Part 9 (2/2)
”There in state old Cerberus sate, A three-headed dog, as cruel as Fate, Guarding the entrance early and late.”
Saxe.
From thence a long subterranean pa.s.sage, through which shadowy spirits glided incessantly, led to the throne room, where Pluto and Proserpina sat in state, clad in their sable robes. From the foot of this throne flowed the rivers which channeled the Lower World. One, the Cocytus, rolled salt waves, composed of naught but the tears flowing continually from the eyes of the criminals condemned to hard labor in Tartarus, the portion of Hades reserved for the exclusive use of the wicked.
”Cocytus, named of lamentation loud Heard on the rueful stream.”
Homer.
[Sidenote: Rivers of Hades.]
To separate this section from the remainder of his realm, Pluto surrounded it with the Phlegethon, a river of fire; while the Acheron, a black and deep stream, was to be pa.s.sed by all souls ere they reached Pluto's throne and heard his decree. The current of this river was so swift, that even the boldest swimmer could not pa.s.s over; and, as there was no bridge, all the spirits were obliged to rely upon the aid of Charon, an aged boatman, who plied the only available skiff--a leaky, worm-eaten punt--from sh.o.r.e to sh.o.r.e. Neither would he allow any soul to enter his bark, unless he was first given a small coin, called the obolus, the ferryman's fare, which the ancients carefully laid under the tongue of the dead, that they might pa.s.s on to Pluto without delay. Charon's leaky boat no sooner touched the sh.o.r.e than a host of eager spirits pressed forward to claim a place. The cruel boatman repulsed them roughly, and brandished his oars, while he leisurely selected those he would next ferry across the stream.
”The s.h.i.+v'ring army stands, And press for pa.s.sage with extended hands. Now these, now those, the surly boatman bore; The rest he drove to distance from the sh.o.r.e.”
Virgil (Dryden's tr.).
All those who could not produce the required obolus were obliged to wait one hundred years, at the end of which time Charon reluctantly ferried them over free of charge.
There was also in Hades the sacred river Styx, by whose waters the G.o.ds swore their most irrevocable oaths; and the blessed Lethe, whose waters had the power to make one forget all unpleasant things, thus preparing the good for a state of endless bliss in the Elysian Fields.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FURIES.--A Study for the Masque of Cupid.--Burne-Jones.]
”Lethe, the river of oblivion, rolls Her wat'ry labrinth, whereof who drinks, Forthwith his former state and being forgets, Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain.”
Milton.
[Sidenote: The judges.]
Near Pluto's throne were seated the three judges of Hades, Minos, Rhadamanthus, and AEacus, whose duty it was to question all newly arrived souls, to sort out the confused ma.s.s of good and bad thoughts and actions, and place them in the scales of Themis, the blindfolded, impartial G.o.ddess of justice, who bore a trenchant sword to indicate that her decrees would be mercilessly enforced. If the good outweighed the evil, the spirit was led to the Elysian Fields; but if, on the contrary, the evil prevailed, the spirit was condemned to suffer in the fires of Tartarus.
”Where his decrees The guilty soul within the burning gates Of Tartarus compel, or send the good To inhabit, with eternal health and peace, The valley of Elysium.”
Akenside.
[Sidenote: The Furies.]
The guilty souls were always intrusted to the three snake-locked Furies (Erinnyes, or Eumenides), who drove them with their stinging lashes to the gates of Tartarus. These deities, who were sisters, and children of Acheron and Nyx, were distinguished by the individual names of Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera, and with Nemesis, G.o.ddess of revenge, were noted for their hard hearts and the merciless manner in which they hurried the ghosts intrusted to their care over the fiery flood of the Phlegethon, and through the brazen gates of their future place of incessant torment.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE THREE FATES.--Thumann.]
”There rolls swift Phlegethon, with thund'ring sound, His broken rocks, and whirls his surges round. On mighty columns rais'd sublime are hung The ma.s.sy gates, impenetrably strong. In vain would men, in vain would G.o.ds essay, To hew the beams of adamant away. Here rose an iron tow'r: before the gate, By night and day, a wakeful Fury sate, The pale Tisiphone; a robe she wore, With all the pomp of horror, dy'd in gore.”
Virgil (C. Pitt's tr.).
[Sidenote: The Fates.]
