Allusions Research

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve

Eve eats forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, consequence is the knowledge of negative emotions, serpent cursed for convincing her

Fig leaf used for clothes in some iterations

Cain and Abel

First sons of Adam and Eve, farmer and shepard, god prefers Abel's sacrifice so Cain kills him Cain's curse=mark of Cain

Noah and the Flood

After the flood Noah releases a dove every week. 4th week it does not return which means it found dry land and the flood ended God creates the rainbow as a sign of the Noahic Covenant (between god and animals)

Tower of Babel

Humanity decides to build a tower to reach heaven, god makes them speak other languages and spreads them around the world.

Abraham

Descendent of Noah, spouse of Sarah who he has a son with, Hagar is Sarah’s slave who is given to Abraham to have a child. She births Abraham’s first child, Ishmael.

Lot and his Wife

Nephew of Abraham, part of a battle in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Cities are destroyed and Lot's wife is turned to a pillar of salt when she looks back at them

Isaac and Rebecca

Only son of Abraham and Sarah
Rebecca has twins Jacob and Esau who fought in her womb and then for the rest of their lives

Jacob and Esau

Twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca. Esau is first born. Trades Jacob the birthright for some potage because he is hungry which demonstrates that hw never deserved the power.
Jacob has a dream about a ladder to heaven while he runs from Esau which represents the fact that he was chosen by God for the inheritance

Rachel and Lea

Sisters, nieces of Rebecca. Jacob fell in love with Rachel but was tricked into marrying older sister Leah who had 4 kids with him. Went on to marry Rachel too, had a son Joseph who was Jacob's favorite.

Joseph

Jacobs 11th and favorite son. Jacob gives him the coat of many colors which made his brothers jealous. Sold into slavery for Potiphar in Egypt by his brothers. Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce him and accuses him of rape when he turns her down. He interprets dreams while in prison and one day the Pharaoh tells him to interpret his own dream. He correctly predicted 7 years of good harvest then 7 of famine and he became the Vizier of Egypt.

Moses

Pharoah demands that all male Hebrew children be killed, moses’ mom hides him in an arc in the bulrushes. Found by the pharaoh's daughter and raised as an egyptian. As an adult he kills an egyptian who was fighting with a hebrew, flees to avoid the death penalty. Sees god in the burning bush who tells him he has to go back. Brother Aaron's rod used to produce water from a rock and part the red sea when they led the israelites. Receives the 10 commandments from God on Mt Sinai. His followers thought he was dead because he took so long so they make and worship a golden calf which angers Moses so he breaks the tablets with the commandments and has to rewrite them. Makes “bricks without straw’ or has to perform a task w/o proper resources.

Joshua

Moses’ assistant and successor to Moses

Samson

Last biblical judge, a Nazirite; given immense strength to perform superhuman feats including slaying a lion with his bare hands and massacring an entire army of Philistines using only the jawbone of a donkey. If his long hair were cut, then his Nazirite vow would be violated and he would lose his strength

Ruth and Naomi

Naomi is Ruth’s mother in law, husband and sons died and Naomi told her daughters in law to leave her and remarry. Ruth was loyal to Naomi and had a child which continued their family legacy.

Saul

First king of the united kingdom of Israel, appointed by Samuel. Fell on his sword 

David

Killed the giant Goliath, becomes a close friend of Saul’s son Johnathan. Saul turned on him. Saul and Johnathon die in battle, David becomes king of Israel. Commits adultery with a woman named Bathsheba. Son Absalom plots to overthrow David but dies in battle

Soloman

Son of David, prophet, and king

Ahab and Jezebel

Wicked king and his wife. Condemned for condoning her influence

Elijah

Profit and miracle worked under Ahab's rule. God performed miracles through Elijah: resurrection, bringing fire down from the sky, and entering heaven alive "by fire"

Job

Prophet, upstanding man beset by Satan with permission from god. Loses everything

Jonah

Son Amittai, prophet, main character in the book of Jonah. Thrown off a ship, saved by being swallowed by a whale.

Isaiah

Prophet, titular character in the Book of Isaiah

Jeremiah

“Weeping prophet” son of jewish priest. Prophecies are questioned, leading to conflict

Daniel

Master is tricked into giving a decree that all prayers should be for him for a month and if not, the perpetrator should be thrown in the lion's den. Daniel prays to god and is sent into the pit, saved by god for his prayers. 

Hand appears and writes on a king's wall. Daniel then reads the message and interprets it: God has numbered Belshazzar's days, he has been weighed and found wanting, and his kingdom will be given to the Medes and the Persians.

John the Baptist

sentenced to death and beheaded by Herod Antipas after John rebuked him for divorcing his wife Phasaelis

Herod's stepdaughter Salome gets his head

Marriage in Cana

Jesus, his mother and his disciples are invited to a wedding, and when the wine runs out, Jesus delivers a sign of his divinity by turning water into wine.

