Hero Tales | Page 9

through the
fields of Elis, it empties its waters into the sea.
Years ago there was no river Alpheus; the channel through which it
flows had not then been hollowed out, and rank grass and tall bending
reeds grew thick where now its waters sparkle brightest. It was then
that a huntsman, bearing the name of Alpheus, ranged through the
woods, and chased the wild deer among the glades and glens of sweet
Arcadia. Far away by the lonely sea dwelt his fair young wife, and his
lovely babe Orsilochus; but dearer than home or wife or babe to
Alpheus, was the free life of the huntsman among the mountain
solitudes. For he loved the woods and the blue sky and the singing
birds, and the frail flowers upon the hillside; and he longed to live
among them always, where his ears could listen to their music, and his
eyes look upon their beauty.
"O Artemis, huntress queen!" he cried, "I ask but one boon of thee. Let
me ramble forever among these happy scenes!"
Artemis heard him, and answered his prayer. For, as he spoke, a bright
vision passed before him. A sweet-faced maiden went tripping down
the valley, culling the choicest flowers, and singing of hope and joy and
the blessedness of a life pure and true. It was Arethusa, the Arcadian
nymph, by some supposed to be a daughter of old Nereus, the elder of
the sea.
Then Alpheus heard no more the songs of the birds, or the music of the
breeze; he saw no longer the blue sky above him, or the nodding
flowers at his feet: he was blind and deaf to all the world, save only the
beautiful nymph. Arethusa was the world to him.
He reached out his arms to catch her; but, swifter than a frightened deer,
she fled down the valley, through deep ravines and grassy glades and
rocky caverns underneath the hills, and out into the grassy meadows,
and across the plains of Elis, to the sounding sea. And Alpheus

followed, forgetful of everything but the fleeing vision. When, at length,
he reached the sea, he looked back; and, lo! he was no longer a
huntsman, but a river doomed to meander forever among the scenes, for
love of which he had forgotten his wife and his babe and the duties of
life. It was thus that Artemis answered his prayer.
And men say that Arethusa, the nymph, was afterwards changed into a
fountain; and that to this day, in the far-off island of Ortygia, that
fountain gushes from the rocks in an unfailing, crystal stream. But
Orsilochus, the babe forgotten by his father, grew to manhood, and in
course of time became the king of the seafaring people of Messene.

THE GOLDEN APPLE
RELATED BY CHEIRON THE CENTAUR[1]
"There is a cavern somewhere on Mount Pelion larger by far and a
thousand times more beautiful than this; but its doorway is hidden to
mortals, and but few men have ever stood beneath its vaulted roof. In
that cavern the ever-living ones who oversee the affairs of men, once
held high carnival; for they had met there at the marriage feast of King
Peleus, and the woods and rocks of mighty Pelion echoed with the
sound of their merry-making. But wherefore should the marriage feast
of a mortal be held in such a place and with guests so noble and so
great? I will tell you.
"After Peleus had escaped from a plot which some wicked men had
made for his destruction, he dwelt long time with me, who am his
grandfather. But the days seemed long to him, thus shut out from
fellowship with men, and the sun seemed to move slowly in the
heavens; and often he would walk around to the other side of the
mountain, and sitting upon a great rock, he would gaze for long hours
upon the purple waters of the sea. One morning as thus he sat, he saw
the sea nymph Thetis come up out of the waves and walk upon the
shore beneath him. Fairer than a dream was she--more beautiful than
any picture of nymph or goddess. She was clad in a robe of green silk,
woven by the sea maidens in their watery grottoes; and there was a
chaplet of pearls upon her head, and sandals of sparkling silver were
upon her feet.
"As Peleus gazed upon this lovely creature, he heard a voice
whispering in his ear. It was the voice of wise Athena.

"'Most luckless of mortal men,' she said, 'there is recompense in store
for those who repent of their wrong-doing, and who, leaving the paths
of error, turn again to the road of virtue. The immortals have seen thy
sorrow for the evil deeds of