Vulcan was the god of blacksmiths and all who wrought by fire in iron. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and appears to have been so hideous that his mother was ashamed of him. However, he seems to have loved his mother――for on one occasion, she having behaved ill, Jupiter tied her up. Vulcan, however, let her loose; for this he paid dearly, for his father, being greatly incensed, gave him a tremendous kick, which sent him out of heaven. He was no less than nine days and nights in tumbling down to earth; it is no wonder, then, that he broke his leg in falling upon the island of Lemnos, where he alighted. He was lame ever after. Pluto was the king of hell, or the regions which lay beneath the earth. Here he reigned over his dark, dismal, and gloomy regions, peopled by the souls of departed men. Such was his savage character, and the horrid gloom of his dominions, that nobody would marry him. Still, as he wanted a wife, he determined to have one by hook or by crook. So one day, as he was driving along in his chariot, in the island of Sicily, he saw a beautiful goddess, named Proserpine, surrounded by her nymphs. Pluto drove up, seized the lovely deity, and carried her off. With his trident he opened a passage in the earth, down which he drove headlong, and having arrived at home, Proserpine became queen of hell. Mercury was the messenger of the gods, especially of Jupiter. He was also the patron of travellers and shepherds, and had a kindness, I am sorry to say it, for thieves, pickpockets, and rogues of all kinds. It would seem that such a god could hardly be respectable; yet I believe that he was rather a favorite with the Greeks. [Illustration: _Mars._ _Mercury._] Mars was the god of war――a fierce and terrible god, indeed. Yet, strange to say, Venus, a handsome goddess, and wife of the old limping blacksmith, Vulcan, liked his company very well. Vulcan made a net of iron links, in which he caught Mars and Venus, and then called in all the gods to look at them! This seems to have made a great deal of fun. [Illustration: _Hercules._ _Neptune._] Hercules was a famous hero, who performed wonderful exploits, by his bodily strength alone. Neptune was the god of the sea. His father, Saturn, ate him up, when a baby――but he was afterwards brought to life, and received his empire from his brother Jupiter. Minerva was the goddess of wisdom. She was said to be born of Jupiter’s brain. A famous temple was erected to this goddess at Athens, by Pericles, about four hundred and fifty years before Christ. The chief circumstances of her history were beautifully represented in sculpture around this temple. The edifice still remains, though in ruins, a splendid monument of the genius of the ancient Greeks. [Illustration: RUINS OF THE PARTHENON AT ATHENS.]