320 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



A litre an Stahle-. The itablefl "t" Augeas. King <>f 

 i i Greece. In these stables he ha.l k. 



oxen, and the stalls hail not been clean>ed for thirty 

 years. \Vht-: A as appointed to clean>e these 



stables, he caused to run through them. 



Auniir-. Their principal business was to observe the 

 flight and cry of birds from which they predicted future 

 They also explained other Qjnenfl and 



An r;-. "1 in- A 'ir:> . at Sylph-. Nymphs of the air, a 

 species of sportive, hap: .uul well-u 



mankind, were winged and represented as flying. 



Auro ra. I goddess of the morning, or of the 



dawn; sometimes described as the godde-> of day. She 



: a.s standing in a magnificent charii't, and 



sometimes drawn !>y winged \ linlliant star 



- upon her forehead, and while with one hand she 



grasps the reins, she hold* in the other a lighted torch. 



A\ at.ir. I .: nation or descent of the deity 



Vishnu, of which nine are believed to be past, and the 

 tenth is yet to come when Vishnu will descend from 

 : on a white-winged horse, and will introduce on 



earth a golden age of virtue and peace. 



A\-r mi-. Properly, a small, deep lake in Campania, 



occupying the crater of an extinct volcano, and almost 



completely shut in by steep and wooded heights. The 



entrance to the infernal regions, called Avernus, is 



1 as having around it a host of dreadful forms; 



. Old Age. Terror, Hunger, Death, War, Discord, 



and the Furies, the avengers of guilt. 



V/.i /.el. Ewald considers Azazel to have been a 

 demon belonging to the pre-Mosaic religion. Another 

 opinion identifies him with Satan, or the devil. Milton 

 :um Satan's standard bearer. 



A/ rael. Meaning in Hebrew "help of God." In the 

 Jewish and the Mohammedan mythology, the name of 

 an angel who watches over the dying, and separates the 

 soul from the body. 



Ba'al. In Hindu mythology, god of the sun, wor- 

 shiped by the Phenicians. 



Bac'chus. The god of wine. 



Bairn \\a\va. In American Indian folk-lore, the 

 sound of thunder. 



Bal'der. The god -of peace, son of Odin and Frigga. 

 He was killed by the blind war-god, but restored to 

 life at the general request of the gods. 



Ba'lios. A famous horse given by Neptune to Peleus 

 as a wedding present, and afterwards given to Achilles. 



Bal'miing. In Norse mythology, the sword of Sieg- 

 fried forged by Vulcan. 



Ban'shee. The domestic spirit of certain Irish or 

 Scottish families, supposed to wail at the death of one 

 of the family. The Banshee is allowed only to families 

 of pure stock. 



Bar'giie.st. A frightful goblin among fairies, armed 

 with teeth and claws. An object of terror in the north 

 of England. 



Hay-tree. The tree of Apollo, Hence a shield against 

 lightning. A wreath of bay-leaves was worn as pro- 

 tection during thunder-storms. The withering of a 

 bay-tree was dreaded as an omen of death. 



Beel'zebub. A heathen god of evil at the head of 

 nine ranks of demons and second only to Satan. Also 

 the god of flies. 



Befa'na. The fairy of Italian children, who is sup- 

 > fill their stockings with toys on Twelfth Night. 



Beller'ophon. A prince who rode the winged horse, 

 Pegasus, controlling him with a golden bridle, the gift 

 of Minerva. By aid of Pegasus, he killed the lion- 

 headed monster, the Chimaera. 



Bello'na. Goddess of war. She prepared the char- 

 iot of Mars when he was going to war, and appeared in 

 battles armed with a whip and holding a torch. 



Belpliegor. A god of evil, worshiped by the 

 Moal>ites. An arrhfiend who had been an archangel. 



Be his. The Chaldean name of the sun. 



Bereni'cc. Princess who vowed to sacrifice her hair 

 to the pods, if her husband returned in safety. She 

 suspended her hair in the temple of the war-god, but 

 the winds wafted it to heaven, where it still forms the 

 seven stars near the constellation Leo. 



Berg Folk. Pagan spirits doomed to live on the 

 Scandinavian hills till the day of redemption. 



Be n't ha. The white lady who guards good German 

 children, but is the terror of the bad, who fear her iron 

 nose and big feet. Corresponds to the Italian Befana. 



Bheem. One of the five brotherhoods of Indian 

 demi-gods, famous for his strength. 



Bi'frost. In Norse mythology, a bridge between 

 earth and heaven, over which none but the gods could 

 travel. It leads to the palace of the Fates. 



