Summary Some fascinating Greek or Roman myths are repeated here. The English words that are immediately derived from the myths are given.
narcissus - a beautiful young man in Greek mythology
narcissism - love of oneself or one's own body
narcissistic - thinking too highly of oneself
Narcissus was an offspring of nymphs of water and river. His mother asked a prophet about his life when he was still an infant. The prophet responded, "He will have a long life if he never knows himself". No ordinary people was able to decipher the meaning of the prophecy. Narcissus grew to be a youth with a beauty that was so striking to people who saw him that he attracted many young girls. However Narcissus spurned them all.
Finally, a deeply wounded lover (whose name was unknown) prayed to Nemisis, the goddess of retribution. The goddess contrived a plot for Narcissus to "know himself", and had him catch sight of his own reflection in a pool on Mount Helicon. Narcissus became entranced with, and enraptured by his own beauty. The more he looked, the deeper he fell in love with what he saw. He was not able to, or bear to tear himself away from the reflection of his own image in water. Held in the great grip of passion for himself, he lay beside the pool day after day until he was depleted, and wasted away eventually. His body was metamorphosed into the flower which was known as 'narcissus' by the act of the gods.
The pictures above show the Narcissus flowers that are widely cultivated around Zhangzhou, a city in southern China.
Tantalus - a mythic king of Phrygia, who was not able to quench his thirst
tantalize - to tease or disappoint someone by promising or showing something very desirable and then retreating it or withholding it
Tantalus is a mythic king of Phrygia who offended the gods. The consequences of his offense is the punishment: He is standing in the lake Tartarus in the Underworld, but he is not table to quench his thirst, whenever he stoops to try to drink the water which is just under his chin, the water recedes; nor is he able to appease his hunger, whenever he tries to grasp the apples which are within his arm reach in the tree right above his head, the apples fly back.
Vulcanus - the god of fire and metalworking in Roman mythology, who forged thunderbolts on Mount Etna
volcano - a vent in earth's crust, through which molten rock, rock, gases, ashes etc. are ejected from the earth's interior
Vulcanus = the god of fire and metalworking in Roman mythology
Venus = goddess of love and beauty in Roman mythology.
Equivalence of Roman and Greek gods:
Vulcanus in Roman mythology = Hephaistos in Greek mythology.
Venus in Roman mythology = Aphrodite in Greek mythology.
Mars in Roman mythology = Ares in Greek mythology.
A tale tells about Hephaistos (or Vulcanus) who had heard a lot about the rumors regarding the affairs between his wife, Aphrodite (equivalent to Venus in Roman mythology), and Ares. He decided to fabricate a giant net to catch Venus and Ares (Mars - the god of war). The giant net eventually descended upon the bed in which Aphrodite and Ares were enjoying themselves, and caught them in hot. Hephaistos summoned the other gods to witness the scene. Aphrodite was well know for her sexual desire.
Aphrodisiac means exciting sexual desire.
Martial (derived from Mars) means showing a readiness or eagerness to fight.
Sirens - two daughters of the sea god Phorcys
siren - a woman who uses her sexual attractiveness to entice or allure men; seductive woman; an acoustical device that produces a loud, often wailing sound as a warning signal
Sirens were the two daughters of the sea god Phorcys. They have heads of women and bird bodies.
In Homer's Odyssey book XII, a witch (sorceress) warns Odysseus of the perils he would have to face on his voyage home: Sirens are very attractive, they sing beautiful songs, they enchant all people who come near them. If any ones unwarily draw themselves close to them and hear the song of Sirens, their wives and children will never welcome them home again. The Sirens will warble them to death with the sweetness of their songs. There is a massive heap of dead people's bones lying around the green field where Sirens sit.
On his way home, Odysseus plugged his men's ears with wax, immunized them from the Siren's songs. However wanting to hear the Siren's song himself, Odysseus bound himself to the mast of his ship.
Odysseus - a cunning and resourceful warrior in Greek mythology
Odyssey - a long wandering or voyage, usually marked by many changes of fortune
Odysseus was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic Poem the Odyssey.
Odyssey tells the adventurous stories about Odysseus' wandering on his way home from the siege of Troy city.
