Myth Vocab List 1 Flashcards
Adonis (n.)
Origin:From the Semitic Adonai, which means “lord”. In Greek myth Adonis was a handsome young shepherd killed while hunting a wild boar. The anemone flower is said to have sprung from his blood. Because he was loved by Aphrodite, Zeus allowed him to be restored to life for part of each year
Def:: a youth loved by Aphrodite who is killed at hunting by a wild boar and restored to Aphrodite from Hades for a part of each year
2
: a very handsome young man
Aegis(n)
Origin:The aegis is a shield carried primarily by Zeus in Greek mythology, which he sometimes lent to Athena. According to other sources, it was not a shield but rather an animal skin worn over the garments of the gods as extra protection. It bore the head of a Gorgon and made a terrible roaring sound during the battle. The aegis was forged by the Cyclopes in Hephaestus’ forge, and had golden serpent-like scales and a Gorgon’s head rolling its eyes. In some texts, it was mentioned that when Zeus would shake the aegis, clouds would cover Mount Ida and men would hide in fear.
In Greek, the word aegis has various meanings, including a violent windstorm, a divine shield, and a goatskin garment.
Def:protection, sponsorship
Amazon(n)
Origin: in Greek mythology, member of a race of women warriors.
Def:one of a nation of female warriors said to dwell near the Black Sea.
Ambrosial(adj)
Origin:ambrosia-the food of the gods, thought to confer immortality
Def:Pertaining to or worthy of the gods. Succulently sweet or fragrant;
Atlas(n)
Origin:Titan,responsible for bearing the weight of the heavens on his shoulders, a burden given to him as punishment by Zeus. Father of many stars and a protagonist in one of Hercules’ famous labours, this giant of a god gave his name to a huge mountain range in northern Africa, the great Atlantic Ocean and any large collection of maps.
Def:a person who supports a great burden
Auroral(adj)
Origin:Aurora is the Roman personification of the dawn. She is also the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Eos. Aurora is seen as a lovely woman who flies across the sky announcing the arrival of the sun. Aurora has two siblings: a brother, the sun, and a sister, the moon. She has had quite a number of husbands and sons. Four of her sons are the four winds (north, south, east, and west). According to one myth, her tears cause the dew as she flies across the sky weeping for one of her sons, who was killed. Aurora is certainly not the most brilliant goddess as she asked Zeus to grant one of her husbands immortality, but forgot to ask for everlasting youth. As a result, her husband soon became aged. Aurora is not one of the better-known goddesses. However, Shakespeare refers to her in his famous play Romeo and Juliet.
Def:of or like the dawn
Bacchanalian(adj)/bacchic(adj)
Origin:Bacchus (Dionysus), God of wine
Def: a drunken party, wild with drunkenness
Cassandra(n)
daughter of Priam endowed with the gift of prophecy but fated never to be believed
Pessimist, debby downer
Def:one that predicts misfortune or disaster
Origin: daughter of Priam and Hecuba. According to the Myth, was astonishingly beautiful and blessed with the gift of foreseeing the future. Her curse was that no one believed her, a fact that weighed heavily on the destruction of Troy during the Trojan War.
Chimerical(adj)/chimeric(n)
Def:
Unreal, imaginary, fantastic, absurd;
origin: chimera, breathed fire, had a lions heard and goat’s/lions body, with a serpents tail
Draconian
Origin:Draco (Athenian lawgiver), set up harsh code of laws
Def:cruel, severe, harsh
Echolalia(n)
Origin:Echolalia derives from the Greek words “echo” meaning “sound,” and “lalia” meaning “a form of speech.” In Greek mythology, Echo is a nymph, an unfortunate victim of Zeus’ jealous wife, Hera, who is punished by Hera and no longer able to use her voice except in the form of echolalia. Echolalia refers to speech in stock phrases that simply involves copying and repeating another person’s utterance word for word. For example, a child might immediately repeat out loud his mother’s utterance “Drink your milk” at the dinner table, or a child might say “Trix are for kids” over and over again, repeating something he or she had obviously heard on TV the day before.
Def:Psychiatry.the uncontrollable and immediate repetition of words spoken by another person.
he imitation by a baby of the vocal sounds produced by others, occurring as a natural phase of childhood development.
Elysian(adj)
Origin:: Elysian fields were a place of paradise in the Underworld
Def:heavenly
Eristic(adj)
Origin:
named after the Greek goddess of disorder, Eris, also known as discordia
Def:the process of creating strife, discord, or confusion
Fauna(n)
Origin:Roman Goddess of Prophecy and fruitfulness
goddess of the fertility of woodlands,
In ancient Roman religion, Fauna is a goddess said in differing ancient sources to be the wife, sister, or daughter of Faunus (the Roman counterpart of Pan). Varro regarded her as the female counterpart of Faunus, and said that the fauni all had prophetic powers. She is also called Fatua or Fenta Fauna.
Def:the animals of a given region or period considered as a whole.
Flora(n)
Origin:in Roman mythology was a Sabine-derived goddess of flowers and of the season of spring – a symbol for nature and flowers
Def:all the plants that live in a particular area, time, period, or environment
Forum(n)
Origin:was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls. Many forums were constructed at remote locations along a road by the magistrate responsible for the road, in which case the forum was the only settlement at the site and had its own name, such as Forum Popili or Forum Livi
Def:the marketplace or public place of an ancient Roman city forming the center of judicial and public business
a public meeting place for open discussion
Hector(v)
Origin:the greatest Trojan hero
capitalized : a son of Priam, husband of Andromache, and Trojan champion slain by Achilles
Def:bully, intimidate, threaten
Herculean(adj)
Origin:of Hercules
Def:Task requiring great strength, or very difficult;
of extraordinary power, extent, intensity, or difficulty
Hermetic(adj)
origin: Belonging to Hermes, the inventor of a magic seal while delivering messages (messages sealed)
Def:made airtight
Iridescent(adj)
Origin:Greek goddess Iris, keeper of the rainbow
Def:colors like the rainbow
Jovial(adj)
Origin:Roman god of sky, Jupiter or Jove meaning “good-humored, merry”
Def:Joyous humor
Labyrinthine(adj)
Origin: Labyrinth; The maze in which the Minotaur was confined
Def:complicated, tortuous, confusing
Laconic (adj)
Origin:
. A Spartan was called a Lacon from Laconia, the land inwhich he dwelt. The Spartans were noted for their brusque and sententious speech. When Philip of Macedon wrote to the Spartan magistrates, “If I enter Laconia, I will level Lacedæmon to the ground,” the ephors wrote word back the single word,”if”
Def:Very concise and pithy
Lethargic(adj)
Origin:Lethe, river in Hades whose water, when drunk caused forgetfulnes
Def:drowsy,sluggish
