Beneath the mighty rocks of Sipylos stood the palace of Tantalos, the Phrygian king, gleaming with the blaze of gold and jewels. Its burnished roofs glistened from afar like the rays which dance on ruffled waters. Its marble columns flashed with hues rich as the hues of purple clouds which gather round the sun as he sinks down in the sky. And far and wide was known the name of the mighty chieftain, who was wiser than all the sons of mortal men; for his wife, Euryanassa, they said, came of the race of the undying gods, and to Tantalos

1 The reader will notice that in this and the three following stories the Greek method of spelling the proper names is adopted, e.g. Tantalos for Tantalus, Kastalian for Castalian, etc.

Zeus had given the power of Hêlios, that he might know his secret counsels, and see into the hidden things of earth and air and sea. Many a time, so the people said, he held converse with Zeus himself in his home on the high Olympos; and day by day his wealth increased, his flocks and herds multiplied exceedingly, and in his fields the golden corn waved like a sunlit sea.

But as the years rolled round there were dark sayings spread abroad, that the wisdom of Tantalos was turned to craft, and that his wealth and power were used for evil ends. Men said that he had sinned like Prometheus the Titan, and had stolen from the banquet-hall of Zeus the food and drink of the gods, and given them to mortal men. And tales yet more strange were told, how that Pandareôs brought to him the hound which Rhea placed in the cave of Dicktê to guard the child Zeus, and how, when Hermes bade him yield up the dog, Tantalos laughed him to scorn, and said, 'Dost thou ask me for the hound which guarded Zeus in the days of his childhood? It were as well to ask me for the unseen breeze which sighs through the groves of Sipylos.'

Then, last of all, men spake in whispers of a sin yet more fearful which Tantalos had sinned, and the tale was told that Zeus and all the gods came down from Olympos to feast in his banquethall, and how, when the red wine sparkled in the golden goblets, Tantalos placed savoury meat before Zeus, and bade him eat of a costly food; and when the feast was ended, told him that in the dish had lain the limbs of the child Pelops, whose sunny smile had gladdened the hearts of mortal men. Then came the day of vengeance, for Zeus bade Hermes bring back Pelops again from the kingdom

G

of Hades to the land of living men; and on Tantalos was passed a doom which should torment him for ever and ever.

In the shadowy region where wander the ghosts of men, Tantalos, they said, lay prisoned in a beautiful garden, gazing on bright flowers and glistening fruits and laughing waters; but for all that his tongue was parched, and his limbs were faint with hunger. No drop of water might cool his lips, no luscious fruit might soothe his agony. If he bowed his head to drink, the water fled away; if he stretched forth his hand to pluck the golden apples, the branches vanished like mists before the face of the rising sun; and in place of ripe fruits glistening among green leaves, a mighty rock beetled above his head, as though it must fall and grind him to powder. Wherefore men say, when the cup of pleasure is dashed from the lips of those who would drink of it, that on them has fallen the doom of the Phrygian Tantalos.

From Cox's' Tales of Ancient Greece.' By permission of Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co.

LESSON 17.

STORIES OF MYTHOLOGY.

II. THE VENGEANCE OF APOLLO.

Apollo, son of Zeus; a | Midas, a very wealthy Greek god

king

Athênê, a goddess; daughter Phoebus, means pure or

In the cool of the evening time King Darius walked in his royal garden, and the noblest of the Persians were around him. Then came there a messenger from the western land in haste, and said, 'O king, the men of Athens, with the sons of Javan, have taken the city of Sardes, and the temple of the great goddess Kybêbê has been burnt.' And King Darius answered quickly, and said, 'What sayest thou, O messenger, that men of whom I have never heard the name have come with my slaves against the land of the great king?' Then he bade them bring a bow and arrows; and while , one went for them, the Persians stood round him in silence, for they feared to say aught while the king

was angry. So when he took the bow, he fitted an arrow to it, and shot it up into the sky, and prayed, saying, 'O Zeus, that dwellest in the high heavens, suffer me to be avenged upon the men of Athens. The sons of Javan are my slaves, and sorely shall they be smitten for the deeds which they have done.' Then he gave command, and each day, when the banquet was spread in the gilded hall, and the king sat down to meat, there stood forth one who said with a loud voice, 'O king, forget not the men of Athens.'

But Zeus hearkened not to the prayer of the great king, for the ships were made ready, and his chieftains and warriors hastened away to the Athenian land and fought in Marathon. But they fared not well in the battle, for the men of Athens strove mightily for their country, and the bright heroes came back to aid their kinsfolk. Then were there seen wonderful forms, taller and more glorious than the sons of men; and the mighty Echetlaios with his great ploughshare smote down the chiefest of the Medes. So in great fear the Persians fled to the sea-shore, while the men of Athens slew them on the land and in the water as they struggled to reach the ships. And when the fight was over, they spoiled the Persians who lay dead on the seashore, and took rich plunder, for scattered about they found embroidered turbans, and bright swords and daggers, and golden bits and bridles, and silken robes and jewels.

Thus sped the hosts of King Darius; and the messenger came again in haste, as he sat on his golden throne in Susa, while the nobles of Persia did obeisance before him. Then the king said, 'Speak, O man; hast thou brought good tidings of the strange city?' And the messenger answered,