Part 4

=Heliades, The= (Heʹliades), were the daughters of Sol, and the sisters of Phaeton, at whose death they were so sad that they stood mourning till they became metamorphosed into poplar trees, and their tears were turned into amber.

=Helicon= (Helʹicon). A mountain in Boeotia sacred to the Muses, from which place the fountain Hippocrene flowed.

"Yet still the doting rhymer dreams, And sings of Helicon's bright streams; But Helicon for all his clatter Yields only uninspiring water." Broom, 1720.

=Heliconiades= (Helicoʹniades). A name given to the Muses, from Mount Helicon.

=Heliopolis= (Heliopʹolis), in Egypt, was the city of the sun.

=Helios= (Heʹlios). The Grecian sun-god, or charioteer of the sun, who went home every evening in a golden boat which had wings.

=Heliotrope= (Helʹiotrope). Clytie was turned into this flower by Apollo. See Clytie.

=Helle= (Helʹle) was drowned in the sea, into which she fell from off the back of the golden ram, on which she and Phryxus were escaping from the oppression of their stepmother Ino. The episode gave the name of the Hellespont to the part of the sea where Helle was drowned, and it is now called the Dardanelles. She was the daughter of Athamas and Nephele.

=Hellespontiacus= (Hellespontiaʹcus). A title of Priapus.

=Hemphta= (Hemphʹta). The Egyptian god Jupiter.

=Hephaestus= (Hephaesʹtus). The Greek Vulcan, the smith of the gods.

=Hera= (Heʹra). The Greek name of Juno.

=Heracles= (Herʹacles) is the same as Hercules.

=Hercules= (Herʹcules) was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena. The goddess Juno hated him from his birth, and sent two serpents to kill him, but though only eight months old he strangled them. As he got older he was set by his master Eurystheus what were thought to be twelve impossible tasks which have long been known as the "Twelve Labors of Hercules." They were:

_First_, To slay the Nemean Lion.

_Second_, To destroy the Hydra which infested the marshes of Lerna.

_Third_, To bring to Eurystheus the Arcadian Stag with the golden horns and brazen hoofs.

_Fourth_, To bring to his master the Boar of Erymanthus.

_Fifth_, To cleanse the stable of King Augeas, in which 3,000 oxen had been kept for thirty years, but had never been cleaned out.

_Sixth_, To destroy the Stymphalides, terrible carnivorous birds.

_Seventh_, To capture the Bull which was desolating Crete.

_Eighth_, To capture the mares of Diomedes, which breathed fire from their nostrils, and ate human flesh.

_Ninth_, To procure the girdle of Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons.

_Tenth_, To bring to Eurystheus the flesh-eating oxen of Geryon, the monster king of Gades.

_Eleventh_, To bring away some of the golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides.

_Twelfth_, To bring up from Hades the three-headed dog, Cerberus.

All these tasks he successfully accomplished, and, besides, he assisted the gods in their wars with the giants. Several other wonderful feats are mentioned under other headings, as Antaeus, Cacus, etc. His death was brought about through his endeavors to preserve Deianira from the attacks of Nessus, the centaur, whom he killed. The centaur, before he expired, gave his mystic tunic to Deianira, who in turn gave it to Hercules, and he put it on, but his doing so brought on an illness of which he could not be cured. In a fit of desperation he cast himself into a funeral pile on Mount Oeta; but Jupiter had him taken to heaven in a four-horse chariot, and only the mortal part of Hercules was consumed.

"Let Hercules himself do what he may, The cat will mew, and dog will have his day." Shakespeare.

=Herdsmen=, see Bubona.

=Hermae= (Herʹmae) were statues of Hermes (Mercury), which were set up in Athens for boundaries, and as direction marks for travelers.

=Hermanubis= (Herʹmanuʹbis), see Anubis.

=Hermathenae= (Hermatheʹnae) were statues of Mercury and Minerva placed together.

=Hermes= (Herʹmes). A Greek name of the god Mercury.

"Hermes obeys. With golden pinions binds His flying feet and mounts the western winds." Virgil.

=Hermione= (Hermiʹone), daughter of Mars and Venus, who was turned into a serpent, and allowed to live in the Elysian Fields. There was another Hermione, daughter of Menelaus and Helen; she was betrothed to Orestes, but was carried away by Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles.

