Download - Greek stories
7212019 Greek stories
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OLD GREEK STORIES
7212019 Greek stories
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7212019 Greek stories
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7212019 Greek stories
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Cover and arrangement copy 2008 Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC
Tis edition 1047297rst published in 2008 by Yesterdayrsquos
Classics an imprint o Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC isan unabridged republication o the text originally
published by American Book Company in 1895For the complete listing o the books that arepublished by Yesterdayrsquos Classics please visit
wwwyesterdaysclassicscom Yesterdayrsquos Classics is
the publishing arm o the Baldwin Online ChildrenrsquosLiterature Project which presents the complete
text o hundreds o classic books or children atwwwmainlessoncom
ISBN-10 1-59915-296-7
ISBN-13 978-1-59915-296-7
Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLCPO Box 3418Chapel Hill NC 27515
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PREFACE
Perhaps no other stories have ever been told so
ofen or listened to with so much pleasure as the classictales o ancient Greece For many ages they have beena source o delight to young people and old to theignorant and the learned to all who love to hear aboutand contemplate things mysterious beautiul andgrand Tey have become so incorporated into our
language and thought and so interwoven with ourliterature that we could not do away with them now iwe would Tey are a portion o our heritage rom the
distant past and they orm perhaps as important a parto our intellectual lie as they did o that o the peopleamong whom they originated
Tat many o these tales should be read by children
at an early age no intelligent person will deny Suffi cientreason or this is to be ound in the real pleasure thatevery child derives rom their perusal and in thepreparation o this volume no other reason has beenconsidered I have here attempted to tell a ew stories
o Jupiter and his mighty company and o some o the
old Greek heroes simply as stories nothing more I havecareully avoided every suggestion o interpretationAttempts at analysis and explanation will always prove
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atal to a childrsquos appreciation and enjoyment o suchstories o inculcate the idea that these tales are merely
descriptions o certain natural phenomena expressedin narrative and poetic orm is to deprive them otheir highest charm it is like turning precious gold
into utilitarian iron it is changing a delightul romance
into a dull scienti1047297c treatise Te wise teacher will takeheed not to be guilty o such an error
It will be observed that while each o the stories in
this volume is wholly independent o the others and maybe read without any knowledge o those which precede
it there is nevertheless a certain continuity rom the
1047297rst to the last giving to the collection a completenesslike that o a single narrative In order that the children
o our own country and time may be the better able
to read these stories in the light in which they were
narrated long ago I have told them in simple languagekeeping the supernatural element as ar as possible inthe background and nowhere reerring to Jupiter and
his mighty company as gods I have hoped thus to reethe narrative still more rom everything that mightdetract rom its interest simply as a story
J B
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CONTENTS
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 983137983150983140 H983145983155 M983145983143983144983156983161 C983151983149983152983137983150983161 983089
T983144983141 G983151983148983140983141983150 A983143983141 983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 P983154983151983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983096
T983144983141 F983148983151983151983140 983089983097
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 I983151 983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 W983141983137983158983141983154 983091983090T983144983141 L983151983154983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983145983148983158983141983154 B983151983159 983091983096
A983140983149983141983156983157983155 983137983150983140 A983148983139983141983155983156983145983155 983093983092
C983137983140983149983157983155 983137983150983140 E983157983154983151983152983137 983094983091
T983144983141 Q983157983141983155983156 983151983142 M983141983140983157983155983137rsquo983155 H983141983137983140 983095983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983156983137983148983137983150983156983137 983097983095
T983144983141 H983151983154983155983141 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 O983148983145983158983141 983089983089983094
T983144983141 A983140983158983141983150983156983157983154983141983155 983151983142 T983144983141983155983141983157983155 983089983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 A983154983156983145983155983137983150 983089983093983095
T983144983141 C983154983157983141983148 T983154983145983138983157983156983141 983089983094983094
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PERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED
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1
JUPITER AND HIS
MIGHTY COMPANY
A 983148983151983150983143 time ago when the world was much youngerthan it is now people told and believed a great many
wonderul stories about wonderul things which neitheryou nor I have ever seen Tey ofen talked about a
certain Mighty Being called Jupiter or Zeus who wasking o the sky and the earth and they said that he
sat most o the time amid the clouds on the top o a very high mountain where he could look down and
see everything that was going on in the earth beneathHe liked to ride on the storm-clouds and hurl burningthunderbolts right and lef among the trees and rocksand he was so very very mighty that when he nodded
the earth quaked the mountains trembled and smoked
the sky grew black and the sun hid his ace
Jupiter had two brothers both o them terribleellows but not nearly so great as himsel Te nameo one o them was Neptune or Poseidon and he was
the king o the sea He had a glittering golden palace ar
down in the deep sea-caves where the 1047297shes live and the
red coral grows and whenever he was angry the waveswould rise mountain high and the storm-winds would
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2
OLD GREEK STORIES
howl earully and the sea would try to break over theland and men called him the Shaker o the Earth
Te other brother o Jupiter was a sad pale-acedbeing whose kingdom was underneath the earth wherethe sun never shone and where there was darkness andweeping and sorrow all the time His name was Pluto
or Aidoneus and his country was called the LowerWorld or the Land o Shadows or Hades Men said
that whenever any one died Pluto would send hismessenger or Shadow Leader to carry that one down
into his cheerless kingdom and or that reason they
never spoke well o him but thought o him only asthe enemy o lie
A great number o other Mighty Beings lived with
Jupiter amid the clouds on the mountain topmdashso many
that I can name a very ew only Tere was Venus thequeen o love and beauty who was airer by ar than any
woman that you or I have ever seen Tere was Athenaor Minerva the queen o the air who gave people
wisdom and taught them how to do very many useulthings Tere was Juno the queen o earth and sky who
sat at the right hand o Jupiter and gave him all kinds oadvice Tere was Mars the great warrior whose delight
was in the din o battle Tere was Mercury the swifmessenger who had wings on his cap and shoes andwho 1047298ew rom place to place like the summer clouds
when they are driven beore the wind Tere was Vulcan
a skillul blacksmith who had his orge in a burning
mountain and wrought many wonderul things o ironand copper and gold And besides these there were
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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4
THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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7212019 Greek stories
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Cover and arrangement copy 2008 Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC
Tis edition 1047297rst published in 2008 by Yesterdayrsquos
Classics an imprint o Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC isan unabridged republication o the text originally
published by American Book Company in 1895For the complete listing o the books that arepublished by Yesterdayrsquos Classics please visit
wwwyesterdaysclassicscom Yesterdayrsquos Classics is
the publishing arm o the Baldwin Online ChildrenrsquosLiterature Project which presents the complete
text o hundreds o classic books or children atwwwmainlessoncom
ISBN-10 1-59915-296-7
ISBN-13 978-1-59915-296-7
Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLCPO Box 3418Chapel Hill NC 27515
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PREFACE
Perhaps no other stories have ever been told so
ofen or listened to with so much pleasure as the classictales o ancient Greece For many ages they have beena source o delight to young people and old to theignorant and the learned to all who love to hear aboutand contemplate things mysterious beautiul andgrand Tey have become so incorporated into our
language and thought and so interwoven with ourliterature that we could not do away with them now iwe would Tey are a portion o our heritage rom the
distant past and they orm perhaps as important a parto our intellectual lie as they did o that o the peopleamong whom they originated
Tat many o these tales should be read by children
at an early age no intelligent person will deny Suffi cientreason or this is to be ound in the real pleasure thatevery child derives rom their perusal and in thepreparation o this volume no other reason has beenconsidered I have here attempted to tell a ew stories
o Jupiter and his mighty company and o some o the
old Greek heroes simply as stories nothing more I havecareully avoided every suggestion o interpretationAttempts at analysis and explanation will always prove
7212019 Greek stories
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atal to a childrsquos appreciation and enjoyment o suchstories o inculcate the idea that these tales are merely
descriptions o certain natural phenomena expressedin narrative and poetic orm is to deprive them otheir highest charm it is like turning precious gold
into utilitarian iron it is changing a delightul romance
into a dull scienti1047297c treatise Te wise teacher will takeheed not to be guilty o such an error
It will be observed that while each o the stories in
this volume is wholly independent o the others and maybe read without any knowledge o those which precede
it there is nevertheless a certain continuity rom the
1047297rst to the last giving to the collection a completenesslike that o a single narrative In order that the children
o our own country and time may be the better able
