Myths of Greece and Rome Part 12

[Sidenote: Wors.h.i.+p of Vesta.]

Vesta, or Hestia, daughter of Cronus and Rhea, G.o.ddess of fire and of the family hearth, and guardian angel of mankind, was wors.h.i.+ped princ.i.p.ally throughout Italy, although she also had shrines in Greece and Asia Minor.

The family hearth in ancient times possessed a far different signification from what it does now, and was considered the family altar, for there the father of the family was wont to offer up his daily prayers and sacrifices. "As, according to the old heathen custom, all men were regarded as enemies unless by a special compact they had been made friends, so Vesta presided especially over true and faithful dealing;" and she was therefore generally represented as pure and undefiled.

A beautiful circular temple in Rome was dedicated to Vesta's service; and here the Palladium of Troy was supposed to be preserved, together with the G.o.ddess's sacred fire, originally kindled by the rays of the sun.

This fire--an emblem of the flame of life, which the ancients fancied was kept burning within each human breast by Vesta, the life-giver--was kept constantly burning, and never allowed to go out for want of fuel or timely care. Its flames were also intended to represent the purity of the G.o.ddess, who, although wooed by many lovers,--among whom Apollo and Neptune can justly claim the precedence,--remained always a virgin.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SCHOOL OF THE VESTAL VIRGINS.--Le Roux.]

The Romans fancied that her wors.h.i.+p had been introduced in Italy by AEneas, their famous ancestor, who brought thither his home G.o.ds, and who, according to tradition, selected the first Vestal Virgins.

[Sidenote: Vestal Virgins.]

The second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, built a beautiful temple, and inst.i.tuted various religious ceremonies, in honor of Vesta. The loveliest and n.o.blest among the Roman maidens were chosen to serve this G.o.ddess, and were known as Vestals, or Vestal Virgins. Admitted into the temple at the early age of six, they were compelled to serve ten years in fitting themselves to fulfill the duties they would be called upon to perform during the next decade as priestesses and guardians of the sacred fire. The last ten years were spent in instructing the novices; and, when their thirty-years' service was ended, they were at liberty either to continue in the temple, where they were treated with the greatest respect, or to leave it, and even marry, if such were their pleasure.

During their time of servitude, they were expected to keep their vows of chast.i.ty and fidelity to their patroness, and to maintain her sacred fire, under penalty of being buried alive in a vaulted chamber, fas.h.i.+oned for this express purpose by Numa Pompilius's order. In turn, each of the priestesses watched the fire, renewed the fuel, and fanned the flame, nor lost sight of it night or day; for the Romans considered the extinction of this sacred flame the precursor of some great public calamity.

The Vestals were, however, so pure and vigilant, that during one thousand years only eighteen failed to keep their vows satisfactorily, and suffered punishment. The Vestal Tuccia was accused of breach of faith, but, as proof of her purity, was given power to carry water in a sieve from the Tiber to the temple.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE VESTAL TUCCIA.--Le Roux.]

In return for the signal services the Vestals rendered to the state by maintaining this sacred fire, they enjoyed many privileges: among others, that of being preceded by a lictor with fasces when they walked abroad; of occupying the seats of honor in public ceremonies and festivities; of being buried within the city limits (a privilege granted to but very few); and of obtaining the pardon of criminals whom they met by accident on their way to the place of execution. Loved and greatly honored by all, the Vestals have become types of all things pure and lovely in woman.

"By these her trembling fires, Like Vesta's, ever burning; and, like hers, Sacred to thoughts immaculate and pure."

Young.

The Vestal Virgins were further distinguished by a vesture of pure white linen, with a purple border and a wide purple mantle. In time of war or danger they were answerable for the preservation of the sacred fire, which they were allowed to remove to any place of safety; and on several occasions they therefore carried it out of Rome and down the Tiber, lest it should fall into the enemy's hands.

The Vestals continued their office until the reign of Theodosius the Great, who, being converted to Christianity A.D. 380, abolished the wors.h.i.+p of Vesta, dispersed the Vestals, and extinguished the sacred fire.

[Sidenote: Festivals.]

