haunted the mountains and forests accompanied
by her hounds,rej oicing in her favorite pursuit .
As Apollo was the god of the sun,she was
the goddess of the moon . This may have
been grafted on her original character . “ The
60 DEPAR TED GODS.
spread of vegetation from the dew under a
peaceful moonlight was ascribed to her influence .
”
At her annual fes tival on the sixteenth of April,
cakes were made in the form of the moon when
in the full, and stuck over with lights . Her i nfluence was especially felt near springs
,streams
,
on the sea, and in marshy places . Young girls
were under her special protection,and dedicated
to her a l ook of their hair or some other trifle .
She honored youth,innocence
,and modesty
,and
was withal a beauti ful character .
The Asiatic Artemis was quite different .
Ores tes i s said to have brought an image of thegoddess from the Crimea to Sparta
,where her
worship demanded human sacrifices . These sac
r i fices were commuted by Lycurgus,but thi s sur
vi va l still remained in the flogging of youths at
her al tar . The Carians and the L el eges worshiped
Artemis in the form of an image which was be
l i eved to have fallen from heaven . The wealth
and splendor of her temple at Ephesus is cele
br ated in h istory . She was the nature goddess
and an impersonation of fecundity in nature .
When we study her history,we must bear in
mind this double character .
Aphrodite may have been ori ginally an Asiatic
dei ty,introduced from Phoenicia through Cyprus .
She'
was the goddess of love and beauty ; but the
GODS AN D HAL F—GODS.6 1
love was not pure , noble , and divine , but therather sensual ; and so , too , the beauty was phys
ical rather than intellectual and moral . The
Greek was drawn to this goddess and fas
c i nated by her charms , and yet in his heart de
sp i sed her, and was dis contented under her i n
fluence. Silly and childish , easily tricked and
imposed upon,Aphrodi te is mentally contemp ti
ble,while morally she is odious . Tyrannical over
the weak,cowardly before the strong, frail her
self,and the persi sten t s torer up of frailty in
o thers,lazy
,deceitful
,treacherous
,selfish
,Shrink
ing from the least touch of pain, she repels the
moral sentiment with a force almos t equal to
that with which she attracts the lower animal
Her usual symbols were the dove,swan
,
dolphin, hare , goat, and tortois e . In Paphos Shewas worshiped under the form of a ball or pyr~
amid Surrounded by burning torches . “ In the
bes t days of art every charm of beauty was ex
hansted for her statues,
” culminating in the
Aphrod ite at Cnidus,by Praxiteles .
Hestia wa s perhaps the lates t in origin of the
greater gods . She presided over the altar-fireand all sacrifices . and claimed a portion of ever y
offering . Her sacred fire was kept always burn‘ Rawl i n son ,
Th e R e l igion s o f th e An c ien t \V or l d , p . 201 .
6
62 DEPAR TED GODS.
ing,and when by accident it was extinguished
,
i t was rekindled by friction or from the rays of
the sun . Sh e was the goddess of th e fireside,
the hearth,and the home
,and the art of house
building was ascribed to her . Sh e prote cted
suppl iants who fled to her hearth for refuge,and
preserved the purity,sweetness
,peace
,and j oy
of the home . Modesty and virtue Were under
her gracious protection .
“ She upheld among
the Greeks th e i dea of V irginal purity as a transcenden ta l phase of l ife— a moral perfection
whereto the best and purest might not only as
pire,but atta in
,as the result of earnest en
deavor .
”
Hestia presided over not only the domestic,
but also the city,the tribal
,and the national
hearths ; and in the later mystic philosophy this
became the hearth of the universe and the eter
nal fire at the center of the world .
The magistrates of the city met around the
common hearth-fir e,and there the sacred ri te s
that sanctify the peace of ci ty l ife were per
formed . Since the h earth was the home of th is
goddess,she poss essed few special temples . In
her temple in Hermione the sacred fire was her
only symbol . Sh e may have had another temple
at Olympia .
Demeter,
“ the earth-mother, was the goddess
64 DEPAR TED GOD S.
of fertil i ty . Sh e was a universal dei ty, though
more especially honored in certain places . The
culture of cereals,the work of tillage , and the
making of bread the G reeks learned from this
beneficen t and bountiful goddess . At the Thes
mophor i a, a festival at which only married women
were present,she i s sai d to have insti tuted the
laws of l ife,especially of the married life of
women .
‘ The Eleusinian mysteries , with the ir
pur i ficati ons , sacrifices , process ions , torches, ath
letio games , fas tings , solemn oaths of secrecy,and symbolic r ites
,where i n
,i n profound symbol
ism,were described the r ev iv ifica ti on of the earth
after the death of winter,and the new life into
which the soul is ushered after i ts passage
through the gateway of death,were celebrated
at Eleusis i n her honor . The myth commem
orated in this fes tival i s one of the most inter
esting,and celebrated in the classics . Per
seph one, her daughter, while gathering flowers in
the fields of Enna,in Si cily
,i s caugh t and borne
away by Hades,to become his queen in the i n
fernal regions . Her mother seeks her d i sconso
late,the earth refuses to yield her increase , and
Zeus is compelled to permit the daughter to l ive
half the year on th e earth .
According to a legend,at the time when
Hades was carry ing off Persephone,a swineherd
,
eons AN D HAL F-GODS.65
Eubuleus by name,chanced to be herding his
swine on the very spot,and the whole herd van
iehed down the chasm which received the god
and his prize . To commemorate thi s event, at
the celebration of the Thesmophoria, pigs , branches
of pine,and cakes of symbol ic import were cas t
into the “ chasms of Demeter and Persephone .
A multitude of serpents consumed the flesh of
the pigs ; but at the end of the year certain
women,who had undergone purification for three
days,descended into the vaults
,and
,fr igh tening
the serpents away with the clapping of their hands,
gathered up the remains and placed them on the
al tars . Whoever secured any of the decayed
flesh,and sowed it in the field with his grain
,
was sure of a good crop .
In the sanctuary of Demeter and the Deitiesof the Lower World
,at Cnidus
,a chamber was
discovered which contained the bones of pigs
and marble images of pigs .*
On the fourth day of this festival was ob
served the ceremony of carrying the sacred
baske t in honor of the goddess .
“ B u t r adian t Hesper , from the sta r ry skies ,Beholds the sacr ed basket as i t fl iesBr igh t Hesper on ly cou ld per suade the powerTo q uench her th i rst, i n that u nhappy hour ,
*Frazer , Thesnwp hof
r i u,i n En cycl oped i a B r i tan n i ca , V ol .
XXI I I , pp . 295-297 .
66 DEPAR TED G OD S.
When ,full of gr ief, sh e r oam
’
d from p l ace to place,
Her r avi sh’
d daugh ter’
s l a ten t steps to trace.
How could thy tender feet, 0 goddess ! bearThe pa i n ful jou r ney to th e wester n spher e ?
How cou ldst thou tread black E th i op’
s burn ing climes,
O r that fair soil , i n those dis tr essfu l times,
Where, on the tree, th e golden app l e beam s,
N or eat, nor dr ink , nor bath e i n cooling str eams ?
Ha i l , sacr ed power ! P r eserve th i s h appy townI n peace and safety
,con cor d and r en own
L et r i ch in cr ease o’
er sp r ead the yel l ow plain ;Feed fl ocks and h er ds , and fil l the r i pen ing grainL et wr ea ths of olive sti ll ou r brows ador n ,
And those wh o p l ow’
d the field shall reap the
Pau san i us describes the annual festival called
Ch th on i a as celebrated in Hermione . The priests
of the gods and all the town authoriti es lead the
procession,and the women and the men follow .
Boys,clothed i n white and garlanded with flow
ers of hyacinth,also form a procession . When
they reach the temple,they let inside the sacred
place a heifer,and the doors are immediately
shut . Four old women receive the victim,and
the one who can get a chance cuts the throat
with a sickle . The doors are then opened,and
a s econd,th ird
,and sometimes even a fourth
heifer is let in,and slain in the same manner.
On whichever side the ’
firs t heifer falls,all fall
* Cal l i mach us , Hymn to D emeter , l ytl er’s tran sl ati on , pp .
408, 41 3.
GODS AN D HAL F—GODS. 67
on the same side . The special obj ect of their
worship no one has ever seen . It is a secret
with the four old women .
In Ph iga l i a , Pausan i us sacrificed to Demeterafter the manner of the people of the land . The
only offerings were fruit, honeycomb , and wool
just as i t was taken from the sheep . These they
l ay on an al tar in front of her cave , and pour oil
over them all .*
Initiation into the Greek mysteries— by
which we now mean the greater mysteries :
those of the Cabiri,the Samothracian , the D io
nysi ac'
,the M i thraic
,the Eleusinian
,and possi
bly some others— was counted the highes t honor .
The privilege was granted at the first only to
such of the priests as were prepared by education and quality
,and those fortunate citi zens
who were to enter upon some important office of
s tate . The benefits were of the largest moraland spiritual significance . The doctrines taught
,
either by word or by symbol,were the existence
of one eternal God,the immortali ty of the soul
in some form of exis tence,and the future moral
j udgm ent .
In an ancient hymn the priest says : Go onin the right way
,and contemplate the sole Gov
er nor of the world . He is One and of himself‘ Pausan i us , D escr i pti on of G reece , 1 1 , 35 ; vi i i , 42.
68 DEPAR TED G OD S.
alone , and’
to that one all things owe their
being . He worketh through all,was never
seen by mortal eyes , but doth himself see
every one .
”
Our chief sources of information concerni ngthese mysteries must be the
,early Chris tian
fathers— notably Clement of Alexandria and
Eusebius,whose accounts may be
'
received as
rel iable ; Plutarch , wh o writes as a philosophical
h istorian ; and Apuleius , who Spins out tales
most romantic,and is possibly leas t worthy of
credi t .
It would seem that the mysteries teach,in a
manner highly dramatic,the purest morality .
The candidate passes through certa in stages of
progress during the ini tiation,by which are
symbolized,ei ther in his own personal exper i
ence or by specta cular display, his death,j udgment
,and resurrection to a new life . The life
of the gods in whose honor the mysteries are
celebrated is also represented . By virtue of
the sacred rites and teachings connected with
the service,and the impress ions wrought upon
his mind and the change wrought in h is heart,he may be “ happy both in thi s world and the
world to come .
So much concerning these mysteri es must
forever remain concealed , that we can not pro
GODS AN D HAL F—G OD S. 69
n ounce with confidence as to the details e ither
of ritual or doctrine .We may
,however
,offer one or two criticisms
,
which seem to be fatal to the possibil i ty of anylas ting influence towards the regeneration of
society .
The mysteries were for the few . At a later
period,indeed
,they admi tted all to their secrets ;
but,from the very nature of the initiatory serv
ice,only the few could understand the sacred
meaning . The benefit which they bestowed upon
the great mass of the people mus t have been
exceedingly sl ight . That their influence over
the morals and lives of the initiated was healthful
,while the mysteri es themselves re tained their
purity,we gladly admit ; but such influence was
not,could not be
,abiding . Both the greater and
the lesser mys teries lost their original purity .
They afl'or ded the opportunity for hidden crimes .
They concealed uncleanness . Some of these
fes tivals may have been obscene from the begin
n ing ; others introduced or fos tered , or at leas t
a ll owed and protected,wickedness . The Eleu
s ini a n mysteries main ta ined their purity long
est, but even th is service broke down at the last .
Important among the secondary gods of Greece
was D ionysus , the son of Zeus and Semele, the
god of the vine and of7drunken
n
es
s. He intro
70 DEPAR TED G’OD S.
duced th e vine in Greece, taught its culture , anddiscovered the exhilarating effects of wine . His
worship,whose center was Thebes in Boeotia
,
was connected with drunken orgies,furious and
extravagant revelry, exciting music, wild dances,shrieks
,cries
,yells
,ecs tatic ravings
,and some
times even bloodshed . This god delivered from‘grief
,and furnished the only medicine for
troubles . The frantic ravings of the drunken
devotee were received as indications of special
inspiration,and his bois terous
,senseless
,and
mad utterances were recognized as prophetic .
The god fill ed the heart w ith courage,and the
body with strength . Similar seems to have been
the effect of the gases which rose from pro
pheti c springs, or from crevices of the earth in
prophetic caves— i ts intoxication leading to r e
spouses which were considered oracular,and the
interpretation of which called for special q ual ifi
cations .
The Bacchae believed in the much-abusedprinciple that to the pure all things are pure,and this gave l icense to all uncleanness .
“And let every one with pure lips speak that
which is propitious,for now will I
,according to
custom,celebrate with hymns the god Bacchus .
B l essed is he who, being favored , knows themysteries of the gods , keeps h is life pure
' and
72 DEPAR TED GOD S.
s tructed in the mysteries of wine-making ; but
revealing the secret to the herdsmen and laborers,
they became in toxi cated,and slew him
,throwing
his body into a well,or burying i t under a tree .
His daughter Erigone,finding the spot
,hung her
self i n grief.
There were many D ionysiac festivals .
Crowds of females , clothed i n fawn-skins
and bearing the sacred thyrsus,flocked to the
sol itudes of Parnassus or Cithaeron or Taygeta s,
during the consecrated triennial period,passed
the nigh t there with torches,and abandoned
themselves to demonstrations of frantic excite
ment,with dancing
,and clamorous invocation of
the god . The men yielded to a similar impulse,
with noisy revels in the s tree ts,sounding the
cymbal and tambourine,and carrying the image
of the god in Worsh ip was thought
to be most perfect when accompanied with the
mos t thorough drunkenness .
The active worship of this god extended
widely in Asia . In Phrygia he was connectedwith Cybele
,and followed by Pan
,Silenus ,
Satyrs , and Centaurs . The decay of vegetation
was represented as D ionysus slain,and wi th this
meaning he was connected with the mysteries of
Eleusis . He symbolized also the productiveness" G rote, Hi stor y of G reece, V ol . I , p . 26 .
GODS AN D HAL F—GODS. 73
of nature . His chief symbols , besides the phallus
,were the bull
,th e panther
,the ass
,and the
goat ; and h is insignia were the ivy-wreath , the
thyrsus,the drinking-cup
,and sometimes the
horn of a bull,which he wore on his forehead .
Sometimes his effigy looks ou t of a bush or l ow
tre e . Fruit-growers se t'
up his image in their
orchards as a natural tree-s tump . The Corinth
ians made two images out of a particular pine
tree,and gave them red faces and gil t bodi es .
The image of D ionysus was often nothing morethan an upright pos t
,with leafy boughs proj ect
ing from the head and body . The only res em
blan ce to the human figure was a bearded mask
to represent the head . There were no arms,but
the object was draped in a mantle . The religion
of Greece suffered greatly from this most degrading and licentious worship
Hades ,“ the unseen , was the ruler of the
infernal realm . The “house of Hades ” was a
dark abode,deep down in the earth
,and those
who would invoke him,rapped on the ground to
attract hi s attention . Another view placed h is
realm in the far West,beyond the ocean . He
was a shadowy deity,l i ttle worshiped anywhere .
Pluto,the god of wealth
,usurped his place to
some'extent, but he ever maintained his position
in poetry . His wife,Proserpine
,whom he ab
74 DEPAR TED GOD S.
ducted from the earth— pure,chaste
,and kindly
for one in her unenviable position— was queen
of the dead . Her votaries abs tained from
beans, pomegranates , apples , fish,and domestic
fowls .
Hecate was the goddess of magic,and was
closely connected with Artemis . Her worship
flourished especially among the wild tribes ofSamothrace Thessaly
,and elsewhere . She was
a moon-goddess,and magic rites were performed
by the light of the moon . She l ighted wander
ers on their way by night,and was the patroness
of roads . Pillars,called Hecataea
,s tood at
cross-roads and door-ways,especially in Athens .
Hecate was also the goddess of fertili ty,wealth
,
and power . Dogs,honey
,and black ewe-lambs
were presented to her as offerings . She was
represented in triple form,and her six hands
held torches,with sometimes a snake
,a whip
,a
dagger,or a key . Dogs were often at her side .
o lus was the god of the winds , which he
confined in a vast cavern,or sent forth at
his wil l .
Her e ZEol us , i n caver n vast,With bolt and bar r i er fetter s fastRebel l iou s storm and h owling blast.They
, w i th th e r ock’
s r everber an t r oar ,Chafe, bluster i ng r ound th ei r p r ison door ;
i
GODS AN D HAL F- GODS. 75
He, th roned on h igh ,the scep te r sways ,
Con trols thei r mood s , their wrath allays.Break bu t that scepter , sea and land ,And heaven ’
s ethereal deep ,Before them they would wh ir l like sand ,And th rough the void a i r
He dwelt i n an o l ien Island,which floated
on the sea,and was surrounded by an impreg
nable brazen wall ; and up to this wall ran asmooth rock . He has s ix daughters
,whom he
gives in marriage to his six sons . These signify
the twelve winds : They always banque t near
their dear father and good mother . The sweet
odored dwell ing is charmed with musical sounds
during the day,but at nigh t all sle ep on beds of
richest tapestry .
U lysses during his wanderings visi te d thi sgod
,and was entertained for a month . When at
length he asked for permission to depart,the
god prepared for him an escort . Having slai n
an ox nine years old,he gave the much-traveled
wanderer the bladder,i n which he bound the ways
of the blustering w inds,that they might
‘no t es
cape and make the voyage one of danger . He
bound them in the hollow ship with a shining
silver rope,and “not even a li ttle breath might
escape .
” But when his companions,thinking to
secure treas ures , cut the bag open , the winds es‘ V i rgi l , Th e rEnei d , Con i ngton
’
s Transl ati on 1 52—59.
76 DEPAR TED GODS.
caped,and Ulysses was driven back to the home
of rZEol u s , who, however, spurned him away as
one hated of the gods .Nereus
,the old man of the sea men call
h im old because he is unerring as well as mild ;neither doth he forget the laws
,but knoweth
just and gentle purposes trusty and truthful,
was friendly tomen,and full of wisdom . His fifty
daughters,who presented most valuable gifts to
men,were called Nereids
,and were per son ifica
tions of the quiet,peaceful
,and propi tious sea .
Proteus was another god of the sea,full of
wi sdom and knowledge , which , however, he would
not impart save under compulsion . At noonday,
while he was sleeping in a cave by the sea,he
could be surpris ed,caught
,bound
,and forced to
answer any questions which the inquirer wished
to'
pr opose, though he always tri ed to escape by
assumingrapidly, one after the’
other,a multitude
of forms . He was the subj ect of Poseidon,and
shepherded the droves of fish beneath the b illows .
Themis was th e personificati on of trad i tionalcustom . Homer and others made her a goddess .By command of Zeus
,she calls the gods to an
assembly,and summons or disperses assemblies
of men She possessed several temples andal tars.
I I I .
N Y MPHS AN D MO N STERS : PR I ESTS AN D
O RAC LES.
HE Greeks peopled all nature — woods,
Springs,rivers
,hills
,mountains
,meadows
,
caves , ocean— with nymphs . These strange beings sometimes carried away the souls of men to
dwel l with them,sometimes formed peaceful
unions with men,and sometimes took complete
possession of both soul and body . In such cases
as the las t,the possessed person lost his own
wi t to be sure,but thereby gained a superior wis
dom . Nymphs were worshiped especially by therural populations upon whom they possessed a
strong hold .
The nymphs of rivers and fountains were
call ed Naiads ; those of the sea were Nereids and
Oceanides ; those of the forests , groves , and trees,Dryads and Hamadryads
,and those of the mount
ains,Oreads .The Muses were or i g i nally a variety of
nymphs . They were the daughters of Zeus,and
presided over the nine principal departments of
letters . Upon whomsoever they look at his birth,
on the tongue of such a one they shed a hon77
78 DEPAR TED GOD S.
eyed dew,and from his l ips drop gentle words ;
so then the peoples all look to him as he dec i deth
questions of law with righteous j udgments ; and
he speaketh counsels unerringly .
The O ceanides are daughters of Oceanus andTethys
,and are three thousand in number .
Th r ee thousand nymph sO f ocean i c l i ne, i n beau ty treadW i th amp l e step ,
and,far and wi de d i sper sed ,
Hau n t th e gr een ear th and azu r e depth s of lakes,A bloom i ng r ace of gl or iou s
The Ocean-nymphs,beholding the misery i n
fl i cted on Prometheus by the power of Zeu s , thei r
hearts moved to pity at the sight of his awful
sufferings,cry the prayer
May never the al l -r ul i ngZeu s set h i s r i val powerAgain st my th ough ts
N or may I ever fa i lThe gods, with holy feastsO f sacr i fices, d rawi ng near ,
Beside th e ceasel ess str eam
O f fath er Ocean :
N or may I er r i n wor ds ;
B u t th i s abide wi th me,
And n ever fade away. 1“
Galatea was a sea-nymph,the daughter of
Nereus and Doris . Most unsui tably,as so fre
atHes i od , Th e Th eogon y— El ton’
s Tr an sl ati on , p . 300.
TE schyl us , Prometh eus , 526—535.
80 DEPAR TED GOD S
O f lovely caves , well -spy i ng Argos~sl ayerAnd th e Si l en i m ix i n love. Stra igh t p ines,O r oaks h igh -headed , sp r ing with them upon
The ear th man -feeding, soon as they are bor nTrees fai r and flour ish ing, on the h i gh h il lsLofty th ey stand ; the D eathless’ sacred gr oveMen cal l them , and with ir on never cu t.
B u t when the fate of death i s dr awing near ,
Fir st wi th er on th e ear th the beau teous trees,The bar k arou nd them wastes
,th e br anch es fall ,
And the nymph’
s sou l at the same moment leavesThe sun
’
s fa i r l igh t.”
In the Argonautics of Apollonius R h odi us,
Phineus explains the cause of the poverty ofPer aeb i us
B ut he was pay i ng the penalty la id on
Hi s fath er ’
s cr ime ; for one time, cu tti ng trees
Alone among the h i ll s , h e spu r ned th e p r ayerOf the Hamad ryas nymph , who, weep ing sore,
With ear nest words besough t h im not to cu t
The tr unk of an oak-tr ee, wh i ch , wi th her selfCoeval , had endu red for many a year ;B ut, i n the p r ide of you th , he fooli sh lyCut i t ; and to h im and to h i s r ace the nymphGave ever after a l ot p r ofitl ess .
”
Charon, of Lampsacus , relates that Rhoecus or
dered his slaves to prop up an oak which wasready to fall
,and th ereby saved the life of the
nymph . I n gratitude she desired h im to ask
any reward,and she would bestow upon him the
wi shed-for boon . He besought her love,and i t
N Y MPES AN D MON STER S. 81
was gr anted . In the cours e of time he made arough reply to her messenger
,at which she he
came so incensed that she deprived him of sight .
Calypso,the beautiful nymph who dwelt in
an island,re tained Odysseus seven years in her
fair abode . The divine messenger from Zeus vis
i ted her,and commanded her to release the cap
tive . A large fire was burning on the hearth,
and at a dis tance the smell of cedar and frankin
cense,which were burning
,shed odor through
the island . The nymph was singing with beau
tiful voice while she wove wi th a golden shuttle .
But a flourishing grove of alder,poplar
,and
sweet smel l i ng cypress , had sprung up and surrounded her grot
,wherein birds with spreading
wings,owls
,hawks
,and wide-tongued crows— i n
ter ested in mar i ti ne employments— slept . The
vine in the strength of i ts prime grew about the
hollow grot,loaded with clusters of grapes . Four
founta ins of clear water flowed in different directions
,and around all were soft meadows of
v iolets and parsley . There was every deligh t
to please the eye,charm the ear
,and cap tivate
the heart . Even an immortal,were he to visi t
this beautiful grot and its surroundings,when he
gazed upon i ts charm,would be filled with del ight
at the prospect .
‘ Homer , Th e Odysseus , v, 59- 74.
82 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Calypso,d ivine one of the goddesses,sat on
a shining,brilliant throne
,and entertained Hermes
with ambrosia and ruby nectar . The gift of im
mortality was at her disposal . She offered this
gift to Odysseus,with the hop e of gaini ng his per
manent regard .
Glads tone finds in Homer’ s nymphs of Ithaca
evidences of Phoenician influence . They were
the obj ects of parti cular popular worship . Ith
akos and his brothers constructed their groveand fountain near the city
,and from thence the
city was supplied with water . Here also was
an altar,which rece ived the offerings of those
who chanced to pass the spot . Near the landingplace of Odysseus was a cave
,sacred to the
nymphs,where the hero had formerly wor
sh i ped . This landing-place seems to have been
named by the Phoenicians,and hence it i s sup
posed that the worship had a Phoenician character . These Ithacan nymphs are water-nymphs .
Circe is a Phoenician personage,and her four
servants are born of the fountains,groves
,and
consecrated r i vers . The grove included the
fountain within . Nymphs were also worshiped
in Trinacr i e,th e island of the
’
sun . This also
would suggest an Eastern character .
These nymphs of Ithaca are associated with
Hermes . Over the city rises the hil l of Hermes .
N Y MPES AN D MON STERS. 83
When the pious Eumai os banqueted on the
slaughtered pig,he cut it into seven portions
,
and gave one of these portions to the nymphs
and Hermes . Now Hermes is the son of Maia .
Homer affords no direct evidence of her extrac
ti on , but all Greek tradi ti on places i t within the
Phoenician circle . In Sch er i'
é , Hermes was th e
god to whom was offered the evening libation,
and Sch er ie i s clearly Phoenician . Poseidonseems to have been i ts pres iding deity . Hermes
,
i n the Odysseus,replaces Iris as the messenger
of the gods . Was this because of her Phoeniciancharacter ? Iris i s d istinctively Hellenic
,and
may have been a creation of Homer . It may
al so be that,because of his Phoenician character
,
he became the guide and guardian of Odysseusin his eastern wanderings . Calypso is a Phoen i ci an personage
,and Hermes seems to have
been in general commun i cation with this nymph .
His office as conductor of the dead supp l ies addi
ti onal evidence to the same effect . Such are the
several points made by Glads tone in hi s mostexcell ent article on “Phoenician Afi i ni ti es of
We are constantly meeting with Phoenician’ G l ads tone , Th e N in eteen th Cen tu r y , August, 1 889, p p . 284,
285 ; cf. Homer,Th e Odysseus
,xvi i , 304—31 1 ; xi i i , 103, 347 ,
349 ; xi i i , 104, et a l i bi ; xvi i , 240; K, 348-35 1 ; xvi , 470; xi v, 435V i i , 136 -1 38 ; vi , 266 ; xi i , 390.
84 DEPAR TED GODS.
and other foreign influences in the re li gion of
the Greeks ; and in the early religion it i s frequently a difficul t task to determine how much
is imported and how much indigenous . Glad
stone i s a recognized master in Homeric s tudies,
and , though not always reliable , has done much
toward the e lucidation of old Greek li fe and thesolu tion of hard problem s .
The nymph Arethusa was changed byArtemis
into a fountain,that she might escape the ardent
pursui t of the ri ver-god Alpheus,who aspired to
her hand . But the god,as the story goes
,was
not frustr ated,but passed beneath the sea from
Peloponnesus to the island O r tygi a, whither hisbeloved had taken refuge . Milton
,in his “Ar
cades,
” alludes to the story
That r enowned flood , so often sung,
D ivine Al pheu s , who by sac red slu iceStole under seas to meet h i s Ar ethuse.
The story is celebrated in mythology, and deserves i ts popularity . Perhaps we can do nobetter than to let Arethusa relate her own s tory
as she told it to Ceres,as preserved in Ovid :
“ I was one of the nymphs which ex is t i nAchaia ; nor did any one more eagerly skim along
the glades than myself,nor with more industry
set the nets . But though the reputation for
beauty was never sought by me,although
,too
,
N Y MPHS AN D MON STERS. 85
I was of robus t make ; still I had th e name of
being beau tiful . But my appearan ce,when so
much commended,did not please me ; and I,
like a country lass,blushed at those endowments
of person in which oth er females are wont to
take a pride,and I deemed i t a crime to please .
I remember I was returning weary from the
Stymphalian wood . The weather was hot,and
my toil had redoubled the intense heat . I found
a stream gl iding on without any edd ies,without
any noise,and clear to the bottom
,through which
every pebble,at so great a depth , migh t be
counted,and which you could hardly suppose to
be in motion . The hoary willows and poplars,
nourished by the water,furnished a shade
,spon
taneou sl y produced , along the shelving banks .”
The nymph,having d isrobed
,was enj oying a
refresh i ng bath in the cooling waters of the
beautiful s tream,when the god
,moved with pas
sion . sought her love . She fled over fields and
mountains,until wearied wi th the exertion and
nearly overtaken,when she cried to Artemis for
help .
“The goddess was moved,and
,taking one
of the dense clouds,she threw it over me . The
river looked about for me,concealed in the dark
ness , and , in his ignorance , sought abou t’
the en
ci rcling cloud ; and twice uncons ciously did he
go around the place where the goddess had con
8
86 DEPAR TED GOD S.
ceal ed me,and twice did he cry
,Ho
,Ar ethusa !
’
What,then
,were my feelings
,in my wre tched
ness ? Yet he does no t depart ; for no
further does he trace any prints of myfeet .He watches the cloud and the spo t . A cold per
spiration takes possession of my limbs,thus be
s ieged,and azure-colored drops distill from all my
body . I was changed into a s tream . But
s ti ll the river recognized the waters,the obj ects
of his love ; and , having laid aside the shape of
a mortal,which he had assumed
,he was changed
into his waters,that he migh t mingle with me .
Thereupon the Delian goddess cleaved the ground .
Sinking,I was carried through dark caverns to
Or tygi a, which , being dear to me from the sur
name of my own goddess,was the first to intro
duce me to the upper
The s tories of the loves of the nymphs with
gods and men form many charming pictures,
though often at the expense of the reputation of
bo th for morali ty and conjugal fideli ty . They
were frequently changed into the forms of vari
ous obj ects,both animate and inanimate . They
were generally mild in disposition and friendly
to men,but i t was not well to fall into their
power .
* Ovi d , Th e Metam orp h oses , R i l ey’s Tra n s l ati on , V ol . I I I ,
p p . 1 84, 1 85 ; c f. V i rgi l , fEn eid , 694 ; Ach i l l es Tati us, I .
88 DEPAR TED GOD S.
worship . We must also omit a multitude of d i
vi n i ti es of a still lower rank . They act as at
tendan ts upon the great gods . Many others are
mere shadowy forms,and l i ttle more than per
son ificati on s of phases,acts
,and circumstances
in human l ife , qualiti es of the mind , attributes
of the body,and facts of nature .
Several of the attendants of the gods are
beautiful characters,and patterns of grace and
fidel i ty— full of sunshine and good cheer . Iris
is the messenger of Zeus . She i s called golden
winged and rosy-armed,and often carri es the
herald ’ s s taff. This goddess i s the personi fi ca
tion of the rainbow,which unites heaven and
earth . The Latin poe t has re tained her Greekcharacter
So, down fr om heaven fa i r I r i s flies,
On sa ffron w i ngs impea r l’
d with dew,
That flash aga i n st th e sun lit sk iesFul l many a var ied h ue ;
Then stands at D ido’
s head,and cr ies
Th is lock to D is I bear away,
And free you fr om your load of clay 1’
So shears th e lock— th e vi tal heatsD isperse, and breath i n a i r
Kr atos and Bia are servants of Hephaestus ;and the Hor se
,who
,with the Charites
,work the
garments of Aphrodite with flowers which re ta inf V i rgi l , Th e JEn ei d , i v, 700
- 705 .
N Y MPHS AN D MON STERS . 89
the fragrance of nature,are the attendants of
this goddess of l ove .
Boreas and the other winds are the servan ts
of AEol u s . Boreas,th e north wind , i s rough and
powerful . He carried off Orei thyi a, the beauti
ful daughter of Erechtheus,king of Athens
,and
made her queen of the winds . They dwelt on
Mount Haemus,in Thrace . He had an altar
near Il issus,and a festival was held in h is
honor .
Hebe is the cup-bearer of the gods,and
,like
Aphrodi te,is cal led the most beautiful of the
gods . In Ph l i u s she was worshiped in a temple
on the citadel to which the right of asylum was
attached . She was th e personification of the
blooming freshness and youth of nature,and
again of the eternal youth which belongs to th e
gods . At the apotheosis of Heracles,when he
was reconciled to Hera,he received Hebe as
his wife,and they were worshiped together in
Athens .
Greek mythology is full of monstrous birthsthe Cyclopes
,the Harpies
,the Minotaur
,the
Gorgons,the Nemean Lion
,th e Lernaean Hydra
,
the Dragon of the Hesperides,the Centaurs
,
Echidna,Chimaera
,Cerberus the Dog of Hades
,
Typhoeus , and the li ke . Clas sic s tory has madetheir names famil i ar.
90 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Chimaera i s a monster “breathing resistless
fire , fierce and huge , fleet-footed , as well as strong .
This monster had three heads— one indeed of a
grim-visaged lion,one of a goat
,and another of
a serpent— a fierce dragon ; in front a l ion , a
dragon behind, and in the mids t a goat— breathi ng forth the dread strength of burning fire .
”
Typhoeus is the youngest son of Tartarus
and Gaea .
“Whose hands,indeed
,are apt for
deeds on the score of
strength,and untiring
the feet ‘of the strong
god ; and from his
shoulders there were
a hundred heads of a
serpent,a fierce dragon ,playing with dusky
R en ew s Su m ac; m stongues
,and from the
L ER N M H Y D R A eyes in his wondrous
heads fire sparkled beneath the brows ; whils t
from all hi s heads fire was gleaming,as he looked
keenly . In all h is terrible heads,too
,were voi ces
,
sending forth every kind of sound ineffable . Forone while
,indeed
,they would utter sounds so as
for the gods to understand ; and at another time
again the voice of a loud-bellowing bull,un
tamable in force,and proud in utterance ; at an
other time,again
,that of a lion
,possessing a
92 DEPAR TED GOD S.
daring spirit ; at another, yet again, they would
sound l ike to whelps,wondrous to hear ; and at
another,he would hiss
,and the lofty mountains
resound . And,in sooth
,then would there have
been done a deed pas t remedy,and he
,even he
,
would have reigned over mortals and immortals,
unless,I wot
,the sire of gods and men had
quickly observed h im .
” Zeus conquered Ty
ph oeu s, and hurled h im in to wide Tar tar usfi‘
The belief in th ese monstrous forms— we can
not spare our time to describe others— must haveexercised a profound influence upon the popular
religion . Some may have been loved , some wor
sh i ped, many feared , and all respected . They
furnished the material from which many stories
for the nursery were cons tructed . Children were
frightened into obedience by relating to them
stories of bugbears and hobgobl ins— Lamia,
Gorgo,Ephial tes
,Mormolyca , Akko , Al ph i to,
Empou sa . Super sti tion s terrors were created and
fed by such non sensed‘
The Greeks prayed and offered sacri fices,and
in this manner they recognized the bless ings r e
cei ved from the heavenly div inities,and besough t
their continuance . The devoted Greek fi l led h is
" Hes i od , Th e Th eogon y, pp . 1 8, 41 .
TB ecker , Ch ar i c l es , pp . 224, 225 ; L u c i an ,D i al ogues of th e
G ods , p . 37 ; Th eocr i tus , I dyl l xv, 40.
N Y MPES AN D MON STER S. 93
house with shrines,and presented thereon offer
ings to secure the especial favor and protecti on
of his own peculiar patron deities . He prayed
both morning and evening,and did not fail to
conclude each meal with a hymn or prayer .
But this family worship did not su ffice,ex
cept when life was running smoothly . When
sickness or danger was felt to be near,there were
prayers,sacri fices
,and vows to meet the special
emergency .
The rel igious festivals of the Greeks— nati onal
,poli tical
,tribal
,and others— were numer
ous and important . The perfec tion of the musi c
the bril li ancy of the process ions,the theatrical
contes ts,the magnificent equipages
,the splendor
and excitement of the scene,and the many races
and games,made these festivals attracti ve and
j oyous . Sacrifices were offered,and the people
feasted -on the flesh of the sacrificial victims .
The great festivals— the O lympian,the D elphian
,
the Isthmian,and the Nemean— were expected
wi th eagerness,and celebrated with enthusiasm .
The lesser festivals had also their own impor
tance,and all were marked by brightness . cheer
fulness , j oyousness , feasting and dancing , and
general good cheer . This,indeed
,was a dis tin
gu i sh i ngmark of the Greek religion— l ight, grace,pleasure
,gl adness .
94 DEPAR TED GOD S.
The gods,however
,could be offended
,and
then visi ted upon individuals,families
,cities
,and
nation s,calamities great and terrible . The Furies
were sometimes the agents of the gods in their
i nfl i cti ons of punishment . The crimes most
hateful to the gods were blasphemy,sacrilege
,
perjury,treachery
,incest
,and others of similar
character . F ierce demons were sent to torment
FO OT—R ACE , O LY MP I AN FEST I VAL
the guil ty soul,and peace was only possible when
,
by long and tedious ri tes , the gods had been pro
p i ti ated . Some sins seem to have placed the
offender beyond the reach of mercy,and human
sacrifices were the only possible propitiation for
certain national sins .
The general rule,however , was facili ty in se
curing pardon . It could no t be expected that
the people would be be tter than the gods whom
96 DEPAR TED GOD S.
God was considered too sacred to be pronouncedor written . There might also be a fear lest
,i n
the multipl icity of gods to whom sacrifices were
offered,some god might be forgotten . And then
,
too,i t might not be known to what god thanks
were due for some special favor .
When the Athenians were affl icted by a
plague,and were enj oined by the priestess at
Delphi to purify the city,they sent for Epi
menides,a Cretan philosopher
,especial ly be
loved,as they beli eved
,by the gods . This was
in the forty-sixth Olympiad . Coming to the
city,he took some black sheep and some white
ones,and led them up to the Areopagus . There
he set them free,and let them wander abou t at
their pleasure . Attendants followed them,and
as often as one after the other lay down,i t was
sacrificed to the patron dei ty of the spot . In
this manner the deadly plague was stayed .
And,says D iogenes L aer ti u s
,there may sti ll be
found,in the different boroughs , altars without
names . These he considers memorials of the
propitiation of the gods which . then took
place .
*
We may consider these sheep as scapegoats .
In wandering about in the city,they gathered
to themselves the plague or plague-spiri ts,and
*Di ogenes I a er ti ne, L i ves of th e Ph i l osoph ers , p . 51 .
N Y MPHS AN D MON STERS . 97
bore them each to her own special deity,and
there yielded them up with her l i fe .
We may compare another sacrifi ce . Barley
mixed with wheat, or cakes’
made therefrom,
were laid on the altar of Zeus Polieus,on the
Acropolis . Oxen were driven around the al tar,
and the ox which firs t ate of the offering was
thereby designated for the sacrifice . The axand knife to be used were sanctified by being
wet in water brought by certain maidens . The
weapons were sharpened and handed to two
butchers . One felled the ox with his ax,threw
the ax away,and fled . The other ou t th e throat
of the ox with his knife,threw the knife away
,
and fled . The ox was skinned,and all present
j o ined in a sacrificial meal . The hide was s tuffed
with s traw,and yoked to a plow . A trial was
then held to d etermine who murdered the ox .
The maidens charged i t upon those who sharp
ened the weapons ; the latter accused those who
handed them to the butchers ; those who handed
the weapons to the butchers blamed the butchers ;and the butchers blamed the ax and knife
,which
were finally found guil ty,condemned
,and cas t
into the sea . In this case the ox may have rep
resented the corn-spirit , sacrificed at the end of
the harves t to become incarnate,with renewed
vigor,with the beginning of the following season .
98 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Paul , in Acts , mentions an altar to the“U n
known God . Pau san i u s says that at Athens
there were altars to gods whose names were nu
known . Ph i l ostr atu s bears tes timony to the
same fact .“Among the Greeks
,as among the Italicans
,
religion was a matter of personal conscience,and
the full exerci se
of div ine wor
ship a personal
right of every
f r e e m a n . No
privileged caste
stood between
gods and men .
Every Hellene
may offer sacri
fice and prayer
w i t h o u t a n ystranger’ s medi
ation . The mission of religion is to accompany
every public and domestic action,to sanctify
every day,to con secrate every labor and every
pleasure . This obj ect i s achieved by man ’ s
putting himself in communication with the
gods . Sacrifices are nothing but the expression
of the communion of life between gods andmen
, which should constantly be renewed . The
THE Homz a rc ZEU S .
100 DEPAR TED GOD S.
r i fyi ng evil-doers , cursing enemies in the name
of the gods,and solemnly blessing all acts of
State worship . Although the power of the
priests at times was great , they never assertedthemselves as a hierarchy . In fact
,they were
frequently split up into factions,and this would
be a powerful check upon any tendencies danger
ous to the State .
The mantic art,in its origin
,was not con
nected with the priesthood . Gods,men
,and
things were considered,in some sense
,one in
government . Unusual phenomena in earth,air
,
or sky were received as divine hints . Those
whose hearts were nearest the gods and nature
could read these omens . Knowing the d ivine
will,they could demand a hearing
,and insist
upon obedience . Especially in sacrifices the
Greeks looked for divine revelations ; and henceeverything connected with the offering of sacri
fices was subj ected to the closest scrutiny,that
no admonition or notification of the gods might
escape attention . But this low kind of prophecy
could not chain the mind of the intellectual and
cul tured,however migh ty might be i ts influence
among the mass of the people .
With the worship of Apollo the mantic art
finds its highest development . The god speaks
through the mouths of girls and women, whose
N Y MPHS AN D MON STER S. 1 01
own consciousness,in moments of prophetic
fren zy,i s so los t that they have neither will nor
understanding in the words which they pro
nounce . Their words must be interpreted . Here
the mantic art comes into relation with the
priestly . D ivination,in i ts bes t work
,was drawn
to fixed places and special days . There soon
arose influential oracles,consecrated by d ivine
omens and revered associations,and in their ad
m inis tr ation the priests acquired new power and
dignity . These oracles became centers of culture ;and the priests were so well versed in national
affairs,and so schooled by experience
,that the
answers they gave to many questions were char
acter i zed by much wisdom . Certain ques tions,
beyond the reach of their wisdom,they might
refuse to answer as improper ; or the answers
might be worded in a manner so ambiguous that
i t woul d’
be imposs ible thereafter to prove them
fal se . Hence the oracles long maintained their
influence,and especially the Delphic oracle was
a seat of wonderful power . It bound the Hellenes together as a nation
,and i t bound true
worshipers to the will of Zeus,while i t insisted
upon puri ty of life . The priests of DelphicApollo baptized wi th Castal ian water
,but warned
the cand idates “Deceive not you rselves . Forthe good
,indeed; one drop of the sacred spring
1 02 DEPAR TED GODS.
suffices ; but from the bad , no sea of water shal l
wash away the pollution of
The several oracles were maintained in har
mon i ou s relations with themselves and with al l
Greece . The sanctuary wa s the safest place in
which to deposi t money as well as all kinds of
articles of value,and hence became an i nsti tu
tion somewhat similar to modern banking estab
l i shments . The oracle fostered the beginnings of
literature,and exercised a weighty influence over
Greek art and architecture . Every colony was
sent out and planted under the protection of
Apollo,and
,in true missionary spiri t
,carried his
worship to many foreign coasts . The oracle was
also closely connected with markets,trades
,and
all commercial enterprise . The calendar was
placed under the supervision of the priests,and
while the civil year was not forgotten,the sacred
year came into general use . Great nati onal festi val s worked harmoniously with the oracles in
mainta ining a national spirit . The DelphicAmphictyony established a defini te number of
deities,and the priests guarded agains t the i n
tr odu cti on of new gods .
Delphi,in the days of the splendor and great
ness of its power,was the spiritual center of all
arts,and united them all for religious purposes .
Cu rti us, Hi stor y of G r eece, V ol . I I , p . 27.
1 04 DEPAR TED G0OS.
fate were considered quite as responsible for sin
as man himself. Wrong-doing of every kind was
most frequently expressed by ate with its cor
responding verb .
“ The radical signification of
the word seems ‘to be a befool ing— a dep r i v1 ng
one of his senses and his reason,as by unsee
sonable sleep and excess of wine,j o ined with the
influence of evil companions,and the power of
destiny or the dei ty . Hence the Greek imagination
,which impersonated every great power
,
very naturally c onceived of Ate as a person , a
sort of omnipresent and universal cause of folly
and sin,of mischief and misery
,wh o
,
'
th ough the
daughter of Jupiter,yet once fooled or misled
Jupiter himself,and thenceforth
,cas t down from
heaven to earth,walks with light feet over the
heads of men,and makes all things go wrong .
Hence,too
,when men come to their senses
,and
see what folly and wrong they have perpetrated,
they cast the blame on Ate,and
,so
,ultimately
,
on Jupiter and the gods .
”
There was something more than an under
tone of sadness i n many expressions concerning
life . From Homer,onward
,the low lamentation
may be heard . Sophocles says,mournfu lly °
Happ iest beyond compare
N ever to taste of l i fe ;
Ty l er , Th eol ogy of th e G r eek Poets , pp . 1 74,1 75.
N Y MPES AN D MON STERS . 105
Happ iest i n order next ,Being born ,
with q u ickest speedTh ither again to tur n
Fr om whence we came.
Simonides says : “Sorrow follows sorrow so
quickly that not even the air can penetrate between them .
There i s no reli ef i n expectation,in the life
to come . Indeed,the future
,when held in seri
ous contemplation,is,
- i f possible,worse than the
present . “ This world alone was real— alone
offered true happines s ; th e other was the gloomy,j oyless
,lower world . Ulysses
,in Homer
,sees
the dead,as shadows
,greedily drink the blood
which,for a moment at least
,restores to them
real life ; and Achilles would rather linger upon
earth in the lowes t station than be a king
among the shades .” Anacreon sings in sad
strains : “My temples are gray,and white my
head ; beautiful youth is gone . Not much r e
mains of sweet life . Therefore I often sigh,
fearing Tartarus,dreadful abyss of Hades . Full
of horror is the descent thither,and whoever
has once gone down there,never returns .
”
Whether life or death were better was per
haps an evenly-balanced question . Those who
beli eved in a future exis tence,were in fear of
‘ U h l h orn , Con fl i ct of Ch r i s ti an i ty wi th Heath en i sm ,
pp . 72- 74.
1 06 DEPAR TED GOD S.
death . Those who conceived this l ife to be theall
,sought to escape its evils in death .
The writings of the poets teem with appear
anoes of the dead in visible form , to avenge
themselves on those who did them ill during life .
Much attention was paid to the propitiation of
the shades of the departed . It was bel ieved
that the ghosts of the dead might be summoned
to life to give advice to the living,or to de
nounce before them the criminal . If the mur
derer wiped his weapon on the head of “the v ic
tim,or wore under h is arm a piece of flesh from
the body of the murdered man,he need fear no
injury from the avenging spirit,since his power
for evil would thereby be destroyed . When
Jason,with the aid of the magic wiles of Medea
,
murdered her brother Absyrtus,he three times
licked up the black blood of the hero,and three
times spat i t out from his mouth,and in this
manner made expiation of the bloody treachery .
At a later date the two criminal s resorted to
Circe,to be purified from the unatoned blood
shed . She slew the young of a sow above their
heads , and wetted their han ds in its blood , and
poured out unnamed l ibations . Then she burnt
upon the hearth a soothing Sop of honey, oil,and meal , while she offered up her p r ayer sfi
“
Apol l on i us R h od i us , Argon au ti ca , i v.
1 08 DEPAR TED GOD S.
The use of the ordeal— handling red-hot iron,
passing through fire,and so on— was common
among the Greeks .*
We gladly record the fact that all the Greekswere not in this case . Many
,with the spirit of
faith and the purpose of righteousness,took a
more cheerful view of life,and saw in the future
a brighter prospect . This was illustrated in the
choice of Heracles . Some of these elect,with
an instinctive faith in the Father-God,trod the
common walks of l ife ; others were those rare
souls whose names are still great in the world ’ s
l iterature . These,however
,only point to oases
in the spiritual desert .
