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diff --git a/37881.txt b/37881.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f39c188 --- /dev/null +++ b/37881.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8308 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Fleece and The Heroes Who Lived +Before Achilles by Padraic Colum + + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no +restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under +the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: The Golden Fleece and The Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles + +Author: Padraic Colum + +Release Date: October 29, 2011 [Ebook #37881] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE AND THE HEROES WHO LIVED BEFORE ACHILLES*** + + + + + + [Illustration] + + + [Illustration] + + + [Illustration] + + Jason and Medea + + + [Illustration] + + + The Golden Fleece + and the Heroes Who + Lived before Achilles + + + By Padraig Colum + Illustrations by Willy Pogany + + + + + + + 1921 + The Macmillan Company, New York + + + + + + + + + + + to + the children of + Susan and Llewellyn Jones + + + + + +[Illustration] + + +CONTENTS + + +Part I. The Voyage to Colchis + I. The Youth Jason + II. King Pelias + III. The Golden Fleece + IV. The Assembling of the Heroes and the Building of the Ship + V. The _Argo_ + The Beginning of Things + VI. Polydeuces' Victory and Heracles' Loss + VII. King Phineus + VIII. King Phineus's Counsel; The Landing in Lemnos + IX. The Lemnian Maidens + Demeter and Persephone + Atalanta's Race + X. The Departure from Lemnos + The Golden Maid + XI. The Passage of the Symplegades + XII. The Mountain Caucasus + Prometheus +Part II. The Return to Greece + I. King AEetes + II. Medea the Sorceress + III. The Winning of the Golden Fleece + IV. The Slaying of Apsyrtus + V. Medea Comes to Circe + VI. In the Land of the Phaeacians + VII. They Come to the Desert Land + VIII. The Carrying of the Argo + The Story of Perseus + IX. Near to Iolcus Again +Part III. The Heroes of the Quest + I. Atalanta the Huntress + II. Peleus and His Bride from the Sea + III. Theseus and the Minotaur + IV. The Life and Labors of Heracles + The Battle of the Frogs and Mice + V. Admetus + VI. How Orpheus the Minstrel Went Down to the World of the Dead + VII. Jason and Medea + + + + + +[Illustration] + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Jason and Medea +the _Argo_ +Hylas +Persephone and Aidoneus +Atalanta's Last Race +Prometheus +The Field of the Dragon's Teeth +Perseus and Andromeda + + + + + + +PART I. THE VOYAGE TO COLCHIS + + + + +I. The Youth Jason + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_A_ MAN in the garb of a slave went up the side of that mountain that is +all covered with forest, the Mountain Pelion. He carried in his arms a +little child. + + When it was full noon the slave came into a clearing of the forest so +silent that it seemed empty of all life. He laid the child down on the +soft moss, and then, trembling with the fear of what might come before +him, he raised a horn to his lips and blew three blasts upon it. + + Then he waited. The blue sky was above him, the great trees stood away +from him, and the little child lay at his feet. He waited, and then he +heard the thud-thud of great hooves. And then from between the trees he +saw coming toward him the strangest of all beings, one who was half man +and half horse; this was Chiron the centaur. + + Chiron came toward the trembling slave. Greater than any horse was +Chiron, taller than any man. The hair of his head flowed back into his +horse's mane, his great beard flowed over his horse's chest; in his man's +hand he held a great spear. + + Not swiftly he came, but the slave could see that in those great limbs +of his there was speed like to the wind's. The slave fell upon his knees. +And with eyes that were full of majesty and wisdom and limbs that were +full of strength and speed, the king-centaur stood above him. "O my lord," +the slave said, "I have come before thee sent by AEson, my master, who told +me where to come and what blasts to blow upon the horn. And AEson, once +King of Iolcus, bade me say to thee that if thou dost remember his ancient +friendship with thee thou wilt, perchance, take this child and guard and +foster him, and, as he grows, instruct him with thy wisdom." + + "For AEson's sake I will rear and foster this child," said Chiron the +king-centaur in a deep voice. + + The child lying on the moss had been looking up at the four-footed and +two-handed centaur. Now the slave lifted him up and placed him in the +centaur's arms. He said: + + "AEson bade me tell thee that the child's name is Jason. He bade me give +thee this ring with the great ruby in it that thou mayst give it to the +child when he is grown. By this ring with its ruby and the images engraved +on it AEson may know his son when they meet after many years and many +changes. And another thing AEson bade me say to thee, O my lord Chiron: not +presumptuous is he, but he knows that this child has the regard of the +immortal Goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus." + + Chiron held AEson's son in his arms, and the little child put hands into +his great beard. Then the centaur said, "Let AEson know that his son will +be reared and fostered by me, and that, when they meet again, there will +be ways by which they will be known to each other." + + [Illustration] + + + Saying this Chiron the centaur, holding the child in his arms, went +swiftly toward the forest arches; then the slave took up the horn and went +down the side of the Mountain Pelion. He came to where a horse was hidden, +and he mounted and rode, first to a city, and then to a village that was +beyond the city. + + + + All this was before the famous walls of Troy were built; before King +Priam had come to the throne of his father and while he was still known, +not as Priam, but as Podarces. And the beginning of all these happenings +was in Iolcus, a city in Thessaly. + + Cretheus founded the city and had ruled over it in days before King +Priam was born. He left two sons, AEson and Pelias. AEson succeeded his +father. And because he was a mild and gentle man the men of war did not +love AEson; they wanted a hard king who would lead them to conquests. + + Pelias, the brother of AEson, was ever with the men of war; he knew what +mind they had toward AEson and he plotted with them to overthrow his +brother. This they did, and they brought Pelias to reign as king in +Iolcus. + + The people loved AEson and they feared Pelias. And because the people +loved him and would be maddened by his slaying, Pelias and the men of war +left him living. With his wife, Alcimide, and his infant son, AEson went +from the city, and in a village that was at a distance from Iolcus he +found a hidden house and went to dwell in it. + + AEson would have lived content there were it not that he was fearful for +Jason, his infant son. Jason, he knew, would grow into a strong and a bold +youth, and Pelias, the king, would be made uneasy on his account. Pelias +would slay the son, and perhaps would slay the father for the son's sake +when his memory would come to be less loved by the people. AEson thought of +such things in his hidden house, and he pondered on ways to have his son +reared away from Iolcus and the dread and the power of King Pelias. + + He had for a friend one who was the wisest of all creatures--Chiron the +centaur; Chiron who was half man and half horse; Chiron who had lived and +was yet to live measureless years. Chiron had fostered Heracles, and it +might be that he would not refuse to foster Jason, AEson's child. + + Away in the fastnesses of Mount Pelion Chiron dwelt; once AEson had been +with him and had seen the centaur hunt with his great bow and his great +spears. And AEson knew a way that one might come to him; Chiron himself had +told him of the way. + + Now there was a slave in his house who had been a huntsman and who knew +all the ways of the Mountain Pelion. AEson talked with this slave one day, +and after he had talked with him he sat for a long time over the cradle of +his sleeping infant. And then he spoke to Alcimide, his wife, telling her +of a parting that made her weep. That evening the slave came in and AEson +took the child from the arms of the mournful-eyed mother and put him in +the slave's arms. Also he gave him a horn and a ring with a great ruby in +it and mystic images engraved on its gold. Then when the ways were dark +the slave mounted a horse, and, with the child in his arms, rode through +the city that King Pelias ruled over. In the morning he came to that +mountain that is all covered with forest, the Mountain Pelion. And that +evening he came back to the village and to AEson's hidden house, and he +told his master how he had prospered. + + AEson was content thereafter although he was lonely and although his wife +was lonely in their childlessness. But the time came when they rejoiced +that their child had been sent into an unreachable place. For messengers +from King Pelias came inquiring about the boy. They told the king's +messengers that the child had strayed off from his nurse, and that whether +he had been slain by a wild beast or had been drowned in the swift River +Anaurus they did not know. + + The years went by and Pelias felt secure upon the throne he had taken +from his brother. Once he sent to the oracle of the gods to ask of it +whether he should be fearful of anything. What the oracle answered was +this: that King Pelias had but one thing to dread--the coming of a +half-shod man. + + The centaur nourished the child Jason on roots and fruits and honey; for +shelter they had a great cave that Chiron had lived in for numberless +years. When he had grown big enough to leave the cave Chiron would let +Jason mount on his back; with the child holding on to his great mane he +would trot gently through the ways of the forest. + + Jason began to know the creatures of the forest and their haunts. +Sometimes Chiron would bring his great bow with him; then Jason, on his +back, would hold the quiver and would hand him the arrows. The centaur +would let the boy see him kill with a single arrow the bear, the boar, or +the deer. And soon Jason, running beside him, hunted too. + + No heroes were ever better trained than those whose childhood and youth +had been spent with Chiron the king-centaur. He made them more swift of +foot than any other of the children of men. He made them stronger and more +ready with the spear and bow. Jason was trained by Chiron as Heracles just +before him had been trained, and as Achilles was to be trained afterward. + + Moreover, Chiron taught him the knowledge of the stars and the wisdom +that had to do with the ways of the gods. + + Once, when they were hunting together, Jason saw a form at the end of an +alley of trees--the form of a woman it was--of a woman who had on her head a +shining crown. Never had Jason dreamt of seeing a form so wondrous. Not +very near did he come, but he thought he knew that the woman smiled upon +him. She was seen no more, and Jason knew that he had looked upon one of +the immortal goddesses. + + All day Jason was filled with thought of her whom he had seen. At night, +when the stars were out, and when they were seated outside the cave, +Chiron and Jason talked together, and Chiron told the youth that she whom +he had seen was none other than Hera, the wife of Zeus, who had for his +father AEson and for himself an especial friendliness. + + So Jason grew up upon the mountain and in the forest fastnesses. When he +had reached his full height and had shown himself swift in the hunt and +strong with the spear and bow, Chiron told him that the time had come when +he should go back to the world of men and make his name famous by the +doing of great deeds. + + And when Chiron told him about his father AEson--about how he had been +thrust out of the kingship by Pelias, his uncle--a great longing came upon +Jason to see his father and a fierce anger grew up in his heart against +Pelias. + + Then the time came when he bade good-by to Chiron his great instructor; +the time came when he went from the centaur's cave for the last time, and +went through the wooded ways and down the side of the Mountain Pelion. He +came to the river, to the swift Anaurus, and he found it high in flood. +The stones by which one might cross were almost all washed over; far apart +did they seem in the flood. + + Now as he stood there pondering on what he might do there came up to him +an old woman who had on her back a load of brushwood. "Wouldst thou +cross?" asked the old woman. "Wouldst thou cross and get thee to the city +of Iolcus, Jason, where so many things await thee?" + + Greatly was the youth astonished to hear his name spoken by this old +woman, and to hear her give the name of the city he was bound for. +"Wouldst thou cross the Anaurus?" she asked again. "Then mount upon my +back, holding on to the wood I carry, and I will bear thee over the +river." + + Jason smiled. How foolish this old woman was to think that she could +bear him across the flooded river! She came near him and she took him in +her arms and lifted him up on her shoulders. Then, before he knew what she +was about to do, she had stepped into the water. + + From stone to stepping-stone she went, Jason holding on to the wood that +she had drawn to her shoulders. She left him down upon the bank. As she +was lifting him down one of his feet touched the water; the swift current +swept away a sandal. + + He stood on the bank knowing that she who had carried him across the +flooded river had strength from the gods. He looked upon her, and behold! +she was transformed. Instead of an old woman there stood before him one +who had on a golden robe and a shining crown. Around her was a wondrous +light--the light of the sun when it is most golden. Then Jason knew that +she who had carried him across the broad Anaurus was the goddess whom he +had seen in the ways of the forest--Hera, great Zeus's wife. + + [Illustration] + + + "Go into Iolcus, Jason," said great Hera to him, "go into Iolcus, and in +whatever chance doth befall thee act as one who has the eyes of the +immortals upon him." + + She spoke and she was seen no more. Then Jason went on his way to the +city that Cretheus, his grandfather, had founded and that his father AEson +had once ruled over. He came into that city, a tall, great-limbed, unknown +youth, dressed in a strange fashion, and having but one sandal on. + + + + +II. King Pelias + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HAT day King Pelias, walking through the streets of his city, saw +coming toward him a youth who was half shod. He remembered the words of +the oracle that bade him beware of a half-shod man, and straightway he +gave orders to his guards to lay hands upon the youth. + + But the guards wavered when they went toward him, for there was +something about the youth that put them in awe of him. He came with the +guards, however, and he stood before the king's judgment seat. + + Fearfully did Pelias look upon him. But not fearfully did the youth look +upon the king. With head lifted high he cried out, "Thou art Pelias, but I +do not salute thee as king. Know that I am Jason, the son of AEson from +whom thou hast taken the throne and scepter that were rightfully his." + + King Pelias looked to his guards. He would have given them a sign to +destroy the youth's life with their spears, but behind his guards he saw a +threatening multitude--the dwellers of the city of Iolcus; they gathered +around, and Pelias knew that he had become more and more hated by them. +And from the multitude a cry went up, "AEson, AEson! May AEson come back to +us! Jason, son of AEson! May nothing evil befall thee, brave youth!" + + Then Pelias knew that the youth might not be slain. He bent his head +while he plotted against him in his heart. Then he raised his eyes, and +looking upon Jason he said, "O goodly youth, it well may be that thou art +the son of AEson, my brother. I am well pleased to see thee here. I have +had hopes that I might be friends with AEson, and thy coming here may be +the means to the renewal of our friendship. We two brothers may come +together again. I will send for thy father now, and he will be brought to +meet thee in my royal palace. Go with my guards and with this rejoicing +people, and in a little while thou and I and thy father AEson will sit at a +feast of friends." + + So Pelias said, and Jason went with the guards and the crowd of people, +and he came to the palace of the king and he was brought within. The maids +led him to the bath and gave him new robes to wear. Dressed in these Jason +looked a prince indeed. + + But all that while King Pelias remained on his judgment seat with his +crowned head bent down. When he raised his head his dark brows were +gathered together and his thin lips were very close. He looked to the +swords and spears of his guards, and he made a sign to the men to stand +close to him. Then he left the judgment seat and he went to the palace. + + [Illustration] + + + + +III. The Golden Fleece + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HEY brought Jason into a hall where AEson, his father, waited. Very +strange did this old and grave-looking man appear to him. But when AEson +spoke, Jason remembered the tone of his father's voice and he clasped him +to him. And his father knew him even without the sight of the ruby ring +which Jason had upon his finger. + + Then the young man began to tell of the centaur and of his life upon the +Mountain Pelion. As they were speaking together Pelias came to where they +stood, Pelias in the purple robe of a king and with the crown upon his +head. AEson tightly clasped Jason as if he had become fearful for his son. +Pelias smilingly took the hand of the young man and the hand of his +brother, and he bade them both welcome to his palace. + + Then, walking between them, the king brought the two into the feasting +hall. The youth who had known only the forest and the mountainside had to +wonder at the beauty and the magnificence of all he saw around him. On the +walls were bright pictures; the tables were of polished wood, and they had +vessels of gold and dishes of silver set upon them; along the walls were +vases of lovely shapes and colors, and everywhere there were baskets +heaped with roses white and red. + + The king's guests were already in the hall, young men and elders, and +maidens went amongst them carrying roses which they strung into wreaths +for the guests to put upon their heads. A soft-handed maiden gave Jason a +wreath of roses and he put it on his head as he sat down at the king's +table. When he looked at all the rich and lovely things in that hall, and +when he saw the guests looking at him with friendly eyes, Jason felt that +he was indeed far away from the dim spaces of the mountain forest and from +the darkness of the centaur's cave. + + Rich food and wine such as he had never dreamt of tasting were brought +to the tables. He ate and drank, and his eyes followed the fair maidens +who went through the hall. He thought how glorious it was to be a king. He +heard Pelias speak to AEson, his father, telling him that he was old and +that he was weary of ruling; that he longed to make friends, and that he +would let no enmity now be between him and his brother. And he heard the +king say that he, Jason, was young and courageous, and that he would call +upon him to help to rule the land, and that, in a while, Jason would bear +full sway over the kingdom that Cretheus had founded. + + So Pelias spoke to AEson as they both sat together at the king's high +table. But Jason, looking on them both, saw that the eyes that his father +turned on him were full of warnings and mistrust. + + [Illustration] + + + After they had eaten King Pelias made a sign, and a cup-bearer bringing +a richly wrought cup came and stood before the king. The king stood up, +holding the cup in his hands, and all in the hall waited silently. Then +Pelias put the cup into Jason's hands and he cried out in a voice that was +heard all through the hall, "Drink from this cup, O nephew Jason! Drink +from this cup, O man who will soon come to rule over the kingdom that +Cretheus founded!" + + All in the hall stood up and shouted with delight at that speech. But +the king was not delighted with their delight, Jason saw. He took the cup +and he drank the rich wine; pride grew in him; he looked down the hall and +he saw faces all friendly to him; he felt as a king might feel, secure and +triumphant. And then he heard King Pelias speaking once more. + + "This is my nephew Jason, reared and fostered in the centaur's cave. He +will tell you of his life in the forest and the mountains--his life that +was like to the life of the half gods." + + Then Jason spoke to them, telling them of his life on the Mountain +Pelion. When he had spoken, Pelias said: + + "I was bidden by the oracle to beware of the man whom I should see +coming toward me half shod. But, as you all see, I have brought the +half-shod man to my palace and my feasting hall, so little do I dread the +anger of the gods. + + "And I dread it little because I am blameless. This youth, the son of my +brother, is strong and courageous, and I rejoice in his strength and +courage, for I would have him take my place and reign over you. Ah, that I +were as young as he is now! Ah, that I had been reared and fostered as he +was reared and fostered by the wise centaur and under the eyes of the +immortals! Then would I do that which in my youth I often dreamed of +doing! Then would I perform a deed that would make my name and the name of +my city famous throughout all Greece! Then would I bring from far Colchis +the famous Fleece of Gold that King AEetes keeps guard over!" + + He finished speaking, and all in the hall shouted out, "The Golden +Fleece, the Golden Fleece from Colchis!" Jason stood up, and his father's +hand gripped him. But he did not heed the hold of his father's hand, for +"The Golden Fleece, the Golden Fleece!" rang in his ears, and before his +eyes were the faces of those who were all eager for the sight of the +wonder that King AEetes kept guard over. + + Then said Jason, "Thou hast spoken well, O King Pelias! Know, and know +all here assembled, that I have heard of the Golden Fleece and of the +dangers that await on any one who should strive to win it from King +AEetes's care. But know, too, that I would strive to win the Fleece and +bring it to Iolcus, winning fame both for myself and for the city." + + When he had spoken he saw his father's stricken eyes; they were fixed +upon him. But he looked from them to the shining eyes of the young men who +were even then pressing around where he stood. "Jason, Jason!" they +shouted. "The Golden Fleece for Iolcus!" + + "King Pelias knows that the winning of the Golden Fleece is a feat most +difficult," said Jason. "But if he will have built for me a ship that can +make the voyage to far Colchis, and if he will send throughout all Greece +the word of my adventuring so that all the heroes who would win fame might +come with me, and if ye, young heroes of Iolcus, will come with me, I will +peril my life to win the wonder that King AEetes keeps guard over." + + He spoke and those in the hall shouted again and made clamor around him. +But still his father sat gazing at him with stricken eyes. + + King Pelias stood up in the hall and holding up his scepter he said, "O +my nephew Jason, and O friends assembled here, I promise that I will have +built for the voyage the best ship that ever sailed from a harbor in +Greece. And I promise that I will send throughout all Greece a word +telling of Jason's voyage so that all heroes desirous of winning fame may +come to help him and to help all of you who may go with him to win from +the keeping of King AEetes the famous Fleece of Gold." + + So King Pelias said, but Jason, looking to the king from his father's +stricken eyes, saw that he had been led by the king into the acceptance of +the voyage so that he might fare far from Iolcus, and perhaps lose his +life in striving to gain the wonder that King AEetes kept guarded. By the +glitter in Pelias's eyes he knew the truth. Nevertheless Jason would not +take back one word that he had spoken; his heart was strong within him, +and he thought that with the help of the bright-eyed youths around and +with the help of those who would come to him at the word of the voyage, he +would bring the Golden Fleece to Iolcus and make famous for all time his +own name. + + + + +IV. The Assembling of the Heroes and the Building of the Ship + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_F_IRST there came the youths CASTOR and POLYDEUCES. They came riding on +white horses, two noble-looking brothers. From Sparta they came, and their +mother was Leda, who, after the twin brothers, had another child born to +her--Helen, for whose sake the sons of many of Jason's friends were to wage +war against the great city of Troy. These were the first heroes who came +to Iolcus after the word had gone forth through Greece of Jason's +adventuring in quest of the Golden Fleece. + + And then there came one who had both welcome and reverence from Jason; +this one came without spear or bow, bearing in his hands a lyre only. He +was ORPHEUS, and he knew all the ways of the gods and all the stories of +the gods; when he sang to his lyre the trees would listen and the beasts +would follow him. It was Chiron who had counseled Orpheus to go with +Jason; Chiron the centaur had met him as he was wandering through the +forests on the Mountain Pelion and had sent him down into Iolcus. + + Then there came two men well skilled in the handling of ships--TIPHYS and +NAUPLIUS. Tiphys knew all about the sun and winds and stars, and all about +the signs by which a ship might be steered, and Nauplius had the love of +Poseidon, the god of the sea. + + Afterward there came, one after the other, two who were famous for their +hunting. No two could be more different than these two were. The first was +ARCAS. He was dressed in the skin of a bear; he had red hair and +savage-looking eyes, and for arms he carried a mighty bow with +bronze-tipped arrows. The folk were watching an eagle as he came into the +city--an eagle that was winging its way far, far up in the sky. Arcas drew +his bow, and with one arrow he brought the eagle down. + + The other hunter was a girl, ATALANTA. Tall and bright-haired was +Atalanta, swift and good with the bow. She had dedicated herself to +Artemis, the guardian of the wild things, and she had vowed that she would +remain unwedded. All the heroes welcomed Atalanta as a comrade, and the +maiden did all the things that the young men did. + + There came a hero who was less youthful than Castor or Polydeuces; he +was a man good in council named NESTOR. Afterward Nestor went to the war +against Troy, and then he was the oldest of the heroes in the camp of +Agamemnon. + + Two brothers came who were to be special friends of Jason's--PELEUS and +TELAMON. Both were still youthful and neither had yet achieved any notable +deed. Afterward they were to be famous, but their sons were to be even +more famous, for the son of Telamon was strong Aias, and the son of Peleus +was great Achilles. + + Another who came was ADMETUS; afterward he became a famous king. The God +Apollo once made himself a shepherd and he kept the flocks of King +Admetus. + + And there came two brothers, twins, who were a wonder to all who beheld +them. ZETES and CALAIS they were named; their mother was Oreithyia, the +daughter of Erechtheus, King of Athens, and their father was Boreas, the +North Wind. These two brothers had on their ankles wings that gleamed with +golden scales; their black hair was thick upon their shoulders, and it was +always being shaken by the wind. + + With Zetes and Calais there came a youth armed with a great sword whose +name was THESEUS. Theseus's father was an unknown king; he had bidden the +mother show their son where his sword was hidden. Under a great stone the +king had hidden it before Theseus was born. Before he had grown out of his +boyhood Theseus had been able to raise the stone and draw forth his +father's sword. As yet he had done no great deed, but he was resolved to +win fame and to find his unknown father. + + + + On the day that the messengers had set out to bring through Greece the +word of Jason's going forth in quest of the Golden Fleece the woodcutters +made their way up into the forests of Mount Pelion; they began to fell +trees for the timbers of the ship that was to make the voyage to far +Colchis. + + [Illustration] + + + Great timbers were cut and brought down to Pagasae, the harbor of Iolcus. +On the night of the day he had helped to bring them down Jason had a +dream. He dreamt that She whom he had seen in the forest ways and +afterward by the River Anaurus appeared to him. And in his dream the +goddess bade him rise early in the morning and welcome a man whom he would +meet at the city's gate--a tall and gray-haired man who would have on his +shoulders tools for the building of a ship. + + He went to the city's gate and he met such a man. ARGUS was his name. He +told Jason that a dream had sent him to the city of Iolcus. Jason welcomed +him and lodged him in the king's palace, and that day the word went +through the city that the building of the great ship would soon be begun. + + But not with the timbers brought from Mount Pelion did Argus begin. +Walking through the palace with Jason he noted a great beam in the roof. +That beam, he said, had been shown him in his dream; it was from an oak +tree in Dodona, the grove of Zeus. A sacred power was in the beam, and +from it the prow of the ship should be fashioned. Jason had them take the +beam from the roof of the palace; it was brought to where the timbers +were, and that day the building of the great ship was begun. + + Then all along the waterside came the noise of hammering; in the street +where the metalworkers were came the noise of beating upon metals as the +smiths fashioned out of bronze armor for the heroes and swords and spears. +Every day, under the eyes of Argus the master, the ship that had in it the +beam from Zeus's grove was built higher and wider. And those who were +building the ship often felt going through it tremors as of a living +creature. + + + + When the ship was built and made ready for the voyage a name was given +to it--the ARGO it was called. And naming themselves from the ship the +heroes called themselves the ARGONAUTS. All was ready for the voyage, and +now Jason went with his friends to view the ship before she was brought +into the water. + + Argus the master was on the ship, seeing to it that the last things were +being done before _Argo_ was launched. Very grave and wise looked +Argus--Argus the builder of the ship. And wonderful to the heroes the ship +looked now that Argus, for their viewing, had set up the mast with the +sails and had even put the oars in their places. Wonderful to the heroes +_Argo_ looked with her long oars and her high sails, with her timbers +painted red and gold and blue, and with a marvelous figure carved upon her +prow. All over the ship Jason's eyes went. He saw a figure standing by the +mast; for a moment he looked on it, and then the figure became shadowy. +But Jason knew that he had looked upon the goddess whom he had seen in the +ways of the forest and had seen afterward by the rough Anaurus. + + Then mast and sails were taken down and the oars were left in the ship, +and the _Argo_ was launched into the water. The heroes went back to the +palace of King Pelias to feast with the king's guests before they took +their places on the ship, setting out on the voyage to far Colchis. + + When they came into the palace they saw that another hero had arrived. +His shield was hung in the hall; the heroes all gathered around, amazed at +the size and the beauty of it. The shield shone all over with gold. In its +center was the figure of Fear--of Fear that stared backward with eyes +burning as with fire. The mouth was open and the teeth were shown. And +other figures were wrought around the figure of Fear--Strife and Pursuit +and Flight; Tumult and Panic and Slaughter. The figure of Fate was there +dragging a dead man by the feet; on her shoulders Fate had a garment that +was red with the blood of men. + + Around these figures were heads of snakes, heads with black jaws and +glittering eyes, twelve heads such as might affright any man. And on other +parts of the shield were shown the horses of Ares, the grim god of war. +The figure of Ares himself was shown also. He held a spear in his hand, +and he was urging the warriors on. + + Around the inner rim of the shield the sea was shown, wrought in white +metal. Dolphins swam in the sea, fishing for little fishes that were shown +there in bronze. Around the rim chariots were racing along with wheels +running close together; there were men fighting and women watching from +high towers. The awful figure of the Darkness of Death was shown there, +too, with mournful eyes and the dust of battles upon her shoulders. The +outer rim of the shield showed the Stream of Ocean, the stream that +encircles the world; swans were soaring above and swimming on its surface. + + All in wonder the heroes gazed on the great shield, telling each other +that only one man in all the world could carry it--Heracles the son of +Zeus. Could it be that Heracles had come amongst them? They went into the +feasting hall and they saw one there who was tall as a pine tree, with +unshorn tresses of hair upon his head. Heracles indeed it was! He turned +to them a smiling face with smiling eyes. Heracles! They all gathered +around the strongest hero in the world, and he took the hand of each in +his mighty hand. + + + + +V. The _Argo_ + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HE heroes went the next day through the streets of Iolcus down to where +the ship lay. The ways they went through were crowded; the heroes were +splendid in their appearance, and Jason amongst them shone like a star. + + The people praised him, and one told the other that it would not be long +until they would win back to Iolcus, for this band of heroes was strong +enough, they said, to take King AEetes's city and force him to give up to +them the famous Fleece of Gold. Many of the bright-eyed youths of Iolcus +went with the heroes who had come from the different parts of Greece. + + [Illustration] + + the _Argo_ + + + As they marched past a temple a priestess came forth to speak to Jason; +Iphias was her name. She had a prophecy to utter about the voyage. But +Iphias was very old, and she stammered in her speech to Jason. What she +said was not heard by him. The heroes went on, and ancient Iphias was left +standing there as the old are left by the young. + + The heroes went aboard the _Argo_. They took their seats as at an +assembly. Then Jason faced them and spoke to them all. + + "Heroes of the quest," said Jason, "we have come aboard the great ship +that Argus has built, and all that a ship needs is in its place or is +ready to our hands. All that we wait for now is the coming of the +morning's breeze that will set us on our way for far Colchis. + + "One thing we have first to do--that is, to choose a leader who will +direct us all, one who will settle disputes amongst ourselves and who will +make treaties between us and the strangers that we come amongst. We must +choose such a leader now." + + Jason spoke, and some looked to him and some looked to Heracles. But +Heracles stood up, and, stretching out his hand, said: + + "Argonauts! Let no one amongst you offer the leadership to me. I will +not take it. The hero who brought us together and made all things ready +for our going--it is he and no one else who should be our leader in this +voyage." + + So Heracles said, and the Argonauts all stood up and raised a cry for +Jason. Then Jason stepped forward, and he took the hand of each Argonaut +in his hand, and he swore that he would lead them with all the mind and +all the courage that he possessed. And he prayed the gods that it would be +given to him to lead them back safely with the Golden Fleece glittering on +the mast of the _Argo_. + + They drew lots for the benches they would sit at; they took the places +that for the length of the voyage they would have on the ship. They made +sacrifice to the gods and they waited for the breeze of the morning that +would help them away from Iolcus. + + + + And while they waited AEson, the father of Jason, sat at his own hearth, +bowed and silent in his grief. Alcimide, his wife, sat near him, but she +was not silent; she lamented to the women of Iolcus who were gathered +around her. "I did not go down to the ship," she said, "for with my grief +I would not be a bird of ill omen for the voyage. By this hearth my son +took farewell of me--the only son I ever bore. From the doorway I watched +him go down the street of the city, and I heard the people shout as he +went amongst them, they glorying in my son's splendid appearance. Ah, that +I might live to see his return and to hear the shout that will go up when +the people look on Jason again! But I know that my life will not be spared +so long; I will not look on my son when he comes back from the dangers he +will run in the quest of the Golden Fleece." + + Then the women of Iolcus asked her to tell them of the Golden Fleece, +and Alcimide told them of it and of the sorrows that were upon the race of +AEolus. + + Cretheus, the father of AEson and Pelias, was of the race of AEolus, and +of the race of AEolus, too, was Athamas, the king who ruled in Thebes at +the same time that Cretheus ruled in Iolcus. And the first children of +Athamas were Phrixus and Helle. + + "Ah, Phrixus and ah, Helle," Alcimide lamented, "what griefs you have +brought on the race of AEolus! And what griefs you yourselves suffered! The +evil that Athamas, your father, did you lives to be a curse to the line of +AEolus! + + "Athamas was wedded first to Nephele, the mother of Phrixus and Helle, +the youth and maiden. But Athamas married again while the mother of these +children was still living, and Ino, the new queen, drove Nephele and her +children out of the king's palace. + + "And now was Nephele most unhappy. She had to live as a servant, and her +children were servants to the servants of the palace. They were clad in +rags and had little to eat, and they were beaten often by the servants who +wished to win the favor of the new queen. + + "But although they wore rags and had menial tasks to do, Phrixus and +Helle looked the children of a queen. The boy was tall, and in his eyes +there often came the flash of power, and the girl looked as if she would +grow into a lovely maiden. And when Athamas, their father, would meet them +by chance he would sigh, and Queen Ino would know by that sigh that he had +still some love for them in his heart. Afterward she would have to use all +the power she possessed to win the king back from thinking upon his +children. + + "And now Queen Ino had children of her own. She knew that the people +reverenced the children of Nephele and cared nothing for her children. And +because she knew this she feared that when Athamas died Phrixus and Helle, +the children of Nephele, would be brought to rule in Thebes. Then she and +her children would be made to change places with them. + + "This made Queen Ino think on ways by which she could make Phrixus and +Helle lose their lives. She thought long upon this, and at last a +desperate plan came into her mind. + + "When it was winter she went amongst the women of the countryside, and +she gave them jewels and clothes for presents. Then she asked them to do +secretly an unheard-of thing. She asked the women to roast over their +fires the grains that had been left for seed. This the women did. Then +spring came on, and the men sowed in the fields the grain that had been +roasted over the fires. No shoots grew up as the spring went by. In summer +there was no waving greenness in the fields. Autumn came, and there was no +grain for the reaping. Then the men, not knowing what had happened, went +to King Athamas and told him that there would be famine in the land. + + "The king sent to the temple of Artemis to ask how the people might be +saved from the famine. And the guardians of the temple, having taken gold +from Queen Ino, told them that there would be worse and worse famine and +that all the people of Thebes would die of hunger unless the king was +willing to make a great sacrifice. + + "When the king asked what sacrifice he should make he was told by the +guardians of the temple that he must sacrifice to the goddess his two +children, Phrixus and Helle. Those who were around the king, to save +themselves from famine after famine, clamored to have the children +sacrificed. Athamas, to save his people, consented to the sacrifice. + + "They went toward the king's palace. They found Helle by the bank of the +river washing clothes. They took her and bound her. They found Phrixus, +half naked, digging in a field, and they took him, too, and bound him. +That night they left brother and sister in the same prison. Helle wept +over Phrixus, and Phrixus wept to think that he was not able to do +anything to save his sister. + + "The servants of the palace went to Nephele, and they mocked at her, +telling her that her children would be sacrificed on the morrow. Nephele +nearly went wild in her grief. And then, suddenly, there came into her +mind the thought of a creature that might be a helper to her and to her +children. + + "This creature was a ram that had wings and a wonderful fleece of gold. +The god of the sea, Poseidon, had sent this wonderful ram to Athamas and +Nephele as a marriage gift. And the ram had since been kept in a special +fold. + + "To that fold Nephele went. She spent the night beside the ram praying +for its help. The morning came and the children were taken from their +prison and dressed in white, and wreaths were put upon their heads to mark +them as things for sacrifice. They were led in a procession to the temple +of Artemis. Behind that procession King Athamas walked, his head bowed in +shame. + + "But Queen Ino's head was not bowed; rather she carried it high, for her +thought was all upon her triumph. Soon Phrixus and Helle would be dead, +and then, whatever happened, her own children would reign after Athamas in +Thebes. + + "Phrixus and Helle, thinking they were taking their last look at the +sun, went on. And even then Nephele, holding the horns of the golden ram, +was making her last prayer. The sun rose and as it did the ram spread out +its great wings and flew through the air. It flew to the temple of +Artemis. Down beside the altar came the golden ram, and it stood with its +horns threatening those who came. All stopped in surprise. Still the ram +stood with threatening head and great golden wings spread out. Then +Phrixus ran from those who were holding him and laid his hands upon the +ram. He called to Helle and she, too, came to the golden creature. Phrixus +mounted on the ram and he pulled Helle up beside him. Then the golden ram +flew upward. Up, up, it went, and with the children upon its back it +became like a star in the day-lit sky. + + "Then Queen Ino, seeing the children saved by the golden ram, shrieked +and fled away from that place. Athamas ran after her. As she ran and as he +followed hatred for her grew up within him. Ino ran on and on until she +came to the cliffs that rose over the sea. Fearing Athamas who came behind +her she plunged down. But as she fell she was changed by Poseidon, the god +of the sea. She became a seagull. Athamas, who followed her, was changed +also; he became the sea eagle that, with beak and talons ever ready to +strike, flies above the sea. + + "And the golden ram with wings outspread flew on and on. Over the sea it +flew while the wind whistled around the children. On and on they went, and +the children saw only the blue sea beneath them. Then poor Helle, looking +downward, grew dizzy. She fell off the golden ram before her brother could +take hold of her. Down she fell, and still the ram flew on and on. She was +drowned in that sea. The people afterward named it in memory of her, +calling it 'Hellespont'--'Helle's Sea.' + + "On and on the ram flew. Over a wild and barren country it flew and +toward a river. Upon that river a white city was built. Down the ram flew, +and alighting on the ground, stood before the gate of that city. It was +the city of Aea, in the land of Colchis. + + "The king was in the street of the city, and he joined with the crowd +that gathered around the strange golden creature that had a youth upon its +back. The ram folded its wings and then the youth stood beside it. He +spoke to the people, and then the king--AEetes was his name--spoke to him, +asking him from what place he had come, and what was the strange creature +upon whose back he had flown. + + "To the king and to the people Phrixus told his story, weeping to tell +of Helle and her fall. Then King AEetes brought him into the city, and he +gave him a place in the palace, and for the golden ram he had a special +fold made. + + "Soon after the ram died, and then King AEetes took its golden fleece and +hung it upon an oak tree that was in a place dedicated to Ares, the god of +war. Phrixus wed one of the daughters of the king, and men say that +afterward he went back to Thebes, his own land. + + "And as for the Golden Fleece it became the greatest of King AEetes's +treasures. Well indeed does he guard it, and not with armed men only, but +with magic powers. Very strong and very cunning is King AEetes, and a +terrible task awaits those who would take away from him that Fleece of +Gold." + + + + So Alcimide spoke, sorrowfully telling to the women the story of the +Golden Fleece that her son Jason was going in quest of. So she spoke, and +the night waned, and the morning of the sailing of the _Argo_ came on. + + And when the Argonauts beheld the dawn upon the high peaks of Pelion +they arose and poured out wine in offering to Zeus, the highest of the +gods. Then _Argo_ herself gave forth a strange cry, for the beam from +Dodona that had been formed into her prow had endued her with life. She +uttered a strange cry, and as she did the heroes took their places at the +benches, one after the other, as had been arranged by lot, and Tiphys, the +helmsman, went to the steering place. To the sound of Orpheus's lyre they +smote with oars the rushing sea water, and the surge broke over the oar +blades. The sails were let out and the breeze came into them, piping +shrilly, and the fishes came darting through the green sea, great and +small, and followed them, gamboling along the watery paths. And Chiron, +the king-centaur, came down from the Mountain Pelion, and standing with +his feet in the foam cried out, "Good speed, O Argonauts, good speed, and +a sorrowless return." + + + +The Beginning of Things + + + Orpheus sang to his lyre, Orpheus the minstrel, who knew the ways and +the stories of the gods; out in the open sea on the first morning of the +voyage Orpheus sang to them of the beginning of things. + + He sang how at first Earth and Heaven and Sea were all mixed and mingled +together. There was neither Light nor Darkness then, but only a Dimness. +This was Chaos. And from Chaos came forth Night and Erebus. From Night was +born AEther, the Upper Air, and from Night and Erebus wedded there was born +Day. + + And out of Chaos came Earth, and out of Earth came the starry Heaven. +And from Heaven and Earth wedded there were born the Titan gods and +goddesses--Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus; Theia, Rhea, Themis, +Mnemosyne, gold-crowned Phoebe, and lovely Tethys. And then Heaven and +Earth had for their child Cronos, the most cunning of all. + + Cronos wedded Rhea, and from Cronos and Rhea were born the gods who were +different from the Titan gods. + + But Heaven and Earth had other children--Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes. +These were giants, each with fifty heads and a hundred arms. And Heaven +grew fearful when he looked on these giant children, and he hid them away +in the deep places of the Earth. + + Cronos hated Heaven, his father. He drove Heaven, his father, and Earth, +his mother, far apart. And far apart they stay, for they have never been +able to come near each other since. And Cronos married to Rhea had for +children Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Aidoneus, and Poseidon, and these all +belonged to the company of the deathless gods. Cronos was fearful that one +of his sons would treat him as he had treated Heaven, his father. So when +another child was born to him and his wife Rhea he commanded that the +child be given to him so that he might swallow him. But Rhea wrapped a +great stone in swaddling clothes and gave the stone to Cronos. And Cronos +swallowed the stone, thinking to swallow his latest-born child. + + That child was Zeus. Earth took Zeus and hid him in a deep cave and +those who minded and nursed the child beat upon drums so that his cries +might not be heard. His nurse was Adrastia; when he was able to play she +gave him a ball to play with. All of gold was the ball, with a dark-blue +spiral around it. When the boy Zeus would play with this ball it would +make a track across the sky, flaming like a star. + + Hyperion the Titan god wed Theia the Titan goddess, and their children +were Helios, the bright Sun, and Selene, the clear Moon. And Coeus wed +Phoebe, and their children were Leto, who is kind to gods and men, and +Asteria of happy name, and Hecate, whom Zeus honored above all. Now the +gods who were the children of Cronos and Rhea went up unto the Mountain +Olympus, and there they built their shining palaces. But the Titan gods +who were born of Heaven and Earth went up to the Mountain Othrys, and +there they had their thrones. + + Between the Olympians and the Titan gods of Othrys a war began. Neither +side might prevail against the other. But now Zeus, grown up to be a +youth, thought of how he might help the Olympians to overthrow the Titan +gods. + + He went down into the deep parts of the Earth where the giants Cottus, +Briareus, and Gyes had been hidden by their father. Cronos had bound them, +weighing them down with chains. But now Zeus loosed them and the +hundred-armed giants in their gratitude gave him the lightning and showed +him how to use the thunderbolt. + + Zeus would have the giants fight against the Titan gods. But although +they had mighty strength Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes had no fire of courage +in their hearts. Zeus thought of a way to give them this courage; he +brought the food and drink of the gods to them, ambrosia and nectar, and +when they had eaten and drunk their spirits grew within the giants, and +they were ready to make war upon the Titan gods. + + "Sons of Earth and Heaven," said Zeus to the hundred-armed giants, "a +long time now have the Dwellers on Olympus been striving with the Titan +gods. Do you lend your