Bil'sklrnir. A wonderful palace built by Thor for 

 the use of peasants after death. 



Bladud. A mythical king of England, who built 

 the city of Hath, and dedicated the medicinal springs 

 to Minerva. 



Bo'reas. The name of the north wind Mowing from 

 the Hyperborean mountains. He was son of Astneus 

 and Aurora. 



ISra'gi. The son of Odin and Frigga and the god of 

 poetry and eloquence. He is represented as am old man 

 with Bowing white beard. 



Brahma. The supreme god of the Hindus, repre- 

 sented with four heads and four arms. He is regarded 

 as the creator of the universe, and forms, with Vishnu, 

 the preserver, and Siva, the destroyer, the divine 

 triad. 



Brlar'eos. A giant with fifty heads and a hundred 

 hands. He hurled a hundred rocks at Jupiter in a 

 single throw and Jupiter bound him under Mount 

 . Ki na with a hundred chains. 



Bubas'tis. Name applied to the cat as worshiped 

 among Egyptian gods. 



Bukada'win. The god of famine among American 

 Indians. 



Caa'ha. The shrine of Mecca, said by the Arabs to 

 be built by Ishmael, assisted by his father Abraham. 



Caco'dse'mon. An evil spirit consulted ' by the 

 Greeks. 



Ca'cus. A famous robber, son of Vulcan and Me- 

 dusa, represented as a three-headed monster. 



Cad'mus having slain the dragon which guarded the 

 fountain of Dirce, in Boeotia, sowed .the teeth of the 

 monster, when a number of armed men sprang up and 

 surrounded Cadmus with intent to kill him. By the 

 counsel of Minerva, he threw a precious stone among 

 the armed men, who, striving for it, killed one another. 

 According to tradition, Cadmus introduced the use of 

 letters in Greece the alphabet, as introduced by him, 

 consisting of sixteen letters. 



Cadu'ceus. A white wand carried by Roman officers 

 when they went to treat for peace. It had two winged 

 serpents entwined round the top. 



Cal'chas. The son of Thestor, was the wisest of the 

 soothsayers among the Greeks at Troy. He died from 

 grief on meeting with a soothsayer who proved wiser 

 than he. 



Calli'ope. The Muse who presided over epic poetry 

 and rhetoric. She is generally depicted using a stylus 

 and wax tablets, the ancient writing materials. 



Callis'to. A nymph of Arcadia, the mother of 

 Areas, who was changed into a bear and placed in the 

 heavens as a constellation. 



Cal'pe. One of the two pillars of Hercules, the other 

 named Abyla. These two were originally only one 

 mountain, which Hercules tore asunder and poured the 

 sea between them. 



Calyp'so. One of the daughters of Atlas. When 

 Ulysses was shipwrecked on her coasts she received him 

 with hospitality, and offered him immortality if he 

 would remain with her, which he refused to do. After 

 seven years' delay he was permitted to depart from 

 the island. 



Cama. The god of love and marriage in Indian 

 mythology. 



Cam'deo. The Hindu god of love. 



Came'riae. Nymphs who prophesied. Roman poets 

 sometimes gave the name to the Muses. 



Camilla. Virgin queen of the Volscians. She was 

 so swift that she could run over a field of corn without 

 bending a blade, or make her way over the sea without 

 wetting her feet. 



Cano'pus. The Egyptian god of water. The Chal- 

 deans worshiped fire, and sent all the other gods a 

 challenge, which was accepted by a priest of Cano'pus. 

 The Chaldeans lighted a vast fire, when the Egyptian 

 deity spouted out torrents of water and quenched it. 



Cassan'dra. Daughter of Priam and Hecuba, was 

 passionately loved by Apollo. 



Cassiopc'ia. The chief stars of this constellation ' 

 form the outline of a chair. Cassiopeia boasted that 

 the beauty of her daughter Andromeda surpassed that 

 of the sea-nymphs. The sea-nymphs complained to the 

 sea-god of this affront, and Andromeda was chained to 

 a rock to be devoured by sea-monsters. Perseus deliv- 

 ered her and made her his wife. The mother was taken 

 to heaven and placed among the stars. 



Cas'taly. A fountain on Mount Parnassus. Whoever 

 drank of its waters was endowed with the gift of poetry. 



Castor and Pollux. Were brothers, sons of Leda. 

 Mercury carried them to Pallena, where they were edu- 

 cated. As soon as they arrived at manhood they em 

 barked with Jason in quest of the Golden Fleece. Pollux 

 was the son of Jupiter, and Castor of Tyndarus. Hence 