to read these stories in the light in which they were
narrated long ago I have told them in simple languagekeeping the supernatural element as ar as possible inthe background and nowhere reerring to Jupiter and
his mighty company as gods I have hoped thus to reethe narrative still more rom everything that mightdetract rom its interest simply as a story
J B
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CONTENTS
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 983137983150983140 H983145983155 M983145983143983144983156983161 C983151983149983152983137983150983161 983089
T983144983141 G983151983148983140983141983150 A983143983141 983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 P983154983151983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983096
T983144983141 F983148983151983151983140 983089983097
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 I983151 983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 W983141983137983158983141983154 983091983090T983144983141 L983151983154983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983145983148983158983141983154 B983151983159 983091983096
A983140983149983141983156983157983155 983137983150983140 A983148983139983141983155983156983145983155 983093983092
C983137983140983149983157983155 983137983150983140 E983157983154983151983152983137 983094983091
T983144983141 Q983157983141983155983156 983151983142 M983141983140983157983155983137rsquo983155 H983141983137983140 983095983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983156983137983148983137983150983156983137 983097983095
T983144983141 H983151983154983155983141 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 O983148983145983158983141 983089983089983094
T983144983141 A983140983158983141983150983156983157983154983141983155 983151983142 T983144983141983155983141983157983155 983089983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 A983154983156983145983155983137983150 983089983093983095
T983144983141 C983154983157983141983148 T983154983145983138983157983156983141 983089983094983094
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PERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED
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1
JUPITER AND HIS
MIGHTY COMPANY
A 983148983151983150983143 time ago when the world was much youngerthan it is now people told and believed a great many
wonderul stories about wonderul things which neitheryou nor I have ever seen Tey ofen talked about a
certain Mighty Being called Jupiter or Zeus who wasking o the sky and the earth and they said that he
sat most o the time amid the clouds on the top o a very high mountain where he could look down and
see everything that was going on in the earth beneathHe liked to ride on the storm-clouds and hurl burningthunderbolts right and lef among the trees and rocksand he was so very very mighty that when he nodded
the earth quaked the mountains trembled and smoked
the sky grew black and the sun hid his ace
Jupiter had two brothers both o them terribleellows but not nearly so great as himsel Te nameo one o them was Neptune or Poseidon and he was
the king o the sea He had a glittering golden palace ar
down in the deep sea-caves where the 1047297shes live and the
red coral grows and whenever he was angry the waveswould rise mountain high and the storm-winds would
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2
OLD GREEK STORIES
howl earully and the sea would try to break over theland and men called him the Shaker o the Earth
Te other brother o Jupiter was a sad pale-acedbeing whose kingdom was underneath the earth wherethe sun never shone and where there was darkness andweeping and sorrow all the time His name was Pluto
or Aidoneus and his country was called the LowerWorld or the Land o Shadows or Hades Men said
that whenever any one died Pluto would send hismessenger or Shadow Leader to carry that one down
into his cheerless kingdom and or that reason they
never spoke well o him but thought o him only asthe enemy o lie
A great number o other Mighty Beings lived with
Jupiter amid the clouds on the mountain topmdashso many
that I can name a very ew only Tere was Venus thequeen o love and beauty who was airer by ar than any
woman that you or I have ever seen Tere was Athenaor Minerva the queen o the air who gave people
wisdom and taught them how to do very many useulthings Tere was Juno the queen o earth and sky who
sat at the right hand o Jupiter and gave him all kinds oadvice Tere was Mars the great warrior whose delight
was in the din o battle Tere was Mercury the swifmessenger who had wings on his cap and shoes andwho 1047298ew rom place to place like the summer clouds
when they are driven beore the wind Tere was Vulcan
a skillul blacksmith who had his orge in a burning
mountain and wrought many wonderul things o ironand copper and gold And besides these there were
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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4
THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
7212019 Greek stories
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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7212019 Greek stories
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Cover and arrangement copy 2008 Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC
Tis edition 1047297rst published in 2008 by Yesterdayrsquos
Classics an imprint o Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC isan unabridged republication o the text originally
published by American Book Company in 1895For the complete listing o the books that arepublished by Yesterdayrsquos Classics please visit
wwwyesterdaysclassicscom Yesterdayrsquos Classics is
the publishing arm o the Baldwin Online ChildrenrsquosLiterature Project which presents the complete
text o hundreds o classic books or children atwwwmainlessoncom
ISBN-10 1-59915-296-7
ISBN-13 978-1-59915-296-7
Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLCPO Box 3418Chapel Hill NC 27515
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PREFACE
Perhaps no other stories have ever been told so
ofen or listened to with so much pleasure as the classictales o ancient Greece For many ages they have beena source o delight to young people and old to theignorant and the learned to all who love to hear aboutand contemplate things mysterious beautiul andgrand Tey have become so incorporated into our
language and thought and so interwoven with ourliterature that we could not do away with them now iwe would Tey are a portion o our heritage rom the
distant past and they orm perhaps as important a parto our intellectual lie as they did o that o the peopleamong whom they originated
Tat many o these tales should be read by children
at an early age no intelligent person will deny Suffi cientreason or this is to be ound in the real pleasure thatevery child derives rom their perusal and in thepreparation o this volume no other reason has beenconsidered I have here attempted to tell a ew stories
o Jupiter and his mighty company and o some o the
old Greek heroes simply as stories nothing more I havecareully avoided every suggestion o interpretationAttempts at analysis and explanation will always prove
7212019 Greek stories
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atal to a childrsquos appreciation and enjoyment o suchstories o inculcate the idea that these tales are merely
descriptions o certain natural phenomena expressedin narrative and poetic orm is to deprive them otheir highest charm it is like turning precious gold
into utilitarian iron it is changing a delightul romance
into a dull scienti1047297c treatise Te wise teacher will takeheed not to be guilty o such an error
It will be observed that while each o the stories in
this volume is wholly independent o the others and maybe read without any knowledge o those which precede
it there is nevertheless a certain continuity rom the
1047297rst to the last giving to the collection a completenesslike that o a single narrative In order that the children
o our own country and time may be the better able
to read these stories in the light in which they were
narrated long ago I have told them in simple languagekeeping the supernatural element as ar as possible inthe background and nowhere reerring to Jupiter and
his mighty company as gods I have hoped thus to reethe narrative still more rom everything that mightdetract rom its interest simply as a story
J B
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CONTENTS
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 983137983150983140 H983145983155 M983145983143983144983156983161 C983151983149983152983137983150983161 983089
T983144983141 G983151983148983140983141983150 A983143983141 983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 P983154983151983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983096
T983144983141 F983148983151983151983140 983089983097
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 I983151 983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 W983141983137983158983141983154 983091983090T983144983141 L983151983154983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983145983148983158983141983154 B983151983159 983091983096
A983140983149983141983156983157983155 983137983150983140 A983148983139983141983155983156983145983155 983093983092
C983137983140983149983157983155 983137983150983140 E983157983154983151983152983137 983094983091
T983144983141 Q983157983141983155983156 983151983142 M983141983140983157983155983137rsquo983155 H983141983137983140 983095983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983156983137983148983137983150983156983137 983097983095
T983144983141 H983151983154983155983141 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 O983148983145983158983141 983089983089983094
T983144983141 A983140983158983141983150983156983157983154983141983155 983151983142 T983144983141983155983141983157983155 983089983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 A983154983156983145983155983137983150 983089983093983095
T983144983141 C983154983157983141983148 T983154983145983138983157983156983141 983089983094983094
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PERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED
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1
JUPITER AND HIS
MIGHTY COMPANY
A 983148983151983150983143 time ago when the world was much youngerthan it is now people told and believed a great many
wonderul stories about wonderul things which neitheryou nor I have ever seen Tey ofen talked about a
certain Mighty Being called Jupiter or Zeus who wasking o the sky and the earth and they said that he
sat most o the time amid the clouds on the top o a very high mountain where he could look down and
see everything that was going on in the earth beneathHe liked to ride on the storm-clouds and hurl burningthunderbolts right and lef among the trees and rocksand he was so very very mighty that when he nodded
the earth quaked the mountains trembled and smoked
the sky grew black and the sun hid his ace
Jupiter had two brothers both o them terribleellows but not nearly so great as himsel Te nameo one o them was Neptune or Poseidon and he was
