The Age of Fable | Page 4

monkish chroniclers. These fables they arranged in order, adorned with the embellishments of fancy, amplified from their own invention, and stamped with immortality. It may safely be asserted that as long as civilization shall endure these productions will retain their place among the most cherished creations of human genius.
In "Stories of Gods and Heroes," "King Arthur and His Knights" and "The Mabinogeon" the aim has been to supply to the modern reader such knowledge of the fables of classical and mediaeval literature as is needed to render intelligible the allusions which occur in reading and conversation. The "Legends of Charlemagne" is intended to carry out the same design. Like the earlier portions of the work, it aspires to a higher character than that of a piece of mere amusement. It claims to be useful, in acquainting its readers with the subjects of the productions of the great poets of Italy. Some knowledge of these is expected of every well-educated young person.
In reading these romances, we cannot fail to observe how the primitive inventions have been used, again and again, by successive generations of fabulists. The Siren of Ulysses is the prototype of the Siren of Orlando, and the character of Circe reappears in Alcina. The fountains of Love and Hatred may be traced to the story of Cupid and Psyche; and similar effects produced by a magic draught appear in the tale of Tristram and Isoude, and, substituting a flower for the draught, in Shakspeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream." There are many other instances of the same kind which the reader will recognize without our assistance.
The sources whence we derive these stories are, first, the Italian poets named above; next, the "Romans de Chevalerie" of the Comte de Tressan; lastly, certain German collections of popular tales. Some chapters have been borrowed from Leigh Hunt's Translations from the Italian Poets. It seemed unnecessary to do over again what he had already done so well; yet, on the other hand, those stories could not be omitted from the series without leaving it incomplete.
THOMAS BULFINCH.

CONTENTS
STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES
I. Introduction II. Prometheus and Pandora III. Apollo and Daphne--Pyramus and Thisbe--Cephalus and Procris IV. Juno and her Rivals, Io and Callisto--Diana and Actaeon --Latona and the Rustics V. Phaeton VI. Midas--Baucis and Philemon VII. Proserpine--Glaucus and Scylla VIII. Pygmalion--Dryope--Venus and Adonis--Apollo and Hyacinthus IX. Ceyx and Halcyone X. Vertumnus and Pomona--Iphis and Anaxarete XI. Cupid and Psyche XII. Cadmus--The Myrmidons XIII. Nisus and Scylla--Echo and Narcissus--Clytie--Hero and Leander XIV. Minerva and Arachne--Niobe XV. The Graeae and Gorgons--Perseus and Medusa--Atlas--Andromeda XVI. Monsters: Giants--Sphinx--Pegasus and Chimaera--Centaurs --Griffin--Pygmies XVII. The Golden Fleece--Medea XVIII. Meleager and Atalanta XIX. Hercules--Hebe and Ganymede XX. Theseus and Daedalus--Castor and Pollux--Festivals and Games XXI. Bacchus and Ariadne XXII. The Rural Deities--The Dryads and Erisichthon --Rhoecus--Water Deities--Camenae--Winds XXIII. Achelous and Hercules--Admetus and Alcestis--Antigone--Penelope XXIV. Orpheus and Eurydice--Aristaeus--Amphion--Linus --Thamyris--Marsyas--Melampus--Musaeus XXV. Arion--Ibycus--Simonides--Sappho XXVI. Endymion--Orion--Aurora and Tithonus--Acis and Galatea XXVII. The Trojan War XXVIII. The Fall of Troy--Return of the Greeks--Orestes and Electra XXIX. Adventures of Ulysses--The Lotus-eaters--The Cyclopes --Circe--Sirens--Scylla and Charybdis--Calypso XXX. The Phaeacians--Fate of the Suitors XXXI. Adventures of Aeneas--The Harpies--Dido--Palinurus XXXII. The Infernal Regions--The Sibyl XXXIII. Aeneas in Italy--Camilla--Evander--Nisus and Euryalus --Mezentius--Turnus XXXIV. Pythagoras--Egyptian Deities--Oracles XXXV. Origin of Mythology--Statues of Gods and Goddesses --Poets of Mythology XXXVI. Monsters (modern)--The Phoenix--Basilisk--Unicorn--Salamander XXXVII. Eastern Mythology--Zoroaster--Hindu Mythology--Castes--Buddha --The Grand Lama--Prester John XXXVIII. Northern Mythology--Valhalla--The Valkyrior XXXIX. Thor's Visit to Jotunheim XL. The Death of Baldur--The Elves--Runic Letters--Skalds--Iceland --Teutonic Mythology--The Nibelungen Lied --Wagner's Nibelungen Ring XLI. The Druids--Iona
GLOSSARY

STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The religions of ancient Greece and Rome are extinct. The so- called divinities of Olympus have not a single worshipper among living men. They belong now not to the department of theology, but to those of literature and taste. There they still hold their place, and will continue to hold it, for they are too closely connected with the finest productions of poetry and art, both ancient and modern, to pass into oblivion.
We propose to tell the stories relating to them which have come down to us from the ancients, and which are alluded to by modern poets, essayists, and orators. Our readers may thus at the same time be entertained by the most charming fictions which fancy has ever created, and put in possession of information indispensable to every one who would read with intelligence the elegant literature of his own day.
In order to understand these stories, it will be necessary to acquaint ourselves with the ideas of the structure of the universe which prevailed among the Greeks--the people from whom the Romans, and other nations through them, received their science and religion.
The Greeks believed the earth to be flat and circular, their own country occupying the middle of it, the central point being either Mount Olympus, the abode of the gods, or Delphi, so