In the naïve and poetical little myth of the Malayan Peninsula given later, the sun and moon both figure as mother-goddesses. The worship of mother-goddesses among the ancient Mexican Indians was prominent. Hymns descriptive of two are given here. The first is to the goddess Teteoinan, the “Mother of the Gods.” She was also called Soci, “Our Mother,” and also by another name which signified “The Heart of the Earth.” This last name was given to her because she was believed to be the cause of earthquakes. She presided over the vegetable and animal world and her chief temple at Tepeyacac was one of the most renowned in ancient Mexico. The other goddess, Cihuacoatl, was the mythical mother of the human race, and was regarded with veneration on account of her antiquity. As well as being an Earth-Goddess, she was the Goddess of War. It would be possible to give many illustrations of mother-tree goddesses, but we have space for only one, that of the Persian world-tree in whose midst dwelt the mother of all. “In Eridu a dark pine grew. It was planted in a holy place. Its crown was crystal white, which spread toward the deep vault above. The Abyss of Hea was its pasturage in Eridu, a canal full of waters. Its station was the center of the earth. Its shrine was the couch of Mother Zicam. The roof of its holy house like a forest spread its shade; there were none who entered within. It was the seat of the mighty mother, who passes athwart the heavens.” The Norse earth-goddess, consort of Odin, appears in three forms—Jord, Frigg, and Rind. Jord is the original uninhabited earth, Frigg is the inhabited, cultivated earth, and Rind is the frozen earth of winter. The child of the first is Thor, the thunderer; of the second is Balder, the good or the beautiful; and of the third is Vale, who revenged the death of Balder. Of these, Frigg is more nearly like other mother-goddesses, though she seems to be somewhat withdrawn from active participation in the duties of the mother-goddess. These are handed over to her maid-servants, of whom she had seven—Fulla, Hlyn, Guaa, Snotra, Var, Lofu, and Syn. Fulla, with golden hair adorned with a ribbon, looks after harvests. Hlyn is the protectress who delivers people from peril. Guaa is the messenger who runs errands for Frigg. Var has charge of marriage, Lofu of love, and Syn of justice. The counterpart of Frigg in Greek mythology is Demeter (Roman name, Ceres), the daughter of another earth-goddess, Rhea. Like Frigg, she represents the bountiful life-giving aspects of nature. She is best described in the hymn written in her honor by Callimachus given later, and in which you will recognize another version of the story of Erisichthon. MALAYAN STORY OF THE SUN AND MOON