Independent Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1842-1844, 1844-12-04

a more fall view when you see IL
Respectfully, q.
We highly approve of the design spoken
OF in the latter portion of the above letter,
and particularly of this portion Of it,
"The fund raisad to be under the con-
troll OF committee appointed by the whig
members OF Congress, to purchase a CO.
lossal statue of Henry Clay, either of
bronze or marble; and marble temple
of grand conception erected in which to
place it, as q testimonial Of the public
services Of Henry Chy."
This country has few temples of the
kind here projected, and owing TO the i'm.
moral, disorganizing, and malign infne n
ces of locoiocoism, is shametully averSe
TO the practice Of canonlzation, and has
the most deplorable anarcbical and irreli.
gous tendencies. The dedication of he.
roes, and the worship Of demons and dcmi-
gods, and godlike men, have Teen the
marks of the highest civilization from the
earliest ages. The second, or Olympic
period Of Grecian history, has been call
ed the age of heroes. An author says:
"Grateful sensibility to the merits Of an.
cestors and progenitors, was most COM
mon cause of the sort Of dedication with
which their heroes were honored after
death. Hence it cume that most Of the
heroes were at last viewed as sons Of Gods,
and often Of Jupiter himself. " The he
roes of the Greeks were Of different ranks.
Some were viewed as a sort of household
Leilies, such as after their mortal existence
watched over their families and friends,
and were honored and worshpped only by
them. Others whose services while they
lived were of more extended character,
were worshipPed by whole States and
tribes as demi gods, and sometimes had
their appropriate festivals and mysteries,
and even temples and pries!s-Eidc, Fry
ants Aaciem Mythology.
Perseus was one OF the mJSt dis tin
guished Of the early heroes. He was the
son of Jupiter and Danae, ami educated
by PoIydectes on the island Serlphus.--
His chief exploit was the destruction OF
the Gorgon Mcdusa, whose head he
stru,k off with sword given him by Vu!-
can. Alter his assassination by Mega
pennies, he was placed amongst the con-
stelations, and several temples were
erected to him, besides n monument be
tween Argos and Mycenae. [AshIani
and Cincinnati
Thcseus, repucd son Of Neptune,
was excited by tho renown Of Hercules 10
initiate his achievements. His principal
exploits were his descent to the lower
world with his friend PlrithDuS, and his
victory over the Amazon whose queen be.
came his wife. The honor paid to him
after his death was accompanied with |
unusual soIemniles, a superb temple was
consccrated 10 him at Athens, with a reg
ular sacrifice termed OgdoaiOa.
Jason, and Castor and PoIux, were also
heroes of some celebrity, and had tenn
pies, but the greatest of all the heroes was
Hercules, the son Of Jupiter and Ale
mena. Ills renowned twelve labors can
never be forgotten. These were: to kill
the Nemean lion; 10 destroy the Lernean
hydra to catch alive the stag with golden
horns; to catch the Erymanthcan boar; 10
cleanse the stables of Augias; TO extermi-
nate the birds Of lake Stymphalis; to bring
alive the wild bull cf Cretes; 10 seize the
horses Of Diomedes; to obtain the girdle
Of llippoIyta, queen of the Ama2ons; TO
destroy The monster Geryon; to plumber
the garden Of IIesperies, guarded by a
sleepless dra gon; and to bring from the in
fernal world the three headed dog Cerbe.
rus. Less honorable was his love of
Omphale, queen Of Lydia, by which he
sunk into most I'm worthy elTeminacy. His
last achievement was the destruction OF
the centaur Ncssus, whose tunc poisoned
with blood, Hercules received at the hands
Of Dejanira, aud on putting it on, he was
thrown inro ouch desperate madness that
he threw hims elf into the flames of (u-
neral pile on m cunt Etna. 1.-THE hero of
our own age received a similar robe from
old Mrs. Anacharsis Clootz. Ii invested |
him with the prerogatiyes of Secretary of
State.