Mythology Allusions AP Lit

Achilles' heel

Today, one spot that is most vulnerable; one weakness a person may have. Achilles was invulnerable except for his heel (Achilles Tendon)

Adonis

Handsome young man; Aphrodite loved him.

Aeolian

Anything pertaining to wind; god who was

Keeper of Wind

Apollo

A physically perfect male; the God of music and light; known for his physical beauty.

Argus

Omniscient, all-seeing; from Argus, the 100-eyed monster that Hera had guarding Io

Athena/Minerva

Goddess of wisdom, the city, and arts; patron goddess of the city of Athens.

Aurora

Early morning or sunrise; from the Roman personification of Dawn

Bacchus/Dionysus

the Greek god of wine —called also Dionysus.

Centaur

A monster that had the head, arms, and chest of a man, and the body and legs of a horse

Chimera

A horrible creature of the imagination, an absurd or impossible idea; wild fancy; a monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail, supposed to breathe out fire

Cupid

Psyche was a beautiful girl who Venus grew envious of, so she sent Cupid to make her fall in love with the most vile man but Cupid saw her beauty and shot himself with the arrow and fell in love with psyche.

Eros

Eros was the son of Aphrodite. As the Greek god of love he excited erotic love in gods and mortals with his arrows and torches.

Furies

The furies were a spirit of punishment, often represented as one of three goddesses who executed the curses pronounced upon criminals, tortured the guilty with stings of conscience, and inflicted famines and pestilences

Gorgon (Medusa)

A very ugly or terrible person, especially a repulsive woman; Medusa, any one or three sisters have snakes for hair and faces so horrible that anyone who looked at them turned to stone

Halcyon

Clam, peaceful, tranquil --Archaic bird supposed to breed in a nest on the sea and calm the water, identified with the kingfisher

Harpy

A predatory person or nagging woman; from harpy, a foul creature that was part woman, part bird

Hector

To bully; from Hector, the son of Priam (king of Troy), and the bravest Trojan warrior. Killed Achilles' friend Patroclus.

Helen (of Troy)

Hellenistic; of or relating to Greece, or a Specialist of language or culture in Greece; symbol of a beautiful woman; from Helen of Troy, the daughter of Leda and Zeus—the cause of the Trojan War

Herculean

of extraordinary power

Hydra-headed

Having many centers or branches, hard to bring under control; something bad you cannot eradicate; from Hydra, the 9-headed serpent that was sacred to Hera. Hercules killed him in one of the 12 labors.

Iris/Iridescent

A play of colors producing rainbow effects; from Iris, goddess of the rainbow

Jovial

Good humored; from the word Jove, used to express surprise or agreement (Jupiter)

Junoesque

Marked by stately beauty; comes from the word Juno, the wife of Jupiter, the Goddess of light, birth, women, and marriage

Lethe

n., abnormal drowsiness or inertia; from the word Lethe, a river in Hades that caused drinkers to forget their past

Mars/Martial

Suited for war or a warrior; from Mars, the Roman God of War

Medea

sorceress or enchantress; from Medea who helped Jason and the Argonauts capture the Golden Fleece

Mercurial

adj., suddenly cranky or changeable; Roman Mythology, of or relating to the god Mercury

Mercury/Hermes

A carrier or tidings, a newsboy, a messenger; messenger of the gods, conductor of souls to the lower world, and god of eloquence; the fabled inventor, wore winged hat and sandals

Morpheus/Morphine

liquid used to relieve pain in medicine; Morpheus was a god that could easily change form or shape

Muse

some creature of inspiration; the daughters of Zues

Narcissism

being in love with one's self; Guy falls in love with his own reflection

Nemesis

just punishment; Goddes who punishes crime

Neptune

the sea personified; the Roman god associated with Poseidon

Niobe

A mournful woman; from Niobe, whose children were slain by Apollo and Artemis because of her bragging; the gods pitied her and turned her into a rock that was always wet from weeping

Odyssey

a long journey, named for Odysseus, the character in "The Odyssey" by Homer; Odysseus makes his long journey back from the Trojan War, encountering several long obstacles along the way

Olympian

Majestic in manner, superior to mundane affairs; any participant in the ancient or modern Olympic games; named after 12 gods that were supposed to reside on Mt. Olympus.