Among those who dwelt nearest the heart of
God,Socrates was pre-eminent. He lived a pure
and noble life ; he met death with philosophic,and we might say Christian
,composure ; and he
lives immorta l in the works of Plato,his illustri
ous disciple . We may recall certain choice pas
sages in his death-discourses“A man who is good for anything
,ought not
to calculate the chance of l iving or dying ; he
JEsch yl u s , Ch eOp h or i , 32, 1 36 , 31 5, 333, 479 ; Eum en i des ,94
,ct seq . Eu r i p i des, Hecuba , i , ci seq . Hel i odor ns , Eth i op i cs,
vi , 1 4 ; Soph ocl es , El ectr a , 443—446 ; An tigon e, 264
—266 ; Tibu l
l us , i , 2, 23; Max im u s Tyr i u s , x i v, 2 ; Pl ato, L aws , x ; Ap u l ei us ,Metam orp h oses , i i ; P l uta rch , Th ose W h o are Pun i sh ed by th eDei ty L ate, 1 7, 22.
N I’MPHS AN D MON STERS. 1 09
ought only to consider whether, in doing any
thing,he is doing righ t or wrong— acting the
part of a good man or of a bad .
“ The d i ffi
cul ty,my friends
,i s not in avoiding death
,but
in avoiding nnr igh teousness ; for that runs fas ter
than death .
“Wherefore,O judges , be of good
cheer about death,and know this of a truth
that no evil can happen to a good man,ei ther in
l ife or after death . He and his are not neglected
by the gods ; nor has my own approaching end
happened by mere chance . But I see clearly
that to die and be released was better for me ;and therefore the oracle gave no sign . Forwhich reason
,also
,I am not angry with my ao
cu ser s or my condemners ; they have done me
no harm,although neither of them mean t to do
me any good ; and for this I may gently blame
them . The hour of departure has ar
rived , and we go our ways— I to die,and you
to l ive . Which is better,God only knows .”
“ I am confident in the belief that there truly is
such a thing as l iving again,and that the living
spring from the dead,and that the souls of the
dead are in exis tence,and that the good souls
have a better portion than the evil .” “0 Sim
mias,h ow s trange that is ! I am not very likely
to persuade other men that I do not regard my
present situation as a misfortune,if I am unable
10
1 1 0 DEPAR TED GOD S.
to persuade you,and you will keep fancying
that I am at all more troubled now than at any
othe r time . Will you not allow that I have as
much of the spiri t of prophecy in me as the
swans ? For they,when they perceive that they
mus t die,having sung all their life long
,do then
s i ng more than ever, rej oicing in the thought
that they are about to go away to the gods
whose ministers they are . And I too,
believing myself to be the consecrated servant
of the same God , and the fellow-servant of the
swans,and thinking that I have received from
my Master gifts of prophecy which are not i n
fer i or to theirs, would not go out of life less
merrily than the swans .” Cr i to asked h ow he
would be buried . Socrates replied : “ In any
way that you like ; only you must get hold of
me,and take care that I do not walk away from
you .
” Then he turned to the other friends who
were with him in his last hour,and added
,with
a smile : “ I can not make Cr i to believe that I
am the same Socrates who have been talking
and conducting the argument ; he fancies that I
am the other Socrates whom he will soon see
a dead body,and he asks
,How shall he bury
me ? And though I have spoken many words
in the endeavor to show that,when I have drunk
the poison,I shall leave you
,and go to the j oys
1 1 6 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Livy cal ls the Etruscans a race which,i n
asmu ch as i t excelled in the art of religious oh
servan ces , was more devoted to them than any
other nation .
”Ar nob i u s says that Etruria was
“ the creator and parent of supersti tion .
” The
very name of the nation,Tusc i
,i s derived by
some authorities from thuez’
n ,“ to sacrifice
,
” and
especially “ to make offerings to the gods .
” The
Etruscans were celebrated for the zeal and scr u
pu l ou s care with which they practiced the various Observances of its rites and ceremonies .*
Besides angels and demons,there were three
general classes of div initie s : the deities of
heaven,the dei ties of earth
,and the deities of
the under-world . Archaeological research is sti ll
making revelations of new forms of gods and
Spirits ; but of not a few of these we know not
even the names .
Tina was the chief of the heavenly gods,and
wielded the thunder-bolt . He was the god of
the sky,and may have been originally the
heaven itself— like the Chinese Tien,with whom
in name also he bears a resemblance . He was“ the center of the Etruscan god-world
,the power
wh o speaks in the thunder and descends in the
lightning . To this bright god a temple was
“Rawl in son ,Th e R el igi ons of th e An ci en t Wor l d, pp . 1 60,
R EL I G I ON OF THE ETR USCAN S. 1 1 7
ded icated in every city,and one of the gates of
each city bore his name . An Etruscan family
name and the name of a streamle t were derived
from this god . He sometimes received the ti tle
Summanus ,“ the supreme
Cupra was a heavenly goddess to whom a
temple and a gate were dedicated in every Etr us
can ci ty . She has been identified with Hera
and Junod’ The name has been compared with
the Cybele of Phrygia . Cupra “ expresses the
character of Juno,as pres iding over contrac ts
and obligations of every des cription involving
good faith among mankind,and especially that
of mar r iage .
”
IThalna
,or Thana
,is though t to be the same
goddess . If she be but a mere variant of Tina,
she may be the reflex of the sky-god . Poss ibly
she may be regarded as the personification of
light or day . She I s represented on Etrus can
mirrors as as s isting at the birth of certain divin
i ties,or as an attendant of Latona . She has “ a
coronet,earrings
,necklace
,and tunic
,a fille t or
twig in her hand,and a green branch before her
‘ Tay l o r , Etr uscan R esear ch es , p . 1 32 ; Raw l i n son ,Th e B e
l i gion s of the An c i en t Wor l d, p p . 1 6 1
,1 62 ; D enn i s , C i ties and
Cem eter ies of Etr u r i a , V o l . I I , p . 444 .
TStrabo,V o l . I , p . 357 .
I C rawford and B a l ea r r as , Etr uscan I n sc r i p ti ons , p . 25 1 .
1 1
1 1 8 DEPAR TED GOD S.
face . On a mirror from Vulci,Thalna ap
pears as a male god,half nude
,with a corone t
and staff.” The name is found in composition
in Thankvi l u s or Tanaquil .
Al tr i a,who may be compared with the Greek
G races,was represented as a nude and beautiful
woman,with a crown and necklace
,and gener
ally in company with Thalna and Eutu rpa .
*
Men r va had her own temple and gate in each
Etruscan city . The name is of very frequent
occurrence on works of art . We can,however
,
gather very little information whereby to j udge
of her character . According to Taylor,Men rva
denotes the “ red heaven,
” or “ the dawn,
” and
the two Men rvas , which occasionally appear on
the same mirror,denote the morning and the even
i ng twi l igh tj' Sh e i s represented armed
,with
the aegis on her breast,and sometimes with
wings . On one mirror she i s vanquishing thegiant Akr ath e.
“ The goddess,who is armed
with helmet,aegis
,and spear
,has j us t cut or
broken off,i t is not clear which
,the giant’ s right
arm close to the shoulder ; and , grasp ing i t by
the wris t,she brandishes i t over his head
,ao
companying the action with a sardonic grin at
her foe,who
,sinking to his knees
,looks up at
Coop er , Ar ch a i c D i cti on a r y , p p . 31 , 567 .
TTayl or , Etr uscan R esear ch es , pp . 1 37 , 1 38.
1 20 DEPAR TED GODS.
D ionysus and Bacchus . “ Pha lans was the
special deity of P op l u na, or (as the Romans
called i t) Populonia . He seems to have been
called als o Vortumnus,or Volturnus , and in thi s
aspect he had a female counterpart, V ol tumna,
whose temple was the place of meeting where
the princes of Etruria discussed the affairs of
the
Turan was the Greek Aphrodite and theRoman Venus . There was also a male Turan
,
who was a youthful god,accompanied by a war
rior,Avun by name
,armed with a spear . Thesau
seems to have been i n nature like the GreekEds and the Roman Aurora . Turms— Hermes
,
Mercury— was the god of boundaries and the
messenger of the underworld . The native name
is thought to have been Camillus,or Kamil .
According to Servius,the Etruscan name of
youthful pries tesses was cami l lae,and the attend
ant minister of th e Flamen D i al i s at the sacrifices was called Cam i l l u s q
L
The goddess Zirna i s represented on E truscan
works of art as s i tting at the s ide of Turan and
Adonis,with a penci l and box of cosmetics
,and
a half-moon hanging from her neck . Mun th ukh
R aw l i n son,Th e Re l igi on s of th e An c i en t W or l d
, p . 1 64.
TR aw l i n son ,Th e Re l igi on s of th e An ci en t Wor l d, p . 1 65 ;
Tay l or , Etr usca n R esear ch es , p . 1 50.
R EL I G I ON OF THE ETR USCAN S. 1 21
i s s im ilarl y represented , but wears also a neck
lace . She seems to have been a goddes s of
heal th . Some times she carried a dove on her
r igh t arm .
Al panu i s an Etruscan goddess,with cor
onet,earrings
,tunic , and mantle , and a s tar be
hind her head wh o i s represen ted on one mirror
as embracing the goddess Akh uvi tr,on anothe r
as embracing the goddess Thaur,and on a third
as attracting the love of a youth called Famu ;while Akbate
,
“an old,bald-headed man
,in a
cloak,warns Famu agains t her bland ishments .
Ti panu and Si pna were attending goddesses , each
with a mirror in her hand .
Uni was a goddess wh o assi sted at the birth
of Athene from the head Of Zeus,and she was
presen t when Hephais tos chained Here . Lalan,
or Laran,was a you th fu l war -god . With him
compare G reek Ares,wh o was represented with
cloak,buskins
,helmet
,spear
,sword
,and shield .
F a i i n may be compared with Orpheus . He
is seated on a rock,wears a necklace a r d a laurel
crown,and plays on a lyre ; while a female
R u tup i s by name , with tunic, mantle , and crown ,is a t his s ide .
Asera is a goddess,armed wi th a hatche t.
Sue tonius says that Ar sar means “ a god .
The nine great gods,or D l i N ovensz
'
l es,pos
1 22 DEPAR TED GOD S.
sessed the power of hurl ing the thunder-bol t,and
were held i n high honor . The D u Oomp l z'
ces and
the D u Consentes were gen eral names of th e
twelve principal god s of E truria and the coun
sel or s of Tina . The D z’
i I nvol ute were the f ates
wh o ruled both gods and men
O ther names are foun d i n Etruscan my thology ; but so li ttl e is known concerning their na
tures and attributes that they may be neglected
in this account .
But it was i n th e u n seen world beneath theearth
,th e place to which men went after death ,
and where th e so ul s of their ances tors resided ,th at the Etruscan s devoted the chief porti on of
their religious thoughts ; and with th is were con
u s eted the bulk of their religious Observances .
Over th e dark rea lm of the dead ruled Mantusand Mania
,king an d queen of Hades
,the former
rep r esented as an old man,wearing a crown
,and
with wings on his shoulders,and bearing in h is
hands sometimes a torch,sometimes two or three
large nails,which are though t to i nd icate ‘ the
inevi table character of his decrees .
’ Intimately
connected wi th these dei tie s— th eir prime min
is ter and most active agent,cru el
,hideous
,half
human,half an imal
,the chief figure in almost
al l the representations of th e l ower world— i s the
demon Charun,in name no doubt identical with
1 24 DEPAR TED GOD S.
act under his orders,and infl ict such tortures as
he is pleased to
Instead of hands Charun has s ometimes lion ’ s
paws . He is depicted of a livid hue, like the
demon Eurynomos, who devoured the flesh of
the dead . Sometimes th e sword takes the place
of the mal let,or a rudder or an oar
,wh ich would
suggest the Greek Charon ; or a forked stick ,l ike the caduceus of Mercury ; or a torch or
snakes ; and sometimes th e mallet and the sword
are found together . When eyes are represented
in th e wings of Charun , this may intimate su
per h uman power and intelli gence . The malle t,
in one instance,i s decorated with a fill et ; i n
another i t is encircled by a serpent . We meet
with Charun represented with an eagle ’ s bill for
a nose . His wings are open,gray above and
blue,black
,and red on the pinions ; while his
dress is a white tunic,wi th a red girdle and a
yellow spotted band crossed over his bosom : In
the same representa tion a huge crested and
bearded snake springs from h i s right shoulder,
and a sort of halo surmounts his
" R awl i n son ,Th e R el igi on s of th e An c i en t “
'or l d
, p p . 1 65
1 67 ; D en n i s , C i ties an d Cemeter i es of Etr u r i a,V ol . I
, p p . 287,
288,342.
TD en n is , C i ti es an d Cem eter i es of Etr u r i a,V ol . I , p . 348 °
V ol . I I, p p . 1 91 - 1 93.
R EL I G I ON OF THE ETR USCAN S. 1 25
Ku l n u,the god of the grave
,is represented
bearing i n one hand the flaming torch,and in
the other th e emblematic shears . V an th was the
angel of death,and has a cap and wings
,and
bears a huge key wherewith to open the tombs
of the depar ted ; N ath uns,an avenging fury
,
whose snake-l ike hair stands on end and whose
tusk-like fangs protrude from h i s mouth,bears a
serpent in either hand . Tukh u l kha has the ears
of an as s,the beak of an enormous eagle , which
serves at once for nose and mouth,and two hiss
ing snakes bound round his brows and mingl ing
with his shaggy locks . He seizes his victims by
the neck,or brandishes huge serpents over their
heads . His open wings have a snake-like bor
der,and the very feathers have caught the hue
of a serpent’ s skin .
”Tu rmukas was one of the
messengers of Hades . Ph ipeke was a lion
headed monster ; an upturned urn is represented
beneath h im,and water pours from his mon th
He engaged in combat with Herakles . If no t the
Hydra,he was perhaps a water- imp .
The Typhon,represented in the Grotto Del
Tifone,was a horrid being .
“ The atti tude of
the body ; the outspread wings ; the dark , massy
coil s of the serpent - l imbs ; the wild twisting of
the serpent locks ; the countenance U pl ifted with
an expression of unutterable woe,as he supports
1 26 DEPAR TED GODS.
the cornice with his hands,— make this figure im
posing,mysterious, subl ime .
”
In one representation Ai ta,or Hades , sits
on his throne,the upper part of his body bare ,
but the lower part covered with brown drapery ;his flesh deep red ; his beard black , grand , and
gloomy ; his left hand h olding aloft a snake ; his
righ t hand extended as i f giving orders to the
triple-headed warrior wh o s tands in front, armed
wi th shield and spear . His wife si ts by his side ,and i s wrapped i n whi te drapery ; a deep fringe
i s thrown over her shoulders , and her head is
bound about wi th green snakes .
There are certain mythologi cal figures which
we may consider the representati ons of marine
dei ties . They are generally in th e form of
women from the m iddle u pwards,but wi th fi shes ’
tails instead of l egs . A few are male . Their gen
eral character is that of winged creatures,with
smaller wings springing from their temples . The
wings may symbolize power and intelligence,with
swiftness of thought and action . Sometimes a
pair of snakes are knotted around their brows,up
rearing their crests as in Egyptian gods and kings .
They bear a trident or an anchor,a rudder or an
car, a sword or firebrand , or mass of rock . These
symbolize their power not only on the ocean,but
D en n i s, C i ti es an d Cem eter i es of Etr ur i a
,V ol . I
, p . 330.
1 28 D EPAR TED GOD S.
sess ion of the soul . The evil spirits add a new
horror to their appearance by wreathing their
heads with serpents .
The Etruscans believed that every human be
ing had a protecting genius,who was his constant
companion,guard
,and g uide
,both in the present
world and in the realm of immorta l ity . The
Lemures were the spirits of the dead . The Lares
were the spirits of virtuous ancestors who pre
s ided over the hearths and homes of their chil
dren . The Lar Familiaris was the lord of the
whole family . The Larvae were the spirits of
wicked ancestors,and are banished from the do
mesti c hearth . The Manes were the souls of the
departed . The word is frequently used as synon
ymou s with Lares , and is“ connected likewise
in tradition with the lower world,and wi th the
moon,the souls oof men being supposed to have
emanated from that
The geni i of the Romans were the offspring of
the great gods,and the givers of life i tself
,and
hence they were called D i i Geni tales . These
genii rece ived worship among the Romans,as
among the Etruscans . The maj ority of the Etr u s
can genii were females,and are sometimes called
genus . It is sometimes diffi cult to distinguish
them from.
Fates or Furies . They have many”‘ Cr awford an d B a l car r as
,Etr u scan I n scr i p ti on s , p . 26 1 .
R EL I G I ON OF THE ETR U SCAN S. 1 29
of the same characteris tics . All have wings,high
buskins (often with long flaps) , a short, high-girttunic
,and a double s trap crossing the bosom . The
emblems which they carry reveal their nature .
Fates and Furies carry hammer, sword , snake ,torch
,and shears ; the mild Fates have in their
hands scroll,inkhorn
,s tylus
,and sometimes ham
mer and nail ; the Genii bear a simple wand ornothing .
The nail symbolizes a fixed decree of fate .
N or ti a is the Fortune of Etruscan mythology,and
had a shrine at V ol s i n i i .’
She i s also mentioned
on a votive table t as the goddess of this city .
Her temple was a sort of national calendar ; for a
nail was driven into i t every year,as into the
temple of Jupi ter on the Capitol of Rome . In
one representation,the winged
.
fate Ath rpa or
Atropos— the N or ti a of the Etruscans with a
Greek name— i s about to drive a nail to indicatethe prede termined death of Meleager and of
Adonis . Horace presents a p icture of Necess ity,
the companion of Fortune,bearing such nails
in her hand,and he calls them adamantine .
The goddess probably had a temple also at
F er en ti num .
Horta,an Etruscan goddess
,equivalent to the
Roman Salus is to be dis tinguished from N or ti a .
’ Hor ace, Carm i n a , i , 35, 1 7 ; i i i , 24, 5 .
1 30 DEPAR TED G OD S.
Plutarch says 'that the temple of Horta was a l
ways kep t open .
*
Gerhard connects N or ti a closely with Minerva .
The nail was driven in the right side of the tem
ple of Jupiter,where the temple of Minerva is
,
because number is the invention of that god
dess .
”
1‘ Paul i has shown tha t N u r ti a became
the goddess Ten,Latin Decuma
,Decima
,as
connected with the tenth month of the Etruscan
The Etruscans had nei ther priests nor prophets,
properly so called,but rather what may be con
s i der ed a s no more than mere shamans -fl augu r er s ,
sorcerers and n ecromancers,haruspices and fulgu
r ator s,all m ere “ medicine men — wh o
,by noting
the fligh t of birds,the entrails of animals
,the
path of the lightning,and other signs
,i nterpreted
th e utterance s of the spirits of nature and the souls
of the dead . This l ow and barbarous priesthood
was “ an all-dominating h ierarchy,which assumed
to be a theocracy,and maintained i ts sway by
arrogating to itsel f an intimate acquaintance with
the will of Heaven and the decrees of
* Tac i tu s,An n al s , xv, 53; Pl utarch , Q uaestiones Rom an as ,
x l vi .TL i vy. vi i , 3.
i Tl i e Academ y , N o . 875, p . 970.
D en n i s, C i ti es an d C em eter i es of Etr u r i a
,V ol . I
,I n tr oduc
ti on , p . x l i i .
1 32 DEPAR TED GODS.
and guided them in their exposi tions and r e
q u i r emen ts .
”
Tages,according to classi c authors
,was the
son of Genius and the grandson of Jupiter . A
Tuscan plowman discovered him in the form of a
clod His name is not found in the inscriptions ;but he is represented on two gems as a boy
,half
plowed up from the earth,teaching the Etruscan
priests .” 1'
Clemens of Alexandria says that the Carians
were the first wh o divined from the s ta rs,the
Phrygians from the fligh t of birds,and the Etr u s
cans by au ru sp i cy. The Etruscans were es
pec i al ly distinguished for divination by lightning,and in this art were said to have excelled all
other nations Cicero,an acknowledged author
ity on the subj ect of soothsaying,had great con
fidence in their skill . Joannes Lydu s , in his
work “De Osten ti s,
” on the authori ty of Nigi d i u s F i gu l us , gives an Etruscan Thunder Cal
endar for every day in the year . This,he says
,
was taken from the books of Tages , Servius
mentions Etruscan books on lightning . They
gave their system of divination to the Romans
t‘ R awl i n son , Th e R el igi on s of th e An c i en t Wor l d, p p .
1 70,1 7 1 .
TD en n i s , C i ti es and Cemeter i es of Etr u r i a, V o l . I
, pp . 4 1 8,
4 1 9 ; Cooper , Ar ch a i c D i cti on ar y , p . 547 .
R EL I G I ON OF THE ETR USCAN S. 1 33
a system practiced by the latter nation even
down to the fifth century .
There are many theories concerning the origin
and affinities of the Etruscans . Though scholars
have looked in every direction and ques tioned
almost every languag e,no theory which has been
proposed is entirely satisfactory . Both tradition
and the monuments point,with a goodly degree
of confi dence,to that group of nations of which
the Lydians,Carians
,and Lycians in Asia Minor
are perhaps the best representatives . The Etra s
cans,and the Turanian races generally
,were em
phatically a tomb-build ing people .
“ These cities of the dead are constructed onthe precise model of the cities of the living . The
tombs themselves are exact imitations of the
house . There i s usually an outer vestibule,ap
par ently appropriated to the annual funeral feas t .
From this a passage leads to a large central
chamber,which is lighted by windows cut through
the rock . Thi s central hall i s surrounded by
smaller chambers,in which th e dead repose . On
the roof we see,carved in s tone
,the broad beam
,
or roof-tree,wi th rafters
,imi tated in relief
,on
either s ide,and even imitations of the tiles .
These chambers contain the corpses,and are fur
n i sh ed with al l the implements,ornaments
,and
utensils used in li fe . The tombs are,i n fact
,
1 2
1 34 DEPAR TED GODS.
places for the dead to l ive in . The position and
surroundings of the deceased are made to ap
proximate,as closely as possibl e
,to the condi
tions of life . The couches on which the corpses
repose have a tr i c l in a l arrangement, and are fur
n i sh ed with cushions carved in stone ; and imi ta~
tion s of easy chairs and foots tools are careful ly
hewn out of the rock . Everything,i n short
,i s
a rranged as if the dead were recl ining at a ban
que t in their accus tomed dwellings . On thefloor stand win e-j ars
,and the mos t precious be
longings of the deceased— arms,o rnaments
,and
mirrors— hang from the roof,or are suspended
on the walls . The walls themselves are richly
decorated,usually being painted with r ep r esen
tati on s of festive”
scenes . We see fi gures i n
gaily emb roidered garments reclining on couches,
while attendants repleni sh the goble ts or beat
time to the music of the pipers . Nothing is
omitted which can conduce to the amusement or
comfort of th e deceased . Their spiri ts were ev
i den tl y beli eved to inhabi t these house-tombs
after death,j us t as in life they inhabited their
4 .houses .
”
In these tombs— th e real temples of the Etr u s
cans— the whole family assembled,at their an
nual religious feas t,to worship the Lares and
Tayl or,Etr u scan R esea r ch es
, p p . 46,48.
1 36 DEPAR TED G ODS.
acter s in the doorway , descried the urns dimly
through the gloom,beheld the family party at
the ir sepulchral revels,the solemn dreariness of
th e surrounding cells . The figures on the walls
and ceilings strangely stirred my fancy . The
Furies,with their glaring eyes
,gnashing teeth
,
and gastly grins ; the snakes, with which the
walls seemed alive,hissing and darting their
tongues at me ; and , above all , the sol i tary wing ,chilled me with an u ndefinabl e awe
,with a sense
of something mysterious and terrible . The sep
n l ch er i tself,so neatly hewn and decorated
,yet
so gloomy ; fashioned like a house , yet with no
mortal inhabi tant,
-a l l was so strange,so n ovel .
It was like enchantment, not reali ty ; or, rather,i t was the realization of the pictures of su bter
r anean palaces and spell-bound men , which youth
fu l fancy h ad drawn from the Arabian Nights
but which h ad l ong been cast aside into the
lumber-room of the memory,now to be suddenly ‘
restored .
”
The furniture of th e sepulchral houses— i n a
few cases they represent temples— i s su ch as i s
adapted to fun eral banquets and games . There
are also articles to be used by the soul in th e
other world . Sometimes a piece of money was
placed i n the mouth of the deceased,that h e
“D en n i s , C i ti es an d Cem eter i es of Etr u r i a,V ol . I I
, p . 449.
R EL I G I ON OF THE ETR USCAN S. 1 37
migh t have something wherewi th to pay the ex
penses of the j ourney to the realm of the shades .The paintings represent feasts and games
,such
as were held on funera l occasions,or such as
would symbolize the happy life of the dead .
Cinerary urns and sa rcophagi show that both
burning and burial were practiced in differen t
Etruscan cities and in different ages,but some
times also i n th e same age and ci ty . Arms and
armor have been found as th ey were worn bythese old warriors
,whose dust alone tells the
tale of their mortal i ty . Representations of lions
and panthers are frequent,and may symbolize
the guardians of the tomb . The meaning of the
centaurs , hippogri ffs , h i ppocamps , and other ob
jects. of monstrous form ,has no t been determined .
Common domesti c animals probably only serve
to set off the scene and render i t more li fe-like .
Snakes are very abundant in th e works of Etr us
can artists . They rise from the feet,spring ou t
from the loins,twine about the arms
,and crown
the head . They cling to the spear and mallet,and are carried as scourges by horrid furies .
The symbol ic eye is also of frequent occurrence
on wings and vases .
The eye i s a symbol found in use among
many nations . We have spoken elsewhere of its
occurrence on wings . It i s found also very fre
1 38 DEPAR TED GOD S.
quently on vases— not only on those of Greekorigin
,but also on o thers which are certa in ly
purely Etruscan . D ennis sugges ts three expl a
nations : It may mark obj ects and scenes as
Bacchic i n the i r i mport . It may be a charm
agains t the evil eye . The Gorgon i on was be
l ieved to possess the power of averting evil .These eyes may be Gorgons ; sometimes thefeatures of a face are represented . Again
,vases
bear a resemblance to boats . Several names of
goble ts and certain names of boats are the same .
Heracles crossed the sea to Spain in a goblet .
Eyes are placed on the prows of boats,ei ther
from a fancied analogy with fish or to intimate
the watchfulness necessary to the good pilo t .
Various compound beings may have symbol
i zed the double life of the soul— the li fe which
now i s and that which is to come . All the sym
bols of Etruscan art may have been originally
full of meaning,but at present we can only con
jectu re as to their mysterious and awful import .
Fu ture study will,i n s ome measure at least
,dis
close their meaning .
Mommsen sums up the character of the relig
ion of the Etruscans as follows “ The rel igion
of the Tuscans in particular presenting a gloomy
fantas ti c character,and delighting in the mystical
handli ng of numbers in wild and horrible speen
1 40 DEPAR TED GOD S.
(D u I nvol u l e) consul ted by the Etruscan Jupi terh imself ; that World moreover was finite , and, as
i t had come into being,so was i t agai n to pass
w ay after the expiry of a defini te period of
time,whose s ections were the swcu l a . Respecting
the intellectual value which may once have bel onged to this Etruscan cosmogony and philosophy
,
i t i s difficul t to form a j udgment ; they appear,however
,to have been from the very firs t char
acter i zed by a dull fata lism and an insipid play
upon
That the Romans borrowed much from the r e
l igi on of the Etruscans we can n ot doubt ; but
h ow much,i t i s not easy to determine . That the
Etruscans in return received contributions from
Rome i s equally certain .
Momm sen ,Hi story of R om e
,V ol . I , p p . 1 66
,243- 245.
1 44 DEPAR TED GODS.
The state and the clan,th e individual phe
nemena of nature as well as the individual oper
atica s of mind,every man
,every place and ob
ject, every act, even falling within the sphere of
Roman law,reappeared in the Roman world of
gods ; and , as earthly things come and go in per
petual flux , the circle of the gods underwent acorresponding fluctuation . The tutelary spirit
,
which presided over the indiv idual act, lasted no
longer than that act itself ; the‘
tutelary spiri t of
the individual man lived and d i ed with the man ;and eternal duration belonged to divini ties of thi s
sort only in so far as similar acts and s imilar constituted men
,and therefore sp irits of a similar
kind,were ever coming into exis tence
There is a divinity for every stage of human
life . Con sevi u s presides over generation , F l uvi ona
promotes the growth of the embryo,V i tumnu s
awakens life,and Sen ti nu s gives sensation . Ops
assisted by Candel i fer a,Pos tverta and Prosa (the
two Carmen tae) , Lucina, Par tu l a, Nona , Decima,and Alcmena, each having her own oth ee— brings
the new soul into the light of day . And now i t
i s necessary that the mother should be guarded
agains t the power of the god Silvanus . This i s
effectually done by the dei ties Intercidona,Pi
l umn u s,and D iverra
,who surround the house
,
Momm sen ,His tor y of R om e
,V ol . I , p p . 53
, 21 8.
THE GR EAT GODS. 1 45
and leave the marks of their callings . If,in ad
dition to these precautions , the god F or cu l us
guards the door,the god L imen ti nu s the thresh
old,and the goddess Cardea the hinges
,we may
consider the inmates comparatively safe . N ow
the goddess Rumina helps the child to take i ts
first food,while Patina and Edu l a assis t in i ts
nourishment i n a more general way . Cunina is
the goddess of the cradle . Statina,or Stati l i nus
,
presides over the babe when i t learns to s tand,
and Levana when i t falls . Adeona helps i t come
to i ts mother,and Abeona watches over i t when
it toddles away fr om maternal arms . Paven ti a,
or Paven ti na,fill s with child ish fear ; and Vati
canns is the god of the crying infant . The gods
F a r i nu s and L ocu tiu s inspire with speech .
Then,we have a mul titude of gods who be
long to early manhood . V en i l ia inspires with
hope Agenor,or Agenor i a , with action ; Peragenor
with perseverance in action ; Stimula furnishes
in tellectual and phys ical s timulus ; Str en i a makes
strenuous ; N umer ia teaches numbers ; Camoenateaches song ; Consus gives good advice ; Sentiahelps to frame sentences ; J u venas, or Juventa ,pres ides over the youth ; Murcia moves to ex
cess ; Ouies makes quiet ; F esson i a i s the goddess
of weariness ; and F ellonia drives away enemies .Another group of d ivini ties preside over fam
1 46 DEPAR TED GODS.
ily l ife . V ol up i a is the goddess of pleasure ,and P raes ti ti a of beauty
,while Affer enda attends
to fixing the dower. D om i dueu s leads i n the
bride,Domitius protects her i n the house
,and
the Man tu r nae keep her for her husband . J u
gati nu s i s the god of marriage . Mens gives a
good mind ; and V ol umn us,V ol umna
,or Voleta
,
a good will . The goddess F r u ctesca secures
fruitful ness . Then we have a hos t of gods and
goddesses connected with the bridal chamber
Venus,V i rgi n i en s i s , Mutunus , Tu tunu s , Priapus ,
P er tu nda,Sub igu s , Prema , and P erfica ! Nor
is the list yet complete . There is a d ivinity for
every stage of h uman l ife,from i ts earlies t be
ginnings to the la test moment of existence,and
Naca ia i s the’
goddess of th e funeral dirge .
Food to support life is also abundantly protected by deities . The earth a s a whole
,and
the cul tivated earth,each h as i ts d ivin i ti es
Terra,Tellus
,Tel l umo
,Al ter
,Rusor . Farms are
under the protection of the goddess Rusina,
downs are l ooked after by Collatina,valleys are
sacred to Vallon ia,and ridges and mountains to
the god J ugati nu s . When the grain i s cas t into
the ground,and before the stal k appears above
the soil,th e goddess Seia must bless i t ; as soon
as the blade is seen,Segeti a takes charge of i t ;
and when the ripened grain i s stored Tu ti l i na
1 48 DEPAR TED GOD S.
which were decked by heathen pie ty with gar
lands and ribbons,and which no one passed by
without some sign of reverence . Laws were
enacted against the introduction of foreign gods
without the sanction of the Senate ; but these
laws seem to have availed l i ttle,especially after
Rome became a world-empire . Al l gods were
THE PAN THEO N , O R TEMPLE O F AL L THE GODS .
(As at p r esen t
tolerated . Upon the conquest of a province,i ts
gods were invite d to Rome .
“ If there be a god
or goddess who has taken this people and city,
N . u ., under i ts protection , Deity, whosoever
thou mayest be,I pray thee
,I adjure thee
,to
forsake this people and city,to withdraw from
this ci ty and i ts temple,and come to Rome to
THE GR EAT GODS. 1 49
me and mine,that our city
,our temples and sac
r i fices , may be acceptable to thee . If thou wilt
do this,I vow to thy divini ty temples and
games . Thus,in sol emn formula
,the gods of
al l nati ons were invited to Roman hospi tal i ty .
Rome demanded the recogni tion of her own
gods everywhere,and was willing to extend the
same generous courtesy to the gods of all lands
and peoples .*
But all these god s coul d not permanently sati sfy the Romans . There were
,from time to
time along down the centuries,gigantic efforts to
u phold the religious system of Rome , but they
were fruitless efforts . The dei ficati on of the
emperor— a sort of monothei sm in the mids t of
polythei sm— held together decaying heathenism
for a time,but the respite was brief. By reso
lutien,both foreign men and foreign divini ties
were press ingly invited to the freedom of Rome ,and efforts were made to make these strangers
feel at home . The Romans sometimes gave the
pre ference to foreign gods over their own native
gods,but it availed no thing . The ancient r e
l igion became so obscured by reason of foreign
elements that i t is mos t d ifficul t now to determine what i s native and what i s imported . We
l ‘t U h l h or n,Con fl i ct of Ch r i stian i ty w i th Heath en i sm ,
pp . 30,37.
1 50 DEPAR TED GODS.
name several gods which may be regarded as dis
ti ncti vely Roman .
Jupiter,
“ the father of gods and men,the chi ef
god of the Romans,resembles th eGreek Zeus
,wi th
J U P I TER .
whose name his own i s e tymologi cally connected .
He is the god of the sky,th e a i r
,and the firma
ment ; and sends forth th e l igh tning,the thun
der,and the fertili zing rain . He impregnates
1 52 DEPAR TED GOD S.
foreign deity,sh e was probably E truscan . When
the city of Veii was conquered , i ts patron god
dess was brought to Rome by Camillus,and one
of her chief cults was that of J une Regina, on
the Aventine . When L anuvi um surrendered, th ecultus of Juno Sospita was carried to Rome , and
es tablished on Palatine Hill . The mi nt for the
coining of money was in the temple of J une
Moneta . The Kalends were sacred to J une,as
the Ides to Jupiter . The chief feas t of Juno
was the Matronalia,which was celebrated on the
Kalends of March,when maidens and wives of
stainless character marched in procession to the
temple of Lucina,on the Esquiline . Geese were
her favorite bird,and those which were kept in
the Capitoline temple gave timely warning of the
Gallic attack .
Minerva,l ik e Juno
,may have been originally
a goddess of the Etruscans,though the name
would suggest a true Latin dei ty . She pres ides
over all h andi crafts, ,ar ts
,sciences
,and i nven
tions . She i s especial ly the goddess of i ntel l i
gence,memory
,and literature— “ the th inking
,
cal cu l ati ng,‘
i nven ti ve power personified .
”Po
etry, music , sculpture , and painting were sacred
to Minerva . Besides the temple on the Capi
tol ine Hill,where she was worshiped in conne c
tion wi th Jupiter and June,she had an old
THE GR EAT GODS. 1 53
temple on the Aventine . which was a regular
meeting-place for poe ts and actors . The day of
dedication of the temple,and the birthday of
the goddess,was the n ineteenth of March . On
this auspicious day a great festival was cele
br ated,which was called qm
’
nguatr us, because i t
fell on the fifth day after the Ides . This was a
hol iday for al l schools,and when the scholars
again assembled they brought commemorative
fees to thei r teachers . Every home also cele
br ated this holiday ; for Minerva was the patron
of weaving and Spinning,and every craft con
nected with the comfort and happiness of domes
tic l ife . The festival was afterward lengthened
to five days,and games were introduced in an
swer to the G reek concepti on of Minerva as the
goddess of war . As a war goddess she is r epr e
sented in helmet,and wi th shield and coat . of
mail . There was a temple on Caelian Hill where
the lesser gu inq uaz‘r us was cel ebrated from the
thirteenth to the fifteenth of -June,chiefly by
flute-players .“The central obj ect not on ly of Roman
,but
of Ital ian worship generally,in that epoch when
the Ital ian stock still dwel t by i ts elf in the pen i nsu l a
,was
,according to all indications
,th e god
Maurs,or Mars
,th e kill ing god
,pre-eminently
regarded as the divine champion of the burgesses ,
1 54 DEPAR TED GODS.
hurl ing the spear,protecting the flock
,and over
throwing the foe .
”
Father Mars,or Marspiter
,was the god of
heaven,giver of light and opener of the new
year,who also sends the fertil iz ing rain and hurls
the fearful thunder-bol t . Mamurius V etu r i us
beaten out of the city on th e fifteenth of March,
was symbol ic of the departure of the old year .
The first month March was named from Mars
and on th e first day,the birthday of the god
,
there were various religious and poli ti cal festi
val s,and the holy fire was renewed in the temple
of Vesta . The sacred spear of Mars may have
been originally the lightning,and his shi eld
,l ike
the aegis of Zeus and that of Athene,may have
been the thunder-bolt . The wolf,the h orse
,and
the woodpecker were sacred to Mars . As the
heaven-god and sender of rain,Mars i s th e giver
of fertil ity and increas e . In some old cu l ts he
is th e god of land,agricul ture
, and flocks . He
also caused drough t,sterility
,and all evil . Like
Jupiter,he had his oracles and pri ests . The
Flamen Martialis presented to h im burnt o fferings . The twelve Palatine Sal ii
,or “Dancers
,
”
danced in armor for many days,beginning with
the first of March,through certain parts of the
city,c l ashing their lances agains t their shields
Mom m sen ,His torv of R om e
,V ol . I
, p . 222.
1 56 DEPAR TED eons .
_pointedfor these serv ices
,was called “ the day
of blood ” These gloomy features in her wor
ship may have been modifications from Asiatic
influence .
Vesta was a most ancient divin ity , and was
the goddess of the hearth , especially the nationalhearth
. She had a temple on Palatine Hill , and
TEMPLE O F VESTA.
(As a t P r esen t
in th e immediate vicini ty was her sacred grove .
1 58 DEPAR TED GOD S
the ninth of June,Roman matrons with bare feet
resorted to her temple . The eternal fire burning
i n her temple was her only and suffi cient symbol .
Ceres was the goddess of agricul ture , and was
early connected with Liber,the god of the v ine
yard . Cerus and Cerie were a god and goddess
worshiped by the early Italian s,and may be con
nected with Ceres . Her worship was merged in
that of the Greek Demeter .Saturnus , and his w ife
.
Ops,are among th e
oldest deitie s of Italy . An altar erected to Sat
u r nu s,at the foot of the Capitoline
,i s said to have
preceded the foundation of Rome . Under or be
hind his temple was th e Roman treasury, i n
which were preserved the arch ives and treasures
of the State . The oldes t form of national verse
was called the Saturnian . He is the god of ag
r i cu l tur e, and his hollow statue , fil led with ol iveoil
,speaks of fertil ity and abundance . His sym
bol is a sickle,which he bears in his hand . His
fee t were bound with wool . His festival,the
Saturnalia,las ted from the seventeenth to the
twenty-fourth of December . “ The woolen fet
ters were taken from the feet of the image ofSaturn, and each man offered a pig . During thefestival , schools were closed ; no war was declaredor battle fough t ; no punishment was infl icted . In
place of the toga,an undress garment was worn .
1 60‘
DEPAR TED GODS.
god of the gains which come from adventure,
and of any extraordinary increase of wealth . At
his most holy altar in the cattle market the gen
eral was wont to present to him the tenth of the
spoil,and the ’ merchant the tenth of h is increase .
He became the god of mercantile covenants , gen
er a l ly, which in early times were frequently con
firmed at h is altar by oath . Hence he was the
Deus F i d iu s,
“ the god of good faith .
” The wor
ship of Hercules was from an early date among
the most widely diffused ; he was,to use the
words of an ancient author, adored in every ham
let of Italy,and al tars were everywhere erected
to him in the streets of the ci ti es and along the
country roads .
”
Mercurius was the god of barter,trade
,and
all commercial transactions . There was no trade
at Rome till Italy felt the influence of th e Greekcolonies . All the usages and religious ceremonies
connected with trade were borrowed from the
Greeks . Mercurius was hot officially recognized
till the year B . C . 495,when al so the Greek god
Hermes was introduced into Rome under his name .
It was probably at this time that a regular college
of merchants was insti tuted under the protection
of this god . On the Ides of May the mer cur z'
a l es
celebrated a fes tival in honor of their patron,with
Momm sen ,Hi stor y of R om e
,V ol . I
, p 241 .
THE GREAT GODS. 1 6 1
whom,under Greek influence, Ma ia
,the mother
of Hermes,was associated .
Mercury became the god, not only of the
mer cator es and of the corn-trade,but of buying
and selling in general ; and i t appears that, at
leas t in the stree ts where shops were common,
l i ttle chapels and images of the god were erected .
There was a spring dedicated to Mercury betweenhis temple and the P or ta Cap ena . Every shopman
drew water from this spring on the Ides of May,
and sprinkled i t wi th a laurel twig over his head
and over his goods,at the same time entreating
Mercury to remove from his head and his goods
the guil t of al l his deceits . The art of the R 0
man tradesman was evidently like that of an
Oriental tradesman of modern times,and the word
mer cu r i'
a l i'
s was probably used as equivalent to‘ cheat .’ The posi tion of Mercurius among the
Roman gods was a low one,and his influence in
the nation was not great .
N eptunu s has been identified with the Etruscan
water-god N eth uns . The earl ies t reference to his
worship i s on th e occasion of the firs t l ec l z'
sterm'
um
held in B . C . 399,when the Sibylline Books i n
cluded h im among the gods to whom thi s fes tival
was dedicated . His cul t was fully established inthe second century of the Republi c
,when i t was
united to that of Mercurius . The N eptuna l i a was
1 62 DEPAR TED GOD S.
celebrated on the twenty-third day of July withgames
,banquets
,and carousals . In earl ier times
the god Portunus was thanked for naval victories .
Several Roman admirals are known to have sac
r ificed to Neptune . The god became completely
identified with the Greek Poseidon .
64 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Flora was the goddess of spring-time and
flowers . A festival of great gayety'
was held in
her honor from the twenty-eighth day of April
to the third of May . She had a temple near the
Circus Maximus,and a Flamen F l or a l i s was at
tached to her worship . Sh e says of herself“ I enj oy perpetual spring . To me the year is
always most beauteous ; th e tree always bears
i ts foliage,the earth its herbage . A fruitful gar
den i a the fields of my dowry is mine . The
breeze cherishes i t ; i t i s irrigated by a spring
of tri ckling water . This my husband has fil led
w ith flowers of the choicest kinds ; and he says ,Do thou
,Goddess
,rule the empire of the flow
ers .’ Ofttimes have I desired to reckon the tintsas they were arranged
,and I could not . Their
multitude exceeded all number . When firs t th e
dewy rime has been dashed from the leaves,and
the variegated flowers warm in th e beams of the
sun,the Season s
,arrayed in painted robes
,assem
ble,and gather my pre sents i nto the i r l ight has
kets . For thw i th to flzem are added the Graces , andthey plai t the chaple ts
,and the garlands desti ned
to bind their heavenly looks . I was the first to
spread the new seed throughout the unlimited
natures . Before then,the earth was of but one
9“Ovi d, Th e F asti , R i l ey ’s Tr an sl ati on
, V ol . I , pp . 1 86 , 1 87.
PR I ESTS AN D FESTI VALS. 1 65
Faunus pres ided over flocks and herds . The
F auna l ia,in honor of Faunus and Fauna
,wa s
celebrated annually in December .Janus was the god of the sun . He was rep
resented with a face in the front,and another
on the back of his head . The month of January
was sacred to him,as also all other beginnings .
He had a temple in theForum
,with two doors op
pos i te to each other,which
in time of war,s tood open
,
and in time of peace were
shut . The temple was
th r i ce closed on this ao
count— once dur ing the
reign of Numa,again after
the first Punic war,and a
third time after the battle
of Actium,when Caesar “N U S
Augus tus became sole ruler of the empire .
Several dei ti es belonged peculiarly to the
home and State . Such were Terminus,the god
of boundaries ; Consus , th e god of secre t counsel ;and the Penates, the gods of property . The
Penates presided over the kitchen and the s tore
r oom . None but pure and chaste persons werepermitted to enter the store-room . The images
of the Penates,two in number
,represented as
1 5
1 66 DEPAR TED GOD S.
dancing and holding aloft a drinking-horn in
token of j oy and plenty,were placed on the
family hearth . The old Roman,i n company
with his family,offered a morning sacrifice and
prayer to the household gods . “Before meals
the blessing of the gods was asked,and after
the meal,but before dessert
,there was a short
silence,and a portion of food was placed on the
hearth and burned . If the hearth and the im
ages were not i n the eating-room,either the im
ages were brough t and put on the table,or before
the shrine was placed a table,on which were set
a salt-cellar,food
,and a burning lamp ” The
Kalends,the Nones
,and the Ides
,the Car i sti a
held on the twenty-second of February,and the
Saturnalia, were se t apart for special family wor
ship . On these and other j oyous days the images were crowned
,and there were presented
offerings of cakes , honey, wine , incense , and
sometimes a pig . Not only had each family i ts
Penates , but also each clan ; and the State hadits public Penates . These household gods had atemple of their own in Rome
,but were also wor
sh iped in the temple of Vesta . Closely connected with this worship was that of the Lares
,
the deified ancestors s till l iving in their graves
in the house,and worshiped as the guardians
and protectors of the family . On the hearth
1 68 DEPAR TED GOD S.
attended to the whole worship of the temple to
which he was devoted .
In addition to the Flamen,each temple had
a college of priests,which might consist of all
the males of a particular priestly family,but
was more generally a close corporation,limited
in the number of its members . Vacancies in the
college were filled by ele ction . There was a col
lege of Salii,or “ dancing priests
,
” attached to
the temple of Mars,on the Palatine Hill
,and
another connected with the temple of Q uirinus ,on the Q uirinal .
The Luperci celebrated the Lupercalia on the
fifteenth of February,when goats and a dog
were offered in sacrifice .
“After the sacrifice ,two of the Luperci were led to the altar ; their
foreheads were touched with a bloody sword,
and the blood wiped off with wool dipped in
milk . Then the ritual required that the two
young men shall laugh . The sacrificial feast
followed,after which the Luperci cut thongs
from the skins of the victims,and ran in two
bands round th e walls of the old Palatine city,s triking people wh o crowded near . These thongs
were called F ebr ua , hence the name of the month
February .
” The rite was originally pecu l i ar'
to
the tribe of the Ramses,and was dedicated to
I nuu s,an old Italian deity .
