Aros

“ This myth would appear to be an allegory, which signifies that the soul, before it can be reunited to its original divine essence, must be purified by the chastening sorrows and sufferings of its earthly career. [51]
Eros is represented as a lovely boy, with rounded limbs, and a merry, roguish expression. He has golden wings, and a quiver slung over his shoulder, which contained his magical and unerring arrows; in one hand he bears his golden bow, and in the other a torch. ”

“ The small ear is as delicately cut as a woman's. The fine athletic figure is such as any warrior might covet; muscular and supple, it is full of power even in repose. The attitude of easy grace displays its best points to advantage.
Sitting on the ground in front of the god is the figure of a mischievous baby boy. This is the little god Eros, who in Greek mythology was supposed to be the inspirer of love. The artist meant to suggest that the subject of Ares' meditations might be some affair of the heart. ”

“ So accustomed have we grown, however, to the commonplace that we follow him at first with difficulty. His “Eros” is indeed an unknown god to the run of readers. He is no Cupid rosy-red, with flowery bow and fire-tipped dart to smite and melt the hearts of sweet young lovers. ”

“ It recalled to her the early Grecian period, soon after she herself had risen, born by the forces of nature from the foam of the sea at Cyprus; of the time when Eros (Amor) and the Graces were ever in her train, and she herself the deity of reproduction and love; of the time when the myrtle, the rose, and the apple were especially sacred to her, and the dove, the swan and certain other animals were symbolic of her activities. And she looked upon him with affection.
“Eros! Oh, Eros! my lovely boy! son of my youth!” and her voice failed. ”

“ In Chaldea, where the constellation is supposed to have originated, the ram simply represents the favourite animal of the shepherds. Considering the fact that Aries is in an inconspicuous part of the heavens, and comprises only three stars of any importance, it is surprising the wealth of lore and legend that surrounds it, and the attention paid to it by the ancients, unless we attribute to it some extraneous claim for notoriety, such as the position of these stars as regards the sun at a certain period of the year. ”

“ Firstly, black-winged Night laid a germless egg in the bosom of the infinite deeps of Erebus, and from this, after the revolution of long ages, sprang the graceful Eros with his glittering golden wings, swift as the whirlwinds of the tempest. He mated in deep Tartarus with dark Chaos, winged like himself, and thus hatched forth our race, which was the first to see the light. That of the Immortals did not exist until Eros had brought together all the ingredients of the world, and from their marriage Heaven, Ocean, Earth and the imperishable race of blessed gods sprang into being. ”

“ O Argos, home of steeds, my native land! ye have heard with your ears these words, the king's pious will toward the gods in the sight of great Pelasgia and throughout Argos. May he reach the goal! yea, and triumph o'er my sorrows, rescuing the gory corpse, the mother's idol, and making the land of Inachus his friend by helping her. For pious toil is a fair ornament to cities, and carries with it a grace that never wastes away. What will the city decide, I wonder? Will it conclude a friendly truce with me, and shall we obtain burial for our sons? ”

“ ARES, in ancient Greek mythology, the god of war, or rather of battle, son of Zeus and Hera. (For the Roman god, identified with Ares, see Mars.) As contrasted with Athena, who added to her other attributes that of being the goddess of well-conducted military operations, he personifies brute strength and the wild rage of conflict. His delight is in war and bloodshed; he loves fighting for fighting’s sake, and takes the side of the one or the other combatant indifferently, regardless of the justice of the cause. ”

“ In all Greece you could not have found a happier pair of lovers, and the gods themselves were jealous of our bliss—too great for mortals. Before the second month was ended after our marriage feast, Aurora, the goddess of the Dawn, beheld me in the early morn as I was planting nets to trap the deer from the heights of Hymettus, and I followed her against my will. ”