Beatitudes

Eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, blessing the meek, pure in heart, merciful, etc.

Walking on Water

Jesus’ disciples get caught in a storm on a ship, Jesus walks on the ocean to them and ends the storm

Mary

Sister of Martha and Lazarus, from Bethany, close to Jesus

Prodigal Son

One of Jesus’ parables, a man has 2 sons, the younger asks for some inheritance but then wastes it and comes back and begs to be taken in as a servant. The father is kind and welcomes him back

Feeding of the 5000

"miracle of the five loaves and two fish" Jesus feeds 5,000 poor men with just five loaves of bread and two fish

Whited Sepulcher

A hypocrite

Parable of the talents

A master divides his property between his servants and leaves on a long trip. When he comes home, he rewards the servants who used the talents to make a profit and punishes the servant who played it safe. (a talent is about 80lbs of currency)

Parable of the Good Samaritan

A jew was beaten and left for dead, jewish passersby avoid him, but a good Samaritan helps him even though jews and samaritans didn’t get along.

Judas

Betrayed Jesus for a bribe of 30 pieces of silver by kissing him and revealing him to a crowd that wanted to arrest him. after learning that Jesus was to be crucified, tried to return the 30 pieces of silver to the priests, but they would not accept them because they were blood money. Faced the wrath of God and hanged himself because he knew Jesus would come back for him

Last Supper

Jesus’  last meal with his apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. They ate bread and wine which is where the Eucharist comes from

Garden of Gethsemane

Garden in Jerusalem where Jesus gets arrested the night before his crucifixion

Pontius Pilate

governor of the Roman province of Judaea who oversaw jesus’ trial and ordered his crucifixion. Washes his hands of guilt after jesus is killed

Barabbas

insurrectionary held by the Roman governor at the same time as Jesus, freed at the Passover feast while Jesus is kept prisoner.

Calvary

Aka Golgotha, site of crucifixion. There are seven different versions of christ’s last words https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayings_of_Jesus_on_the_cross

Jospeh of Amirathea

Buried Christ's body, venerated as a saint.

Mary Magdalene

Saint, disciple of Jesus, and witness to the crucifixion and resurrection

Road to Emmaus

early appearance of jesus after the empty tomb was found, had dinner in Emmaus with a couple of disciples

Doubting Tomas

Refers to Apostle Thomas who refused to believe the resurrected Jesus had appeared to the ten other apostles until he could see and feel Jesus' crucifixion wounds.

Peter

Apostle of Jesus, first pope

Pentecost

Christian holiday, commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ

Stephen

Disciple, and a martyr for christians, stoned to death

Saul/Paul

Paul the Apostle/St Paul. Persecuted early disciples, but converted and spread christianity after he saw the ascended jesus and was (temporarily) blinded

Acheron River

“River of woe” principal river of the 5 in the underworld.

Achilles

Trojan war hero, main character in the Iliad . mother Thetis dipped him in the river Styx to make him invulnerable but held him by his heel. Died near the end of the war by an arrow to the heel.

Acteon

Son of minor god Aristaeus saw Artemis bathing/ boasted to her of his hunting skills. She turned him to a stag and had her 50 hunting dogs kill him.

Aegus

King of Athens. Drowned himself  in the Aegean Sea (named after him) when he thought his son Theseus died.

Aegisthus

Father thyestes was told by an oracle to have a son with his own daughter who would go on to kill his brother and rival Atreus. Taken in by uncle Atreus who sent him to kill thyestes. Aegisthus used his mother’s sword, revealing himself to his father. They went and killed Atreus together and took the throne of Mycenae.

Aeneas

Hero of Trojan war, cousin of Homer, and son of Aphrodite. Survives the war and becomes the leader of the surviving Trojans

Agamemnon

King of mycenae, he and brother Menelaus married Clytemnestra and Helen of Sparta. Paris of Troy carried off Helen, and Agamemnon declared war on the trojans. Upset Artemis along the way and was forced to sacrifice his daughter to appease her.

Ajax the Great

Greek hero, mortal, character in Homer's iliad, suitor of Helen

Amazons

Group of only female warrior hunters

Andromache

Regarded as the epitome of womanhood, lost her family in the fall of Thebe during the Trojan war and married Hector, heir of Troy.

Andromeda

Princess of Aethiopia, regarded as more beautiful than the sea nymph daughters of nereus. Poseidon had her punished by forcing the king to tie her up and let her be eaten by a sea monster, but she survived because Perseus, coming back from killing medusa, killed the monster and married her.

Aphrodite

Olympian goddess of love and beauty, child of Cronus.

Antigone

Princess of Thebes, mother of Amphion and Zephus with Zeus.