Paean

A song of joy; a ritual epithet of Apollo the healer. In Homeric poems, an independent god of healing named Paean or Paeon, who took care of Hades when the latter was wounded.

Pandora's Box

something that opens the door for bad occurrences, opened by someone known for curiosity; named for Pandora, who was the first mortal, sent by Zeus, to punish man from Prometheus' theft of fire. For her curiosity on opening the box, Zeus gave her all human ills in the world, leaving only hope at the bottom

Parnassus

Mountain was sacred to arts and literature; any center of poetic or artistic activity; .poetry or poets collectively, a common title for selection of poetry; named after the hero of Mt. Parnassus, the son of Poseidon and a Nymph. He founded the oracle of Python, which was later occupied by Apollo.

Pegasus

Poetic inspiration; named after a winged horse which sprang from the blood of Medusa at her death; a stamp of his hoof caused Hippocrene, the fountain of Muses to issue poetic inspiration from Mount Helicone

Phoenix

A symbol of immortality or rebirth; named after the Egyptian Mythology phoenix, a long bird which lived in the Arabian desert and then consumed itself in fire, rising renewed from the flame to start another long life.

Plutocracy

A government by the wealthy; named after Pluton, the "Rich Man," a ritual tile of Hades. He was originally the god of the fields because the ground was the source of all wealth, ores and jewels.

Prometheus

A Titan in Greek mythology, best known as the deity in Greek mythology who was the creator of mankind and its greatest benefactor, who stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to mankind.

Protean

Taking many forms, versatile; named after Proteus, a god of the sea, charged with tending the flocks of the sea creatures belonging to Poseidon. He had the ability to change himself into whatever form he desired, using this power particularly when he wanted to elude those asking him questions.

Psyche

The human soul, self, the mind; named after Psyche, a maiden who, after undergoing many hardships due to Aphrodite's jealousy, reunited with Cupid and was made immortal by Jupiter; she personifies the soul joined to the heart of love.

Pygmalion

Someone (usually a male) who tries to fashion someone into the person he desires; from a myth adapted into a play by George Bernard Shaw; a woman- hating sculptor who makes a female figure of ivory who Aphrodite brings to life for him.

Pyrrhic victory

adj.; a too costly victory; from Pyrrhus, a Greek king who defeated the Romans in 279 BC, but suffered extremely heavy losses in the fight

Saturnalia

A period of unrestrained revelry; named after the ancient Roman festival of Saturn, with general feasting in revelry in honor of the winter solstice.

Saturnine

Sluggish, gloomy, morose, inactive in winter months; named after the god Saturn, often associated with the god of the Underworld.

Sibyl

A witch or sorceress; a priestess who made known the oracles of Apollo and possessed the gift of prophecy.

Sisyphean

Greedy and avaricious; from the shrewd and greedy king of Corinth, Sisyphus, who was doomed forever in Hades to roll uphill a heavy stone, which always rolled down again.

Styx/Stygian

Dark and gloomy; named after the river Styx, a river in the Underworld. The water is poisonous for human and cattle and said to break iron, metal and pottery, though it is said a horse's hoof is unharmed by it.

Tantalize

From King Tantalus, who reigned on Mt. Sipylus and was condemned to reside in a beautiful river with sumptuous fruits just out of reach and the water undrinkable, always tempting him as punishment for excessive pride (he boiled his son and fed the broth to trick the gods).

Titanic

Large, grand, enormous; after Tityus, a giant, the son of Zeus and Elara. His body covers over two acres. Or after the Titans, the offspring of Chronus and Rhea, who went to war against Zeus and the other Olympian gods.

Vulcan

The god of fire including the fire of volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in ancient Roman religion and myth. Vulcan is often depicted with a blacksmith's hammer.

Zephyr

From the Greek Ζεφυρος (Zephyros) meaning "the west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.

Zeus

a powerful man; king of the gods, ruler of Mt. Olympus, vengeful hurler of thunderbolts