PR I ESTS AN D FESTI VALS. 1 69
Our Roman forefathers called atoning sacrifices by the name of ‘ F ebr ua
,
’
and even now
many traces of i ts mean i ng confirm this s ign ifica
ti on,of the expression . The Pontiffs ask wool
of the king qf the sac r ifices and of the Flamen ,the name of which
,in the ancien t dialect
,was
‘ F ebr ua ;’
and the purifying subs tances which
the li ctor takes for the houses when ascertainedas being imp ur e, the parched spel t
'
w i th the grain
of sa l t, are called by the same name . This,too
,
is the name of the bough which,lopped from a
consecrated tree,covers with i ts foliage the holy
temples of the priests . I myself have seen the
Flamini ca asking for the ‘ F ebr ua ;’ a bough of
pine was presented to her,making this request for
the ‘ F ebru a’
6g name. In a word,whatever
there is by means of which our breasts are puri
fied,i t had with our unshaven ancestors this
name . From these circumstances the month derives i ts name
,ei t/i er because the Luperci
,with
thongs of h ide,purify al l the country
,and con
sider that r i te an expiation ; or because the sea
son is purified,the shades of the dead being ap
peased when the days devoted to their offeri ngshave passed by . Our ancients believed that purification was efli cac i ou s to remove every curse and
every cause of evil .”
’ Ovi d, Th e F as ti , R i l ey’
s Tran s l ati on,V ol . 1 , pp . 46 , 47.
1 70 DEPAR TED GODS.
The college of Vestal Virgins,connected with
the worship of Ves ta,having charge of the sa
cred fire,and the “ token s ” of Rome
,awaken
great interest whenever mentioned . The House
of the Vestals ” was discovered by L anc i an i in
1 883,at the foo t of the Palatine Hill . Thi s
mos t brill iant discovery brough t to l igh t many
pedestals,s tatues . busts
,coins
,inscription s
,and
other obj ects of antiquarian interest, and has
added much to our knowledge of this religious
corporation .
The Vesta l Virgi ns,six in number
,
“ clad in
snow-white garments,which reflected
,as i t were,
the purity of their minds and souls ; in the very
prime of beauty,youth , and s trength ; daugh ters
of the noblest familie s ; deposi taries of s tate
secrets ; confidan ts of the imperial household ,and faithful keepers of the secre t tokens of the
Roman Commonwealth,
— were held in r ever en
tial honor,enj oyed many privileges
,and wielded
vast influence .
Zosimus,the his torian
,mentions the fact that
,
after the Virgins had left their house,bearing
doubtless th e sacred tokens,Princess Serena
en tered the building, and took a rich n ecklace
from a statue of the goddess . Rome being be
sieged by Alaric,Serena was suspected of secret
conn i vance with the enemy. She was doubtle ss
1 72 DEPARTED GOD S.
innocent, but was put to death . This was looked
upon as a j ust punishment for her sacrilege .
She had entered the mos t sacred place of Vesta .
Here sh e was so captivated by the beauty of
a necklace that she took i t with her own hands
from the shoulders of the goddess,and fixed i t
on her own neck . An old woman,the las t sur
v i vi ng Vestal , having witnessed by chance th e
profanation,cursed the princess
,and predicted
that,sooner or later
,she would sadly expiate
her crime . Serena,at firs t
,took no notice of
the awful malediction ; bu t the old Vestal had
told the truth— Serena died by strangulation l” *
The college of the Fratres Arvales,twelve in
number,and selected from the highest patrician
families,were devoted to Ceres
,in whose honor
as the Dea D ia they celebrated the great annualfestival
,and off ered publ ic sacrifices for the fer
ti l i ty of the fields . The new grain was blessed
on each of the thre e days of the festival . Onthe second day the ceremonies were performed
in a grove , when two pigs , a whi te cow , and a
fat sheep were sacrificed . The grove where
they assembled was “ at the fifth mil estone of
the Via Campana,on the slope of the hills which
n ow overlook the farm of La Magliana .
” This
L an c i an i,An c i en t R ome i n th e L igh t of R ecent D i scover
i es , p p . 1 33,1 35
,1 76
,1 77.
P R I ESTS AN D FESTI VALS. 1 73
slope was excavated in 1 868 and 1 869,and
richly rewarded the explorer .
The very temple of the Dea D ia was discovered— a round
,marble s tructure
,raised on a
very high platform,on the vertical surface of
which the annals,or yearly records , of the fra
ter n i ty were engraved . To speak of the impor
tance of these annals— which begin with the
reign of Augustus and stop with that of Gordianus II
,a lapse of two centuries and a half
,
and which contain an almos t incredible amount
of archaeological,historical
,and chronological i h
formation— would not be consis tent with the
spiri t of this chapter . I must notice,however
,
one particular,which i s evidently a recollection
of the age of bronze . The annals of each year
were engraved on the marble basement of the
temple during the month of April,and were en
graved,of course
,with iron or steel tools . To
expiate this profanation,i n the same month of
each year,sacrifices were o ff ered
,06 f er r i i n l a
tionem et el ationem,for the introduction and re
moval of iron within the sacred precinc t— a sow
and a sheep were slain over the al tar,and their
flesh was eaten afterwards by attendants and
sacris tans of an inferior order .”
“L an c i an i , An c i en t R ome i n th e L igh t of Recen t D iscov
er i es, pp . 42, 43.
1 74 DEPAR TED GOD S.
The duties of the Sodal es Ti ti i were quite
s imilar . The thirty Flamines Curiales offeredsacrifices for the preservation of the Curies of the
old Roman people .
Every worshiper migh t address personally
any deity with whom he wished to communicate .
But to hold converse with a god was not,after
all,an easy matter . Only those familiarly ao
q uai n ted with a god could unders tand aright h is
language . The pries t was educated to interpre t
th e divine . He could not only understand,but
also i nfluence the will of the god,and even over
reach him for the good of man . Hence the
importance of the priest in religious worship is
most evident . Still more important were those
men specially skilled in all kinds of religious
learning. These wise men formed the colleges
of sacred lore .
The Roman priests,l ike the priests of the
Greek,and in fact all o ther ancien t religions
,were
compassed about by a great multitude of r estr i c
tions and Observances to which they were com
pel l ed to g i ve most earnest heed . The FlamenD i al i s was not permitted to touch a dead body
or to enter a house where one was burned . He
must not see any work done on holy days,nor
might he venture to uncover in the open air . If
a man were brough t into his house i n bonds,the
1 76 DEPAR TED GODS.
the same rules,besides others which were peculiar
to“ The priesthoods were charged with the wor
ship of a specific d ivini ty ; the skilled colleges,on the other hand
,were charged with the pres
er vation of traditional rules regarding those more
general religious Observances,the proper fu l fil l
men t of which implied a certain amount of i a
formation,and rendered i t necessary that the
State , in its own interes t, should provide for the
faithful transmission of that information . These
close corporations supplying their own vacancies,
of course,from the ranks of the burgesses
,became
in this way the depositaries of sk i lled arts andsci ences .”TThe Pon tifices
,under the Ponti fex Maximus
,
who was the highest religious authority in the
State , exercised control over all the priests, and
performed the general functions of the State r e
l i gi on . It is probable that there was no supreme
Pontifex under the emperors,but that the func
tions of the sacred office were discharged by the
emperors in person . The r ex sacr or um,under the
Republic,succeeded to the sacrificial duties which
had been performed by the king,but the P ontif ex
W”‘ F razer
,Th e G ol den I
, p p . cf. th e ref
c r en ees gi ven i n th i s wor k .
TMomm sen ,His tor y of R om e
,V ol . I
, p . 229.
PR I ESTS AN D FESTI VALS . 1 77
Maximus inherited the subs tance of power in sa
cred things . The Pon ti fices claimed to possess
professional knowledge of things human and di
vine .” The supreme Pontiff dwelt close to the
sacred hearth of the State . He appointed the
Flamens and the Vestal Virgins,and had charge of
their cults and those exercises of public religi on
for which no priests were specially provided .
The Pon tifices furnished all technical informati on
and guidance on all great and important religious
occas ions . They controlled the calendar and kept
the pon ti fica l archives or annual chronicles of
public events,and to them was assigned the dec
l ar ati on of the laws of religion . They taught how
to escape the threatenings of omens and prodigies .
The Augurs interpreted,according to the
books of divination,the will of Jupiter on the oc
casion of every public transaction . At first there
seem to have been but two augurs,one from
each of the tribes Ramnes and Tities . Numa
added two more,and again two for the tribe L n
ceres . Sulla made the number fifteen , and Caesaradded one . The offi ce
,like that of the P en
ti fices and Flamines , was for life , and the collegefil led its own vacancies . The augurs observed
the sky,and watched the course of the lightning
and the flight of birds . Such observations could
be made only in the city of Rome,except by con
1 78 DEPAR TED GOD S.
secr ati ng a spot of earth to represent the hearthof the Eternal Ci ty . The notes of birds
,and their
manner of feeding were not forgotten . Fowlswere kept in cages by a servant that the augurs
might not be without a ready means of reading
the will of heaven . The motions and'
sounds of
quadrupeds and serpents also revealed the will
of th e gods,though this method of divination
was less frequently employed,and had gone out
of use at the time of Cicero . Any unusual phe
nomena were considered timely warnings . Au
spices were taken by casting lots,and by exam
ining the entrails of sacrifices . I n the latter case
Etruscan haruspices were generally employed .
The occasions for the consul tation of augurs were
such as the founding of colonies,the beginning
of a battle,the assembl ing of an army
,the sit
tings of the Senate , th e decis ions of peace andwar
,the election of magis trates
,and their entering
on offi ce .
“And our ancestors were persuaded that
much virtue resides in certain words,and there
fore prefaced their various enterprises with cer
tain auspicious phrases]; such as , May good , and
prosp erous,and happy fortune attend " They
commenced all the public ceremonies of religion
with these words,Keep s ilence and when they
announced any holidays,they commanded that all
1 80 DEPAR TED G OD S.
The Duumviri,two in number as the name
suggests,were the keepers of the Sibylline
Books,and interpreted their prophecies . These
books were especially consulted in cases of pesti
lence,and upon the occurrence of any extraor d i
nary prodigi es .
These various colleges of priests never could
become dangerous to the State . Their duties
were only to interpret and to advise ; never to
take the initiative,and never to execute . They
coul d only answer questions . “ The Romans,
notwiths tanding all their zeal for religion , ad
hered with unbending strictnes s to the principle
that the pries t ought to remain comple tely
powerless in the State ; and , excluded from
all command,ought
,like any other burgess
,
to render obedience to the humblest magis
The Roman religion was business-like,and
consis ted largely i n songs,games
,dances
,and
banquets . The pig was an offering most accep t
able to the gods . All extravagance in expense
and excess in j oy were sternly rebuked . The
gods,as well as the Roman people, were taught
to practice frugality . These were allowed little
play for the imagination,and little room for en
thu s i asti c fanaticism,unrestrained indulgence
,and
3Mommsen ,Hi stor y of R om e, V ol . I , p . 232.
PR I ESTS AN D FESTI VAL S. 1 81
the frenzy of supersti tion . Si n was considered
a crime agains t the gods , and punishment was
the expiation of guil t . The s l aying of an
enemy in war,and the executi on of a criminal ,
were equally expiatory sacrifices o ffered to of
fended d ivinities . When the guil t which s tirred
the gods to anger could no t be fastened upon any
particular person or persons,they mi gh t still be
appeased by one who volun tarily offered him
sel f as a victim . Thus national calami ty could
be removed,and disaster in battle turned to
victory .
There were several usages which may
have been reminiscences of anci ent human sac
r ifices .
The thirty puppets,plai ted of rushes
,and
thrown annually into the Tiber,may have been
a survival of thirty victims which,i n most
ancient times,were offered annually at the
Lemuralia .
In comparison wi th the religion of the Greeks,
the religion of the Romans was commonplace,
matter-of-fact, unartis tic, bald , barren , dull, tame ,s tupid , and tasteless ; while yet i t was most
sober, business-like , earnest, and practical . Wor
sh ip, prayers , sacrifices , and vows seem to have
been considered mere commercial obligations,to
be punctually met . The old Roman religion1 6
1 82 DEPAR TED GODS.
had no images of the gods . As no bargain
could be made by proxy,so no priest could
stand between the worshiper and his gods .
These early gods seem to have had no geneal o
gies and no family relationships . Foreign andlater importations created many changes . The
religion was fruitless in art,poetry
,and a l l im
agi nati ve speculation .
1 84 DEPAR TED GOD S.
some of the features which characteri ze thesch ooL
The wise man,says the Stoic, li ves according
to nature ; by which is meant not only universal
nature,but also his own nature as a part of
universal nature . This comes to the same thing
as saying that he l ives according to virtue,and
according to the will of the Universal Governorand Ruler of
'
all things . He does n othing which
the common law of mankind or right reason con
demn s . In th is consists his chief good or highest
happiness .
The beautiful is the only good .
“Beauty is
the flower of v i rtue There is no thing inter
mediate between vice and v irtue . He who has
one virtue has all vir tues . All goods are equal,
and each good is to be desired in the highes t
degree . Nothing is good which i t is possible to
use ill . Anything has value only as i t helps man
to l ive according to nature .
The wise man is.
not dis turbed by grief.
This dismisses all p ity,emulation
,and j ealousy
,
all pain,perturbation
,and sorrow
,and all anguish
and confusion .
He is not moved by fear . This banishes all
apprehension,shame
,and hesitation
,and all per
pl ex i ty, trepidation , and anxie ty .
He nei ther feels nor seeks pleasure . This
THE MOR AL I T Y OF S'TOI CI SM. 1 85
destroys all possibil i ty of enj oymen t,
r ejoi c
ing at evil,irrati onal delight
,and ex trava
gant j oy .
The wise man is free from vani ty,and yet
aus tere . He is not moved by clemency ; he would
make a severe punisher of crime .
As to h is emotional nature,the wise man is
barely saved from becoming a gate-pos t by having assigned him three good disposi tions . These
are j oy as opposed to pleasure,caution as 0p
posed to fear,and will as opposed to desire .
These are called rational dispos itions . The firs t
brings delight,mirth
,and good spiri ts ; the sec
ond,reverence and modesty ; and the third ,
good-will,placidity
,salu tation
,and affection .
We follow in the above one of the cl ass i fica
tions brought forward in the school .
The wise man is godlike . He has something
within him which is as i t were a god .
” He is
p ious , and pays p roper reverence to the gods ;he worships the gods and sacrifices to them ; i n
fact,he is the only true priest
,as he is also the
only true king . He is just and holy,and keeps
h imself pure . The gods themselves can not
withhold their admiration . He is the only free
man,and the only man fit to become a magis
trate,j udge
,or orator . Everything belongs to
the wise man,and he is never in error. True
1 86 DEPAR TED GOD S.
friendship can exist only in the heart of the vi r
tuou s man .
All errors are equal . “ For if one thing thatis true i s not more true than another thing that
i s true,neither is one thing tha t i s false more
fal se than another thing that is false ; so , too ,one decei t is not greater than another, nor one
sin than another . For the man who is a hundred furlongs from Canopus and the man who is
only one,are both equal ly not in Canopus ; and
so,too
,he who commits a greater sin and he
wh o commits a l ess are both equally not in the
right path .
”
The Stoics professed bel ief in one supreme
god,and yet did not break away from the poly
theism of their fathers . Their one god,however
,
was the god of panthei sm,and so remained to
the last . They never emancipated themselves
from superstition,and resorted to divination .
We need not name the many philosophers
wh o helped make the school illustrious . As in
the case of Zeno,their teachings come only to us
second -hand .
Stoicism was never really at home in Greece .
Its greatest expounders were foreigners . But
its adopted country was most congenial . In
Rome it especially flourished . We may study‘ D i ogen es L aerti ne, L i ves of th e Ph i l osop h er s , pp . 301 —31 7.
1 88 DEPAR TED GOD S.
s tem the tide of corruption and wickedness,and
,
upon suspicion,was banished to Corsica by the
Emperor Claudius. His philosophy failed to sus
tain h im in his exile ; for, while he gave himself
to authorship,his works were not free from the
most sycophan ti c and fulsome flattery of Clau
di u s,whom in his heart he mus t have considered
a monster .
Agrippina,a demoness incarnate, a tigress
gorged with human blood . secured the recall of
Seneca ; and when her son , the if possible more
satanic Nero,ascended the throne of Rome
,the
philosopher became his tutor . He may have de
spai r ed of maintaining his influence over his royal
master i f he were to attempt to teach him the
highest virtue,and hence was content to enforce
the virtue of mere expediency . His own virtue
suffered . He became an accomplice in crime,
and must be even branded as a murderer . Nero
came to the conclusion that he could do withou t
h im,
'
and,suspecting him of being connected with
the conspiracy of Pi so,condemned h im to death .
He opened his own veins,and thus died sur
rounded by his friends .
The age in which Seneca lived was character
i zed by the purest moral teaching,and yet ex
p l or ed the lowest depths of degradation and i h
famy Whil e many did not believe in the old
THE MORAL I TY OF STO l C l SM. 89
gods at al l,they yet gave themselves up to s u
per s ti ti on , and put their trus t in the fooleries of
sorcerers,astrologers , exorcists , and every im
postor and quack . G ibbon says The common
worship was regarded by the people as equally
true,by the philosophers as equally false
,and
by the magistrates as equally useful Religion
became a pretense and a mockery .
Never were luxury and extravagance carried
to a higher pi tch . Men abandoned manly pur
suits,and resorted to debauchery and gluttony .
They invented and diligently practi ced every
refinement of vice . They sought the arena,i n
which gladiators and beasts tore one another in
pieces,and their con s tant demand was for more
blood . Slaves were treated with the greates t
cruelty and brutali ty . They were tortured,they
were murdered— sometimes for mere pleasure .The great multitude were ground by poverty
,
with the hope of noth ing better,while the
wealthy despoi led whole provinces to satisfy
their tables . This wild extravagance,this un
speakable cruelty,this frantic wickedness
,this
revelry in crimes beyond nature and below na
ture,— all was but an attempt to feed on husks a
soul created for the ambrosia and nectar of the
gods . It is no t a matter for wonder tha t many
sought refuge in suicide
1 90 DEPAR TED GODS.
Seneca recommended suicide as the way of
escape from worldly troubles : “ I have placed
every good thing within your own breasts . It
is your good fortune not to need any good for
tune .
‘ Yet many things befall you which are
sad,dreadful
,hard to be borne .
’ Well,as I have
not been able to remove them from your path,I
have given your minds strength to combat all .
Bear them bravely . In this you can surpass Godhimself. He is beyond suffering evil ; you are
above it . Desp ise poverty ; no man lives as pooras he was born . Despise pain ; ei ther i t willcease or you will cease . Desp ise death ; i t e itherends you or takes you elsewhere . Despise fortune ; I have given her no weapon that can reach
the mind . Above all,I have taken care that no
man should hold you captive against your will .
The way of escape l ies open before you ; if you
do not choose to fight,you may
In such words God is represented as address
ing men . Petronius,wh o was an arbiter of ques
tions of taste at the court of Nero,having been
implicated in the P i son i an conspiracy,determined
to destroy himself. His veins were opened,and
while his life-blood was flowing,ludicrous poems
were read to him to excite hi s laughter . When
something especially laughable was read,he . had
Sen eca,M i n or D i al ogues , i , 6 .
1 92 DEPAR TED GODS.
ver b ia l resolution The house is smoky,and
I quit it .”
Seneca speaks still more plainly . To him who
complains of opp i ess i on , h e says :“ Madman
,
why do you groan ? for what are you waiting ?
for some enemy to avenge you by the destruo
tion of your entire nation,or for some powerful
king to arrive from a distant land ? Wherever
you turn your eyes you may see an end to your
woes . Do you see that precipice ? down that l iesthe road to liberty . Do you see that sea ? thatriver ? that well ? Liberty sits at the bottom o f
them . Do you see that tree ? Stunted,bli ghted
,
dried up though i t be,ye t liberty hangs from its
branches . Do you see your own throat,your
own neck,your own heart ? They are so many
ways of escape from slavery . Are these modes
which I point out too laborious,and needing much
s trength and courage ? Do you ask what path
leads to l iberty ? I answer,any vein in your
The Stoics bel ieved in the gods,and taught
that they should be reverenced . The gods act
under no restraint,but their own wi l l i s their
sufficient law . They have established an order
which they will never change because they w i ll
*Mar cu s Au rel i us An ton i n us , v, 29.
TSeneca , M i n or D i al ogues , v, 1 5.
THE MORAL I TY OF STOI CI SM. 1 93
never regre t their original decis ion . Their own
force holds them to their purpose,so that they
will never stop short or deser t to the other side .
It is from no weakness that they persevere,but
they choose to continue in the bes t course . Not
onl y d id they have regard for man in the original arrangement of the universe ; but they also
assis t man of set purpose , and hence lay him
under obligation . They may have higher aimsthan the preservation of the human race
,yet
from the beginning their though t has been di
r ected‘ to our comfort
,and the scheme of the
world has been arranged in a fash ion to prove that
our interests were n ei ther their leas t nor las t con
cern . The immortal gods have always held us
most dear,and have bestowed upon us the great
est possible honor,a place neares t to themselves .
The gods send affl ic tion for our good . In the
army the mos t hazardous s ervices are assigned
to the braves t soldiers . We see men who are
good and acceptable to the gods,toiling
,sweat
ing,and painfully s truggling upwards
,while bad
men run rio t and are steeped in pleasures . Let
us reflect that modes ty pleases us in our sons,
but forwardness in our slaves ; the former are
held in check while the boldness of the latter i s
encouraged . God acts in like manner . He does
not pe t the good man ; he tries him ,hardens
1 94 D EPAR TED GODS.
him,and fits him for himself. The government
of the world i s a monarchy ; our l iberty is to
obey God .
”
We owe to the gods a deb t of grati tude which
we should not neglect to pay .
“Avaricious as
you are,i t i s easy for you to give them thanks
,
w i thout expense ; lazy, though you be, you can
do it without labor .”
The soul of man has been placed beyond the
reach of all possible harm . We shall feel our
sorrows,if we be human ; we shall bear them,
if
we be not unmanly . This trumpery body,th e
prison and fetter of the spiri t,may be tossed
about ; upon i t tortures,robberies
,and diseases
may work their will ; but the spiri t i tself is holy
and eternal,and upon i t no one can lay hands .
All that i s bes t for man ’s enj oyment— thi s world,
the greates t and most beautiful of th e produc
tions of God,and the mind which can behold and
admire i t — are our own property and will not de
sert us as l ong as we ourse lves endure . The treasures of thi s world which we so carefully guard
and are ready to defend at the risk of our l ives
treasures for which our fleets dye the seas with
blood,and our armies shake the walls of cities
for which we so often violate all ti es of relation
*Sen eca,D e B en eficn s
, vi , 23; 1 1 , 30; M i n or D i a l ogu es , i , l ,4 ; vu ,
1 5.
1 96 DEPAR TED GOD S.
comes to ou r door . If we abandon our m inds to
anger or any passion,th e downward tendency of
our vices will carry us off and hurl us in to the
lowest depth s . We should rej ect the firs t i n
cen ti ves to anger, and resis t i ts very begin
n i ngs . It i s hard to hold anger in check when
it has once begun,because then reason goes for
nothing . Passi on will do as much as i t chooses,not merely as much as we would allow .
Fabianus says : “We ought to fight against
the passions by main force,not by skirmi shing
,
and upset their line of battle by a home charge,
not by infl i cting trifl ing wounds . I do not ap
prove of dallying with Sophisms ; they must be
crushed,not merely
L i fe i s not a good thing,but to l ive well .
Keep a good conscience . It. i s of value on the
rack or in the fire . A heart filled wi th a good
conscience will rej oice in the fire,which will
only make i t shine more brightly before the
world . Men should free themselves from all hin
drances to good living . Riches,pleasures
,busi
ness should be counted noth ing when compared
with a virtuous l ife . Men have abandoned all,
and yet have not learned how to live,still less
to liv e as wise men .
Length of l ife is not the greatest blessing .
Sen eca,M i n or D i al ogu es , v, 43 i i i
, 7 , 8 ; x, 1 0.
THE MOR AL I TY OF STOI CI SM. 1 97
The delay of death will make life longer,not
pleasanter. A man should never consider the
cost of being vir tuous . She never allures by
gain nor deters by loss . She never bribes any
one by hopes and promises .
“We must go to
her,trampling what i s merely useful under our
feet . Whithersoever she may call us or send us
we must go,without any regard for our private
fortunes,sometimes wi thout sparing even our
own blood , nor mus t we ever refuse to obey anyof her
Pleasure i s changeable and unreliable . It
dies at the very moment when i t charms us
most . On the other hand,the highes t good is
immortal . It knows no ending ; i t does not
admi t of either satiety or regret . Whatever we
can hold in our hands or see with our eyes 1 s
transitory,but a kindness las ts after that by
means of which i t i s bes towed is gone . We
may make worldly goods really our own only
by giving them away . We should give in the
way in which we ourselves would like to
r eceiver l'
If any one gave you a few acres of land,or
filled your chest with money,or presented you
‘ Sen eca, M i n or D i a l ogues , i i i , 33; i v, 21 ; x , 7 ; D e B enefic i is ,
v, 1 7 ; i v, 1 .
TSen cca , Min or Di a l ogues , vu , 7 ; 1 1 , 1 ; De B en eficns , i , 5.
1 98 DEPAR TED G OD S.
with a house bright with marble,and i ts roof
beautifully painted with colors and gilding,you
would call these benefits . But God has givenyou the boundles s extent of the earth
,in which
he has buried countless mines,and on which he
has placed countless rivers rolling sands of gold .
He has concealed in every place masses of silver
and a l l kinds of metals,and has enabled you to
discover the hidden treasures . He has built for
you a great man sion,i n which you see vast
blocks of most precious stone,the paltriest frag
m ent of which you admire,and he has covered
it with a roof which glitters by day and by night ;and yet you do not recognize these blessings of
God .
*
Present time i s short,always in motion
,and
runs sw i ftly away . Man can not grasp it ; i ts
unceasing movements brook no delay . Dutiesshould be done now . Postponement i s the great
est was te of life . It s teals our time day after
day . It takes away the present by promising
something hereafter . “ There is no such obstacle
to true living as waiting,which loses to-day
while i t i s depend ing on the mor r ow .
”
TFate decides everything
,public and private .
The length of every man’ s life is decided at his
”Sen eca,D e B en efic i i s , i v, 5.
TSen eca , Mi nor D i al ogues , x, 9, 10.
200 DEPAR TED GOD S.
l ives must contract ; but from thence th ey ri se
to the high heavens and j oin the souls of the
blest,welcomed by a saintly company .
“ Freeto roam through the open
,boundless realms of
the everlasting un i verse,they are not hindered
in their course by intervening seas,lofty mount
ains,impassable valleys
,or the treacherous flats
of the Syrtes . They find a level path every
where,are swift and ready of motion
,and are
permeated,in their turn
,by the stars
,and dwell
together with them .
”
In the writings of Seneca may be found nu
mer ou s and striking resemblances to the sacred
Scriptures . We can not find,however
,that
ei ther b orrowed from the other . There is not
the slightest poss ibil i ty that Seneca ever had
any intercourse with Paul . Several authors
have made large collections of passages which
show that Seneca,as far as his moral doctrines
and precepts are concerned,was not far from the
kingdom of heaven . Farrar has presented someof the most striking of these passages
,from
which we select a few examp l esj“Do you wonder that man goes to the gods ?
God comes to men ; nay, what is yet nearer, he
* Sen eca,Mi n or D i a l ogues , x 1 1 , 9 ; vi , 1 9, 25.
TF ar r a r , Seeker s after G od , pp . 1 74— 1 80.
THE MORAL I TY OF STOI CI SM 201
comes into men . No good mind is holy without
God ”
What advantage i s i t that anything is hid
den from men ? Nothing is closed to God ; hei s present 'to our minds
,and enters into our cen
tral thoughts .“Words must be sown like seed ; which ,
although i t be small,when it hath found a suit
able ground,unfolds i ts s trength
,and from very
small size i s expanded into the largest increase .
“We shall be wise if we desire but little ; if
each man takes count of himself,and at the
same time measures his own body,he will know
how little i t can contain,and for how short a
time .“You must l ive for one another
,if you w ish
to live for yourself.“Do we teach that he should stre tch his
hand to the shipwrecked,show his path to the
wanderer,divide his bread with the hungry ?
When I could briefly deliver to him the formula
of human duty,all this that you see
,in which
things divine and human are in cluded , i s onewe are members of one great body .
”
When we consider the age in which Seneca
’ Sen eca, L etters 73,83, 38 , 1 1 4, 48, 95 ; c f. 1 Co r . i i i
,1 6 ;
Heb . i v,1 3; Matt. x i i i
,8 ; 1 Tim . vi , 8 ; I A N . x ix ,
1 8 ; 1 Cor .
xi i , 27 ; R om . x i i , 5.
202 DEPAR TED GOD S.
li ved,we must place a high es timate upon the
strength and purity of his character. We wouldnot conceal or minify his faults, bu t we would
acknowledge with gratitude his virtues . Godcertainly endowed h i m with a large share of di
vine illumination .
Among the slaves of Epaphrodi tus,the sec
r etary of the Emperor Nero, Seneca must have
noticed a little lame Phrygian lad, Epicte tus by
name,who was des tined to become the most
celebrated of the Stow philosophers . He was
born about the fiftieth year of the Christian
era. We have little information concerning his
life which we may count as historic . He was
doubtless treated with great cruelty,yet
,for the
pleasure of his mas ter,was trained in the Stoic
philosophy by Cai ns Musom u s Rufus . The de
cree of Domi tian,which banished all the philos
oph er s from Italy, sent Epictetus to Nicopolis in
Epirus . We do not know whether he ever r e
turned to Rome . He is said to have died at a
good old age,surrounded by many loving dis
c i p l es . Epicte tus exemplified his philosophy in
his life , so far at leas t as we have any knowledge
of his his tory .
The good man,the perfect man
,the wise man
,
the Stoic l ived in harmony with nature ; hence
it was important to s tudy and unders tand nar
204 DEPAR TED GOD S.
But I have never been hindered in my will,
nor compelled when I d id not will . And how is
this possible ? I have placed my movements to
wards action i n obedience to God . Is i t his
w i ll that I should have fever ? It i s my will
also . Is it his will that I should move towards
anything ? It is my will also . Is i t his will
that I should obtain anything ? It is my wish
also . Does he not will ? I do not wish . Is i t
his will that I die— is it h is will that I be pu t
to the rack ? It is my will,then
,to die— i t is
my will,then
,to be put to the rack . Who
,then
,
i s still able to hinder me contrary to my own
j udgment,or to compel me ? No more than he
can hinder or compel
Here i s perfect resignation to the will of God ;here i s the adopti on of the divine will as h is own .
It i s not possible to conceal from God our acts,
or even our intentions and thoughts . Man should
learn the nature of the gods ; then he should
please and obey them,and with all h is power im
i tate them ,and do and say everything consist
ently with this facts !"
Men are sprung from God in an especial
manner . He is their Maker,their Guardian
,and
their Father . This should save man from sor
rows and fears,and from mean and ignoble
3“Ep i ctetus , 1 1 , 1 6 ; i v, 1 . TEp i ctetus , i i , 1 4.
THE MOR AL I TY OF STO I CI SM. 205
though ts about himself. He has also placed by
every man a guardian— a daemon , to whom he
has committe d his care . This guardian never
sle eps ; this guardian is never deceived . Man
is never alone . God and his daemon are withhim
,and they need no light to enable them to
see what he is doing .
*
No evil can happen to the man who carries
God within . He fears no robber, no earthquake .
Everything is ful l of peace and tranquill ity .
Every way,every city
,every meeting, every
neighbor,every companion
,i s harmless . When
he dies,h is body is resolved into i ts original ele
ments ; his spiri t goes to God , but whether to beabsorbed i nto the d ivine essence
,or to continue
h i s individual and personal exis tence,Epictetus
does not sayr l‘
Epicte tus would s tand by his principles , even
at the ri sk of his l ife .
“ P r i scu s Hel vi d i us also
saw th is,and acted conformably . For when
Vespasian sent and commanded him not to go
into the Senate,he replied : ‘ It is in your power
not to allow me to be a member of the Senate ;but so long as I am
,I must ~ go in .
’ ‘Well,go
in then,
’ says the emperor,
‘ but say nothing .
’
‘ Do not ask my opinion,and I will be silent . ’
‘ But I must ask yo ur opinion .
’ ‘ And I must‘ Ep i ctetus , i , 3, 9, 1 4 ; i i , 8 TEp i cte tus , i i i , 1 3
206 DEPAR TED GOD S.
say what I think right . ’ ‘ But if you do,I shall
put you to death .
’ ‘When,then
,did I tell you
that I am immortal ? You will do your part,
and I wi l l do mine ; it i s your part to kill ; i t is
mine to die,but not in fear ; yours to banish
me,mine to depart without sorrow .
’
The philosopher found his supreme happiness
in praising God— not as a nightingale,not as a
swan,but as a rational creature . He says : “ I
ought to praise God ; this is my work . I do it ;nor will I desert this pos t so long as I am a l
lowed to keep it . And I exhort you to j oin in
this same song .
”
1'
A true Stoic was most difficul t to find . Epic
tetus says that he never saw one— a man who
was happy in sickness,in danger
,in disgrace
,in
exile,dying ; a man ready to think as God does ,
ready to be disappointed,blaming neither God
nor man,angry at no one
,envying no one
, jea l
ous of no one ; desirous from a man to becomea god
,and in this poor mortal body thinking of
his fell owship with Zeu s .
”
j[It i s agreed on the part of all fair-minded
men that Epictetus was one of the choicest spir
i ts of antiquity . If in Epictetus we behold a
man sus tained and exalted i n soul by his philos
Ep i ctetus , i , 2. TEp i ctetus i , 1 6 . i Ep i ctetus i i , 1 9.
208 DEPAR TED GOD S.
of humanity,
— these he considered the highes t da
ties of man . He built but one temple during
his whole reign,and that be dedicated to benef
i cen ce.
So familiar are his life and works , that we
will satisfy ourselves i n writing down a few se
lections from his though ts :“ E very moment think s teadil y as a Roman
and a man,to do what thou hast in hand wi th
perfect and simple digni ty,and feel ing of affec
tion,and freedom
,and j us ti ce
,and to give thy
self relief from all other thoughts . And thou
wilt give thyself relief i f thou dost every act
of thy l ife as if i t were thy las t,laying aside
all carelessness and passionate aversion from the
commands of reason,and al l hypocrisy and self
love and discontent with the portion which has
been given to thee .
“ Never value anything as profitable to thy
self which shall compel thee to break thy prom
ise,to lose thy self-respect
,to hate any man
,to
suspect,to curse
,to act the hypocrite
,to desire
anything which needs walls and curtains .
”
Do not act as if thou wert going to l iveten thousand years . Death hangs over thee .
While thou livest,while i t is in thy power
,be
good f’
“What,then
,is that about which: we ought
THE MOR AL I TY OF STOl C l SM.209
to employ our serious pains ? This one thing
thoughts j ust,and acts social , and words which
never lie,and a disposi tion which gladly accepts
all that happens as necessary, as usual , as flow
ing from a principle and source of the same
kind
Constantly regard the universe as one l ivingbeing
,having one substance and one son].
“ But,on the contrary
,i t is a man
’
s duty to
comfort himself,and to wai t for the natural dis
solution,and not to be vexed at the delay
,but
to res t in these principles only : the one that
nothing wi l l happen to me which is not conform
able to the nature of the universe,and the other
that it i s i n my power never to act contrary to
my God and daemon ; for there is no man wh owill compel me to this .
Such as are thy habi tual thoughts,such
also will be the character of thy mind ; for the
soul is dyed by the thoughts . Dye i t,then
,
with’
a continuous serie s of such thoughts as
these : for instance,that where a man can live
,
there he can live well .”
Whatever any one does or says,I must be
good,jus t as if the gold
,or the emerald
,or the
purple were always saying this : Whatever any
one does or says,I must be emeral d and keep
my color .”
21 0 DEPAR TED GOD S.
It is pecul iar to man to love even those
who do wrong . And this happens,if when they
do wrong it occurs to thee that they are kins
men,and that they do wrong through i gnorance
and unintentionally,and that soon both of you
will die ; and,above all
,that the wrong-doer has
done thee no harm,for he has not made thy
rul ing faculty worse than i t was before .
”
“Whatever may happen to thee,it was pre
pared for thee from all e ternity .
“No longer talk at all about the k ind of man
that a good man ought to be,but be such .
”
Neither in writing nor in reading wilt thou
be able to lay down rules for others before thou
shal t have first learned to obey rules thyself.
Much more i s this so in life .
”
Thus,then
,with respect to the gods : from
what I con stantly experience of their power,from this I comprehend that they exist
,and I
venerate
These three greatest of Stoics should have
made the age in which they lived illustrious .
But their teachings were powerless . They spokefor philosophers
,not for the great
,seeth ing mass
of humani ty . They taught an imperfect morality,as they themselves were painfull y and sadly con
*Mar cus Au r el i us An ton i n us , Medi tati ons , 1 1 , 5 ; i i i , 7 ; iy,1 7, 33, 40; v, 1 0, 1 6 ; vi i , 1 5, 22 ; x , 5, 1 6 ; x i , 29 ; x i i , 28.
DEPAR TED GODS.
been the soul of the universe . The Stoic bel ievedin immortality— Seneca seems to have looked
forward to a personal exis tence after death . Ep
i ctetu s avoids ques tions concerning a future exis t
ence ; Marcus Aurel ius looks for the dissolution
of the body into i ts elements , and the return Of
the immaterial part to i ts original condition . But
thi s is a barren,cold
,and comfortless immor
tality .
Stoicism found no place for repentance and
d ivine forgiveness . There is no place for the i n
dwelling spirit . Indeed there i s frequent men
tion of God with man or within man ; but God i sOf such a nature and character that there is but
indifferent resemblance to the Chris tian doctrine .
Sometimes it would appear that man is a part of
God or equal wi th God ; nay, is even exalted, insome respects
,above God .
In every respect,except as to certain moral
precepts,Stoici sm and Chris tianity are separated
each from the o ther,by an infini te dis tance .
21 6 DEPAR TED GODS
priesthood,the sacred ri te s and symbolism
,have
excited a curiosi ty and an interest thus far but
poorly gratified . The influence of Druidism iss till fel t on both continents
,in popular tales
,tra
d i ti on s and supersti tions .
Our knowledge of the religious system of theDruids
,as far as we are able to ga ther any i n
formation upon the subj ect at all,must be derived
from ancient Cel tic my thologies,venerable tradi
tions,primeval ins titutions
,early supers titions and
their surv ivals in modern times,archaeological
monuments,and the tes timony Of classi c writers .
We shall investigate each of these sources of i n
formation,and gather what seems to us most val
u abl e. We may hope to be able to le t in some
light to relieve the darkness which,after centu
ries of study,still surrounds the subj ect .
We shall not attempt a chronological order in
our studies . After we have tas ted the flavor of
Celtic mythology we may read with clearer vis
ion the class ic and archaeological evidence . There
i s but l ittl e material to assis t us in our study of
early Celti c mythology, but in its l ater stages we
are rather distracted by its abundance than dis
cou r aged by its failure . And then,t oo
,this great
mass of material has no t been digested ; but few
s cholars hav ing s tudied i t with that thoroughness
which the importance of the subj ect demands .
THE CHI EF OF THE GODS. 21 7
Omitting many lesser mythologic characters .we shal l confine our attention largely to those
of the first rank,and select such myths and
legends as pres ent them in the cleares t light .
Perhaps the most frui tful field of all i s Ireland,
and i ts l i terature also may be as ancient. We
there fore give th is island the leading place in our
researches . We may here avail ourselves of the
labors of several distinguished Celtic s cholars,
who, with great enthusiasm and learning, have
done much to elucidate a di fficul t subject.
There are many fabulous legends concerning
the settlement of Ireland . Among the l egends,
we find the mention of four successive colonies .
These are the N emedi ans,the Firbolgs
,th e
Tuath a D é Dananu,and the Milesians . The N e
medians were expel led by the Fomorians,a band
of sea-rovers,and fled from the i sland in three
bodies . Those who went to Britain becameBritons ; those who went to Thrace returned as
Firbo l gs ; and those who went to the north ofEurope returned as the Tuatha D é Dananu .
The Milesian s are said to have come from
the north of Spain . The Tu ath a D é D anann,
“ the tribes of the goddess Danu,
” formed the
group Of divinities bel ieved in by the ancient
Goidel . N uada,who was their king
,lost his
right arm in one of hi s confl ic ts wi th the savage
21 8 DEPAR TED GODS.
Firbolgs and their hideous allies . This blemish
made it neces sary for h im to abdicate his thron e .
A clever man of h is court made him a silver
hand,and another man still more clever
,endowed
i t with life and motio’
n . He now,after the space
of seven years,resumed his kingly Office
,and
was th ereafter known as “N uada of the Si lver
Hand . He was a most warl ike king,but was
represented also i n other characters . As N uada
F i nnfai l he was the god of ligh t and of the beav
ens ; and as N uada N ech t he was connected with
the world Of waters . We may compare Nuada
in this threefold character with the Greek Zeus,
but i t must be the primiti ve Zeus . We call to
mind the fact that Zeus also lost his hands
both of them— and we shall learn the s tory of
the Norse god Tyr .
In Welsh we meet with “ L l u th of the Silver
Hand,
” who is doubtless th e same personage as
Nuth . A Welsh name of London is Caer L i i th,
Lud ’ s Fort;” and the name also l i ngers in Ludgate
Hill,where the god doubtless had an early shrine .
In the terri tory of. the ancient Si lures we
meet with inscriptions bearing the name N odeu s .
He seems to have been a kind of Neptune ; and
had a temple at Lydney,on the western bank of
the Severn . But he was not only the Neptune
of the sea,he was also a Mars .
220 DEPAR TED GOD S.
the ins trumenta l ity of outlaws,comi ng from the
sea and following the lead of a sor t of Cyclops
called I ngcé l , said to have been a big, rough ,horrid monster
,with only one eye
,which was
,
however, wider than an ox-hide,blacker than
the back of a beetle,and provided with no less
than three pupils .
”
Conchobar mac Nessa,another similar char
acter,also came to his death in a most extraor
d i nary manner . A ball had been made by mix
ing the brain of a fallen foe,called Mesgr egr a,
with l ime . Cét,another deadly enemy
,secured
possess ion of this ball,and hurled i t against
Conchobar with so accurate an aim as to wound
h im most grievously in th e skull . After some
years,th is wound caused his death .
Nessa i s described as a warlike V irago,with
whom Fergus mac R Oig, king of Ulster, fell inlove
,but was rej ected . N ow,
this Fergus wasendowed with th e strength of seven hundred
men,and wielded a sword which extended
,when
ever h e used i t,to th e dimen sions of a rainbow .
Nessa had,at las t consented to marriage with
Fergus,but only on the cond ition that he should
give up the kingdom for one year to her son
Conchobar . At the end of the year,so success
ful had been the administration of the govern
ment that the people would not consent to a
THE CHI EF OF THE GODS. 221
change . Fergus attempted to assert his cla imsby force of arms
,but was not successful
,and
was compelled to flee from the kingdom .
ZEngus , much devoted to irresis tible mus ic ,was the son of Dagda th e G reat , wh o is
'
described
as old and fond of porridge,and
,withal
,a good
subj ect for comic treatment,and the goddess
Boann,from whom the river Boyne takes i ts
name . As mac (I o,his foster-father
,was Mider
,
the king of the fairies,whose wi fe was Etain
,a
dawn-goddess . A rival separated Mider and
Etain . Mac (I o found the dawn-goddess , clad
in purple,house d in a glass su n-bower, and fed
on fragrance and the bloom O f odoriferous flow
ers . Mac 00 se ized th e bower,and carried i t
with him whenever he traveled . fEngus , by
throwing his magic mantle around her,pro tected
in a sim i lar manner G r a i nne,daughter of Cor
mac mac Airt,who decl ined to wed Finn
,king
of the fairies and of the dead,and eloped with
the solar hero D iarma i t.
According to ancient story,the Tuatha D e
Dananu were defeated by hosti le invaders ofthei r realm
,and then withdrew from mortal ken .
They retreated into the hills and mounds of
Erinn,and there formed an invisible world of
their own . Henc e,i n the popu l ar belief
,the
gods are especially associated with the mounds
222 DEPAR TED GODS.
and cemeteries of the country . The Brugh of the
Boyne was the home of Dagda the Great. This
home,however
,he lost to his crafty son mac Cc,
who was thenceforth known as the ZEngus of
the Brugh . Tradi tion represents himself and
sons as buried there . The place is described in
an old account as most admirable : There are
three trees there,always bearing fruit . There i s
one pig there,always alive
,and another pig a l
ways ready cooked ; and there is a vessel there ,always full of excellent ale .
” This i s the ideal
of these old people concerning the happines s of
those who dwell in the land of the blessed . There
are many myth s connected with [ Engu s, some
Of which do not yield to explanation,as when we
are told that his four kisses were converted into“birds which haunted th e youths of Erinn .
Among the numerous legends furnished by
Irish literature we select one,which we relate
with somewhat of deta i l
One night ZEngu s , the mac Cc, dreamedthat he saw at his bedside a maiden the most
beautiful in Erinn . He made a move to take
hold of her ; but she vanished , he knew not
whither . He remained i n h is bed till the morni ng ; but he was in an evil pligh t on account of
of the maiden leaving him without vouch safinghim a word
,and he tasted no food that day .
DEPAR TED GODS.
recogniz e the lady . The mac Cc did so the
moment he descried her,among her thrice fifty
maiden companions . These,we are told
,were
j oined two and two together by silver chains,
and their mis tress towered head and shoulders
above the res t . Her name was Caer abar,or
,
more shortly,Caer
,daughter of Etal Anbuar
,of
the fairy settlement of Naman,in the land of
Connaught . She wore a silver collar around her
neck and a chain of burnished gold ; ZEngus was
grieved that he had not the power to take her
away,so he returned home ; and the Dagda was
advised to seek the aid of Ai l i l l and Medb,the
king and queen Of th e western kingdom . B u t
Caer’
s father decl ining to answer the summons
that he should appear before them,an attack
was made on his residence , when he himsel f was
taken,and brought before Ai l i l l and Medb . He
then explained to them that he had no power
over his daughter,who
,W i th her companions
,
changed the ir forms every other year into those
of birds . In fact,he added that on the firs t day
of the ensuing winter they would appear as one
hundred and fifty swans on L och be! dr accon oc
cr uz'
t cZz'
ac/z,or the Lake of the Mouths of the
Dragons,near C l i ach
’
s Crowd . Peace was accord
i ngly made with Etal , and fEngu s betook him tothe shore of the lake on the day mentioned .
THE CHI EF OF THE GODS. 25
Recogni zing Caer in the form of a swan,he called
to her and said : ‘ Come to speak to ine,Caer .
’
‘Who calls me ?’
was the reply .
‘ fEngus calls
thee,
’ he said . I will come,’ said she
,
‘ provided
I obtain that thou wilt on thy hono r make for
the lake after me .
’ ‘ I will,
’ said he . She ao
cor d i ngly came to him ,whereupon he placed his
two hands on her . Then they flew Off in the
form of a pair of swans,and they went thrice
round the lake . They afterward took their fl igh t
to the Brugh Of the Boyne,where they made
such enchanting music that i t plunged every
body i n a deep sleep,which lasted three days
and three nights . Caer remained at the Brugh
of the Boyne as the mac Oe’
s consort .”
This i s doubtless th e original of the Welsh
saga called the Dream of Maxen . The follow
ing is an abs tract :“Maxen was emperor of Rome
,and the hand
somes t of men,as well as the wises t
,with whom
none of his predecessors migh t compare . Oneday he and hi s courtiers went forth to hunt
,and
in the course Of the day he sat himsel f down to
rest,while his chamberlains protected him from
the scorch ing rays of the sun with their shields .
