MEANING: sorceress or enchantress
ORIGIN: from Medea who helped Jason and the Argonauts capture the Golden Fleece; known for her revenge against Jason when he spurned her for the princess of Corinth and so murdered her own children by him.
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Odyssey
Front
MEANING: a long journey
ORIGIN: named for Odysseus, the character in The Odyssey, by Homer. Odysseus makes his long journey back from the Trojan War, encountering several obstacles along the way only to return and find his wife Penelope accepting suitors.
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Pygmalion
Front
MEANING: someone (usually a male) who tries to fashion someone into the person he desires
ORIGIN: from a myth adapted into a play by George Bernard Shaw; a woman-hating sculptor who makes a female figure of ivory who Aphrodite brings to life for him.
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Harpy
Front
MEANING: a predatory person or nagging woman
ORIGIN: from harpy, a foul creature that was part woman, part bird
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Promethean
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MEANING: life-bringing, creative, or courageously original
ORIGIN: named after a Titan who brought man the use of fire which he had stolen from heaven for their benefit.
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Zeus
Front
MEANING: a powerful man
ORIGIN: king of the gods, ruler of Mt. Olympus, vengeful hurler of thunderbolts.
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psyche
Front
MEANING: the human soul, self, the mind
ORIGIN: named after Psyche, a maiden who, after undergoing many hardships due to Aphrodite's jealousy, reunited with Cupid and was made immortal by Jupiter; she personifies the soul joined to the heart of love.
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Herculean
Front
MEANING: very strong or of extraordinary power
ORIGIN: from Hercules, Hera's glory
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Phoenix
Front
MEANING: a symbol of immortality or rebirth
ORIGIN: named after the Egyptian Mythology phoenix, a long bird which lived in the Arabian desert and then consumed itself in fire, rising renewed from the flame to start another long life.
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Oedipus complex
Front
MEANING: a person's unconscious desire to mate with others who possess the traits of their opposite sex parent
ORIGIN: in Greek mythology, Oedipus murders his father and marries his mother
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Aurora
Front
MEANING: early morning or sunrise
ORIGIN: from the Roman personification of Dawn or Eos
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Olympian
Front
MEANING: majestic in manner, superior to mundane affairs
ORIGIN: any participant in the ancient or modern Olympic games; named after 12 gods that were supposed to reside on Mt. Olympus.
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Riddle of the Sphinx
Front
MEANING: a riddle or question that is difficult to answer and without an answer, one may result in a terrible fate
ORIGIN: A sphinx is a mythical creature with, as a minimum, the body of a lion and a human head. In Greek tradition, it has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless. Those who cannot answer her riddle suffer a fate typical in such mythological stories, as they are killed and eaten by this ravenous monster.
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Adonis
Front
MEANING: a handsome young man
ORIGIN: Aphrodite loved him and he was handsome and young
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Bacchanalian
Front
MEANING: pertaining to a wild, drunken party or celebration ORIGIN: from the Roman god of wine, Bacchus
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Gorgon
Front
MEANING: a very ugly or terrible person, especially a repulsive woman
ORIGIN: Medusa, one of three sisters who have snakes for hair and faces so horrible that anyone who looked at them turned to stone
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muse
Front
MEANING: some creature of inspiration
ORIGIN: the daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus, divine singers that presided over thought in all its forms
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song of the sirens
Front
MEANING: listening to the call of something that could result in death or destruction
ORIGIN: dangerous and beautiful creatures, portrayed as femme fatales who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.
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Protean
Front
MEANING: taking many forms, versatile
ORIGIN: named after Proteus, a god of the sea, charged with tending the flocks of the sea creatures belonging to Poseidon. He had the ability to change himself into whatever form he desired, using this power particularly when he wanted to elude those asking him questions.
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narcissism
Front
MEANING: being in love with our own self-image
ORIGIN: named for Narcissus, a handsome young man who despised love. Echo, a nymph who was in love with him, was rejected and decreed, "Let he who loves not others, love himself." Hearing this, he fell in love with his image, while gazing in a pond, and drowned himself trying to capture it.
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Pandora's Box
Front
MEANING: Something that opens the door for bad occurrences, opened by someone known for curiosity
ORIGIN: named for Pandora who was the first mortal, sent by Zeus, to punish man for Prometheus' theft of fire. For her curiosity in opening the box, Zeus gave her all human ills in the world, leaving only hope at the bottom.
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Atlantean
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MEANING: strong like Atlas
ORIGIN: Atlas carried the globe (world) on his shoulders
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Apollo
Front
MEANING: a physically perfect male
ORIGIN: the God of music and light; known for his physical beauty
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Sisyphean
Front
MEANING: greedy and avaricious
ORIGIN: from the shrewd and greedy king of Corinth, Sisyphus, who was doomed forever in Hades to roll uphill a heavy stone, which always rolled down again.
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Plutocracy
Front
MEANING: a government by the wealthy
ORIGIN: named after Pluton, the "Rich Man," a ritual tile of Hades. He was originally the god of the fields because the ground was the source of all wealth, ores and jewels.
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Achilles' heel
Front
MEANING: one spot that is most vulnerable; one weakness a person may have
ORIGIN: Achilles was invulnerable except for his heel (Achilles tendon).
