Download Myth Vocabulary #3

Mythology Vocabulary: Week 3
1. Arête: Perfect or ideal. Queen Arete, mother of Princess Nausicaa,
was a beloved Queen who was though to be the perfect ruler.
2. tantalizing: tempting and wanted, but NOT attainable. Tantalus was a
Titan who was punished by Zeus. Tantalus was made extremely thirsty
then placed in a river up to his neck for eternity; every time he
tries to take a drink, the river drops just below his reach.
3. Typhoon: a violent & destructive tropical storm.
Typhoeus was a
monster with 100 heads who violently fought with Zeus and was thrown
into the ground under Mt. Etna.
4. Volcano: a mountain with an opening through which molten material is
ejected. Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus, the god of fire.
Hephaestus is a metal worker who uses the fires in the earth to make
his creations. When volcanoes erupted, the ancient Greeks believed it
was the fires of hephaestus’ blacksmith shop beneath the earth.
5. Vestal: morally pure, chaste. Vesta is the Roman name for Hestia,
goddess of the home & family.
6. Zephyr: a light, warming breeze. Zephyrus is the god who is the west
wind. Zephyrus always had a mild and gentle character.
7. Argonaut: an adventurer. The heroes who traveled with the famous
Jason to find the Golden Fleece.
8. Clue: something that helps solve a mystery. The Golden ball of thread
that helped Daedelus escape from the labyrinth was called a “cleue.”
9. Labyrinth: a maze. The name of the maze Daedelus created to entrap
the Minotaur.
10.
Diva: a distinguished and often arrogant woman. derived from the
Greek work, “dios,” meaning goddess.