Beneath that shelter he slept,and he dreamt
that he was traveling over hill and dale,across
R h ys , Hi bbert Lectures , 1 886 , pp . 1 69- 1 7 1 .
226 DEPAR TED GOD S.
rich lands and fine countries,until at length he
reached a sea-coast . Then he crossed the sea
i n a magnificent ship,and landed in a great ci ty
in an island,which he traversed from the one
shore till he was in sigh t of the othe r ; there wefind him in a dis tri ct remarkable for i ts pr eci pi tou s mountains and lofty cliffs
,from which he
could descry an isle in front of him,surrounded
by the sea. He stayed not hi s course until h e
reached the mouth of a river,where he found a
castle with open gates . He walked in,and there
beheld a fair hall,built of stones precious and
brilliant,and roofed with shingles of gold . To
pass by a great deal more gold and silver and
other preci ous things,Maxen found in the hall
four persons ; namely , two youths, playing at
chess . They were the sons of the lord of the
castle,wh o was a venerable
,gray-haired man
,s it
ting i a an ivory chair adorned with the images
of two eagles of ruddy gold . He had bracelets
of gold on his arms,and many a ring gli ttered
on his fingers ; a massive gold torque adorned
his neck,while a frontlet of the same precious
metal served to restrain his locks . Hard by sat
his daughter,i n a chair of ruddy gold
,and her
beauty was so transcendent that i t would be no
more easy to look at her face than to gaze on
the sun when his rays are most irresi s tible.
228 D EPAR TED GODS.
of his nobles contrived to l et him know that his
conduct,i n neglecting his men and his duties ,
was the cause of growing discontent . There
upon he summoned before him the wise men of
Rome,and told them the state of mind in which
he was . Their advice was that messengers
should be sent On a three years ’ ques t to the
three parts of the world,as they calculated that
the expectation of good news would help to sus
tai n him . But at the end of the firs t year the
messengers returned unsuccessful,which made
Maxen sad ; so o ther messengers were sent forth
to search another th ird of the world . They r e
turned at the end of their year,l ike the others,
unsuccessful . Maxen,now in despair
,took the
advice of one of his courtiers,and resorted to
the fores t where he had firs t dreamt of the
maiden . When the glade was reached,he was
able to give h is messengers a start i n the right
direction . They went on and on,identifying the
country they traverse d with the emperor’ s d e
scription of his march day by day,unti l at las t
they reached the rugged dis trict of Snowdon ,and beheld Mona lying in front Of them flat inthe sea. They proceeded a littl e further
,and
entered a castl e where Caernarvon now stands,
and there beh eld the hall roofed wi th gold ; they
walked i n and found Kynan ahd Adcon playing
THE CHI EF OF THE GODS. 229
at chess,while their father
,Eudav, son of Kara
dawg, sat in his chair of ivory , with his daugh
ter Elen seated near him . They saluted her as
empress of Rome,and proceeded to explain the
meaning of an not she deemed so strange . She
lis tened courteously,but declined to go with
them,th inking i t more appropriate that the em
per or should come in person to fetch h er . In due
time he reached Bri tain,which be conquered from
Bel i the Great and his s ons ; then he proceededto visi t Elen and her father
,and i t was during
his s tay here , after the marriage , that Elen had
Caermarthen built,and the stronghold in Eryr i .
The story adds Caerleon_to them ,
but distin
gu i shes the unnamed Snowdon city as the favor
ite abode of her and her husband . The next
she undertook was to employ the hosts at her
command in the construction of road s between
the three towns which sh e had caused to be buil t
in part payment of her maiden-fee . But Maxen
remained here so many years that the Romans
made an emperor in his s tead . So at length he
and E l en,and her two bro thers and their hosts
,
set ou t for Rome,which they had to besiege and
take by storm . Maxen was now reinstated in
power,and he allowed his bro thers-i n -l aw and
their hosts to se ttle wherever they chose ; so
Adcon and his men came back to Bri tain,while
20
230 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Kynan and his reduced Brittany,and settled
The original of Maxen was probably Merlin
Emrys,who seems to have conquered the country
from the Chthonian god,Bel i th e Great . Elen
is evidently the dawn-goddess . Caer, with her
one hundred and fifty companions with their
si lver chains,may explain the name of the god
dess i n the other s tory— Elen L i iyddawg,“E l en
of the Host The attendants may be an exag
ger ati on of the number of priestesses who were
supposed to have pres ided at her altars . The
virgin priestesses of the Isle of Sein,according to
P ompon i u s Mela, could take any form they chose .
Sometimes they are merely birds, and sometimes
they are designated as swans . The Welsh,i n
corresponding supers ti tions,prefer the goose
,and
treat those who assume this form as witches .“ It was an evil omen to see geese on a lake at
night,
” especially if this were the firs t Thursday
night of the lunar mon th ni‘
There i s a s tory that Zeus spent a part of his
childhood on the summit of one of the Lycaean
mountains in Arcadia,and that there
,once upon
a time,one of th e kings sacrificed his child upon
his altar . On th e same mountain was a sacred
R h ys , Hibber t L ectu r es , 1 886 , p p . 1 02— 1 65 .
TR h ys , Hi bber t L ectu r es , 1 886 , p p . 1 68- 1 75 .
232 DEPAR TED GODS.
D i arma i t and F inn mac Cumai l l were searching for some of the men of the latter
,whom a
wizard chief had carried away . They sailed far
toward the west till they came to a steep cliff,
which seemed to reach to the clouds . With i n
credible d i fficu l ty and danger, D iarmai t alone sur
mounted the cliff,and saw spread before him a
beautiful plain,bordered with pleasant hill s
,
shaded by l eafy groves,and sweet with lovely
flowers . Birds warbled among the trees,bees
were busy among the flowers,winds whi spered
through the foliage,and streams purled and gur
gled as they pursued their course through green
fields . Walking out into the plain , h e saw straigh t
before him a tree overtopping all the others,laden
with much frui t . Near the tree s tood a pillar
s tone,which was surrounded at a li ttle d istance
by a circle of other pillar-stones . Near the ‘ cen
tral s tone was a spring,where water clear as
crystal flowed away towards the middle of theplain . He stooped to drink ; but before his lips
touched the water he was s tartled by the noise
of the heavy tramp of sold iers and the clank of
their arms . He sprang to hi s feet, and looked
around,but saw n othing . A second time he
s tooped to drink , with the same resul t . While he
s tood wondering,he saw on the top of the pillar
stone a most beautiful drinking-horn chased with
THE CHI EF OF THE GODS . 233
gold and enameled wi th precious stones . He
took the ho rn,
filled i t w ith water,and
slaked his thirs t . Scarcely had he taken i t from
his l ips when he saw a gr uagach coming from the
eas t with great s trides and ful l of wrath . He was
clad in mail complete,armed wi th shield and
helmet,and sword and spear
,and wore a beau
tiful scarle t mantle hung over his armor and fast
ened at h is throat wi th a golden brooch,while a
circle t Of ruddy gold confined his yellow hair.
The gr uagach said , with angry voice , that he
thought the green plains Of Erinn,with the sweet
water of their crystal springs,ough t to have sat
i sfied D i armai t, so that he need not have invadedhis island
,and drunk from his well in h is drinking
horn without permiss ion ; and he furthermore de
c l ar ed that he should never leave the spo t till h e
had paid full satisfaction for the insul t . They
fough t all day,and at its close the gr uagach
leaped into the well and disappeared from sigh t .
D iarma i t now went toward the end of the great
fores t,and killed one of a herd of speckled dee r
,
a portion of the flesh of which,together w ith
water from the fountain,formed his supper . He
slept soundly,and prepared a similar breakfas t .
But the gr uagach awaited him at the well , s tillmore angered at h im for a double insult— he had
a l so killed one of his deer . They fough t the sec
234 DEPAR TED GOD S.
ond day,and at i ts close the gr uagach again
leaped into the spring and disappeared . On the
third day they met wi th the same history . But
at the end of the fourth day D i arma i t threw his
arms around his antagonis t,and they both dis
appeared in the well together . They reached the
Land Beneath the Billow,
” where the gruagach
disengaged himself and escaped,and D i arma i t
was left alone . Here he me t with the brother
of h is s trange antagonis t,who had been d i s i n
terested . Forming an alliance wi th this brother,
he made wa r on the gr uaga ch , or Knigh t O f the
Fountain,wh o was ultimately defeated and
slain .
*
The s tones which fill a prominent place in
some of these legendary tales may have originally
represented the deities e specially honored . We
may recall the account which relates that Merlin
advised thos e who consulted h im as to the matter
of building Stonehenge to bring the pillar-s tones,
called the Choir of the G iants,from the place
where they s tood at Ki l l ar an s Mons,in Ireland
,
and se t them up in the same order . They were
considered to have been possessed of various vir
tues,especially of the virtue of healing . The
giants of Ol d had cured grievous maladies by
washing their patien ts wi th the water with which* R h ys
,Hi bber t L ectu r es
,1 886
, pp . 1 87—1 90.
236 DEPAR TE D GOD S.
these stones had first been bathed ; or, again , th ey
made application of certa in medicinal herbs which
had firs t been dipped in the same holy bath .
Thus,according to ancient s tory
,Stonehenge came
into existence . The s i te of this circle of sacred
stones in Ireland was perhaps at U snech,i n the
county of Westmeath . St. Patrick cursed the
sacred stones of U snech on account of the
heathen worship which was performed in the holy
place . I t is related in l ike manner that St. Davidspl it the capstone of the Mean Ketti cromlech i n
Gower,to prove to the people that i t was not
divine .
The hero of these various tales can be no other
than the Celtic Zeus . I n his early his tory he
was the god of light and of the sun . In his
later stages of d evelopment,by expansion of his
nature and mul tiplication of hi s attributes,he
became th e god of the sky and of heaven,the
god of thunder and O f rain,and the god of the sea
and of all wa ters . Hence,holy wells w ith their
worship were,in many cases at leas t
,originally
connected with this Cel tic Zeus . And,the god of
the light and of the sun— and generally of al l the
bright powers of nature— h e fought agains t the
demons of darkness . He was enamored of the
goddesses of the dawn,the morning dew , the
spring-time,and the flowers . He frequently res
THE CHI EF OF THE GODS. 237
cued them from imprisonment,enchantment
,and
tyrannical rule . As the god Of fountains and al l
waters,he marshaled the clouds swollen with
fertiliz ing rains,and bade them drop their treas
ures upon the earth,defeated the giants who pos
sessed the fountains,and controlled for the good
of mortal s the refreshing streams and summer
showers . In an ethical sense the Cel tic Zeus
fights against moral darkness and the giants of
evil, and is the source of all spiri tual ligh t and
blessings .
At midsummer,May first
,the Druids are said
to have caused all fires to be extinguished,and
then rekindled from the sacred fire,which they
never permitted to go out . These fires were
kept burning by Christian priests long after the
Ol d religion had passed away . In 1 220,Loun
dres,Archbishop of Dublin
,ex ti nguished the sa
cred fire kept near the church of Kildare , but it
was afterward rekindled,and continued to burn
ti ll the suppress ion of the monasteries . The sa
cred fire was presided over by St . Brigit, and at
tended by virgins . The Beltane was kindled onMidsummer-eve
,All-hallow-e ’ en
,and Christmas .
Conspicuous places made i t visible to multi tudesof eyes . In the north of Engl and on Mi dsum
mer-eve,bonfires were lighted by corporate au
thor i ty in all market places . At Callander, i n21
238 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Perthshire,the ashes left from the burning of
the Beltane were collected,and a circle formed
therewith,near the circumference of which a stone
was placed for every person who took part in the
bonfire . If a stone were removed from its place
before morning,i t was believed that the person
whom i t represented would d i e within one year .*
In some parts of Scotland , about the begin
ning of the present century,the festival is de
scri bed as follows : “ The young people of a ham
le t meet in the moors on the first of May . They
cut a table in the green sod,of a round figure
,
by cutting a trench in the ground of such circumfer ence as to hold the whole company . They
then kindle a fire,and dress a repast of eggs and
milk in the consistence of a custard . They
knead a cake of oatmeal,which is toasted at
the embers against a stone . After the custard
is eaten up,they divi de the cake in so many
portions,as similar as possible to one another,
i n size and shape,as there are persons in the
company.They daub one of these portions with
charcoal until it i s perfectly black . They then
put all the bits of the cake into a bonnet, and
every one,blindfold
,draws out a portion . The
bonnet-holder is entitle d to the last b i t . Who
An th r opol ogi cal- Revi ew,
1 886 , V ol . I V , _p , 346.
240 DEPAR TED GOD S.
cider durmg the afternoon , prolong the festiviti es
till midnigh t .
As late as 1 795 fires were lighted at midnight
in Ireland i n honor of the sun . According to
Spencer, th e Irish are accustomed to say a prayer
whenever they light a fire . On days sacred tothe sun
,Offerings of milk were presented on the
gr uagach-stone found in every village .
In Scotland there was a practi ce , described
by an eye-witnesss,that after a child was bap
ti zed,and on the return of the party from the
church,the infan t was swayed three times gently
over a flame ; or, according to another authori ty,the child was handed three times across the fire .
In Perthshire,i n cas es of private baptism
,there
was a custom of passing the child three times
around the crook which was suspended over the
center of the
As a rel igious duty,the Highlanders walk
round their fields and flocks with some burning
subs tance in their right handj‘ In Cornwall we
find the same custom,and the torch is carried
with the course of the sun . When diseas e i n
vaded a flock,the cattle were forced to pass
through a fire,and sometimes a calf was burned
as an offering . There are holy wells in Cornwal l,
itsAn th r op ol ogi ca l R evi ew,1 886 , V ol . I V , p . 346 .
TL ogan ,Th e Scottish G ael , p p . 453
,454 .
THE CHI EF OF THE GODS. 24 1
at which wonderful cures are bel ieved to have
been performed ; but the supersti ti ous rites have
also reference to the motion of the sun . A sick
child i s dipped into the water three times,but i t
must be agains t the direction of the sun ’ s mo
tion ; and the child i s passed around the well
nine times,but now i t must be in the same di
rection with the motion of the sun . It was
deemed unlucky to do such work in any other
way . Pans of milk should not be skimmed inan order agains t the sun ’s course
,and cream
must not be stirred against th e sun . But,on
the other hand,to “ back ” a disease
,the motion
must be agains t the sun . Young children are
passed through the Men-an -tol— “ crick-s tones,
”
or hold-s tones— against th e sun nine times,to cure
various diseases . Sometimes a bonfire is kindledon these stones
,and danced around at mi dsum
mer . On the first Wednesday after midsummerthe waters of holy wells are cons idered especially
virtuous . Those guil ty of petty offenses may be
discovered by means of a fire kindled on a holy
s tone . A stick is lighted,and the person who
can not put out the fire of the burning stick byspitting on i t is held to be the guilty one .
* At
Evreux,in 1 683
,bodies of dead were exhumed
,
’ B ottrel l,Trad i tions and Hea r th s ide Sto r i es of W est Cor n
wa l l, Second Ser i es , pp . 76 , 240, 241 , 201 , 242, 283.
242 DEPAR TED GOD S.
and"
found with th eir faces turned to the middaysun .
*
Such are some of the survivals of the worship
of the old Celti c god .
The stones of the circle seem to have been
replaced by the images of the gods which they
represented . I n a life of St. Patrick we read
the following legend
Thereafter went Patrick over the water toMag Sl ech t, a place wherein was the chief i dol
of Ireland— to-wit,Cenu Cr uai ch— covered with
gold and silver,and twelve other idols about it
,
covered with brass . When Patrick saw the idol
from the water,whose name is Guth-ar d (i . e. ele
vated i ts voice) , and when he drew n igh unto
the idol,he raised h is hand to put J esu s ’
s'
cr oz i er
upon it,and did not reach i t ; but i t bowed westward to turn on i ts right side
,for its face was
from the South ; to-wit, to Tara . And the trace
of the croz ier abides on i ts left side s till,and
yet the crozier moved not from Patrick ’ s hand .
And the earth swallowed the twelve other images
as far as their heads,and they are thus in sign of
the miracle, and he cursed the demon , and bani shed him to hell .” i
‘
In the Book of Leinster we find it s tated
’ L ogan . Th e Scotti sh G ael , p . 479.
TR hys , Hibber t L ectu res , 1 886 , p p . 200,201 .
244 DEPAR TED GOD S.
This s tone,called “the Stone of F al
,
”was one
of the four precious things brought to Irelan d
by the Tuath a D é D anan n . One of i ts remarkable properties was that
,wherever i t was placed
,
i t secured the sovereignty of the country to a
Goidel of Milesian descent . While it remained
at Tara,i t recogniz ed every king by a scream .
This stone has been traced from Tara to Scone ,the capital Of the kingdom of Alban . Edward I
brought it to London,where i t now rests in the
coronation chair i n Westminster Abbey . Irish
and Scotch historians beli eve that’ the Stuarts
ar e descended from Goideli c ancestors of the Mil es i an race . Thus prophecy has not failed . Since
Fal was the old god of ligh t and of the sun,this
stone must have originally been connected with
such worship .
The gorsedd,or court
,of the Ei stethvod is
held within a circle of stones,which has been
formed for the purpose,with a larger s tone in
the middle . According to rule,i t is held “ in a
conspi cuous place,within sight and hearing of
the country and the lord i n authori ty,and face
to face with the sun and the eye of ligh t,as
there is no power to hold a gor seth under cover
or at night,but only where and as long as the
sun is vis ible in the heavens .
” The prayer pro
n ounced at the opening of the session by the
THE CHI EF OF THE GODS.245
officiating Druid , according to one account, runs asfollows
0 G od, gran t strength ;
An d from strength ,discretion ;
And from d isc retion ,knowledge ;
And fr om knowledge, the r igh t ;
And from the r igh t, the love of i t ;And from that love, love for al l th i ngs ;
And i n love for a l l th ings , the love of G od !”
This would seem to be but a continuation of the
O l d worship of the Celtic Zeus .*
“A species of d ivination i s still practi ced in
Ar thu r stone by the neighboring rustic maidens ,wh o have li ttle idea that they are perpetuating
(perverted , indeed , i n i ts obj ect) the rites ofDruidism and the mysteries of Eleusis in theirprop i tiatory offering . At midni ght of the full
moon,if a maiden deposi t in the sacr ed wel l be
neath a cake of milk , honey, and barley meal ,and then on hands and knees crawl three times
round the cromlech,she will see
,i f ‘ fancy free
,
’
the v ision of h er future lord . If her affections
are engaged,the form of the favored youth will
s tand before her,fearfully bound to answer truly
her questions as to h is s inceri ty . This cus tom
was preserved unti l wi thin a few years .
The acts of Chris tian councils prove the prev
”‘ R h ys , Hi bbert L ec tu res , 1 886 , pp . 208—210.
246 DEPAR TED GODS.
alence of the former belief in the sacred stones .
A counc i l held in 681 warns the adorers of idols,worshipers of stones
,and those who ligh t torches
in honor of sacred trees and fountains . T he laws
of Canute prohibit the worship of sun and moon,
rocks and fountains . In Brittany two parties
covenant together by clasping hands through per
for ated s tones .
Some of the an c 1 en t sacred inclosures were of
great extent. The temple of Abury,in Wilt
shire,contained more than twenty-eight acres .
It was surrounded by a ditch ; and i ts rampart
was seventy-five feet high,measured from the
bottom of the ditch . Two avenues were con
nected with the temple, and in the temple and
its avenues six hundred and fifty stones were
used . Some of the s tones were of great s 1 ze
one of these was twenty-one feet high and eight
feet nine inches i n breadth . The temple at Car
nac,in Brittany
,was a remarkable structure
,
extending five or six mile s . There are eleven
rows of s tones,forming ten avenues
,and resem
bling a huge serpent . There must have been
originally about ten thousand stones . Tradition
says that,at midsummer of each year
,a stone
was added,so that the age of the world was
represented . Near this place,at a May-day
feast,three hundred unarmed British nobles were
248 DEPAR TED GOD S.
The froli csomeness of children and the idle activ
i ty of youth and manhood , may do something
with no ulterior obj ect beyond temporary amuse
ment . We happen to have known extemporized
plays which might be wonderfully connectedwith old superstitions and primitive religious doc
trines .It would require volumes to record all th e cus
toms s imilar to those given above . They are not
peculiar to D ruidism,but belong to the whole hu
man race . Their meaning is no t exhausted when
we refer them to sun-worship . Many have littl e
reference to this ; many'
more point to magic,
wi tchcraft,and other superstitions which so thor
oughly dominated the primitive mind . There was
a multitude of charms to drive away evil spiri ts,
secure fruitful seasons,and insure the enj oyment
of health . The interested reader who desires to
pursue this subj ect further should consult those
larger works in which it receives special treat
ment .
All these ri tes,traditions
,and cus toms
,doubt
less point to th e same early god . He is not the
most primitive Celtic Zeus,though possess ing cer
tain characteri sti cs of the god of light and of the
sun , but the later expansion of the god of the
sky and of rain . He had his altars and temples,
his sacred trees and holy wells,and was wor
THE CHI EF OF THE GODS.249
sh i ped in high places . Hi s idol was surroundedby the idols of other gods
,who wai ted upon him
as servants . Frequently the sacred tree overshadowing the holy well bore on its branches
bi ts of rags and other tr ifles placed there as
offerings by enthusias tic devotees . Sometimes
modern coins are found among the gifts,showing
the persis tent l ife of the supersti tion .
But a new god of l ight,Lug by name
,was com
ing into notice . He was the fairy who had
prophesied to Conn the Hundred-figh ter the his
tory of Ireland .
The Goidel ic god of Druidism to whom theoak was sacred had his Welsh counterpart in
Math the Ancient. He was able,l ike the Welsh
fairies and demons,to hear every sound of speech
which ever reached the air . He was the firs t of
magicians,and ranked even above Merlin and the
mac Cc . He was also the highest ideal of j us
tice and equi ty associated with the heathenism
of Wales . He taught the arts to Gwydion,son
of D On , the Welsh culture hero , with whose aid
he created a woman out of flowers .
Gwydion was a great warrior and a consum
mate magician . He was also the god of wisdomand eloquence
,and a much traveled personage
,
who presided over ways and paths . The Cel ts
believed that the blessings which they enj oyed
250 DEPAR TED GOD S.
came from their ancestors— i n other words,from
the ne ther world . The culture hero,under vari
ous names, resorted again and again to the world
of sp iri ts,and , either by force or by craft, suc
ceeded in possessing himself of many desirable
gifts,which he brought to the people
,and taught
them to avail themselves of their useful proper
ties . Various domestic animals were procured in
th is manner . The cauldron of the King of
Hades was one of the most priceless of these
treasures . It inspired men with that ski l l l n mu
sic and poetry which ha s led to high triumphs .
We present a tale as the representative of the
rich l i terature which has gathered about this part
of our subj ect .
Kei,son of Kymyr ; Owei n , son of Urien ;
Kynon , son of K l ydno, and other knights of Ar
thur’s Court,were s i tting together and entertain
ing one another w ith stories . When Kynon’
s
turn came,he related the following :
When he was a young man, and travel ingabroad to satisfy hi s curiosi ty and gratify h i s love
of adventure,he came to a s tately cas tle in a
fine valley where he was most hospitably r e
ceived . After he had been refreshed , the lord
of the cas tle asked concerning his name , country,and the obj ect of his visi t . He told his host
truly,and was informed in reply that were i t
52 DEPAR TED GOD S.
tle man said he ; and with his great iron'
staff
he s truck a blow at a stag,at whose bell there
gathered upon the plain beasts,vipers
,and ser
pents as numerous as the s tars of the sky . The
black man then told them to graze,when they
all lowered their heads in obeisance to their lord .
Kynon then inquired his way to th e adventure
which he sought, and was told“ Take the road at the end
,and proceed up
hill until thou r each est the top . From there
thou wilt behold a strath resembling a largeval
l ey,and in the middle of the strath thou wilt
see a large tree,whose foliage i s greener than
the greenest fir -tree . Beneath that tree there is
a fountain close to the fountain there is a marble
slab ; and on the marble slab there is a silver tank
ard,fastened by a silver chain
,so that they can
not be separated . Take the tankard and throw it,
full of the water,over the slab . Then thou wilt
hear a great thunder,and it will seem to thee to
make earth and sky tremble . After the thunder
will come a cold shower,and with d ifficul ty wilt
thou live through the shower . It will be one of
bai l,and afterward the weather will be fair again ;
but thou wil t not find a single leaf left on thetree by the shower . Then a fl ight of b irds willcome and light on the tree . Thou hast never
heard in thy country such good music as they
THE CHI EF OF THE GODS. 3
will make ; but when the music is mos t enter
taining,thou wilt h ear a sighing and a wailing
coming along the valley toward thee . There
upon thou wilt behold ou a j et-black charger a
knight clad in j e t-black satin,with a flag of j et
black silk on h i s spear,making for thee as fas t
as he can . In case thou fleest,h e will overtake
thee ; and in case thou awa i test him,he will
leave thee a pedes trian instead of a rider . Should
es t thou not find trouble there,thou needest not
seek any as long as thou l ivest .
Kynon followed the directions of the black
man,and everything Which he had said came to
pass . The Black Knight overthrew him,and took
away his horse,and he was obliged to trudge
back on foot to meet the mockery of the black
fellow under whose direction he had gone forth
in quest of thi s adventure .
This story sti rred up Owei n , son of U 1 l en , to
try a duel with the Black Knight of the Fountain . He slipped away from the court
,and fol
lowed in the track of Kynon , met with the same
adventures by the way, and fought with the
Black Kn igh t,but succeeded in giving him a
mortal wound . Thereupon the knight turned
and fled to his castle . He was admi tted , and
Owei n pursued so closely that he was caught
between two heavy doors,one of which was let
22
254 DEPAR TED GODS.
down behind so as to cut h is horse in two close
to his spurs . While in this sad plight,he saw
,
through a crevice,an auburn-haired , curly-headed
maiden,with a diadem of gold on her head
,com
ing toward the gate . She asked h im to open
the gate . He said that he would be only too glad
to comply with her request if he were able .
This maiden was Ela net,a dear friend of the
Black Knight’ s wife,and she prov
-
ed herself also
a true friend of Owei n . She praised his gal
lantry,and gave h im a ring which would render
h im invisible,and enable him
"
to escape from the
men whom the Black Knight would send to leadhim to execution . Owei n was successfully con
cea l ed till after the funeral of his antagonis t.Now
,i t happened that no one could hold the do
minions of the Black Knight who could not hold
the fountain,and no one could hold the founta i n
except some of King Arthur ’s knights . El unet
pretended to go to his court to obtain a knight,
but her absence was so brief that the widow detected a deceit . She obtained the confession that
Owei n had kil led her husband,and this proved
that, of all men , he was most fi tted to hold the
fountain . He married the widow,and remained
with her three years .
But Arthur ’ s longing for Owei n was so great
that at las t he and his knights set out in q uest
256 DEPAR TED GOD S.
l ike that related above,make him slay the king
of Hades and marry his widow,thus gaining
control of the whole,with all its priceless
gifts,and making them available for the use
of man .
I I .
THE SU N -G O D .
R l ON RHOD,the ni ece of Math
,and the
mis tress of Gwydion,became the mother
of twin boys . The one,named Dylan
,as soon
as he was christened,made for the waters
,and
could at once swim as easily as a fish . We
know nothing more about h im,except that his
death was caused by a blow dealt by his uncle,G ovan non
,son of D 61 1 .
The other son was brought up by Gwydionand while he was yet in his boyhood h e was
taken to visi t his mother,who h ad never seen
him since h i s birth . She was enraged to learn
that his father had spared his l ife,and laid h im
under a stern destiny that he never should r e
ceive a name till she herself gave him one, and
this she resolutely determined never to do .
Now Gwydion,by the use of magic arts
,i n
which h e was a consummate master,converted
some sedges and sea-weeds into a full-rigged
ship, and at the same time converted himself
and the lad into cordwainers . They sailed forth,
and moored their vessel beneath Ar i on rhod’
s
castle,where they busily plied their trade
,i n
which they used only the most excellent Cordo257
258 DEPAR TED GOD S.
van leather which had ever been seen . Arion
rhod heard of the excellent work of the s trangers,
and sent an order for a pair of shoes . The shoes
were made and brought to her,but found to be
too large . Another pair was ordered,but they
were too small . By request of the cordwainers,
Ar ion r hod repaired to th e ship in person , that
they migh t take her measure . Just then a wren
chanced to light on the sh ip,and the lad took
aim so accurately that he hit the bird . Arion
rhod,pleased at his cleverness
,laughed aloud
,
and said that it was with a s teady hand that the
lion hi t the wren— L l awgyffes Llew hit the wren .
Gwydion,now well-pleased
,declared that such
should thenceforth be the lad ’ s name . The
magic ship immediately returned to its former
elements,and Ar i onr h od saw that she had been
outdone .
‘
Sh e now put h im under another des
tiny,tha t he never should wear arms till she her
self put them on him,and this she resolved that
she would never do .
Some years after this event,Llew and his
father presented themselves at Ar i on r h od’
s gate
as bards from South Wales . They received a
righ t hearty welcome,as was becoming to their
office,and enj oyed much good cheer . Early the
next morning the whole country was seen to be
i n commotion— the sea was full of ships, and
260 DEPAR TED GOD S.
bath were prepared for him ,and placed in the
open air under a thatched roof,and if he stood
with one foot on the s ide of the bath and the
o ther foot on,the back of a h e-goat, any wound
which he might receive while standing in that
pos ition would be mortal . She now persuaded him,
j us t to satis fy her innocent curiosity,to assume
the position which he had described ; and while
he was standing in that fatal position,her lover
cast a spear and inflicted a wound . Llew uttered
an unearthly scream,and flew off in the form of
an eagle . But Gwydion was able to find him,
and healed the wound . The guil ty paramour of
his faithless wife was slain,and B l odened was
changed into the form of an owl .
The story is not difficult to understand . Llew
was the god of the sun,and B l odened was the
goddess of the bright dawn . But the dawn has
relations not only to light,but also to darkness .
When she became unfaithful to Llew,he slew
her paramour ; and Gwydion pursued her— asone account relates the tale— across the face of
the sky,overtook her i n the shades of the West
ern cliffs , and transformed her into a bird ofnight .
The or iginal name of this sun-god was doubt
less not Llew,but rather Lleu
,which maybe
taken to mean light. This god is also related to
THE S UN —G OD. 26 1
the Irish Lug,and we may now compare the ao
count of Lug ’s birth .
Once upon a time there lived on the coas t ofDonegal
,opposite Tory Island
,three brothers
,
whose names were Gav ida,MacSamthai nn
,and
MacKi neely. Gavida was a dis tinguished smith,
and MacKi neel y was the lord of the surrounding
dis trict . The latter owned a valuable gray cow,
and to steal th is cow many attempts had been
made . At the same time Tory Island was the
headquarters of Balor,a mos t notorious robber .
He had one eye in the middle of h is forehead,
and another in the back of his head . Since the
venomous rays of this latter eye would strike
one dead,he usually kep t i t covered . The Druid
who was his attendant and priest,revealed to
him the de stiny that he should die at the hand
of his own grandson . Now he had but one ch ild,
a daughter,Ethnea by name . He made her a
prisoner in a lofty heigh t at the eas tern extrem
i ty of the island,closely guarded by twelve ma
trons,who were s trictly commanded never to
mention to her the o ther sex .
Through tri ckery,Balo r succeeded in steal ing
MacKi neel y’
s wonderful gray cow. A Druidtold the owner that h e never could recover the
cow till Balor was killed . Now this was very
d ifficul t,for the robber was never known to close
23
262 DEPAR TED GOD S.
his basilisk eye . A fairy,called B i roge of the
Mountain,came to the aid of MacKi neely, and
dressing him as a woman,took h imthrough the
air to the height Tor More,where Eth nea was
kept and guarded . She pretended to have res
cued the woman,and asked for shelter. This
was granted, and the fairy pu t the twelve ma
trons to s leep,for they suspected no deceit .
When they awoke , the gues ts were already gone,they knew not whither . Ethnea became the
m other of triplets,which Balor immediately
caused to be wrapped in a sheet,and sent out
to sea to be drowned in a whirlpool . The eldes t
of the children fell into the sea before they
reached the whirlp ool,and was caugh t
~
up by the
fairy . The two others were drowned . The
baby which the fairy had rescued was taken toMacKi neely, who had i t brough t up by his
brother as a smith . Balor, having learned that
MacKi neely was the father of his grandch i l
dren -all of whom he supposed to be dead
took him to a large white stone,and there
chopped off his head , and the blood penetratedthe stone even to i ts center . Lug— for this was
the name of the boy— grew up to manhood ,nursed h is wrath against Balor, worked withGavida d iligently as a smith
,bided h is time ; and
at last,taking from his forge an iron rod
,he
264 DEPAR TED GODS
Lug with peace and plenty,to marry the maiden
E r inn,and to enj oy a well-earned banquet
,at
which the fairy hos t of dead ances tors was prob
ably not forgotten . Marriages were solemnized
on the auspicious occasion ; and no prince wh o
failed to be present on the las t day of the fair
durst l ook forward to prosperity during the
coming year .
On philological grounds,th e cult of Lug may
be shown to have originally prevailed through
out the whole of the Celtic terri tory . The town
of U xama,i n Spain
,furnishes an inscrip tion which
commemorates the build ing of a temple for the
L ugoves , and the presentation of this temple to
a coll ege of cobblers . Avenches,i n Switzerland
,
preserves a legend consis ting of the single word
L ugoves— probably father and son . The tem
ple being dedicated to a college of cobblers r e
minds u s of the magic s tratagem of Gwydion andLlew to overreach Ar i onr hod
,and secure a name
for her son .
Cuchulainn was a sun-hero of wonderful ex
p l oi ts . In some respects he seems to have been
but a' reproduction of his father Lug
,while in
other respects he was more of a human hero .
Like all o ther sun-heroes,his growth was rapid
and h is young manhood precocious . He was
beardles s ; his hair was dark near the skin,
THE SU N —GOD. 265
blood-red in the middle,and yellow at the top ;
and four dimples — i a color yellow,green
,blue
,
and red— adorned both hi s cheeks . He had
bright flashing eyes , the pupils of which wereformed of seven or eigh t gems . When pressed
in battle,the calves of his l egs would twis t
round to the front,his mouth would become
large enough to contain a man’
s head,his l iver
and lungs would come up and become visible so
as to be seen swinging in his throat,each hair
of h i s body would become as sharp as a thorn,
and a drop of blood or a spark of fire would
stand on each,and his eyes would be changed
in a fearful and marvelous manner . One of hiseyes became as small as a needle
’
s eye,or sunk
so far into his head that a heron ’ s beak could
not reach i t,while the other eye became corre
spond i ngly large and protruding . The ladies of
Ulster,who loved him
,are said to have made
themselves blind of one eye while conversing
with him . Analogous case s of acu te l oyal ty are not
unknown in our own country . Whenever engaged
in battle he became gigantic in si ze ; and when
the fighting had ended,i t was necessary to have
three baths ready . He would plunge into the
first,and the water would immediately boi l over ;
he would plunge into the second,and i t would
ins tantly become too hot for anybody else to
DEPAR TED G0DS.
endure,and only the third would suffice to cool
his fiery person . He rode forth to battle in a
scythed chario t drawn by two s teeds,and swifter
than the bl asts *
of spring,and the iron whee l s of
his chariot sunk so deep into the ground that i t
was as though an army had dug di tches and
thrown up dikes for the defense of the country .
He was always d is tinguished for his remarkable
wisdom,sweetness
,speech
,and many other ex
cel l enc i es .
Cuchulainn fought against 'Ai l i l l and Medb,
king and queen of Connaught . Ai l i l l was one of
th e representatives of darkness , while hi s queen
was the goddess of the dawn and the gl eam i ng,and hence frequently showed Cuchulainn
,the sun
god,not a littl e friendship . During these terribl e
confl icts,on one occasi on
,Lug came from fairy
land,took the place of his son for three days
while h e slept,and healed the wound which he
had received .
Cuchulainn was not more famous for hisprowess in the field of battl e than for his con
tests with beasts and fabulous creatures of all
k inds ; and the following story, which has an i nter est of its own
,i s told of him when he was as
yet only six years old . King Conchobar,hap
pening one day to visi t the field where the noble
youths of his kingdom were at their games,was
268 DEPAR TED GOD S.
regret at the death of his hound ; for he declaredthat his los ing the guardian of his house and his
chattels made his home a desolation . Little Setanta, who could not see why so much fuss should
be made about the dog,bade the smith have no
care,as he would h imself guard all his property
on the Plain of Mur th emne till h e had a grown-updog of the same breed .
” "E
He fulfilled his promise,and the Dru i d who
was presen t gave him his name,Cu-Chu l a i nn
,
“Cul ann’
s Hound .
”
Now Cu l ann was a form of the deity of the
other world,and we may compare his hound with
the Cerberus of Greek mythology .
“
The powers
of darkness and the hos tile powers of nature are
the demons and monsters against which the god
of the sun ever fights .
Our sun-hero had many most exciting andperilous adventures in the course of the numer
ous v isits which he made to th e realm of the
dead . It was bel ieved that when the sun sank
below th e western horizon he had gone to dwell
in th e world of s hades . Thither Cu chulainn went
(the place was called the Gardens of Lug) tocarry away the beautiful Emer
,with whom he
was deeply in love . She was'
the daughter of
thedusky king of the nether world,though she
* R h ys,Hi bbert L ectu r es
,1 886
, pp . 445,446 .
THE SUN -GOD. 269
Wa s herself the very perfection of grace and
beauty,and adorned with all attracti ve maidenly
gifts and accomp l ishments . We can not fail to
recognize in her the goddess of the dawn,who
has demanded our attention so many times . It
mus t be remembered that the dawn is not one
but many,so that in th e course of a year C 1
’
1 ch u
laina made lo ve with many fair maidens .
On one occasion a friendly s tranger gave ourhero a wheel and an apple
,which in some way
were to help him as he crossed a di ffi cul t plain .
The wheel— and doubtless the apple or the ball
was a symbol of the sun .
“While the Ultonians were celebrating the
great festival which marked the Calends of
w inter,and the days immediately before and
after them,a flock of wild birds lighted on a
loch near them . The ladies of Conch obar ’
s court
took a fancy to them,and Cfi ch u l a i nn was dis
gus ted to find that they had nothing better for
the men to do than that they should go bird
catching ; but when his gallantry was duly ap
pealed to,with an allusion to the number in
Uls ter of the noble ladies who were one-eyed
out of love for him,he proceeded to catch the
birds,which he dis tributed so li berally that he
found,when he came to his own wife
,he had none
left for her . He was very sorry on that account,
270 DEPAR TED GODS.
and promised that as soon as ever any wild birds
vis ited the plain of Mu r th emne or the ri ver
Boyne,the fines t pair of them should be hers . It
was not long ere two birds were seen swimming
on the loch . They were observed to be j oined
together by a chain of ruddy gold,and they made
a gentle kind of music,which caused the hos t to
fal l asleep . Cuchulainn went towards them ; but
h i s wife and his chariote er cautioned h im to have
n othing to do with them,as i t was l ikely that
there was some hidden power beh ind them . He
would not li sten,but cast a s tone from his s l ing
at them,which
,to his aston ishment
,missed them .
He cast another,with the same resul t . ‘Woe
is me 1’ said he .
‘ From the time when I tookarms to this day my cas t n ever missed ’ He
nex t threw his spear at them,which passed
through the wing of one of the birds,and both
d ived . Cuchulainn,
now i n no happy mood,
went and res ted against a stone that s tood near,and he fel l asleep . He then dreamed that two
women,one in green and the other i n red , came
up to h im . The one i n green smiled at him, and
struck him a blow with a whip ; the one i n red
di d the same thing,and this horsewhipping of
the hero went on til l he was nearly dead . His
friends came,and would have waked him had
not one of them suggested that h e was probably
272 DEPAR TED GODS.
such are the requirements of the fairy reckoning
of time . He did so,and he beheld the woman
in green coming toward him . He reproached
her for what she had done,and sh e explained
that she and her s ister had come,not to harm
him,but to seek his love . Fand
,she said
,had
been forsaken by Manannan mac Lir, and hadse t her heart on him
,Cfichu l a i nn . Moreover
,
she had a message now from her own husband ,L abrai d of the Swift Hand on the Sword , to the
effect that he would give him Fand to wife forone day ’ s assis tance agains t his enemies . Cuch u l ai nn obj e cted that he was not well enoughto fight ; but he was induced to send Loeg , h i scharioteer
,with Liban
,to see the mysterious
land to which he was invited . Loeg,after con
versing with Fand and L abr ai d of the Swift
Hand on the Sword,returned with a glowing
account of what he had seen . This rev ived thedrooping spiri ts of his master
,who passed h i s
hand over his face and rapidly recovered his
s trength . Even then he would not go to La
braid’
s isle on a woman’ s invitation,and Loeg had
to vis it i t again,and assure him that L abrai d
was impatiently expecting him for the war thatwas about to be waged . Then
,at length
,he
went thither in his chariot,and fought . He
abode there a month with Fand,and when he
THE SU N - GOD. 273
l eft her he made an appointment to meet her at
I ber Gi an Thaclzta , or the Yew at the Strand’
s
End,the spot
,according to O
’
Cu r ry, where Newry
now s tands . This came to the ears of Emer,
Cfich u l a i nn’
s wedded wife,and she
,with the la
d ies of Uls ter,repaired there
,provided with
sharp knives,to slay Fand . A touching scene
follows,in which Emer recovers Cuchulainn ’ s
love,and Fand beholds herself about to be for
saken,whereupon she begins to bewai l the happy
days she had spent w ith her husband Manan
nan mac L i r . i n her bower at D an 1 72623, or the
Fort of the Estuary . Nay,Fand ’ s p osi tion in
the unequal confli ct with the ladies of Uls ter'
became known to Manannan,the shape-shifting
Son of the Sea,and he hastened over the plain
to her rescue ‘What is that there ?’ inquired
Cuchulainn ‘ That,
’ said Loeg,
‘ i s Fan d goingaway with Manannan mac Lir
,because she was
not pleasing to thee .
’
At,th ose words Cuchu
l a i nn went ou t of his mind,and leaped the three
high leaps and th e'
th r ee southern leaps of Lua
chair . He remained a long time without food
and without drink,wandering on the mountains
and sleeping nightly on the road of Mi dl uach a i r .
Emer went to consul t the king about him,and it
was resolved to send the poets,the profess ional
men , and the Druids of U ls ter to seek him and
274 DEPAR TED GOD S.
bring h im home to Emai n . He would have sla in
them ; but they chanted spells of Druid ismagainst him
,whereby they were enabled to lay
hold of his arms and legs . When he had r ecov
ered his senses a little, he asked a drink , and
they gave him a drink of forgetfulness,which
made him forget Fand and all his adventures .
As Emer was not i n a much better s tate of mind,
the same drink was also administered to her ;and Manan ne
‘
i n had shaken his cloak between
Fand and Cuchulainn that they might nevermeet again .
*
In this story the world of waters i s identified
w ith the world of the dead . Fand,wh o has
been married to the sea—god Manannan mac Lir,has been thought to be the sparkl ing dew-drop
wooed by the sun . In another,this goddess is
called “ F orgal l’
s Tear and F orgal l i s the
father of Emer,and dwells in the Gardens
of Lug .
Many other legends illu strate the li fe of this
god of the sun,but we have presen ted perhaps
all that is needed to a fair understand ing of the
subj ect .D iarma i t
,another sun-god
,was slain by the
boar of winter,on the last night of the year .
This must have been All-hallow-e ’en . In Ire* R h ys , Hibbert L ectu r es , 1 886 , p p . 459—462.
276 DEPAR TED GOD S.
The sun-god,under the name of Tal i essi n
was represented as a great poet and bard . As
the story goes,Ker r i dwen and her husband
,be
sides other children,had one named Avagdu ,
who was the ugliest man i n the world . Despairing of his ever taking his place among gentle
men,unless he possessed surpass ing qualities of
mind,his mother determined to withhold no ef
fort,and brewed for him a magic cauldron of
poesy and science .
‘Leaving the cauldron in
the charge of bl ind Mor dav and Gwi on 'the Lit
tle she went her way to gather herbs of rare
virtue to place i n the cauldron . Accord ing to
the magic formula,the broth was to boil a whole
year . But,as chance would have it
,three drops
fell on one of Gwi on ’
s fingers,and burned i t so
that he thrust i t in his mouth . Upon doing this,
immediately he knew everyth ing . He knew
that he had everything to fear from Ker r i dwen .
So he fled for his li fe ; and the cauldron burs t,and the broth was wasted . He was pursued ,and to escape
,often changed his form ; but Ker
r i dwen was ever close on his track . At last,when he became a grain
,Ker r i dwen became a
cres ted black hen,and devoured him . Being
born again,he was wrapped in a hide
,and cast
into the sea . The bide was picked up on one of
the stakes of Gwydno’
s fish -net,on the first of
THE S UN - GOD. 277
May . This young adventurer was Ta l i ess i n,
who very soon reci ted three poems,and demon
s tr ated his precocious development in wisdom
and speech .
The magic broth was brewed for Avagdu ,
who was known to the Welsh as a synonym for
Hell . We have already remarked the deriva
tion of poetry and all knowledge from the powers
of the nether world . Without relating the story
of Ta l i ess i n further,we follow the line of thought
sugges ted by the three drops of magic broth .
We may compare the Iri sh Finn with Gw i on .
To guard him from his enemies,he was sent to
be educated by a poet,also named F ir m. The
boy found the poet watching Fiae ’ s Pool,i n the
Boyne,to catch one of the “ Salmon of Knowl
edge .
” There was a prophecy that one of these
would be caugh t by Finn,who
,after eating i t
,
would know everything . At the end of seven
Y ears he caught the fish,and handed i t to his
pu pil to cook . The boy burned his thumb,and
put i t in his mouth . His tutor learned this,and
also that his name was F inn . Recognizing the
fulfillment of prophecy,he gave him the whole
Salmon of Knowledge . Whenever,thereafter,
F inn wished to know anything he had only tochew his thumb
,and all knowledge was immed i
ately present to his mind .
24
278 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Says Professor O’
Cu r ry :“ I n these very
early times there was a certain mystical foun t
ain,which was called Connl a ’
s Well— s i tuated,
so far as we can gather,in Lower Ormond . As
to who this Conn l a was,from whom the well
had i ts name,we are not told ; but the well i t
self appears to have been regarded as another
Helicon by the ancient Irish poets . Over thiswell there grew
,according to the legend
,nine
beautiful mystical hazel-trees,which annually
sent forth their blos soms and frui ts si multane
ous ly. The nuts were of the richest crimson
color, and teemed with the knowledge of all that
was refined in l iterature,poetry
,and ar t. No
sooner,however
,were the beautiful nuts pro
duced on the trees , than th ey always dropped
into the well,raising
,by their fall
,a succession
of shining red bubbles . Now,during this time
,
th e water was always full of salmon ; and no
sooner did the bubbles appear than these salmon
darted to the surface and ate the nuts,after
which they made their way to the river . The
eating of the nuts produced brill iant crimson
spots on the bell ies of the salmon ; and to catchand eat these salmon became an obj ect of more
than mere gastronomic interest among th ose who
were anxious to become distinguished in thearts and in l iterature
,without being at the pains
280 DEPAR TE D GOD S.
i ng the s tars . He was the son of Lir— the
original of Sh akspear e’
s King Lear ; bu t is also
called the son of Allot,of the tribe of the
Tuath a D é D anann .
- I n Irish story he is th e
chief of the fairie s of the Land of Promise .