unconquerable might to the gods and help them to +overthrow the Titans." + + Cottus, the eldest of the giants, answered, "Divine One, through your +devising we are come back again from the murky gloom of the mid Earth and +we have escaped from the hard bonds that Cronus laid upon us. Our minds +are fixed to aid you in the war against the Titan gods." + + So the hundred-armed giants said, and thereupon Zeus went and he +gathered around him all who were born of Cronos and Rhea. Cronos himself +hid from Zeus. Then the giants, with their fifty heads growing from their +shoulders and their hundred hands, went forth against the Titan gods. The +boundless sea rang terribly and the earth crashed loudly; wide Heaven was +shaken and groaned, and high Olympus reeled from its foundation. Holding +huge rocks in their hands the giants attacked the Titan gods. + + Then Zeus entered the war. He hurled the lightning; the bolts flew thick +and fast from his strong hand, with thunder and lightning and flame. The +earth crashed around in burning, the forests crackled with fire, the ocean +seethed. And hot flames wrapped the earth-born Titans all around. Three +hundred rocks, one upon another, did Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes hurl upon +the Titans. And when their ranks were broken the giants seized upon them +and held them for Zeus. + + But some of the Titan gods, seeing that the strife for them was vain, +went over to the side of Zeus. These Zeus became friendly with. But the +other Titans he bound in chains and he hurled them down to Tartarus. + + As far as Earth is from Heaven so is Tartarus from Earth. A brazen anvil +falling down from Heaven to Earth nine days and nine nights would reach +the earth upon the tenth day. And again, a brazen anvil falling from Earth +nine nights and nine days would reach Tartarus upon the tenth night. +Around Tartarus runs a fence of bronze and Night spreads in a triple line +all about it, as a necklace circles the neck. There Zeus imprisoned the +Titan gods who had fought against him; they are hidden in the misty gloom, +in a dank place, at the ends of the Earth. And they may not go out, for +Poseidon fixed gates of bronze upon their prison, and a wall runs all +round it. There Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes stay, guarding them. + + And there, too, is the home of Night. Night and Day meet each other at +that place, as they pass a threshold of bronze. They draw near and they +greet one another, but the house never holds them both together, for while +one is about to go down into the house, the other is leaving through the +door. One holds Light in her hand and the other holds in her arms Sleep. + + There the children of dark Night have their dwellings--Sleep, and Death, +his brother. The sun never shines upon these two. Sleep may roam over the +wide earth, and come upon the sea, and he is kindly to men. But Death is +not kindly, and whoever he seizes upon, him he holds fast. + + There, too, stands the hall of the lord of the Underworld, Aidoneus, the +brother of Zeus. Zeus gave him the Underworld to be his dominion when he +shared amongst the Olympians the world that Cronos had ruled over. A +fearful hound guards the hall of Aidoneus: Cerberus he is called; he has +three heads. On those who go within that hall Cerberus fawns, but on those +who would come out of it he springs and would devour them. + + Not all the Titans did Zeus send down to Tartarus. Those of them who had +wisdom joined him, and by their wisdom Zeus was able to overcome Cronos. +Then Cronos went to live with the friendly Titan gods, while Zeus reigned +over Olympus, becoming the ruler of gods and men. + + + + So Orpheus sang, Orpheus who knew the ways and the histories of the +gods. + + + + +VI. Polydeuces' Victory and Heracles' Loss + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_A_LL the places that the Argonauts came nigh to and went past need not be +told--Meliboea, where they escaped a stormy beach; Homole, from where they +were able to look on Ossa and holy Olympus; Lemnos, the island that they +were to return to; the unnamed country where the Earth-born Men abide, +each having six arms, two growing from his shoulders, and four fitting +close to his terrible sides; and then the Mountain of the Bears, where +they climbed, to make sacrifice there to Rhea, the mighty mother of the +gods. + + Afterward, for a whole day, no wind blew and the sail of the _Argo_ hung +slack. But the heroes swore to each other that they would make their ship +go as swiftly as if the storm-footed steeds of Poseidon were racing to +overtake her. Mightily they labored at the oars, and no one would be first +to leave his rower's bench. + + And then, just as the breeze of the evening came up, and just as the +rest of the heroes were leaning back, spent with their labor, the oar that +Heracles still pulled at broke, and half of it was carried away by the +waves. Heracles sat there in ill humor, for he did not know what to do +with his unlaboring hands. + + All through the night they went on with a good breeze filling their +sails, and next day they came to the mouth of the River Cius. There they +landed so that Heracles might get himself an oar. No sooner did they set +their feet upon the shore than the hero went off into the forest, to pull +up a tree that he might shape into an oar. + + Where they had landed was near to the country of the Bebrycians, a rude +people whose king was named Amycus. Now while Heracles was away from them +this king came with his followers--huge, rude men, all armed with clubs, +down to where the Argonauts were lighting their fires on the beach. + + He did not greet them courteously, asking them what manner of men they +were and whither they were bound, nor did he offer them hospitality. +Instead, he shouted at them insolently: + + "Listen to something that you rovers had better know. I am Amycus, and +any stranger that comes to this land has to get into a boxing bout with +me. That's the law that I have laid down. Unless you have one amongst you +who can stand up to me you won't be let go back to your ship. If you don't +heed my law, look out, for something's going to happen to you." + + So he shouted, that insolent king, and his followers raised their clubs +and growled approval of what their master said. But the Argonauts were not +dismayed at the words of Amycus. One of them stepped toward the +Bebrycians. He was Polydeuces, good at boxing. + + "Offer us no violence, king," said Polydeuces. "We are ready to obey the +law that you have laid down. Willingly do I take up your challenge, and I +will box a bout with you." + + The Argonauts cheered when they saw Polydeuces, the good boxer, step +forward, and when they heard what he had to say. Amycus turned and shouted +to his followers, and one of them brought up two pairs of boxing +gauntlets--of rough cowhide they were. The Argonauts feared that +Polydeuces' hands might have been made numb with pulling at the oar, and +some of them went to him, and took his hands and rubbed them to make them +supple; others took from off his shoulders his beautifully colored mantle. + + Amycus straightway put on his gauntlets and threw off his mantle; he +stood there amongst his followers with his great arms crossed, glowering +at the Argonauts as a wild beast might glower. And when the two faced each +other Amycus seemed like one of the Earth-born Men, dark and hugely +shaped, while Helen's brother stood there light and beautiful. Polydeuces +was like that star whose beams are lovely at evening-tide. + + [Illustration] + + + Like the wave that breaks over a ship and gives the sailors no respite +Amycus came on at Polydeuces. He pushed in upon him, thinking to bear him +down and overwhelm him. But as the skillful steersman keeps the ship from +being overwhelmed by the monstrous wave, so Polydeuces, all skill and +lightness, baffled the rushes of Amycus. At last Amycus, standing on the +tips of his toes and rising high above him, tried to bring down his great +fist upon the head of Polydeuces. The hero swung aside and took the blow +on his shoulder. Then he struck his blow. It was a strong one, and under +it the king of the Bebrycians staggered and fell down. "You see," said +Polydeuces, "that we keep your law." + + The Argonauts shouted, but the rude Bebrycians raised their clubs to +rush upon them. Then would the heroes have been hard pressed, and forced, +perhaps, to get back to the _Argo_. But suddenly Heracles appeared amongst +them, coming up from the forest. + + He carried a pine tree in his hands with all its branches still upon it, +and seeing this mighty-statured man appear with the great tree in his +hands, the Bebrycians hurried off, carrying their fallen king with them. +Then the Argonauts gathered around Polydeuces, saluted him as their +champion, and put a crown of victory upon his head. Heracles, meanwhile, +lopped off the branches of the pine tree and began to fashion it into an +oar. + + The fires were lighted upon the shore, and the thoughts of all were +turned to supper. Then young Hylas, who used to sit by Heracles and keep +bright the hero's arms and armor, took a bronze vessel and went to fetch +water. + + Never was there a boy so beautiful as young Hylas. He had golden curls +that tumbled over his brow. He had deep blue eyes and a face that smiled +at every glance that was given him, at every word that was said to him. +Now as he walked through the flowering grasses, with his knees bare, and +with the bright vessel swinging in his hand, he looked most lovely. +Heracles had brought the boy with him from the country of the Dryopians; +he would have him sit beside him on the bench of the _Argo_, and the ill +humors that often came upon him would go at the words and the smile of +Hylas. + + Now the spring that Hylas was going toward was called Pegae, and it was +haunted by the nymphs. They were dancing around it when they heard Hylas +singing. They stole softly off to watch him. Hidden behind trees the +nymphs saw the boy come near, and they felt such love for him that they +thought they could never let him go from their sight. + + They stole back to their spring, and they sank down below its clear +surface. Then came Hylas singing a song that he had heard from his mother. +He bent down to the spring, and the brimming water flowed into the +sounding bronze of the pitcher. Then hands came out of the water. One of +the nymphs caught Hylas by the elbow; another put her arms around his +neck, another took the hand that held the vessel of bronze. The pitcher +sank down to the depths of the spring. The hands of the nymphs clasped +Hylas tighter, tighter; the water bubbled around him as they drew him +down. Down, down they drew him, and into the cold and glimmering cave +where they live. + + [Illustration] + + Hylas + + + There Hylas stayed. But although the nymphs kissed him and sang to him, +and showed him lovely things, Hylas was not content to be there. + + Where the Argonauts were the fires burned, the moon arose, and still +Hylas did not return. Then they began to fear lest a wild beast had +destroyed the boy. One went to Heracles and told him that young Hylas had +not come back, and that they were fearful for him. Heracles flung down the +pine tree that he was fashioning into an oar, and he dashed along the way +that Hylas had gone as if a gadfly were stinging him. "Hylas, Hylas," he +cried. But Hylas, in the cold and glimmering cave that the nymphs had +drawn him into, did not hear the call of his friend Heracles. + + All the Argonauts went searching, calling as they went through the +island, "Hylas, Hylas, Hylas!" But only their own calls came back to them. +The morning star came up, and Tiphys, the steersman, called to them from +the _Argo_. And when they came to the ship Tiphys told them that they +would have to go aboard and make ready to sail from that place. + + They called to Heracles, and Heracles at last came down to the ship. +They spoke to him, saying that they would have to sail away. Heracles +would not go on board. "I will not leave this island," he said, "until I +find young Hylas or learn what has happened to him." + + Then Jason arose to give the command to depart. But before the words +were said Telamon stood up and faced him. "Jason," he said angrily, "you +do not bid Heracles come on board, and you would have the _Argo_ leave +without him. You would leave Heracles here so that he may not be with us +on the quest where his glory might overshadow your glory, Jason." + + Jason said no word, but he sat back on his bench with head bowed. And +then, even as Telamon said these angry words, a strange figure rose up out +of the waves of the sea. + + It was the figure of a man, wrinkled and old, with seaweed in his beard +and his hair. There was a majesty about him, and the Argonauts all knew +that this was one of the immortals--he was Nereus, the ancient one of the +sea. + + "To Heracles, and to you, the rest of the Argonauts, I have a thing to +say," said the ancient one, Nereus. "Know, first, that Hylas has been +taken by the nymphs who love him and who think to win his love, and that +he will stay forever with them in their cold and glimmering cave. For +Hylas seek no more. And to you, Heracles, I will say this: Go aboard the +_Argo_ again; the ship will take you to where a great labor awaits you, +and which, in accomplishing, you will work out the will of Zeus. You will +know what this labor is when a spirit seizes on you." So the ancient one +of the sea said, and he sank back beneath the waves. + + Heracles went aboard the _Argo_ once more, and he took his place on the +bench, the new oar in his hand. Sad he was to think that young Hylas who +used to sit at his knee would never be there again. The breeze filled the +sail, the Argonauts pulled at the oars, and in sadness they watched the +island where young Hylas had been lost to them recede from their view. + + + + +VII. King Phineus + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_S_AID Tiphys, the steersman: "If we could enter the Sea of Pontus, we +could make our way across that sea to Colchis in a short time. But the +passage into the Sea of Pontus is most perilous, and few mortals dare even +to make approach to it." + + Said Jason, the chieftain of the host: "The dangers of the passage, +Tiphys, we have spoken of, and it may be that we shall have to carry +_Argo_ overland to the Sea of Pontus. But you, Tiphys, have spoken of a +wise king who is hereabouts, and who might help us to make the dangerous +passage. Speak again to us, and tell us what the dangers of the passage +are, and who the king is who may be able to help us to make these dangers +less." + + Then said Tiphys, the steersman of the _Argo_: "No ship sailed by +mortals has as yet gone through the passage that brings this sea into the +Sea of Pontus. In the way are the rocks that mariners call The Clashers. +These rocks are not fixed as rocks should be, but they rush one against +the other, dashing up the sea, and crushing whatever may be between. Yea, +if _Argo_ were of iron, and if she were between these rocks when they met, +she would be crushed to bits. I have sailed as far as that passage, but +seeing The Clashers strike together I turned back my ship, and journeyed +as far as the Sea of Pontus overland. + + "But I have been told of one who knows how a ship may be taken through +the passage that The Clashers make so perilous. He who knows is a king +hereabouts, Phineus, who has made himself as wise as the gods. To no one +has Phineus told how the passage may be made, but knowing what high favor +has been shown to us, the Argonauts, it may be that he will tell us." + + So Tiphys said, and Jason commanded him to steer the _Argo_ toward the +city where ruled Phineus, the wise king. + + + + To Salmydessus, then, where Phineus ruled, Tiphys steered the _Argo_. +They left Heracles with Tiphys aboard to guard the ship, and, with the +rest of the heroes, Jason went through the streets of the city. They met +many men, but when they asked any of them how they might come to the +palace of King Phineus the men turned fearfully away. + + They found their way to the king's palace. Jason spoke to the servants +and bade them tell the king of their coming. The servants, too, seemed +fearful, and as Jason and his comrades were wondering what there was about +him that made men fearful at his name, Phineus, the king, came amongst +them. + + Were it not that he had a purple border to his robe no one would have +known him for the king, so miserable did this man seem. He crept along, +touching the walls, for the eyes in his head were blind and withered. His +body was shrunken, and when he stood before them leaning on his staff he +was like to a lifeless thing. He turned his blinded eyes upon them, +looking from one to the other as if he were searching for a face. + + Then his sightless eyes rested upon Zetes and Calais, the sons of +Boreas, the North Wind. A change came into his face as it turned upon +them. One would think that he saw the wonder that these two were endowed +with--the wings that grew upon their ankles. It was a while before he +turned his face from them; then he spoke to Jason and said: + + "You have come to have counsel with one who has the wisdom of the gods. +Others before you have come for such counsel, but seeing the misery that +is visible upon me they went without asking for counsel. I would strive to +hold you here for a while. Stay, and have sight of the misery the gods +visit upon those who would be as wise as they. And when you have seen the +thing that is wont to befall me, it may be that help will come from you +for me." + + Then Phineus, the blind king, left them, and after a while the heroes +were brought into a great hall, and they were invited to rest themselves +there while a banquet was being prepared for them. + + The hall was richly adorned, but it looked to the heroes as if it had +known strange happenings; rich hangings were strewn upon the ground, an +ivory chair was overturned, and the dais where the king sat had stains +upon it. The servants who went through the hall making ready the banquet +were white-faced and fearful. + + The feast was laid on a great table, and the heroes were invited to sit +down to it. The king did not come into the hall before they sat down, but +a table with food was set before the dais. When the heroes had feasted, +the king came into the hall. He sat at the table, blind, white-faced, and +shrunken, and the Argonauts all turned their faces to him. + + Said Phineus, the blind king: "You see, O heroes, how much my wisdom +avails me. You see me blind and shrunken, who tried to make myself in +wisdom equal to the gods. And yet you have not seen all. Watch now and see +what feasts Phineus, the wise king, has to delight him." + + He made a sign, and the white-faced and trembling servants brought food +and set it upon the table that was before him. The king bent forward as if +to eat, and they saw that his face was covered with the damp of fear. He +took food from the dish and raised it to his mouth. As he did, the doors +of the hall were flung open as if by a storm. Strange shapes flew into the +hall and set themselves beside the king. And when the Argonauts looked +upon them they saw that these were terrible and unsightly shapes. + + [Illustration] + + + They were things that had the wings and claws of birds and the heads of +women. Black hair and gray feathers were mixed upon them; they had red +eyes, and streaks of blood were upon their breasts and wings. And as the +king raised the food to his mouth they flew at him and buffeted his head +with their wings, and snatched the food from his hands. Then they devoured +or scattered what was upon the table, and all the time they screamed and +laughed and mocked. + + "Ah, now ye see," Phineus panted, "what it is to have wisdom equal to +the wisdom of the gods. Now ye all see my misery. Never do I strive to put +food to my lips but these foul things, the Harpies, the Snatchers, swoop +down and scatter or devour what I would eat. Crumbs they leave me that my +life may not altogether go from me, but these crumbs they make foul to my +taste and my smell." + + And one of the Harpies perched herself on the back of the king's throne +and looked upon the heroes with red eyes. "Hah," she screamed, "you bring +armed men into your feasting hall, thinking to scare us away. Never, +Phineus, can you scare us from you! Always you will have us, the +Snatchers, beside you when you would still your ache of hunger. What can +these men do against us who are winged and who can travel through the ways +of the air?" + + So said the unsightly Harpy, and the heroes drew together, made fearful +by these awful shapes. All drew back except Zetes and Calais, the sons of +the North Wind. They laid their hands upon their swords. The wings on +their shoulders spread out and the wings at their heels trembled. Phineus, +the king, leaned forward and panted: "By the wisdom I have I know that +there are two amongst you who can save me. O make haste to help me, ye who +can help me, and I will give the counsel that you Argonauts have come to +me for, and besides I will load down your ship with treasure and costly +stuffs. Oh, make haste, ye who can help me!" + + Hearing the king speak like this, the Harpies gathered together and +gnashed with their teeth, and chattered to one another. Then, seeing Zetes +and Calais with their hands upon their swords, they rose up on their wings +and flew through the wide doors of the hall. The king cried out to Zetes +and Calais. But the sons of the North Wind had already risen with their +wings, and they were after the Harpies, their bright swords in their +hands. + + On flew the Harpies, screeching and gnashing their teeth in anger and +dismay, for now they felt that they might be driven from Salmydessus, +where they had had such royal feasts. They rose high in the air and flew +out toward the sea. But high as the Harpies rose, the sons of the North +Wind rose higher. The Harpies cried pitiful cries as they flew on, but +Zetes and Calais felt no pity for them, for they knew that these dread +Snatchers, with the stains of blood upon their breasts and wings, had +shown pity neither to Phineus nor to any other. + + On they flew until they came to the island that is called the Floating +Island. There the Harpies sank down with wearied wings. Zetes and Calais +were upon them now, and they would have cut them to pieces with their +bright swords, if the messenger of Zeus, Iris, with the golden wings, had +not come between. + + "Forbear to slay the Harpies, sons of Boreas," cried Iris warningly, +"forbear to slay the Harpies that are the hounds of Zeus. Let them cower +here and hide themselves, and I, who come from Zeus, will swear the oath +that the gods most dread, that they will never again come to Salmydessus +to trouble Phineus, the king." + + The heroes yielded to the words of Iris. She took the oath that the gods +most dread--the oath by the Water of Styx--that never again would the +Harpies show themselves to Phineus. Then Zetes and Calais turned back +toward the city of Salmydessus. The island that they drove the Harpies to +had been called the Floating Island, but thereafter it was called the +Island of Turning. It was evening when they turned back, and all night +long the Argonauts and King Phineus sat in the hall of the palace and +awaited the return of Zetes and Calais, the sons of the North Wind. + + + + +VIII. King Phineus's Counsel; The Landing in Lemnos + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HEY came into King Phineus's hall, their bright swords in their hands. +The Argonauts crowded around them and King Phineus raised his head and +stretched out his thin hands to them. And Zetes and Calais told their +comrades and told the king how they had driven the Harpies down to the +Floating Island, and how Iris, the messenger of Zeus, had sworn the great +oath that was by the Water of Styx that never again would the Snatchers +show themselves in the palace. + + Then a great golden cup brimming with wine was brought to the king. He +stood holding it in his trembling hands, fearful even then that the +Harpies would tear the cup out of his hands. He drank--long and deeply he +drank--and the dread shapes of the Snatchers did not appear. Down amongst +the heroes he came and he took into his the hands of Zetes and Calais, the +sons of the North Wind. + + "O heroes greater than any kings," he said, "ye have delivered me from +the terrible curse that the gods had sent upon me. I thank ye, and I thank +ye all, heroes of the quest. And the thanks of Phineus will much avail you +all." + + Clasping the hands of Zetes and Calais he led the heroes through hall +after hall of his palace and down into his treasure chamber. There he +bestowed upon the banishers of the Harpies crowns and arm rings of gold +and richly colored garments and brazen chests in which to store the +treasure that he gave. And to Jason he gave an ivory-hilted and +gold-encased sword, and on each of the voyagers he bestowed a rich gift, +not forgetting the heroes who had remained on the _Argo_, Heracles and +Tiphys. + + They went back to the great hall, and a feast was spread for the king +and for the Argonauts. They ate from rich dishes and they drank from +flowing wine cups. Phineus ate and drank as the heroes did, and no dread +shapes came before him to snatch from him nor to buffet him. But as Jason +looked upon the man who had striven to equal the gods in wisdom, and noted +his blinded eyes and shrunken face, he resolved never to harbor in his +heart such presumption as Phineus had harbored. + + When the feast was finished the king spoke to Jason, telling him how the +_Argo_ might be guided through the Symplegades, the dread passage into the +Sea of Pontus. He told them to bring their ship near to the Clashing +Rocks. And one who had the keenest sight amongst them was to stand at the +prow of the ship holding a pigeon in his hands. As the rocks came together +he was to loose the pigeon. If it found a space to fly through they would +know that the _Argo_ could make the passage, and they were to steer +straight toward where the pigeon had flown. But if it fluttered down to +the sea, or flew back to them, or became lost in the clouds of spray, they +were to know that the _Argo_ might not make that passage. Then the heroes +would have to take their ship overland to where they might reach the Sea +of Pontus. + + That day they bade farewell to Phineus, and with the treasures he had +bestowed upon them they went down to the _Argo_. To Heracles and Tiphys +they gave the presents that the king had sent them. In the morning they +drew the _Argo_ out of the harbor of Salmydessus, and set sail again. + + + + But not until long afterward did they come to the Symplegades, the +passage that was to be their great trial. For they landed first in a +country that was full of woods, where they were welcomed by a king who had +heard of the voyagers and of their quest. There they stayed and hunted for +many days in the woods. And there a great loss befell the Argonauts, for +Tiphys, as he went through the woods, was bitten by a snake and died. He +who had braved so many seas and so many storms lost his life away from the +ship. The Argonauts made a tomb for him on the shore of that land--a great +pile of stones, in which they fixed upright his steering oar. Then they +set sail again, and Nauplius was made the steersman of the ship. + + The course was not so clear to Nauplius as it had been to Tiphys. The +steersman did not find his bearings, and for many days and nights the +_Argo_ was driven on a backward course. They came to an island that they +knew to be that Island of Lemnos that they had passed on the first days of +the voyage, and they resolved to rest there for a while, and then to press +on for the passage into the Sea of Pontus. + + They brought the _Argo_ near the shore. They blew trumpets and set the +loudest voiced of the heroes to call out to those upon the island. But no +answer came to them, and all day the _Argo_ lay close to the island. + + + + There were hidden people watching them, people with bows in their hands +and arrows laid along the bowstrings. And the people who thus threatened +the unknowing Argonauts were women and young girls. + + There were no men upon the Island of Lemnos. Years before a curse had +fallen upon the people of that island, putting strife between the men and +the women. And the women had mastered the men and had driven them away +from Lemnos. Since then some of the women had grown old, and the girls who +were children when their fathers and brothers had been banished were now +of an age with Atalanta, the maiden who went with the Argonauts. + + They chased the wild beasts of the island, and they tilled the fields, +and they kept in good repair the houses that were built before the +banishing of the men. The older women served those who were younger, and +they had a queen, a girl whose name was Hypsipyle. + + The women who watched with bows in their hands would have shot their +arrows at the Argonauts if Hypsipyle's nurse, Polyxo, had not stayed them. +She forbade them to shoot at the strangers until she had brought to them +the queen's commands. + + She hastened to the palace and she found the young queen weaving at a +loom. She told her about the ship and the strangers on board the ship, and +she asked the queen what word she should bring to the guardian maidens. + + "Before you give a command, Hypsipyle," said Polyxo, the nurse, +"consider these words of mine. We, the elder women, are becoming ancient +now; in a few years we will not be able to serve you, the younger women, +and in a few years more we will have gone into the grave and our places +will know us no more. And you, the younger women, will be becoming +strengthless, and no more will be you able to hunt in the woods nor to +till the fields, and a hard old age will be before you. + + "The ship that is beside our shore may have come at a good time. Those +on board are goodly heroes. Let them land in Lemnos, and stay if they +will. Let them wed with the younger women so that there may be husbands +and wives, helpers and helpmeets, again in Lemnos." + + Hypsipyle, the queen, let the shuttle fall from her hands and stayed for +a while looking full into Polyxo's face. Had her nurse heard her say +something like this out of her dreams, she wondered? She bade the nurse +tell the guardian maidens to let the heroes land in safety, and that she +herself would put the crown of King Thoas, her father, upon her head, and +go down to the shore to welcome them. + + And now the Argonauts saw people along the shore and they caught sight +of women's dresses. The loudest voiced amongst them shouted again, and +they heard an answer given in a woman's voice. They drew up the _Argo_ +upon the shore, and they set foot upon the land of Lemnos. + + Jason stepped forth at the head of his comrades, and he was met by +Hypsipyle, her father's crown upon her head, at the head of her maidens. +They greeted each other, and Hypsipyle bade the heroes come with them to +their town that was called Myrine and to the palace that was there. + + Wonderingly the Argonauts went, looking on women's forms and faces and +seeing no men. They came to the palace and went within. Hypsipyle mounted +the stone throne that was King Thoas's and the four maidens who were her +guards stood each side of her. She spoke to the heroes in greeting and +bade them stay in peace for as long as they would. She told them of the +curse that had fallen upon the people of Lemnos, and of how the menfolk +had been banished. Jason, then, told the queen what voyage he and his +companions were upon and what quest they were making. Then in friendship +the Argonauts and the women of Lemnos stayed together--all the Argonauts +except Heracles, and he, grieving still for Hylas, stayed aboard the +_Argo_. + + + + +IX. The Lemnian Maidens + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_A_ND now the Argonauts were no longer on a ship that was being dashed on +by the sea and beaten upon by the winds. They had houses to live in; they +had honey-tasting things to eat, and when they went through the island +each man might have with him one of the maidens of Lemnos. It was a change +that was welcome to the wearied voyagers. + + They helped the women in the work of the fields; they hunted the beasts +with them, and over and over again they were surprised at how skillfully +the women had ordered all affairs. Everything in Lemnos was strange to the +Argonauts, and they stayed day after day, thinking each day a fresh +adventure. + + Sometimes they would leave the fields and the chase, and this hero or +that hero, with her who was his friend amongst the Lemnian maidens, would +go far into that strange land and look upon lakes that were all covered +with golden and silver water lilies, or would gather the blue flowers from +creepers that grew around dark trees, or would hide themselves so that +they might listen to the quick-moving birds that sang in the thickets. +Perhaps on their way homeward they would see the _Argo_ in the harbor, and +they would think of Heracles who was aboard, and they would call to him. +But the ship and the voyage they had been on now seemed far away to them, +and the Quest of the Golden Fleece seemed to them a story they had heard +and that they had thought of, but that they could never think on again +with all that fervor. + + + + When Jason looked on Hypsipyle he saw one who seemed to him to be only +childlike in size. Greatly was he amazed at the words that poured forth +from her as she stood at the stone throne of King Thoas--he was amazed as +one is amazed at the rush of rich notes that comes from the throat of a +little bird; all that she said was made lightninglike by her eyes--her eyes +that were not clear and quiet like the eyes of the maidens he had seen in +Iolcus, but that were dark and burning. Her mouth was heavy and this heavy +mouth gave a shadow to her face that but for it was all bright and lovely. + + Hypsipyle spoke two languages--one, the language of the mothers of the +women of Lemnos, which was rough and harsh, a speech to be flung out to +slaves, and the other the language of Greece, which their fathers had +spoken, and which Hypsipyle spoke in a way that made it sound like strange +music. She spoke and walked and did all things in a queenlike way, and +Jason could see that, for all her youth and childlike size, Hypsipyle was +one who was a ruler. + + From the moment she took his hand it seemed that she could not bear to +be away from him. Where he walked, she walked too; where he sat she sat +before him, looking at him with her great eyes while she laughed or sang. + + Like the perfume of strange flowers, like the savor of strange fruit was +Hypsipyle to Jason. Hours and hours he would spend sitting beside her or +watching her while she arrayed herself in white or in brightly colored +garments. Not to the chase and not into the fields did Jason go, nor did +he ever go with the others into the Lemnian land; all day he sat in the +palace with her, watching her, or listening to her singing, or to the +long, fierce speeches that she used to make to her nurse or to the four +maidens who attended her. + + In the evening they would gather in the hall of the palace, the +Argonauts and the Lemnian maidens who were their comrades. There were +dances, and always Jason and Hypsipyle danced together. All the Lemnian +maidens sang beautifully, but none of them had any stories to tell. + + And when the Argonauts would have stories told the Lemnian maidens would +forbid any tale that was about a god or a hero; only stories that were +about the goddesses or about some maiden would they let be told. + + Orpheus, who knew the histories of the gods, would have told them many +stories, but the only story of his that they would come from the dance to +listen to was a story of the goddesses, of Demeter and her daughter +Persephone. + + [Illustration] + + + +Demeter and Persephone + + +I + + Once when Demeter was going through the world, giving men grain to be +sown in their fields, she heard a cry that came to her from across high +mountains and that mounted up to her from the sea. Demeter's heart shook +when she heard that cry, for she knew that it came to her from her +daughter, from her only child, young Persephone. + + She stayed not to bless the fields in which the grain was being sown, +but she hurried, hurried away, to Sicily and to the fields of Enna, where +she had left Persephone. All Enna she searched, and all Sicily, but she +found no trace of Persephone, nor of the maidens whom Persephone had been +playing with. From all whom she met she begged for tidings, but although +some had seen maidens gathering flowers and playing together, no one could +tell Demeter why her child had cried out nor where she had since gone to. + + There were some who could have told her. One was Cyane, a water nymph. +But Cyane, before Demeter came to her, had been changed into a spring of +water. And now, not being able to speak and tell Demeter where her child +had gone to and who had carried her away, she showed in the water the +girdle of Persephone that she had caught in her hands. And Demeter, +finding the girdle of her child in the spring, knew that she had been +carried off by violence. She lighted a torch at AEtna's burning mountain, +and for nine days and nine nights she went searching for her through the +darkened places of the earth. + + Then, upon a high and a dark hill, the Goddess Demeter came face to face +with Hecate, the Moon. Hecate, too, had heard the cry of Persephone; she +had sorrow for Demeter's sorrow: she spoke to her as the two stood upon +that dark, high hill, and told her that she should go to Helios for +tidings--to bright Helios, the watcher for the gods, and beg Helios to tell +her who it was who had carried off by violence her child Persephone. + + Demeter came to Helios. He was standing before his shining steeds, +before the impatient steeds that draw the sun through the course of the +heavens. Demeter stood in the way of those impatient steeds; she begged of +Helios who sees all things upon the earth to tell her who it was had +carried off by violence Persephone, her child. + + And Helios, who may make no concealment, said: "Queenly Demeter, know +that the king of the Underworld, dark Aidoneus, has carried off Persephone +to make her his queen in the realm that I never shine upon." He spoke, and +as he did, his horses shook their manes and breathed out fire, impatient +to be gone. Helios sprang into his chariot and went flashing away. + + Demeter, knowing that one of the gods had carried off Persephone against +her will, and knowing that what was done had been done by the will of +Zeus, would go no more into the assemblies of the gods. She quenched the +torch that she had held in her hands for nine days and nine nights; she +put off her robe of goddess, and she went wandering over the earth, +uncomforted for the loss of her child. And no longer did she appear as a +gracious goddess to men; no longer did she give them grain; no longer did +she bless their fields. None of the things that it had pleased her once to +do would Demeter do any longer. + + + +II + + Persephone had been playing with the nymphs who are the daughters of +Ocean--Phaeno, Ianthe, Melita, Ianeira, Acaste--in the lovely fields of Enna. +They went to gather flowers--irises and crocuses, lilies, narcissus, +hyacinths and rose-blooms--that grow in those fields. As they went, +gathering flowers in their baskets, they had sight of Pergus, the pool +that the white swans come to sing in. + + Beside a deep chasm that had been made in the earth a wonder flower was +growing--in color it was like the crocus, but it sent forth a perfume that +was like the perfume of a hundred flowers. And Persephone thought as she +went toward it that having gathered that flower she would have something +much more wonderful than her companions had. + + She did not know that Aidoneus, the lord of the Underworld, had caused +that flower to grow there so that she might be drawn by it to the chasm +that he had made. + + As Persephone stooped to pluck the wonder flower, Aidoneus, in his +chariot of iron, dashed up through the chasm, and grasping the maiden by +the waist, set her beside him. Only Cyane, the nymph, tried to save +Persephone, and it was then that she caught the girdle in her hands. + + The maiden cried out, first because her flowers had been spilled, and +then because she was being reft away. She cried out to her mother, and her +cry went over high mountains and sounded up from the sea. The daughters of +Ocean, affrighted, fled and sank down into the depths of the sea. + + In his great chariot of iron that was drawn by black steeds Aidoneus +rushed down through the chasm he had made. Into the Underworld he went, +and he dashed across the River Styx, and he brought his chariot up beside +his throne. And on his dark throne he seated Persephone, the fainting +daughter of Demeter. + + + +III + + No more did the Goddess Demeter give grain to men; no more did she bless +their fields: weeds grew where grain had been growing, and men feared that +in a while they would famish for lack of bread. + + She wandered through the world, her thought all upon her child, +Persephone, who had been taken from her. Once she sat by a well by a +wayside, thinking upon the child that she might not come to and who might +not come to her. + + She saw four maidens come near; their grace and their youth reminded her +of her child. They stepped lightly along, carrying bronze pitchers in +their hands, for they were coming to the Well of the Maiden beside which +Demeter sat. + + [Illustration] + + Persephone and Aidoneus + + + The maidens thought when they looked upon her that the goddess was some +ancient woman who had a sorrow in her heart. Seeing that she was so noble +and so sorrowful looking, the maidens, as they drew the clear water into +their pitchers, spoke kindly to her. + + "Why do you stay away from the town, old mother?" one of the maidens +said. "Why do you not come to the houses? We think that you look as if you +were shelterless and alone, and we should like to tell you that there are +many houses in the town where you would be welcomed." + + Demeter's heart went out to the maidens, because they looked so young +and fair and simple and spoke out of such kind hearts. She said to them: +"Where can I go, dear children? My people are far away, and there are none +in all the world who would care to be near me." + + Said one of the maidens: "There are princes in the land who would +welcome you in their houses if you would consent to nurse one of their +young children. But why do I speak of other princes beside Celeus, our +father? In his house you would indeed have a welcome. But lately a baby +has been born to our mother, Metaneira, and she would greatly rejoice to +have one as wise as you mind little Demophooen." + + All the time that she watched them and listened to their voices Demeter +felt that the grace and youth of the maidens made them like Persephone. +She thought that it would ease her heart to be in the house where these +maidens were, and she was not loath to have them go and ask of their +mother to have her come to nurse the infant child. + + Swiftly they ran back to their home, their hair streaming behind them +like crocus flowers; kind and lovely girls whose names are well +remembered--Callidice and Cleisidice, Demo and Callithoe. They went to +their mother and they told her of the stranger-woman whose name was Doso. +She would make a wise and a kind nurse for little Demophooen, they said. +Their mother, Metaneira, rose up from the couch she was sitting on to +welcome the stranger. But when she saw her at the doorway, awe came over +her, so majestic she seemed. + + Metaneira would have her seat herself on the couch but the goddess took +the lowliest stool, saying in greeting: "May the gods give you all good, +lady." + + "Sorrow has set you wandering from your good home," said Metaneira to +the goddess, "but now that you have come to this place you shall have all +that this house can bestow if you will rear up to youth the infant +Demophooen, child of many hopes and prayers." + + The child was put into the arms of Demeter; she clasped him to her +breast, and little Demophooen looked up into her face and smiled. Then +Demeter's heart went out to the child and to all who were in the +household. + + He grew in strength and beauty in her charge. And little Demophooen was +not nourished as other children are nourished, but even as the gods in +their childhood were nourished. Demeter fed him on ambrosia, breathing on +him with her divine breath the while. And at night she laid him on the +hearth, amongst the embers, with the fire all around him. This she did +that she might make him immortal, and like to the gods. + + [Illustration] + + + But one night Metaneira looked out from the chamber where she lay, and +she saw the nurse take little Demophooen and lay him in a place on the +hearth with the burning brands all around him. Then Metaneira started up, +and she sprang to the hearth, and she snatched the child from beside the +burning brands. "Demophoon, my son," she cried, "what would this +stranger-woman do to you, bringing bitter grief to me that ever I let her +take you in her arms?" + + Then said Demeter: "Foolish indeed are you mortals, and not able to +foresee what is to come to you of good or of evil! Foolish indeed are you, +Metaneira, for in your heedlessness you have cut off this child from an +immortality like to the immortality of the gods themselves. For he had +lain in my bosom and had become dear to me and I would have bestowed upon +him the greatest gift that the Divine Ones can bestow, for I would have +made him deathless and unaging. All this, now, has gone by. Honor he shall +have indeed, but Demophoon will know age and death." + + The seeming old age that was upon her had fallen from Demeter; beauty +and stature were hers, and from her robe there came a heavenly fragrance. +There came such light from her body that the chamber shone. Metaneira +remained trembling and speechless, unmindful even to take up the child +that had been laid upon the ground. + + It was then that his sisters heard Demophooen wail; one ran from her +chamber and took the child in her arms; another kindled again the fire +upon the hearth, and the others made ready to bathe and care for the +infant. All night they cared for him, holding him in their arms and at +their breasts, but the child would not be comforted, because the nurses +who handled him now were less skillful than was the goddess-nurse. + + And as for Demeter, she left the house of Celeus and went upon her way, +lonely in her heart, and unappeased. And in the world that she wandered +through, the plow went in vain through the ground; the furrow was sown +without any avail, and the race of men saw themselves near perishing for +lack of bread. + + But again Demeter came near the Well of the Maiden. She thought of the +daughters of Celeus as they came toward the well that day, the bronze +pitchers in their hands, and with kind looks for the stranger--she thought +of them as she sat by the well again. And then she thought of little +Demophooen, the child she had held at her breast. No stir of living was in +the land near their home, and only weeds grew in their fields. As she sat +there and looked around her there came into Demeter's heart a pity for the +people in whose house she had dwelt. + + She rose up and she went to the house of Celeus. She found him beside +his house measuring out a little grain. The goddess went to him and she +told him that because of the love she bore his household she would bless +his fields so that the seed he had sown in them would come to growth. +Celeus rejoiced, and he called all the people together, and they raised a +temple to Demeter. She went through the fields and blessed them, and the +seed that they had sown began to grow. And the goddess for a while dwelt +amongst that people, in her temple at Eleusis. + + [Illustration] + + + +IV + + But still she kept away from the assemblies of the gods. Zeus sent a +messenger to her, Iris with the golden wings, bidding her to Olympus. +Demeter would not join the Olympians. Then, one after the other, the gods +and goddesses of Olympus came to her; none were able to make her cease +from grieving for Persephone, or to go again into the company of the +immortal gods. + + And so it came about that Zeus was compelled to send a messenger down to +the Underworld to bring Persephone back to the mother who grieved so much +for the loss of her. Hermes was the messenger whom Zeus sent. Through the +darkened places of the earth Hermes went, and he came to that dark throne +where the lord Aidoneus sat, with Persephone beside him. Then Hermes spoke +to the lord of the Underworld, saying that Zeus commanded that Persephone +should come forth from the Underworld that her mother might look upon her. + + Then Persephone, hearing the words of Zeus that might not be gainsaid, +uttered the only cry that had left her lips since she had sent out that +cry that had reached her mother's heart. And Aidoneus, hearing the command +of Zeus that might not be denied, bowed his dark, majestic head. + + She might go to the Upperworld and rest herself in the arms of her +mother, he said. And then he cried out: "Ah, Persephone, strive to feel +kindliness in your heart toward me who carried you off by violence and +against your will. I can give to you one of the great kingdoms that the +Olympians rule over. And I, who am brother to Zeus, am no unfitting +husband for you, Demeter's child." + + So Aidoneus, the dark lord of the Underworld said, and he made ready the +iron chariot with its deathless horses that Persephone might go up from +his kingdom. + + Beside the single tree in his domain Aidoneus stayed the chariot. A +single fruit grew on that tree, a bright pomegranate fruit. Persephone +stood up in the chariot and plucked the fruit from the tree. Then did +Aidoneus prevail upon her to divide the fruit, and, having divided it, +Persephone ate seven of the pomegranate seeds. + + It was Hermes who took the whip and the reins of the chariot. He drove +on, and neither the sea nor the water-courses, nor the glens nor the +mountain peaks stayed the deathless horses of Aidoneus, and soon the +chariot was brought near to where Demeter awaited the coming of her +daughter. + + [Illustration] + + + And when, from a hilltop, Demeter saw the chariot approaching, she flew +like a wild bird to clasp her child. Persephone, when she saw her mother's +dear eyes, sprang out of the chariot and fell upon her neck and embraced +her. Long and long Demeter held her dear child in her arms, gazing, gazing +upon her. Suddenly her mind misgave her. With a great fear at her heart +she cried out: "Dearest, has any food passed your lips in all the time you +have been in the Underworld?" + + She had not tasted food in all the time she