Page:Greek and Roman Mythology.djvu/107

 C. THE GKEEK HEKOES 122. The warrior champions of the early ages were called ' heroes ' (17/00*9) ; but their worship as demigods does not surely date back beyond the ninth, or perhaps the eighth, century B.C., when it was recognized among the Aeolian tribes, particularly by the Boeotians, with whom also the worship of ancestors, a custom of very ancient origin, was always kept up. In almost every case the hero's grave, the customary place of sacrifice, was the central point of his worship. In art they usually appear as warrior champions, often 011 horseback, or sitting on a throne, or reclining on a couch in their grave and feasting (if this is the correct interpretation of the ' funeral meal reliefs '), surrounded by their adorers. Therefore besides their armor and horse, and the serpent which has been shown above ( 5) to be the representative of the soul, a cup became their usual attribute. 1. THEBAN LEGENDS 123. Cadmus, the founder of Cadmea, to which he him- self as its eponymous hero owes his name, was the legen- dary ancestor of the noble tribe which settled on the site of the citadel of Thebes. At a neighboring spring dwelt a dragon descended from Ares. This Cadmus slew, and 93