Part 7
=Sacrifices= were ceremonious offerings made to the gods. To every deity a distinct victim was allotted, and the greatest care was always taken in the selection of them. Anything in any way blemished was considered as an insult to the god. At the time of the sacrifice the people were called together by heralds led by a procession of musicians. The priest, clothed in white, was crowned with a wreath made of the leaves of the tree which was sacred to the particular god to whom the sacrifice was offered. The victim had its horns gilt, and was adorned with a chaplet similar to that of the priest, and was decorated with bright-colored ribbons. The priest then said, "Who is here?" to which the spectators replied, "Many good people." "Begone all ye who are profane," said the priest; and he then began a prayer addressed to all the gods. The sacrifice was begun by putting corn, frankincense, flour, salt, cakes, and fruit on the head of the victim. This was called the Immolation. The priest then took a cup of wine, tasted it, and handed it to the bystanders to taste also; some of it was then poured between the horns of the victim, and a few of the saturated hairs were pulled off and put in the fire which was burning on the altar. Then, turning to the east, the priest drew with his knife a crooked line along the back of the beast from the head to the tail, and told the assistants to kill the animal. This was done directly, and the entrails of the victim taken out and carefully examined by the Haruspices to find out what was prognosticated. The carcase was then divided, and the thighs, covered with fat, were put in the fire, and the rest of the animal was cut up, cooked, and eaten. This feast was celebrated with dancing, music, and hymns, in praise of the god in whose honor the sacrifice was made. On great occasions as many as a hundred bullocks were offered at one time; and it is said that Pythagoras made this offering when he found out the demonstration of the forty-seventh proposition of the book of Euclid.
=Saga= (Saʹga). The Scandinavian goddess of history. The word means a _saw_ or saying; hence Sagas, which embody Scandinavian legends, and heroic or mythical traditions.
=Sagittarius= (Sagittaʹrius), see Chiron.
=Sails=, see Daedalus.
=Salamanders= (Salʹamanʹders). The genii who, according to Plato, lived in fire.
"The spirits of fiery termagants in flame, Mount up and take a Salamander's name." Pope.
=Salatia= (Salaʹtia), or Salacia, a Roman goddess of the salt water. See Amphitrite.
=Salii= (Salʹii). The priests of Mars who had charge of the sacred shields.
=Salmoneus= (Salmoʹneus). A king of Elis who, for trying to imitate Jupiter's thunders, was sent by the god straight to the infernal regions.
=Salus= (Saʹlus). The Roman goddess of health.
=Sappho= (Sapʹpho), a celebrated poetess, a native of Lesbos, who flourished in the seventh century B.C. Her only connection with the goddesses of the time is that the Greeks called her "The tenth Muse."
=Sarcasm=, see Momus.
=Saron= (Saʹron), a sea-god.
=Sarpedon= (Sarpeʹdon), son of Jupiter by Europa. He accompanied Glaucus, when the latter set out to assist Priam against the Greeks in the Trojan War. He was slain by Patroclus.
=Saturn= (Satʹurn), king of the Universe, was father of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto. These gods quarreled amongst themselves as to the division of their father's kingdom, which ended in Jupiter having heaven and earth, Neptune the sea, and Pluto the infernal regions.
=Saturnalia= (Saturnaʹlia). Festivals held in honor of Saturn about the 16th or 18th of December. Principally famous for the riotous disorder which generally attended them.
=Saturnius= (Saturʹnius). A name given to Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, as sons of Saturn.
=Satyavrata= (Satyaʹvraʹta). The Hindoo god of law. The same as Menu.
=Satyrs= (Satʹyrs). Spirits of the woodland, half men, half goats, and fond of wine and women. They were the attendants of Dionysus, and were similar in most respects to the fauns who attended Pan. See Silenus.
"Five satyrs of the woodland sort. . . . . . . With asses' hoofs, great goggle eyes, And double chins of monstrous size." Yalden.
