Myth Vocab List 2

Question 1

Mercurial(adj)

Answer 1

Origin:The Roman god Mercury (“Mercurius” in Latin) was the messenger and herald of the gods and also the god of merchants and thieves.
Changing suddenly
Def:: having qualities of eloquence, ingenuity, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury or to the influence of the planet Mercury

Question 2

Myrmidon (n)

Answer 2

Origin: A member of a warlike Thessalian people who were ruled by Achilles and followed him on the expedition against Troy.

Def:a loyal follower; especially : a subordinate who executes orders unquestioningly or unscrupulously

Question 3

Narcissistic (adj)

Answer 3

Origin:The Greek myth of Narcissus, whose pride caused him to fall in love with his own reflection,

Def:love of or sexual desire for one’s own body

Question 4

Nectar (n)

Answer 4

Origin:Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology: Nectar. Beverage of the gods, which conferred immortality on any mortal lucky enough to partake of it. In this regard, nectar was like ambrosia, the divine food. The theft of either was a serious

Def:: a sweet liquid produced by plants and used by bees in making honey
b : something delicious to drink

Question 5

Nemesis (n)

Answer 5

Origin:Nemesis was the goddess of divine retribution and revenge, who would show her wrath to any human being that would commit hubris, i.e. arrogance before the gods

Def:
: an opponent or enemy that is very difficult to defeat

Question 6

Odyssey (n)

Answer 6

Origin:One of the great epics of ancient Greece, the Odyssey tells the story of the struggles and triumphs of the hero Odysseus as he made his way home after the Trojan War

Def:wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune

Question 7

Olympian (adj) Olympic (adj)

Answer 7

Origin:The Olympic Games a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honor of Zeus

Def:: of, relating to, or constituting the Olympic Games

Question 8

Paean (n)

Answer 8

Origin:
According to the poet Homer, the Greek god Apollo sometimes took the guise of Paean, physician to the gods. The earliest musical paeans were hymns of thanksgiving and praise that were dedicated to Apollo. They were sung at events ranging from boisterous festivals to public funerals, and were the traditional marching songs of armies heading into battle. Over time, the word became generalized, and it is now used for any kind of tribute.
Def:a song of joy, praise, or victory

Question 9

Palladium(n)

Answer 9

Origin:
a statue of Pallas whose preservation was believed to ensure the safety of Troy
Def:: a silver-white ductile malleable metallic element that is used especially in electrical contacts, as a catalyst, and in alloys

Question 10

Panic (n)

Answer 10

Origin:
Pan is the pipe-playing, nymph-chasing Greek god of fertility, pastures, flocks, and shepherds. He also has a rather dark side - his shout is said to have instilled fear in the giants fighting the gods, and the Greeks believed him responsible for causing the Persians to flee in terror at the battle of Marathon.
Def:a state or feeling of extreme fear that makes someone unable to act or think normally

Question 11

Philippic (n)

Answer 11

Origin:
In 351 B.C., the Greek orator Demosthenes delivered a fiery speech warning his countrymen against the imperialistic designs of Philip II, king of Macedon, and chastising them for their timidity and inaction. In Greek, this and subsequent such speeches on the subject made by Demosthenes were known as philippikoi logoi, literally, “speeches relating to Philip.”
Def:: a discourse or declamation full of bitter condemnation : tirade

Question 12

Plutocratic (adj)

Answer 12

Origin:
word plutocracy comes from the name of the Greek god of wealth, Plouton. “In ancient Greek religion and myth, Pluto was a name for the ruler of the underworld; the god was also known as Hades, a name for the underworld itself
Def:: a country that is ruled by the richest people

Question 13

Pollyanna (n)

Answer 13

Origin:

Def:: someone who thinks good things will always happen and finds something good in everything

Question 14

Procrustean (adj)

Answer 14

Origin:
Cruel or inflexible in enforcing conformity
Did You Know?
Procrustes was one of many villains defeated by the Greek hero Theseus. According to Greek mythology, Procrustes was a robber who killed his victims in a most cruel and unusual way. He made them lie on an iron bed and would force them to fit the bed by cutting off the parts that hung off the ends or by stretching those people who were too short. Something Procrustean, therefore, takes no account of individual differences but cruelly and mercilessly makes everything the same. And a “procrustean bed” is a scheme or pattern into which someone or something is arbitrarily forced.
Def:

Question 15

Protean(adj)

Answer 15

Origin:
Did You Know?
Proteus was the original master of disguise. According to Greek mythology, the grizzled old shepherd of Poseidon’s sea creatures possessed the gift of prophecy but didn’t like to share his knowledge. Proteus would escape those who wanted to question him by changing his shape. The only way to get a straight answer from him was to sneak up behind him during his midday nap and hold onto him (while he frantically changed from shape to shape) until he eventually revealed what he knew. The adjective “protean” describes anyone or anything that is as mutable and adaptable as the mythological shepherd.
Def:ion of protean
1
: of or resembling Proteus in having a varied nature or ability to assume different forms
2

Question 16

Pyrrhic (adj)

Answer 16

Origin:
Pyrrhus, king of Epirus who sustained heavy losses in defeating the Romans

VICTORY
Def:victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat.

