4. The mountains of Greece are of the Alpine character, and are remarkable for their numerous grottos and caverns. Their abrupt summits never rise to the regions of perpetual snow. There are no navigable rivers in Greece, but this want is obviated by the numerous gulfs and inlets of the sea, which indent the coast on every side, and thus furnish unusual facilities to commerce, while they add to the variety and beauty of the scenery. The climate of Greece is for the inost part healthy, except in the low and marshy tracts around the shores and lakes. The winters are short. Spring and autumn are rainy seasons, when many parts of the country are inundated; but during the whole summer, which comprises half the year, a cloud in the sky is rare in several parts of the country. Grecian scenery is unsurpassed in romantic wildness and beauty; but our deepest interest in the country arises from its classical associations, and the ruins of ancient art and splendor scattered over it.

5. As the Greeks, in common with the Egyptians and other Eastern nations, placed the reign of the gods anterior to the race of mortals, therefore Grecian mythology' forms the MYTHOLOGY. most appropriate introduction to Grecian history.

II. GRECIAN

6. According to Grecian philosophy, first in the order of time came Cháos, a Heterogeneous mass containing all the seeds of nature; then "broad-breasted Earth," the mother of the gods, who produced Uranus, or Heaven, the mountains, and the barren and billowy sea. Then Earth married U' ranus' or Heaven, and from this union came a numerous and powerful brood, the Titans and the Cyclópes, and the gods of the wintry season,-Kot' tos, Briáreus, and Gy'ges, who had each a hundred hands,-supposed to be personifications of the hail, the rain, and the snow.

1. MYTHOLOGY, from two Greek words signifying a "fable" and a "discourse," is a system of myths, or fabulous opinions and doctrines respecting the deities which heathen nations have supposed to preside over the world, or to influence its affairs.

2. Uranus, from a Greek word signifying "heaven," or "sky," was the most ancient of al the gods.

3. The Titans were six males-Oceanus, Coios, Crios, Hyperion, Japetus, and Kronos, or Saturn, and six females,-Theia, Rhéa, Thémis, Mnemos' yne, Phoe' be, and Téthys. Océanus, or the Ocean, espoused his sister Tethys, and their children were the rivers of the earth, and the three thousand Oceanides or Ocean-nymphs. Hyperion married his sister Théia, by whom he had Aurora, or the morning, and also the sun and moon.

4. The Cyclopes were a race of gigantic size, having but one eye, and that placed in the centre of the forehead. According to some accounts there were many of this race, but according to the poet Hesiod, the principal authority in Grecian mythology, they were only three in number, Bron' tes, Ster' opes, and Ar' ges, words which signify in the Greek, Thunder, Lightning, and the rapid Flame. The poets converted them into smiths-the assistants of the fire-god Vulcan. The Cyclopes were probably personifications of the energies of the "powers of the air."

7. The Titans made war upon their father, who was wounded by Sat' urn,' the youngest and bravest of his sons. From the drops of blood which flowed from the wound and fell upon the earth, sprung the Furies, the Giants, and the Melian, nymphs; and from those which fell into the sea, sprung Venus," the goddess of love and beauty. U'ranus or Heaven being dethroned, Sat' urn, by the consent of his brethren, was permitted to reign in his stead, on condition that he would destroy all his male children: but Rhéa his wife concealed from him the birth of Júpiter, Nep' tune,' and Plúto.*

1. Saturn, the youngest but most powerful of the Titans, called by the Greeks, Kronos, a word signifying "Time," is generally represented as an old man, bent by age and infirmity, holding a scythe in his right hand, together with a serpent that bites its own tail, which is an emblem of time, and of the revolution of the year. In his left hand he has a child which he raises up as if to devour it as time devours all things.

When Sat' urn was banished by his son Júpiter, he is said to have fled to Italy, where he employed himself in civilizing the barbarous manners of the people. His reign there was so beneficent and virtuous that mankind have called it the golden age. According to Hesiod, Sat' urn ruled over the Isles of the Blessed, at the end of the earth, by the "deep eddying ocean."

2. The Furies were three goddesses, whose names signified the "Unceasing," the "Envier," and the "Blood-avenger." They are usualy represented with looks full of terror, each brandishing a torch in one hand and a scourge of snakes in the other. They torment guilty consciences, and punish the crimes of bad men.

3. The Giants are represented as of uncommon stature, with strength proportioned to their gigantic size. The war of the Titans against Sat' urn, and that of the Giants against Jupiter, are very celebrated in mythology. It is believed that the Giants were nothing more than the energies of nature personified, and that the war with Jupiter is an allegorical representation of some tremendous convulsion of nature in early times.

