$41. (10) MINERVA. Under the name of Minerva among the Romans and of Haas and 'Av among the Greeks, ancient fiction personified and deified the idea of high intelligence and wisdom. She was a daughter of Jupiter, sprung from his head. She is said first to have revealed herself near the lake Tritonis in Libya, from which circumstance she was called Tritonia, according to some; others derive this epithet, and the Greek ToiToyéveta, from the word τριτώ signifying head.

The Greeks ascribed to this goddess the invention of many arts and sciences (1), which had a great influence on their civilization. She was regarded as inventress of the flute, of embroidery and spinning, the use of the olive, and various instruments of war; in short, of most works indicating superior intelligence or skill. Arachne's contest with her in working with the needle, and consequent despair and transformation are beautifully described by Ovid (2). (1) Ov. Fastor. iii. 815.—(2) Metam. vi. 5.

$42. The city of Athens was consecrated to Minerva, and boasted of receiving its name from her. The splendid temple at that place dedicated to her was called Parthenon, in reference to her virgin purity (apiros). She had other temples, at Erythræ, Tegea, and Sunium, and several at Rome. Her principal festivals among the Greeks were the Panathenca, the greater and the less, and among the Romans, the Quinquatria, on each of which, games and contests were held. The owl was sacred to Minerva, and is often found on her images and on the Athenian coins.

The following is the story respecting the name of the city of Athens:When Cecrops built a new city, Neptune and Minerva contended about its name; and it was resolved in the assembly of the gods, that whichsoever of the two deities found out the most useful creature to man, should give the name to the city. Neptune struck the ground with his trident, and a horse issued from the earth. Minerva caused an olive to spring up. The latter was pronounced the more useful thing, and Minerva therefore gave the city her own name, Aðŋvā. Dr. Clarke imagines that this story had its origin from the fact, that the plains of Greece were once covered or nearly so with water, which was afterwards removed by evaporation and other causes, and thus a cultivable soil was presented to the inhabitants.

Clarke's Travels in various countries &c. Part II. sect. ii. ch. 12.-Respecting the Parthenon, cf. P. I. § 234, 242. P. V. §107. On the remains of the temple of Sunium, cf. Am. Quart. Rev. vol. VI. p. 234.

43. Minerva is usually represented in military armor, with a helmet, the Ægis, or her peculiar cuirass bearing on it Medusa's head, with a spear and often a shield or buckler in her hand. (See Plate XI. fig. 6.) Her helmet is generally ornamented with the figure of the owl, but presents various forms. The collossal statue of Minerva, wrought by Phidias, and the Palladium were much celebrated; the former (1) on account of the perfection of its workmanship, the latter (2) on account of the superstitious confidence placed in it by the Trojans, Greeks and Romans. Besides the names Minerva, Pallas, and Athena, this goddess was often called Пativos, Egyúris, and 'Egyúvn, Пotus; she is also termed Musica, Pylotis, and very often Γλαυκώπις or Cæsia.

(1) See P. I. $160, 161, 179. P. V. $107. — (2) The Palladium was a statue of Pallas, with a spear in one hand and a distaff in the other, about three cubits high. It was said to have fallen from heaven into the citadel of Troy or

Illium before it was completely built, and that the oracle of Apollo being consulted upon this occurrence answered, that "the city should be safe so long as that image remained within it." When the Greeks beseiged Troy, it was therefore thought of the first consequence to obtain this image. Ulysses and Diomedes succeeded it getting it by stealth (Vir. En. ii. 162). It was said to have been afterwards recovered from Diomedes by Eneas, carried to Italy, and finally lodged in the temple of Vesta.

Minerva is supposed to have been originally an Egyptian deity, worshiped particularly at Sais, under the title of Neith or Netha. Various Etymologies of her name Arya have been given; among them is the conjecture, which derives it from the name of the Egyptian deity just mentioned, by inverting the order of the letters, νηθα αθην.

44. (11) MARS. The god of war and battles was a son of Jupiter and Juno, and educated in Thrace. He was viewed as presiding over rude and fierce war, the origin of which was ascribed to him, while Minerva had the credit of inventing tactics and the proper military art. Notwithstanding the high idea which Homer gives of the strength and heroism of Mars, he represents him as taken prisoner by Otus and Ephialtes, and wounded by Diomedes; it was, however by the help of Minerva (Il. v. 383, 855). Besides these occurrences, his amors with Venus and his dispute with Neptune respecting the son of the latter, Hallirrhotius, who was put to death by Mars, constitute all that is remarkable in his history.

