Favorite Greek Myths (Yesterday's Classics) (20 page)

The music that came from his lyre was so sad, now, that it would have broken any one's heart to hear it. When the wind blew from the north, the people who lived at the foot of the mountain could faintly hear the mournful, wailing sound of the lyre. It came down the mountain to them, almost every day, for seven months, and then the north wind did not bring them those strains any more. Some said that Orpheus had been killed by lightning, and others that he had been torn in pieces by the Mænads, certain wild, half-crazed women who wandered over that mountain; but no one ever knew what really did become of him.

His lyre floated down the river Hebrus, and then out to sea, sending out sweet sounds as it went, with the rise and fall of the water. One day, when the waves ran high, it was cast up on the shore at the island of Lesbos. There it remained till it was all overgrown with vines and flowers, and half-buried under falling leaves. The nightingales were said to sing more sweetly on that island than in any other place.

A
SINGULARLY
beautiful boy called Ganymede was playing one day on the hills near Troy, when a great black cloud suddenly overspread the sun and a sudden wind sent the dust and the leaves flying. There was a roll of thunder, with a few flashes of lightning, and then an enormous black eagle suddenly swooped down from the cloud, caught up Ganymede in its talons, and sailed away.

GANYMEDE

Tros, Ganymede's father, who was in a neighboring field, saw all that happened; but although he shouted and ran and threw sticks and stones toward the fast rising bird, the eagle was far beyond the reach of such missiles long before Tros arrived at the hill where Ganymede had been playing.

So the poor father, overcome with grief, went home and told his wife what had happened. When the neighbors heard the story, they all gathered together at the house of Tros and mourned with the grief-stricken father and mother. It was of no use to search for Ganymede, for the eagle had taken him far beyond the mountains of that country.

A few days later a strange visitor came to the house of Tros. He carried a curious rod with snakes twined round it, and two shadowy wings fluttered from his cap. "Do not mourn for Ganymede," said he, "the boy has met with great good fortune. His beauty has caused him to be loved by Jupiter, who has taken him for his cup-bearer; he pours ruby nectar into a golden cup for the king of the gods; he will never die nor grow old."

When Tros heard these words, he was comforted.

T
HE
island of King Æolus lay in the midst of the sea, very far away from any other land. Not being fixed in one place, like other islands, it floated slowly on the water. Exactly in the middle of it was a palace, or castle. A strong bronze wall, very steep and smooth, had been built all around the palace. Here, with his six sons and six daughters, lived Æolus, the king of the winds.

When Ulysses, who was the king of Ithaca, was coming home from the Trojan War, he lost his way. After a very long voyage, and a great many hardships, he came with his men, one day, to the floating island of King Æolus.

Here they were hospitably received. In fact, King Æolus kept them at his palace and entertained them for a month. When they were ready to start out again, on their way home, King AEolus gave Ulysses a great leather bag, made of an ox-skin, and tied with a silver rope. In this bag were all the winds except one. That one wind was the west wind, which King Æolus had purposely kept outside, so that it might blow the ship home; for Ithaca was toward the east.

When the sailors saw King Æolus hand over this great leather bag to Ulysses, they did not know what was in it, but thought it must be something very valuable, probably gold. Then noticing the shining silver rope with which it was bound, they began to wonder if they could not undo the knot.

Ulysses, seeing their curious glances, and feeling a little suspicious of them, made up his mind that he would sit up all night, every night, and steer the ship himself.

They started off, with the west wind blowing gently, and all going well. For nine days and nine nights they sailed straight east, till they could see the mountain peaks of Ithaca. All this time, Ulysses had been at the helm, for he felt more and more suspicious of the sailors.

Meanwhile, the sailors whispered among themselves that Ulysses was going home with a great bag of treasure, and that it was not fair that they should have nothing. They could see more and more of the shores of Ithaca. Even the smoke from their own firesides came in sight, and that was a sight they had not seen before for many long years.

But Ulysses could not keep awake any longer. When he saw land in sight, and knew that the voyage was almost over, he was so completely tired out that he sank down by the rudder where he stood, and fell asleep. This gave the sailors the opportunity they had been watching for. They sprang to the bag the moment that the eyes of Ulysses were closed, and untied the silver rope.

