BOOK II.
CHAPTER III.
THE LOST TREASURE.
Section I— THE GOLDEN FLEECE.
The myth of stolen treasure found among the Aryan nations.
The idea of wealth is one of the most prominent characteristics in the legends of Helios, Ixion, Sisyphos, and Tantalos. The golden palace of Helios, blazing with intolerable splendour, is reflected in the magnificent home of the Phrygian and Corinthian kings. So dazzling indeed is the brilliance of this treasure-house that none may look closely upon it and live. Hence Dia the beautiful wife of Ixion has never seen her husband's wealth, as the Dawn may never see the sun when high in the heavens : and her father Hesioneus who insists on being put into possession of all the glorious things which Ixion said should follow his union with Dia, the radiant morning, finds himself plunged into a gulf of fire. These treasures, in the myth of Prokris, Eos herself bestows on Kephalos that he may beguile the gentle daughter of the dew. They are the beautiful flowers which bloom in the Hyperborean gardens, the wonderful web ^T0ught and un^Tought by Penelope, the riches which the suitors waste in the absence of Odysseus, the herds of cattle which are fed by the glisten- ing nymphs who rise from the ocean stream. They are the light of day in all its varied aspects and with all its wonderful powers. With them is bound up the idea of life, health, and joy : and hence, when these treasures are taken away, the very blackness of desolation must follow. What can the sons of men do, when the bright being who has gladdened their eyes is taken from their sight? Must they not either sit still in utter despair or wait with feverish impatience until they see his kindly face again ? What again must be the drama of those dark and dreary hours which pass between the setting of the sun and its rising ? What must be the history of the silent time ending in the batde which precedes the defeat of the powers of darkness? That mighty conflict they might see every morning in the eastern heavens, as the first light flickers faintly across the sky, only to be driven back, as it would seem, until it returns with fresh
