Words originating from Greek mythology can be seen everywhere in the daily life of British and American countries. It is well known that the olive branch symbolizes peace. This allusion originated from Athena, the god of war in Greek mythology. When Athena named the city of Athens, she gave her an olive branch and wished the city eternal peace and prosperity. The commonly used word fatal evolved from the three goddesses of fate (the Fates) in Greek mythology. These three goddesses of life are in charge of the thread of life. Clotho spins the thread and Lachesis weaves; when she has finished spinning and hands the thread to Atropos, Arte Lobos immediately cut off the thread of life, and his life ended. Therefore, the word fatal, derived from the goddess Fate, is not only related to death, but also to the entire life process. Zeus (Zel8), the leader of the Olympic gods, and Apollo (the sun god) are well-known figures in Western society, and the words related to them are well-known to everyone. Cupid’8 bow and Achilles’ heel are also familiar allusions to British and American people. English advertisements often make use of the associated meanings of allusions originating from Greek mythology to satisfy the cultural mentality of British and Americans advocating mythical heroes and gods. For example, the trademark of a high-end sports travel shoe produced in the United States is Nike, which borrows the name from Nikc, the goddess of victory in Greek mythology. The names of characters from Greek mythology also found their way into the fields of technology and military affairs. American scientists named the space exploration program the Apollo program and named the submarine after the Trident, the symbol of Poseidon. In addition, words originating from Greek mythology often appear in news reports due to their unique cultural images. For example, The National Aeronautic and Space Administration had called it a “success-oriented” schedule to get the space shuttle flying again, but the odyssey of “Discovery” was beset with various problems. In this sentence, the author makes flexible use of the word "odyssey", which originates from the hero Odysseus in Greek mythology. Odysseus, the hero of the Trojan War, went through many hardships after the war and wandered at sea for 10 years before returning to his homeland. Here, the word "odyssey" is used to refer to the various setbacks and difficulties that Discovery experienced during its space exploration activities.

1 English words derived from the names of Greek gods and goddesses

1. Flora: the flower god in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. She married Zephyr, the god of the west wind, and her husband gave her a garden full of exotic flowers and plants. In spring, Flora and her husband Zephyr walked hand in hand in the garden, and flowers bloomed everywhere they walked. Flora refers to "plant" in modern English. Derived words: flower, flour, flourish, floral, florist.

2. Muses: the gods in charge of art in Greek mythology. The last nine are history, lyric poetry, comedy (pastoral, pastoral poetry), tragedy, song and dance, love poetry, ode, astronomy, and epic. The word music is derived from the art of Muses, and the place where Muses collects art is the museum. The happiness brought by art is amuse, amusement.

3. Pan (Pan): God of fauns and forests, he will roar loudly when disturbed. Derived word panic (panic, panic).

4. Titan: A member of the giant race that once ruled the world.

Titan in modern English refers to a tall and strong person, an important person. The derivative word titanic means huge, huge. "Titanic" is named after this.

5. Zephyrus: God of the West Wind. Derived word zephyr (west wind, gentle breeze, breeze).

6. Atlas: One of the Titans in Greek mythology, he was punished at the western end of the world for betraying Zeus, carrying the sky on his shoulders. In the 16th century, the geographer Macquarie used the Atlas as the frontispiece of an atlas. Later generations rushed to imitate it. From then on, atlas had the meaning of map, atlas, and people with heavy burdens. Other derivatives: Atlantic.

7. Ceres: God of protection of crops. When ancient Rome suffered from a severe drought, the priests asked witches for divination. The result of the divination was to establish a new goddess Ceres and worship her so that she would bring rain to the earth. Since then, Ceres has become the protector of crops. Cereal comes from Latin, meaning "of Ceres" belonging to the goddess of cereals. Derived words: cereals (cereals, breakfast cereals).

8. Cronos: Father of Zeus. He was afraid that his children would rebel against him and he would devour his own offspring. Like ruthless time, swallowing everything. Hence the root "chron" means "time". Derived words: chronic (time-consuming, chronic): chronology (chronology, chronology).