Vesta's services were held with great pomp; and her festivals, the Vestalia, were among the most beautiful and popular in Rome. Statues of this G.o.ddess--generally representing a woman of majestic beauty, clad in long robes, holding a lighted torch or lamp in one hand and a votive bowl in the other--were carried through the main streets of the city on all solemn occasions.

In public processions the Vestals had the privilege of carrying their sacred fire; while the Roman matrons, glad to swell their ranks, followed them, barefooted, chanting the praises of the good G.o.ddess Vesta.

"And from the temple brings Dread Vesta, with her holy things, Her awful fillets, and the fire Whose sacred embers ne'er expire."

Virgil (Conington's tr.).

On these occasions great banquets were prepared before each house, all daily toil was suspended, the millstones were decked with flowers, and the very a.s.ses wont to turn them were covered with garlands and led in the processions.

Among the Romans, Vesta was not the only G.o.ddess invoked on the family hearth, for she shared that place of honor with the Lares, Manes, and Penates, who all enjoyed special veneration and sacrifices.

[Sidenote: Lares, Manes, and Penates.]

The Lares, quite unknown to the Greeks, were two in number, the children of Mercury and Lara, a naiad famous for her beauty as well as for her extreme loquacity, which no one could check. Tradition relates that this fair maiden talked from morning till night, and told all she knew. Upon one occasion she incurred Jupiter's wrath by relating to Juno a conversation she had overheard between him and one of his numerous ladyloves.

To punish her, and at the same time prevent further tale-bearing, the king of the G.o.ds cut off Lara's tongue, and, summoning Mercury, bade him lead her down to Hades to linger there forever. But on the way to the dismal abode of the dead, the messenger G.o.d fell in love with his fair charge, who, being now effectually cured of her sole fault, was irresistibly charming; and, instead of obeying Jupiter, he made love to her, and by pantomime obtained her consent to their union. She bore him two children, who from her were called Lares, and to whom the Romans always paid divine honors, reserving special places for them on the family hearth, for they were supposed to preside over houses and families. Their statues resembled monkeys covered with the skins of dogs; while at their feet a barking dog, the symbol of their care and vigilance, was always represented.

The Manes--a name generally applied to souls when separated from the body--were also reckoned among the Roman divinities, and the ill.u.s.trious ancestors of different families were often wors.h.i.+ped under this name.

As for the Penates, they presided over the houses and domestic affairs. Each head of a household was wont to choose his own Penates, whom he then invoked as his special patrons. The statues of the Penates were of clay, wax, ivory, silver, or gold, according to the wealth of the family whose hearth they graced, and the offerings generally made to them were a small part of each meal.

Upon removing from one house to another or from one place to another, it was customary for the head of the family to remove his household G.o.ds also, and establish them suitably before he thought of his own or his family's comfort, and in return for this kindly care the Penates blessed him with peace and prosperity.

CHAPTER XVI.

Ja.n.u.s.

Ja.n.u.s, G.o.d of the past, present, and future, of gates, entrances, war, and peace, and patron of all beginnings, although one of the most important of all the Roman divinities, was entirely unknown to the Greeks.

According to some mythologists, he was the son of Apollo; and, although born in Thessaly, he early in life came to Italy, where he founded a city on the Tiber, to which he gave the name Janiculum. Here he was joined by the exiled Saturn, with whom he generously shared his throne. Together they civilized the wild inhabitants of Italy, and blessed them with such prosperity that their reign has often been called the Age of Gold.

"Saturn fled before victorious Jove, Driven down and banish'd from the realms above. He, by just laws, embodied all the train, Who roam'd the hills, and drew them to the plain; There fixed, and Latium called the new abode, Whose friendly sh.o.r.es concealed the latent G.o.d. These realms, in peace, the monarch long controlled, And blessed the nations with an age of gold."

Virgil (C. Pitt's tr.).

[Sidenote: Ja.n.u.s' two faces.]

Ja.n.u.s is generally represented with two faces, turned in opposite directions, because he was acquainted with the past and future as well as with the present, and because he is considered an emblem of the sun, which opens the day at its rising, and closes the day at its setting.