His Welsh counterpart i s Manawyddan,who
is described as
'
peacefu l , gentle , and j us t . Bran ,the brother of Manawyddan
,gave his sister in
marriage to Math olwch , king of Ireland , but she
was disgraced and driven from the court,and yet
becau seO
Of no fault of her own . Her brother
made an expedi tion to Ireland to avenge her
wrongs . Since no ship could be cons tructed
large enough to receive him,he was compelled
to wade the intervening waters .“As he approached the Irish shore the swine
herds of Erinn hastened to Mathol wch’
s court
wi th the strange s tory that they h ad seen a forest On th e sea
,and near i t a great mountain with
its spur flanked by two lakes ; they added tha t
both fores t and mountain were in motion towards
the land .
’
Nobody could explain thi s unti l Bran
wen was summoned,and she told th em that the
trees were the masts of her cou ntrymen’
s vessels ,that the mountain they had seen mus t be her
brother wading through shallow water,and that
the mountain spur with the two lakes were his
nose and eyes ; she opined that his countenance
THE SU N - GOD . 28 1
betokened anger towards Erinn . Mathol wch and
his host has tened to place a river be tween them
and the invaders . When the latter reached the
stream,they found the
’
bridge over i t gone and
the current impassable,until B rz
'i n laid himself
across i ts bed,and hurdles were placed on his
body,so that his men passed over safely .
Reconcilia tion was effected,and the Irish buil t
for Bran a great palace . But peace continued
not ; for again there was a quarrel , resulting in a
great slaughter in the palace,whence only Bran
and seven of his men escaped a l ive . Having
been wounded he ordered his men to cut off his
head and take i t with them to their own country .
These seven men sat seven years at dinner at
Harlech,i n the socie ty of Brai n
’
s head,lis tening
to th e song of the Birds of Rhiannon ; and then
they feas ted eighty years in the i sland of Gwa l es .
Much is said in Celtic li terature concerning this
wonderful head . Cer nunnos,who may be the
same— of whom we shall have more to say i n a
future chapter— is sometimes represented as a
mere head or as a triple head .
There are several other Celtic gods which
might be mentioned,but the limits of this work
do not permit any detailed s tudy of their
characters .
The key to the solution of this mythological
282 DEPAR TED GODS.
system has already been given— the friendly or
malevolent character of these d ivinities and spir
i ts with reference to the world and man . The
cold mists and baleful fogs which retard vegeta
tion ; the excessive damps so inj urious to crops ,and the processes of corruption so difficult forprimitive peoples to understand ; the consuming
drought of summer ; the early frosts and the late
wintry storms,— these are some of the facts which
our fathers sought to explain . Frequently whatis presented i n ancient story as early wars be
tween hostile tribes i s but the ever repeated confl i ct between good and evil spiri ts .
The cus tom of the Celts of all times concern
i ng the disposition of the dead points to the doc
trine of immortali ty The departed j ourneyed
to some happy home,frequently located in the
west . “A general belief of the Gael was thatthe future s tate of permanent happiness was in
Flath - innis,a remote island in the west ; but they
also though t that parti cular clans had certai n
hills to which the spirits of their departed friendshad a peculiar
Baring-Gould,on the authority of Macpherson
,
relates th e following legend
One day a famous Druid of Skerr sat uponthe rocks by the sea-shore, musing . A storm
5“L ogan ,Th e Scotti sh G ael , p . 463.
284 DEPAR TED GOD S.
seen to rise i n the eas t,but hung as a golden
lamp,ever illuminating the Fortunate . There
,in
radiant halls,dwelt the spirits of the departed
,
ever blooming and beau tiful,ever laughing and
gay .
About the year 575 the learn ed classes of Ire
land were organized by a Parliament,which was
h el di at D r u imceta . Three orders were recog
n i zed— G radh Eona,G r adh Fene
,and G radh F ili .
Ecua means wisdom,and i ts graduate is a Sa i or
sage . The sage who graduates in its highest de
gree is O llamh,and enjoys the rank of a tribe
king . He settle s all questions be tween tribes,
interpre ts laws,decides concerning the success ion
of chiefs,and is th e his torian and genealogis t of
the tribe . The function of judge pas sed from the
Druids to the ch iefs . The j udge was a Sa i,and
kept a k ind of law-school . The chief,when the
office devolved upon him,and he did not wish to
perform its duties personally,appointed another
to the j udgeship . Hence arose the second learned
class,the G radh Fene . The F i li represented the
Ovates,and some of the forms of their incanta
tions have been preserved . The Ollamh F il i -pronounced eulogies in praise of his chief, and earned
for himself various emoluments . The Bards,wh o
recited s tories and poems,were at first distinct
from the Fil i,but the two orders afterward coa
THE S UN - GOD.285
l esced . To the Druidic order probably belonged
the physician,the F fith -Liag . D ian Cech t was
the old god of healing . The influence of Druidism is seen in the organization of the early Chris
tian Churches of England and Ireland . When a
Christian missionary succeeded in leading a chief
and some of the principal'
men of his tribe to
Christ,the missionary h imself was frequently
adopted into the tribe as a Sa i,and enj oyed the
same rank and privileges as a Druid ic pries t . Thelearned orders remained the same
,but Chri s tian
doctrines were added to the s tudies . The organ
i zati on of the early schools of Ireland was i nflu
enced by Druidism . The course of study,called
F z'
l z'
dec lzt,which the Ollamh Fil i pursued
,occupied
twelve years,and included the secre t language
of the poets,the knowledge of numerous tales
and poems,the art of vaticination
,and other
lore .
In Wales each king or prince had a household
bard,called B ar dd Teu l eu
,to whom the functions
of the Irish Sa i and Fil i belonged . There was
also a chief bard,called P en cedd , who was either
an officer of the household or sometimes inde
pendent . Like an Ollamh,he could make a cir
cui t for purposes of song,or keep a school for
the study of poetry . He enj oyed many priv
i l eges and emol uments,and was one of th e four25
286 DEPAR TED GODS.
teen persons who were entitled to a chair a t the
court .
The modern bards of Wales are though t by
some writers to be the religious descendants of
the ancient Druids , or, at least, to be the deposi tar i es of genuine D ruidic lore . The system of
Nc c -Druidism is gigantic and carefully wrought ;bu t the evidence upon which i t i s based is far
from satisfactory . We may,however
,thankfully
admit that i t contains not a few fragments of
ancient wisdom .
Severa l volumes of mystic learning have been
published . A few passages from the teachings
of the modern bards will not be ou t of place“When God pronounced his name
,with the
word sprang the ligh t and the l ife ; for previ
ou s ly there was no l ife except God himself.The form of the light was the unpronounceable
name of God in the three mystic characters bywhich God declared his “ exis tence
,l ife
,knowl
edge,power
,eternity
,and universality .
” “And
in th e declaration was his love ; that is , co-i nstan
taneou s ly with i t sprang , like lightning, all the
universe i nto life and existence,co-vocal ly and
co-j ubilantly with the uttered name of God , inone united song of exultation and j oy . Fromthis revelation of the name of God
,Meaw the
288 DEPAR TED GOD S.
The bards of N ee-Druidism teach both the
pre-exis tence and the transmigration of souls .Existence begins i n the lowest form of li fe
,and
at each success ive death passes into some other
body,till all possible lower existences have been
traversed,when i t enters the bodv of man . He
can choose good or evil . If he choose good,and
good predominate at h is death,he enters Gwyn
vyd, or heaven , from which he can not fall . If
he choose evil,and evil predominate at his death
the soul appears in some lower animal correspond
ing in character to h is own character at death .
He may now rise s tep by step till he again be
comes a man,when he has another opportunity
of choosing . He may fall again and again, but
ultimate success is ass ured,because the same sin
can not be commi tted or can'
not produce the
same evil resul ts the s econd time . So al l l ife
will end in Gwynvyd . The soul begins exis t
ence in lowest Annwn,passes through the irre
sponsible l ives of the circle of Abred below man,in which evil predominates ; passes through theresponsible human circle of existence , in which
good and evi l equiponderate ; and finally e'
n
ters Gwynvyd, where good predominates , and
from which the soul can not fall . Man seems
not to be free to choose precisely the same
THE S U N —G OD. 289
evil the second time ; hence heaven is finally
assured .
‘
The white robe of the Druid is a symbol ofholiness
,the green robe of the Ovate a symbol
of knowledge,and th e blue robe of the Bard a
symbol of peace and love .
‘ W i l l i am s,B a rddas vi.1 . 1
, p p . x l i i,21 3- 21 7 .
THE C LASSIC S AN D THE I N SC R I PTIO N S.
E shall now be prepared to appreciate what
classic writers say concern i ng the relig
ion of the Celts . We may a lso lis ten to the
voice of monumental witnesses .
Caesar i s a very trus tworthy authority . He
speaks frcm personal knowledge in many cases,
as h e always h ad acces s to many rel iable sources
of information . He writes with del iberation and
j udgment,and furnishes the fulles t and most sat
i sfactory account of all the writers who have
treated the subj ect : As to integri ty and hon
es ty,he is an unimpeachable witness . Speaking
of the Druids of Gaul,he says
They preside over sacred things,have the
charge of publi c and private sacrifices,and ex
plain their re l igion . To them a great number of
youths have recourse for the sake of acq u i r ipg
ins tructi on,and they are in
'great honor among
them ; for they generally settl e al l their disputes ,both publi c and private ; and i f there i s any
tran sgressi on perpetrated,anymurder committed ,
or any dispute about inheri tance or boundaries ,290
292 DEPAR TED GOD S.
published,and because they would
'
not have
those who learn them by trusting to letters neg
lect the exercise of memory . In parti cular
they wish to inculcate the idea that sea l s do not
die , but pass, after death , from one body to an
other . They also d i spu te . l argely concerning
the stars and their motion,the magnitude of the
world and the earth,the nature of things
,the
force and power of the immortal gods,and i n
s truct th e youth in their p rmc i p l e'
s .
’
The whol e
nation of the Gauls i s very much given'
to r eligi ous Observances
,and on that account those who
are affl i cted with grievous di seases,and those
who are engaged in battles and perils,either im
molate men as sacrifices or vow that they will
immolate themselves ; and they employ the
Druid s as ministers of those sacrifices,because
they think that if th e l ife of man i s not g1ven
for the l ife of man the immortal gods can not be
appeased . They have also instituted public sac
r i fices of the same kind ; Some have images of
immense size , the limbs of which , interwoven
with twigs,th ey fill with l iving men ; and the
same being set on fire,the men
,surrounded by
the fl ames,are pu t to
For these sacrifices they preferred criminals ;but when these failed
,they did not hes itate to
G al l ic W ar, vi , 1 3
— 1 8.
THE CL ASS I CS AN D THE I N SCR I PTI ON S.293
sacrifice the innocent . They worshiped certain
gods which Cae sar identified wi th Mer cury,Apol l o,Mars
,Jupi ter
,and Minerva .
Strabo gives the following account : “Amongst
the Gauls there ar e generally three d 1 v1 s 1ons of
men especially reverenced— the Bards,the Vates
,
and the Druids . The Bards composed and
chanted hymns ; the Vates occupied themselves
with the sacrifices and the study of nature ;while the Druids j oined to the s tudy of naturethat of moral philosophy . The belief in the
jus tice of the Druids is so great that the dec i sion both of public and private disputes i s referred
to them ; and they have before now,by their
decis ion , prevented armies from engaging when
drawn up in battle array against each other .
Al l cases of murder are particularly referred
to them . When there i s plenty of these,they
imagine there will l ikewise be a plentiful harvest .
Both these and the others as sert that the soul is
indes tructible , and likewise the world ; but thatsometimes fire 'and sometimes water have pre
vailed in making great changes .
The Romans put a stop to their modes of sac
r i fice and divination . They would s trike a man
devoted as an offering in his back with a sword ,and divine
,from his convulsive throes . Without
the Druids they never sacrifice . It i s said they
294 DEPAR TED GODS.
have other modes of sacrificing their human v ic
tims ; that they p ierce some of them with ar
rows,and crucify others in their temples ; and
that they prepare a colossus of hay and wood,
into which they put cattle,beasts of al l kinds
,
and men,and then set fire to it .
They say that in the ocean,not far from the
coast,there i s a smal l i sland l ying opposi te to
the outle t of the river Loire,inhabi ted by Sam
n i te women,who are Bacchantes
,and conciliate
and appease that god by mysteries and sacrifices .
No man i s permitted to land on the i sland .
They have a custom of once a year u nr oofing
the whole of the temple,and roofing it again the
same day before sunset,each one bringing some
of the materials . If any one le ts her burden
fall,she i s torn in p ieces by the others
,and her
l imbs carried round the temple with wild shouts,
which they never cease til l their rage is ex
hansted . They say i t always happens that some
one drops her burden , and i s thus sacrificed .
”
The inhabi tants of Ierna,or Hibernia
,are
more savage than th e Britains,feeding on h u
man flesh,and are enormous eaters
,even deeming
i t commendable to devour their deceased fathers .
They are openly impure and incestuous .
“ It is reported that the Cimbri had a pecu l
iar cu stom f They were accompanied “
in their
296 DEPAR TED GOD S.
teemed,whom they call D ruids . They have also
soothsayers,who are held in high estimation ;
and these,by auguries and the sacrifice of v ic
tims,foretell future events
,and hold the com ‘
monal ty in comple te subj ection ; and more es
pec i al ly, when they deliberate on matters of
moment,they practice a strange and incredible
rite; for, having devoted a man for sacrifice ,they strike h im with a sword on a part above
the diaphragm ; the v ictim having fallen,they
augur from his mode of fall ing, the contortion of
h is l imbs,and the flowing of the blood
,what
may come to pass,giving credence concerning
such things according to an ancient and long
standing observance . They have a custom of
performing no sacrifice unattended by a ph i l oso
pher ; for they say that thanksgiving should be
Offered to the gods by men acquainted wi th the
d ivine nature and using th e same language,and
by these they deem i t necessary to ask for good
things ; and not only in the concerns of peace ,but
?
even of war -4 not friends alone,but even
enemies al so— ch i efly defer to them and to the
composers of verses . Frequently,during hos til
i ties , when armies are approaching each other
with swords drawn and lances extended,these
men,rushing between them
,put an end to their
THE CLASS I CS AN D THE I N SCR I PTI ON S. 297
contention, taming them as they would tame wild
D iodor us quotes from Hecateus,the Mel es i an
,
who wrote about B . C . 500“Among the Hyperboreans were men— priests
,
as it were,of Apollo— constantly hymning lyric
songs in his praise . Also in that island was a
consecrated precinct of great magnificence,a
temple of corresponding beauty,i n shape spher
ical,adorned with numerous dedicated gifts ; also
a ci ty sacred to the god , the majori ty of i ts i 11habi tants harpers
,who
,continually harping i n
the temple,sung lyrical hymns to the god
,
greatly magnifying his deeds . Every
nineteenth year the god descends into this
island . This was th e great year of the Hellenes .
When the god makes h is periodica l vis i t,he
both plays the harp and dances during the night,
from the vernal equinox to the rising of the
Pleiades,taking great delight in his own success
ful efforts .”
Hecateu s,who makes Britain the land of the
Hyperboreans,may have derived his knowledge
from the reports of Phoenician merchants . What
he says is worthy of some consideration , what
ever we may think of this race , which is at least
" His tory , V ,31 .
298 DEPAR TED GOD S.
semi-fabulous . Pliny gi ves a bri lliant account of
this happy race .
*
We quote several passagesfrom Pliny,whose
testimony i s valuable as presenting truthful ao
cou nts of the beliefs of his time“The Druids— for that i s the name they give
to their magicians— held nothing more sacred
than the mistle toe and the tree that bears it,
supposing always that tree to be the robur . Ofitsel f the robur i s selected by them to form
whole groves,and they perform none of their
religious rite s withou t employing branches of i t ;so much so
,that i t i s very probable that the
priests themselves may have received their name
from the Greek name for that tree . In fact,it
is the notion with them that everything that
grows on i t has been sent immediately from
heaven,and that the mis tletoe upon i t is a proof
that the tree has been sel ected by God himself asan obj ect of hi s especial favor .
“The mistle toe,however
,i s but rarely found
upon the robur,and
,when found
,is gathered
wi th rites replete with religi ous awe . This i s
done mor e particularly on the fifth day of th e
moon,the daywhich is the beginning of their
months and years,as also of thei r ages , which ,
with them,are but thirty years . This day they
" N atu ra l Hi stor y,i v, 26 .
300 DEPAR TED GODS.
not unlike multitudes of o thers related by
Pliny .
An egg,said to be of peculiar formation
,i s
held in great repute among the D ruids .
In summer-time,numberless snakes become
artificially entwined together,and form rings
around their bod ies with the viscous sl ime which
exudes from their mouths,and with the foam se
cr eted by them ; the name given to this sub
stance is angu i nem .
’ The Druids tell us thatthe serpents ej ect these eggs into the air by their
hissing,and that a person must be ready to catch
them in a cl oak,s o as not to let them touch the
ground . They say also that he must instantly
take to fl ight on horseback,as the serpen ts will
be sure to pursue him until some intervening
river has placed a barrier between them . The
test of i ts genuineness,they say
,is its floating
against th e current of a stream,even though i t
be set in gold . But as it i s th e way with ma
gi c i an s to be dexterous and cunning in casting aveil about their frauds
,they pretend that these
eggs can only be taken on a certa in day of the
moon ; as though , forsooth , i t depended entirely
upon the human will to make the moon and th e
serpents accord as to the moment of th is Oper
ation .
9" N atu r al Hi stor y,xxi v, 62, 63.
THE CLASSI CS AN D THE I N SCR I PTI ON S. 301
I myself, however, have seen one of these
eggs ; i t was round , and about as large as an ap
ple of moderate size ; the shell o f i t was formed
of a cartilaginous subs tance,and i t was sur
rounded w ith numerous cupules,as i t were
,r e
sembling those upon the arms of the polypus .”
The Annals of Tacitus contains this account
of the Druids of Bri tai nWhen Mona
,or Anglesey
,was invaded by
Suetonius Paulinus , there stood i n the dis tance
on the strand an army in battle array,thick with
armed men . Women with disheveled hair,clad
in fun eral garments,like furies ran to and fro
,
holding aloft flaming torches . There were Druids also
,wi th hands uplifted to heaven
,pouring
forth terribl e imprecations . The soldiers were
struck with awe and terror at the novel ty of the
sight ; so that, as if their l imbs clung to the ground ,they presented their umn oved bodies to the
wounds which the enemy might infl ict . When
the i sland was taken,the religi ous groves, ded
i cated to superstiti on and barbarous rites , were
leveled to the ground . In their recesses the na
ti ves imbrued their altars with the blood of the
prisoners,and in the entrails of men explored the
will of the gode.
”
i'
Ammianus Marcellinus says Throughout
’ N atu ra l His tory , xx i x , 1 2. TTac i tns , An n a l s , x i v, 31 .
26
302 DEPAR TED GOD S.
these provinces,the people gradually becoming
civiliz ed,th e study of liberal accomplishments
flourish ed,having been first introduced by the
Bards,the Euhages
,and the Druids . The Bards
were accus tomed to employ themselves in cele
br ati ng the brave achievements of their illustri
ous men,i n epic vers e , accompanied with sweet
airs on the lyre . The Eubages inves tigated the
system and subl ime secrets of nature,and sought
to explain them to the ir followers . Between
these two came the Druids,men of loftier gen
ius,bound in brotherhoods according to the pre
cep ts and example of Pythagoras ; and their
minds were elevated by investigations into secret
and sublime matters,and from the contempt
which they entertained for human affairs they
pronounced the soul immortal .”
Lucan con tains several passages of interest
You , too , ye Bards , who, as poets hand down
in your praises to remote ages spiri ts valiant,and
cut off in war,freed from alarm
,did then pour
forth full many a strain ; and you, Druids , afterarms were laid aside
,sought once again your bar
barous ceremonial s and the ruthless usages of
your sacred rites . To you alone has it been
granted to know the gods and the divinities of
Hi story , xv, 9.
304 DEPAR TED GOD S.
stand unsightly,formed from hewn trunks . The
very moldiness and paleness of the ro tting wood
now renders people stricken with awe ; not thus do
they dread the deities consecrated with ordinary
forms ; so much does i t add to the terror no t to
know what gods they are in dr ead'
of . Fame,
too,reported that full oft the hollow caverns
roared amid the earthquake,and that yews that
had fallen rose again,and that flames shone from
a grove that did no t burn,and that serpents em
bracing the oaks entwined around them . The
people throng that place with no approaching
worsh ip,but have left i t to the gods . When
Phoebus i s in the mid-sky,or dark night pos
sesses the heavens,the priest h imself dreads the
approach,and is afraid to mee t with
,the guar
dian of the grove .
”
This author even mentions the Celtic names
of certa i n deities : “ The relentless Teu tates,
”
appeased by direful bloodshed ; Hesu s ,dreadful with his merci less al tars ; and the
shrine of Taranis,not more.h uman than that of
Scythian D i ana .
”
jL
D iogenes L aer ti u s call s the Druids ph i l oso
ph er s , and compare s them with the Magi among
the Persians,the Chaldaei among the B abyl o
f ‘ Ph ar sal i a , pp . 29, 30, 1 1 2, 1 1 3. TI b ., p . 29.
THE CL ASS I CS AN D THE I N SCR I PTI ON S.305
ninus and Assyrians , and the Gymnosoph i s tze
among the Indians .
*
There are several o ther classical allusions,
bu t they afford little new information . Pompo
nius Mela says that th e Druids are eloquent inspeech and masters of w isdom
,and teach that
men should be brave,especially in war . Accord
i ng to this authori ty , the business accounts of
men are sent with them to the o ther world for
inspection and se ttlement . Some immolate them
selves ou the funeral pyres of their friends,that
they may accompany them to the world of spirits .
Q uintus , the bro ther of Cicero , was intimately
acquainted with D ivi tiacus the Druid , an E duan,
who professed an intimate knowledge of the sys
tem of nature,and fore told future events . Lam
pr i d i us and V op i scus make ment ion of prophetic
women,one of whom is said to have foretold the
death of D iocle tian .
Scholars are no t agreed as to the e tymology
of the name D ruid D r u i dh i s s til l used in
Gael ic for “ wise men,and dr u i th n i ch
,or drui
,
for “ servants of truth .
”
Menage, derives the
word from drus,a magician and according
,to
Keys l er dr aoi means“a magician
,an enchanter .”
The Abbe Pierre d e Chin iac derives from de,
god and r ouyd ,“ speaking ; hence the word
" The L i ves an d Op i n ion s of Em i n en t Ph i l osop h ers , i , 1 .
306 DEPAR TED GOD S.
would mean speaking of God . The ancient
Highlanders cal led the tille r of the soil “drao
naich,
” which is thought to be a genuine name of
the Picts . In Ireland dr aoneach means “ an
The common derivation is from the
Greek “ an oak Welsh,derw ; Armorican,
dero,derv ; Cornish , dar ; Gaelic, dar achjfl John
Rhys,our late s t and greatest authority
,ag rees
w ith Pl iny in deriving the word from the Greek,
i nd refers to D r unemeton,the sacred oak g r ove
,
where Strabo says the Galatians were wont toassemble :From our c l a ss 1 c quotations we may also
learn that the religion of the Druids was so fardeveloped as to provide for an order of pries t
hood presided over by an Arch-Druid . The
pries ts were learned,influential
,and privi leged
,
and wer e '
judges in most important public and
private cases . They were devoted to the acqui
sitiou and dissemination of learning . Their mys
ter i es were unwri tten , and were transmi tted by
memory alone . They offered sacr i fices— some
times human sacr i fices— i a a sacred shrine .
They prophesied concerning the future . They
believed in the immortal i ty and the transmigra
f L ogan ,Scotti sh G ael , p p . 448
,295, 296 .
TZeuss , G ramm at i ca Cel ti ca ,V ol . I
, p . 7 .
i R hys , Hi bber t L ectu res , 1 886 , pp : 221 , 222.
308 DEPAR TED GOD S.
tion . This lays the foundation of Pantheism .
Al l life is a part of The Life . In th is doctrine
i s also recognized moral desert . The differences
which exis t between individuals in the present
l ife are the resul t of the earnings of previous
lives . There are in thi s w orld u nfitness and
imperfection . Life is no t what i t ought to be
not what i t must be before there can be rest .
Hence there are numerous l ives in numerous
bodies till there resul t fitness,perfection
,and
purity . We may compare the same doctrine as
developed i n Hinduism .
The reasonableness of sacr i fice— and,i ndeed
of human sacr ifice— must have been very obvi
ous to primitive races,so widely did the custom
extend in all lands . I t is founded in this same
principle of the unity of l ife,or
,at least , i n the
uni ty of the source of life . All li fe is e i ther of
God in its essence , or is derived from him ,and
hence to h im belongs . There is some portion
of d ivine life in everything vis ible— the largest
portion in man . In sacrifice there is given back
to God what is his own . The dearest"
possession,
the most valuable sacrifice,i s most acceptable to
him as containing the most of his own divini ty,
and as carrying to h im the most of the heart of
the worshiper . Hence human sacrifices . Then,
too,the gods must be propitiated
,that they may
THE CL ASSI CS AN D THE I N SCR I PTI ON S. 309
deal merci fully with the unworthy and the trans
gr essor . Life alone can atone for sin— l ife alone
can ransom life . The human life offered to the
gods was not destroyed ; i t was saved ; i t went
to the gods . The victim,i n being sacrificed ,
was sanctified,and became spotless and pure .
Christ is the world’
s one great sacr i fice— the
life given for li fe . And now accep table sacrifice
is a broken heart and a contri te spiri t,which
God will not despise .
The plentiful harvest corresponding to abun
dance of murders can not be explained,unless the
killing be considered as sacrificing to the gods
in some sense,and hence a religious act .
The u nr oofing and r e-r oofing of the temple of
the Bacchantes may have some reference to sun
worship .
In the ascribing of occul t powers to certain
obj ects,the Druids recognized the presence of i n
visi ble forces,and an invisible spiri tual realm .
They also seemed to recognize the basal uni ty
of force and law . Such occul t powers were no t
always necessary to the existence of the obj ect,for they migh t be los t if the pries t were not
careful in the observance of mys tic ceremonies .
Sometimes such powers were invi ted by prayers
and invocations to make certain obj ects their
h ome . Each obj ect seemed to possess a spiritual37
31 0 DEPAR TED GOD S.
part . They sought to secure the friendship of
these invisible powers,and to use them against
their enemies,or to secure good fortune
,or again
to drive away disease . There migh t result fe
ti sh i sm ; there might result magic . The associ
ation of ideas may be the key to the under
s tanding of occul t s cience . Man,as yet in a
low intellectual condition,having come to associ
ate i n thought those things which he found in
experience to be connected in fact,proceeded er
r oneou s ly to invert thi s action , and to conclude
that association in thought must involve similar
connection in reality .
”
The reasoning was not wholly erroneous .
There is some connection between all exi stencesa connection which has i ts basis in the Supreme
Mind ; but it i s n ot such a connection as magic
demands . The Druids bel ieved in the power ofinvocations
,imprecations
,incantations
,and
charms . Thus to will was to accomplish . The
will i s the supreme of man . Mind is the mon
arch Of matter . Invisible agents go at the com
mand of will . Words themselves are deified as
possessing inherent and wonderful powers .
Thus s tarting from what i s true,the end is
false .
There eas i ly results divination or prophecy .
’“Ty l or , Pr i m i ti ve Cu l tu re, V ol . I , p . 1 1 6 .
31 2 DEPAR TED GODS.
li c gods which have been assimilated to t h e
Roman divinities which are named in the
classics .
An inscrip tion found near Beaucroissant,at a
place which was once called Ar tay, con tains
the name of the god Mercurius Ar ta i u s, wh o
would seem to have been connected with agr i cu l
ture, and especially with plowing . Another i a
scription found at Hieres would connect this di
v inity with war or kingship . He had temples,
most of which belonged to the god in h i s native
character,in no less than twenty-s ix places in
the territory of the Allobroges alone . Many
names of places prove the wide extent of the
worship of Mercury . He affected high places,
for his temples were frequently situated in con
spi cuou s positions . The Greek artis t Zenodor u smade a colossal Mercury for the great temple
of the Arverni on Puy de D Ome. It was one
hundred and twenty feet high,and was th e
work of ten years .
This god is also the discoverer of roads and
paths .
Ogmios was one of his principal Gallic names .Rhys quotes from Lucian as follows
The Cel ts,he says
,call Heracles in the lan
guage of their country Ogmios,and they make
THE CLASSI CS AN D THE I N SCR I PTI ON S.31 3
very strange representations of the god . With
them he is an extremely old man,with a ba ld
forehead and his few remaining hairs qui te gray ;his skin is wrinkled and embrowned by the sun
to that degree of swarthiness which i s character
i s ti c of men who have grown old in a seafaringl ife ; i n fact, you would fancy him rather to be a
Charon or Jape tus,one of the dwellers in Tar
tarus,or anybody rather than Heracles . But a l
though h e i s of this descrip tion,he is
,never the
less attired like Heracles,for he has on him the
lion s skin,and he has a club i n his righ t hand ;
he is duly equipped with a quiver,and his left
hand displays a bow s tre tched out ; i n these r e
spects he is quite Heracles . It struck me,then
,
that the Celts took such liberties with the appear
ance of Heracles in order to i nsul t the gods of
the Greeks and avenge themselves on him in theirpainting
,because he once made a raid on their
terri tory,when in search of the herds of Geryon
h e harassed most of the western people . I have
not yet,however
,mentioned the most whimsical
part of the picture ; for this old man Heracles
draws after him a great number of men bound by
their ears,and the bonds are slender cords wrough t
of gold and amber,l ike necklaces of the most
beautiful make ; and although they are dragged
on by such weak ties,they never try to run
31 4 DEPAR TED GODS.
away,though they could eas ily do it ; nor do they
at a l l resist or struggle against them,planting
the ir fee t on the ground and throwing their weigh t
back in the direction contrary to that in wh ich
they are being led . Q uite the revers e ; they fol
low with j oyful countenance in a merry mood,
and praising him who leads them,press ing on one
and all,and slackening their chains in their eager
ness to proceed ; in fact, they look like men wh o
would be grieved should they be se t free . But
that which seemed to me the most absurd thing
of all I will not hes itate also to tel l you ; the
painter,you see
,had nowhere to fix the ends of
the cords,s ince the right hand of the god held
the club and his left the bow ; so he pierced the
tip of his tongue,and represented the people as
drawn on from it,and the god turns a sm i ling
countenance towards those whom he is leading .
Now I stood a long time looking at these things,
and wondered,perplexed and indignant . But a
certain Celt s tanding by,wh o knew someth ing
about our ways,as he showed by speaking good
Greek— a man wh o was qui te a philosopher,I
take it,in local matters— said to me
, Stranger, I
will tell you the s ecret of the painting,for you
seem very much troubled about i t . We Cel ts do
not consider the power of speech to be Hermes,as you Greeks do
,but we represent it by means
31 6 DEPAR TED GOD S.
mind ; and you too say that words have wings .
Thus far the Celt .”
The word Ogmios i s found in the Celtic la’
na
guages in several forms . Ogma is an Irish god,
skil l ed in dialects and poetry . He it was who
invented the Ogam mode of writing .
‘ The m ost important Gallic appellations of
Apollo were Maponos , G r ann u s , and Tou ti or ix .
Three inscriptions of Apollo Maponos have been
d iscovered in the north of England . In Daciawe meet with Bonus Puer Phosphorus
,
“ the light
bringi ng good boy - the Ol d Welsh map on
means “ boy .
” The Apollo G r annu s Magounu s ,
found near Horburg,h as the same meaning . In
the dis tric ts inhabi ted by Belgic tribes we meet
with Apollo G r annu s —the youthful god . Apollo
was the god of heal ing , and affected places cele
br ated for warm springs possessed of medicinal
v irtues . D ion Cassius tel l s'
u s that G r annu s was
invoked by Caracalla as the equal of E scu l ap i u s
and Serapis .
The god and goddess B ormanu s and Bor
mana— found also in other forms- may be con
nected with this Apollo .
There was a female divinity associated with
Apollo,concerning whom something must be said .
Her name is Sirona, and she is represented i n" R h ys, Hi bbert L ectur es , 1 886, pp . 1 4- 1 6 .
THE CLASSI CS AN D THE I N SCR I PTI ON S.31 7
has -relief on a monument which is preserved in
the Mus eum of Munich . She is clo thed in a
long dress,and resembles in general appearance
the Gaulish divini ties called mothers or matrons .With her righ t hand she holds up ears of corn
,
and i n her left she has a bunch of fruit . Onanother face of the monument i s represented
Apollo G r an nus . In his right hand he holds
something like a plectrum,and in his left a very
large lyre . It i s no t possible to determine what
relation these d ivini tie s sus tain to each other .
We might take Sirona to be the wife of Apollo
G r an nu s , but there is absolutely nothing to sug
gest their relation . Rhys thinks that the names
Maponos and Magounu s render such a suppos i
tion inadmiss ible . He suggests that she may
have been regarded as his mother . There are
monuments i n honor of herself alone,showing
that she maintained an independent position .
One of these monuments,with her bus t i n has
relief,gives her the appearance of extreme
old age .
*
The third epithet of the god i s Tou ti or i x,
which can mean nothing else than “ king of the
people ”-a name connected at several poin ts
with German mythology and history .
Mars i s the third god which Caesar mentions .’ R h ys , Hi bber t Lectu res , 1 886 , p . 27.
31 8 DEPAR TED G OD S.
Among his ep i the ts we find most prominently
named Catu r i x,which may be interpreted “king
of war— lord of battles .
” As Mars V i n ti u s he
was god of the winds,but as god of the pr op i
tious winds he was assimilated with Pollux .
He had many temples and altars along the
Rhone . As Mars Camulos he was the god of
the sky and of heaven,and corresponded with
the Jupi ter of the Latins . Many epithets prove
h im to have been the chief of the Celtic gods .
He was “most kingly,
” and “ king of the uni
verse,
” and his associate— as on a monument at
Bath— was called N emetona ; and Nemon , ao
cording to Irish tradition,was the wife of N et
,
the war -god . Lucan speaks of the bloody rites
of Teu ta tes,Hesus
,and Taranis
,and describes a
consecrated grove near Marseilles“An ol d
,i nviola ted
,sacred wood ,
Whose gloomy boughs , th i ck i n terwoven ,made
A chi l ly , cheer less , ever lasting shade.
”
This Teu tates i s found in an inscription in theform Tou tates . According to Caesar
,the Gauls
,
before engaging in battle,vowed to Mars the
spoils of war,and presented i n sacred places a l l
the remainder of the booty,and few had the
temeri ty to withhold any part of the spoils,so
severe was the penalty inflicted .
There are in the inscriptions Jupiter Bagin
320 DEPAR TED GOD S.
give h im as h is attributes a hammer and a goble t ; but in some instances the goblet is absent,while i n o thers the hammer has smaller ham
mers growing as i t were out of i t in tree-like
fashion— a remarkable specimen of this k ind has
been d iscovered at Vienne . The goble t and
hammer sometimes accompany dedications to Si l
vanns by name,but the variations are too numer
ous to be enumerated . One of the most remarkable i s an al tar at Lyons
,which brings the
hammer and the bill-hook toge ther ; i t shows
the god using a bill-hook with h is right hand,
and supporting himself wi th the other on a ham
mer'
with a‘ long handle,while the goblet s tands
at his feet .”
Caesar ascribes the initiation of the various
trades and arts to Minerva . We find in the i n
scr i pti ons Minerva B a l i sama . Corresponding with
the character whi ch Caesar ascribes to Minerva,
the Irish had a goddess Brigi t - poetess andseeress— daughter of Dagda the Great ; and shehad two daughters
,also called Brigit
,one the
patroness of the healing art,and the o ther
of smith -work . The inscriptions furnish the
Gaulish Brigands the probable counterpart ofBrigit .
An 'a l tar dug up in Paris contains a figure of
’ R h ys , Hi bbert L ectu res , 1 886 , pp . 64,65 .
THE CLASS I CS AN D THE I N SCR I PTI ON S.321
the god Cer n unnos . This may be th e god D iswho
,according to Caesar
,was father of the Gal
l i o gods . An examination of the Paris altar
shows that this name suits the god . There is
the word Cer nunnus,and underneath this name a
divini ty is represented . This figure is bearded
and clothed . The forehead is adorned with the
horns of a stag,from each of which hangs a
tongue . Although the monumen t i s i n a bad
sta te of preservation,the figure i s so large in
comparison with the others of the block as to
show that the god could not have been r epr e
sented s tand ing or even si tting on a seat . The
only posture suited to the whole scene would
be the cross-legged position characteristic of the
Buddha .
This connects the whole figure with certain
sculptures representing squatting,horned divin
i ties . One of these,found at Vendoeuvres-en
Brenne,represents the god wi th a f ol h
'
s,or
sack,i n h i s lap . On either side of the god
stand two geni i o f diminutive size . Their feet
rest upon the coils of a serpent . Each grasps
one of the horns of the central god . Wi th the
other hand one holds a torque and the other
a purse .
An adjoining face of the monument shows an
Apollo Ci tharoedus . His posture i s that illus
322 DEPAR TED GOD S.
trated by his colossal s tatue at Entrain,in the
Nievre . On the Rheims monument th'
e horned
god is squatting on a seat between Apollo and
Mercury,who are s tanding . The left arm of
Cer nu n nos rests on his knee,and on this arm is
held a bag With his right hand he helps to
pour from the bag a profusion of acorns or beech
nuts . An ox and a stag are also figured,and
the nuts drop down between them . On the tympanum of the ped iment
,above the head of the
god,a rat has been carved . Since the rat is an
animal which dwells underground,i ts representa
tion on the monument is thought to have sig
n i fican ce.
The block of saints displays two groups onopposite s ides of the stone . In each case the
squatting god holds in his righ t hand a torque,and in his left a bag or purse . The lat ter is sup
ported on his knee . The monument being imper
feet,the horns are wanting
,yet the god is prob
ably Cer n u nnos .
The goddess in the principal group,seated
near h im,holds a cornucopia
,which rests on her
left arm,while close to her stands another li ttle
female divinity . On ‘ the Opposite face of the
block the god squats on a base,which has been
ornamented with two bu cr ar i a . On a base toth e left, ornamented with a bucrar ia , a naked
324 DEPAR TED GODS.
posture,with fruit on their laps
,and occas ional ly
an infant on their knees . An altar i n the Mu
seum of Vienne shows the mother with a baske t
of frui t on her lap,si tting
,while her two sisters
,
with long robes which cover their heads,s tand
on either s ide . A monument,found at Me tz
,
r epr esen ts'
th e three s tanding and holding in
their hands fruit or flowers . There was also in
Gaul the similar worship of holy virgins .
The imagination peopled Celtic lands with a
multitude of malevolent spiri ts,all kinds of gob
lins and ogresses,insp i ring terror i n th e hearts
of the humble worshipers . There is but one
monument in recogni tion of these shadowy be
ings . It i s found at Benwell,near Newcastle on
Tyne,and is
,briefly
,To the witches three .
These minor divini ties were local,and included
the spirits of forests,s treams
,lakes
,springs
,and
mountains . Remains of this lower Celtic wor
ship exis t to-day in local seats,as we shal l learn
in the next chapter,while the greater and more
noble gods are forgotten .
The classi c and archaeologi cal remains har
mon i ze with the mythology of the Celts wh er
ever i t i s possible for,us to make a fair compar
ison . Each assi s ts to a correct understanding of
the others,and yet the whole body of informa
tion is far from being what could he wished .
LITTLE PEO PLE.
‘ HE fairies occupy a prominent place in the
modern mythology of Ireland . They were
once angels , according to the popular belief, and
formed a large part of the original population of
heaven . When the rebellion headed by Satan
drew away from their allegiance multitudes ofwarlike spiri ts
,the fairies remained neutral . As
a punishment they were banished from heaven,
and condemned to dwell i n the earth,yet cher
i sh i ng the hope of final pardon and admiss ion to
thei r former celestial abodes .
They dwell in large socie ties,labor on the cc
operative plan,and own property in common .
They are well-disposed,though capable of doing
much harm .
“ Though,he naeher
,they ’ re not
the length av yer finger,they can make thim
selves the bigness av a tower when i t p l azes thim ,
an’
. av that ugliness that ye ’
d faint w i d the
looks o ’ thim,as know i n ’ they can s th r i ke ye
dead on the shpot, or change ye into a dog, or a
pig,or a unicorn
,or any other d i r thy haste they
pl aze .
” Their bodies are quite ethereal in sub
stance,so that the light can easily shine through
,
28 325
328 DEPAR TED G0DS.
still ther e,
'
th at they call the fairy glen,to this
blessed
To enter a house sel ected for their frolic,the
li ttle people send one of their number through
the key-hole,wh o carries with him a thread .
This i s made fast to some article of furni ture
near the floor . Upon i t,first of all
,steps the
piper,who plays with might and main a lively
air,and one by one the whole fairy company
mount the bridge and pass into the room . This
account from Ulster can refer only to beings most
minute .
The Pooka is an evil Spiri t . “Old peopleused to say th at the Pookas were very numerous
in the times long ago . They were wicked
minded black-looking,bad things
,that would
come i n the form of wild colts , with chains hang
ing about them They did great harm to be
nighted travelers .
The Leprechauns are peculiar to Ireland .
This being is in the form of a li ttle old man,and
i s r eputed to be very rich . He may be com
pel l ed,i f caught, to reveal the place where hehas h idden his gold ; but you must not take youreyes off the prison er for a single instant
,or 'be
will vanish .
The Leprechauns did a great deal of traveling“McAn a l ly, I r i sh Won ders . p . 99.
L I TTL E PEOPL E.329
over the country,and their brogues often wore
out and brough t their feet to the ground .
When this occurred they would si t down
and mend them in the firs t convenient place .
They were qui te solitary i n their habi ts , and
seldom was more than one seen at the same
time .
The fairies of the Scottish Highlands are veryhandsome in person
,and are usually dressed in
green . They enjoy themselves in dancing and
singing,and make shoes and clothes in an i ncr ed
i bl y short space of time . They borrow from the
human race,whenever people are kindly disposed
toward them,and are equally ready to lend from
their own possessions . But they are,never the
less,to be dreaded ; for they sometimes carry off
women and children— especially those who may
be remarkable for their beauty— to their own
fairy abodes . Here they are treated with the
utmost kindness,if they are respectful and obe
dient . Mortals who have spent what seemed
but a night at their fairy revels,have found the
next morning that their night has extended to ahundred years .
“ One Highlander,in passing a mountain
,
hears the tramp of horses,the music of the
horn,and the cheering of the huntsmen
,
when suddenly a gallant crew of th irteen fairy
330 DEPAR TED GOD S .
hunters,dressed in green, sweep by him,
the
si l ver bosses of their bridles j ingling in the night
br eezef’
These fairies dwell in turrets,i n di sti n
gu i sh abl e in the day, but at night frequently
lighted up with great brilliancy . The h ownest
Brownies are also found in Scotland,and the
Water-kelp ie,i n the form of a horse
,decoys the
unwary to mount him,and then plunges with
them into the lake or river .
A favorite amusement of the Leprechauns of
Ireland was to ride a sheep or goat,or even a
dog,when they had long j ourneys to make . But
the fairies of the Isle of Man prefer large horses,
which they ride at utmost speed,so as sometimes
to endanger their l ives .
Among the fairy legends of Wales we select
one located in the mountains near Brecknock,
where there was a lake : “ In ancient times a
door in a rock near th is lake was found open
upon a certain day every year. I think it was
May-day . Those who had the curiosity and
resolution to enter were conducted by a secret
passage,which terminated i n a small island in
the center of the lake . Here the visitors were
surprised wi th the prospect of a most enchanting
garden,s tored with the choicest fruits and flow
ers,and inhabi ted by the Tyl wyth Teg, or Fair
332 DEPAR TED G OD S.
place to place with the rapidi ty of thought,cure
d iseases by the aid of charms,and predict the
future . They are about two fee t in height,and
have long,flowing hair . Their only dress i s a
long,white veil
,which they wind round their body .
They are most beautiful in the evening ; but by
daylight their eyes appear red,their hair white
,
and their faces wrinkled . They are fond of
music and the dance,and have excellent voices .
They haunt Springs,and may be seen s itting on
their edge and combing their hair . “ They are
said to celebrate there,every re turning spring
,a
great nocturnal festival . On the sod,at i ts
brink,i s spread a table-cloth
,white as the driven
snow,covered with the most del icious viands .
In the center is a crys ta l cup,which emits such
light that there i s no need of lamps . At the end
of the banque t a cup goes round fi ll ed with a
liquor,one drop of which would . make one as wise
as God himself. At the approach of a mortal the
whole vanishes .
”
‘
The.
Kor r ed are dwarfs,with shaggy hair
,
wrinkled faces , deep-se t bright eyes, cracked
voices , hands like the claws of a cat, and feet
like a goat . They are skillful smiths,and possess
vast weal th .
A number of l ittle men . not more than a*Keigh tl ey, Fa i r y Myth ol ogy, p p . 431
,432.
L I TTL E PEOPL E. 333
foot high,dwell under the cas tle of Morlaix .
They l ive in holes in the ground,whither they
may often be seen going,and beating on basins .
They possess great treasures,which th ey
'
some
times bring ou t ; and if any one pass by at the
time, al low him to take one handful,but no
more . Should any one attempt to fill h is
pocke ts , the monev vanishes , and he is ins tantly
assailed by a shower of boxe s in the ear from i n
visible hands .”
We can consider none of the beings of the
Celtic fai ry world as essentially evil,except
,
perhaps,the Pookas . Though frequently mis
ch i evous,and enj oying in full measure laughable
pranks and vexatious j okes,they are
,when well
tr eated , kindly disposed . They are l iving in this
world on their good behavior,and commend
themselves to kind and charitable hearts . But
so superior ar e they to the human race i n wis
dom and power that they become most formidable
enemi es to those who do not respec t their libertyand other rights .
In estimating the influence these fairy crea
ti ons had upon the religious faith of our fathers ,we must remember that they did not repeat
their stories,as we do now
,as mere literary
curiosities,affording indeed a weird and fasci
‘ Keigh tl ey , Fa i ry Myth o l ogy, p .
29
334 DEPAR TED GOD S.
nating pleasure,bu t awakening no emotions more
sacred, and s tirring to no grave deeds i n the
l ine of virtue and duty ; but, on the other hand ,they saw in these airy forms
,veritable beings
,
l iving and acting a l l about them,w i th whom
,in
spite of themselves,they held most importan t
relations , and who were capable of working in
this world at least,i f not indeed also i n the
world to come , their bliss or woe . In some sec
tions, certain of the fairies have acquired a bad
name,possibly
,at firs t
,from some accidental
circumstances . We can see how that in acci
dental drowning primitive people migh t think
the unfortunate v ictim had been seized by the
water-sp iri t .
Tweed sa id to Till ,‘Wh at gar s ye r in sae sti ll ?’
Ti l l sa i d to Tweed ,
‘ Though ye r i n wi’
speed ,
And I r i n slaw,
Y et, wher e ye drown ae man ,
I dr own twa .
’
We can not fail to remark the close simi
l ar i ty between ancient and more modern Cel tic
mythologic beings . These fairies are but the
degenerate descendants of the gods and spirits
wh i ch .h ave occupied our attention in previous
chapters— degenerate in some respects,and yet
340 DEPAR TED GODS.
laugh . It wil l be found to be very genuine and
manly in i ts utterances .
