History of Monsters. 191

as darkness falls, a thin membrane stretches across their small limbs. When they try to speak, they emit a tiny voice in proportion to their bodies, carrying out their laments with a light squeaking. They inhabit houses rather than woods; hating the light, they fly at night, taking their name from the late evening.

Now that these examples had been explained, the fame of Bacchus became celebrated everywhere. Among the rest, Ino—Bacchus’s nurse and aunt, and the wife of Athamas—spread word of Bacchus’s power far and wide. Because of this, she incurred the heavy hatred of Juno, who, descending into the depths of the Underworld, incited one of the Furies against Athamas. Seized by madness, he killed his own son, Learchus. Fleeing her husband’s fury, Ino threw herself into the sea with her other son, Melicerta. By the grace of Neptune, they were later transformed into marine deities: Melicerta into Palaemon, and Ino into Leucothea. This is said to have been done by Neptune at the request of Venus, who reminded him that she herself had originated from the foam of the sea.

But Venus, pitying the undeserved labors of her granddaughter, coaxed her uncle with these words: "O power of the waters, I ask a great thing indeed, but have mercy on my kin, whom you see tossed about in the immense Ionian sea. Add them to your gods; for I too have some grace in the deep, if indeed I was once formed from foam in the midst of the abyss, and a grateful name remains for me from it." Neptune granted her prayer; he took away what was mortal from them, bestowed a venerable majesty, and renewed both their names and faces. He called the goddess Leucothea, and the god, along with his mother, Palaemon.

The Theban companions of Juno, however, were turned partly into stones and partly into birds. Therefore, Cadmus, weighing these calamities, fled from the territory of Thebes to the region of Illyria together with his wife Hermione, where both were eventually transformed by the gods into serpents. Cadmus’s wife is introduced by Ovid speaking thus:

"Cadmus, stay! Unhappy man, cast yourself out from these monsters! Cadmus, what is this? Where are your feet? Where are your shoulders and hands? Your color, your face? And while I speak of all this, why do the heavens not turn me into the same serpent?" Suddenly there are two of them, and they crawl along in a joined coil until they enter the hiding places of the nearby grove.

Of the descendants of Cadmus, Acrisius still ruled among the Argives; he looked down not only upon Bacchus but upon other deities as well. In particular, he did not believe that his grandson Perseus was born of Jupiter and Danaë, an incredulity that is said to have brought him no small misfortune. It happened that Perseus had been sent by Polydectes to claim the head of Medusa, the sight of which turned men into stone. With Minerva’s help, Perseus had retrieved the head. As he journeyed through Africa, snakes were created from the drops of blood falling from the head to the ground, and from Medusa’s womb emerged the winged horse, Pegasus.

As the victor hung over the Libyan sands, bloody drops fell from the Gorgon's head; the earth caught these and brought them to life as various serpents.

Perseus had now reached Atlas, the son of Iapetus. Long ago, Atlas had received an oracle from the goddess Themis warning him that if he wished to protect the garden where the golden apples grew, he must not show hospitality to any son of Jupiter. Thus, he denied shelter to Perseus, who was exhausted from his long journey. In response, Perseus held out the revealed head of the Gorgon toward him. At that sight, Atlas was immediately changed into the mountain of the same name, which is said to support the heavens because of its great height. Perseus is introduced speaking thus:

"Since you set so little value on our friendship, take this gift," he said, and from his left side he revealed the face of Medusa