Roman Antiquities, and Ancient Mythology Part 12

JUNO & MINERVA GOING TO a.s.sIST THE GREEKS.

SATURNIA LENDS THE LASH, THE COURSERS FLY.

Pope's Homer's Illiad, B. 8. L. 47.

Pl. 4.]

MARS was the son of Jupiter and Juno, or of Jupiter and Erys. He was held in high veneration among the Romans, both on account of his being the father of Romulus, their founder, and because of their own genius, which always inclined them to war. Numa, though otherwise a pacific prince, having, during a great pestilence, implored the favor of the G.o.ds, received a small bra.s.s buckler, called _ancile_ from heaven, which the nymph Egeria advised him to keep with the utmost care, as the fate of the people and empire depended upon it. To secure so valuable a pledge, Numa caused eleven others of the same form to be made, and intrusted the preservation of these to an order of priests, which he const.i.tuted for the purpose, called _Salii_, or priests of Mars, in whose temple the twelve ancilia were deposited.

The fiercest and most ravenous creatures were consecrated to Mars: the horse, for his vigor; the wolf, for his rapacity and quickness of sight; the dog, for his vigilance; and he delighted in the pye, the c.o.c.k, and the vulture. He was the reputed enemy of Minerva, the G.o.ddess of wisdom and arts, because in time of war they are trampled on, without respect, as well as learning and justice.

Ancient monuments represent this deity as of unusual stature, armed with a helmet, s.h.i.+eld, and spear, sometimes naked, sometimes in a military habit; sometimes with a beard, and sometimes without. He is often described riding in a chariot, drawn by furious horses, completely armed, and extending his spear with one hand, while, with the other, he grasps a sword imbued with blood. Sometimes Bellona, the G.o.ddess of war, (whether she be his sister, wife or daughter, is uncertain,) is represented as driving his chariot, and inciting the horses with a b.l.o.o.d.y whip. Sometimes Discord is exhibited as preceding his chariot, while Clamor, Fear, Terror, with Fame, full of eyes, ears, and tongues, appear in his train.

CHAPTER II.

_Celestial G.o.ddesses._

JUNO, daughter of Saturn and Rhea, was sister and wife of Jupiter.

Though the poets agree that she came into the world at the same birth with her husband, yet they differ as to the place. Some fix her nativity at Argos, others at Samos, near the river Imbrasus. The latter opinion is, however, the more generally received. Samos, was highly honored, and received the name of Parthenia, from the consideration that so eminent a _virgin_ as Juno was educated and dwelt there till her marriage.

As queen of heaven, Juno was conspicuous for her state. Her usual attendants were Terror, Boldness--Castor and Pollux, accompanied by fourteen nymphs; but her most inseparable adherent was Iris, who was always ready to be employed in her most important affairs: she acted as messenger to Juno, like Mercury to Jupiter. When Juno appeared as the majesty of heaven, with her sceptre and diadem beset with lilies and roses, her chariot was drawn by peac.o.c.ks, birds sacred to her; for which reason, in her temple at Euba, the emperor Adrian made her a most magnificent offering of a golden crown, a purple mantle, with an embroidery of silver, describing the marriage of Hercules and Hebe, and a large peac.o.c.k, whose body was of gold, and his train of most valuable jewels. There never was a wife more jealous than Juno; and few who have had so much reason: on which account we find from Homer that the most absolute exertions of Jupiter were barely sufficient to preserve his authority.

There was none except Apollo whose wors.h.i.+p was more solemn or extensive.

The history of the prodigies she had wrought, and of the vengeance she had taken upon persons who had vied with, or slighted her, had so inspired the people with awe, that, when supposed to be angry, no means were omitted to mitigate her anger; and had Paris adjudged to her the prize of Beauty, the fate of Troy might have been suspended. In resentment of this judgment, and to wreak her vengeance on Paris, the house of Priam, and the Trojan race, she appears in the Iliad to be fully employed. Minerva is commissioned by her to hinder the Greeks from retreating; she quarrels with Jupiter; she goes to battle; cajoles Jupiter with the cestus of Venus; carries the orders of Jupiter to Apollo and Iris; consults the G.o.ds on the conflict between aeneas and Achilles; sends Vulcan to oppose Xanthus; overcomes Diana, &c.

