LITERATURE 



335 



belp in accomplishing his glorious undertaking, provided 

 he would swear fidelity to her. Jason complied, and 

 Medea, reciprocating the oath, rendered the hero invin- 

 cible by means of her magical incantations. 



.Mcdu'sa. One of the three Gorgons whose hair was 

 entwined with hissing serpents, and their bodies were 

 covered with impenetrable scales; they had wings, and 

 brazen claws, and enormous teeth, and whoever looked 

 upon them was turned to stone. Medusa, who alone of 

 the sisters was mortal, was, according to some legends, 

 at first a beautiful maiden, but her hair was changed 

 into serpents by Athena (Minerva), in consequence of 

 her having become by Poseidon (Neptune) the mother 

 of Chrysaor and Pegasus, in one of Athena's temples. 

 She was killed by Perseus, and her head was fixed on 

 the shield of Minerva. From her blood sprang the 

 winged horse, Pegasus. 



Megae'ra. One of the Furies; sometimes said to 

 personify a guilty conscience. The names of the Furies 

 were: 1 isi phone, whose particular work was to originate 

 fatal epidemics and contagion; Alecto, to whom was 

 ascribed the devastations and cruelties of war; and 

 Megjrra, the author of insanity and murders. Temples 

 were consecrated to them among both the Greeks and 

 the Romans, and among the latter a festival also. 



Mi- ^in-Riord. A magic belt worn by the god Thor. 

 He once proposed to show his strength by lifting great 

 weights, but when challenged to pick up tne giant's cat, 

 he tugged and strained, only to succeed in raising one 

 paw from the floor, although he had taken the precau- 

 tion to enhance his strength as much as possible by 

 tightening his belt Megin-giord. 



Mi -li-ager. Son of the Calydonian King Oeneus; 

 took part in the Argonautic expedition. He distin- 

 guished himself as one of the Argonauts, and by his 

 skill in throwing the javelin. 



.Mel ia. One of the daughters of Oceanus and mother 

 of 1'horoneus, one of the fabulous kings of Argos. 



Mil i;m Nymphs. The nymphs sent to bear the 

 infant Jupiter to the cave on Mount Ida. 



.Melirer irs. A son of the Theban King Athamas 

 by I no. He was metamorphosed into a sea-god. 



.>leli.s;i. A nymph, said to have discovered the use 

 of honey, and from whom bees were believed to have 

 received their name. There can be no doubt, however, 

 that the name really came from a Greek word meaning 

 honey, and was hence given to nymphs. 



Mr ii, i ii. i. One of the rural divinities, the goddess of 

 bees. 



Mel-pom e-ne. One of the Muses. Melpomene, 

 the Mvise of tragedy, was supposed to preside over 

 'holy subjects of all kinds. 



M< luslna. The most noted among French fairies. 

 She was condemned to become every Saturday a serpent 

 from the waist downward, as a punishment for having, 

 by means of a charm, inclosed her father in a high 

 mountain, in order to avenge an injury her mother had 

 received from him. She married Raymond, Count of 

 Poitiers, ami. having been seen by him (hiring her loath- 

 some transformation in violation of his solemn prom- 

 ise never to visit her on a Saturday was immured in 

 a subterranean dungeon of the castle of Lusignan. 



MI-MI lion. A son of Tithonus and Aurora, and King 

 of Ethiopia. After the fall of Hector, he went to the 

 assistance of his unrle. I'nam. with ten thousand men, 

 and displayed great courage in the defense of Troy, but 

 was at length slain by Ajax. or by Achilles, in single 

 combat, whereupon he was changed into a bird. 



M. ii des. An Egyptian god like Pan. He was wor- 

 m the form of a goat. 



M> in l.i us. A son of Plisthrnes or Atreus, and 

 younger brother of Agamemnon, was King of Lacedtr- 

 mon, a; beautiful Helen, by whom he 



became the father of Hernune. His early life, tin- 

 rape of his wife by Paris, and the expedition of the 

 Greek* to Asia to punish the Trojans, are related under 

 Agamemnon. In the I r.-j.-tr, War Menelaus killed many 

 Trojans, and would have slain Paris also in single com- 

 : not the latter been carried off by Aphrodite 



in a doii'l. 



1 ) A Theban. grandson of Pentheua, 

 ami father of Hipponome, Jocasta, and C* 

 Grandson of the former, and son of Creon. put an end 

 to his life because Tiresias had declared that his death 

 would bring vi.iory to his country, when the seven 



M. mi tins. Brother of Atlas and son of one of the 

 On ..-,,_. ,,.t of his pride and strength he was 

 kille-i by Jupiter's lightnings. 



