https://archive.org/details/mythologyofallra11gray_0/page/n10THE MYTHOLOGY OF ALL RACES
Volume I
GREEK AND ROMAN
PLATE I
Aphrodite the Mother
On Aphrodite's left arm originally rested an infant,
the fingers of whose little hand may still be seen on the
drapery of its mother's bosom. The goddess is look-
ing straight before her, not, however, with her vision
concentrated on a definite object, but rather abstract-
edly, as if serenely proud of her motherhood. She
seems to represent here that special development of
the earth goddess who typified the kindly, fostering
care of the soil, and reminds one of certain Asiatic
images of the divine mother and child. From a
marble statue of the fourth or third century b.c.^
found on the Greek mainland, and now in the Royal
Ontario Museum of Archaeology, Toronto (photo-
graph). See pp. 196^.
THE MYTHOLOGY
OF ALL RACES
IN THIRTEEN VOLUMES
LOUIS HERBERT GRAY, A.M., PH.D., Editor
tSEORGE FOOT MOORE, A.M., D.D.y LL.D., Consulting Editor
GREEK AND ROMAN
BY
WILLIAM SHERWOOD FOX, A.M., PH.D.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CLASSICS
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
VOLUME I
BOSTON
MARSHALL JONES COMPANY
M DCCCC XVI
Copyright, 1916
Bt Marshall Jones Company
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London
AU rights reserved
Printed June, 1916
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OV AlfESICA BT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
B0X7ND BY THE BOSTON BOOKBINDING COMPANY
TO THE MEMORY
OF
HARRY LANGFORD WILSON
SCHOLAR • TEACHER • FRIEND
CONSULTING EDITOR'S PREFACE
THERE are many good books on the mythology of par-
ticular peoples or races, ancient and modern, and much
material accessible in books of travel and works on ethnology
and religion; for classical antiquity excellent dictionaries of
mythology exist. There are also books of narrower or wider
range on comparative mythology, besides many in which
myth and custom have been pressed into the service of theories
of society, civilization, and religion, or are adduced for the
illustration of art and archaeology. But a comprehensive
collection by competent scholars of myths from all quarters
of the earth and all ages has not hitherto been attempted;
for several important parts of the field, no satisfactory works
exist in English, while in some there is none in any language.
On the value of an undertaking like the Mythology of All
Races J therefore, no words need be spent.
The intrinsic interest of the subject is very great; for better
than almost anything else myths reveal men's first notions
about their world and the powers at work in it, and the rela-
tions between men and those powers. They show what things
in their surroundings early engaged men's attention; what
things seemed to them to need explanation; and how they
explained them.
For a myth is commonly an explanation of something, in
the form of a story — what happened once upon a time, or
what repeats itself from day to day — and in natural myths,
as distinct from the invented myths of philosophers and poets,
the story is not the artificial vesture of an idea but its spon-
taneous expression, not a fiction but a self-evident fact. The
student of the mind of man in its uniformity and its varia-
viii CONSULTING EDITOR'S PREFACE
tions therefore finds in mythology a great fund of instructive
material. A comprehensive collection like the present lends
itself also to comparative study of single myths or systems of
myth among different and widely remote peoples, and this
use of the volumes will be facilitated by a suitable analytical
index.
It is one of the merits of this collection that it is made for
its own sake, with no theory to maintain or illustrate. The
contributors have been given free hand to treat their subjects
by such methods as may be best adapted to the nature of the
sources and the peculiarities of the mythology itself, without
any attempt to impose upon either the material or the writers
a schematic plan.
The names of the contributors are a sufficient guarantee of
the thoroughness and trustworthiness of their work, while the
general editor is himself a scholar of wide attainments in this
field. The volumes will be amply illustrated, not for the sake
of making picture books, but for the legitimate purposes of
illustration — a feature which will add much to the useful-
ness as well as to the attractiveness of the series. Taken all in
all, therefore, the Mythology of All Races may safely be pro-
nounced one of the most important enterprises of this age of
co-operative scholarship,
GEORGE FOOT MOORE.