=Scylla= (Scylʹla). A beautiful nymph who excited the jealousy of Neptune's wife, Amphitrite, and was changed by the goddess into a frightful sea-monster, which had six fearfully ugly heads and necks, and which, rising unexpectedly from the deep, used to take off as many as six sailors from a vessel, and carry them to the bottom of the sea. An alternative danger with the whirlpool, Charybdis, which threatened destruction to all mariners.
"There on the right her dogs foul Scylla hides, Charybdis roaring on the left presides." Virgil.
=Scylla= (Scylʹla). A daughter of Nysus, who was changed into a lark for cutting off a charmed lock of her father's hair. See Nysus.
=Sea=, see Neptune.
=Seasons=, see Vertumnus.
=Sea-Weed=, see Glaucus.
=Segetia= (Segeʹtia). A rural divinity who protected corn during harvest-time.
=Sem.= The Egyptian Hercules.
=Semele= (Semʹele), daughter of Cadmus and the mother of Bacchus (Dionysus), who was born in a miraculous manner after Jupiter had visited her, at her special request, in all his terrible splendor. She was deified after her death, and named Thyone.
=Semi-Dei= were the demi-gods.
=Semones= (Semoʹnes). Roman gods of a class between the "immortal" and the "mortal," such as the Satyrs and Fauns.
=Septerion= (Septeʹrion). A festival held every nine years at Delphi in honor of Apollo, at which the victory of that god over the Python was grandly represented.
=Serapis= (Seraʹpis). The Egyptian Jupiter, and generally considered to be the same as Osiris. See Apis.
=Serpent.= The Greeks and Romans considered the serpent as symbolical of guardian spirits, and as such were often engraved on their altars. See Aesculapius, Apollo, Chimaera, Eurydice, and Medusa.
"Pleasing was his shape, And lovely; never since of serpent kind, Lovelier; not those that in Illyria changed Hermione and Cadmus, or the god In Epidaurus, nor to which transformed Ammonian Jove, or Capitoline, was seen." Milton.
=Seshanaga= (Seshʹanagʹa). The Egyptian Pluto.
=Sewers=, see Cloacina.
=Sharp-sightedness=, see Lynceus.
=Shepherds=, see Pan.
=Shields=, see Ancilia.
=Ships=, see Neptune.
=Silence=, see Harpocrates and Tacita.
=Silenus= (Sileʹnus). A Bacchanalian demi-god, the chief of the Satyrs. He is generally represented as a fat, drunken old man, riding on an ass, and crowned with flowers.
"And there two Satyrs on the ground, Stretched at his ease, their sire Silenus found."
=Singing=, see Polyhymnia, Thamyris.
=Sirens, The= (Siʹrens). Sea nymphs, who by their music allured mariners to destruction. To avoid the snare when nearing their abode, Ulysses had the ears of his companions stopped with wax, and had himself tied to the mast of his ship. They thus sailed past in safety; but the Sirens, thinking that their charms had lost their powers, drowned themselves.
=Sisyphus= (Sisʹyphus), son of Aeolus and Enaretta. He was condemned to roll a stone to the top of a hill in the infernal regions, and as it rolled down again when he reached the summit, his punishment was perpetual.
"I turned my eye, and as I turned, surveyed A mournful vision! The Sisyphian shade. With many a weary step and many a groan, Up the high hill he leaves a huge round stone, The huge round stone, resulting with a bound Thunders impetuous down, and smokes along the ground." Pope.
"Thy stone, O Sisyphus, stands still Ixion rests upon his wheel, And the pale specters dance." F. Lewis.
=Siva= (Siʹva). In Hindoo mythology the "changer of form." He is usually spoken of as the "Destroyer and Regenerator."
=Slaughter=, see Furies.
=Slaves=, see Feronia.
=Sleep=, see Caduceus, Morpheus, and Somnus.
=Sleipner= (Sleipʹner). The eight-legged horse of Odin, the chief of the Scandinavian gods.