Relating to the story of Odysseus was the Trojan horse. Trojan horse was devised by Odysseus himself. It was a large wooden horse. To gain the entrance into the city of Troy, the Greek, under the guise of a peace offering, presented the Trojans with the large wooden horse, which was actually hollow and filled with Greek soldiers. The soldiers released themselves by night and opened the gates of the Troy city to the Greek army.
Odysseus was known for his cunningness and resourcefulness.
Sunday - Sun's day
Sunday - the first day of the week, counted as the seventh day of the week in China
Also Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
Unlike other English words which are mostly coming from Latin or Greek, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were strictly Germanic. These days are associated with seven planets whose names are some known Gods.
Sunday is the Sun's day.
Monday is the Moon's day.
Tuesday is the Mars's (or Tyr's) day. Mars is the god of war in Roman mythology. Mars is translated into Tyr in Germanic language.
Wednesday is the Mercury's day. Mercury is the god of commerce in Roman mythology. Mercury is translated into Odin in Germanic language (which becomes Woden in Old English language)
Thursday is the Jupiter's day. Roman god Jupiter or Jove is taken into Germanic language as Thor.
Friday is the Venus's day. Venus is the god of beauty, is taken as Frigg who is the wife of Odin in Germanic mythology (Odin is equivalent to the god of Mercury in Roman mythology) by Germanic people. Hence there is Frigg-day.
Saturday is the planet, Saturn's day. Saturn is the Roman god of seed and sowing, and is also a sluggish god. So Saturday is for rest. Saturn is directly taken into Germanic language from Roman language because Germanic people do not have an equivalent god for Saturn in their mythology.
Side notes:
1) Old English is rooted in Germanic language.
2) But Old English contributed just a few words to Modern English (Actually only about half of the most commonly used Old English words survived into Modern English, and only about 800 Old English words became the most commonly used words in Modern English, other most commonly used words in Modern English are not from Old English).
3) Modern English words are mostly derived from Latin through Norman people (or French)
4) Some Latin words are derived from Greek
5) A simplified route of the derivation English word: Greek -> Latin -> French -> English
Mars - a god of agriculture before becoming the god of war
March - the third month of a year, however it was the first month in the original Roman calendar
The original Roman calendar had only 304 days and had only ten months, each month being the period between one full moon and the next. The original Roman calendar was supposedly introduced about 738 before Christ (B. C.) by Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome.
The first month was named Martius after Mars. Martius became March in English through the way of French.
The second month was named Aprilis. Aprilis is related to aperire which means to open, because this is the period when the buds of leaves and flowers begin to open. Aprilis became April in English.
The third month was named Maius after the goddess Maia, the mother of Mercury by Jupiter. Maius was taken into English as May.
The fourth month was names Junius in honor of the goddess Juno (who was the wife of Jupiter). Junius was taken into English as June.
The fifth month was originally named Quintilis meaning fifth. In 44 B. C. the Roman senate renamed this month Julius in honor of Gaius Julius Caesar, the general and statesman who was born in this month. Julius became July in English.
The sixth month was named sextilis meaning sixth. In 8 B. C. the Roman senate renamed this month Augustus in honor of Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of Rome. Augustus was anglicized by English people to August.
The seventh month was named September, which meant seven.
The eighth month was named October, meaning eight.
The ninth month was named November which meant nine.
The tenth month was named December meaning ten.
The second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius decided to fill in the two-month winter gap with:
1) Januarius after the god of gates and later the god of beginnings.
2) Februarius after the feast, Februa, where people cleansed their spirits and expiated.
With these two months made up, all the above mentioned first month to tenth month were shifted rightward by two months. And the first month was changed from March month to January month.
By the way noon originally meant ninth hour since sunrise in Rome, noon is from the root nona- (same as novem-) which means ninth.
It was converted into normal hour by the following formula now:
Normal_hour = Roman_Hour + 3
So now noon means the twelfth hour since sunrise.
Mercury - god of commerce and cunning
quicksilver - living silver, mercury (Hg)
Mercury in Roman mythology is the god of science, commerce, eloquence, and cunning. It is identified with Greek mythological god, Hermes, the god who serves as herald and messenger of the other gods, generally pictured with winged shoes and hat, carrying a caduceus (a winged staff with two serpents twined around it). He is identified with Egyptian god of wisdom, Thoth.
