Phraseology is one of the branches of linguistics that studies stable combinations words Surely each of us is familiar with the expressions “beat the bullshit”, “led by the nose”, “like thunder among clear skies", "carelessly", etc. But how many of us have ever thought about where they came from in our language? I bring to your attention a small selection of phraseological units with their meanings and history of origin, thanks to which you may learn something new and be able to make your speech more expressive and varied.
Let's start, perhaps, with such a well-known expression as « Augean stables» , used to describe a very dirty place that will require considerable effort to clean. Phraseologism originates from the times Ancient Greece, where King Augeas lived, who loved horses very much, but not caring for them: the stables where the animals lived had not been cleaned for about thirty years. According to legend, Hercules (Hercules) entered the service of the king, who received orders from Augeas to clean out the stalls. To do this, the strongman used a river, the flow of which he directed into the stables, thereby getting rid of the dirt. Impressive, right?
"Alma mater"(from Latin “mother-nurse”)
In ancient times, students used this phraseological turn, describing educational institution, which, as it were, “fed” them, “raised” and “educated”. Nowadays it is used with some irony.
"Achilles' heel"(weak, vulnerable spot)
The source of this phraseological unit is ancient Greek mythology. According to legend, Thetis, the mother of Achilles, wanted to make her son invulnerable. To do this, she dipped him into the sacred river Styx, forgetting, however, about the heel by which she held the boy. Later, while fighting his enemy Paris, Achilles received an arrow in this heel and died.
"Gogol to walk"(walk around with a very important air, self-confidently)
No, this expression has nothing to do with the famous Russian writer, as it might seem at first. Gogol is wild duck, who walks along the shore with her head thrown back and her chest puffed out, which prompts comparison with a person trying to show all his importance.
"Nick down"(very good to remember something)
IN this expression the word “nose” does not mean a part of the human body. In ancient times, this word was used to refer to tablets on which all sorts of notes were made. People carried it with them as a reminder.
"Get away with your nose"(leave with nothing)
Another phraseological unit associated with the nose. However, like the previous one, it has nothing to do with the organ of smell. This expression originates from Ancient Rus', where bribery was widespread. People, when dealing with the authorities and hoping for a positive outcome, used “prizes” (bribes). If the judge, manager or clerk accepted this “nose”, one could be sure that everything would be resolved. However, if the bribe was rejected, the applicant left with his “nose”.
"Pandora's Box"(source of troubles and misfortunes)
An ancient Greek myth says: before Prometheus stole fire from the gods, people on earth lived in joy and did not know any troubles. In response to this, Zeus sent a woman of unprecedented beauty to earth - Pandora, giving her a casket in which all human misfortunes were stored. Pandora, succumbing to curiosity, opened the casket and scattered them all.
"Filka's letter"(a document of no value, a meaningless piece of paper)
This phraseological turn is rooted in the history of the Russian state, or more precisely, during the reign of Ivan IX the Terrible. Metropolitan Philip, in his messages to the sovereign, tried to convince him to soften his policies and to abolish the oprichnina. In response, Ivan the Terrible only called the Metropolitan “Filka”, and all his letters “Filka”.
These are just some of the phraseological units of the Russian language, which have very interesting story. I hope that the material presented above was useful and interesting for you.
Nature. Borrowing in the 16th century from lat. language, where natura “nature” is suf. derived from natum “born” (from nascor “born”). Wed. nature.
“boat, shuttle”, Ukrainian kayuk. Borrowed from Tat., Tur., Crimean-Tat., Kazakh.
Scylla and Charybdis - in ancient Greek mythology, two monsters that lived on both sides of the narrow sea strait between Italy and Sicily and killed passing sailors. Scylla, who had six heads, grabbed oarsmen from passing ships, and Charybdis, who sucked water into herself from a great distance, swallowed the ship along with it.
Skilla (ancient Greek Σκύλλα, in Latin transliteration Scylla, lat. Scylla) and Charybdis (ancient Greek Χάρυβδις, transcription of Charybdis is acceptable) - sea monsters from ancient Greek mythology.
Charybdis in the ancient Greek epic is a personified representation of the all-consuming abyss of the sea (etymologically, Charybdis means “whirlpool,” although there are other interpretations of this word). In the Odyssey, Charybdis is depicted as a sea deity (ancient Greek δία Χάρυβδις), living in a strait under a rock within an arrow's flight of another rock, which served as Scylla's seat.
The comparison of Skilla with Charybdis led to the formation of a proverb equivalent to the Russian “out of the frying pan and into the fire”:
Phraseologisms from ancient times Greek myths
Phraseologism “Sisyphean labor” meaning
An ancient Greek myth tells of the cunning and treacherous Corinthian king Sisyphus, who deceived the gods several times in order to prolong his luxurious life on earth.
The angry Zeus awarded him eternal torment in hell for this: Sisyphus had to roll onto high mountain a huge stone, which at the top suddenly tore itself out of the hands and rolled down. And it all started all over again...
The expression of Sisyphean labor came to mean hard, exhausting, useless work.
Phraseologism “Apple of discord” meaning
According to ancient Greek myth, one day the goddess of discord, Eris, was not invited to a feast. Bearing a grudge, Eris decided to take revenge on the gods. She took Golden Apple, on which was written “most beautiful,” and quietly threw it between the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite and Athena. The goddesses argued over which of them should own it. Each considered herself the most beautiful. The son of the Trojan king Paris, who was invited to be a judge, gave the apple to Aphrodite, and in gratitude she helped him kidnap the wife of the Spartan king Helen. Because of this, the Trojan War broke out.
