Ques. Who was Atlas?

Ans. He was a king of Mauritania, the son of the Titan Jap´etus, and the nymph Clym´ene; he was, therefore, brother of Prometheus. He is represented as sustaining the heavens on his shoulders. Atlas had been warned that he would suffer much from a son of Jupiter. When Perseus was returning from the conquest of the Gorgons, he arrived in the dominions of Atlas, of whom he claimed the rites of hospitality, declaring at the same time his divine parentage. The king, remembering the prophecy with regard to Jupiter’s offspring, repulsed him harshly. This conduct brought upon Atlas the calamity which he feared; for Perseus, indignant at so much inhumanity, showed him the head of Medusa, and changed him into the mountain which bears his name.

The fable, that Atlas sustained the heavens on his shoulders, has been explained by saying he was an astronomer, who observed the motion of the heavenly bodies from the summit of a lofty mountain, to which his name was afterwards given.

Ques. Who were the children of Atlas?

Ans. By his wife Peli´one, he had seven daughters, who were called Pleiades; they were changed into stars, and form the beautiful group which we admire in the constellation Taurus. Atlas had seven other daughters who underwent the same transformation; they were placed in the head of Taurus, and were called by the Greeks, Hyades, from a word which signifies “to rain.”

The Hesperides, or Western Maidens, were three celebrated nymphs, concerning whose parentage ancient writers are not agreed. Hesiod speaks of them as the daughters of Night, but according to others, they were the offspring of Atlas and Hesperis. At the bridal of Jupiter and Juno, the different deities brought nuptial presents; among these, Juno most admired some branches loaded with golden apples, which were offered by the goddess of the Earth. She begged the Earth to plant them in her gardens, which extended as far as Mount Atlas. The Hesperides were directed to watch these trees, but they proved unfaithful, and frequently plucked the apples for themselves. Juno sent, therefore, a terrible dragon to guard the precious fruit. This monster was the offspring of Typhon, and had a hundred heads, so that it never slept.

ORION.

Ques. Who was Ori´on?

Ans. His origin is doubtful; according to some writers, he was the son of Neptune and Eury´ale. The accounts given of his exploits and of his death are many and contradictory. According to one legend, Ori´on was a famous hunter; having boasted that he could subdue the wildest and fiercest animals, the earth was displeased at his presumption, and sent a scorpion to sting him. The hero was changed, after death, into a constellation which is known as the most resplendent group in the winter heavens.

PERSEUS.

Ques. Who was Perseus?

Ans. He was the son of Jupiter, and of DanaË, the only daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. This prince had been warned by an oracle that his daughter would have a son, who was destined to deprive him of life. Acrisius resolved, in consequence, that DanaË should never marry. To guard against the possibility of such an event, he imprisoned her in a brazen apartment which he had diligently guarded.

Jupiter had seen and admired the young princess, and he now found means to visit her by transforming himself into a shower of gold, which we may take for a poetical manner of saying that he bribed the guards. When Acrisius discovered that his precautions had been of no avail, he enclosed DanaË and her infant son in a coffer, which he cast into the sea. The coffer was carried by the waves to the island of Seriphus, where a fisherman named Dictys drew it ashore in his net. He was much surprised at beholding DanaË and the infant Perseus, and brought them immediately to Polydectes, who reigned in that island. Polydectes received the strangers kindly, but when Perseus was grown, he strove to effect his destruction by engaging him in an expedition against the Gorgons. This adventure has been already related, in the article on Minerva. It was followed by the rescue of Androm´eda, which is too remarkable to be omitted.

Ques. Who was Androm´eda?

Ans. She was the daughter of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia. Her mother, Cassiopeia, had boasted that she was fairer than Juno and the Nereides. The offended nymphs complained to Neptune, who sent a sea-monster to ravage the dominions of Cepheus. The people, in their distress, had recourse to the oracle of Jupiter Ammon, but the god declared that the country could not be freed from this calamity, unless Androm´eda were given up to be devoured by the monster. Cepheus consented to the sacrifice, and his daughter was chained to a rock by the sea-shore, where she was abandoned to her fate.

Perseus, returning through the air, from his conquest of the Gorgons, saw the unhappy maiden and resolved to rescue her. He asked her hand as his only reward, which Cepheus readily promised.

When the sea-monster appeared, Perseus showed him the head of Medusa, and changed him into a rock, which was long famous upon that coast. Phineus, who had been betrothed to Androm´eda, opposed her marriage with Perseus, and changed the nuptial solemnities into a scene of discord and bloodshed.

The head of the Gorgon again procured for Perseus an easy victory. He warned his friends to avert their eyes, and displayed the frightful trophy, upon which Phineus and his followers were changed into stone, in the very attitudes in which they fought.

Polydectes, who had persecuted DanaË in the absence of Perseus, was punished in the same manner. The hero afterwards fulfilled the oracle by killing his grandfather, whom he did not know, by an accidental blow of a quoit.

Perseus, Androm´eda, Cepheus, and Cassiopeia were changed, after death, into the constellations which bear their names.