In some statues he is represented with one white-haired and bearded face, and the other quite youthful in appearance, while others represent him with three and even four heads.

"Ja.n.u.s am I; oldest of potentates; Forward I look, and backward, and below I count, as G.o.d of avenues and gates, The years that through my portals come and go.

"I block the roads and drift the fields with snow; I chase the wild-fowl from the frozen fen; My frosts congeal the rivers in their flow; My fires light up the hearths and hearts of men."

Longfellow.

The commencement of every new year, month, and day was held sacred to Ja.n.u.s, and at that time special sacrifices and prayers were offered up at his shrines. He also presided over all gates and avenues, and through him alone prayers were supposed to reach the immortal G.o.ds: therefore in all religious ceremonies his name was always the first invoked. From this circ.u.mstance he often appears with a key in his right hand, and a rod in his left; or, when he presides over the year, he holds the number 300 in one hand, and 65 in the other.

[Sidenote: Wors.h.i.+p of Ja.n.u.s.]

He was also supposed to watch over peace and war, and had numerous temples throughout all Italy. One very celebrated temple was called Ja.n.u.s Quadrifons, because it was perfectly square. On each side of the building there was one door and three windows. These apertures were all symbolical,--the doors of the four seasons, and the windows of the twelve months, of the year.

In times of war the temple gates were opened wide, for the people, being in need of aid and comfort, were all anxious to enter and present their offerings; but when peace reigned, the doors were immediately closed, for the G.o.d's intercession was no longer necessary. The Romans, however, were such a belligerent people, that the temple gates were closed but thrice in more than seven centuries, and then only for a very short period.

Festivals in honor of Ja.n.u.s were celebrated on the first day of the new year; and one month bore the G.o.d's name, and was considered sacred to him. It was customary for friends and relatives to exchange calls, good wishes, and gifts on the first day of this month,--a Roman custom in force to this day.

[Sidenote: Ancient divisions of time.]

Ja.n.u.s is not the only one among the Greek and Latin divinities whose name has been given to a part of the year or week; for in Latin the names of the days are dies Solis (Sun day), dies Lunae (Moon day), dies Martis (Mars' day), dies Mercurii (Mercury's day), dies Jovis (Jove's day), dies Veneris (Venus' day), dies Saturni (Saturn's day); Latin names which are still in use in legislative and judiciary acts, while in English the common nomenclature is derived from the names of the corresponding Saxon divinities.

CHAPTER XVII.

SOMNUS AND MORS.

[Sidenote: Cave of sleep.]

After leaving the joyless regions of Pluto's realm, and following the even course of the Lethe River, the ancients fancied one reached a large cave in a remote and quiet valley. This cave was the dwelling of Somnus (or Hupnos), G.o.d of sleep, and of his twin brother Mors (or Thanatos), G.o.d of death; and both were sons of the G.o.ddess of Night, who had once ruled the whole universe. Near the entrance of the cave, shadowy forms kept constant watch, gently shaking great bunches of poppies, and, with finger to lips, enjoining silence on all who ventured near. These forms were the genii of sleep and death, represented in art as crowned with poppies or amaranths, and sometimes holding a funeral urn or a reversed torch.

[Sidenote: Somnus and Morpheus.]

The cave was divided into chambers, each one darker and more silent than the one which preceded it. In one of the inner rooms, which was all draped with sable curtains, stood a downy couch, upon which reclined the monarch of sleep. His garments were also black, but all strewn with golden stars. He wore a crown of poppies on his head, and held a goblet full of poppy juice in his languid hand. His drowsy head was supported by Morpheus, his prime minister, who watched incessantly over his prolonged slumbers, and hindered any one from troubling his repose.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GENIUS OF DEATH.--Canova. (Tomb of Clement XIII.; St. Peter's, Rome.)]

