Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths

by Bernard Evslin

  “I choose—her,” said Pygmalion, pointing to the statue.

  “You may not.”

  “Why not?”

  “She does not live. She is a statue.”

  “My statues will outlive all who are living now,” said Pygmalion.

  “That is just a way of speaking. She is not flesh and blood; she is a marble image. You must choose a living girl.”

  “I must choose where I love. I love her who is made in your image, goddess.”

  “It cannot be.”

  “You said, ‘whoever she is, whatever she is…’ ”

  “Yes, but I did not mean a statue.”

  “I did. You call her lifeless, but I say my blood went into her making. My bones shaped hers. My fingers loved her surfaces. I polished her with all my knowledge, all my wit. She has seen all my strength, all my weakness, she has watched me sleep, played with my dreams. We are wed, Aphrodite, in a fatal incomplete way. Please, dear goddess, give her to me.”

  “Impossible.”

  “You are a goddess. Nothing is impossible.”

  “I am the Goddess of Love. There is no love without life.”

  “There is no life without love. I know how you can do it. Look…I stand here. I place my arm about her; my face against hers. Now, use your power, turn me to marble too. We shall be frozen together in this moment of time, embracing each other through eternity. This will suffice. For I tell you that without her my brain is ash, my hands are meat; I do not wish to breathe, to see, to be.”

  Aphrodite, despite herself, was warmed by his pleas. After all, he had made the statue in her image. It was pleasing to know that her beauty, even cast in lifeless marble, could still drive a young man mad.

  “You are mad,” she said. “Quite mad. But in people like you, I suppose, it is called inspiration. Very well, young sir, put your arms about her again.”

  Pygmalion embraced the cold marble. He kissed the beautiful stiff lips, and then he felt the stone flush with warmth. He felt the hard polished marble turn to warm silky flesh. He felt the mouth grow warm and move against his. He felt arms come up and hug him tight. He was holding a live girl in his arms.

  He stepped off the pediment, holding her hand. She stepped after him. They fell on their knees before Aphrodite and thanked her for her gift.

  “Rise, beautiful ones,” she said. “It is the morning of love. Go to my temple, adorn it with garlands. You, Pygmalion, set about the altar those clever little dolls of me you have made. Thank me loudly for my blessings for I fear the mothers of Cyprus will not be singing my praises so ardently for some time.”

  She left. Galatea looked about the great dusty studio, littered with tools, scraps of marble, and spillings of clay. She looked at Pygmalion—tousled, unshaven, with bloodshot eyes and stained tunic—and said, “Now, dear husband, it’s my turn to work on you.”

  MYTHOLOGY BECOMES LANGUAGE

  MANY OF THE CHARACTERS, events, and places of the Greek myths have entered the English language. It is interesting to see how these words have been derived from Greek tales, and how the names of gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters have become a part of our everyday speech.

  Aphrodisiac, a love-potion, was named for Aphrodite, goddess of love.

  Arachne, meaning “spider” in Greek, was adopted to describe in science the spider family which includes scorpions, mites, and ticks: arachnida or arachnoidea. The adjective arachnoid means anything resembling a spider’s web.

  Athene was also known as Pallas Athene. Pallas signifies “brandisher,” that is, as a spear. An asteroid was named Pallas as well as a very rare metallic element called palladium which was named after the asteroid. Because a statue of Pallas Athene which stood in front of the city of Troy was supposed to have helped preserve the city from danger, the word palladium also has come to mean a potent safeguard.

  Atlas, a map, was named after the Titan who bore the sky on his shoulders and was turned to stone by Perseus.

  Calliope is the name of a musical instrument. The mother of Orpheus was named Calliope because she was the Muse of Eloquence and Heroic Poetry. The name comes from two words meaning “beauty” and “voice.”

  Cloth is a plain little word with a very dramatic history. The Greeks believed that destiny was controlled by three terrible sisters called the Fates. Clotho spun the thread of life on her spindle; Lachesis measured the thread; and the most dangerous sister, Atropos, Lady of the Shears, snipped the thread of life when it had been measured out. Our word cloth comes from Clotho, the spinner.

