MYTHOLOGY 



4052 



MYTHOLOGY 



to fear. The gods held their breath for a moment, 

 hoping hoping ; but one shrug of the great, hairy 

 shoulders, one stretch of the powerful limbs, and 

 the wolf stood free. 



Then Odin, almost despairing, sent a messenger 

 to the dwarfs, those wonderful workmen who 

 have their smithy underground, and who have at 

 their disposal all the riches of the world. And 

 they, at the bidding of the gods, fashioned a most 

 marvelous chain, which was made not of iron, 

 but of the noise of a cat's footfall, the roots of 

 stones, the spittle of birds, the beards of women 

 and the nerves of bears. Very soft and fine it 

 looked no stronger than a silken cord ; but the 

 dwarfs had guaranteed their work. 



The gods thought they would have no trouble 

 with Fenris this time, and called him joyously, 

 but he suspected their scheme. 



"You shall not bind me with that," he growled. 

 "If it Is really but a frail string you would find 

 no pleasure in binding me with it ; if it is en- 

 chanted, I can never break it." 



The story which follows is one of the most 

 pleasing of all that have come down from the 

 old Greek myths. 



Tlie Story of Atalantn 



The king of Boeotia had one daughter, Atalanta. 

 While she was more beautiful than any other girl 

 In her father's kingdom, she remained a maiden 

 at home in her father's house, long after all her 

 companions were married. And this was not be- 

 cause she lacked suitors. Young men, handsome, 

 strong, rich, fearless, came constantly to her 

 father's palace, seeking her in marriage, and it 

 was not because the king refused his consent that 

 they went away unhappy. 



Atalanta herself was the cause of their unhap- 

 ptness, for she had made a vow that she would 

 not marry, but would devote her life to the chase, 

 like the goddess Diana, whom she so much ad- 

 mired. It was hard, however, to be constantly 

 refusing without having any good reason that 



ATALANTA'S RACE 

 Hippomenes turns her astray 

 By the golden illusions he flings on her way. 



MOORE. 



From painting by Poynter. 



In vain they urged him, insisting that it was 

 but a game ; he knew that they feared and hated 

 him, and shook his shaggy head. Finally he said 

 mockingly : 



"Very well, if it's a game, you may play at it 

 too. If one of you will put his hand into my 

 mouth, you may wrap me with the cord as se- 

 curely as you will." 



The gods dared not show their dismay, for that 

 would be equivalent to confessing their craftiness, 

 so the brave Tyr stepped forward and thrust his 

 hand between the awful jaws. Then Fenris lay 

 quiet, while they wrapped him securely with the 

 cord. 



"Now!" said Thor, and the wolf tried to rise. 

 He twisted and struggled, but In vain, for the 

 magic cord but drew the tighter and the blood 

 ran from his body. When he saw that the gods 

 made no effort to release him he snapped off Tyr's 

 hand, and from that time on the great god of 

 battles was one-handed. It was a heavy price to 

 pay, but not too heavy, Tyr felt, for it had saved 

 the gods from their worst enemy. Fenris roared 

 and growled and shook the ground with his strug- 

 gles, but the dwarfs' masterpiece held firm, and 

 again the gods might go about their city without 

 fear of the dreadful fangs at their heels. 



was apparent, so she made up her mind to give a 

 different answer to her suitors an answer which 

 would leave them no argument. Accordingly, 

 when the next youth presented himself, she re- 

 plied : 



"I shall marry the man who can defeat me in 

 a race ; but everyone who tries and fails shall be 

 put to death." 



This may sound as if Atalanta was a very 

 cruel princess, but her idea was simply to keep 

 people from bothering her with the question of 

 marriage. However, her resolution did not have 

 the effect she expected, for there were still found 

 young men who were anxious enough to have the 

 princess for a wife to submit to the trial which 

 she proposed. 



Now, Atalanta could run as swiftly as the deer 

 she hunted In the forests, and however much a 

 youth might pride himself on his speed, he was 

 certain to find it was no match for hers. A 

 number of suitors had met their deaths by reason 

 of their love for her, and the people of her 

 father's kingdom were beginning to murmur 

 among themselves at her cruelty. One day there 

 acted as judge in one of the races a youth, Hip- 

 pomenes, by name, who had never before seen 

 Atalanta. As he took his place in the judge's 