Harvard UinvERsmr
March 20, 1916.
EDITOR'S PREFACE
THE theme of mythology is of perennial interest, and,
more than this, it possesses a value that is very real. It
is a document and a record — existing not merely in the dim
past, but in the living present — of man's thought, of his
ceaseless endeavour to attain that very real happiness which,
as Vergil tells us, arises from "knowledge of the causes of
things.*' Even in his most primitive stages of development
man finds himself dwelling in a world filled with phenomena
that to him are strange, sometimes friendly, often hostile.
Why are these things so? Rightly mankind perceives that a
phenomenon is not a Thing in Itself, an Absolute, but that it
is an effect, the result of a cause. Now, the immediate cause
may often be found; but then it will be seen that this cause is
itself only a result of an anterior cause; and so, step by step,
the search for ultimate Cause proceeds. Thus mythology is
a very real phase — perhaps the most important primitive
phase — of that eternal quest of Truth which ever drives us
on, though we know that in its full beauty it may never be
revealed to mortal eye nor heard by ear of man — that quest
more precious than meat or raiment — that quest which we
may not abandon if we will still be men.
Mythology is not, then, a thing of mere academic interest;
its value is real — real to you and to me. It is the history of
the thought of early man, and of primitive man today. In it
we may find much to tell us how he lived, and how he had
lived in the ages of which his myths recount. As affording us
materials for a history of civilization mythology is of inestim-
able value. We know now that history is something more than
X EDITOR'S PREFACE
a matter of dates and events. "Magna Charta was signed by
King John at Runnimede in 121 5." What of it, if that be all?
The exact words of the document, the particular monarch who
signed it, the precise spot, the specific date are of no worth
in themselves. The real historical question is — What were the
causes which led the English Barons, at a certain point in the
development of the British Nation, to compel the King to sanc-
tion a document abridging the Royal prerogatives; and what
have been the consequences, not merely to the subsequent evo-
lution of the British Constitution, but to all States and Colonies
thereby affected? So, too, we read mythology, not only for
its specific statements — its legends of gods and of heroes, its
theories of the world, and its attempts to solve the mystery of
the destiny of each and every individual — but also, with a
wider purview, for the light which it sheds upon the infancy
and the childhood of the race to which we — you who read
and I who write — belong.
Science; has mythology aught to do with that? Assuredly,
yes. Mythology is science in its infancy. Does the geologist
seek to determine how the earth came into being, how the
mountains and the lakes were formed; does the astronomer
essay to know the stars and their natures; do the zoologist and
the botanist endeavour to explain why animals and trees are
as they are — the maker of myth does even the same. The
scientist today is the lineal descendant of the myth-maker of
olden days. To say this is to honour both alike — both, with
all the light at their command, have sought, and ever seek,
the Truth. The hypotheses of the myths, do they differ in
principle from the hypotheses of science? We think not.
There is no real scientist who does not know that the hypotheses
with which he needs must work and which seem thus far in-
fallible in providing explanations for all phenomena in his field
may some day be modified or even utterly destroyed by new
discoveries. The Ptolemaic Theory is gone, the Atomic Theory
is questioned. But no sane man will for that reason condemn
EDITOR'S PREFACE xi
hypotheses in totOy neither will he despise those who, in their
day, held hypotheses then deemed irrefutable.
The connexion of mythology with religion is obvious, yet a
word of caution is needed here. Mythology is not synony-
mous with religion, but only a part of it. Religion consists
of at least three parts — the attitude of soul, which is religion
par excellence; the outward act of worship, which is ritual;
and the scientific explanation, which — in the very highest and
noblest sense of the term — is myth; and these three — which
we may call the attitude of soul, body, and mind — go to-
gether to make religion. Throughout our study of mythology
we must bear constantly in mind that we are dealing with
only one feature of religion — its causal aspect. We must
not take the part for the whole, else we shall be one-sided and
unjust in our appreciation of religion as a whole.
One attitude of mind is absolutely essential in reading my-
thology — sympathy — and almost as important a requisite
is that, while reading it, its premisses must be granted.
