I. DIANA AND ACTAEON.

Like the Sun-god, whom men dreaded as the divine archer and loved as
the divine singer, Diana, his sister, had two natures, as different as
day from night.

On earth she delighted in the wild life of the chase, keeping holiday
among the dryads, and hunting with all those nymphs that loved the
boyish pastime. She and her maidens shunned the fellowship of men and
would not hear of marriage, for they disdained all household arts; and
there are countless tales of their cruelty to suitors.

Syrinx and Atalanta were of their company, and Arethusa, who was
changed into a fountain and ever pursued by Alpheus the river-god, till
at last the two were united. There was Daphne, too, who disdained the
love of Apollo himself, and would never listen to a word of his suit,
but fled like Syrinx, and prayed like Syrinx for escape; but Daphne was
changed into a fair laurel-tree, held sacred by Apollo forever after.

All these maidens were as untamed and free of heart as the wild
creatures they loved to hunt, and whoever molested them did so at his
peril. None dared trespass in the home of Diana and her nymphs, not
even the riotous fauns and satyrs who were heedless enough to go
a-swimming in the river Styx, if they had cared to venture near such a
dismal place. But the maiden goddess laid a spell upon their unruly
wits, even as the moon controls the tides of the sea. Her precincts
were holy. There was one man, however, whose ill-timed curiosity
brought heavy punishment upon him. This was Actaeon, a grandson of the
great king Cadmus.