The expression apple of discord has turned into a phraseological unit denoting the cause of a quarrel or enmity
MEDUSA'S LOOK
If a person is unpleasant in communication and is not liked by others, then they often say that he has the look of Medusa.
Medusa Gorgon is a monster with snakes writhing on her head, and instead of feet there were copper hooves. If a person looked at her, he immediately turned into stone.
Perseus managed to defeat the monster. To kill Medusa, the hero had to show remarkable ingenuity: during the battle he used a shiny shield in which the Gorgon was reflected - so Perseus never looked at the monster. Then he cut off the head of the defeated Medusa and attached it to the shield. As it turned out, her gaze could still turn all living things into stone.
BARREL DANAID
A barrel of Danaids is meaningless, useless work.
As the ancient Greek legend says, a long time ago, King Danaus sat on the Libyan throne, who had fifty beautiful daughters. And the gods gave the Egyptian king of Egypt fifty sons, whom he planned to marry with the daughters of Danaus. But the Libyan king opposed the will of Egypt and fled with his daughters. In the Greek city of Argos, the sons overtook Danaus and forced his daughters to marry them. But Danaus did not want to put up with such an outcome and persuaded his daughters to kill the spouses after the wedding feast. All but one of the sisters fulfilled their father’s command. The beautiful Hypermnestra sincerely fell in love with the handsome Lynceus and could not take his life.
The crime committed by the Danaids angered the Gods, and they cruelly punished the offenders. The terrible Tartarus awaited them terrible curse- the sisters are forever doomed to pour water into bottomless barrel trying to fill her up.
ATTICA SALT
Attic salt - (book) - elegant joke, refined wit.
The reverse is a tracing paper from Lat. sal Atticus. The expression is attributed to the ancient Roman writer and orator Cicero (106 - 43 BC). In an effort to popularize Greek culture in Rome, Cicero devoted significant space to theory in his writings oratory, developed by the Greeks. He especially singled out the inhabitants of Attica, famous for their eloquence. “They were all... sprinkled with the salt of wit...” wrote Cicero.
PROMETHEAN FIRE
Promethean fire - (book) the spirit of nobility, courage, unquenchable desire to achieve high goals.
The expression comes from ancient Greek mythology. One of the Titans, Prometheus, stole fire from the gods and taught people how to use it. An angry Zeus ordered Hephaestus to chain the titan to a rock, where an eagle flew every day to peck Prometheus’ liver. The hero Hercules freed Prometheus.
ARIADNE'S THREAD
Ariadne's thread means a way out of any difficult, confusing situation. The expression originated from the ancient Greek myth of the Golden Fleece, when Ariadne gave her lover a ball of thread so that he could find a way out of the labyrinth. Here you can download or listen to the MYTH "Theseus's Journey to Crete" - the source of the phraseological unit Ariadne's thread.
OLYMPIAN CALM
Olympic calm - imperturbable calm.
Olympus is a mountain in Greece where, as the Greek myths tell, the gods lived. For Sophocles, Aristotle, Virgil and other authors, Olympus is the firmament inhabited by the gods. The Olympians are immortal gods, always maintaining majestic solemnity appearance and undisturbed peace of mind.
TSAR! REMEMBER THE GREEKS
Tsar! Remember the Greeks. 1. Reminder of an urgent matter. 2. A reminder of the need for revenge.
The king of Persia (522-4X6 BC) Darius I ordered his slave to repeat them loudly to him three times a day, every time Darius sat down at the table. As the ancient Greek historian Herodotus reports, this ruler thereby showed that he had not forgotten how the Greeks (Athenians and Ionians) captured and burned the Persian city of Sardis, and that he would certainly take revenge when possible.
PANDORA'S BOX
Pandora's Box. Allegorically - “a source of misfortune, trouble.” The phraseological unit is associated with the myth of Pandora, who received from the god Zeus a closed box filled with all earthly disasters and misfortunes. Curious Pandora opened the box and human misfortunes flew out.
PROCRUSTEAN BED
Procrustean bed. An allegorical expression is “a model given in advance, according to which something needs to be prepared.” One of the Greek myths tells about the robber Procrustes (torturer). He caught passers-by and forced them under his bed: if the person was longer, his legs were cut off, if he was shorter, they were stretched out.
THE GOLDEN FLEECE
Golden Fleece - gold, wealth that people strive to acquire.
Ancient Greek myths say that the hero Jason went to Colchis (the eastern coast of the Black Sea) to mine the golden fleece (golden wool of a ram), which was guarded by a dragon and bulls that spewed flames from their mouths. Jason built the ship "Argo" (fast), after which the participants in this, according to legend, the first long-distance voyage of antiquity were called Argonauts. With the help of the sorceress Medea, Jason, having overcome all obstacles, successfully took possession of the Golden Fleece. The first to expound this myth was the poet Pindar (518-442 BC).
RETURN TO YOUR PENATES
Return to your home - return under your native roof.
What does penates mean and why do they come back to them? The ancient Romans believed in kind, cozy gods who lived in every house and guarded it, kind of brownies. They were called penates, they were revered, they treated them to food from their table, and when they left for a foreign land, they tried to take small images of them with them.
Remember "Eugene Onegin" by A.S. Pushkin:
Returned to his penates,
Vladimir Lensky visited
The neighbor's monument is modest.
TWO-FACED JANUS
In Roman mythology, Janus - the god of time, entrances and exits - was depicted with two faces. One face, a young one, was turned forward to the future. Another, senile, - back to the past. IN modern language used as a synonym for an insincere, two-faced person, a double-dealer.
