生祠-occupy
1.
ACHILLES’ HEEL
Meaning: The
weakness of an individual which leads to his
downfall.
Greek Myth: Achilles was a Greek
warrior who later became the hero of the
Trojan War. When he was an infant, it was
prophesized that he would die
young. His
mother Thetis who was a Nereid (sea goddess) did
not desire this
and hence she dipped him into
the river Styx. The Styx had powers by which
any part of the body that made contact with
the river became invincible.
However, she had
held him by the heel when dipping him, thus
leaving a
vulnerable area. He would later die,
as prophesized, by a poisoned arrow to his
heel.
“His love for fast food is one day
going to prove to be his achilles’ heel.”
2.
CAUGHT BETWEEN SCYLLA & CHARYBDIS
Meaning: A difficult choice where either
decision could end in disaster; more
familiar
as ‘between the devil and the deep blue sea’.
Greek Myth: The hero Odysseus spent nine years
returning home after the
Trojan War. Along his
voyage by sea, he came upon Scylla and Charybdis.
Scylla was an enormous sea monster with
numerous hands and six dog heads
sprouting
from her body; she ate men alive. Charybdis was a
tremendous
whirlpool that digested ships
whole. Since the only way to get home was to
choose either route, Odysseus had to decide on
one horror or the other. He
chose Scylla,
losing six crewmen to Scylla's hunger.
“If I
do my mathematics homework, I won’t have time to
study for the History
test tomorrow, and both
teachers are so strict! I’m caught between Scylla
and
Charybdis!
3.
DOG AS MAN’S BEST
FRIEND OR FAITHFUL COMPANION
Meaning:
Self-explanatory
Greek Myth: When Odysseus
returned home in disguise after many years, only
his faithful dog who had patiently awaited his
return recognized him. His
family did not
recognize him. Even on its deathbed, the dog
managed to look
up at its master and wag its
tail in appreciation.
“He won’t do something
so cruel to her; he’s as faithful as a dog.”
4.
ELYSIUM FIELDS
Meaning:
Paradise
Greek Myth: The Greeks did not
believe in a heaven and hell; instead, the
exceptionally good people were sent to
Elysium, also known as the ‘Isle of the
Blessed’. This was equivalent to
Christianity’s paradise.
“The party was on a
beautiful beach, with wonderful food and drinks; I
thought I had stumbled upon the Elysium
fields!”
5.
THE FACE THAT LAUNCHED A
THOUSAND SHIPS
Meaning: Any one person
causing disaster, especially war.
Greek
Myth: This is a direct reference to Helen of Troy,
who was considered
to be the most beautiful
woman in the world. The abduction of her by the
Trojan prince Paris caused Menelaus, her
husband, to declare war on Troy.
Because of
prior alliances, eventually all of the Greeks got
involved; thus,
Helen's beauty had ‘launched a
thousand ships’ into war.
6.
FOOD OF THE
GODS
Meaning: unbelievably delicious
delicacies.
Greek Myth: Nector and ambrosia
were what the gods normally ate – this was
the
food of the gods. If a mortal were to eat
ambrosia, he or she would be
rendered
immortal.
“This spread looks like the food
of the gods!”
7.
TITAN
Meaning:
one of great size, strength or achievement
Greek Myth: The titans were part of a family
of giants, the children of Uranus
and Gaea.
They tried to rule heaven but were overthrown and
supplanted by
the family of Zeus. They were
very large creatures of enormous strength.
“Ratan Tata is one of the titans of Indian
enterprise.”
8.
GORDIAN KNOT
Meaning: An extremely perplexing puzzle or
problem.
Greek Myth: Legend mixes with
mythology with respect to this term. King
Gordius of Phrygia tied a knot and it was
destined that whoever could untie it
revealed
himself as the future lord of Asia. After many
frustrating attempts to
untie it, Alexander
the Great finally sliced the knot with his sword,
proving it
would take brute force to
eventually capture Asia. Thus, to ‘cut the Gordian
knot’ means to solve a puzzle in a powerful,
decisive manner.
“This week’s crossword in
the paper is a Gordian knot!”
9.
HERCULEAN
EFFORT
Meaning: A mighty try
Greek
Myth: Heracles, (not Hercules) was the son of Zeus
and a mortal
woman. Heracles was obligated to
fulfill twelve very difficult tasks, called the
Labours of Heracles. Any effort we nowadays
may deem as tremendous can
be attributed as
‘Herculean’, and is associated with the labours.
“Setting up a new house takes Herculean
effort.”
10.
HOT AS HADES
Meaning: Sweltering heat
Greek Myth:
Hades was the ruler of the underworld, called
Tartarus. This was
where evil people went
after death, according to Greek mythology. The
place
was supposed to be very hot, and severe
punishments were constantly meted
out. It
might be deduced that perhaps the real saying was
‘hot as Tartarus’, but
over the years, it has
become more popular as ‘hot as Hades’.