4. In Grecian mythology, all the regions of earth and water were peopled with beautiful female forms called nymphs, divided into various orders according to the place of their abode. The Melian nymphs were those which watched over gardens and flocks.

5. Vénus, the most beautiful of all the goddesses, is sometimes represented as rising out of the sea, and wringing her locks,-sometimes drawn in a sea-shell by Tritons-sea-deities that were half fish and half human-and sometimes in a chariot drawn by swans. Swans, doves, and sparrows, were sacred to her. Her favorite plants were the rose and the myrtle.

6. Jupiter, called the "father of men and gods,” is placed at the head of the entire system of the universe. He is supreme over all: earthly monarchs derive their authority from him, and his will is fate. He is generally represented as majestic in appearance, seated on a throne, with a sceptre in one hand, and thunderbolts in the other. The eagle, which is sacred to him, is standing by his side. Regarding Jupiter as the surrounding ether, or atmosphere, the numerous fables of this monarch of the gods may be considered allegories which typify the great generative power of the universe, displaying itself in a variety of ways, and under the greatest diversity of forms.

7. Nep' tune, the "Earth-shaker,” and ruler of the sea, is second only to Jupiter in power. He is represented, like Júpiter, of a serene and majestic aspect, seated in a chariot made of a shell, bearing a trident in his right hand, and drawn by dolphins and sea-horses; while the tritons, nymphs, and other sea-monsters, gambol around him.

8. Pluto, called also Hádes and Or' cus, the god of the lower world, is represented as a man of a stern aspect, seated on a throne of sulphur, from beneath which flow the rivers Lethe or Oblivion, Phleg' ethon, Cocy' tus, and Ach' eron. In one hand he holds a bident, or sceptre with two forks, and in the other the keys of hell. His queen, Pros' erpine, is sometimes seated by him. He is described by the poets as a being inexorable and deaf to supplication, and an

CHAP. II.]

GRECIAN HISTORY.

8. The Titans, informed that Sat'urn had saved his children, made war upon him and dethroned him; but he was restored by his son Júpiter. Yet the latter afterwards conspired against his father, and after a long war with him and his giant progeny, which lasted ten full years, and in which all the gods took part, he drove Sat' urn from the kingdom, and then divided, between himself and his brothers Nep' tune and Pláto, the dominion of the universe, taking heaven as his own portion, and assigning the sea to Nep' tune, and to Plúto the lower regions, the abodes of the dead. With Júpiter and his brethren begins a new dynasty of the gods, being those, for the most part, whom the Greeks recognised and worshipped.

9. Júpiter had several wives, both goddesses and mortals, but last of all he married his sister Júno,' who maintained, permanently, the dignity of queen of the gods. The offspring of Jupiter were numerous, comprising both celestial and terrestrial divinities. The most noted of the former were Mer' cury, Mars, Apol' lo, Vul' can,"

object of aversion and hatred to both gods and men. From his realms there is no return, and all mankind, sooner or later, are sure to be gathered into his kingdom.

As none of the goddesses would marry the stern and gloomy god, he seized Pros' erpine, the daughter of Céres, while she was gathering flowers, and opening a passage through the earth, carried her to his abode, and made her queen of his dominions.

1. Juno, a goddess of a dignified and matronly air, but haughty, jealous, and inexorable, is represented sometimes as seated on a throne, holding in one hand a pomegranate, and in the other a golden sceptre, with a cuckoo on its top; and at others, as drawn in a chariot by peacocks, and attended by I' ris, the goddess of the rainbow.

The many quarrels attributed to Júpiter and Juno, are supposed to be physical allegoriesJupiter representing the ether, or upper regions of the air, and Júno the lower strata-hence their quarrels are the storms that pass over the earth: and the capricious and quick-changing temper of the spouse of Jove, is typical of the ever-varying changes that disturb our atmosphere.

2. Mer' cury, the confident, messenger, interpreter, and ambassador of the gods, was himself the god of eloquence, and the patron of orators, merchants, thieves and robbers, travellers and shepherds. He is said to have invented the lyre, letters, commerce, and gymnastic exercises. His thieving exploits are celebrated. He is usually represented with a cloak neatly arranged on his person, having a winged cap on his head, and winged sandals on his feet. In his hand he bears his wand or staff, with wings at its extremity, and two serpents twined about it.