9. Eros: God of love. He is a beautiful boy with wings, equivalent to Cupid in Roman mythology. Whether it is Eros or Cupid, they have nothing to do all day long, flying around in the sky practicing archery, which makes everyone panic. Therefore, the words they derive have derogatory meanings: erotic: cupidity, greedy, greedy.

10. Hygeia: The Greek goddess of health, her image is a young woman, wearing a long white dress (white coat) and a priest's crown, feeding a snake with a rice bowl. Derived words: hy-giene.

11. Morpheus: The god of dreams in Greek mythology. Dream God is the son of Hypnos, the god of sleep, and is in charge of people's dreams. Derived words: morphine (morphine), marijuana (cannabis), both of which are extracts of opium (opium). Morphine has anesthetic and sedative effects.

Two English idioms originating from Greek mythology

1. Pandora's box: Prometheus stole fire from heaven for mankind and angered him Zeus. Zeus decided to punish mankind, so he ordered Vulcan to create a beautiful woman Pandora and let her seduce Prometheus' brother Epimetheus. As a result, Epimetheus was deceived and approached Pandora. Pandora then opened the box in her hand and released the evil, disaster, disease, and misfortune inside, leaving only "hope" in the box. So Pandora’s box became synonymous with “the root of disaster”.

2. The sword of Damocles[3]: Damocles was a minister of the Syracuse Dynasty and was very envious of the emperor's glory and wealth. One day, the king made him sit on the throne, hung a sword on Damocles' head with a hair, and told him that the danger of the king's power, just like the sword, might come at any time. Therefore, the sword of Damocles has become synonymous with "the danger hidden in wealth", and can also refer to a critical situation and a critical moment.

3. Damon and Pythias[3]: Damon and Pythias are good friends.

Pythias was sentenced to death in an accident. In order for him to go home to visit his relatives, Damo stayed in prison as a hostage. If Pythias did not return on time, Damon would be executed. When the time limit expired and he was about to be executed, Pythias rushed back in time. The king was deeply moved and released both of them. Therefore, Damon and Pythias means "friends of life and death."

4. Penelop’s web: Derived from the epic poem “Odyssey”[4]. Penelop is the wife of Odysseus and is known for her loyalty. The Trojan War lasted for ten years, and Odysseus was delayed for another ten years on his way home. During these twenty long years, many princes and nobles proposed to Penelop, but she all excused herself by saying that she could not consider them until the cloth was weaved. At night, she took apart the cloth she had woven during the day. So Penelop’s web becomes a job that will never be completed.

5. Apple of discord[5]: means "the source of discord and the cause of disputes". Peleus and Thetis forgot to invite Eris, the goddess of discord, to their wedding. The goddess was so angry that she left a golden apple with the inscription "For the Most Beautiful", which caused a dispute between Athena, Hera and Aphrodite. This event led to the long Trojan War.

6. Judgment of Paris[5]: It means "not loving the country but loving the beauty". Eri came to the gathering of the gods uninvited and left the golden apple behind when she left. In order to compete for the golden apple, the three goddesses decided to let Zeus decide. Zeus could not choose between his wife, the goddess of wisdom and the goddess of love and beauty. In the moment of embarrassment, Zeu looked through the clouds and looked into the world, and saw Paris, the second prince of Troy, shepherding sheep, so he handed over the decision-making power to Paris. The three goddesses respectively used "the largest territory", "the wisest mind" and "the most beautiful woman" as temptations. In the end, Paris gave up the country and chose Venus, and obtained the most beautiful woman Helen.

7. Helen of Troy: Since it was Helen who led to the fall of the city of Troy, "Helen of Troy" has become synonymous with "a beautiful woman brings disaster to the country, a beauty who ruins the country".

8. The Trojan horse[4]: means "a destructive thing or person used to deceive the enemy or opponent into thinking that it is beneficial to oneself." During the Trojan War, in order to attack the city of Troy, the Greeks built a huge wooden horse with Greek soldiers hidden inside. They deliberately pretended to abandon the Trojan horse and escape, and the Trojans invited the Trojan horse into the city as a trophy. In the middle of the night, soldiers crawled out of the wooden horse and killed everyone in the city. The city of Troy fell. The Trojan Horse has become a widely circulated idiom through constant quotation. It is often used to metaphor the hidden danger (hidden danger); the covert wreckers (traitor): to engage in underhand activities and other meanings.

