Allusions - Mythology

Achilles’ heel

metaphor for one’s weakness/vulnerable spot

• the warrior Achilles was invincible except for his heel

Adonis

mortal lover of Aphrodite and Persephone, ideal of male beauty

• fertility deity loved by Aphrodite

• killed by a boar but reborn annually = nature’s cycle

Aeolian

Aeolia: mythical floating island kingdom

Aeolus: the divine Keeper of the winds, released the winds at the gods’ comand

• visited by Odysseus

Apollo

god of music, light, healing, prophecy, archery

• twin brother of Artemis

• killed the serpent python at Delphi

Argus

many-eyed giant

• served as Hera’s watchman, known for perpetual vigilance

• slain by Hermes - turned into the tail of the peacock

Athena/Minerva

goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, handicrafts, reason

• protects Athens

• emerged fully grown from Zeus/Jupiter’s forehead

Atlas

Titan condemned by Zeus to eternally hold up the heavens/world

• punishment for leading Titans in their war against the Olympian gods

• symbolizes endurance, astronomy, navigation

Eos/Aurora

goddess of dawn, daughter of Titans

• personifies morning light, announces the arrival of the sun

• sister of Helios (sun) and Selene (moon)

Bacchus/Dionysus

god of wine, fertility, ritual ecstasy, theater, religious madness

• son of Zeus and mortal princess Semele

• Hera caused Semele to burn to death, so Zeus sewed the baby into his thigh - “twice-born”

Centaur

Mythological features: human head, torso, arms, joined to a horse’s body

• symbolizes the struggle between civilization and primal barbarism

• offspring of Ixion (king of Lapiths) and Nephele (cloud nymph created by Zeus to look like Hera)

Chimera

fire-breathing monster - lion’s head and body, goat’s head on its back, serpet for a tail

• offspring of Typhon and Echidna

• represents chaos, raw destruction, “impossible made real”

Cupid/Eros

Roman god of desire, affection, love

• son of Venus and Mars

• wields bow and arrows - golden tip (uncontrollable love), lead tip (hatred/repulsion)

• “putti” or winged infant figure

Eros

Greek god of love, desire, procreation

• son of Aphrodite and Ares

• causes chaotic, uncontrollable passion in mortal and gods

• fell in love with Psyche (mortal)

Fates

three sister deities (Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos)

• personify destiny, control the life threads of mortals and gods

• impartial, absolute, often superior to Zeus

Furies

goddesses of vengeance who punish wrongdoers

• winged women, snakes for hair

• embody inescapable justice, pursue victims until atonement or death

Gorgon/Medusa

gorgons: three monstrous, winged sister deities (Stheno, Euryale, Medusa)

• turn those who looked at them into stone

Medusa: mortal who was cursed by Athena

• Perseus used a reflective shield to avoid her gaze, decapitating her

Halcyon

kingfisher bird: represents peace, love, tranquility

• originated from myth of Alcyone and Ceyx

• represents matrimonial devotion, period of tranquility

Harpy

Greek mythological creature: woman’s head and a bird’s body

• “hounds of Zeus”, agents of punishment

• represented swift, personified wind spirits

Hector

Trojan hero in Greek mythology - greatest warrior in Trojan War

• slain by Achilles in single combat

• ideal of the patriot-warrior

Helen (of Troy)

Daughter of Zeus and Leda, mythical queen of Sparta

• “most beautiful woman in the world”

• abducted by Paris of Troy, triggered the Trojan War

• represented divine beauty and human frailty

Herculean (Heracles/Hercules)

strongest hero, son of Zeus and mortal Alcmene

• incredible strength, courage, and the Twelve Labors performed for Kin Eurysthesus

• symbol of valor and champion of order against chaos - earned immortality

Hydra-headed

Lernaean Hydra: nine-headed serpent

• regenerated two heads for every one severed

• slain by Heracles w/help of Iolaus (nephew) - his second labor

Iris/Iridescent

goddess of the rainbow, messenger for the Olympians (specifically Hera)

• bridge between heaven and earth, seen as a gentle, swift, and radiant divine messenger

Jovial

originates from Roman god Jupiter

• king of gods

• prosperity, joy, good fortune after wining battles

• people born under Jupiter were of a cheerful and friendly temperament

Junoesque

derived from Roman goddess Juno (wife of Jupiter)

• protector of women, marriage, childbirth

Lethe

one of the five rivers of the Underworld

• meaning “oblivion” or “forgetfulness”

• souls drank to forget their past lives to prepare for reincarnation

Mars/Martial

Roman god of war and agriculture

• more prestige than Ares (chaotic Greek counterpart)