“ Then, Areas reminding the Arcadians of αρκτος (a bear) , while they knew the Bear constellation, ‘what was more natural than that Callisto should be changed into an arktos, a she-bear . . . placed by Zeus, her lover, in the sky’ as the Bear?
Nothing could be more natural to a savage; they all do it. {144b} But that an Aryan, a Greek, should talk such nonsense as to say that he was the descendant of a bear who was changed into a star, and all merely because ‘Areas reminded the Arcadians of arktos,’ seems to me an extreme test of belief, and a very unlikely thing to occur. ”

“ A vast number of young men assembled at Argos, and marched in armour to the temple of the goddess. They were preceded by one hundred oxen (ἑκατόμβη, whence the festival is also called ἑκατόμβαια) . The high-priestess accompanied this procession, riding in a chariot drawn by two white oxen. The 100 oxen were sacrificed, and their flesh distributed among all the citizens; after which games and contests took place. Of the Heraea celebrated in other countries, those of Samos, which island derived the worship of Hera from Argos, were perhaps the most brilliant of all the festivals of this divinity. ”

“ Ceased with the dawn: and they met full soon, those companies twain.
Then Argus first found voice, and to Argo’s crew spake he:
‘We beseech you by All-beholder Zeus, whosoever ye be
Of men, to have mercy and succour us now in our helplessness;
For buffeted long have we been on the sea by the rough winds’ stress,
Till sundered and shattered the beams of our crazy galley were.
By your knees we entreat you then, if ye haply will hearken our prayer,
To cover our nakedness now, and to take us whither ye go:
As youths taking pity on youths, compassionate ye our woe! ”

“ According to some, Iris was the mother of Eros by Zephyrus. [There were indeed three Eroses, which mark three different lines of tradition, vide Gladstone on Iris (the rainbow) , “Homer and the Homeric Age,” ii. 156.] Eros (Cupid) , though a boy, was supposed to have been at the commencement of all things; and Lucian says, “How came you with that childish face, when we know you to be as old as Japetus?” The union of Cupid and Chaos (the Deluge is frequently alluded to as chaos, vide Bryant) “gave birth to men and all the animals.” Hesiod makes Eros the first to appear after Chaos. ”

“ The old man looked upon the boy with wonder, saying: "That is beautiful, indeed; there is no such truth in any other religion."
And the girl said, "That is good and strong, Arius, although it be a Christian dogma."
Then the ancient said: "I desire that ye will listen to me carefully for a moment, and thou especially, Theckla. Children, I am nigh upon fourscore years of age. My name is Am-nem-hat. In mine infancy I was placed in the great temple at Thebes, and dedicated to the service of Amen-Ba, Mut, and Kuhns, the Theban triad. ”

“ There can only be one such ring in the world. Oh, they could not fail to recognize it. The little chubby wicked Eros surrounded by the rubies—I have looked at the design every day—every night—sometimes the firelight gleaming upon the circle of rubies has made them seem to me a band of blood. Was that the idea of the artist who made the design, I wonder—a circle of blood with the god Eros in the centre. ”

“ Eos, Ἠώς, in Latin Aurora, the goddess of the morning red, who brings up the light of day from the east. At the close of night she ascended up to the heaven from the river Oceanus to announce the coming light of the sun to the gods as well as to men. ”

“ Lest a God or a man might meet him and wrest from his hands the spoil.
Dawn over the earth was spread, and now those twain returned
To their company. Marvelled the youths to behold how the great Fleece burned
A splendour as lightning of Zeus. Upsprang they, for eager-keen
Was each man to touch the glory, and clasp it his hands between.
But the son of Aison withheld them: a mantle thereover he threw
New-woven, to hide it. To Argo’s stern the maiden he drew,
And he seated her there ”

“ Of loathly wedlock, would on Argos' shore
Set forth a race of kindred lineage?
The King of Argos
What crave ye of these gods of festival,
Holding up newly-plucked white-tufted boughs?
Chorus
Ne'er to be slaves unto Aegyptus' race.
The King of Argos
Doth your own hate, or doth the law forbid?
Chorus
Not as our lords, but as unloved, we chide them.
The King of Argos
'Tis from such wedlock that advancement comes.
Chorus
How easy is it, from the weak to turn! ”