She is generally pictured like a matron, with a grave and majestic air, sometimes with a sceptre in her hand, and a veil on her head: she is represented also with a spear in her hand, and sometimes with a _patera_, as if she were about to sacrifice: on some medals she has a peac.o.c.k at her feet, and sometimes holds the Palladium. Homer represents her in a chariot adorned with gems, having wheels of ebony, nails of silver, and horses with reins of gold, though more commonly her chariot is drawn by peac.o.c.ks, her favourite birds. The most obvious and striking character of Juno, and that which we are apt to imbibe the most early of any, from the writings of Homer and Virgil, is that of an imperious and haughty wife. In both of these poets we find her much oftener scolding at Jupiter than caressing him, and in the tenth aeneid in particular, even in the council of the G.o.ds, we have a remarkable instance of this.

If, in searching out the meaning of this fable, we regard the account of Varro, we shall find, that by Juno was signified the earth; by Jupiter, the heavens; but if we believe the Stoics, by Juno is meant the air and its properties, and by Jupiter the ether: hence Homer supposes she was nourished by Ocea.n.u.s and Tethys: that is, by the sea; and agreeable to this mythology, the poet makes her shout aloud in the army of the Greeks, the air being the cause of the sound.

MINERVA, or Pallas, was one of the most distinguished of the heathen deities, as being the G.o.ddess of wisdom and science. She is supposed to have sprung, fully grown and completely armed, from the head of Jupiter.

One of the most remarkable of her adventures, was her contest with Neptune. When Cecrops founded Athens, it was agreed that whoever of these two deities could produce the most beneficial gift to mankind, should have the honor of giving their name to the city. Neptune, with a stroke of his trident, formed a horse, but Minerva causing an olive-tree to spring from the ground, obtained from the G.o.d the prize. She was the G.o.ddess of war, wisdom, and arts, such as spinning, weaving, music, and especially of the pipe. In a word, she was patroness of all those sciences which render men useful to society and themselves, and ent.i.tle them to the esteem of posterity.

She is described by the poets, and represented by the sculptors and painters in a standing att.i.tude, completely armed, with a composed but smiling countenance, bearing a golden breast-plate, a spear in her right hand, and the aegis in her left, having on it the head of Medusa, entwined with snakes. Her helmet was usually encompa.s.sed with olives, to denote that peace is the end of war, or rather because that tree was sacred to her: at her feet is generally placed the owl or the c.o.c.k, the former being the emblem of wisdom, and the latter of war.

Minerva represents wisdom, that is, skilful knowledge joined with discreet practice, and comprehends the understanding of the n.o.blest arts, the best accomplishments of the mind, together with all the virtues, but more especially that of chast.i.ty. She is said to be born of Jupiter's brain, because the ingenuity of man did not invent the useful arts and sciences, which, on the contrary, were derived from the fountain of all wisdom. She was born armed, because the human soul, fortified with wisdom and virtue, is invincible; in danger, intrepid; under crosses, unbroken; in calamities, impregnable.

The owl, a bird seeing in the dark, was sacred to Minerva; this is symbolical of a wise man, who, scattering and dispelling the clouds of error, is clear-sighted where others are blind.

VENUS was one of the most celebrated deities of the ancients. She was the G.o.ddess of beauty, the mother of love, and the queen of laughter.

She is said to have sprung from the froth of the sea, near the island Cyprus, after the mutilated part of the body of Ura.n.u.s had been thrown there by Saturn. Hence she obtained the name of Aphrodite, from ?f???, _froth_. As soon as Venus was born, she is said to have been laid in a beautiful couch or sh.e.l.l, embellished with pearls, and by the a.s.sistance of Zephyrus wafted first to Cytherae, an island in the aegaean, and thence to Cyprus; where she arrived in the month of April. Here, immediately on her landing, flowers sprung beneath her feet, the Horae or Seasons awaited her arrival, and having braided her hair with fillets of gold, she was thence wafted to heaven. As she was born laughing, an emanation of pleasure beamed from her countenance, and her charms were so attractive, in the a.s.sembly of the G.o.ds, that most of them desired to obtain her in marriage. Vulcan, however, the most deformed of the celestials, became the successful compet.i.tor.

One of the most remarkable adventures of this G.o.ddess was her contest with Juno and Minerva for the superiority of beauty. At the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the G.o.ddess Discordia, resenting her not being invited, threw a golden apple among the company, with this inscription, _Let the fairest take it_. The compet.i.tors for this prize were Juno, Venus, and Minerva. Jupiter referred them to Paris, who then led a shepherd's life on Mount Ida. Before him the G.o.ddesses appeared. Juno offered him empire or power, Minerva wisdom, and Venus promised him the possession of the most beautiful woman in the world. Fatally for himself and family, the shepherd, more susceptible of love than of ambition or virtue, decided the contest in favor of Venus.