Question 17

Saturnine (adj)

Answer 17

Origin:
Eeyore is saturnine. The gloomy, cynical character of A. A. Milne’s gray donkey typifies the personality type the ancient Romans ascribed to individuals born when the planet Saturn was rising in the heavens. Both the name of the planet and the adjective derive from the name of the Roman god of agriculture, who was often depicted as a bent old man with a stern, sluggish, and sullen nature. The Latin name for Saturn was Saturnus, which is assumed to have yielded the word Saturninus (meaning “of Saturn”) in Medieval Latin; that form was adapted to create English saturnine in the 15th centu
Def:: very serious and unhappy

Question 18

Siren (n)

Answer 18

Origin:one of a group of female creatures in Greek mythology whose singing attracted sailors and caused them to sail into dangerous water or tow

Def:
2 a woman who is very attractive but also dangerous
a : a woman who sings with enchanting sweetness

Question 19

Solon(n)

Answer 19

Origin:Solon was a particularly wise lawgiver in ancient Athens who was born in approximately 630 B.C. and lived until about 560 B.C. He was one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece, and he implemented a number of reforms in Athenian law. In English, his name has been used generically since at least 1625 to refer to any wise statesman. Contemporary American journalists, with whom the term is especially popular, have extended the meaning even further to include any member of a lawmaking body, wise or not. In fact, today the word is sometimes used ironically for a legislator who displays a marked lack of wisdom, rather than a profusion of it.

Def:

Question 20

Spartan (adj)

Answer 20

Origin:Sparta was a respected and most feared militaristic city-state in Ancient Greece. They dedicated their lives to the power of military, with a focus on quality of their warriors rather than quantity
SPARSE
Def::
Definition of Spartan. 1 : of or relating to Sparta in ancient Greece. 2a often not capitalized : marked by strict self-discipline or self-denial <a></a>

Question 21

Stentorian (adj)

Answer 21

Origin:The Greek herald Stentor was known for having a voice that came through loud and clear. In fact, in the Iliad, Homer described Stentor as a man whose voice was as loud as that of fifty men together. Stentor’s powerful voice made him a natural choice for delivering announcements and proclamations to the assembled Greek army during the Trojan War, and it also made his name a byword for any person with a loud, strong voice

Def:: very loud

Question 22

Stygian (adj)

Answer 22

Origin:
Stygian comes to us (by way of Latin stygius and Greek stygios) from Styx, the name of the principal river in Hades, the underworld of the dead in Greek mythology. This is the river over which Charon the boatman was said to ferry the spirits of the dead; the Greeks and Romans would place a coin in the mouth or hand of the deceased to serve as fare. It is also the river by which the gods swore their most binding oaths, according to the epics of Homer. English speakers have been using stygian to mean “of or relating to the river Styx” since the early 16th century. From there the meaning broadened to describe things that are as dark, dreary, and menacing as one might imagine Hades and the river Styx to be.

Def:extremely dark, gloomy, or forbidding

Question 23

Tantalize (v)

Answer 23

Origin:Pity poor King Tantalus of Phrygia. The mythic monarch offended the ancient Greek gods. As punishment, he was plunged up to his chin in water in Hades, where he had to stand beneath overhanging boughs of a tree heavily laden with ripe, juicy fruit. But though he was always hungry and thirsty, Tantalus could neither drink the water nor eat the fruit. Anytime he reached for them, they would retreat from him. Our word tantalize is taken from the name of the eternally tormented king.

Def:to tease or torment by or as if by presenting something desirable to the view but continually keeping it out of reach

Question 24

Terpsichorean (adj)

Answer 24

Origin:In Greek and Roman mythology, Terpsichore was one of the nine muses, those graceful sister-goddesses who presided over learning and the arts. Terpsichore was the patron of dance and choral song (and later lyric poetry), and in artistic representations she is often shown dancing and holding a lyre.

Def:: of or relating to dancing

Question 25

Thespian (adj)

Answer 25

Origin: Thespis, the guy who first took the stage in Ancient Greece

Def:actor

Question 26

Titanic (adj)

Answer 26

Origin:
Before becoming the name of one of the most famous ships in history, titanic referred to the Titans, a family of giants in Greek mythology who were believed to have once ruled the earth. They were subsequently overpowered and replaced by the younger Olympian gods under the leadership of Zeus. The size and power of the Titans is memorialized in the adjective titanic and in the noun titanium, a metallic element of exceptional strength that is used in the production of steel.

Def:very great in size, force, or power