[Illustration: Winged Mercury _See page 86_]
=Sol.= The sun. The worship of the god Sol is the oldest on record, and though he is sometimes referred to as being the same as the god Apollo, there is no doubt he was worshiped by the Egyptians, Persians, and other nations long before the Apollo of the Greeks was heard of. See Surya.
"Sol through white curtains shot a timorous ray, And oped those eyes that must eclipse the day." Pope.
=Somnus= (Somʹnus). The Roman god of sleep, son of Erebus and Nox (Night). He was one of the infernal deities, and resided in a gloomy cave, void of light and air.
=Sospita= (Sosʹpita). A name of Juno, as the safeguard of women. She is called the "saving goddess."
=Soter= (Soʹter). A Greek name of Jupiter, meaning Savior or deliverer.
=Soul=, see Psyche.
=South Wind=, see Auster.
=Spear=, see Pelias.
=Sphinx, The.= A monster having the head and breast of a woman, the body of a dog, the tail of a serpent, the wings of a bird, the paws of a lion, and a human voice. She lived in the country near Thebes, and proposed to every passer-by the following enigma: "What animal is that which walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening." Oedipus solved the riddle thus: Man is the animal; for, when an infant he crawls on his hands and feet, in the noontide of life he walks erect, and as the evening of his existence sets in, he supports himself with a stick. When the Sphinx found her riddle solved she destroyed herself.
=Spider=, see Arachne.
=Spindle=, see Pallas.
=Spinning=, see Arachne, Ergatis.
=Spring=, see Vertumnus.
=Stable=, see Augaeas.
=Stars=, see Aurora.
=Sterentius= (Sterenʹtius). The Roman god who invented the art of manuring lands. See also Picumnus.
=Steropes= (Sterʹopes). One of the Cyclopes.
=Stone=, see Medusa and Phlegyas.
=Stone= (rolling), see Sisyphus.
=Streets=, see Apollo.
=Stymphalides= (Stymʹphaliʹdes). The carnivorous birds destroyed in the sixth labor of Hercules.
=Styx.= A noted river of hell, which was held in such high esteem by the gods that they always swore "By the Styx," and such an oath was never violated. The river has to be crossed in passing to the regions of the dead. See Achilles and Thetis.
"To seal his sacred vow by Styx he swore:-- The lake with liquid pitch,--the dreary shore." Dryden.
"... Infernal rivers that disgorge Into the burning lake their baleful streams, Abhorrèd Styx, the flood of deadly hate."
=Suada= (Suaʹda), the goddess of Persuasion. See Pitho.
=Success=, see Bonus Eventus.
=Sun=, see Aurora, Belus, Sol, and Surya.
=Sunflower=, see Clytie.
=Suradevi= (Suraʹdeʹvi). The Hindoo goddess of wine.
=Surgeon= (Surʹgeon), see Podalirius.
=Surya= (Suʹryʹa). The Hindoo god corresponding to the Roman Sol, the sun.
=Swallow=, see Itys.
=Swan=, see Cygnus and Leda.
=Swiftness=, see Atalanta.
=Swine=, see Circe.
=Sylphs.= Genii who, according to Plato, lived in the air.
"The light coquettes as Sylphs aloft repair, And sport and flutter in the fields of air." Pope.
=Sylvester= (Sylvesʹter). The name of Mars when he was invoked to protect cultivated land from the ravages of war.
=Syrinx.= The name of the nymph who, to escape from the importunities of Pan, was by Diana changed into reeds, out of which he made his celebrated pipes, and named them "The Syrinx."
=Tacita= (Tacʹita). The goddess of Silence. See Harpocrates, also Horus.
=Tantalus= (Tanʹtalus). Father of Niobe and Pelops, who, as a punishment for serving up his son Pelops as meat at a feast given to the gods, was placed in a pool of water in the infernal regions; but the waters receded from him whenever he attempted to quench his burning thirst. Hence the word "tantalizing".
