Allusions: Mythology and Legend

Achilles' heel

This allusion is from Greek Mythology. According to myth, when he was a baby, his mother dipped him in the River Styx because the waters from the river gave immortality to humans. His mother held him by his heel, so that was the only place on his body not touched by the water. From then on, this spot was his one area of vulnerability. Eventually, he was killed during the Trojan War when a poisoned arrow struck his heel.

Achilles' heel

Today, the allusion has come to refer to a person's area of particular vulnerability.

Achilles' heel

Her inability to resist rich desserts was her ___________, keeping her from losing the ten pounds she wanted to lose.

Achilles' heel

The politician's desire to be liked by everyone was his____________________, preventing him from taking a strong stand on any issue and leading to his defeat in the election.

Gordian knot

According to legend, he was a Greek king. He tied an extremely complex knot, and an oracle prophesied that whoever untied it would rule all of Asia. Alexander the Great "untied" the knot simply by cutting through it with his sword.

Gordian knot

A "______________" is any extremely complex problem, and "cutting the _______________" refers to solving such a problem in a quick, decisive manner.

Gordian knot

Each year, school counselors face the ______________ of scheduling classes so that teachers will have reasonable class sizes and students will have the opportunity to take the classes they need.

Gordian knot

The councilwoman cut the ________________ of which of the two worthy programs would have to be eliminated when she proposed a money saving strategy that would enable both programs to continue.

Icarus/fly too close to the sun

In Greek Mythology, him and his father, Daedalus, escaped from the island of Crete, by means of wings constructed by Daedalus. The wings were held on by means of wax, and although Daedalus had warned him not to fly too close to the sun, he did not heed the warning; the wax melted, and he fell to his death in the Aegean Sea.

Icarus/fly too close to the sun

Fail or be destroyed because of lack of caution or excessive ambition.

fly too close to the sun

In Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist, Montag, is finally turned into the authorities for daring to keep books in his house. Beatty, the antagonist, comments: " 'Well,' said Beatty, 'now you did it. Old Montag wanted to __________________ and now that he's burnt his damn wings, he wonders why.' "

Icarus

When I told my roommate I thought I could attend the all night party and still do well on my final exams the next day, he said, "I have just one word for you - _____________."

Janus

He was the Roman god of gates and doorways. Thus, he was associated with entrances and beginnings. Our month of January is named for him. He was usually depicted with two faces, one looking forward into the future, and one looking backward at the past.

Janus

Calling someone a "_____" can be either a positive or negative statement. It can refer to the wisdom and knowledge of a person who sees everything, or to the two-faced, hypocritical nature of a person who presents two different appearances, depending on the circumstances. Thus, "______" represents duality in several ways.

Janus

One investment company calls itself "______," implying that their firm has the big picture on investments, learning from the past and projecting the future of the markets.

Janus

Appropriately, Shakespeare's villainous, hypocritical character Iago swears by the god _______. Iago pretends to be Othello's friend, but he is determined to bring about Othello's ruin.

narcissus/narcissism

In Greek Mythology, he was a young man of extraordinary beauty. He cruelly rejected many admirers, including the nymph Echo. One day, as he bent to drink from a pool, he saw his own reflection, and immediately fell in love with it. In some versions of the story, he tried to embrace his reflection, fell into the pool, and drowned. In other versions, unable to tear himself away from his reflection, he wasted away and died. In either case, his obsession with his own beauty led to his death.

narcissus/narcissism

The allusion "_______" is derived from the story of _________. It refers to obsessive focus on oneself, particularly one's physical appearance.

narcissistic

I got the feeling Janet was a bit _________ when I noticed that she had at least three mirrors hanging in every room of her house.

narcissism

When Michael asked me why I accused him of ______________, I told him it was because he has a way of turning the focus of every conversation toward himself.

phoenix/rise from the ashes

The _____ was a mythological bird that was one of a kind. The bird lived for five or six hundred years, after which it would burn itself to death and then ______________________ as a youthful bird ready to live another life span.

phoenix/rise from the ashes

The "___________" has come to symbolize rebirth or rhetorical resurrection and "_______________" can describe surmounting great obstacles.

phoenix

After successfully battling cancer, the cyclist came back, ____________-like, to win the Tour de France.

rise from the ashes

Despite several box office failures, the actress was able to_______________________, and she is now one of Hollywood's top paid performers.

Promethean/Prometheus

In Greek Mythology, he was a demigod known for his cunning. Having been tricked by him, Zeus withheld fire from mankind. In response, he went to Mount Olympus and stole some fire, which he gave to man. Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock; each day an eagle came and ate his liver, which grew back each night. He was eventually rescued by Hercules.

Promethean/Prometheus

"___________" represents valiant resistance to authority or rebellion against the established order of the universe. The adjective "________________" refers to an act of such resistance.

Promethean

In one of his novels, Thomas Hardy calls lighting a fire in winter a _________________ act, in which man tries to rebel against approaching cold.

Prometheus

The subtitle of Frankenstein is "The Modern ____________________" because Victor Frankenstein dares to overstep the bounds of nature and create life.

sirens/siren

In Greek Mythology, they were sea creatures who lured sailors to their deaths on the rocky shores by singing a beautiful, irresistible song. They are usually depicted as women, or as half woman, half bird.

sirens/siren

The modern usage "__________" can refer to anything that tempts a person away from safety and toward a destructive path. A "_________ song" is the temptation used to lure a person.

sirens/siren

In his Speech in the Virginian Convention, Patrick Henry urged his listeners not to be fooled by an "illusion of hope," saying, "We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that ______, till she transforms us into beasts." He is comparing false hope both to the ___________ and to Circe, who turned Odysseus' men into swine.

siren

I had intended to stay home and study for finals, but the __________ song of my friends describing all the fun we could have at the lake was too much for me to resist.

Sisyphus/Sisyphean

In Greek Mythology, he was a king who offended Zeus. His punishment was to spend eternity in Hades, rolling a giant boulder up a hill. Each time the boulder neared the top, it would roll back down to the bottom, and he had to start his task over.

Sisyphus/Sisyphean

A seemingly endless, perhaps futile task can be referred to as a "labor of ________" or as "______________."

Sisyphean

Painting the Golden Gate Bridge is a __________ task. Once the bridge is completely painted, it is time to begin painting it again at the beginning, so the painting never ends.

Sisyphus

My mother did not buy my argument that making my bed each morning was basically a labor of ________________ since the bed was only going to be unmade again each evening, and therefore, I should not be expected to do it.

sword of Damocles

According to legend, he was a courtier of a Greek king, and he constantly flattered the king by speaking of what a wonderful life the king led. Tired of the flattery, the king held a banquet, and he was seated in the king's own chair under a sword that was suspended from the ceiling by a single thread. The king wanted him to experience what it really felt like to be king. Along with the privileges of kingship, the king was always aware of impending dangers, and thus was never entirely at ease.

sword of Damocles

The phrase "______________" refers to an awareness of impending or imminent danger.

sword of Damocles

Although Constance enjoyed her job at the factory, she and her co-workers knew that the ______________ could fall at any minute, and they would be laid off because of budget problems.

sword of Damocles

His father's return from work was a _____________ for Lewis because Lewis knew he would have to explain the new dent in his father's car.