GREEK GIFT
The gifts of the Danaans are insidious gifts brought with a treacherous purpose.
An expression from the Iliad: in the legend, the Greeks took Troy by building a huge wooden horse and donating it to the Trojans. A squad of warriors was hidden inside the horse.
PENELOPE'S FABRIC
Penelope's fabric is about sophisticated cunning.
Penelope, the wife of Odysseus (the hero of Homer's poem "The Odyssey"), promised to make a choice from among the suitors who annoyed her after she finished weaving a bedspread for her old father-in-law Laertes. But every night she unraveled everything she managed to do during the day. When her cunning was revealed, Odysseus returned and killed all the applicants for his wife’s hand in a fierce battle.
GOLDEN AGE
In ancient times, people believed that a long time ago, at the dawn of time, a wonderful golden age reigned on earth, when humanity enjoyed peace and serenity - people did not know what fear, wars, laws, crimes, hunger were.
And although these naive beliefs have long since sunk into oblivion, the golden age phraseology is still alive - this is what we call the best time, the heyday of something.
Here you can listen to or download the MYTH "FIVE CENTURIES"
CORNUCOPIA
The cornucopia is an endless source of prosperity and wealth.
An ancient Greek myth tells that the cruel god Kronos did not want to have children, because he was afraid that they would take away his power. Therefore, his wife gave birth to Zeus in secret, entrusting the nymphs to look after him. Zeus was fed with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea. One day she got caught in a tree and broke off her horn. The nymph filled it with fruits and gave it to Zeus. Zeus gave the horn to the nymphs who raised him, promising that whatever they desired would appear from it.
So the expression cornucopia became a symbol of prosperity and wealth.
Here you can listen to or download the MYTH "THE BIRTH OF ZEUS"
BONDS OF HYMENEUS
The Hymen Bond is a mutual obligation that living together imposes marriage on the spouses, or, simply, on the marriage itself.
Bonds are shackles, something that binds a person or binds one thing Living being to another. There are many words from this root: “prisoner”, “knot”, “bridle”, “burden”, etc. Thus, we're talking about about something like “bundles” or “chains.” In Ancient Greece, Hymen was the name of the god of marriage, the patron saint of weddings.
Evgeny Onegin in the novel by A. S. Pushkin says to Tatyana Larina:
You judge what kind of roses
Hymen will prepare for us... -
when it comes to their possible marriage.
Here you can download or listen to the MYTH "HYMENEUS"
TANTALUM FLOUR
Tantalum's torment, Tantalus's torment - suffering from the consciousness of intimacy desired goal and the impossibility of achieving it. Here you can listen or download MYTH "TANTALUM"
AUGEAN STABLES
AUGEAN STABLES - dirty place, neglected business, disorder.
GORDIAN KNOT
Cutting the Gordian knot means boldly and energetically solving a difficult matter.
I CARRY EVERYTHING WITH ME
Everything that a person carries with him is his inner wealth, knowledge and intelligence.
PANIC FEAR (HORROR)
Panic fear- strong fear. Here you can listen or download the myth "PAN"
PLANT OF CHAMPIONSHIP
The palm is a symbol of victory, almost the same as a laurel wreath.
RIDING PEGASUS
Ride Pegasus - become a poet, speak in poetry
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF
To be under the auspices - to enjoy someone's patronage, to be protected.
SWORD OF DAMOCLES
The sword of Damocles is a constant threat.
HOMERIC LAUGHTER (LAUGHTER)
Homeric laughter is uncontrollable laughter.
PILLARS OF HERCULES (PILLARS)
To say “reached the pillars of Hercules” means reached the extreme limit.
MENTOR TONE
“Mentor tone” - a mentoring, arrogant tone.
In Greek mythology, the Augean stables are the vast stables of Augeas, the king of Elis, which were not cleaned for many years. They were cleansed in one day by Hercules: he directed a river through the stables, the waters of which carried away all the manure.
2. Ariadne's thread is what helps find a way out predicament.
The expression originated from the Greek myths about the hero Theseus, who killed the Minotaur. The Athenians were obliged, at the request of the Cretan king Minos, to send seven young men and seven girls to Crete every year to be devoured by the Minotaur, who lived in a labyrinth built for him, from which no one could escape. Theseus was helped to accomplish this dangerous feat by the daughter of the Cretan king, Ariadne, who fell in love with him. Secretly from her father, she gave him a sharp sword and a ball of thread. When Theseus and the young men and girls doomed to be torn to pieces were taken into the labyrinth, Theseus tied the end of a thread at the entrance and walked through the intricate passages, gradually unwinding the ball. Having killed the Minotaur, Theseus found the way back from the labyrinth along a thread and brought out all the doomed.
3. Achilles' heel is a weak spot.
In Greek mythology, Achilles (Achilles) is one of the strongest and bravest heroes. He is sung in Homer's Iliad. Achilles' mother, the sea goddess Thetis, dipped him into the sacred river Styx to make her son's body invulnerable. While dipping, she held him by the heel, which was not touched by the water, so the only thing left was the heel. vulnerable spot Achilles, where he was mortally wounded by an arrow from Paris.
4. Barrel Danaid - endless labor, fruitless work.
The Danaids are the fifty daughters of the king of Libya, Danaus, with whom his brother Egypt, the king of Egypt, was at enmity. The fifty sons of Egypt, pursuing Danaus, who fled from Libya to Argolis, forced the fugitive to give them his fifty daughters as wives. First wedding night The Danaids, at the request of their father, killed their husbands. Only one of them decided to disobey her father. For the crime committed, forty-nine Danaids were, after their death, condemned by the gods to forever fill a bottomless barrel with water in the underworld of Hades.
