The Story of Troy | Page 3

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.
Mars was the god of war, and Pluʹto, also called Dis and Haʹdes,
was god of the regions of the dead. One of the most glorious and
powerful of the gods was Apollo, or Phœʹbus, or Sminʹtheus, for
he had many names. He was god of the sun, and of medicine, music,
and poetry. He is represented as holding in his hand a bow, and
sometimes a lyre. Homer calls him the "god of the silver bow," and the
"far-darting Apollo," for the ancients believed that with the dart of his
arrow he sent down plagues upon men whenever they offended him.
The other principal deities mentioned by Homer are Mi-nerʹva, or
Palʹlas, the goddess of wisdom; Vulʹcan, the god of fire; and
Merʹcu-ry, or Herʹmes, the messenger of Jupiter. Vulcan was also
the patron, or god, of smiths. He had several forges; one was on Mount
Olympus, and another was supposed to be under Mount Ætʹna in
Sicʹi-ly. Here, with his giant workmen, the Cyʹclops, he made
thunderbolts for Jupiter, and sometimes armor and weapons of war for
earthly heroes.
The gods, it was believed, made their will known to men in various
ways,--sometimes by the flight of birds, frequently by dreams, and
sometimes by appearing on earth under different forms, and speaking
directly to kings and warriors. Very often men learned the will of the
gods by consulting seers and soothsayers, or augurs,--persons who were
supposed to have the power of foretelling events. There were temples
also where the gods gave answers through priests. Such answers were
called Orʹa-cles, and this name was also given to the priests. The most
celebrated oracle of ancient times was in the temple of Apollo at
Delʹphi, in Greece. To this place people came from all parts of the
world to consult the god, whose answers were given by a priestess
called Pythʹi-a.
The ancients never engaged in war or any other important undertaking
without sacrificing to the gods or consulting their oracles or
soothsayers. Before going to battle they made sacrifices to the gods. If
they were defeated in battle they regarded it as a sign of the anger of
Jupiter, or Juno, or Minerva, or Apollo, or some of the other great

beings who dwelt on Olympus. When making leagues or treaties of
peace, they called the gods as witnesses, and prayed to Father Jupiter to
send terrible punishments on any who should take false oaths, or break
their promises. In the story of the Trojan War we shall find many
examples of such appeals to the gods by the chiefs on both sides.
"O Father Jove, who rulest from the top Of Ida, mightiest one and most
august! Whichever of these twain has done the wrong, Grant that he
pass to Pluto's dwelling, slain, While friendship and a faithful league
are ours.
"O Jupiter most mighty and august! Whoever first shall break these
solemn oaths, So may their brains flow down upon the earth,-- Theirs
and their children's."