So Mercury = Hermes = Thoth.
It was believe by Roman people that the trice-great Hermes invented a magic seal to keep vessels airtight. Hermes gave rise to English word hermetic, meaning airtight or impervious to external influence.
Stentor - a person having an extremely loud voice
stentorian - extremely loud
Stentor, endowed with brazen (of brass) lungs, had a throat that surpassed the force of fifty people's tongues when he made a voice.
Stentor has been the archetypal loud-voiced person for many centuries.
Pan - a Greek god who was very lustful and fond of chasing nymphs
panic - of sudden and groundless fear, as supposed inspired by Pan
Pan, in Greek mythology, is a god of fields, forests, wild animals, flocks, and shepherds, represented as having the legs (and sometimes having horns and ears) of a goat.
He plays the pan pipes, and is very lustful and fond of chasing the nymphs. At once a nymph named Syrinx was chased by Pan. Finding herself unable to escape across the Ladon River, she asked the river nymphs for help. The river nymphs changed Syrinx into a bed of reeds by the riverbank. When Pan saw these reeds, he cut pieces of different lengths and made a panpipe, which was also called a Syrinx (syrinx). The name of this nymph is taken as syringe in English, which is a device to inject fluids into body.
Pan's shout can cause great fear. It was believe that he gave a great shout which infused fear into the giants during their battle against the gods. Pan was worshipped in Athens because Athenians believed that it was he who caused the Persians to flee in great fear from the battle of Marathon.
Pheidippides - a Greek warrior who ran marathon
marathon - a very long-distance or endurance contest
In 490 B. C., the Persians invaded the plains of Marathon. The Athenians and Persians would have a life-or-death battle in Marathon. The Athenians sent Pheidippides to Sparta to request their participation in the battle. The round-trip distance between Sparta and Athens was 150 miles， and the fleet-footed Pheidippides ran it in two whole days. The Athenians eventually miraculously defeated the much stronger force of the invading Persians. On the victory, the runner Pheidippides was again picked to carry the good news back to Athens. The swift runner ran the grueling 25 miles as fast as he could. Upon reaching the walls of the Acropolis, Pheidippides cried out, "Rejoice, we conquer"! and promptly collapsed and died. In memory of this battle and warrior Pheidippides, a marathon foot race was created as a dramatic twenty-five miles dash from Marathon to Athens.
Moneta - epithet of the goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology
money
For an interesting story about how money is related to the goddess Juno Moneta, please see 'Western Culture about Money' in the link Western Cultures Revealed by Greek and Latin Roots in English Words .
An explanation about how the word 'money' is derived from Moneta is provided here:
Moneta is one of the epithets for the goddess Juno, who is the wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology. So when ancient Romans established a coin mint at the temple of Juno Moneta, this epithet became a generic Latin term for a place where money was made. The English word, money is derived from Latin moneta through Middle French word moneie.
Jupiter - or Jove, the chief god, god of the sky
jovial - genial and cheerful; full of hearty, playful good humor: from the ancient astrological notion that people born under the sign of Jupiter or Jove was joyful
In ancient Roman astrology, it was believed that life on the earth was subject to the influence of the planets. That is why influence in English means the flowing of an ethereal fluid or power from the stars in the sky to a body, to affect a person's characters and actions.
So, if a person is born during the ascendancy of a particular planet, he will be subject to that planet's influence on his character, and fortune or life. A total of six planets were known to ancient Romans: Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and our Earth. Of the six planets, the first five were named in honor of Roman gods.
The largest planet was named after the chief god, Jupiter, or Jove, who is identified with Greek god Zeus. He had characteristics of majesty and authoritativeness, and he was considered as the source of joy and happiness or geniality. Jupiter, or Jove contributed one word to English, jovial, which means genial and cheerful, good-natured, jolly. It was believed in ancient Roman astrology that a person born under the planet Jupiter or Jove would have a very good and auspicious fortune.
Jupiter's father was Saturn, who was the god of agriculture. He was conceived of as a bent old man, having a stern, sluggish, and sullen nature (as opposed to Jupiter). Saturday is named after Saturn, so Saturday also means a tired day, or a sluggish day, or a break day, or a rest day. A person born under the planet Saturn was thought to by the astrologers have these traits, inclinations or dispositions.