"Deep in a cavern dwells the drowsy G.o.d: Whose gloomy mansion nor the rising sun, Nor setting, visits, nor the lightsome noon: But lazy vapors round the region fly, Perpetual twilight, and a doubtful sky; No crowing c.o.c.k does there his wings display, Nor with his h.o.r.n.y bill provoke the day: Nor watchful dogs, nor the more wakeful geese, Disturb with nightly noise the sacred peace: Nor beast of nature, nor the tame, are nigh, Nor trees with tempest rock'd, nor human cry; But safe repose, without an air of breath, Dwells here, and a dumb quiet next to death. An arm of Lethe, with a gentle flow, Arising upwards from the rock below, The palace moats, and o'er the pebbles creeps, And with soft murmurs calls the coming sleeps; Around its entry nodding poppies grow, And all cool simples that sweet rest bestow; Night from the plants their sleepy virtue drains, And pa.s.sing, sheds it on the silent plains: No door there was the unguarded house to keep, On creaking hinges turn'd to break his sleep. But in the gloomy court was rais'd a bed, Stuff'd with black plumes, and on an ebon sted: Black was the covering too, where lay the G.o.d, And slept supine, his limbs display'd abroad. About his head fantastic visions fly, Which various images of things supply, And mock their forms; the leaves on trees not more, Nor bearded ears in fields, nor sands upon the sh.o.r.e."

Ovid (Dryden's tr.).

[Sidenote: Dreams and Nightmares.]

All around the bed and over it hovered throngs of exquisite spirits, the Dreams, who stooped to whisper their pleasant messages in his ear; while in the distant corners of the apartment lurked the hideous Nightmares. The Dreams were often dispatched to earth under Mercury's charge, to visit mortals.

Two gates led out of the valley of sleep,--one of ivory, and the other of horn. The Dreams which pa.s.sed through the glittering gates of ivory were delusive, while those which pa.s.sed through the homely gate of horn were destined to come true in the course of time.

"Of dreams, O stranger, some are meaningless And idle, and can never be fulfilled. Two portals are there for their shadowy shapes, Of ivory one, and one of horn. The dreams That come through the carved ivory deceive With promises that never are made good; But those which pa.s.s the doors of polished horn, And are beheld of men, are ever true."

Homer (Bryant's tr.).

Dreams were also frequently sent through the gates of horn to prepare mortals for misfortunes, as in the case of Halcyone.

[Sidenote: Story of Ceyx and Halcyone.]

Ceyx, King of Thessaly, was once forced to part from his beloved wife, Halcyone, to travel off to Delphi to consult the oracle. With many tears this loving couple parted, and Halcyone watched the lessening sail until it had quite vanished from sight; then she returned to her palace to pray for her husband's safe return. But, alas! the G.o.ds had decreed they should never meet again on earth; and, even while Halcyone prayed, a tempest arose which wrecked Ceyx's vessel, and caused him and all his crew to perish in the seething waves.

Day after day the queen hastened down to the seash.o.r.e, followed by her attendants, to watch for the returning sails of her husband's vessel; and night after night she lay on her couch, anxiously expecting the morrow, which she ever fancied would prove auspicious. The G.o.ds, seeing her anxiety, and wis.h.i.+ng to prepare her to receive the news of his death, and especially to view with some composure his corpse, which they had decided should be washed ash.o.r.e, sent a Dream to visit her.

After a.s.suming the face and form of Ceyx, the Dream glided away through the gate of horn, hastened to Halcyone's bedside, and whispered that her husband was dead, and that his body was even now being cast up on the smooth, sandy beach by the salt sea waves. With a wild cry of terror and grief, Halcyone awoke, and hastened to the seash.o.r.e to convince herself that the dream had been false; but she had no sooner reached the beach, than the waves washed her husband's corpse to her feet.

To endure life without him seemed too great a task for poor Halcyone, who immediately cast herself into the sea, to perish beside him. Touched by grief so real and intense, the G.o.ds changed both bodies into birds, since known as Halcyon birds, and decreed they should ever live on the waters. These birds were said to build their nests and hatch their young on the heaving billows, and to utter shrill cries of warning to the seamen whenever a storm threatened, bidding them prepare for the blast, and hasten to shelter in port, if they would not encounter the mournful fate of poor Ceyx.

[Sidenote: Mors.]

