Classical Mythology and Biblical Terms

Classical Mythology Terms:

1)  Achilles:  He was the best fighter and essential in the Greek war effort against Troy in the Trojan War.  In an attempt to make him immortal, Achilles’ mother dipped the infant Achilles in the magical water of the Styx river, but held him by his heel when submerging him in the stream, leaving a weak, spot susceptible to injury on Achilles’ body.  Paris took advantage of Achilles’ weak spot, and with the help of the god Apollo, killed Achilles by shooting an arrow at his heel.

2)  Adonis:  Adonis was such a handsome young man that Aphrodite found him irresistible.  However, he was killed by a boar after ignoring Aphrodite’s warning.  To memorialize his death, Aphrodite sprinkled nectar on the ground which caused an anemone to grow.

3)  Aeneas:  A noble fighter for Troy during the Trojan War.  He managed to escape from the invading Greeks and established a new Troy in Italy, founding the city of Rome.

4)  Ares/Mars:  The god of war, but also the product of one of Zeus’ affairs.  Ares’ actual mother was turned into a cow by Zeus to protect his secret unfaithfulness, but Hera took the cow and had a one hundred eyed giant watch over it.  Ares had a long-term affair with Aphrodite, having Eros, Deimos (Panic), Phobus (Fear), and Harmonia, but was also trapped in bed with Aphrodite by her husband, Hephaestus.

5)  Argus:  The shipwright who built the Argo for Jason, but also a mythological creature with more than the typical number of eyes.  The Argo for Jason was a ship that Jason rode in his quest of the Golden Fleece.

6)  Athena/Minerva:  The Olympian, virginal goddess of arts and crafts, wisdom, and war.  She is also known as the protector and benefactor of heroes, beating Poseidon in a contest for the honor of having the city of Athens names after her.

7)  Atlas:  A Titan who fought on the side of Cronus against Zeus in the Titanomachy.  Unlike the other Titans who were condemned to Tartarus, Atlas was condemned to hold the sky on his shoulders, separating the sky from the earth.

8)  Augean stables:  One of Heracles’ Labors was to clean the filthy, unbearable stables of King Augeas, who hadn’t cleaned the stables in years.  Heracles agreed, cleaned the stalls, and was able to divert the course of two rivers.

9)  Bacchus/Dionysus:  The Olympian god of wine, frenzied music and dance, and the irrational.  He watched over ecstatic, sometimes sexual rites which involved initiation and often left the participants to become possessed by the deity.  He is often worshipped by females and male satyrs.

10)  Hiawatha:  A central figure of The Song of Hiawatha (1855), a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  He was a pre-historical Native American chief.

11)  Judgment of Paris:  Paris’ decision to award Aphrodite the golden apple because of her offer of Helen in the competition between Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera.  Paris’ decision is believed to have set off the Trojan War.

12)  Jupiter/Zeus:  The king or supreme god of the Olympians and the father of Perseus and Hercules.  He was also the god of the sky.

13)  Laocoon:  A Trojan who realized that Sinon was lying when he said that the huge wooden horse the Greeks had left them outside the walls of Troy was an offering to Athena to make the city invincible if brought into the city.  However, he and his two sons were killed by snakes, causing Trojans to believe he was killed as punishment for being ungrateful for the holy gift to Athena.

14)  Leda:  The wife of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, who gave birth to two sets of twins.  One set of twins belonged to Zeus, who made love to Leda in the form of a swan, and the other of Tyndareus, who had sex with Leda in the same night that Zeus impregnated her.

15)  Midas:  His ears were turned into those of an ass by Apollo for his lack of perception when he chose Pan as the victor against Apollo in a musical contest.  Midas hid his ears under a hat, but his barber saw, and, unable to keep the secret, the barber dug a hole and told his secret.  The wind blew the secret so that everyone could hear the secret that was supposed to remain buried.  For doing a favor for Dionysus, he was granted with the ability to turn everything he touched into gold.  However, Midas found that even food and drink would turn into gold, so Dionysus told him to bathe in the river Pactolus, whose bed became golden.

16)  Nemesis:  The goddess of vengeance who brings retribution to sinners, especially if they sinned through hubris, or extreme pride.

17)  Odin:  The great magician among the gods and was associated with runic writing.  He had an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir, who could gallop through air and over the sea.

18)  Cassandra:  A Trojan who was pursued by the god Apollo.  When she agreed to sleep with him, he gave her the gift of prophecy, but when she broke her promise, he changed her ability so that she would never be believed.  Cassandra’s predictions were typically about some future disaster, but she was never believed.

19)  Cerberus:  The hound of the underworld and Hades’ guard dog that stood guard to the gates of Hades to prevent those from entering if they weren’t supposed to.  Related to the Chimaera and the Hydra, he’s usually described as having three heads and a dragon’s tail.

