Hymĕnæus

and Hymen , the god of marriage among the Greeks, was son of Bacchus and Venus, or, according to others, of Apollo and one of the muses. Hymenæus, according to the more received opinions, was a young A then i an of extraordinary beauty, but ignoble origin. He became enamoured of the daughter of one of the richest and noblest of his countrymen, and, as the rank and elevation of his mistre removed him from her presence and conversation, he contented himself to follow her wherever she went. In a certain proce ion, in which all the matrons of Athens went to Eleusis, Hymenæus, to accompany his mistre , disguised himself in woman’s clothes, and joined the religious troop. His youth, and the fairne of his features, favoured his disguise. A great part of the proce ion was seized by the sudden arrival of some pirates, and Hymenæus, who shared the captivity of his mistre , encouraged his female companions, and a a inated their ravishers while they were asleep. Immediately after this, Hymenæus repaired to Athens, and promised to restore to liberty the matrons who had been enslaved, provided he was allowed to marry one among them who was the object of his pa ion. The A then i ans consented, and Hymenæus experienced so much felicity in his marriage state, that the people of Athens instituted festivals in his honour, and solemnly invoked him at their nuptials, as the Latins did their Thala ius. Hymen was generally represented as crowned with flowers, chiefly with marjoram or roses, and holding a burning torch in one hand, and in the other a vest of a purple colour. It was supposed that he always attended at nuptials; for, if not, matrimonial connections were fatal, and ended in the most dreadful calamities; and hence people ran about calling aloud, “Hymen! Hymen!” . Ovid , Medeâ ; Metamorphoses , bk. 12 , li. 215 .— Virgil , Æneid , bk. 1 , . — Catullus , poem 62.