the king o the sea He had a glittering golden palace ar
down in the deep sea-caves where the 1047297shes live and the
red coral grows and whenever he was angry the waveswould rise mountain high and the storm-winds would
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2
OLD GREEK STORIES
howl earully and the sea would try to break over theland and men called him the Shaker o the Earth
Te other brother o Jupiter was a sad pale-acedbeing whose kingdom was underneath the earth wherethe sun never shone and where there was darkness andweeping and sorrow all the time His name was Pluto
or Aidoneus and his country was called the LowerWorld or the Land o Shadows or Hades Men said
that whenever any one died Pluto would send hismessenger or Shadow Leader to carry that one down
into his cheerless kingdom and or that reason they
never spoke well o him but thought o him only asthe enemy o lie
A great number o other Mighty Beings lived with
Jupiter amid the clouds on the mountain topmdashso many
that I can name a very ew only Tere was Venus thequeen o love and beauty who was airer by ar than any
woman that you or I have ever seen Tere was Athenaor Minerva the queen o the air who gave people
wisdom and taught them how to do very many useulthings Tere was Juno the queen o earth and sky who
sat at the right hand o Jupiter and gave him all kinds oadvice Tere was Mars the great warrior whose delight
was in the din o battle Tere was Mercury the swifmessenger who had wings on his cap and shoes andwho 1047298ew rom place to place like the summer clouds
when they are driven beore the wind Tere was Vulcan
a skillul blacksmith who had his orge in a burning
mountain and wrought many wonderul things o ironand copper and gold And besides these there were
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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4
THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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Cover and arrangement copy 2008 Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC
Tis edition 1047297rst published in 2008 by Yesterdayrsquos
Classics an imprint o Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLC isan unabridged republication o the text originally
published by American Book Company in 1895For the complete listing o the books that arepublished by Yesterdayrsquos Classics please visit
wwwyesterdaysclassicscom Yesterdayrsquos Classics is
the publishing arm o the Baldwin Online ChildrenrsquosLiterature Project which presents the complete
text o hundreds o classic books or children atwwwmainlessoncom
ISBN-10 1-59915-296-7
ISBN-13 978-1-59915-296-7
Yesterdayrsquos Classics LLCPO Box 3418Chapel Hill NC 27515
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PREFACE
Perhaps no other stories have ever been told so
ofen or listened to with so much pleasure as the classictales o ancient Greece For many ages they have beena source o delight to young people and old to theignorant and the learned to all who love to hear aboutand contemplate things mysterious beautiul andgrand Tey have become so incorporated into our
language and thought and so interwoven with ourliterature that we could not do away with them now iwe would Tey are a portion o our heritage rom the
distant past and they orm perhaps as important a parto our intellectual lie as they did o that o the peopleamong whom they originated
Tat many o these tales should be read by children
at an early age no intelligent person will deny Suffi cientreason or this is to be ound in the real pleasure thatevery child derives rom their perusal and in thepreparation o this volume no other reason has beenconsidered I have here attempted to tell a ew stories
o Jupiter and his mighty company and o some o the
old Greek heroes simply as stories nothing more I havecareully avoided every suggestion o interpretationAttempts at analysis and explanation will always prove
7212019 Greek stories
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atal to a childrsquos appreciation and enjoyment o suchstories o inculcate the idea that these tales are merely
descriptions o certain natural phenomena expressedin narrative and poetic orm is to deprive them otheir highest charm it is like turning precious gold
into utilitarian iron it is changing a delightul romance
into a dull scienti1047297c treatise Te wise teacher will takeheed not to be guilty o such an error
It will be observed that while each o the stories in
this volume is wholly independent o the others and maybe read without any knowledge o those which precede
it there is nevertheless a certain continuity rom the
1047297rst to the last giving to the collection a completenesslike that o a single narrative In order that the children
o our own country and time may be the better able
to read these stories in the light in which they were
narrated long ago I have told them in simple languagekeeping the supernatural element as ar as possible inthe background and nowhere reerring to Jupiter and
his mighty company as gods I have hoped thus to reethe narrative still more rom everything that mightdetract rom its interest simply as a story
J B
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CONTENTS
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 983137983150983140 H983145983155 M983145983143983144983156983161 C983151983149983152983137983150983161 983089
T983144983141 G983151983148983140983141983150 A983143983141 983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 P983154983151983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983096
T983144983141 F983148983151983151983140 983089983097
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 I983151 983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 W983141983137983158983141983154 983091983090T983144983141 L983151983154983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983145983148983158983141983154 B983151983159 983091983096
A983140983149983141983156983157983155 983137983150983140 A983148983139983141983155983156983145983155 983093983092
C983137983140983149983157983155 983137983150983140 E983157983154983151983152983137 983094983091
T983144983141 Q983157983141983155983156 983151983142 M983141983140983157983155983137rsquo983155 H983141983137983140 983095983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983156983137983148983137983150983156983137 983097983095
T983144983141 H983151983154983155983141 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 O983148983145983158983141 983089983089983094
T983144983141 A983140983158983141983150983156983157983154983141983155 983151983142 T983144983141983155983141983157983155 983089983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 A983154983156983145983155983137983150 983089983093983095
T983144983141 C983154983157983141983148 T983154983145983138983157983156983141 983089983094983094
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PERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED
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1
JUPITER AND HIS
MIGHTY COMPANY
A 983148983151983150983143 time ago when the world was much youngerthan it is now people told and believed a great many
wonderul stories about wonderul things which neitheryou nor I have ever seen Tey ofen talked about a
certain Mighty Being called Jupiter or Zeus who wasking o the sky and the earth and they said that he
sat most o the time amid the clouds on the top o a very high mountain where he could look down and
see everything that was going on in the earth beneathHe liked to ride on the storm-clouds and hurl burningthunderbolts right and lef among the trees and rocksand he was so very very mighty that when he nodded
the earth quaked the mountains trembled and smoked
the sky grew black and the sun hid his ace
Jupiter had two brothers both o them terribleellows but not nearly so great as himsel Te nameo one o them was Neptune or Poseidon and he was
the king o the sea He had a glittering golden palace ar
down in the deep sea-caves where the 1047297shes live and the
red coral grows and whenever he was angry the waveswould rise mountain high and the storm-winds would
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2
OLD GREEK STORIES
howl earully and the sea would try to break over theland and men called him the Shaker o the Earth
Te other brother o Jupiter was a sad pale-acedbeing whose kingdom was underneath the earth wherethe sun never shone and where there was darkness andweeping and sorrow all the time His name was Pluto
or Aidoneus and his country was called the LowerWorld or the Land o Shadows or Hades Men said
that whenever any one died Pluto would send hismessenger or Shadow Leader to carry that one down
into his cheerless kingdom and or that reason they
never spoke well o him but thought o him only asthe enemy o lie
A great number o other Mighty Beings lived with
Jupiter amid the clouds on the mountain topmdashso many
that I can name a very ew only Tere was Venus thequeen o love and beauty who was airer by ar than any
woman that you or I have ever seen Tere was Athenaor Minerva the queen o the air who gave people
wisdom and taught them how to do very many useulthings Tere was Juno the queen o earth and sky who
sat at the right hand o Jupiter and gave him all kinds oadvice Tere was Mars the great warrior whose delight
was in the din o battle Tere was Mercury the swifmessenger who had wings on his cap and shoes andwho 1047298ew rom place to place like the summer clouds
when they are driven beore the wind Tere was Vulcan
a skillul blacksmith who had his orge in a burning
mountain and wrought many wonderul things o ironand copper and gold And besides these there were
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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4
THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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PREFACE
Perhaps no other stories have ever been told so
ofen or listened to with so much pleasure as the classictales o ancient Greece For many ages they have beena source o delight to young people and old to theignorant and the learned to all who love to hear aboutand contemplate things mysterious beautiul andgrand Tey have become so incorporated into our
language and thought and so interwoven with ourliterature that we could not do away with them now iwe would Tey are a portion o our heritage rom the
distant past and they orm perhaps as important a parto our intellectual lie as they did o that o the peopleamong whom they originated
Tat many o these tales should be read by children
at an early age no intelligent person will deny Suffi cientreason or this is to be ound in the real pleasure thatevery child derives rom their perusal and in thepreparation o this volume no other reason has beenconsidered I have here attempted to tell a ew stories
o Jupiter and his mighty company and o some o the
old Greek heroes simply as stories nothing more I havecareully avoided every suggestion o interpretationAttempts at analysis and explanation will always prove
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atal to a childrsquos appreciation and enjoyment o suchstories o inculcate the idea that these tales are merely
