The story of the Symplegades may be a reference to the rolling and clashing of icebergs. The dove incident occurs in many ancient stories, from that of Noah down.
Talking Oak ALFRED TENNYSON Life and Death of Jason WILLIAM MORRIS Æson and King Athamas FREDERICK TENNYSON
Medea's preparations for her magic potion are like the incantations of the witches in Macbeth, Act IV, Sc. I.
"Round about the caldron go; In the poison'd entrails throw.
Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing:
Witches' mummy; maw and gulf Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark," etc.
Medea's sorceries were assisted by the prayers that she addressed to Hecate, a mysterious divinity who embodied the terrors of the darkness. She haunted cross roads and graveyards; and, being goddess of sorcery and witchcraft, wandered only by night and was seen only by dogs, whose barking told of her approach.
Translations of the Medea of Euripides are by Augusta Webster, William C. Lawton, and Wodhull.
Atalanta's Race in "The Earthly Paradise" WILLIAM MORRIS
Atalanta in Calydon ALGERNON C. SWINBURNE
Dædalus shared with Æolus the honor of inventing sails for the ships hitherto propelled by oars.
Dædalus could never bear the idea of a rival; and when his nephew Perdix was apprenticed to him, the lad gave such promise of excelling his teacher in mechanical arts that Dædalus grew to hate him. One day when Perdix was walking on the seashore he picked up the spine of a fish, and later on he imitated it in iron, thus inventing the saw. He also invented a pair of compasses. Then Dædalus, envious of his nephew's skill, pushed him off a tower and killed him; but Minerva, pitying the boy, changed him into a partridge, which bears his name.
Castor and Pollux were deities of boxing, wrestling, and all equestrian exercises. They were generally seen mounted on snow-white horses, and their appearance on the battle-field was a good omen for the army among whom they came. The Romans believed that they fought at the head of their legions at the famous battle of Lake Regillus.
Theseus and Hippolyta WALTER S. LANDOR Ariadne FREDERICK TENNYSON Hippolytus of Euripides Phædra ALGERNON C. SWINBURNE Phædra in "The Epic of Hades" LEWIS MORRIS