5. The Age of Astraea is a happy time, time.
Astraea is the goddess of justice. The time when she was on earth was a happy, “golden age.” She left the earth in the Iron Age and since then, under the name of Virgo, she has been shining in the constellation of the Zodiac.
6. Hercules. Herculean labor (feat). Pillars of Hercules (pillars).
Hercules (Hercules) - the hero of Greek myths, gifted with extraordinary physical strength. He performed the famous twelve labors. On opposite banks Europe and Africa near the Strait of Gibraltar he erected the “Pillars of Hercules (Pillars)”. This is how the rocks of Gibraltar and Jebel Musa were called in the ancient world. These pillars were considered the “edge of the world,” beyond which there is no way. Therefore, the expression “to reach the pillars of Hercules” began to be used in the meaning: to reach the limit of something, to extreme point. The expression “Herculean labor, feat” is used when talking about any task that requires extraordinary effort.
7. Hercules at the crossroads. Applies to a person who finds it difficult to choose between two solutions.
The expression originated from the speech of the Greek sophist Prodicus. In this speech, Prodicus told an allegory he had composed about the young man Hercules (Hercules), who was sitting at a crossroads and thinking about life path which he had to choose. Two women approached him: Effeminacy, who painted him a life full of pleasures and luxury, and Virtue, who showed him the difficult path to glory.
8. Bonds (chains) Hymenia - marriage, matrimony.
In ancient Greece, the word “hymen” meant both a wedding song and the deity of marriage, sanctified by religion and law, in contrast to Eros, the god of free love.
9. Sword of Damocles - hanging, imminent danger.
The expression originated from an ancient Greek legend told by Cicero in his essay “Tusculan Conversations”. Damocles, one of the close associates of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius the Elder, began to enviously speak of him as the happiest of people. Dionysius, in order to teach the envious man a lesson, put him in his place. During the feast, Damocles saw a sharp sword hanging above his head from a horsehair. Dionysius explained that this is an emblem of the dangers to which he, as a ruler, is constantly exposed, despite his seemingly happy life.
10. Gifts of the Danaans - “insidious” gifts that bring with them death for those who receive them.
Trojan horse– a secret insidious plan (hence – Trojan virus (Trojan)).
Expressions originated from Greek legends about Trojan War. The Danaans (Greeks), after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, resorted to cunning: they built a huge wooden horse, left it at the walls of Troy, and themselves pretended to sail away from the shore of the Troas. Priest Laocoon, seeing this horse and knowing the tricks of the Danaans, exclaimed: “Whatever it is, I am afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts!” But the Trojans, not listening to the warnings of Laocoon and the prophetess Cassandra, dragged the horse into the city. At night, the Danaans, hiding inside the horse, came out, killed the guards, opened the city gates, let in their comrades who had returned on ships, and thus took possession of Troy.
11. Two-faced Janus is a two-faced person.
Janus is the god of every beginning and end, entrances and exits (janua - door). Depicted with two faces facing opposite sides: young - forward, to the future, old - back, to the past.
12. Golden Fleece - gold, wealth that people strive to acquire.
Argonauts are brave sailors and adventurers.
Jason went to Colchis (the eastern coast of the Black Sea) to mine the golden fleece (golden wool of a ram), which was guarded by a dragon and bulls that spewed flames from their mouths. Jason built the ship “Argo”, after which the participants in this, according to legend, the first long-distance voyage of antiquity were called the Argonauts. With the help of the sorceress Medea, Jason, having overcome all obstacles, successfully took possession of the Golden Fleece.
13. Sink into oblivion - disappear forever, be forgotten.
Lethe is the river of oblivion in Hades, the underworld. Upon arrival in the underworld, the souls of the dead drank water from it and forgot all their past life. The name of the river became a symbol of oblivion.
14. Between Scylla and Charybdis - in difficult situation when danger threatens from two sides.
According to the legends of the ancient Greeks, two monsters lived on the coastal rocks on both sides of the strait: Scylla and Charybdis, who devoured sailors.
15. The torments of Tantalus - suffering due to unsatisfied desires.
Tantalus, king of Phrygia (also called king of Lydia), was the favorite of the gods, who often invited him to their feasts. But, proud of his position, he offended the gods, for which he was severely punished. According to Homer (“Odyssey”, II, 582-592), his punishment was that, cast into Tartarus (hell), he forever experiences unbearable pangs of thirst and hunger. He stands up to his neck in water, but the water recedes from him as soon as he lowers his head to drink. Branches with luxurious fruits hang over him, but as soon as he stretches out his hands to them, the branches deviate.
16. A narcissist is a person who loves only himself.
Narcissus is a handsome young man, the son of the river god Cephisus and the nymph Leiriope. One day Narcissus, who had never loved anyone, bent over a stream and, seeing his face in it, fell in love with himself and died of melancholy. His body turned into a flower.
17. Nectar and ambrosia - an unusually tasty drink, an exquisite dish.
In Greek mythology, nectar is a drink, ambrosia (ambrosia) is the food of the gods, giving them immortality.
18. Olympians are arrogant, inaccessible people.
Olympic bliss - highest degree bliss.
Olympic calm - calm, undisturbed by anything.
Olympic greatness is solemnity with manners.
Olympus is a mountain in Greece, where, as told in Greek myths, the immortal gods lived.
19. Panic fear is a sudden, strong fear that causes confusion.
It arose from the myths about Pan, the god of forests and fields. According to myths, Pan brings sudden and unaccountable terror to people, especially to travelers in remote and secluded places, as well as to troops who flee from this. This is where the word “panic” comes from.