descriptions o certain natural phenomena expressedin narrative and poetic orm is to deprive them otheir highest charm it is like turning precious gold
into utilitarian iron it is changing a delightul romance
into a dull scienti1047297c treatise Te wise teacher will takeheed not to be guilty o such an error
It will be observed that while each o the stories in
this volume is wholly independent o the others and maybe read without any knowledge o those which precede
it there is nevertheless a certain continuity rom the
1047297rst to the last giving to the collection a completenesslike that o a single narrative In order that the children
o our own country and time may be the better able
to read these stories in the light in which they were
narrated long ago I have told them in simple languagekeeping the supernatural element as ar as possible inthe background and nowhere reerring to Jupiter and
his mighty company as gods I have hoped thus to reethe narrative still more rom everything that mightdetract rom its interest simply as a story
J B
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CONTENTS
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 983137983150983140 H983145983155 M983145983143983144983156983161 C983151983149983152983137983150983161 983089
T983144983141 G983151983148983140983141983150 A983143983141 983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 P983154983151983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983096
T983144983141 F983148983151983151983140 983089983097
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 I983151 983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 W983141983137983158983141983154 983091983090T983144983141 L983151983154983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983145983148983158983141983154 B983151983159 983091983096
A983140983149983141983156983157983155 983137983150983140 A983148983139983141983155983156983145983155 983093983092
C983137983140983149983157983155 983137983150983140 E983157983154983151983152983137 983094983091
T983144983141 Q983157983141983155983156 983151983142 M983141983140983157983155983137rsquo983155 H983141983137983140 983095983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983156983137983148983137983150983156983137 983097983095
T983144983141 H983151983154983155983141 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 O983148983145983158983141 983089983089983094
T983144983141 A983140983158983141983150983156983157983154983141983155 983151983142 T983144983141983155983141983157983155 983089983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 A983154983156983145983155983137983150 983089983093983095
T983144983141 C983154983157983141983148 T983154983145983138983157983156983141 983089983094983094
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PERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED
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1
JUPITER AND HIS
MIGHTY COMPANY
A 983148983151983150983143 time ago when the world was much youngerthan it is now people told and believed a great many
wonderul stories about wonderul things which neitheryou nor I have ever seen Tey ofen talked about a
certain Mighty Being called Jupiter or Zeus who wasking o the sky and the earth and they said that he
sat most o the time amid the clouds on the top o a very high mountain where he could look down and
see everything that was going on in the earth beneathHe liked to ride on the storm-clouds and hurl burningthunderbolts right and lef among the trees and rocksand he was so very very mighty that when he nodded
the earth quaked the mountains trembled and smoked
the sky grew black and the sun hid his ace
Jupiter had two brothers both o them terribleellows but not nearly so great as himsel Te nameo one o them was Neptune or Poseidon and he was
the king o the sea He had a glittering golden palace ar
down in the deep sea-caves where the 1047297shes live and the
red coral grows and whenever he was angry the waveswould rise mountain high and the storm-winds would
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2
OLD GREEK STORIES
howl earully and the sea would try to break over theland and men called him the Shaker o the Earth
Te other brother o Jupiter was a sad pale-acedbeing whose kingdom was underneath the earth wherethe sun never shone and where there was darkness andweeping and sorrow all the time His name was Pluto
or Aidoneus and his country was called the LowerWorld or the Land o Shadows or Hades Men said
that whenever any one died Pluto would send hismessenger or Shadow Leader to carry that one down
into his cheerless kingdom and or that reason they
never spoke well o him but thought o him only asthe enemy o lie
A great number o other Mighty Beings lived with
Jupiter amid the clouds on the mountain topmdashso many
that I can name a very ew only Tere was Venus thequeen o love and beauty who was airer by ar than any
woman that you or I have ever seen Tere was Athenaor Minerva the queen o the air who gave people
wisdom and taught them how to do very many useulthings Tere was Juno the queen o earth and sky who
sat at the right hand o Jupiter and gave him all kinds oadvice Tere was Mars the great warrior whose delight
was in the din o battle Tere was Mercury the swifmessenger who had wings on his cap and shoes andwho 1047298ew rom place to place like the summer clouds
when they are driven beore the wind Tere was Vulcan
a skillul blacksmith who had his orge in a burning
mountain and wrought many wonderul things o ironand copper and gold And besides these there were
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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4
THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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atal to a childrsquos appreciation and enjoyment o suchstories o inculcate the idea that these tales are merely
descriptions o certain natural phenomena expressedin narrative and poetic orm is to deprive them otheir highest charm it is like turning precious gold
into utilitarian iron it is changing a delightul romance
into a dull scienti1047297c treatise Te wise teacher will takeheed not to be guilty o such an error
It will be observed that while each o the stories in
this volume is wholly independent o the others and maybe read without any knowledge o those which precede
it there is nevertheless a certain continuity rom the
1047297rst to the last giving to the collection a completenesslike that o a single narrative In order that the children
o our own country and time may be the better able
to read these stories in the light in which they were
narrated long ago I have told them in simple languagekeeping the supernatural element as ar as possible inthe background and nowhere reerring to Jupiter and
his mighty company as gods I have hoped thus to reethe narrative still more rom everything that mightdetract rom its interest simply as a story
J B
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CONTENTS
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 983137983150983140 H983145983155 M983145983143983144983156983161 C983151983149983152983137983150983161 983089
T983144983141 G983151983148983140983141983150 A983143983141 983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 P983154983151983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983096
T983144983141 F983148983151983151983140 983089983097
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 I983151 983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 W983141983137983158983141983154 983091983090T983144983141 L983151983154983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983145983148983158983141983154 B983151983159 983091983096
A983140983149983141983156983157983155 983137983150983140 A983148983139983141983155983156983145983155 983093983092
C983137983140983149983157983155 983137983150983140 E983157983154983151983152983137 983094983091
T983144983141 Q983157983141983155983156 983151983142 M983141983140983157983155983137rsquo983155 H983141983137983140 983095983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983156983137983148983137983150983156983137 983097983095
T983144983141 H983151983154983155983141 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 O983148983145983158983141 983089983089983094
T983144983141 A983140983158983141983150983156983157983154983141983155 983151983142 T983144983141983155983141983157983155 983089983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 A983154983156983145983155983137983150 983089983093983095
T983144983141 C983154983157983141983148 T983154983145983138983157983156983141 983089983094983094
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PERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED
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1
JUPITER AND HIS
MIGHTY COMPANY
A 983148983151983150983143 time ago when the world was much youngerthan it is now people told and believed a great many
wonderul stories about wonderul things which neitheryou nor I have ever seen Tey ofen talked about a
certain Mighty Being called Jupiter or Zeus who wasking o the sky and the earth and they said that he
sat most o the time amid the clouds on the top o a very high mountain where he could look down and
see everything that was going on in the earth beneathHe liked to ride on the storm-clouds and hurl burningthunderbolts right and lef among the trees and rocksand he was so very very mighty that when he nodded
the earth quaked the mountains trembled and smoked
the sky grew black and the sun hid his ace
Jupiter had two brothers both o them terribleellows but not nearly so great as himsel Te nameo one o them was Neptune or Poseidon and he was
the king o the sea He had a glittering golden palace ar
down in the deep sea-caves where the 1047297shes live and the
red coral grows and whenever he was angry the waveswould rise mountain high and the storm-winds would
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2
OLD GREEK STORIES
howl earully and the sea would try to break over theland and men called him the Shaker o the Earth
Te other brother o Jupiter was a sad pale-acedbeing whose kingdom was underneath the earth wherethe sun never shone and where there was darkness andweeping and sorrow all the time His name was Pluto
or Aidoneus and his country was called the LowerWorld or the Land o Shadows or Hades Men said
that whenever any one died Pluto would send hismessenger or Shadow Leader to carry that one down
into his cheerless kingdom and or that reason they
never spoke well o him but thought o him only asthe enemy o lie
A great number o other Mighty Beings lived with
Jupiter amid the clouds on the mountain topmdashso many
that I can name a very ew only Tere was Venus thequeen o love and beauty who was airer by ar than any
woman that you or I have ever seen Tere was Athenaor Minerva the queen o the air who gave people
wisdom and taught them how to do very many useulthings Tere was Juno the queen o earth and sky who
sat at the right hand o Jupiter and gave him all kinds oadvice Tere was Mars the great warrior whose delight
