but to the frequent appearance of the gods themselves. Their voices have been often heard, and they have appeared in forms so visible, that he who doubts it must be hardened in stupidity or impiety." Dionysius of Halicarnassus, one of the most accurate historians of antiquity, says: "In the war with the Latins, Castor and Pollux appeared visibly on white horses, and fought on the side of the Romans, who by their assistance gained a complete victory. As a perpetual memorial of it, a temple was erected, and a yearly festival instituted in honour of those deities." The emperor Julian declared that he had familiar intercourse with divine beings. They woke him from slumber, by touching his hand or his hair, and he knew them so well, that he could instantly distinguish their voices and their forms. Homer has recorded that the horse of Achilles spoke to him, professed to see Apollo, and told his master that he would soon be killed.

In the early rude times of Greece, they had neither statues nor temples, but only upright stones, or wooden blocks, with the name of some deity inscribed thereon. To these were added simple altars of turf or stone, over which small chapels were first erected, and afterwards, temples. Mountains, groves, and grottoes, were all favourite places of worship. In a dark rocky ravine, overshadowed by gloomy groves and frowning crags, was a deep subterranean recess, called the cave of Trophonius. Oracles were uttered there, whence worshippers always returned very pale and dejected; doubtless owing to the chemical properties of the atmosphere. On the southern slope of Mount Hymettus is a grotto hung with stalactites. Engraved on a rock at the entrance, is an inscription in verse, announcing that Archedemus, a native of Thessaly, formed this cave by counsel of the Nymphs. In the interior, his figure may still be seen rudely sculptured on the rock, in his shepherd's frock, with a hammer and chisel in his hand. Various inscriptions are scattered about, one of which speaks of a garden planted there in honour of the Nymphs. In ancient times, when the poetic faith of Greece was living in the souls of

men, this place was filled with images of sylvan deities, and the walls covered with votive offerings, shepherds pipes and reeds, basins of stone, and wooden cups carved with animals and flowers. Here the peasants brought oblations of their first flowers, grapes, and sheaves of grain. This is supposed to be the grotto where Plato, when a young child, was led by his parents with offerings to Pan, the Nymphs, and the Pastoral Apollo, to whom the place was consecrated. While they sacrificed, the boy slept on the grass, and bees left honey on his mouth, which was considered a presage of his future eloquence.

All high places were sacred to some deity. Mount Helicon, covered with fresh rills and flowery glades, was consecrated to the Muses, whose graceful statues stood in the shady recesses of its many groves. There flowed the sacred stream of Aganippe, round which they danced, and the clear spring of Hippocrene, in which they bathed. Consecrated groves abounded everywhere, with marble statues of the gods gleaming among their foliage. They were supposed to be a favourite resort for Dryads, Fauns, Satyrs, and other sylvan deities, often seen dancing under the trees; a poetic way of accounting for the flickering play of sunshine and shadow. Religious ceremonies were often solemnized in groves, which on such occasions were hung with so many garlands, bouquets, and various offerings to the gods, that light was almost excluded.

The difference between Egyptian and Grecian character was strongly marked on their temples and statues. Instead of huge piles of granite, hewn into heavy forms, and enveloped in subterranean gloom, temples of pure white marble stood in Doric majesty on the summit of Grecian hills, overlooking a broad expanse of waters; or in the bosom of sunny valleys gracefully rose the slender columns of Ionian architecture. No law of limitation confined the Grecian artist to stiff attitudes and monotonous repose. Genius, left free to express itself, proved its own divinity in the creation of divine forms. It had no need to represent omnipotence by the clumsy contrivance of many heads

and arms. It put power in the statue; made it breathe from the godlike countenance, and bound in graceful motions. Of all their conceptions none was more beautiful than their image of Apollo, the Intellectual Spirit of the Sun, eagerly and gracefully springing forward, in the full vigour of immortal youth, leading the planets through the mazes of their heavenly dance to the music of his golden lyre. No wonder that the untutored minds of Greece, gazing reverently on those statues, should find it easy to believe that Celestial Spirits, descended from the stars, dwelt therein, and irradiated the divine forms with their own immortal life.

The material employed was worthy of the beautiful ideal embodied. Greece was rich in quarries of finest marble, susceptible of exquisite polish. Ivory and gold were often intermixed, and sometimes statues were made of pure gold, adorned with precious gems. The images of pastoral deities were generally cut from citron, olive, ebony, and other durable kinds of wood.

