Explore Mythological Allusions: From Achilles to Gorgon

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MATH 4150

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Dec 11, 2024

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Mythological AllusionsACHILLES' HEEL: GREEKThe one spot that is most vulnerable; one weakness that a very strong person may have; This word comes from Achilles (Ancient Greek name: Akhilleus), the greatest warrior on the battlefield at Troy, leader of the fearsome Myrmidons, sacker of cities, and slayer of Hector.ADONIS: GREEK (GOD ADONIS)a handsome young man; This word comes from Adonis. He was so handsome that Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation (Roman name: Venus) fell in love with him.AEOLIAN: THE GREEK GOD OF WINDanything pertaining to wind; This word comes from Aeolus. Modern usage, a diatonic scale also called the natural minor scaleAPOLLO: THE GOD OF MUSIC AND LIGHTa physically perfect male; This word comes from Apollo, the god of music and light, knownfor his physical beauty.ARGUS-EYED: FROM ARGUSOmniscient; all-seeing; can see everything; This word comes from Argus, a 100-eyed monster that the goddess Hera appointed to guard Io, the cow into which Io (Hera's priestess) had been transformed.ATHENA/MINERVA: PATRON GODDESS OF THE CITY OF ATHENSgoddess of wisdom, the city, and arts; This word comes from Athena, the patron goddess of the city of Athens (Greek name: Minerva).ATLANTEAN: CARRIED THE GLOBE (world) ON HIS SHOULDERSstrong enough to carry the planet; Earth This word comes from Atlas, who carried the globe (world) on his shoulders.AURORA: ROMAN PERSONIFICATION OF DAWNearly morning or sunrise; This word comes from the Roman personification of Dawn (Greek name: Eos)BACCHANAL: GOD OF WINEwild, drunken party or rowdy celebration; This word comes from the god of wine Bacchus (Roman religion).BACCHANALIAN: GREEKpertaining to a wild, drunken party or celebration; This word comes from the Roman god of wine Bacchus (Greek: Dionysus).CALLIOPE: MUSE OF BEAUTIFUL VOICESseries of whistles, circus organ; This word comes from the Muse of eloquence or beautifulvoices.CASSANDRA: GREEK LEGENDS (daughter of Priam)a person who continually predicts misfortune but often is not believed; This word comes from (Greek legend) a daughter of Priam cursed by Apollo for not returning his love. Apollo left her with the gift of prophecy but made it so no one would believe her.CENTAUR: ROMAN MYTHOLOGY

a creature that is half-man, half-horse, with a large appetite for sensual pleasures; This word comes from a monster that had the head, arms, and chest of a man, and the body and legs of a horseCHIMERA: late Middle English: from Latin from Greeka horrible creature of the imagination, an absurd or impossible idea; wild fancy This word comes from a monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail, supposed to breathe out fire. Modern meaning is a genetic chimerism or chimera is a single organism composed of cells with more than one distinct genotypeCUPIDITY: ROMAN GOD OF LOVEeager desire to possess something; greed or avarice This word comes from Cupid, the Roman god of love (Greek name: Eros).EROTIC; GREEK GOD OF LOVEof or having to do with sexual passion or love; This word comes from Greek god of love, Eros (Roman: Cupid). A magnificently handsome young man, he is the son of Venus. In art,he is shown as a chubby, winged infant who shoots arrows to make people fall in love.FUROR:ONE OF THE 3 FURIES wild enthusiasm or excitement, rage; fury, "run like fury"; This word comes from any one of the Three Furies, minor female gods, the daughters of Gaea who punished crimes at theinstigation of the victims GORGON: MEDUSAa very ugly or terrible person, especially a repulsive woman; This word comes from the Medusa, any one or three sisters with snakes instead of hair and faces so horrible that anyone who looked at them turned to stone.HALCYON: late Middle English (in the mythological sense): via Latin from Greekcalm, peaceful, tranquil; This word comes from a bird that can breed in a nest on the sea and calm the waters HARPY: late Middle English: from Latin harpyia, from Greek harpuia ‘snatchers’.a predatory person or nagging woman; This word comes from the harpy, a foul creature that was part woman, part bird.HECTOR:ONE OF PRIAMto bully; This word comes from Hector, the son of Priam (king of Troy) and the bravest Trojan warrior. He killed Achilles' friend Patroclus.HELEN (OF TROY): ONE OF ZEUSHellenistic; of or relating to Greece, or a Specialist of language or culture in Greece; symbol of a beautiful woman; This word comes from Helen of Troy, the daughter of Leda and Zeus. Helen was the cause of the Trojan War.HERCULEAN: ONE OF HERCULESvery strong or of extraordinary power; This word comes from Hercules, Hera's glory, the son of Zeus. He performed the 12 labors imposed by Hera.HYDRA-HEADED: HYDRAhaving many centers or branches, hard to bring under control; something bad you cannot eradicate .This word comes from Hydra, the 9-headed serpent that was sacred to Hera. Hercules killed him in one of the 12 labors of Hercules.IRIDESCENT: GODDESS OF THE RAINBOWa play of colors producing rainbow effects; This word comes from Iris, goddess of the rainbow.