was in the din o battle Tere was Mercury the swifmessenger who had wings on his cap and shoes andwho 1047298ew rom place to place like the summer clouds
when they are driven beore the wind Tere was Vulcan
a skillul blacksmith who had his orge in a burning
mountain and wrought many wonderul things o ironand copper and gold And besides these there were
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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4
THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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CONTENTS
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 983137983150983140 H983145983155 M983145983143983144983156983161 C983151983149983152983137983150983161 983089
T983144983141 G983151983148983140983141983150 A983143983141 983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 P983154983151983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983096
T983144983141 F983148983151983151983140 983089983097
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 I983151 983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 W983141983137983158983141983154 983091983090T983144983141 L983151983154983140 983151983142 983156983144983141 S983145983148983158983141983154 B983151983159 983091983096
A983140983149983141983156983157983155 983137983150983140 A983148983139983141983155983156983145983155 983093983092
C983137983140983149983157983155 983137983150983140 E983157983154983151983152983137 983094983091
T983144983141 Q983157983141983155983156 983151983142 M983141983140983157983155983137rsquo983155 H983141983137983140 983095983092
T983144983141 S983156983151983154983161 983151983142 A983156983137983148983137983150983156983137 983097983095
T983144983141 H983151983154983155983141 983137983150983140 983156983144983141 O983148983145983158983141 983089983089983094
T983144983141 A983140983158983141983150983156983157983154983141983155 983151983142 T983144983141983155983141983157983155 983089983090983093
T983144983141 W983151983150983140983141983154983142983157983148 A983154983156983145983155983137983150 983089983093983095
T983144983141 C983154983157983141983148 T983154983145983138983157983156983141 983089983094983094
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PERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED
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1
JUPITER AND HIS
MIGHTY COMPANY
A 983148983151983150983143 time ago when the world was much youngerthan it is now people told and believed a great many
wonderul stories about wonderul things which neitheryou nor I have ever seen Tey ofen talked about a
certain Mighty Being called Jupiter or Zeus who wasking o the sky and the earth and they said that he
sat most o the time amid the clouds on the top o a very high mountain where he could look down and
see everything that was going on in the earth beneathHe liked to ride on the storm-clouds and hurl burningthunderbolts right and lef among the trees and rocksand he was so very very mighty that when he nodded
the earth quaked the mountains trembled and smoked
the sky grew black and the sun hid his ace
Jupiter had two brothers both o them terribleellows but not nearly so great as himsel Te nameo one o them was Neptune or Poseidon and he was
the king o the sea He had a glittering golden palace ar
down in the deep sea-caves where the 1047297shes live and the
red coral grows and whenever he was angry the waveswould rise mountain high and the storm-winds would
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2
OLD GREEK STORIES
howl earully and the sea would try to break over theland and men called him the Shaker o the Earth
Te other brother o Jupiter was a sad pale-acedbeing whose kingdom was underneath the earth wherethe sun never shone and where there was darkness andweeping and sorrow all the time His name was Pluto
or Aidoneus and his country was called the LowerWorld or the Land o Shadows or Hades Men said
that whenever any one died Pluto would send hismessenger or Shadow Leader to carry that one down
into his cheerless kingdom and or that reason they
never spoke well o him but thought o him only asthe enemy o lie
A great number o other Mighty Beings lived with
Jupiter amid the clouds on the mountain topmdashso many
that I can name a very ew only Tere was Venus thequeen o love and beauty who was airer by ar than any
woman that you or I have ever seen Tere was Athenaor Minerva the queen o the air who gave people
wisdom and taught them how to do very many useulthings Tere was Juno the queen o earth and sky who
sat at the right hand o Jupiter and gave him all kinds oadvice Tere was Mars the great warrior whose delight
was in the din o battle Tere was Mercury the swifmessenger who had wings on his cap and shoes andwho 1047298ew rom place to place like the summer clouds
when they are driven beore the wind Tere was Vulcan
a skillul blacksmith who had his orge in a burning
mountain and wrought many wonderul things o ironand copper and gold And besides these there were
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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4
THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
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THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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PERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED
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1
JUPITER AND HIS
MIGHTY COMPANY
A 983148983151983150983143 time ago when the world was much youngerthan it is now people told and believed a great many
wonderul stories about wonderul things which neitheryou nor I have ever seen Tey ofen talked about a
certain Mighty Being called Jupiter or Zeus who wasking o the sky and the earth and they said that he
sat most o the time amid the clouds on the top o a very high mountain where he could look down and
see everything that was going on in the earth beneathHe liked to ride on the storm-clouds and hurl burningthunderbolts right and lef among the trees and rocksand he was so very very mighty that when he nodded
the earth quaked the mountains trembled and smoked
the sky grew black and the sun hid his ace
Jupiter had two brothers both o them terribleellows but not nearly so great as himsel Te nameo one o them was Neptune or Poseidon and he was
the king o the sea He had a glittering golden palace ar
down in the deep sea-caves where the 1047297shes live and the
red coral grows and whenever he was angry the waveswould rise mountain high and the storm-winds would
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2
OLD GREEK STORIES
howl earully and the sea would try to break over theland and men called him the Shaker o the Earth
Te other brother o Jupiter was a sad pale-acedbeing whose kingdom was underneath the earth wherethe sun never shone and where there was darkness andweeping and sorrow all the time His name was Pluto
or Aidoneus and his country was called the LowerWorld or the Land o Shadows or Hades Men said
that whenever any one died Pluto would send hismessenger or Shadow Leader to carry that one down
into his cheerless kingdom and or that reason they
never spoke well o him but thought o him only asthe enemy o lie
A great number o other Mighty Beings lived with
Jupiter amid the clouds on the mountain topmdashso many
that I can name a very ew only Tere was Venus thequeen o love and beauty who was airer by ar than any
woman that you or I have ever seen Tere was Athenaor Minerva the queen o the air who gave people
wisdom and taught them how to do very many useulthings Tere was Juno the queen o earth and sky who
sat at the right hand o Jupiter and gave him all kinds oadvice Tere was Mars the great warrior whose delight
was in the din o battle Tere was Mercury the swifmessenger who had wings on his cap and shoes andwho 1047298ew rom place to place like the summer clouds
when they are driven beore the wind Tere was Vulcan
a skillul blacksmith who had his orge in a burning
mountain and wrought many wonderul things o ironand copper and gold And besides these there were
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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4
THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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1
JUPITER AND HIS
MIGHTY COMPANY
A 983148983151983150983143 time ago when the world was much youngerthan it is now people told and believed a great many
wonderul stories about wonderul things which neitheryou nor I have ever seen Tey ofen talked about a
certain Mighty Being called Jupiter or Zeus who wasking o the sky and the earth and they said that he
sat most o the time amid the clouds on the top o a very high mountain where he could look down and
see everything that was going on in the earth beneathHe liked to ride on the storm-clouds and hurl burningthunderbolts right and lef among the trees and rocksand he was so very very mighty that when he nodded
the earth quaked the mountains trembled and smoked
the sky grew black and the sun hid his ace
Jupiter had two brothers both o them terribleellows but not nearly so great as himsel Te nameo one o them was Neptune or Poseidon and he was
the king o the sea He had a glittering golden palace ar
down in the deep sea-caves where the 1047297shes live and the
red coral grows and whenever he was angry the waveswould rise mountain high and the storm-winds would
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OLD GREEK STORIES
howl earully and the sea would try to break over theland and men called him the Shaker o the Earth
Te other brother o Jupiter was a sad pale-acedbeing whose kingdom was underneath the earth wherethe sun never shone and where there was darkness andweeping and sorrow all the time His name was Pluto
or Aidoneus and his country was called the LowerWorld or the Land o Shadows or Hades Men said
that whenever any one died Pluto would send hismessenger or Shadow Leader to carry that one down
into his cheerless kingdom and or that reason they
never spoke well o him but thought o him only asthe enemy o lie
A great number o other Mighty Beings lived with
Jupiter amid the clouds on the mountain topmdashso many
that I can name a very ew only Tere was Venus thequeen o love and beauty who was airer by ar than any
woman that you or I have ever seen Tere was Athenaor Minerva the queen o the air who gave people
wisdom and taught them how to do very many useulthings Tere was Juno the queen o earth and sky who
sat at the right hand o Jupiter and gave him all kinds oadvice Tere was Mars the great warrior whose delight
was in the din o battle Tere was Mercury the swifmessenger who had wings on his cap and shoes andwho 1047298ew rom place to place like the summer clouds
when they are driven beore the wind Tere was Vulcan
a skillul blacksmith who had his orge in a burning
mountain and wrought many wonderul things o ironand copper and gold And besides these there were
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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4
THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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2
