slight; yet who can think of the Greeks without remembering the story of Troy, or of Rome without a backward glance at Æneas, fabled founder of the race and hero of Virgil's world-famous Latin epic? Any understanding of German civilization would be incomplete without knowledge of the mythical prince Siegfried, hero of the earliest literature of the Teutonic people, finally immortalized in the nineteenth century through the musical dramas of Wagner. Any understanding of English civilization would be similarly incomplete without the semi-historic figure of King Arthur, glorified through the accumulated legends of the Middle Ages and made to live again in the melodic idylls of the great Victorian laureate. And so one might go on. In many ways the mythology and folklore of a country are a truer index to the life of its people than any of the pages of actual history; for through these channels the imagination and the heart speak. All the chronicles of rulers and governing bodies are as dust in comparison.
The imagination of the ancients had few if any bounds, and even Athens in the height of her intellectual glory accepted the fabulous tales of gods and half-gods. Today we read and wonder. But the child, who in his brief lifetime must live over in part at least the history of the whole race, delights in the myths and legends which made his ancestors admire or tremble. They are naturally not so real to him as they were to his forefathers; yet they open up a rich and gorgeous wonderland, without excursions into which every child must grow up the poorer in mind and spirit.
To the children of America, wherever they may be, this book is dedicated. It is sure to bring enjoyment, because its stories have stood the test of time.
ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR
| Lohengrin and Elsa the Beautiful. | |
| Elsa on Her Knees Before Lohengrin | Cover |
| The Good King Arthur. | |
| Then Arthur Drew Out the Sword and was Proclaimed King | Frontispiece |
| Prometheus, the Friend of Man. | PAGE |
| Prometheus Punished for His Gift to Man | 9 |
| The Labors of Hercules. | |
| The Hero Approached the Dreadful Monster | 19 |
| Deucalion and Pyrrha. | |
| Deucalion and Pyrrha Casting the Bones of Their Mother Behind Them | 31 |
| Theseus and the Centaur. | |
| The Centaur Fell Backward | 35 |
| Niobe. | |
| Niobe Weeping for Her Children | 40 |
| The Gorgon's Head. | |
| Perseus Slaying the Medusa | 60 |
| The Golden Fleece. | |
| The Dragon Fell at Full Length Upon the Ground | 104 |
| The Cyclops. | |
| The One-eyed Polyphemus | 108 |
| Œdipus and the Sphinx. | |
| Œdipus Stood Before the Sphinx | 116 |
| Antigone, the Faithful Daughter and Sister. | |
| The Blind Œdipus, Led by His Daughter Antigone | 118 |
| The Story of Iphigenia. | |
| Iphigenia About to be Sacrificed | 140 |
| The Sack of Troy. | |
| The Trojan Horse | 153 |
| Beowulf and Grendel. | |
| Beowulf Face to Face With the Fire-breathing Dragon | 170 |
| The Great Knight Siegfried. | |
| Siegfried Came Off Victor in Every Encounter | 214 |
| Frithiof the Bold. | |
| Frithiof and Ingeborg in the Temple of Balder | 230 |
| Wayland the Smith. | |
| Wayland the Smith, Wearing the Wings He had Fashioned | 234 |
| Twardowski, the Polish Faust. | |
| Twardowski in the Arms of the Evil One | 242 |
| Ilia Muromec of Russia. | |
| Zidovin Threw the Iron Club High Into the Air and Caught It with One Hand | 244 |
| Kralewitz Marko of Servia. | |
| They Gagged Marko and Bound Him to His Horse | 246 |
| The Decision of Libuscha. | |
| Libuscha Insulted by Chrudis | 248 |