was there, Persephone said. +And then, suddenly, she remembered the pomegranate that Aidoneus had asked +her to divide. When she told that she had eaten seven seeds from it +Demeter wept, and her tears fell upon Persephone's face. + + "Ah, my dearest," she cried, "if you had not eaten the pomegranate seeds +you could have stayed with me, and always we should have been together. +But now that you have eaten food in it, the Underworld has a claim upon +you. You may not stay always with me here. Again you will have to go back +and dwell in the dark places under the earth and sit upon Aidoneus's +throne. But not always you will be there. When the flowers bloom upon the +earth you shall come up from the realm of darkness, and in great joy we +shall go through the world together, Demeter and Persephone." + + And so it has been since Persephone came back to her mother after having +eaten of the pomegranate seeds. For two seasons of the year she stays with +Demeter, and for one season she stays in the Underworld with her dark +lord. While she is with her mother there is springtime upon the earth. +Demeter blesses the furrows, her heart being glad because her daughter is +with her once more. The furrows become heavy with grain, and soon the +whole wide earth has grain and fruit, leaves and flowers. When the furrows +are reaped, when the grain has been gathered, when the dark season comes, +Persephone goes from her mother, and going down into the dark places, she +sits beside her mighty lord Aidoneus and upon his throne. Not sorrowful is +she there; she sits with head unbowed, for she knows herself to be a +mighty queen. She has joy, too, knowing of the seasons when she may walk +with Demeter, her mother, on the wide places of the earth, through fields +of flowers and fruit and ripening grain. + + + + Such was the story that Orpheus told--Orpheus who knew the histories of +the gods. + + A day came when the heroes, on their way back from a journey they had +made with the Lemnian maidens, called out to Heracles upon the _Argo_. +Then Heracles, standing on the prow of the ship, shouted angrily to them. +Terrible did he seem to the Lemnian maidens, and they ran off, drawing the +heroes with them. Heracles shouted to his comrades again, saying that if +they did not come aboard the _Argo_ and make ready for the voyage to +Colchis, he would go ashore and carry them to the ship, and force them +again to take the oars in their hands. Not all of what Heracles said did +the Argonauts hear. + + That evening the men were silent in Hypsipyle's hall, and it was +Atalanta, the maiden, who told the evening's story. + + + +Atalanta's Race + + + There are two Atalantas, she said; she herself, the Huntress, and +another who is noted for her speed of foot and her delight in the race--the +daughter of Schoeneus, King of Boeotia, Atalanta of the Swift Foot. + + So proud was she of her swiftness that she made a vow to the gods that +none would be her husband except the youth who won past her in the race. +Youth after youth came and raced against her, but Atalanta, who grew +fleeter and fleeter of foot, left each one of them far behind her. The +youths who came to the race were so many and the clamor they made after +defeat was so great, that her father made a law that, as he thought, would +lessen their number. The law that he made was that the youth who came to +race against Atalanta and who lost the race should lose his life into the +bargain. After that the youths who had care for their lives stayed away +from Boeotia. + + Once there came a youth from a far part of Greece into the country that +Atalanta's father ruled over. Hippomenes was his name. He did not know of +the race, but having come into the city and seeing the crowd of people, he +went with them to the course. He looked upon the youths who were girded +for the race, and he heard the folk say amongst themselves, "Poor youths, +as mighty and as high-spirited as they look, by sunset the life will be +out of each of them, for Atalanta will run past them as she ran past the +others." Then Hippomenes spoke to the folk in wonder, and they told him of +Atalanta's race and of what would befall the youths who were defeated in +it. "Unlucky youths," cried Hippomenes, "how foolish they are to try to +win a bride at the price of their lives." + + Then, with pity in his heart, he watched the youths prepare for the +race. Atalanta had not yet taken her place, and he was fearful of looking +upon her. "She is a witch," he said to himself, "she must be a witch to +draw so many youths to their deaths, and she, no doubt, will show in her +face and figure the witch's spirit." + + But even as he said this, Hippomenes saw Atalanta. She stood with the +youths before they crouched for the first dart in the race. He saw that +she was a girl of a light and a lovely form. Then they crouched for the +race; then the trumpets rang out, and the youths and the maiden darted +like swallows over the sand of the course. + + On came Atalanta, far, far ahead of the youths who had started with her. +Over her bare shoulders her hair streamed, blown backward by the wind that +met her flight. Her fair neck shone, and her little feet were like flying +doves. It seemed to Hippomenes as he watched her that there was fire in +her lovely body. On and on she went as swift as the arrow that the +Scythian shoots from his bow. And as he watched the race he was not sorry +that the youths were being left behind. Rather would he have been enraged +if one came near overtaking her, for now his heart was set upon winning +her for his bride, and he cursed himself for not having entered the race. + + She passed the last goal mark and she was given the victor's wreath of +flowers. Hippomenes stood and watched her and he did not see the youths +who had started with her--they had thrown themselves on the ground in their +despair. + + Then wild, as though he were one of the doomed youths, Hippomenes made +his way through the throng and came before the black-bearded King of +Boetia. The king's brows were knit, for even then he was pronouncing doom +upon the youths who had been left behind in the race. He looked upon +Hippomenes, another youth who would make the trial, and the frown became +heavier upon his face. + + But Hippomenes saw only Atalanta. She came beside her father; the wreath +was upon her head of gold, and her eyes were wide and tender. She turned +her face to him, and then she knew by the wildness that was in his look +that he had come to enter the race with her. Then the flush that was on +her face died away, and she shook her head as if she were imploring him to +go from that place. + + The dark-bearded king bent his brows upon him and said, "Speak, O youth, +speak and tell us what brings you here." + + Then cried Hippomenes as if his whole life were bursting out with his +words: "Why does this maiden, your daughter, seek an easy renown by +conquering weakly youths in the race? She has not striven yet. Here stand +I, one of the blood of Poseidon, the god of the sea. Should I be defeated +by her in the race, then, indeed, might Atalanta have something to boast +of." + + Atalanta stepped forward and said: "Do not speak of it, youth. Indeed I +think that it is some god, envious of your beauty and your strength, who +sent you here to strive with me and to meet your doom. Ah, think of the +youths who have striven with me even now! Think of the hard doom that is +about to fall upon them! You venture your life in the race, but indeed I +am not worthy of the price. Go hence, O stranger youth, go hence and live +happily, for indeed I think that there is some maiden who loves you well." + + "Nay, maiden," said Hippomenes, "I will enter the race and I will +venture my life on the chance of winning you for my bride. What good will +my life and my spirit be to me if they cannot win this race for me?" + + She drew away from him then and looked upon him no more, but bent down +to fasten the sandals upon her feet. And the black-bearded king looked +upon Hippomenes and said, "Face, then, this race to-morrow. You will be +the only one who will enter it. But bethink thee of the doom that awaits +thee at the end of it." The king said no more, and Hippomenes went from +him and from Atalanta, and he came again to the place where the race had +been run. + + He looked across the sandy course with its goal marks, and in his mind +he saw again Atalanta's swift race. He would not meet doom at the hands of +the king's soldiers, he knew, for his spirit would leave him with the +greatness of the effort he would make to reach the goal before her. And he +thought it would be well to die in that effort and on that sandy place +that was so far from his own land. + + Even as he looked across the sandy course now deserted by the throng, he +saw one move across it, coming toward him with feet that did not seem to +touch the ground. She was a woman of wonderful presence. As Hippomenes +looked upon her he knew that she was Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and +of love. + + "Hippomenes," said the immortal goddess, "the gods are mindful of you +who are sprung from one of the gods, and I am mindful of you because of +your own worth. I have come to help you in your race with Atalanta, for I +would not have you slain, nor would I have that maiden go unwed. Give your +greatest strength and your greatest swiftness to the race, and behold! +here are wonders that will prevent the fleet-footed Atalanta from putting +all her spirit into the race." + + And then the immortal goddess held out to Hippomenes a branch that had +upon it three apples of shining gold. + + "In Cyprus," said the goddess, "where I have come from, there is a tree +on which these golden apples grow. Only I may pluck them. I have brought +them to you, Hippomenes. Keep them in your girdle, and in the race you +will find out what to do with them, I think." + + So Aphrodite said, and then she vanished, leaving a fragrance in the air +and the three shining apples in the hands of Hippomenes. Long he looked +upon their brightness. They were beside him that night, and when he arose +in the dawn he put them in his girdle. Then, before the throng, he went to +the place of the race. + + When he showed himself beside Atalanta all around the course were +silent, for they all admired Hippomenes for his beauty and for the spirit +that was in his face; they were silent out of compassion, for they knew +the doom that befell the youths who raced with Atalanta. + + And now Schoeneus, the black-bearded king, stood up, and he spoke to the +throng, saying, "Hear me all, both young and old: this youth, Hippomenes, +seeks to win the race from my daughter, winning her for his bride. Now, if +he be victorious and escape death I will give him my dear child, Atalanta, +and many fleet horses besides as gifts from me, and in honor he shall go +back to his native land. But if he fail in the race, then he will have to +share the doom that has been meted out to the other youths who raced with +Atalanta hoping to win her for a bride." + + Then Hippomenes and Atalanta crouched for the start. The trumpets were +sounded and they darted off. + + Side by side with Atalanta Hippomenes went. Her flying hair touched his +breast, and it seemed to him that they were skimming the sandy course as +if they were swallows. But then Atalanta began to draw away from him. He +saw her ahead of him, and then he began to hear the words of cheer that +came from the throng--"Bend to the race, Hippomenes! Go on, go on! Use your +strength to the utmost." He bent himself to the race, but further and +further from him Atalanta drew. + + Then it seemed to him that she checked her swiftness a little to look +back at him. He gained on her a little. And then his hand touched the +apples that were in his girdle. As it touched them it came into his mind +what to do with the apples. + + He was not far from her now, but already her swiftness was drawing her +further and further away. He took one of the apples into his hand and +tossed it into the air so that it fell on the track before her. + + Atalanta saw the shining apple. She checked her speed and stooped in the +race to pick it up. And as she stooped Hippomenes darted past her, and +went flying toward the goal that now was within his sight. + + But soon she was beside him again. He looked, and he saw that the goal +marks were far, far ahead of him. Atalanta with the flying hair passed +him, and drew away and away from him. He had not speed to gain upon her +now, he thought, so he put his strength into his hand and he flung the +second of the shining apples. The apple rolled before her and rolled off +the course. Atalanta turned off the course, stooped and picked up the +apple. + + Then did Hippomenes draw all his spirit into his breast as he raced on. +He was now nearer to the goal than she was. But he knew that she was +behind him, going lightly where he went heavily. And then she was beside +him, and then she went past him. She paused in her speed for a moment and +she looked back on him. + + As he raced on, his chest seemed weighted down and his throat was +crackling dry. The goal marks were far away still, but Atalanta was +nearing them. He took the last of the golden apples into his hand. Perhaps +she was now so far that the strength of his throw would not be great +enough to bring the apple before her. + + But with all the strength he could put into his hand he flung the apple. +It struck the course before her feet and then went bounding wide. Atalanta +swerved in her race and followed where the apple went. Hippomenes marveled +that he had been able to fling it so far. He saw Atalanta stoop to pick up +the apple, and he bounded on. And then, although his strength was failing, +he saw the goal marks near him. He set his feet between them and then fell +down on the ground. + + The attendants raised him up and put the victor's wreath upon his head. +The concourse of people shouted with joy to see him victor. But he looked +around for Atalanta and he saw her standing there with the golden apples +in her hands. "He has won," he heard her say, "and I have not to hate +myself for bringing a doom upon him. Gladly, gladly do I give up the race, +and glad am I that it is this youth who has won the victory from me." + + [Illustration] + + Atalanta's Last Race + + + She took his hand and brought him before the king. Then Schoeneus, in the +sight of all the rejoicing people, gave Atalanta to Hippomenes for his +bride, and he bestowed upon him also a great gift of horses. With his dear +and hard-won bride, Hippomenes went to his own country, and the apples +that she brought with her, the golden apples of Aphrodite, were reverenced +by the people. + + + + +X. The Departure from Lemnos + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_A_ DAY came when Heracles left the _Argo_ and went on the Lemnian land. +He gathered the heroes about him, and they, seeing Heracles come amongst +them, clamored to go to hunt the wild bulls that were inland from the sea. + + So, for once, the heroes left the Lemnian maidens who were their +friends. Jason, too, left Hypsipyle in the palace and went with Heracles. +And as they went, Heracles spoke to each of the heroes, saying that they +were forgetting the Fleece of Gold that they had sailed to gain. Jason +blushed to think that he had almost let go out of his mind the quest that +had brought him from Iolcus. And then he thought upon Hypsipyle and of how +her little hand would stay in his, and his own hand became loose upon the +spear so that it nearly fell from him. How could he, he thought, leave +Hypsipyle and this land of Lemnos behind? + + He heard the clear voice of Atalanta as she, too, spoke to the +Argonauts. What Heracles said was brave and wise, said Atalanta. +Forgetfulness would cover their names if they stayed longer in +Lemnos--forgetfulness and shame, and they would come to despise themselves. +Leave Lemnos, she cried, and draw _Argo_ into the sea, and depart for +Colchis. + + All day the Argonauts stayed by themselves, hunting the bulls. On their +way back from the chase they were met by Lemnian maidens who carried +wreaths of flowers for them. Very silent were the heroes as the maidens +greeted them. Heracles went with Jason to the palace, and Hypsipyle, +seeing the mighty stranger coming, seated herself, not on the couch where +she was wont to sit looking into the face of Jason, but on the stone +throne of King Thoas, her father. And seated on that throne she spoke to +Jason and to Heracles as a queen might speak. + + In the hall that night the heroes and the Lemnian maidens who were with +them were quiet. A story was told; Castor began it and Polydeuces ended +it. And the story that Helen's brothers told was: + + + +The Golden Maid + + + Epimetheus the Titan had a brother who was the wisest of all +beings--Prometheus called the Foreseer. But Epimetheus himself was +slow-witted and scatter-brained. His wise brother once sent him a message +bidding him beware of the gifts that Zeus might send him. Epimetheus +heard, but he did not heed the warning, and thereby he brought upon the +race of men troubles and cares. + + Prometheus, the wise Titan, had saved men from a great trouble that Zeus +would have brought upon them. Also he had given them the gift of fire. +Zeus was the more wroth with men now because fire, stolen from him, had +been given them; he was wroth with the race of Titans, too, and he +pondered in his heart how he might injure men, and how he might use +Epimetheus, the mindless Titan, to further his plan. + + While he pondered there was a hush on high Olympus, the mountain of the +gods. Then Zeus called upon the artisan of the gods, lame Hephaestus, and +he commanded him to make a being out of clay that would have the likeness +of a lovely maiden. With joy and pride Hephaestus worked at the task that +had been given him, and he fashioned a being that had the likeness of a +lovely maiden, and he brought the thing of his making before the gods and +the goddesses. + + All strove to add a grace or a beauty to the work of Hephaestus. Zeus +granted that the maiden should see and feel. Athene dressed her in +garments that were as lovely as flowers. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, +put a charm on her lips and in her eyes. The Graces put necklaces around +her neck and set a golden crown upon her head. The Hours brought her a +girdle of spring flowers. Then the herald of the gods gave her speech that +was sweet and flowing. All the gods and goddesses had given gifts to her, +and for that reason the maiden of Hephaestus's making was called Pandora, +the All-endowed. + + She was lovely, the gods knew; not beautiful as they themselves are, who +have a beauty that awakens reverence rather than love, but lovely, as +flowers and bright waters and earthly maidens are lovely. Zeus smiled to +himself when he looked upon her, and he called to Hermes who knew all the +ways of the earth, and he put her into the charge of Hermes. Also he gave +Hermes a great jar to take along; this jar was Pandora's dower. + + + + Epimetheus lived in a deep-down valley. Now one day, as he was sitting +on a fallen pillar in the ruined place that was now forsaken by the rest +of the Titans, he saw a pair coming toward him. One had wings, and he knew +him to be Hermes, the messenger of the gods. The other was a maiden. +Epimetheus marveled at the crown upon her head and at her lovely garments. +There was a glint of gold all around her. He rose from where he sat upon +the broken pillar and he stood to watch the pair. Hermes, he saw, was +carrying by its handle a great jar. + + In wonder and delight he looked upon the maiden. Epimetheus had seen no +lovely thing for ages. Wonderful indeed was this Golden Maid, and as she +came nearer the charm that was on her lips and in her eyes came to the +Earth-born One, and he smiled with more and more delight. + + [Illustration] + + + Hermes came and stood before him. He also smiled, but his smile had +something baleful in it. He put the hands of the Golden Maid into the +great soft hand of the Titan, and he said, "O Epimetheus, Father Zeus +would be reconciled with thee, and as a sign of his good will he sends +thee this lovely goddess to be thy companion." + + Oh, very foolish was Epimetheus the Earth-born One! As he looked upon +the Golden Maid who was sent by Zeus he lost memory of the wars that Zeus +had made upon the Titans and the Elder Gods; he lost memory of his brother +chained by Zeus to the rock; he lost memory of the warning that his +brother, the wisest of all beings, had sent him. He took the hands of +Pandora, and he thought of nothing at all in all the world but her. Very +far away seemed the voice of Hermes saying, "This jar, too, is from +Olympus; it has in it Pandora's dower." + + The jar stood forgotten for long, and green plants grew over it while +Epimetheus walked in the garden with the Golden Maid, or watched her while +she gazed on herself in the stream, or searched in the untended places for +the fruits that the Elder Gods would eat, when they feasted with the +Titans in the old days, before Zeus had come to his power. And lost to +Epimetheus was the memory of his brother now suffering upon the rock +because of the gift he had given to men. + + And Pandora, knowing nothing except the brightness of the sunshine and +the lovely shapes and colors of things and the sweet taste of the fruits +that Epimetheus brought to her, could have stayed forever in that garden. + + But every day Epimetheus would think that the men and women of the world +should be able to talk to him about this maiden with the wonderful +radiance of gold, and with the lovely garments, and the marvelous crown. +And one day he took Pandora by the hand, and he brought her out of that +deep-lying valley, and toward the homes of men. He did not forget the jar +that Hermes had left with her. All things that belonged to the Golden Maid +were precious, and Epimetheus took the jar along. + + + + The race of men at the time were simple and content. Their days were +passed in toil, but now, since Prometheus had given them fire, they had +good fruits of their toil. They had well-shaped tools to dig the earth and +to build houses. Their homes were warmed with fire, and fire burned upon +the altars that were upon their ways. + + Greatly they reverenced Prometheus; who had given them fire, and greatly +they reverenced the race of the Titans. So when Epimetheus came amongst +them, tall as a man walking with stilts, they welcomed him and brought him +and the Golden Maid to their hearths. And Epimetheus showed Pandora the +wonderful element that his brother had given to men, and she rejoiced to +see the fire, clapping her hands with delight. The jar that Epimetheus +brought he left in an open place. + + In carrying it up the rough ways out of the valley Epimetheus may have +knocked the jar about, for the lid that had been tight upon it now fitted +very loosely. But no one gave heed to the jar as it stood in the open +space where Epimetheus had left it. + + At first the men and women looked upon the beauty of Pandora, upon her +lovely dresses, and her golden crown and her girdle of flowers, with +wonder and delight. Epimetheus would have every one admire and praise her. +The men would leave off working in the fields, or hammering on iron, or +building houses, and the women would leave off spinning or weaving, and +come at his call, and stand about and admire the Golden Maid. But as time +went by a change came upon the women: one woman would weep, and another +would look angry, and a third would go back sullenly to her work when +Pandora was admired or praised. + + Once the women were gathered together, and one who was the wisest +amongst them said: "Once we did not think about ourselves, and we were +content. But now we think about ourselves, and we say to ourselves that we +are harsh and ill-favored indeed compared to the Golden Maid that the +Titan is so enchanted with. And we hate to see our own men praise and +admire her, and often, in our hearts, we would destroy her if we could." + + "That is true," the women said. And then a young woman cried out in a +most yearnful voice, "O tell us, you who are wise, how can we make +ourselves as beautiful as Pandora!" + + Then said that woman who was thought to be wise, "This Golden Maid is +lovely to look upon because she has lovely apparel and all the means of +keeping herself lovely. The gods have given her the ways, and so her skin +remains fair, and her hair keeps its gold, and her lips are ever red and +her eyes shining. And I think that the means that she has of keeping +lovely are all in that jar that Epimetheus brought with her." + + When the woman who was thought to be wise said this, those around her +were silent for a while. But then one arose and another arose, and they +stood and whispered together, one saying to the other that they should go +to the place where the jar had been left by Epimetheus, and that they +should take out of it the salves and the charms and the washes that would +leave them as beautiful as Pandora. + + So the women went to that place. On their way they stopped at a pool and +they bent over to see themselves mirrored in it, and they saw themselves +with dusty and unkempt hair, with large and knotted hands, with troubled +eyes, and with anxious mouths. They frowned as they looked upon their +images, and they said in harsh voices that in a while they would have ways +of making themselves as lovely as the Golden Maid. + + [Illustration] + + + And as they went on they saw Pandora. She was playing in a flowering +field, while Epimetheus, high as a man upon stilts, went gathering the +blossoms of the bushes for her. They went on, and they came at last to the +place where Epimetheus had left the jar that held Pandora's dower. + + A great stone jar it was; there was no bird, nor flower, nor branch +painted upon it. It stood high as a woman's shoulder. And as the women +looked on it they thought that there were things enough in it to keep them +beautiful for all the days of their lives. But each one thought that she +should not be the last to get her hands into it. + + Once the lid had been fixed tightly down on the jar. But the lid was +shifted a little now. As the hands of the women grasped it to take off the +lid the jar was cast down, and the things that were inside spilled +themselves forth. + + They were black and gray and red; they were crawling and flying things. +And, as the women looked, the things spread themselves abroad or fastened +themselves upon them. + + The jar, like Pandora herself, had been made and filled out of the ill +will of Zeus. And it had been filled, not with salves and charms and +washes, as the women had thought, but with Cares and Troubles. Before the +women came to it one Trouble had already come forth from the +jar--Self-thought that was upon the top of the heap. It was Self-thought +that had afflicted the women, making them troubled about their own looks, +and envious of the graces of the Golden Maid. + + And now the others spread themselves out--Sickness and War and Strife +between friends. They spread themselves abroad and entered the houses, +while Epimetheus, the mindless Titan, gathered flowers for Pandora, the +Golden Maid. + + Lest she should weary of her play he called to her. He would take her +into the houses of men. As they drew near to the houses they saw a woman +seated on the ground, weeping; her husband had suddenly become hard to her +and had shut the door on her face. They came upon a child crying because +of a pain that he could not understand. And then they found two men +struggling, their strife being on account of a possession that they had +both held peaceably before. + + In every house they went to Epimetheus would say, "I am the brother of +Prometheus, who gave you the gift of fire." But instead of giving them a +welcome the men would say, "We know nothing about your relation to +Prometheus. We see you as a foolish man upon stilts." + + Epimetheus was troubled by the hard looks and the cold words of the men +who once had reverenced him. He turned from the houses and went away. In a +quiet place he sat down, and for a while he lost sight of Pandora. And +then it seemed to him that he heard the voice of his wise and suffering +brother saying, "Do not accept any gift that Zeus may send you." + + He rose up and he hurried away from that place, leaving Pandora playing +by herself. There came into his scattered mind Regret and Fear. As he went +on he stumbled. He fell from the edge of a cliff, and the sea washed away +the body of the mindless brother of Prometheus. + + Not everything had been spilled out of the jar that had been brought +with Pandora into the world of men. A beautiful, living thing was in that +jar also. This was Hope. And this beautiful, living thing had got caught +under the rim of the jar and had not come forth with the others. One day a +weeping woman found Hope under the rim of Pandora's jar and brought this +living thing into the house of men. And now because of Hope they could see +an end to their troubles. And the men and women roused themselves in the +midst of their afflictions and they looked toward gladness. Hope, that had +been caught under the rim of the jar, stayed behind the thresholds of +their houses. + + As for Pandora, the Golden Maid, she played on, knowing only the +brightness of the sunshine and the lovely shapes of things. Beautiful +would she have seemed to any being who saw her, but now she had strayed +away from the houses of men and Epimetheus was not there to look upon her. +Then Hephaestus, the lame artisan of the gods, left down his tools and went +to seek her. He found Pandora, and he took her back to Olympus. And in his +brazen house she stays, though sometimes at the will of Zeus she goes down +into the world of men. + + + + When Polydeuces had ended the story that Castor had begun, Heracles +cried out: "For the Argonauts, too, there has been a Golden Maid--nay, not +one, but a Golden Maid for each. Out of the jar that has been with her ye +have taken forgetfulness of your honor. As for me, I go back to the _Argo_ +lest one of these Golden Maids should hold me back from the labors that +make great a man." + + So Heracles said, and he went from Hypsipyle's hall. The heroes looked +at each other, and they stood up, and shame that they had stayed so long +away from the quest came over each of them. The maidens took their hands; +the heroes unloosed those soft hands and turned away from them. + + Hypsipyle left the throne of King Thoas and stood before Jason. There +was a storm in all her body; her mouth was shaken, and a whole life's +trouble was in her great eyes. Before she spoke Jason cried out: "What +Heracles said is true, O Argonauts! On the Quest of the Golden Fleece our +lives and our honors depend. To Colchis--to Colchis must we go!" + + He stood upright in the hall, and his comrades gathered around him. The +Lemnian maidens would have held out their arms and would have made their +partings long delayed, but that a strange cry came to them through the +night. Well did the Argonauts know that cry--it was the cry of the ship, of +_Argo_ herself. They knew that they must go to her now or stay from the +voyage for ever. And the maidens knew that there was something in the cry +of the ship that might not be gainsaid, and they put their hands before +their faces, and they said no other word. + + [Illustration] + + + Then said Hypsipyle, the queen, "I, too, am a ruler, Jason, and I know +that there are great commands that we have to obey. Go, then, to the +_Argo_. Ah, neither I nor the women of Lemnos will stay your going now. +But to-morrow speak to us from the deck of the ship and bid us farewell. +Do not go from us in the night, Jason." + + Jason and the Argonauts went from Hypsipyle's hall. The maidens who were +left behind wept together. All but Hypsipyle. She sat on the throne of +King Thoas and she had Polyxo, her nurse, tell her of the ways of Jason's +voyage as he had told of them, and of all that he would have to pass +through. When the other Lemnian women slept she put her head upon her +nurse's knees and wept; bitterly Hypsipyle wept, but softly, for she would +not have the others hear her weeping. + + + + By the coming of the morning's light the Argonauts had made all ready +for their sailing. They were standing on the deck when the light came, and +they saw the Lemnian women come to the shore. Each looked at her friend +aboard the _Argo_, and spoke, and went away. And last, Hypsipyle, the +queen, came. "Farewell, Hypsipyle," Jason said to her, and she, in her +strange way of speaking, said: + + "What you told us I have remembered--how you will come to the dangerous +passage that leads into the Sea of Pontus, and how by the flight of a +pigeon you will know whether or not you may go that way. O Jason, let the +dove you fly when you come to that dangerous place be Hypsipyle's." + + She showed a pigeon held in her hands. She loosed it, and the pigeon +alighted on the ship, and stayed there on pink feet, a white-feathered +pigeon. Jason took up the pigeon and held it in his hands, and the _Argo_ +drew swiftly away from the Lemnian land. + + + + +XI. The Passage of the Symplegades + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HEY came near Salmydessus, where Phineus, the wise king, ruled, and +they sailed past it; they sighted the pile of stones, with the oar upright +upon it that they had raised on the seashore over the body of Tiphys, the +skillful steersman whom they had lost; they sailed on until they heard a +sound that grew more and more thunderous, and then the heroes said to each +other, "Now we come to the Symplegades and the dread passage into the Sea +of Pontus." + + It was then that Jason cried out: "Ah, when Pelias spoke of this quest +to me, why did I not turn my head away and refuse to be drawn into it? +Since we came near the dread passage that is before us I have passed every +night in groans. As for you who have come with me, you may take your ease, +for you need care only for your own lives. But I have to care for you all, +and to strive to win for you all a safe return to Greece. Ah, greatly am I +afflicted now, knowing to what a great peril I have brought you!" + + So Jason said, thinking to make trial of the heroes. They, on their +part, were not dismayed, but shouted back cheerful words to him. Then he +said: "O friends of mine, by your spirit my spirit is quickened. Now if I +knew that I was being borne down into the black gulfs of Hades, I should +fear nothing, knowing that you are constant and faithful of heart." + + As he said this they came into water that seethed all around the ship. +Then into the hands of Euphemus, a youth of Iolcus, who was the +keenest-eyed amongst the Argonauts, Jason put the pigeon that Hypsipyle +had given him. He bade him stand by the prow of the _Argo_, ready to loose +the pigeon as the ship came nigh that dreadful gate of rock. + + They saw the spray being dashed around in showers; they saw the sea +spread itself out in foam; they saw the high, black rocks rush together, +sounding thunderously as they met. The caves in the high rocks rumbled as +the sea surged into them, and the foam of the dashing waves spurted high +up the rocks. + + Jason shouted to each man to grip hard on the oars. The _Argo_ dashed on +as the rocks rushed toward each other again. Then there was such noise +that no man's voice could be heard above it. + + As the rocks met, Euphemus loosed the pigeon. With his keen eyes he +watched her fly through the spray. Would she, not finding an opening to +fly through, turn back? He watched, and meanwhile the Argonauts gripped +hard on the oars to save the ship from being dashed on the rocks. The +pigeon fluttered as though she would sink down and let the spray drown +her. And then Euphemus saw her raise herself and fly forward. Toward the +place where she had flown he pointed. The rowers gave a loud cry, and +Jason called upon them to pull with might and main. + + The rocks were parting asunder, and to the right and left broad Pontus +was seen by the heroes. Then suddenly a huge wave rose before them, and at +the sight of it they all uttered a cry and bent their heads. It seemed to +them that it would dash down on the whole ship's length and overwhelm them +all. But Nauplius was quick to ease the ship, and the wave rolled away +beneath the keel, and at the stern it raised the _Argo_ and dashed her +away from the rocks. + + They felt the sun as it streamed upon them through the sundered rocks. +They strained at the oars until the oars bent like bows in their hands. +The ship sprang forward. Surely they were now in the wide Sea of Pontus! + + The Argonauts shouted. They saw the rocks behind them with the sea fowl +screaming upon them. Surely they were in the Sea of Pontus--the sea that +had never been entered before through the Rocks Wandering. The rocks no +longer dashed together; each remained fixed in its place, for it was the +will of the gods that these rocks should no more clash together after a +mortal's ship had passed between them. + + They were now in the Sea of Pontus, the sea into which flowed the river +that Colchis was upon--the River Phasis. And now above Jason's head the +bird of peaceful days, the Halcyon, fluttered, and the Argonauts knew that +this was a sign from the gods that the voyage would not any more be +troublous. + + + + +XII. The Mountain Caucasus + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HEY rested in the harbor of Thynias, the desert island, and sailing +from there they came to the land of the Mariandyni, a people who were +constantly at war with the Bebrycians; there the hero Polydeuces was +welcomed as a god. Twelve days afterward they passed the mouth of the +River Callichorus; then they came to the mouth of that river that flows +through the land of the Amazons, the River Thermodon. Fourteen days from +that place brought them to the island that is filled with the birds of +Ares, the god of war. These birds dropped upon the heroes heavy, pointed +feathers that would have pierced them as arrows if they had not covered +themselves with their shields; then by shouting, and by striking their +shields with their spears, they raised such a clamor as drove the birds +away. + + They sailed on, borne by a gentle breeze, until a gulf of the sea opened +before them, and lo! a mountain that they knew bore some mighty name. +Orpheus, looking on its peak and its crags, said, "Lo, now! We, the +Argonauts, are looking upon the mountain that is named Caucasus!" + + When he declared the name the heroes all stood up and looked on the +mountain with awe. And in awe they cried out a name, and that name was +"Prometheus!" + + For upon that mountain the Titan god was held, his limbs bound upon the +hard rocks by fetters of bronze. Even as the Argonauts looked toward the +mountain a great shadow fell upon their ship, and looking up they saw a +monstrous bird flying. The beat of the bird's wings filled out the sail +and drove the _Argo_ swiftly onward. "It is the bird sent by Zeus," +Orpheus said. "It is the vulture that every day devours the liver of the +Titan god." They cowered down on the ship as they heard that word--all the +Argonauts save Heracles; he stood upright and looked out toward where the +bird was flying. Then, as the bird came near to the mountain, the +Argonauts heard a great cry of anguish go up from the rocks. + + "It is Prometheus crying out as the bird of Zeus flies down upon him," +they said to one another. Again they cowered down on the ship, all save +Heracles, who stayed looking toward where the great vulture had flown. + + The night came and the Argonauts sailed on in silence, thinking in awe +of the Titan god and of the doom that Zeus had inflicted upon him. Then, +as they sailed on under the stars, Orpheus told them of Prometheus, of his +gift to men, and of the fearful punishment that had been meted out to him +by Zeus. + + + +Prometheus + + + The gods more than once made a race of men: the first was a Golden Race. +Very close to the gods who dwell on Olympus was this Golden Race; they +lived justly although there were no laws to compel them. In the time of +the Golden Race the earth knew only one season, and that season was +everlasting Spring. The men and women of the Golden Race lived through a +span of life that was far beyond that of the men and women of our day, and +when they died it was as though sleep had become everlasting with them. +They had all good things, and that without labor, for the earth without +any forcing bestowed fruits and crops upon them. They had peace all +through their lives, this Golden Race, and after they had passed away +their spirits remained above the earth, inspiring the men of the race that +came after them to do great and gracious things and to act justly and +kindly to one another. + + After the Golden Race had passed away, the gods made for the earth a +second race--a Silver Race. Less noble in spirit and in body was this +Silver Race, and the seasons that visited them were less gracious. In the +time of the Silver Race the gods made the seasons--Summer and Spring, and +Autumn and Winter. They knew parching heat, and the bitter winds of +winter, and snow and rain and hail. It was the men of the Silver Race who +first built houses for shelter. They lived through a span of life that was +longer than our span, but it was not long enough to give wisdom to them. +Children were brought up at their mothers' sides for a hundred years, +playing at childish things. And when they came to years beyond a hundred +they quarreled with one another, and wronged one another, and did not know +enough to give reverence to the immortal gods. Then, by the will of Zeus, +the Silver Race passed away as the Golden Race had passed away. Their +spirits stay in the Underworld, and they are called by men the blessed +spirits of the Underworld. + + And then there was made the third race--the Race of Bronze. They were a +race great of stature, terrible and strong. Their armor was of bronze, +their swords were of bronze, their implements were of bronze, and of +bronze, too, they made their houses. No great span of life was theirs, for +with the weapons that they took in their terrible hands they slew one +another. Thus they passed away, and went down under the earth to Hades, +leaving no name that men might know them by. + + Then the gods created a fourth race--our own: a Race of Iron. We have not +the justice that was amongst the men of the Golden Race, nor the +simpleness that was amongst the men of the Silver Race, nor the stature +nor the great strength that the men of the Bronze Race possessed. We are +of iron that we may endure. It is our doom that we must never cease from +labor and that we must very quickly grow old. + + But miserable as we are to-day, there was a time when the lot of men was +more miserable. With poor implements they had to labor on a hard ground. +There was less justice and kindliness amongst men in those days than there +is now. + + Once it came into the mind of Zeus that he would destroy the fourth race +and leave the earth to the nymphs and the satyrs. He would destroy it by a +great flood. But Prometheus, the Titan god who had given aid to Zeus +against the other Titans--Prometheus, who was called the Foreseer--could not +consent to the race of men being destroyed utterly, and he considered a +way of saving some of them. To a man and a woman, Deucalion and Pyrrha, +just and gentle people, he brought word of the plan of Zeus, and he showed +them how to make a ship that would bear them through what was about to be +sent upon the earth. + + Then Zeus shut up in their cave all the winds but the wind that brings +rain and clouds. He bade this wind, the South Wind, sweep over the earth, +flooding it with rain. He called upon Poseidon and bade him to let the sea +pour in upon the land. And Poseidon commanded the rivers to put forth all +their strength, and sweep dykes away, and overflow their banks. + + The clouds and the sea and the rivers poured upon the earth. The flood +rose higher and higher, and in the places where the pretty lambs had +played the ugly sea calves now gambolled; men in their boats drew fishes +out of the tops of elm trees, and the water nymphs were amazed to come on +men's cities under the waves. + + Soon even the men and women who had boats were overwhelmed by the rise +of water--all perished then except Deucalion and Pyrrha, his wife; them the +waves had not overwhelmed, for they were in a ship that Prometheus had +shown them how to build. The flood went down at last, and Deucalion and +Pyrrha climbed up to a high and a dry ground. Zeus saw that two of the +race of men had been left alive. But he saw that these two were just and +kindly, and had a right reverence for the gods. He spared them, and he saw +their children again peopling the earth. + + Prometheus, who had saved them, looked on the men and women of the earth +with compassion. Their labor was hard, and they wrought much to gain +little. They were chilled at night in their houses, and the winds that +blew in the daytime made the old men and women bend double like a wheel. +Prometheus thought to himself that if men and women had the element that +only the gods knew of--the element of fire--they could make for themselves +implements for labor; they could build houses that would keep out the +chilling winds, and they could warm themselves at the blaze. + + But the gods had not willed that men should have fire, and to go against +the will of the gods would be impious. Prometheus went against the will of +the gods. He stole fire from the altar of Zeus, and he hid it in a hollow +fennel stalk, and he brought it to men. + + [Illustration] + + Prometheus + + + Then men were able to hammer iron into tools, and cut down forests with +axes, and sow grain where the forests had been. Then were they able to +make houses that the storms could not overthrow, and they were able to +warm themselves at hearth fires. They had rest from their labor at times. +They built cities; they became beings who no longer had heads and backs +bent but were able to raise their faces even to the gods. + + And Zeus spared the race of men who had now the sacred element of fire. +But he knew that Prometheus had stolen this fire even from his own altar +and had given it to men. And he thought on how he might punish the great +Titan god for his impiety. + + He brought back from the Underworld the giants that he had put there to +guard the Titans that had been hurled down to Tartarus. He brought back +Gyes, Cottus, and Briareus, and he commanded them to lay hands upon +Prometheus and to fasten him with fetters to the highest, blackest crag +upon Caucasus. And Briareus, Cottus, and Gyes seized upon the Titan god, +and carried him to Caucasus, and fettered him with fetters of bronze to +the highest, blackest crag--with fetters of bronze that may not be broken. +There they have left the Titan stretched, under the sky, with the cold +winds blowing upon him, and with the sun streaming down on him. And that +his punishment might exceed all other punishments Zeus had sent a vulture +to prey upon him--a vulture that tears at his liver each day. + + And yet Prometheus does not cry out that he has repented of his gift to +man; although the winds blow upon him, and the sun streams upon him, and +the vulture tears at his liver, Prometheus will not cry out his repentance +to heaven. And Zeus may not utterly destroy him. For Prometheus the +Foreseer knows a secret that Zeus would fain have him disclose. He knows +that even as Zeus overthrew his father and made himself the ruler in his +stead, so, too, another will overthrow Zeus. And one day Zeus will have to +have the fetters broken from around the limbs of Prometheus, and will have +to bring from the rock and the vulture, and into the Council of the +Olympians, the unyielding Titan god. + + + + When the light of the morning came the _Argo_ was very near to the +Mountain Caucasus. The voyagers looked in awe upon its black crags. They +saw the great vulture circling over a high rock, and from beneath where +the vulture circled they heard a weary cry. Then Heracles, who all night +had stood by the mast, cried out to the Argonauts to bring the ship near +to a landing place. + + But Jason would not have them go near; fear of the wrath of Zeus was +strong upon him; rather, he bade the Argonauts put all their strength into +their rowing, and draw far off from that forbidden mountain. Heracles, not +heeding what Jason ordered, declared that it was his purpose to make his +way up to the black crag, and, with his shield and his sword in his hands, +slay the vulture that preyed upon the liver of Prometheus. + + [Illustration] + + + Then Orpheus in a clear voice spoke to the Argonauts. "Surely some +spirit possesses Heracles," he said. "Despite all we do or say he will +make his way to where Prometheus is fettered to the rock. Do not gainsay +him in this! Remember what Nereus, the ancient one of the sea, declared! +Did Nereus not say that a great labor awaited Heracles, and that in the +doing of it he should work out the will of Zeus? Stay him not! How just it +would be if he who is the son of Zeus freed from his torments the +much-enduring Titan god!" + + So Orpheus said in his clear, commanding voice. They drew near to the +Mountain Caucasus. Then Heracles, gripping the sword and shield that were +the gifts of the gods, sprang out on the landing place. The Argonauts +shouted farewell to him. But he, filled as he was with an overmastering +spirit, did not heed their words. + + A strong breeze drove them onward; darkness came down, and the _Argo_ +went on through the night. With the morning light those who were sleeping +were awakened by the cry of Nauplius--"Lo! The Phasis, and the utmost +bourne of the sea!" They sprang up, and looked with many strange feelings +upon the broad river they had come to. + + Here was the Phasis emptying itself into the Sea of Pontus! Up that +river was Colchis and the city of King AEetes, the end of their voyage, the +place where was kept the Golden Fleece! Quickly they let down the sail; +they lowered the mast and they laid it along the deck; strongly they +grasped the oars; they swung the _Argo_ around, and they entered the broad +stream of the Phasis. + + Up the river they went with the Mountain Caucasus on their left hand, +and on their right the groves and gardens of Aea, King AEetes's city. As +they went up the stream, Jason poured from a golden cup an offering to the +gods. And to the dead heroes of that country the Argonauts prayed for good +fortune to their enterprise. + + It was Jason's counsel that they should not at once appear before King +AEetes, but visit him after they had seen the strength of his city. They +drew their ship into a shaded backwater, and there they stayed while day +grew and faded around them. + + Night came, and the heroes slept upon the deck of _Argo_. Many things +came back to them in their dreams or through their half-sleep: they +thought of the Lemnian