It i s thought, the genuine thought of deep ,rude
,earnest minds
,fairly opened to the things
about them,a face-to-face and heart-to-heart i n
specti on of the th ings— the fi rs t characteristic of
al l good thought in all
In Iceland the religion of the Germanic n a
tions has been preserved in written records . In
that s trange island— Iceland— burs t up,the geol
ogi s ts say , by fire from the bottom of the sea ; a
wild land of barrenness and lava ; swallowed
many months of the year in black tempes ts,yet
with a‘ wild gleaming beauty in summer-time ;towering up there
,stern and grim
,i n the North
Ocean ; with i ts snow j6ku l s, roaring geysers , sulphur-pools
,and horrid volcanic chasms
,l ike the
waste chaotic battle-fiel d of frost and fir e— where,
of all places,we least looked for a literature or
wri tten memorials the record of these things
was written down .
J
r
This rel igion formerly extended its sway notonly over Norway
,Sweden
,Denmark and Ice
land,but also
.
over much of Germany,England
,
and France . It gave way gradually and relue
tautly before Chris tianity,the Lithuanians r e
Car l y l e,Her oes an d Her o-wor sh i p , p . 1 8.
TCar lyl e, Her oes an d Her o-wor sh i p , p p . 1 4,1 5 .
THE MI STS OF THE WOR LD'S MOR N I N G . 34 1
maining pagans , even up to the beginning of the
fifteenth century .
Jacob Grimm gives cogent reasons for the belie fwhich he holds that a common religion formerly
extended over all these lands the undisputed
and very close affinity of speech be tween the
two races , and the identity of form in their old
est poetry ; the j oin t possession by all Teutonic
tongues of many terms relating to religious wor
ship ; the identity of mythic no tions and nomen
c l atu r e, which ever and anon breaks out ; the
precisely similar way in which the religious
mythus tacks i tself on to the heroic legend,the
m ingling of the mythic element with the names
of plants and constellations,and the undeniable
admixture of the old religious doctrine with the
systems of law .
”
The prime mythology has been preserved
only in Iceland . There the people cherished
their native speech,sung the hero ic deeds of their
fathers,and held in memory the ancient fa i th .
Christiani ty swept away the mythologic lore of
o ther Germanic countries,leaving only bizarre
fragments di ffi cult to unite into any sys tem . The
main features,however
,of their religion has been
preserved i n the l iterary treasures of Iceland .
The German Niebelungen-l ied and the AngloSaxon Beowulf are but semi-mythological .
42 DEPAR TED GOD S.
The religion and mythology of Icela nd have
been preserved in their greates t purity in the
two Eddas— the Elder and the Younger . The
former is written in poetry,the latter in prose .
Edda is said to mean “ great-grandmother,and
refers to the very ancient origin of the contents .
The myths of the E l der Edda were collected
from the mouths of the people by Saemu nd the
Wise,who died in A . D . 1 1 33, at the advanced
age of seventy-seven years . The essential ele
ment of Icelandic poe try even a t the present day,
as i n thi s old Edda,i s all iteration .
The Younger Edda may be considered a kind
of'commentary on the older and more important
work . It was written by Snor r i Stu r l eson , wh o
died in A. D . 1 24l at the age of s ixty-three years .
Bes ides the works wh ich have been men
ti on ed,the student of the Norse religion should
consul t the many Icelandic sagas and the abun
dant folklore of the Gothic race .It mus t no t be forgo tten
,however
,that the
distinguished scholar and master of the l i tera
ture of the O ld Norse,Professor Soph u s Bugge ,
has put forth views as to the legends of gods and
heroes wh ich powerfully controvert the rece ived
Opinions . While h e admits the antiqui ty and i n
digenous character of certa in mythical beings , he
holds that the poems and sagas have been pro
344 DEPAR TED GOD S.
A fi rmer fr iendN o m an ever getsThan great sagac i ty .
A wor se p r ovi s i on
On th e way h e can n ot car ryTh an too-m uch beer -bi bb i ng ;So good i s not
,
As i t i s sai d ,
Beer for the s’
on s of men .
A gar r u lous tongue,I f i t be n ot ch ecked ,Si ngs often to i ts own harm .
Speak sen s ibly or be si l en t.
A cowar dl y m an
Th inks h e w i l l ever l i veI f war fare h e avoi ds
B u t ol d age wi l l
G i ve h im n o peace,
Though spear s m ay spa re h im .
A fool i sh m an,
W ho among peop l e comes ,
Had best be s i l en t ;
F or no one knowsThat h e kn ows n oth i ng
U n less he ta l ks too m u ch .
He who p rev i ou sl y knew noth i ng,
W il l sti l l know noth i ng,
Talk he ever so m u ch .
The welcome becomes u nwel come
I f he too long con tin uesI n another
’
s h ou se.
The m i nd on l y knowsWhat l ies n ea r the h ea r t.
THE MI STS OF THE WOR L D’
S MOR N I N G 345
O ne’
s own house i s bes t,
Smal l though i t be ,
At home i s everyone h is own mas ter .
Man i s the joy of man .
Moderately wiseShould each one be ,
B ut never overwi se
O f those men
The lives a r e fairestWho know m u ch well
Seldom a sluggi sh wolfG ets p rey ,
O r a s l eep ing man vi ctory.
L et one on ly know ,
A second may not ;
I f th ree, al l the wor ld knows.
N o man lacks everyth ing.
Cattle d i e,Kindred d ie,W e ou r selves al so d i eB ut th e fair fameN ever d iesO f h im who h as ear ned i t.
Full stor eh ou ses I saw
At D ives’
sons’
N ow hea r th ey the beggar's staff.
Such a re r iches,
As i s the twi nkling of an eye
O f fr iends th ey a re most fickle.
I f thou kn owest th ou has t a fr iend ,Whom thou well canst tr ust,
346 DEPAR TED GOD S.
G o oft to vi si t h im ;
F or w i th br u shwood overgr ownAnd w i th h i gh gr ass
I s the way th at n o one treads.
N o on e gets good from a cor pse.
Th e tongue i s th e bane of th e head .
W i th thy fr iendB e thou n ever
F i r st to q uar r el.Ca r e gnaws the hear t,
I f thou to n o one can st
Thywh ole m ind d i sclose.
He i s n ot anoth er’
s fr iend
W ho never says as he says .
Rejo i ced at evi l
B e thou never ,B u t l et good gi ve thee pleasu r e.
N o one i s so good
That n o fa i ling attends h im ,
N or so bad as to be good for noth i ng.
At a hoar y speakerLaugh thou never .
O ften i s good th at wh i ch the aged u tter .
From such sources the Scandinavian nations
drew the bes t part of their intellectual life . A
great people was educated,and such precepts as
these had their share in the work . It i s poss i
ble that we owe as much of our sol idi ty,enter
prise , and freedom to the hardy Norse as we do
to the Celt or Roman .
DEPAR TED GOD S.
We may compare the account of Tacitus,in
which the picture is doubtless fully as fair as
more careful investigation would justify .
“ But i t was not permitted to,
put to death,
nor to bind,and not even to infli ct blows
,unless
by the authority of the priests— not in the ligh t
of a j udicial sentence,nor by order of a mil itary
leader, but as by the command of God , who ,they believed, was present with those engaged in
battle . And effigi es of animals and certain ban
ners,taken from th e ir sacred groves
,were borne
with them on the field .
”
Nay,they even think that there i s some
thing sacred and prescient in the female sex .
Neither do they rej ect their advice,nor neglect
thei r responses,when consulted . We have seen
in the reign of the now deified Vespasian,
Veleda,reverenced for a long time as a div inity
by most of her countrymen . But before her
time,Aurinia
,and many other women
,were held
in veneration— not as a mere sentiment, nor as if
theywould make them divini ties .”
Most especially among the gods they wor
ship Mercury,to whom
,on s tated days , they
deem it right to offer human victims also as sac
r ifices . They sacrifice to Hercules and Mars
such animals as are usually slain in honor of the
gods . Part of the Suevi sacrifice also to Isis .
THE MI STS OF THE WOR L D'S MOR N I N G. 349
We have too l ittle information to enable us to
determine whence are the origin and i n troduc
tion of this worship,unless the symbol i ts elf of
the goddess,figured after the manner of a Li
burniau galley,shows that the religion came from
a foreign source . B u t they think that it i s no t
consistent with the greatness of celes tial beings
to confine them within walls , or to give them
any resemblance to the human form . They
consecrate g roves and woodlands,and call by
the names of different dei ties that secre t power
which they see with the eye of reverential faith
alone .
”
“ They attend to auguries,and the art of di
v ining by lots,as much as any people whatever .
The usual mode of taking lots is s imple . They
cut into small twigs a branch taken from a fruit
tree , and these ,'dis tinguished by certain marks
,
they throw , without meditation and at random ,
upon a whi te garment . Then,i f the lots are
consulted by public authority,the priest of the
canton— but if by private ci tizens,the master of
the family— having prayed the gods and raising
his eyes to heaven,takes up three sl ips success
i vel y, and hold ing them aloft, interprets accord
ing to the markings before mentioned . If the
lots a r e unfavorable,there is no further consul
tati on concerni ng the same matter on this day ;30
350 DEPAR TED GODS.
but if the lots are propitious,to this is added th e
sanction of auspices . They are also acquainted
wi th that o ther well-known custom indeed— to
consult the notes and fligh ts of birds ; but i t i s
a peculiarity of this race to receive also presages
and admonitions from horses . White s tuds are
maintained at public expense,i n these same
groves and sacred places which we have before
mentioned , and profaned by no human labor and
harnessed to a sacred chariot,the priest and
king,or chief of the State
,attend and watch the
motion s and neighings . Greater faith is givento no other kind of augury
,not only among the
common people,but also among the nobili ty and
priesthood ; for they cons ider themselves during
the ceremony as the minis ters of the gods,and
th e horses as privy to their will . There is also
another mode of taking auspices,by which they
seek to ascertain the i ssues of important wars .
They seize,by any way within their power, a
cap tive of the nation with which they are at
war,and match him with a chosen champion of
their own people— each provided with weapons
after the manner of his country— and the victory
of this one or that one is received as the sure
prognostic of th e event .“ The Semnones consider themselves the most
ancient and respectable of the Suevian nations .
DEPAR TED GOD S.
says : “ There is nothing worthy of special note
among these several tribes,unless i t be that they
worship,in common
,Hertha
,or Mother Earth ,
and bel ieve that she takes part in the affairs of
men,and that she vi sits the different nations .
There is in an island of the ocean an unpolluted
grove,and in this her Sacred chariot, covered by
a vestment,permitted to be touched by her
priest alone . He becomes conscious of the en
trance of the goddess into her sacred dwelling,and follows the chario t drawn by cows yoked to
gether . Then there are days of publi : rej oicingand general festivals in all places which she
deems worthy of visi ting,and which she honors
wi th the privilege of her entertainment . No
wars are carried on,no arms assumed
,and every
sword is sheathed . Then peace and quiet are so
much known,then so much relished
,until the
same pr i est returns the goddess,satisfied with
her visi tation among mortals,to her sanctuary .
Soon the chariot and the vestment and,if we
may believe report, the goddess hersel f, are purified in a secret lake . Slaves offic i ate i n this ahl u ti on
,and the same lake immediately swallows
them up . Hence there ar e supersti tious terror
and ignorance as to what those sacred mysterie s
can be , which those only see who are doomedto die .
”
THE MI STS OF THE WOR L D ’
S MOR N I N G . 353
Among the Naharval i is shown a grove connected with ancient rel igious rites . The priest
presides in a female dress ; but they say that
the gods worshiped there are,according to R o
man interpre ta tion,Cas tor and 'Pol l ux . Such are
the attributes assigned to their godhead . Their
name is Alci . There are no images,and no traces
of foreign supers ti tion ; but they worship them as
brothers,as youths .”
The Ai styans worship the mother of the gods .As a dis tinctive mark of this supers titi on
,they
wear,as amulets
,images in the form of wild boars .
This,ins tead of arms and a l l defense
,keeps the
worshiper of the goddess safe even in the mids t
of
The author elsewhere mentions a sacred grove
and an al tar devoted to the worship of the god
Tafnan . The name of this deity is found only
in thi s passage and in one inscription . Another
grove is mentioned which was a sanctuary of
Hercules . The god Tu i sco i s found and may be
the same as the native Tyr or perhaps Thor .
The latter has been identified with Mars , as the
god Odin also with Mercury . There is mention
of the sacred fores t of Baduhenna and other
similar sanctuaries . Isis may be the moon-god
dess,as Hertha is certainly one of the earth god
1“Tac i tus , G erm an i a , vi i—x , x x x i x , x1 , x l i i i , xl v.
354 DEPAR TED GOD S.
desses . The worship of Castor and Pollux may
be compared wi th that of th e earth-mo ther as con
du c ted by the Corybantes , the I daei Dactyli , andother pries tly classes
,in Thrace
,Phrygia
,and
elsewhere . The Germans hymned Heracles insong when about to engage in bat tl e
,and an
altar had been found at Asc i burgi um consecrated
to Ulysses . Odin may have reminded the R omans of both the god and the hero .
*
The figures of certain savage animals were
deemed religi ous symbols . It was also a custom
to deposi t in their sacre d groves the standards
taken from the enemy,which they carried with
them in their wars . In the battle between the
Catti and the Hermundur i,both armies devoted
prisoners and spoils of war as a sacrifice to Mars
and Mercury . Mars would seem to have been
reckoned as the chief deity .
‘
l‘
Caesar,contrasting the Gauls and German s
,
says “ The Germans d iffer greatly from this
custom,for they nei ther have Druids wh o pre
side over sacred things,nor do they regard sac
r i fices . Of the gods they acknowledge none savethose whom th ev can see and by whose power
they are apparently benefited— Sol,V u l can
,Luna ;
“7Tac i tu s , G erm an i a , 1 1 , i i i ; An n al s , i , 5 1 ; 1 1 , 1 2 ; i v, 73; Hi s
tor y , i v,1 4.
TTac i tus , Hi story , i v, 1 2, 64 ; An n a l s 1 59 ; x i i i , 57.
356 DEPAR TED GOD S.
But if,as has been suggested
,this religion had
an underlying basis of monotheism,i t was soon
concealed by a rich polytheism . The forces of
nature were deified . The process is no t unl ike that
met with elsewhere again and again,and need not
be particularly dwel t upon in this connection .
The Norse myths,like others
,must be translated
in order to be understood .
The myth of the creation i s worthy of carefulstudy and comparison with the accounts found
in other religions and mythologies . In the be
ginning was a yawning gulf yclep t G i nungagap .
As is said i n the Vala ’ s Prophecy
I t was Time’
s mor n i ng,
When the noth ing was ;N or sand
,nor sea
,
N or cooling billowsEar th there was not,
N or heaven above.
The G i n ungagap was ,
B u t grass nowhere.
”
On the north of G i nu ngagap was a nebulousworld N i flheim, and on the south a fir e-world
Muspelheim . I n the middle of N i flheim was a
spring Hvergel mer , from which flowed twel ve i ce
cold streams call ed El i vagar . Surt reigned in
the midst of the fierce heat of the fir e-world .
The El i vagar froz e over, and ice was formed i n
th e northern part of the yawning gulf. Vapor
THE MI STS OF THE WOR L D’
S MOR N I N G . 357
which rose above this ice became frost . The
heated blas t from Muspelheim thawed this r ims ,and the drops were quickened into a man or
giant called Ymer,but whom the fros t giants
called Au rgelmer . While Ymer slept,from the
sweat of the pi t of his left arm were born a man
and a woman,and one foo t begat with the other
a s ix-headed son,from whom sprang the fros t
giants .
From the drops of rime sprang also a cow,
Audhumbla . This cow licked sal t-rime stones
and on the third day these stones gave birth to
a man named Bu re,whose son was Bor . Bor
married B estl a, the daughter of B ol thor n , and to
this married pair were born three sons— Odin,
Vile,and V e
,the rulers of heaven and earth .
The three brothers now killed the giant Ymer
and his blood caused a deluge in which a l l the
fros t giants,save B ergelmer , were drowned .
The latter saved himself in a boat . The giant’
s
body was thrown into G i nu ngagap . His blood
made all waters,his flesh all lands
,and his bones
all mountains,whi le his teeth and j aws became
stones,hi s hair forests
,and his skull the arch of
heaven . His brains scattered in the air became
clouds,and from his eyebrows they formed Mid
gard as a bulwark against the giants . Sparks
from Muspelheim were se t i n the heavens to give31
358 DEPAR TED GOD S.
light to the world . Says G r immer ’
s Lay in the
Elder Edda
O f Y mer’
s fleshThe ear th was made,
And of h i s sweat th e seas ;
Rocks of h i s bones,Trees of h i s h air ,And th e sky of h is skull ;B u t of h i s eyebr owsThe bl i th e power sMade Midgard for the sons of men .
O f h i s br a i n sAl l the mel an ch olyC louds wer e
Asgard is th e divine abode in which the gods
buil t a most magnificent golden palace called
Gladsheim ,
“home of gladness,and for the
goddesses they buil t Vingolf,
“ friend ’ s floor .”
The three beneficen t gods while walking on
the sea-shore discovered two trees,an ash
and an elm,and made from them the firs t h u
man pair,and named them from the trees Ask
and Embla . They also gave them Midgard for
their abode .
Ida,situate d in Asgard
,is the assembling
place of the gods . From Hl i dskja l f, Odin s ittingon his lofty seat looks out upon the whole world .
Far above,brighter than the highest splen dors
”’ Th e tr an s l ation s ar e from An derson ,N orse Myth ol ogy ,
an d th e Y ou nger Edda .
360 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Odin , Vile, and V e, which , if we may suppose
the Norse thought of the ethical import,we
may interpre t as Spiri t,Will
,and Holiness
.
After this firs t creation , the places of Vile andV e i n the div ine trini ty are supplied 'by Hoener
and Loder .
When the firs t human pair,Ask and Embla
,
were created , Odin breathed into their nostrilsthe breath of l ife, Hoener blessed them with
light and unders tanding,and their warm blood
and the keenness of the ir senses they owed to
the endowment of Loder . From B ergelmer and
his wife,the giant and gian tess who escaped
from the flood,were descended the whole race
of the frost giants . They were banished to
Jotunheim and Utgard,whence they visi t Mid
gard,and seek to inj ure men . They are r epre
sented as dwelling in mountains and the desert
places of the earth,and are the unconquered
and hostil e influences of nature . They love
darkness rather than light,and are greatly terri
fied at the cheering light of day and the swift
lightning of the sky. They are said to possess
abundance of wealth and many priceless treas
ures . They are good natured and boastful,but
may easily be moved to anger ; frequently they
prove themselves to'
be powerful,wise
,and stern .
The bright gods wage war against them,conquer
THE MI STS OF THE WOR L D'S MOR N I N G . 36 1
them,and slay them— being ever victorious at
th e las t .
The ash-tree Ygdrasil,beneath which the gods
assemble every day in council,i s one of the
grandes t figures in any mythology . Its branches
spread over a l l worlds , and reach above the
heavens Three roots susta in the tree— one
reaches Asgard,the home of the gods ; the sec
ond extends to the world of the fros t giants,
where G i nungagap was formerly situated ; and
the third reaches N i flh eim Under the third
r oot i s Hvergelmer , where live s the hag Nidhug
and gnaws th e root . Under the secbnd roo t is
the well of Mimer,wherein are concealed all
wisdom and a l l knowledge .
“ The owner of the
well hight Mimer . He is full of wisdom,for
he drinks from the wel l with the Gja l l ar hor n .
All-father once came there , and asked for a drink ,but he did not get i t before he left one of his
eyes as a pledge .
” Thus says the El der Edda
Full well I know,
G rea t Od i n, where
Th i ne eye thou lost ;I n Mimer ’
s wel l,
The foun tain pu re,Mead Mimer d r inksEach mor n i ng new ,
With Odin ’
s pledgeConceive ye th i s ?
362 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Beneath the root in Asgard is the most sacred
fountain of Urd,where the gods
,r iding over
Bifros t,or the Rainbow
,every day,
'
hol d the ir
doomstead .
At this fountain,in a beautiful h al l
,dwell
three maids— Urd,U r dande
,and Skuld
,or Past
,
Presen t,and Future— call ed norns
,fa tes that fix
the lifetime of men,the originals of the weird
sis ters of Shakspear e. These norns draw water
from the foun tain,and mingling i t w ith clay
,
sprinkle the leaves and branches of the tree to
prevent withering . The water is most holy .
The dew which falls from the tree becomes
honey for the bees . On one of the boughs sits
a wise eagle,and between his eyes s its a hawk
,
called V edfol ner . A squirrel,called R atatosk ,
runs up and down the trunk . causing s trife be
tween the eagle and Nidhug . Four stags leapabout in the branches , and feed upon the leaves .
“More serpents than tongue can tell are with
Nidhug .
This sacred tree symbolizes all existences . It
carries l ife to every part of the univers e . It is
the his tory of the world .
“ Its boughs,with their buddings and disleaf
ings— events,things suffered
,th ings done
,catas
tr oph es— s tre tch through a l l lands and times .
Is not every leaf of it a biography,every fiber
I I .
THE WARR IO R AN D THE THUN D ERER .
DIN is the chief of the gods of the Norse .
He is especially the god of war,wh o
watches over the brave , helps them in battle , and
receives them at las t i n V al h a l . He is the su
preme ruler of the universe,the fountain of al l
knowledge , and the inventor of poetry and the
runes . Odin has twelve names in Asgardforty-nine names are given in the Younger Edda
,
and nearly two hundred are mentioned in the
poets . He is represented as a ta l l,old man
,
with one eye,and a long beard . He wears a
many-colored coat and a broad-brimmed hat,and
has a spear in his hand and a ring on his finger .
Two ravens s i t on h is shoulders , and two wolves
crouch at his feet . He sits upon his lofty thron e,
or,mounted on his flee t steed Sleipner, rides
swiftly as the wind .
Odin has been interpreted as the ever-moving,working
,d ivine spirit of the universe . His h at
represents the vaul t of heaven ; h is coat, the
blue sky ; and the ravens, Hugin and Munin are
reflection and memory . They fly over the world ,and in the evening of each day whisper i n
Odin ’ s ear all that they have seen and heard .
364
366 DEPAR TED GOD S.
The marvelous ring was named D raupner , and
was the work of the dwarfs . Eight rings of
equal weight drop from D raupner every ninth
night . It symbolizes fertili ty of vegetable and
animal l ife,and fertil ity of thought . Ideas drop
one from the other,and form a golden chain of
many links . If any man,however
,will drink at
the fountain Of Mimer,as did Odin
,he must pur
chase the draugh t at the price of some th ing dear .Wisdom has a price
,which he mus t pay wh o
would secure the possession .
Those who live life bravely are conducted by
maidens— the va l kyr z’
eS— to Odin ’ s Ha l l . Here
every day they ride into the court,and fight and
hew one another in pieces,after which they r e
sort to the Hal l,and drink mead from the skulls
of their enemies . After Ragnarok they will be
admitted to golden G imle,while the wicked and
a l l cowards will leave Hel and go to N aastr and,
“ the strand of corpses .” This is a cave , with
its entrance far from the sun,and facing th e
North . It i s built of wattled serpents, with
their heads turned inwards . They fill the roomwith streams of poison
,in which the unhappy
dead ever wade— gory heads hanging outside
their breasts,faces a l l horrid and bloody, poison
dragons,
piercing and dark ravens tearing their
hearts,and their hands riveted together with
368 DEPAR TED GOD S.
golden hair which would grow the same as’
though it were natural . The dwarfs made for
him not only the golden hair,but also the ship
S ir idbl ad ner,which would insure fair w ind to the
owner,and could be folded like a napkin and
placed’
in the pocket ; and the spear Gu ngner ,which would cause anything which i t s truck to
tremble . Loke,who must have been in a merry
mood,now wagered his head with Brok that his
brother Si ndr e could not make three treasure s
of equal value . Sindr e threw into the furnace
a pigskin,and Brok worked at the bellows . The
boar with golden bris tles was made . It could
run swiftly,day and night
,i n the air or on the
sea,and i t would be always light along its
course . He then threw in gold,and there came
out the ring D r au pn er . The third time he threw
i n iron . N ow,Loke had tried to compel Brok to
leave the bellows,changing himself into a fly
,
and biting the hand and the neck of the dwarf
while at hi s labor . N ow he placed himself be
tween Brok ’s eyes,and s tung his eyelids till he
was bl inded by the blood . Brok le t go the bel
lows only a moment to brush the fly away,but
i t nearly destroyed the work . There came out
the hammer MjOl ner , with which the owner
could strike as large an obje ct as he pleas ed,and
it would never fail ; and he might throw it to
THE WAR R I OR AN D THE THUN DER ER . 369
any dis tance,and i t would always return to his
hand . Brok took the treasures to Asgard for
the decision of the gods,and Odin
,Thor
,and
Frey were appointed j udges . Loke gave Odinthe spear ; Thor the golden hair, which immed iately grew fas t to Sif ’ s head ; and Frey the ship .
Brok gave Odin the ring, Thor the hammer , andFrey the boar . The j udges voted the hammer
the best of all the treasures,though the handle
was a li ttle short . Loke saved his head,h ow
ever,by pleading that the wager did not include
any part of h i s neck ; but the dwarf sewed hislips toge ther .
Odin had three wives— J or d,representing the
original inhabi ted earth ; Frigg , the earth cultivated by man ; and Rind , the earth held fas t in
the frosts of winter . Frigg was the firs t among
the goddesses,the queen of the asas and asynjes ,
and most dear to her husband . She possessed
a magnificent mansion,F en sa l ; and a falcon
disguise,which
,on one occasion
,Loke borrowed .
Sh e has several maid-servants . Fulla cares forthe slippers of her mistress
,assis ts her at her
toile t,and is a confidant to whom she intrusts
al l her secrets . She i s“
represented with hair
flowing over her beautiful shoulders , and a golden
ribbon adorning her head . Hlyn has the care
of those whom Frigg wishes to del iver from
370 DEPAR TED GOD S.
peril . Gnaa,riding on her horse Hofvar pner ,
which can run through air or Water,carries the
messages of the goddess . Var,wise and pru
FR EY A , O R FR I G G .
dent l is tens to oaths , and punishes those who
keep not their promises . Lofn,mild and gra
cions,can remove every obstacle which prevents
372 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Strove to wi nCon tumely of ever y ki ndThat wi ly gi r lHeaped upon me ;
N or of that damsel ga i ned I augh t.
This i s noth ing more than the beneficen t
heaven trying to woo the cold,wintry world of
the north into the warmth and cheer and frui tful
ness of spring and summer .
We have seen that Odin i s a poet,and must
now relate h ow he chanced to become endowed
with this rare gi ft . There had been a long and
bitter war between the asas and the vans . At
last peace was declared,i ts terms agr eeed upon ,
and the treaty ratified by each party spitting
into a jar . To commemorate the event,the gods
formed out of the spittle a being named Kvaser,
who was so w ise that he could answer any ques
tion . While j ourneying through the world to
teach men wisdom he was treacherously mur
dered by the dwarfs,Fjal ar and Galar . By mixing
h is blood with honey, the dwarfs formed a pre
cions drink which would inspire with the gift of
song .
While the giant G il ling and his wife werevisi ting the dwarfs upon their special invi tation ,they invited G i l ling to the further entertainmentof a boat-ride , but capsiz ed the boat by running
THE WAR R I OR AN D THE THUN DER ER . 373
against a rock . The giant was drowned,and his
wife when she heard the sad news became i n
consolable . Fja l ar suggested to her that she
migh t find some consolation,if sh e would look
out upon the waters where her husband met his
death . When she passed out of the door,Galar
threw down a millstone upon her head and killed
her,saying that he was sick and disgusted with
her crying . Such a crime was not to remain n u
avenged . Su ttung, the son of the giant . took the
dwarfs out to sea and left them on a shoal where
at high tide they would be drowned,but rescued
them for the inspiring beverage .
Odin learned of its exis tence and determinedto Obtain i ts possession . Journeying towards
Jotunheim,he came to a meadow in which nine
thralls were mowing . He whet . their scy thes
with a Whetstone which he carried in his bel t .
He gave the knives so keen an edge that the
thra l l s wished to purchase i t, but Odin threw i tup into the air that i t might become the property
of the one who caught i t . I n attempting to catch
i t,each thral l turned in such a manner that his
scythe cut off the head of one of his comrades .
So th e nine laborers died . The owner of the
meadow was Su ttung’
s brother,and Odin lodged
with him that night,and soon engaged to do for
h im the work of nine men provided he— Bauge32
374 DEPAR TED GOD S.
was his name— would assist h im in procuring
from his bro ther the wonderful drink . When win
ter se t in Odin and Bauge visited Su ttung, andexplained to h im the n ature of the agreement as
to work , but he could not be prevailed upon
to part with a drop of the precious verse-inspiring
beverage .
The drink was preserved in a cavern under the
RSCAN D I N AV I AN R UN ES .
(I n s c r i p t i on i n th e C h u r c h a t F l add ah l en .)
guardianship of Gun l ad , Su ttung’
s daughter.
Odin had an auger called Rate , and with thisBauge bored through the rock into the cave and
the god entered in the form of a worm . Assum
ing his 'natural shape he succeeded in winning
the heart of the daughter,who was induced to
let him\drink of the mead . He drank so deep
that the kettle Odr oer er and the cups Son and
Bodn were all exhausted . Transforming himself
376 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Then I began to bear fr u itAnd to know many th i ngs ,To growand well th r i ve.
The runes of Odin were r i sted everywhere,
and then scraped off,and mixed with the holy
mead,sent to asas
,elves
,and sons of men in a l l
parts of the world .
V a l hal,which we have already mentioned
,i s
s i tuated in Gladsheim . It is a great and spa
cions hall,all resplendent with gold . The roof
i s formed wi th sh ield s ; th e cei ling is supported
by spears ; coats of mai l adorn its benches ;swords serve the purposes of l ight and fire .
Outside is th e grove Glaser, the leaves of whosetrees are red gold The boar Sah r imner i s
cooked by An dh r imn er i n the kettle El dh r imn er
every morning,and served up to the heroes of
V al hal ; but becomes whole every night, and is
ready to be cooked again . The goat Heidrun,
which stands above Odin ’ s Hall and feeds on the
wonderful tree Lerad,furnishes the whole host
with rich drink . The stag Eikthyr ner feeds on
the leaves of the same tree,and from his broad
antl ers fall drops into Hvergelmer sufficient to
fill th e thirty-six rivers which flow thence
twelve . to the home of the gods,twelve to the
abodes of men,and twelve to N i flheim .
Thor,th e son of Odin by J ord
,i s the god of
378 DEPAR TED GOD S.
thunder, and ranks nex t to the chief god . He
dwells in gloomy Th r u dheim,in hi s shining pal
ace B i l sker n i r , with i ts five hundred and forty
floors, whence he sends forth upon the world his
swift lightnings . He fights ever V i ctoriouslyagainst the frost-giants
,though sometimes sub
jected to temporary defeat . Strong, beneficent ,mighty agains t all enemies
,his exploits full of
marvels, his victories many and signal , he fills a
large place in the mythologic system of the
Norse . He has three valuable treasures— his
hammer MjOl ner , wherewith the skulls of many
frost-gian ts and mountain-giants have been split
asunder ; his bel t of strength Megi ng-jar der ,
with which being girded his strength i s doubled ;and hi s iron gloves
,with which he holds his
hammer’ s haft. When he swings his hammer,
and sends i t crash ing along th e mountain-tops,
and when his chariot wheels rumble,
— this is the
voice of thunder . When he blows through his
hear d,i t i s the roar of the storm . When he
kni ts his brows,i t i s the dark and threatening
storm-cloud . When his hammer strikes fire , as
i t crashes along from rock to rock ; when the
goats which draw his chariot s trike fire with
their hoofs,or by grinding their tee th together
,
th is i s the lightning When his eyes blaze and
flash,i t i s the scarl et cloud . The mythology of
380 DEPAR TED GODS.
get out of the difficul ty by making him stay away
fighting giants ; his uncouth migh t i s scarcely
needed,when Woden has a hos t of chosen
warriors ever ready to defend himself and his
Odin,riding on his wonderful horse Sleipner
,
had reached the home of a mighty giant,
Hr ungner , who'
dwelt in Jotunh eim . The latter
paid a high compliment to the horse,when Odin
,
i n his pride,said that he would wager his head
that no such horse could be found i n Jotunheim .
The giant admitted the excellent qualities of thehorse
,but said that his own horse
,Gol dfax
,was
superior ; and mounting the fleet s teed,s tarted
in pursuit of Odin,who galloped away toward
Asgard . The god kep t ahead,but th e giant
worked up so great a momentum of speed and
excitement that,before he was awar e
'
of i t,he
found himself in Asgard . The gods entertained
him magnificently,and when he became mel
lowed with the mead,which he drank in enor
mous quantities,he took to vain boasting— threat
en i ng to drink up all the mead,
‘
demol i sh Asgard,
and kill all the gods except Freyj a and Si f,
whom he would take home . The gods became
tired of his arrogance,and called Thor
,who had
gone eas tward to crush trolls . Thor came,and
*‘ R h ys , Th e Hibbert Lectu res, p p . 645, 646 .
DEPAR TED GOD S.
s eeing the condition of affairs, blazed with anger .He would have slain the giant with his hammer
but would not take advantage of the fact that his
foe was unarmed . Hrungner challenged him to
a fair duel,and went home to get his weapons .
The gods,i t would appear
,feared that if Thor
were victorious,he would
,i n the freshness of his
rage,i ll-treat all the gods of Asgard . So they
made a man of clay of vast proportions, and
placed in his breas t the heart of a,mare
,which
,
however,fluttered and trembled at the appear
ance of Thor . Hr ungner had a sharp , three-cor
n ered heart, as hard as a stone . His head was
equally hard,and so was hi s sh ield . The clay
giant,which stood at his side
,was so terrified
that sweat poured from his body . Thor was
accompanied by his servan t Thja l fe, who per
suaded the giant to pu t 'his shield beneath his
fee t,saying that Thor would attack h im from
that direction . Amid flashing ligh tning and roll
ing thunder Thor rushed forward and hurled
h is hammer . At the same time Hr ungner threw
his immense fl i nt-s tone . The two weapons met
in mid-air . The stone broke into two pieces ;one piece fell to the ground
,and the o ther piece
s truck the head of Thor and knocked him flat
to the ground . The hammer crushed the skull
of the gian t into small pieces,and he fel l i n
384 DEPAR TED GODS.
drawn by his two goats . At night they stepped at
a peasant’
s cottage and cooked the goats for sup
per . This peasant had a son and a daughterThjal fe and R oskva . Thor directed them 'to putth e bones of the goats into their skins . In themorning he raised the goats by the use of his
hammer, but one of them was lame,for Thjal fe
had broken the shank bone to obta in the marrow .
The peasant appeased the anger of the god by
giving his children to become the servants of
the Thunderer forever . They journeyed al l day,
and at night found lodging in an empty house,
the door of which took up the whole of one
side . At m idnight there was a great earthquake,
and the company fled for safety into an inner
room,Thor s tanding in the doorway with his
hammer in his hand . In the morning they went
out and saw a great giant lying near,whose snor
ing had caused the rumbling and roaring and dis
tur ban ce of the n ight . The giant awoke,and , to
a ques tion,an swered that hi s name was Skrymer .
He at once recognized the Thunder-god . The
house in which the company had lodged was h i s
mitten,the thumb of which was th e inner cham
ber . They all traveled together during this dayand at. night selected a place to sleep beneath anoak . Skrymer had carried the provisions in his
own Sack . He had eaten his supper and had
THE WAR R I OR AN D THE THUN DER ER . 385
fallen asleep , when Thor attemp ted to open the
sack,but was not abl e to un tie the s tring. Angry
at h is failure he struck the giant on the head with
his hammer . Skrymer awoke , and as ked whether
a leaf had not fallen on his head . Agai n sleeping,
he snored so outrageously that the noise filledthe whole fores t . Thor gave him another blow
,
this time the hammer sinking into h i s foreheadup to the very handle . He again awoke and i a
quired whether an acorn had not fa llen . Toward
morning the Thunder-god struck him a third
time,and he though t that birds mus t have been
roos ting in the tree and had loosened s ome moss .
That morning he bade Thor good-bye,and d i sap
pear ed in the woods .
Thor and his companions s til l j ourn eyed
towards Utgard and at noon came to a vast cas
tle,which they entered by creeping between the
bars of the gate . A multi tude of men of im
mense size were s itting on two benches ; and
Utgard-Loke,their king
,addressed Thor scorn
fully,calling him a “ l i ttle s tripling . A trial of
feats was preposed . A trough full of meat was
brough t in,and Loke placed at one end , and Loge
at the other . They met in the m i dd l e, but Loge
had eaten not on ly a l l the bones , but even the
trough itself,and was declared the winner . Then
Thjal fe ran three races with Huge , but lost each
386 DEPAR TED GOD S.
race . Thor now suggested that he could dosomething wonderful in the way of drinking .
Utgard-Loke gave him a horn,which he should
have emptied at one draught ; but though he
drank as long as his breath would last three sep
arate times,he seemed scarcely to have dimin
i sh ed the contents . The king of the giants could
not restrain his supreme contempt for such puny
strength . He said that,for th e amusement of
children,he had sometimes asked the l i ttle ones
to l ift his cat,but a young man would consider i t
nothing but p l ay . He,however
,proposed i t to
Thor ; but the god , though exerting himself to
the uttermost,was able to raise but one foot of
the cat from the floor . The anger of Thor was
now thoroughly roused,and he challenged any of
the company to a bout with him at wrestl ing .
The king of the giants call ed in Elle,his nurse
,
a toothless old h ag, wh o, after a v iolent struggle,brought Thor to his knee s
,and was declared the
w inner . Thus ended the trials of strength,and
mos t humiliating were these to th e Thunderer
and his companions .
Utgard-Loke accompanied Thor and his friends
out of the castle , and in parting with them said:
“ N ow,I will tel l you the truth
,s ince you are
out of my castle , where as long as I l ive and
reign you shall never re-enter,and you may rest
388 DEPAR TED GODS.
self,I should never have bel ieved i t . The one
end of the horn stood in the s ea,which you did
not perceive,and when you come to the shore
you w i l l see h ow much the ocean has diminishedby what you drank . This is now called the ebb.You performed a feat no less wonderful when
you l i fted the cat . To tell the truth , when we saw
that one of his paws was off the floor we wereall of us terror-stricken ; for what you took for a
cat was'
in reali ty the great Midgard- serpent,that
encompasses th e whole earth,and he was then
barely long enough to inclose i t be tween his head
and tail , so high had your hand raised h im up
toward heaven . Your wrestl ing with Elle was
also a most astonish ing feat,for there never yet
was,nor will there ever be
,a man for whom Old
Age— for such in fact was Elle— will not sooner
or later lay low,if he abides her
E ger,the terrible, the god of the raging sea,
visited the asa-gods,and invited them to pay him
a visi t in re turn . It i s h is custom to entertain
the gods each harvest . They enter his hall
which is lighted up with gold as V a l hal i s lighted
up wi th swords . E ger has no kettle large
enough to hold all the ale which will be needed
at this feas t of the gods . Tyr says : “East of
the rivers El i vagar fnear the borders of heaven,An der son , N orse Myth ol ogy, pp . 320—322.
THE WAR R I OR AN D THE THUN DER ER . 389
dwells the dogw i se Hymer, and th is my fatherhas a kettle which is s trong and one ras t (mile)deep .
” This he thinks can be secured by s trat
agem . Together with Thor,he goes to Hymer
’
s
h al l,where he finds his grandmother
,an evil
giantess,with nine hundred heads also hi s mother
,
a beautiful woman,who brings h im a drink . By
advice,the guests conceal themselves under the
kettle s in th e hall .
Hymer comes home late from fishing,and his
wife informs him of the presence of the guests .
He glances towards the place where they are con
cea l ed, and the post is broken at h is look , the
great beam fa l l s,and the kettles are all dashed
i n pieces— all save one,hard and strong
,which
remained still unharmed . Three steers are killed,
and served on the table ; and Thor eats two of
these .
Next morning Hymer and Thor go fish ing,and
row so far from the shore that the heart of the
giant i s filled with terror ; but he soon has the for
tune to catch two whales . Meantime Thor h as
baited h is book with the head which he had
wrung from the great bull Him i nbrjoter , or
Heaven-breaker The Midgard-serpent,which
has grown so l arge as to enci rcle the whole earth ,takes the bait
,and the hook strikes into his pal
ate . Thor puts on his d ivi ne strength, and pulls
390 DEPAR TED GOD S.
so hard at the line that his feet go through the
bottom of the boat,and he stands on the ground
at the bottom of the sea . The awful serpent i s
drawn up to the side of the boat,and spouts floods
of venom at the god,wh o
,in turn
,darts looks of
divine wrath at the eyes of his enemy . Thor
raises his hammer ; but the giant cuts the l ine , and
the serpent sinks out of sigh t . Thor,enraged at
the cowardice of Hymer,gives h im so sound a
blow on the ear wi th his fis t that he falls head
long into the sea .
Thor now takes up the boat,and carries i t to
the house of the giant . Hymer chal lenges the
god to other exhibitions of strength,and requests
h im to break his goble t . Thor throws i t through
some large posts,but i t receives no harm . He
is told to try i t against Hymer’
s forehead . He
hurls i t with all h is strength . It i s broken,but
Hymer’
s forehead i s uninjured . Another tr i a l'
of
strength is to bring the ke ttle out of the hall .
Thor lifts it,and hi s feet cr ash through the
’
floorof the hall . He puts i t on his head l ike a hat,and walks off with it
,the rings hanging down to
his heels . The giants pursue him,but h e slays
them with his hammer . Now ZEger can brewale for th e gods .
392 DEPAR TED GOD S.
his m ind . His worst fears were confirmed .
Loke was to become the bane of Balder . But
already every precaution had been taken,and
nothing more could be done .
When the gods knew that Balder had been
rendered invulnerable , as a sport they tried all
k inds of weapons upon him in vain . Thus they
thought they were doing him special honor .
Some hurled darts at him,others hurled s tones ;
some hewed at him with swords,others with
battle-axes . Loke became j ealous and angry.
Under the disguis e of a woman,he visited Frigg
in her palace,and learned from her the secret
of the mistletoe . This he procured,and
,placing
i t in the hand of bl ind Hoder,directed his aim
in the sport of the gods,and Balder was slain .
Loud and long were the lamentations called forth
at the death of the mild and beneficen t god .
His body was placed in hi s own ship R i ngh or n ,and
,with the help of a giantess
,Hyr r oken , who
was summoned from Jotunheim,the ship was
launched . Nanna,
’
the wife of Balder,died of
grief,and her body was placed on the same pile .
A vast concourse attended the funeral . At the
reques t of Frigg,Hermod
,the son of Odin
,j our
neyed to Hel , to endeavor to p r ocur e'
perm i ss i on
for Balder to returnt o Asgard . He rode nine
days and nine nights through deep , dark valleys,
GODS AN D N O—GODS. 393
when he reached a bridge,covered with gli ttering
gold,which spanned the river Gj ol . From Mod
gud,a maiden who kept the bridge
,he learned
that Balder had crossed,and that the road led
northward and downward . Hastening ever ou
ward,he reached Hel at last
,and hi s hors e
Nimble cleared the wall at a single bound . Eu
tering the palace of He],he found his brother
,
who occupied an honorable pos ition in this
gloomy realm . He made known his mission .
Hel replied that if every thing in the world
would weep for Balder,she would permit him to
return to Asgard . All things,animate and i n
animate,wept except one giantess
,Thok by
name— she may have been Loke in d isguise
who said
Thok wi l l weepWith d ry tear sF or Balder ’
s death .
N either i n l ife nor i n death
G ave be me gladness.
L et Hel keep what she has .
The myth of Balder i s easily understood . Balder
i s the sun,Loke is fire
,and Hoder i s darkness .
Al l nature loves light, is attracted towards it ,and weeps when i t is gone . In an e thical sense
Balder may be the heavenly l igh t of the soul .
The ligh t of innocence i s invulnerable save only
394 DEPAR TED GOD S.
when touched by the cruel darts of slander andjealousy .
Nanna,the wife of Balder
,is the goddess of
flowers,and dies with the summer .
Anderson,whose interpretations we are fol
lowing,says : “Upon . the whole we may say
that a sun-myth firs t represents the death of the
day at sunset,when the sky i s radiant as if
dyed in blood . I n the flushing morn,l ight wins
its v ictory again . Then the same myth became
transferred to th e death and birth of summer .
Once more it i s l ifted into a higher sphere,while
still hold ing on to i ts physical interpretation,
and is appl ied to the world year . Finally,i t i s
clothed with ethical attributes,becomes thor
oughly anthropomorphiz ed,and typifies th e good
and the evil,the virtues and the vices (ligh t and
darkness) in the character and life of gods andmen . Thus we get four s tages in the develop
ment of the
Such is the beautiful myth of Balder . It
may be well doubted whether many of the sturdy
Norse saw all thi s in the myth , yet it may have
been the secret of the few .
F or sette,the son of Balder and Nanna
,dwells
in the heavenly mansion G l i tner,with i ts golden
column s and silver roof. Most important cases3“‘ An der son ,
Th e Y ou nger Edda , pp . 265, 266 .
396 DEPAR TED GOD S.
for his w isdom,eloquence
,and gracefulness of
speech . He is a skillful poet,and runes are r i sted
on his tongue . His wife is Idun,and she i t i s who
keeps the golden apples which the gods have only
to taste to insure to them perpetual youth . Oneday when Odin
,Loke, and Hoener were on a jour
n ey, they came to a herd of cattle grazing in a val
ley,and killed one for their supper. But boil i t
however much they might,the flesh ever r e
mained r aw . An eagle from an oak-tree told them
that if she could have a share in the feast the
ox would soon boil . They consented,and the
eagle flew down and snatched the two thighs
and the two shoulders . Loke,angry at this greed
,
s truck the bird on the back with a pole . The
pole stuck fas t to the eagle,and he was not able
to let go his hold,and so was borne away
,over
mountains and forests,un ti l he was seriously man
gled and torn by this rough usage . The eaglewas the giant Thjasse in his eagle plumage . Now
,
to secure his release , Loke agreed to procure for
the giant the golden apples . Upon returning to
Asgard,he prevailed upon Idun to take her ap
ples into the fOr est,to compare them with apples
which he said he found growing there,and which
he considered much fairer than her own . Thjasse,i n eagle form
,caught up Idun and bore her away
to Jotunh eim . The apple s being gone, the gods
GODS AN D N O-GODS. 397
began to grow old . When inquiry was made,
Loke was found to be the cause of their d ire
misfortune,and they threatened him with instant
torture and death . He promised to return the
apples,and borrowed from F reyja her eagle plu
mage . Thus clad,he flew away to Jotunheim ,
and transforming Idun into a nut,he brought her
in h i s claws to Asgard . Thjasse was in hot pur
sui t,but the gods lighted a fire on the walls of
Asgard,which caught his plumage . He fell into
their power and was slain. His daughter Skade
came to avenge his death,but the gods were able
to appease her wrath and make atonement for
the deed . Part of the arrangement was tha t she
was to select from the gods a husband,their fee t
alone being vis ible . She p icked out a beautiful
pair of feet and thought that they could belong
to none other than Balder,but she was deceived .
They were the fee t of Nj ord,and he became her
husband .
Tyr is the god of martial honor— brave,val
or ou s,i ntrepid
,wise . He is a l l courage and fai th
fulness,a worthy son of Odin .
Vidar is the son of Odin and the giantessGrid . This god rivals in strength Thor himself.
He has an iron shoe which is very thick,the ma
ter i a l for which has been gathered through all
the ages . Waste scraps of leather have been util34
398 DEPAR TED GODS.
i zed i n making this shoe . The shoemaker confers
a benefit on the gods,who throws away pie ces
of leather whereby this wonderful shoe can be
kep t in repair . Vidar is surnamed the Silent,
and represents the wild desert and impenetrable
TY R , SON O F O D I N AN D FR I GG.
forest,all untrodden by man . Vidar and Vale
alone survive the general destruction at the las t
day . Vale is a valiant warri or .Uller is the son of Si f and the stepson of
Thor . He is skillful in the use of the bow,swift
on his snow-skates beauti ful in person,and a
great warrior . He dwells in his mansion call ed
Y da l er or “Valleys of Rain .