45. He was most worshiped in Thrace (1), where probably the whole conception of such a god originated. He had however temples and priests in most of the Grecian cities. The Romans regarded him as the father of Romulus, and the founder and protector of their nation. They erected to him many temples, consecrated to him a large public place, the Campus Martius, and a peculiar order of priests (2), the Salii, who celebrated his festival with music and dancing in solemn processions.

(1) Mars was never a favorite deity with the Hellenic tribes of Greece, and his worship was comparatively neglected. But among the Romans, few gods were more popular; they even claimed him as the founder of their race. It is not easy to discover the origin of this deity; he seems to have been derived from the Pelasgi, or some other warlike and barbarous tribe, rather than Egypt. He bears a striking resemblance to the northern Odin, and probably was the same deity under another name." Tooke's Pantheon, Lond. ed. 1831. (2) Liv. i. 20. Ov. Fast. iii. 259. It was a special business of these priests to guard the ancilia, or sacred shields. (Cf. P. I. § 114. 4. P. IV. § 215.) — Several animals were consecrated to Mars; the horse for his vigor, the wolf for his fierceness, the dog for his vigilance. Magpies and vultures were also offered to him on account of their greediness.

46. The ancient artists have represented Mars in full manly vigor, with a strong but agile body, and an air calm and collected, rather than vehement or passionate. He commonly appears equipped in armor; sometimes naked; sometimes in the attitude of marching, as Mars Gradivus. He was called "Aons by the Greeks; his other names are Odrysius, Strymonius, Enyalius, Thurius, Quirinus, Ultor.

He is also represented as riding in a chariot drawn by furious horses, covered with armor and brandishing a spear in his right hand. (See Plate XI. fig. 7.) Sometimes Bellona, the goddess of war, drives the chariot, bearing in her hand a flaming torch. Sometimes he is represented as attended with a horrid retinue, Clamor, Anger, Discord, Fear, Terror, and Fame.

Bellona, called by the Greeks 'Ervo, is sometimes said to be the wife, sometimes the sister, and sometimes the daughter of Mars. She had a temple at Rome, and before it was a pillar called Bellica, over which the herald threw a spear when war was proclaimed.

,

$47. (12) VENUS. The ideal of the most perfect female beauty, and the love awakened by it, was in eastern fiction expressed and personified in an imaginary goddess; she was called by the Romans Venus, and by the Greeks Aggodity. According to the common story, she was born from the foam (aggos) of the sea; in Homer she is presented as a daughter of Jupiter and Dione. After her birth she came first to Cythera, and thence to Cyprus. Many of the gods sought her; but Vulcan obtained her as his spouse. She, however, loved Mars, Mercury, and Adonis especially, although with unrequited passion; the early death of the latter she bitterly lamented (a). In her contest with Juno and Minerva, Paris awarded to Venus the prize of beauty. Hence her memorable zeal for the interests of the Trojans.

(a) Ovid, Metam. x. 500, 71788. - Bion, Idyl on the death of Adonis. Cf. P. II. § 69. The story respecting Adonis, the young favorite of Venus, is, that being engaged in hunting, of which he was excessively fond, he received a mortal wound from a wild boar. At this Venus was immoderately grieved, and Proserpina restored him to life on condition of his spending six months with Venus and six with herself. It has been explained thus: "Adonis, or Adonai, was an oriental title of the sun signifying Lord; the boar, supposed to have killed him, was the emblem of winter, during which the productive powers of nature being suspended, Venus was said to lament the loss of Adonis until he was restored again to life; whence both the Syrian and Argive women annually mourned his death, and celebrated his renovation; " - Lucian (De Syria Dea) gives an account of the festival Adonia, held in honor of him at Byblus. Cf. P. IV. § 77. 2.