Out rushed the winds, and struck the ship from all ways at once. The ship spun around like a top, and the sea was churned into a fine spray which flew so high and so thick that it was like a blinding snowstorm. Then, being blown along by a gale from the east, Ulysses and his men finally found themselves once more at the Island of the Winds.

But as King AEolus would not help them a second time, they had to make the best of it, and take the winds as they came. It was a long, long time after that, before they saw their homes again.

O
NE
day King Picus was in the forest near his palace, hunting wild boars. He was mounted on a very spirited black horse, and surrounded by his guards. Even when hunting he wore his crown and a purple robe, fastened with a gold buckle, for this king was rather fond of wearing fine clothes.

The forest was a beautiful place. It was full of great oaks, which grew so thick together that the sun could scarcely shine through their branches. The king was fond of riding, and liked to hunt in this forest; but he would have been wiser if he had taken his recreation somewhere else; for he had a dangerous neighbor that often frequented this place.

This was Circe, the famous enchantress. Very dreadful stories were told of her. She lived in a marble palace not so very far from the palace of King Picus, and she and the maids or nymphs who attended her, spent a great deal of their time roaming in the royal forest, searching for the poisonous plants which they used in their enchantments.

One day, at the very hour that King Picus was hunting in the forest, it happened that Circe and a few of her nymphs were among the oaks, looking for a plant from whose root Circe knew how to make a very powerful drug. They saw the king and his guards, and kept themselves concealed among the trees.

King Picus suddenly thought he saw a wild boar run in among the bushes. As the place was such a tangle of thorn-trees and thick-growing shrubs and prickly vines, that the king could not go any farther on horseback, he dismounted, intending to follow the beast on foot. He did not know that the wild boar was only a shadow, which Circe, by her enchantments, had caused him to see.

Circe, herself, was in the thicket, and before King Picus could get away, she touched him with her wand, changing him into a little purple woodpecker. His crown became a crest of feathers, and his gold buckle, a yellow ring encircling his neck.

When King Picus did not come back, his guards rode in all directions, looking for him. At last they saw Circe, and knowing how many wicked things she had already done, they feared she was the cause of the king's disappearance. They would have killed her on the spot with their javelins, but it suddenly grew so dark that they could see nothing, while a strong wind began to blow, and the great oak branches creaked overhead. Then, under cover of the darkness which she had called down, Circe struck the guards, in turn, with her wand, changing them from brave young men into different kinds of wild beasts. Here, far away from home and friends, they were obliged to live in the king's forest, sleeping under bushes and eating roots and berries. The little purple woodpecker beat his tattoo over their heads, but they did not know that this bird was really King Picus.

N
OT
long after the time when King Picus and his guards met with such a sad misfortune in the oak forest, a ship sailed into the harbor near Circe's palace. In this ship were King Ulysses and his men—the same men who had let loose the winds which King Æolus had bound for them in a bag. Since the adventure with the bag of winds, they had met with some terrible hardships, and were reduced in number. They drew their galley up on the shore, and then lay down to sleep under the trees near by; for they were exhausted with hard rowing in the hot sun. Finding the place very comfortable, they remained there for two days.

On the third day they found that their supply of provisions was entirely gone. The men began to complain, and to blame King Ulysses, although they knew very well that they would all have been safe at home long ago, if they, themselves, had not meddled with the bag of winds.

It was plain that they must go farther inland if they wished to find any game; but not one of them cared to venture far from the place where the galley lay, as they did not know what dangers they might encounter.

At last, as none of the men were willing to go, King Ulysses himself took his hunting spear and started out alone. As he disappeared behind the trees, the men whispered to one another that this was quite right. Let him take the risk of exploring the island. Had they not spent their strength in rowing?

King Ulysses went to a high place, where he could look out over the entire island. He saw a slender column of black smoke going up from the midst of a dense thicket in the centre of the island. He believed that this indicated some human habitation, where his ship's company might hope for hospitality. He went quickly back to the ship with the news, and on his way succeeded in killing a fat buck, which made a good supper for himself and his men. His followers began to think that they had not such a bad leader, after all.