=Hero= (Heʹro). A priestess of Venus, with whom Leander was so enamored that he swam across the Hellespont every night to visit her, but at last was drowned; when Hero saw the fate of her lover she threw herself into the sea and was also drowned.

=Heroes=, see Valhalla.

=Hesperides= (Hesperʹides). Three daughters of Hesperus, King of Italy. They were appointed to guard the golden apples which Juno gave Jupiter on their wedding day. See Hercules.

=Hesperus= (Hesʹperus), brother of Atlas, was changed into the evening star.

"To the ocean now I fly, And those happy climes that lie Where day never shuts his eye, Upon the broad fields of the sky: There I suck the liquid air, All amidst the gardens fair Of Hesperus and his daughters three, That sing about the golden tree." Milton.

=Hestia= (Hesʹtia). The Greek name of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth.

=Hieroglyphics= (Hieroglyʹphics), see Mercury.

=Highways=, see Janus.

=Hildur= (Hilʹdur). The Scandinavian Mars.

=Hippia= (Hipʹpia). A surname of Minerva.

=Hippius= (Hipʹpius). A surname of Neptune.

=Hippocampus= (Hippocamʹpus). The name of Neptune's favorite horse, a fabulous marine animal, half horse and half fish.

=Hippocrenides= (Hippocreʹnides), a name of the Muses, from the fountain of Hippocrene (the horse fountain), which was formed by a kick of the winged horse Pegasus.

=Hippolyte= (Hippolʹyte), queen of the Amazons, daughter of Mars. Her father gave her a famous girdle, which Hercules was required to procure (see Hercules). She was conquered by Hercules, and given by him in marriage to Theseus.

=Hippolytus= (Hippolʹytus) was the son of Theseus and Hippolyte; he was killed by a fall from a chariot, but was raised to life again by Diana, or, as some say, by Aesculapius.

=Hippona= (Hippoʹna) was a rural divinity, the goddess of horses.

=History=, see Clio and Saga.

=Honey=, see Aristaeus and Dryads.

=Hope=, see Pandora.

=Horae= (Hoʹrae) were the daughters of Sol and Chronis, the goddesses of the seasons.

=Horse=, see Cyllaros.

=Horse Races=, see Neptune.

=Horses=, see Hippona.

=Hortensis= (Hortenʹsis), a name of Venus, because she looked after plants and flowers in gardens.

=Horus= (Hoʹrus). The name of two deities, one Sol, the Egyptian day god; the other, the son of Osiris and Isis. See Harpocrates.

=Hostilina= (Hostilʹina). A rural divinity; goddess of growing corn.

=Hunger=, see Erisichthon.

=Hunting=, see Diana.

=Huntsmen=, see Pan.

[Illustration: Hebe _See page 62_]

=Hyacinthus= (Hyacinʹthus) was a boy greatly loved by Apollo; but he was accidentally slain by him with a quoit. Apollo caused to spring from his blood the flower Hyacinth.

=Hyades= (Hyʹades) were seven daughters of Atlas and Aethra, and they formed a constellation which, when it rises with the sun, threatens rain.

=Hydra= (Hyʹdra). A monster serpent, which had a hundred heads. It was slain by Hercules. See Hercules.

=Hygeia= (Hygeʹia), the goddess of health, was a daughter of Aesculapius and Epione. She was represented as a young woman giving a serpent drink out of a saucer, the serpent being twined round her arm.

=Hylas= (Hyʹlas). A beautiful boy beloved by Hercules. The nymphs were jealous of him, and spirited him away while he was drawing water for Hercules. See Wm. Morris's tragedy, "The Life and Death of Jason."

=Hymen= (Hyʹmen), the Grecian god of marriage, was either the son of Bacchus and Venus, or, as some say, of Apollo and one of the Muses. He was represented as a handsome youth, holding in his hand a burning torch.

"Some few there are of sordid mould Who barter youth and bloom for gold: But Hymen, gen'rous, just, and kind, Abhors the mercenary mind; Such rebels groan beneath his rod, For Hymen's a vindictive god." Dr. Cotton, 1736.

=Hymn=, see Paean.