OLD GREEK STORIES
howl earully and the sea would try to break over theland and men called him the Shaker o the Earth
Te other brother o Jupiter was a sad pale-acedbeing whose kingdom was underneath the earth wherethe sun never shone and where there was darkness andweeping and sorrow all the time His name was Pluto
or Aidoneus and his country was called the LowerWorld or the Land o Shadows or Hades Men said
that whenever any one died Pluto would send hismessenger or Shadow Leader to carry that one down
into his cheerless kingdom and or that reason they
never spoke well o him but thought o him only asthe enemy o lie
A great number o other Mighty Beings lived with
Jupiter amid the clouds on the mountain topmdashso many
that I can name a very ew only Tere was Venus thequeen o love and beauty who was airer by ar than any
woman that you or I have ever seen Tere was Athenaor Minerva the queen o the air who gave people
wisdom and taught them how to do very many useulthings Tere was Juno the queen o earth and sky who
sat at the right hand o Jupiter and gave him all kinds oadvice Tere was Mars the great warrior whose delight
was in the din o battle Tere was Mercury the swifmessenger who had wings on his cap and shoes andwho 1047298ew rom place to place like the summer clouds
when they are driven beore the wind Tere was Vulcan
a skillul blacksmith who had his orge in a burning
mountain and wrought many wonderul things o ironand copper and gold And besides these there were
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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3
JUPITER AND HIS MIGHTY COMPANY
many others about whom you will learn by and by and
about whom men told strange and beautiul stories
Tey lived in glittering golden mansions high upamong the cloudsmdashso high indeed that the eyes o men
could never see them But they could look down and
see what men were doing and ofentimes they were
said to leave their lofy homes and wander unknownacross the land or over the sea
And o all these Mighty Folk Jupiter was by ar themightiest
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THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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4
THE GOLDEN AGE
J983157983152983145983156983141983154 and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid
the clouds on the mountain top In times long past awonderul amily called itans had lived there and hadruled over all the world Tere were twelve o themmdashsix
brothers and six sistersmdashand they said that their atherwas the Sky and their mother the Earth Tey had the
orm and looks o men and women but they were much
larger and ar more beautiul
Te name o the youngest o these itans was Saturnand yet he was so very old that men ofen called himFather ime He was the king o the itans and so o
course was the king o all the earth besides
Men were never so happy as they were during
Saturnrsquos reign It was the true Golden Age then Tespringtime lasted all the year Te woods and meadows
were always ull o blossoms and the music o singingbirds was heard every day and every hour It was
summer and autumn too at the same time Apples
and 1047297gs and oranges always hung ripe rom the treesand there were purple grapes on the vines and melons
and berries o every kind which the people had but topick and eat
O course nobody had to do any kind o work in
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
7212019 Greek stories
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
7212019 Greek stories
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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5
THE GOLDEN AGE
that happy time Tere was no such thing as sickness orsorrow or old age Men and women lived or hundreds
and hundreds o years and never became gray orwrinkled or lame but were always handsome and young
Tey had no need o houses or there were no cold days
nor storms nor anything to make them araid
Nobody was poor or everybody had the same
precious thingsmdashthe sunlight the pure air the
wholesome water o the springs the grass or a carpetthe blue sky or a roo the ruits and 1047298owers o the
woods and meadows So o course no one was richerthan another and there was no money nor any locksor bolts or everybody was everybodyrsquos riend and no
man wanted to get more o anything than his neighbors
had
When these happy people had lived long enough
they ell asleep and their bodies were seen no more Tey1047298itted away through the air and over the mountainsand across the sea to a 1047298owery land in the distant
west And some men say that even to this day they
are wandering happily hither and thither about the
earth causing babies to smile in their cradles easing theburdens o the toilworn and sick and blessing mankind
everywhere
What a pity it is that this Golden Age should havecome to an end But it was Jupiter and his brothers who
brought about the sad change
It is hard to believe it but men say that Jupiter wasthe son o the old itan king Saturn and that he was
hardly a year old when he began to plot how he might
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
7212019 Greek stories
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
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6
OLD GREEK STORIES
wage war against his ather As soon as he was grownup he persuaded his brothers Neptune and Pluto and
his sisters Juno Ceres and Vesta to join him andthey vowed that they would drive the itans rom the
earth
Ten ollowed a long and terrible war But Jupiterhad many mighty helpers A company o one-eyed
monsters called Cyclopes were kept busy all the time
orging thunderbolts in the 1047297re o burning mountainsTree other monsters each with a hundred hands were
called in to throw rocks and trees against the stronghold
o the itans and Jupiter himsel hurled his sharplightning darts so thick and ast that the woods wereset on 1047297re and the water in the rivers boiled with the
heat
O course good quiet old Saturn and his brothersand sisters could not hold out always against such oesas these At the end o ten years they had to give up and
beg or peace Tey were bound in chains o the hardest
rock and thrown into a prison in the Lower World andthe Cyclopes and the hundred-handed monsters were
sent there to be their jailers and to keep guard overthem orever
Ten men began to grow dissatis1047297ed with their lot
Some wanted to be rich and own all the good things inthe world Some wanted to be kings and rule over theothers Some who were strong wanted to make slaves
o those who were weak Some broke down the ruittrees in the woods lest others should eat o the ruitSome or mere sport hunted the timid animals which
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7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
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8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 1532
7
THE GOLDEN AGE
had always been their riends Some even killed thesepoor creatures and ate their 1047298esh or ood
At last instead o everybody being everybodyrsquosriend everybody was everybodyrsquos oe
So in all the world instead o peace there waswar instead o plenty there was starvation instead oinnocence there was crime and instead o happiness
there was misery
And that was the way in which Jupiter made himselso mighty and that was the way in which the GoldenAge came to an end
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 1632
8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
7212019 Greek stories
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
7212019 Greek stories
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
7212019 Greek stories
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
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ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
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20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 1632
8
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
I HOW FIRE WAS GIVEN TO MEN
I983150 those old old times there lived two brothers who
were not like other men nor yet like those Mighty Oneswho lived upon the mountain top Tey were the sons
o one o those itans who had ought against Jupiterand been sent in chains to the strong prison-house othe Lower World
Te name o the elder o these brothers was
Prometheus or Forethought or he was always thinking
o the uture and making things ready or what mighthappen to-morrow or next week or next year or it may
be in a hundred years to come Te younger was called
Epimetheus or Aferthought or he was always so busy
thinking o yesterday or last year or a hundred yearsago that he had no care at all or what might come topass afer a while
For some cause Jupiter had not sent these brothersto prison with the rest o the itans
Prometheus did not care to live amid the clouds
on the mountain top He was too busy or that Whilethe Mighty Folk were spending their time in idlenessdrinking nectar and eating ambrosia he was intent
7212019 Greek stories
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 1832
10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 1932
11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2032
12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2232
ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
7212019 Greek stories
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2432
16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
7212019 Greek stories
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
7212019 Greek stories
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
7212019 Greek stories
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
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21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
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A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
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OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
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9
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
upon plans or making the world wiser and better than
it had ever been beore
He went out amongst men to live with them andhelp them or his heart was 1047297lled with sadness whenhe ound that they were no longer happy as they had
been during the golden days when Saturn was king Ah
how very poor and wretched they were He ound them
living in caves and in holes o the earth shivering with
the cold because there was no 1047297re dying o starvationhunted by wild beasts and by one anothermdashthe most
miserable o all living creatures
ldquoI they only had 1047297rerdquo said Prometheus to himselldquothey could at least warm themselves and cook their
ood and afer a while they could learn to make toolsand build themselves houses Without 1047297re they are
worse off than the beastsrdquo
Ten he went boldly to Jupiter and begged him togive 1047297re to men that so they might have a little comortthrough the long dreary months o winter
ldquoNot a spark will I giverdquo said Jupiter ldquoNo indeed
Why i men had 1047297re they might become strong andwise like ourselves and afer a while they would drive