20. Pygmalion and Galatea - about passionate love without reciprocity.
The myth about the famous sculptor Pygmalion says that he openly expressed his contempt for women. The goddess Aphrodite, angered by this, forced him to fall in love with the statue of the young girl Galatea, which he himself created, and doomed him to the torment of unrequited love. Pygmalion's passion, however, turned out to be so strong that it breathed life into the statue. The revived Galatea became his wife.
21. Promethean fire is a sacred fire burning in the human soul; unquenchable desire to achieve high goals.
Prometheus is one of the Titans. He stole fire from the sky and taught people how to use it, which undermined faith in the power of the gods. For this, the angry Zeus ordered Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmithing) to chain Prometheus to a rock. The eagle that flew in every day tore at the liver of the chained titan.
22. Penelope’s work is a never-ending job (wife’s fidelity).
The expression originated from Homer's Odyssey. Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, remained faithful to him during many years of separation from him, despite the harassment of suitors. She said she was putting it off new marriage until the day when she finishes weaving a coffin cover for her father-in-law, Elder Laertes. She spent the whole day weaving, and at night she unraveled everything she had woven during the day and set to work again.
23. Sphinx riddle - something unsolvable.
The Sphinx is a monster with the face and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird, who lived on a rock near Thebes. The Sphinx lay in wait for travelers and asked them riddles. He killed those who failed to solve them. When the Theban king Oedipus solved the riddles given to him, the monster took his own life.
24. Sisyphean labor is endless, ethereal (useless) work.
The Corinthian king Sisyphus for insulting the gods was sentenced by Zeus to eternal torment in Hades: he had to roll up the mountain huge stone, which, having reached the top, rolled down again.
25. Circe is a dangerous beauty, an insidious seductress.
Circe (Latin form; Greek Kirke) - according to Homer, an insidious sorceress. With the help of a magic drink, she turned Odysseus's companions into pigs. Odysseus, to whom Hermes gave a magical plant, defeated her spell, and she invited him to share her love. Having forced Circe to swear that she was not plotting anything bad against him and would return his companions to human form, Odysseus bowed to her proposal.
26. An apple of discord is the cause of a dispute, enmity.
The goddess of discord, Eris, rolled a golden apple with the inscription: “To the most beautiful” between the guests at the wedding feast. Among the guests were the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, who argued about which of them should receive the apple. Their dispute was resolved by Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, by awarding the apple to Aphrodite. In gratitude, Aphrodite helped Paris kidnap Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, which caused the Trojan War.
27. Pandora's Box is a source of misfortune, great disasters.
Once upon a time, people lived without knowing any misfortunes, illnesses or old age, until Prometheus stole fire from the gods. For this, an angry Zeus sent a beautiful woman to earth - Pandora. She received from Zeus a casket in which all human misfortunes were locked. Spurred on by curiosity, Pandora opened the casket and scattered all the misfortunes.
28. Golden shower - big money or easily obtained wealth.
This image arose from the Greek myth of Zeus, who, captivated by the beauty of Danae, the daughter of the Argive king Acrisius, appeared to her in the form of golden rain, after which her son Perseus was born.
29. Cyclops - one-eyed
Cyclops are one-eyed giant blacksmiths, strongmen, cannibals, cruel and rude, living in caves on the tops of mountains, engaged in cattle breeding. The Cyclopes were credited with building gigantic structures.
WORKS
A.S. Pushkin
PROPHET
We are tormented by spiritual thirst,
In the dark desert I dragged myself, -
And the six-winged seraph
He appeared to me at a crossroads.
With fingers as light as a dream
He touched my eyes.
The prophetic eyes have opened,
Like a frightened eagle.
He touched my ears,
And they were filled with noise and ringing:
And I heard the sky tremble,
And the heavenly flight of angels,
And the reptile of the sea underwater,
And the valley of the vine is vegetated.
And he came to my lips,
And my sinner tore out my tongue,
And idle and crafty,
And the sting of the wise snake
My frozen lips
He put it with his bloody right hand.
And he cut my chest with a sword,
And he took out my trembling heart,
And coal blazing with fire,
I pushed the hole into my chest.
I lay like a corpse in the desert,
And God’s voice called to me:
"Rise up, prophet, and see and listen,
Be fulfilled by my will,
And, bypassing the seas and lands,
Burn the hearts of people with the verb."
Notes
* Prophet (p. 149). In the image of the prophet, as in “Imitations of the Koran” (see above), Pushkin understood the poet. The picture depicted by Pushkin, in several small details, goes back to the VI chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Bible (six-winged Seraphim with a burning coal in his hand).
The poem was originally part of a cycle of four poems, entitled “The Prophet,” with anti-government content, dedicated to the events of December 14. M.P. Pogodin explained to P.A. Vyazemsky in a letter dated March 29, 1837: “He wrote “The Prophet” while traveling to Moscow in 1826. There should be four poems, the first one has just been published (“We are tormented by spiritual thirst, etc.”) "("Links", VI, 1936, p. 153). The remaining three poems were destroyed and did not reach us.
The version of the first verse of the “Prophet” - “We are tormented by great sorrow”, available in Pushkin’s recording, apparently refers to the original edition of the famous text.
Six-winged seraph- In Christian mythology, seraphim were angels who were especially close to God and glorified him.
Finger- finger
Zenitsa- Pupil, eye.
Opened up– opened
Prophetic- Foreseeing the future, prophetic
Gorny(flight) - Located in the heights.