It was a common opinion that some of the gods peculiarly delighted in mountains, others in forests, valleys, fields, or rivers; and it was customary to build temples in places supposed to be most agreeable to the deities who were to inhabit them. The people considered them a blessing wherever they stood, and thought they owed health and abundant harvests to their protecting influence. In cities, they built temples near common houses, but elsewhere they sought for the loveliest and most secluded places, and generally surrounded them with stately groves. The ground was previously consecrated with many prayers and ceremonies, and sprinkled with holy water. Temples always faced the east, to receive the rays of the rising sun. They contained an outer court for the public, and an inner sanctuary for the priests, called the Adytum. Near the entrance was a large vessel of stone or brass, filled with water, made holy by plunging into it a burning torch from the altar. All who were admitted to the sacrifices were sprinkled with this water, and none but the unpolluted VOL. I.-28

were allowed to pass beyond it. In the centre of the building stood the statue of the god on a pedestal raised above the altar and enclosed by a railing. On festival occasions, the people brought laurel, olive, or ivy, to decorate the pillars and walls. Before they entered, they always washed their hands as a type of purification from sin. A story is told of a man who was struck dead by a thunderbolt because he omitted this ceremony when entering a temple of Jupiter. Sometimes they crawled up the steps on their knees, and bowing their heads to the ground, kissed the threshold. Always when they passed one of these sacred edifices they kissed their right hand to it, in token of veneration. All classes, including foreigners and slaves, were free to enter, either from curiosity or devotion; but it was ordained that no unclean action should be committed within the consecrated precincts. There was a law that no person should be forced away from the altars or statues, or be subject to any violence there; and it was believed that such an action would bring down certain vengeance from the gods. The princess Laodamia fled to Diana's altar for protection, during a sedition of the people, and was killed in the tumult. A terrible famine and civil wars followed, which were all attributed to this circumstance. The institution was intended to protect abused slaves and persecuted debtors; but in process of time all sorts of knaves and criminals took refuge in the temples, and no authority could expel them. The evil finally became so great, that only one or two were allowed to be places of protection for offenders, and those under certain regulations.

Each deity had consecrated plants and animals, often represented near them in the sculptures and paintings. The oak and eagle were sacred to Jupiter, the owl and olive to Minerva, the swan and laurel to Apollo. Serpents were often introduced in connection with Apollo and Esculapius; they were twined round the rod of Mercury, and sometimes lay at the foot of Minerva's spear. A large serpent was kept in the citadel at Athens, to which they every month offered cakes of honey. The pomegranate, which

Hindoo Siva carries as a symbol of his reproducing power, was placed in the hands of the dead on Grecian monuments, as a sign that they would live again. A butterfly emerging from its chrysalis is often represented on such monuments, as a type of transmigration, which they called metempsychosis, or change of soul.

Among the innumerable temples of Greece, the most beautiful was the Parthenon, meaning the Temple of the Virgin Goddess. It was a magnificent Doric edifice, dedicated to Minerva, the presiding deity of Athens. It was surrounded by three rows of stately columns of pure Pentelic marble, and, standing on the highest eminence in the city, it was seen from afar relieved against the clear blue sky. The eastern front was covered with figures sculptured in bold relief, representing Jupiter in the centre, and a procession of the gods following the car of Minerva to his throne. On either side was represented the Panathenaic pomp of Athenian citizens carrying offerings in solemn procession to the altar of their patron goddess. The figures were relieved by a groundwork of painting in metallic colours; rich purple, bright azure, glowing red, and brilliant sea-green. Wreaths of honeysuckle and festoons of gold adorned the cornice. "This profusion of vivid colours threw around the fabric a joyful and festive beauty, harmonizing admirably with the brightness and transparency of the atmosphere which encircled it." All the ornaments, within and without, were wrought with the exquisite finish of a cameo. Sculptured groups of deities and demi-gods, the most beautiful the world has ever seen, abounded everywhere. In the centre of the temple stood the celebrated colossal statue of Minerva in full armour, by Phidias. It was sixty feet high, made of ivory and gold. The amount of six hundred thousand dollars in gold was taken from the public treasury for its completion. The offerings in this temple were of immense value. Statues without number, superb paintings, golden vases, golden shields, splendid armour taken in war, lyres of ivory inlaid with gold, golden wreaths of victory, golden medals and