20)  Ceres/Demeter:  The Olympian goddess of agriculture, the sister of Zeus, and the mother of Persephone.

21)  Chimera:  A fire-breathing monster that had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of serpent, which was killed by the Corinthian hero Bellerophon on one of his journeys.

22)  Circe:  An enchantress of divine lineage, a sorceress, and advisor to Odysseus.  Odysseus spent an entire year with her on the island of Aeaea when going home after the Trojan War.  She directed him to go to the Underworld to talk to Tiresias.  Their son, Telegonus, would later on accidentally kill his father.

23)  Daedalus:  A master craftsman who worked for King Minos of Crete after being banished for killing his nephew.  He built the Labyrinth that housed the Minotaur, but was imprisoned by Minos for telling Theseus the secret of the Labyrinth.  In his attempt to escape, he built himself wings, but got too close to the sun, causing the wax of the wings to melt and the feathers to fall from his arms, plunging him into the sea.  Minos searched for Daedalus but was killed by the daughters of Cocalus, the king of Camicus, who was harboring Daedalus.

24)  Damocles:  A member of the court of Dionysus the Elder, the king of Syracuse.  Damocles showed envy of the king’s position, so Dionysus offered to switch roles with him for a day, but to teach Damocles that being a king wasn’t the great, happy role that Damocles originally believed, Dionysus suspended a sword over the throne.

25)  Delphic Oracle:  The shrine of the god Apollo and the site of the famous Oracle, whose often inscrutable advice was sought down into historical times.

26)  Electra:  “Amber,” the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who helped Orestes avenge their father by killing Clytemnestra and who married Pylades.  She is the mother of Medon and Strophius.

27)  Pan:  The son of Hermes and the god of nature and shepherds who is part goat and part man and is often associated with Dionysus.  He gave rise to the word panic because of his ability to inspire terror with a shout or sudden noise.  He fell in love with Syrinx, a nymph, who ran from him and was turned into a bed of reeds.  Pan took two reeds and put them together with wax after hearing wind blow through them and made it into a panpipe.

28)  Pandora’s Box:  A beautiful woman, possibly the first woman, given to men by the gods to punish mankind.  The gods sent with her a jar that, when opened, released the ills that plague humankind.

29)  Paris:  The Trojan prince who caused the Trojan War by carrying off Helen, wife of the Greek Menelaus.  He grew up to be the handsomest man alive, causing Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite to argue who was the most beautiful.  To solve the conflict, Zeus had Hermes bring the three goddesses to Paris: Hera promised him political power if chosen, Athena promised success in battle, and Aphrodite promised Helen.  Paris chose Helen and after being reunited with his parents, he went to Sparta to go get Helen.

30)  Parnassus:  A mountain in Greece which was sacred to Apollo and the Muses and was where the Muses supposedly lived.

31)  Prometheus:  A Titan at birth who joined the Zeus’ side in the Titanomachy, but then challenged Zeus by championing the cause of man.  He prepared two sacrifices for Zeus to choose, one being fine meat and organs of an ox and the other bones covered in fat.  Zeus chose the less desirable one, setting the precedent for the kind of sacrifices mankind would have to make.  When Zeus refused to give men the gift of fire, Prometheus smuggled it out of heaven and brought it to earth.  (Prometheus bestowed many gifts to the mortals to bring them from savagery to civilization).  As punishment for his disobedience, Zeus punished mankind by creating women and chained Prometheus to a cliff where each day an eagle would pick at his liver and each night the wounds would heal and the liver would grow back.  Heracles killed the eagle with an arrow, freeing Prometheus, who then traded his mortality for Chiron’s immortality.

32)  Proteus:  A sea-god who could change shape and possessed knowledge of the future, but in order to obtain information, one had to struggle with the god until his metamorphoses ended.

33)  Pygmalion:  “Cubit,” he was a craftsman who lived on an island whose women were all prostitutes, so he decided to carve a statue wife out of ivory, which Aphrodite had come alive.  He named his wife Galatea and their son Paphos.

34)  Romulus and Remus:  They established the city of Rome.  Their grandfather Numitor was sent into exile by his brother, Amulius, who usurped the throne of Alba Longa.  Their mother had an affair that produced the twins, causing Amulius to send the twins adrift on the Tiber in an ark.  When they came ashore, a she-wolf discovered them and took care of them until a man named Faustulus found them and raised them.  When they were young, Remus was captured by one of Numitor’s shepherds and brought to Numitor, so Romulus came to explain their life story.  Numitor recognized the two as his grandchildren and conspired with them to overthrow Amulius and return Numitor to the throne.  After, Romulus and Remus established the city of Rome, but when they argued over who should rule the city, Romulus killed Remus and named the city after himself.

