Words Derived From Greek and Roman Mythology

A number of English words derive from the names of gods and goddesses, heroes, and others who figure in the myths and legends of Greek and Roman antiquity. For example, the word 'narcissist' (pronounced with the stress on the first syllable and a soft 'c', IPA: /ˈnɑː^r sɪ sɪst/, i.e., a person who is excessively interested in themselves and their appearance, or who derives sexual satisfaction from this interest; the related words 'narcissistic' (pronounced with the stress on the third syllable and a soft 'c', /nɑː^r sɪ ˈsɪst ɪk), and 'narcissism' (pronounced with the stress on the first syllable and a soft 'c', /ˈnɑː^r sɪ sɪsm); and the word 'narcissus', (pronounced with the stress on the second syllable and a soft 'c', /nɑː^r ˈsɪs əs), the name of the daffodil with white petals and an orange or yellow centre - all these words derive from Narcissus, in Greek mythology a young man who was excessively proud of his good looks and who one day, lying beside a pool, fell in love with his reflection in the water. Unable to embrace the reflection, he fell into despair and stabbed himself to death with a dagger. His blood soaked the earth, and there sprang up on the spot the flower which today bears his name.

Here, in alphabetical order, are some more examples:

• the expression ‘Achilles heel’ is used to refer to a small but potentially serious weakness or vulnerable point in, e.g., a person’s character or a proposal, as in ‘His vanity proved his Achilles heel’ or The Achilles heel in your plan is its dependence on financial support from the government’. The expression comes from the Greek hero Achilles, who as a baby was dipped by his mother, the sea god Thetis, in the river Styx and whose body as a result became invulnerable – except for the heel by which his mother had held him. Achilles fought with the Greeks in the Trojan War and was killed by Paris, who wounded him in the heel. Do not confuse the expressions Achilles heel and Achilles tendon: the latter is the name for the cord which attaches the calf muscles to the heel bone.

• the word 'aphrodisiac', pronounced with the stress on the third syllable, IPA: /ˌæf rə ˈdɪz ɪ æk/, and meaning, as an adjective, 'arousing or heightening sexual desire' and, as a noun, 'a food or drug which arouses or heightens sexual desire', comes from the Greek άφροδῑσιακός‚ (aphrodisiakos, 'sexual'), an adjective from the name of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. (Compare 'venereal' below.)

• the adjective apollonian – pronounced with the stress on the third syllable, IPA: /,æ pə 'ləʊ nɪ ən/ – means ‘harmonious, serene, ordered’. The word comes from Apollo, the Greek god of music, archery, prophecy, and medicine. Apollonian is sometimes contrasted with dionysian (for which see below), as, e.g., by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), who contrasted the human qualities he characterised as apollonian (e.g., rationality, reasonableness, calmness, and serenity) with those he characterised as dionysian (e.g., spontaneity, irrationality, and lack of restraint) - see The Birth of Tragedy (Die Geburt der Tragödie, 1872) and The Gay Science (Die fröhliche Wissenschaft, 1882). The adjective Apollonian is also used - in this use always with an initial capital - to mean ‘relating to the god Apollo’.

• the noun cereal may denote either any type of grass that produces an edible grain (e.g., wheat, rye, or millet) or the grain itself or food made from this grain, especially breakfast food. The word is also used as a modifier in such phrases as cereal crop and cereal farming. The word comes, through the Latin adjective cereālis, meaning ‘related to corn’, from Ceres, who in Roman mythology was a goddess of agriculture and fertility.

• a chimera or chimaera – pronounced IPA: / kaɪ 'mɪə rə or kɪ 'mɪə rə/ – is a wild or extremely unrealistic idea, proposal, hope, or dream. The word comes from Greek mythology, where the Chimaera (Χίμαιρα, Chimaira) was a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. (see, e.g., Homer, Iliad VI, 178-182). (The English word chimaera also has certain technical uses: in biology it may be applied either to certain species of tapering, smooth-skinned, deep-sea fish or to organisms, especially plants, which are composed of two or more genetically different kinds of tissue.)

