HKB
Calliope rises, and, having her long hair gathered up with ivy, tunes with her thumb the sounding chords; and {then} sings these lines in concert with the strings when struck.”
[Footnote 23: Polydectes.--Ver. 242. Polydectes was king of the little island of Seriphus, one of the Cyclades. His brother Dictys had removed Perseus, with his mother Danaë, to the kingdom of Polydectes. The latter became smitten with love for Danaë, though he was about to marry Hippodamia. On this occasion he exacted a promise from Perseus, of the head of the Gorgon Medusa. When Perseus returned victorious, he found that his mother, with her protector Dictys, had taken refuge at the altars of the Deities, against the violence of Polydectes; on which Perseus changed him into stone. The story of Perseus afforded abundant materials to the ancient poets. Æschylus wrote a Tragedy called Polydectes, Sophocles one called Danaë, while Euripides composed two, called respectively Danaë and Dictys. Pherecydes also wrote on this subject, and his work seems to have been a text book for succeeding poets. Polygnotus painted the return of Perseus with the head of Medusa, to the island of Seriphus.]
[Footnote 24: To her brother.--Ver. 250. As both Tritonia, or Minerva, and Perseus had Jupiter for their father.]
[Footnote 25: Gyarus.--Ver. 252. Cythnus and Gyarus were two islands of the Cyclades.]
[Footnote 26: The new fountain.--Ver. 256. This was Helicon, which was produced by a blow from the hoof of Pegasus.]
[Footnote 27: Urania.--Ver. 260. One of the Muses, who presided over Astronomy.]
[Footnote 28: Mnemonian.--Ver. 268. The Muses are called ‘Mnemonides,’ from the Greek word μνήμων ‘remembering,’ or ‘mindful,’ because they were said to be the daughters, by Jupiter, of Mnemosyne, or Memory.]
[Footnote 29: Phocean.--Ver. 276. Daulis was a city of Phocis; a district between Bœotia and Ætolia, in which the city of Delphi and Mount Parnassus were situate.]
[Footnote 30: Our Divinities.--Ver. 279. ‘Nostra veneratus numina,’ is translated by Clarke, ‘and worshipping our Goddessships.’]
[Footnote 31: Some saluting them.--Ver. 295. That is, crying out χαῖρε, χαῖρε, the usual salutation among the Greeks, equivalent to our ‘How d’ye do?’ From two lines of Persius, it seems to have been a common thing to teach parrots and magpies to repeat these words.]
[Footnote 32: Lands of Pella.--Ver. 302. Pella was a city of Macedonia, in that part of it which was called Emathia. It was famed for being the birthplace of Philip, and Alexander the Great.]
[Footnote 33: Pæonian.--Ver. 303. Pæonia was a mountainous region of Macedonia, adjacent to Emathia.]
[Footnote 34: Evippe.--Ver. 303. Evippe was the wife of Pierus, and the mother of the Pierides.]
[Footnote 35: Achaia.--Ver. 306. The Achaia here mentioned was the Hæmonian, or Thessalian Achaia. The other parts of Thessaly were Phthiotis and Pelasgiotis.]
[Footnote 36: Aganippe.--Ver. 312. Aganippe was the name of a fountain in Bœotia, near Helicon, sacred to the Muses. It is called Hyantean, from the ancient name of the inhabitants of the country.]
[Footnote 37: Venus as a fish.--Ver. 331. The story of the transformation of Venus into a fish, to escape the fury of the Giants, is told, at length, in the second Book of the Fasti.]
[Footnote 38: Wings of an Ibis.--Ver. 331. The Ibis was a bird of Egypt, much resembling a crane, or stork. It was said to be of peculiarly unclean habits, and to subsist upon serpents.]
[Footnote 39: We of Aonia.--Ver. 333. The Muses obtained the name of Aonides from Aonia, a mountainous district of Bœotia.]
EXPLANATION.
According to Plutarch, the adventure of the Muses with Pyreneus, and of their asking wings of the Gods to save themselves, is a metaphor, which shows that he, when reigning in Phocis, was no friend to learning. As he had caused all the institutions in which it was taught to be destroyed, it was currently reported, that he had offered violence to the Muses, and that he lost his life in pursuing them. Ovid is the only writer that mentions him by name.