Apollo

Olympian god of healing and prophecy, son of Zeus and Leto

Arachne

Most talented mortal weaver, challenged Athena and wove a tapestry depicting the wrath and cruelty of the gods in the competition. Athena turned her into a spider as punishment.

Ares

God of War, Battle, Lust, son of Zeus and Hera

Argonauts

Band of seafaring heroes aboard the Argo, named after builder Agrus. Took Jason on his mission to find the golden fleece.

Argus

Argonaut, built the Argonauts ship, Argo, with help from Athena

Ariadne

Daughter of King Minos, made immortal by husband Dionysus

Artemis

Goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus and Leto, sister of Apollo. Protector of a band of young female hunters

Atlanta

Abandoned in the forest by parents who wanted a son, Artemis sent a bear to suckle and made sure she was discovered by a group of hunters who raised her. Devoted herself to Artemis. When she was to be married she said she would only marry a man who could outrun her, and men that failed would be killed. Melanion got help from Aphrodite who gave him golden apples to distract Atalanta in the race, he won but didn’t pay tribute to Aphrodite, who made them consummate the marriage in Zeus’ temple. Zeus turned them both into lions.

Atlantis

Ancient city submerged by the gods

Atlas

Second generation titan made to hold the world up by Zeus after the titans defeat.

Atropos

Oldest of the three fates, decides how a person dies and cuts their thread

Aurora

Roman goddess of dawn, sister to Sol and Luna, would fly across the sky announcing the dawn each morning

Bellerophon

Greek mortal hero who slayed the Chimera (part snake, part lion, part goat ) with Pegesus.

Callisto

Follower of Artemis. Zeus disguises himself as Artemis, seduces and rapes Callisto who becomes pregnant and is expelled from the group. Hera turns her into a bear. Her huntsman son kills her and she is turned into Ursa Major.

Calypso

Nymph daughter of Atlas, lives on island of Ogygia. Odysseus shipwrecked on the island on his voyage and she fell in love and offered to have him immortalized as her husband. Odysseus refused because he loved Penelope so she helped him build a ship.

Cassandra

Mortal princess of troy. Made clairvoyant by Apollo in an attempt to seduce her. She took the power but rejected him, so he cursed her to ensure that all of her premonitions would come true but that nobody would ever believe her.

Castor and Pollux

twin sons of Queen Leda of Sparta. Zeus transformed into a swan and raped Leda, who slept with husband Tyndareus the same night. Result was 4 babies Castor, Pollux (considered to be Zeus’) and Helen and Clytemnestra (Tyndareus’) present at the Argo.

Centaurs

Half man half horse, created by relations between Ixion and Nephele in one of Zeus and Hera’s plots.

Cerberus

Three headed dog of hades who guards the underworld. Offspring of monsters Echidna and Typhon

Charon

Son of primordial deities Nyx (Night) and Erebus (Darkness). Acts as a ferryman on the river Styx.

Charybdis

Sea monster

Chimera

Monster. Body of a lion, with a fire breathing lions’ head as well as the head of a goat, and a snake as a tail. Offspring of monsters Echidna and Typhon. Slain by Bellerophon and Pegasus.

Circe

Enchantress daughter of Sun God Helios and his wife. Hosts Odysseus and his men on the island of Aeaea. As the men eat they are turned into swine except for Odysseus who received the antidote from Hermes. Fell in love with Odysseus and released the crew after some time.

Clytemnestra

Daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, sister of Caster, Pollux, and Helen. Married Agamemnon and became queen of Mycenae.

Creon

King of thebes. In the myth of Oedipus, Creon offers his sister's hand and the throne to anyone who can kill the Sphinx. Oedipus solves the riddle, killing the monster and marries Jocasta, not knowing that she was his mother.

Cyclops

Monster with one eye; Polyphemus slain by Odysseus.

Daedalus

Mortal craftsman, made wings for himself and son Icarus to escape imprisonment in Crete

Danae

Mortal princess, lover of Zeus with whom she had Perseus.

Danaids

50 princess daughters of King Danaus of Libya. They killed their husbands and were given the impossible task of filling a cauldron with holes as punishment.

Daphne

Naiad water nymph, determined to remain chaste. Apollo fell in love with her and chased her, Gaia took pity and transformed her into a laurel tree.

Delphi

Oracle

Demeter

Goddess of agriculture, mother of Persephone. 

Dido

founder/ first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage

Dionysus

Olympian God of Wine

Echo

Used by Zeus to distract Hera while he had affairs, Hera punished her by making it so she could only repeat others words. Rejected by Narcissus who could only love himself. 

Electra

Oceanid (child of Oceanus and Tethys) mother of Iris and the harpies

Elysian Fields

Heaven; Resting place for heros

Eros

Cupid, god of love, son of venus/Aphrodite. Husband of psyche