”
400 DEPAR TED '
G OD S.
play around the‘
r ocky i slands , or, in calm weather,sleep upon the s tones and rocks beneath the
waters . IZEger wears a helmet of dense dark
ness and awful breakers,and Ran
'
i s the p l un
derer of the deep— the daughters are the most
happy in the mos t dangerous s torm .
Njord is a van born and bred i n Vanaheim,
but given to the asas as a hostage i n exchange
for Honer . Thus peace was r e-established be
tween the asas and the vans . Njord is god of
the sea,of fishing, and of commerce
,and is es
pec i al ly invoked by fishermen and sailors . He
dwells,i n a heaven l y region
,Noatun , rules the
winds and the tempes ts,and checks the fury of
the raging conflagrati on . We have seen h ow h e
married Skade,the daughter of the giant Thjasse.
She loves the rocky mountains o f Thrymheim,
the r oar i ng home, at the thundering waterfall .”
By agreement, Njor d and Skade dwel l nine nights
in Thrymheim and then three in Noatun . This
god ruled over many temples and high places,
and possessed vas t wealth,which he could confer
on his worshipers .
N j ord h as two children— Frey and Freyja .
Frey is the god of rain and sunshine and of allthe fruits of the earth
,and
,l ike his father
,dis
penses among men riches and peace . In his
eal ry boyhood the gods made him a present of
GODS AN D N O—GODS. 401
Alfheim , the home of the elves . His ship Skidbl adner
, made by the sons of I val d , has been
mentioned . It was so large that all the gods,
with their weapons and war-s tores,could find ac‘
commodation therein . Frey had a fine reputa
tion among the gods . Nj ord could boast
I t is my consolationFor I was from a far -off place,
Sen t as a h ostage to the gods
That I begat tha t sonWhom no one h ates ,
And who i s rega rded
Ch ief among the gods.
”
And Tyr says
Fr ey’
i s the bestO f a l l the ch iefs
Among th e gods .
He causes not tear s
To ma ids or mothers ;
Hi s des i r e i s to loosen the fettersO f those ench ained .
”
Frey was extensively worshiped in all Northern countries
,received many sacrifices
,and had
many temples and images . “On Ju l -eve (Chris tmas eve) i t was customary to lead out a boar,which was consecrated to Frey
,and which was
called the atonement boar. On this the personspresen t laid their hands
,and made solemn vows ;
and at the feas t,where the flesh of the sacri
402 DEPAR TED GODS.
ficed animal was eaten by the assembled guests,
there was d runk,among o ther horns
,a horn to
Njord and Frey for prosp erous seasons and forpeace . There are still survivals of these pagan
sacrifices .“A highly-valued wooden statue or image of
Frey was found in a temple at Trondhj em,which
King Olaf Tryggvesson hewed in pieces in thepresence of the people . Kjotve the Rich , king
of Agder i n Norway, one of the ch iefs who
fough t agains t Harald F a i rh a i r,had a weight
upon which the god Frey was sculptured insilver . This treasure
,which he held in great
veneration,fell
,after the battle
,in to the hands
of King Harald,and he presented i t to his
friend,the ch iefta in I ngemu nd Thorstenson , who
afterwards carried the image in a purse,and
held i t in very high esteem . This last-mentioned
image was probably borne as an amulet,as was
often the case,no doubt w ith the gold bracteates
which are found in the '
gr ave-hows and in the
earth,having upon them the images of men and
animals,and which are furnished with a clasp for
fastening to a
Frey one day sat in Hl i dskja l f, and lookingaway to Jotunheim
,saw a maid enter a large
palace,and as she raised the latch of the door ,
An derson ,N orse Myth ol ogy, p . 363.
404 DEPAR TED GOD S.
all worlds were illuminated by the matchless
radiancy of her hand . The god was enamored,
and upon inquiry found that the wonderful
maiden was Gerd,a daughter of Gymer and
Au rboda, who were relatives of Thjasse. He
sen t his messenger Ski r ner to press for h im his
suit,who won the heart of the maiden ; not,
however,without the employment of irresis tible
incantations,in which he seems to have been
well skilled . Many Norse romances are connected with this s tory of Frey and Gerd . The
most celebrated is the Nibelungen Lay . That
charming favorite of the children,
“Sleeping
Beauty,may be placed in the same class .
*
Freyj a i s the si ster of Frey,and i s the god
dess of love . From her mansion Sessrymner,
she rides forth in a ’car drawn by two cats .
She married Oder , ,by whom she had two daugh
ters— Hnos and Ger seme,beauti ful and precious .
Her husband,wishing to travel abroad
,left her
,
and since that time she continually weeps , andher tears are drops of pure gold . She i s a god
dess of great beauty,grace
,modesty , and puri ty :
The most beautiful things ar e named after her .
Not only is gold called her “ tears”or the
“ rain ” of her brows and cheeks , but also the
i ‘ F or estier , Ech oes from Mi st-l an d ; I n tr oducti on , pp .
xl i i i — xl vi i .
GODS AN D N OL G OD S. 405
mos t beautiful flowers are named from her hair
and eye-dew,and the butterfly is Freyj a’ s hen .
”
She gives name to Friday,as Tyr to Tuesday
,
Odin to Wednesday,and Thor to Thursday .
Freyja rides to the field of battl e,and claims half
of the slain .
Folkvang ’
t i s called ,Where Freyja has r ightTo dispose of the hall-seats .
Every dayof the slainShe ch ooses the h alf
,
An d leaves h alf to Odin .
The Scandinavian race,l ike every other
,
s truggled with the problem of evil,but s truggled
in vain . At firs t they may have thought only
of physical evil,but soon their attention was
directed to moral evil . The darkest spiritual
evil is represented in Utgard-L oke . Asa-Loke“ i s th e same evil principle in all i ts various
manifes ta tions ; but, as he makes his appearance
among the gods,he represents evil in the seduc
tive and seemingly beautiful form in which i t
gl ides abou t through the world . We find him
flowing i n the veins of the human race , and call
h im sin,or passion . In nature he is the cor
r up ti ng element in air, fire,and water . In the
bowels of the earth he is the volcanic flame ,in the sea he appears as the fierce serpent, and
35
406 DEPAR TED GOD S.
in the lower world we recognize h im as pale
We have seen how Loke procured the death
of Balder . In like manner,by his strength and
deceit,i n connection wi th the j
'
Otuns, he brought
the gods into peril time and again,though the
evil which he intended was frequently overruledfor good .
Loke had not been evi l from the first . He
was one of the second trinity,and
,under the
name of Loder,ass isted Odin and Honer in the
creation of man .
From Augerbode, a migh ty giantess of Jotunheim
,Loke had three monstrous children— the
Fenris-wolf,the Midgard-serpent
,and Hel .
When the gods learned of the exi s tence of thesemonsters
,mortal terror seized upon the court of
Asgard . The three children were brought from
Jotunheim,and their destruction decreed . The
Midgard-serp ent was cast head long into the sea,
but soon grew to such a size as to encircle the
whole earth . Hel was cast into N i flh eim,but
there extended her influence till she ruled over
nine worlds . Her hall i s called El vi dner ,‘ place of storm ;
’ hunger is her table,starvation
her knife,delay her man-servant
,slowness her
maid-servant, precipice her threshold , care her9“An derson ,
N orse Myth ol ogy, p . 372.
408 DEPAR TED GOD S.
The servants are praised for their attentiveness,
but this excites the wrath of: Loke,who slays
one of the number, and flees to the woods.He
soon returns and begins to abuse the other gods .
Th i r sty I h itherTo the hall cameLong way I jou rneyedThe gods to ask
Wh ether one wou ld gr an t me
A dr ink of the p reciou s mead .
W hy ar e ye silen t, gods ,And s i t so stubborn ?Have ye lost you r tongues ?G i ve me a seat
And place at th e ban q uet,O r tu rn me away.
”
He continues his abuse,and before he drinks
the mead,the mounta ins quake and tremble . It
is the footsteps of Thor,who soon enters the
hall,and threatens to crush every bone in Loke ’ s
body . With an awful curse upon n er,Loke
flees,and hides h imself in the mountains . A
house is built,with every side Open
,so that he
may watch the approach of the offended gods .
During the daytime he changes into the form ofa salmon
,and hides under the waters of a cas
cade . One day while Odin was seated in loftyHl i dskjal f, h e discovered Loke knitting flax and
yarn into a fish -net,and the gods came upon him
GODS AN D N O—G OD S. 409
so suddenly that he had barely time to throw
the ne t into the fire and escape . Kvaser the
Wise discovers in the ashes the traces of thenet
,and the gods are enabled to kni t one after
the same pattern . They fish for Loke,for
,i n
the form of a salmon , he has taken his hiding
place i n the water . With much difficulty Thor
at length catches him in his hand,as he attempts
to leap over the net . He is caught in his own
device .
They drag him into a cavern,wherein they
have placed three pointed rocks . They bore a
hole into each of these rocks . They seize his
chi ldren— Vale and Nare . They change Vale
into a wolf,and compel him to tear i n pieces
and devour h is brother . They make bands of
the intestines,with which they bind the evi l god
to the points of the rocks . The giantess Skade
suspends a serpent over him,so that the venom
fa l l s full into h is face,drop by drop . His wife
,
Sigyn,fai thful to him in his mi sfortune
,catches
the venom in a cup,which she empties when
fil led ; but while she empties the cup, the drops
fa l l on Loke,and he shrieks with anguish
,and
twists h is body in his agony so that the whole
earth quakes . There this evil god— so terrible
a character that the Black Death of the fourteen th century assumed his form i n the minds
410 DEPAR TED GODS.
of the Norsemen— there he will remain till th eEnd .
We have named several lesser obj ects of
supersti tion,and they deserve further attention .
Both giants and dwarfs shun the l ight of day,
and turn into s tone at its approach . Dwarfs aredeformed and diminutive
,dusky
,and coarsely
clad— “a l ittle black man
,
” “a li ttle gray man .
The women spin and weave ; the men are smiths .In Norway, rock-crystals are call ed dwarf-s tones ,and certain s tones in D enmark are called dwarfhammers . The dwarfs are extremely rich
,and
have fine dwell ings,decorated with crys tal and
gold . They are neighborly and obliging, but will
lame cattle and steal,and even carry to their
homes young mai dens .
In Iceland they use for their dwellings rocks,
hills,and even seas . They keep their homes
neat , and all th eir domestic utensil s clean and
orderly . In Shetland the Trows are small, and
usually dress e d in gay green garments . When
they travel,they ride on bulru shes through the
air. “ If a person should happen to meet them
when On these j ourneys,he should
,i f he has not
a Bibl e i n his pocket,draw a circle round him
on the ground,and in God ’ s name
,forbid their
approach .
”
The white elves are fair and lively, dwell i n
41 2 DEPAR TED GOD S.
of too del i cate'
a texture for mortal eyes to di s
cern . Thus they pass the winter ; but no sooner
does the spring return than they abandon their
recesses,and li ve through all the summer above
ground,in sunshine and starl ight
,in un i n ter
r u pted revelry and enj oyment . The moment the
trees and flowers begin to sprout and bud in
the early days of spring,they emerge from the
h i l l s , and get among the stocks and branches , and
thence to the blossoms and flowers,where they
sit and gaze around them . In the night,when
mortals sleep,the White Dwarfs come forth
,and
dance their j oyous roundels in the green grass,
about the hills and brooks and springs,making
the sweetest and most delicate music,bewilder
ing travelers,who hear and wonder at the strains
of the invi sible musicians . They may,i f they
will,go out by
’
day,but never in company ;
these daylight rambles being allowed them only
when al one and under some assumed form . They
therefore frequently fly about in the shape of
party-colored li ttle birds,or butterflies
,or snow
white doves,showing kindness and benevolence
to the good who meri t their favor.
The Brown Dwarfs,the next in order
,are
less than eighteen inches high . They wear little
brown coats and j acke ts,and a brown cap on
their head,with a littl e s ilver bell in i t . Some
GODS AN D N O—GODS. 413
of them wear black shoes,with red strings in
them ; in general , however , they wear fine glass
ones ; at their dances none of them wear any
other . They.
are very handsome in their per
sons, with clear, light-colored eyes , and sma l l
and mos t beautiful hands and feet . They are,
on the whole,of a cheerful
,good-natured dispo
s itiou , mingled with some roguish traits . Like
the White Dwarfs,they are great artis ts in gold
and silver , working so curiously as to astonish
those who happen to see their performances .At night they come out of their b i l l s and dance
hy'the light of the moon and stars . They also
glide invis ibly into people ’ s houses,their caps
rendering them imperceptible by all who have
not s imilar caps . They are said to play a l l
kinds of tricks,to change the children in the
cradles,and take them away . This charge i s
perhaps unfounded ; but certainly children who
fal l into their hauds must serve them for fifty
years . They possess an unlimited power of
transformation,and can pass through the smallest
key-holes . Frequently they bring with thempresents for children
,or lay gold rings and
ducats,and the like
,in their way , and often are
invisibly present,and save them from the perils
of fi re and water . They plague and annoy lazy
men-servants and untidy maids with frightful
41 4 DEPAR TED GOD S.
dreams ; oppress them as the nightmare ; bite
them as fleas ; and scratch and tea r them likecats and dogs ; and often in the night frighten ,i n the shape of owls
,th ieves
,and lovers
,or
,l ike
will-O’-the-wisps
,lead them as tray i nto hogs and
marshes, and perhaps up to those who are in
pu r s i l i t of them .
The Black Dwarfs wear black jackets and
caps,are not handsome like the others
,but
,on
the contrary are horribly ugly,with weeping
eyes,l ike blacksmiths and colliers . They are
most expert w orkmen,especially in steel
,to
which they can give a degree at once of hard
ness and flexibility which no human smith can
imitate ; for the swords they make will bend like
rushes,and are as hard as d iamonds . In old
times arms and armor made by them were in
great request ; shirts of mail manufactured by
them were as fine as cobwebs and yet no bulletwoul d penetrate them ,
and no helm or corsele t
could resis t the swords they fash ioned ; but a l l
these things are now gone out of use .
These Dwarfs are of a malicious, i ll d i sposition
,and delight in doing mischief to mankind ;
they are unsocial,and there are seldom more
than two or three of them seen together ; they
keep mostly in their b i l l s,and seldom come out
in the daytime,nor do they ever go far from home .
41 6 DEPAR TED GOD S.
l ike a horse ; at other times as an old man witha long beard
,out of which he rings the water as
he s its on the cliffs . The neck is very severe
agains t any haughty maiden who makes an i l l r eturn to th e love of her wooer ; but should he
himself fall in love with a maid of human kind,
he is the most poli te and attentive suitor in the
world . The neck is also a great musician ; he
sits on the water,and plays on his gold harp
,
the harmony of which Operates on all nature .
To learn music of h im,a person must present
him wi th a black lamb,and also promise him res
u r recti on and redemption .
”
These li ttle people are found under various
names,throughout Germany
,but are there more
kindly and,we may almost say
,more Chris tian .
O therwis e they differ~ l ittl e from those in thenorth . The little wights are especially numer
ous in Southern Germany . They are about threequarters of an ell high
,and are represented as
old men with long beards . They haunt the
mines,dressed as miners and provided with I an
terns,mallets
,and hammers . They do no inj ury
whil e they are treated well,yet they sometimes
find amusement in pelting the miners with small
stones . They appear to be very busy in all
k inds of work connected with the mines . They9"An der son ,
N or se Myth ol ogy, pp . 203, 204.
GODS AN D N O-GODS. 41 7
show themselves especially where there i s abun
dance of ore , and miners who are wise are alwaysglad to see them and to make them their friends
.
The conquerors of Great Bri tain brought theirinheri tance of religious ideas which lived long in
their new home . We meet with frequent mention of l ittl e people of various names .
A pious curate was annoyed near Ch i ppenham while coming home in the night . The
wri ter of the account says : Comm i ng over the
downes , i t being near darke , and approaching one
of the fa i ery dances , as the common people call
them in these parts,viz .
,the greene circles made
by those spiri ts on the grasse,he all at once
saw an innumerable q uan ti ti e of pigmies, or very
small people,dancing rounde and rounde
,and
singing and making all maner of small,odd
noyses . He,being very greatly amazed
,and yet
not being able,as he says
,to run away from
them,being
,as he supposes
,kept there in a kinde
of enchantment,they no sooner per ceave h im
but they surround him on all s ides,and what
betwi xte feare and amazement he fell down ,scarcely knowing what he did ; and thereupon
these l i ttle creatures pinched him all over, and
made a quick humming noyse all the tyme ; but
at length they left h im,and when the sun rose
he found himself exactly in the midst of one of
4 1 8 DEPAR TED GODS.
these fa i ery dances . This relation I had from
h i m mysel fe a few days after he was so tor
men ted ; but when I and my bed-fellow, Stump ,wente soon afterwards
,at night time
,to the dances
on the downes,we sawe none ,
of the elves or
fa i er i es . But, indeed , i t i s saide , they seldom ap
peare to any persons who go to seeke for
them .
”
The fairies have found their way into English
poetry,and receive just treatment
,excep t where
the poe t i s too much tied to classic mythology .
It is concerning the Pixies that Brown writes in
Britannia’ s Pastorals
N ear to th e wood th ere l ay a pleasan t mead ,Where fair i es often d id th ei r measu res tread ,
Wh ich i n the meadows made such c i r c l es green ,
As i f with gar lands i t had cr owned been ;O r like the c i rc l e where th e signs we tr ack ,And lear ned shepher ds ca l l
’
t th e zod iac ;
Wi th i n one of th ese r ounds was to be seen
A h i l l ock r i se, wher e oft the fa i ry-q ueenAt twili gh t sate, and d i d command h er elvesTo p i nch those maids th at h ad not swep t thei r shel ves ;
And , fur ther , i f, by m ai den’
s over sigh t,
With in door s water was not br ough t at n igh t,O r i f they sp read no table, set no br ead ,They shou ld h ave n i ps f rom toe u n to the head
An d for the ma id who h ad per formed eac h th i ng,
She i n th e water -pa i l bade leave a r i ng.
”
" Keigh tl ey, Fa i ry Myth ol ogy , pp . 292, 293.
420 D EPAR TED GOD S.
sess immense weal th and many wonder-workingcharms . They give fre ely
,and any trifle r e
cei ved from them is sure to possess great value .
To secure any article belonging to a fa iry places
the l i ttle wight within the power of the one who
keeps the treasure . They seem not to be immortal, but to live to a great age— perhaps thou
sands of years . They have great power over
nature,and are endowed with great wisdom . A
man may see them if h e can ge t one of their
caps and put it on his head,or if he puts a four
leaf clover in his own cap . When several per
sons s tand near the fairy ring while the li ttle
people are dancing, if one place his foot at the
edge of the ring,and the next place his foot on
this one,and so on till all are thus j oined foot to
foot,the fairies become visible . The unwary
who gets ins ide the ring is ‘ within their power
and rendered invis ibl e ; and they compel him to
da ii ce till exhausted,or pinch hi s body till black
and blue,or play him some other uncanny trick .
A certain salve— which not only the fairies but
certain “w ise women ” can make— placed upon
the eyes makes the V ision so clear that the l i ttle
people can be seen quite easily . But he who
possesses thi s power of sight must not recognize
any inhabi tant of the fairy world , for a breath from
one of these s trange beings will make him blind .
GODS AN D N O~ G OD S. 421
According to story , there are few fairies now
in the countrie s where they were formerly so
numerous . The sound of church-bells has com
pel l ed them to emigrate— and whither they have
gone,none can tell .
THE D O OM O F THE UN I VERSE.
HE scenes of Ragnarok,
“ th e twilight of
the gods,
” the destruction of the world and
the regeneration of gods and men,are grand
,
awful, and gigantic beyond descrip tion . The
giant Ymer gave birth to the gods,and they
must die . The germ of death grows,and their
strength wastes away . The conflic t between the
gods and the giants,which has been waged so
long,must have an end . The warfare so evi
dent in nature and in the soul of man must
cease . Good,and not evil
,must triumph at last .
Nothing less than this will fully satisfy the
Gothi c fai th .
The last days shal l be days of evil times .
Depravity shall become of a deeper dye ; crime
and terror shall s talk abroad over the earth,and
war shall glut his ravenous appeti te to th e full .
There shall be snow,frosts , piercing winds , tem
pests,and clouded sun s through three F imbu l
winters,with no summer . During three other
similar winters war and discord shall rage .422
424 DEPAR TED GODS.
is on the earth his upper jaw reaches heaven .
Flames of fire flash from his eyes and nostrils .
The Midgard-serpent is by his s ide,and vomits
poisonous venom,which fills all the air and all
the waters . The heavens are rent in twain,and
on the path thus formed ride the dark sons of
Muspel , in glittering array, Surt at their head ,his sword outshining the sun , a flaming fire be
hind him and before . They resort to the battle
field called Vigri d ; and Loke , with all the fol
lowers of Hel,i s there
,and Hrym, with all the
frost-giants,i s there .
But the gods too are awake . Heimdal blows
his B l as th or n,and the sound fills all the uni
verse . The gods assemble . Odin consul ts Mimerat the founta in . Ygdrasil
,and all things on earth
and in heaven,tremble . The gods and ei nh erjes
march forth,Odin
,with golden helmet
,respl en
dent cuirass,and terrible spear
,at their head .
The world-battle is fought . Surt slays Frey .
The dog Garm engages Tyr,and they slay one
another . Thor ki l l s th e Midgard-serpent,but i s
himself suffocated by its venom . The Fenriswolf swallows Odin ; but Vidar comes to therescue
,though too late
,and
,placing his foot on
the wolf’ s lower jaw,seizes the upper j aw wi th
his hands and rends the mon ster in pieces .
Heimdal and Loke slay each other . Surt fill s
THE DOOM OF THE UN I VERSE. 425
th e world with fire , th e flames of which reach toheaven . The earth is consumed
,and sinks into
the sea .
“ Thus is Ragnarok ! The great antagonism
pervading the world is removed in a final strug
gle,i n which the contending powers mutually
destroy each other . Ragnarok is an outbreak of
al l th e chaotic powers— a conflict between themand the es tablished order of creation . Fire
,
water,darkness
,and death work together to de
stroy the world . The gods and their enemies
mee t in a universal,world-embracing wrestle and
duel,and mutually destroy each other . The
flames of Surt,the supreme fir e-god , complete
the overthrow,and the last remnant of the con
sumed earth sinks into the
But thi s end i s also the beginning . The vala
looks again
She sees ar i se
The second time, 1
From the sea , the ear th
Completely green ;Cascades do fall ,The eagle soar s ,
From lofty moun tsP u rsues i ts prey .
The gods conveneOn I da
’
s pla ins ,
Anderson ,N orse Myth ol ogy , p . 42 7.
426 DEPAR TED GODS.
And talk of the power fulMidgard-serpen tTh ey cal l to m ind
The Fcur i s-wolfAnd the anci en t r unes
O f the m i gh ty Od in .
Then aga in
The wonder ful
G olden tabletsAr e found i n the grass
I n time’
s mor n ingThe lead er of the gods
And Odin ’
s r ace
Possessed them .
Th e fields u n sown
Y i eld their growth ;Al l il l s cease ;
Bal der comes.
Hoder and Balder ,Those h eaven l y gods ,D well together i n Hr Op t
’
s hal l s.
Conceive ye th is , or not ?”
While Surt’s fire rages
,a woman
,Lif by
name,and a man
,hight L i fth r aser
,l i e concealed
in Hodmi‘
mer’
s fores t,fed by the early dew .
They shall give birth to a new race .
There is to be a general judgment at the endof all things .
Then comes th e m i gh ty one
To th e great judgmen t ;
428 DEPAR TED GOD S.
Lif and L i fth r aser,th e principles of life
,become
the parents of the new race . The good alone
survive the awful confli ct . The righteous r e
j oice in heavenly G imle ; the wicked , in Naastrand
,wade i n s treams of venom
,and i t wOu l d
seem,are finally washed down to Hvergel mer ,
“ that horrible old kettle,where their bodies are
torn by Nidhug,th e dragon of the uttermost
darkness .
The account of the creation is a sort of evo
l u ti on,which may be
'
a wreck of the primitive
revelation sadly dis torted by the wild fancy of
thes e stern old warriors . The gods correspond
with their wild scenery and wild life,and the
retributions of the future satisfy their id eal s of
happines s and misery . They have fi ll ed the
world with elves and fairies,which have fur
h ished the material for the most charming house
hold tales and the most beautiful pictures for
the poet,while the giant forms in their mythol
ogy fill the mind - wi th awe and amazement .
Many modern customs,some of them most beau
tiful,may be traced to primitive recogni tions of
these various classes of beings .
The old Norse were given much to sorcery
and divination . The diviners were male or
female,but the latter were by far the most nu
mer ou s . Some had familiar spiri ts,whom they
THE DOOM OF THE UN I VERSE. 429
consulted in the form of li ttle idols ; others
dragged the ghos ts of the departed from their
tombs , and compelled them to speak . Someti mes,
as we shall see , the dead walked forth of thei rown accord , when they had not been treated wel lin this l ife , or when their las t wishes had been
disregarded .
Tacitus says that the Germans supposed thatsome div ine and prophe tic quality resided in
women , and were careful neither to disregard
their admonitions nor to neglect their answers .“Nothing was formerly more common in the
North than to meet w ith women who del ivered
oracular information,cured the most inveterate
maladies , assumed whatever shape they pleased ,rai sed storms
,chained up the winds
,traveled
through the air,and
,in one word
,performed
every function of the fairy art . Thus endowed
with supernatural powers , these prophetesses
being converted as i t were into fairies or de
mons,influenced the events they had predicted
,
and al l nature became subj ect to their com
They resorted to supernatural means to d i s
cover the truth . They would tie the accused
with cords , and cast him i nto the water . If he
sank,he was considered innocent ; if he floated ,
‘ Mal let, N orth ern An ti q u i ties, p . 200.
37
430 DEPAR TED GODS.
he was held to be guil ty . They would compelhim to handle hot iron
,put on red-hot gauntlets
,
or Walk blindfolded over burning plowshares .
If,at the end of a certain number of days
,marks
of the fire remained on his hands,he was guilty ;
i f no t,he was innocent . They generally al
lowed champions to undergo the ordeal when
women were the accused . The elements were
thought to have been animated by an intelligent
spiri t,as j ust and righteous as th e God whence
it has sprung . This spiri t would declare the
truth by the treatment i t extended to the ao
cused .
There were famous oracles connected with
the chief temples . Saxo the Grammarian tellsus that i t was the custom of the ancient Danesto consul t the oracles of the Fates concerningthe future destiny of ch ildren . F r i dl i ef entered
the temple of the gods to pray,and to learn the
destiny of his son O laus . In the sanctuary h e
saw three goddesses seated . The first goddess
was most kindly disposed,and granted the child
both beauty and the gift of pleasing . The sec
ond endowed him with a noble heart . But thethird was an evil goddess
,moved by envy and
spite,and determined to des troy the work of her
sisters . To this end she cursed him with covetousness .
432 DEPAR TED GOD S.
before the operation . At the solicitation of
Thor finn, Egil took her case in charge . He or
dered her to be taken out of the bed and clean
clothes to be placed under her . Upon exam i n
ing the bed he found i n i t a pie ce of whalebone,
with runes cut thereon . He read them,cut
them off, and scraped the chips into the fire .
He then burned the whalebone,and h ad the
woman’ s clothes carried out into the open air .
Then he sang :
As man sh al l n ot trace r unes
Excep t he can r ead them well,
I t i s thus wi th many a man
That the dar k letter s bewilder h im .
I saw on the c u t wh aleboneTen h idden letter s ca r ved ,
That h ave cau sed to the leek-linden (woman )A very l ong sor row.
Egil himself now traced new runes,and
placed them under the pillow in the bed where
the s ick woman lay . The effect was magical .
Sh.
e said that i t seemed as though she had jus t
awoke from a sleep ; and sh e was healed , though
for some time she continued weak . The father
and the mother rej oiced greatly at her r e
covery.
*
When Thw i ed was taken down to the sea
* D u Ch a i l l u ,Th e V i k i ng Age, V ol . I , p p . 1 64, 1 65 ; Egi l
’
s
Saga , 0. 75.
THE DOOM OF THE UN I VERSE. 433
she found a stump of a tree with the roots . It
was as large as a man could well carry . Upon
care fully examining , she found evidences tha tone side had been burned and rubbed . On thiss ide she smoothed a small spot with a knife
,and
carved runes thereon . Then she reddened i t
with her blood,chanting over i t an incan tation .
Many other powerful incan tations d id she pr o
nounce,while she walked backward in a d i rec
tion opposite to the course of the sun around the
s tump . Then she had i t pushed out to sea,that
it migh t be driven to D rangey and he a source
of mischief to G retti r . Her object was aecom
p l i shed ; for, behold , i t came to pass that while
G r etti r was cutting the s tump to procure wood
for the fire,he wounded himsel f severely above
the knee with his ax'And thus,most surely
,
the curs e holds sternly on its way and does itswork .
*
Snor ro and Thorol f B aegi fot were enga ged invarious quarre l s for a long time . At last Thor
ol f was found dead at table , s i tti ng in his chair,and was buried in a strong gr ave , with such ceremon i es as the occasion demanded . But the
grave could no t hold i ts victim .
“He appeared
in the dis trict by day and by nigh t, slew men
‘ D u Ch a i l l u ,The V i k i ng Age, V ol . I , pp . 1 66 , 1 67 ; of.
G retti’
s Saga , c . 81 .
434 DEPAR TED GOD S.
and cattle, and harrowed the country so muchby his frequent apparition and mischievous ex
pl oi ts, that his s on Ar nki l l , on the repeated com
plaints of the inhab itants,resolved to change the
place of his sepulture . Some opposi tion was
threatened by the sons of Th orbrand,who r e
fused to permit the corpse to be carried through
their domains , until reminded by their father that
it was illegal to refuse passage to those who were
travel ing in d ischarge of a duty imposed by l aw,
and such was the burial of the dead . The body
of Thorol f was found on opening the tomb,but
his aspect was fearful and gri sly to a pr eter nat
ural degree . He was placed on a bier,between
two strong oxen,which
,nevertheless
,were worn
ou t by fatigue ere th ey had transported himmany miles . O th ers were subs ti tuted in theirroom ; but when they attained the summit of ab i l l
,at some dis tance from . the destined place of
sepul ture,they became frantic
,and
,breaking
their yokes,rush ed down the precipice and per
i sh ed . The corpse,too
,became of such ponder
ous weight that i t could by no means be trans
ported any farther,so that Ar nki l l was fain to
consign i t to the earth on the ridge of the hill
where it lay,and which took i ts name thence
forth from that of B aegi fot. Ar nki l l caused a
mound of immense heigh t to be piled above the
436 D EPAR TED GOD S.
the chief and the honored guest were the retain
ers of the court and the o ther guests of lesser
digni ty and worth . The flesh of the sacrificialanimal was boiled in a huge kettle over the fire
and served to the company,who amused them
selves by throwing the bones,s tripped of their
flesh,at one another across the hall . They vied
w i th one another drinking ale,and skalds were
always pr e sent to charm or inspi re them with
their poetic lays .
The sacri fices Offered to the gods seem at first
to h ave been the simple productions of the earth .
At a later period animal sacrifices,and even
human victims,were thought to be most ao
ceptabl e.
At the beginning of the battle of Hakon,the
Norwegian Jarl,against the sea-rovers of J om s
burg,victory seemed to be turning to the side
of h is enemies . The Jarl called his sons ashore
for a consultation .
“Hakon Jarl said : ‘ I th ink
I see that the battle begins to turn against us ;and
'
I disl ike to fight agains t these men,for I
believe that none are their equal s ; and I s ee
that i t will fare ill,unless we hit upon some
plan ; you must s tay here with the host, for it is
imprudent for all the ch iefs to leave it,i f the
J or nsvi ki ngs attack , as we may at any moment
expect . I will go ashore with some men,and
THE DOOM OF THE UN I VERSE. 437
see what can be done .
’ The Jarl went ashore
north to the island . He entered a glade in the
forest,sank down on both his knees
,and prayed ;
he looked northwards , and spoke what he thought
was mos t to the purpose ; and in his prayers he
called upon his fully trus ted Thorgerd HOrda
trOff ; but she turned a deaf ear to his prayer,and he thought that she must have become angry
with him . He offered to sacrifice several things,
but she would not accept them,and i t seemed to
him the case was hopeless . At las t he offered
human sacrifices,but she would not accep t them .
The Jarl considered his case most hopeless,if
he could not please her ; he began to increasethe offer
,and at las t included al l his men ex
cept himself and his sons Eirik and Svein . He
had a son,Erling
,who was seven winters old
,
and a very promising youth . Th orger d accepted
h is offer,and chose Erling
,his son . When the
Jarl found that his prayers and vows were heard ,he though t the matters were better, and there
u’
pon gave the boy to Skop ti sKu rk, his thrall,
who put him to death in Hakon’
s usual way as
taught byMen
,particularly those slain in battle , were
given to Odin for victory ; and the altars were
‘ D u Ch a i l l u ,Th e V i king Age, V ol . I , p . 367 . Q uoted from
F or nmanna Segu r , xi , 134.
438 DEPAR TED GODS.
s tained with the blood of fallen chiefs . Prison
ers of war were sacrificed,their blood placed in
bowls , and their bodies thrown into the bogs
or a sacrificing spring at the door of the
temple .
“Thorgr im Godi was a great sacr ificer . He
had a large temple raised in his grass-plot,one
hundred feet in length and sixty in breadth,and
every man was to pay temple-tax to i t. Thor
was mos t worshiped there ; the inmost part of i t
was made round,as if i t were a dome ; i t was
all covered with hangings,and had windows ;
Thor stood in the middle,and other gods on both
sides . There was an al tar in front,made with
great skill,and covered above with iron ; on i t
there was to b e a fire,which should never die
out,which they called holy fire . On the al tar
was to l ie a large ring of silver,which the tem
ple pries t was to wear on his arm at all meet
ings . Upon i t all oath s were to be taken in
cases of circumstantial evidence . On the al tarwas to s tand a large bowl of copper, in whichwas to be put the blood which came from the
cattle or men given to Thor'; th ese they called
h l aut (sacr ifice-blood) , and h l aut-bol h'
(sacr i ficebowl) . The h l aut was to be sprinkled on men
and cattle,and the cattle were to be used for the
people (to eat) when the sacrificing feasts were
440 DEPAR TED GODS.
Sacrifices were renewed every ninth monthfor nine days
,and nine victims
,e i ther animal or
human,were offered . Every n in th year the
most solemn sacrifices were performed . On th is
occasion the king and all important ci ti zens were
obliged to appear with offerings . Those who
could not come in person sent their presents or
their value in money . Many strangers thronged
the city,and none with unstained honor were
excluded ; but no man accused of cowardice
dared appear at thi s sacred assembly of heroes .
They chose n ine persons to be sacrificed . These
were selected from captives in time of war,and
from slaves in time of peace . The method of
selection was the lot,and yet the Opinions of
the bys tanders had much to do with determi n
ing the choice . When the occasion was one of
the greatest importance n oble victims were r e
quired . The firs t king of V ermal and was burned
as a sacrifice to Odin,to put an end to a dearth .
Aun, king of Sweden , d evoted to Odin nine sons
that h i s own l ife might be prolonged .
We have several accounts of the rites to beobserved in offering sacrifices . The sacred fireupon the altar was kept burning day and night .
It was surrounded by all sorts of iron and brazenvessels . Among them was one conspicuous for
i ts si ze,which was destined for the reception of
THE DOOM OF THE UN I VERSE. 44 1
the blood of the victims . The victim having
been chosen , i t was conducted to the a l tar,at
the foot of which i t was speed i l v killed . The
en trails were examined , and auguries drawn
therefrom the same as among the classic nations .
The flesh was dressed and served up to crown
the feas t prepared for the assembly . The people
were not fas tidious in their ta stes,but partook of
even horse with pleasure— the chiefs as well as
the people not rej ecting this uncommon article of
d i e t . When human sacrifices were offered,the
vi ctim which had been sele cted was la id upon a
flat stone,and in this position ei ther strangled
or knocked on the head . The bodies were some
times burned and sometimes suspended in a sa
cred grove not far from the temple . The blood
which had been caught was used to sanctify the
place and the people . A portion was sprinkled
upon the people and a portion upon the sacred
grove . The images of the gods and their altars
were also sprinkled upon by the blood of the
sacrifice . The benche s wi thin the temple werebedewed
,and the walls of the temple , both
w i thin and without,were sprinkled .
*
We have ceased to be startled when we meet
with human sacrifices,ei ther in the religions of
ancien t peoples or among savage tribes of mod
Ma l l et, N orth er n An ti q u i ti es , p . 1 13.
442 DEPAR TED GOD S.
ern times . The subj ect of human sacrifices,
though an i nteres ting one,i s too large for treat
ment here ; but we hope to return to its d iscus
sion i n a future work .
When F r i dthjof entered the great temple inMoeri
,the k ings at the dz
'
sablbt sat drinking .
There was fire on the floor,and their wives sat
at the fires ide and warmed the gods,and some
besmeared th em with greas e and wiped them
with a Though idols were not known
in the early r el igi on , ‘
th ey had already become
greatly multipli ed when Christianity came into
contact with this form of heathendom .
Sigmond was ready to start on an expedition
to avenge his father,and Hakon Jarl went out
with h im,and asked concerning his rel igious be
l ief. “Sigmond answered :‘ I believe i n my
might and strength .
’ The Jarl repl ied : It must
not be so . Thou must seek for help where I
put all my trust,which is in Th orgerd Ho
'
rda
brud . Let us go to her,and try to get luck for
thee from her .’ Sigmond told him to do as he
liked . They went to the woods,and then , by a
li ttle by-path,to an Open space in the forest
,
where there was a house with a fence around i t.
This house was very fine,and the carvings were
ornamented with gold and silver . Hakon andF r i dthjof
’s Saga , 9.
444 DEPAR TED GOD S.
goats , as well as the chario t, rested on wheels .Around the horns of the goats was a rope of
twisted silver The whole was a wo r k of wonder fu l skill .*
D i thmar was bishop of Merseburg in the elevcuth century . He tells us that th ere was in h is
day, in Zealand , a place which was the capital
of Denmark, named L eder un . To this place the
Danes resor t in multitudes every nine years,in
th e month of January,to offer sacrifices . Upon
this most sacred occasion ninety-nine men,and
the same number each of horses,dogs
,and cocks
,
were sacrificed to appease the gods .
Arngrim Jonas,an Icelandic author of great
learning,says that there were two temples in
Iceland i n which human sacrifices were offered,
and a famous pit or well into which they were
thrown headlong .
- I n each of these temples of Iceland “ there
was a pri vate chapel,which was regarded as a
holy place . There they placed the idol s upon a
kind of altar,around which they ranged the vic
tims that were to be offered up . Another altars tood opposi te to it
,p l ated with iron
,i n order
that the fire,which was to burn there perpet
ual ly, should not damage i t. Upon this altar
D u Ch a i l l u ,Th e V i k i ng Age, V ol . I , pp . 376 , 377 : F aerey
i nga Saga ,ch . 23; F l ateyjar b ék, i , p . 31 9.
THE DOOM OF THE UN I VERSE. 445
was placed a vase of brass,in which they re
ceived the blood of the victims . Beside it s tood
a brush , which they made use of to sprinkle the
blood upon the bystanders . There hung up like
wise a great si lver ring,which they stained with
blood,and which whoever took an oath on any
occasion was required to hold in his hand . In
one of these temples there was also,near the
chapel,a deep pi t or well
,i nto which they cast
the
The Thingstead of Iceland “was always near
the temple,i n which one of the sacerdotal mag
i strates performed a sacrifice and sprink l ed the
wa l l s of the edifice , as well as the bystanders ,with the blood of the victims— holding in his
hand,on this as on every other solemn occasion
,
a massive silver ring,with which the altar of
every temple was furnished . The Things were
held in the Open air,and served both for the dis
cuss i on of public affairs and the administration
of justice . For the latter purpose,a circle called
the doom-ring,démhr z
'
ngr , was formed with hazel
twigs,to which were attached cords called z'cbhnd .
Within this circle sat the j udges,the people stand
ing on the outside,and in th e middle stood the
blOts tei nn , a huge stone wi th a sharp ridge, on
Mal l et , N or th ern An ti q u i ti es , p 109 .
38
446 DEPAR TED GOD S.
which the backs of criminals condemned to death
were br oken .
” E
There were three great religious festivals .
The firs t was celebrated at the w in ter solstice .
The nigh t on which i t was observed was called
Mother-night,because i t marked the beginning
of the year . The feas t was called Jul,and was
held in honor of Frey,from whom they suppli
os ted a fruitful and ' prop itious season . There
were sacrifices,feasting
,nocturnal assemblies
,
and demonstrations of most d issolute j oy .
The second festival was held at the first
quarter of the second moon of the year,and
was sacred to certain female divini ties . It was
to secure pleasure,fruitfulnes s
,and victory over
all enemies .
The th ird festival was celebrated in honor of
Odin at the beginning of the year,to welcome
the beautiful season,and to insure success in all
warl ike expeditions .
This old religion,though i t has long ago
passed away,has left a fragrance in the homes
and hearts of all descendants of the hardy and
earnest Norse in whatever part of the worlddestiny has fixed their habi tations
,and wherever
to-day they how the knee in the presence of
brighter and holier gods .‘ Mal l et, N orth er n An ti q u i ti es , p . 291 .
448
i n tr od u ced i n R ome, 40 ;
p er h aps forei gn i n or i gi n ,32.
Apo l l o Ci th ar oedu s ,321 .Apo l l o I smen i os , 39, 40.
Apol lon i u s R h egi us , 80, 1 06
Ap u l ei us , 68“Ar cades , of M i l ton , 84.
Ar cad i a , 58, 230.
Ar ch aeol ogi ca l D i cti onar y ,” of Cooper1 1 8, 132.
Ar ch -Dr u i d, 306Ar es , 1 21 ch a r ac ter , 53 ; god of
battl es , 53 ; wounded . 53, 54 ; yi el dsto Apol lo and Ath ene, 53.
Ar eopagus , 96 .
Areth usa , 84
Argai on , 30.
Argonau t i cs ,” 80, 106 .
Ar i on h r od , 257 , 264.
Ar i stotl e, 31 .
Ar ngr i m , Jon as , 444, 445 .
Ar nk i l l,434, 435
Ar nob i us , u pon th e Etr u scan Rel igi on ,
106 .
Ar ts y,31 2.
Artem i dor us,295.
Ar tem i s , 38 , 50 ; an n ual fest i va l , 60 ;ch ar acter , 58, 59 ; goddess o t th e
moon , 58 ; h er i m age sa i d to h ave
fal l en from h ea ven , 60 ; h um an saer i
fices, 60 image b r ough t from th e C r i
mea to Sp ar ta , 60 same a ttr i bu tes as
Apol l o, 58 , tem p l e at Eph esu s , 60;
worsh i ped h v Ca i i an s and I .e |eges ,60Ar th u rs tone,
d i v i nat i on at 245.
Ar ver n i , 312.
Asa-Lo i re, evi l , 405 , 406Asas . 359
Asc i bu rgi um , 354.
Asgar d , 358. 360, 36 1 . 369, 375, 380 fear ,becau se of Loke, 406 .
Ask , 358 , 360.
Assos , 1 3.
Al e, 1 04 .
Ath ene, 40, ch ar acter . 4 1 - 46 ;
compa i ed wi th Ap o l l o . 47-49 , com
p ar ed w i th Odysseu s 42—46 ; defec tsi n ch ar acter , 46 ; goddess of war , 40 ;i nven t i on s , 42 l ead i ng i dea , 28 ; p l acei n O l ym p i an assemb l y , 40 r an k42 sp r ang fr om Zeu s , fu l l -grown
, 42.
Ath ens , 74, 87, 89 ; festi va l s to Apoi lo
at, 39.
wor sh i p
I N DEX.
Ath r h a , 1 29.
Ath rys , 27.
Atropos , 1 29.
Atti ca , 7 1 .
Aud l i r i mni er , 376 .
Audh umb l a , 357, 359.
Auger bode, th e gi antess , 406 .
Augur s , 1 77 ; wh en consu l ted, 1 78.
Augu sti ne, 147.
Augu stus , 1 73.
An n , 440.
Au rbode, 404.
Au i gelmer , 357.
Au r i n i a, 348
Au rora , 1 20.
An tu n , figu re at, 324,Avagd u , 276 , 277 .
Aven c l i es,26-1
Aven ti ne H i l l , 1 52, 1 53.
Avun,1 20.
B ACCHE ,
"th e, 7 1
B acch u s , 57 , 70, 7 1 , 1 20.
B adu h en na, 353.
B a l der ,391 , 427 a l l th e gods and th i ngsweep for h im excep t Th ok , 393c h a r ac te r , 391 ; d ream , 391 ; m yth sexp l a i ned , 393, 394 ; r ender ed i nvu lne i ab l e, 392 ; s l a i n by b l i nd Hoder392.
B ar an ton , fou nta i n , 231 p r oc u r es r a i n
231 .
B a rdd as , 287,289
B ar dd Teu l en , 285
B ards of W al es , 285 , 286
B ar i ng-Gou l d , r el ates l egen d of th e
“Happ y I s l e,
" 282.
B a th .31 8
B at tl e. l ast of th e N or se,424, 425
B a uge, 373, 374
B eau cr oi ssan t , 312.
Beau ty i n Sto i c i sm ,1 84
B ecker , 92.
B egi nn i ngs of H i s tor y ,” 26 , 27B el i 229.
B el l ona 1 55
B el l on ar i i , 1 55.
B el or , th e r obber w i th on e eye,26 1 —263.
B el tane. wh en ki nd led ,237 .
B eow u l f, 34 1 .B ergel mer ,357, 360.
B estl a , 357.
B i a, 88.
I N DEX. 449
B i i rus t, 362. C i c ra bar , 224 .
B i l sker n i r , 378. Ca re, 1 39, 1 63.
Bi rds of Rh i annon , 28 1 . O r r i son , 229.
B i roge, the fa i r y , 262. Car er L i i th , name of London , 218.B l ack Dea th ,
"
409, 410. Ca'r i u ar then , 229.B l ack Dwar fs , 41 4. 41 5. Cmrmar r ou , 228.“ B l ack Kn igh t, s tory of th e 252-255. Caesa r , 1 77 , 31 7. 31 8, 355 ; uponB l as th o rn , 395 , 424. th e Dr u i ds of (Sau l , 290-293 ; uponB l odened , attemp ts to k i l l Llew, 259 , the Ga l l i c gods , 854.855.250; c h anged i n to an owl , 260; fas h Ca i ns Mu somus Ru fus , 202.i oned fr om flowers , 259. Ca l abr i a , ”9,
Boan n , 221 , 21 3, 279, Ca l enda r , u nder the s u per vi s i on ot th eM t) , th e B ed .2280 O R l ’ S 0 ‘ AI N HO , "71 .Bod " m Ca l l ander , 237 .
B TW“.341 ( a l l i i uach tts , 66 .
B o l th orn , 357. Cal ypso, l’ h am i c ian personage.83, re
B onna i n, 50, 51 . ta i ns t l dysseus , 81 her dwel l i ng
B ouzyges , 1 7. 8 1 , 82.
B ook of Lei ns ter , 242. Cam i l l us , 120, 1 52.B or , 357. Camu'na , 1 45 .
