English words from Greek mythology

Western culture has two sources: Greek culture and Hebrew culture. Greek mythology in Greek culture has a wide influence on English. In terms of vocabulary, English has absorbed some words and used them, which are either decomposable or traceable. The information contained in these etymologies can not only help readers understand the meaning of each word accurately and increase the fun of memorizing words, but also record and describe the differences and exchanges between English and ancient Greek culture, which is of great historical significance and interest. Because Roman mythology is deeply influenced by Greek mythology, the story is similar to Greek mythology, but the name is different, so Greek mythology is often associated with Roman mythology. Greek and Roman mythology, like the spiritual spring in fairy tales, nourishes English vocabulary, produces many wonderful and moving vocabulary stories and enhances the vitality of English.

English words derived from the names of gods in Greek and Roman mythology.

In modern English, many words come from the names of gods in Greek and Roman mythology and still play an important role today. Typical etymological examples are as follows:

1, Flora: the goddess of flowers 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 arm in arm in the garden, and flowers were everywhere they walked. Flora means "plant" in modern English. Derivative words: flowers, flowers, flowers, flower shops.

2. Muse: the god in charge of art in Greek mythology. There are nine kinds, namely, history, lyric poetry, comedy (pastoral poetry), tragedy, song and dance, love poetry, ode, astronomy and epic. The muse's art derives the word music.

The place where works of art are collected is the museum. The happiness brought by art is inspiration and entertainment.

3. Pan (Pan): The animal husbandry god and the forest god will shout loudly when disturbed. Derivative word: panic.

4. Titan: One of the giants who once ruled the world. Titan refers to tall and strong people and important people in modern English. The derivative word Titanic means huge. "Titanic" was named after it.

5.Zephyrus (ZeFeros): the god of the west wind. Derivative: zephyr (west wind, breeze, breeze).

6. Atlas: Atlas, one of the Titan gods in Greek mythology, was punished for betraying Zeus and carrying the sky at the western end of the world. /kloc-In the 6th century, the geographer McCarter took Atlas as the first illustration of an atlas. Later generations are scrambling to follow suit. Atlas means map, atlas and bearer. Other derivatives: Atlantic.

7. Ceres: the patron saint of crops. In ancient Rome, when there was a drought, priests turned to witches for divination. As a result of divination, a new goddess Zeus was established and offered her sacrifice, so that she would bring rain to the earth. Since then, Ceres has become the patron saint of crops. Grain comes from Latin, which means "Ceres" belongs to the goddess of grain. Derivative: cereal (cereal, breakfast cereal).

Kronos: Father of Zeus. Afraid of children rebelling against themselves, they once swallowed their offspring. Like ruthless time, it devours everything. So the root "chron" means "time". Derivative words: chronic (time-consuming, chronic); Chronology (year)

Body double, chronology).

9. Eros (EROS): eros. Is a beautiful boy with wings, equivalent to Cupid in Roman mythology. Whether it is eros or Cupid, they do nothing all day, flying around in the sky to practice archery, which makes everyone panic.

Therefore, the words derived from them all contain derogatory meanings: eroticism; Greed is greed, greed.

China is a matchmaker.

10, Hygeia: Greek goddess of health, with the image of a young woman, dressed in a long white gown (white coat), wearing a priest's crown and feeding snakes with rice bowls. Derivative: Hygiene (n Hygiene).

1 1, morpheus: the god of dreams in Greek mythology. Dream God is the son of Hypnos, the god of sleep, and is responsible for people's dreams. Derivative: Morphine and Cannabis (Cannabis) are both opium (opium) extracts. Morphine has anesthetic effect.

Fixed role.

12. Chaos: the God of Chaos Universe: the universe, an orderly whole.

13. Zeus, the god of Zeus

14. Pluto, the god of the underworld, the god of the underworld; "-Bruto", similar to "the treasure of Styx", expresses "wealth" as the root; Chaebol rule; Pluto worships Pluto. Pluto

15. Styx surrounds Styx, and Yinhe surrounds ghost soil; Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx Styx

16. He forgot the name of Styx, Sichuan. If you drink its water, you will forget the past. Forget, forget

Sleepy. stimulate

There are three rivers in the underworld: Styx Styx/Forgotten River/Meade River.

