The Greek & Latin Roots of English (45 page)

It's Been Decided

The limits on human mortality and the constraints placed on the power of free will are embodied in the figures of the Fates. They were envisioned by some ancient writers as three sisters who spun, measured, and cut the thread that is our lifespan.

    Clotho (the Spinner)      Lachesis (the Measurer)      Atropos (the Cutter)

THE CALENDAR

The English names of the months of the year that we use today are derived from their Latin names, although the Roman calendar was structured differently from ours.

The Months

What Day Is Today? …

The
Calends
was the first day of the Roman month. Since monthly interest on loans was calculated by the
Calends
, an account book was called a
calendarium
. The only other days of the month noted by the Romans were the
Nones
(the fifth of the month, except in March, May, July, and October, when it fell on the seventh), and the
Ides
(the thirteenth, except in March, May, July, and October, when it fell on the fifteenth). It was not until quite late that the Romans adopted the practice of naming days in a repetitive cycle.

The English names of most of the days of the week are derived from the gods of Germanic myth.

OTHER TIMES…

OTHER PLACES …

Greek myth describes an often fabulous world whose landscape has become part of our vocabulary:

Mount Olympus:
residence of many of the Greek gods, who were thus referred to as the Olympians.

Styx:
the main river in the underworld, and also its boundary line. The ancient Greeks believed that in order to enter the realm of Hades, one had to be ferried across the Styx by the boatman Charon, at the cost of one obol; thus, the dead were buried with a coin in their mouths. The adjective
stygian
is used to describe a place that is dark and gloomy.

Lethe:
river in the underworld whose waters caused the dead to forget their past lives. The noun
lethargy
is the state of mental apathy and physical drowsiness.

Elysium
or
Elysian Fields:
the dwelling place of those few fortunate mortals who had been granted eternal conscious life and happiness by the gods.

Augean Stables:
the stables of King Augeas were so filthy that the Greek hero Heracles, as one of his twelve labors, had to divert two rivers in order to cleanse them in a single day.

Labyrinth:
a maze built on Crete for King Minos by the famed Greek architect Daedalus in order to imprison the Minotaur, a man-eating creature that was half-bull and half-human.

Temple of Concord, Agrigento, Sicily. Fifth century BCE

The human imagination is a powerful force, and many of the monsters of classical myth continue to haunt us:

Cerberus:
three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to the Underworld. He was friendly to those who entered the house of Hades, but ate those who tried to leave. His name can be applied to any fierce guardian or watchman.

Chimera:
a fire-breathing monster that had the head of a lion, the torso of a goat, and the tail of a snake. The adjective
chimerical
describes something that is wildly fanciful or unrealistic.

Gryphon
or
Griffin:
a mythical creature with the head and wings of an eagle and body of a lion.

Harpies:
bird-like women who tormented a number of individuals in Greek myth by snatching away their food as they tried to eat.

Roman river god (Museo Capitolino, Rome)

Medusa:
one of three monstrous Gorgons, she had hair of snakes, and her glance turned men into stone. She was slain by the Greek hero Perseus.

Phoenix:
a fabulous bird of great beauty, said to live for 500 years, after which it would immolate itself on a pyre, and then rise up, once again, from the ashes.

Sirens:
bird-like women who lured sailors to their deaths by singing sweet and entrancing melodies while sitting on the treacherous rocks that rose up from the sea.

Sphinx:
a winged female monster who would eat young men who could not answer her riddle, “What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?” She committed suicide when Oedipus gave the correct answer: man. The noun may be used to describe anyone who gives responses that are difficult to interpret.

Other myths have become part of our common cultural vocabulary, for allusions are still made to the stories of:

The Amazons
. The Amazons were said to be a race of warrior women who lived without men and who excelled in those activities, such as hunting and fighting, normally considered to belong to the male sphere. The word
amazon
is now used to describe a tall and physically powerful woman.

Atlas
. Atlas was a Titan who was condemned by the victorious Zeus to hold the sky on his shoulders. He gives his name to any bound collection of maps or charts.

The Golden Fleece
. The Greek hero Jason was sent on a meant-to-be fatal quest to retrieve the golden fleece of a ram. The fleece was guarded by a fire-breathing dragon that never slept; but Jason, with the help of the witch Medea, was able to steal the skin and escape.

King Midas and the Golden Touch
. Because he had done a kindness to the god Dionysus, Midas was granted any wish he might desire. Requesting that everything he touch turn to gold, he was at first delighted with his good fortune, but soon begged the god to take back his gift. He had turned his daughter into gold, and he was starving to death as well. Although the gift of the golden touch proved to be almost disastrous for Midas, we now use the term in a positive way.

The Labors of Hercules
. Hercules (or as the Greeks called him, Heracles) was the greatest of all the ancient mythological heroes. In order to gain immortal fame, he had to perform twelve death-defying labors, including a journey to the Underworld.

Pandora's Box
. Pandora, the first woman, who was created by the gods as revenge for Prometheus's theft of fire, was given a box containing all the evils of the world. Instructed not to open it, she disobeyed and released every kind of suffering into the world. Only Blind Hope remained inside. The phrase is used today to mean a source of unforeseen trouble or problems.

Procrustes
. Procrustes was said to have entertained his guests by inviting them to spend the night. If they did not fit exactly into the bed he offered, he would stretch them on a rack or lop off their heads to ensure a perfect night's sleep. The adjective
procrustean
is used to describe arbitrary and violent means of insuring conformity.

Prometheus
. A Titan, Prometheus stole fire from the gods because he pitied mankind. In punishment, Zeus had him bound to a rock, where each day an eagle would tear at his liver. Some say that he was freed eventually by the Greek hero, Heracles. The adjective
Promethean
means boldly original and creative.

Proteus
. Proteus was a god of the sea who, like the water, could change himself into whatever form he wished. The adjective
protean
means extremely variable or changeable.

Sisyphus
. As punishment for some unspecified crime, Sisyphus was condemned by the gods to forever push a boulder to the top of a hill in the Underworld, only to watch it roll back down again. His name has become synonymous with futility.

Tantalus
. Tantalus, who either betrayed the secrets of the gods or attempted to trick them into eating human flesh, was punished in the Underworld. He was forced to stand in a pool up to his chin; but when he bent down to quench his overwhelming thirst, the water evaporated. Above his head hung bunches of fruit; but when he reached up to pick them, they were beyond his grasp. The adjective
tantalizing
describes a tormenting desire for something that is unobtainable.

Procession in honor of the god Dionysus (British Museum)

TROY

Perhaps the best known and most enduring of all the Greek myths is the cycle of stories that have to do with the Trojan War, a ten-year struggle waged between the city of Troy and the Greek forces over the beautiful Helen. Writers and artists through the ages have continued to draw upon the characters and events that the Greek poet Homer first described in the
Iliad
and the
Odyssey
more than 2,700 years ago. The names that figured prominently in the story of Troy are still part of our imaginative vocabulary.