• represented strategic martial prowess, violence, guardianship of the state

Medea

sorceress in Greek mythology

• known for fierce love, betrayal, and devastating revenge

• Helped Jason obtain the Golden Fleece, but was betrayed

Mercurial/Mercury/Hermes

mythological deities of speed, commerce, communication, and trickery

• messenger between gods and mortals

Morpheus/Morphine

responsible for shaping and appearing in dreams - son of Hypnos (sleep)

• morphine: had a “dream-inducing” effect

Muses

nine goddesses who serve as the divine inspiration for literature, science, arts

• daughters of Zeus and goddess of memory

• represent peak of creative and intellectual achievement

Narcissism

Greek myth of Narcissus: hunter who rejected Echo

• known for his extraordinary beauty, fell in love w his own reflection

• died of starvation and longing → narcissus flower

Nemesis

Greek goddess of divine retribution

• oversees balance, justice, vengeance, arrogance

• aka Invidia (jealousy) or Rivalitas (rivalry)

Neptune

Roman god of sea, freshwater, storms, horses

• mirrors Greek god Poseidon

• shares dominion w Jupiter (heavens) and Pluto (underworld)

Niobe

boasted of her 12 children to Titan Leto (mother of Apollo and Artemis)

• hubris caused her sons to be slayed by Apollo and daughters by Artemis

Odessey

Greek epic about 10-year journey of Odysseus after the Trojan War

• known for metis (intelligence), trickster, strategist, survivor

Olympian

the 12 major Greek gods/goddesses who lived on Mount Olympus

• ruled over humans after overthrowing the Titans

Paean

divine physician to the gods - “Healer”

• peony: turned by Zeus to be saved from Asclepius’ envy

Pandora’s Box

Pandora (“all-endowed”): first woman created by Zeus as punishment for humanity after Prometheus stole fire

• designed as a beautiful evil to bring ruin to the man-only race

• given a container and opened it - released evils, sorrows, and diseases, Hope remained trapped in the box

Parnassus

sacred mountain in central Greece

• home of the Muses, sacred to Apollo

Pegasus

immortal, white winged horse

• sprang from the neck of Medusa when she was beheaded

• represents bridge between earthly and divine, bearer of thunder and lightning for Zeus

Phoenix

mythical, eagle-sized birth

• associated w the sun, symbolizing resurrection, renewal, immorality

• cyclically regenerates - reborn from the ashes

• based off of Egyptian Bennu

Plutocracy

rule by the wealthy - originates from Plutus (Greek god of wealth)

• derived from ploutos (wealth) and krateo (to rule)

Prometheus

Titan in Greek mythology (trickster) - stole fire from Zeus to give to mankind

• brutal eternal punishment: bound to a rock while a eagle consumed his liver

• molded the first humans out of clay and water

• protector of humanity, creator of arts and sciences

Proteus/Protean

“old man of the sea” - servant of Poseidon

• shape-shifting, embodied changeability and prophetic knowledge

• protean: adaptability, versatility, mutability

Psyche

Greek goddess of the soul

• mortal princess whose beauty caused Aphrodite to be jealous

• underwent 40 trials before being granted immortality - wife of Eros

Pygmalion

sculptor from Cyprus who fell in love with an ivory statue he carved (Galatea)

• Aphrodite brought the statue to life

• self-fulfilling prophecy

Pyrrhic victory

named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus - his costly, irreplaceable losses while defeating the Romans at the Battles of Heraclea and Asculum

• triumph achieved at a devastating cost that it is equal to defeat

Saturnalia/Saturnine

A week-long Roman festivle held to honor Saturn (god of agriculture of liberation)

• return of the “Golden Age” (rule of Saturn) - prosperity, peace, absence of social classes

Sibyl

ancient, inspired prophetesses

• delivered devine, cryptic oracles from caves or shrines

Sisyphus/Sisyphean

a clever and deceitful king of Corinth

• condemned to Zeus to eternal, futile punishment in Tartarus for twice cheating death

• rolls a massive boulder up a steep hill which rolls back down before reaching the top - endless labor

Styx/Stygian

Styx: primordial goddess, principal river which is a boundary between earth and the Underworld

• waters represent a dark, binding boundary that souls cross

Tantalize

Tantalus was punished in the underworld forever hungry and thirsty

• abused the privilege of dining on Olympus

• tormenting with something desired but out of reach

Titans

generation of twelve primordial deities born to Uranus (sky) and Gaia (earth)

• ruled the Golden Age but were overthrown by Olympians

• imprisoned in Tartarus

Vulcan

Roman god of fire, volcanoes, metallurgy

• divine blacksmith and creator of weapons

• Greek god counterpart: Hephaestus

Zephyr

Greek god of the west wind

• gentlest of the wind deities, hearald of spring

Zeus

supreme ruler of the Olympian gods in Greek mythology

• god of sky, thunder, lightning, law, order, justice

• overthrew his father (Cronus), wields the thunderbolt

• known for his married affairs, but married to Hera