48. The most celebrated places of her worship were Golgi, Pa phos, and Amathus, upon the island of Cyprus, which was wholly consecrated to her; Cythera, Cnidos, and Eryx in Sicily; all situated near the sea, and in delightful regions. In Rome she was honored as the pretended mother of Eneas, the ancestor of the nation, although her worship was first formally introduced from Sicily, in the sixth century after the building of the city. The pigeon or dove, the myrtle, and the rose were especially sacred to the goddess of love.

The swan and the sparrow were also sacred to Venus. Her sacrifices were goats and swine, with libations of wine, milk, and honey. Some have considered the worship of Venus as derived from corruptions of the tradition respecting the universal deluge; her rising from the sea being a type of the world emerging from the waves of the flood. Bryant's Mythology. — Holwell's Myth. Dict.

$49. The poets and artists of antiquity endeavored in the description and representation of Venus to embody the fullest and purest idea of female beauty. The most distinguished antique statue of her is the famous Medicean Venus at Florence (1). Various images and attributes (2) were given to her, under the different characters of Venus Urania, Marina, Victrix, &c. She was likewise known under the names Erycina, Anadyomene (araðvouérn), Paphia, Idalia. (1) See P. I. § 186. 5. — (2) Heyne, über die Vorstellungsarter der Venus, in his Antiquar. Aufsätze. Manso's Abhandl. über die Venus, in his Versuch. über mytholog. Gegenstande.

The names and epithets of Venus were exceedingly numerous; as, Cypria, Πάνδημος, Cytherea, Φιλομειδής, Τελεσίγαμος, Verticordia, Εταίρα, Acidalia,

Libertina, Saligenita, Oalaoola, &c. — She is represented, on coins and in the descriptions of the poets, in various ways; sometimes she is clothed with a purple mantle glittering with diamonds, her head crowned with myrtle and roses, riding in a chariot made of ivory, finely carved, painted and gilded, and drawn by swans, doves, or sparrows. Sometimes she is attended with the Graces and several Cupids. (See Plate X. fig. 6.) At one time she appears like a young virgin, rising from the sea and riding in a shell; at another, she holds the shell in her hand. In the celebrated picture by Apelles (cf. P. I. § 222), she appears rising from the bosom of the waves and wringing her tresses on her shoulders. In some representations she has golden sandals on her feet, and holds before her a brilliant mirror. The Sicyonians exhibited her with a poppy in one hand and an apple in the other. In Elis she was painted as sitting on a goat and treading on a tortoise. She usually had a belt or girdle called Cestus, in which all kinds of pleasures are said to be folded.

50. The son of this goddess, "Eows, Amor, or Cupid, was her common companion, and the god of love, which he was supposed to influence by his arrows. He is represented with a bow and arrows(a), often with a burning torch in his hand. He was very frequently exhibited on ancient works of art, and in a great variety of forms (b). Often several cupids appear in company. His attachment to Psyche is the chief incident in his story, and forms one of the most beautiful allegories (c) of antiquity. Artiqws, Anteros, who is usually considered the god of mutual love, was originally the god that avenges despised love. He is sometimes represented as wrestling with Cupid.

(a) See our Plate XI. fig. 9. —(b) Cf. Manso, as cited § 49.-(c) Cf. P. II. § 471. 2.

Hymenæus was also one of the imaginary companions of Venus. He presided over marriage. He was represented as of fair complexion, crowned with the amaracus or sweet marjoram, carrying in one hand a torch and in the other a veil of flame color, indicating the blushes of a virgin.

51. (13) VULCAN. In unenlightened periods, the violent agencies of the elements, as well as the appearances of the heavenly luminaries, excited astonishment and were deified. Traces of the worship of fire are found in the earliest times. The Egyptians had their god of fire, from whom the Greeks derived the worship of "Halotos, called by the Romans Vulcanus or Vulcan. Fable styles him the son of Jupiter and Juno. On Occount of his deformity his mother thrust him from Olympus; or, according to another story, Jupiter hurled him out, because he attempted to help Juno when fastened by the golden chain. He fell upon the island Lemnos, afterwards his chief residence, and was, according to the later fictions (2), lamed by his fall.

(1) Hom. Il. xviii. 395. i. 590.—(2) Val. Flac. Argon. ii. 87.