JOVIAL: ROMAN GOD OF JUPITERgood humored; This word comes from the word Jove, a shorter name for the Roman god Jupiter, when people in Roman times would swear by him.JUNOESQUE: GODDESS OF LIGHTmarked by stately beauty; This word comes from the word Juno, the wife of Jupiter, the Goddess of light, birth, women, and marriageLETHARGY: WORD OF LETHE abnormal drowsiness or inertia; This word comes from Lethe, a river in Hades (the Underworld) that caused drinkers to forget their pastMARTIAL: GOD OF WARsuited for war or a warrior; This word comes from Mars, the Roman god of warMEDEA: sorceress from Colchissorceress or enchantress; This word comes from Medea, who helped Jason and the Argonauts capture the Golden Fleece. She is known for her revenge against Jason when hespurned her in favor of the princess of Corinth.MENTOR: mid 18th century: via French and Latin from Greek a trusted counselor or guide; This word comes from Mentor, a friend of Odysseus' son, who was entrusted with his education.MERCURIAL: late Middle English suddenly cranky or changeable; This word comes from (Roman mythology) Mercury messenger of the gods, conductor of souls to the lower world, and god of eloquence. He isa fabled inventor who wore winged hats and sandals (Greek: Hermes).MERCURY/HERMES: from the Latin merx, meaning "merchandise," and from where we get the words "merchant" and "commerce."a carrier or tidings, a newsboy, a messenger; This word comes from (Roman mythology) Mercury messenger of the gods, conductor of souls to the lower world, and god of eloquence. He is a fabled inventor who wore winged hats and sandals (Greek: Hermes).MNEMONICS: mid 18th century (as an adjective): via medieval Latin from Greeka device used to aid memory; This word comes from Mnemosyne., who gave birth to the nine Muses, who supposedly gave good memory for long storytelling.MORPHINE: derived from the Ancient Greek: meaning 'form, shape'a bitter white, crystalline alkaloid used to relieve pain and induce sleep; This word comes from Morpheus, a god who could easily change his form or shape.MUSE: late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin musa, from Greek mousaa source of inspiration; This word comes from the Muses, the daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus, singing goddesses who presided over thought in all its forms.NARCISSISM: from the Greek myth about Narcissus being in love with our own self-image; excessive physical self-love This word comes from Narcissus, a handsome young man who despised love. He despised Echo, a nymph who was in love with him. She decreed, "Let he who loves not others, love himself." He fell in love with his image while gazing in a pond. He drowned himself trying to capture it.NEMESIS: late 16th century: Greek, literally ‘retribution’just punishment, one who inflicts due punishment; This word comes from Nemesis, a goddess who punishes crime. She is the power charged with curbing all excess, such as excessive good fortune or arrogant pride.NEPTUNE: From the Latin Neptunus, which is of unknown meaning