• the adjective dionysian – pronounced with the stress on the third syllable, IPA: /, daɪ ən 'nɪz ɪ ən or ,daɪ ən 'nɪs ɪ ən/ – means ‘wild, unrestrained, uninhibited’, as in ‘dionysian revels’ or ‘dionysian celebrations’. The word comes from Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, fertility, and the drama. Dionysian is sometimes contrasted with apollonian (for which see above), as, e.g., by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), who contrasted the human qualities he characterised as dionysian (e.g., spontaneity, irrationality, and lack of restraint) with those he characterised as apollonian (e.g., rationality, reasonableness, calmness, and serenity) - see The Birth of Tragedy (Die Geburt der Tragödie, 1872) and The Gay Science (Die fröhliche Wissenschaft, 1882). The adjective Dionysian is also used - in this use always with an initial capital - to mean ‘relating to the god Dionysus or to any of the historical figures named Dionysus’.

• the adjective Elysian – almost always with an initial capital and pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, IPA: / ɪ 'lɪ zɪ ən/ – means ‘delightful’, ‘blissful’, ‘glorious’, ‘like paradise’. The word, which is not normally found outside literary contexts, comes from Elysium or the Elysian Fields (in Greek τὸ Ἠλύσιον πεδίον (to ēlusion pedion), ‘the Plain of Elysium’), in Greek mythology a part of the underworld to which the virtuous go after death: in Elysium it is never night, the weather is always fine, and its inhabitants live a blissful existence playing games, listening to music, and engaging in joyful celebrations.

• the adjective 'gigantic', pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, IPA: /dʒaɪ ˈgæn tɪk/, and meaning 'extremely large or enormous', comes from the Greek, γιγαντικός‚ (Gigantikos, 'of or for the Giants (γίγαντες‚, Gigantes), monstrous'). In Greek mythology there were twenty four Giants, extremely tall, terrifying creatures, brothers to the Titans (see below). The Giants launched an attack on Zeus and the gods of Olympus, and it was only with the help of Heracles (see below) that the Olympians were able to defeat and kill them.

• the verb ‘to hector’, meaning ‘to intimidate (someone) verbally, to speak (to someone) in a bullying way’, comes from Hector, a figure in Greek legend, the eldest son of King Priam of Troy, and leader of the Trojan side against the Greeks in the Trojan War. His name was first used in English to mean ‘a valiant hero’, but by the 17th century had come to be used with the rather different meaning of ‘a person who speaks in a bullying way’, a use which may have been encouraged by Hector’s speech (see Homer, Iliad XV) in which he urges his fellow Trojans, who have been forced back by the Greeks, to keep on fighting.

• the adjective 'herculean' - sometimes spelt with an initial capital letter, and pronounced with the stress on the third syllable, IPA: /ˌhɜː^rk ju ˈliː ən/ - means 'requiring great strength or effort, or possessing great strength'. The word comes from 'Hercules', the Latin form of 'Heracles', the name of the Greek hero famed for his great strength and courage, and for his successfully completing twelve supremely daunting tasks (usually referred to as the Labours of Hercules). (The Pillars of Hercules are two promontories at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea, usually identified as the Rock of Gibraltar on the European side and Jebel Musa on the African side, and said in antiquity to have been raised up by Heracles in the course of his Tenth Labour.)

• the hyacinth, a plant of the Liliaceae family with a thick stalk and blue, white or pink flowers, derives its name from Hyacinthus, a fine-looking young man loved by the Greek god Apollo and tragically killed when Apollo was teaching him how to throw a discus. The West Wind out of jealousy blew the discus off course and it smashed into Hyacinthus’ skull: from his blood on the ground there grew the hyacinth.