If we approach mythology with the preconception that it is
false or nonsensical or trivial, it will be but waste of time to
read it; indeed it will be better never to have read it, for read-
ing in such a spirit will only embitter. It is, perhaps, not
suflBciently recognized how important a factor one's attitude
of sympathy is, not merely in regard to religion or psychology
or philosophy, or any other "mental and moral science," but
also toward the "exact sciences." If, for example, I make up
my mind that spectral analysis is utterly impossible, the dis-
covery of a new element in the gaseous emanation of a distant
planet by such analysis will be to me nothing but folly. If,
again, I reject the mathematical concept of infinity, which
I have never seen, and which cannot be weighed or measured,
then I shall of course deny that parallel lines meet in infinity;
you cannot give me the precise location of infinity, and, be-
sides, all parallel lines that I have ever seen are equidistant at
all points from each other. This is a reductio ad ahsurdum of
xii EDITOR'S PREFACE
an attitude which is far too common in regard to mythology
and religion. This does not, of course, mean that we must
implicitly believe all that we read; but it does mean that we
should approach with kindly hearts. With reverence, then,
and with love we take up myths. We may smile, at times, at
their naivete; but we shall never sneer at them. Unblushing,
sometimes, we shall find them, and cruel; but it is the un-
modesty and the cruelty of the child. Myths may be moral
or un-moral; they are not immoral, and only a morbid mind
will see uncleanness in them.
No attempt has hitherto been made to collect the myths
of the entire human race into a single series. Yet this is not
so strange as it might appear at first. Scattered in many
volumes both old and new, and in periodicals of many kinds
and languages, it is an impossible task for one man to know
all myths, or to master more than one or two specific mythol-
ogies or a few special themes in mythology as a whole. It is
quite true that countless volumes have been written on the
myths of individual peoples and on special mythic themes,
but their assemblage into a single unit has not thus far been
accomplished. This is the purpose of the present series of the
Mythology of All RaceSj and this the reason for its being.
Herein it differs from all other collections of mythologies in
that the mythology of each race is not merely given a special
volume or half-volume of its own; but, since the series is an
organic entity — not a chance collection of monographs —
the mythology of an individual race is seen to form a coherent
part of mythology. Moreover, the mythology of one people
will not infrequently be found to cast light upon problems con-
nected with the mythic system of quite another people, whence
an accurate and a thorough understanding of any individual
mythology whatever demands an acquaintance with the mythic
systems of mankind as a whole. On the other hand, by thus
taking a broad survey, and by considering primarily the simple
facts — as presented chiefly by travellers, missionaries, and
EDITOR'S PREFACE xiii
anthropologists — we may hope to escape some of the pecu-
liar dangers which beset the study of mythology, especially
preconceived theories and prejudices, and the risk of taking
for aboriginal what is really borrowed and vice versa. We shall
advance no special theory of mythology which shall seek to
solve each and every problem by one and the same formula;
we shall aim to present the facts in the case — and the theories
may safely be trusted to take care of themselves, being then
wisely built on solid foundations.
We have not attempted to make an encyclopaedia of myth-
<^ogy, nor have we planned a mere reference book, which would
have been, in many ways, an easier task. We have had con-
stantly in mind not only the technical student — though he,
too, if the editor's own experience be any criterion, will learn
much — but the more general reader who desires breadth of
understanding, and who would know what the childhood of
our race has thought of the mysteries of nature and of life,
and how it has endeavoured to resolve them. We have sought
to be scientific — in the best sense of the term — but we have
also sought to present a book that shall be eminently readable,
that shall set forth myths as living entities, and that — because
each writer knows and loves the mythology of which he treats
— will fill the reader with enthusiasm for them.
Much of the material here given appears for the first time
in the English language — Slavic and Finno-Ugric, Oceanic,
Armenian, and African. No survey of American mythology
as a whole has hitherto been written. Even where — as in
Indian, Teutonic, and Semitic — English monographs exist,
new points of view are presented. Taking our stand on the
best modern scholarship, we venture to hope that many cur-
rent misconceptions of mythology may be brought to an end.
