Download Ajax - Greek warrior in the Trojan War, who "cleaned up" in battle

Mythology
Yesterday & Today
How Can Something So Old
Still Be Used Today????
Mythological references
are all around us!
Midas
 A king who was granted one wish by the god
Dionysus. Greedy for riches, Midas wished that
everything he touched would turn to gold. He
soon regretted his request. When he tried to eat,
his food became inedible metal. When he
embraced his daughter, she turned into a golden
statue. On the instruction of Dionysus, he
washed in a river and lost his touch of gold.
“A Midas Touch”
Midas Then
Today, a person
who easily
acquires riches
is someone said
to have the
“Midas” touch.
Midas Now
Achilles
In mythology,
Achilles was the
greatest Greek
warrior at Troy;
Achilles could be
injured only in the
heel.
Today, referring
to one’s "Achilles
heel" means a
person’s most
vulnerable point.
 The first woman,
Pandora
created by
Hephaestus, given
treacherously to
Epimetheus along
with a box in which
Prometheus had
confined all the evils
of the world; as
expected, Pandora
curiously opened the
forbidden box and
thus released into the
world all troubles of
mankind. By the time
Pandora manages to
close the lid, luckily
only HOPE remains.
“What Have You Done???”
Today, a
Pandora’s box is
a prolific source
of troubles or
problems.
If one’s opens a
Pandora’s box,
he has created
all kinds of
problems for
himself.
More Pandora?
• The name in
Greek also means
"all-gifted";
Pandora Jewelry
sells quality gift
merchandise.
Ajax
• Greek warrior
in the Trojan
War, who
"cleaned up" in
battle; Ajax is
the name of a
popular
household
cleanser.
Trident -
• The threepronged spear of
Poseidon, god of
the seas; 'Tria' is
Greek for 'three'
and 'donti' means
'tooth'; hence,
Trident
translates
literally as 'threeteeth', or 'tripletoothed'.
Trident
• Trident Gum, if
one is to believe
the advertising,
helps to clean
your teeth!
Nike
She is the
Goddess of
Victory
Need more
be said?
Ceres
• When you ask
for your
morning cereal,
you are asking
for a grain
product so
named because
Ceres was the
goddess of grain.
Hermes
 Was
the
messenger of
the gods
And also the
floral
messenger!
THE GREATEST OF
ALL MODERN
MYTH
REFERENCES?
TITANS -a race of powerful
deities /immortal beings.
SO WHAT
IS
A MYTH ANYWAY?
Mythos=stories
logy=the study of
MYTHOLOGY
Myths are humanity’s earliest
imaginative attempt to explain
the universe, its creation, and
its writing. The study of the
mythology of a particular
culture reveals the way of life
and thought of that culture.
Myths are stories which, in
the society in which they
are told, are considered to
be truthful accounts of
what happened in the
remote past.
Fable
• Short tale to teach a
moral lesson, often
with animals or
inanimate objects as
characters.
Ex: Tortoise and the
Hare
Legends
• Stories which, like
myths, are regarded as
true by the narrator
and his audience, but
they are set in a period
considerably less
remote, when the
world was much as it is
today.
ex: King Arthur and the
knights of the round
table
What are some characteristics of
myths?
•
•
•
•
Contain heroes and heroines
Supernatural elements
Gods and goddesses
Explains a natural
phenomenon
• Spoken not written
Why did ancient people tell
myths?
•
•
•
•
•
To help explain the unexplainable
To explain natural phenomenon
To tell about their heroes
To explain human nature
To teach morals
and values