By whom was the temple of Janus founded?
In how long was it only thrice shut?
What does the story of Janus teach?

CHAPTER III.

VULCAN. HIS SERVANTS AND SONS

VULCAN is both a smith and a god, and had a shop in the island Lemnos, where he exercised his trade, and where, though he was a god himself, he made Jupiter's thunder and the arms of the other gods. He was born of Jupiter and Juno, some say of Juno only; and being contemptible for his deformity, was cast down from heaven into the island Lemnos, whence he is called Lemnius: he broke his leg with the fall, and if the Lemnians had not caught him when he fell, he had certainly broke his neck: he has ever since been lame. *In requital of their kindness, he fixed his seat among them, and set up the craft of a smith; teaching them the manifold uses of fire and iron; and from softening and polishing iron, the received the name Mulciber, or Mulcifer. He was the god of fire, the inventor and patron of the art of fabricating arms and all kinds of utensils from the metals. His most celebrated works are the famous palace of the sun; the armour of Achilles and Æneas; the beautiful necklace of Hermione, and the crown of Ariadne. According to Homer, the shield of Achilles was enamelled with metals of various co

lours, and contained twelve historical designs, with

* Τιὸν ἔχεις τὸν Έρωτα, γυναῖκα, δε τὴν ̓Αφροδίτην,
Ουκ αδίκως χαλκεν τον πόδα χωλὸς ἔχεις.
Cupid is Vulcan's son, Venus his wife,
No wonder then he goes lame all his life.
A mulcendo ferro. Vide Lucan. 1. 1.

groups of figures of great beauty: the seats which Vulcan constructed for the gods were so contrived, that they came self-moved from the sides of the apartment to the place where each god seated himself at the table when a council was to be held. He is described by Homer in the midst of his works:

-the silver footed dame

Reach'd the Vulcanian dome, eternal frame!
High-eminent, amid the works divine,

Where heaven's far beaming brazen mansions shine.
There the lame Architect the goddess found,
Obscure in smoke, his forges flaming round;
While bath'd in sweat, from fire to fire he flew,
And, puffing loud, the roaring bellows blew.
Then from his anvil the lame artist rose;
Wide with distorted legs oblique he goes,
And stills the bellows, and, in order laid,
Locks in their chest the instruments of trade.
Then with a sponge the sooty workman drest
His brawny arms imbrown'd, and hairy breast:
With his huge sceptre grac'd, and red attire,
Came halting forth the sov reign of the fire.-Homer.

He obtained in marriage the most beautiful goddess Venus; who behaved treacherously towards him, as has been already noticed. He desired to marry Minerva, and Jupiter consented, if he could overcome her modesty. For when Vulcan made arms for the gods, Jupiter gave him leave to choose out of the goddesses a wife, and he chose Minerva ; `but he admonished her at the same time to refuse him, as she successfully did.

At Rome were celebrated the Vulcania, feasts in honour of Vulcan; at which they threw animals into the fire to be burnt to death. The Athenians instituted other feasts to his honour, called Chalsea. A temple besides was dedicated to him upon the mountain Etna, from which he is sometimes named Ætnæus. This temple was guarded by dogs, whose sense of smelling was so exquisite, that they could discern whether the persons that came thither were chaste and religious, or whether they were wicked ;

3

they used to meet, and flatter and follow the good, esteeming them the acquaintance and friends of Vulcan their master.

It is feigned, that the first woman was fashioned by the hammer of Vulcan, and that every god gave her some present, whence she was called Pandora. Pallas gave her wisdom, Apollo the art of music, Mercury the art of eloquence, Venus gave her beauty, and the rest of the gods gave her other accomplishments. They say also, that when Prometheus stole fire from heaven, to animate the man which he had made, Jupiter was incensed, and sent Pandora to Prometheus with a sealed box, but Prometheus would not receive it. He sent her with the same box again to the wife of Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus; and she, out of a curiosity natural to her sex, opened it, which as soon as she had done, all sorts of diseases and evils, with which it was filled, flew among mankind, and have infested them ever since. And nothing was left in the bottom of the box but Hope.

Vulcan's servants were called Cyclops, because they had but one eye, which was in the middle of their foreheads, of a circular figure; Neptune and Amphitrite were their parents. The names of three of them were Brontes, Steropes, and Pyracmon : besides these there were many more, all of whom exercised the art of smithery under Vulcan, as we are taught by Virgil.-Æn. 8.

Cacus, so called from his wickedness, tormented all Latium with his fires and robberies; living like a beast in a dismal cave. He stole Hercules' oxen, and dragged them backward by their tails into his cave, that the track of their feet might not discover this repository of his thefts. But Hercules passing by, heard the lowing of the oxen in the cave, broke open the doors, and seizing the villain, put him to , death.-Virg. n. 8.