maidens they had parted from; of the Clashing Rocks +they had passed between; of the look in the eyes of Heracles as he raised +his face to the high, black peak of Caucasus. They slept, and they thought +they saw before them THE GOLDEN FLEECE; darkness surrounded it; it seemed +to the dreaming Argonauts that the darkness was the magic power that King +AEetes possessed. + + + + + +PART II. THE RETURN TO GREECE + + + + + + + +I. King AEetes + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HEY had come into a country that was the strangest of all countries, +and amongst a people that were the strangest of all peoples. They were in +the land, this people said, before the moon had come into the sky. And it +is true that when the great king of Egypt had come so far, finding in all +other places men living on the high hills and eating the acorns that grew +on the oaks there, he found in Colchis the city of Aea with a wall around +it and with pillars on which writings were graven. That was when Egypt was +called the Morning Land. + + And many of the magicians of Egypt who had come with King Sesostris +stayed in that city of Aea, and they taught people spells that could stay +the moon in her going and coming, in her rising and setting. Priests of +the Moon ruled the city of Aea until King AEetes came. + + AEetes had no need of their magic, for Helios, the bright Sun, was his +father, as he thought. Also, Hephaestus, the artisan of the gods, was his +friend, and Hephaestus made for him many wonderful things to be his +protection. Medea, too, his wise daughter, knew the secrets taught by +those who could sway the moon. + + But AEetes once was made afraid by a dream that he had: he dreamt that a +ship had come up the Phasis, and then, sailing on a mist, had rammed his +palace that was standing there in all its strength and beauty until it had +fallen down. On the morning of the night that he had had this dream AEetes +called Medea, his wise daughter, and he bade her go to the temple of +Hecate, the Moon, and search out spells that might destroy those who came +against his city. + + + + That morning the Argonauts, who had passed the night in the backwater of +the river, had two youths come to them. They were in a broken ship, and +they had one oar only. When Jason, after giving them food and fresh +garments, questioned them, he found out that these youths were of the city +of Aea, and that they were none others than the sons of Phrixus--of Phrixus +who had come there with the Golden Ram. + + And the youths, Phrontis and Melas, were as amazed as was Jason when +they found out whose ship they had come aboard. For Jason was the grandson +of Cretheus, and Cretheus was the brother of Athamas, their grandfather. +They had ventured from Aea, where they had been reared, thinking to reach +the country of Athamas and lay claim to his possessions. But they had been +wrecked at a place not far from the mouth of the Phasis, and with great +pain and struggle they had made their way back. + + They were fearful of Aea and of their uncle King AEetes, and they would +gladly go with Jason and the Argonauts back to Greece. They would help +Jason, they said, to persuade AEetes to give the Golden Fleece peaceably to +them. Their mother was the daughter of AEetes--Chalciope, whom the king had +given in marriage to Phrixus, his guest. + + A council of the Argonauts was held, and it was agreed that Jason should +go with two comrades to King AEetes, Phrontis and Melas going also. They +were to ask the king to give them the Golden Fleece and to offer him a +recompense. Jason took Peleus and Telamon with him. + + As they came to the city a mist fell, and Jason and his comrades with +the sons of Phrixus went through the city without being seen. They came +before the palace of King AEetes. Then Phrontis and Melas were some way +behind. The mist lifted, and before the heroes was the wonder of the +palace in the bright light of the morning. + + Vines with broad leaves and heavy clusters of fruit grew from column to +column, the columns holding a gallery up. And under the vines were the +four fountains that Hephaestus had made for King AEetes. They gushed out +into golden, silver, bronze, and iron basins. And one fountain gushed out +clear water, and another gushed out milk; another gushed out wine; and +another oil. On each side of the courtyard were the palace buildings; in +one King AEetes lived with Apsyrtus, his son, and in the other Chalciope +and Medea lived with their handmaidens. + + Medea was passing from her father's house. The mist lifted suddenly and +she saw three strangers in the palace courtyard. One had a crimson mantle +on; his shoulders were such as to make him seem a man that a whole world +could not overthrow, and his eyes had all the sun's light in them. + + Amazed, Medea stood looking upon Jason, wondering at his bright hair and +gleaming eyes and at the lightness and strength of the hand that he had +raised. And then a dove flew toward her: it was being chased by a hawk, +and Medea saw the hawk's eyes and beak. As the dove lighted upon her +shoulder she threw her veil around it, and the hawk dashed itself against +a column. And as Medea, trembling, leaned against the column she heard a +cry from her sister, who was within. + + For now Phrontis and Melas had come up, and Chalciope who was spinning +by the door saw them and cried out. All the servants rushed out. Seeing +Chalciope's sons there they, too, uttered loud cries, and made such +commotion that Apsyrtus and then King AEetes came out of the palace. + + Jason saw King AEetes. He was old and white, but he had great green eyes, +and the strength of a leopard was in all he did. And Jason looked upon +Apsyrtus too; the son of AEetes looked like a Phaenician merchant, black of +beard and with rings in his ears, with a hooked nose and a gleam of copper +in his face. + + Phrontis and Melas went from their mother's embrace and made reverence +to King AEetes. Then they spoke of the heroes who were with them, of Jason +and his two comrades. AEetes bade all enter the palace; baths were made +ready for them, and a banquet was prepared. + + After the banquet, when they all sat together, AEetes, addressing the +eldest of Chalciope's sons, said: + + "Sons of Phrixus, of that man whom I honored above all men who came to +my halls, speak now and tell me how it is that you have come back to Aea +so soon, and who they are, these men who come with you?" + + AEetes, as he spoke, looked sharply upon Phrontis and Melas, for he +suspected them of having returned to Aea, bringing these armed men with +them, with an evil intent. Phrontis looked at the King, and said: + + "AEetes, our ship was driven upon the Island of Ares, where it was almost +broken upon the rocks. That was on a murky night, and in the morning the +birds of Ares shot their sharp feathers upon us. We pulled away from that +place, and thereafter we were driven by the winds back to the mouth of the +Phasis. There we met with these heroes who were friendly to us. Who they +are, what they have come to your city for, I shall now tell you. + + "A certain king, longing to drive one of these heroes from his land, and +hoping that the race of Cretheus might perish utterly, led him to enter a +most perilous adventure. He came here upon a ship that was made by the +command of Hera, the wife of Zeus, a ship more wonderful than mortals ever +sailed in before. With him there came the mightiest of the heroes of +Greece. He is Jason, the grandson of Cretheus, and he has come to beg that +you will grant him freely the famous Fleece of Gold that Phrixus brought +to Aea. + + "But not without recompense to you would he take the Fleece. Already he +has heard of your bitter foes, the Sauromatae. He with his comrades would +subdue them for you. And if you would ask of the names and the lineage of +the heroes who are with Jason I shall tell you. This is Peleus and this is +Telamon; they are brothers, and they are sons of AEacus, who was of the +seed of Zeus. And all the other heroes who have come with them are of the +seed of the gods." + + So Phrontis said, but the King was not placated by what he said. He +thought that the sons of Chalciope had returned to Aea bringing these +warriors with them so that they might wrest the kingship from him, or, +failing that, plunder the city. AEetes's heart was filled with wrath as he +looked upon them, and his eyes shone as a leopard's eyes. + + "Begone from my sight," he cried, "robbers that ye are! Tricksters! If +you had not eaten at my table, assuredly I should have had your tongues +cut out for speaking falsehoods about the blessed gods, saying that this +one and that of your companions was of their divine race." + + Telamon and Peleus strode forward with angry hearts; they would have +laid their hands upon King AEetes only Jason held them back. And then +speaking to the king in a quiet voice, Jason said: + + "Bear with us, King AEetes, I pray you. We have not come with such evil +intent as you think. Ah, it was the evil command of an evil king that sent +me forth with these companions of mine across dangerous gulfs of the sea, +and to face your wrath and the armed men you can bring against us. We are +ready to make great recompense for the friendliness you may show to us. We +will subdue for you the Sauromatae, or any other people that you would lord +it over." + + But AEetes was not made friendly by Jason's words. His heart was divided +as to whether he should summon his armed men and have them slain upon the +spot, or whether he should put them into danger by the trial he would make +of them. At last he thought that it would be better to put them to the +trial that he had in mind, slaying them afterward if need be. And then he +spoke to Jason, saying: + + "Strangers to Colchis, it may be true what my nephews have said. It may +be that ye are truly of the seed of the immortals. And it may be that I +shall give you the Golden Fleece to bear away after I have made trial of +you." + + As he spoke Medea, brought there by his messenger so that she might +observe the strangers, came into the chamber. She entered softly and she +stood away from her father and the four who were speaking with him. Jason +looked upon her, and even although his mind was filled with the thought of +bending King AEetes to his will, he saw what manner of maiden she was, and +what beauty and what strength was hers. + + She had a dark face that was made very strange by her crown of golden +hair. Her eyes, like her father's, were wide and full of light, and her +lips were so full and red that they made her mouth like an opening rose. +But her brows were always knit as if there was some secret anger within +her. + + "With brave men I have no quarrel," said AEetes. "I will make a trial of +your bravery, and if your bravery wins through the trial, be very sure +that you will have the Golden Fleece to bring back in triumph to Iolcus. + + "But the trial that I would make of you is hard for a great hero even. +Know that on the plain of Ares yonder I have two fire-breathing bulls with +feet of brass. These bulls were once conquered by me; I yoked them to a +plow of adamant, and with them I plowed the field of Ares for four +plow-gates. Then I sowed the furrows, not with the seed that Demeter +gives, but with teeth of a dragon. And from the dragon's teeth that I +sowed in the field of Ares armed men sprang up. I slew them with my spear +as they rose around me to slay me. If you can accomplish this that I +accomplished in days gone by I shall submit to you and give you the Golden +Fleece. But if you cannot accomplish what I once accomplished you shall go +from my city empty-handed, for it is not right that a brave man should +yield aught to one who cannot show himself as brave." + + So AEetes said. Then Jason, utterly confounded, cast his eyes upon the +ground. He raised them to speak to the king, and as he did he found the +strange eyes of Medea upon him. With all the courage that was in him he +spoke: + + "I will dare this contest, monstrous as it is. I will face this doom. I +have come far, and there is nothing else for me to do but to yoke your +fire-breathing bulls to the plow of adamant, and plow the furrows in the +field of Ares, and struggle with the Earth-born Men." As he said this he +saw the eyes of Medea grow wide as with fear. + + Then AEetes said, "Go back to your ship and make ready for the trial." +Jason, with Peleus and Telamon, left the chamber, and the king smiled +grimly as he saw them go. Phrontis and Melas went to where their mother +was. But Medea stayed, and AEetes looked upon her with his great leopard's +eyes. "My daughter, my wise Medea," he said, "go, put spells upon the +Moon, that Hecate may weaken that man in his hour of trial." Medea turned +away from her father's eyes, and went to her chamber. + + + + +II. Medea the Sorceress + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_S_HE turned away from her father's eyes and she went into her own +chamber. For a long time she stood there with her hands clasped together. +She heard the voice of Chalciope lamenting because AEetes had taken a +hatred to her sons and might strive to destroy them. She heard the voice +of her sister lamenting, but Medea thought that the cause that her sister +had for grieving was small compared with the cause that she herself had. + + She thought on the moment when she had seen Jason for the first time--in +the courtyard as the mist lifted and the dove flew to her; she thought of +him as he lifted those bright eyes of his; then she thought of his voice +as he spoke after her father had imposed the dreadful trial upon him. She +would have liked then to have cried out to him, "O youth, if others +rejoice at the doom that you go to, I do not rejoice." + + Still her sister lamented. But how great was her own grief compared to +her sister's! For Chalciope could try to help her sons and could lament +for the danger they were in and no one would blame her. But she might not +strive to help Jason nor might she lament for the danger he was in. How +terrible it would be for a maiden to help a stranger against her father's +design! How terrible it would be for a woman of Colchis to help a stranger +against the will of the king! How terrible it would be for a daughter to +plot against King AEetes in his own palace! + + And then Medea hated Aea, her city. She hated the furious people who +came together in the assembly, and she hated the brazen bulls that +Hephaestus had given her father. And then she thought that there was +nothing in Aea except the furious people and the fire-breathing bulls. O +how pitiful it was that the strange hero and his friends should have come +to such a place for the sake of the Golden Fleece that was watched over by +the sleepless serpent in the grove of Ares! + + Still Chalciope lamented. Would Chalciope come to her and ask her, +Medea, to help her sons? If she should come she might speak of the +strangers, too, and of the danger they were in. Medea went to her couch +and lay down upon it. She longed for her sister to come to her or to call +to her. + + But Chalciope stayed in her own chamber. Medea, lying upon her couch, +listened to her sister's laments. At last she went near where Chalciope +was. Then shame that she should think so much about the stranger came over +her. She stood there without moving; she turned to go back to the couch, +and then trembled so much that she could not stir. As she stood between +her couch and her sister's chamber she heard the voice of Chalciope +calling to her. + + She went into the chamber where her sister stood. Chalciope flung her +arms around her. "Swear," said she to Medea, "swear by Hecate, the Moon, +that you will never speak of something I am going to ask you." Medea swore +that she would never speak of it. + + Chalciope spoke of the danger her sons were in. She asked Medea to +devise a way by which they could escape with the stranger from Aea. "In +Aea and in Colchis," she said, "there will be no safety for my sons +henceforth." And to save Phrontis and Melas, she said, Medea would have to +save the strangers also. Surely she knew of a charm that would save the +stranger from the brazen bulls in the contest on the morrow! + + So Chalciope came to the very thing that was in Medea's mind. Her heart +bounded with joy and she embraced her. "Chalciope," she said, "I declare +that I am your sister, indeed--aye, and your daughter, too, for did you not +care for me when I was an infant? I will strive to save your sons. I will +strive to save the strangers who came with your sons. Send one to the +strangers--send him to the leader of the strangers, and tell him that I +would see him at daybreak in the temple of Hecate." + + When Medea said this Chalciope embraced her again. She was amazed to see +how Medea's tears were flowing. "Chalciope," she said, "no one will know +the dangers that I shall go through to save them." + + Swiftly then Chalciope went from the chamber. But Medea stayed there +with her head bowed and the blush of shame on her face. She thought that +already she had deceived her sister, making her think that it was Phrontis +and Melas and not Jason that was in her mind to save. And she thought on +how she would have to plot against her father and against her own people, +and all for the sake of a stranger who would sail away without thought of +her, without the image of her in his mind. + + + + Jason, with Peleus and Telamon, went back to the _Argo_. His comrades +asked how he had fared, and when he spoke to them of the fire-breathing +bulls with feet of brass, of the dragon's teeth that had to be sown, and +of the Earth-born Men that had to be overcome, the Argonauts were greatly +cast down, for this task, they thought, was one that could not be +accomplished. He who stood before the fire-breathing bulls would perish on +the moment. But they knew that one amongst them must strive to accomplish +the task. And if Jason held back, Peleus, Telamon, Theseus, Castor, +Polydeuces, or any one of the others would undertake it. + + But Jason would not hold back. On the morrow, he said, he would strive +to yoke the fire-breathing, brazen-footed bulls to the plow of adamant. If +he perished the Argonauts should then do what they thought was best--make +other trials to gain the Golden Fleece, or turn their ship and sail back +to Greece. + + While they were speaking, Phrontis, Chalciope's son, came to the ship. +The Argonauts welcomed him, and in a while he began to speak of his +mother's sister and of the help she could give. They grew eager as he +spoke of her, all except rough Arcas, who stood wrapped in his bear's +skin. "Shame on us," rough Arcas cried, "shame on us if we have come here +to crave the help of girls! Speak no more of this! Let us, the Argonauts, +go with swords into the city of Aea, and slay this king, and carry off the +Fleece of Gold." + + Some of the Argonauts murmured approval of what Arcas said. But Orpheus +silenced him and them, for in his prophetic mind Orpheus saw something of +the help that Medea would give them. It would be well, Orpheus said, to +take help from this wise maiden; Jason should go to her in the temple of +Hecate. The Argonauts agreed to this; they listened to what Phrontis told +them about the brazen bulls, and the night wore on. + + + + When darkness came upon the earth; when, at sea, sailors looked to the +Bear and the stars of Orion; when, in the city, there was no longer the +sound of barking dogs nor of men's voices, Medea went from the palace. She +came to a path; she followed it until it brought her into the part of the +grove that was all black with the shadow that oak trees made. + + She raised up her hands and she called upon Hecate, the Moon. As she +did, there was a blaze as from torches all around, and she saw horrible +serpents stretching themselves toward her from the branches of the trees. +Medea shrank back in fear. But again she called upon Hecate. And now there +was a howling as from the hounds of Hades all around her. Fearful, indeed, +Medea grew as the howling came near her; almost she turned to flee. But +she raised her hands again and called upon Hecate. Then the nymphs who +haunted the marsh and the river shrieked, and at those shrieks Medea +crouched down in fear. + + She called upon Hecate, the Moon, again. She saw the moon rise above the +treetops, and then the hissing and shrieking and howling died away. +Holding up a goblet in her hand Medea poured out a libation of honey to +Hecate, the Moon. + + And then she went to where the moon made a brightness upon the ground. +There she saw a flower that rose above the other flowers--a flower that +grew from two joined stalks, and that was of the color of a crocus. Medea +cut the stalks with a brazen knife, and as she did there came a deep groan +out of the earth. + + This was the Promethean flower. It had come out of the earth first when +the vulture that tore at Prometheus's liver had let fall to earth a drop +of his blood. With a Caspian shell that she had brought with her Medea +gathered the dark juice of this flower--the juice that went to make her +most potent charm. All night she went through the grove gathering the +juice of secret herbs; then she mingled them in a phial that she put away +in her girdle. + + She went from that grove and along the river. When the sun shed its +first rays upon snowy Caucasus she stood outside the temple of Hecate. She +waited, but she had not long to wait, for, like the bright star Sirius +rising out of Ocean, soon she saw Jason coming toward her. She made a sign +to him, and he came and stood beside her in the portals of the temple. + + They would have stood face to face if Medea did not have her head bent. +A blush had come upon her face, and Jason seeing it, and seeing how her +head was bent, knew how grievous it was to her to meet and speak to a +stranger in this way. He took her hand and he spoke to her reverently, as +one would speak to a priestess. + + "Lady," he said, "I implore you by Hecate and by Zeus who helps all +strangers and suppliants to be kind to me and to the men who have come to +your country with me. Without your help I cannot hope to prevail in the +grievous trial that has been laid upon me. If you will help us, Medea, +your name will be renowned throughout all Greece. And I have hopes that +you will help us, for your face and form show you to be one who can be +kind and gracious." + + The blush of shame had gone from Medea's face and a softer blush came +over her as Jason spoke. She looked upon him and she knew that she could +hardly live if the breath of the brazen bulls withered his life or if the +Earth-born Men slew him. She took the charm from out her girdle; +ungrudgingly she put it into Jason's hands. And as she gave him the charm +that she had gained with such danger, the fear and trouble that was around +her heart melted as the dew melts from around the rose when it is warmed +by the first light of the morning. + + Then they spoke standing close together in the portal of the temple. She +told him how he should anoint his body all over with the charm; it would +give him, she said, boundless and untiring strength, and make him so that +the breath of the bulls could not wither him nor the horns of the bulls +pierce him. She told him also to sprinkle his shield and his sword with +the charm. + + And then they spoke of the dragon's teeth and of the Earth-born Men who +would spring from them. Medea told Jason that when they arose out of the +earth he was to cast a great stone amongst them. The Earth-born Men would +struggle about the stone, and they would slay each other in the contest. + + Her dark and delicate face was beautiful. Jason looked upon her, and it +came into his mind that in Colchis there was something else of worth +besides the Golden Fleece. And he thought that after he had won the Fleece +there would be peace between the Argonauts and King AEetes, and that he and +Medea might sit together in the king's hall. But when he spoke of being +joined in friendship with her father, Medea cried: + + "Think not of treaties nor of covenants. In Greece such are regarded, +but not here. Ah, do not think that the king, my father, will keep any +peace with you! When you have won the Fleece you must hasten away. You +must not tarry in Aea." + + She said this and her cheeks were wet with tears to think that he should +go so soon, that he would go so far, and that she would never look upon +him again. She bent her head again and she said: "Tell me about your own +land; about the place of your father, the place where you will live when +you win back from Colchis." + + Then Jason told her of Iolcus; he told her how it was circled by +mountains not so lofty as her Caucasus; he told her of the pasture lands +of Iolcus with their flocks of sheep; he told her of the Mountain Pelion +where he had been reared by Chiron, the ancient centaur; he told her of +his father who lingered out his life in waiting for his return. + + Medea said: "When you go back to Iolcus do not forget me, Medea. I shall +remember you, Jason, even in my father's despite. And it will be my hope +that some rumor of you will come to me like some messenger-bird. If you +forget me may some blast of wind sweep me away to Iolcus, and may I sit in +your hall an unknown and an unexpected guest!" + + Then they parted; Medea went swiftly back to the palace, and Jason, +turning to the river, went to where the _Argo_ was moored. + + The heroes embraced and questioned him; he told them of Medea's counsel +and he showed them the charm she had given him. That savage man Arcas +scoffed at Medea's counsel and Medea's charm, saying that the Argonauts +had become poor-spirited indeed when they had to depend upon a girl's +help. + + Jason bathed in the river; then he anointed himself with the charm; he +sprinkled his spear and shield and sword with it. He came to Arcas who sat +upon his bench, still nursing his anger, and he held the spear toward him. + + Arcas took up his heavy sword and he hewed at the butt of the spear. The +edge of the sword turned. The blade leaped back in his hand as if it had +been struck against an anvil. And Jason, feeling within him a boundless +and tireless strength, laughed aloud. + + + + +III. The Winning of the Golden Fleece + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HEY took the ship out of the backwater and they brought her to a wharf +in the city. At a place that was called "The Ram's Couch" they fastened +the _Argo_. Then they marched to the field of Ares, where the king and the +Colchian people were. + + Jason, carrying his shield and spear, went before the king. From the +king's hand he took the gleaming helmet that held the dragon's teeth. This +he put into the hands of Theseus, who went with him. Then with the spear +and shield in his hands, with his sword girt across his shoulders, and +with his mantle stripped off, Jason looked across the field of Ares. + + He saw the plow that he was to yoke to the bulls; he saw the yoke of +bronze near it; he saw the tracks of the bulls' hooves. He followed the +tracks until he came to the lair of the fire-breathing bulls. Out of that +lair, which was underground, smoke and fire belched. + + He set his feet firmly upon the ground and he held his shield before +him. He awaited the onset of the bulls. They came clanging up with loud +bellowing, breathing out fire. They lowered their heads, and with mighty, +iron-tipped horns they came to gore and trample him. + + Medea's charm had made him strong; Medea's charm had made his shield +impregnable. The rush of the bulls did not overthrow him. His comrades +shouted to see him standing firmly there, and in wonder the Colchians +gazed upon him. All round him, as from a furnace, there came smoke and +fire. + + The bulls roared mightily. Grasping the horns of the bull that was upon +his right hand, Jason dragged him until he had brought him beside the yoke +of bronze. Striking the brazen knees of the bull suddenly with his foot he +forced him down. Then he smote the other bull as it rushed upon him, and +it too he forced down upon its knees. + + Castor and Polydeuces held the yoke to him. Jason bound it upon the +necks of the bulls. He fastened the plow to the yoke. Then he took his +shield and set it upon his back, and grasping the handles of the plow he +started to make the furrow. + + With his long spear he drove the bulls before him as with a goad. +Terribly they raged, furiously they breathed out fire. Beside Jason +Theseus went holding the helmet that held the dragon's teeth. The hard +ground was torn up by the plow of adamant, and the clods groaned as they +were cast up. Jason flung the teeth between the open sods, often turning +his head in fear that the deadly crop of the Earth-born Men were rising +behind him. + + [Illustration] + + The Field of the Dragon's Teeth + + + By the time that a third of the day was finished the field of Ares had +been plowed and sown. As yet the furrows were free of the Earth-born Men. +Jason went down to the river and filled his helmet full of water and drank +deeply. And his knees that were stiffened with the plowing he bent until +they were made supple again. + + He saw the field rising into mounds. It seemed that there were graves +all over the field of Ares. Then he saw spears and shields and helmets +rising up out of the earth. Then armed warriors sprang up, a fierce battle +cry upon their lips. + + Jason remembered the counsel of Medea. He raised a boulder that four men +could hardly raise and with arms hardened by the plowing he cast it. The +Colchians shouted to see such a stone cast by the hands of one man. Right +into the middle of the Earth-born Men the stone came. They leaped upon it +like hounds, striking at one another as they came together. Shield crashed +on shield, spear rang upon spear as they struck at each other. The +Earth-born Men, as fast as they arose, went down before the weapons in the +hands of their brethren. + + Jason rushed upon them, his sword in his hand. He slew some that had +risen out of the earth only as far as the shoulders; he slew others whose +feet were still in the earth; he slew others who were ready to spring upon +him. Soon all the Earth-born Men were slain, and the furrows ran with +their dark blood as channels run with water in springtime. + + The Argonauts shouted loudly for Jason's victory. King AEetes rose from +his seat that was beside the river and he went back to the city. The +Colchians followed him. Day faded, and Jason's contest was ended. + + + + But it was not the will of AEetes that the strangers should be let depart +peaceably with the Golden Fleece that Jason had won. In the assembly +place, with his son Apsyrtus beside him, and with the furious Colchians +all around him, the king stood: on his breast was the gleaming corselet +that Ares had given him, and on his head was that golden helmet with its +four plumes that made him look as if he were truly the son of Helios, the +Sun. Lightnings flashed from his great eyes; he spoke fiercely to the +Colchians, holding in his hand his bronze-topped spear. + + He would have them attack the strangers and burn the _Argo_. He would +have the sons of Phrixus slain for bringing them to Aea. There was a +prophecy, he declared, that would have him be watchful of the treachery of +his own offspring: this prophecy was being fulfilled by the children of +Chalciope; he feared, too, that his daughter, Medea, had aided the +strangers. So the king spoke, and the Colchians, hating all strangers, +shouted around him. + + Word of what her father had said was brought to Medea. She knew that she +would have to go to the Argonauts and bid them flee hastily from Aea. They +would not go, she knew, without the Golden Fleece; then she, Medea, would +have to show them how to gain the Fleece. + + Then she could never again go back to her father's palace, she could +never again sit in this chamber and talk to her handmaidens, and be with +Chalciope, her sister. Forever afterward she would be dependent on the +kindness of strangers. Medea wept when she thought of all this. And then +she cut off a tress of her hair and she left it in her chamber as a +farewell from one who was going afar. Into the chamber where Chalciope was +she whispered farewell. + + The palace doors were all heavily bolted, but Medea did not have to pull +back the bolts. As she chanted her Magic Song the bolts softly drew back, +the doors softly opened. Swiftly she went along the ways that led to the +river. She came to where fires were blazing and she knew that the +Argonauts were there. + + She called to them, and Phrontis, Chalciope's son, heard the cry and +knew the voice. To Jason he spoke, and Jason quickly went to where Medea +stood. + + She clasped Jason's hand and she drew him with her. "The Golden Fleece," +she said, "the time has come when you must pluck the Golden Fleece off the +oak in the grove of Ares." When she said these words all Jason's being +became taut like the string of a bow. + + It was then the hour when huntsmen cast sleep from their eyes--huntsmen +who never sleep away the end of the night, but who are ever ready to be up +and away with their hounds before the beams of the sun efface the track +and the scent of the quarry. Along a path that went from the river Medea +drew Jason. They entered a grove. Then Jason saw something that was like a +cloud filled with the light of the rising sun. It hung from a great oak +tree. In awe he stood and looked upon it, knowing that at last he looked +upon THE GOLDEN FLEECE. + + His hand let slip Medea's hand and he went to seize the Fleece. As he +did he heard a dreadful hiss. And then he saw the guardian of the Golden +Fleece. Coiled all around the tree, with outstretched neck and keen and +sleepless eyes, was a deadly serpent. Its hiss ran all through the grove +and the birds that were wakening up squawked in terror. + + Like rings of smoke that rise one above the other, the coils of the +serpent went around the tree--coils covered by hard and gleaming scales. It +uncoiled, stretched itself, and lifted its head to strike. Then Medea +dropped on her knees before it, and began to chant her Magic Song. + + As she sang, the coils around the tree grew slack. Like a dark, +noiseless wave the serpent sank down on the ground. But still its jaws +were open, and those dreadful jaws threatened Jason. Medea, with a newly +cut spray of juniper dipped in a mystic brew, touched its deadly eyes. And +still she chanted her Magic Song. The serpent's jaws closed; its eyes +became deadened; far through the grove its length was stretched out. + + [Illustration] + + + Then Jason took the Golden Fleece. As he raised his hands to it, its +brightness was such as to make a flame on his face. Medea called to him. +He strove to gather it all up in his arms; Medea was beside him, and they +went swiftly on. + + They came to the river and down to the place where the _Argo_ was +moored. The heroes who were aboard started up, astonished to see the +Fleece that shone as with the lightning of Zeus. Over Medea Jason cast it, +and he lifted her aboard the _Argo_. + + "O friends," he cried, "the quest on which we dared the gulfs of the sea +and the wrath of kings is accomplished, thanks to the help of this maiden. +Now may we return to Greece; now have we the hope of looking upon our +fathers and our friends once more. And in all honor will we bring this +maiden with us, Medea, the daughter of King AEetes." + + Then he drew his sword and cut the hawsers of the ship, calling upon the +heroes to drive the _Argo_ on. There was a din and a strain and a splash +of oars, and away from Aea the _Argo_ dashed. Beside the mast Medea stood; +the Golden Fleece had fallen at her feet, and her head and face were +covered by her silver veil. + + + + +IV. The Slaying of Apsyrtus + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HAT silver veil was to be splashed with a brother's blood, and the +Argonauts, because of that calamity, were for a long time to be held back +from a return to their native land. + + Now as they went down the river they saw that dangers were coming +swiftly upon them. The chariots of the Colchians were upon the banks. +Jason saw King AEetes in his chariot, a blazing torch lighting his corselet +and his helmet. Swiftly the _Argo_ went, but there were ships behind her, +and they went swiftly too. + + They came into the Sea of Pontus, and Phrontis, the son of Phrixus, gave +counsel to them. "Do not strive to make the passage of the Symplegades," +he said. "All who live around the Sea of Pontus are friendly to King +AEetes; they will be warned by him, and they will be ready to slay us and +take the _Argo_. Let us journey up the River Ister, and by that way we can +come to the Thrinacian Sea that is close to your land." + + The Argonauts thought well of what Phrontis said; into the waters of the +Ister the ship was brought. Many of the Colchian ships passed by the mouth +of the river, and went seeking the _Argo_ toward the passage of the +Symplegades. + + But the Argonauts were on a way that was dangerous for them. For +Apsyrtus had not gone toward the Symplegades seeking the _Argo_. He had +led his soldiers overland to the River Ister at a place that was at a +distance above its mouth. There were islands in the river at that place, +and the soldiers of Apsyrtus landed on the islands, while Apsyrtus went to +the kings of the people around and claimed their support. + + The _Argo_ came and the heroes found themselves cut off. They could not +make their way between the islands that were filled with the Colchian +soldiers, nor along the banks that were lined with men friendly to King +AEetes. _Argo_ was stayed. Apsyrtus sent for the chiefs; he had men enough +to overwhelm them, but he shrank from a fight with the heroes, and he +thought that he might gain all he wanted from them without a struggle. + + Theseus and Peleus went to him. Apsyrtus would have them give up the +Golden Fleece; he would have them give up Medea and the sons of Phrixus +also. + + Theseus and Peleus appealed to the judgment of the kings who supported +Apsyrtus. AEetes, they said, had no more claim on the Golden Fleece. He had +promised it to Jason as a reward for tasks that he had imposed. The tasks +had been accomplished and the Fleece, no matter in what way it was taken +from the grove of Ares, was theirs. So Theseus and Peleus said, and the +kings who supported Apsyrtus gave judgment for the Argonauts. + + But Medea would have to be given to her brother. If that were done the +_Argo_ would be let go on her course, Apsyrtus said, and the Golden Fleece +would be left with them. Apsyrtus said, too, that he would not take Medea +back to the wrath of her father; if the Argonauts gave her up she would be +let stay on the island of Artemis and under the guardianship of the +goddess. + + The chiefs brought Apsyrtus's words back. There was a council of the +Argonauts, and they agreed that they should leave Medea on the island of +Artemis. + + But grief and wrath took hold of Medea when she heard of this resolve. +Almost she would burn the _Argo_. She went to where Jason stood, and she +spoke again of all she had done to save his life and win the Golden Fleece +for the Argonauts. Jason made her look on the ships and the soldiers that +were around them; he showed her how these could overwhelm the Argonauts +and slay them all. With all the heroes slain, he said, Medea would come +into the hands of Apsyrtus, who then could leave her on the island of +Artemis or take her back to the wrath of her father. + + But Medea would not consent to go nor could Jason's heart consent to let +her go. Then these two made a plot to deceive Apsyrtus. + + "I have not been of the council that agreed to give you up to him," +Jason said. "After you have been left there I will take you off the island +of Artemis secretly. The Colchians and the kings who support them, not +knowing that you have been taken off and hidden on the _Argo_, will let us +pass." This Medea and Jason planned to do, and it was an ill thing, for it +was breaking the covenant that the chiefs had entered with Apsyrtus. + + [Illustration] + + + Medea then was left by the Argonauts on the island of Artemis. Now +Apsyrtus had been commanded by his father to bring her back to Aea; he +thought that when she had been left by the Argonauts he could force her to +come with him. So he went over to the island. Jason, secretly leaving his +companions, went to the island from the other side. + + Before the temple of Artemis Jason and Apsyrtus came face to face. Both +men, thinking they had been betrayed to their deaths, drew their swords. +Then, before the vestibule of the temple and under the eyes of Medea, +Jason and Apsyrtus fought. Jason's sword pierced the son of AEetes; as he +fell Apsyrtus cried out bitter words against Medea, saying that it was on +her account that he had come on his death. And as he fell the blood of her +brother splashed Medea's silver veil. + + Jason lifted Medea up and carried her to the _Argo_. They hid the maiden +under the Fleece of Gold and they sailed past the ships of the Colchians. +When darkness came they were far from the island of Artemis. It was then +that they heard a loud wailing, and they knew that the Colchians had +discovered that their prince had been slain. + + The Colchians did not pursue them. Fearing the wrath of AEetes they made +settlements in the lands of the kings who had supported Apsyrtus; they +never went back to Aea; they called themselves Apsyrtians henceforward, +naming themselves after the prince they had come with. + + They had escaped the danger that had hemmed them in, but the Argonauts, +as they sailed on, were not content; covenants had been broken, and blood +had been shed in a bad cause. And as they went on through the darkness the +voice of the ship was heard; at the sound of that voice fear and sorrow +came upon the voyagers, for they felt that it had a prophecy of doom. + + Castor and Polydeuces went to the front of the ship; holding up their +hands, they prayed. Then they heard the words that the voice uttered: in +the night as they went on the voice proclaimed the wrath of Zeus on +account of the slaying of Apsyrtus. + + What was their doom to be? It was that the Argonauts would have to +wander forever over the gulfs of the sea unless Medea had herself cleansed +of her brother's blood. There was one who could cleanse Medea--Circe, the +daughter of Helios and Perse. The voice urged the heroes to pray to the +immortal gods that the way to the island of Circe be shown to them. + + + + +V. Medea Comes to Circe + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HEY sailed up the River Ister until they came to the Eridanus, that +river across which no bird can fly. Leaving the Eridanus they entered the +Rhodanus, a river that rises in the extreme north, where Night herself has +her habitation. And voyaging up this river they came to the Stormy Lakes. +A mist lay upon the lakes night and day; voyaging through them the +Argonauts at last brought out their ship upon the Sea of Ausonia. + + It was Zetes and Calais, the sons of the North Wind, who brought the +_Argo_ safely along this dangerous course. And to Zetes and Calais Iris, +the messenger of the gods, appeared and revealed to them where Circe's +island lay. + + Deep blue water was all around that island, and on its height a marble +house was to be seen. But a strange haze covered everything as with a +veil. As the Argonauts came near they saw what looked to them like great +dragonflies; they came down to the shore, and then the heroes saw that +they were maidens in gleaming dresses. + + The maidens waved their hands to the voyagers, calling them to come on +the island. Strange beasts came up to where the maidens were and made +whimpering cries. + + The Argonauts would have drawn the ship close and would have sprung upon +the island only that Medea cried out to them. She showed them the beasts +that whimpered around the maidens, and then, as the Argonauts looked upon +them, they saw that these were not beasts of the wild. There was something +strange and fearful about them; the heroes gazed upon them with troubled +eyes. They brought the ship near, but they stayed upon their benches, +holding the oars in their hands. + + Medea sprang to the island; she spoke to the maidens so that they shrank +away; then the beasts came and whimpered around her. "Forbear to land +here, O Argonauts," Medea cried, "for this is the island where men are +changed into beasts." She called to Jason to come; only Jason would she +have come upon the island. + + They went swiftly toward the marble house, and the beasts followed them, +looking up at Jason and Medea with pitiful human eyes. They went into the +marble house of Circe, and as suppliants they seated themselves at the +hearth. + + Circe stood at her loom, weaving her many-colored threads. Swiftly she +turned to the suppliants; she looked for something strange in them, for +just before they came the walls of her house dripped with blood and the +flame ran over and into her pot, burning up all the magic herbs she was +brewing. She went toward where they sat, Medea with her face hidden by her +hands, and Jason, with his head bent, holding with its point in the ground +the sword with which he had slain the son of AEetes. + + [Illustration] + + + When Medea took her hands away from before her face, Circe knew that, +like herself, this maiden was of the race of Helios. Medea spoke to her, +telling her first of the voyage of the heroes and of their toils; telling +her then of how she had given help to Jason against the will of AEetes, her +father; telling her then, fearfully, of the slaying of Apsyrtus. She +covered her face with her robe as she spoke of it. And then she told Circe +she had come, warned by the judgment of Zeus, to ask of Circe, the +daughter of Helios, to purify her from the stain of her brother's blood. + + Like all the children of Helios, Circe had eyes that were wide and full +of life, but she had stony lips--lips that were heavy and moveless. Bright +golden hair hung smoothly along each of her sides. First she held a cup to +them that was filled with pure water, and Jason and Medea drank from that +cup. + + Then Circe stayed by the hearth; she burnt cakes in the flame, and all +the while she prayed to Zeus to be gentle with these suppliants. She +brought both to the seashore. There she washed Medea's body and her +garments with the spray of the sea. + + Medea pleaded with Circe to tell her of the life she foresaw for her, +but Circe would not speak of it. She told Medea that one day she would +meet a woman who knew nothing about enchantments but who had much human +wisdom. She was to ask of her what she was to do in her life or what she +was to leave undone. And whatever this woman out of her wisdom told her, +that Medea was to regard. Once more Circe offered them the cup filled with +clear water, and when they had drunken of it she left them upon the +seashore. As she went toward her marble house the strange beasts followed +Circe, whimpering as they went. Jason and Medea went aboard the _Argo_, +and the heroes drew away from Circe's island. + + + + +VI. In the Land of the Phaeacians + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_W_EARIED were the heroes now. They would have fain gone upon the island +of Circe to rest there away from the oars and the sound of the sea. But +the wisest of them, looking upon the beasts that were men transformed, +held the _Argo_ far off the shore. Then Jason and Medea came aboard, and +with heavy hearts and wearied arms they turned to the open sea again. + + No longer had they such high hearts as when they drove the _Argo_ +between the Clashers and into the Sea of Pontus. Now their heads drooped +as they went on, and they sang such songs as slaves sing in their hopeless +labor. Orpheus grew fearful for them now. + + For Orpheus knew that they were drawing toward a danger. There was no +other way for them, he knew, but past the Island Anthemoessa in the +Tyrrhenian Sea where the Sirens were. Once they had been nymphs and had +tended Persephone before she was carried off by Aidoneus to be his queen +in the Underworld. Kind they had been, but now they were changed, and they +cared only for the destruction of men. + + All set around with rocks was the island where they were. As the _Argo_ +came near, the Sirens, ever on the watch to draw mariners to their +destruction, saw them and came to the rocks and sang to them, holding each +other's hands. + + They sang all together their lulling song. That song made the wearied +voyagers long to let their oars go with the waves, and drift, drift to +where the Sirens were. Bending down to them the Sirens, with soft hands +and white arms, would lift them to soft resting places. Then each of the +Sirens sang a clear, piercing song that called to each of the voyagers. +Each man thought that his own name was in that song. "O how well it is +that you have come near," each one sang, "how well it is that you have +come near where I have awaited you, having all delight prepared for you!" + + Orpheus took up his lyre as the Sirens began to sing. He sang to the +heroes of their own toils. He sang of them, how, gaunt and weary as they +were, they were yet men, men who were the strength of Greece, men who had +been fostered by the love and hope of their country. They were the winners +of the Golden Fleece and their story would be told forever. And for the +fame that they had won men would forego all rest and all delight. Why +should they not toil, they who were born for great labors and to face +dangers that other men might not face? Soon hands would be stretched out +to them--the welcoming hands of the men and women of their own land. + + So Orpheus sang, and his voice and the music of his lyre prevailed above +the Sirens' voices. Men dropped their oars, but other men remained at +their benches, and pulled steadily, if wearily, on. Only one of the +Argonauts, Butes, a youth of Iolcus, threw himself into the water and swam +toward the rocks from which the Sirens sang. + + But an anguish that nearly parted their spirits from their bodies was +upon them as they went wearily on. Toward the end of the day they beheld +another island--an island that seemed very fair; they longed to land and +rest themselves there and eat the fruits of the island. But Orpheus would +not have them land. The island, he said, was Thrinacia. Upon that island +the Cattle of the Sun pastured, and if one of the cattle perished through +them their return home might not be won. They heard the lowing of the +cattle through the mist, and a deep longing for the sight of their own +fields, with a white house near, and flocks and herds at pasture, came +over the heroes. They came near the Island of Thrinacia, and they saw the +Cattle of the Sun feeding by the meadow streams; not one of them was +black; all were white as milk, and the horns upon their heads were golden. +They saw the two nymphs who herded the kine--Phaethusa and Lampetia, one +with a staff of silver and the other with a staff of