Thus, within recent years, the science of Greek mythology
has been revolutionized by the discovery of the very simple
fact that Homer is not its ultimate authority, that, indeed,
he represents a comparatively late stage in its development;
xiv EDITOR'S PREFACE
80 that we must give full consideration to the non-Homeric
myths and see that here, too, there is the same underlying
primitive stratum common to all the race of man. This mod-
ern scientific treatment of Classical mythology has its initial
English presentation in our series. Perhaps, at first blush,
we shall seem to lose much both here and elsewhere; we may,
perchance, be disappointed when we find that the vaunted
wisdom of Egyptians and of Druids was not so very profound;
but if we must part with some false, though pretty, ideas,
we shall find ample compensation in knowing Egyptians and
Druids as they were. After all, which do we prefer — a fanciful
picture of our friend, or his actual portrait.^
Mythology may be written in either of two ways — pres-
entational or comparative. In the former the myths of each
people are presented separately; in the latter some special
theme — the deluge-legend, the afterworld, or the like —
is considered as it appears in myth throughout the world.
The utmost care has been taken in the choice of collabora-
tors, and it is believed that to scholars their names will be in
themselves sufficient warrant that the volumes will possess
distinct scientific value. The ample bibliographies and ref-
erences appended to the pertinent sections will enhance the
technical worth of our series. In addition, we propose to give
in our index volume not merely the names and subjects dis-
cussed in the various volumes, but also a topical arrangement
by which the variant myths and mythic themes of the differ-
ent peoples upon a given subject may be found readily and
accurately.
The selection of illustrations will, it is hoped, meet with
general favour. It would have been a very easy matter to
present fancy pictures or to reproduce paintings of great
modem artists. Instead of that, we have deemed it more in
harmony with the purpose of the series to choose for each
section pictures of the deities or of mythic incidents as delin-
eated by the people who themselves believed in those deities
CONTENTS
PAGE
Consulting Editor's Preface vii
Editor's Preface ix
Author's Preface xxi
Introduction to the Greek Myths xli
Sources for the Greek Myths Ix
Sources for the Roman Myths Ixi
Part I. Myths of the Beginning, the Heroes, and the
Afterworld I
Chapter I. Myths of the Beginning 3
The Creation of the World 4
The Regime of Ouranos 6
The Regime of Kronos 7
Establishment of the Regime of Zeus; the Titans ... 8
Typhon (or Typhoeus); the Giants 8
The Creation of Man 10
Prometheus 12
Pandora 14
Origins of Certain Animals and Plants 15
Beginnings of Civilization 16
The Ages of the World 17
The Great Flood 18
Chapter II. Myths of the Peloponnesos 20
I Arkadia:
Pelasgos 20
Lykaon 20
Kallisto 21
Arkas, Aleos, Auge 21
The Plague at Teuthis . .* 22
xxvi coNTE^^^s
PAGE
II Lakonia and Messene:
Lelez and his Descendants 23
Hyakinthos 23
The Family of Perieres 24
Tyndareos, Helen, Kastor and Polydeukes .... 24
Idas and Marpessa 27
III Argos:
Inachos, lo 28
The Families of Danaos and Aigyptos 30
Proitos and his Daughters 32
Akrisios, Danae, and Perseus 33
IV Corinth:
The Divine Patrons of Corinth 36
Sisyphos 37
Glaukos 38
Bellerophon 39
Chapter III. Myths of the Northern Mainland. . . 42
I Boiotia and Euboia:
The First Inhabitants of Boiotia 42
Amphion and Zethos 43
Kadmos 44
The Daughters of Kadmos:
Semele 45
Ino 46
Autonoe 46
Agave 47
The Sorrows of the House of Labdakos; Oidipous . 48
The Sons of Oidipous, and the Seven against Thebes 5 1
The Epigonoi 54
Alkmaion 54
II Aitolia:
The Founding of Aitolia 55
Meleagros and Atalante 56
Chapter IV. Myths of Crete and Attike 60
I Crete:
Europe 60
Myths of Minos and his Sons; Minos 61
