Mythological Allusions Flashcards by Lisa Illgen

today, one spot that is most vulnerable; one weakness a person may have; this person was invulnerable except for his heel (—- tendon)

Achilles’ heel

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handsome young man; Aphrodite loved him

Adonis

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anything pertaining to wind; god who was Keeper of Wind

Aeolian

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a physically perfect male; the God of music and light; known for his physical beauty

Apollo

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omniscient, all-seeing; from the 100-eyed monster that Hera had guarding Io

Argus-eyed

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goddess of wisdom, the city, and the arts; patron goddess of the city of Athens

Athena

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strong like Atlas (who carried the world/globe on his shoulders

Atlantean

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early morning or sunrise; from the Roman personification of Dawn or Eos

Aurora

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wild, drunken party or rowdy celebration; from god of wine, Bacchus (Roman)/Dionysus (Greek)

Bacchanal

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pertaining to a wild, drunken party or celebration; from god of wine, Bacchus (Roman)/Dionysus (Greek)

Bacchanalian

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series of whistles-circus organ; from the Muse of eloquence or beautiful voice

Calliope

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a person who continually predicts misfortune but is often not believed; from (Greek legends) a daughter of Priam cursed by Apollo for not returning his love; he left her with the gift of prophecy but made it so no one would believe her

Cassandra

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a monster that had the heads, arms, and chest of a man, and the body and legs of a horse

centaur

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a horrible creature of the imageination, an absurd or impossible idea; wild fancy; a monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail, supposed to breathe fire

Chimera

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eager desire to possess something; greed or avarice; Roman god of love (Greek name is Eros)

cupidity

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of or having to do with sexual passion or love; Greek god of love (Eros)

erotic

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Latin: furere, to rage; wild enthusiasm or excitement, rage, fury, “run like fury;”any one of the 3 Furies

Furor

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a very ugly or terrible person, esp. a repulsive woman; Medusa, any one of the 3 sisters that have snakes for hair and faces so horrible that anyone who looked at them turned to stone

gorgon

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calm, peaceful, tranquil; archaic bird supposed to breed in a nest on the sea and calm the water, identified with kingfisher

halcyon

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a predatory person or nagging women; from harpy, a foul creature that was part woman + part bird

harpy

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to bully; from Hector, the son Priam (king of Troy), and the bravest Trojan warrior; killed Achilles’ friend Patroclus

Hector

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—-istic; of or relating to Greece, or a specialist of a language or culture in Greece; symbol of a beautiful woman; from ___ of Troy, the daughter of Leda and Zeus–cause of the Trojan War

Helen

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very strong or of extraordinary power; from Hercules, Hera’s glory, the son of Zeus; he performed the 12 labors imposed by Hera

Herculean

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having many centers or branches, hard to bring under control; something bad you cannot eradicate; from Hydra, the 9-headed serpent that was sacred to Hera; Hercules killed him in one of the 12 labors

Hydra-headed

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a play of colors producing rainbow effects; from Iris, goddess of the rainbow

iridescent

good humored; from the word Jove, used to express sour agreement (Jupiter)

jovial

marked by stately beauty; comes from the word Juno, the wife of Jupiter, the goddess of light, birth, women, and marriage

Junoesque

abnormal drowsiness or inertia; from the word Lethe, a river in Hades that caused drinkers to forget their past

lethargy

suited for war or a warrior; from Mars, the Roman god of war

martial

sorceress of enchantress; from ___ who helped Jason and the Argonauts capture the Golden Fleece; known for her revenge against Jason when he spurned her for the princess of Cornith

Medea

a trusted counselor or guide; from ___, a friend of Odysseus' son, who was entrusted with his education

mentor

suddenly cranky or changeable; Roman mythology, of or relating to the god ____

mercurial

a carrier of tidings, a newsboy, a messenger; messenger of the gods, conductor of souls to the lower world, and god of eloquence; the fabled inventor, wore winged hat and sandals

Mercury/Hermes

a device used to aid memory; the personification of memory, Mnemosyne, who gave birth to the nine Muses, who supposedly gave good memory in story-telling

mnemonics

a bitter white, crystalline alkaloid used to relieve pain and induce sleep; Morpheus was a god that could easily change form or shape

morphine

some creature of inspiration; the daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus, divine singers that presided over thought in all its forms