Mars, the god of war, originally was a god of agriculture, later became the god of war. He was identified with Greek god of war, Ares. He means a god of death or devastation. The reddish planet, Mars, is named after him, and the blood color (red) is connected with him. Mars once had an affair with Venus (the goddess of love and beauty), both of whom caught in hot by Venus' husband Vulcanus.
A person born under the planet Mars was conceived of having the tendency of 'liking to fight, warlike'. If an astrologers said you were martial, then you had all the evil or deadly influence from the planet Mars.
Venus, goddess of love and beauty, the Romans honored the brightest planet in the sky with her name. She is identified with Greek goddess Aphrodite. Her name is a synonym for sexual love, venery, lascivious, wanton. A person born under the planet Venus was supposed to have inclinations of being lascivious or lustful.
Mercury, the god of fast-footed messenger and herald for Olympian god. He was also the god of merchants and thieves, noted for his eloquence, swiftness, and cunningness. The fastest moving planet was named after him. One born under the planet Mercury was thought to be eloquent, ready-witted or cunning, sprightly, and double-dealing or thievish, or simply mercurial in one word.
Muses - the goddesses of poetry and song, and music
music - the art and science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds or stones in varying melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre, especially so as to form structurally complete and emotionally expressive compositions
Muses are the goddesses of poetry and song, and music. There are nine of them, the foremost being Calliope. According to Greek myth, the Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. As goddesses of song, the Muses were naturally associated with Apollo, the god of the lyre and a mentor of the bards (an ancient Celtic poet and singer of epic poems, who sang poems accompanied with a harp). Muses' purview were later extended to arts and sciences: epic poetry, heroic poetry or history, music, tragedy, choral song and dance, erotic poetry, sacred poetry and hymns, astronomy, comedy and merry or idyllic poetry. Ancient Greeks entreated or conjured the Muses for inspiration in arts. Muses contributed one word, music to English.
Amethyst - a beautiful nymph
amethyst - a blue precious stone thought to have the effect of protecting its owner from harm and from drunkenness
Amethyst was a beautiful nymph in one of Aristotle's stories, was ever chased by Dionysus.She invoked the aid of the goddess Artemis for protection. Artemis did, and turned her into a precious gem. After finding Amethyst had turned into a gem, Dionysus, in honor of his passion and love for the nymph, bestowed the gem with a color and quality that would protect the wearer of the stone from the intoxication of wine.
The stone was greatly admired for its beauty.
Atlas - one of the Titans or giants in Greek mythology, believed to be responsible for holding up the sky
atlas - any person who carries a great burden; a book of maps
In Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan compelled to support the heavens on his shoulders. His rule of the world in an early age was overthrown by Zeus in a heavy battle. After the defeat, he was forced by Zeus to have the responsibility of holding up the sky, a burden that he tried unsuccessfully to have Hercules assume. Atlas was extended by Flemish cartographer Gerhardus Mercator to assume the task of supporting the heavens, and later supporting the earth.
Bacchus - epithet of the Greek god Dionysus representing the productive, life-giving and intoxicating power of nature
bacchanlia - a social gathering in ancient Rome notoriously known for its drunkenness, debauchery (dissipation), and licentiousness
Dionysus was a Greek god, as mentioned above in 'Amethyst', he liked to chase nymphs. Roman god Bacchus was identified with Greek god Dionysus. Bacchus (or Dionysus) became known as the god of wine and ecstasy, the god who bestowed happiness and dispersed sorrow. He represented the productive, life-giving, and intoxicating power of nature. His liberating power was most naturally symbolized by wine. The wine was called "the fruit of Dionysus". His followers were the Bacchants, usually wandering bands of women who had abandoned their families and husbands, and taken to the hills, and enjoyed lives. The Bacchants danced in torchlit frenzy to the rhythm of the flute and drum, holding wines in hands.
Dionysus was also associated with Greek and Roman orgies or wild celebrations: Originated as fertility rites, ancient Greeks and Romans held ceremonial rites in honor of the god Dionysus, featuring ecstatic singing and dancing. Gradually the festivals took on many forms, ranging from drinking feasts to festal processions and dramatic performances.