9. Stables of Augeas: means "the dirtiest place: where piles of difficult-to-solve problems accumulate." Augeas, king of Elis, had thousands of cattle, and his pens had not been cleared for thirty years. Heracles spent a day cleaning it.

10. Achilles’heel: Greek warrior, the crystallization of man and god. After he was born, he was carried upside down by his mother and dipped in the River Styx. Except for his heels, his whole body was invulnerable. He eventually died in the Trojan War under the arrows of Paris. Achilles'heel means "no gold is pure and no man is perfect", specifically referring to the only fatal weakness and shortcoming.

11. Swan song[3]: literally translated as "swan song", derived from the Greek idiom Kykneion asma.

In ancient Greek mythology, the swan is the sacred bird of Apollo, so it is often used as a metaphor for literature and art. Legend has it that swans usually don't sing, but before they die, they will sing a song, which is sad, beautiful and touching. This is the only and last time it sings in its life. Therefore, this idiom in modern English refers to a masterpiece before the death of a poet, writer, or composer, or the last performance of an actor or singer. As early as the 6th century BC, in the fables of the ancient Greek fable writer Aesop, there was a saying that "swans sing only when they are dying". In the UK, great poets and playwrights such as Chaucer and Shakespeare have all used this idiom. For example: the image of Emilia created in Shakespeare's famous tragedy "Othello" (Othello), she stood up to expose her husband's crimes at the critical moment of life and death. When she was dying, she compared herself to a swan, singing only for the last time in her life[6].

12. Under the rose: literal translation "under the rose". Derived from ancient Roman mythology. Cupid, the god of love, is the son of Venus, the god of love and beauty, and Mars, the god of war. In order to protect his mother's reputation, Cupid gave birth to the silent god Habocrates. Harpocrates sent a bouquet of roses and asked him to keep quiet and not to spread the affair of Venus. Harpocrates accepted the rose and became silent, becoming a veritable "god of silence". Legend has it that the ancient Romans regarded roses as a symbol of silence or keeping secrets, and this became a common practice in daily life. When people visited the host's house and saw roses painted on the table, the guests knew that there was a rose on the table. Nothing said should be spread. Under the rose has the meaning of "secretly, privately, secretly"

English word, Greek origin

apple of discord. The source of discord)

The goddess of discord, Eris, dropped a golden apple at a wedding with the words "for the most beautiful goddess". As a result, the goddess Hera ( Hera, the goddess of wisdom, Athene, and the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. Finally, they went to Paris, the prince of Troy, to make a decision. Different promises were made. Aphrodite promised that she would give the most beautiful woman in the world to Paris, so Paris awarded the Xin Apple to Aphrodite. Hera and Athene were very angry and vowed to take revenge on the Trojans. Later, Paris went to Greece as an ambassador. Sparta, with the help of Aphrodite, seduced Queen Helen of Sparta, the most beautiful woman in the world at that time. Paris abducted Helen, which aroused the public indignation of all Greeks. Formed a coalition to attack the Trojans. In the war, Aphrodite supported the Trojans, and Hera and Athene supported the Greeks. The war was triggered by an apple, so the apple of discord means "the source of discord, the cause of disputes." p>

Electra Complex

Elektra was determined to avenge her father because her mother and her lover murdered her father. In the end, she and her brother killed her mother.

Achilles' heel (fatal weakness)

When Achilles was a child, his mother carried him by his feet in the River Styx in order to make him immortal. His whole body was immersed so that swords and guns could not hurt him, except for his heel which was not immersed in the water of the Styx. As a result, when fighting Paris, he was shot by Paris with a poisonous arrow in his heel and died. Therefore, Achilles' heel (Achilles' heel) became It has become synonymous with "fatal weakness".