• the adjective 'martial', pronounced {IPA|ˈmɑː^r ʃəl}} and meaning 'relating to war or warlike', comes from a Latin adjective with a similar meaning, martialis, formed from 'Mars' (genitive 'Martis'), the name of the Roman god of war. See further Martial.

• a mentor is a trusted and trustworthy adviser, especially within an institution or organization an experienced or senior member of staff assigned to advise and help a junior or recently appointed member of staff. The transitive verb ‘to mentor’ means ‘to act as a mentor to’. The word mentor comes from Mentor, a figure in Greek mythology. When the Greek hero Odysseus left Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War, he asked his friend Mentor, by then an old man, to take charge of his household and to act as an adviser and guide to his young son, Telemachus. (See further Homer, Odyssey, II, 225 ff.)

• the adjective mercurial, applied to persons and meaning ‘liable to sudden changes of mood’, and the noun mercury, the name of a silvery-white liquid metallic element also known as quicksilver, both derive from Mercury (in Latin Mercurius, related adjective mercuriālis), in Roman mythology the messenger of the gods, usually represented wearing a winged cap and winged sandals, and noted for his speed of flight. Mercury (always with an initial capital letter) is also the name of the planet nearest to the sun – it orbits the sun more quickly than any of the other planets, completing an orbit every 88 days - while the adjective mercurial has the further meanings ‘of or relating to the element mercury’ and ‘of or relating to (the god or the planet) Mercury’.

• nectar is the sugary fluid produced by flowers and collected by bees to be made into honey. The word is also sometimes used, usually rather jocularly, of any delicious drink or, more generally, of anything which is pleasant or agreeable to the senses. The word 'nectar' comes, through Latin, from the Greek νέκταρ, nektar. In Greek and Roman mythology nectar was the drink of the gods and conferred immortality on those who drank it. The food of the gods, ambrosia, also conferred immortality. Indeed the Greek word ἀμβροσία, of which the English 'ambrosia' is a transliteration, is in Ancient Greek a poetic word sometimes used to mean 'immortality', and it has been conjectured that the word νέκταρ, nektar may be connected etymologically with the idea of overcoming death.

• an odyssey - the word is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable, IPA: /ˈɒd ɪ (or ə)s ɪ/ - is a long, eventful journey. The word comes from the Greek Ὀδύσσεια (Odusseia, 'Odyssey', i.e., 'the story of Odysseus'), the title of the epic poem, attributed to the poet Homer, which tells of the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus during the ten years of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War.

• the noun panic means ‘a sudden, very strong feeling of terror’. The word, which may also be used as a verb, meaning ‘to feel sudden terror’ or ‘to cause to feel sudden terror’ comes, through French and New Latin, from the Greek Πανικός (panikos), ‘of, or relating to, Pan’. In Greek mythology Pan, the god of fields, woods, shepherds, and flocks, usually represented with a human body but the legs, horns, and ears of a goat, was believed to have the power to strike sudden terror into humans and animals.

• the adjective 'saturnine', pronounced with the stress on the first syllable, IPA: /ˈsæt ɜ^r naɪn/, and meaning 'of a gloomy disposition', comes originally from Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and vegetation. The planet Saturn is named after the Roman god - the Romans named the sun, the moon, and the five brightest stars after their chief gods - and the planet used to be thought to exercise a gloomy influence on human beings. Saturday, one of the days of the week, also owes its name to the god Saturn.

• a siren is either a device which produces a loud wailing sound, typically as a warning, or a woman who is attractive but dangerous. The word is also used as a modifier in such phrases as ‘her siren charms’. The word comes from Greek mythology, where a Siren (Σειρήν, Seirēn) was one of a small group of sea-nymphs (known collectively as ‘the Sirens’), who were part women, part bird, lived on an island with a rocky coast line, and by their seductive singing lured sailors to their death on the rocks - see Homer, Odyssey XII, 39 ff.