Speaking of this god, Homer's Ulysses says: "I saw the severe punishment of Tantalus. In a lake, whose waters approached to his lips, he stood burning with thirst, without the power to drink. Whenever he inclined his head to the stream, some deity commanded it to be dry, and the dark earth appeared at his feet. Around him lofty trees spread their fruits to view; the pear, the pomegranate, and the apple, the green olive, and the luscious fig quivered before him, which, whenever he extended his hand to seize them, were snatched by the winds into clouds and obscurity."
"There, Tantalus, along the Stygian bound, Pours out deep groans,--his groans through hell resound. E'en in the circling flood refreshment craves And pines with thirst amidst a sea of waves."
"... And of itself the water flies All taste of living wight, as once it fled The lip of Tantalus." Milton.
=Tartarus= (Tarʹtarus). An inner region of hell, to which the gods sent the exceptionally depraved.
=Telchines= (Telchiʹnes). People of Rhodes, who were envious sorcerers and magicians.
=Tellus= (Telʹlus). A name of Cybele, wife of Saturn, and the Roman deity of mother-earth.
=Tempests=, see Fro.
=Temple.= An edifice erected to the honor of a god or goddess in which the sacrifices were offered.
=Tenth Muse.= Sappho was so called.
=Tereus= (Terʹeus) was a son of Mars. He married Procne, daughter of the king of Athens, but became enamored of her sister Philomela, who, however, resented his attentions, which so enraged him that he cut out her tongue. When Procne heard of her husband's unfaithfulness she took a terrible revenge (see Itys). Procne was turned into a swallow, Philomela into a nightingale, Itys into a pheasant, and Tereus into a hoopoe, a kind of vulture, some say an owl.
=Tergemina= (Tergemiʹna). A name of Diana, alluding to her triform divinity as goddess of heaven, earth, and hell.
=Terminus= (Terʹminus). The Roman god of boundaries.
=Terpsichore= (Terpsichʹore). One of the nine Muses; she presided over dancing.
=Terra.= The Earth; one of the most ancient of the Grecian goddesses.
=Thalestris= (Thalesʹtris). A queen of the Amazons.
=Thalia= (Thaliʹa). One of the nine Muses; she presided over festivals, pastoral poetry and comedy.
=Thalia= (Thaliʹa). One of the Graces. (See Charities).
=Thamyris= (Thamʹyris). A skilful singer, who presumed to challenge the Muses to sing, upon condition that if he did not sing best they might inflict any penalty they pleased. He was, of course, defeated, and the Muses made him blind.
=Theia= (Theʹia) or =Thea=. A daughter of Uranus and Terra, wife of Hyperion.
=Themis= (Theʹmis), a daughter of Coelus and Terra, and wife of Jupiter, was the Roman goddess of laws, ceremonies, and oracles.
=Theseus= (Theʹseus). One of the most famous of the Greek heroes. He was a son of Aegeus, king of Athens. He rid Attica of Procrustes and other evil-doers, slew the Minotaur, conquered the Amazons and married their Queen.
"Breasts that with sympathizing ardor glowed, And holy friendship such as Theseus vowed." Budgell.
=Thesmorphonis= (Thesmorphoʹnis). A name of Ceres.
=Thetis= (Theʹtis). A sea-goddess, daughter of Nereus and Doris. Her husband was Peleus, king of Thessaly, and she was the mother of the famous Achilles, whom she rendered all but invulnerable by dipping him into the River Styx. See Achilles.
=Thief=, see Laverna, Mercury.
=Thor.= The Scandinavian war-god (son of Odin), who had rule over the aerial regions, and, like Jupiter, hurled thunder against his foes.
=Thor's Belt= is a girdle which doubles his strength whenever the war-god puts it on.
=Thoth.= The Mercury of the Egyptians.
=Thread of Life=, see Fates.
=Thunderbolts=, see Cyclops.