the sea personified; This word comes from (Roman religion) Neptune, the god of freshwater and the sea (Greek: Poseidon).NIOBE: Greek origin with the meaning of "fern."mournful woman; This word comes 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:from the name of Homer's Ancient Greek poem Οδυσσεια (meaning “the story of Odysseus”a long journey; This word comes from Odysseus, the main character in The Odyssey, an epic poem by Homer. Odysseus makes his long journey home, returning from the Trojan War, encountering several obstacles along the way.OLYMPIAN: late 15th centurymajestic in manner, superior to mundane affairs; any participant in the ancient or modern Olympic games This word comes from the 12 gods that resided on Mt. Olympus.PAEAN: late 16th century: via Latin from Greek a song of joy; In Homeric poems, an independent god of healing named Paean or Paeon took care of Hades when the latter was wounded. This word was a ritual title for Apollo the healer.PANDORA'S BOX: from the ancient Greek story about a character named Pandora,Something that opens the door for bad occurrences, opened by someone known for curiosity; This word comes from Pandora, the first mortal. She was sent by Zeus, to punishman for Prometheus' theft of fire. She was curious and opened the box that Zeus gave her. All human ills in the world escaped, leaving only Hope at the bottom.PARNASSUS: A mountain in central Greece, adjacent the site of the ancient city of DelphiAny center of poetic or artistic activity; a group of poetry or poets; a common title for a selection of poetry This word comes from the hero of Parnassus, the son of Poseidon and a nymph. Mt. Parnassus is a mountain that was sacred to arts and literature.PEGASUS: from Greek mythology which was fathered by Poseidon Poetic inspiration; This word comes from a winged horse that sprang from the blood of Medusa at her death. A stamp of his hoof caused Hippocrene, the fountain of the Muses, to issue poetic inspiration from Mount Helicon.PHOENIX: Egyptian mythologya symbol of immortality or rebirth; This word comes from (Egyptian mythology) the phoenix, a long-living bird that lived in the Arabian desert. It consumes itself in fire, rising renewed from the flame to start another long life.PLUTOCRACY: mid 17th century: from Greeka government by the wealthy; This word comes from Pluton, the "Rich Man," a ritual titleof Hades. He was originally the god of the fields because the ground was the source of all wealth, ores and jewels.PROMETHEAN: from Prometheus. Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humans.life-bringing, creative, or courageously original; This word comes from Prometheus, a Titan who brought man the use of fire which he had stolen from heaven for their benefit. In Greek mythology, the Titans were gods who preceded the Olympians. They were children of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth). Led by Cronus, they overthrew Uranus. Cronus' son, Zeus, rebelled against his father and eventually defeated the Titans.PROTEAN:late 16th century: from Proteus

taking many forms, versatile; This word comes from Proteus, a god of the sea, charged with tending 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: mid 17th century: via Latin from Greek the human soul, self, the mind; This word comes from Psyche, a maiden who, after undergoing many hardships due to Aphrodite's jealousy, reunited with Cupid and was made immortal by Jupiter. She symbolizes a soul joined to the heart of love.PYGMALION:from ancient Greek mythologysomeone (usually a male) who tries to fashion someone into the person he desires; This word comes from a myth about a woman- hating sculptor who makes a female figure of ivory. Aphrodite brings the statue to life for him.PYRRHIC VICTORY: Pyrrhic victory is named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in defeating the Romans at the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC.a too costly victory; a win that is actually a loss; This word comes from Pyrrhus, a Greek king who defeated the Romans in 279 BC, but suffered extremely heavy losses in the fight.SATURNALIA: originated as a farmer's festival to mark the end of the autumn planting season in honour of Saturn (status means sowing).a period of unrestrained revelry; This word comes from the ancient Roman festival of Saturn, with general feasting in revelry in honor of the winter solstice.SATURNINE: late Middle English (as a term in astrology): from Old Frenchsluggish, gloomy, morose, inactive in winter months; This word comes from the god Saturn, often associated with the god of the Underworld.SIBYL: from Old French Sibile or medieval Latina witch or sorceress; a teller of futures; This word comes from a priestess who made known the oracles of Apollo and possessed the gift of prophecy.SISYPHEAN: late 16th century: from Latingreedy and avaricious; This word comes from the shrewd and greedy king of Corinth, Sisyphus, who was doomed forever in Hades to roll uphill a heavy stone that always rolleddown again.STENTORIAN: "of powerful voice," c. 1600, from Stentor, legendary Greekhaving a loud voice; death after losing; This word comes from Stentor, a character in The Iliad, who could shout as loudly as 50 men. He engaged in a shouting match against Hermes and was put to death after losing.STYGIAN: comes to us (by way of Latin "stygius" and Greek "stygios") from "Styx," the name of the principal river in Hadesdark and gloomy; This word comes from the river Styx in the Underworld. The water is poisonous for humans and cattle and said to break iron, metal and pottery, though a horse's hoof is unharmed.TANTALIZE: late 16th century: from Tantalusto entice without satisfaction; This word comes from King Tantalus, who reigned on Mt. Sipylus 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 the gods as a trick).TITANIC: derives from the Titan of Greek mythology

