Greek and bible allusions

Zeus(Jupiter)

God of the sky, king of the gods

Hera(Juno)

Wife of Zeus, Goddes of Marriage and Childbirth

Poseidon(Neptune)

God of the Sea, Horses, and Earthquakes, Brother to Zeus and Hades

Hades(Pluto)

God of the Underworld, Brother to Zeus and Poseidon

Athena(Minerva)

Goddes of wisdom and war strategy

Ares(Mars)

God of war

Apollo

God of music, poetry, prophecy, and medicine

Hermes(Mercury)

Messenger of the gods

Artemis(Diana)

goddess of the hunt and the moon, maiden goddess

Demeter(Ceres)

Goddess of agriculture and harvest, controls the seasons

Dionysus(Bacchus)

God of Wine and Revelry

Hephaestus(Vulcan)

God of Fire and Blacksmithing, ugliest god

Narcissus

a beautiful young man who fell in love with his own reflection

Aeneus and Dido

Dido fell in love with Prince Aeneus and they build a kingdom together and get married, but Aeneus leaves Dido to go back to his home. Heartbroken, Dido curses Aeneus' line to a lifetime of war and death before she kills herself.

Achilles

Greek hero of the Trojan War who is killed by an arrow that is shot in his heel

Oedipus and Family

he married laius' widow, jocasta, and had four children with her, two sons, eteocles and polyneices, and two daughters, antigone and ismene. Jocasta was his mother. They both ended up killing themselves after the truth was revealed.

Muses

Nine sisters who give song and inspiration to humanity; daughters of Zeus and Mnemonsyne (Memory)

Jason and the Argonauts

travels on his boat, the "Argo" to retrieve the Golden Fleece for King Pelias, sorceress Medea falls in love with him and ends in heartbreak and misery for all.

Labors of Hercules(Heracles)

Hera found out that Hercules was the son of Zeus, started to drive him crazy, so crazy that he killed his wife and children; punishment for murders: 12 labors; completed all of them and became a hero.

Harpy

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

Gorgon

a snaky-haired creature so ugly as to petrify an onlooker

Medusa

A once beautiful woman who was raped by Poseidon and cursed by Athena. She was turned into an ugly monster with snakes for hair, and a stare that would turn anyone to stone if they met her eye. She was slayed by Perseus.

Centaur

mythical figure, half man and half horse

chimera

A monster of Greek invention with the head and body of a lion and the tail of a serpent. A second head, that of a goat, grows out of one side of the body.

Promethus

Greek titan who lived on Olympus (stole fire from gods and gave it to humans)

Pandora's Box

When opened, released all of Zeus' worse nightmares into the world, the cause for much death and destruction.

Orpheus and Eurydice

On their wedding day, Eurydice was bitten by a snake and died. Orpheus went to the underworld to get her back. Hades said that if he could walk up the stair of the underworld without looking back at Eurydice then she could be freed, but Orpheus looked back and Eurydice was lost forever.

Aphrodite(Venus)

Goddess of love and beauty

Minos

King of Crete

Theseus

(Greek mythology) a hero and king of Athens who was noted for his many great deeds: killed Procrustes and the Minotaur and defeated the Amazons and united Attica

Icarus

The son of the master craftsman Daedalus. His father gave him wings. He ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and fell to his death

Persephone(Proserpine)

Queen of the underworld, daughter of Demeter. Lives in Underworld for 6 months, and Mt. Olympus for the other 6 months.

Odysseus

Endures a long journey from Troy to Ithaca; protagonist

Phoenix

the Phoenix is a long lived bird that is regularly regenerated or reborn. It generally represents life and rebirth. The Phoenix also represents the sun and giving new life by rising from the ashes of its predecessor.

Psalms

Hymns or songs of prayer to God that express praise, thanksgiving, or lament.

Proverbs

short sayings of wisdom or truth

Ecclesiates

book of the bible, long journey of life

Creation

God's bringing forth the universe and all its inhabitants into being out of nothing, takes 7 days.

Jonah and the Whale

A prophet who defied God's call and goes on a sailing trip where God sends a storm to shipwreck him. God forgives Jonah and sends a whale to save him, where Jonah remained for 3 days.

Daniel in the Lion's Den

The story that tells of the prophet Daniel, who was sent into a den of lions to be destroyed; but an angel of the lord protected him, and he was unhurt.

Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve

God creates earth and Garden of Eden, creates first two human beings Adam and Eve, Satan manipulates Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and god banishes them from the Garden of Eden.

Esther

A queen that protects her race/people from a genocide

Ruth

Took care of her mother-in-law after both her husband and her father-in-law died.

Jepthah's daughter

sacrificed because of her fathers promise to sacrifice the first person who he saw after victory

King Soloman

Wise king of Israel; temple in Jerusalem and also expanded the empire

Sacrifice of Abraham

Loyal to God, was willing to sacrifice his son.

Story of Job

Job is tested over and over again by God, but still remains faithful to Him, and is eventually rewarded.

Noah's Ark

God spares Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives. God flooded the Earth because his children had become violent and corrupt. Noah was tasked with bringing two of every living creature, one male and one female, onto his ark to repopulate the world after the flood.

apocalypse

a prophetic revelation, especially one concerning the end of the world

Sodom and Gomorrah

any place associated with wickedness or sin; from the evil cities of the OT that were destroyed by fire

Tower of Babel

A tall building proposed by the Hamites in order to "make a name for themselves." God responded to their challenge by confusing their languages, so the project could never be completed.

Cain and Abel

First sons of Adam and Eve, but God favored Abel. Cain grew jealous and killed his brother, and God punished Cain.

Moses

Led the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, parted the Red Sea; received the 10 commandments

Jericho

An ancient and strategically vital city in Canaan, the first major city to be captured by the Israelites. The troops marched a certain amount of times around the city each day, and on the 7th day the walls fell, and the city was conquered.

The Exodus

The mass departure of the Hebrews from Egypt

David and Goliath

The Philistine and Israel armies were about to fight. A Philistine giant named Goliath scared the whole Israel army. David, a small young teenager, volunteered to fight him. He told Goliath that he had God on his side. When Goliath moved in for the kill, David hit him in the head with a rock from a slingshot.

John the Baptist

A cousin of Jesus, older by six months. His baptizing and preaching in the wilderness prepared the way for Jesus.

Holy Trinity

Father, Son, Holy Spirit

Judas

Apostle who betrayed Jesus

Crucifixion and Resurrection

Jesus died and came back 3 days later

Fall of Angels

Rejected God and chose evil, can't undo, fell from Heaven