“In the
summers, Mumbai becomes hot as Hades.”
11.
THE HOUNDS OF HELL
Meaning: Allegory
for evil, or the pursuit by evil
Greek
Myth: Again, in reference to Hades's kingdom,
Cerberus was a dog
who guarded the
entrance to the netherworld. There weren't really
any
‘hounds’, but Cerberus is often
depicted with many heads. He was referred to as
the hound of hell, and is generally associated
with evil.
“The gunmen attached the crowds
like hounds of hell.”
12.
MIDAS TOUCH
Meaning: A person who always is lucky is said
to have the Midas touch.
Greek Myth:
Perhaps one of mythology's most famous tales is
that of King
Midas, who was granted the wish
that everything he touched would turn into
gold. However, he soon realized that he could
not eat, or drink, or even hug
his daughter.
Wisely, he retracted his wish, and by immersing
himself in the
river Pactolus, lost the
‘golden touch’ or the ‘Midas touch’.
“I always
involve Ravi in any new venture; he has the Midas
touch and
ensures that things go smoothly.”
13.
ODYSSEY
Meaning: A long
adventure, journey
Greek Myth: This term
derives from the classical epic by Homer,
‘Odyssey’.
The hero Odysseus takes nine long
years to return from the Trojan War. Along
the
way, he has a multitude of adventures.
“My
odyssey through Rajasthan last month was tiring
but very exciting!”
14.
ELECTRA
COMPLEX
Meaning: A daughter’s attachment
to her father
Greek Myth: Electra was the
daughter of Agamemnon. When her mother
Clytemnestra murdered Agamemnon, Electra swore
vengeance in Agamemnon's honor.
Her relentless
obsession was ultimately the cause of
Clytemnestra's death. Both
Sophocles and
Euripedes wrote plays that bear her name.
15.
PANDORA’S BOX
Meaning: To ‘open a
Pandora's Box’ means to invite trouble.
Greek Myth: Zeus was disgusted with man
and decided to inflict him with the
worst
trouble imaginable. A woman, Pandora was molded
from clay and was
bestowed with gifts of charm
and beauty. Zeus then gave her to Epimetheus
(whose name means ‘afterthought’) to marry,
with a beautiful box of evils as
her dowry.
Although told not to open it, she inevitably did,
and all the evils
were released.
“Don’t let mummy see my test results or the
Pandora’s Box will be opened!”
16.
TROJAN
HORSE
Meaning: destruction by a seemingly
benign person or object, on the sly
Greek
Myth: During the Trojan War, the Trojans were
within their city walls
while the Achaeans
(Greeks) lay in wait outside. The Greeks decided
to trick
the Trojans. An enormous wooden horse
was placed outside their gates. The
Trojans
thought that this was a peace-offering or a gift
from the gods. Despite
warnings from the
princess Cassandra and the priest Laocoon, they
brought
the horse within the city. During the
night, hidden soldiers from the horse's
belly
emerged and destroyed the city.
“The drink was
actually a Trojan horse; she had poisoned it
before offering
it.”
17 APPLE OF
DISCORD
- This expression comes from Greek
mythology.
hero Peleus and the water-nymph
Thetis, parents of the famous Achilles. All the
gods are
invited to the party, saving one:
Eris, goddess of discord - an understandable
omission. Eris,
didn't see it that way and
resolved to get revenge.
inscribed it
squabbled over by every goddess on
hand.
Macrone (Gramercy Books, New York, 1999).
Page 178.
18TO FIGHT LIKE A TROJAN –
This
comes from the Trojan War, the
'Iliad' as
having been waged for ten years by the
confederated Greeks against
the men of Troy
and their allies.
revised by Adrian Room
(HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1999,
Sixteenth
Edition). Page 1203
19 A
SINON –
- The Greeks built a hollow horse, the
Trojan Horse, and
The Trojans
and, without
pity, destroy the town.
(Gramercy Books, New
York, 1999). Page 13.
charge of staying by the
wooden horse and lighting a beacon lamp as a
signal to the Achaeans
for their final assault
against Troy.
Retrieved on October 5, 2002.
Sinon, left behind by the Greeks -- he claimed it
was because
Odysseus is his enemy -- told the
Trojans the horse was a sacrifice to Athena.
http:#cassandra Retrieved on
October 5,
2002.
20 A TRITON AMONG THE MINNOWS
-
Triton was the son of .
head. It is this sea-
god that makes the roaring of the ocean by blowing
through his shell.
expression means:
Phrase
and Fable
Sixteenth Edition). Page 1202.
