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191 pages

English

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The Roman poet Virgil is regarded as one of the most significant literary figures of the ancient world. His major contribution was the epic poem of battle the Aeneid. In Stories of the Old World, author Alfred Church John presents many of Virgil's most beloved tales, as well as some from other ancient scribes, in an easy-to-read translation that will engage a wide range of readers.

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Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 mai 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781776535538
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0134€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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STORIES OF THE OLD WORLD
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ALFRED JOHN CHURCH

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Stories of the Old World First published in 1885 Epub ISBN 978-1-77653-553-8 Also available: PDF ISBN 978-1-77653-554-5 © 2013 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
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Note TheStory of the Argo Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III TheStory of Thebes Chapter I Chapter II TheStory of Troy Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X Chapter XI Chapter XII Chapter XIII Chapter XIV TheAdventures of Æneas Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Endnotes
Note
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In "The Adventures of Æneas" the names of the gods are of the Latin form. As the story is taken from Virgil, this could not be avoided. The following table sets forth the correspondence of the Greek and Latin names:—
GREEK. LATIN. Zeus Heré Aphrodité Ares Hermes Poseidon Artemis Jupiter. Juno. Venus. Mars. Mercury. Neptune. Diana.
TheStory of the Argo
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Chapter I
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The son of Cretheus, Æson, bequeathed the kingdom of Thessaly to hisbrother Pelias, to keep for Jason, his son, whom he had sent to betaught by Chiron, the wise Centaur. Now when Jason was returning fromChiron he came to Anaurus, which is a river of Thessaly, and wouldhave crossed it; but there was an old woman on the river bank, and sheentreated of Jason that he would carry her over the river, for shefeared herself, she said, to cross it. But the old woman was in truththe goddess Heré, who had taken upon herself the likeness of an oldwoman to try the young man's heart. Jason therefore carried her over,but in crossing he lost one of his sandals, for it cleaved to the sandthat was in the river; and so he came to the dwelling of King Pelias,where they were preparing a great sacrifice and feast to Poseidon andthe other gods. Now there had come an oracle aforetime to Pelias,saying, "Beware of him who shall come to thee with one sandal only, forit is thy doom to die by his means." Therefore, when Pelias saw Jasoncome in this plight, he was afraid; also he would fain keep the kingdomfor himself. He dared not slay him; but he set him a task from which hemight win great renown, hoping that he should never return therefrom;and the task was this: to fetch the fleece of gold from the land of theColchians.
Now the story of the fleece is this: To Athamas, that was brother toCretheus, were born two children of Nephele, his wife, and the names ofthese two were Phrixus and Helle. But Ino, whom Athamas had taken towife when Nephele was dead, laid a plot against the children to causethem to be put to death, and the plot was this. She persuaded the womenof the land to parch with fire the seed of the corn that their husbandssowed in the earth. And when the seed bare no increase, King Athamassent to inquire of the oracle at Delphi what the cause might be. ButIno persuaded the messengers that they should bring back this message,as though it were the answer of the god, "Sacrifice the two children,Phrixus and Helle, if ye would be rid of this barrenness." So Athamas,being persuaded, brought the children to the altar to sacrifice them;but the gods had pity on them, and sent a winged ram with a fleece ofgold to carry them away. So the ram carried them away; but Helle fellfrom it and was drowned (for which cause the sea in those parts iscalled the Sea of Helle to this day), but Phrixus came safe to the landof the Colchians. There he sacrificed the ram as a thankoffering toZeus, and afterwards married the daughter of the king of that land, andthen died. And now Pelias would have Jason fetch the fleece of gold asbelonging of right to his own house. To this Jason consented, and hesent messengers through the land of Greece to gather the heroes, thatthey might be his companions in this labor; and the heroes hearkened tohis word.