gold. + + Driven by the breeze that came over the Thrinacian Sea the Argonauts +came to the land of the Phaeacians. It was a good land as they saw when +they drew near; a land of orchards and fresh pastures, with a white and +sun-lit city upon the height. Their spirits came back to them as they drew +into the harbor; they made fast the hawsers, and they went upon the ways +of the city. + + And then they saw everywhere around them the dark faces of Colchian +soldiers. These were the men of King AEetes, and they had come overland to +the Phaeacian city, hoping to cut off the Argonauts. Jason, when he saw the +soldiers, shouted to those who had been left on the _Argo_, and they drew +out of the harbor, fearful lest the Colchians should grapple with the ship +and wrest from them the Fleece of Gold. Then Jason made an encampment upon +the shore, and the captain of the Colchians went here and there, gathering +together his men. + + Medea left Jason's side and hastened through the city. To the palace of +Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians, she went. Within the palace she found +Arete, the queen. And Arete was sitting by her hearth, spinning golden and +silver threads. + + Arete was young at that time, as young as Medea, and as yet no child had +been born to her. But she had the clear eyes of one who understands, and +who knows how to order things well. Stately, too, was Arete, for she had +been reared in the house of a great king. Medea came to her, and fell upon +her knees before her, and told her how she had fled from the house of her +father, King AEetes. + + She told Arete, too, how she had helped Jason to win the Golden Fleece, +and she told her how through her her brother had been led to his death. As +she told this part of her story she wept and prayed at the knees of the +queen. + + Arete was greatly moved by Medea's tears and prayers. She went to +Alcinous in his garden, and she begged of him to save the Argonauts from +the great force of the Colchians that had come to cut them off. "The +Golden Fleece," said Arete, "has been won by the tasks that Jason +performed. If the Colchians should take Medea, it would be to bring her +back to Aea and to a bitter doom. And the maiden," said the queen, "has +broken my heart by her prayers and tears." + + King Alcinous said: "AEetes is strong, and although his kingdom is far +from ours, he can bring war upon us." But still Arete pleaded with him to +protect Medea from the Colchians. Alcinous went within; he raised up Medea +from where she crouched on the floor of the palace, and he promised her +that the Argonauts would be protected in his city. + + Then the king mounted his chariot; Medea went with him, and they came +down to the seashore where the heroes had made their encampment. The +Argonauts and the Colchians were drawn up against each other, and the +Colchians far outnumbered the wearied heroes. + + Alcinous drove his chariot between the two armies. The Colchians prayed +him to have the strangers make surrender to them. But the king drove his +chariot to where the heroes stood, and he took the hand of each, and +received them as his guests. Then the Colchians knew that they might not +make war upon the heroes. They drew off. The next day they marched away. + + + + It was a rich land that they had come to. Once Aristaeus dwelt there, the +king who discovered how to make bees store up their honey for men and how +to make the good olive grow. Macris, his daughter, tended Dionysus, the +son of Zeus, when Hermes brought him of the flame, and moistened his lips +with honey. She tended him in a cave in the Phaeacian land, and ever +afterward the Phaeacians were blessed with all good things. + + Now as the heroes marched to the palace of King Alcinous the people came +to meet them, bringing them sheep and calves and jars of wine and honey. +The women brought them fresh garments; to Medea they gave fine linen and +golden ornaments. + + Amongst the Phaeacians who loved music and games and the telling of +stories the heroes stayed for long. There were dances, and to the +Phaeacians who honored him as a god, Orpheus played upon his lyre. And +every day, for the seven days that they stayed amongst them, the Phaeacians +brought rich presents to the heroes. + + And Medea, looking into the clear eyes of Queen Arete, knew that she was +the woman of whom Circe had prophesied, the woman who knew nothing of +enchantments, but who had much human wisdom. She was to ask of her what +she was to do in her life and what she was to leave undone. And what this +woman told her Medea was to regard. Arete told her that she was to forget +all the witcheries and enchantments that she knew, and that she was never +to practice against the life of any one. This she told Medea upon the +shore, before Jason lifted her aboard the _Argo_. + + + + +VII. They Come to the Desert Land + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_A_ND now with sail spread wide the _Argo_ went on, and the heroes rested +at the oars. The wind grew stronger. It became a great blast, and for nine +days and nine nights the ship was driven fearfully along. + + The blast drove them into the Gulf of Libya, from whence there is no +return for ships. On each side of the gulf there are rocks and shoals, and +the sea runs toward the limitless sand. On the top of a mighty tide the +_Argo_ was lifted, and she was flung high up on the desert sands. + + A flood tide such as might not come again for long left the Argonauts on +the empty Libyan land. And when they came forth and saw that vast level of +sand stretching like a mist away into the distance, a deadly fear came +over each of them. No spring of water could they descry; no path; no +herdsman's cabin; over all that vast land there was silence and dead calm. +And one said to the other: "What land is this? Whither have we come? Would +that the tempest had overwhelmed us, or would that we had lost the ship +and our lives between the Clashing Rocks at the time when we were making +our way into the Sea of Pontus." + + And the helmsman, looking before him, said with a breaking heart: "Out +of this we may not come, even should the breeze blow from the land, for +all around us are shoals and sharp rocks--rocks that we can see fretting +the water, line upon line. Our ship would have been shattered far from the +shore if the tide had not borne her far up on the sand. But now the tide +rushes back toward the sea, leaving only foam on which no ship can sail to +cover the sand. And so all hope of our return is cut off." + + He spoke with tears flowing upon his cheeks, and all who had knowledge +of ships agreed with what the helmsman had said. No dangers that they had +been through were as terrible as this. Hopelessly, like lifeless specters, +the heroes strayed about the endless strand. + + They embraced each other and they said farewell as they laid down upon +the sand that might blow upon them and overwhelm them in the night. They +wrapped their heads in their cloaks, and, fasting, they laid themselves +down. + + Jason crouched beside the ship, so troubled that his life nearly went +from him. He saw Medea huddled against a rock and with her hair streaming +on the sand. He saw the men who, with all the bravery of their lives, had +come with him, stretched on the desert sand, weary and without hope. He +thought that they, the best of men, might die in this desert with their +deeds all unknown; he thought that he might never win home with Medea, to +make her his queen in Iolcus. + + He lay against the side of the ship, his cloak wrapped around his head. +And there death would have come to him and to the others if the nymphs of +the desert had been unmindful of these brave men. They came to Jason. It +was midday then, and the fierce rays of the sun were scorching all Libya. +They drew off the cloak that wrapped his head; they stood near him, three +nymphs girded around with goatskins. + + "Why art thou so smitten with despair?" the nymphs said to Jason. "Why +art thou smitten with despair, thou who hast wrought so much and hast won +so much? Up! Arouse thy comrades! We are the solitary nymphs, the warders +of the land of Libya, and we have come to show a way of escape to you, the +Argonauts. + + "Look around and watch for the time when Poseidon's great horse shall be +unloosed. Then make ready to pay recompense to the mother that bore you +all. What she did for you all, that you all must do for her; by doing it +you will win back to the land of Greece." Jason heard them say these words +and then he saw them no more; the nymphs vanished amongst the desert +mounds. + + [Illustration] + + + Then Jason rose up. He did not know what to make out of what had been +told him, but there was courage now and hope in his heart. He shouted; his +voice was like the roar of a lion calling to his mate. At his shout his +comrades roused themselves; all squalid with the dust of the desert the +Argonauts stood around him. + + "Listen, comrades, to me," Jason said, "while I speak of a strange thing +that has befallen me. While I lay by the side of our ship three nymphs +came before me. With light hands they drew away the cloak that wrapped my +head. They declared themselves to be the solitary nymphs, the warders, of +Libya. Very strange were the words they said to me. When Poseidon's great +horse shall be unloosed, they said, we were to make the mother of us all a +recompense, doing for her what she had done for us all. This the nymphs +told me to say, but I cannot understand the meaning of their words." + + There were some there who would not have given heed to Jason's words, +deeming them words without meaning. But even as he spoke a wonder came +before their eyes. Out of the far-off sea a great horse leaped. Vast he +was of size and he had a golden mane. He shook the spray of the sea off +his sides and mane. Past them he trampled and away toward the horizon, +leaving great tracks in the sand. + + Then Nestor spoke rejoicingly. "Behold the great horse! It is the horse +that the desert nymphs spoke of, Poseidon's horse. Even now has the horse +been unloosed, and now is the time to do what the nymphs bade us do. + + "Who but _Argo_ is the mother of us all? She has carried us. Now we must +make her a recompense and carry her even as she carried us. With untiring +shoulders we must bear _Argo_ across this great desert. + + "And whither shall we bear her? Whither but along the tracks that +Poseidon's horse has left in the sand! Poseidon's horse will not go under +the earth--once again he will plunge into the sea!" + + So Nestor said and the Argonauts saw truth in his saying. Hope came to +them again--the hope of leaving that desert and coming to the sea. Surely +when they came to the sea again, and spread the sail and held the oars in +their hands, their sacred ship would make swift course to their native +land! + + + + +VIII. The Carrying of the Argo + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_W_ITH the terrible weight of the ship upon their shoulders the Argonauts +made their way across the desert, following the tracks of Poseidon's +golden-maned horse. Like a wounded serpent that drags with pain its length +along, they went day after day across that limitless land. + + A day came when they saw the great tracks of the horse no more. A wind +had come up and had covered them with sand. With the mighty weight of the +ship upon their shoulders, with the sun beating upon their heads, and with +no marks on the desert to guide them, the heroes stood there, and it +seemed to them that the blood must gush up and out of their hearts. + + [Illustration] + + + Then Zetes and Calais, sons of the North Wind, rose up upon their wings +to strive to get sight of the sea. Up, up, they soared. And then as a man +sees, or thinks he sees, at the month's beginning, the moon through a bank +of clouds, Zetes and Calais, looking over the measureless land, saw the +gleam of water. They shouted to the Argonauts; they marked the way for +them, and wearily, but with good hearts, the heroes went upon the way. + + They came at last to the shore of what seemed to be a wide inland sea. +They set _Argo_ down from off their over-wearied shoulders and they let +her keel take water once more. + + All salt and brackish was that water; they dipped their hands into and +tasted the salt. Orpheus was able to name the water they had come to; it +was that lake that was called after Triton, the son of Nereus, the ancient +one of the sea. They set up an altar and they made sacrifices in +thanksgiving to the gods. + + They had come to water at last, but now they had to seek for other +water--for the sweet water that they could drink. All around them they +looked, but they saw no sign of a spring. And then they felt a wind blow +upon them--a wind that had in it not the dust of the desert but the +fragrance of growing things. Toward where that wind blew from they went. + + As they went on they saw a great shape against the sky; they saw +mountainous shoulders bowed. Orpheus bade them halt and turn their faces +with reverence toward that great shape: for this was Atlas the Titan, the +brother of Prometheus, who stood there to hold up the sky on his +shoulders. + + Then they were near the place that the fragrance had blown from: there +was a garden there; the only fence that ran around it was a lattice of +silver. "Surely there are springs in the garden," the Argonauts said. "We +will enter this fair garden now and slake our thirst." + + Orpheus bade them walk reverently, for all around them, he said, was +sacred ground. This garden was the Garden of the Hesperides that was +watched over by the Daughters of the Evening Land. The Argonauts looked +through the silver lattice; they saw trees with lovely fruit, and they saw +three maidens moving through the garden with watchful eyes. In this garden +grew the tree that had the golden apples that Zeus gave to Hera as a +wedding gift. + + They saw the tree on which the golden apples grew. The maidens went to +it and then looked watchfully all around them. They saw the faces of the +Argonauts looking through the silver lattice and they cried out, one to +the other, and they joined their hands around the tree. + + But Orpheus called to them, and the maidens understood the divine speech +of Orpheus. He made the Daughters of the Evening Land know that they who +stood before the lattice were men who reverenced the gods, who would not +strive to enter the forbidden garden. The maidens came toward them. +Beautiful as the singing of Orpheus was their utterance, but what they +said was a complaint and a lament. + + Their lament was for the dragon Ladon, that dragon with a hundred heads +that guarded sleeplessly the tree that had the golden apples. Now that +dragon was slain. With arrows that had been dipped in the poison of the +Hydra's blood their dragon, Ladon, had been slain. + + The Daughters of the Evening Land sang of how a mortal had come into the +garden that they watched over. He had a great bow, and with his arrow he +slew the dragon that guarded the golden apples. The golden apples he had +taken away; they had come back to the tree they had been plucked from, for +no mortal might keep them in his possession. So the maidens sang--Hespere, +Eretheis, and AEgle--and they complained that now, unhelped by the +hundred-headed dragon, they had to keep guard over the tree. + + The Argonauts knew of whom they told the tale--Heracles, their comrade. +Would that Heracles were with them now! + + The Hesperides told them of Heracles--of how the springs in the garden +dried up because of his plucking the golden apples. He came out of the +garden thirsting. Nowhere could he find a spring of water. To yonder great +rock he went. He smote it with his foot and water came out in full flow. +Then he, leaning on his hands and with his chest upon the ground, drank +and drank from the water that flowed from the rifted rock. + + The Argonauts looked to where the rock stood. They caught the sound of +water. They carried Medea over. And then, company after company, all +huddled together, they stooped down and drank their fill of the clear good +water. With lips wet with the water they cried to each other, "Heracles! +Although he is not with us, in very truth Heracles has saved his comrades +from deadly thirst!" + + They saw his footsteps printed upon the rocks, and they followed them +until they led to the sand where no footsteps stay. Heracles! How glad his +comrades would have been if they could have had sight of him then! But it +was long ago--before he had sailed with them--that Heracles had been here. + + Still hearing their complaint they turned back to the lattice, to where +the Daughters of the Evening Land stood. The Daughters of the Evening Land +bent their heads to listen to what the Argonauts told one another, and, +seeing them bent to listen, Orpheus told a story about one who had gone +across the Libyan desert, about one who was a hero like unto Heracles. + + + +The Story of Perseus + + + Beyond where Atlas stands there is a cave where the strange women, the +ancient daughters of Phorcys, live. They have been gray from their birth. +They have but one eye and one tooth between them, and they pass the eye +and the tooth, one to the other, when they would see or eat. They are +called the Graiai, these two sisters. + + Up to the cave where they lived a youth once came. He was beardless, and +the garb he wore was torn and travel-stained, but he had shapeliness and +beauty. In his leathern belt there was an exceedingly bright sword; this +sword was not straight like the swords we carry, but it was hooked like a +sickle. The strange youth with the bright, strange sword came very quickly +and very silently up to the cave where the Graiai lived and looked over a +high boulder into it. + + One was sitting munching acorns with the single tooth. The other had the +eye in her hand. She was holding it to her forehead and looking into the +back of the cave. These two ancient women, with their gray hair falling +over them like thick fleeces, and with faces that were only forehead and +cheeks and nose and mouth, were strange creatures truly. Very silently the +youth stood looking at them. + + "Sister, sister," cried the one who was munching acorns, "sister, turn +your eye this way. I heard the stir of something." + + The other turned, and with the eye placed against her forehead looked +out to the opening of the cave. The youth drew back behind the boulder. +"Sister, sister, there is nothing there," said the one with the eye. + + Then she said: "Sister, give me the tooth for I would eat my acorns. +Take the eye and keep watch." + + The one who was eating held out the tooth, and the one who was watching +held out the eye. The youth darted into the cave. Standing between the +eyeless sisters, he took with one hand the tooth and with the other the +eye. + + "Sister, sister, have you taken the eye?" + + "I have not taken the eye. Have you taken the tooth?" + + "I have not taken the tooth." + + "Some one has taken the eye, and some one has taken the tooth." + + They stood together, and the youth watched their blinking faces as they +tried to discover who had come into the cave, and who had taken the eye +and the tooth. + + Then they said, screaming together: "Who ever has taken the eye and the +tooth from the Graiai, the ancient daughters of Phorcys, may Mother Night +smother him." + + The youth spoke. "Ancient daughters of Phorcys," he said, "Graiai, I +would not rob from you. I have come to your cave only to ask the way to a +place." + + "Ah, it is a mortal, a mortal," screamed the sisters. "Well, mortal, +what would you have from the Graiai?" + + "Ancient Graiai," said the youth, "I would have you tell me, for you +alone know, where the nymphs dwell who guard the three magic treasures--the +cap of darkness, the shoes of flight, and the magic pouch." + + "We will not tell you, we will not tell you that," screamed the two +ancient sisters. + + [Illustration] + + + "I will keep the eye and the tooth," said the youth, "and I will give +them to one who will help me." + + "Give me the eye and I will tell you," said one. "Give me the tooth and +I will tell you," said the other. The youth put the eye in the hand of one +and the tooth in the hand of the other, but he held their skinny hands in +his strong hands until they should tell him where the nymphs dwelt who +guarded the magic treasures. The Gray Ones told him. Then the youth with +the bright sword left the cave. As he went out he saw on the ground a +shield of bronze, and he took it with him. + + To the other side of where Atlas stands he went. There he came upon the +nymphs in their valley. They had long dwelt there, hidden from gods and +men, and they were startled to see a stranger youth come into their hidden +valley. They fled away. Then the youth sat on the ground, his head bent +like a man who is very sorrowful. + + The youngest and the fairest of the nymphs came to him at last. "Why +have you come, and why do you sit here in such great trouble, youth?" said +she. And then she said: "What is this strange sickle-sword that you wear? +Who told you the way to our dwelling place? What name have you?" + + "I have come here," said the youth, and he took the bronze shield upon +his knees and began to polish it, "I have come here because I want you, +the nymphs who guard them, to give to me the cap of darkness and the shoes +of flight and the magic pouch. I must gain these things; without them I +must go to my death. Why I must gain them you will know from my story." + + When he said that he had come for the three magic treasures that they +guarded, the kind nymph was more startled than she and her sisters had +been startled by the appearance of the strange youth in their hidden +valley. She turned away from him. But she looked again and she saw that he +was beautiful and brave looking. He had spoken of his death. The nymph +stood looking at him pitifully, and the youth, with the bronze shield laid +beside his knees and the strange hooked sword lying across it, told her +his story. + + + + "I am Perseus," he said, "and my grandfather, men say, is king in Argos. +His name is Acrisius. Before I was born a prophecy was made to him that +the son of Danae, his daughter, would slay him. Acrisius was frightened by +the prophecy, and when I was born he put my mother and myself into a +chest, and he sent us adrift upon the waves of the sea. + + "I did not know what a terrible peril I was in, for I was an infant +newly born. My mother was so hopeless that she came near to death. But the +wind and the waves did not destroy us: they brought us to a shore; a +shepherd found the chest, and he opened it and brought my mother and +myself out of it alive. The land we had come to was Seriphus. The shepherd +who found the chest and who rescued my mother and myself was the brother +of the king. His name was Dictys. + + "In the shepherd's wattled house my mother stayed with me, a little +infant, and in that house I grew from babyhood to childhood, and from +childhood to boyhood. He was a kind man, this shepherd Dictys. His brother +Polydectes had put him away from the palace, but Dictys did not grieve for +that, for he was happy minding his sheep upon the hillside, and he was +happy in his little hut of wattles and clay. + + "Polydectes, the king, was seldom spoken to about his brother, and it +was years before he knew of the mother and child who had been brought to +live in Dictys's hut. But at last he heard of us, for strange things began +to be said about my mother--how she was beautiful, and how she looked like +one who had been favored by the gods. Then one day when he was hunting, +Polydectes the king came to the hut of Dictys the shepherd. + + "He saw Danae, my mother, there. By her looks he knew that she was a +king's daughter and one who had been favored by the gods. He wanted her +for his wife. But my mother hated this harsh and overbearing king, and she +would not wed with him. Often he came storming around the shepherd's hut, +and at last my mother had to take refuge from him in a temple. There she +became the priestess of the goddess. + + "I was taken to the palace of Polydectes, and there I was brought up. +The king still stormed around where my mother was, more and more bent on +making her marry him. If she had not been in the temple where she was +under the protection of the goddess he would have wed her against her +will. + + "But I was growing up now, and I was able to give some protection to my +mother. My arm was a strong one, and Polydectes knew that if he wronged my +mother in any way, I had the will and the power to be deadly to him. One +day I heard him say before his princes and his lords that he would wed, +and would wed one who was not Danae. I was overjoyed to hear him say this. +He asked the lords and the princes to come to the wedding feast; they +declared they would, and they told him of the presents they would bring. + + "Then King Polydectes turned to me and he asked me to come to the +wedding feast. I said I would come. And then, because I was young and full +of the boast of youth, and because the king was now ceasing to be a terror +to me, I said that I would bring to his wedding feast the head of the +Gorgon. + + "The king smiled when he heard me say this, but he smiled not as a good +man smiles when he hears the boast of youth. He smiled, and he turned to +the princes and lords, and he said: 'Perseus will come, and he will bring +a greater gift than any of you, for he will bring the head of her whose +gaze turns living creatures into stone.' + + "When I heard the king speak so grimly about my boast the fearfulness of +the thing I had spoken of doing came over me. I thought for an instant +that the Gorgon's head appeared before me, and that I was then and there +turned into stone. + + "The day of the wedding feast came. I came and I brought no gift. I +stood with my head hanging for shame. Then the princes and the lords came +forward, and they showed the great gifts of horses that they had brought. +I thought that the king would forget about me and about my boast. And then +I heard him call my name. 'Perseus,' he said, 'Perseus, bring before us +now the Gorgon's head that, as you told us, you would bring for the +wedding gift.' + + "The princes and lords and people looked toward me, and I was filled +with a deeper shame. I had to say that I had failed to bring a present. +Then that harsh and overbearing king shouted at me. 'Go forth,' he said, +'go forth and fetch the present that you spoke of. If you do not bring it +remain forever out of my country, for in Seriphus we will have no empty +boasters.' The lords and the princes applauded what the king said; the +people were sad for me and sad for my mother, but they might not do +anything to help me, so just and so due to me did the words of the king +seem. There was no help for it, and I had to go from the country of +Seriphus, leaving my mother at the mercy of Polydectes. + + "I bade good-by to my sorrowful mother and I went from Seriphus--from +that land that I might not return to without the Gorgon's head. I traveled +far from that country. One day I sat down in a lonely place and prayed to +the gods that my strength might be equal to the will that now moved in +me--the will to take the Gorgon's head, and take from my name the shame of +a broken promise, and win back to Seriphus to save my mother from the +harshness of the king. + + "When I looked up I saw one standing before me. He was a youth, too, but +I knew by the way he moved, and I knew by the brightness of his face and +eyes, that he was of the immortals. I raised my hands in homage to him, +and he came near me. 'Perseus,' he said, 'if you have the courage to +strive, the way to win the Gorgon's head will be shown you.' I said that I +had the courage to strive, and he knew that I was making no boast. + + "He gave me this bright sickle-sword that I carry. He told me by what +ways I might come near enough to the Gorgons without being turned into +stone by their gaze. He told me how I might slay the one of the three +Gorgons who was not immortal, and how, having slain her, I might take her +head and flee without being torn to pieces by her sister Gorgons. + + "Then I knew that I should have to come on the Gorgons from the air. I +knew that having slain the one that could be slain I should have to fly +with the speed of the wind. And I knew that that speed even would not save +me--I should have to be hidden in my flight. To win the head and save +myself I would need three magic things--the shoes of flight and the magic +pouch, and the dogskin cap of Hades that makes its wearer invisible. + + "The youth said: 'The magic pouch and the shoes of flight and the +dogskin cap of Hades are in the keeping of the nymphs whose dwelling place +no mortal knows. I may not tell you where their dwelling place is. But +from the Gray Ones, from the ancient daughters of Phorcys who live in a +cave near where Atlas stands, you may learn where their dwelling place +is.' + + "Thereupon he told me how I might come to the Graiai, and how I might +get them to tell me where you, the nymphs, had your dwelling. The one who +spoke to me was Hermes, whose dwelling is on Olympus. By this sickle-sword +that he gave me you will know that I speak the truth." + + + + Perseus ceased speaking, and she who was the youngest and fairest of the +nymphs came nearer to him. She knew that he spoke truthfully, and besides +she had pity for the youth. "But we are the keepers of the magic +treasures," she said, "and some one whose need is greater even than yours +may some time require them from us. But will you swear that you will bring +the magic treasures back to us when you have slain the Gorgon and have +taken her head?" + + Perseus declared that he would bring the magic treasures back to the +nymphs and leave them once more in their keeping. Then the nymph who had +compassion for him called to the others. They spoke together while Perseus +stayed far away from them, polishing his shield of bronze. At last the +nymph who had listened to him came back, the others following her. They +brought to Perseus and they put into his hands the things they had +guarded--the cap made from dogskin that had been brought up out of Hades, a +pair of winged shoes, and a long pouch that he could hang across his +shoulder. + + + + And so with the shoes of flight and the cap of darkness and the magic +pouch, Perseus went to seek the Gorgons. The sickle-sword that Hermes gave +him was at his side, and on his arm he held the bronze shield that was now +well polished. + + He went through the air, taking a way that the nymphs had shown him. He +came to Oceanus that was the rim around the world. He saw forms that were +of living creatures all in stone, and he knew that he was near the place +where the Gorgons had their lair. + + Then, looking upon the surface of his polished shield, he saw the +Gorgons below him. Two were covered with hard serpent scales; they had +tusks that were long and were like the tusks of boars, and they had hands +of gleaming brass and wings of shining gold. Still looking upon the +shining surface of his shield Perseus went down and down. He saw the third +sister--she who was not immortal. She had a woman's face and form, and her +countenance was beautiful, although there was something deadly in its +fairness. The two scaled and winged sisters were asleep, but the third, +Medusa, was awake, and she was tearing with her hands a lizard that had +come near her. + + Upon her head was a tangle of serpents all with heads raised as though +they were hissing. Still looking into the mirror of his shield Perseus +came down and over Medusa. He turned his head away from her. Then, with a +sweep of the sickle-sword he took her head off. There was no scream from +the Gorgon, but the serpents upon her head hissed loudly. + + Still with his face turned from it he lifted up the head by its tangle +of serpents. He put it into the magic pouch. He rose up in the air. But +now the Gorgon sisters were awake. They had heard the hiss of Medusa's +serpents, and now they looked upon her headless body. They rose up on +their golden wings, and their brazen hands were stretched out to tear the +one who had slain Medusa. As they flew after him they screamed aloud. + + Although he flew like the wind the Gorgon sisters would have overtaken +him if he had been plain to their eyes. But the dogskin cap of Hades saved +him, for the Gorgon sisters did not know whether he was above or below +them, behind or before them. On Perseus went, flying toward where Atlas +stood. He flew over this place, over Libya. Drops of blood from Medusa's +head fell down upon the desert. They were changed and became the deadly +serpents that are on these sands and around these rocks. On and on Perseus +flew toward Atlas and toward the hidden valley where the nymphs who were +again to guard the magic treasures had their dwelling place. But before he +came to the nymphs Perseus had another adventure. + + + + In Ethopia, which is at the other side of Libya, there ruled a king +whose name was Cepheus. This king had permitted his queen to boast that +she was more beautiful than the nymphs of the sea. In punishment for the +queen's impiety and for the king's folly Poseidon sent a monster out of +the sea to waste that country. Every year the monster came, destroying +more and more of the country of Ethopia. Then the king asked of an oracle +what he should do to save his land and his people. The oracle spoke of a +dreadful thing that he would have to do--he would have to sacrifice his +daughter, the beautiful Princess Andromeda. + + The king was forced by his savage people to take the maiden Andromeda +and chain her to a rock on the seashore, leaving her there for the monster +to devour her, satisfying himself with that prey. + + Perseus, flying near, heard the maiden's laments. He saw her lovely body +bound with chains to the rock. He came near her, taking the cap of +darkness off his head. She saw him, and she bent her head in shame, for +she thought that he would think that it was for some dreadful fault of her +own that she had been left chained in that place. + + Her father had stayed near. Perseus saw him, and called to him, and bade +him tell why the maiden was chained to the rock. The king told Perseus of +the sacrifice that he had been forced to make. Then Perseus came near the +maiden, and he saw how she looked at him with pleading eyes. + + Then Perseus made her father promise that he would give Andromeda to him +for his wife if he should slay the sea monster. Gladly Cepheus promised +this. Then Perseus once again drew his sickle-sword; by the rock to which +Andromeda was still chained he waited for sight of the sea monster. + + [Illustration] + + Perseus and Andromeda + + + It came rolling in from the open sea, a shapeless and unsightly thing. +With the shoes of flight upon his feet Perseus rose above it. The monster +saw his shadow upon the water, and savagely it went to attack the shadow. +Perseus swooped down as an eagle swoops down; with his sickle-sword he +attacked it, and he struck the hook through the monster's shoulder. +Terribly it reared up from the sea. Perseus rose over it, escaping its +wide-opened mouth with its treble rows of fangs. Again he swooped and +struck at it. Its hide was covered all over with hard scales and with the +shells of sea things, but Perseus's sword struck through it. It reared up +again, spouting water mixed with blood. On a rock near the rock that +Andromeda was chained to Perseus alighted. The monster, seeing him, +bellowed and rushed swiftly through the water to overwhelm him. As it +reared up he plunged the sword again and again into its body. Down into +the water the monster sank, and water mixed with blood was spouted up from +the depths into which it sank. + + Then was Andromeda loosed from her chains. Perseus, the conqueror, +lifted up the fainting maiden and carried her back to the king's palace. +And Cepheus there renewed his promise to give her in marriage to her +deliverer. + + Perseus went on his way. He came to the hidden valley where the nymphs +had their dwelling place, and he restored to them the three magic +treasures that they had given him--the cap of darkness, the shoes of +flight, and the magic pouch. And these treasures are still there, and the +hero who can win his way to the nymphs may have them as Perseus had them. + + Again he returned to the place where he had found Andromeda chained. +With face averted he drew forth the Gorgon's head from where he had hidden +it between the rocks. He made a bag for it out of the horny skin of the +monster he had slain. Then, carrying his tremendous trophy, he went to the +palace of King Cepheus to claim his bride. + + + + Now before her father had thought of sacrificing her to the sea monster +he had offered Andromeda in marriage to a prince of Ethopia--to a prince +whose name was Phineus. Phineus did not strive to save Andromeda. But, +hearing that she had been delivered from the monster, he came to take her +for his wife; he came to Cepheus's palace, and he brought with him a +thousand armed men. + + The palace of Cepheus was filled with armed men when Perseus entered it. +He saw Andromeda on a raised place in the hall. She was pale as when she +was chained to the rock, and when she saw him in the palace she uttered a +cry of gladness. + + Cepheus, the craven king, would have let him who had come with the armed +bands take the maiden. Perseus came beside Andromeda and he made his +claim. Phineus spoke insolently to him, and then he urged one of his +captains to strike Perseus down. Many sprang forward to attack him. Out of +the bag Perseus drew Medusa's head. He held it before those who were +bringing strife into the hall. They were turned to stone. One of Cepheus's +men wished to defend Perseus: he struck at the captain who had come near; +his sword made a clanging sound as it struck this one who had looked upon +Medusa's head. + + Perseus went from the land of Ethopia taking fair Andromeda with him. +They went into Greece, for he had thought of going to Argos, to the +country that his grandfather ruled over. At this very time Acrisius got +tidings of Danae and her son, and he knew that they had not perished on +the waves of the sea. Fearful of the prophecy that told he would be slain +by his grandson and fearing that he would come to Argos to seek him, +Acrisius fled out of his country. + + He came into Thessaly. Perseus and Andromeda were there. Now, one day +the old king was brought to games that were being celebrated in honor of a +dead hero. He was leaning on his staff, watching a youth throw a metal +disk, when something in that youth's appearance made him want to watch him +more closely. About him there was something of a being of the upper air; +it made Acrisius think of a brazen tower and of a daughter whom he had +shut up there. + + He moved so that he might come nearer to the disk-thrower. But as he +left where he had been standing he came into the line of the thrown disk. +It struck the old man on the temple. He fell down dead, and as he fell the +people cried out his name--"Acrisius, King Acrisius!" Then Perseus knew +whom the disk, thrown by his hand, had slain. + + And because he had slain the king by chance Perseus would not go to +Argos, nor take over the kingdom that his grandfather had reigned over. +With Andromeda he went to Seriphus where his mother was. And in Seriphus +there still reigned Polydectes, who had put upon him the terrible task of +winning the Gorgon's head. + + He came to Seriphus and he left Andromeda in the hut of Dictys the +shepherd. No one knew him; he heard his name spoken of as that of a youth +who had gone on a foolish quest and who would never again be heard of. To +the temple where his mother was a priestess he came. Guards were placed +all around it. He heard his mother's voice and it was raised in lament: +"Walled up here and given over to hunger I shall be made go to +Polydectes's house and become his wife. O ye gods, have ye no pity for +Danae, the mother of Perseus?" + + Perseus cried aloud, and his mother heard his voice and her moans +ceased. He turned around and he went to the palace of Polydectes, the +king. + + The king received him with mockeries. "I will let you stay in Seriphus +for a day," he said, "because I would have you at a marriage feast. I have +vowed that Danae, taken from the temple where she sulks, will be my wife +by to-morrow's sunset." + + [Illustration] + + + So Polydectes said, and the lords and princes who were around him mocked +at Perseus and flattered the king. Perseus went from them then. The next +day he came back to the palace. But in his hands now there was a dread +thing--the bag made from the hide of the sea monster that had in it the +Gorgon's head. + + He saw his mother. She was brought in white and fainting, thinking that +she would now have to wed the harsh and overbearing king. Then she saw her +son, and hope came into her face. + + The king seeing Perseus, said: "Step forward, O youngling, and see your +mother wed to a mighty man. Step forward to witness a marriage, and then +depart, for it is not right that a youth that makes promises and does not +keep them should stay in a land that I rule over. Step forward now, you +with the empty hands." + + But not with empty hands did Perseus step forward. He shouted out: "I +have brought something to you at last, O king--a present to you and your +mocking friends. But you, O my mother, and you, O my friends, avert your +faces from what I have brought." Saying this Perseus drew out the Gorgon's +head. Holding it by the snaky locks he stood before the company. His +mother and his friends averted their faces. But Polydectes and his +insolent friends looked full upon what Perseus showed. "This youth would +strive to frighten us with some conjuror's trick," they said. They said no +more, for they became as stones, and as stone images they still stand in +that hall in Seriphus. + + He went to the shepherd's hut, and he brought Dictys from it with +Andromeda. Dictys he made king in Polydectes's stead. Then with Danae and +Andromeda, his mother and his wife, he went from Seriphus. + + He did not go to Argos, the country that his grandfather had ruled over, +although the people there wanted Perseus to come to them, and be king over +them. He took the kingdom of Tiryns in exchange for that of Argos, and +there he lived with Andromeda, his lovely wife out of Ethopia. They had a +son named Perses who became the parent of the Persian people. + + The sickle-sword that had slain the Gorgon went back to Hermes, and +Hermes took Medusa's head also. That head Hermes's divine sister set upon +her shield--Medusa's head upon the shield of Pallas Athene. O may Pallas +Athene guard us all, and bring us out of this land of sands and stone +where are the deadly serpents that have come from the drops of blood that +fell from the Gorgon's head! + + They turned away from the Garden of the Daughters of the Evening Land. +The Argonauts turned from where the giant shape of Atlas stood against the +sky and they went toward the Tritonian Lake. But not all of them reached +the _Argo_. On his way back to the ship, Nauplius, the helmsman, met his +death. + + A sluggish serpent was in his way--it was not a serpent that would strike +at one who turned from it. Nauplius trod upon it, and the serpent lifted +its head up and bit his foot. They raised him on their shoulders and they +hurried back with him. But his limbs became numb, and when they laid him +down on the shore of the lake he stayed moveless. Soon he grew cold. They +dug a grave for Nauplius beside the lake, and in that desert land they set +up his helmsman's oar in the middle of his tomb of heaped stones. + + + + And now like a snake that goes writhing this way and that way and that +cannot find the cleft in the rock that leads to its lair, the _Argo_ went +hither and thither striving to find an outlet from that lake. No outlet +could they find and the way of their homegoing seemed lost to them again. +Then Orpheus prayed to the son of Nereus, to Triton, whose name was on +that lake, to aid them. + + Then Triton appeared. He stretched out his hand and showed them the +outlet to the sea. And Triton spoke in friendly wise to the heroes, +bidding them go upon their way in joy. "And as for labor," he said, "let +there be no grieving because of that, for limbs that have youthful vigor +should still toil." + + They took up the oars and they pulled toward the sea, and Triton, the +friendly immortal, helped them on. He laid hold upon _Argo's_ keel and he +guided her through the water. The Argonauts saw him beneath the water; his +body, from his head down to his waist, was fair and great and like to the +body of one of the other immortals. But below his body was like a great +fish's, forking this way and that. He moved with fins that were like the +horns of the new moon. Triton helped _Argo_ along until they came into the +open sea. Then he plunged down into the abyss. The heroes shouted their +thanks to him. Then they looked at each other and embraced each other with +joy, for the sea that touched upon the land of Greece was open before +them. + + + + +IX. Near to Iolcus Again + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HE sun sank; then that star came that bids the shepherd bring his flock +to the fold, that brings the wearied plowman to his rest. But no rest did +that star bring to the Argonauts. The breeze that filled the sail died +down; they furled the sail and lowered the mast; then, once again, they +pulled at the oars. All night they rowed, and all day, and again when the +next day came on. Then they saw the island that is halfway to Greece--the +great and fair island of Crete. + + It was Theseus who first saw Crete--Theseus who was to come to Crete upon +another ship. They drew the _Argo_ near the great island; they wanted +water, and they were fain to rest there. + + Minos, the great king, ruled over Crete. He left the guarding of the +island to one of the race of bronze, to Talos, who had lived on after the +rest of the bronze men had been destroyed. Thrice a day would Talos stride +around the island; his brazen feet were tireless. + + Now Talos saw the _Argo_ drawing near. He took up great rocks and he +hurled them at the heroes, and very quickly they had to draw their ship +out of range. + + They were wearied and their thirst was consuming them. But still that +bronze man stood there ready to sink their ship with the great rocks that +he took up in his hands. Medea stood forward upon the ship, ready to use +her spells against the man of bronze. + + In body and limbs he was made of bronze and in these he was +invulnerable. But beneath a sinew in his ankle there was a vein that ran +up to his neck and that was covered by a thin skin. If that vein were +broken Talos would perish. + + Medea did not know about this vein when she stood forward upon the ship +to use her spells against him. Upon a cliff of Crete, all gleaming, stood +that huge man of bronze. Then, as she was ready to fling her spells +against him, Medea thought upon the words that Arete, the wise queen, had +given her--that she was not to use spells and not to practice against the +life of any one. + + But she knew that there was no impiety in using spells and practicing +against Talos, for Zeus had already doomed all his race. She stood upon +the ship, and with her Magic Song she enchanted him. He whirled round and +round. He struck his ankle against a jutting stone. The vein broke, and +that which was the blood of the bronze man flowed out of him like molten +lead. He stood towering upon the cliff. Like a pine upon a mountaintop +that the woodman had left half hewn through and that a mighty wind pitches +against, Talos stood upon his tireless feet, swaying to and fro. Then, +emptied of all his strength, Minos's man of bronze fell into the Cretan +Sea. + + The heroes landed. That night they lay upon the land of Crete and rested +and refreshed themselves. When dawn came they drew water from a spring, +and once more they went on board the _Argo_. + + + + A day came when the helmsman said, "To-morrow we shall see the shore of +Thessaly, and by sunset we shall be in the harbor of Pagasae. Soon, O +voyagers, we shall be back in the city from which we went to gain the +Golden Fleece." + + Then Jason brought Medea to the front of the ship so that they might +watch together for Thessaly, the homeland. The Mountain Pelion came into +sight. Jason exulted as he looked upon that mountain; again he told Medea +about Chiron, the ancient centaur, and about the days of his youth in the +forests of Pelion. + + The _Argo_ went on; the sun sank, and darkness came on. Never was there +darkness such as there was on that night. They called that night afterward +the Pall of Darkness. To the heroes upon the _Argo_ it seemed as if black +chaos had come over the world again; they knew not whether they were +adrift upon the sea or upon the River of Hades. No star pierced the +darkness nor no beam from the moon. + + [Illustration] + + + After a night that seemed many nights the dawn came. In the sunrise they +saw the land of Thessaly with its mountain, its forests, and its fields. +They hailed each other as if they had met after a long parting. They +raised the mast and unfurled the sail. + + But not toward Pagasae did they go. For now the voice of _Argo_ came to +them, shaking their hearts: Jason and Orpheus, Castor and Polydeuces, +Zetes and Calais, Peleus and Telamon, Theseus, Admetus, Nestor, and +Atalanta, heard the cry of their ship. And the voice of _Argo_ warned them +not to go into the harbor of Pagasae. + + As they stood upon the ship, looking toward Iolcus, sorrow came over all +the heroes, such sorrow as made their hearts nearly break. For long they +stood there in utter numbness. + + Then Admetus spoke--Admetus who was the happiest of all those who went in +quest of the Golden Fleece. "Although we may not go into the harbor of +Pagasae, nor into the city of Iolcus," Admetus said, "still we have come to +the land of Greece. There are other harbors and other cities that we may +go into. And in all the places that we go to we will be honored, for we +have gone through toils and dangers, and we have brought to Greece the +famous Fleece of Gold." + + So Admetus said, and their spirits came back again to the heroes--came +back to all of them save Jason. The rest had other cities to go to, and +fathers and mothers and friends to greet them in other places, but for +Jason there was only Iolcus. + + Medea took his hand, and sorrow for him overcame her. For Medea could +divine what had happened in Iolcus and why it was that the heroes might +not go there. + + + + It was to Corinth that the _Argo_ went. Creon, the king of Corinth, +welcomed them and gave great honor to the heroes who had faced such labors +and such dangers to bring the world's wonder to Greece. + + The Argonauts stayed together until they went to Calydon, to hunt the +boar that ravaged Prince Meleagrus's country. After that they separated, +each