The sacrifices usually offered to Venus, were white goats and swine, with libations of wine, milk and honey. The victims were crowned with flowers, or wreaths of myrtle, the rose and myrtle being sacred to Venus. The birds sacred to her were the swan, the dove, and the sparrow.

It were endless to enumerate the variety of att.i.tudes in which Venus is represented on antique gems and medals; sometimes she is clothed in purple, glittering with diamonds, her head crowned with myrtle intermixed with roses, and drawn in her car of ivory by swans, doves, or sparrows: at other times she is represented standing with the Graces attending her, and in all positions Cupid is her companion. In general she has one of the prettiest, as Minerva has sometimes one of the handsomest faces that can be conceived. Her look, as she is represented by the ancient artists and poets, has all the enchanting airs and graces that they could give it.

LATONA. This G.o.ddess was daughter of Caeus the t.i.tan and Phbe, or, according to Homer, of Saturn. As she grew up extremely beautiful, Jupiter fell in love with her; but Juno, discovering their intercourse, not only expelled her from heaven, but commanded the serpent Python to follow and destroy both her and her children. The earth also was caused by the jealous G.o.ddess to swear that she would afford her no place in which to bring forth. It happened, however, at this period, that the island Delos, which had been broken from Sicily, lay under water, and not having taken the oath, was commanded by Neptune to rise in the aegean sea, and afford her an asylum. Latona, being changed by Jupiter into a quail, fled thither, and from this circ.u.mstance occasioned it to be called Ortygia, from the name in Greek of that bird. She here gave birth to Apollo and Diana. Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, and wife of Amphion, king of Thebes, experienced the resentment of Latona, whose children Apollo and Diana, at her instigation, destroyed. Her beauty became fatal to t.i.tyus, the giant, who was put to death also by the same divinities.

After having been long persecuted by Juno, she became a powerful deity, beheld her children exalted to divine honors, and received adoration where they were adored.

In explanation of the fable, it may be observed, that as Jupiter is taken for the maker of all things, so Latona is physically understood to be the _matter_ out of which all things were made, which, according to Plato, is called ??t? or Latona, from ???e?? to lie _hid_ or _concealed_, because all things originally lay hid in darkness till the production of _light_, or birth of Apollo.

AURORA, G.o.ddess of the morning, was the youngest daughter of Hyperion and Theia, or, according to some, of t.i.tan and Terra. Orpheus calls her the harbinger of t.i.tan, for she is the personification of that light which precedes the appearance of the sun. The poets describe this G.o.ddess as rising out of the ocean in a saffron robe, seated in a flame-colored car, drawn by two or four horses, expanding with her rosy fingers the gates of light, and scattering the pearly dew. Virgil represents her horses as of flame color, and varies their number from two to four, according as she rises slower or faster.

She is said to have been daughter of t.i.tan and the earth, because the light of the morning seems to rise out of the earth, and to proceed from the sun, which immediately follows it. She is styled mother of the four winds, because, after a calm in the night, the winds rise in the morning, as attendant upon the sun, by whose heat and light they are begotten. There is no other G.o.ddess of whom we have so many beautiful descriptions in the poets.

CHAPTER III.

_Terrestrial G.o.ds._

SATURN was the son of Clus and t.i.taea or Terra, and married his sister Vesta. She, with her other sisters, persuaded their mother to join them in a plot, to exclude t.i.tan, their elder brother, from his birthright, and raise Saturn to his father's throne. Their design so far succeeded, that t.i.tan was obliged to resign his claim, though on condition, that Saturn brought up no male children, and thus the succession might revert to the t.i.tans again. Saturn, it is said, observed this covenant so faithfully, that he devoured, as soon as they were born, his legitimate sons. His punctuality, however, in this respect, was at last frustrated by the artifice of Vesta, who, being delivered of twins, Jupiter and Juno, presented the latter to her husband, and concealing the former, sent him to be nursed on Mount Ida in Crete, committing the care of him to the Curetes and Corybantes.