Muse

being in love with our own self-image; named for ____, a handsome young man who despised love; Echo, a nymph who was in love with him, was rejected and decreed, "Let he who loves not others, love himself." Hearing this, he fell in love with his image, while gazing in a pond, and drowned himself trying to capture it

narcissism

just punishment, one who inflicts due punishment; goddess who punishes crime; but more often she is the power charged with curbing all excess, such as excessive good fortune or arrogant pride

Nemesis

the sea personified; the Roman god associated with Poseidon, god of the water and oceans

Neptune

mournful woman; from ____ whose children were slain by Apollo and Artemis because if her bragging; the gods pitied her and turned her into a rock that was always wet from weeping

niobe

a long journey; named for ____ the character in a work of Homer's; he makes his long journey back from the Trojan War, encountering several obstacles along the way

odyssey

majestic in manner, superior to mundane affairs; any participant in the ancient or modern ___ games, named after 12 gods that were supposed to reside on Mt. Olympus

Olympian

a song of joy; a ritual epithet of Apollo the healer; an independent god of healing who took care of Hades when the latter was wounded

Paean

something that opens the door for bad occurrences, opened by someone known for curiosity; named for the first mortal, sent by Zeus, to punish man for his Prometheus' theft of fire; for her curiosity in opening the box, Zeus gave her all human ills in the world, leaving only hope at the bottom

Pandora's Box

mountain was sacred to the arts and literature; any center of poetic or artistic activity; poetry or poets collectively, a common title for selection of poetry; named after the hero of Mt. _____, the son of Poseidon and a Nymph; he founded the oracle of Python, which was latter occupied by Apollo

Parnassus

poetic inspiration; named after a winged horse which 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 Mt. Helicon

Pegasus

a symbol of immortality or rebirth; named after the Egyptian Mythology of a long bird which lived in the Arabian desert and then consumed itself in fire, rising renewed from the flame to start another life

Phoenix

a government by the wealthy; named after Pluton, the "Rich Man," a ritual tile of Hades; he was originally the god of the fields because the ground was the source of all wealth, ores, and jewels

plutocracy

life-bringing, creative, or courageously original; named after a Titan who brought man the use of fire which he had stolen from heaven for their benefit

promethean

taking many forms, versatile; named after Proteus, a god of the sea, charged with tending the flocks of 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

protean

the human soil, self, the mind; named after ___, a maiden who, after undergoing many hardships due to Aphrodite's jealousy, reunited with Cupid and was made immortal by Jupiter; she personifies the soul joined to the heart of love

psyche

someone (usually a male) who tries to fashion someone into the person he desires; from a myth adapted into a play by George Bernard Shaw; a woman-hating sculptor who makes a female figure of ivory who Aphrodite brings to life for him

pygmalion

a too costly victory; from Pyrrhus, a Greek king who defeated the Romans in 279 BC, but suffered extremely heavy losses in the fight

Pyrrhic victory

a period of unrestrained revelry; named after the ancient Roman festival of Saturn, with general feasting in revelry in honor of the winter solstice

saturnalia

sluggish, gloomy, morose, inactive in winter months; named after the god Saturn, often associated with god of the Underworld

saturnine

a witch or sorceress; a priestess who made known the oracles of Apollo and possessed the gift of prophecy

sibyl

greedy and avaricious; from the shrewd and greedy king of Corinth, Sisyphus, who was doomed forever in Hades to roll uphill a heavy stone, which always rolled down again

sisyphean

having a loud voice; after Stentor, a character in the Illiad who could shout as loudly as 50 men; he engaged in a shouting match against Hermes and was put to death after losing

stentorian

dark and gloomy; named after the river Styx, a river in the Underworld; the water is poisonous for human and cattle and said to break iron, metal, and pottery, though it is said a horse's hoof is unharmed by it

stygian

from King Tantalus, who reigned on Mt. Sipylus and 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

tantalize

pertaining to dance; fro Terpsichore, one of the nine muses, sometimes said to be the mother of the sires and the protector of dance

terpsichorean

large, grand, enormous; after 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

titanic

originated from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, whose forge is said to be under mountains

volcanoes

to treat rubber with sulfur to increase strength and elasticity; from the Roman god of Fire and Metallurgy, Vulcan/Hephaestus

vulcanize

a powerful man; king of the gods, rule of Mt. Olympus, vengeful hurler of thunderbolts

Zeus