In the preparation of this book, the aim has beento present in a manner suited to young readers theGreek myths that have been world favorites throughthe centuries, and that have in some measure exerciseda formative infl uence on literature and the fi ne arts inmany countries. While a knowledge of these mythsis undoubtedly necessary to a clear understanding ofmuch in literature and the arts, yet it is not for thisreason alone that they have been selected; the mythsthat have appealed to the poets, the painters, and thesculptors for so many ages are the very ones that havethe greatest depth of meaning, and that are the mostbeautiful and the best worth telling. Moreover, thesemyths appeal strongly to the child-mind, and should bepresented while the young imagination can make themlive. In childhood they will be enjoyed as stories; but inlater years they will be understood as the embodimentof spiritual truths.
FAVORITE GREEK MYTHS from one fl ower to another till she had left the other children far behind. Running quickly forward to pick this strange blossom, she saw that its stalk was spotted like a snake, and feared that it might be poisonous. Still, it was far too beautiful a fl ower to be left by itself in the meadow, and she therefore tried to pluck it. When she found that she could not break the stalk, she made a great eff ort to pull the whole plant up by the roots. All at once, the black soil around the plant loosened, and Proserpine heard a rumbling underneath the ground. Th en the earth suddenly opened, a great black cavern appeared, and out from its depths sprang four magnifi cent black horses, drawing a golden chariot. In the chariot sat a king with a crown on his head, but under the crown was the gloomiest face ever seen.
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When this strange king saw Proserpine standing there by the fl ower, too frightened to run away, he checked his horses for an instant and, bending forward, snatched the poor child from the ground and placed her on the seat by his side. Th en he whipped up his horses and drove away at a furious rate. Proserpine, still holding fast to her fl owers, screamed for her mother. Helios, the sun-god, saw how the gloomy-faced king had stolen Proserpine away, and Hecate, who sat near by in her cave, heard the scream and the sound of wheels. No one else had any suspicion of what had happened. Ceres was far away across the seas in another country, overlooking the gathering in of the harvests. 26
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CERES AND PROSERPINE She heard Proserpines scream, and like a sea-bird when it hears the distressed cry of its young, came rushing home across the water. She fi lled the valley with the sound of her calling, but no one answered to the name of Proserpine. Th e strange fl ower had disappeared. A few roses lay scattered on the grass, and near them were a childs footprints. Ceres felt sure that these were the traces of Proserpines little bare feet, but she could not follow them far, because a herd of swine had wandered that way and left a confusion of hoofprints behind them. Ceres could learn nothing about her daughter from the nymphs. She sent out her own messenger, the big white crane that brings the rain; but although he could fl y very swift ly and very far on his strong wings, he brought back no news of Proserpine.
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When it grew dark, the goddess lighted two torches at the fl aming summit of Mount tna, and continued her search. She wandered up and down for nine days and nine nights. On the tenth night, when it was nearly morning, she met Hecate, who was carrying a light in her hand, as if she, too, were looking for something. Hecate told Ceres how she had heard Proserpine scream, and had heard the sound of wheels, but had seen nothing. Th en she went with the goddess to ask Helios, the sun-god, whether he had not seen what happened that day, for the sun-god travels around the whole world, and must see everything. Ceres found Helios sitting in his chariot, ready to drive his horses across the sky. He held the fi ery 27
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