Calliope - the foremost of the nine goddesses of the Muses who are presiding over poetry, song, music, arts and sciences
calliope - an instrument with steam whistles, making beautiful voice
Calliope, in Greek mythology, was the first of the Muses, the nine sister goddesses, daughters of Zeus, who are presiding over poetry, song, music, the arts and sciences. She was the muse of epic poetry and eloquence. Calliope means beautiful voice. Calliope was represented in Greek art as holding an epic poem in one hand and a trumpet in the other, and as wearing laurel crown. Her offspring included Linus, a brilliant musician, and a reputed inventor of melody and rhythm, and Orpheus, a player of lyre and singer, whose performances were so beautiful that all of nature joined him in dance. Orpheus moved Hades so much with his playing that he was allowed to return from the land of the dead with his beloved Eurydice.
Calliope was a source of poetic inspiration. The steam-whistle organ invented around 1850 was named in honor of this goddess, Calliope.
Another sister Muses, Terpsichore, was the Muse of the choral dance and the dramatic chorus. The waltzing, fox-trotting, or break dancing was named after her, and was called a terpsichorean art. Terpsichorean means enjoyment of dance.
Another sister Muses, Clio, the goddess of history, was also honored by the scientists. Cliometrics was given to a rigorous quantitative analysis that applied statistics, principles of economics and other quantitative methods to the study of history. Clio was often represented in art as sitting with an open roll of papyrus or an opened chest of books. Clio was also honored by the advertising industry which presented Clio awards every year to winners who achieved the excellence in advertising.
Eros - Greek god of sexual love
erotic - of or arousing sexual feelings or desires; having to do with sexual love; amatory; highly susceptible to sexual stimulation
Eros was the Greek god of sexual love. Eros was the son of Aphrodite (who was identified with Roman goddess Venus), the goddess of love, and Ares (who was identified with Roman god of war, Mars), the god of war. (Please see the entry above for Vulcanus, who caught Venus and Mars in hot. Venus also had sex with Hermes). Eros was originally depicted as a handsome young man with strong and athletic body. He could tame wild beasts, break the thunderbolts of Zeus, and battle the monsters of the sea. He symbolized the sexual love. This is why erotic means of sexual love. Statues of Eros were commonly found in ancient gymnasiums and academies for athletics where men and boys exercised naked. At some shrines, Eros was worshipped as a god of fertility. Later, the concept of love became increasingly romanticized. And Eros gradually evolved into the figure of a wanton child with sporting wings, and equipped with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. The ancient Romans later called him Amor ("Love") or Cupido ("desire"). In Roman art and literature, Eros was symbolized as the cherubic avatar. That is why we usually see that our St. Valentine's Day cards are adorned with cupid cherub, who is actually a baby Eros.
Hypnos - the god of sleep in Greek mythology
hypnosis - a trance-like condition usually induced by another person (hypnotist), in which the subject is in a state of altered consciousness, and responds, with certain limitations, to the suggestions of the hypnotist
Hypnos (who was identified with Roman god Somnus), was the god of sleep. He was the son of Nyx (Night) and the brother of Thanatos (Death). Hypnos lived, according to one tradition in a Greek Myth, in a land of perpetual darkness and mist. His home was a cavern, through which the waters of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, flowed. Surrounding Hypnos, who was reclining and sleeping on a couch, were his numerous sons - the Dreams. The chief, prominent son was Morpheus. Hypnos and Morpheus were occasionally invoked upon to exercise their powers when the chief gods wished to intervene in mortal affairs on earth. Hypnos could himself induce a state of sleep, and his son Morpheus had the power to make human forms appear to dreamers.
Hypnosis, is coined after Hypnos, the god of sleep. Hypnosis is a sleep-like trance, which is induced artificially by a hypnotist.
Morphine was named by a German pharmacologist Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Serturner after the god of dreams after he successfully isolated the substance from opium. Morphine has the effect of inducing a deep sleep in addition to relieving pain.
