Now, you must not think of them in this book as learned men, living in great cities, such as they were afterwards, when they wrought all their beautiful works, but as country people, living in farms and walled villages, in a simple, hard-working way; so that the greatest kings and heroes cooked their own meals, and thought it no shame, and made their own ships and weapons, and fed and harnessed their own horses; and the queens worked with their maid-servants, and did all the business of the house, and spun, and wove, and embroidered, and made their husbands’ clothes and their own. So that a man was honoured among them, not because he happened to be rich, but according to his skill, and his strength, and courage, and the number of things which he could do. For they were but grown-up children, though they were right noble children too; and it was with them as it is now at school—the strongest and cleverest boy, though he be poor, leads all the rest.

Now, while they were young and simple they loved fairy tales, as you do now. All nations do so when they are young: our old forefathers did, and called their stories ‘Sagas.’ I will read you some of them some day—some of the Eddas, and the Voluspà, and Beowulf, and the noble old Romances. The old Arabs, again, had their tales, which we now call the ‘Arabian Nights.’ The old Romans had theirs, and they called them ‘Fabulæ,’ from which our word ‘fable’ comes; but the old Hellens called theirs ‘Muthoi,’ from which our new word ‘myth’ is taken. But next to those old Romances, which were written in the Christian middle age, there are no fairy tales like these old Greek ones, for beauty, and wisdom, and truth, and for making children love noble deeds, and trust in God to help them through.

Now, why have I called this book ‘The Heroes’? Because that was the name which the Hellens gave to men who were brave and skilful, and dare do more than other men. At first, I think, that was all it meant: but after a time it came to mean something more; it came to mean men who helped their country; men in those old times, when the country was half-wild, who killed fierce beasts and evil men, and drained swamps, and founded towns, and therefore after they were dead, were honoured, because they had left their country better than they found it. And we call such a man a hero in English to this day, and call it a ‘heroic’ thing to suffer pain and grief, that we may do good to our fellow-men. We may all do that, my children, boys and girls alike; and we ought to do it, for it is easier now than ever, and safer, and the path more clear. But you shall hear how the Hellens said their heroes worked, three thousand years ago. The stories are not all true, of course, nor half of them; you are not simple enough to fancy that; but the meaning of them is true, and true for ever, and that is—Do right, and God will help you.’

FARLEY COURT, Advent, 1855.

CONTENTS

STORY I.—PERSEUS PAGE PART I. HOW PERSEUS AND HIS MOTHER CAME TO SERIPHOS 1 II. HOW PERSEUS VOWED A RASH VOW 8 III. HOW PERSEUS SLEW THE GORGON 23 IV. HOW PERSEUS CAME TO THE ÆTHIOPS 36 V. HOW PERSEUS CAME HOME AGAIN 53 STORY II.—THE ARGONAUTS PART I. HOW THE CENTAUR TRAINED THE HEROES ON PELION 60 II. HOW JASON LOST HIS SANDAL IN ANAUROS 73 III. HOW THEY BUILT THE SHIP ‘ARGO’ IN IOLCOS 87 III. HOW THE ARGONAUTS SAILED TO COLCHIS 93 IV. HOW THE ARGONAUTS WERE DRIVEN INTO THE 127 UNKNOWN SEA V. WHAT WAS THE END OF THE HEROES 161 STORY III.—THESEUS PART I. HOW THESEUS LIFTED THE STONE 165 II. HOW THESEUS SLEW THE DEVOURERS OF MEN 172 III. HOW THESEUS SLEW THE MINOTAUR 206 IV. HOW THESEUS FELL BY HIS PRIDE 214

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[I owe an apology to the few scholars who may happen to read this hasty jeu d’esprit, for the inconsistent method in which I have spelt Greek names. The rule which I have tried to follow has been this: when the word has been hopelessly Latinised, as ‘Phœbus’ has been, I have left it as it usually stands; but in other cases I have tried to keep the plain Greek spelling, except when it would have seemed pedantic, or when, as in the word ‘Tiphus,’ I should have given an altogether wrong notion of the sound of the word. It has been a choice of difficulties, which has been forced on me by our strange habit of introducing boys to the Greek myths, not in their original shape, but in a Roman disguise.]

STORY I.—PERSEUS