large, grand, enormous; This word comes from 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.VULCANIZE: early 19th century (in the sense ‘throw into a fire’): from Vulcanto treat rubber with sulfur to increase strength and elasticity; This word comes from the Roman god of fire and metallurgy, Vulcan (Greek: Hephaestus).VOLCANO: early 17th century: from Italian, from Latin Volcanus ‘Vulcan’.a mountain that erupts with fire; This word comes from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, whose forge is said to be under mountains.ZEUS: 13th century BCEa powerful man; This word comes from the king of the gods, ruler of Mt. Olympus, vengeful hurler of thunderbolts.Allusions from LiteratureBABBITT: from the name George Babbitt, the protagonist of the novelBabbitt(1922) by Sinclair Lewis.a self-satisfied person concerned chiefly with business and middle-class ideals like material success; a member of the American working class whose unthinking attachment to its business and social ideals is such to make him a model of narrow-mindedness and self-satisfaction ; after George F. Babbitt, the main character in the novel Babbitt by Sinclair LewisBROBDINGNAGIAN:early 18th century: from Brobdingnag, the name given by Swift (inGulliver's Travels) to a land where everything is of huge sizegigantic, enormous, on a large scale, enlarged ; after Brobdingnag, the land of giants visited by Gullivar in Gullivar's Travels, by Jonathan SwiftBUMBLE: late Middle Englishto speak or behave clumsily or faltering, to make a humming or droning sound; Middle English bomblem; a clumsy religious figure (a beadle) in a work of literatureBYRONIC HERO:19th-century EnglishCooked up by the "mad, bad, and dangerous to know" Lord Byron, a Byronic hero is an antihero of the highest order. He (or she) is typically rebellious, arrogant, anti-social or in exile, and darkly, enticingly romantic.CINDERELLA: French story Cendrillon, first published in 1697 by Charles Perrault, though Chinese and Greek versions of this classic tale go back to the 9th century CE and 6th century BCEone who gains affluence or recognition after obscurity and neglect, a person or thing whose beauty or worth remains unrecognized; after the fairytale heroine who escapes form a life of drudgery through the intervention of a fairy godmother and marries a handsome prince

DON JUAN: originatedas a hero-villain of Spanish folk legend, and his fame spread through the rest of Europe in the 17th century.a libertine, profligate, a man obsessed with seducing women ; after Don Juan, the legendary 14th century Spanish nobleman and libertineDON QUIXOTE: comes from the main character in the humorous bookDon Quixotede la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes.someone overly idealistic to the point of having impossible dreams; from the crazed and impoverished Spanish noble who sets out to revive the glory of knighthood, romanticized in the musical The Man of La Mancha based on the story by CervantesPANGLOSSIAN: 1831, from French Panglosse, the name of the philosopher and tutor in Voltaire's "Candide" (1758)blindly or misleadingly optimistic; after Dr. Pangloss in Candide by Voltaire, a pedantic old tutorFALSTAFFIAN: from Falstaff, the family name of Sir John Falstaff, a fictional character in two of Shakespeare's historical playsfull of wit and bawdy humor; after Falstaff, a fat, sensual, boastful, and mendacious knightwho was the companion of Henry, Prince of WalesFAUST/FAUSTIAN: From a German surname that was derived from the Latin name FAUSTUS. This is the name of a character in German legends about a man who makes a deal with the devil.perfect for describing a circumstance in which a person compromises her beliefs or moralsin order to achieve some kind of success. Faustian is inspired by the literary character Faust, who was based on an actual German Renaissance-era astrologer, magician, and alchemist.FRANKENSTEIN: in 1816 in Geneva, where she was staying with her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, their friend Lord Byron and Lord Byron's physician, John Polidori. The group, trapped indoors passed the time telling and writing ghost stories.Anything that threatens or destroys its creator; from the young scientist in Mary Shelley's novel of this name, who creates a monster that eventually destroys himFRIDAY: Fromthe Old English Frīġedæġ, meaning the "day of FrigeA faithful and willing attendant, ready to turn his hand to anything; from the young savage found by Robinson Crusoe on a Friday, and kept as his servant and companion on the desert islandGALAHAD: of Englishorigin:

A pure and noble man with limited ambition; in the legends of King Arthur, the purest andmost virtuous knight of the Round Table, the only knight to find the Holy GrailJEKYLL & HYDE: originatedthe dual portrayal ofJekyllandHydein an 1887 stage adaptation of Stevenson's novella.A capricious person with two sides to his/her personality; from a character in the famous novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who had more than one personality, a split personality (one good and one evil)LILLIPUTIAN: early 18th century: from the imaginary country ofLilliputin Swift'sGulliver's Travelsdescriptive of a very small person or of something diminutive, trivial or petty; after the Lilliputians, tiny people in Gullivar's Travels by Jonathan SwiftLITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY: published as a serial in St. Nicholas Magazine from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's (the publisher of St. Nicholas) in 1886.refers either to a certain type of children's clothing or to a beautiful, but pampered and effeminate small boy; from a work by Frances H. Burnett, the main character, seven-year-old Cedric Errol, was a striking figure, dressed in black velvet with a lace collar and yellow curlsLOTHARIO: from a character in Rowe'sFair Penitent(1703).used to describe a man whose chief interest is seducing a woman; from the play The Fair Penitent by Nicholas Rowe, the main character and the seducerMALAPROPISM:mid 19th centuryThe usually unintentional humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase, especially the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended, but ludicrously wrong in context - Example: polo bears. Mrs. Malaprop was a character noted for her misuse of words in R. B. Sheridan's comedy The RivalsMILQUETOAST: 1930s: from the name of a cartoon character, Caspar Milquetoast, created by H. T. Webster in 1924.a timid, weak, or unassertive person; from Casper Milquetoast, who was a comic strip character created by H.T. WebsterORWELLIAN: first used in 1950, the year of the author's death.a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society.PICKWICKIAN: 1836-1837 by Charles Dickenshumorous, sometimes derogatory; from Samuel Pickwick, a character in Charles Dickens' Pickwickian Papers

POLLYANNA: early 20th century: the name of the optimistic heroine created by Eleanor Hodgman Porter (1868–1920), American author of children's stories.a person characterized by impermissible optimism and a tendency to find good in everything, a foolishly or blindly optimistic person; from Eleanor Porter's heroine, Pollyanna Whittier, in the book PollyannaPOOH-BAH: from the name of a character in W. S. Gilbert'sThe Mikado(1885).a pompous, ostentatious official, especially one who, holding many offices, fulfills none of them, a person who holds high office ; after Pooh-Bah LordHigh-Everything-Else, characterin The Mikado, a musical by Gilbert and SullivanQUIXOTIC: late 18th centuryhaving foolish and impractical ideas of honor, or schemes for the general good; after Don Quixote, a half-crazy reformer and knight of the supposed distressed, in a novel by the same nameROBOT: 1920s: from Czech, fromrobota‘forced labor’a machine that looks like a human being and performs various acts of a human being, a similar but functional machine whose lack of capacity for human emotions is often emphasized by an efficient, insensitive person who functions automatically, a mechanism guided by controls from Karel Capek's Rossum's Universal Robots (1920), taken from the Czech "robota," meaning drudgeryRODOMONTADE: early 17th century: from French, from obsolete Italianrodomontade, from Italianrodomont, from the name of a boastful character in the medievalOrlandoepicsbluster and boasting, to boast (rodomontading or rodomontaded); from Rodomont, a brave, but braggart knight in Bojardo's Orlando Inamorato; King of Sarza or Algiers, son of Ulteus, and commander of both horse and foot n the Saracen ArmyROMEO: written between 1591 and 1595an attractive, passionate male seducer or lover. The name Romeo is a boy's name of Italian origin meaning "pilgrim to Rome, Roman".SCROOGE: published in 1843a bitter and/or greedy person; from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, an elderly stingy miser who is given a reality check by 3 visiting ghostsSIMON LEGREE:a harsh, cruel, or demanding person in authority, such as an employer or officer that acts in this manner ; from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Ward, the brutal slave overseer

SVENGALI: early 20th century: the name of a musician in George du Maurier's novelTrilby(1894), who controls Trilby's stage singing hypnotically.a person with an irresistible hypnotic power; from a person in a novel written in 1894 by George Maurier’s; a musician who hypnotizes and gains control over the heroineTARTUFFE: from the name of the principal character (a religious hypocrite) in Molière's Tartuffe (1664).hypocrite or someone who is hypocritical; central character in a comedy by Moliere produced in 1667; Moliere was famous for his hypocritical pietyUNCLE TOM: mid-19th century someone thought to have the timid service attitude like that of a slave to his owner; from the humble, pious, long-suffering Negro slave in Uncle Tom's Cabin by abolitionist writer StoweURIAH HEEP:a fawning toadie, an obsequious person; from a character in Charles Dickens' David Copperfield (1849-50);