Fate - spinners of thread in Roman mythology
fate - the power or agency supposed to determine the outcome of events before they occur; destiny; something inevitable, supposedly determined by this power; lot; fortune; final outcome
When using loom to weave clothing, the lengthwise series of threads through which the crosswise woof is woven are called warp. This warp was also called stamen by ancient Romans. So a stamen was also called a thread. In Roman mythology, the three Fates of human life were often depicted as three spinners of thread of stamen. The first spins out the threads of all men's lives; the second measures the lengths of the threads; the third cuts the threads off. These mortal threads were called stamina (or plural of stamen).
The three Fates determined the duration of human lives. The stamina, or the length of thread, or the innate capacity of a person, is measured or determined by the second spinner, and finally cut off by the third one.
Venus, goddess of love and beauty, the Romans honored the brightest planet in the sky with her name. She is identified with Greek goddess Aphrodite. Her name is a synonym for sexual love, venery, lasciviousness, and wanton. A person born under the planet Venus was supposed to have inclinations of being lascivious or lustful.
venom - the poison secreted by some snakes, spiders, insects, etc., introduced into the body of the victim by bite or sting to paralyze the victim
Venus, goddess of love and beauty, the Romans honored the brightest planet in the sky with her name. She is identified with Greek goddess Aphrodite. Her name is a synonym for sexual love, venery, lascivious, and wanton. A person born under the planet Venus was supposed to have inclinations of being lascivious or lustful.
Venom, originally meant potion from Venus, denoted charm, cosmetic, love, or magic potion, then it developed a meaning of poison, and fatal attraction.
Aegis - a shield or protection of Zeus
aegis - a shield owned by Zeus and later, by his daughter Athena and occasionally by Apollo; a protection
Aegis is something that provides physical protections or shields. In Greek mythology, the aegis was a thundercloud, housing the thunderbolts that Zeus wielded as his signature weapon. The aegis was originally a cloak or mantle made of goatskin taken from the she-goat who had suckled Zeus as a baby. It was used as Zeus's protective armor in his war against the Titans (including Atlas, see Atlas above). Aegis was an impregnable, shield-like weapon that was fashioned by the metalworking god Hephaestus to resemble a thundercloud and fringed with tassels suggestive of thunderbolts.
Zeus occasionally entrusted the aegis to other gods and especially to Athena, who was his daughter. The aegis later became an attribute of Athena. Athena was depicted as wearing the aegis as a sort of protective buffcoat over her chest, or as draping the leather cloak over her arm and using it as a conventional shield to ward off blows. The aegis became an attribute of the goddess's divine protection and power.
Having an aegis means having auspice.
ambrosia, nectar
ambrosia - the food of the gods; nectar the drink of the gods
The Greek and Roman gods were in many ways like our mortal men, but they had the major distinction of immortality, attributed to their eating habits and foods and drinks.
Ambrosia the food of gods, and nectar the drink of gods had the properties of preventing death. Ambrosia also means anything that tastes or smells delicious. Nectar also means any very delicious beverage.
Hermaphroditus - son of the god Hermes and the goddess Aphrodite
hermaphrodite - refers to anything having two diverse and incongruous elements; refers to any animal or plant having both male and female reproductive organs
Hermaphroditus, in Greek mythology, was the son of the god Hermes and the goddess Aphrodite (identified with Roman goddess Venus). He originally was a very handsome, but normal, young man. His beauty attracted the passionate attentions of water nymph. Her amorous advances were unrequited or not-repaid. He made a mistake by bathing in her pool, whereupon she rapturously embraced him and pulled him down into the depth of the pool. She prayed to the gods that he and she might forever be joined. Her wish was granted by the gods, their bodies became one: the being that emerged from them had the breasts and proportions of a woman and the genitals of a man. Hermaphroditus then prayed that all men who bathed in that spring pool thereafter would suffer the same fate.
clue - ball of yarn
clue - anything that helps to solve a problem, particularly a mystery; a guide to the solution to a problem.
At first, clue was simply meaning ball of yarn or thread. According to Greek mythology, King Minos of Crete avenged the murder of his son by the Athenians by periodically sacrificing seven maidens and seven youths to the Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull and that lived on human flesh. The hero Theseus, Duke of Athens, volunteered to deliver the next serving so that he could kill the monster, Minotaur. Ariadne, the Princess of Crete and half sister of the monster, fell in love with Theseus and gave him a clew or a ball of thread so that he might unwind it behind him as he searched the labyrinth where the monster lived and thus find his way out. Theseus did just that, but after killing the Minotaur, he abandoned Ariadne on the voyage home, in a decidedly unheroic move.
