Allusions Semester 1 Origins Flashcards
Achilles’ Heel
This term is from Greek Mythology. According, to myth, when Achilles was a baby, his mother dipped him in the River Styx because the waters from this river gave immortality to humans. His mother held him by his heel, so that was the only place on his body not touched by the water. From then on, Achilles’ heel was his one area of vulnerability. Eventually, Achilles was killed during the Trojan War when a poisoned arrow struck his heel.
Pound of Flesh
This phrase comes from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. In this play, Shylock, a moneylender, agrees to finance a fleet of ships for a young merchant, Antonio. In the contract, Shylock demands a pound of Antonio’s flesh as payment should anything happen to the ships. When the ships are lost at sea, Shylock insists that he must have a pound of flesh, as the contract demanded. Antonio is spared only because of technicality: the contract did not say Shylock was entitled to any of Antonio’s blood. Thus, he cannot take a pound of Antonio’s flesh unless he can do so bloodlessly, an impossibility.
Sacred Cow
In Hinduism, cows are considered to be sacred; thus, cows are not to be harmed, and certainly not killed for food. If a cow wanders into a shop, the merchant can only try to lure it out with food; he is not allowed to interfere with it by prodding or poking, even if it is breaking everything in his shop.
Crossing the Rubicon
After defeating the Gauls in the Gallie Wars, Julius Caesar was ordered home by his enemies in the Senate, so he traveled south toward Italy. The Rubicon was the river forming the northern boundary of Italy. By Roman law, a general was forbidden from crossing into Italy with an army. Nevertheless, Caesar led his army across the river, making civil war inevitable. After Caesar crossed the Rubicon, there was no turning back for him and his troops.
Pearls before Swine
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus admonished his followers to “cast not your pearls before swine.” That is, his followers were to deliver their message to those who would appreciate it, not to those incapable of appreciating something of value. Swine, or pigs, would be unable to appreciate pearls if the jewels were given to them.
Once in a Blue Moon
A “blue moon” is a second full moon within the same calendar month, a phenomenon that occurs approximately every three years. It is thought that calendar makes traditionally pictured the first full moon in red and a second full moon in the same month in blue.
Mrs. Grundy
In Speed the Plough, a 1798 play by Thomas Morton, Mrs. Grundy is a character who never appears on stage. However, often characters frequently ask, “What would Mrs. Grundy say?” Mrs. Grundy is a narrow-minded, conventional, prudish person.
Crocodile Tears
Crocodiles were once thought to shed large tears before devouring their prey. This belief, which dates to ancient times, comes from the fate that crocodiles have small ducts in the corner of their eyes which release “tears” when the crocodile opens its jaws wide. Obviously, a cold-blooded reptile has no real feelings of sympathy for its prey.
Sirens
In Greek mythology, Sirens were sea creatures who lured sailors to their death beds on the rocky shores by singing a beautiful, irresistible song. They are usually depicted as women, or as half-woman, half bird.
Read the Riot Act
Under English Common Law, an unruly crowd had to be read the Riot Act before action could be taken, to force them to disperse.
Thirty Pieces of Silver/Betrayed with a Kiss
In the Bible, Judas Iscariot was the disciple who agreed to betray Jesus to the authorities in exchange for payment. The thirty pieces of silver were the price of Judas’ betrayal. The way Judas identified Jesus for the authorities was to approach Jesus and greet him with a kiss of identification.
Gordian Knot
According to legend, Gordius was a Greek king. He tied an extremely complex knot, and an oracle prophesied that whoever untied it would rule all of Asia. Alexander the Great “untied” the knot simply by cutting through it with his sword.
Ivory Tower
A French poet, Alfred de Vigny, was said to have shut himself in an ivory tower so that he could compose his poems. Furthermore “ivory towers” are mentioned in various 18th-century fairy tales. The term thus refers to a beautiful, unreachable place. It has come to have negative connotations of being out of touch with reality.
All that Glitters is not Gold
This is a proverb derived from a Latin translation of Aristotle. The proverb read, “Do not hold as gold all that shines as gold.” In other words, just because something looks like gold, one should not assume that it actually is gold.
Sound and Fury
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, when Macbeth is informed that his wife has died, he speaks of the inevitability of death.
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is head no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Icarus/Fly Too Close to the Sun
In Greek Mythology, Icarus and his father, Daedadlus escaped from the island of Crete, by means of wings constructed by Daedalus. The wings were held on by means of wax, and although Daedalus had warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, Icarus did not heed the warning; the wax melted and he fell to his death in the Aegan Sea.
Bread and Cicuses
This phrase was used by a writer during the time of the Roman Empire. He deplored the fact that the Imperial government was able to keep the populace content merely by distributing free food and providing entertaining spectacles such as the fights in the Colosseum between people or between people and animals. The writer declared that it was shameful that people could be so easily kept in line simply by receiving “bread and circuses” from the government.
Deus ex Machina
This phrase literally means “god from the mechane”. In classical theater, the mechane was a crane with a harness for an actor. The actor could thus be lowered from the ceiling and appear to be flying. In many classical plays, a god would unexpectedly appear, flying to earth to solve a seemingly hopeless problem or save the hero or heroine.