  Cronos refers to the god of time. From this word we have the noun chronology which describes an arrangement of events in order of occurrence. Chronic describes something that continues over a long period of time. A chronicler is one who records a historical account of events in the order of time. A timepiece of great accuracy is called a chronometer.

  Cyclops, plural Cyclopes, is derived from two Greek words meaning “circle” and “eye.” We have adopted cyclops in the field of biology to describe the group of tiny, free-swimming crustaceans which have a single eye. Cyclopic is an adjective meaning monstrous; cyclopia is a noun used for a massive abnormality in which the eyes are partly or wholly fused. The word has been used as a root to describe a wheel in such words as tricycle, bicycle, and motorcycle. It is used to describe a violent storm which moves in a circle: cyclone. It also appears in the word encyclopedia to describe circular (or complete) learning. A cyclotron is a large apparatus used for the multiple acceleration of ions to very high speeds.

  Echo is derived from the name of the nymph Echo, who fell in love with Narcissus. She could not tell him of her love because she was under a curse which allowed her to repeat only the last word of what was said to her.

  Elysian Fields, which means a “place of great happiness,” inspired the French to call their famous boulevard in Paris the Champs Elysees.

  Erinyes, or the Furies, punished people for their crimes on the earth. They were called the Eumenides, which meant “the kindly ones.” This name reveals the Greek habit of calling unpleasant things by pleasant names. We use the word euphemism to describe words which do not say the unpleasant idea intended.

  Erotic, relating to love, is derived from Eros, Aphrodite’s son, the secret archer, whose arrows were tipped with the sweet poison of love.

  Fortune is a very common word that is derived from Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck and vengeance, mistress of destiny. Actually, her name was a variant of the Latin word, vortumna, meaning “turner,” because she turned the giant wheel of the year, stopping it at either happiness, sorrow, life, or death.

  Galatea was the name of the statue which Pygmalion carved to the shape of his heart’s desire.

  Hades is used today to describe the home of the dead. Hades comes from the Greek word meaning “the unseen.” Hades was also known in Roman mythology as Pluto, the god of wealth—from the Greek word plutus, meaning “wealth.” We use the word plutocracy to describe a government run by wealthy people.

  Icarian, meaning “of bold, vaulting ambition,” is derived from Icarus, son of Daedalus, who insisted on flying too near the sun and died doing it.

  Jove, one of the names for Jupiter and Zeus, has come to mean “born under a lucky planet and therefore happy and healthy.” The adjective jovial, and the noun joviality all derive from the word Jove. We even hear the expression, “By Jove.” The planet Jupiter is the largest body in the solar system except the sun.

  Junoesque, meaning stately, majestic, is a word used to describe women only and comes from Juno, the Roman Queen of Heaven, who was of imposing figure.

  Labyrinth, a “maze,” is derived from the name of the prison-garden full of puzzling paths, built by Daedalus at King Minos’ command to confine the Minotaur. Actually, the Cretan word, labys, means “ax”; the double-headed ax was the royal symbol in Crete. The palace of the king at Knossos was known as the “Ax-House,” and it was in the garden of this palace that Daedalus built his maze.

 
Martial, meaning “warlike,” comes from Mars, the Roman god of war.

  Medusa locks, meaning “wild hair,” is a phrase named after the hissing snake coiffure of the fearsome Gorgon sister, Medusa, whom Perseus killed.

  Mercurial, meaning “swift, unstable, changeable,” refers to the disposition of Mercury, the Roman messenger-god.

  Midas touch, the golden touch, is said of those who are good at making money.

  Muses refers to the nine goddesses of dancing, poetry and astronomy. We use the verb muse to describe the act of pondering or meditating. The words music, musician and musical all come from this word.

  Narcissistic means to be obsessed by the idea of one’s own beauty. It is taken from Narcissus, the boy who fell in love with his own reflection in a stream and knelt there admiring it until he became rooted to the ground and was changed into a flower.

  Narcissus is the name of a family of flowers which includes daffodils and jonquils. The word narcissist is a psychological term meaning a person who loves himself.

  Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, has given his name to countless restaurants and inns, especially those emphasizing sea food.

  Olympus was the home of the Greek gods. The term has come to mean something which is grand, imposing, or heavenly. The great festival of games was called Olympian Games and today we call the world-famous athletic contest the Olympics.