Mors, G.o.d of death, occupied one of the corners of Somnus' cave. He was a hideous, cadaverous-looking deity, clad in a winding sheet, and held an hourgla.s.s and a scythe in his hand. His hollow eyes were fixed upon the sands of time; and when they had run out, he knew some life was about to end, and sallied forth, scythe in hand, to mow down his prey with relentless joy.

Needless to say, this cruel deity was viewed by the ancients with fear and dislike, and no homage was offered him.

These two divinities were, however, but of slight importance in the general scheme of ancient mythology, in which Proserpina was generally regarded as the emblem of death, and they were therefore more like local divinities. The Lacedaemonians paid the most heed to them, and invariably placed their statues side by side.

[Sidenote: Morpheus.]

As for Morpheus, the son as well as the prime minister of Somnus, he was also called the G.o.d of sleep, and mortals were wont to intercede for his good offices. He is generally represented as a sleeping child of great corpulence, and with wings. Morpheus held a vase in one hand, and poppies in the other, which he gently shook to induce a state of drowsiness,--according to him, the acme of bliss.

CHAPTER XVIII.

AEOLUS.

Not very far away from the quiet realm of Somnus and Mors, but on the surface of the earth, were the AEolian Islands, now known as the Lipari Islands, where AEolus, G.o.d of the storm and winds, governed a very unruly and turbulent population.

He is said to have received his royal dignity from the fair hands of Juno, and he was therefore specially eager to obey all her behests. He is commonly reputed to have married Aurora, or Eos, who gave him six sons i.e., Boreas, the north wind; Corus, the northwest wind; Aquilo, the west wind; Notus, the southwest wind; Eurus, the east wind; and lastly, Zephyrus, the gentle and lovable south wind, whose mission it was to announce to mortals the return of ever-welcome spring.

[Sidenote: AEolus' children.]

AEolus' five elder sons were of a noisy, roving, mischievous, turbulent disposition, and peace and quiet were utterly impossible to them. To prevent their causing serious disasters, he therefore ruled them with a very strict hand, kept them very closely confined in a great cave, and let them loose only one at a time, to stretch their limbs and take a little exercise.

"AEolus in a cavern vast With bolt and barrier fetters fast Rebellious storm and howling blast. They with the rock's reverberant roar Chafe bl.u.s.tering round their prison door He, throned on high, the scepter sways, Controls their moods, their wrath allays."

Virgil (Conington's tr.).

Although very unruly indeed, the winds always obeyed their father's voice, and at his command, however reluctant, returned to their gloomy prison, where they expended their impotent rage in trying to shake its strong walls.

According to his own mood, or in conformity with the G.o.ds' request, AEolus either sent the gentler winds to play among the flowers, or, recalling them, let the fiercest of all his children free, with orders to pile up the waves mountain-high, lash them to foam, tear the sails of all the vessels at sea, break their masts, uproot the trees, tear the roofs off the houses, etc.,--in short, to do all the harm they possibly could.

"Now rising all at once, and unconfin'd, From every quarter roars the rus.h.i.+ng wind: First, from the wide Atlantic Ocean's bed, Tempestuous Corus rears his dreadful head, Th' obedient deep his potent breath controls, And, mountain-high, the foamy flood he rolls; Him the Northeast encountering fierce, defied, And back rebuffeted the yielding tide. The curling surges loud conflicting meet, Dash their proud heads, and bellow as they beat; While piercing Boreas, from the Scythian strand, Plows up the waves and scoops the lowest sand. Nor Eurus then, I ween, was left to dwell, Nor showery Notus in th' AEolian cell, But each from every side, his power to boast, Ranged his proud forces to defend the coast."

Lucan.

AEolus, king of the winds, shared with Daedalus the honor of inventing the sails which propel the s.h.i.+ps so swiftly over the tide. It was he, too, who, according to Homer, bound all his children but one in a leather bag, which he gave to Ulysses when the latter visited AEolia. Thanks to this gift, Ulysses reached the sh.o.r.es of Ithaca, and would have landed in safety, had not his men, in view of port, untied the sack to investigate its contents, and thus set free the angry winds, who stirred up the most frightful tempest in mythic annals.