Helen of Troy

In the last year of the Trojan War, the Greeks adopted the "Trojan Horse" (the Trojan Horse). With the help of Hera and Athene, Captured the city of Troy. Because Helen led to the fall of Troy, Helen of Troy became synonymous with "beautiful woman brings disaster to the country".

the sword of Damocles

Damocles was a minister of the Syracuse dynasty and was very envious of the emperor's wealth and splendor. One day, the king made him sit on the throne, hung a sword on Damocles' head with a hair, and told him that the danger of the king's power, just like the sword, might come at any time. Therefore, the sword of Damocles has become synonymous with "the danger hidden in wealth", and can also refer to a critical situation and a critical moment;

Damon and Pythias (friendship of life and death)

Damon and Pythias are good friends. Pythias had an accident and was sentenced to death. In order for him to go home and accuse his relatives, Damon stayed in prison as a hostage. If Pythias did not return on time, Damon would be executed. When the time limit expired and Pythias was about to be executed, Pythias rushed back in time. The king was deeply moved and released both of them. Therefore, Damon and Pythias means "friends of life and death."

Pandora's box

Prometheus stole fire from heaven for mankind, which angered Zeus. Zeus decided to punish mankind, so he ordered Vulcan to create a beautiful woman Pandora and let her seduce Prometheus' brother Epimetheus. As a result, Epimetheus was deceived and approached Pandora. Pandora then opened the box in her hand and released the evil, disaster, disease, and misfortune inside, leaving only "hope" in the box. So Pandora's box became synonymous with "the root of disaster".

Penelop's web (the work that is never finished)

It is an idiom from the epic Odyssey: Penelop is Odysseus )'s wife, known for her loyalty. The Trojan War raged for ten years, and Odysseus was delayed for another ten years on his way home. During these two long years, many princes and nobles proposed to Penelop, but she all excused herself by saying that she could not consider it until the cloth was finished. At night, she took apart the cloth she had woven during the day. So Penelop's web

became a job that would never be finished.

arachnid (general name for spider arthropods)

Arachne is a girl with excellent knitting and embroidery skills. She once held an embroidery competition with Athene, but committed suicide because she could not bear Athene's pollution. Athene regretted it later and admired her embroidery skills, so she turned her into a spider and weaved webs forever.

atlas

Atlas is one of the Titans. He was punished for betraying Zeus by carrying the sky on his shoulders. The title "Atlas" comes from the picture of Atlas holding the sky on his shoulders printed on the title page of the atlas published by Dutch geographer Mercator.

cereal

It comes from Ceres in Roman mythology. She is the goddess in charge of grain and the earth, which is Demeter in Greek mythology. );

daphne (laurel tree)

Daphne (Daphne) is the beauty that the sun god (Apollo) loves, and the prankster Cupid (Cupid), the god of love, shoots her with a golden arrow Apollo, shot Daphne with a lead arrow, the golden arrow ignited love, the lead arrow extinguished love. In this way, Apollo pursues, Daphne escapes, and finally Daphne has nowhere to escape and turns into a laurel tree. Apollo was devastated and vowed to remember her forever and let people commemorate her. Apollo is associated with music, poetry, etc., so the ancient Romans used laurel branches to weave crowns to reward winners in music, art, sports competitions and battles. The "laurel crown" became a symbol of victory and a symbol of honor.

hercules task (very difficult task)

In order to punish Hercules, Apollo ordered him to serve King Eulissus for 12 years. During this period, Hercules completed 12 great and difficult tasks, and finally achieved perfection and was sealed by Zeus into a constellation named Wufu. Hercules task is a metaphor for a very difficult task in English. Use make herculean efforts to describe great efforts. Hercules' choice now refers to immortality in English. The reason is that he chose virtue between VIRTUE, the god of virtue, and

PLEASURE, the god of pleasure. The god of virtue guaranteed that he could live forever. Finally, through the efforts of Hercules, he became immortal and became a man in heaven. Warrior constellation.

Gordian knot (Gordian knot) means a thorny problem, a difficult problem. A farmer named Goldid was driving cattle through a country called Phrygia and was elected king by the locals because a prophet predicted that Goldid would be their future king. In order to thank the god Zeus, Goldie used an oxcart as a sacrifice to Zeus. He asked someone to make a strong rope from tree bark and tied a knot himself. This is Goldie's knot. Goldie left his last words, whoever can untie this knot will be able to rule the entire Asia Minor. Later, a man cut off the knot with a sword. He was Alexander the Great who later conquered the entire Asia Minor.

narcissism (Narcissus complex, narcissism)

Narcissus is a handsome Greek young man who rejected the advances of the goddess Echo, so he is destined to fall in love with him His own reflection in the lake as punishment. Because he could not make his love perfect, he grew thinner and thinner, and finally turned into a flower named after him - Narcissus, also known as narcissus.