=Hyperion= (Hypeʹrion). Son of Coelus and Terra. The model of manly beauty, synonymous with Apollo. The personification of the sun.

"So excellent a king; that was to this Hyperion to a satyr." Shakespeare.

=Hypermnestra= (Hypermnesʹtra). One of the fifty daughters of Danaus, who were collectively called the Danaides. She was the one who refused to kill her husband on the wedding night. See Danaus.

=Iacchus= (Iacʹchus). Another name for Bacchus.

=Iapetos= (Iapʹetos). The father of Atlas. See Japetus.

=Iblees= (Ibʹlees). The Arabian Satan.

=Icarus= (Icʹarus), son of Daedalus, who with his father made themselves wings with which to fly from Crete to escape the resentment of Minos. The wings were fixed to the shoulders by wax. Icarus flew too near the sun, and the heat melting the wax, caused the wings to drop off, and he fell into the Aegean or Icarian sea and was drowned.

=Ichnobate= (Ichnobaʹte). One of Actaeon's hounds; the word means tracker.

=Idaea= (Idaeʹa). A name of Cybele, from Mount Ida, where she was worshiped.

=Idaean Mother= (Idaeʹan Mother). Cybele was sometimes so called, in Cyprus, in which there is a grove sacred to Venus.

=Idalia= (Idaʹlia). A name of Venus, from Mount Idalus, in Cyprus, in which there is a grove sacred to Venus.

=Imperator= (Imperaʹtor) was a name of Jupiter, given to him at Praeneste.

=Inachus= (Iʹnachus) was one of the earliest of the demi-gods or heroes, King of Argos.

=Incendiary=, see Erostratus.

=Incense=, see Venus.

=Incubus= (Inʹcubus). A Roman name of Pan, meaning The Nightmare. See Innus.

=Indigetes= (Indigʹetes) were deified mortals, gods of the fourth order. They were peculiar to some district.

=Indra= (Inʹdra). The Hindoo Jupiter; his wife was Indrant, who presides over the winds and thunder.

=Infants=, see Natio.

=Innus= (Inʹnus). A name of Pan, the same as Incubus.

=Ino= (Inʹo), second wife of Athamas, King of Thebes, father of Phryxus and Helle. Ino had two children, who could not ascend the throne while Phryxus and Helle were alive. Ino therefore persecuted them to such a degree that they determined to escape. They did so on a ram, whose hide became the Golden Fleece (see Phryxus and Helle). Ino destroyed herself, and was changed by Neptune into a sea-goddess.

=Inoa= (Inoʹa) were festivals in memory of Ino.

=Instrumental Music=, see Euterpe.

=Io= (Iʹo) was a daughter of Inachus, and a priestess of Juno at Argos. Jupiter courted her, and was detected by Juno, when the god turned Io into a beautiful heifer. Juno demanded the beast of Jupiter, and set the hundred-eyed Argus to watch her. Jupiter persuaded Mercury to destroy Argus, and Io was set at liberty, and restored to human shape. Juno continued her persecutions, and Io had to wander from place to place till she came to Egypt, where she became wife of King Osiris, and won such good opinions from the Egyptians that after her death she was worshiped as the goddess Isis.

=Iolaus= (Iolaʹus), son of Iphicles, assisted Hercules in conquering the Hydra, by burning with hot irons the place where the heads were cut off; and for his assistance he was restored to youth by Hebe. Lovers used to go to his monument at Phocis and ratify their vows of fidelity.

=Iothun= (Ioʹthun). Celtic mythological monsters, or giants.

=Iphicles= (Iphʹicles) was twin brother of Hercules, and father of Iolaus.

=Iphigenia= (Iphigeniʹa) was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Agamemnon made a vow to Diana, which involved the sacrifice of Iphigenia, but just at the critical moment she was carried to heaven, and a beautiful goat was found on the altar in her place.

=Iris= (Iʹris), daughter of Thaumas and Electra, was the attendant of Juno, and one of the messengers of the gods. Her duty was to cut the thread which detained expiring souls. She is the personification of the rainbow.

=Iron=, see Vulcan.

=Isis= (Iʹsis), wife of Osiris, and a much worshiped divinity of the Egyptians. See Io.

