Age of Fable or Beauties of Mythology

by Thomas Bulfinch

  "Not in mid June the golden-cuirassed bee

  Feels a more summer-like, warm ravishment

  In the white lily's breezy tent,

  (His conquered Sybaris) than I when first

  From the dark green thy yellow circles burst."

  A war arose between the two cities, and Sybaris was conquered and destroyed.

  Milo the celebrated athlete led the army of Crotona. Many stories are told of Milo's vast

  strength, such as his carrying a heifer of four years old upon his shoulders and

  afterwards eating the whole of it in a single day. The mode of his death is thus related.

  As he was passing through a forest he saw the trunk of a tree which had been partially

  split open by wood-cutters, and attempted to rend it further; but the wood closed upon

  his hands and held him fast, in which state he was attacked and devoured by wolves.

  Byron, in his Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte, alludes to the story of Milo: -

  "He who of old would rend the oak

  Deemed not of the rebound;

  Chained by the trunk he vainly broke,

  Alone, how looked he round!"

  Egyptian Deities.

  The Egyptians acknowledged as the highest deity Amun, afterwards called Zeus,

  or Jupiter Ammon. Amun manifested himself in his word or will, which created Kneph

  and Athor, of different sexes. From Kneph and Athor proceeded Osiris and Isis. Osiris

  was worshipped as the god of the sun, the source of warmth, life, and fruitfulness, in

  addition to which he was also regarded as the god of the Nile, who annually visited his

  wife, Isis, (the Earth,) by means of an inundation. Serapis or Hermes is sometimes

  represented as identical with Osiris, and sometimes as a distinct divinity, the ruler of

  Tartarus and god of medicine. Anubis is the guardian god, represented with a dog's

  head, emblematic of his character of fidelity and watchfulness. Horus or Harpocrates

  was the son of Osiris. He is represented seated on a Lotus flower, with his finger on his

  lips, as the god of Silence.

  In one of Moore's Irish Melodies is an allusion to Harpocrates: -

  "Thyself shall, under some rosy bower,

  Sit mute, with thy finger on thy lip;

  Like him, the boy, who born among

  The flowers that on the Nile-stream blush,

  Sits ever thus, - his only song

  To Earth and Heaven, "Hush all, hush!"

  Myth Of Osiris And Isis.

  Osiris and Isis were at one time induced to descend to the earth to bestow gifts

  and blessings on its inhabitants Isis showed them first the use of wheat and barley, and

  Osiris made the instruments of agriculture and taught men the use of them, as well as

  how to harness the ox to the plough. He then gave men laws, the institution of marriage,

  a civil organization, and taught them how to worship the gods. After he had thus made

  the valley of the Nile a happy country, he assembled a host with which he went to

  bestow his blessings upon the rest of the world. He conquered the nations every where,

  but not with weapons only with music and eloquence. His brother Typhon saw this, and

  filled with envy and malice sought during his absence to usurp his throne. But Isis, who

  held the reins of government, frustrated his plans. Still more imbittered, he now resolved

  to kill his brother. This he did in the following manner. Having organized a conspiracy of

  seventy-two members he went with them to the feast which was celebrated in honor of

  the king's return. He then caused a box or chest to be brought in, which had been made

  to fit exactly the size of Osiris, and declared that he would give that chest of precious

  wood to whosoever could get into it. The rest tried in vain, but no sooner was Osiris in it

  than Typhon and his companions closed the lid and flung the chest into the Nile. When

  Isis heard of the cruel murder she wept and mourned, and then with her hair shorn,

  clothed in black and beating her breast, she sought diligently for the body of her

  husband. In this search she was materially assisted by Anubis, the son of Osiris and

  Nephthys. They sought in vain for some time; for when the chest, carried by the waves

  to the shores of Byblos, had become entangled in the reeds that grew at the edge of the

  water, the divine power that dwelt in the body of Osiris imparted such strength to the

  shrub that it grew into a mighty tree, enclosing in its trunk the coffin of the god. This tree

  with its sacred deposit was shortly after felled, and erected as a column in the palace of

  the king of Phoenicia. But at length by the aid of Anubis and the sacred birds, Isis

  ascertained these facts, and then went to the royal city. There she offered herself at the

  palace as a servant, and being admitted, threw off her disguise and appeared as the

  goddess, surrounded with thunder and lightning. Striking the column with her wand she

  caused it to split open and give up the sacred coffin. This she seized and returned with

  it, and concealed it in the depth of a forest, but Typhon discovered it, and cutting the

  body into fourteen pieces scattered them hither and thither. After a tedious search, Isis

  found thirteen pieces, the fishes of the Nile having eaten the other. This she replaced by

  an imitation of sycamore wood, and buried the body at Philoe, which became ever after

  the great burying place of the nation, and the spot to which pilgrimages were made from

  all parts of the country. A temple of surpassing magnificence was also erected there in

  honor of the god, and at every place where one of his limbs had been found, minor

  temples and tombs were built to commemorate the event. Osiris became after that the

  tutelar deity of the Egyptians. His soul was supposed always to inhabit the body of the

  bull Apis, and at his death to transfer itself to his successor.

