Page:The Ancient City- A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome.djvu/203

 CHAP. VI. THE GODS 0"F THE CITY. 19T protectors Eurystheus, though he was an Argivc ; but Euripides explains the origin of this worship when he brings Eurystheus upon the stage, about to die, and maiies liini say to the Athenians, "Bury me in Attica. I will be propitious to you, and in the bosorn of the ground I will be for your country a protecting guest." ' The entire tragedy of (Edipus Coloneus rests upon this belief Athens and Thebes contend over the body, of a man who is about to die, and who will become a god. It was a great piece of good fortune for a city to possess the bodies of men of some mark." Mantinea spoke with jiride of the bones of Areas, Thebes of those of Geryon, Messene of those of Aristomenes.^ To pro- cure these precious relics, ruse was sometimes resorted to. Herodotus relates by what unfair means the Spar- tans carried off the bones of Orestes.^ These bones, it is true, to which the soul of a hero was attached, gave the Spartans a victory immediately. As soon .is Athens had acquired power, the first use she made of it was to seize upon the bones of Theseus, who had been buried in the Isle of Scyros, and to build a temple for them in the city, in order to increase the number of her protecting deities. Besides these gods and heroes, men had gods of an- other species, like Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, towards ■whom the aspect of nature had directed their thoughts; but we have seen that these creations of human intelli- C2. Pausanias, X. 23. Pindar, Nem., Go. Herodotus, V. 47. • Eurip., Heracl. 1032. » Pausani.-is, IV. 32; VIII. 9. ■• Herodotus, I. 68.
 * Pausanias, I. 43. Polyb., VIH.30. PIautus,7'nn., II. 2, 14.