  Oracle is derived from the Greek word meaning “to pray.” It is used to refer to places where people pray: oratories; to great speakers: orators; and even great speeches: orations. A person who seems to possess great knowledge or intuition is called an oracle, and his statements are described as oracular.

  Orpheum refers to Orpheus, the sweetest singer to ever sing. This term is used by many theaters and places of entertainment.

  Pandora has the same prefix as Pantheon and means, of course, all. The root doron is a Greek word for gift; therefore, Pandora was all-gifted.

  Panic is derived from the god Pan, the goat-footed, flute-playing king of field and wood whose war cry was supposed to spread frenzy and fear among his enemies.

  Pantheon is made up of two Greek words: pan meaning “all,” and theos meaning “god,” or “having something to do with gods.” The prefix pan is used in such words as panacea, Panama, and even Pan American. The root theos is used in such words as theology and theocracy.

  Procrustes bed is a phrase meaning any difficult situation which cannot be changed but to which man must adapt himself. It comes from the uncomfortable hospitality offered by the innkeeper Procrustes, who bolted guests to the bed. If they were too short, he stretched them; if too long, he chopped off their legs to fit. However, Theseus made him lie in his own bed.

  Prometheus means “forethinker.” It has come to mean something that is life-giving, daringly original, or creative. An element which is a fission product of uranium is called promethium. The prefix pro is used in countless words today.

  Psyche is perhaps the most misused word in the language. In Greek it meant “soul” and was personified in myth by a beautiful princess, beloved of Eros himself, who lost her husband and her sense of herself through mistrust but regained both when she dropped her suspicions and took on the risks that love brings. In English, however, the word has come to mean the entire mental apparatus and has given birth to a host of words like psychotic, psychology, psychoanalysis, etc.

  Pygmalion, the term applied to a man who can train a girl to be the way he wants, is derived from Pygmalion, the sculptor of Cyprus, who carved a statue in the shape of his heart’s desire.

  Python, which comes from the Greek word “to rot,” is used to describe snakes such as the boa which kill its prey by crushing it. The adjective pythogenic is used to describe something which is produced by putrefaction or filth.

  Saturday is named for the god Saturn, a Roman name for Cronos.

  Stygian comes from the river Styx. It has come to be used when describing anything from the underworld. Stygian darkness is a favorite expression of poets.

  Terpsichorean, relating to the dance, is derived from the Muse, Terpsichore, who presided over dance.

  Titan, which referred to the race of giants, has been used to describe anything which is enormous in size or strength. The famous ship which sank when it hit an iceberg was called the Titanic.

  Typhoon, a violent wind, comes from Typhon, a terrible monster. He was half donkey, half serpent; he had great leathery wings and flew through the air shrieking horribly, spitting flames.

  Vestal means nunlike. The term is derived from Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth. In ancient Rome, maidens were consecrated to the service of this goddess; their duty was to keep the sacred flame burning upon her altar night and day. They lived in her temple always and never married.

  Volcano is derived from Vulcan, the Roman smith-god, who took a mountain as his smithy. When he heated up his forge, clouds of smoke arose from the mountain.

  RECOMMENDED READING

  Asimov, Isaac. Words from the Myths. Houghton Mifflin: Boston, 1961.

  Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch’s Mythology. Thomas Y. Crowell: New York (no date).

  Grant, Michael. Myths of the Greeks and Romans. World Publishers: New York, 1962.

  Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. Penguin Books: Baltimore, 1955.

  Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New American Library: New York, 1940.

  Hamilton, Edith. The Greek Way to Western Civilization. New American Library: New York, 1948.

  Hays, H. R. In the Beginnings. G. P. Putnam’s Sons: New York, 1963.

  Rose, H. J. A Handbook of Greek Mythology. E. P. Dutton: New York, 1959.

  Schwab, Gustav. Gods and Heroes: Myths and Epics of Ancient Greece. Fawcett World Library: New York, 1965.

  Updike, John. The Centaur. Knopf: New York, 1963.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  copyright © 1966 by Scholastic Magazines, Inc.

  cover design by Omar F. Olivera

  978-1-4532-6448-5

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