13. _The Aphrodite of Melos (The Venus of Milo)._ Formerly attributed to the period of transition between Phidias and Praxiteles, but assigned by late critics to the Hellenistic Age (320-100 B. C.). Believed by Furtwängler to be based on a work by Scopas, with considerable modification of the original. Found in 1820 on the island of Melos at the entrance of the Greek Archipelago. Purchased by the French government for 6000 francs, and now in the Louvre, Paris. 14. _Orpheus and Eurydice._ One of several copies of an original bas-relief referred by Collignon to the second half of 5th century B. C. In the Albani Villa, Rome. 15. _Nike (The Winged Victory)._ A marble statue believed to have been set up by Demetrius Poliorcetes to celebrate a naval victory in 306 B. C. Found in 1863 by the French consul on the island of Samothrace. Now in the Louvre, Paris. I BUST OF ZEUS OTRICOLI From the earliest times men have sought to explain in one way and another the common facts of daily life. Sunrise and sunset, seedtime and harvest, life, death, and the hereafter are some of the mysteries which have always puzzled the human mind. The primitive races, knowing nothing of science, looked upon the forces of nature as gigantic personalities, or gods, who controlled human destiny. The most refined and imaginative of the ancient nations were the Greeks. They invented innumerable tales or myths, in which all the changes of nature and all the affairs of life were attributed to the workings of the gods. When the sun rose, they said that Apollo had begun to drive his chariot across the sky. When the wind blew, Zeus was sending his messenger from the sky to the earth. When a man did a courageous deed, it was because Athena had whispered to him what to do. In this way the beliefs gradually took form which made the Greek religion. Great temples were built for the worship of the gods, and statues were set up in their honor. The finest works of Greek art were connected with religious worship. The gods were conceived as having the same form as human beings, but of colossal size. They lived in an ideal country called Olympus, "Olympus, where the gods have made, So saith tradition, their eternal seat. The tempest shakes it not, nor is it drenched By showers, and there the snow doth never fall. The calm, clear ether is without a cloud, And in the golden light that lies on all, Day after day the blessed gods rejoice."[3] [3] Odyssey, Book vi., lines 54-60 in Bryant's translation. Here each god had a separate dwelling, and in the midst was the palace of their supreme ruler, Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter or Jove.