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Things Not Generally Known: Hercules

Hercules. A celebrated hero who, after death, was ranked among the gods. Hero. A beautiful priestess of Venus, greatly enamored of Leander, who used to swim across the Hellespont to see her, while she directed his course by holding a burning torch on the top of a high tower. One stormy night Leander was drowned, whereupon Hero threw herself into the sea and perished also. Hesione. A daughter of Loademon, king of Troy. It was her fate to be exposed to a sea-monster, to whom the Trojans presented yearly a young girl to appease the resentment of Apollo and Neptune, whom Loademon had offended. Hercules undertook to rescue her, and attacking the monster just as he was about to devour her, killed him with his club.

Hesperides. Three celebrated nymphs who were appointed to guard the golden apples which Juno gave to Jupiter on the day of their nuptials. Hyacinthus. A son of Amyclas and Diomede, greatly beloved by Apollo and Zephyrus. He was accidently killed by Apollo, who changed his blood into a flower which bore his name.

Hygeia. The goddess of health, daughter of Esculapius. She was held in great veneration among the ancients.

Icarus. A son of Daedalus who, with his father, took a winged flight from Crete to escape the anger of Minos. His flight was too high, and thus the sun melted the wax which cemented his wings, and he fell into the sea and was drowned. Io, a daughter of Inachus, was a priestess of Juno at Argos. Jupiter changed her into a beautiful heifer, and eventually restored her to her own form. She was greatly persecuted by Juno.

Isis. A celebrated deity of the Egyptians, daughter of Saturn and Rhea, according to Diodorus of Sicily.

Janus. An ancient king who reigned in Italy. He was a native of Thessaly, and according to some writers, a son of Apollo.

Juno. A celebrated deity among the ancients, daughter of Saturn and Ops. Jupiter married her, and the nuptials were celebrated with the greatest solemnity in the presence of all the gods. By her marriage with Jupiter, Juno became the queen of all the gods, and mistress of heaven and earth. She presided over marriage, and patronized those of her sex who were distinguished for virtuous conduct. Jupiter. The chief of all the gods of the ancients.

Laocoon. A priest of Apollo, who in the Trojan war was opposed to the admission of the wooden horse to the city.

Lares. Gods of inferior power at Rome, who presided over houses and families. Lemures. The manes of the dead. The ancients supposed that after death the departed souls wandered over the world and disturbed the peace of its inhabitants. Lethe. One of the rivers of hell, whose waters were imbibed by the souls of the dead which had been for a certain time confined in Tartarus. Those who drank of this river forgot whatever they had previously known. Lucifer. The name of the planet Venus, or morning star. Lucina. Daughter of Jupiter and Juno. She was the goddess who presided over the birth of children.

A Medusa. One of the three Gorgons, daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. She was the only one of the Gorgons subject to mortality. She was celebrated for her personal charms and the beauty of her hair, which Minerva changed into serpents. Mars, the god of war, was the son of Jupiter and Juno. The loves of Mars and Venus are greatly celebrated. On one occasion, while in each other's company, Vulcan spread a net round them, from which they could not escape without assistance. They were thus exposed to the ridicule of the gods till Neptune induced Vulcan to set them at liberty.

Melpomene. One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over tragedy. She is generally represented as a young woman wearing a buskin and holding a dagger in her hand.

Mercurius. A celebrated god of antiquity, called Hermes by the Greeks. He was the messenger of the gods, and conducted the souls of the dead into the infernal regions.

Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, war, and all the liberal arts, sprang, full grown and armed, from the head of Jupiter, and was immediately admitted to the assembly of the gods, and became one of the most faithful counsellors of her father.

Her power in heaven was so great, she could hurl the thunders of Jupiter, prolong the life of men, and bestow the gift of prophecy. Minotaurus. A celebrated monster, half a man, and half a bull, for which a number of young Athenian men and maidens were yearly exacted to be devoured. Mnemosyne. A daughter of Cœlus and Terra, mother of the nine Muses. Jupiter assumed the form of a shepherd in order to enjoy her company. Momus, the god of mirth among the ancients, according to Hesiod, was the son of

Nox. He amused himself by satirizing the gods by turning into ridicule whatever they did. Morpheus. A minister of the god Somnus, who imitated very naturally the gestures, words, and manners of mankind. He is sometimes called the god of sleep.

He is generally represented as a sleeping child, of great corpulence, with wings. Naiades. Inferior deities who presided over rivers, springs, wells, and fountains. Narcissus, a beautiful youth, son of Cephisus and the nymph Liriope, was born at

Thespis in Bœotia. He saw his image reflected in a fountain and became in love with it, thinking it to be the nymph of the place. His fruitless attempts to reach this beautiful object so provoked him, that he killed himself. His blood was then changed into a flower, which still bears his name.

Nemesis. One of the infernal deities, daughter of Nox. She was the goddess of vengeance.

Neptunus. One of the gods, son of Saturn and Ops, and brother to Jupiter and Pluto. He was devoured by his father as soon as he was born, and restored to life again by a potion given to Saturn by Metis, the first wife of Jupiter. Nereides. Nymphs of the sea, daughters of Nereus and Doris. According to most of the mythologists they were fifty in number. They are represented as young and handsome girls, sitting on dolphins and armed with tridents. Nessus. A celebrated Centaur killed by Hercules for insulting Dejanira. Nox. One of the most ancient deities among the heathens, daughter of Chaos. She gave birth to the Day and the Light, and was mother of the Parcæ, Hesperides, Dreams, Death, etc.