Download document

Greek Mythology
Allusions to Greek mythology
surround us and are infused
everywhere in society.
From Popular Music
► "If
we burn our wings
Flying too close to the sun..."
--Rush, "Bravado"
 (Alluding to the fate of Daedalus, the legendary
builder of Cretan labyrinth who makes wings to
enable himself and his son Icarus to escape
from imprisonment, only to have the wax of the
wings melt as the child flies too close to the
sun)
From Popular Music
► "Like
a siren she calls (to me)."
--U2, "In God's Country"
 (Describes the song of the sirens, mythological
Greek sea nymphs, part woman and part bird,
supposed to lure sailors to their destruction by
their seductive singing)
Influences on Phrases and
Conversation
► Achilles'
heel : a vulnerable point
 [fr. L, fr. Gk Achilleus Achilles, the greatest
Greek warrior at Troy, slayer of Hector]
►
It was his infidelity and lying to Congress
about it that was President Clinton’s Achilles’
heel.
Influences on Phrases and
Conversation
 Midas touch : an uncanny ability for making
money in every venture
 [L, fr. Gk legend of the Phrygian king Midas who is given
the power to turn everything he touched into gold]
In the world of high tech software applications,
Bill Gates has a Midas Touch.