us out o our kingdom Let them shiver with cold and
let them live like the beasts It is best or them to bepoor and ignorant that so we Mighty Ones may thrive
and be happyrdquo
Prometheus made no answer but he had set his
heart on helping mankind and he did not give up Heturned away and lef Jupiter and his mighty companyorever
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10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
7212019 Greek stories
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11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
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12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2232
ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
7212019 Greek stories
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2432
16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2532
17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
7212019 Greek stories
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2732
19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 1832
10
OLD GREEK STORIES
As he was walking by the shore o the sea he ound a
reed or as some say a tall stalk o ennel growing and
when he had broken it off he saw that its hollow centerwas 1047297lled with a dry sof pith which would burn slowly
and keep on 1047297re a long time He took the long stalk inhis hands and started with it towards the dwelling othe sun in the ar east
ldquoMankind shall have 1047297re in spite o the tyrant who
sits on the mountain toprdquo he saidHe reached the place o the sun in the early morning
just as the glowing golden orb was rising rom the earth
and beginning his daily journey through the sky Hetouched the end o the long reed to the 1047298ames and
the dry pith caught on 1047297re and burned slowly Tenhe turned and hastened back to his own land carrying
with him the precious spark hidden in the hollow center
o the plant
He called some o the shivering men rom theircaves and built a 1047297re or them and showed them howto warm themselves by it and how to build other 1047297res
rom the coals Soon there was a cheerul blaze in every
rude home in the land and men and women gatheredround it and were warm and happy and thankulto Prometheus or the wonderul gif which he had
brought to them rom the sun
It was not long until they learned to cook their ood
and so to eat like men instead o like beasts Tey began
at once to leave off their wild and savage habits andinstead o lurking in the dark places o the world they
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 1932
11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2032
12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
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13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2232
ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
7212019 Greek stories
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15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
7212019 Greek stories
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16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
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17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
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18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
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19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
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22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 1932
11
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
came out into the open air and the bright sunlight and
were glad because lie had been given to them
Afer that Prometheus taught them little by little athousand things He showed them how to build houseso wood and stone and how to tame sheep and cattleand make them useul and how to plow and sow and
reap and how to protect themselves rom the stormso winter and the beasts o the woods Ten he showed
them how to dig in the earth or copper and iron andhow to melt the ore and how to hammer it into shape
and ashion rom it the tools and weapons which theyneeded in peace and war and when he saw how happythe world was becoming he cried out
ldquoA new Golden Age shall come brighter and betterby ar than the oldrdquo
II HOW DISEASES AND CARES
CAME AMONG MEN
Tings might have gone on very happily indeed
and the Golden Age might really have come again had
it not been or Jupiter But one day when he chancedto look down upon the earth he saw the 1047297res burningand the people living in houses and the 1047298ocks eedingon the hills and the grain ripening in the 1047297elds and
this made him very angry
ldquoWho has done all thisrdquo he asked
And some one answered ldquoPrometheusrdquo
ldquoWhat that young itanrdquo he cried ldquoWell I will
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2032
12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2132
13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2232
ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2332
15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2432
16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2532
17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2632
18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2732
19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2032
12
OLD GREEK STORIES
punish him in a way that will make him wish I had
shut him up in the prison-house with his kinsolk But
as or those puny men let them keep their 1047297re I willmake them ten times more miserable than they werebeore they had itrdquo
O course it would be easy enough to deal withPrometheus at any time and so Jupiter was in no
great haste about it He made up his mind to distress
mankind 1047297rst and he thought o a plan or doing it ina very strange roundabout way
In the 1047297rst place he ordered his blacksmith Vulcan
whose orge was in the crater o a burning mountainto take a lump o clay which he gave him and mold itinto the orm o a woman Vulcan did as he was bidden
and when he had 1047297nished the image he carried it up
to Jupiter who was sitting among the clouds with allthe Mighty Folk around him It was nothing but a mere
lieless body but the great blacksmith had given it aorm more perect than that o any statue that has ever
been made
ldquoCome nowrdquo said Jupiter ldquolet us all give some
goodly gif to this womanrdquo and he began by givingher lie
Ten the others came in their turn each with a gifor the marvelous creature One gave her beauty and
another a pleasant voice and another good mannersand another a kind heart and another skill in many
arts and lastly some one gave her curiosity Ten theycalled her Pandora which means the all-gifed because
she had received gifs rom them all
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2132
13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2232
ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2332
15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2432
16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2532
17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2632
18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2732
19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2132
13
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
Pandora was so beautiul and so wondrously gifedthat no one could help loving her When the Mighty Folk
had admired her or a time they gave her to Mercurythe light-ooted and he led her down the mountain
side to the place where Prometheus and his brother
were living and toiling or the good o mankind He
met Epimetheus 1047297rst and said to him
ldquoEpimetheus here is a beautiul woman whom
Jupiter has sent to you to be your wierdquoPrometheus had ofen warned his brother to
beware o any gif that Jupiter might send or he knew
that the mighty tyrant could not be trusted but whenEpimetheus saw Pandora how lovely and wise she washe orgot all warnings and took her home to live withhim and be his wie
Pandora was very happy in her new home and even
Prometheus when he saw her was pleased with her
loveliness She had brought with her a golden casketwhich Jupiter had given her at parting and which
he had told her held many precious things but wiseAthena the queen o the air had warned her never
never to open it nor look at the things inside
ldquoTey must be jewelsrdquo she said to hersel and thenshe thought o how they would add to her beauty i
only she could wear them ldquoWhy did Jupiter give themto me i I should never use them nor so much as look
at themrdquo she asked
Te more she thought about the golden casket themore curious she was to see what was in it and every
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2232
ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2332
15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2432
16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2532
17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2632
18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2732
19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2232
ldquoE983152983145983149983141983156983144983141983157983155 983144983141983154983141 983145983155 983137 983138983141983137983157983156983145983142983157983148 983159983151983149983137983150rdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2332
15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2432
16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2532
17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2632
18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2732
19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2332
15
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
day she took it down rom its shel and elt o the lidand tried to peer inside o it without opening it
ldquoWhy should I care or what Athena told merdquo shesaid at last ldquoShe is not beautiul and jewels would be o
no use to her I think that I will look at them at any rate
Athena will never know Nobody else will ever knowrdquo
She opened the lid a very little just to peep inside
All at once there was a whirring rustling sound and
beore she could shut it down again out 1047298ew tenthousand strange creatures with death-like aces and
gaunt and dreadul orms such as nobody in all the
world had ever seen Tey 1047298uttered or a little while
about the room and then 1047298ew away to 1047297nd dwelling-places wherever there were homes o men Tey were
diseases and cares or up to that time mankind had
not had any kind o sickness nor elt any troubles omind nor worried about what the morrow might bring
orth
Tese creatures 1047298ew into every house and withoutany one seeing them nestled down in the bosoms
o men and women and children and put an end to
all their joy and ever since that day they have been1047298itting and creeping unseen and unheard over all theland bringing pain and sorrow and death into every
household
I Pandora had not shut down the lid so quickly
things would have gone much worse But she closed it
just in time to keep the last o the evil creatures romgetting out Te name o this creature was Forebodingand although he was almost hal out o the casket