Vegetation– growth
Right hand- right hand, sometimes even a hand
Vizhd- Look
Listen up- Listen to someone or something, pay attention to someone or something.
Theme of the poem:
The poem was written in 1826. It's multidimensional poetic work refers to a series of poems, the key themes of which are the problem of the poet’s spiritual realization and the problem of the essence of poetry.
Composition and plot:
In the compositional aspect, it seems possible to divide the text into three equal parts. The first characterizes the place and time of the action (it consists of four verses). In some ways starting formula the poem echoes the introductory part “ Divine Comedy» Dante. The “six-winged seraphim,” an angel especially close to the throne of God and glorifying it, indicates immersion in the Old Testament space; he is a hero “at a crossroads,” which also emphasizes the sacredness and universality of the issues under consideration. According to the Old Testament ideas described in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, one of the seraphim cleanses the prophet’s lips by touching them with a hot coal, which he takes with tongs from the sacred altar, thereby preparing him for the fulfillment of the mission of ministry. The theme of fire receives large-scale development in the poem at the compositional and lexical-semantic levels; the internal form of the word “seraphim” (translated from Hebrew as “fiery”, “flaming”) also actualizes the concept: in the word one can identify the producing root srp “to burn”, “to burn”, “to scorch”. The second part of the poem takes twenty lines and is dedicated to the transformation of a person into a Prophet. Its unity and internal correlation are actualized by a special mechanism poetic expressiveness: complex sound anaphora on “and”. Final part consists of six lines and expresses the idea of prophetic ministry; in it is the voice of God, calling to to the lyrical hero, sums up the transformation that has taken place. The poem is written in iambic tetrameter with periodic significant interruptions in the form of spondees and pyrrhics, with paired, cross and span rhymes with masculine and feminine rhymes; at the rhythmic-metric level, the key idea of the poem is also reflected.
Lermontov "Duma"
I look sadly at our generation!
His future is either empty or dark,
Meanwhile, under the burden of knowledge and doubt,
It will grow old in inactivity.
We are rich, barely out of the cradle,
By the mistakes of our fathers and their late minds,
And life already torments us, like a smooth path without a goal,
Like a feast at someone else's holiday.
Shamefully indifferent to good and evil,
At the beginning of the race we wither without a fight;
In the face of danger they are shamefully cowardly
And before the authorities - despicable slaves.
So skinny fruit, ripe before its time,
It pleases neither our taste nor our eyes,
Hanging between the flowers, an orphaned alien,
And the hour of their beauty is the hour of his fall!
We have dried up the mind with fruitless science,
I feel envious from my neighbors and friends
Passions ridiculed by disbelief.
We barely touched the cup of pleasure,
But we did not save our youthful strength;
From every joy, fearing satiety,
We have extracted the best juice forever.
Dreams of poetry, creation of art
Our minds are not moved by sweet delight;
We greedily cherish the remainder of the feeling in our chests -
Buried by stinginess and useless treasure.
And we hate and we love by chance,
Without sacrificing anything, neither anger nor love,
And some secret cold reigns in the soul,
When fire boils in the blood.
And the luxurious amusements of our ancestors are boring to us,
Their conscientious, childish depravity;
And we rush to the grave without happiness and without glory,
Looking back mockingly.
We will pass over the world without noise or trace,
Not the genius of the work begun.
And our ashes, with the severity of a judge and a citizen,
A descendant will insult with a contemptuous verse,
The bitter mockery of a deceived son
Over the wasted father.
The poem "Duma" in its genre is the same elegy-satire as "Death of the Poet". Only the satire here is directed not at court society, but at the bulk of the noble intelligentsia of the 30s.
The main theme of the poem is social behavior person. The topic is revealed in Lermontov’s Characteristics of the Generation of the 30s. This generation, which grew up in conditions of gloomy reaction, is not at all the same as it was in the 10-20s, not the generation of the “fathers,” i.e., the Decembrists. The socio-political struggle of the Decembrists is considered by them as a “mistake” (“We are rich, barely from the cradle, by the mistakes of our fathers...”). The new generation has moved away from participating in public life and delved into the pursuit of “sterile science”, he is not bothered by questions of good and evil; it shows “shameful cowardice in the face of danger” and is “despicable slaves in front of power.” Neither poetry nor art says anything to these people. Their fate is bleak:
Crowd gloomy and soon forgotten
We will pass over the world without noise or trace,
Without giving up the centuries a single fertile thought,
Not the genius of the work begun.
Such a harsh assessment by Lermontov of his contemporaries was dictated by his public views advanced poet. For him, who as a young man declared: “So life is boring when there is no struggle,” an indifferent attitude towards the evil reigning in life is especially unacceptable. Indifference to public life is the spiritual death of a person.
Severely condemning for this indifference, for the departure from social political struggle his generation, Lermontov seems to be calling him to moral renewal, to awakening from spiritual slumber. Lermontov, acting as an accuser, in this echoes Ryleev, who with the same denunciation addressed his contemporaries evading political struggle in the poem “Citizen.”
How fair and accurate was the description of the generation of the 30s? given by Lermontov in the Duma, the testimonies of his contemporaries, Belinsky and Herzen, who deeply felt the horror of their era, speak best. Belinsky wrote about “Duma”: “These poems were written in blood; they came out of the depths of an offended spirit. This is a cry, this is a groan of a man for whom the absence inner life there is an evil a thousand times more terrible than physical death!.. And who among the people of the new generation will not find in it the solution to their own despondency, spiritual
apathy, inner emptiness and will not respond to him with a cry, with his groan? And Herzen spoke about this era: “Will future people understand, will they appreciate all the horror, all the tragic side of our existence?.. Will they understand... why they don’t raise their hands to a lot of work“Why don’t we forget melancholy in a moment of delight?”