one going to his own land. Jason came back to Corinth where Medea +stayed. And in Corinth he had tidings of the happenings in Iolcus. + + King Pelias now ruled more fearfully in Iolcus, having brought down from +the mountains more and fiercer soldiers. And AEson, Jason's father, and +Alcimide, his mother, were now dead, having been slain by King Pelias. + + This Jason heard from men who came into Corinth from Thessaly. And +because of the great army that Pelias had gathered there, Jason might not +yet go into Iolcus, either to exact a vengeance, or to show the people THE +GOLDEN FLEECE that he had gone so far to gain. + + + + + +PART III. THE HEROES OF THE QUEST + + + + +I. Atalanta the Huntress + + +I + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HEY came once more together, the heroes of the quest, to hunt a boar in +Calydon--Jason and Peleus came, Telamon, Theseus, and rough Arcas, Nestor +and Helen's brothers Polydeuces and Castor. And, most noted of all, there +came the Arcadian huntress maid, Atalanta. + + Beautiful they all thought her when they knew her aboard the _Argo_. But +even more beautiful Atalanta seemed to the heroes when she came amongst +them in her hunting gear. Her lovely hair hung in two bands across her +shoulders, and over her breast hung an ivory quiver filled with arrows. +They said that her face with its wide and steady eyes was maidenly for a +boy's, and boyish for a maiden's face. Swiftly she moved with her head +held high, and there was not one amongst the heroes who did not say, "Oh, +happy would that man be whom Atalanta the unwedded would take for her +husband!" + + All the heroes said it, but the one who said it most feelingly was the +prince of Calydon, young Meleagrus. He more than the other heroes felt the +wonder of Atalanta's beauty. + + Now the boar they had come to hunt was a monster boar. It had come into +Calydon and it was laying waste the fields and orchards and destroying the +people's cattle and horses. That boar had been sent into Calydon by an +angry divinity. For when OEneus, the king of the country, was making +sacrifice to the gods in thanksgiving for a bounteous harvest, he had +neglected to make sacrifice to the goddess of the wild things, Artemis. In +her anger Artemis had sent the monster boar to lay waste OEneus's realm. + + It was a monster boar indeed--one as huge as a bull, with tusks as great +as an elephant's; the bristles on its back stood up like spear points, and +the hot breath of the creature withered the growth on the ground. The boar +tore up the corn in the fields and trampled down the vines with their +clusters and heavy bunches of grapes; also it rushed against the cattle +and destroyed them in the fields. And no hounds the huntsmen were able to +bring could stand before it. And so it came to pass that men had to leave +their farms and take refuge behind the walls of the city because of the +ravages of the boar. It was then that the rulers of Calydon sent for the +heroes of the quest to join with them in hunting the monster. + + Calydon itself sent Prince Meleagrus and his two uncles, Plexippus and +Toxeus. They were brothers to Meleagrus's mother, Althaea. Now Althaea was a +woman who had sight to see mysterious things, but who had also a wayward +and passionate heart. Once, after her son Meleagrus was born, she saw the +three Fates sitting by her hearth. They were spinning the threads of her +son's life, and as they spun they sang to each other, "An equal span of +life we give to the newborn child, and to the billet of wood that now +rests above the blaze of the fire." Hearing what the Fates sang and +understanding it Althaea had sprung up from her bed, had seized the billet +of wood, and had taken it out of the fire before the flames had burnt into +it. + + That billet of wood lay in her chest, hidden away. And Meleagrus nor any +one else save Althaea knew of it, nor knew that the prince's life would +last only for the space it would be kept from the burning. On the day of +the hunting he appeared as the strongest and bravest of the youths of +Calydon. And he knew not, poor Meleagrus, that the love for Atalanta that +had sprung into his heart was to bring to the fire the billet of wood on +which his life depended. + + + +II + + As Atalanta went, the bow in her hands, Prince Meleagrus pressed behind +her. Then came Jason and Peleus, Telamon, Theseus and Nestor. Behind them +came Meleagrus's dark-browed uncles, Plexippus and Toxeus. They came to a +forest that covered the side of a mountain. Huntsmen had assembled here +with hounds held in leashes and with nets to hold the rushing quarry. And +when they had all gathered together they went through the forest on the +track of the monster boar. + + It was easy to track the boar, for it had left a broad trail through the +forest. The heroes and the huntsmen pressed on. They came to a marshy +covert where the boar had its lair. There was a thickness of osiers and +willows and tall bullrushes, making a place that it was hard for the +hunters to go through. + + They roused the boar with the blare of horns and it came rushing out. +Foam was on its tusks, and its eyes had in them the blaze of fire. On the +boar came, breaking down the thicket in its rush. But the heroes stood +steadily with the points of their spears toward the monster. + + The hounds were loosed from their leashes and they dashed toward the +boar. The boar slashed them with its tusks and trampled them into the +ground. Jason flung his spear. The spear went wide of the mark. Another, +Arcas, cast his, but the wood, not the point of the spear, struck the +boar, rousing it further. Then its eyes flamed, and like a great stone +shot from a catapult the boar rushed on the huntsmen who were stationed to +the right. In that rush it flung two youths prone upon the ground. + + Then might Nestor have missed his going to Troy and his part in that +story, for the boar swerved around and was upon him in an instant. Using +his spear as a leaping pole he vaulted upward and caught the branches of a +tree as the monster dashed the spear down in its rush. In rage the beast +tore at the trunk of the tree. The heroes might have been scattered at +this moment, for Telamon had fallen, tripped by the roots of a tree, and +Peleus had had to throw himself upon him to pull him out of the way of +danger, if Polydeuces and Castor had not dashed up to their aid. They came +riding upon high white horses, spears in their hands. The brothers cast +their spears, but neither spear struck the monster boar. + + Then the boar turned and was for drawing back into the thicket. They +might have lost it then, for its retreat was impenetrable. But before it +got clear away Atalanta put an arrow to the string, drew the bow to her +shoulder, and let the arrow fly. It struck the boar, and a patch of blood +was seen upon its bristles. Prince Meleagrus shouted out, "O first to +strike the monster! Honor indeed shall you receive for this, Arcadian +maid." + + His uncles were made wroth by this speech, as was another, the Arcadian, +rough Arcas. Arcas dashed forward, holding in his hands a two-headed axe. +"Heroes and huntsmen," he cried, "you shall see how a man's strokes +surpass a girl's." He faced the boar, standing on tiptoe with his axe +raised for the stroke. Meleagrus's uncles shouted to encourage him. But +the boar's tusks tore him before Arcas's axe fell, and the Arcadian was +trampled upon the ground. + + The boar, roused again by Atalanta's arrow, turned on the hunters. Jason +hurled a spear again. It swerved and struck a hound and pinned it to the +ground. Then, speaking the name of Atalanta, Meleagrus sprang before the +heroes and the huntsmen. + + He had two spears in his hands. The first missed and stuck quivering in +the ground. But the second went right through the back of the monster +boar. It whirled round and round, spouting out blood and foam. Meleagrus +pressed on, and drove his hunting knife through the shoulders of the +monster. + + His uncles, Plexippus and Toxeus, were the first to come to where the +monster boar was lying outstretched. "It is well, the deed you have done, +boy," said one; "it is well that none of the strangers to our country slew +the boar. Now will the head and tusks of the monster adorn our hall, and +men will know that the arms of our house can well protect this land." + + But one word only did Meleagrus say, and that word was the name, +"Atalanta." The maiden came and Meleagrus, his spear upon the head, said, +"Take, O fair Arcadian, the spoil of the chase. All know that it was you +who inflicted the first wound upon the boar." + + Plexippus and Toxeus tried to push him away, as if Meleagrus was still a +boy under their tutoring. He shouted to them to stand off, and then he +hacked out the terrible tusks and held them toward Atalanta. + + She would have taken them, for she, who had never looked lovingly upon a +youth, was moved by the beauty and the generosity of Prince Meleagrus. She +would have taken from him the spoil of the chase. But as she held out her +arms Meleagrus's uncles struck them with the poles of their spears. Heavy +marks were made on the maiden's white arms. Madness then possessed +Meleagrus, and he took up his spear and thrust it, first into the body of +Plexippus and then into the body of Toxeus. His thrusts were terrible, for +he was filled with the fierceness of the hunt, and his uncles fell down in +death. + + Then a great horror came over all the heroes. They raised up the bodies +of Plexippus and Toxeus and carried them on their spears away from the +place of the hunting and toward the temple of the gods. Meleagrus crouched +down upon the ground in horror of what he had done. Atalanta stood beside +him, her hand upon his head. + + + +III + + Althaea was in the temple making sacrifice to the gods. She saw men come +in carrying across their spears the bodies of two men. She looked and she +saw that the dead men were her two brothers, Plexippus and Toxeus. + + Then she beat her breast and she filled the temple with the cries of her +lamentation. "Who has slain my brothers? Who has slain my brothers?" she +kept crying out. + + Then she was told that her son Meleagrus had slain her brothers. She had +no tears to shed then, and in a hard voice she asked, "Why did my son slay +Plexippus and Toxeus, his uncles?" + + The one who was wroth with Atalanta, Arcas the Arcadian, came to her and +told her that her brothers had been slain because of a quarrel about the +girl Atalanta. + + "My brothers have been slain because a girl bewitched my son; then +accursed be that son of mine," Althaea cried. She took off the gold-fringed +robe of a priestess, and she put on a black robe of mourning. + + Her brothers, the only sons of her father, had been slain, and for the +sake of a girl. The image of Atalanta came before her, and she felt she +could punish dreadfully her son. But her son was not there to punish; he +was far away, and the girl for whose sake he had killed Plexippus and +Toxeus was with him. + + The rage she had went back into her heart and made her truly mad. "I +gave Meleagrus life when I might have let it go from him with the burning +billet of wood," she cried, "and now he has taken the lives of my +brothers." And then her thought went to the billet of wood that was hidden +in the chest. + + Back to her house she went, and when she went within she saw a fire of +pine knots burning upon the hearth. As she looked upon their burning a +scorching pain went through her. But she went from the hearth, +nevertheless, and into the inner room. There stood the chest that she had +not opened for years. She opened it now, and out of it she took the billet +of wood that had on it the mark of the burning. + + She brought it to the hearth fire. Four times she went to throw it into +the fire, and four times she stayed her hand. The fire was before her, but +it was in her too. She saw the images of her brothers lying dead, and, +saying that he who had slain them should lose his life, she threw the +billet of wood into the fire of pine knots. + + Straightway it caught fire and began to burn. And Althaea cried, "Let him +die, my son, and let naught remain; let all perish with my brothers, even +the kingdom that OEneus, my husband, founded." + + Then she turned away and remained stiffly standing by the hearth, the +life withered up within her. Her daughters came and tried to draw her +away, but they could not--her two daughters, Gorge and Deianira. + + Meleagrus was crouching upon the ground with Atalanta watching beside +him. Now he stood up, and taking her hand he said, "Let me go with you to +the temple of the gods where I shall strive to make atonement for the deed +I have done to-day." + + She went with him. But even as they came to the street of the city a +sharp and a burning pain seized upon Meleagrus. More and more burning it +grew, and weaker and weaker he became. He could not have moved further if +it had not been for the aid of Atalanta. Jason and Peleus lifted him +across the threshold and carried him into the temple of the gods. + + They laid him down with his head upon Atalanta's lap. The pain within +him grew fiercer and fiercer, but at last it died down as the burning +billet of wood sank down into the ashes. The heroes of the quest stood +around, all overcome with woe. In the street they heard the lamentations +for Plexippus and Toxeus, for Prince Meleagrus, and for the passing of the +kingdom founded by OEneus. Atalanta left the temple, and attended by the +two brothers on the white horses, Polydeuces and Castor, she went back to +Arcady. + + + + +II. Peleus and His Bride from the Sea + + +I + + +[Decorative first letter] +_P_RINCE PELEUS came on his ship to a bay on the coast of Thessaly. His +painted ship lay between two great rocks, and from its poop he saw a sight +that enchanted him. Out from the sea, riding on a dolphin, came a lovely +maiden. And by the radiance of her face and limbs Peleus knew her for one +of the immortal goddesses. + + Now Peleus had borne himself so nobly in all things that he had won the +favor of the gods themselves. Zeus, who is highest amongst the gods, had +made this promise to Peleus: he would honor him as no one amongst the sons +of men had been honored before, for he would give him an immortal goddess +to be his bride. + + She who came out of the sea went into a cave that was overgrown with +vines and roses. Peleus looked into the cave and he saw her sleeping upon +skins of the beasts of the sea. His heart was enchanted by the sight, and +he knew that his life would be broken if he did not see this goddess day +after day. So he went back to his ship and he prayed: "O Zeus, now I claim +the promise that you once made to me. Let it be that this goddess come +with me, or else plunge my ship and me beneath the waves of the sea." + + And when Peleus said this he looked over the land and the water for a +sign from Zeus. + + Even then the goddess sleeping in the cave had dreams such as had never +before entered that peaceful resting place of hers. She dreamt that she +was drawn away from the deep and the wide sea. She dreamt that she was +brought to a place that was strange and unfree to her. And as she lay in +the cave, sleeping, tears that might never come into the eyes of an +immortal lay around her heart. + + But Peleus, standing on his painted ship, saw a rainbow touch upon the +sea. He knew by that sign that Iris, the messenger of Zeus, had come down +through the air. Then a strange sight came before his eyes. Out of the sea +rose the head of a man; wrinkled and bearded it was, and the eyes were +very old. Peleus knew that he who was there before him was Nereus, the +ancient one of the sea. + + Said old Nereus: "Thou hast prayed to Zeus, and I am here to speak an +answer to thy prayer. She whom you have looked upon is Thetis, the goddess +of the sea. Very loath will she be to take Zeus's command and wed with +thee. It is her desire to remain in the sea, unwedded, and she has refused +marriage even with one of the immortal gods." + + Then said Peleus, "Zeus promised me an immortal bride. If Thetis may not +be mine I cannot wed any other, goddess or mortal maiden." + + "Then thou thyself wilt have to master Thetis," said Nereus, the wise +one of the sea. "If she is mastered by thee, she cannot go back to the +sea. She will strive with all her strength and all her wit to escape from +thee; but thou must hold her no matter what she does, and no matter how +she shows herself. When thou hast seen her again as thou didst see her at +first, thou wilt know that thou hast mastered her." And when he had said +this to Peleus, Nereus, the ancient one of the sea, went under the waves. + + + +II + + With his hero's heart beating more than ever it had beaten yet, Peleus +went into the cave. Kneeling beside her he looked down upon the goddess. +The dress she wore was like green and silver mail. Her face and limbs were +pearly, but through them came the radiance that belongs to the immortals. + + He touched the hair of the goddess of the sea, the yellow hair that was +so long that it might cover her all over. As he touched her hair she +started up, wakening suddenly out of her sleep. His hands touched her +hands and held them. Now he knew that if he should loose his hold upon her +she would escape from him into the depths of the sea, and that thereafter +no command from the immortals would bring her to him. + + She changed into a white bird that strove to bear itself away. Peleus +held to its wings and struggled with the bird. She changed and became a +tree. Around the trunk of the tree Peleus clung. She changed once more, +and this time her form became terrible: a spotted leopard she was now, +with burning eyes; but Peleus held to the neck of the fierce-appearing +leopard and was not affrighted by the burning eyes. Then she changed and +became as he had seen her first--a lovely maiden, with the brow of a +goddess, and with long yellow hair. + + But now there was no radiance in her face or in her limbs. She looked +past Peleus, who held her, and out to the wide sea. "Who is he," she +cried, "who has been given this mastery over me?" + + Then said the hero: "I am Peleus, and Zeus has given me the mastery over +thee. Wilt thou come with me, Thetis? Thou art my bride, given me by him +who is highest amongst the gods, and if thou wilt come with me, thou wilt +always be loved and reverenced by me." + + "Unwillingly I leave the sea," she cried, "unwillingly I go with thee, +Peleus." + + But life in the sea was not for her any more now that she was mastered. +She went to Peleus's ship and she went to Phthia, his country. And when +the hero and the sea goddess were wedded the immortal gods and goddesses +came to their hall and brought the bride and the bridegroom wondrous +gifts. The three sisters who are called the Fates came also. These wise +and ancient women said that the son born of the marriage of Peleus and +Thetis would be a man greater than Peleus himself. + + + +III + + Now although a son was born to her, and although this son had something +of the radiance of the immortals about him, Thetis remained forlorn and +estranged. Nothing that her husband did was pleasing to her. Prince Peleus +was in fear that the wildness of the sea would break out in her, and that +some great harm would be wrought in his house. + + One night he wakened suddenly. He saw the fire upon his hearth and he +saw a figure standing by the fire. It was Thetis, his wife. The fire was +blazing around something that she held in her hands. And while she stood +there she was singing to herself a strange-sounding song. + + And then he saw what Thetis held in her hands and what the fire was +blazing around; it was the child, Achilles. + + Prince Peleus sprang from the bed and caught Thetis around the waist and +lifted her and the child away from the blazing fire. He put them both upon +the bed, and he took from her the child that she held by the heel. His +heart was wild within him, for the thought that wildness had come over his +wife, and that she was bent upon destroying their child. But Thetis looked +on him from under those goddess brows of hers and she said to him: "By the +divine power that I still possess I would have made the child +invulnerable; but the heel by which I held him has not been endued by the +fire and in that place some day he may be stricken. All that the fire +covered is invulnerable, and no weapon that strikes there can destroy his +life. His heel I cannot now make invulnerable, for now the divine power is +gone out of me." + + When she said this Thetis looked full upon her husband, and never had +she seemed so unforgiving as she was then. All the divine radiance that +had remained with her was gone from her now, and she seemed a white-faced +and bitter-thinking woman. And when Peleus saw that such a great +bitterness faced him he fled from his house. + + He traveled far from his own land, and first he went to the help of +Heracles, who was then in the midst of his mighty labors. Heracles was +building a wall around a city. Peleus labored, helping him to raise the +wall for King Laomedon. Then, one night, as he walked by the wall he had +helped to build, he heard voices speaking out of the earth. And one voice +said: "Why has Peleus striven so hard to raise a wall that his son shall +fight hard to overthrow?" No voice replied. The wall was built, and Peleus +departed. The city around which the wall was built was the great city of +Troy. + + In whatever place he went Peleus was followed by the hatred of the +people of the sea, and above all by the hatred of the nymph who is called +Psamathe. Far, far from his own country he went, and at last he came to a +country of bright valleys that was ruled over by a kindly king--by Ceyx, +who was called the Son of the Morning Star. + + Bright of face and kindly and peaceable in all his ways was this king, +and kindly and peaceable was the land that he ruled over. And when Prince +Peleus went to him to beg for his protection, and to beg for unfurrowed +fields where he might graze his cattle, Ceyx raised him up from where he +knelt. "Peaceable and plentiful is the land," he said, "and all who come +here may have peace and a chance to earn their food. Live where you will, +O stranger, and take the unfurrowed fields by the seashore for pasture for +your cattle." + + Peace came into Peleus's heart as he looked into the untroubled face of +Ceyx, and as he looked over the bright valleys of the land he had come +into. He brought his cattle to the unfurrowed fields by the seashore and +he left herdsmen there to tend them. And as he walked along these bright +valleys he thought upon his wife and upon his son Achilles, and there were +gentle feelings in his breast. But then he thought upon the enmity of +Psamathe, the woman of the sea, and great trouble came over him again. He +felt he could not stay in the palace of the kindly king. He went where his +herdsmen camped and he lived with them. But the sea was very near and its +sound tormented him, and as the days went by, Peleus, wild looking and +shaggy, became more and more unlike the hero whom once the gods themselves +had honored. + + One day as he was standing near the palace having speech with the king, +a herdsman ran to him and cried out: "Peleus, Peleus, a dread thing has +happened in the unfurrowed fields." And when he had got his breath the +herdsman told of the thing that had happened. + + They had brought the herd down to the sea. Suddenly, from the marshes +where the sea and land came together, a monstrous beast rushed out upon +the herd; like a wolf this beast was, but with mouth and jaws that were +more terrible than a wolf's even. The beast seized upon the cattle. Yet it +was not hunger that made it fierce, for the beasts that it killed it tore, +but did not devour. It rushed on and on, killing and tearing more and more +of the herd. "Soon," said the herdsman, "it will have destroyed all in the +herd, and then it will not spare to destroy the other flocks and herds +that are in the land." + + Peleus was stricken to hear that his herd was being destroyed, but more +stricken to know that the land of a friendly king would be ravaged, and +ravaged on his account. For he knew that the terrible beast that had come +from where the sea and the land joined had been sent by Psamathe. He went +up on the tower that stood near the king's palace. He was able to look out +on the sea and able to look over all the land. And looking across the +bright valleys he saw the dread beast. He saw it rush through his own +mangled cattle and fall upon the herds of the kindly king. + + He looked toward the sea and he prayed to Psamathe to spare the land +that he had come to. But, even as he prayed, he knew that Psamathe would +not harken to him. Then he made a prayer to Thetis, to his wife who had +seemed so unforgiving. He prayed her to deal with Psamathe so that the +land of Ceyx would not be altogether destroyed. + + As he looked from the tower he saw the king come forth with arms in his +hands for the slaying of the terrible beast. Peleus felt fear for the life +of the kindly king. Down from the tower he came, and taking up his spear +he went with Ceyx. + + Soon, in one of the brightest of the valleys, they came upon the beast; +they came between it and a herd of silken-coated cattle. Seeing the men it +rushed toward them with blood and foam upon its jaws. Then Peleus knew +that the spears they carried would be of little use against the raging +beast. His only thought was to struggle with it so that the king might be +able to save himself. + + Again he lifted up his hands and prayed to Thetis to draw away +Psamathe's enmity. The beast rushed toward them; but suddenly it stopped. +The bristles upon its body seemed to stiffen. The gaping jaws became +fixed. The hounds that were with them dashed upon the beast, but then fell +back with yelps of disappointment. And when Peleus and Ceyx came to where +it stood they found that the monstrous beast had been turned into stone. + + And a stone it remains in that bright valley, a wonder to all the men of +Ceyx's land. The country was spared the ravages of the beast. And the +heart of Peleus was uplifted to think that Thetis had harkened to his +prayer and had prevailed upon Psamathe to forego her enmity. Not +altogether unforgiving was his wife to him. + + That day he went from the land of the bright valleys, from the land +ruled over by the kindly Ceyx, and he came back to rugged Phthia, his own +country. When he came near his hall he saw two at the doorway awaiting +him. Thetis stood there, and the child Achilles was by her side. The +radiance of the immortals was in her face no longer, but there was a glow +there, a glow of welcome for the hero Peleus. And thus Peleus, long +tormented by the enmity of the sea-born ones, came back to the wife he had +won from the sea. + + + + +III. Theseus and the Minotaur + + +I + + +[Decorative first letter] +_T_HEREAFTER Theseus made up his mind to go in search of his father, the +unknown king, and Medea, the wise woman, counseled him to go to Athens. +After the hunt in Calydon he set forth. On his way he fought with and slew +two robbers who harassed countries and treated people unjustly. + + The first was Sinnias. He was a robber who slew men cruelly by tying +them to strong branches of trees and letting the branches fly apart. On +him Theseus had no mercy. The second was a robber also, Procrustes: he had +a great iron bed on which he made his captives lie; if they were too long +for that bed he chopped pieces off them, and if they were too short he +stretched out their bodies with terrible racks. On him, likewise, Theseus +had no mercy; he slew Procrustes and gave liberty to his captives. + + The King of Athens at the time was named AEgeus. He was father of +Theseus, but neither Theseus nor he knew that this was so. AEthra was his +mother, and she was the daughter of the King of Troezen. Before Theseus was +born his father left a great sword under a stone, telling AEthra that the +boy was to have the sword when he was able to move that stone away. + + King AEgeus was old and fearful now: there were wars and troubles in the +city; besides, there was in his palace an evil woman, a witch, to whom the +king listened. This woman heard that a proud and fearless young man had +come into Athens, and she at once thought to destroy him. + + So the witch spoke to the fearful king, and she made him believe that +this stranger had come into Athens to make league with his enemies and +destroy him. Such was her power over AEgeus that she was able to persuade +him to invite the stranger youth to a feast in the palace, and to give him +a cup that would have poison in it. + + Theseus came to the palace. He sat down to the banquet with the king. +But before the cup was brought something moved him to stand up and draw +forth the sword that he carried. Fearfully the king looked upon the sword. +Then he saw the heavy ivory hilt with the curious carving on it, and he +knew that this was the sword that he had once laid under the stone near +the palace of the King of Troezen. He questioned Theseus as to how he had +come by the sword, and Theseus told him how AEthra, his mother, had shown +him where it was hidden, and how he had been able to take it from under +the stone before he was grown a youth. More and more AEgeus questioned him, +and he came to know that the youth before him was his son indeed. He +dashed down the cup that had been brought to the table, and he shook all +over with the thought of how near he had been to a terrible crime. The +witchwoman watched all that passed; mounting on a car drawn by dragons she +made flight from Athens. + + And now the people of the city, knowing that it was he who had slain the +robbers Sinnias and Procrustes, rejoiced to have Theseus amongst them. +When he appeared as their prince they rejoiced still more. Soon he was +able to bring to an end the wars in the city and the troubles that +afflicted Athens. + + + +II + + The greatest king in the world at that time was Minos, King of Crete. +Minos had sent his son to Athens to make peace and friendship between his +kingdom and the kingdom of King AEgeus. But the people of Athens slew the +son of King Minos, and because AEgeus had not given him the protection that +a king should have given a stranger come upon such an errand he was deemed +to have some part in the guilt of his slaying. + + Minos, the great king, was wroth, and he made war on Athens, wreaking +great destruction upon the country and the people. Moreover, the gods +themselves were wroth with Athens; they punished the people with famine, +making even the rivers dry up. The Athenians went to the oracle and asked +Apollo what they should do to have their guilt taken away. Apollo made +answer that they should make peace with Minos and fulfill all his demands. + + All this Theseus now heard, learning for the first time that behind the +wars and troubles in Athens there was a deed of evil that AEgeus, his +father, had some guilt in. + + The demands that King Minos made upon Athens were terrible. He demanded +that the Athenians should send into Crete every year seven youths and +seven maidens as a price for the life of his son. And these youths and +maidens were not to meet death merely, nor were they to be reared in +slavery--they were to be sent that a monster called the Minotaur might +devour them. + + Youths and maidens had been sent, and for the third time the messengers +of King Minos were coming to Athens. The tribute for the Minotaur was to +be chosen by lot. The fathers and mothers were in fear and trembling, for +each man and woman thought that his or her son or daughter would be taken +for a prey for the Minotaur. + + They came together, the people of Athens, and they drew the lots +fearfully. And on the throne above them all sat their pale-faced king, +AEgeus, the father of Theseus. + + Before the first lot was drawn Theseus turned to all of them and said, +"People of Athens, it is not right that your children should go and that +I, who am the son of King AEgeus, should remain behind. Surely, if any of +the youths of Athens should face the dread monster of Crete, I should face +it. There is one lot that you may leave undrawn. I will go to Crete." + + His father, on hearing the speech of Theseus, came down from his throne +and pleaded with him, begging him not to go. But the will of Theseus was +set; he would go with the others and face the Minotaur. And he reminded +his father of how the people had complained, saying that if AEgeus had done +the duty of a king, Minos's son would not have been slain and the tribute +to the Minotaur would have not been demanded. It was the passing about of +such complaints that had led to the war and troubles that Theseus found on +his coming to Athens. + + Also Theseus told his father and told the people that he had hope in his +hands--that the hands that were strong enough to slay Sinnias and +Procrustes, the giant robbers, would be strong enough to slay the dread +monster of Crete. His father at last consented to his going. And Theseus +was able to make the people willing to believe that he would be able to +overcome the Minotaur, and so put an end to the terrible tribute that was +being exacted from them. + + With six other youths and seven maidens Theseus went on board of the +ship that every year brought to Crete the grievous tribute. This ship +always sailed with black sails. But before it sailed this time King AEgeus +gave to Nausitheus, the master of the ship, a white sail to take with him. +And he begged Theseus, that in case he should be able to overcome the +monster, to hoist the white sail he had given. Theseus promised he would +do this. His father would watch for the return of the ship, and if the +sail were black he would know that the Minotaur had dealt with his son as +it had dealt with the other youths who had gone from Athens. And if the +sail were white AEgeus would have indeed cause to rejoice. + + + +III + + And now the black-sailed ship had come to Crete, and the youths and +maidens of Athens looked from its deck on Knossos, the marvelous city that +Daedalus the builder had built for King Minos. And they saw the palace of +the king, the red and black palace in which was the labyrinth, made also +by Daedalus, where the dread Minotaur was hidden. + + In fear they looked upon the city and the palace. But not in fear did +Theseus look, but in wonder at the magnificence of it all--the harbor with +its great steps leading up into the city, the far-spreading palace all red +and black, and the crowds of ships with their white and red sails. They +were brought through the city of Knossos to the palace of the king. And +there Theseus looked upon Minos. In a great red chamber on which was +painted the sign of the axe, King Minos sat. + + On a low throne he sat, holding in his hand a scepter on which a bird +was perched. Not in fear, but steadily, did Theseus look upon the king. +And he saw that Minos had the face of one who has thought long upon +troublesome things, and that his eyes were strangely dark and deep. The +king noted that the eyes of Theseus were upon him, and he made a sign with +his head to an attendant and the attendant laid his hand upon him and +brought Theseus to stand beside the king. Minos questioned him as to who +he was and what lands he had been in, and when he learned that Theseus was +the son of AEgeus, the King of Athens, he said the name of his son who had +been slain, "Androgeus, Androgeus," over and over again, and then spoke no +more. + + While he stood there beside the king there came into the chamber three +maidens; one of them, Theseus knew, was the daughter of Minos. Not like +the maidens of Greece were the princess and her two attendants: instead of +having on flowing garments and sandals and wearing their hair bound, they +had on dresses of gleaming material that were tight at the waists and +bell-shaped; the hair that streamed on their shoulders was made wavy; they +had on high shoes of a substance that shone like glass. Never had Theseus +looked upon maidens who were so strange. + + They spoke to the king in the strange Cretan language; then Minos's +daughter made reverence to her father, and they went from the chamber. +Theseus watched them as they went through a long passage, walking slowly +on their high-heeled shoes. + + Through the same passage the youths and maidens of Athens were afterward +brought. They came into a great hall. The walls were red and on them were +paintings in black--pictures of great bulls with girls and slender youths +struggling with them. It was a place for games and shows, and Theseus +stood with the youths and maidens of Athens and with the people of the +palace and watched what was happening. + + They saw women charming snakes; then they saw a boxing match, and +afterward they all looked on a bout of wrestling. Theseus looked past the +wrestlers and he saw, at the other end of the hall, the daughter of King +Minos and her two attendant maidens. + + One broad-shouldered and bearded man overthrew all the wrestlers who +came to grips with him. He stood there boastfully, and Theseus was made +angry by the man's arrogance. Then, when no other wrestler would come +against him, he turned to leave the arena. + + But Theseus stood in his way and pushed him back. The boastful man laid +hands upon him and pulled him into the arena. He strove to throw Theseus +as he had thrown the others; but he soon found that the youth from Greece +was a wrestler, too, and that he would have to strive hard to overthrow +him. + + [Illustration] + + + More eagerly than they had watched anything else the people of the +palace and the youths and maidens of Athens watched the bout between +Theseus and the lordly wrestler. Those from Athens who looked upon him now +thought that they had never seen Theseus look so tall and so conquering +before; beside the slender, dark-haired people of Crete he looked like a +statue of one of the gods. + + Very adroit was the Cretan wrestler, and Theseus had to use all his +strength to keep upon his feet; but soon he mastered the tricks that the +wrestler was using against him. Then the Cretan left aside his tricks and +began to use all his strength to throw Theseus. + + Steadily Theseus stood and the Cretan wrestler was spent and gasping in +the effort to throw him. Then Theseus made him feel his grip. He bent him +backward, and then, using all his strength suddenly, forced him to the +ground. All were filled with wonder at the strength and power of this +youth from overseas. + + Food and wine were given the youths and maidens of Athens, and they with +Theseus were let wander through the grounds of the palace. But they could +make no escape, for guards followed them and the way to the ships was +filled with strangers who would not let them pass. They talked to each +other about the Minotaur, and there was fear in every word they said. But +Theseus went from one to the other, telling them that perhaps there was a +way by which he could come to the monster and destroy it. And the youths +and maidens, remembering how he had overthrown the lordly wrestler, were +comforted a little, thinking that Theseus might indeed be able to destroy +the Minotaur and so save all of them. + + + +IV + + Theseus was awakened by some one touching him. He arose and he saw a +dark-faced servant, who beckoned to him. He left the little chamber where +he had been sleeping, and then he saw outside one who wore the strange +dress of the Cretans. + + When Theseus looked full upon her he saw that she was none other than +the daughter of King Minos. "I am Ariadne," she said, "and, O youth from +Greece, I have come to save you from the dread Minotaur." + + He looked upon Ariadne's strange face with its long, dark eyes, and he +wondered how this girl could think that she could save him and save the +youths and maidens of Athens from the Minotaur. Her hand rested upon his +arm, and she led him into the chamber where Minos had sat. It was lighted +now by many little lamps. + + "I will show the way of escape to you," said Ariadne. + + Then Theseus looked around, and he saw that none of the other youths and +maidens were near them, and he looked on Ariadne again, and he saw that +the strange princess had been won to help him, and to help him only. + + "Who will show the way of escape to the others?" asked Theseus. + + "Ah," said the Princess Ariadne, "for the others there is no way of +escape." + + "Then," said Theseus, "I will not leave the youths and maidens of Athens +who came with me to Crete to be devoured by the Minotaur." + + "Ah, Theseus," said Ariadne, "they cannot escape the Minotaur. One only +may escape, and I want you to be that one. I saw you when you wrestled +with Deucalion, our great wrestler, and since then I have longed to save +you." + + "I have come to slay the Minotaur," said Theseus, "and I cannot hold my +life as my own until I have slain it." + + Said Ariadne, "If you could see the Minotaur, Theseus, and if you could +measure its power, you would know that you are not the one to slay it. I +think that only Talos, that giant who was all of bronze, could have slain +the Minotaur." + + "Princess," said Theseus, "can you help me to come to the Minotaur and +look upon it so that I can know for certainty whether this hand of mine +can slay the monster?" + + "I can help you to come to the Minotaur and look upon it," said Ariadne. + + "Then help me, princess," cried Theseus; "help me to come to the +Minotaur and look upon it, and help me, too, to get back the sword that I +brought with me to Crete." + + "Your sword will not avail you against the Minotaur," said Ariadne; +"when you look upon the monster you will know that it is not for your hand +to slay." + + "Oh, but bring me my sword, princess," cried Theseus, and his hands went +out to her in supplication. + + "I will bring you your sword," said she. + + She took up a little lamp and went through a doorway, leaving Theseus +standing by the low throne in the chamber of Minos. Then after a little +while she came back, bringing with her Theseus's great ivory-hilted sword. + + "It is a great sword," she said; "I marked it before because it is your +sword, Theseus. But even this great sword will not avail against the +Minotaur." + + "Show me the way to come to the Minotaur, O Ariadne," cried Theseus. + + He knew that she did not think that he would deem himself able to strive +with the Minotaur, and that when he looked upon the dread monster he would +return to her and then take the way of his escape. + + She took his hand and led him from the chamber of Minos. She was not +tall, but she stood straight and walked steadily, and Theseus saw in her +something of the strange majesty that he had seen in Minos the king. + + [Illustration] + + + They came to high bronze gates that opened into a vault. "Here," said +Ariadne, "the labyrinth begins. Very devious is the labyrinth, built by +Daedalus, in which the Minotaur is hidden, and without the clue none could +find a way through the passages. But I will give you the clue so that you +may look upon the Minotaur and then come back to me. Theseus, now I put +into your hand the thread that will guide you through all the windings of +the labyrinth. And outside the place where the Minotaur is you will find +another thread to guide you back." + + A cone was on the ground and it had a thread fastened to it. Ariadne +gave Theseus the thread and the cone to wind it around. The thread as he +held it and wound it around the cone would bring him through all the +windings and turnings of the labyrinth. + + She left him, and Theseus went on. Winding the thread around the cone he +went along a wide passage in the vault. He turned and came into a passage +that was very long. He came to a place in this passage where a door seemed +to be, but within the frame of the doorway there was only a blank wall. +But below that doorway there was a flight of six steps, and down these +steps the thread led him. On he went, and he crossed the marks that he +himself had made in the dust, and he thought he must have come back to the +place where he had parted from Ariadne. He went on, and he saw before him +a flight of steps. The thread did not lead up the steps; it led into the +most winding of passages. So sudden were the turnings in it that one could +not see three steps before one. He was dazed by the turnings of this +passage, but still he went on. He went up winding steps and then along a +narrow wall. The wall overhung a broad flight of steps, and Theseus had to +jump to them. Down the steps he went and into a wide, empty hall that had +doorways to the right hand and to the left hand. Here the thread had its +end. It was fastened to a cone that lay on the ground, and beside this +cone was another--the clue that was to bring him back. + + Now Theseus, knowing he was in the very center of the labyrinth, looked +all around for sight of the Minotaur. There was no sight of the monster +here. He went to all the doors and pushed at them, and some opened and +some remained fast. The middle door opened. As it did Theseus felt around +him a chilling draft of air. + + That chilling draft was from the breathing of the monster. Theseus then +saw the Minotaur. It lay on the ground, a strange, bull-faced thing. + + When the thought came to Theseus that he would have to fight that +monster alone and in that hidden and empty place all delight left him; he +grew like a stone; he groaned, and it seemed to him that he heard the +voice of Ariadne calling him back. He could find his way back through the +labyrinth and come to her. He stepped back, and the door closed on the +Minotaur, the dread monster of Crete. + + In an instant Theseus pushed the door again. He stood within the hall +where the Minotaur was, and the heavy door shut behind him. He looked +again on that dark, bull-faced thing. It reared up as a horse rears and +Theseus saw that it would crash down on him and tear him with its dragon +claws. With a great bound he went far away from where the monster crashed +down. Then Theseus faced it: he saw its thick lips and its slobbering +mouth; he saw that its skin was thick and hard. + + [Illustration] + + + He drew near the monster, his sword in his hand. He struck at its eyes, +and his sword made a great dint. But no blood came, for the Minotaur was a +bloodless monster. From its mouth and nostrils came a draft that covered +him with a chilling slime. + + Then it rushed upon him and overthrew him, and Theseus felt its terrible +weight upon him. But he thrust his sword upward, and it reared up again, +screaming with pain. Theseus drew himself away, and then he saw it +searching around and around, and he knew he had made it sightless. Then it +faced him; all the more fearful it was because from its wounds no blood +came. + + Anger flowed into Theseus when he saw the monster standing frightfully +before him; he thought of all the youths and maidens that this bloodless +thing had destroyed, and all the youths and maidens that it would destroy +if he did not slay it now. Angrily he rushed upon it with his great sword. +It clawed and tore him, and it opened wide its most evil mouth as if to +draw him into it. But again he sprang at it; he thrust his great sword +through its neck, and he left his sword there. + + With the last of his strength he pulled open the heavy door and he went +out from the hall where the Minotaur was. He picked up the thread and he +began to wind it as he had wound the other thread on his way down. On he +went, through passage after passage, through chamber after chamber. His +mind was dizzy, and he had little thought for the way he was going. His +wounds and the chill that the monster had breathed into him and his horror +of the fearful and bloodless thing made his mind almost forsake him. He +kept the thread in his hand and he wound it as he went on through the +labyrinth. He stumbled and the thread broke. He went on for a few steps +and then he went back to find the thread that had fallen out of his hands. +In an instant he was in a part of the labyrinth that he had not been in +before. + + He walked a long way, and then he came on his own footmarks as they +crossed themselves in the dust. He pushed open a door and came into the +air. He was now by the outside wall of the palace, and he saw birds flying +by him. He leant against the wall of the palace, thinking that he would +strive no more to find his way through the labyrinth. + + + +V + + That day the youths and maidens of Athens were brought through the +labyrinth and to the hall where the Minotaur was. They went through the +passages weeping and lamenting. Some cried out for Theseus, and some said +that Theseus had deserted them. The heavy door was opened. Then those who +were with the youths and maidens saw the Minotaur lying stark and stiff +with Theseus's sword through its neck. They shouted and blew trumpets and +the noise of their trumpets filled the labyrinth. Then they turned back, +bringing the youths and maidens with them, and a whisper went through the +whole palace that the Minotaur had been slain. The youths and maidens were +lodged in the chamber where Minos gave his judgments. + + + +VI + + Theseus, wearied and overcome, fell into a deep sleep by the wall of the +palace. He awakened with a feeling that the claw of the Minotaur was upon +him. There were stars in the sky above the high palace wall, and he saw a +dark-robed and ancient man standing beside him. Theseus knew that this was +Daedalus, the builder of the palace and the labyrinth. Daedalus called and a +slim youth came--Icarus, the son of Daedalus. Minos had set father and son +apart from the rest of the palace, and Theseus had come near the place +where they were confined. Icarus came and brought him to a winding +stairway and showed him a way to go. + + A dark-faced servant met and looked him full in the face. Then, as if he +knew that Theseus was the one whom he had been searching for, he led him +into a little chamber where there were three maidens. One started up and +came to him quickly, and Theseus again saw Ariadne. + + She hid him in the chamber of the palace where her singing birds were, +and she would come and sit beside him, asking about his own country and +telling him that she would go with him there. "I showed you how you might +come to the Minotaur," she said, "and you went there and you slew the +monster, and now I may not stay in my father's palace." + + And Theseus thought all the time of his return, and of how he might +bring the youths and maidens of Athens back to their own people. For +Ariadne, that strange princess, was not dear to him as Medea was dear to +Jason, or Atalanta the Huntress to young Meleagrus. + + One sunset she led him to a roof of the palace and she showed him the +harbor with the ships, and she showed him the ship with the black sail +that had brought him to Knossos. She told him she would take him aboard +that ship, and that the youths and maidens of Athens could go with them. +She would bring to the master of the ship the seal of King Minos, and