Men tor. \ fnen.l of Ulyascs in Ithaca, whose form 



i assumed, to give instructions to Ulysses' son 



Telemachus. whom she accompanied to Pylos and 



Meph'is-toph'e-Ies. One of the seven chief devils 

 in the old demonology, the second of the fallen arch- 

 angels, and the most powerful of the infernal legions 

 after Satan. He figures in the old legend of Dr. Faustus 

 as the familiar spirit of that magician. To modern^ 

 readers he is chiefly known as the cold, scoffing, relent-" 

 less fiend of Goethe's " Faust," and the attendant demon 

 Faustus. 



iMephistophilis) in Marlowe's 



Mercury. Has been identified with the Greek Her- 

 mes. The Romans of later times transferred all the 

 attributes and myths of Hermes to their own god. (Her- 

 mes.] The Fetiales, however, never recognised the 

 identity; and, instead of the "caduceus." they used a 

 sacred branch as the emblem of peace. The resem- 

 blance between Mercurius and Hermes is indeed very 

 slight. The worship of Mercury was very common 

 among Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and many 

 temples were consecrated to him. At Rome there was 

 a particular festival held for the expiation of merchants. 

 in honor of Mercury. 



Meri'ones. A Cretan hero, son of Molus. was one 

 of the bravest heroes in the Trojan War, and usually 

 fought along with his friend Idomeneus. 



Mer-maids. Wave maidens of Northern mythology 

 and classed with nymphs in Grecian and Roman. They 

 were generally represented as young and beautiful vir- 

 gins, partially covered with a veil or thin cloth, bearing 

 in their hands vases of water, or shells, leaves, or grass, 

 or having something as a symbol of their appropriate 

 offices. They were attendants of the gods. 



Me'u. In Hindu mythology, a sacred mountain, 

 80.000 leagues high, situated in the center of the world. 

 It is the abode of Indra, and abounds with every charm 

 that can be imagined. 



M I'd as. In mythology, known as King of Phrygia, 

 who restored to Bacchus his nurse and preceptor Silenus. 

 and received as a compensation the fatal attribute of 

 turning into gold everything he touched. Hut this 

 proven to be very inconvenient, as it prevented him 

 from eating and drinking, and he prayed that the gift 

 might be revoked. At the command of the god, he 

 washed in the Pactolus, the sands of which became, in 

 consequence, mixed with gold. Another tradition is, 

 that in a musical contest between Pan and Apollo, he 

 gave judgment in favor of the satyr; whereupon Apollo 

 in contempt gave the king a pair of ass's ears. Midas, 

 hid them under his Phrygian cap: but his servant. 

 who used to cut his hair, discovered them, and was so 

 pleased with the "joke." which he durst not mention, 

 that he dug a hole in the earth, and relieved his mind by 

 whispering in it. "Midas has ass's ears." 



MJd'gard. In Scandinavian mythology the name 

 given to the earth. Out of the giant's flesh they fash- 

 ioned Midgard (middle garden), as the earth was called. 

 which was placet! in the exact center of the vast space. 

 and hedged all round with Ymir's eyebrows which formed 

 its bulwarks or ramparts. The solid portion of Midgard 

 was surrounded by the giant's blood or sweat, which 

 now formed the ocean, while his bones made the hills. 

 his flat teeth the cliffs, and his curly hair the trees and 

 ation. 



."Mlduard Sormen (earth's monster). The great ser- 

 pent that lay in the abyss at the root of the celestial 

 ash. Child of I-oki. 



>li inir. In Scandinavian mythology, the god of 

 wisdom. Also god of the ocean, which is called "Mir- 

 mir's well." in which wit ami wisdom lav hidden, and of 

 which he drank every morning from the horn Gjallar. 

 O.hn once drank from this fountain, and by doing SO 

 became the wisest of gods and men; but he purchased 

 the privilege and distinction at the cost of one eye, 

 which Mimir exacted from him. 



Mtner'va. Under the name of Minerva among the 

 Romans and of Athena among the Greeks, 

 tion personified and deified the idea of high intelligence 

 and wisdom She was a daughter of Jupiter, sprung 

 from his head. The Greeks ascribed to thin gnddnw the 

 invention of many arts and sciences, which had a great 

 influence on their civili/at>..n. She was regarded as 

 mvcntress of the flute, of embroidery and spinning, the 



of most works in.hrntmg <i|if-rir intelligence or 

 skill. Arachne's contest with her n. th the 



impair an. I transformation are 

 beautifully described by < 

 consecrated to Minerva, and boasted of receiving its 



l .ycastus. and grandson of the former. 

 was likewise a king and lawgiver of Crete 

 avenge the wmna Mono to hut nn Androgeos at Athm-, 

 he made war intmn-t thr A' 



i to Crete every year, as a tribute, wven 

 youths and seven maidens, to be devoured in the laby- 



