rom the
beginning, in her very nature, that as she walked along upon the sands
of the shore, when she first emerged from the sea, plants and flowers
of the richest verdure and beauty sprang up at her feet wherever she
stepped. She was, besides, in her own person, inexpressibly beautiful;
and in addition to the natural influence of her charms, she was endued
with the supernatural power of inspiring the sentiment of love in all
who beheld her.

From Cythera the goddess made her way over by sea to Cyprus, where she
remained for some time, amid the gorgeous and magnificent scenery of
that enchanting island. Here she had two children, beautiful boys.
Their names were Eros and Anteros. Each of these children remained
perpetually a child, and Eros, in later times called Cupid, became the
god of "love bestowed," while Anteros was the God of "love returned."
After this the mother and the boys roamed about the world,--now in the
heavenly regions above, and now among mortals on the plains and in the
valleys below: they sometimes appeared openly, in their true forms,
sometimes they assumed disguises, and sometimes they were wholly
invisible; but whether seen or unseen, they were always busy in
performing their functions--the mother inspiring everywhere, in the
minds both of gods and men, the tenderest sentiments of beauty and
desire,--while Eros awakened love in the heart of one person for
another, and Anteros made it his duty to tease and punish those who
thus became objects of affection, if they did not return the love.

After some time, Aphrodite and her boys found their way to the
heavenly regions of Mount Olympus, where the great divinities
resided,[C] and there they soon produced great trouble, by enkindling
the flames of love in the hearts of the divinities themselves, causing
them, by her magic power, to fall in love not only with one another,
but also with mortal men and women on the earth below. In retaliation
upon Aphrodite for this mischief, Jupiter, by his supreme power,
inspired Aphrodite herself with a sentiment of love. The object of her
affection was Anchises, a handsome youth, of the royal family of Troy,
who lived among the mountains of Ida, not far from the city.

[Footnote C: See Map, page 61.]

The way in which it happened that the affection of Aphrodite turned
toward an inhabitant of Mount Ida was this. There had been at one time
a marriage among the divinities, and a certain goddess who had not
been inv