First there came Orpheus, the great singer of Thrace, who could causerocks to move from their places, and rivers to stay their course, andtrees to follow him, so sweetly he sang; and Polyphemus, who in hisyouth had fought with the Lapithæ against the Centaurs, and though hislimbs were burdened with many years, he bare a brave heart within him;and Admetus of Thessaly, for whom his wife Alcestis was willing todie; and the two sons of Æacus of Ægina, Telamon and Peleus, of whomTelamon dwelt in Salamis, and Peleus in Phthia, for they had fled fromÆgina, having slain Phocus, their brother, unwittingly. But Theseus,the bravest of the sons of Attica, came not, being imprisoned withPirithoüs in the dwellings of the dead. Also there came Tiphys, who wasthe most skilful of men to foresee when the waves would rise, and thewinds blow, and to guide a ship by sun and stars; and Hercules, whowas newly come to Argos from Arcadia, whence he had brought alive thegreat Erymanthian boar, and put him down in the market-place of Mycenæ;and the twin brethren, Castor, the tamer of horses, and Pollux, themighty boxer; and Lynceus, who was keener of sight than all other men,so that he could see even the things below the earth. With these camealso two brethren, sons of Boreas, Prince of Thrace, whom men call alsothe North Wind. Wings had these two upon their feet,—a wonder to see,black, shining with scales of gold,—and their hair streamed behindthem on either side as they ran. These, and many more heroes whom itneeds not name, did Jason gather together.
As for the ship Argo , the goddess Athene devised it, but the hands ofArgus, the son of Arestor, builded it.
Great was the wonder among the people to see such a gathering ofheroes. "Surely," they said, "they will burn the house of Æætes withfire if he withhold from them the fleece." But the women lifted uptheir hands and prayed for a safe return; also they wept one toanother, no one more bitterly than Alcimedé, the mother of Jason,casting her arms about her son, and bewailing the day when Pelias hadsent him on this errand, seeing that he was her only son, and she wouldbe left desolate and alone. But Jason comforted her, saying that Athenewould help him in his quest, and that Apollo had prophesied good thingsfor him; only he bade her abide within the house, lest she should speaksome word of ill omen at their departure.
When the heroes were gathered together at the ship, Jason stood upin the midst, and spake: "My friends, seeing that all things are nowready for the voyage, and that there is nothing to hinder us fromsailing, the wind being favorable, let us choose for our leader himwhom we judge to be the best among us, for our going and our returningconcerneth us all." Then the young men cast their eyes on Hercules, andcried out with one voice that he should be their leader. But the herostretched forth his right hand from where he sat, and cried, "Not so;let no man seek to give me this honor, for I will not receive it. Lethim that hath gathered us be also our leader." So spake Hercules, andthey all were obedient to his word, and chose Jason to be their leader.Then said Jason, "First let us make a feast and a sacrifice to Apollo.But while the slaves fetch the oxen, let us drag down the ship to thesea, and when we have put all her tackling into her, let us cast lotsfor the benches whereon we shall sit." Then the heroes undergirded theship with ropes, that she might be the stronger against the waves; andafterwards, standing on either side, pushed her with all their might;but Tiphys stood in the midst and gave the word, that they might do itwith one heart and at one time. Quickly ran the Argo on the slips,and the heroes shouted as she ran. Then they fastened the oars in therowlocks, and put a mast in the ship, and sails well woven. After thisthey divided the heroes among the benches, two heroes to a bench; andin the hindmost bench they set Hercules and Ancæus of Tegea, by choiceand not by lot, considering the stature of the heroes, for there theship was deepest. But for helmsman they chose Tiphys by common consent.
After this they built an altar of stones upon the shore. Then Jasonprayed to Apollo, "O king, bring us again safe to Greece; so willwe offer young bullocks on thy altars, both at Delphi and in Delos.And now let us raise our cable in peace, and give us favorable windsand a calm sea." Then Hercules smote one of the oxen with his fistbetween the horns and felled him to the earth; and Ancæus slew theother, smiting him on the neck with an axe. And the young men cut themin pieces, and they covered the thighs with fat, and burned them inthe fire. But when Idmon, the seer, saw the blue smoke, how it arosein circles above the flames, he cried, by the inspiration of Apollo,"Truly ye shall come hither again, and bring the fleece of gold withyou; but as for me, I must die far from my home in the land of Asia.This, indeed, I knew before, yet am I with you to-day, that I mayshare the glory of this voyage." And now the sun was setting, and theheroes sat in order on the shore, and drank the wine out of greatcups, talking with each other as men are wont to talk at the banquet.But Jason sat apart, busy with many thoughts, which, when the heroIdas saw, he said, "What fearest thou, son of Æson? By this spear Iswear—and in truth my spear helpeth me more than Zeus—thou shaltfail in nought if only Idas be with thee." And as he spake he raisedwith both his hands a mighty bowl of wine, and drenched his lips andbearded cheeks. Then the heroes murmured against him; but Idmon, theseer, spake al