MythologyYesterday & Today

How Can Something So Old Still Be Used Today????

Mythological references are all

around us!

Midas A king who was granted one wish by the

god Dionysus. Greedy for riches, Midas wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. He soon regretted his request. When he tried to eat, his food became inedible metal. When he embraced his daughter, she turned into a golden statue. On the instruction of Dionysus, he washed in a river and lost his touch of gold.

“A Midas Touch”

Today, a person who easily acquires riches is someone said to have the “Midas” touch.

Midas Now

Midas Then

Achilles

In mythology, Achilles was the greatest Greek warrior at Troy; Achilles could be injured only in the heel.

Today, referring to one’s "Achilles heel" means a person’s most vulnerable point.

PandoraThe first woman, created by Hephaestus, given treacherously to Epimetheus along with a box in which Prometheus had confined all the evils of the world; as expected, Pandora curiously opened the forbidden box and thus released into the world all troubles of mankind. By the time Pandora manages to close the lid, luckily only HOPE remains.

“What Have You Done???”Today, a

Pandora’s box is a prolific source of troubles or problems.

If one’s opens a Pandora’s box, he has created all kinds of problems for himself.

More Pandora?

• The name in Greek also means "all-gifted"; Pandora Jewelry sells quality gift merchandise.

Ajax

• Greek warrior in the Trojan War, who "cleaned up" in battle; Ajax is the name of a popular household cleanser.

Trident - • The three-pronged spear of Poseidon, god of the seas; 'Tria' is Greek for 'three' and 'donti' means 'tooth'; hence, Trident translates literally as 'three-teeth', or 'triple-toothed'.

Trident• Trident Gum, if

one is to believe the advertising, helps to clean your teeth!

Nike

She is the Goddess of VictoryNeed more be said?

Ceres• When you ask

for your morning cereal, you are asking for a grain product so named because Ceres was the goddess of grain.

Hermes Was the messenger of the gods

And also the floral messenger!

THE GREATEST OF ALL

MODERN MYTH REFERENCES?

TITANS -a race of powerful deities /immortal beings.

SO WHAT IS

A MYTH ANYWAY?

Mythos=stories logy=the study of

MYTHOLOGY

Myths are humanity’s earliest imaginative attempt to explain the universe, its creation, and

its writing. The study of the mythology of a particular

culture reveals the way of life and thought of that culture.

Myths are stories which, in the society in which they

are told, are considered to be truthful accounts of what happened in the

remote past.

Fable

• Short tale to teach a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters.Ex: Tortoise and the Hare

Legends • Stories which, like myths, are regarded as true by the narrator and his audience, but they are set in a period considerably less remote, when the world was much as it is today.

ex: King Arthur and the knights of the round table

What are some characteristics of myths?• Contain heroes and heroines• Supernatural elements• Gods and goddesses• Explains a natural phenomenon• Spoken not written

Why did ancient people tell myths?

• To help explain the unexplainable• To explain natural phenomenon• To tell about their heroes• To explain human nature• To teach morals and values