, and crowned with flowers by the Seasons, was conducted to the
house of Epimetheus[9] by Hermes the messenger of the gods. Now Epimetheus
had been warned by his brother not to accept any gift whatever from the
gods; but he was so fascinated by the beautiful being who suddenly appeared
before him, that he welcomed her to his home, and made her his wife. It was
not long, however, before he had cause to regret his weakness.

He had in his possession a jar of rare workmanship, containing all the
blessings reserved by the gods for mankind, which he had been expressly
forbidden to open. But woman's proverbial curiosity could not withstand so
great a temptation, and Pandora determined to solve the mystery at any
cost. Watching her opportunity she raised the lid, and immediately all the
blessings which {26} the gods had thus reserved for mankind took wing and
flew away. But all was not lost. Just as Hope (which lay at the bottom) was
about to escape, Pandora hastily closed the lid of the jar, and thus
preserved to man that never-failing solace which helps him to bear with
courage the many ills which assail him.[10]

Having punished mankind, Zeus determined to execute vengeance on
Prometheus. He accordingly chained him to a rock in Mount Caucasus, and
sent an eagle every day to gnaw away his liver, which grew again every
night ready for fresh torments. For thirty years Prometheus endured this
fearful punishment; but at length Zeus relented, and permitted his son
Heracles (Hercules) to kill the eagle, and the sufferer was released.

* * * * *

THIRD DYNASTY--OLYMPIAN DIVINITIES.

ZEUS[11] (JUPITER).

Zeus, the great presiding deity of the universe, the ruler of heaven and
earth, was regarded by the Greeks, first, as the god of all aerial
phenomena; secondly, as the personification of the laws of nature; thirdly,
as lord of state-life; and fourthly, as the father of gods and men.

As the god of aerial phenomena he could, by shaking his aegis,[12] produce
storms, tempests, and intense darkness. At his command the mighty thunder
rolls, the lightning flashes, and the clouds open and pour forth their
refreshing streams to fructify the earth.

As the personification of the operations of nature, he represents those
grand laws of unchanging and harmonious order, by which not only the
physical but also {27} the moral world is governed. Hence he is the god of
regulated time as marked by the changing s