Classical Allusions Flashcards

0
Q

Agamemnon

A

Unfaithful husband to Clytemnestra

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1
Q

Achilles

A

The term “Achilles’ heel” refers to the vulnerable part of a person’s character

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2
Q

Antigone

A

Symbolic of the choice between god’s authority and civil authority, or the choice between between justice and law

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3
Q

Atalanta

A

The archetype of speed, strength and daring foiled by a trick of the intellect

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4
Q

Atlas

A

“Has the weight of the world on his shoulders”

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5
Q

Cassandra

A

Represents an accurate but unheeded prophet of doom

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6
Q

Daedalus and Icarus

A

Symbolic of the danger involved in daring to enter “the realm of the gods”

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7
Q

Damocles, sword of

A

The term indicates impending disaster

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8
Q

Damon and Pythias

A

Symbolize lasting friendship

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9
Q

Dionysus or Bacchus

A

The god of wine, revelry, the power of nature, fertility and emotional ecstasy. He is usually thought of in terms of overuse or excess

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10
Q

Iphigenia

A

Fair winds

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11
Q

Judgement of Paris

A

“To the fairest”; the disastrous choice of love and beauty over less ephemeral attributes

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12
Q

Laius

A

Symbolic of the inevitable usurpation of father by son, familiar theme in folklore

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13
Q

Medusa

A

Monsters who had snakes for hair and faces so horrifying that just the sight of them turned men into stone

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14
Q

Minotaur

A

Monster with a bull’s head and a man’s body

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15
Q

Myrmidons

A

Brutality and savagery

16
Q

Nirvana

A

Ideal condition of harmony

17
Q

Odyssey

A

The ten-year-long homeward journey of Odysseus and his men after the Trojan War

18
Q

Oedipus

A

“Oedipus Complex”

19
Q

Pandora

A

Pandora’s box refers to a gift that turns out to be a curse. It also refers to the unanticipated consequences of one’s actions, as in “opening a can of worms”

20
Q

Persephone

A

The myth of Persephone is the classical explanation for the seasons

21
Q

Phoenix

A

The phoenix frequently symbolizes death and resurrection, or eternal life

22
Q

Procrutes

A

The term “Procrustean bed” connotes a rigid standard to which exact conformity is enforced

23
Q

Prometheus

A

The champion of men against the gods

24
Proteus
Protean means versatile
25
Pygmalion
When you fall in love with your creation and it comes to life
26
Pyrrhus
A Pyrrhic victory is one that was won at much too high a price
27
Romulus and Remus
Founded the city of Rome; brothers who fought
28
Satyrs
The satyr play treated serious matters in a grotesquely comic way
29
Scylla and Charyhdis
"Between a rock and a hard place"
30
Sisyphus
He serves as a constant metaphor for the never-ending struggle to complete one's task, only to be thwarted by still more hurdles
31
Sphinx
The sphinx represents monumental silence in literary references
32
Tantalus
His names gives us the word: "tantalize"
33
Trojan Horse
"Beware of Greeks bearing gifts"