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

The

rings. It was sixteen years from the commencement to the completion of this superb structure. Every Athenian was eager to have some share in the glorious work. women embroidered rich veils for the statues, the wealthy gave their gold, the artists their genius, the labourers their strength. Even the animals which dragged the marble from the quarry were honoured for the service, and a law was passed that the best pastures around the city should thenceforth be reserved for them.

In Athens also was a magnificent temple to Jupiter, half a mile in circuit. It was supported by one hundred and twenty marble columns, richly sculptured, sixty feet high, and six in diameter.

The temple of Diana at Ephesus was one of the most superb edifices ever dedicated to any form of worship. It was four hundred and twenty-five feet long and two hundred broad, supported by one hundred and twenty-seven marble columns, lofty and beautiful. The interior was ornamented with innumerable statues and paintings from the best Grecian masters, and the amount of wealth in votive offerings could hardly be calculated. All the nations of Asia Minor contributed to its erection, and were employed two hundred and twenty years in its completion. Diana was there worshipped as the Goddess of Fruitful Nature, as Isis was in Egypt. The amulets and talismans consecrated by the priests were in great demand.

In the territory of Elis was a temple containing a colossal statue of Olympian Jupiter, by Phidias. It was sixty feet high, and reckoned one of the wonders of the world. It was formed of ivory, crowned with a golden wreath, and adorned with a mantle of beaten gold, which fell in ample folds from the waist to the feet. In his right hand was a statue of the Goddess of Victory, likewise made of ivory and gold. The left hand held a sceptre richly adorned, and surmounted by a golden eagle. The expression of the countenance was serene, benevolent, and godlike in its majesty.

One of the most renowned edifices consecrated to this

form of worship, was built by the Macedonian kings in Syria. It was called Apollo Daphnæus, because it was intended to commemorate Apollo's love for the beautiful nymph Daphne, who, it is said, was here changed into a tree of laurel. The capacious sanctuary was almost filled by a colossal statue of the god, wrought with the most perfect skill of Grecian art, and enriched with gold and gems. He was slightly bending forward, to pour a libation on the earth, from a golden cup. The temple was embosomed in thick, impenetrable groves of laurel and cypress, which reached as far as a circumference of ten miles, and "suffered not the Sun to kiss their mother Earth." Within the enclosures were gardens filled with flowers, whose fragrance floated through the balmy air, mingled with soft strains of seducing music. Many streams of pure water flowed from the hills; one of them was supposed to be derived from the same source as the Castalian Spring at Delphos, and to be endowed with the same prophetic power. The emperor Adrian is said to have read the history of his future fortunes on a leaf dipped in these waters. The grounds were enlarged and beautified by successive emperors, and every generation added something to the splendour of the temple. For many centuries it was visited by crowds of worshippers, both natives and foreigners. But soldiers and philosophers, who dreaded to lose their reputation by becoming effeminate, generally avoided those cool and shady groves, it being considered impossible for human nature to resist the voluptuous and seductive influences of a place so expressly consecrated to love.

In Athens was a large edifice called the Pantheon, because it contained statues of all the gods. One on the same model, and with the same name, was afterward built at Rome. That city alone was said to contain a thousand temples. Every part of Greece abounded with monuments of religious reverence. Gracefully ornamented, or severely simple in their grandeur, they crowned every city, gleamed through the foliage of every valley, and often on the

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summit of solitary hills refreshed the traveller with a vision of unexpected beauty.

The spirit of freedom, conspicuous in poetry and the arts, manifested itself in all forms of thought. Theories of God and the soul escaped from the locks and keys of priests into the minds of philosophers, who lectured upon them openly, excited other minds to investigation, and led the way to general discussion. The world was beginning to pass out of the age of childhood, which receives unquestioning all it is taught. It was entering the age of youthful, inquiring intellect, poetic, erratic, allured by castles in the air, but eager, buoyant, and free. These teachers of the people, not included in the priesthood, differed much in doctrines and character. The earliest of them taught the old Braminical idea that God and Nature were eternally one; and that by an inherent necessity, without any exertion of the will, material forms must at certain times be evolved by energy of the Divine Spirit indwelling in Nature, like the soul in the human body. Others, like the Hindoo rationalists, maintained that God and Nature were eternally two distinct principles, differing entirely in essence, and forever opposed to each other. Some believed there was a Central Soul diffused throughout the universe, the original cause of all things. Others denied any Primary Intelligence, and said Nature existed by an accidental collision and combination of atoms. Some said the universe had always existed, and would forever remain as it was. Others believed that deluges and conflagrations destroyed the earth at long intervals, returning as regularly as summer and winter; that all the forms of nature were renewed by energy of the indwelling Divine Soul, and so would be dissolved and renewed forever; that at every renovation the first race of men would be innocent and happy, and gradually degenerate more and more to the end. Some philosophers were absorbed in scientific studies and abstract metaphysical questions. Others renounced all science and speculative philosophy as useless and troublesome, and attended solely to the inculcation of

moral habits and proper manners. Some held that pleasure was the object of existence, and wisdom valuable only because it taught the means of rational enjoyment. Others relied entirely on the sufficiency of virtue to happiness, preached stoical submission to irresistible fate, said pain was no evil, and suicide, under some circumstances, a noble action. Some delighted in harmonious sounds, graceful forms, and rich clothing, believing that cultivated taste and love of beauty helped to elevate the moral character. Others held all external advantages in contempt, practised rigid abstinence, wore coarse clothing, and carried a wallet to beg for daily bread. One class prided themselves on proving that nothing could be proved; that there was no such thing as good or evil, truth or falsehood, but everything was a matter of opinion.

Enlightened minds understood the numerous deities symbolically, and regarded them merely as names of various effects produced by One Great Cause. Employed in upper ether, it was Jupiter; in the lower atmosphere, Juno; in the sciences, Minerva; in the sun, Apollo; in the sea, Neptune. That which to us appears absurd in their mytholo gical legends, they explained satisfactorily to themselves, by regarding them as allegories; a method universally employed by the human intellect when devoutly inclined to discover sacred meaning in incomprehensible traditions. Philosophers of all opinions conformed more or less to popular observances; partly from the hold which the religion of one's age and country generally keeps upon the soul, and partly from motives of personal safety; for the priests, who lived by offering prayers and sacrifices for the people, were naturally very jealous of any teaching that lessened the importance of prescribed ceremonies. That some of the philosophers looked very sceptically upon their religious rites, may be readily conjectured. When Crates asked Stilpo whether he thought the gods took pleasure in the honours paid to them by mortals, he replied: "You fool, do not question me upon such subjects in the public streets, but when we are alone." The friends of Diagoras