  Apis, the Bull of Memphis, was worshipped with the greatest reverence by the

  Egyptians. The individual animal who was held to be Apis was recognized by certain

  signs. It was requisite that he should be quite black, have a white square mark on the

  forehead, another, in the form of an eagle, on his back, and under his tongue a lump

  somewhat in the shape of a scarabaeus or beetle. As soon as a bull thus marked was

  found by those sent in search of him. he was placed in a building facing the east, and

  was fed with milk for four months. At the expiration of this term the priests repaired at

  new moon, with great pomp, to his habitation and saluted him Apis. He was placed in a

  vessel magnificently decorated and conveyed down the Nile to Memphis, where a

  temple, with two chapels and a court for exercise, was assigned to him. Sacrifices were

  made to him, and once every year, about the time when the Nile began to rise, a golden

  cup was thrown into the river, and a grand festival was held to celebrate his birthday.

  The people believed that during this festival the crocodiles forgot their natural ferocity

  and became harmless. There was however one drawback to his happy lot; he was not

  permitted to live beyond a certain period; and if when he had attained the age of twenty-

  five years, he still survived, the priests drowned him in the sacred cistern, and then

  buried him in the temple of Serapis. On the death of this bull, whether it occurred in the

  course of nature or by violence, the whole land was filled with sorrow and lamentations,

  which lasted until his successor was found.


  We find the following item in one of the newspapers of the day: -

  The Tomb of Apis. - The excavations going on at Memphis bid fair to make that

  buried city as interesting as Pompeii. The monster tomb of Apis is now open, after

  having lain unknown for centuries.

  Milton, in his Hymn of the Nativity, alludes to the Egyptian deities, not as

  imaginary beings, but as real demons, put to flight by the coming of Christ: -

  "The brutish gods of Nile as fast,

  Isis and Horus and the dog Anubis haste.

  Nor is Osiris seen

  In Memphian grove or green

  Trampling the ^* unshowered grass with lowings loud;

  Nor can he be at rest

  Within his sacred chest;

  Nought but profoundest hell can be his shroud.

  In vain with timbrel'd anthems dark

  The sable-stoled sorcerers bear his worshipped ark."

  [Footnote *: There being no rain in Egypt, the grass is "unshowered," and the

  country depends for its fertility upon the overflowings of the Nile The ark alluded to in the

  last line is shown by pictures still remaining on the walls of the Egyptian temples to have

  been borne by the priests in their religious processions. It probably represented the

  chest in which Osiris was placed.]

  Isis was represented in statuary with the head veiled, a symbol of mystery. It is

  this which Tennyson alludes to in Maud, IV. 8: -

  "For the drift of the Maker is dark, an Isis hid by the veil," &c.

  Oracles.

  Oracle was the name used to denote the place where answers were supposed to

  be given by any of the divinities to those who consulted them respecting the future. The

  word was also used to signify the response which was given.

  The most ancient Grecian oracle was that of Jupiter at Dodona. According to one

  account it was established in the following manner. Two black doves took their flight

  from Thebes in Egypt. One flew to Dodona in Epirus and alighting in a grove of oaks, it

  proclaimed in human language to the inhabitants of the district that they must establish

  there an oracle of Jupiter. The other dove flew to the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the

  Libyan oasis, and delivered a similar command there. Another account is, that they

  were not doves, but priestesses, who were carried off from Thebes in Egypt by the

  Phoenicians, and set up oracles at the Oasis and Dodona. The responses of the oracle

  were given from the trees, by the branches rustling in the wind, the sounds being

  interpreted by the priests.

  But the most celebrated of the Grecian oracles was that of Apollo at Delphi, a city

  built on the slopes of Parnassus in Phocis.

  It had been observed at a very early period that the goats feeding on Parnassus

  were thrown into convulsions when they approached a certain long deep cleft in the side

  of the mountain. This was owing to a peculiar vapor arising out of the cavern, and one

  of the goatherds was induced to try its effects upon himself. Inhaling the intoxicating air

  he was affected in the same manner as the cattle had been, and the inhabitants of the

  surrounding country, unable to explain the circumstance, imputed the convulsive ravings

  to which he gave utterance while under the power of the exhalations, to a divine

  inspiration. The fact was speedily circulated widely, and a temple was erected on the

  spot. The prophetic influence was at first variously attributed to the goddess Earth, to

  Neptune, Themis, and others, but it was at length assigned to Apollo, and to him alone.