Cassandra complex (Cassandra complex)

The prophetess in Greek mythology, the daughter of King Priam of Troy. As a temple witch, she was given the ability to predict fate by Apollo, but Apollo asked for physical relations with her in return. She refused, and Apollo cast a curse on her in anger: any prophecy she uttered would be accurate. , but no one believed it. After the city was broken, he was captured by the Greek general Ajax the Younger. He was killed when the Greek fleet sank on its way back. The Cassandra complex refers to people who have a deep belief in the impending disaster that has not yet happened. Such a person usually claims that he can foresee future disasters, but when he tries to persuade people around him, he is ridiculed and despised by those around him. Therefore, he is tortured by his ability to foresee disasters and his inability to deal with reality. people.

Medusa (extremely ugly woman)

Medusa is a succubus in Greek mythology, one of the three Gorgon succubi. Her father is Poseidon, the king of the sea, and her mother is the sea monster Cetus. Her hair is full of snakes. It is said that she was originally a beautiful girl.

Because Medusa was more beautiful than Athena, the goddess of wisdom, Athena turned Medusa's hair into poisonous snakes in anger, turning her into an ugly monster; Medusa was finally decapitated by Perseus and dedicated to her Athena, Athena embedded Medusa's head in the center of the aegis Aegis. Anyone who looked directly into Medusa's eyes would be turned into stone. Later, the word Medusa came to mean "an extremely ugly woman".

Hero

From Greek mythology, it means half-human and half-god, the child of God and man.

hercules task

Hercules Hercules in Greek mythology. In order to punish Hercules, Apollo ordered him to serve King Eulissus for 12 years. During this period, Hercules completed 12 great and difficult tasks, and finally achieved perfection and was sealed by Zeus into a constellation named Wufu. Hercules task is a metaphor for a very difficult task in English. Use make herculean efforts to describe great efforts.

Hercules' choice now refers to immortality in English. The reason is that he chose virtue between VIRTUE, the god of virtue, and PLEASURE, the god of joy. The god of virtue guaranteed that he could live forever. Finally, through the efforts of Hercules, he became immortal and became a warrior constellation in the sky.

Achilles' heel is Achilles' heel in Chinese. In English, it is used to express a person's Achilles' heel or the weak link in an event. Anyone who has studied English will basically know this Greek myth, so I won’t narrate it.

The Chinese translation of Gordian knot is "Goldie's knot", which means a thorny problem and a difficult problem to solve. The story is probably that a farmer named Goldid was driving cattle through a country called Phrygia and was elected king by the locals because a prophet predicted that Goldid would be their future king. In order to thank the god Zeus, Goldie used an oxcart as a sacrifice to Zeus. He asked someone to make a strong rope from tree bark and tied a knot himself. This is Goldie's knot. Goldie left his last words, whoever can untie this knot will be able to rule the entire Asia Minor. Later, a man cut off the knot with a sword. He was Alexander the Great who later conquered the entire Asia Minor.

Troy Troy is so famous that it goes without saying. This word is also used for Trojan viruses in computers.

Oedipus complex (who kills his father and marries his mother)

The story is so tragic. It is a representative of the three major tragedies of Greek mythology. In psychology, Freud used it to represent children. A psychological disorder characterized by hostility toward one's father and admiration for one's mother.