35)  Elysian Fields:  The paradise of heroes either in the Underworld or in the far West; it is granted to those mortals who have won a blessed afterlife for having a virtuous life.

36)  Fauns:  Faunus, which means one who shows favor, was a Roman woodland deity who was thought to bring prosperity to farmers and shepherds and depicted with horns, tail, ears, and legs of a goat, creating an association with Pan and Dionysiac satyrs.  His lover was Fauna, a female agricultural deity and a goddess of flowers, grains, and the grapevine.

37)  Golden Fleece:  The woolly coat of a magical flying ram, and sought by Jason and the Argonauts on a quest.

38)  Hades:  The son of Cronus and Rhea, yet not an Olympian god since he doesn’t live in Olympus, Hades is the god of the dead and ruler of the Underworld.  He is married to Persephone, who he abducted and made his queen.  Hades is also the realm of the dead, named after the god.

39)  Holy Grail:  The cup or platter used by Jesus at the Last Supper and by Joseph of Arimathea when receiving Christ’s blood at the Christ.  The Holy Grail became earnestly sought after by many.

40)  Hector:  A Trojan prince who was the Trojans’ greatest warrior, but was more noble than Achilles.  After he killed Patroclus, Achilles killed Hector and dragged his body around the city for twelve days, with Apollo restoring the corpse each night.  Priam, Hector’s father, ransomed his son’s body from Achilles.

41)  Henry, John:  A hero of American folktales who was portrayed as an enormously strong black man who worked on the railroads and died of exhaustion in a battle against a machine.

42)  Hera/Juno:  The Olympian goddess of marriage and fertility, the wife of Zeus, and the daughter of Cronus and Rhea.  She sent snakes at and stirred the Amazons against Hercules, but aided and protected Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece.

43)  Hermes:  The Olympian messenger god and guide of dead souls to the Underworld.  He delivers messages for the gods, travelers, roads, orators, commerce, and thieves.  On the first day of his life, he escaped from his crib, created the first lyre, and stole some cattle from his half-brother, Apollo.  The two reconciled, with Hermes giving Apollo his lyre.

44)  Scylla and Charybdis:  Scylla was once a beautiful sea nymph that either the minor sea god Glaucus fell in love with and was determined to have her with the help of Circe, who then turned Scylla into a horrible monster so Glaucus would have to follow Circe’s plans for him, or had attracted Poseidon, who made advances towards her, causing Amphitrite to throw magic herbs in the water that Scylla swam in to change her into a terrible monster.  Charybdis is a mythological whirlpool off the coast of Sicily.  Together, they form a danger towards sailors, such as Jason and the Argonauts and Odysseus, who wanted to go through the Strait of Messina, between southern Italy and Sicily.

45)  Sisyphus:  He revealed the secret of one of Zeus’ love affairs and when he died, he cheated Death by begging for permission to go back to earth long enough to arrange a proper burial for his corpse, but ended up staying there and not returning to the Underworld until he died a second time.  As punishment, he was condemned to have to push a large boulder up a hill and then watch it roll back down to the bottom for all eternity.

46)  Tiresias:  The blind seer from Thebes.

47)  Titan(s):  The twelve sons of Earth and the second generation of gods, born of Ge and Uranus, they were older than the Gods of Olympus.  They were thought to be the natural forces, and were invincible even though they were defeated and punished by Zeus.

48)  Vesta/Hestia:  “Hearth,” the goddess of the hearth, whose temple in the Roman Forum housed an altar with a fire that symbolized the center of life of the Roman Republic and wasn’t allowed to go out.  Her priestesses, or Vestal Virgins, were chosen at a young age, took a vow of chastity, and had the power to pardon criminals sentences to die nor did they have to take an oath of honesty.  A Vestal Virgin who died while in office was given the honor of being buried in the city of Rome.

49)  Venus/Aphrodite:  The Olympian goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology even though she was originally seen as the protector of gardens who brought luck and favor.

50)  Zephyr:  Zephyrus is the west wind, which signals the return of spring.

Biblical Terms:

1)  Abraham and Isaac:  Abraham’s wife, Sarai, later changed to Sarah, cannot become pregnant, but she really wants to giver Abraham an heir, so God promises a son, who he says shall be names Isaac.  God asks Abraham to kill his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to test his loyalty.  Abraham obeys and brings Isaac to the top of the mountain to be sacrificed, but right before Abraham strikes, one of God’s angels stops him and tells Abraham that God is impressed with his devotion and supports his covenant.

2)  Annunciation:  The celebration of the angel Gabriel’s announcement of the virgin Mary’s pregnancy with Jesus.

3)  Ararat:  The mountain peak of Ararat where Noah’s ark landed and rested during the flood and while it receded.

4)  Armageddon:  The destination of the final conflict between Christ and Antichrist; the last battle between good and evil before the Day of Judgment.

