Gods and Heroes; or, The Kingdom of JupiterFrancillon, R. E. (Robert Edward)
General
Gods and Heroes; or, The Kingdom of Jupiter
Francillon, R. E. (Robert Edward)
Mythology, Classical -- Juvenile literature
Diana, however, had a great deal to do besides looking after the moon.
She was three goddesses in one--a goddess of the sky, a goddess of
earth, and a goddess of Hades besides. In heaven she was called Luna,
whose duty is to light the world when Apollo is off duty. In Hades she
was called Hecate, who, with her scepter, rules the ghosts of dead
souls. And on earth her name is Diana, the queen, of forests and
mountains, of wild animals and hunters. She wears a crescent on her
forehead and a quiver at her back; her limbs are bare, and she holds a
bow, with which she shoots as well as her brother Apollo. Just as he
is called Phœbus, so she is often called Phœbe. She goes hunting
all night among the hills and woods, attended by the Nymphs and
Oreads, of whom she is queen. There are not so many stories about her
as about the other gods and goddesses, and yet she is really the most
interesting of them all, as you will see some day.
This great strange goddess had sworn never to love or marry--had sworn
it by Styx, I suppose. But Orion was so beautiful and so strong and so
great a hunter that she went as near to loving him as she ever did to
loving any one. She had him always with her, and could never bear him
to leave her. But Orion never thought of becoming the husband of a
goddess, and he fell in love with a mortal princess, the daughter of
Œnopion, King of Chios, an island in the Ægean Sea.
When, however, he asked the king for his daughter, Œnopion was
terribly frightened at the idea of having a giant for his son-in-law.
But he dared not say "No." He answered him:--
"My kingdom is overrun with terrible wild beasts. I will give my
daughter to the man who kills them all." He said this, feeling sure
that any man who tried to kill all the wild beasts in Chios would
himself be killed.
But Orion went out, and killed all the wild beasts in no time, with
his club and his sword. Then Œnopion was still more afraid of him,
and said:--
"You have won my daughter. But, before you marry her, let us drink
together, in honor of this joyful day."
Orion, thinking no harm, went with Œnopion to the sea-shore, where
they sat down and drank together. But Œnopion (whose name means
"The Wine-Drinker") knew a great deal more about what wine will do,
and how to keep sober, than Orion. So before long Orion fell asleep
with the strong Chian wine, which the King had invented; and when
Orion was sound asleep, Œnopion put out both his eyes.
The giant awoke to find himself blind, and did not know what to do or
which way to go. But at last, in the midst of his despair, he heard
the sound of a blacksmith's forge. Guided by the clang, he reached the
place, and prayed the blacksmith to climb up on his shoulders, and so
lend him his eyes to guide him.
The blacksmith consented, and seated himself on the giant's shoulder.
Then said Orion:--
"Guide me to the place where I can see the first sunbeam that rises at
daybreak in the east over the sea."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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