3. Mars, the god of war, was of huge size and prodigious strength, and his voice was louder than that of ten thousand mortals. He is represented as a warrior of a severe and menacing air, dressed in the style of the Heroic Age, with a cuirass on, and a round Grecian shield on his arm. He is sometimes seen standing in a chariot, with Bellona his sister for a charioteer. Terror and Fear accompany him; Discord, in tattered garments, goes before him, and Anger and Clamor follow.

4. Apol' to, the god of archery, prophecy, and music, is represented in the perfection of manly strength and beauty, with hair long and curling, and bound behind his head; his brows are wreathed with bay: sometimes he bears a lyre in his hand, and sometimes a bow, with a golden quiver of arrows at his back.

5. Vulcan was the fire-god of the Greeks, and the artificer of heaven. He was born lame, and his mother Juno was so shocked at the sight that she flung him from Olym' pus. He forged the thunderbolts of Jupiter, also the arms of gods and demi-gods. He is usually represented as of ripe age, with a serious countenance and muscular form. His hair hangs in curls

Diána,' and Miner' va.' There were two other celestial divinities, Céres and Ves' ta,' making, with Júno, Nep' tune, and Plúto, twelve in all.

9

10. The number of other deities, not included among the celestials, was indefinite, the most noted of whom were Bac' chus," I' ris," Hebe,' the Muses, the Fates, and the Graces; also Sleep, Dreams, and Death. There were also monsters, the offspring of the gods, possessed of free will and intelligence, and having the mixed forms of

on his shoulders. He generally appears at his anvil, in a short tunic, with his right arm bare, and sometimes with a pointed cap on his head.

1. Diana, the exact counterpart of her brother Apol' lo, was queen of the woods, and the goddess of hunting. She devoted herself to perpetual celibacy, and her chief joy was to speed like a Dorian maid over the hills, followed by a train of nymphs, in pursuit of the flying game. She is represented as a strong, active maiden, lightly clad, with a bow or hunting spear in her band, a quiver of arrows on her shoulders, wearing the Crétan hunting-shoes, and attended by a hound.

2. Miner' va, the goddess of wisdom and skill, and, as opposed to Mars, the patroness and teacher of just and scientific warfare, is said to have sprung, full armed, from the brain of Júpiter. She is represented with a serious and thoughtful countenance; her hair hangs in ringlets over her shoulders, and a helmet covers her head: she wears a long tunic or mantle, and bears a spear in one hand, and an ægis or shield, on which is a figure of the Gorgon's head, in the other.

3. Céres was the goddess of grain and harvests. The most celebrated event in her history is the carrying off of her daughter Pros' erpine by Pluto, and the search of the goddess after her throughout the whole world. The form of Ceres is like that of Juno. She is represented bearing poppies and ears of corn in one hand, a lighted torch in the other, and wearing on her head a garland of poppies. She is also represented riding in a chariot drawn by dragons, and distributing corn to the different regions of the earth.

4. Ves' ta, the virgin goddess who presided over the domestic hearth, is represented in a long flowing robe, with a veil on her head, a lamp in one hand, and a spear or javelin in the other. In every Grecian city an altar was dedicated to her, on which a sacred fire was kept constantly burning. In her temple at Rome the sacred fire was guarded by six priestesses, called the Vestal Virgins.

5. Bac' chus, the god of wine, and the patron of drunkenness and debauchery, is represented as an effeminate young man, with long flowing hair, crowned with a garland of vine leaves, and generally covered with a cloak thrown loosely over his shoulders. In one hand he holds a goblet, and in the other clusters of grapes and a short dagger.

6. I' ris, the "golden winged,” was the goddess of the rainbow, and special messenger of the king and queen of Olympus.

7. The blooming Hebe, the goddess of Youth, was a kind of maid-servant who handed around the nectar at the banquets of the gods.

8. The Muses, nine in number, were goddesses who presided over poetry, music, and all the liberal arts and sciences. They are thought to be personifications of the inventive powers of the mind, as displayed in the several arts.

9. The Fates were three goddesses who presided over the destinies of mortals:-1st, Clotho, who held the distaff; 2d, Lach' esis, who spun each one's portion of the thread of life; and 3d, At ropos, who cut off the thread with her scissors.

"Clótho and Lach' esis, whose boundless sway,

With Atropos, both men and gods obey!"-IrsIOD.

10. The Graces were three young and beautiful sisters, whose names signified, respectively, Splendor, Joy, and Pleasure. They are supposed to have been a symbolical representation of all that is beautiful and attractive. They are represented as dancing together, or standing with their arms entwined.