Myrmidons

“ And if by chance any traveler, passing by, unintentionally disturb them, then they, possessing a valiant heart, all fly forth, and fight for their young. The Myrmidons then, having the heart and courage of these, poured out from the ships, and an inextinguishable tumult arose. But Patroclus cheered on his companions, loudly shouting:
"Ye Myrmidons, companions of Achilles, the son of Peleus, be men, my friends, and be mindful of impetuous valor; that we, his close-fighting servants, may honor the son of Peleus, who is by far the bravest of the Greeks at the ships ”

“ The Thessalians, he says, are reputed to worship ants because Zeus took the semblance of an ant when he made the daughter of Cletor mother of Myrmidon. Where people worship any animal from whom they claim descent (in this case through Myrmidon, the ancestor of the famed Myrmidons) , we have an example of straightforward totemism. ”

“ It is probable that the old men were carried off by the plague, while the young, who had more strength, resisted its power, which circumstance would fully account for the active habits of the remaining subjects of Æacus. Some writers, however, suppose that the Myrmidons were a barbarous, but industrious people of Thessaly, who usually dwelt in caves, and who were brought thence by Æacus to people his island, which had been made desolate by a pestilence. ”

“ His son Actor married Ægina the daughter of the Asopus. He gave his name to his subjects, who dwelt near the river Peneus in Thessaly. According to some, the Myrmidons received their name from their having been originally ants, μυρμηκες. See: Æacus. According to Strabo, they received it from their industry, because they imitated the diligence of the ants, and like them were indefatigable, and were continually employed in cultivating the earth. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 654.—Strabo.—Hyginus, fable 52.
Myron, a tyrant of Sicyon.――A man of Priene, who wrote a history of Messenia. ”

“ Each of the other Gods was represented by a special detachment of ten Myrmidons, each contingent wearing the distinctive shoulder patch of the God it served: [89] the thunderbolt of Zeus, the blazing sun of Apollo, the pipes of Pan, the sword of Mars, the hammer of Vulcan, the poppy of Morpheus, the winged foot of Mercury, the trident of Neptune, the cerberus of Pluto, the peacock of Hera, the owl of Athena, the dove of Venus, the crescent of Diana, and the sprig of wheat that represented Mother Ceres. ”

“ Myrmidones (mer-mid ́on-ēz) , or Myrmidons (mer ́mid-ons) .—A people of Thessaly, under the rule of Achilles, whom they accompanied to Troy.
Myrtilus (mer ́til-us) .—Son of Mercury, and charioteer of Œnomaus. See “Pelops.”
Mysterious Three, The.—In Scandinavian mythology were Har “the Mighty,” the “Like-Mighty,” and the “Third Person,” who sat on three thrones above the rainbow. Then came the Æsir, of which Odin was chief, who lived in Asgard (between the rainbow and earth) ; next came the Vanir, or gods of the ocean, air, and clouds, of which deities Niörd was chief. ”

“ Pausanias throws aside both the etymology and the details of the miracle: he says that Zeus raised men from the earth, at the prayer of Æakus (ii. 29, 2) : other authors retained the etymology of Myrmidons from μύρμηκες, but gave a different explanation (Kallimachus, Fragm. 114, Düntzer) . Μυρμιδόνων ἐσσῆνα (Strabo, viii. p. 375) . Ἐσσὴν, ὁ οἰκιστής (Hygin. fab. 52) .
According to the Thessalian legend, Myrmidôn was the son of Zeus by Eurymedusa, daughter of Kletor; Zeus having assumed the disguise of an ant (Clemens Alex. Admon. ad Gent. p. 25. Sylb.) . ”

“ From them all zealous and unscrupulous followers of a political chief are called by that name down to this day. But the origin of the Myrmidons would not give one the idea of a fierce and bloody race, but rather of a laborious and peaceful one.
Cephalus, king of Athens, arrived in the island of AEgina to seek assistance of his old friend and ally AEacus, the king, in his wars with Minos, king of Crete. Cephalus was kindly received, and the desired assistance readily promised. "I have people enough," said AEacus, "to protect myself and spare you such a force as you need." ”