Electra Complex refers to the complex complex between a daughter's biological father and her mother. It is a view advocated by Freud. The name comes from the story of Electra in Greek mythology. According to legend, Electra was determined to avenge her father because her mother and her lover murdered her father. In the end, she and her brother killed her mother.

narcissism Narcissism complex, narcissism

Narcissus is a handsome Greek young man. He rejected the courtship of the goddess Echo, so he is destined to fall in love with himself. Reflection in the lake as punishment. Because he could not make his love perfect, he grew thinner and thinner, and finally turned into a flower named after him - Narcissus, also known as narcissus.

cassandra complex Cassandra complex

The prophetess in Greek mythology, the daughter of King Priam of Troy. As a temple witch, she was given the ability to predict fate by Apollo, but Apollo asked for physical relations with her in return. She refused, and Apollo cursed her in anger: any prophecy she uttered would be accurate. , but no one believed it. After the city was broken, he was captured by the Greek general Ajax the Younger. He was killed when the Greek fleet sank on its way back.

The Cassandra complex refers to people who have a deep belief in the impending disaster that has not yet happened. Such a person usually claims that he can foresee future disasters, but when he tries to persuade people around him, he is ridiculed and despised by those around him. Therefore, he is tortured by his ability to foresee disasters and his inability to deal with reality. people. See the movie "12 Monkeys".

From here we can find that the stories in Greek mythology have a great influence on modern psychology. Almost many psychological phenomena can find their origins and prototypes in Greek mythology. Therefore, Greek mythology stories , has been widely borrowed in psychology. Latin has a great influence on medicine and botany. Many medical and botany names are completely borrowed from Latin.

Titan

The Titans are a family of giants in Greek mythology who are said to have ruled the world. This family is the children of Uranus and the earth goddess Gaia. They tried to rule the kingdom of heaven, but were defeated. Overthrown and replaced by the Zeus family. Titan means big in English. If big in English can be used to describe the size of a watermelon, then huge can be used to describe the size of an elephant. And the size of Titan can be used to describe an aircraft carrier or even a celestial body. Titan is the largest satellite of Saturn, and its English name is Titan. The metal titanium in English was named after Titan by the chemist who discovered it. Because he found that titanium has good corrosion resistance, its corrosion resistance is almost close to that of platinum, and it can resist acid, chlorine, and even aqua regia.

Pandora

In Greek mythology, the first woman on earth made of clay by Hephaestus or Zeus, the god of fire, as punishment for Prometheus for stealing fire. To the first woman of mankind. The gods also joined in to make her even more alluring. According to myth, Pandora opened a box out of curiosity, releasing all the evil in the world - greed, vanity, slander, jealousy, pain - and when she closed the box again, only hope remained inside. In modern English, it can be used to describe natural disasters.

Medusa

Medusa is a succubus in Greek mythology and one of the three Gorgon succubi. Her father is Poseidon, the king of the sea, and her mother is the sea monster Cetus. Her hair is full of snakes. It is said that she was originally a beautiful girl. Because Medusa was more beautiful than Athena, the goddess of wisdom, Athena turned Medusa's hair into poisonous snakes in anger, turning her into an ugly monster; Medusa was finally decapitated by Perseus and dedicated to her. Athena, Athena embedded Medusa's head in the center of the aegis Aegis. Anyone who looked directly into Medusa's eyes would be turned into stone. Later, the word Medusa came to mean "an extremely ugly woman". In the fashion industry, Medusa was used as the LOGO by the classic Italian brand Versace. The reason is that Medusa means the irresistible magic power. Anyone who looks directly at Medusa will turn into stone.

Phaethon

Phaethon is generally considered to be the son of the sun god Apollo in Greek mythology. It is also said that he was the son of Eos, the goddess of dawn, and Cephalus, and was later stolen by Aphrodite to guard her temple. In another tragedy, Phaethon showed off that he was the son of the sun god Apollo and begged Apollo to let him drive the sun chariot. The Sun God tried every means to persuade you that you did not have this ability, and that this would bring disaster to yourself and mankind. Phaethon would not listen. As a result, on that day, he lost control of the white horse pulling the cart in a panic. The solar chariot first rose too high, and the earth suddenly became cold; then it suddenly lowered, scorching the vegetation on the ground, turning large areas of Africa into desert, and burning the skin of Ethiopian residents black. Finally, Zeus had to take matters into his own hands and struck Phaethon to death with lightning. Phaethon's body fell into a large river. In English, it generally describes a person who does not have a certain talent but takes the risk to do such a thing, and ends up suffering the consequences.