Page:Greek and Roman Mythology.djvu/99

THE GREEK GODS 85 of youth. In Attica they were named Thallo ( ( the blooming one '), Carpo (' the fruit-bringer '), and, per- haps, Auxo ('the increase! 1 '). In Homer they open and shut the gates of heaven, i.e. they gather and disperse the clouds. Afterwards, also, they were considered the dispensers of rain and dew. In art the regularity of the recurrence of the seasons was expressed by repre- senting the Horae as engaged in the dance. This, too, made them appear as protectresses of order ; and so they were named also Eunomia ('good order'), Dike (< jus- tice 7 ), and Irene (' peace'). Irene was extensively wor- shiped in Athens as an individual divinity ; rising above the market place stood a bronze statue of her, made by Cephisodotus. She was represented holding on her arm the child Plutus (' riches '), since riches increase in time of peace. There is a marble copy of this work in Munich. The mother of these Horae was Themis (' law '), who often bore the epithet Soteira ('savior'). She had sanctuaries at Athens, Delphi, Thebes, Olympia, and Troe- zen. She was represented as an austere, grave-looking woman, holding the cornucopia of blessing, and a balance as a symbol of justice, which weighs with exactness. Aphrodite (Venus) : Homer, II. iii., et passim; Ovid, Met. iv. 171 sq., Amor. i. 8, 42 ; Vergil, Aen. i. passim ; Horace, Od. i. 4, 5 ; Hyginus, Fab. cxcvii. ; Cowper, Translation from Milton i. : Venus, preferring Paphian scenes no more. Shak., The Tempest iv. 1, 93, Midsummer Night's Dream i. 1, 171, iii. 2, 61, Rape of Lucrece 9, Passionate Pilgrim passim; Chaucer, Knight's Tale 244. Adonis : Ovid, Met. x. 532 : Caelo praefertur Adonis. Vergil, Eel. x. 18 ; Hyginus, Fab. ccxlviii. ; Pope, Summer 61 : In woods bright Venus with Adonis stray'd ;