Bulfinchs Mythology | Page 6

place of rising in the
east. Milton alludes to this in his "Comus":
"Now the gilded car of day His golden axle doth allay In the steep
Atlantic stream, And the slope Sun his upward beam Shoots against the
dusky pole, Pacing towards the other goal Of his chamber in the east"
The abode of the gods was on the summit of Mount Olympus, in
Thessaly. A gate of clouds, kept by the goddesses named the Seasons,
opened to permit the passage of the Celestials to earth, and to receive
them on their return. The gods had their separate dwellings; but all,
when summoned, repaired to the palace of Jupiter, as did also those
deities whose usual abode was the earth, the waters, or the underworld.
It was also in the great hall of the palace of the Olympian king that the
gods feasted each day on ambrosia and nectar, their food and drink, the
latter being handed round by the lovely goddess Hebe. Here they
conversed of the affairs of heaven and earth; and as they quaffed their
nectar, Apollo, the god of music, delighted them with the tones of his
lyre, to which the Muses sang in responsive strains. When the sun was

set, the gods retired to sleep in their respective dwellings.
The following lines from the "Odyssey" will show how Homer
conceived of Olympus:
"So saying, Minerva, goddess azure-eyed, Rose to Olympus, the
reputed seat Eternal of the gods, which never storms Disturb, rains
drench, or snow invades, but calm The expanse and cloudless shmes
with purest day. There the inhabitants divine rejoice Forever"--Cowper.
The robes and other parts of the dress of the goddesses were woven by
Minerva and the Graces and everything of a more solid nature was
formed of the various metals. Vulcan was architect, smith, armorer,
chariot builder, and artist of all work in Olympus. He built of brass the
houses of the gods; he made for them the golden shoes with which they
trod the air or the water, and moved from place to place with the speed
of the wind, or even of thought. He also shod with brass the celestial
steeds, which whirled the chariots of the gods through the air, or along
the surface of the sea. He was able to bestow on his workmanship
self-motion, so that the tripods (chairs and tables) could move of
themselves in and out of the celestial hall. He even endowed with
intelligence the golden handmaidens whom he made to wait on himself.
Jupiter, or Jove (Zeus [Footnote: The names included in parentheses are
the Greek, the others being the Roman or Latin names] ), though called
the father of gods and men, had himself a beginning. Saturn (Cronos)
was his father, and Rhea (Ops) his mother. Saturn and Rhea were of the
race of Titans, who were the children of Earth and Heaven, which
sprang from Chaos, of which we shall give a further account in our next
chapter.
There is another cosmogony, or account of the creation, according to
which Earth, Erebus, and Love were the first of beings. Love (Eros)
issued from the egg of Night, which floated on Chaos. By his arrows
and torch he pierced and vivified all things, producing life and joy.
Saturn and Rhea were not the only Titans. There were others, whose
names were Oceanus, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Ophion, males; and

Themis, Mnemosyne, Eurynome, females. They are spoken of as the
elder gods, whose dominion was afterwards transferred to others.
Saturn yielded to Jupiter, Oceanus to Neptune, Hyperion to Apollo.
Hyperion was the father of the Sun, Moon, and Dawn. He is therefore
the original sun-god, and is painted with the splendor and beauty which
were afterwards bestowed on Apollo.
"Hyperion's curls, the front of Jove himself"
--Shakspeare.
Ophion and Eurynome ruled over Olympus till they were dethroned by
Saturn and Rhea. Milton alludes to them in "Paradise Lost." He says
the heathens seem to have had some knowledge of the temptation and
fall of man.
"And fabled how the serpent, whom they called Ophion, with
Eurynome, (the wide- Encroaching Eve perhaps,) had first the rule Of
high Olympus, thence by Saturn driven."
The representations given of Saturn are not very consistent; for on the
one hand his reign is said to have been the golden age of innocence and
purity, and on the other he is described as a monster who devoured his
children. [Footnote: This inconsistency arises from considering the
Saturn of the Romans the same with the Grecian deity Cronos (Time),
which, as it brings an end to all things which have had a beginning,
may be said to devour its own offspring] Jupiter, however, escaped this
fate, and when grown up espoused Metis (Prudence), who administered
a draught to Saturn which caused