Natural Hiftory of the Ancients. 24 1 



mock at the popular gods, and naturally at fuch 

 mythological monfters and heroes as Homer had 

 reverently recounted as feen by his hero in Hades, 

 Tityos lying on nine roods of ground, and ever 

 devoured by two vultures ; Tantalus up to his 

 chin in water, with the fineft fruit hanging before 

 him from branches which he could never grafp, 

 and the like. 1 The forms of thefe favourites of the 

 poets lingered, however, in art ; fculptors, painters, 

 potters, glyptic artifts, gladly availed themfelves 

 of their fantaftic fhapes, as had the old poets 

 before them. Cyclops and the Harpies, Medufa's 

 head and the hundred-eyed Argus are examples in 

 point. Thus Pegafus becomes the type of Corinth 

 on the coins of Auguftus, and the Sphinx of 

 Egypt. The Siren, half-bird, half-virgin, repre- 

 fents Cumas. The Chimaera is another emblem ol 

 Corinth. The Centaur Chiron and the Griffin are 

 found on late coins dedicated to Apollo. Others 

 are to be feen on bas-reliefs and vafes. If they 

 ever poflefled any conftraining moral or religious 

 force, it has long evaporated ; but the poet and 

 the artift are ftill thankful for thefe old mytholo- 

 gical forms. For them, 



" Vinftus fedet immanis ferpentibus Otos, 

 Devinftum maeilus procul afpiciens Ephialten ;" 



and 



" Cerberus et diris fiagrat latratibus ora, 

 Anguibus hinc atque hinc horrent cui colla reflexis, 

 Sanguineique micant ardorem luminis orbes." 2 



2 Virgil, "Culex," 219, 233. 

 R 