the +master, seeing it, would set sail for whatever place Theseus desired to +go. + + Then did she become dear to Theseus because of her great kindness, and +he kissed her eyes and swore that he would not go from the palace unless +she would come with him to his own country. The strange princess smiled +and wept as if she doubted what he said. Nevertheless, she led him from +the roof and down into one of the palace gardens. He waited there, and the +youths and maidens of Athens were led into the garden, all wearing cloaks +that hid their forms and faces. Young Icarus led them from the grounds of +the palace and down to the ships. And Ariadne went with them, bringing +with her the seal of her father, King Minos. + + And when they came on board of the black-sailed ship they showed the +seal to the master, Nausitheus, and the master of the ship let the sail +take the breeze of the evening, and so Theseus went away from Crete. + + + +VII + + To the Island of Naxos they sailed. And when they reached that place the +master of the ship, thinking that what had been done was not in accordance +with the will of King Minos, stayed the ship there. He waited until other +ships came from Knossos. And when they came they brought word that Minos +would not slay nor demand back Theseus nor the youths and maidens of +Athens. His daughter, Ariadne, he would have back, to reign with him over +Crete. + + Then Ariadne left the black-sailed ship, and went back to Crete from +Naxos. Theseus let the princess go, although he might have struggled to +hold her. But more strange than dear did Ariadne remain to Theseus. + + And all this time his father, AEgeus, stayed on the tower of his palace, +watching for the return of the ship that had sailed for Knossos. The life +of the king wasted since the departure of Theseus, and now it was but a +thread. Every day he watched for the return of the ship, hoping against +hope that Theseus would return alive to him. Then a ship came into the +harbor. It had black sails. AEgeus did not know that Theseus was aboard of +it, and that Theseus in the hurry of his flight and in the sadness of his +parting from Ariadne had not thought of taking out the white sail that his +father had given to Nausitheus. + + Joyously Theseus sailed into the harbor, having slain the Minotaur and +lifted for ever the tribute put upon Athens. Joyously he sailed into the +harbor, bringing back to their parents the youths and maidens of Athens. +But the king, his father, saw the black sails on his ship, and straightway +the thread of his life broke, and he died on the roof of the tower which +he had built to look out on the sea. + + Theseus landed on the shore of his own country. He had the ship drawn up +on the beach and he made sacrifices of thanksgiving to the gods. Then he +sent messengers to the city to announce his return. They went toward the +city, these joyful messengers, but when they came to the gate they heard +the sounds of mourning and lamentation. The mourning and the lamentation +were for the death of the king, Theseus's father. They hurried back and +they came to Theseus where he stood on the beach. They brought a wreath of +victory for him, but as they put it into his hand they told him of the +death of his father. Then Theseus left the wreath on the ground, and he +wept for the death of AEgeus--of AEgeus, the hero, who had left the sword +under the stone for him before he was born. + + The men and women who came to the beach wept and laughed as they clasped +in their arms the children brought back to them. And Theseus stood there, +silent and bowed; the memory of his last moments with his father, of his +fight with the Minotaur, of his parting with Ariadne--all flowed back upon +him. He stood there with head bowed, the man who might not put upon his +brows the wreath of victory that had been brought to him. + + [Illustration] + + + +VIII + + There had come into the city a youth of great valor whose name was +Peirithous: from a far country he had come, filled with a desire of +meeting Theseus, whose fame had come to him. The youth was in Athens at +the time Theseus returned. He went down to the beach with the townsfolk, +and he saw Theseus standing alone with his head bowed down. He went to him +and he spoke, and Theseus lifted his head and he saw before him a young +man of strength and beauty. He looked upon him, and the thought of high +deeds came into his mind again. He wanted this young man to be his comrade +in dangers and upon quests. And Peirithous looked upon Theseus, and he +felt that he was greater and nobler than he had thought. They became +friends and sworn brothers, and together they went into far countries. + + Now there was in Epirus a savage king who had a very fair daughter. He +had named this daughter Persephone, naming her thus to show that she was +held as fast by him as that other Persephone was held who ruled in the +Underworld. No man might see her, and no man might wed her. But Peirithous +had seen the daughter of this king, and he desired above all things to +take her from her father and make her his wife. He begged Theseus to help +him enter that king's palace and carry off the maiden. + + So they came to Epirus, Theseus and Peirithous, and they entered the +king's palace, and they heard the bay of the dread hound that was there to +let no one out who had once come within the walls. Suddenly the guards of +the savage king came upon them, and they took Theseus and Peirithous and +they dragged them down into dark dungeons. + + Two great chairs of stone were there, and Theseus and Peirithous were +left seated in them. And the magic powers that were in the chairs of stone +were such that the heroes could not lift themselves out of them. There +they stayed, held in the great stone chairs in the dungeons of that savage +king. + + Then it so happened that Heracles came into the palace of the king. The +harsh king feasted Heracles and abated his savagery before him. But he +could not forbear boasting of how he had trapped the heroes who had come +to carry off Persephone. And he told how they could not get out of the +stone chairs and how they were held captive in his dark dungeon. Heracles +listened, his heart full of pity for the heroes from Greece who had met +with such a harsh fate. And when the king mentioned that one of the heroes +was Theseus, Heracles would feast no more with him until he had promised +that the one who had been his comrade on the _Argo_ would be let go. + + The king said he would give Theseus his liberty if Heracles would carry +the stone chair on which he was seated out of the dungeon and into the +outer world. Then Heracles went down into the dungeon. He found the two +heroes in the great chairs of stone. But one of them, Peirithous, no +longer breathed. Heracles took the great chair of stone that Theseus was +seated in, and he carried it up, up, from the dungeon and out into the +world. It was a heavy task even for Heracles. He broke the chair in +pieces, and Theseus stood up, released. + + Thereafter the world was before Theseus. He went with Heracles, and in +the deeds that Heracles was afterward to accomplish Theseus shared. + + + + +IV. The Life and Labors of Heracles + + +I + + +[Decorative first letter] +_H_ERACLES was the son of Zeus, but he was born into the family of a +mortal king. When he was still a youth, being overwhelmed by a madness +sent upon him by one of the goddesses, he slew the children of his brother +Iphicles. Then, coming to know what he had done, sleep and rest went from +him: he went to Delphi, to the shrine of Apollo, to be purified of his +crime. + + At Delphi, at the shrine of Apollo, the priestess purified him, and when +she had purified him she uttered this prophecy: "From this day forth thy +name shall be, not Alcides, but Heracles. Thou shalt go to Eurystheus, thy +cousin, in Mycenae, and serve him in all things. When the labors he shall +lay upon thee are accomplished, and when the rest of thy life is lived +out, thou shalt become one of the immortals." Heracles, on hearing these +words, set out for Mycenae. + + He stood before his cousin who hated him; he, a towering man, stood +before a king who sat there weak and trembling. And Heracles said, "I have +come to take up the labors that you will lay upon me; speak now, +Eurystheus, and tell me what you would have me do." + + Eurystheus, that weak king, looking on the young man who stood as tall +and as firm as one of the immortals, had a heart that was filled with +hatred. He lifted up his head and he said with a frown: + + "There is a lion in Nemea that is stronger and more fierce than any lion +known before. Kill that lion, and bring the lion's skin to me that I may +know that you have truly performed your task." So Eurystheus said, and +Heracles, with neither shield nor arms, went forth from the king's palace +to seek and to combat the dread lion of Nemea. + + He went on until he came into a country where the fences were overthrown +and the fields wasted and the houses empty and fallen. He went on until he +came to the waste around that land: there he came on the trail of the +lion; it led up the side of a mountain, and Heracles, without shield or +arms, followed the trail. + + [Illustration] + + + He heard the roar of the lion. Looking up he saw the beast standing at +the mouth of a cavern, huge and dark against the sunset. The lion roared +three times, and then it went within the cavern. + + Around the mouth were strewn the bones of creatures it had killed and +carried there. Heracles looked upon them when he came to the cavern. He +went within. Far into the cavern he went, and then he came to where he saw +the lion. It was sleeping. + + Heracles viewed the terrible bulk of the lion, and then he looked upon +his own knotted hands and arms. He remembered that it was told of him +that, while still a child of eight months, he had strangled a great +serpent that had come to his cradle to devour him. He had grown and his +strength had grown too. + + So he stood, measuring his strength and the size of the lion. The breath +from its mouth and nostrils came heavily to him as the beast slept, gorged +with its prey. Then the lion yawned. Heracles sprang on it and put his +great hands upon its throat. No growl came out of its mouth, but the great +eyes blazed while the terrible paws tore at Heracles. Against the rock +Heracles held the beast; strongly he held it, choking it through the skin +that was almost impenetrable. Terribly the lion struggled; but the strong +hands of the hero held around its throat until it struggled no more. + + Then Heracles stripped off that impenetrable skin from the lion's body; +he put it upon himself for a cloak. Then, as he went through the forest, +he pulled up a young oak tree and trimmed it and made a club for himself. +With the lion's skin over him--that skin that no spear or arrow could +pierce--and carrying the club in his hand he journeyed on until he came to +the palace of King Eurystheus. + + The king, seeing coming toward him a towering man all covered with the +hide of a monstrous lion, ran and hid himself in a great jar. He lifted +the lid up to ask the servants what was the meaning of this terrible +appearance. And the servants told him that it was Heracles come back with +the skin of the lion of Nemea. On hearing this Eurystheus hid himself +again. + + He would not speak with Heracles nor have him come near him, so fearful +was he. But Heracles was content to be left alone. He sat down in the +palace and feasted himself. + + The servants came to the king; Eurystheus lifted the lid of the jar and +they told him how Heracles was feasting and devouring all the goods in the +palace. The king flew into a rage, but still he was fearful of having the +hero before him. He issued commands through his heralds ordering Heracles +to go forth at once and perform the second of his tasks. + + It was to slay the great water snake that made its lair in the swamps of +Lerna. Heracles stayed to feast another day, and then, with the lion's +skin across his shoulders and the great club in his hands, he started off. +But this time he did not go alone; the boy Iolaus went with him. + + [Illustration] + + + + Heracles and Iolaus went on until they came to the vast swamp of Lerna. +Right in the middle of the swamp was the water snake that was called the +Hydra. Nine heads it had, and it raised them up out of the water as the +hero and his companion came near. They could not cross the swamp to come +to the monster, for man or beast would sink and be lost in it. + + The Hydra remained in the middle of the swamp belching mud at the hero +and his companion. Then Heracles took up his bow and he shot flaming +arrows at its heads. It grew into such a rage that it came through the +swamp to attack him. Heracles swung his club. As the Hydra came near he +knocked head after head off its body. + + But for every head knocked off two grew upon the Hydra. And as he +struggled with the monster a huge crab came out of the swamp, and gripping +Heracles by the foot tried to draw him in. Then Heracles cried out. The +boy Iolaus came; he killed the crab that had come to the Hydra's aid. + + Then Heracles laid hands upon the Hydra and drew it out of the swamp. +With his club he knocked off a head and he had Iolaus put fire to where it +had been, so that two heads might not grow in that place. The life of the +Hydra was in its middle head; that head he had not been able to knock off +with his club. Now, with his hands he tore it off, and he placed this head +under a great stone so that it could not rise into life again. The Hydra's +life was now destroyed. Heracles dipped his arrows into the gall of the +monster, making his arrows deadly; no thing that was struck by these +arrows afterward could keep its life. + + Again he came to Eurystheus's palace, and Eurystheus, seeing him, ran +again and hid himself in the jar. Heracles ordered the servants to tell +the king that he had returned and that the second labor was accomplished. + + Eurystheus, hearing from the servants that Heracles was mild in his +ways, came out of the jar. Insolently he spoke. "Twelve labors you have to +accomplish for me," said he to Heracles, "and eleven yet remain to be +accomplished." + + "How?" said Heracles. "Have I not performed two of the labors? Have I +not slain the lion of Nemea and the great water snake of Lerna?" + + "In the killing of the water snake you were helped by Iolaus," said the +king, snapping out his words and looking at Heracles with shifting eyes. +"That labor cannot be allowed you." + + Heracles would have struck him to the ground. But then he remembered +that the crime that he had committed in his madness would have to be +expiated by labors performed at the order of this man. He looked full upon +Eurystheus and he said, "Tell me of the other labors, and I will go forth +from Mycenae and accomplish them." + + Then Eurystheus bade him go and make clean the stables of King Augeias. +Heracles came into that king's country. The smell from the stables was +felt for miles around. Countless herds of cattle and goats had been in the +stables for years, and because of the uncleanness and the smell that came +from it the crops were withered all around. Heracles told the king that he +would clean the stables if he were given one tenth of the cattle and the +goats for a reward. + + The king agreed to this reward. Then Heracles drove the cattle and the +goats out of the stables; he broke through the foundations and he made +channels for the two rivers Alpheus and Peneius. The waters flowed through +the stables, and in a day all the uncleanness was washed away. Then +Heracles turned the rivers back into their own courses. + + He was not given the reward he had bargained for, however. + + He went back to Mycenae with the tale of how he had cleaned the stables. +"Ten labors remain for me to do now," he said. + + "Eleven," said Eurystheus. "How can I allow the cleaning of King +Augeias's stables to you when you bargained for a reward for doing it?" + + Then while Heracles stood still, holding himself back from striking him, +Eurystheus ran away and hid himself in the jar. Through his heralds he +sent word to Heracles, telling him what the other labors would be. + + He was to clear the marshes of Stymphalus of the man-eating birds that +gathered there; he was to capture and bring to the king the golden-horned +deer of Coryneia; he was also to capture and bring alive to Mycenae the +boar of Erymanthus. + + Heracles came to the marshes of Stymphalus. The growth of jungle was so +dense that he could not cut his way through to where the man-eating birds +were; they sat upon low bushes within the jungle, gorging themselves upon +the flesh they had carried there. + + For days Heracles tried to hack his way through. He could not get to +where the birds were. Then, thinking he might not be able to accomplish +this labor, he sat upon the ground in despair. + + It was then that one of the immortals appeared to him; for the first and +only time he was given help from the gods. + + It was Athena who came to him. She stood apart from Heracles, holding in +her hands brazen cymbals. These she clashed together. At the sound of this +clashing the Stymphalean birds rose up from the low bushes behind the +jungle. Heracles shot at them with those unerring arrows of his. The +man-eating birds fell, one after the other, into the marsh. + + Then Heracles went north to where the Coryneian deer took her pasture. +So swift of foot was she that no hound nor hunter had ever been able to +overtake her. For the whole of a year Heracles kept Golden Horns in chase, +and at last, on the side of the Mountain Artemision, he caught her. +Artemis, the goddess of the wild things, would have punished Heracles for +capturing the deer, but the hero pleaded with her, and she relented and +agreed to let him bring the deer to Mycenae and show her to King +Eurystheus. And Artemis took charge of Golden Horns while Heracles went +off to capture the Erymanthean boar. + + He came to the city of Psophis, the inhabitants of which were in deadly +fear because of the ravages of the boar. Heracles made his way up the +mountain to hunt it. Now on this mountain a band of centaurs lived, and +they, knowing him since the time he had been fostered by Chiron, welcomed +Heracles. One of them, Pholus, took Heracles to the great house where the +centaurs had their wine stored. + + Seldom did the centaurs drink wine; a draft of it made them wild, and so +they stored it away, leaving it in the charge of one of their band. +Heracles begged Pholus to give him a draft of wine; after he had begged +again and again the centaur opened one of his great jars. + + Heracles drank wine and spilled it. Then the centaurs that were without +smelt the wine and came hammering at the door, demanding the drafts that +would make them wild. Heracles came forth to drive them away. They +attacked him. Then he shot at them with his unerring arrows and he drove +them away. Up the mountain and away to far rivers the centaurs raced, +pursued by Heracles with his bow. + + One was slain, Pholus, the centaur who had entertained him. By accident +Heracles dropped a poisoned arrow on his foot. He took the body of Pholus +up to the top of the mountain and buried the centaur there. Afterward, on +the snows of Erymanthus, he set a snare for the boar and caught him there. + + Upon his shoulders he carried the boar to Mycenae and he led the deer by +her golden horns. When Eurystheus had looked upon them the boar was slain, +but the deer was loosed and she fled back to the Mountain Artemision. + + King Eurystheus sat hidden in the great jar, and he thought of more +terrible labors he would make Heracles engage in. Now he would send him +oversea and make him strive with fierce tribes and more dread monsters. +When he had it all thought out he had Heracles brought before him and he +told him of these other labors. + + He was to go to savage Thrace and there destroy the man-eating horses of +King Diomedes; afterward he was to go amongst the dread women, the +Amazons, daughters of Ares, the god of war, and take from their queen, +Hippolyte, the girdle that Ares had given her; then he was to go to Crete +and take from the keeping of King Minos the beautiful bull that Poseidon +had given him; afterward he was to go to the Island of Erytheia and take +away from Geryoneus, the monster that had three bodies instead of one, the +herd of red cattle that the two-headed hound Orthus kept guard over; then +he was to go to the Garden of the Hesperides, and from that garden he was +to take the golden apples that Zeus had given to Hera for a marriage +gift--where the Garden of the Hesperides was no mortal knew. + + So Heracles set out on a long and perilous quest. First he went to +Thrace, that savage land that was ruled over by Diomedes, son of Ares, the +war god. Heracles broke into the stable where the horses were; he caught +three of them by their heads, and although they kicked and bit and +trampled he forced them out of the stable and down to the seashore, where +his companion, Abderus, waited for him. The screams of the fierce horses +were heard by the men of Thrace, and they, with their king, came after +Heracles. He left the horses in charge of Abderus while he fought the +Thracians and their savage king. Heracles shot his deadly arrows amongst +them, and then he fought with their king. He drove them from the seashore, +and then he came back to where he had left Abderus with the fierce horses. + + They had thrown Abderus upon the ground, and they were trampling upon +him. Heracles drew his bow and he shot the horses with the unerring arrows +that were dipped with the gall of the Hydra he had slain. Screaming, the +horses of King Diomedes raced toward the sea, but one fell and another +fell, and then, as it came to the line of the foam, the third of the +fierce horses fell. They were all slain with the unerring arrows. + + Then Heracles took up the body of his companion and he buried it with +proper rights, and over it he raised a column. Afterward, around that +column a city that bore the name of Heracles's friend was built. + + Then toward the Euxine Sea he went. There, where the River Themiscyra +flows into the sea he saw the abodes of the Amazons. And upon the rocks +and the steep place he saw the warrior women standing with drawn bows in +their hands. Most dangerous did they seem to Heracles. He did not know how +to approach them; he might shoot at them with his unerring arrows, but +when his arrows were all shot away, the Amazons, from their steep places, +might be able to kill him with the arrows from their bows. + + While he stood at a distance, wondering what he might do, a horn was +sounded and an Amazon mounted upon a white stallion rode toward him. When +the warrior-woman came near she cried out, "Heracles, the Queen Hippolyte +permits you to come amongst the Amazons. Enter her tent and declare to the +queen what has brought you amongst the never-conquered Amazons." + + Heracles came to the tent of the queen. There stood tall Hippolyte with +an iron crown upon her head and with a beautiful girdle of bronze and +iridescent glass around her waist. Proud and fierce as a mountain eagle +looked the queen of the Amazons: Heracles did not know in what way he +might conquer her. Outside the tent the Amazons stood; they struck their +shields with their spears, keeping up a continuous savage din. + + "For what has Heracles come to the country of the Amazons?" Queen +Hippolyte asked. + + "For the girdle you wear," said Heracles, and he held his hands ready +for the struggle. + + "Is it for the girdle given me by Ares, the god of war, that you have +come, braving the Amazons, Heracles?" asked the queen. + + "For that," said Heracles. + + "I would not have you enter into strife with the Amazons," said Queen +Hippolyte. And so saying she drew off the girdle of bronze and iridescent +glass, and she gave it into his hands. + + Heracles took the beautiful girdle into his hands. Fearful he was that +some piece of guile was being played upon him, but then he looked into the +open eyes of the queen and he saw that she meant no guile. He took the +girdle and he put it around his great brows; then he thanked Hippolyte and +he went from the tent. He saw the Amazons standing on the rocks and the +steep places with bows bent; unchallenged he went on, and he came to his +ship and he sailed away from that country with one more labor +accomplished. + + The labor that followed was not dangerous. He sailed over sea and he +came to Crete, to the land that King Minos ruled over. And there he found, +grazing in a special pasture, the bull that Poseidon had given King Minos. +He laid his hands upon the bull's horns and he struggled with him and he +overthrew him. Then he drove the bull down to the seashore. + + His next labor was to take away the herd of red cattle that was owned by +the monster Geryoneus. In the Island of Erytheia, in the middle of the +Stream of Ocean, lived the monster, his herd guarded by the two-headed +hound Orthus--that hound was the brother of Cerberus, the three-headed +hound that kept guard in the Underworld. + + Mounted upon the bull given Minos by Poseidon, Heracles fared across the +sea. He came even to the straits that divide Europe from Africa, and there +he set up two pillars as a memorial of his journey--the Pillars of Heracles +that stand to this day. He and the bull rested there. Beyond him stretched +the Stream of Ocean; the Island of Erytheia was there, but Heracles +thought that the bull would not be able to bear him so far. + + And there the sun beat upon him, and drew all strength away from him, +and he was dazed and dazzled by the rays of the sun. He shouted out +against the sun, and in his anger he wanted to strive against the sun. +Then he drew his bow and shot arrows upward. Far, far out of sight the +arrows of Heracles went. And the sun god, Helios, was filled with +admiration for Heracles, the man who would attempt the impossible by +shooting arrows at him; then did Helios fling down to Heracles his great +golden cup. + + Down, and into the Stream of Ocean fell the great golden cup of Helios. +It floated there wide enough to hold all the men who might be in a ship. +Heracles put the bull of Minos into the cup of Helios, and the cup bore +them away, toward the west, and across the Stream of Ocean. + + Thus Heracles came to the Island of Erytheia. All over the island +straggled the red cattle of Geryoneus, grazing upon the rich pastures. +Heracles, leaving the bull of Minos in the cup, went upon the island; he +made a club for himself out of a tree and he went toward the cattle. + + The hound Orthus bayed and ran toward him; the two-headed hound that was +the brother of Cerberus sprang at Heracles with poisonous foam upon his +jaws. Heracles swung his club and struck the two heads off the hound. And +where the foam of the hound's jaws dropped down a poisonous plant sprang +up. Heracles took up the body of the hound, and swung it around and flung +it far out into the Ocean. + + [Illustration] + + + Then the monster Geryoneus came upon him. Three bodies he had instead of +one; he attacked Heracles by hurling great stones at him. Heracles was +hurt by the stones. And then the monster beheld the cup of Helios, and he +began to hurl stones at the golden thing, and it seemed that he might sink +it in the sea, and leave Heracles without a way of getting from the +island. Heracles took up his bow and he shot arrow after arrow at the +monster, and he left him dead in the deep grass of the pastures. + + Then he rounded up the red cattle, the bulls and the cows, and he drove +them down to the shore and into the golden cup of Helios where the bull of +Minos stayed. Then back across the Stream of Ocean the cup floated, and +the bull of Crete and the cattle of Geryoneus were brought past Sicily and +through the straits called the Hellespont. To Thrace, that savage land, +they came. Then Heracles took the cattle out, and the cup of Helios sank +in the sea. Through the wild lands of Thrace he drove the herd of +Geryoneus and the bull of Minos, and he came into Mycenae once more. + + But he did not stay to speak with Eurystheus. He started off to find the +Garden of the Hesperides, the Daughters of the Evening Land. Long did he +search, but he found no one who could tell him where the garden was. And +at last he went to Chiron on the Mountain Pelion, and Chiron told Heracles +what journey he would have to make to come to the Hesperides, the +Daughters of the Evening Land. + + Far did Heracles journey; weary he was when he came to where Atlas +stood, bearing the sky upon his weary shoulders. As he came near he felt +an undreamt-of perfume being wafted toward him. So weary was he with his +journey and all his toils that he would fain sink down and dream away in +that evening land. But he roused himself, and he journeyed on toward where +the perfume came from. Over that place a star seemed always about to rise. + + He came to where a silver lattice fenced a garden that was full of the +quiet of evening. Golden bees hummed through the air, and there was the +sound of quiet waters. How wild and laborious was the world he had come +from, Heracles thought! He felt that it would be hard for him to return to +that world. + + He saw three maidens. They stood with wreaths upon their heads and +blossoming branches in their hands. When the maidens saw him they came +toward him crying out: "O man who has come into the Garden of the +Hesperides, go not near the tree that the sleepless dragon guards!" Then +they went and stood by a tree as if to keep guard over it. All around were +trees that bore flowers and fruit, but this tree had golden apples amongst +its bright green leaves. + + Then he saw the guardian of the tree. Beside its trunk a dragon lay, and +as Heracles came near the dragon showed its glittering scales and its +deadly claws. + + The apples were within reach, but the dragon, with its glittering scales +and claws, stood in the way. Heracles shot an arrow; then a tremor went +through Ladon, the sleepless dragon; it screamed and then lay stark. The +maidens cried in their grief; Heracles went to the tree, and he plucked +the golden apples and he put them into the pouch he carried. Down on the +ground sank the Hesperides, the Daughters of the Evening Land, and he +heard their laments as he went from the enchanted garden they had guarded. + + Back from the ends of the earth came Heracles, back from the place where +Atlas stood holding the sky upon his weary shoulders. He went back through +Asia and Libya and Egypt, and he came again to Mycenae and to the palace of +Eurystheus. + + He brought to the king the herd of Geryoneus; he brought to the king the +bull of Minos; he brought to the king the girdle of Hippolyte; he brought +to the king the golden apples of the Hesperides. And King Eurystheus, with +his thin white face, sat upon his royal throne and he looked over all the +wonderful things that the hero had brought him. Not pleased was +Eurystheus; rather was he angry that one he hated could win such wonderful +things. + + He took into his hands the golden apples of the Hesperides. But this +fruit was not for such as he. An eagle snatched the branch from his hand, +and the eagle flew and flew until it came to where the Daughters of the +Evening Land wept in their garden. There the eagle let fall the branch +with the golden apples, and the maidens set it back upon the tree, and +behold! it grew as it had been growing before Heracles plucked it. + + The next day the heralds of Eurystheus came to Heracles and they told +him of the last labor that he would have to set out to accomplish--this +time he would have to go down into the Underworld, and bring up from King +Aidoneus's realm Cerberus, the three-headed hound. + + Heracles put upon him the impenetrable lion's skin and set forth once +more. This might indeed be the last of his life's labors: Cerberus was not +an earthly monster, and he who would struggle with Cerberus in the +Underworld would have the gods of the dead against him. + + But Heracles went on. He journeyed to the cave Tainaron, which was an +entrance to the Underworld. Far into that dismal cave he went, and then +down, down, until he came to Acheron, that dim river that has beyond it +only the people of the dead. Cerberus bayed at him from the place where +the dead cross the river. Knowing that he was no shade, the hound sprang +at Heracles, but he could neither bite nor tear through that impenetrable +lion's skin. Heracles held him by the neck of his middle head so that +Cerberus was neither able to bite nor tear nor bellow. + + Then to the brink of Acheron came Persephone, queen of the Underworld. +She declared to Heracles that the gods of the dead would not strive +against him if he promised to bring Cerberus back to the Underworld, +carrying the hound downward again as he carried him upward. + + [Illustration] + + + This Heracles promised. He turned around and he carried Cerberus, his +hands around the monster's neck while foam dripped from his jaws. He +carried him on and upward toward the world of men. Out through a cave that +was in the land of Troezen Heracles came, still carrying Cerberus by the +neck of his middle head. + + From Troezen to Mycenae the hero went and men fled before him at the sight +of the monster that he carried. On he went toward the king's palace. +Eurystheus was seated outside his palace that day, looking at the great +jar that he had often hidden in, and thinking to himself that Heracles +would never appear to affright him again. Then Heracles appeared. He +called to Eurystheus, and when the king looked up he held the hound toward +him. The three heads grinned at Eurystheus; he gave a cry and scrambled +into the jar. But before his feet touched the bottom of it Eurystheus was +dead of fear. The jar rolled over, and Heracles looked upon the body that +was all twisted with fright. Then he turned around and made his way back +to the Underworld. On the brink of Acheron he loosed Cerberus, and the +bellow of the three-headed hound was heard again. + + + +II + + It was then that Heracles was given arms by the gods--the sword of +Hermes, the bow of Apollo, the shield made by Hephaestus; it was then that +Heracles joined the Argonauts and journeyed with them to the edge of the +Caucasus, where, slaying the vulture that preyed upon Prometheus's liver, +he, at the will of Zeus, liberated the Titan. Thereafter Zeus and +Prometheus were reconciled, and Zeus, that neither might forget how much +the enmity between them had cost gods and men, had a ring made for +Prometheus to wear; that ring was made out of the fetter that had been +upon him, and in it was set a fragment of the rock that the Titan had been +bound to. + + The Argonauts had now won back to Greece. But before he saw any of them +he had been in Oichalia, and had seen the maiden Iole. + + The king of Oichalia had offered his daughter Iole in marriage to the +hero who could excel himself and his sons in shooting with arrows. +Heracles saw Iole, the blue-eyed and childlike maiden, and he longed to +take her with him to some place near the Garden of the Hesperides. And +Iole looked on him, and he knew that she wondered to see him so tall and +so strongly knit even as he wondered to see her so childlike and delicate. + + Then the contest began. The king and his sons shot wonderfully well, and +none of the heroes who stood before Heracles had a chance of winning. Then +Heracles shot his arrows. No matter how far away they moved the mark, +Heracles struck it and struck the very center of it. The people wondered +who this great archer might be. And then a name was guessed at and went +around--Heracles! + + When the king heard the name of Heracles he would not let him strive in +the contest any more. For the maiden Iole would not be given as a prize to +one who had been mad and whose madness might afflict him again. So the +king said, speaking in judgment in the market place. + + Rage came on Heracles when he heard this judgment given. He would not +let his rage master him lest the madness that was spoken of should come +with his rage. So he left the city of Oichalia declaring to the king and +the people that he would return. + + It was then that, wandering down to Crete, he heard of the Argonauts +being near. And afterward he heard of them being in Calydon, hunting the +boar that ravaged OEneus's country. To Calydon Heracles went. The heroes +had departed when he came into the country, and all the city was in grief +for the deaths of Prince Meleagrus and his two uncles. + + On the steps of the temple where Meleagrus and his uncles had been +brought Heracles saw Deianira, Meleagrus's sister. She was pale with her +grief, this tall woman of the mountains; she looked like a priestess, but +also like a woman who could cheer camps of men with her counsel, her +bravery, and her good companionship; her hair was very dark and she had +dark eyes. + + Straightway she became friends with Heracles; and when they saw each +other for a while they loved each other. And Heracles forgot Iole, the +childlike maiden whom he had seen in Oichalia. + + He made himself a suitor for Deianira, and those who protected her were +glad of Heracles's suit, and they told him they would give him the maiden +to marry as soon as the mourning for Prince Meleagrus and his uncles was +over. Heracles stayed in Calydon, happy with Deianira, who had so much +beauty, wisdom, and bravery. + + But then a dreadful thing happened in Calydon; by an accident, while +using his strength unthinkingly, Heracles killed a lad who was related to +Deianira. He might not marry her now until he had taken punishment for +slaying one who was close to her in blood. + + As a punishment for the slaying it was judged that Heracles should be +sold into slavery for three years. At the end of his three years' slavery +he could come back to Calydon and wed Deianira. + + And so Heracles and Deianira were parted. He was sold as a slave in +Lydia; the one who bought him was a woman, a widow named Omphale. To her +house Heracles went, carrying his armor and wearing his lion's skin. And +Omphale laughed to see this tall man dressed in a lion's skin coming to +her house to do a servant's tasks for her. + + She and all in her house kept up fun with Heracles. They would set him +to do housework, to carry water, and set vessels on the tables, and clear +the vessels away. Omphale set him to spin with a spindle as the women did. +And often she would put on Heracles's lion skin and go about dragging his +club, while he, dressed in woman's garb, washed dishes and emptied pots. + + But he would lose patience with these servant's tasks, and then Omphale +would let him go away and perform some great exploit. Often he went on +long journeys and stayed away for long times. It was while he was in +slavery to Omphale that he liberated Theseus from the dungeon in which he +was held with Peirithous, and it was while he still was in slavery that he +made his journey to Troy. + + At Troy he helped to repair for King Laomedon the great walls that years +before Apollo and Poseidon had built around the city. As a reward for this +labor he was offered the Princess Hesione in marriage; she was the +daughter of King Laomedon, and the sister of Priam, who was then called, +not Priam but Podarces. He helped to repair the wall, and two of the +Argonauts were there to aid him: one was Peleus and the other was Telamon. +Peleus did not stay for long: Telamon stayed, and to reward Telamon +Heracles withdrew his own claim for the hand of the Princess Hesione. It +was not hard on Heracles to do this, for his thoughts were ever upon +Deianira. + + But Telamon rejoiced, for he loved Hesione greatly. On the day they +married Heracles showed the two an eagle in the sky. He said it was sent +as an omen to them--an omen for their marriage. And in memory of that omen +Telamon named his son "Aias"; that is, "Eagle." + + Then the walls of Troy were repaired and Heracles turned toward Lydia, +Omphale's home. Not long would he have to serve Omphale now, for his three +years' slavery was nearly over. Soon he would go back to Calydon and wed +Deianira. + + As he went along the road to Lydia he thought of all the pleasantries +that had been made in Omphale's house and he laughed at the memory of +them. Lydia was a friendly country, and even though he had been in slavery +Heracles had had his good times there. + + He was tired with the journey and made sleepy with the heat of the sun, +and when he came within sight of Omphale's house he lay down by the side +of the road, first taking off his armor, and laying aside his bow, his +quiver, and his shield. He wakened up to see two men looking down upon +him; he knew that these were the Cercopes, robbers who waylaid travelers +upon this road. They were laughing as they looked down on him, and +Heracles saw that they held his arms and his armor in their hands. + + They thought that this man, for all his tallness, would yield to them +when he saw that they had his arms and his armor. But Heracles sprang up, +and he caught one by the waist and the other by the neck, and he turned +them upside down and tied them together by the heels. Now he held them +securely and he would take them to the town and give them over to those +whom they had waylaid and robbed. He hung them by their heels across his +shoulders and marched on. + + But the robbers, as they were being bumped along, began to relate +pleasantries and mirthful tales to each other, and Heracles, listening, +had to laugh. And one said to the other, "O my brother, we are in the +position of the frogs when the mice fell upon them with such fury." And +the other said, "Indeed nothing can save us if Zeus does not send an ally +to us as he sent an ally to the frogs." And the first robber said, "Who +began that conflict, the frogs or the mice?" And thereupon the second +robber, his head reaching down to Heracles's waist, began: + + + +The Battle of the Frogs and Mice + + + A warlike mouse came down to the brink of a pond for no other reason +than to take a drink of water. Up to him hopped a frog. Speaking in the +voice of one who had rule and authority, the frog said: + + "Stranger to our shore, you may not know it, but I am Puff Jaw, king of +the frogs. I do not speak to common mice, but you, as I judge, belong to +the noble and kingly sort. Tell me your race. If I know it to be a noble +one I shall show you my kingly friendship." + + The mouse, speaking haughtily, said: "I am Crumb Snatcher, and my race +is a famous one. My father is the heroic Bread Nibbler, and he married +Quern Licker, the lovely daughter of a king. Like all my race I am a +warrior who has never been wont to flinch in battle. Moreover, I have been +brought up as a mouse of high degree, and figs and nuts, cheese and +honey-cakes is the provender that I have been fed on." + + Now this reply of Crumb Snatcher pleased the kingly frog greatly. "Come +with me to my abode, illustrious Crumb Snatcher," said he, "and I shall +show you such entertainment as may be found in the house of a king." + + But the mouse looked sharply at him. "How may I get to your house?" he +asked. "We live in different elements, you and I. We mice want to be in +the driest of dry places, while you frogs have your abodes in the water." + + "Ah," answered Puff Jaw, "you do not know how favored the frogs are +above all other creatures. To us alone the gods have given the power to +live both in the water and on the land. I shall take you to my land palace +that is the other side of the pond." + + "How may I go there with you?" asked Crumb Snatcher the mouse, +doubtfully. + + "Upon my back," said the frog. "Up now, noble Crumb Snatcher. And as we +go I will show you the wonders of the deep." + + He offered his back and Crumb Snatcher bravely mounted. The mouse put +his forepaws around the frog's neck. Then Puff Jaw swam out. Crumb +Snatcher at first was pleased to feel himself moving through the water. +But as the dark waves began to rise his mighty heart began to quail. He +longed to be back upon the land. He groaned aloud. + + "How quickly we get on," cried Puff Jaw; "soon we shall be at my land +palace." + + Heartened by this speech, Crumb Snatcher put his tail into the water and +worked it as a steering oar. On and on they went, and Crumb Snatcher +gained heart for the adventure. What a wonderful tale he would have to +tell to the clans of the mice! + + But suddenly, out of the depths of the pond, a water snake raised his +horrid head. Fearsome did that head seem to both mouse and frog. And +forgetful of the guest that he carried upon his back, Puff Jaw dived down +into the water. He reached the bottom of the pond and lay on the mud in +safety. + + But far from safety was Crumb Snatcher the mouse. He sank and rose, and +sank again. His wet fur weighed him down. But before he sank for the last +time he lifted up his voice and cried out and his cry was heard at the +brink of the pond: + + "Ah, Puff Jaw, treacherous frog! An evil thing you have done, leaving me +to drown in the middle of the pond. Had you faced me on the land I should +have shown you which of us two was the better warrior. Now I must lose my +life in the water. But I tell you my death shall not go unavenged--the +cowardly frogs will be punished for the ill they have done to me who am +the son of the king of the mice." + + Then Crumb Snatcher sank for the last time. But Lick Platter, who was at +the brink of the pond, had heard his words. Straightway this mouse rushed +to the hole of Bread Nibbler and told him of the death of his princely +son. + + Bread Nibbler called out the clans of the mice. The warrior mice armed +themselves, and this was the grand way of their arming: + + First, the mice put on greaves that covered their forelegs. These they +made out of bean shells broken in two. For shield, each had a lamp's +centerpiece. For spears they had the long bronze needles that they had +carried out of the houses of men. So armed and so accoutered they were +ready to war upon the frogs. And Bread Nibbler, their king, shouted to +them: "Fall upon the cowardly frogs, and leave not one alive upon the bank +of the pond. Henceforth that bank is ours, and ours only. Forward!" + + And, on the other side, Puff Jaw was urging the frogs to battle. "Let us +take our places on the edge of the pond," he said, "and when the mice come +amongst us, let each catch hold of one and throw him into the pond. Thus +we will get rid of these dry bobs, the mice." + + The frogs applauded the speech of their king, and straightway they went +to their armor and their weapons. Their legs they covered with the leaves +of mallow. For breastplates they had the leaves of beets. Cabbage leaves, +well cut, made their strong shields. They took their spears from the pond +side--deadly pointed rushes they were, and they placed upon their heads +helmets that were empty snail shells. So armed and so accoutered they were +ready to meet the grand attack of the mice. + + + + When the robber came to this part of the story Heracles halted his +march, for he was shaking with laughter. The robber stopped in his story. +Heracles slapped him on the leg and said: "What more of the heroic +exploits of the mice?" The second robber said, "I know no more, but +perhaps my brother at the other side of you can tell you of the mighty +combat between them and the frogs." Then Heracles shifted the first robber +from his back to his front, and the first robber said: "I will tell you +what I know about the heroical combat between the frogs and the mice." And +thereupon he began: + + + + The gnats blew their trumpets. This was the dread signal for war. + + Bread Nibbler struck the first blow. He fell upon Loud Crier the frog, +and overthrew him. At this Loud Crier's friend, Reedy, threw down spear +and shield and dived into the water. This seemed to presage victory for +the mice. But then Water Larker, the most warlike of the frogs, took up a +great pebble and flung it at Ham Nibbler who was then pursuing Reedy. Down +fell Ham Nibbler, and there was dismay in the ranks of the mice. + + Then Cabbage Climber, a great-hearted frog, took up a clod of mud and +flung it full at a mouse that was coming furiously upon him. That mouse's +helmet was knocked off and his forehead was plastered with the clod of +mud, so that he was well-nigh blinded. + + It was then that victory inclined to the frogs. Bread Nibbler again came +into the fray. He rushed furiously upon Puff Jaw the king. + + Leeky, the trusted friend of Puff Jaw, opposed Bread Nibbler's +onslaught. Mightily he drove his spear at the king of the mice. But the +point of the spear broke upon Bread Nibbler's shield, and then Leeky was +overthrown. + + Bread Nibbler came upon Puff Jaw, and the two great kings faced each +other. The frogs and the mice drew aside, and there was a pause in the +combat. Bread Nibbler the mouse struck Puff Jaw the frog terribly upon the +toes. + + Puff Jaw drew out of the battle. Now all would have been lost for the +frogs had not Zeus, the father of the gods, looked down upon the battle. + + "Dear, dear," said Zeus, "what can be done to save the frogs? They will +surely be annihilated if the charge of yonder mouse is not halted." + + For the father of the gods, looking down, saw a warrior mouse coming on +in the most dreadful onslaught of the whole battle. Slice Snatcher was the +name of this warrior. He had come late into the field. He waited to split +a chestnut in two and to put the halves upon his paws. Then, furiously +dashing amongst the frogs, he cried out that he would not leave the ground +until he had destroyed the race, leaving the bank of the pond a playground +for the mice and for the mice alone. + + To stop the charge of Slice Snatcher there was nothing for Zeus to do +but to hurl the thunderbolt that is the terror of gods and men. + + Frogs and mice were awed by the thunder and the flame. But still the +mice, urged on by Slice Snatcher, did not hold back from their onslaught +upon the frogs. + + Now would the frogs have been utterly destroyed; but, as they dashed on, +the mice encountered a new and a dreadful army. The warriors in these +ranks had mailed backs and curving claws. They had bandy legs and +long-stretching arms. They had eyes that looked behind them. They came on +sideways. These were the crabs, creatures until now unknown to the mice. +And the crabs had been sent by Zeus to save the race of the frogs from +utter destruction. + + Coming upon the mice they nipped their paws. The mice turned around and +they nipped their tails. In vain the boldest of the mice struck at the +crabs with their sharpened spears. Not upon the hard shells on the backs +of the crabs did the spears of the mice make any dint. On and on, on their +queer feet and with their terrible nippers, the crabs went. Bread Nibbler +could not rally them any more, and Slice Snatcher ceased to speak of the +monument of victory that the mice would erect upon the bank of the pond. + + With their heads out of the water they had