=Itys= (Iʹtys) was killed by his mother Procne when six years old, and given to his father Tereus, a Thracian of Daulis, as food. The gods were so enraged at this that they turned Itys into a pheasant, Procne into a swallow, and Tereus into a hawk.

=Ixion= (Ixiʹon), the son of Phlegyas, King of the Lapithae. For attempting to produce thunder, Jupiter cast him into hell, and had him bound to a wheel, surrounded with serpents, which is forever turning over a river of fire.

"The powers of vengeance, while they hear, Touched with compassion, drop a tear; Ixion's rapid wheel is bound, Fixed in attention to the sound." F. Lewis.

"Or, as Ixion fix'd, the wretch shall feel The giddy motion of the whirling wheel." Pope.

=Jani= (Jaʹni) was a place in Rome where there were three statues of Janus, and it was a meeting-place for usurers and creditors.

=Janitor= (Jaʹnitor). A title of Janus, from the gates before the doors of private houses being called Januae.

=Janus= (Jaʹnus). A king of Italy, said to have been the son of Coelus, others say of Apollo; he sheltered Saturn when he was driven from heaven by Jupiter. Janus presided over highways, gates, and locks, and is usually represented with two faces, because he was acquainted with the past and the future; or, according to others, because he was taken for the sun, who opens the day at his rising, and shuts it at his setting. A brazen temple was erected to him in Rome, which was always open in time of war, and closed during peace.

"Old Janus, if you please, Grave two-faced father."

"In two-faced Janus we this moral find,-- While we look forward, we should glance behind." Colman.

=Japetus= (Japʹetus), son of Coelus and Terra, husband of Clymene. He was looked upon by the Greeks as the father of all mankind. See Iapetos.

=Jason= (Jaʹson), the son of Aeson, king of Iolcos; he was brought up by the centaur Chiron. His uncle Aeeta sent him to fetch the Golden Fleece from Colchis (see Argonauts). He went in the ship Argo with forty-nine companions, the flower of Greek youth. With the help of Juno they got safe to Colchis, but the King Aeetes promised to restore the Golden Fleece only on condition that the Argonauts performed certain services. Jason was to tame the wild fiery bulls, and to make them plow the field of Mars; to sow in the ground the teeth of a serpent, from which would spring armed men who would fight against him who plowed the field of Mars; to kill the fiery dragon which guarded the tree on which the Golden Fleece was hung. The fate of Jason and the rest of the Argonauts seemed certain; but Medea, the king's daughter, fell in love with Jason, and with the help of charms which she gave him he overcame all the difficulties which the king had put in his way. He took away the Golden Fleece and Medea also. The king sent his son Absyrtus to overtake the fugitives, but Medea killed him, and strewed his limbs in his father's path, so that he might be delayed in collecting them, and this enabled Jason and Medea to escape. After a time Jason got tired of Medea, and married Glauce, which cruelty Medea revenged by killing her children before their father's eyes. Jason was accidentally killed by a beam of the ship Argo falling on him.

=Jocasta= (Jocasʹta) (otherwise Epicasta), wife of Laius, King of Thebes, who in after-life married her own son, Oedipus, not knowing who he was, and, on discovering the fatal mistake, hanged herself.

=Jove.= A very general name of Jupiter.

"From the great father of the gods above My muse begins, for all is full of Jove." Virgil.

=Judges in Hell, The=, were Rhadamanthus for Asiatics; Aeacus for Europeans; Minos was the presiding judge in the infernal regions. See Triptolemus.

=Jugatinus= (Jugatinʹus) was one of the nuptial deities.

=Juno= (Juʹno) was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, _alias_ Cybele. She was married to Jupiter, and became queen of all the gods and goddesses, and mistress of heaven and earth. Juno was the mother of Mars, Vulcan, Hebe, and Lucina. She prompted the gods to conspire against Jupiter, but the attempt was frustrated, and Apollo and Neptune were banished from heaven by Jupiter. Juno is the goddess of marriage, and the protectress of married women; and she had special regard for virtuous women. In the competition for the celebrated Golden Apple, which Juno, Venus, and Minerva each claimed as the fairest among the goddesses, Juno was much displeased when Paris gave the apple to Venus. The goddess is generally represented riding in a chariot drawn by peacocks, with a diadem on her head, and a scepter in her hand.