=Thunderer, The=, Jupiter. See Tonitrualis.
"O king of gods and men, whose awful hand Disperses thunder on the seas and land, Disposing all with absolute command." Virgil.
"The eternal Thunderer sat enthroned in gold." Homer.
"So when thick clouds enwrap the mountain's head, O'er heaven's expanse like one black ceiling spread; Sudden the Thunderer, with flashing ray, Bursts through the darkness and lets down the day." Pope.
=Thya= (Thyʹa), a name of Ops.
=Thyades= (Thyaʹdes). Priestesses of Bacchus, who ran wild in the hills, wearing tiger-skins and carrying torches.
=Thyrsus= (Thyrʹsus), a kind of javelin or staff carried by Dionysus and his attendants. It was usually wreathed with ivy and topped by a pine-cone. See Bacchus.
=Tides=, see Narayan.
=Time= (or Saturn). The husband of Virtue and father of Truth.
=Tisiphone= (Tis-iphʹone). One of the Furies, daughter of Nox and Acheron, who was the minister of divine vengeance upon mankind.
=Titan= (Tiʹtan). Elder brother of Saturn, who made war against him, and was ultimately vanquished by Jupiter.
=Titans= (Tiʹtans) were the supporters of Titan in his war against Saturn and Jupiter. They were the sons of Uranus and Gaea, men of gigantic stature and of great strength. Hence our English word _Titanic_.
=Tithonus= (Ti-thoʹnus). The husband of Aurora. At the request of his wife the gods granted him immortality, but she forgot at the same time to ask that he should be granted perpetual youth. The consequence was that Tithonus grew old and decrepit, while Aurora remained as fresh as the morning. The gods, however, changed him into a grasshopper, which is supposed to moult as it gets old, and grows young again.
=Tityus= (Titʹyus). A son of Jupiter. A giant who was thrown into the innermost hell for insulting Diana. He, like Prometheus, has a vulture constantly feeding on his ever-growing liver, the liver being supposed to be the seat of the passions.
=Toil=, see Atlas.
=Tombs=, see Manes.
=Tongue=, see Tereus.
=Tonitrualis= (Tonitruaʹlis), or Tonans. The Thunderer; a name of Jupiter.
=Towers=, see Cybele.
=Tragedy=, see Melpomene.
=Trees=, see Aristaeus.
=Tribulation=, see Echidna.
=Triformis= (Triforʹmis), see Tergemina.
=Triptolemus= (Triptolʹemus). A son of Oceanus and Terra. He was a great favorite of the goddess Ceres, who cured him of a dangerous illness when he was young, and afterwards taught him agriculture. She gave him her chariot, which was drawn by dragons, in which he carried seed-corn to all the inhabitants of the earth, and communicated the knowledge given to him by Ceres. Cicero mentions a Triptolemus as the fourth judge of the dead.
"Triptolemus, whose useful cares intend The common good." Pope.
=Triterica= (Triteriʹca). Bacchanalian festivals.
=Tritons= (Triʹtons) were sons of Triton, a son of Neptune and Amphitrite. They were the trumpeters of the sea-gods, and were depicted as a sort of mermen--the upper half of the body being like a man, and the lower half like dolphins.
=Trivia= (Triʹvia). A surname given to Diana, because she presided over all places where three roads meet.
=Trophonius= (Trophoʹnius). A legendary hero of architecture, and one of Jupiter's most famous oracles.
=Troy.= The classic poets say that the walls of this famous city were built by the magic sound of Apollo's lyre. See Dardanus, Helen, Hercules, Paris.
=Trumpeters=, see Tritons.
=Truth.= A daughter of Time, because Truth is discovered in the course of Time. Democritus says that Truth lies hidden at the bottom of a well.
=Tutelina= (Tutelʹina). A rural divinity--the goddess of granaries.
=Two Faces=, see Janus.
=Typhoeus= (Typhoeʹus), see Typhon.