Griboyedov "Woe from Wit"
“Woe from Wit” - a comedy in verse by A. S. Griboyedov - a work that made its creator a classic of Russian literature. It combines elements of classicism and new early XIX centuries of romanticism and realism.
Comedy "Woe from Wit" - a satire on aristocratic Moscow society first half of the 19th century century - one of the pinnacles of Russian drama and poetry; actually completed “comedy in verse” as a genre. The aphoristic style contributed to the fact that she “went into quotations.”
Text history:
Around 1816, Griboyedov, having returned from abroad, found himself in St. Petersburg at one of the social evenings and was amazed at how the entire public admired everything foreign. That evening she showered attention and care on a talkative Frenchman; Griboyedov could not stand it and made a fiery incriminating speech. While he was speaking, someone from the audience declared that Griboedov was crazy, and thus spread the rumor throughout St. Petersburg. Griboedov, in order to take revenge on secular society, decided to write a comedy on this occasion.
Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm"
“The Thunderstorm” - a play in five acts by Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky
History of creation
The play was begun by Alexander Ostrovsky in July and completed on October 9, 1859. The manuscript is kept in the Russian State Library.
The writing of the play “The Thunderstorm” is also associated with the writer’s personal drama. In the manuscript of the play, next to Katerina’s famous monologue: “And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Or golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and everyone is singing invisible voices...”, there is Ostrovsky’s entry: “I heard from L.P. about the same dream...”. L.P. is the actress Lyubov Pavlovna Kositskaya, with whom the young playwright had a very difficult personal relationship: both had families. The actress's husband was the artist of the Maly Theater I. M. Nikulin. And Alexander Nikolaevich also had a family: he lived in a civil marriage with the commoner Agafya Ivanovna, with whom he had common children (all of them died as children). Ostrovsky lived with Agafya Ivanovna for almost twenty years.
It was Lyubov Pavlovna Kositskaya who served as the prototype for the image of the heroine of the play, Katerina, and she also became the first performer of the role.
Alexander Golovin. Bank of the Volga. 1916 Sketches for the drama “The Thunderstorm” by A. N. Ostrovsky
In 1848, Alexander Ostrovsky went with his family to Kostroma, to the Shchelykovo estate. Natural beauty The Volga region struck the playwright, and then he thought about the play. For a long time it was believed that the plot of the drama “The Thunderstorm” was taken by Ostrovsky from the life of the Kostroma merchants. At the beginning of the 20th century, Kostroma residents could accurately indicate the place of Katerina’s suicide.
In his play, Ostrovsky raises the problem of the turning point in social life that occurred in the 1850s, the problem of changing social foundations.
The names of the characters in the play are endowed with symbolism: Kabanova is an overweight woman with a difficult character; Kuligin is a “kuliga”, a swamp, some of its features and name are similar to the name of the inventor Kulibin; the name Katerina means “pure”; opposed to her is Varvara - “barbarian”.
In the play “The Thunderstorm,” the writer characterized the state of provincial society in Russia on the eve of reforms. The playwright examines such issues as the position of women in the family, the modernity of “Domostroy”, the awakening in a person of a sense of personality and self-worth, the relationship between the “old”, oppressive, and the “young”, voiceless.
The main idea of “The Thunderstorm” is that the strong, gifted and brave man with natural aspirations and desires cannot live happily in a society where “cruel morals” dominate, where “Domostroy” reigns, where everything is based on fear, deception and submission.
The name “Thunderstorm” can be viewed from several perspectives. A thunderstorm is a natural phenomenon, and nature plays an important role in the composition of the play. So, it complements the action, emphasizes the main idea, the essence of what is happening. For example, wonderful night landscape corresponds to the date between Katerina and Boris. The vastness of the Volga emphasizes Katerina’s dreams of freedom; a picture of cruel nature is revealed when describing the suicide of the main character. Then nature contributes to the development of action, pushes events, as it were, stimulates the development and resolution of the conflict. Thus, in the thunderstorm scene, the elements prompt Katerina to publicly repent.
So, the title “The Thunderstorm” emphasizes the main idea of the play: a sense of self-worth awakening in people; the desire for freedom and independence begins to threaten the existence of the old order.
The world of Kabanikha and Wild is coming to an end, because in “ dark kingdom“A “ray of light” appeared - Katerina - a woman who cannot put up with the oppressive atmosphere prevailing in the family and in the city. Her protest was expressed in her love for Boris, in her unauthorized death. Katerina preferred death to existence in a world where she was “sick of everything.” She is the first lightning bolt of the storm that will soon break out in society. Clouds have been gathering over the “old” world for a long time. Domostroy has lost its original meaning. Kabanikha and Dikoy use his ideas only to justify their tyranny and tyranny. They were unable to convey to their children true faith in the inviolability of their rules of life. Young people live according to the laws of their fathers as long as they can achieve a compromise through deception. When oppression becomes unbearable, when deception only partially saves, then protest begins to awaken in a person, it develops and is capable of breaking out at any moment.
Katerina's suicide awakened the man in Tikhon. He saw that there is always a way out of this situation, and he, the most weak-willed of all the characters described by Ostrovsky, who unquestioningly obeyed his mother all his life, blames her for the death of his wife in public. If Tikhon is already able to declare his protest, then the “dark kingdom” really does not have long to exist.