The reign of Saturn was so mild and happy, that the poets have given it the name of the golden age. The people, who before wandered about like beasts, were then reduced to civil society; laws were enacted, and the art of tilling and sowing the ground introduced; whence Varro tells us, that Saturn had his name _a satu_, from _sowing_.

He was usually represented as an old man, bare-headed and bald, with all the marks of infirmity in his eyes, countenance, and figure. In his right hand they sometimes placed a sickle or scythe; at others, a key, and a circ.u.mflexed serpent biting its tail, in his left. He sometimes was pictured with six wings, and feet of wool, to show how insensibly and swiftly time pa.s.ses. The scythe denoted his cutting down and subverting all things, and the serpent the revolution of the year, _quod in sese volvitur annus_.

Ja.n.u.s was a pagan deity, particularly of the ancient Romans. He was esteemed the wisest sovereign of his time, and because he was supposed to know what was past, and what was to come, they feigned that he had two faces, whence the Latins gave him the epithets of Biceps, Bifrons, and Biformis.

He is introduced by Ovid as describing his origin, office and form: he was the ancient Chaos, or confused ma.s.s of matter before the formation of the world, the reduction of which into order and regularity, gave him his divinity. Thus deified, he had the power of _opening_ and _shutting_ every thing in the universe: he was arbiter of peace and war, and keeper of the door of heaven. He was the G.o.d who presided over the beginning of all undertakings; the first libations of wine and wheat were offered to him, and the preface of all prayers directed to him. The first month of the year took its denomination from Ja.n.u.s.

It is certain that Ja.n.u.s early obtained divine honors among the Romans.

Numa ordained that his temple should be shut in time of peace, and opened in time of war, from which ceremony Ja.n.u.s was called Clusius and Patulcius.

The peculiar offerings to Ja.n.u.s were cakes of new meal and salt, with new wine and frankincense. In the feasts inst.i.tuted by Numa, the sacrifice was a ram, and the solemnities were performed by men, in the manner of exercises and combats. Then all artificers and tradesmen began their works, and the Roman consuls for the new year solemnly entered on their office: all quarrels were laid aside, mutual presents were made, and the day concluded with joy and festivity. Ja.n.u.s was seated in the centre of twelve altars, in allusion to the twelve months of the year, and had on his hands fingers to the amount of the days in the year.

Sometimes his image had four faces, either in regard to the four seasons of the year, or to the four quarters of the world: he held in one hand a key, and in the other a sceptre; the former may denote his opening, as it were, and shutting the world, by the admission and exclusion of light; and the latter his dominion over it.

VULCAN was the offspring of Jupiter and Juno. He was so remarkably deformed that Jupiter threw him down from heaven to the isle of Lemnos.

In this fall he broke his leg, as he also would have broken his neck, had he not been caught by the Lemnians. It is added that he was a day in falling from heaven to earth. Some report that Juno herself, disgusted at his deformity, hurled down Vulcan into the sea, where he was nursed by Thetis and her nymphs, whilst others contend that he fell upon land, and was brought up by apes. It is probable that Juno had some hand in his disgrace, since Vulcan, afterwards, in resentment of the injury, presented his mother with a golden chair, which was so contrived by springs unseen, that being seated in it she was unable to rise, till the inventor was prevailed upon to grant her deliverance.

The first abode of Vulcan on earth was in the isle of Lemnos. There he set up his forges, and taught men the malleability and polis.h.i.+ng of metals. Thence he removed to the Liparean islands, near Sicily, where, with the a.s.sistance of the Cyclops, he made Jupiter fresh thunder-bolts as the old ones decayed. He also wrought an helmet for Pluto, which rendered him invisible; a trident for Neptune, which shook both land and sea; and a dog of bra.s.s for Jupiter, which he animated so as to perform the functions of nature. At the request of Thetis he fabricated the divine armor of Achilles, whose s.h.i.+eld is so beautifully described by Homer; as also the invincible armor of aeneas, at the entreaty of Venus.

However disagreeable the person of Vulcan might be, he was susceptible notwithstanding of love. His first pa.s.sion was for Minerva, having Jupiter's consent to address her; but his courts.h.i.+p, in this instance, failed of success, not only on account of his person, but also because the G.o.ddess had vowed perpetual virginity. He afterwards became the husband of Venus.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

AURORA.

HERE THE GAY MORN RESIDES IN RADIANT BOWERS, HERE KEEPS HER REVELS WITH THE DANCING HOURS.

Pope's Homer's Odyssey. B. 12. L. 2.