  A priestess was appointed whose office it was to inhale the hallowed air, and who was

  named the Pythia. She was prepared for this duty by previous ablution at the fountain of

  Castalia, and being crowned with laurel was seated upon a tripod similarly adorned,

  which was placed over the chasm whence the divine afflatus proceeded. Her inspired

  words while thus situated were interpreted by the priests.

  Oracle Of Trophonius.

  Besides the oracles of Jupiter and Apollo, at Dodona and Delphi, that of

  Trophonius in Boeotia was held in high estimation. Trophonius and Agamedes were

  brothers. They were distinguished architects, and built the temple of Apollo at Delphi,

  and a treasury for King Hyrieus. In the wall of the treasury they placed a stone, in such

  a manner that it could be taken out; and by this means from time to time purloined the

  treasure. This amazed Hyrieus, for his locks and seals were untouched, and yet his

  wealth continually diminished. At length he set a trap for the thief and Agamedes was

  caught. Trophonius unable to extricate him, and fearing that when found he would be

  compelled by torture to discover his accomplice, cut off his head. Trophonius himself is

  said to have been shortly afterwards swallowed up by the earth.

  The oracle of Trophonius was at Lebadea in Boeotia. During a great drought the

  Boeotians, it is said, were directed by the god at Delphi to seek aid of Trophonius at

  Lebadea. They came thither, but could find no oracle. One of them however, happening

  to see a swarm of bees, followed them to a chasm in the earth, which proved to be the

  place sought.

  Peculiar ceremonies were to be performed by the person who came to consult

  the oracle. After these preliminaries, he descended into the cave by a narrow passage.

  This place could be entered only in the night. The person returned from the cave by the

  same narrow passage, but walking backwards. He appeared melancholy and dejected;

  and hence the proverb which was applied to a person low-spirited and gloomy, "He has

  been consulting the oracle of Trophonius."

  Oracle Of Aesculapius.

  There were numerous oracles of Aesculapius, but the most celebrated one was

  at Epidaurus. Here the sick sought responses and the recovery of their health by

  sleeping in the temple. It has been inferred from the accounts that have come down to

  us, that the treatment of the sick resembled what is now called Animal Magnetism or

  Mesmerism.

  Serpents were sacred to Aesculapius, probably because of a superstition that

  those animals have a faculty of renewing their youth by a change of skin. The worship of

  Aesculapius was introduced into Rome in a time of great sickness, and an embassy sent

  to the temple of Epidaurus to entreat the aid of the god. Aesculapius was propitious,

  and on the return of the ship accompanied it in the form of a serpent. Arriving in the river

  Tiber, the serpent glided from the vessel and took possession of an island in the river,

  and a temple was there erected to his honor.

  Oracle Of Apis.

  At Memphis the sacred bull Apis gave answer to those who consulted him, by the

  manner in which he received or rejected what was presented to him. If the bull refused

  food from the hand of the inquirer it was considered an unfavorable sign, and the

  contrary when he received it.

  It has been a question whether oracular responses ought to be ascribed to mere

  human contrivance or to the agency of evil spirits. The latter opinion has been most

  general in past ages. A third theory has been advanced since the phenomena of

  Mesmerism have attracted attention, that something like the mesmeric trance was

  induced in the Pythoness, and the faculty of clairvoyance really called into action.

  Another question is as to t
he time when the Pagan oracles ceased to give

  responses. Ancient Christian writers assert that they became silent at the birth of Christ,

  and were heard no more after that date. Milton adopts this view in his Hymn of the

  Nativity, and in lines of solemn and elevated beauty pictures the consternation of the

  heathen idols at the advent of the Savior.

  "The oracles are dumb;

  No voice or hideous hum

  Rings through the arched roof in words deceiving.

  Apollo from his shrine

  Can no more divine,

  With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving.

  No nightly trance or breathed spell

  Inspires the pale-eyed priest from the prophetic cell."

  In Cowper's poem of Yardley Oak there are some beautiful mythological

  allusions. The former of the two following is to the fable of Castor and Pollux; the latter

  is more appropriate to our present subject. Addressing the acorn he says, -

  "Thou fell'st mature; and in the loamy clod,

  Swelling with vegetative force instinct,

  Didst burst thine egg, as theirs the fabled Twins

  Now stars; two lobes protruding, paired exact;

  A leaf succeeded and another leaf,

  And, all the elements thy puny growth

  Fostering propitious, thou becam'st a twig.

  Who lived when thou wast such? O, couldst thou speak

  As in Dodona once thy kindred trees

  Oracular, I would not curious ask

  The future, best unknown, but at they mouth

  Inquisitive, the less ambiguous past"

  Tennyson in his Talking Oak alludes to the oaks of Dodona in these lines: -

  "And I will work in prose and rhyme,

  And praise thee more in both

  Than bard has honored beech or lime,

  Or that Thessalian growth

  In which the swarthy ring-dove sat

  And mystic sentence spoke;" &c.