Chapter 8  Mythological Origins

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In this unit, we will look at the words of Mythological origins. As we know,modern English is the language of the continuous integration of various ethniccultures and came to being after a long course of historical development,during which English absorbed the essence of many European languages. Thecontribution made by Greek mythology are indelible, manifested in the followingaspects.

First,many of the words we use have their origins in Greek or Roman mythology. We usewords every day without thinking how psychiatry comes from Psyche, goddess ofthe human soul; why the element we call mercury was named for a Roman god; andthe relationship of the goddess Aphrodite to the word aphrodisiac. Many morewords—erotic, panic, atropine, sphincter, and syphilis—all have their originsin the legends traced to ancient Greeks and Romans.

Whenthe Romans conquered Greece, they assimilated much of their culture, includingtheir gods. But they changed many of the names: Aphrodite, goddess of love,beauty, and sexuality, became Venus. Hermes came to be known as Mercury, Zeusbecame Jupiter, Hera was renamed Juno, and Poseidon was called Neptune by theRomans.

Ourtale begins with the Trojan War, chronicled in Homer’s Iliad and othersources.

Themost beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Troy, was the daughter of Zeus andLeda, queen of Sparta. When she was a 12-year-old girl, Helen was kidnapped byTheseus, the mythical king of Athens. A Greek youth named Academus told herolder twin brothers where Helen had been hidden, allowing them to rescue theirsister. Later, according to the words of English playwright Christopher Marlowe(1564–1593) in Doctor Faustus , Helen would become “the face thatlaunched a thousand ships.”

Thegrateful Spartans rewarded Academus with an olive grove at a site near Athens.Eventually this land became a public park. Then, in the fourth century BCE, thephilosopher Plato began a school of philosophy in the Grove of Academus,teaching students as he walked among the olive trees. The school of philosophycame to be called the Academia .

ThroughRoman times and later, the word academy came to describe any institution ofhigher learning, whether philosophy, medicine, or economics. English poet JohnMilton (1608–1674) popularized the phrase “groves of Academe” in his poem ParadiseRegained:

Theolive groves of Academe,

Plato’sretirement, where the Attic bird

Trillsher thick-warbl’d notes the summer long.

Followinghis death, Plato was buried near the Grove of Academus. And we inherited thewords academe, academia , and academic .

Owningto their unique characteristics and extraordinary experiences, the name ofgods, monster, and heroes in Ancient Greek myth are directly converted intoEnglish nouns. The general terms converted generally maintain their originalspellings and the symbolic meanings of the mythological figures.

Narcissus,Echo, and an Ill-Fated Attraction

Hereis another doomed mythological pair, described in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.Echo was a chatty nymph, cursed by Hera, because of one of the all-too-commondivine intrigues, to be able only to repeat the last words of others. Shebecame a verbal mimic.

Thecommunication-challenged nymph falls in love with Narcissus, son of a rivergod, and prays to Aphrodite for help with her relationship. Aphrodite, however,jealous of Echo, causes the nymph to vanish, leaving only a disembodied voice, andthe source of our word echo.

Narcissus,who had rudely spurned Echo’s advances, was so attractive that he becameenchanted with his own reflection in a pond, jumped in to reach the object ofhis desire, and drowned. When the nymphs came to his funeral, they found only aflower, now called by the self-absorbed lad’s name, Narcissus. The wordnarcissism is described as a psychiatric state of excessive self-love.

Themeaning of English vocabulary varies at different times on different occasionsto a different degree. Grappling with the stories behind these words will beconducive not only to the English vocabulary-building but also to thecross-cultural communication.

SomeGeographic Terms and Mythology

Besidesthe common English words, what is noteworthy is that some specific geographicalterms were also born in the ancient Greek mythology. Words enter into Englishwith derivatives produced.

Fromthe name of Auster, the god of the south wind, comes the adjective austral,referring to anything “of, or related to, the southern hemisphere,” and thusthe southern continent name, Australia.

Anotherimportant name of the continent Europe comes from the legend of Europa.She was the Phoenician princess abducted by Zeus because he disguised himself asa bull, and then carried her on his back to the island of Crete where she borethree sons. Later, Europe bore the same name in her honor.

InEnglish, the term Atlantic comes from the myth of Hercules Atlas. He wasa Titan punished by Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on hisshoulders and his whole body was inserted into the clouds, beautiful mountainsand rivers. It is composed of the negative prefix a and tlao(toendure).

Bylearning the Greek mythology, we get to the core and root of the culturebackground. It must be borne in mind that the myths, as the earliestcrystallization of social order and religious fear, record the incipienthistory of religious ideals and of moral conduct.

 Exercises:

1. Tell whether the following statements are true or false according to the knowledge you learned and why.

1) Sirens are half human and half bird and they are so kind that they sing to the sailors so that they can enjoy their journey in the sea. (  )

2) Echo, a beautiful and musical nymph, was envied by Gaia, the Earth goddess. Gaia removed her voice, so Echo could only imitate sounds. (  )

3) The name of the U.S. State Florida and the French city Florence are derived from flora. (  )

4) Eros, the son of Aphrodite, fell in love with the human maiden Psyche against his mother's will.(  )

5) In the west, the Narcissus flower is seen as a symbol of vanity, and narcissism usually refers to a kind of psychological disease.(  )

6) Adonis was restored to life because he was loved by Zeus. (  )

 7) Laureate derives from the Greek mythology because of the happy reunion of Daphne and Aollo.(   )

8) Aegean Sea was named after Theseus's father.(  )

9) The southern continent name, Australia came from the name of Auster, the god of the southwind.(  )

10) Zeus asked Hercules Atlas to support the heavens on his shoulders and Atlantic comes from this myth.(  )

2. Fill in the blanks with the English words of Greek mythological origins you have learned.

1) He has no original opinions; he is just his father's ________________.

2) A characteristic of the feminine ____________ is to seek approval from others.

3) If the children are red-haired, one of their parents must have a _____________ for red hair.

4) 3/4 of men say they would love to get flowers and most women love _______________ gifts as well.

5) He is vain almost to the point of ______________ unable to resist peeking at himself in every mirror he passes.

6) The government must resist the _______________ voices caling for the sale of weapons to the region.

7) Streams allowed certain mountain plants to grow and _________________. 

8) Einstein was a mathematical __________________. 

keys:

1. F F F T T    F F T T F 

2.  echo, psyche, gene, floral, narcissism, siren, flourish, genius