The three Fates (Moerae, Parcae), sisters, also sat near Pluto's throne. Clotho, the youngest, spun the thread of life, in which the bright and dark lines were intermingled. Lachesis, the second, twisted it; and under her fingers it was now strong, now weak.
”Twist ye, twine ye! even so, Mingle shades of joy and woe, Hope, and fear, and peace, and strife, In the thread of human life.”
Scott.
Atropos, the third sister, armed with a huge pair of shears, remorselessly cut short the thread of life,--an intimation that another soul would ere long find its way down into the dark kingdom of Hades.
[Sidenote: Tartarus.]
When the gates of Tartarus turned on their hinges to receive the newcomer, a chorus of cries, groans, and imprecations from within fell upon his ear, mingled with the whistling of the whips incessantly plied by retributive deities.
”What sounds were heard, What scenes appeared, O'er all the dreary coasts! Dreadful gleams, Dismal screams, Fires that glow, Shrieks of woe, Sullen moans, Hollow groans, And cries of tortured ghosts.”
Pope.
[Sidenote: The Danaides.]
Many victims renowned while on earth for their cruelty found here the just punishment of their sins. Attention was first attracted by a group of beautiful maidens, who carried water to fill a bottomless cask. Down to the stream they hastened, a long procession, filled their urns with water, painfully clambered up the steep and slippery bank, and poured their water into the cask; but when, exhausted and ready to faint from fatigue, they paused to rest for a moment, the cutting lash fell upon their bare shoulders, and spurred them on to renewed efforts to complete a task so hopeless that it has become proverbial.
These fair maidens were the Danaides, daughters of Danaus, who had pledged his fifty daughters to the fifty sons of his brother AEgyptus. The marriage preparations were all completed, when Danaus suddenly remembered an ancient prophecy which had quite escaped his memory, and which foretold that he would perish by the hand of his son-in-law.
It was now too late to prevent the marriages, so, calling his daughters aside, he told them what the oracle had said, and, giving them each a sharp dagger, bade them slay their husbands on their wedding night. The marriages were celebrated, as was customary, with mirth, dance, and song; and the revelry continued until late at night, when, the guests having departed, the newly married couples retired. But as soon as Danaus' daughters were quite certain their husbands were fast asleep, they produced their daggers and slew their mates.
”Danaus arm'd each daughter's hand To stain with blood the bridal bed.”
Euripides (Potter's tr.).
One of the brides only, Hypermnestra, loved her husband too dearly to obey her father's command, and, when morning broke, only forty-nine of AEgyptus' sons were found lifeless. The sole survivor, Lynceus, to avenge his brothers' death, slew Danaus, thus fulfilling the ominous prophecy; while the G.o.ds, incensed by the Danaides' heartlessness, sent them to Hades, where they were compelled to fill the bottomless cask.
[Sidenote: Tantalus.]
Tartarus also detained within its brazen portals a cruel king named Tantalus (the father of Niobe), who, while on earth, had starved and ill-treated his subjects, insulted the immortal G.o.ds, and on one occasion had even dared to cook and serve up to them his own son Pelops. Most of the G.o.ds were immediately aware of the deception practiced upon them, and refused the new dish; but Ceres, who was very melancholy on account of the recent loss of her daughter, paid no heed to what was offered her, and in a fit of absent-mindedness ate part of the lad's shoulder.
The G.o.ds in pity restored the youth to life, and Ceres replaced the missing shoulder with one of ivory or of gold. Driven away from his kingdom, which was seized by the King of Troy, Pelops took refuge in Greece, where he ruled the extensive peninsula, the Peloponnesus, which still bears his name.
To punish the inhuman Tantalus, the G.o.ds then sent him to Tartarus, where he stood up to his chin in a stream of pure water, tormented with thirst; for, whenever he stooped to drink, the waters fled from his parched lips. Over his head hung a branch of luscious fruit. His hunger was as intolerable as his thirst; but, whenever he clutched at the fruit, the branch swung upward, and eluded his eager grasp.
”Above, beneath, around his hapless head, Trees of all kinds delicious fruitage spread. The fruit he strives to seize; but blasts arise, Toss it on high, and whirl it to the skies.”
Homer (Pope's tr.).
This singular punishment inflicted upon Tantalus gave rise to the expression ”to tantalize.”
[Sidenote: Sisyphus.]
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