PERSISTENCE OF MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS IN BUSINESS ADVERTISING ASHLEY BENTIVEGNA Also including Popular Culture References

 -Company Names and products:  -Military/Space Programs:  -Popular Culture References:  Songs  Video Games  Common Mythological Phrases in Popular Culture  References in Movies-Harry Potter

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Ajax the Great, or Greater:  Son of Telamon  Prince of Salamis  Ajax is known for his size and strength, so much so that the tag line of a popular cleaning product was "Ajax: Stronger than dirt."

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Nike:  Winged goddess of victory  Can run and fly at great speeds Nike represents speed and victory it seems appropriate that an athletic company would choose this goddess to represent their company

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Trident:  Name if the three-pronged spear of Poseidon's  ** “Tria is Greek for three, and “donta” is Greek for tooth, so Trident literally means “three teeth” or “tripled tooth” *** I did not understand why the company would name a brand of gum after a spear, but after looking up actual meaning of the word trident it makes sense. It is comical that it trident means “three teeth”. Maybe they are trying to say if you chew their gum you will keep more than three teeth in your mouth.

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS King Midas:  Dionysus offered Midas his choice of whatever reward he wished for. Midas asked that whatever he might touch should be changed into gold. There are many company names and products named after Midas, the most popular one is the car service company. Even their slogan refers back to the story of King Midas- “Trust the Midas touch” The shoe company Adidas also has a shoe named Midas.

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Saturn: (painting by Francisco Goya) (Statue attributed to Simon Hurtrelle)  Saturn is the Roman name for Cronus, a Titan, and also the father of Zeus and the first generation on Olympians. The most popular company or product named after Saturn is Saturn Automobile Corporation- “A different kind of car company”

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Odyssey:  The Odyssey was the ten year sea voyage that the Trojan War hero, Odysseus, endured as he tried to return home to Ithaca. Odyssey Cruises- Is a high end cruise line. **I have heard of this cruise line before but it was not until I read the Iliad that I understood why the company chose this name.

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Prometheus:  Son of Titan Iapetus and Themis  Allied with Zeus against the other Titans  Perhaps the creator of the human race  Prometheus Entertainment- is a very popular production company with clients that include E!, History, A&E, Travel Channel, Bravo, Animal Planet, National Geographic Channel, AMC, Warner Bros…ect  "THE GIRLS NEXT DOOR"  "KENDRA"  "ANCIENT ALIENS"  "FOOD PARADISE"

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Venus:  The Roman version of Aphrodite  goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex, sexual seduction and fertility  The company Gillette named their razor Venus to make women think that if they use their Venus razors that some how you will be more womanly. It is a psychological trick that most companies use to make you think that you need to use their product, and it works every time.

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Titans:  were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus  males were Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Cronus, Crius and Iapetus  females were Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea and Themis -Titan Tool and Die Company manufactures tools for industrial use

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Pandora:  "all-gifted", "all-endowed  first woman according to Hesiod There are a few products named after Pandora but the most popular are 1. Pandora Internet Radio 2. Pandora Jewelry

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Trojans:  Trojan War-legendary conflict between the early Greeks and the people of Troy in western Anatolia  Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer  Paris, son of the Trojan king, ran off with Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta, whose brother Agamemnon then led a Greek expedition against Troy Trojan Condoms are the most popular condom brand in the United States.

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Amazon:  member of a race of women warriors  one of the labors required of the Greek hero Heracles was leading an expedition to obtain the girdle of the Amazons’ queen (Hippolyte), during which he was said to have conquered and expelled them from their district. Penthesilea led an army of Amazons to fight for Troy against the Greeks, but she was killed by Achilles. Amazon.com is one of the most popular websites used today.

COMPANY NAMES AND PRODUCTS Cerberus:  the monstrous watchdog of the underworld. He was usually said to have three heads  Orpheus gained passage by charming him with music.  One of the labors of the warrior Heracles was to bring Cerberus up to the land of the living; after succeeding, he returned the creature to Hades Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States.

Military Actaeon:  A Theban who fell victim to Artemis’ wrath for accidentally coming up on Artemis/Diana bathing in a spring  Artemis turned him into a stag and was devoured by his own dogs There are six ships in the Royal Navy named after Actaeon

Space Programs Apollo and Phoenix:  Apollo -as a god of light and the sun, truth and prophecy,  Phoenix-A phoenix is a mythical bird with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet (or purple, blue, and green according to some legends). It has a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. - Their have been many NASA missions named Apollo Apollo 11 was the mission to the moon Phoenix Mars Lander was a robotic spacecraft in a space exploration mission on Mars

Popular Culture References God of War: Includes characters such a Athena and Zeus. The lead character is Kratos. “Some Velvet Morning” : by Nancy and Lee Hazelwood is about the myth of Phaedra and Hippolytus Harry Potter: There are many references in Harry Potter: A. Fawkes the phoenix B. Minerva the professor

Concluding Remarks After researching for this project I came to realize just how many references there are to Greek and Roman Mythology in business advertisements, product and certain brand names, and popular culture including songs, television programs, video games and movies. I believe that the marketing departments in these businesses know that subconsciously if they name their product Venus or Pandora woman will believe that they can be as beautiful as these ancient goddesses. The same goes for men, that if they but the Adidas Midas they will have “the golden touch” or advantage or if they buy Trojan condoms they might become a warrior in bed. As far as popular culture goes, modern people have always been fascinated by ancient myths. They are fun stories today because you have sexual scandal, monsters, betrayal, and revenge which are all still relevant today.

WORKS CITED  Graves, Robert. New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology. Paul Hamlyn  Bing Images  Powell, Barry. Classical Myth. Pearson Education Inc  zon