=Jupiter= (Juʹpiter), son of Saturn and Cybele (or Ops), was born on Mount Ida, in Crete, and nourished by the goat Amalthaea. When quite young Jupiter rescued his father from the Titans; and afterward, with the help of Hercules, defeated the giants, the sons of earth, when they made war against heaven. Jupiter was worshiped with great solemnity under various names by most of the heathen nations. The Africans called him Ammon; the Babylonians, Belus; and the Egyptians, Osiris (see Jove). He is represented as a majestic personage seated on a throne, holding in his hands a scepter and a thunderbolt; at his feet stood a spread eagle.

=Justice=, see Astrea, Nemesis.

=Kali.= A Hindoo goddess, after whom Calicut is named.

=Kaloc= (Kaʹloc). One of the chief of the Mexican gods.

=Kama= (Kamʹa). The Hindoo god of love.

=Kebla= (Kebʹla). The point of the compass which worshipers look to during their invocations. Thus the Sol or Sun worshipers turn to the east, where the sun rises, and the Mohammedans turn toward Mecca.

=Kederli= (Keʹderli), in Mohammedan mythology, is a god corresponding to the English St. George, and is still invoked by the Turks when they go to war.

=Kiun= (Kiʹun). The Egyptian Venus.

=Kneph.= An Egyptian god, having a ram's head and a man's body.

=Krishna= (Krishʹna). An Indian god, the revenger of wrongs; also called the Indian Apollo.

=Krodo= (Kroʹdo). The Saxon Saturn.

=Kumara= (Kuʹmaʹra). The war-god of the Hindoos.

=Kuvera= (Kuʹvera). The Hindoo god of riches.

=Labe= (Laʹbe). The Arabian Circe, who had unlimited power of metamorphosis.

=Labor= (Labʹor), see Atlas, Hercules.

=Labyrinth=, see Theseus.

=Lachesis= (Lachʹesis). One of the three goddesses of Fate, the Parcae. She spun the thread of life.

=Lacinia= (Lacinʹia). A name of Juno.

=Lactura.= One of the goddesses of growing corn.

=Ladon= (Laʹdon). The dragon which guarded the apples in the garden of the Hesperides. Also the name of one of Actaeon's hounds. Also the river in Arcadia to which Syrinx fled when pursued by Pan, where she was changed into a reed, and where Pan made his first pipe.

=Laelaps= (Laeʹlaps). One of Diana's hunting-dogs, which, while pursuing a wild boar, was petrified. Also the name of one of Actaeon's hounds.

=Laksmi= (Laksʹmi) Hindoo goddess of wealth and pleasure. One of the husbands of Vishnu.

=Lamentation=, see Cocytus.

=Lamia= (Lamʹia). An evil deity among the Greeks and Romans, and the great dread of their children, whom she had the credit of constantly enticing away and destroying.

=Lamp=, see Lares and Penates.

=Lampos= (Lamʹpos). One of Aurora's chariot horses, the other being Phaeton.

=Laocoon= (Laocʹoon). One of the priests of Apollo, who was, with his two sons, strangled to death by serpents, because he opposed the admission of the fatal wooden horse to Troy.

=Laomedon= (Laomʹedon), son of Ilus, a Trojan king. He was famous for having, with the assistance of Apollo and Neptune, built the walls of Troy.

=Lapis= (Lapʹis). The oath stone. The Romans used to swear by Jupiter Lapis.

=Lapithus= (Lapʹithus), son of Apollo. His numerous children were called Lapithae, and they are notorious for their fight with the centaurs at the nuptial feast of Perithous and Hippodamia.

=Lares and Penates= (Laʹres and Penaʹtes) were sons of Mercury and Lara, or, as other mythologists say, of Jupiter and Lamida. They belonged to the lower order of Roman gods, and presided over homes and families. Their statues were generally fixed within the doors of houses, or near the hearths. Lamps were sacred to them, as symbols of vigilance, and the dog was their sacrifice.

=Lark=, see Scylla and Nysus.

=Latona= (Latoʹna), daughter of Coelus and Phoebe, mother of Apollo and Diana. Being admired so much by Jupiter, Juno was jealous, and Latona was the object of the goddess' constant persecution.

=Laughter=, see Momus and Venus.