retreated to, the frogs +watched the finish of the battle. The mice threw down their spears and +shields and fled from the battleground. On went the crabs as if they cared +nothing for their victory, and the frogs came out of the water and sat +upon the bank and watched them in awe. + + + + Heracles had laughed at the diverting tale that the robbers had told +him; he could not bring them then to a place where they would meet with +captivity or death. He let them loose upon the highway, and the robbers +thanked him with high-flowing speeches, and they declared that if they +should ever find him sleeping by the roadway again they would let him lie. +Saying this they went away, and Heracles, laughing as he thought upon the +great exploits of the frogs and mice, went on to Omphale's house. + + Omphale, the widow, received him mirthfully, and then set him to do +tasks in the kitchen while she sat and talked to him about Troy and the +affairs of King Laomedon. And afterward she put on his lion's skin, and +went about in the courtyard dragging the heavy club after her. Mirthfully +and pleasantly she made the rest of his time in Lydia pass for Heracles, +and the last day of his slavery soon came, and he bade good-by to Omphale, +that pleasant widow, and to Lydia, and he started off for Calydon to claim +his bride Deianira. + + Beautiful indeed Deianira looked now that she had ceased to mourn for +her brother, for the laughter that had been under her grief always now +flashed out even while she looked priestesslike and of good counsel; her +dark eyes shone like stars, and her being had the spirit of one who +wanders from camp to camp, always greeting friends and leaving friends +behind her. Heracles and Deianira wed, and they set out for Tiryns, where +a king had left a kingdom to Heracles. + + They came to the River Evenus. Heracles could have crossed the river by +himself, but he could not cross it at the part he came to, carrying +Deianira. He and she went along the river, seeking a ferry that might take +them across. They wandered along the side of the river, happy with each +other, and they came to a place where they had sight of a centaur. + + Heracles knew this centaur. He was Nessus, one of the centaurs whom he +had chased up the mountain the time when he went to hunt the Erymanthean +boar. The centaurs knew him, and Nessus spoke to Heracles as if he had +friendship for him. He would, he said, carry Heracles's bride across the +river. + + Then Heracles crossed the river, and he waited on the other side for +Nessus and Deianira. Nessus went to another part of the river to make his +crossing. Then Heracles, upon the other bank, heard screams--the screams of +his wife, Deianira. He saw that the centaur was savagely attacking her. + + Then Heracles leveled his bow and he shot at Nessus. Arrow after arrow +he shot into the centaur's body. Nessus loosed his hold on Deianira, and +he lay down on the bank of the river, his lifeblood streaming from him. + + Then Nessus, dying, but with his rage against Heracles unabated, thought +of a way by which the hero might be made to suffer for the death he had +brought upon him. He called to Deianira, and she, seeing he could do her +no more hurt, came close to him. He told her that in repentance for his +attack upon her he would bestow a great gift upon her. She was to gather +up some of the blood that flowed from him; his blood, the centaur said, +would be a love philter, and if ever her husband's love for her waned it +would grow fresh again if she gave to him something from her hands that +would have this blood upon it. + + Deianira, who had heard from Heracles of the wisdom of the centaurs, +believed what Nessus told her. She took a phial and let the blood pour +into it. Then Nessus plunged into the river and died there as Heracles +came up to where Deianira stood. + + She did not speak to him about the centaur's words to her, nor did she +tell him that she had hidden away the phial that had Nessus's blood in it. +They crossed the river at another point and they came after a time to +Tiryns and to the kingdom that had been left to Heracles. + + There Heracles and Deianira lived, and a son who was named Hyllos was +born to them. And after a time Heracles was led into a war with +Eurytus--Eurytus who was king of Oichalia. + + Word came to Deianira that Oichalia was taken by Heracles, and that the +king and his daughter Iole were held captive. Deianira knew that Heracles +had once tried to win this maiden for his wife, and she feared that the +sight of Iole would bring his old longing back to him. + + [Illustration] + + + She thought upon the words that Nessus had said to her, and even as she +thought upon them messengers came from Heracles to ask her to send him a +robe--a beautifully woven robe that she had--that he might wear it while +making a sacrifice. Deianira took down the robe; through this robe, she +thought, the blood of the centaur could touch Heracles and his love for +her would revive. Thinking this she poured Nessus's blood over the robe. + + Heracles was in Oichalia when the messengers returned to him. He took +the robe that Deianira sent, and he went to a mountain that overlooked the +sea that he might make the sacrifice there. Iole went with him. Then he +put on the robe that Deianira had sent. When it touched his flesh the robe +burst into flame. Heracles tried to tear it off, but deeper and deeper +into his flesh the flames went. They burned and burned and none could +quench them. + + Then Heracles knew that his end was near. He would die by fire, and +knowing that he piled up a great heap of wood and he climbed upon it. +There he stayed with the flaming robe burning into him, and he begged of +those who passed to fire the pile that his end might come more quickly. + + None would fire the pile. But at last there came that way a young +warrior named Philoctetes, and Heracles begged of him to fire the pile. +Philoctetes, knowing that it was the will of the gods that Heracles should +die that way, lighted the pile. For that Heracles bestowed upon him his +great bow and his unerring arrows. And it was this bow and these arrows, +brought from Philoctetes, that afterward helped to take Priam's city. + + The pile that Heracles stood upon was fired. High up, above the sea, the +pile burned. All who were near that burning fled--all except Iole, that +childlike maiden. She stayed and watched the flames mount up and up. They +wrapped the sky, and the voice of Heracles was heard calling upon Zeus. +Then a great chariot came and Heracles was borne away to Olympus. Thus, +after many labors, Heracles passed away, a mortal passing into an immortal +being in a great burning high above the sea. + + + + +V. Admetus + + +I + + +[Decorative first letter] +_I_T happened once that Zeus would punish Apollo, his son. Then he +banished him from Olympus, and he made him put off his divinity and appear +as a mortal man. And as a mortal Apollo sought to earn his bread amongst +men. He came to the house of King Admetus and took service with him as his +herdsman. + + For a year Apollo served the young king, minding his herds of black +cattle. Admetus did not know that it was one of the immortal gods who was +in his house and in his fields. But he treated him in friendly wise, and +Apollo was happy whilst serving Admetus. + + Afterward people wondered at Admetus's ever-smiling face and +ever-radiant being. It was the god's kindly thought of him that gave him +such happiness. And when Apollo was leaving his house and his fields he +revealed himself to Admetus, and he made a promise to him that when the +god of the Underworld sent Death for him he would have one more chance of +baffling Death than any mortal man. + + That was before Admetus sailed on the _Argo_ with Jason and the +companions of the quest. The companionship of Admetus brought happiness to +many on the voyage, but the hero to whom it gave the most happiness was +Heracles. And often Heracles would have Admetus beside him to tell him +about the radiant god Apollo, whose bow and arrows Heracles had been +given. + + After that voyage and after the hunt in Calydon Admetus went back to his +own land. There he wed that fair and loving woman, Alcestis. He might not +wed her until he had yoked lions and leopards to the chariot that drew +her. This was a feat that no hero had been able to accomplish. With +Apollo's aid he accomplished it. Thereafter Admetus, having the love of +Alcestis, was even more happy than he had been before. + + One day as he walked by fold and through pasture field he saw a figure +standing beside his herd of black cattle. A radiant figure it was, and +Admetus knew that this was Apollo come to him again. He went toward the +god and he made reverence and began to speak to him. But Apollo turned to +Admetus a face that was without joy. + + "What years of happiness have been mine, O Apollo, through your +friendship for me," said Admetus. "Ah, as I walked my pasture land to-day +it came into my mind how much I loved this green earth and the blue sky! +And all that I know of love and happiness has come to me through you." + + But still Apollo stood before him with a face that was without joy. He +spoke and his voice was not that clear and vibrant voice that he had once +in speaking to Admetus. "Admetus, Admetus," he said, "it is for me to tell +you that you may no more look on the blue sky nor walk upon the green +earth. It is for me to tell you that the god of the Underworld will have +you come to him. Admetus, Admetus, know that even now the god of the +Underworld is sending Death for you." + + Then the light of the world went out for Admetus, and he heard himself +speaking to Apollo in a shaking voice: "O Apollo, Apollo, thou art a god, +and surely thou canst save me! Save me now from this Death that the god of +the Underworld is sending for me!" + + But Apollo said, "Long ago, Admetus, I made a bargain with the god of +the Underworld on thy behalf. Thou hast been given a chance more than any +mortal man. If one will go willingly in thy place with Death, thou canst +still live on. Go, Admetus. Thou art well loved, and it may be that thou +wilt find one to take thy place." + + Then Apollo went up unto the mountaintop and Admetus stayed for a while +beside the cattle. It seemed to him that a little of the darkness had +lifted from the world. He would go to his palace. There were aged men and +women there, servants and slaves, and one of them would surely be willing +to take the king's place and go with Death down to the Underworld. + + So Admetus thought as he went toward the palace. And then he came upon +an ancient woman who sat upon stones in the courtyard, grinding corn +between two stones. Long had she been doing that wearisome labor. Admetus +had known her from the first time he had come into that courtyard as a +little child, and he had never seen aught in her face but a heavy misery. +There she was sitting as he had first known her, with her eyes bleared and +her knees shaking, and with the dust of the courtyard and the husks of the +corn in her matted hair. He went to her and spoke to her, and he asked her +to take the place of the king and go with Death. + + But when she heard the name of Death horror came into the face of the +ancient woman, and she cried out that she would not let Death come near +her. Then Admetus left her, and he came upon another, upon a sightless man +who held out a shriveled hand for the food that the servants of the palace +might bestow upon him. Admetus took the man's shriveled hand, and he asked +him if he would not take the king's place and go with Death that was +coming for him. The sightless man, with howls and shrieks, said he would +not go. + + Then Admetus went into the palace and into the chamber where his bed +was, and he lay down upon the bed and he lamented that he would have to go +with Death that was coming for him from the god of the Underworld, and he +lamented that none of the wretched ones around the palace would take his +place. + + A hand was laid upon him. He looked up and he saw his tall and +grave-eyed wife, Alcestis, beside him. Alcestis spoke to him slowly and +gravely. "I have heard what you have said, O my husband," said she. "One +should go in your place, for you are the king and have many great affairs +to attend to. And if none other will go, I, Alcestis, will go in your +place, Admetus." + + It had seemed to Admetus that ever since he had heard the words of +Apollo that heavy footsteps were coming toward him. Now the footsteps +seemed to stop. It was not so terrible for him as before. He sprang up, +and he took the hands of Alcestis and he said, "You, then, will take my +place?" + + "I will go with Death in your place, Admetus," Alcestis said. + + Then, even as Admetus looked into her face, he saw a pallor come upon +her; her body weakened and she sank down upon the bed. Then, watching over +her, he knew that not he but Alcestis would go with Death. And the words +he had spoken he would have taken back--the words that had brought her +consent to go with Death in his place. + + [Illustration] + + + Paler and weaker Alcestis grew. Death would soon be here for her. No, +not here, for he would not have Death come into the palace. He lifted +Alcestis from the bed and he carried her from the palace. He carried her +to the temple of the gods. He laid her there upon the bier and waited +there beside her. No more speech came from her. He went back to the palace +where all was silent--the servants moved about with heads bowed, lamenting +silently for their mistress. + + + +II + + As Admetus was coming back from the temple he heard a great shout; he +looked up and saw one standing at the palace doorway. He knew him by his +lion's skin and his great height. This was Heracles--Heracles come to visit +him, but come at a sad hour. He could not now rejoice in the company of +Heracles. And yet Heracles might be on his way from the accomplishment of +some great labor, and it would not be right to say a word that might turn +him away from his doorway; he might have much need of rest and +refreshment. + + Thinking this Admetus went up to Heracles and took his hand and welcomed +him into his house. "How is it with you, friend Admetus?" Heracles asked. +Admetus would only say that nothing was happening in his house and that +Heracles, his hero-companion, was welcome there. His mind was upon a great +sacrifice, he said, and so he would not be able to feast with him. + + The servants brought Heracles to the bath, and then showed him where a +feast was laid for him. And as for Admetus, he went within the chamber, +and knelt beside the bed on which Alcestis had lain, and thought of his +terrible loss. + + Heracles, after the bath, put on the brightly colored tunic that the +servants of Admetus brought him. He put a wreath upon his head and sat +down to the feast. It was a pity, he thought, that Admetus was not +feasting with him. But this was only the first of many feasts. And +thinking of what companionship he would have with Admetus, Heracles left +the feasting hall and came to where the servants were standing about in +silence. + + "Why is the house of Admetus so hushed to-day?" Heracles asked. + + "It is because of what is befalling," said one of the servants. + + "Ah, the sacrifice that the king is making," said Heracles. "To what god +is that sacrifice due?" + + "To the god of the Underworld," said the servant. "Death is coming to +Alcestis the queen where she lies on a bier in the temple of the gods." + + Then the servant told Heracles the story of how Alcestis had taken her +husband's place, going in his stead with Death. Heracles thought upon the +sorrow of his friend, and of the great sacrifice that his wife was making +for him. How noble it was of Admetus to bring him into his house and give +entertainment to him while such sorrow was upon him. And then Heracles +felt that another labor was before him. + + [Illustration] + + + "I have dragged up from the Underworld," he thought, "the hound that +guards those whom Death brings down into the realm of the god of the +Underworld. Why should I not strive with Death? And what a noble thing it +would be to bring back this faithful woman to her house and to her +husband! This is a labor that has not been laid upon me, and it is a labor +I will undertake." So Heracles said to himself. + + He left the palace of Admetus and he went to the temple of the gods. He +stood inside the temple and he saw the bier on which Alcestis was laid. He +looked upon the queen. Death had not touched her yet, although she lay so +still and so silent. Heracles would watch beside her and strive with Death +for her. + + Heracles watched and Death came. When Death entered the temple Heracles +laid hands upon him. Death had never been gripped by mortal hands and he +strode on as if that grip meant nothing to him. But then he had to grip +Heracles. In Death's grip there was a strength beyond strength. And upon +Heracles a dreadful sense of loss came as Death laid hands upon him--a +sense of the loss of light and the loss of breath and the loss of +movement. But Heracles struggled with Death although his breath went and +his strength seemed to go from him. He held that stony body to him, and +the cold of that body went through him, and its stoniness seemed to turn +his bones to stone, but still Heracles strove with him, and at last he +overthrew him and he held Death down upon the ground. + + "Now you are held by me, Death," cried Heracles. "You are held by me, +and the god of the Underworld will be made angry because you cannot go +about his business--either this business or any other business. You are +held by me, Death, and you will not be let go unless you promise to go +forth from this temple without bringing one with you." And Death, knowing +that Heracles could hold him there, and that the business of the god of +the Underworld would be left undone if he were held, promised that he +would leave the temple without bringing one with him. Then Heracles took +his grip off Death, and that stony shape went from the temple. + + Soon a flush came into the face of Alcestis as Heracles watched over +her. Soon she arose from the bier on which she had been laid. She called +out to Admetus, and Heracles went to her and spoke to her, telling her +that he would bring her back to her husband's house. + + + +III + + Admetus left the chamber where his wife had lain and stood before the +door of his palace. Dawn was coming, and as he looked toward the temple he +saw Heracles coming to the palace. A woman came with him. She was veiled, +and Admetus could not see her features. + + "Admetus," Heracles said, when he came before him, "Admetus, there is +something I would have you do for me. Here is a woman whom I am bringing +back to her husband. I won her from an enemy. Will you not take her into +your house while I am away on a journey?" + + "You cannot ask me to do this, Heracles," said Admetus. "No woman may +come into the house where Alcestis, only yesterday, had her life." + + "For my sake take her into your house," said Heracles. "Come now, +Admetus, take this woman by the hand." + + A pang came to Admetus as he looked at the woman who stood beside +Heracles and saw that she was the same stature as his lost wife. He +thought that he could not bear to take her hand. But Heracles pleaded with +him, and he took her by the hand. + + "Now take her across your threshold, Admetus," said Heracles. + + Hardly could Admetus bear to do this--hardly could he bear to think of a +strange woman being in his house and his own wife gone with Death. But +Heracles pleaded with him, and by the hand he held he drew the woman +across his threshold. + + "Now raise her veil, Admetus," said Heracles. + + "This I cannot do," said Admetus. "I have had pangs enough. How can I +look upon a woman's face and remind myself that I cannot look upon +Alcestis's face ever again?" + + "Raise her veil, Admetus," said Heracles. + + Then Admetus raised the veil of the woman he had taken across the +threshold of his house. He saw the face of Alcestis. He looked again upon +his wife brought back from the grip of Death by Heracles, the son of Zeus. +And then a deeper joy than he had ever known came to Admetus. Once more +his wife was with him, and Admetus the friend of Apollo and the friend of +Heracles had all that he cared to have. + + + + +VI. How Orpheus the Minstrel Went Down to the World of the Dead + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_M_ANY were the minstrels who, in the early days, went through the world, +telling to men the stories of the gods, telling of their wars and their +births. Of all these minstrels none was so famous as Orpheus who had gone +with the Argonauts; none could tell truer things about the gods, for he +himself was half divine. + + But a great grief came to Orpheus, a grief that stopped his singing and +his playing upon the lyre. His young wife Eurydice was taken from him. One +day, walking in the garden, she was bitten on the heel by a serpent, and +straightway she went down to the world of the dead. + + Then everything in this world was dark and bitter for the minstrel +Orpheus; sleep would not come to him, and for him food had no taste. Then +Orpheus said: "I will do that which no mortal has ever done before; I will +do that which even the immortals might shrink from doing: I will go down +into the world of the dead, and I will bring back to the living and to the +light my bride Eurydice." + + [Illustration] + + + Then Orpheus went on his way to the valley of Acherusia which goes down, +down into the world of the dead. He would never have found his way to that +valley if the trees had not shown him the way. For as he went along +Orpheus played upon his lyre and sang, and the trees heard his song and +they were moved by his grief, and with their arms and their heads they +showed him the way to the deep, deep valley of Acherusia. + + Down, down by winding paths through that deepest and most shadowy of all +valleys Orpheus went. He came at last to the great gate that opens upon +the world of the dead. And the silent guards who keep watch there for the +rulers of the dead were affrighted when they saw a living being, and they +would not let Orpheus approach the gate. + + But the minstrel, knowing the reason for their fear, said: "I am not +Heracles come again to drag up from the world of the dead your +three-headed dog Cerberus. I am Orpheus, and all that my hands can do is +to make music upon my lyre." + + And then he took the lyre in his hands and played upon it. As he played, +the silent watchers gathered around him, leaving the gate unguarded. And +as he played the rulers of the dead came forth, Aidoneus and Persephone, +and listened to the words of the living man. + + "The cause of my coming through the dark and fearful ways," sang +Orpheus, "is to strive to gain a fairer fate for Eurydice, my bride. All +that is above must come down to you at last, O rulers of the most lasting +world. But before her time has Eurydice been brought here. I have desired +strength to endure her loss, but I cannot endure it. And I come before +you, Aidoneus and Persephone, brought here by Love." + + When Orpheus said the name of Love, Persephone, the queen of the dead, +bowed her young head, and bearded Aidoneus, the king, bowed his head also. +Persephone remembered how Demeter, her mother, had sought her all through +the world, and she remembered the touch of her mother's tears upon her +face. And Aidoneus remembered how his love for Persephone had led him to +carry her away from the valley in the upper world where she had been +gathering flowers. He and Persephone bowed their heads and stood aside, +and Orpheus went through the gate and came amongst the dead. + + Still upon his lyre he played. Tantalus--who, for his crimes, had been +condemned to stand up to his neck in water and yet never be able to +assuage his thirst--Tantalus heard, and for a while did not strive to put +his lips toward the water that ever flowed away from him; Sisyphus--who had +been condemned to roll up a hill a stone that ever rolled back--Sisyphus +heard the music that Orpheus played, and for a while he sat still upon his +stone. And even those dread ones who bring to the dead the memories of all +their crimes and all their faults, even the Eumenides had their cheeks wet +with tears. + + In the throng of the newly come dead Orpheus saw Eurydice. She looked +upon her husband, but she had not the power to come near him. But slowly +she came when Aidoneus called her. Then with joy Orpheus took her hands. + + It would be granted them--no mortal ever gained such privilege before--to +leave, both together, the world of the dead, and to abide for another +space in the world of the living. One condition there would be--that on +their way up through the valley of Acherusia neither Orpheus nor Eurydice +should look back. + + They went through the gate and came amongst the watchers that are around +the portals. These showed them the path that went up through the valley of +Acherusia. That way they went, Orpheus and Eurydice, he going before her. + + Up and up through the darkened ways they went, Orpheus knowing that +Eurydice was behind him, but never looking back upon her. But as he went, +his heart was filled with things to tell--how the trees were blossoming in +the garden she had left; how the water was sparkling in the fountain; how +the doors of the house stood open, and how they, sitting together, would +watch the sunlight on the laurel bushes. All these things were in his +heart to tell her, to tell her who came behind him, silent and unseen. + + And now they were nearing the place where the valley of Acherusia opened +on the world of the living. Orpheus looked on the blue of the sky. A +white-winged bird flew by. Orpheus turned around and cried, "O Eurydice, +look upon the world that I have won you back to!" + + He turned to say this to her. He saw her with her long dark hair and +pale face. He held out his arms to clasp her. But in that instant she +slipped back into the depths of the valley. And all he heard spoken was a +single word, "Farewell!" Long, long had it taken Eurydice to climb so far, +but in the moment of his turning around she had fallen back to her place +amongst the dead. + + Down through the valley of Acherusia Orpheus went again. Again he came +before the watchers of the gate. But now he was not looked at nor listened +to, and, hopeless, he had to return to the world of the living. + + The birds were his friends now, and the trees and the stones. The birds +flew around him and mourned with him; the trees and stones often followed +him, moved by the music of his lyre. But a savage band slew Orpheus and +threw his severed head and his lyre into the River Hebrus. It is said by +the poets that while they floated in midstream the lyre gave out some +mournful notes and the head of Orpheus answered the notes with song. + + And now that he was no longer to be counted with the living, Orpheus +went down to the world of the dead, not going now by that steep descent +through the valley of Acherusia, but going down straightway. The silent +watchers let him pass, and he went amongst the dead and saw his Eurydice +in the throng. Again they were together, Orpheus and Eurydice, and as they +went through the place that King Aidoneus ruled over, they had no fear of +looking back, one upon the other. + + + + +VII. Jason and Medea + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_J_ASON and Medea, unable to win to Iolcus, stayed at Corinth, at the +court of King Creon. Creon was proud to have Jason in his city, but of +Medea the king was fearful, for he had heard how she had brought about the +death of Apsyrtus, her brother. + + Medea wearied of this long waiting in the palace of King Creon. A +longing came upon her to exercise her powers of enchantment. She did not +forget what Queen Arete had said to her--that if she wished to appease the +wrath of the gods she should have no more to do with enchantments. She did +not forget this, but still there grew in her a longing to use all her +powers of enchantment. + + And Jason, at the court of King Creon, had his longings, too. He longed +to enter Iolcus and to show the people the Golden Fleece that he had won; +he longed to destroy Pelias, the murderer of his mother and father; above +all he longed to be a king, and to rule in the kingdom that Cretheus had +founded. + + Once Jason spoke to Medea of his longing. "O Jason," Medea said, "I have +done many things for thee and this thing also I will do. I will go into +Iolcus, and by my enchantments I will make clear the way for the return of +the _Argo_ and for thy return with thy comrades--yea, and for thy coming to +the kingship, O Jason." + + He should have remembered then the words of Queen Arete to Medea, but +the longing that he had for his triumph and his revenge was in the way of +his remembering. He said, "O Medea, help me in this with all thine +enchantments and thou wilt be more dear to me than ever before thou wert." + + Medea then went forth from the palace of King Creon and she made more +terrible spells than ever she had made in Colchis. All night she stayed in +a tangled place weaving her spells. Dawn came, and she knew that the +spells she had woven had not been in vain, for beside her there stood a +car that was drawn by dragons. + + Medea the Enchantress had never looked on these dragon shapes before. +When she looked upon them now she was fearful of them. But then she said +to herself, "I am Medea, and I would be a greater enchantress and a more +cunning woman than I have been, and what I have thought of, that will I +carry out." She mounted the car drawn by the dragons, and in the first +light of the day she went from Corinth. + + [Illustration] + + + To the places where grew the herbs of magic Medea journeyed in her +dragon-drawn car--to the Mountains Ossa, Pelion, OEthrys, Pindus, and +Olympus; then to the rivers Apidanus, Enipeus, and Peneus. She gathered +herbs on the mountains and grasses on the rivers' banks; some she plucked +up by the roots and some she cut with the curved blade of a knife. When +she had gathered these herbs and grasses she went back to Corinth on her +dragon-drawn car. + + Then Jason saw her; pale and drawn was her face, and her eyes were +strange and gleaming. He saw her standing by the car drawn by the dragons, +and a terror of Medea came into his mind. He went toward her, but in a +harsh voice she bade him not come near to disturb the brewing that she was +going to begin. Jason turned away. As he went toward the palace he saw +Glauce, King Creon's daughter; the maiden was coming from the well and she +carried a pitcher of water. He thought how fair Glauce looked in the light +of the morning, how the wind played with her hair and her garments, and +how far away she was from witcheries and enchantments. + + As for Medea, she placed in a heap beside her the magic herbs and +grasses she had gathered. Then she put them in a bronze pot and boiled +them in water from the stream. Soon froth came on the boiling, and Medea +stirred the pot with a withered branch of an apple tree. The branch was +withered--it was indeed no more than a dry stick, but as she stirred the +herbs and grasses with it, first leaves, then flowers, and lastly, bright +gleaming apples came on it. And when the pot boiled over and drops from it +fell upon the ground, there grew up out of the dry earth soft grasses and +flowers. Such was the power of renewal that was in the magical brew that +Medea had made. + + She filled a phial with the liquid she had brewed, and she scattered the +rest in the wild places of the garden. Then, taking the phial and the +apples that had grown on the withered branch, she mounted the car drawn by +the dragons, and she went once more from Corinth. + + On she journeyed in her dragon-drawn car until she came to a place that +was near to Iolcus. There the dragons descended. They had come to a dark +pool. Medea, making herself naked, stood in that dark pool. For a while +she looked down upon herself, seeing in the dark water her white body and +her lovely hair. Then she bathed herself in the water. Soon a dread change +came over her: she saw her hair become scant and gray, and she saw her +body become bent and withered. She stepped out of the pool a withered and +witchlike woman; when she dressed herself the rich clothes that she had +worn before hung loosely upon her, and she looked the more forbidding +because of them. She bade the dragons go, and they flew through the air +with the empty car. Then she hid in her dress the phial with the liquid +she had brewed and the apples that had grown upon the withered branch. She +picked up a stick to lean upon, and with the gait of an ancient woman she +went hobbling upon the road to Iolcus. + + On the streets of the city the fierce fighting men that Pelias had +brought down from the mountains showed themselves; few of the men or women +of the city showed themselves even in the daytime. Medea went through the +city and to the palace of King Pelias. But no one might enter there, and +the guards laid hands upon her and held her. + + Medea did not struggle with them. She drew from the folds of her dress +one of the gleaming apples that she carried and she gave it to one of the +guards. "It is for King Pelias," she said. "Give the apple to him and then +do with me as the king would have you do." + + The guards brought the gleaming apple to the king. When he had taken it +into his hand and had smelled its fragrance, old trembling Pelias asked +where the apple had come from. The guards told him it had been brought by +an ancient woman who was now outside seated on a stone in the courtyard. + + He looked on the shining apple and he felt its fragrance and he could +not help thinking, old trembling Pelias, that this apple might be the +means of bringing him back to the fullness of health and courage that he +had had before. He sent for the ancient woman who had brought it that she +might tell him where it had come from and who it was that had sent it to +him. Then the guards brought Medea before him. + + She saw an old man, white-faced and trembling, with shaking hands and +eyes that looked on her fearfully. "Who are you," he asked, "and from +whence came the apple that you had them bring me?" + + Medea, standing before him, looked a withered and shrunken beldame, a +woman bent with years, but yet with eyes that were bright and living. She +came near him and she said: "The apple, O King, came from the garden that +is watched over by the Daughters of the Evening Land. He who eats it has a +little of the weight of old age taken from him. But things more wonderful +even than the shining apples grow in that far garden. There are plants +there the juices of which make youthful again all aged and failing things. +The apple would bring you a little way toward the vigor of your prime. But +the juices I have can bring you to a time more wonderful--back even to the +strength and the glory of your youth." + + When the king heard her say this a light came into his heavy eyes, and +his hands caught Medea and drew her to him. "Who are you?" he cried, "who +speak of the garden watched over by the Daughters of the Evening Land? Who +are you who speak of juices that can bring back one to the strength and +glory of his youth?" + + Medea answered: "I am a woman who has known many and great griefs, O +king. My griefs have brought me through the world. Many have searched for +the garden watched over by the Daughters of the Evening Land, but I came +to it unthinkingly, and without wanting them I gathered the gleaming +apples and took from the plants there the juices that can bring youth +back." + + Pelias said: "If you have been able to come by those juices, how is it +that you remain in woeful age and decrepitude?" + + She said: "Because of my many griefs, king, I would not renew my life. I +would be ever nearer death and the end of all things. But you are a king +and have all things you desire at your hand--beauty and state and power. +Surely if any one would desire it, you would desire to have youth back to +you." + + Pelias, when he heard her say this, knew that besides youth there was +nothing that he desired. After crimes that had gone through the whole of +his manhood he had secured for himself the kingdom that Cretheus had +founded. But old age had come on him, and the weakness of old age, and the +power he had won was falling from his hands. He would be overthrown in his +weakness, or else he would soon come to die, and there would be an end +then to his name and to his kingship. + + How fortunate above all kings he would be, he thought, if it could be +that some one should come to him with juices that would renew his youth! +He looked longingly into the eyes of the ancient-seeming woman before him, +and he said: "How is it that you show no gains from the juices that you +speak of? You are old and in woeful decrepitude. Even if you would not win +back to youth you could have got riches and state for that which you say +you possess." + + Then Medea said: "I have lost so much and have suffered so much that I +would not have youth back at the price of facing the years. I would sink +down to the quiet of the grave. But I hope for some ease before I die--for +the ease that is in king's houses, with good food to eat, and rest, and +servants to wait upon one's aged body. These are the things I desire, O +Pelias, even as you desire youth. You can give me such things, and I have +come to you who desire youth eagerly rather than to kings who have a less +eager desire for it. To you I will give the juices that bring one back to +the strength and the glory of youth." + + Pelias said: "I have only your word for it that you possess these +juices. Many there are who come and say deceiving things to a king." + + Said Medea: "Let there be no more words between us, O king. To-morrow I +will show you the virtue of the juices I have brought with me. Have a +great vat prepared--a vat that a man could lay himself in with the water +covering him. Have this vat filled with water, and bring to it the oldest +creature you can get--a ram or a goat that is the oldest of their flock. Do +this, O king, and you will be shown a thing to wonder at and to be hopeful +over." + + So Medea said, and then she turned around and left the king's presence. +Pelias called to his guards and he bade them take the woman into their +charge and treat her considerately. The guards took Medea away. Then all +day the king mused on what had been told him and a wild hope kept beating +about his heart. He had the servants prepare a great vat in the lower +chambers, and he had his shepherd bring him a ram that was the oldest in +the flock. + + Only Medea was permitted to come into that chamber with the king; the +ways to it were guarded, and all that took place in it was secret. Medea +was brought to the closed door by her guard. She opened it and she saw the +king there and the vat already prepared; she saw a ram tethered near the +vat. + + Medea looked upon the king. In the light of the torches his face was +white and fierce and his mouth moved gaspingly. She spoke to him quietly, +and said: "There is no need for you to hear me speak. You will watch a +great miracle, for behold! the ram which is the oldest and feeblest in the +flock will become young and invigorated when it comes forth from this +vat." + + She untethered the ram, and with the help of Pelias drew it to the vat. +This was not hard to do, for the beast was very feeble; its feet could +hardly bear it upright, its wool was yellow and stayed only in patches on +its shrunken body. Easily the beast was forced into the vat. Then Medea +drew the phial out of her bosom and poured into the water some of the brew +she had made in Creon's garden in Corinth. The water in the vat took on a +strange bubbling, and the ram sank down. + + Then Medea, standing beside the vat, sang an incantation. + + "O Earth," she sang, "O Earth who dost provide wise men with potent +herbs, O Earth help me now. I am she who can drive the clouds; I am she +who can dispel the winds; I am she who can break the jaws of serpents with +my incantations; I am she who can uproot living trees and rocks; who can +make the mountains shake; who can bring the ghosts from their tombs. O +Earth, help me now." At this strange incantation the mixture in the vat +boiled and bubbled more and more. Then the boiling and bubbling ceased. Up +to the surface came the ram. Medea helped it to struggle out of the vat, +and then it turned and smote the vat with its head. + + Pelias took down a torch and stood before the beast. Vigorous indeed was +the ram, and its wool was white and grew evenly upon it. They could not +tether it again, and when the servants were brought into the chamber it +took two of them to drag away the ram. + + The king was most eager to enter the vat and have Medea put in the brew +and speak the incantation over it. But Medea bade him wait until the +morrow. All night the king lay awake, thinking of how he might regain his +youth and his strength and be secure and triumphant thereafter. + + At the first light he sent for Medea and he told her that he would have +the vat made ready and that he would go into it that night. Medea looked +upon him, and the helplessness that he showed made her want to work a +greater evil upon him, or, if not upon him, upon his house. How soon it +would have reached its end, all her plot for the destruction of this king! +But she would leave in the king's house a misery that would not have an +end so soon. + + So she said to the king: "I would say the incantation over a beast of +the field, but over a king I could not say it. Let those of your own blood +be with you when you enter the vat that will bring such change to you. +Have your daughters there. I will give them the juice to mix in the vat, +and I will teach them the incantation that has to be said." + + So she said, and she made Pelias consent to having his daughters and not +Medea in the chamber of the vat. They were sent for and they came before +Medea, the daughters of King Pelias. + + They were women who had been borne down by the tyranny of their father; +they stood before him now, two dim-eyed creatures, very feeble and +fearful. To them Medea gave the phial that had in it the liquid to mix in +the vat; also she taught them the words of the incantation, but she taught +them to use these words wrongly. + + The vat was prepared in the lower chambers; Pelias and his daughters +went there, and the chamber was guarded, and what happened there was in +secret. Pelias went into the vat; the brew was thrown into it, and the vat +boiled and bubbled as before. Pelias sank down in it. Over him then his +daughters said the magic words as Medea had taught them. + + Pelias sank down, but he did not rise again. The hours went past and the +morning came, and the daughters of King Pelias raised frightened laments. +Over the sides of the vat the mixture boiled and bubbled, and Pelias was +to be seen at the bottom with his limbs stiffened in death. + + Then the guards came, and they took King Pelias out of the vat and left +him in his royal chamber. The word went through the palace that the king +was dead. There was a hush in the palace then, but not the hush of grief. +One by one servants and servitors stole away from the palace that was +hated by all. Then there was clatter in the streets as the fierce fighting +men from the mountains galloped away with what plunder they could seize. +And through all this the daughters of King Pelias sat crouching in fear +above the body of their father. + + And Medea, still an ancient woman seemingly, went through the crowds +that now came on the streets of the city. She told those she went amongst +that the son of AEson was alive and would soon be in their midst. Hearing +this the men of the city formed a council of elders to rule the people +until Jason's coming. In such way Medea brought about the end of King +Pelias's reign. + + In triumph she went through the city. But as she was passing the temple +her dress was caught and held, and turning around she faced the ancient +priestess of Artemis, Iphias. "Thou art AEetes's daughter," Iphias said, +"who in deceit didst come into Iolcus. Woe to thee and woe to Jason for +what thou hast done this day! Not for the slaying of Pelias art thou +blameworthy, but for the misery that thou hast brought upon his daughters +by bringing them into the guilt of the slaying. Go from the city, daughter +of King AEetes; never, never wilt thou come back into it." + + But little heed did Medea pay to the ancient priestess, Iphias. Still in +the guise of an old woman she went through the streets of the city, and +out through the gate and along the highway that led from Iolcus. To that +dark pool she came where she had bathed herself before. But now she did +not step into the pool nor pour its water over her shrinking flesh; +instead she built up two altars of green sods--an altar to Youth and an +altar to Hecate, queen of the witches; she wreathed them with green boughs +from the forest, and she prayed before each. Then she made herself naked, +and she anointed herself with the brew she had made from the magical herbs +and grasses. All marks of age and decrepitude left her, and when she stood +over the dark pool and looked down on herself she saw that her body was +white and shapely as before, and that her hair was soft and lovely. + + [Illustration] + + + She stayed all night between the tangled wood and the dark pool, and +with the first light the car drawn by the scaly dragons came to her. She +mounted the car, and she journeyed back to Corinth. + + + + Into Jason's mind a fear of Medea had come since the hour when he had +seen her mount the car drawn by the scaly dragons. He could not think of +her any more as the one who had been his companion on the _Argo_. He +thought of her as one who could help him and do wonderful things for him, +but not as one whom he could talk softly and lovingly to. Ah, but if Jason +had thought less of his kingdom and less of his triumphing with the Fleece +of Gold, Medea would not have had the dragons come to her. + + And now that his love for Medea had altered, Jason noted the loveliness +of another--of Glauce, the daughter of Creon, the King of Corinth. And +Glauce, who had red lips and the eyes of a child, saw in Jason who had +brought the Golden Fleece out of Colchis the image of every hero she had +heard about in stories. Creon, the king, often brought Jason and Glauce +together, for his hope was that the hero would wed his daughter and stay +in Corinth and strengthen his kingdom. He thought that Medea, that strange +woman, could not keep a companionship with Jason. + + Two were walking in the king's garden, and they were Jason and Glauce. A +shadow fell between them, and when Jason looked up he saw Medea's dragon +car. Down flew the dragons, and Medea came from the car and stood between +Jason and the princess. Angrily she spoke to him. "I have made the kingdom +ready for your return," she said, "but if you would go there you must +first let me deal in my own way with this pretty maiden." And so fiercely +did Medea look upon her that Glauce shrank back and clung to Jason for +protection. "O, Jason," she cried, "thou didst say that I am such a one as +thou didst dream of when in the forest with Chiron, before the adventure +of the Golden Fleece drew thee away from the Grecian lands. Oh, save me +now from the power of her who comes in the dragon car." And Jason said: "I +said all that thou hast said, and I will protect thee, O Glauce." + + And then Medea thought of the king's house she had left for Jason, and +of the brother whom she had let be slain, and of the plot she had carried +out to bring Jason back to Iolcus, and a great fury came over her. In her +hand she took foam from the jaws of the dragons, and she cast the foam +upon Glauce, and the princess fell back into the arms of Jason with the +dragon foam burning into her. + + Then, seeing in his eyes that he had forgotten all that he owed to +her--the winning of the Golden Fleece, and the safety of _Argo_, and the +destruction of the power of King Pelias--seeing in his eyes that Jason had +forgotten all this, Medea went into her dragon-borne car and spoke the +words that made the scaly dragons bear her aloft. She flew from Corinth, +leaving Jason in King Creon's garden with Glauce dying in his arms. He +lifted her up and laid her upon a bed, but even as her friends came around +her the daughter of King Creon died. + + + + +[Decorative first letter] +_A_ND Jason? For long he stayed in Corinth, a famous man indeed, but one +sorrowful and alone. But again there grew in him the desire to rule and to +have possessions. He called around him again the men whose home was in +Iolcus--those who had followed him as bright-eyed youths when he first +proclaimed his purpose of winning the Fleece of Gold. He called them +around him, and he led them on board the _Argo_. Once more they lifted +sails, and once more they took the _Argo_ into the open sea. + + Toward Iolcus they sailed; their passage was fortunate, and in a short +time they brought the _Argo_ safely into the harbor of Pagasae. Oh, happy +were the crowds that came thronging to see the ship that had the famous +Fleece of Gold upon her masthead, and green and sweet smelling were the +garlands that the people brought to wreathe the heads of Jason and his +companions! Jason looked upon the throngs, and he thought that much had +gone from him, but he thought that whatever else had gone something +remained to him--to be a king and a great ruler over a people. + + And so Jason came back to Iolcus. The _Argo_ he made a blazing pile of +in sacrifice to Poseidon, the god of the sea. The Golden Fleece he hung in +the temple of the gods. Then he took up the rule of the kingdom that +Cretheus had founded, and he became the greatest of the kings of Greece. + + And to Iolcus there came, year after year, young men who would look upon +the gleaming thing that was hung there in the temple of the gods. And as +they looked upon it, young man after young man, the thought would come to +each that he would make himself strong enough and heroic enough to win for +his country something as precious as Jason's GOLDEN FLEECE. And for all +their lives they kept in mind the words that Jason had inscribed upon a +pillar that was placed beside the Fleece of Gold--the words that Triton +spoke to the Argonauts when they were fain to win their way out of the +inland sea:-- + + + THAT IS THE OUTLET TO THE SEA, WHERE THE DEEP WATER LIES UNMOVED + AND DARK; ON EACH SIDE ROLL WHITE BREAKERS WITH SHINING CRESTS; + AND THE WAY BETWEEN FOR YOUR PASSAGE OUT IS NARROW. BUT GO IN JOY, + AND AS FOR LABOR LET THERE BE NO GRIEVING THAT LIMBS IN YOUTHFUL + VIGOR SHOULD STILL TOIL. + + + + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE + + + The book received a Newbery Honor Award (1922). + + Illustrations in the original appear on separate, unnumbered pages. 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