1. Mythological Allusions
Myths and Legends

2. They’re everywhere!
Allusions to mythology are in our everyday language.
Increase vocabulary by studying myths.
Understand where words and phrases come from.

3. Phrases Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts
Caught Between Scylla & Charybdis
Dog as Man's Best Friend
Food of the Gods
Herculean Effort
Hot as Hades
Hounds of Hell
Midas Touch
Pandora's Box
Trojan Horse
To Harp on Someone
Song of the Siren
Phrases

4. Look at the following words:
Insomnia/Somnambulism
Cyclical/ Bicycle/ Optical
Mentor
Tantalize
Titanic
Volcano
Muse
Chaos
Olympian
Lethargy
Hydra-Headed
These are all allusions
to mythology!

5. Insomnia: the inability to sleep and Somnambulatory: the act of sleepwalking– from Somnus, the Greek god of sleep
Cyclical/ Bicycle/ Optical: from cyclopes in Greek Mythology
Mentor: a wise and loyal adviser; in The Iliad and The Odyssey—a wise old man who gives advice to Greeks
Tantalize: to tease or entice; from King Tantalus who had excessive pride and was condemned to live just out of reach of delicious fruits and plentiful river.
Titanic: colossal, monumental; from the Titans, the offspring of Cronus and Rhea

6. Volcano: an opening/ rupture in the earth’s surface; from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire
Muse: inspiration; from the nine muses who were goddess of art, literature and science.
Chaos: disorder; from the nothingness at the beginning of Greek mythology
Olympian: superior; named after the 12 gods who resided on Mount Olympus
Lethargy: abnormal drowsiness; after Lethe, a river in the Underworld that caused drinkers to forget their past
Hydra-Headed: hard to bring under control; from the nine-headed serpent Hercules defeated.

7. There are even more… MORPHEUS (Greek God of Dreams)
HYPNOS (Greek God of Sleep)
LUNA (Roman Goddess of Moon)
SOL (Roman God of Sun)
TERRA (Roman Mother Earth)
POLYHYMNIA (Muse of Music)
HYGEIA (Greek Goddess of Health)
FORTUNA (Roman Goddess of Luck)

8. And more…
Use the handout titled “Words from the Gods” to discover more allusions to mythology in our everyday language. You may need to use a dictionary.

9. Atlas
Chronological (Cronus)
Geography (Gaea)
Martial (Mars)
Atrophy (Atropos)
Cereal (Ceres)
Arachnid (Arachne)
Phobia (Phobos)
Panic (Pan)
Pandemonium (Pan)
Pantheist (Pan)
Syringe (Syrinx)
Plutonium (Pluto)
Lethal (River Lethe)
Cloth (Clotho)
Erotic (Eros)
Odyssey (Odysseus)
Junoesque (Juno)
Herculean (Hercules)
Mercurial (Mercury)
Jovian (Jove)
Orpheum (Orpheus)