Download Mythological Allusions

Mythological Allusions
Why We Read Myths
Allusions
An Allusion is a reference to a statement, person, place, event, or
thing that is known from literature, history, religion, myth,
politics, sports, science, or the arts.
For example, the title of the novel The Sound and the Fury by
William Faulkner is an allusion to a line from Shakespeare’s play
MacBeth:
“Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.” (Act V, Scene 5)
Mythological Allusions
Mythological Allusions are references made to wellknown myths.
For example, if you try to defy your parents by staying
out after curfew, someone might say, “Be careful, don’t
fly too close to the sun!”
Here are some other myths and mythological characters
commonly alluded to…
Achilles’ Heel
Background: According to myth, when Achilles was a baby, his mother
dipped him in the River Styx because the waters from this river gave
immortality to humans. His mother held him by his heel, so that was the only
place on his body not touched by water. From then on, Achilles’ heel was his
one area of vulnerability. Eventually, Achilles was killed during the Trojan
War when a poisoned arrow struck his heel.
Today, the term has come to refer to a person’s area of particular vulnerability.
Ex; Her inability to resist rich desserts was her Achilles' heel, keeping her from
losing the ten pounds she wanted to lose.
Hercules
Background: Hercules was a hero born with super-human strength
who was required to complete a series of seemingly impossible tasks.
Today: For this reason, a job or task that is very big and seems
impossible could be called “herculean.”
Example: “I can’t believe my boss assigned
me the herculean task of re-organizing all the
file cabinets in the entire office in only one
week!”
Tantalus
Background: Tantalus was a king who offended the gods and was condemned to
suffer eternal hunger and thirst in Hades. He stood in water up to his chin, but when
he bent to drink, the waters receded. Beautiful, ripe fruit hung overhead, but each
time he reached for a piece, the wind blew the boughs out of his reach.
Today: To be “tantalized” or to be like Tantalus, is to be offered something desirable
which is then withheld.
Example: The poor peasants were tantalized by the aromas drifting down the street
from the palace banquet.
The Muses
Background: In Greek Mythology, the Muses were nine goddesses who presided over the arts.
They gave inspiration to mortals. Typically, an epic begins with an invocation to the Muse, in
which the poet asks the Muses to inspire him as he writes or sings his story.
Today, a “Muse” is someone’s source of inspiration, especially in artistic, creative endeavors.
(museum)
Examples:
It is common for fashion designers to select a particular woman as a Muse, keeping her in mind
as he or she designs a new line of clothing.
Sirens
Background: Sirens were sea creates who lured sailors to their deaths on the rocky
shores by singing a beautiful, irresistible song. They are usually depicted as women, or
as half-woman, half bird.
Today: In modern usage, “sirens” can refer to anything that tempts a person away from
safety and toward a destructive path. A “siren song” is the temptation used to lure a
person.
Example: I had intended to stay home and study for finals, but the siren song of my
friends describing all the fun we could have at the lake was too much for me to resist.
Gordian Knot
Background: According to legend, Gordius was a Greek king. He tied an extremely
complex knot, and an oracle prophesied that whoever untied it would rule all of
Asia. Alexander the Great “untied” the knot simply by cutting through it with his
sword.
Today: A “Gordian knot” is any extremely complex problem, and “cutting the
Gordian knot” refers to solving such a problem in a quick, decisive manner.
Example: Each year, school counselors face the Gordian knot of scheduling classes
so that teachers will have reasonable class sizes and students will have the
opportunity to take the classes they need.
Nemesis
Background: Nemesis was the Greek goddess of vengeance and retribution. She punished
the people for wrongdoing, especially for excessive pride.
Today: A person’s “nemesis” is that which causes his or her downfall, or the term can refer
to the downfall itself.
Example: The cyclist considered the particular stretch of mountain to be his nemesis,
costing him a racing victory year after year.
Phoenix/Rising from the
Ashes
Background: The phoenix was a mythological
bird that was one of a kind. The bird lived for
five or six hundred years, after which it would
burn itself to death and then rise from its own
ashes as a youthful bird ready to live another
life span.
Today: The phoenix has come to symbolize
rebirth or resurrection and “rising from one’s
own ashes” can describe surmounting great
obstacles.
Example: After successfully, battling cancer,
Lance Armstrong came back, phoenix-like, to
win the Tour de France five consecutive times.