Alkyone - daughter of Aeolus, god of the winds
halcyon - calm, peaceful, tranquil (without wind)
According to Greek mythology, Alkyone, the daughter of Aeolus, god of the winds, was so distraught on learning that her husband had been killed in a shipwreck that she threw herself into the sea and was changed into a kingfisher ( a sea bird). So this bird was called alkyone or halkyon by the Greeks. Legend had it that the bird built a floating nest on the sea about the time of the winter solstice in December. It charmed the wind and the waves so that for about a two-week period, while its eggs were incubating, the sea remained calm; hence we have the expression halcyon days, which is used to describe a period of peace or prosperity.
Phaeton - the son of Helios (the god of the sun)
phaeton - a touring car
In Greek mythology, Phaeton is the son of Helios (the god of the sun) who persuades his father to let him drive the chariot of the sun across the sky for a single day. Helios is bound by a promise to grant his son one wish and agrees, although not without grave concern. His concern proves well-founded, because, Phaeton, no match for the mighty horses, loses control and the fiery chariot wanders in its course and flies too near the earth. The chariot scorches the northern part of Africa, turning it into desert and darkening the skin of the people there. Fearing that the entire earth will be burned up, Zeus is forced to destroy Phaeton with a thunderbolt.
Amen - a god in Egyptian mythology, represented as a ram with great horns, and a human body
ammonia - a colorless, pungent gas, NH3: its compounds are used as fertilizers, in medicine, etc.
Amen - a god in Egyptian mythology, represented as a ram with great horns, and a human body. To the Greeks, Amen god became known as Ammon. His chief temple and oracle were at an oasis in the Libyan desert near Memphis. It is said that near this temple a cesspool was located, where the urine of camels were collected. For centuries in Egypt, camel's urine, soot, and sea salt were heated together to form salt of Ammon. To designate the gas produced when salt of Ammon is heated with an alkali, a Swedish chemist coined the term in 1782, ammonia.
In Greek mythology, Cadmus was the reputed founder of the Greek city of Thebes. Cadmus' most celebrated exploits were his battle with a man-eating dragon and the establishment of Thebes city. After slaying the monster of man-eating dragon, he removed its teeth, and sowed some of them in the ground. From these sown teeth sprang up a company of armed men. Cadmus reacted by surreptitiously striking them with stones. The armed men, suspecting one another as the striker, began a mutual slaughter until only five remained. With these five men, Cadmus established his new city of Thebes. The ancient citadel of Thebes was named Cadmea in his honor. It was in this Greek city, Thebes, that the ancients first discovered the substance known to us as zinc oxide. The ancients used word Cadmia, after Thebes's legendary founder, for zinc oxide, or for any ore abounding in zinc.
A metal in a zinc compound was discovered by a German chemist Friedrich Stromeyer, Stromeyer called this newly discovered metal cadmium.
Niobe - Niobe was the daughter of the Phrygia king, Tantalus, who was perpetually parched in Tartarus lake
niobium - a gray or white, metallic chemical element, first discovered in mineral of which tantalum is a basic component
In Greek mythology, Tantalus was the king of Phrygia. Niobe was the daughter of the king. She is most famous as the proud mother of twelve children who insulted the goddess Leto. For her affront, all of her twelve children were killed. She grieved bitterly, and even after she was turned into a block of marble, a stream of tears flowed continuously.
Niobe's father, Tantalus, was the subject of an even more famous myth. For his offense against the gods, he was condemned to perpetual thirst in Tartarus lake, even though he was standing chin-deep in water, Whenever he stooped to drink the water, the water receded just out of his reach. Appropriately, metallic element tantalum was named after him because the metal could not absorb acid suggesting the King's inability to drink. When niobium was first discovered, it was discovered in a rare mineral consisting of tantalum, so it was the most natural to name the metallic element niobium, after the daughter, Niobe, of the most parched king, Tantalus.
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