“ Her son was for this reason called Myrmidon (from μυρμηξ, an ant) , and was regarded as the ancestor of the Myrmidons in Thessaly.—Smith. ↑ According to the belief of the ancients, the gods were supposed to have a peculiar light in their eyes. That Homer was not ignorant of this opinion appears from his use of it in other places. ↑ Minerva is the goddess of the art of war rather than of war itself. And this fable of her descent is an allegory of Achilles restraining his wrath through his consideration of martial law and order. ”

“ The maid whom the sons of the Greeks selected as a reward for me, and [whom] I won by my spear, having sacked a well-fortified city, her has king Agamemnon, son of Atreus, taken back out of my hands, as from some dishonored alien. But we shall allow these things to be among the things that were; [5] nor is it right, indeed to be continually enraged in one's mind. Certainly I affirmed that I would not put a stop to my wrath, before that clamor and war should reach my ships. But do thou put on thy shoulders my famous armor, and lead on the war-loving Myrmidons to battle ”

“ Muses, The, nine goddesses presiding over poetry, etc—Calliope, epic poetry, Clio, history, Erato, love poetry, Euterpe, lyric poetry; Melpomene, tragedy, Polyhymnia, oratory and sacred song Terpsichore, choral song and dance, Thalia, comedy and idyls, Urania, astronomy
Muspelheim, the fire world of the Norsemen
Mycenas, ancient Grecian city, of which Agamemnon was king
MYRDDIN (Merlin)
Myrmidons, bold soldiers of Achilles
Mysia, Greek district on northwest coast of Asia Minor
Mythology, origin of, collected myths, describing gods of early peoples ”

“ Their name is derived from a supposed ancestor, son of Zeus and Eurymedusa, who was wooed by the god in the form of an ant (Gr. μύρμηξ) ; or from the re peopling of Aegina (when all its inhabitants had died of the plague) with ants changed into men by Zeus at the prayer of Aeacus, king of the island. The word “ myrmidon ” has passed into the English language to denote a subordinate who carries out the orders of his superior without mercy or consideration for others. ”

“ Forel considers Myrmecia to be the most formidable of all the ants; the hills are said to be sometimes five feet high, and the colonies are immense in numbers, while the Insect is an inch or more in length, and armed with a very powerful sting, the use of which on the human body is said to give rise in some cases to serious symptoms. On the other hand, we have seen statements to the effect that the sting of Myrmecia has only very evanescent sequelae; it is also said that the ant-hills have only a slight elevation, so that probably both these points differ according to the species. ”

“ The frieze of the Temple of Apollo at Phigales has also been attributed to the school of Myron. The remnants of this frieze, now in the British Museum, show the battle of the Centaurs and Amazons. The figures have not the calm stateliness of bearing which characterizes those of the Parthenon frieze, but instead exhibit a wild vehemence of action which is, perhaps, directly due to the influence of Myron.
Another pupil of Ageladas, a somewhat younger contemporary of Pheidias, was Polycleitos. He excelled in representations of human, bodily beauty. ”

“ Although this monograph of a single faunic group is not the place for a discussion of the history of the classification of the Myriapoda, yet it has seemed necessary to make this brief notice of and comparison between the works of the more recent authorities, before introducing what appears to the author to be the natural arrangement, which has been gradually developed by the various efforts; each adding something, each pushing forward a little towards the truth. ”

“ We have seen that embryology enables us to look at the structure of the Myriapods from a new standpoint, and to correct and supplement the knowledge gained from an examination of the adult animal. In the same way a study of the forms of Myriapods which have become extinct on the globe, and have been preserved to us in a fossil form, gives a further opportunity of considering the relations of one form to another, and again of the relations of our group to other groups of animals now existing on the earth. Myriapod fossils have been found in strata of great antiquity. ”

“ Now, their method of development is similar to that of the Vermes, hence the reason of their being placed next above them. When a spider, or insect, or crustacean leaves the egg, its body has its maximum number of segments, and development takes place by the coalescence and disappearance of some of these. The embryonic myriapod, on the contrary, has its minimum number of segments, and develops by their increase. So that whilst the adult insect has generally fewer, never more segments than the young, the adult myriapod may have eight times as many, and never fewer than its young. [3] ”