Prometheus/Promethean
Background: Prometheus went to Mount Olympus and stole some fire, which he
gave to man. Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock; each day an eagle
came and ate out his liver, which grew back each night.
Today: Prometheus represents valiant resistance to authority or rebellion against
the established order of the universe. The adjective “promethean” refers to an act
of such resistance.
Example: The subtitle of Frankenstein is “The Modern
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Prometheus” because Victor Frankenstein dares to overstep
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The bounds of nature and create life.
Scylla and
Charybdis
Background: Scylla was a many-headed sea monster, living in a cave on one side of a
narrow strait. Charybdis was a whirlpool on the opposite side of the strait. Sailors,
including Odysseus, had to steer their ships very carefully between the two in order to avoid
being victim of one or the other.
Today: “Between Scylla and Charybdis” means to be caught between two equal dangers in
which avoiding one means getting closer to the other. The phrase has the same meaning as
“between a rock and a hard place”
Example: Caught between the Scylla of raising taxes and angering voters and the Charybdis
of cutting vital city services, the council knew their decision was not going to be an easy one
to make.
Cassandra
Background: Cassandra, the daughter of a Trojan king, was
loved by Apollo, who gave her the gift of prophecy. When
Cassandra later angered Apollo, he altered the gift so that
her prophecies, while true, would not be believed.
Today: A “Cassandra” refers to someone who predicts
disasters or negative results, especially to someone whose
predictions are disregarded.
Example: He was a modern-day Cassandra, warning the city
council that the proposed development would have dire
environmental consequences. Only years later did people
realize he had been absolutely correct.
Sisyphus/Sisyphean
Background: Sisyphus was a king who offended Zeus. His
punishment was to spend eternity in Hades, rolling a giant boulder
up a hill. Each time the boulder neared the top, it would roll back
down to the bottom, and Sisyphus had to start his task over.
Today: A seemingly endless, perhaps futile task can be referred to as
a “labor of Sisyphus” or as “Sisyphean.”
Example: Painting the Golden Gate bridge is a Sisyphean task. Once
the bridge is completely painted, it is time to begin painting it again
at the beginning, so the painting never ends.
Janus
Background: Janus was the Roman god of gates and doorways. Thus, he
was associated with entrances and beginnings. Our month of January is
named for Janus. He was usually depicted with two faces, one looking
forward into the future, and one looking backward at the past.
Today: Calling someone a “Janus” can be either a positive or a negative
statement. It can refer to the wisdom and knowledge of a person who sees
everything, or to the two-faced, hypocritical nature of a person.
Example: Appropriately, Shakespeare’s villainous, hypocritical character
Iago swears by the god Janus. Iago pretends to be Othello’s friend but he
is determined to bring about Othello’s ruin.
Pan
Background: Pan was a minor god.
Even though he was half-man, halfgoat, he still considered himself a
ladies’ man. Whenever he came
around, the nymphs would all run
away in a frenzy to avoid him.
Today: This is where we get the
word “panic.”
Example: The family ran around in
a panic when they realized the fire
was getting closer to their home.
Icarus/Fly too
Close to the
Sun
Background: In Greek mythology, Icarus and his father, Daedalus, escaped
from the island of Crete, by means of wings constructed by Daedalus. The wings were held on by
means of wax, and although Daedalus had warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, Icarus did
not heed warning; the wax melted, and he fell to his death in Aegean Sea.
Today: To be “an Icarus” or to “fly too close to the sun” is to fail or be destroyed because of lack of
cation or excessive ambition.
Example: In Ray Bradbury’s novel Farenheit 451, the protagonist, Montag, is finally turned in to
the authorities for daring to keep books in his house. Beatty, the antagonist, comments: “Well,’ said
Beatty, ‘now you did it. Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun and now that he’s burnt his damn
wings, he wonders why?’”
MEDUSA
Background: The most famous of the gorgons,
three sisters in Greek mythology who had snakes for
hair and who turned anyone who looked at them to
stone.
Today: Medusa refers to a repulsive or terrifying
woman. The term is also applied to extraordinarily
wild, unruly hair.
Examples: After being caught in the rainstorm, I
looked in the mirror and was horrified to see
Medusa staring back at me
Mythology Everywhere
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Remember to look
around you.
Mythology is everywhere!