Lives of Alcyone

however was that Aries (or rather the schemer behind him) was to
gain possession of Mizar, a young brother of Alcyone, and push him
into some of the mysteries of the darker cult. The plotters had
contrived to obtain a certain hold over Mizar in consequence of
some small youthful indiscretions of his which they threatened to
expose, and he was besides, somewhat dazzled by the splendid
prospects of success and power which they held out to him.
Mercury, however, was determined that no son of hers should fall
under the their influence, and she strongly urged Alcyone to take a
determined stand in the matter and to declare open war if
necessary.
An appeal was made to Ulysses about the affair, and the case
was so pressed upon him that, even though he was sunk into a kind
of stupor under the constant obsession of some of the entities
directed by Aries, he found it difficult not to give ear to Alcyone’ s
representations. Aries, however, seeing his plans to be in some
danger, appealed to the weak side of Ulysses by proposing a
spectacular exhibition of magic, in which he undertook finally to
overthrow Alcyone and dispose of his pretensions to knowledge.
Ulysses, who had a great love for theatrical display of any sort,
immediately consented to this, as it had every appearance of
fairness, and yet relieved him from the trouble of coming to a
decision; so at an appointed time he summoned all the parties
before him, and contrived what practically amounted to a public
contest in magic before his assembled court.
It seemed a very unequal contest, for Aries was a man of
great reputation, thoroughly well-equipped with a certain amount of
science on the physical plane and also with capable co-adjucators