=Typhon= (Tyʹphon). A monster with a hundred heads who made war against the gods, but was crushed by Jove's thunderbolts, and imprisoned under Mount Etna.
"... Typhon huge, ending in snaky twine." Milton.
=Typhon= (Tyʹphon). In Egyptian mythology the god who tried to undo all the good work effected by Osiris. According to the Greek writer, Hesiod, Typhon or Typhoeus was a monster giant, son of Terra and Tartarus.
=Uller= (Ulʹler). The Scandinavian god who presided over archery and duels.
=Ulysses= (Ulysʹses). A noted king of Ithaca, whose exploits in connection with the Trojan war, and his adventures on his return therefrom, are the subject of Homer's Odyssey. His wife's name was Penelope, and he was so much endeared to her that he feigned madness to get himself excused from going to the Trojan war; but this artifice was discovered, and he was compelled to go. He was of great help to the Grecians, and forced Achilles from his retreat, and obtained the charmed arrows of Hercules from Philoctetes, and used them against the Trojans. He enabled Paris to shoot one of them at the heel of Achilles, and so kill that charmed warrior. During his wanderings on his homeward voyage he was taken prisoner by the Cyclopes and escaped, after blinding Polyphemus, their chief. At Aeolia he obtained all the winds of heaven, and put them in a bag; but his companions, thinking that the bags contained treasure which they could rob him of when they got to Ithaca, cut the bags, and let out the winds, and the ships were immediately blown back to Aeolia. After Circe had turned his companions into swine on an island where he and they were shipwrecked, he compelled the goddess to restore them to their human shape again. As he passed the islands of the Sirens he escaped their allurements by stopping the ears of his companions with wax, and fastening himself to the mast of his ship. His wife Penelope was a pattern of constancy; for, though Ulysses was reported to be dead, she would not marry any one else, and had the satisfaction of finding her husband return after an absence of about twenty years. The Greek name of Ulysses is Odysseus.
"To show what pious wisdom's power can do, The poet sets Ulysses in our view."
=Undine= (Unʹdine). A water-nymph, or sylph, who, according to fable, might receive a human soul by marrying a mortal.
=Unknown God, An.= With reference to this God, nothing can be more appropriate than St. Paul's address to the Athenians, as recorded in the 17th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles:
"_Ye_ men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by _that_ man whom he hath ordained; _whereof_ he hath given assurance unto all _men_, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
=Unxia= (Unxʹia). A name of Juno, relating to her protection of newly married people.
=Urania= (Uraʹnia). A daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne--one of the Muses who presided over astronomy.
[Illustration: Venus de Milo _See page 142_]
=Uranus= (Uraʹnus), literally, heaven. Son and husband of Gaea, the Earth, and father of Chronos (Time) and the Titans. The Greek name of Coelus; his descendants are sometimes called Uranides.
=Urgus= (Urʹgus). A name of Pluto, signifying the Impeller.
=Ursa Major= (Urʹsa Maʹjor), see Calisto.
=Ursa Minor= (Urʹsa Miʹnor), see Arcas.
=Usurers=, see Jani.
=Utgard Loki= (Utʹgard Loʹki). In Scandinavian mythology the king of the giants.
=Valhalla= (Valhalʹla). The Scandinavian temple of immortality, inhabited by the souls of heroes slain in battle.
=Vali= (Vaʹli). The Scandinavian god of archery.
=Valleys=, see Vallonia.
=Vallonia= (Valloʹnia). The goddess of valleys.
=Varuna= (Varuʹna). The Hindoo Neptune--generally represented as a white man riding on a sea-horse, carrying a club in one hand and a rope or noose to bind offenders in the other.
=Vedius= (Veʹdius). The same as Vejovis.
=Vejovis= (Vejoʹvis). "Little Jupiter"--a name given to Jupiter when he appeared without his thunder.
=Vejupiter= (Vejuʹpiter), see Vejovis.