The abyss of hell

The abyss is deep. deep-sea

17. Poseidon, Neptune

18. Narcissus Narcissus (a beautiful boy who died as a daffodil because he was narcissistic about the beautiful shadow in the water)

Narcissus, a young man boasting about his beauty; Narcissus; Self-pity narcissism narcissism

19. Goddess of Echo Valley: infatuated with Narcissus, but Hera (wife of Zeus) was jealous of her beauty, so that the echo could only repeat what others had just said, so Narcissus abandoned the echo.

20. Eris Eris (the god of discord, the nemesis) used a curse to make him finally die of his own beautiful discussion and debate in order to retaliate against Narcissus; Controversial; complicated

2 1. Paris' second prince, Paris Troy; Because she fell in love with Helen, the wife of Wang Mo Nereus of Sparta, which triggered the Trojan War.

22. hector, the eldest son of Troy, hector, is a true warrior among mankind.

Hector is bullying; painful

23. Sparta (a city in the southern Peloponnesus, Greece); In preparation for the Trojan War, all citizens lived a simple and hard life all year round.

Spartans are simple, hardworking, strong and brave; Warlike; severe

24. Stentole (in Homer's epic Iliad) is a herald with a loud voice, and his voice can reach 50 people.

Stentor has a loud voice. Stentorian has a loud voice.

25. Odyssey's Odyssey, an ancient Greek epic; After a long journey, Odysseus (King Iseka, the hero of Homer's Odyssey in ancient Greece, presented a Trojan horse in the Trojan War).

26. The siren Charlene Marilynn Dangelo [Sai Ren] (a half-man, half-bird siren who often lures passers-by with songs and destroys ships that hit the rocks) The charming beauty of the siren; Whistle; Screech v, lured by the alarm, screamed and began to cry.

27. Procrustes Procrustes (the robber of Attica in ancient Greek legend, he put the people he caught on the iron bed, and the people who were longer than the bed were cut off by him; People shorter than the bed were forcibly elongated by them and later killed by theseus in the same way)

Procrustean insists on consistency; Be forced to submit

28. Proteus Proteus, ever-changing Poseidon, little Poseidon.

Ever-changing, can play multiple roles; versatile

29. Sybil (ancient Rome or ancient Greece) prophetess; Witch, fortune teller

30. Chimera (fire-breathing monster) Camilla (lion head, sheep body, snake tail); huge

Fantasy, fantasy; Great, impossible.

3 1.iris (Rainbow Goddess)

Rainbow-colored, brilliant

32. Zephyr, the god of the west wind; The personification of the west wind; Breeze, breeze, breeze; Light yarn

33. Plato School of Academy; An authoritative organization in the field of science.

34. Stoic philosophy (founded by philosopher Zhi Nuo in Athens in the 4th century BC); asceticism

35. Minstrel Minstrel (named after Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, once strolled through the academy to give lectures).

A carefree school, walking around

Secondly, English idioms originated from Greek mythology.

1, Pandora's Box: Prometheus stole skyfire for mankind and angered Zeus. Zeus decided to punish mankind, so he ordered Vulcan to create a beautiful woman Pandora.

Let her seduce Prometheus' brother Epimetheus. As a result, Epimetheus was deceived and approached Pandora. Pandora 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".

And Prometheus/Epimetheus (the root of Epi is antonym Pro prophet).

2. Sword of Damocles: Damocles was a minister of Syracuse dynasty and admired the splendor of the emperor. One day, the king sat him on the throne and hung a hairy sword on Damocles' head, telling him that the danger of kingship, like that sword, could come at any time. Therefore, the sword of Damocles has become synonymous with "hidden dangers in wealth", which can also indicate that the situation is critical and critical.

Damon and Pythias: Damon and Pythias are good friends. Pisias was sentenced to death in an accident. In order to enable him to go home to visit his relatives, Damon stays in prison as a hostage. If Pythias doesn't return on time, Damon will be put to death. while

At the expiration of the time limit, Pisias rushed back in time when he was about to be executed. The king was deeply moved and released them both. So, Damon and Pythias mean "the difference between life and death".

4. Penelope's Web: From the epic Odyssey. Odysseus' wife Penelope is famous for her loyalty. The Trojan War lasted for ten years, and Odysseus was delayed for another ten years on his way home. In this long twenty years, many princes and nobles proposed to Penelope, and she said that she would not consider it until she finished weaving. In the evening, she took apart the cloth she had knitted during the day. Therefore, Penelope's web-weaving has become an endless job.

