Characters From Greek Mythology That Inspired Words In English Language
A lot of the English vocabulary actually originates from Greek Mythology, here are some of our favorites.
We had a ton of fun creating characters acting out the words that they inspired today. Enjoy!
More info: factorialist.com
On a sexy scale of one to ten Narcissus was a fifteen, but he well and truly knew it. He was so obsessed with his own beauty that, upon seeing his own reflection in the river water, he fell madly in love. Not realizing he was staring at himself, and unable to grasp the object of his desire, he stared at his reflection until he died. The flower that bloomed where he died is still called narcissus today.
Hypnos was quite a lazy God, preferring to spend most of his time snoozing in his cave in the underworld. The entrance to his cave was lined with poppies and other hypnotic plants, and the river Lethe (river of forgetfulness) flowed through it. When not sleeping himself, Hypnos was busy putting Zeus to sleep at the request of his wife Hera, a habit Zeus was not very pleased with.
Armed with a bow and arrow, Eros could make any human fall in love with the first person they saw. The catch was that he often didn’t bother to aim his arrows, preferring random targets. With the invention of Internet dating and Tinder he now spends most of his time relaxing at the local archery club.
The mere murmuring of the river Lethe, one of five rivers that flowed through the underworld, was enough to cause drowsiness. Lethe, the spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion shared her name with the river. Those who dared drink from the river would have their memories erased, and the dead of the underworld would drink the water to forget their lives.
Tall, slender and gentle, Hygieia represented the prevention of sickness and disease through cleanliness. After the first appearance of the plague in Ancient Greece in 430 BCE, in which 25% of the population died, the cult of Hygeia rapidly spread. Worshipped along with her father Asclepius, the god of medicine, she was commonly shown holding a serpent in her arms
One of four winged brothers collectively called Oneiroi (dreams), Morpheus could intrude into the dreams of mortals. He was the ultimate master of disguise, morphing into human form at will and perfectly matching not only a person’s body, but also their voice and mannerisms. He had no need to rely on glasses and a fake moustache. Through dreams he could communicate messages from the gods and reveal peoples futures.
Born a mortal girl, but an incredibly stunning one, Psyche got the attention of many men but was interested in none. Frustrated by this Aphrodite sent her son Eros (A.K.A. Cupid) to make Psyche fall in love with the first man she saw, but Eros accidently scratched himself with his arrow and fell in love her himself. To hide the mistake from his mother Eros kept his identity a secret, but Psyche found out and Eros fled. After turning to Aphrodite for help and completing a series of difficult tasks, Psyche was reunited with Eros. The two lovers wed and Psyche became immortal.
Echo was a very pretty young mountain nymph who just loved to talk. After helping out Zeus by distracting his wife Hera with never-ending chatter, Hera took revenge by taking away Echo’s ability to speak. She could only ever repeat the last words said to her. After falling in love with Narcissus but being unable to tell him, she wallowed in sorrow until only her voice was left.
While still in Aphrodite’s womb, Priapus was cursed with ugliness and impotence by Hera, Queen of the Gods, as punishment for his mother’s beauty and promiscuity. Thrown from Mount Olympus down to Earth and raised by shepherds, he wandered the Earth with a permanent HUGE erection, but was cursed with the inability to use it.
P.S. Priapism is the medical term for when an erect male organ doesn’t return to its flaccid state.
Arachne was a mortal girl gifted in the art of weaving. She was so confident in her craft that she challenged Athena, the goddess of wisdom, arts and craft, to a weaving contest. When she inevitably lost, Athena turned her into the world’s first spider. Finally Arachne could weave her webs forever.
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