$52. To Vulcan was ascribed the invention of all those arts that are connected with the smelting and working of metals by means of fire, which element was considered as subject to him. His helpers and servants in such works were the Cyclops, sons of Uranus and Gaia, whose residence also was in Lemnos, and of whom there are commonly mentioned three, Brontes, Steropes, and Pyrakmon. These are to be distinguished from the Sicilian Cyclops of a later period.

1. The epithet Cyclopian is applied to certain structures of stone, chiefly walls, in which large masses of rough stone are nicely adjusted and fitted together.

Cf. P. I. § 231. 3. - Freret, L'Histoire des Cyclops, Mem, Acad, Inscr. xx111. 27.

2u. Mount Etna was represented as the workshop of Vulcan; so also Lipara, one of the Æolian isles, called likewise Vulcanian. Works requiring peculiar art and extraordinary strength, especially when metals were employed as materials, were called by the poets Vulcan's masterpieces. Among these were the palaces of Phoebus (1), of Mars (2), and Venus (3); the golden chain of Juno (4), the thunderbolts of Jupiter (5), the crown of Ariadne (6), the arms of Achilles (7) and of Eneas (8), &c.

(1) Ov. Metam. ii. 1.—(2) Stat. Theb. vii. 38. (3) Claud. Epithal. Honor. et Mar. v. 58. -(4) Pausan. Att. c. 20. Lacon. c. 17. (5) Ov. Metam. i. 258.—(6) Ov. Fast. iii. 513.(7) Hom. Il. xviii. 468.—(8) Virg. Æn. viii. 407.

3. Vulcan is said to have formed, by request of Jupiter, the first woman; she was called Pandora, because each of the gods gave her some present, or accomplishment. Cf. Hes. Works and Days, v. 94.

53. According to the earlier fictions, Vulcan had for his wife Charis, or Aglaia; and according to the later, Venus, after Minerva had rejected him. Harmonia was his daughter, or the daughter of Mars and Venus. The Giants Cacus and Cæculus were called his He was worshiped particularly in Lemnos, and the Vulcanian isles. A temple was dedicated to him upon Etna. At Rome the Vulcanalia were celebrated in honor of him, and at Athens the Χαλκεία. Some of his names are the following; Lemnius, Mulciber, Cyllopodes (zvlλoñódys), Amphigyeis (àμqiyúneis).

sons.

A calf and a male pig were the principal victims offered in sacrifice to him. Some writers derive the name and story of Vulcan from Tubal-Cain mentioned by Moses (Gen. iv. 22). — Holwell, Myth. Dict.

$54. Vulcan was usually represented as engaged in his work, with hammer and pincers in his hands; sitting more frequently than standing (a). His lameness is not indicated in any existing monuments, although it was in many ancient statues (b).

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(a) See Plate X. fig. 4. (b) Cic. de Nat. Deor. i. 30.-"That by Vulcan is understood fire, the name itself discovers, if we believe Verro, who says that the word Vulcanus is derived from the force and violence of fire (Vulca nius, quasi Volicanus, quod ignis per aerem volitat, vel a vi ac violentia ignis); and therefore he is painted with a blue hat, a symbol of the celestial or elementary fire." (Tooke.) —"Vulcan was represented covered with sweat, blowing with his nervous arms the fires of his forges. His breast was hairy and his forehead blackened with smoke. Some represented him lame and deformed, holding a hammer in the air ready to strike; while with the other hand he turns with pincers a thunderbolt on his anvil. He appears on some monuments with a long beard, disheveled hair, half naked, and a small round cap on his head, with hammer and pincers in his hand.” (Lemp.)

55. (14) MERCURY. The Greeks borrowed the worship of this god from the Egyptians, whose Hermes Trismegistus is so celebrated in their early history. According to the Greek and Roman fables, Hous, Mercurius or Mercury, was the son of Jupiter and Maia. Maia was a daughter of Atlas, found by Jupiter in the cave Cyllene in Arcadia, and afterwards with her six sisters placed by him among the stars, thus forming the constellation named Pleiades from their mother Pleione.

The principal characteristics of Mercury were cunning and dexterity, which he exhibited even in his childhood, and not always in the most praiseworthy manner. This appears from the tricks related of him and from the circumstance, that he was considered as the god not only of mercature, but also of theft; although the latter in early times was not viewed so much as a crime, as an evidence of