Credit; Olasunkanmi Zainab
Right from the beginning, when there exists chaos, an empty void which metamorphosed into the creation of the first woman, Pandora and eventually the adventure of odysseus resulting in aweb of interesting stories and characters coming in contact with one another. Although the era
of Greek mythology has passed, the stories
of the amazing feats of the mythological
creatures are still revered till date.
There are some words in Greek mythology
that we often use in English today.
Here are 10 English words that took its roots from the Greek mythology that you might not be
aware of;
1 . Echo
This is a sound caused by the reflection of
sound waves back to the listener.
Echo was a Greek nymph, who faced the
wrath of Hera, Zeus's wife after she became
an object ofattraction to Zeus. She was cursed to repeat the last words that were spoken to her. Thereafter,she met the one she
likes, Narcissus, a handsome young man
but could not speak to him. on oneof such
occasions she chose to, she was only able to
mimic what he was saying, she was rejected
by him. Sad and dejected, Echo mourns her
lost love, Vanishing until the only thing that
remainsis her voice which often repeats
back what we said to us.
2 . Narcissus
A Narcissist is an extremely self centered
person who has an exaggerated sense of self-importance.This word came from the name of a Man in the Greek mythology named Narcissus.
Narcissuswas said to be a Hunter from thespaei in Boeotia who was known for his
beauty and admired byall irregardless of
gender. Narcissus rejected all advances,
eventually falling in love with hisreflection
in a pool of water, Narcissus eventually realized that his love could not be reciprocated
and he melted away from the fire of passion
burning inside him, eventually turning into
a goldand white flower.
3 . Midas touch
This is often referred to as the ability to
make everything that one is involved with
verysuccessful.
King midas
Midas touch was named after the king of
phrygia, Midas whose wish to turn everything hetouches into gold was granted by the god of fruitfulness and vegetation,Dionysos. Delighted with his new found ability, he touches everything he could find; stones, oak trees and flowers but his wish soon turns to a nightmare for him as whenever he tries to eat, the food turns into gold.Starved and thirsty, he soon began to regret his wish. While some sources held that the
cursewas lifted and was able to live a normal life again, others held that Midas eventually died of starvation as a result of his "vain prayer" for the gold touch, the curse never being lifted.
4 . Harmonia
Harmonia is the root word for the English
word, Harmony, which is a positive state of
innerpeace, calmness and balance, a pleasing combination of different parts.
Harmonia, the goddess of Harmony and
Concord was the daughter of Ares( god of
war andcourage) and aphrodite(goddess of
love) . She is known in history for the fatal
necklace shereceived on her wedding day,
the harmonia necklace which repeatedly
brought aboutmisfortunes to all who possessed it.
5. The Furies (Fury)
Fury is often characterized by an intense,
disordered, and often destructive rage.
The Furies in Greek mythology are known
as the goddesses of vengeance who lives in
theunderworld where they torture sinners.
They are the children of Gaea and Uranus.
The threemost important Furies are
named, Alecto(anger), Megaera(jealousy),
and Tisiphone(avenger),these three are
often characterized as sisters.The Furies are
saddled with the role of maintainingthe
moral order by punishing those who committed serious crimes, such as murder, perjury, and
family betrayal.They had the power to inflict madness and disease as a form of divine
retribution against those who had committed grave offenses, particularly those against familyand the natural order.
6.The sirens
A siren is usually used to describe a device
often electrically operated for producing a
penetrating warning sound. It is also used
for a woman who sings with enchanting
sweetness.
The sirens in Greek mythology were a half
human, half bird creature that uses their
enchantingsongs to lure sailors to their
destruction.
The sirens are fated to die if a mortal survives their enchanting songs. odysseus was
the firstmortal to have heard their songs
and survived, leading them to their death
7. Hygenia (Hygiene)
Hygiene is the condition or practices conducted to maintain health and prevent diseases,especially through cleanliness.
The word is derived from the Greek god of
good health, cleanliness and hygiene, Hygienia. She isthe daughter of Asclepius(the Greek god of medicine, the son of the olympian god, Apollo) andEpione(the goddess
of soothing of pain) .
8 . Eros (Erotic)
Erotic is an English word often used to describe the process of arousing sexual desires
or excitement.
This word was derived from “Eros”, the
Greek god of love, more precisely passionate and physical desire.he is winged and
carries his signature bow and arrows, which
he uses to make both mortals and immortal
gods falling love, often under the guidance
of Aphrodite. Eros is the Roman equivalent
of Cupid.
9. odysseus (odyssey)
odyssey can be defined as a long and eventful/ adventurous journey of experience.
Closely related to the above word is odysseus, the legendary Greek king of ithaca.
odyssey wasthe most cunning of the Greeks, he outwitted the Troys with the making
of the wooden horse,known as the Trojan
horse which served as a decisive factor responsible for the success of theGreeks in the
war. After the war, he was unable to return
back to his hometown. He wanderedfor 10
years before eventually figuring out his way
back to his hometown where he had his wife
and son waiting for him.
10 . Panacea
Panacea is a term used to describe a solution or remedy for all difficulties or
diseases.
The word came from the name of the Greek
goddess of universal remedy, panacea. She
was one of the five daughters of Asclepius
(the god of medicine) and Epione(the goddess of soothing pain) . According to the
myth, panacea possessed an elixir/potion
with which she was able to cure all forms of
human sickness.
Credit; Olasunkanmi Zainab
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