5, the apple of discord: it means "the root of discord, the event of dispute; Refers to the fuse of big events. " Peleus and thetis forgot to invite Eris, the goddess of discord, when they got married. The goddess was furious and left a golden apple engraved with "For the most beautiful", which caused a dispute between Athena, Hera and Aphrodite. This led to the long Trojan War.

6. Paris's judgment: it means "don't love mountains and rivers, love beauty." Eris came to the gathering of the gods uninvited, and left a golden apple when he left. In order to compete for the golden apple, the three goddesses decided to let Zeus decide that Zeus could not choose between his wife, the goddess of wisdom and the goddess of love and beauty. Embarrassed, Zeus pushed aside the clouds and looked at the world. When he saw Paris, the second prince of Troy, herding sheep, he gave the decision to Paris. The three goddesses were lured by "the biggest territory", "the wisest mind" and "the most beautiful woman", and finally Paris made her own judgment, chose Venus and got the most beautiful woman.

7. Helen of Troy: Because it was Helen who caused the fall of Troy, "Helen of Troy" became synonymous with "beauty, beauty".

8. Trojan horse: It means "destructive things or people, used to make enemies or opponents mistakenly think that it is for their own interests". In the Trojan War, in order to attack Troy, the Greeks built a huge wooden horse with Greek soldiers inside. They deliberately pretended to abandon the Trojan horse and fled. The Trojan horse was invited into the city as a trophy. At midnight, the soldiers climbed out of the wooden horse and killed the people in the city. Troy fell. After repeated quotations, Trojan horse has become a widely circulated idiom, which is often used to describe hidden dangers. Secret destroyer (mole); Engaged in underground activities and other meaning.

9. The stable in Augeas: It means "the dirtiest place; Accumulate piles of problems that are difficult to solve. " King Augeas of Eris has thousands of cows, and the cowshed has not been cleaned for thirty years. Heracles spent a day cleaning up.

10, Achilles' heel: Achilles Greek warrior, the crystallization of man and god. After birth, he was hung upside down by his mother and soaked in the Styx. Except for his heels, he was invulnerable. Finally, he was killed by Paris in the Trojan War. Achilles' heel means "there is no shortage of gold, no one is perfect", especially the only fatal weakness and shortcoming.

1 1, swan song: literally translated as "swan song", which comes from the Greek idiom Kykneion asma. In ancient Greek mythology, the swan is the god bird of Apollo, so it is often used as a metaphor for literature and art. It is said that the swan never sings, but it will hold its neck and sing a song before it dies. Its songs are sad and touching. This is the only and last time it sings in its life. Therefore, this idiom in modern English is a metaphor for the masterpieces of poets, writers and composers, or the last performance of actors and singers. As early as the 6th century BC, there was a saying in the fable of Aesop, an ancient Greek fable writer, that "swans sing only when they are dead". In Britain, Chaucer, Shakespeare and other great poets and playwrights have used this idiom. For example, the image of Amelia portrayed in Shakespeare's famous tragedy Othello stands out in Death, exposing her husband's crimes. When she died, she compared herself to a swan and sang only one song in her life.

12, under the rose: literally translated as "under the rose". Derived from ancient Roman mythology. Cupid 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 sent a bunch of roses to Harper Crater, the god of silence, and asked him to keep his mouth shut about Venus' affair. Habak Lardy became silent when accepting roses, and became a veritable "God of Silence". Because of this myth and legend, the ancient Romans regarded roses as a symbol of silence or keeping secrets, and they became popular in daily life. When people visit and see roses painted on the host's desk, guests will know that everything discussed on this table should not be spread abroad. Under the rose, it means "sneaking around, sneaking around in private".

13. Sphinx, Sphinx mystery, a Millennium mystery.

Riddles of the Sphinx

14. exodus going out to do things in droves exodus "exodus" (we go out to do things)

The loss of cultivated land leads to the outflow of farmers.

Quail Quail/Feeling scared (plural is also quail,+form number)

Quails do nothing but quails.

cumulonimbus

Apollo, the sun god.

Venus Venus, Venus

Mars

What does a meandering river mean when it meanders?

Laurel, laurel

& lttantalize & gt

Tantalus [Greek God] Tantalus (son of Zeus)

The fatal temptation of Tantalus

A provocative tease

The fatal temptation of Tantalus

seductive

A seductive smell