5)  Babel:  All of mankind spoke one language and decided to build the Tower of Babel in order to reach heaven.  However, God understood their true intention of promoting themselves instead of God, so he scattered the people and created different languages to create a language barrier in order to prevent them from rising above him.

6)  Babylon:  One of the first cities in the world, Babylon was a city of rebellion against God, where mankind built the Tower of Babel.  The city was seen as a symbol for evil and was destroyed by God.

7)  Burning Bush:  A manifestation of God himself when he speaks to Moses because Moses was too frightened to look at God himself.  God tells Moses to go back to Egypt and demand for the Israelites to be released from slavery.

8)  Damascus:  The most ancient of the Oriental cities and the capital of Syria; the city was later taken and destroyed by the Assyrians, with the Syrian inhabitants being captured and carried to Assyria.  The city s most memorable for Saul’s conversion and became the center of Christianity.

9)  Esther:  The Jewish Queen of Ahasuerus whose original name was Hadas’sah.  One of the princes of the kingdom, Haman, wanted to rid of his rival, Esther’s uncle Mordecai, so he told the king that there was a group of people (Jewish) that wanted to overthrow him and his power, convincing the king to pass a law that allowed for Jews to be murdered.  Although conflicted, Esther told the king of her ethnic origin and told him that she was required to be killed.  She became the Jewish peoples’ protector and savior through her intervention and Haman was hanged.

10)  Golden Calf:  When Moses left to receive the Ten Commandments, the people became impatient waiting for his return and decided to create a molten image of a calf to worship.  However, Moses commanded them to destroy the calf upon his return.

11)  Jacob’s Ladder:  Jacob dreamed of a ladder on earth that could reach heaven at the top.  Jacob saw in his dream angels ascending and descending the ladder and dreamt that God promised that his descendants would return to the land, multiply in population, bless all people on the earth, and to be with Jacob for the rest of his life.  Jacob then built a pillar and devoted his life to following after God.

12)  Jeremiah:  A Hebrew prophet of God who was sent to preach about indictment and judgment in the hope of turning people from their wicked ways, but faced harsh opposition by many.

13)  Job:  A wealthy, devoted Arabian patriarch who suffered through a series of trials created by Satan in an attempt by Satan to argue of Job’s goodness to God that fell on him.  However, he maintained his integrity and faithfulness, so God visited him with goodness and greater prosperity.

14)  Leviathan:  A crocodile, sometimes seen as a sea monster or serpent, which is used by God through the use of rhetorical questions to prove to Job that man is not all-powerful.

15)  Lot’s Wife:  Two angels visited Lot, who told them to come into his home in order to protect them from the neighbors, after Abraham convinced God not to destroy the good people with the wicked.  The angels told Lot and his family to flee the city and go to the mountains because God was going to destroy the city, but warned them not to turn around.  However, when they escaped the city, Lot’s wife turned around and turned into stone.

16)  Methuselah:  He was the son of Enoch and the grandfather of Noah.  He was the oldest man to live in the record, living nine hundred and sixty-nine years.

17)  Olive Branch:  During the flood, Noah wanted to find out whether the flood was over or not.  He send both a raven and a dove out of the ark to see if the flood was over and the second time that he sent the dove, it came back with an olive branch in its mouth, signifying the end of the flood.  The olive branch became a symbol of peace and is associated with the Holy Spirit.

18)  Pearls Before Swine:  Jesus told his followers to never throw pearls before swine to explain to his followers not to waste something they find sacred and valuable to those who won’t appreciate them in order to prevent the gift from being wasted.

19)  Promised Land:  God, in the form of a burning bush, told Moses to free the enslaved Jews in Egypt.  Under God’s guidance, Moses was able to lead the Jewish to the promised land of Israel even though he wasn’t able to enter the promised land himself.

20)  Prodigal Son:  Jesus tells the story of a man who has two sons.  The younger son asks his father for some of the family’s land as an early inheritance, and when he receives the land, the son goes on a journey where he wastes his fortune.  When he runs out of money and a famine hits, he becomes destitute and, recognizing his foolishness, comes back to his father to beg for forgiveness.  The father welcomes his prodigal son back warmly, enraging the older brother.  However, the father tells him that everything he owns is the older son’s and that he just wants to celebrate the return of his lost son.

21)  Queen of Sheba:  She had heard stories of Solomon and wanted to find out if the stories were true or not, so she decided to visit him, bringing lavish gifts.  When she got there, she tested him with hard questions.  At the end, she was satisfied that the stories were true and left the Solomon with the gifts, to which he reciprocated.

22)  Ruth:  She married her rich relative, Boaz and became the mother of Obed, who becomes the grandfather of David, the slayer of Goliath who later becomes king.