• the adjective 'sisyphean' (pronounced with the stress on the third syllable IPA: /ˌsɪs ɪf ˈiː ən/) means 'requiring great effort but futile and doomed to failure'. The word comes from Sisyphus, in Greek mythology the king of Corinth, who after his death, as punishment for his many crimes, was condemned to push a boulder to the top of a hill. However, every time he came close to the summit, he lost his grip on the boulder, which rolled down to the bottom of the hill so that he had to begin his task all over again. With an initial capital 'Sisyphean' means 'of or relating to Sisyphus'. (Compare 'tantalise' below.)

• the adjective stentorian - pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, IPA: / stɛn 'tɔː rɪ ən/ - is used almost exclusively of the voice and means ‘extremely loud’: thus ‘He replied in stentorian tones’ means ‘He replied in a very loud voice’. Stentorian derives from Stentor, who in Greek mythology was a herald with a very powerful voice: Homer (Iliad 5, 786) says of him that he ‘could shout as loud as fifty ordinary people’. He fought on the Greek side in the Trojan War, and is said to have died after losing a shouting match with Hermes, the herald of the gods.

• the adjective Stygian (usually with an initial capital, and pronounced with the first syllable a short ‘I’, IPA: / 'stɪ dʒɪən/) means ‘very dark, dismal’. The word, which is not often used outside literary contexts and is mostly found in such phrases as ‘Stygian gloom’ or ‘Stygian obscurity’, comes from the Greek Στύξ (Stux, genitive Στυγός, Stugos). In ancient Greek mythology the river Styx formed the boundary between the earth and the underworld and hence was crossed by the souls of the dead on their way to the afterlife in Hades. The name Styx is formed from the verb στυγεῖν (stugein, ‘to hate’) and means ‘hateful’. The adjective Stygian is occasionally used to qualify such nouns as ‘vow’ or ‘oath’ and in this use means ‘inviolable, unbreakable’: the ancient Greek gods always swore their oaths by the river Styx.

• the transitive verb 'to tantalise (or tantalize)' means 'to tease or frustrate someone by allowing them to see (or promising them) something which they very much want but cannot have'. There is a related adjective 'tantalising' (or 'tantalizing') and a related adverb 'tantalisingly' (or 'tantalizingly'). These words come from Tantalus, who in Greek mythology committed certain terrible crimes and was punished for them after his death by being suspended from the bough of a fruit tree over a lake whose waters covered the lower half of his body. He was tormented by hunger and thirst, but when he raised his arm to pick a fruit from the tree, a gust of wind would blew it out of his reach, and when he bent down to drink, the level of the water in the lake would fall. A tantalus is a case in which bottles are locked with their contents (usually spirits or fortified wine) clearly visible but, without the key, inaccessible. (Compare 'sisyphean' above.)

• the adjective 'titanic', pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, IPA: /taɪ ˈtæn ɪk/, and meaning 'having or requiring great strength', comes from the proper noun 'Titan'. In Greek mythology the Titans were the unruly children and grandchildren of the gods Uranus (the Sky) and Gaia (the Earth). The god Zeus, himself a son of the Titan Cronus, led his siblings in a war against the (other) Titans , whom he defeated and imprisoned in Tartarus, in Greek mythology an abyss deep below the surface of the earth. See further Titan.

• the adjective 'venereal', pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, IPA: /vən ˈiːər ɪ əl/, and meaning 'relating to sexual intercourse or sexual desire', comes from 'Venus', the name of the Roman goddess of love - in Latin the genitive of 'Venus' is Veneris. The archaic noun 'venery', pronounced with the stress on the first syllable, IPA: /ˈvɛn ər ɪ/, and meaning 'the pursuit of sexual satisfaction', also derives from the name 'Venus'. However, there is a homograph (another noun written and pronounced in the same way), meaning 'the practice of hunting, especially with hounds': it has a different etymology, coming from the Latin verb venari, 'to hunt'.

See also Names of the Planets.