“ Myron has dedicated something, but I by no means see that it is this statue."
"What!" he cried, "was not Myron a famous Greek sculptor? The talent was perpetuated in his family, and it must have been one of his descendants who executed this statue. Nothing can be more certain."
"But," I replied, "on this arm I see a small hole. I think it served to fasten something—a bracelet, for example—which this Myron, being an unhappy lover, gave to Venus as an expiatory offering. Venus was irritated against him; he appeased her by consecrating to her a gold bracelet. ”

“ Pliny tells us of a marine Scolopendra, but this was most probably a species of marine worm.
Linnaeus included Myriapods among the Insects; and the writers after him till the beginning of this century classed them with all sorts of Insects, with Spiders, Scorpions, and even among Serpents. It was Leach who first raised them to the importance of a separate class, and Latreille first gave them the name of Myriapoda, which they have retained ever since.
Myriapods are terrestrial animals, crawling or creeping on the ground or on logs of wood, or even under the bark of trees. ”

“ Then the Myrmidon choked, swallowed, straightened and said, his face purple: "All this incense. Not like what we've got over at the All-Father's Temple. Enough to choke a man to death."
Forrester murmured politely.
"Back to business—right?" He favored Forrester with [16] a rather savage-looking smile, and Forrester allowed his own lips to curve gently and respectfully upward.
It didn't look as if he were going to be killed, after all.
"Important instructions for you," the Myrmidon said. "From the Pontifex Maximus. And not to be repeated to any mortal—understand?" ”

“ The under surface of the body is light-colored, and is often somewhat areolated. There are some specimens whose pattern of coloration is light brown or fawn colored, with two lateral and one median dark stripe. Are these individuals which have recently cast off their exuviæ? The eye-patches are somewhat parabolic. The joints of the antennæ are obconical, dark colored, and tipped with white. The lateral processes are small. The grooving of the scuta is in some specimens somewhat obsolete on the dorsum. The posterior scutum is light colored. I have never identified a male. ”

“ It is natural that a lover should see Venus in a dream and imagine that she commands him to give a gold bracelet to her statue. Myron consecrated the bracelet to her. Then the barbarians or some other sacrilegious thieves—"
"Ah! it is easy to see you have written romances!" cried my host, helping me down from the pedestal. "No, sir; it is a work of Myron's school. You have only to look at the workmanship to be convinced of that." ”

“ The poorly developed nervous system and organs of special sense, the short weak legs, and the weak muscular and large intestinal development, all point to the vegetable nature of the food of this order and the associated sluggish habits, which indications the total absence of offensive armature confirms.
M. Brandt (Recueil) divided the Myriapoda into Myriapoda manducentia and Myriapoda sugentia. The former comprises all those which are provided with mandibles or jaws for seizing or devouring food. ”

“ Myrtillus was not proof againt the offer: in consequence, the chariot was overturned, and Œnomaüs mortally injured; but as he expired, he implored Pelops to avenge him, which he did by throwing the treacherous attendant into the sea. The waters having borne back his body to the shore, Mercury changed it to the shrub called after his name, Myrtillus, a name formerly given to the plant producing the Myrtle-berry, a fruit largely imported in the middle ages, and used in medicine and cookery—of the same genus as the English Bilberry, which is often found growing on the sea-shore. ”

“ There is another kind of eel also, called the myrus. But the myrus, as Aristotle says, in the fifth book of his treatise on the Parts of Animals, differs from the lamprey; this latter being a variegated fish, and less powerful than the other; while the myrus is a fish of one uniform colour, and strong, and its whole colour is like that of the wryneck, and it has teeth both within and without. And Dorion says, that the myrus has no small bones running through its flesh, but that it is in every part eatable, and exceedingly soft ”

“ The myrmecia is a prominence of the skin, small, callous, round, thick, spreading deep at the base, and, if rubbed, occasioning a sensation like the bites of ants, and being formed in all parts of the body, but more especially in the hands. ”

“ Light yellow; body very depressed, rather broad, anteriorly slightly narrowed; head large; cephalic segment subtriangular; antennæ short, moniliform, posteriorly slightly depressed, thick, anteriorly cylindrical, not acuminate, with a few soft, very short hairs; labium short, broad, anteriorly obsoletely bidentate, impressed with a slightly pronounced median sulcus; mandibles thick; scuta very short, without sutures, but with sometimes an obscure median line; sterna very short, each with a single submedian ovate depression, most conspicuous on the anterior portion of the body ”