“ Most men think Eros the latest of the gods, and the son of Aphrodite. But the Lycian Olen, who wrote the most ancient Hymns of the Greeks, says in his Hymn to Ilithyia that she was the mother of Eros. ”

“ The symbol of the constellation ♈︎ probably represents the head and horns of the animal. In this region of the sky a brilliant temporary star appeared in the year 1012 a.d.
Astrologically considered Aries is the house and joy of Mars, and signifies a dry constitution, long face and neck, thick shoulders, swarthy complexion, and a hasty passionate temper. It governs the head and face, and all diseases relating thereto. It reigns over France, England, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Lesser Poland, Syria, Naples, Capua, Verona, etc. It is a masculine sign, and is regarded as fortunate. ”

“ I will vex the broad Ægean sea; and the beach of Myconus and the reefs round Delos, Scyros and Lemnos too, and the cliffs of Caphareus shall be strown with many a corpse. Mount thou to Olympus, and taking from thy father's hand his lightning bolts, keep careful watch against the hour when Argos' host lets slip its cables. A fool is he who sacks the towns of men, with shrines and tombs, the dead man's hallowed home, for at the last he makes a desert round himself, and dies. ”

“ This prayer I make, when I behold these aged dames, who, leaving their homes in Argos, now throw themselves with suppliant branches at my knees in their awful trouble; for around the gates of Cadmus have they lost their seven noble sons, whom on a day Adrastus, king of Argos, led thither, eager to secure for exiled Polynices, his son-in-law, a share in the heritage of Œdipus; so now their mothers would bury in the grave the dead, whom the spear hath slain, but the victors prevent them and will not allow them to take up the corpses, spurning Heaven's laws. ”

“ Heracles is dead; his children and mother are persecuted and threatened with death by his enemy, Eurystheus, king of Argos. Under the guidance of their father's old comrade, Iolaus, they have fled from Argos, and tried in vain to find protectors in every part of Greece. No city dares protect them against the power of Argos. At the opening of the play we find the children and Iolaus clinging as suppliants to an altar in Athens. The herald of Argos breaks in upon them, flings down the old man and prepares to drag the children off. ”

“ Eros [turning suddenly] .
Ah! Pallas! What, you have brought that ivory box with you? Why did you burden your hands with that?
Pallas.
I snatched it from the burning palace. There is something strange at the bottom of it—something like an opal, with a violet flame in it.
[Pg 12] Eros.
Alas! we have no great need of jewels here. This shining beech-leaf is the treasure you should wear, Pallas. See, a little bough of it, bent just above the white enamel of your forehead. It will be as green as a beryl to-day, and red like copper to-morrow, and perhaps you will need no third adornment. ”

“ Curiously enough Aries is the leading sign in all the systems of astrology which have come down to us through the Greeks, and it figures as the leading sign in most of the explanations of the constellation figures which are on record. ”

“ They worshipped the heavens as their Father, and the Earth as their Mother. At eventide, they heard the chariots of the gods, like themselves migratory, roll along the mountain roads with their ponderous wheels. They enjoyed the light of day and pondered with sadness over the life of the souls in the Kingdom of Shadows.
“We know that these massive-headed Aryans were fair, since their gods, made to their own image, were fair. Indra had locks like ears of wheat and a beard as tawny as the tiger’s coat. The Greeks conceived the immortal gods with blue or glaucous eyes, and a head of golden hair. ”

“ Towards mid-day we are holding up for a well-defined headland, projecting towards the north. It is distinguished by bold bluffs, breaking off in the form of cliffs before they reach the water’s edge, and by a succession of deep valleys which descend on either side to the margin of the shore. It is the promontory of the “sacred mountain”—Hieron Oros, now called Yoros, Ieros, or simply Oros—and it forms the western border of that series of smaller indentations which make up the beautiful bay of Trebizond. ”

“ The shelving away of the ground to the basin-like depression which receives the Araxes recalls similar surface features in the northern districts. The rays of the sun fall from a heaven which remains blue. ”