The gods, then, were immortal beings. They never died; they never grew old, and they possessed immense power. They could change themselves, or human beings, into any form, and they could make themselves visible or invisible at pleasure. They could travel through the skies, or over earth or ocean, with the rapidity of lightning, often riding in gorgeous golden chariots drawn by horses of immortal breed. They were greatly feared by men, and when any disaster occurred,--if lives were lost by earthquake, or shipwreck, or any other calamity,--it was attributed to the anger of some god. Though immortal beings, however, the gods were subject to some of the physical infirmities of humanity. They could not die, but they might be wounded and suffer bodily pain the same as men. They often took part in the quarrels and wars of people on earth, and they had weapons and armor like human warriors. The usual place of residence of the principal gods was on the top of Mount O-lymʹpus in Greece. Here they dwelt in golden palaces, and they had a Council Chamber where they frequently feasted together at grand banquets, celestial music being rendered by A-polʹlo, the god of minstrelsy, and the Muses, who were the divinities of poetry and song. In all the chief cities grand temples were erected for the worship of the gods. One of the most famous was the Parʹthe-non, at Athens. At the shrines of the gods costly gifts in gold and silver were presented, and on their altars, often built in the open air, beasts were killed and burned as sacrifices, which were thought to be very pleasing to the divine beings to whom they were offered. [Illustration: THE PARTHENON. _From model in Metropolitan Museum, New York._] The greatest and most powerful of the gods was Juʹpi-ter, also called Jove or Zeus. To him all the rest were subject. He was the king of the gods, the mighty Thunderer, at whose nod Olympus shook, and at whose word the heavens trembled. From his great power in the regions of the sky he was sometimes called the "cloud-compelling Jove." He, whose all-conscious eyes the world behold, The eternal Thunderer sat, enthroned in gold. High heaven the footstool of his feet he makes, And wide beneath him all Olympus shakes. POPE, _Iliad_, Book VIII. The wife of Jupiter, and the queen of heaven, was Juʹno, who, as we shall see, was the great enemy of Troy and the Trojans. One of the daughters of Jupiter, called Veʹnus, or Aph-ro-diʹte, was the goddess of beauty and love. Nepʹtune was the god of the sea. He usually carried in his hand a trident, or three-pronged scepter, the emblem of his authority. His sumptuous palace-halls were built Deep down in ocean, golden, glittering, proof Against decay of time. BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XIII.