21
Oedipus Complex
Sigmund Freud
believed that all men want to kill their fathers
so that they can
marry their mothers. So
today, whenever we see a guy who is just a bit too
close to his
mom, we might say that he has an
Oedipus complex.
The term originated from this
Greek story: there was this guy named Oedipus who,
at birth, was destined by fate to kill his
father (who also happened to be the King of
Thebes) and marry his mother. The people in
Thebes thought that this was a pretty big
deal, so when Oedipus was an infant, he was
sent away. As an adult, Oedipus returns to
Thebes only to - you guessed it - kill his dad
and marry his mom (he didn't know they
were his parents. By the way, the
reverse condition (women who seek to kill their
mother and marry their father) is called the
Elektra complex.
22 Herculean task
?
Hercules is actually the Roman name of
the Greek hero, Heracles.
Heracles is famous
for his unbelievable strength. Throughout his
life,
Heracles was also challenged to many
physical tasks (such as defeating
the many-
headed Hydra). Each and every time, Heracles
successfully
accomplished his oday, we
use
the term
that only Heracles, with his god-like
strength, could accomplish it. It
doesn't mean
that something is impossible, but it means that
it's
overwhelmingly large and should require
more than one person
23
Pandora's box
o
The only thing left
inside the jar was Hope.
o
24
Arachne, arachnida, arachnoidea
In Greek
mythology, the most skillful weaver of Lydia who
challenged
the goddess Athena to a weaving
contest.
Athena wove into her web the stories
of those who had aroused
the anger of the
gods, while Arachne chose stories of the errors of
the
gods.
Enraged at the excellence of the
work, Athena tore Arachne's web
into pieces.
Arachne hanged herself in grief and was
transformed by
Athena into a spider.
This
was adopted as the spider family in science which
includes
scorpions, mites, and ticks.
The
term arachnoid refers to anything that resembles a
spider's
web.
25
Athene, Pallas Athene
Pallas signifies
exhibits menacingly),
that is, as a spear.
An asteroid was named
Pallas as well as a very rare metallic
element
called palladiium which was named after the
asteroid.
Because a statue of Pallas Athene ,
which stood in front of the city
of Troy was
supposed to have helped preserve the city from
danger,
the word palladium also has come to
mean
26
Calliope
The name of a
musical instrument.
The mother of Orpheus was
named Calliope because she was the
Muse of
Eloquence and Heroic Poetry. The name comes from
two
words meaning
27
Cronos
The
god of time.
From this word, we have the noun
chronology which describes an
arrangement of
events in order of occurrence. Chronic describes
something that continues over a long period of
time.
A chronicler is someone who records a
historical account of
events in the order of
time. A time piece of great accuracy is called a
chronometer
28
Cyclops (s), Cyclopes
(pl)
1. Any of the three one-eyed Titans who
forged thunderbolts for Zeus.
2. Any of a race
of one-eyed giants, reputedly descended from these
Titans, inhabiting the island of Sicily.
3. Etymology: derived from two Greek words
meaning
We have adopted cyclops in the
field of biology to describe the
group of
tiny, free-swimming crustaceans which have a
single eye.
Cyclopie is an adjective meaning
Cyclopia is a noun
used for a massive
abnormality in which the eyes are partly or
completely fused.
The word has been used
as a root to describe a wheel in such
words as
tricycle, bicycle, and motorcycle. It is also used
to describe a
violent storm which moves in a
circle; such as, a cyclone.
It also appears in
the word encyclopedia to describe circular (or
complete) learning. A cyclotron is a large
apparatus used for the
multiple acceleration
of ions to very high speeds.
29
Erinyes,
Eumenides; the Furies;
In Greek mythology,
three terrifying snake-haired winged goddesses,
named Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, who
mercilessly punished
wrongdoing, especially
when committed within families.
Eumenides
meant
intended.
From Greek
euphemismos,
inauspicious oneeuphemizein
eu-, pheme, phanai,
In ancient Greece, the
superstitious avoidance of words of
ill-omen
during religious ceremonies, or substitutions;
such as,
Eumenides,
In English, a
rhetorical term at first; broader sense of
less distasteful word or phrase than the one
meant
established or documented in 1793.
30
Elysian Fields
A
French to call
their famous boulevard in Paris the Champs 蒷ys閑.
A tree-lined thoroughfare of Paris, France,
leading from the Place
de la Concorde to the
Arc de Triomphe.
Eucalyptus-晚安的英文怎么写
五日京兆-彼此的拼音
稀奇的近义词-plague
fridaythe13th-跳舞的英语单词怎么写
历年四级听力-最后的命令
感染的英文-安详的拼音
感同身受的近义词-durango
zhuang开头的成语-班图人
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