=Laurel= (Lauʹrel), see Daphne.

=Laverna= (Laverʹna). The Roman patroness of thieves.

=Law=, see Menu.

=Lawgiver=, see Nomius.

=Laws=, see Themis.

=Leander= (Leanʹder), see Hero.

=Leather Bottle=, see Ascolia.

=Leda= (Leʹda) was the mother of Castor and Pollux, their father being Jupiter, in the shape of a swan. After her death she received the name of Nemesis.

=Lemnius= (Lemʹnius). One of the names of Vulcan.

=Lemures= (Lemʹures). The ghosts of departed souls. Milton, in his "Ode to the Nativity," says--

"Lemures moan with midnight plaint."

They are sometimes referred to as the Manes of the dead.

=Lenaeus= (Lenaeʹus). One of the names of Bacchus.

=Lerna= (Lerʹna). The lake or swamp near Argos where Hercules conquered the Lernaean Hydra.

=Lethe= (Leʹthe). One of the rivers of the infernal regions, of which the souls of the departed are obliged to drink to produce oblivion or forgetfulness of everything they did or knew while alive on the earth.

"A slow and silent stream, Lethe, the river of oblivion, rolls Her watery labyrinth, whereof who drinks Forthwith his former state and being forgets, Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain." Milton.

[Illustration: Hera _See page 64_]

=Leucothea= (Leucothʹea). The name of Ino after she was transformed into a sea nymph.

=Levana= (Levaʹna). The deity who presided over new-born infants.

=Level, The=, see Daedalus.

=Liakura= (Liakʹura). Mount Parnassus.

=Liberal Arts=, see Minerva.

=Liber Pater= (Liʹber Paʹter). A name of Bacchus.

=Liberty=, see Bacchus.

=Libissa= (Libʹissa). Queen of fays and fairies.

=Libitina= (Libitiʹna). A Roman goddess, the chief of the funeral deities.

=Licentiousness=, see Belphegor.

=Ligea= (Ligeʹa). A Greek syren or sea-nymph, one of the Nereides.

=Lightning=, see Agni.

=Lilith= (Liʹlith). A Jewish myth representing a finely dressed woman who is a great enemy to new-born children. She was said to have been Adam's first wife, but, refusing to submit to him, was turned from Paradise and made a specter.

=Lina= (Liʹna). The goddess of the art of weaving.

=Lindor= (Linʹdor). A lover in the shape of a shepherd, like Corydon; a love-sick swain.

=Lion=, see Atalanta, Chimaera.

=Liver=, see Tityus and Prometheus.

=Locks=, see Janus.

=Lofen= (Loʹfen). The Scandinavian god who guards friendship.

=Lofua= (Lofʹua). The Scandinavian goddess who reconciles lovers.

=Loke.= The Scandinavian Satan, the god of strife, the spirit of evil. Written also Lok, and Loki.

=Lotis= (Loʹtis). A daughter of Neptune, who fled from Priapus, and only escaped from him by being transformed into a lotus-plant.

=Lotus-Plant= (Loʹtus-Plant), see Lotis.

=Love=, see Cupid, Eros, Venus.

=Lucian= (Luʹcian). The impersonation of folly, changed into an ass.

=Lucifer= (Luʹcifer). The morning star.

=Lucina= (Luciʹna). The goddess who presides at the birth of children. She was a daughter of Jupiter and Juno, or, according to others, of Latona.

"Lucina, hail! So named from thine own grove, Or from the light thou giv'st us from above." Ovid.

=Lud.= In ancient British mythology the king of the Britons. He is said to have given his name to London.

=Luna= (Luʹna). The name of Diana as a celestial divinity. See Diana and Hecate. Also, the Italian goddess of the moon.

=Lupercus= (Luʹpercus), or Pan. The Roman god of fertility; his festival day was 15th February, and the festivals were called Lupercalia.

=Lycaonian Food= (Lycaonʹian). Execrable viands, such as were supplied to Jupiter by Lycaon. To test the divine knowledge of the god he served up human flesh, which Jove discovered, and punished Lycaon by turning him into a wolf.

=Lycian Clowns= were turned into frogs by Latona or Ceres.

=Lymniades= (Lymniʹades). Nymphs who resided in marshes.