Cox, George - Aryan Mythology Vol 2.pdf

HERE AND ZEUS. 11
and Echidna, and afterwards by Aigle, Erytheia, Hestia CHAP,
and Arethousa, the glistening children of Hesperos, whether -—_^ *
in Libya or in the Hyperborean gardens of Atlas. 1
Throughout the Iliad, which makes no mention of this Relations
incident, the will of Here, though compelled to submit, is by and Sre.
no means always in harmony with the will of Zeus. The
Argives, the children of the bright evening land, are exclu-
and the story of the judgment
sively the objects of her love ;
of Paris was designed to furnish a reason for this exclusive
favour. So the tale went that when the gods were assem-
bled at the marriage board of Thetis and Peleus, Eris flung
on the table a golden apple to be given to the fairest
of the fair. The trial which follows before the shepherd of
Ida (the sun still resting on the slopes of the earth which he
loves) is strictly in accordance with the mythical characters
of Here and Athene, as well as of Aphrodite, to whom, as
the embodiment of the mere physical loveliness of the dawn
(apart from the ideas of wisdom or power underlying the
conceptions of Here and Athene), the golden prize is
awarded. Henceforth Aphrodite threw in her weight on
the side of the Trojans, while Athene and Here gave their
aid to the kinsfolk or the avengers of Helen. But the
way was not so clear to Zeus as it seemed to be to Here.
Hektor himself was the darling of Apollon, and here alone
was a reason why Zeus should not be eager to bring about
the victory of the Achaians ; but among the allies of Priam
there were others in whose veins his own blood was running,
the Aithiopian Memnon, the child of the morning, Glaukos,
the brave chieftain from the land of light, and, dearest of all,
Sarpedon. Here at once there were causes of strife between
Zeus and his queen, and in these quarrels Here wins her
ends partly by appealing to his policy or his fears, or by
obtaining from Aphrodite her girdle of irresistible power.
Only once do we hear of any attempt at force, and this
instance is furnished by the conspiracy in which she plots
with Poseidon and Athene to make Zeus a prisoner. This
scheme is defeated by Thetis and Briareos, and perhaps with
this may be connected the story that Zeus once hung up
1 Apollod. ii. 5, 11.