B oreas, 89, a l ta r at I l i ssus 89. (‘
ani pan i a, 1 47.B orman s , 31 6 . Camp us Ma r ti ns , 1 55B o rman us
, 31 6. Cande l i fera , 1 44.
B ottrel l , 24 1 . Can n i ba l s among th e Dr u i ds , 294.B oyne, 221 , 270, 277 ; or i gi n ,
279. Ca nop us. 1 36B raoe, 1 8. Canute. 246 .
B r age, va r i ous adventu res , 395, 397. Cap i tol i ne Hi l l , 1 52.Br i n, 280, 28 1 . Car aca l l a , 31 6 .B r anwen , 280. Ca r dea , 1 45.
B rec i l i en , 231 . Car i a, 31 .Brecknock , 330. Car is ti a , 1 66 .
B r i areus . 22, 25 ; son of Posei don , 30. Car l y l e, 340, 363.
Brei dabl i k.391 . Carman , 263.
Br i gi t, 320. Carmen t ie , 1 44.
B r i si nga neck l ace ,395. Ca rm i na ,” ofHorace, 1 29.
B r i ta i n , 21 5, 21 7 , 229, 295 , 297. Carnoi s , fes ti va l , 39,B r i tan n i a
’
s Pastora l s, 41 8. Castor , 353,354.
B r i ttan y , 246 . Catti , 354.
B r i to ns , 21 7. Catu r i a as Mars , 31 8.
B rok, 368, 369. Cel t i c fa i r i es , 325 , e! seq .
B ron te, 23. Cel ti c gods , myth o l ogi ca l system ex
B rown i es , 330. p l a i ned , 281 , 282.
B rown dwar fs , 412-4 1 4. Cel ti c i nscr i p t ions , 31 2, d seq .
B r ugh ,of th e B oyne, 222. Ce l ti c My thol ogy , 21 6B ugge, vi ews on N orse l i terature, 342, Ce l t i c Zeus , 248 ; ch aracter , 236, 237.843. Ccun Cr ua i ch , 242, 243.
B u l i sai ua 320. Cen ta u r s , 72, 89.
B ure, 357 , 359. Cer ber us , 89, 286 ,Cer es , 84, 1 58, 295 ; temp le, l 73.
CA B I N , Cer i e, 1 58.
Cael i an Hi l l 1 53. Cer n unnos , 291 ; rep resented , 321Caer 224, 230 ; and s i sters transi or ni ed Cerus 1 58.
i n to swans , 221 , 222. Get, 220.
450 I N DEX.
Ch a l daei , 304Ch ar i c l es ,
"92.
Ch ar i s , 87.
Ch a r i tes , 88 ; i n l a te r ar t , 87 ; n um ber ,87 ; Or ch omen us , t h e i r sea t of wor
sh i p , 87 ; sym bo l i sm , 87.
Cha r on , 80, 1 24 ,31 3.
Ch ar un , 1 22, 1 23 ; ch ar acter , 1 23, 1 24
rep r esen tati on ,1 24
Ch eop hor i ,”1 08 .
Ch i me ra, 89 ; ch ar acter , 90.
Ch i ppenh am , 41 7.
Ch oi r of th e G i an ts , 224.
Ch th on i a , fest i va l , 66 ,67.
Ci cero, 1 32, 1 79, 1 86 , 305 .
Ci mbr i,desc r i bed , 294, 295 di vi nati on
Ci r ce, 82, 1 06 .
Ci r cu s Max i m u s,1 64.
Ci th a ron , 72.
C i th ar ced u s , 321 .
Ci ti es an d Cem ete r i es of B i t uma ,"
1 26 , 1 35, 1 36 .
Ci ti um , 1 83.
Ci ty of G od of Augu s t i n e, 1 47.
C l audi us , 1 88.
Cl ench 's Crowd , 224.
C l ean th es , h ym n , 1 3.
C l emen t of Al exan dr i a, 68, 132.
Cn i du s , 6 1 , 65.
Col l at i n a , 1 46 .
Conai re th e G rea t, 21 9.
Conch oba r mac N essa ,220
, 266 , 269.
Con fl i ct of Ch r i sti an i ty W i th Hea
t i i endom ,
"1 05 .
Con n ,21 9, 249.
Con naugh t, 224.Con n l a , 278
Con n l a’s W el l , 278.
Con sus , 1 45 , 1 65 .
Con tempor a r y R evi ew, 52.
Cooper , 1 1 8, 1 32.
Cor nwa l l , 240.
Cormac m ac Ai r t , 21 9, 221 .
Cor s i ca, 1 88.
Cor yba ntes , 25 1 .
Coi tos , 22.
Crawford and B a l car r as , 1 1 7, 1 28.
Crete, 23, 32.
Cr onos , 22, 1 59 ; swa l l ows h i s own ch i l
dr en , 23 ; temp l e at Ath en s , 24 ; war
agai ns t th e Cyc l opes , 23.
i i
Cr uach an , 263.
Cu ch u l a i n,the su n - 1 i er o, 264 ; ap
pe ui a nce, 26 1 - 266 ; fough t A i l i l l
and Med b , 266 ; great exp l m ts , 266 ;
v i s i t th e r ea l m of th e dead .
Cu l ann,th e sm i th dei ty of th e u nder
wor l d,26 7, 268.
Cu n i na , 1 45.Cup ra ,
1 1 7 .
Cu r t i us , 32, 37, 99 , 1 02, 1 03.
Cybe l e, 1 1 7.
Cyc l Opes , 22, 89 ; fu r n i sh ed Jup i terw i th th u nder bo l ts , 25 ; i m p r i sonedbeneath th e ea r th , 23 ; th ei r n ames ,
23 war w i th Cr onos .
Cyp r us ,37, 60.
DAC I A, 31 6.
Dagda , th e G r eat, 221 , 223, 320.Dun u , 323.
Dap h nep h or i a , fes ti va l , 39.Da r tm oor
,239.
Dead , Etr uscan fate, 1 27 , 1 28 ; G reekappear an ce of , 1 06 ; h u r t th e l l Vn ,
106 .
D e B en efic i i s ,"of Seneca , 1 94, 1 97
—1 99.
Dec ima, 1 30, 1 44.
Decuma, 1 30.
D ea D i a , 1 72.
D e D i vi nati one,”of Ci cero, 1 79.
Del os , 24, 38.
Del p h i , 24 , 38 , 96 , 102, 103 ; cen ter of
ar ts , 1 02.
Del p h i c Am ph i ctyon y , 1 02.Del p h i c or ac l es , 34, 1 01 —1 03.
Demete r , 23, 1 78 fes ti va l s , 64 goddessof fer ti l i ty , 64 ; h ym n to
,65 , 66 ; of
fer i ngs , 65—6 7 ; taugh t ti l l age, 64.
Den n i s , 1 1 7 , 1 1 9, 1 24,1 35 , 136 , 1 38 .
D e Osten ti s ,”of Ci cero, 1 32.
D esC i i p t i on of G reece,” by Pau san i as ,24.
D i ana, 1 1 9.
Di an Cec h t, god of h ea l i ng, 285.
D i ar ma i t, sea-
god 221 , 274, 275 ad r entu res wi th a G r u agach , 232
—234.
Di do, 88.
D i i Comp l i ces , 1 22.
D i i Con sen tes , 1 22.
D i i Gen i ta l es , 1 28 .
D i i I nvol u t i , 1 22, 1 40.
D i i N oven si l es , 1 21 , 1 22.
452 I N DEX.
Er ebu s, 303Er ech th eus , 89.
Er i gone. 72.
Er i nn,21 9, 221 .222, 223, 264, 280.
Er i nnyes , 37 ; ca l l ed Eumen i des 87.
Er l i ng, 437.
E1 yr i , 229,
Esqu i l i ne. 1 52.
B s u s , desc r i bed , 31 9, 320.
Eta i n,221 .
Eth i op i cs ,
"1 08.
Eth nen , stor y of. 261 —263.
Etr u r i a , 1 05 . 1 20, 1 22.
Etr uscan gen i i , 1 28, 1 29.
Etr uscan I n scr i p ti on s ," 1 1 7 ,
Etr usc an r el i gi on . d i vi n i ti es , 1 1 6 ; i nn
m an sacr i fices,1 31 p r i es ts . 1 30 ;
sac r i fices , 1 31 ; s igns , 1 31 , u nseen
wor l d , 1 22, cl seq .
Etr uscan R esea r c h es , 1 1 7—1 1 9. 1 34.
Etr u sca ns , feas ts 1 11 tom bs , 1 34, 1 35 ,fu r n i tu re o i tom bs . 1 36 , 1 37 ; o fferi ngs, 135 : or i gi n an d a ffi n i ti es . 1 33
p a i n ti ngs i n tombs , 1 37 sym bol i sm,
1 36—1 38 : tombs , 1 33, cl seq .
Euh ages , 302
Euboea , 49.End av , 229,
Euma i os , 83.
Eumen i des , 87, 1 08.Eu r i p i des, 71 , 1 08.Eu ronomos , 1 24.
Eu r opa , 49.
Euseb l n s 68.
En tr a i n . statue at, 322.
Eu tu r pa , 1 1 8
Evreu x , 241 .
Ezek i el .355.
FA B I A N U S, 1 96F aereyi nga Saga . 444.
Fa i r i es . Ce l ti c. 325 ch ar a cter ,
41 9-421 desc r i bed ,327 , 328 ; Engl i sh ,
41 8 ; i n fl uen ce on th e r el i gi on of ou r
fath er s . 333—335 ' Lu ge fa i r i es , 41 9420; of I s l e of Man , 322, 323 330 ,
of Scotti sh H i gh l ands , on ce
angel s , 325.
F a i ry l egeud s of W a l es, 330-331 .
Fa i r y Myth o l ogy ," 331—333, 41 5, 41 8.
F a], 244 .
Famu , 1 21 .
Fand, 271 - 274.
F ar i n u s , 1 45.
Fa r r ar , 200.
F ates , 1 28, 1 29.
Fate, Stow , 1 98, 1 99.
l ath -Li ag, 285.
Fas ti ," th e, Ovi d ,
Faun ,1 21 .
F au na , 1 65.
Fau n u s , fes t i va l to, 1 65 .
b ebr ua , 1 68, 1 69.
Fenr i s'wol f, 406 bou n d , 407 br eaksever y ch a i n , 407 : sh a l l 1 1 1 th e end de
vou r th e sun , 423.
Fene, 284.
F ensa l , 369.
F 1 en t i n um , 1 29.
Fergu s , 21 9.
Fergu s m ac R o ig, 220.
F esson i a , 1 45 .
Fest i va l s , 69, 93 ; Agr on l a , 81 a nn ua l
to Cer es , 1 72 Car ne i a , 39 Dap hnep h on a , 39 ; D i ony s i ac , 72 ; F auma
l i a , 1 65 ; Hyan c i n th i a , 39 ; L u pei ca
h a , 1 68 ; Mer c u r i a l es , 1 60, 1 6 1 Met
age l tn l a . 39 ; N ep tu na l i a , 1 6 1 , 1 62
N or se, 446 Sa tu r n a l i a , 1 58, 1 59
Th arge l i a , 39.
Festus , 1 1 9Fet i a l es , du ti es , 1 79. 1 80.Feti sh i sm ,
Cel ti c , 310.
F i ac‘s Pool , 277.
F 1 1 1 , 284.
F i l i dech t, 285.
F l mbu l -wi n ter s , 422.
F i n n,221 , 277
F i l l l l mac Cuma i l l , 232
B i l bo lgs , 21 7 ; defeated , 263,264
F J a l ar , 372, 373.
F l amen ,d i a l as , 1 20, 1 54, 1 74.
F l am en F l or a l i s , 1 64.
F l am en Ma r ti a l i s, 1 54.
F l am i nes Cu r i al es , 1 74.
Fl am i n es , 1 77 n um ber , 1 67 .
F l am i n i ca , 1 69.F l u teyja r bok ,
" 444.
F l ath -i n n i s , Gael i c e l ys i um ,282.
F 10r a . l 46, 1 64.
F l uvi ona , 1 44 .
Fol k-l or e, con necti on w i th rel i gi ou s
bel i efs , 247 , 248.
Pomo l i , defeated , 263, 264.F or cu l u s . 1 45.
F or esti er , 404.
I N DEX.
F orga l l’s tear ,
” 274.
F orsette, 304.
Fr ance, 27 .Fr atres Ar val es , 1 72.
fi sser , 66 , 1 76 .
Frey , assume, 400, 401 , 439 l unar-sac r i
ti ce, 401 , 402 ; ch arac ter , 401 ; exten tof wor sh i p, 401 4 04 ; fes ti val , 446 ;mar r i es Ger t, 404 ; sta tue, 402.
Fr eyja, goddess of l ove, 380, 400;
char ac ter , c l aims ha l l 01 th e
s la i n i n battle.Freyja
’
s h en ,"405.
F r i d l i ef , 430.
l‘
r i gg, 369, 391 .
fi nctesea . 1 46 .
Fu l la, 369.
Fu r i es, 128, 1 29, 1 36 ; agents 0 1
the gods to pun i s h , 94.Fu tur e l i i e, G reek, 1 05 , 1 06 .
90.
Gal a ti a. 78 ; loved by Pol yphemus, 79.
Ga l a ti an s, 306.Gal l i c War
"of Ce sar , 292, 355.
Gar den s of L ug,” 268, 274.Garm , 424.
Gan i , 21 7 , 21 8 ; gods ass im i l ated to th eR oman gods, 31 1 , 31 2.Gavi da ,
Gener al judgmen t, N on e, 426 ; G iml e,428 ; gods r etur n , 427 , 428 ; N i dh ug,
Genesi s , 36 .
Ger h ard , 1 30.
German ia of Taci tus , 353, 354.Germa ns , di vi m ng by twi gs , 355 ; se
cr ed grove, 354.G erseme, 404.
G ian ts , G reek , 22 ; con fl i cts exp l ai ned26.27 .
G i l l i ng th e gi ant, 872.
G im l e, 347, 359.366.G i n ungaga p , 356 .
G ja l l er h or n .36 1 .
Gjol R i ver , 393.
G l ads h eim ,358, 376.
G l adstone, 28, 30, 36 458, 46 , 47
49, 52, 82—84.G laser , 376.
453
G l ei pner , 407.
G i l tner , th e hea ven l y mans i on , 394.G naa ,
370.
Go i de l dei ti es , 21 7.Go l den B ough ,
" by Fraser , 1 76.G ord ianus i i
,1 73.
Gorgo, 92.Gorgon i an , 138.
Gorgons , 89.
G ovannon , 257.
Gower , 236 .
G races ,G ra i nne, 221 .
G ramma tl ea Cel ti ca," 806.G ran nus .31 6.
G rann us Magounos , 81 6 .
Greece, th e flve gr eat gods , 28G reek gods , i n poetry and tragedy ,1 6-1 8 ; at lower rank , 88.Greek myster i es , attr ac ti veness, 95 °
cr i ti c i sms. 69 ; for th e wi se few, 69 ,
l ost thei r or i gi n al pur i ty , 69 ; sou rcesoi i n formation , 68 ; stages of p rogr es s
i n i n i ti at i ons, 68 ; sym bol i sm , 95 ;
teach i ng of th e grea ter m yster i es67-69 ; val ue, 68.
G reek re l i gi on , d i vi n ati on , too-1 03
forei gn i n fluen ce, 83, 84 ; gods t e
sponsi bl e for s i n , 103, 104 ; no media tor requ i r ed , 98 ; ordea l s, 108 ;
p rayers p r i esth ood , 99, 100,
p rop i ti a tm th e sh ades of th e dead ,
1 06 ; sacr i fices , 93; speci a l emer
genees , 93 ; worsh i p th e personal
r i gh t of ever y freeman , 98.
G r immer’
s L ay," 358.
Gr imm , Jacob , 341 .G retti r
,433.
G r etti ’s S aga , 433.
Gr i d, th e gi an tess, 397 .
Groa , 383.Grote, 72.
Grotto del Ti fone, 1 25.
Grotto V ol un na, 1 35.Groves , Dr u i di c , 803, 304.G u ngner , 868.
G un l ad , 874.
G wal es.281 .
Gwyd ion , 257, 259, 260, 264 ; cu l tu re
h er o, 249 ; mas ter i n magi c , 257-260;obta i ns treas u res for man , 255, 256 ;sto ry , 249, 250.
Gwydno, 276.
454
G wynvyd , 288.
Gwyon th e L i ttl e, 276 , 277.Gyes , 22.
G yl fe, 399,
G ym er , 404.
G ym nosop h i stae, 305.
HAD ES, 1 2, 1 22,1 25, 1 26 ; ch ar
acter , 73, 74, 1 05.
Hagno , 24Hakon ,h i s batt l e, 436.
Hamadr yads , 77 , 80, 81 .“Happy I s l e,
" 282.
Har a l d F a i r h a i r , 402.Har l ech , 281 .Harp i es , 89.
Hayman ,46
Hea , 36 .
Hebe, 87 ;ter , 89.
Hecataea, 74
Hecataeu s , 297.Hecate . goddess of m agi c , 74 ; ch ar ac
ter and wor sh i p , 74 ; ofi’
er i ngs , 74 ;
r ep r esentati on , 74.
Hecu ba,” 1 08.
Hei dr u n ,376 .
Hei mdal , 395 , 424.
Hel , 347 , 366 , 392, 424, 427 ;dog of 391 ,
1 1 al l of, 406 .
Hel ga, h ea l ed by Runes , 431 , 432.
Hel i con , 278.
Hel i odor ns , 1 08.
Hel i os , 38.
Hel vi a , ] 87.
Hengi st, 247 .
Heph aestus , 23, 54, 88, 1 1 9, 1 21 ; ar t i ficer of th e gods , 54 ; cast ou t of
h eaven ,54 , 55 ; descr i p ti on , 55, 56 ;
for ged th e th u nder bol ts of Zeu s, 54 ;m ar r i es Aph rod i te, 56 ; i mages on
h ear th s at Ath en s , 56 ; r ecei ves no
wor sh i p , 56 ; r epr esen tati on 1 0
ar t, 56 .
Her a , 23, 28, 49, 87, 89, 1 1 7 ; ch ar acter50-52 ; cow
-h eaded i dol s , 50; defects ,51 ; l ead i ng i dea , 28 ; m ar r i es Zeu s ,49 ; m yth ol ogy , Pel asgi an or
forei gn i n or i gi n ,49 ; p r er ogati ves ,
51 ; r ep r esen ted at Samos , 50 : r ep r e
sen ts th e fr u i ts of ea i th ,49 ; su b
jected to p u n i shm en t by Zeus , 52.Hei ac l es, 1 08, 31 2. 354.
h er beauty , 89 ; ch a i ac
.I I V1 ?JE$YZ
Her a i on , 57.Her cu l es , 1 38, 1 59, 348, 353 ; r ecei ves
t i th es , 1 60.
Herm es , 1 20, 31 4 ; ch ar ac ter , 57 ; con
n ec ted W i th Cabi r i , 58 ; en ter ta i n edby Ca l yp so, 82 m yth ol ogi ca l r el a
t ions , 58 r ep r esen tati ons , 55 statue
byPr ax i tel es , 57.
Herm i on e, 62.
Hermod , 367, 392Herm u ndu r i
,354
Herodotus , 355 .
Heroes an d Her o-wor sh i p , 340, 363.
Her th a , 352, 353.
Heswd , 1 6 , 25 , 78, 92.
Hesper i des , 89.
Hes ti a ,23 ; goddess of th e fir es i de, 62 ;
ch ar acter , 62 ; sac red fir e h er symb ol , 62.
B esu s , 304, 31 8, 31 9.
Hesych i us , 1 7 , 49, 1 1 9.
Hi bber t Lectu res ," 21 9, 225 , 230, 234,
242, 245 , 255, 268, 275 , 279, 323.
H i ber n i a , 294.
H i span i a , 1 87.
H i stor y of G r eece, by Cur ti u s , 22, 99,“H i stor y of Gr eece,” by G r ote, 72.
H i stor y of R om e,” by Momm sen
1 40,1 54, 1 60, 1 76 .
Hl i d skja l f, 358, 402, 408.Haos , 404 .
Hoder , 393, 427 ; b l i nd , 399 ; s l ay s B alder , 392.
Hodm imer’s for est, 426.
Hoener 427 .
Hofvar pn er , 370.
Hol ne, 239.
Hol y stones , Dr u i d i c , 242, 243—246
h eal i ng V i r tues, 234—236 ; wons l u p for
.
h i dden ,246 .
Hom er , 1 6 , 25, 36 ,37 , 50,
—56 , 76 ,
81 - 83, 104, 1 05.
Homer an d Homer i c Age," 34.
Honer , 360.
l l or ace, 1 91 .
Hor se, 88.
Hor bu rg, 81 6 .
Hor ta 1 29, 1 30.
Hosea , 355 .
“ Hou se of th e Vesta l s ," 1 70.
Hr u ngner , 380—383.
456 I N DEX.
Lear , Ki ng, of Sh akspear e, 280L eder un ,
444.
Lemnos , 23, 55.Lem ur al i a, 1 81 .Lemu r es , 1 28, 1 67.
L en orm an t, 26.27.Lep r ech aun s , 328—330.
Lerad , 376.Ler n tean Hyd ra , 89.
Levana, 1 45.
L i ban ,271 .
Li ber , 1 58.
L i l , 426, 428.
Li fe, Ar yan i dea ,49.
L i fth raser , 426 , 428.
L i men ti nus , 1 45.
Li par a I sl an ds, 23.
L i r,279 ; or i gi n a l of Sh akspear e
’s Lear
Li ttl e Peop l e," 325 ,41 6 , 4 1 7.
“Li ves an d Op i n i on s of Em i nen t P h i
l osop h er s,” 25. 96 . 1 83, 1 84, 305.
Li vy , 1 30; on Etr u scan r el igi on , 1 06 .
L l awgyfl'
es Lew , stor y , 258—26 1 .Ll eu , ori gi nal name of Dru i d i c su n
god , 260.Ll ew , 264
L l nth of th e s i l ver h and ," 21 8.
L oen ti us, 1 45.
Loder , 360.
Loeg, 272.
Lofn , 370.
Loge, eats a r ace wi th Loke, 385 , 388.
Logan , 240, 242, 282, 306 .
Lo i re, 294.Loi re, 367, 369, 393, 395, 424 ; abu ses th egods, 408 ; br i ngs per i l to th e gods,406 ; destr u c ti on of h i s ch i l dren decr eed by th e god s, 406 ; h i s th ree
ch i l d r en , 406 ; jou r neys w i th Th or ,383-388 ; l ear ns th e sec r et con nectedwi th th e i n vu l nerab i l i ty of B a l der ,392 ; not a l ways evi l , 406 ; p r ocu r es
th e gol den ap p l es , 396 , 397 ; p u r suedby th e gods, 408, 409 ; r etu r ns th e
gol den app l es , 397 ; seeks gol den h a i rfor Si l , 368, 369 ; th e b an e of B a l der ,392 ; th e gods fish for Loke
,409 ;
tor tu r ed by th e gods , 409, 41 0; wrest l es w i th Loge a t ea ti ng, 385-387.Losna
,1 1 9.
Lou n d res. 237.
Lower Ormon d,278.
L uach ai r , 273.
Lu can , 31 8, 31 9 ; upon th e Dr u i ds and
thei r gl oves , 302—304 .
Luceres , 1 77Lu c i an , 92 ; on Her cu l es or Ogmos ,31 2—31 6 .
Lu c i n a, 1 52.
Ludgate H i l l , 21 8.
L ug, 249, 266—274 ; cu l tu re p reva i l ed ,264 ; feast i n st i tu ted , 263; stor y ,26 1 -263.
L ugnassad , 263.
L ugoves, th ei r templ e, 264.Lun a, 1 1 9, 354.
Lunet, 255.
Luperca l i a , 1 68.
Lu per c i ,Lycurgu sLydney, 21 8.
Mac Ki neel y, 261 , 262.
Mac 00,221 , 249.
Macp h er son , 282.
Mac 8amth a i nn , 261 .
Maen Ki tti , 236 .Magi , 304.
Magi c , 31 0; broth , 276, 277 ; cau l dronof poetr y and sc i en ce, 273; i nflu
en ce, 1 6.
Magne, 383, 427.Magnetes , 37.Mag Sl ec h t, 242.
Ma i a , 83.
Ma l l et, 429, 435 , 441 , 445 , 446 .
Mam u r i us V etu r i u s , 1 54.
Manan na n , god of th e sea , 297 ; Wel sh
Man awyddan , 280.
Manan nan mac L i r,272-274.
Manawyddan , 280.
Manes ,Man i a , 1 22, 1 31 .
Mau ti c a rt , 1 00 ; i n Apol l o-worsh i p ,
100-1 03
Mantu r n se, 1 46 .
Muu tus,1 22
,1 31
Mapon es , 31 6 .
Mar cus An naeus Seneca , 1 87.Mar cus Au rel i u s
, ch aracter , 207, 210;
sel ecti on s, 208—21 0.
Mar i ne de i ti es i n Etr ur i a, 1 26 , 1 27.
Mar pessa ,48.
Mar s , 1 67, 1 68, 21 8, 219, 293, 31 7, 348,353; cen tr a l objec t of wor shi p , 1 53;
I N DEX.457
char acter , 1 54 ; gave name to Mar ch , Mi nor D i al ogues "oi Sean , no. 1 92.
1 54.
Ma rse i l les , Dr u i d grove near , 81 6.Mars pi ter , 1 54 .
Mm yns , 39.
Math o lwch , 280; adven tu res,Math th e An c i en t, 249, 257 , 259.
Matu ta, 1 46 .
Mau ra, 1 67 , 1 68.
Maxen ,h i s dream , 228
-230.
Max i mus Tyr i na, 108.McAnal l y, 828.
Mean , 1 27 .
Meath , 263.
Modh , 224.
Medea , 106 .
Med i ta ti ons ”01 Marcus Au rel i us.
207, 210.
Megi ng-jar der , 878.
Mel a, 331 .Memorabi l i a "
oi Xeq h on , 1 8.
Menage, 805.
Menrva, 1 1 8.
Mens , 1 46 .
Meaw ,286 .
Meuwd , 287.Mer cur y , 1 20, 1 24, 1 60, 1 6 1 , 293, 848,
Mer cu r i us Ar ta i us - Ogm i os, th e Gal l i cn am e, 812
Mer l i n , 234, 249.
Mer l i n Emr ys, 230.
Merma i d , 41 5.Men uan , 41 5.
Merodach , 36 .
Mer sb urg, 444.
Metamor ph oses , 79, 86 .
Met i s , 42.
Metz , Gau l i sh figu re at, 824.M i das , 89.Mi der , 221M i dga r d , 360.
M i dgard-serpen t, 888 ; cast i nto th e
sea, 406 ; caugh t by Th or 889, 890;
l oose i n the l as t days , 423.
Mi d l u ach a i r .273.
Mi l es ian s , 21 7.
M i l etus , 32.M i l ton , 8 1 .
Mi mer's foun ta i n , 279, 86 1 , 866 , 424.
Mi ner va , ch aracter , 1 52 ;
l esti val , 1 53.
1 94-1 97 , 1 99.
Mi nota u r , 89.
Mi nyas , 7 1 .M i stl etoe , sacred i n Dru i d ism, 298, 299
Mjol ner , 368 , 878.Mode.427.Modgud , 898.
Mommsen , 1 88, 1 89, 1 54, 1 60, 1 76 .
Mona , 228.
Moongarm , swal l ows the moon , 428.
Morda r , 276.
Mor la i x , la tr i es u nder i ts cas tle, $ 13.
Mormol ca , 92.
Mother goddess , Ce l ti c , worsh i ped , 828.
Mount Etna , 23.
Moun t Hz m us , 89.
Mount Lyce us, 24.
M. Robt. Mowat, 8 19.Mi i l l er ,Max, 1 8.Mu n in ,
864.
Munster , 228.
Mun th ukh ,1 20, 1 21 .
Mur cia , 1 45.
Mu r themne, 268, 270.
Mapel , 424.
Muses, 38, 103; daugh ters 01 b us , 77.
Museum of V i enne, Ce l ti c al ta r , 824.Muspel h ei m ,
356 , 357 , 859.
Myca l e, 82
Mycenaz, 50
Mycen e and T i ryns ," so.
Myth ol ogy , Ce l ti c , 21 6 ; N orse oi th e
Creation , 356 , d seq .
N s am sxn , 428 ; desc r i bed , 306 .
Ma n i a, 1 46 .
N agl far , sh i p made of the na i l s oi the
dead , 423.
N ah arval i , 852.
N ai ads , 76 , 77.N smnn ,
224.
N ame oi God , too sac red to p ro nounce,95 , 96 .
N orm s , goddess of flowers . 892, 894.
N ew ,409.
N atura l H i s tor y oi Pl i ny , 298-801 .N aus i th oos , 80.
N ech t, 21 8.
N ecks , 41 5 , 41 6.N eda, 24.N el eus, 80.
458
N emean Li on , 89.
N emedi an s , 21 7.
N emeton a , 31 8.
N emon , 31 8.
N ep tu na l i a , 1 6 1 .
N eptu ne, 21 8, 21 9.
N eptu n us , 1 6 1 , 1 62.
N er ei ds , 32.
N ereus , 78 ; ch ar acter 76 ; ol d god of
th e sea , 30.
N er o, 202 ; con demned Senecato death ,
1 88 .
N estor , 31 5.
N et, 31 8.
N eth u n s , 1 1 9, 1 61 .
N ew Cas tl e, 324.N i copo l i s , 202.
N i dh ug,N i ebel u ngen-l i ed , 341 .N i éve i 322
N i fi h ei m ,347
,356 , 376 , 391 .
N i m bl e,th e h or se
,393.
N i n eteenth Cen tu r y , Th e," 28,
49.
N i sses , fa i n es , 4 1 5.
N jor d, 359, 397 ; ch ar a cter , 400; gi ven
to th e Asas i n exch ange for Hoener ,N oatu n , abode of N jor d , 400.
N odatus , 1 46
N odena, 21 8N ona, 1 44.
N ones , 1 66
N or n s,th e th r ee, 362.
x
N or se Myth ol ogy ,” 358 , 363, 367 , 388
41 6 , 425
N or se R el i gi on , accoun t of Tac i tus , 347 ;augu r i es , 349, 350; ch ar acter , 340,
343; decay , 340, 341 ; ear l y h ad n o
i dol s , 430; fa i r i es an d el ves , Q 8 ;former exten t, 340; gr eat gods , 369 ;h ow m uch we owe to i t, 346 ; i m
p or tan ce, 339 ; mon oth ei st i c an d pol
yth ei sti c , 356 ; m yth s of cr eati on ,
356,c l seq . ; or ac l es , 430; or dea l s
,
429, 430; pur est r emai ns fou nd i nI cel and, 341 , 342 ; r u n es , 431 , el seq
sacr i fices , 436 ; sor cer y an d d i vi nati on ,
428, 429 ; tea ch i ngs , 343; tem p l e
435, 436 ; tr i n i ty , 359.
N or th er n An ti qu i ti es ,” 429, 435 , 441
N orti a, 1 29, 1 30.
I N DEX.
N or way,410.
N u ad a,21 7 ; s i l ver b and , 21 8.
N uma , 1 65 , 1 77.
N nmer i a , 1 45 .
N ymp h s, assoc i at i on w i th Herm es , 82,
83; grove desc r i bed , 79, 80 ; I th acan ,
82; l oves, 86 ; wor sh i p , 77.
OCEAN I D ES,77 ; daugh te r s of Ocean
an d Teth ys, 78 ; n um ber , 78 ; p r ay
for Pr ometh eu s , 78.
O’Cu r ry, 273, 278.
Oder , 404 .
Odi n , god of war , 279, 353, 354, 357, 358,
364, 439, 440; adven tu r es w i th th e
gi ant Hr ungner , 380-383; adven tur eswi th th e gi ant Skr ymer , 383-388 ; ap
pearance, 364 ; bl esses h i s su bjects ,367 ; d i scover s r u nes
,375 ; festi va ls ,
446 ; h i s h al l, 366 , 376 ; jou r ney toJotu nh ei m ,
373 ; jour n ey wi th Loi re,383- 388 ; jou r ney w i th Loke .and
Hoener , 396 ; l ost on e eye, 36 1 ;n ames, 364 ; r ecei ves a stone i n h i s
for eh ead , 380; r ecei ves th e gi ft of
p oetry , 372—375 ; stone r emoved fr omh i s for eh ead , 383; vi s i ts N i fl h ei m ,
391 wi ves , 369.
Odr oer er , 374.
Odysseus , 31 , 42, 43, 46 , 81 , 82.
Ogam , 31 6.
Ogma, 31 6
Ogm i os , 31 2.
O l af Tr yggvason , 402, 443.
Ol ana, 430.
O l l amh , 284, 285.
O l ymp us , 24.
O l ymp i a, 57 , 62.
Ops , 1 58 ; san ctu ar y , 1 59.
O r ac l es , 1 01 - 1 03; cen ter s of cu l tu re,1 01 co l on i es u nder p r otec t i on of
Apo l l o, 1 02 foster l i ter atu re, 1 02.
O r ch omen u s , seat of wor sh i p of th e
Ch ar i tes , 87.O r deal , 1 08O r eads
,77.
O r ei th yi a , 89
Or estes , 60.
O r i en ta l Recor ds Mon umen tal ,”1 5.
O r i gi n of th i ngs , Gr eek, 22.O r ph eus , 1 21 .
O r tygi a , 84 , 86 .
O r vandel th e W i se , 383.
460 I N DEX.
Q U ESTI ON ES R ow s .
"of Pl utar ch . Sac r ed fou nta i n s , 230—234, 252.
1 30,Sac r ed fish , 278, 279.
Ou i es, 1 45. Sac red trees , 278, 279.Sacr ed wel l s , 278, 279 ; Cor nwa l l 240
241 cu r es at, 240.
R AG N A R OK , 366 , 422, et seq . Sacr i fice, Dr u i d i c , 292—294.R an ,
w i fe of E ger , 399. Sacr i fice , Etr uscan , 1 31 .
R atatosk , th e squ i r r el , 362. Sacr i fice, R oman , da i l y , 1 66 .
Ra te , 374 . Sacr i fices exp r ess commu n i ty of l i feR awh n son , 34, 53, 56 , 6 1 , 1 24 wi th gods , 98 ; h um an , 1 1 , 1 81 ; h u
1 82, 355. m an sacr i fice i s gues t of th e gods ,Rh adama n th u s, 25. 99 ; r ep resen ts cor n -sp i r i ts , 97 ; su rRh ea, vi vai s of h uman ,1 68 ; to Cer es , 1 72Rh ea ’
s cave, 24. to u n kn own gods , 95, 96 .
Rh eim s’ mon umen t, 321
-323. S udn i ca T i ti i , 1 74.Rh odes, 38. Sath r immer , 376.
R h aacu s , 80. Saemund th e Wi se, 342.
Rh one, 31 8. Saga, 375.
Rh ys,21 9, 225 , 230, 234, 242, 268, Sa i , 284, 285 .
275 , 306 , 31 2, 81 7 , 328, 380, 395 . Sa i n t B r i gi t attends th e sacr ed fir es,Rel igi on ,i ts study , 21 5. 237.
Rel i gi on of th e common peop l e. 1 5 , 1 6 Stunt Davi d , 236 .
R el i gi on of th e Etr usca n s , 1 1 5. Sa i n t Germa i n , 323.
Rel i gi ons of th e An c i en t Wor l d ,” 34, Sai n t Patr i ck, 236 , 242.
53, 56 , 6 1 , 1 1 6 , 1 20, 1 24 , 1 32. Sa l i i , 1 54 , 1 68.
B i g, 395 . Sa l mon of knowl edge, 277.Ri nd, 369, 371 . Sa l us, 1 29.
R i ngh orn , 392. Samos , 50.
Roman r el i gi on , ch ar acte r , 1 43; dei fi Samoth r ace, 74.
cati on of th e emp er or , 1 48 ; effor ts to Samoth rac i an,67.
uph ol d th e r el i gi on , 1 48 ; for ei gn el San ctuar i es , Gr eek, depos i tor i es of
smen t, 1 49 ; gods i n vi ted to R ow e, money , 102.
1 48, 1 49 ; l aws aga in st for ei gn gods, Satur na l i a, 1 58 ,1 59, 1 66 .
1 48 ; n umber of di vi n i ti es, 1 44- 1 48 ; Sa tu r nu s , 1 58 ; ch ar ac ter , 1 58, 1 59.
sur vi val s, 1 43; tu tel ar y sp i r i ts , 1 44. Sa tyr s , 72.
R oskva, 384. Saxo th eG rammari an , 430.
R ub i gu s , 1 46 . Sayce, 36.R ‘
ugen , 41 1 . Scapegoat, 96 .
Rum in a, 1 44. Sch l i emann , 50.
R nn c i na, 1 46 . Schor i e, 30, 83.
Runes for d i vi nati on 481 , a reg. Sc i en ce of La ngu age," 1 8.
B u s in a , 1 46 . Scone, 244.
Rusor, 1 46 . Scor d 1sc i . 355.
Scotti sh Gael,
”th e of L 0gan , 240, 242,
Saenan m a, B el tan e, 287 bon fi r es ,237 ; cerem on i es i n Scotl and, 240; Scotti sh H i gh l an d fai r i es , 329, 330.
Cor nwa l l , 240; fes ti vi ti es i n Engl and , Scy th i ans .355.
239, 240 ; fes ti vi ti es i n I r el and , 240; Seeker s after G od ,
" 200.
festi vi ti es i n Scotl and. Hi gh Segetin ,1 46 .
l anders wa l k around th ei r fiel ds W 1 th Sei a, 1 46 .
flame, 240. Sel en e, 38.
Sacred fire, Dr u i di c, 237 ; attended by Semel e 69.
St. B r i gi t, 237. Sem nones , 350, 351 .
I N DEX.
Seneca, 1 9-4
l i fe, 1 87- 1 89 ; opens h is own vei ns.
1 88 ; reca l l ed fr om bun tsbmsnt, 1 88 ;
recommends su i c i de, 1 90 ; si ns of h i sage, 1 88, 1 89 ; takes pub l i c 06 013, 1 87.
1 88 ; teach i ngs, 1 90-302 ; tu tor to
N ero . wr i ti ngs resemb l e th e Scr i p
tu res , 200, 201 .
Sen ti a , 1 42i
Sen ti n us. 1 44.
Ser aph , 31 6 .
Sen na . 1 70.
Ser vi us , 1 20. 132.
Sessrym ner , 404.
Setanti a exp l oi ts, 266 , 267 ; namedCn ch u l ai n , 268.
Seth l aus. 1 1 9.
Severn ,21 8.
Sh ades , p rop i t iati on 01 , 106.Sh akspeare. 362 ; abou t fa i r i es , 41 8.Shannon , 279.
Shetl and .410.
Si by l l i ne books , 1 6 1 , 1 80.
Si c i l y , 64.B i t, 36 7. 880.
Sigmond, 367 , 442, 443.Sigyn , 409.
Si l en i , 58
Si l enu s , 72.
Si l u res , 21 8
Si l vanu s .god oi woods and boundar i es ,1 44 , 1 63, 31 9.
Simm i as , 109.
S imon i des , 105 .
S i n among Greeks , 94 , 1 03,1 04 ; th ei r
par don , 94, 95 ; among Romans1 81 .
Si nan u,279.
Si nd re, 368.
Si nt ians , 55 .
Si pna, 1 21 .
Si r ona, goddess , 31 6 ; r ep r esen ted , 31 7.Sjofn , 37 1 .
Skade, 397. 400, 409.
Sker r , 282.
Ski db l ad ner . sh i p 01 Frey , 368. 401 .
St i rn er .404.
Skrymer , adven tu re wi th Th or , 384
S l ei pner . 364, 380, 391 .
Sn or ro. 433.
Snorr i Stu r l eson , 342.
Sa ntr a. 37 1 .
46 1
Snowdon .229, 229.281 .Socrates , 1 8 ; passages trom Pi s to , 108
1 1 1 .
Soph oc l es. 1 6 , 104, 108.
Spurtu .39, 87.
Spencer .240.
Sp i n i ens is. 1 46.
Sta ti l i nus. 1 45.
Stutl ns , 1 44.
Sterope.23.
Stimu l a, 1 46 .
Stoi c i sm : a l l er r ors are eq ua l , 1 86
beau ty . 1 34 ; bel ief i n one god , 1 86 :
b rave [or v i r tue. 1 95 ; debt 01 gr atitude to the gods . 1 94 ; defec ts immor
tal , 212 ; detec ts oi th e s ystem 210
212 ; d i vi nati on , 1 86 : l ate, 1 98. 1 99 ;
l ounded by Zeus . 1 83 ; free wi l l , 1 99 ;
h as no tee l i ng, h ol y th ough ts,1 86 : i dea l im poss i bl e. 21 1 : moral i ty ,1 83; no repen tance ava i l s , 212 : not
at h ome i n G r eece . 1 86 ; panthe
i sm ,1 86 : pl eas u res u n rel i ab le,
1 97 :
p romp tness i n du ty. 1 98 : r everence
to th e gods. 1 924 94 ; sou r ce 01 i n
formati on , 193. 1 94 ; teach i ngs . 1 84
1 86 ; the dead ar e sa le. the
futu re,1 99. 200 ; the god s love men ,
1 93 : th e gods send afii i cti ons to th e
good , 1 93 ; th e good are immorta l
1 97 : th e sou l beyond h arm , 1 94, 1 95
th e sou l i s a l l man possesses . 1 94 ; the
sto i c i s a l most equal to god , 1 85, 1 86 ;
the tr ue sto i c h ard to find , 206 ; th e
wi se man , 1 84 ; v i r tue, 1 84.
Stoneh enge. 234 . 236 .
Stone of F a l , 244.
Stone wors h i p , 24.
Str abo. 1 1 7, 295 , 306 ; on Ga l l i c Dr u i ds,
Stran i a , 1 45
Stromkar l , 41 5 .
Sub igus , 1 46
Suevi , 348.
Su i ci de, recommended by Ep i ctetus .1 91 ; by Mar cus Au re l i us. 1 92
by Petron i u s. by Pl i ny , 1 91by Seneca , 1 90, 1 92.
Su l l a. 1 77 .
Summanu s , 1 1 7.
Sun-god . cu l t. 37. 257 , r l seq .
Sup reme god , worsh i ped by the Pe l eegl ans , 1 1 .
462 I N DEX.
TAC I TC S, 429 ;u accou n t of Germ an s ,
347—354 ; on Dr u i d i sm 301 Hi s
tor y ,” 354 .
Ta i n an . 353
Tages , 1 32Ta i l l t i n . feas t i n h on or of, 263.
Ta l i essm . s un-god , s tor y , 276 , 277.Tan aqu i l , 1 1 8.Tan ta l u s . 99.
Tar a . 21 9, 242.
Ta r an i s , 304Tar q u i m i 1 39Tar ta r us . 25 90 92, 1 05 , 31 3.
Taygetu s, 72.
Tay l or . 1 1 7—1 20, 1 34.
Tel l us , 1 46 . 1 59.
Tel nmo . 1 46 .
Ten . 130.
Tena r us 27.
Teu tates . 304 , 31 8.
Term i n u s , 1 65 .
Ter pan der . 1 6 .
Ter r a . 1 46
Ter tu l l i an . 1 47
Th a l na , r ep r esen tati on , 1 1 7 , 1 1 8.
Th ana,1 1 7. 1 1 8
Th ankvfl u s 1 1 8
Th aum as i um . 24
Th ebes ,Th eoc r i tu s , 92.
Th eogony ,
"th e of Hes i od . 78, 92Th eo l ogy of G r eek Poets, " 1 04 .
Th esa n . 1 1 9, 1 20.
Th esni Op h or i a ,64 , 65
Th esp i i e. 50
Th es p i an s , 24.
Th essa l y . 7
Th eti s , 56Th i ngs , I cel and , desc r i bed 445
Th i ngs tead . 445 .
Th i son a,24
Th jasse 382. 383, 384 396 . 400 ; sec u r es
the gol den app l es 396 , 397 r ace W i th
Huge 355, 386 , 387 .
Th ok r efu ses to weep for B a l der , 393.
Th ond hjetn , 402.
Th oosa , 30.
Th or , 353, 369, 376 , 380, 438 , 439 , 443 ,
ch ar acter , 378 ; con tr ast w i th Od i n ,
del i vered by Utgar d Loke ,
386-388,duel W i th Hr u ngner , 380
383 ; fish es W i th Hymer . 389, 390 :
gets Hym er'a ki tt l e.390; h ooks th e
M i dgar d-ser pen t, 389. 390 : th reat
en s Loke. 408 ; wr estles W l l h El l a .
Th or b ran d , 434 .
Th or fin n . 431 . 432.
Th orgetd Hor dab r ud , 442.
Th orger d Hol d at i ofi"
. 437.
Th ongr i ui G od t, h i s tem p l e. 438 , 439
Th oro l f B aegi fot ap pear s aftei death
Th r ace. 53 354.
Th r a nkh ei m tem p l e oi , 443, 444.
Th r u d he im 378
Th i ymh ei m , 400.
Th yr s u s 7 1T i ber 1 81
T i en , 1 1 6
T i na god oi the sky, 1 1 6 . 1 1 7 1 22 ; tem
p l e i n ever y c i ty , 1 1 6 . 1 1 7 .
Ti p an u , 1 21 .
Ti ryns ,50.
Th tu s , 1 77
Tl ac h tga 275
Tom bs o i th e Etr u scan s 1 33 ; feasts ,
1 34,1 35 , fu r n i tu re, 1 36 , 1 37 , ofier
i ngs ,1 35 . p a i n t i ngs , 137 ; sym bol i sm ,
1 36—138
Tor y I s l and ,26 1
Tomtates , 31 8.
Tou t i or i x , 31 6
T r ad i t i ons and Hear th s ton e Stor i esof W est Cor n wa l l ," 24 1
Tree 01 Know l edge, Cel t i c , 279.
Tr i naC i ie. 82
Tr i ton s . 21 9.
Trows o f Sh et l and , 40
Tu ath a De D an an n ,21 7 , 280.
Tu i sco 353
Tukh u l k l i a . 1 25
Tu ran 1 20'l u r i n s 1 20.
Tu r o,30
Tu rm ukas ,1 25 .
Tu sc i , 1 1 6
Tn t i l i na,1 46
Tu tu a ne, 1 46 .
Tyl er . 1 04 . 310.
Tyl wyth Teg, 330.
464 I N DEX.
conquer s Typh oeus, 92 ; ch aracter , l asgi c d i ffer en ti ated , 1 2 ; th e stone
1 9-22 ; ch i l d ren sacr i ficed to, 230; h i s fath er swa l l owed p r eser ved at
dwel l s on m oun ta i n s 1 9 ; ep i th ets , De l p h i , 24 ; th r u sts h i s fath er i n to1 2 ; tau l ts , 20, 21 ; h i s nod , 1 9 ; i n a tar u s
,25 ,
V i ctor y over l i i s fa th er ’s
str u cted by n ymph s , 23 ; l oves , 20 ; weakness , 50poss i b l e p r i m i t i ve m ean i ng, 1 1 ; Zeus Cappotus , 24.
power ,1 9 p res i des over th e O l ym Zeus Ena l i os . 1 2.
p i an gods , 1 9 ; p rov1 de i i t1 al car e, 1 5 ; Zeu s Po l i eus 97.
p u n i sh es Li m a,52 ; r ebel l ed agai ns t Zeu ss , 306
h i s fath er , str uggl e t o becom e ch i ef , Z i r na , 1 20.
22-24 ; swa l l ows Meti s , 42 ; th e Pe Zosim us , 1 70.