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2432
16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2532
17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2632
18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2732
19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2432
16
OLD GREEK STORIES
Pandora pushed him back and shut the lid so tight
that he could never escape I he had gone out into the
world men would have known rom childhood justwhat troubles were going to come to them every day
o their lives and they would never have had any joyor hope so long as they lived
And this was the way in which Jupiter sought to
make mankind more miserable than they had been
beore Prometheus had beriended them
III HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS
PUNISHED
Te next thing that Jupiter did was to punish
Prometheus or stealing 1047297re rom the sun He bade twoo his servants whose names were Strength and Forceto seize the bold itan and carry him to the topmostpeak o the Caucasus Mountains Ten he sent theblacksmith Vulcan to bind him with iron chains and
etter him to the rocks so that he could not move handor oot
Vulcan did not like to do this or he was a riend oPrometheus and yet he did not dare to disobey And sothe great riend o men who had given them 1047297re and
lifed them out o their wretchedness and shown themhow to live was chained to the mountain peak and
there he hung with the storm-winds whistling always
around him and the pitiless hail beating in his aceand 1047297erce eagles shrieking in his ears and tearing hisbody with their cruel claws Yet he bore all his sufferings
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2532
17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2632
18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2732
19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2532
17
THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS
without a groan and never would he beg or mercy orsay that he was sorry or what he had done
Year afer year and age afer age Prometheus hungthere Now and then old Helios the driver o the sun carwould look down upon him and smile now and then1047298ocks o birds would bring him messages rom ar-off
lands once the ocean nymphs came and sang wonderul
songs in his hearing and ofentimes men looked up to
him with pitying eyes and cried out against the tyrantwho had placed him there
Ten once upon a time a white cow passed that
waymdasha strangely beautiul cow with large sad eyesand a ace that seemed almost human She stoppedand looked up at the cold gray peak and the giant bodywhich was chained there Prometheus saw her and
spoke to her kindly
ldquoI know who you arerdquo he said ldquoYou are Io who wasonce a air and happy maiden in distant Argos and
now because o the tyrant Jupiter and his jealous queen
you are doomed to wander rom land to land in that
unhuman orm But do not lose hope Go on to the
southward and then to the west and afer many daysyou shall come to the great river Nile Tere you shallagain become a maiden but airer and more beautiul
than beore and you shall become the wie o the kingo that land and shall give birth to a son rom whomshall spring the hero who will break my chains and set
me ree As or me I bide in patience the day which noteven Jupiter can hasten or delay Farewellrdquo
Poor Io would have spoken but she could not Her
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2632
18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2732
19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2632
18
OLD GREEK STORIES
sorrowul eyes looked once more at the suffering heroon the peak and then she turned and began her long
and tiresome journey to the land o the NileAges passed and at last a great hero whose name
was Hercules came to the land o the Caucasus In spite
o Jupiterrsquos dread thunderbolts and earul storms osnow and sleet he climbed the rugged mountain peak
he slew the 1047297erce eagles that had so long tormented the
helpless prisoner on those craggy heights and with amighty blow he broke the etters o Prometheus and
set the grand old hero ree
ldquoI knew that you would comerdquo said Prometheus
ldquoen generations ago I spoke o you to Io who wasaferwards the queen o the land o the Nilerdquo
ldquoAnd Iordquo said Hercules ldquowas the mother o the racerom which I am sprungrdquo
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2732
19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2732
19
THE FLOOD
I983150 those very early times there was a man named
Deucalion and he was the son o Prometheus He wasonly a common man and not a itan like his great ather
and yet he was known ar and wide or his good deedsand the uprightness o his lie His wiersquos name wasPyrrha and she was one o the airest o the daughters
o men
Afer Jupiter had bound Prometheus on MountCaucasus and had sent diseases and cares into the world
men became very very wicked Tey no longer built
houses and tended their 1047298ocks and lived together in
peace but every man was at war with his neighbor andthere was no law nor saety in all the land Tings werein much worse case now than they had been beore
Prometheus had come among men and that was justwhat Jupiter wanted But as the world became wickederand wickeder every day he began to grow weary oseeing so much bloodshed and o hearing the cries othe oppressed and the poor
ldquoTese menrdquo he said to his mighty company ldquoare
nothing but a source o trouble When they were goodand happy we elt araid lest they should become greaterthan ourselves and now they are so terribly wicked that
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2832
20
OLD GREEK STORIES
we are in worse danger than beore Tere is only onething to be done with them and that is to destroy them
every onerdquoSo he sent a great rain-storm upon the earth and
it rained day and night or a long time and the sea was1047297lled to the brim and the water ran over the land and
covered 1047297rst the plains and then the orests and then the
hills But men kept on 1047297ghting and robbing even while
the rain was pouring down and the sea was coming upover the land
No one but Deucalion the son o Prometheus was
ready or such a storm He had never joined in any othe wrong doings o those around him and had ofentold them that unless they lef off their evil ways there
would be a day o reckoning in the end Once every year
he had gone to the land o the Caucasus to talk withhis ather who was hanging chained to the mountainpeak
ldquoTe day is comingrdquo said Prometheus ldquowhen Jupiterwill send a 1047298ood to destroy mankind rom the earth
Be sure that you are ready or it my sonrdquo
And so when the rain began to all Deucalion drew
rom its shelter a boat which he had built or just sucha time He called air Pyrrha his wie and the twosat in the boat and were 1047298oated saely on the rising
waters Day and night day and night I cannot tell howlong the boat drifed hither and thither Te tops o the
trees were hidden by the 1047298ood and then the hills andthen the mountains and Deucalion and Pyrrha couldsee nothing anywhere but water water watermdashand
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 2932
21
THE FLOOD
they knew that all the people in the land had been
drowned
Afer a while the rain stopped alling and theclouds cleared away and the blue sky and the goldensun came out overhead Ten the water began to sink
very ast and to run off the land towards the sea and
early the very next day the boat was drifed high upon a
mountain called Parnassus and Deucalion and Pyrrha
stepped out upon the dry land Afer that it was only ashort time until the whole country was laid bare and
the trees shook their leay branches in the wind andthe 1047297elds were carpeted with grass and 1047298owers morebeautiul than in the days beore the 1047298ood
But Deucalion and Pyrrha were very sad or they
knew that they were the only persons who were lef
alive in all the land At last they started to walk downthe mountain side towards the plain wondering what
would become o them now all alone as they were in the
wide world While they were talking and trying to think
what they should do they heard a voice behind themTey turned and saw a noble young prince standing on
one o the rocks above them He was very tall with blueeyes and yellow hair Tere were wings on his shoes and
on his cap and in his hands he bore a staff with goldenserpents twined around it Tey knew at once that hewas Mercury the swif messenger o the Mighty Onesand they waited to hear what he would say
ldquoIs there anything that you wishrdquo he asked ldquoellme and you shall have whatever you desirerdquo
ldquoWe should like above all thingsrdquo said Deucalion
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3032
22
OLD GREEK STORIES
ldquoto see this land ull o people once more or withoutneighbors and riends the world is a very lonely place
indeedrdquoldquoGo on down the mountainrdquo said Mercury ldquoand
as you go cast the bones o your mother over your
shoulders behind yourdquo and with these words he leaped
into the air and was seen no more
ldquoWhat did he meanrdquo asked Pyrrha
ldquoSurely I do not knowrdquo said Deucalion ldquoBut let usthink a moment Who is our mother i it is not the
Earth rom whom all living things have sprung Andyet what could he mean by the bones o our motherrdquo
ldquoPerhaps he meant the stones o the earthrdquo saidPyrrha ldquoLet us go on down the mountain and as we
go let us pick up the stones in our path and throw themover our shoulders behind usrdquo
ldquoIt is rather a silly thing to dordquo said Deucalion ldquoandyet there can be no harm in it and we shall see whatwill happenrdquo
And so they walked on down the steep slope o
Mount Parnassus and as they walked they pickedup the loose stones in their way and cast them over
their shoulders and strange to say the stones whichDeucalion threw sprang up as ull-grown men strong
and handsome and brave and the stones which Pyrrhathrew sprang up as ull-grown women lovely and
air When at last they reached the plain they oundthemselves at the head o a noble company o human
beings all eager to serve them
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3132
A983155 983156983144983141983161 983159983137983148983147983141983140 983156983144983141983161 983152983145983139983147983141983140 983157983152983156983144983141 983148983151983151983155983141 983155983156983151983150983141983155 983145983150 983156983144983141983145983154 983159983137983161
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141
7212019 Greek stories
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullgreek-stories 3232
OLD GREEK STORIES
So Deucalion became their king and he set them in
homes and taught them how to till the ground and how
to do many useul things and the land was 1047297lled withpeople who were happier and ar better than those who
had dwelt there beore the 1047298ood And they named thecountry Hellas afer Hellen the son o Deucalion andPyrrha and the people are to this day called Hellenes
But we call the country G983154983141983141983139983141