The thunderstorm is also a symbol of renewal. In nature, after a thunderstorm, the air is fresh and clean. In society, after the storm that began with Katerina’s protest, there will also be a renewal: the oppressive and subjugating orders will probably be replaced by a society of freedom and independence.
But a thunderstorm occurs not only in nature, but also in Katerina’s soul. She committed a sin and repents of it. Two feelings are fighting in her: fear of Kabanikha and fear that “death will suddenly find you as you are, with all your sins...” In the end, religiosity and fear of retribution for sin prevail, and Katerina publicly admits to what she has done sin. None of the residents of Kalinov can understand her: these people, like Katerina, do not have a rich spiritual world and high moral values; they do not feel remorse, because their morality is that everything is “sewn and covered.” However, recognition does not bring relief to Katerina. As long as she believes in Boris's love, she is able to live. But, realizing that Boris is no better than Tikhon, that she is still alone in this world, where she is “sick of everything,” she finds no other way out but to throw herself into the Volga. Katerina broke religious law for the sake of freedom. The thunderstorm ends with renewal in her soul. The young woman was completely freed from the shackles of the Kalinov world and religion.
Thus, the thunderstorm occurring in the soul of the main character turns into a thunderstorm in society itself, and the whole action takes place against the backdrop of the elements.
Using the image of a thunderstorm, Ostrovsky showed that a society that has become obsolete, based on deception, and the old order, depriving a person of the opportunity to express the highest feelings, are doomed to destruction. This is as natural as the purification of nature through a thunderstorm. Thus, Ostrovsky expressed the hope that renewal in society would come as soon as possible.
Slide 1
Phraseologisms that came into our speech from mythology
Authors: 7th grade students Ilya Anokhin, Kristina Yurina
Slide 2
Goals and objectives
Goal: to study the nature of phraseological units and learn from the example of myths of the Ancient world to use phraseological units in your speech. Tasks: Analyze the necessary language information about phraseological units; get acquainted with phraseological dictionaries; compile your own dictionary of phraseological units; create multimedia resources about phraseological units.
Slide 3
Borrowed phraseological units are divided into those borrowed from Old Slavonic language and borrowed from Western European languages. A significant number of phraseological units are borrowed from ancient Greek mythology.
Slide 4
Augean stables
According to legend, King Augeas lived in Ancient Greece. He was a passionate horse lover. There were three thousand horses in his famous stables. However, the stalls in which these animals were kept had not been cleaned for 30 years, and they naturally filled to the roof with manure. Once upon a time, the strongman Hercules entered the service of King Augeas, whom Augeas instructed to clean his stables - it was no longer possible for anyone else to do this. Hercules was distinguished not only by his mighty strength, but also by his intelligence. He solved this problem simply: he diverted a river into the gates of the stables, and its rapid flow quickly washed away all the dirt from there. This ancient legend It was first reported to the world by the ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus. We use the expression “Augean stables” today when we want to talk about extreme neglect.
Slide 5
Achilles' heel
Every weak, vulnerable place of a person in his affections and character is called an Achilles heel. Where did this expression come from? Achilles is a hero of ancient Greek myths, brave and invincible, who was not taken by any enemy arrows. The myth tells that Achilles' mother Thetis, wanting to make her son invulnerable, dipped her son, while still an infant, into the waters of the sacred River Styx. When the mother dipped Achilles, she held his heel, and the heel was unprotected. Achilles was killed in one of the competitions by an arrow from his opponent, which hit him in the heel.
Slide 6
Libra Themis
In Ancient Greek mythology, Themis is the goddess of justice. She was always depicted holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other, and always wearing a blindfold, symbolizing the impartiality with which she judges people accused of something. Themis, as it were, weighs all the arguments of the prosecution and defense on her scales and punishes the guilty with the sword. The expression “scales of Themis” have become synonymous with justice and fairness.
Slide 7
Homeric laughter
Homer is famous ancient Greek poet. He is considered the author of the poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”. The heroes of these poems - the gods - are endowed with extraordinary qualities. They are strong, courageous, resourceful, have powerful voices, and their laughter is like thunder. Homeric laughter is a very loud, uncontrollable laugh.
Slide 8
Gordian knot
One ancient Greek legend tells that the Phrygian king Gordius brought a chariot as a gift to Zeus, and tied oxen to its drawbar with such a complex knot that no skilled worker could untangle it. An ancient oracle (fortune teller) announced to everyone that whoever manages to untie this cunning knot will rule the whole world. The greatest commander of antiquity, Alexander the Great, who conquered Phrygia, also heard about this. He entered the temple where the chariot was placed, looked closely at the famous knot and suddenly, drawing his golden sword, cut the knot with one blow. Since then, it has become a custom: “to cut the Gordian knot” means to quickly, very decisively, and by force resolve some complicated matter.
Slide 9
Sword of Damocles
This came to us from an ancient Greek myth. The Syracusan tyrant Dionosius the Elder had Damocles as his close associate. Damocles was very jealous of his ruler. Dionysius knew about this. One day he decided to teach Damocles a lesson. During the feast, he ordered his servants to place his favorite on the throne and give him royal honors. Damocles was ready to jump for joy - his dream came true cherished wish. But then he raised his eyes up and froze: right above his head, with the tip down, hung a heavy sword, suspended on a thin horsehair. At any moment the sword could fall directly on Damocles' head. “Here, Damocles,” said the tyrant, “you consider mine high position enviable, but look now: am I calm on my throne? Since then, the expression “sword of Damocles” has meant the greatest danger that can strike at any moment.
Slide 10
Olympian calm
Olympus is a mountain in Ancient Greece, where, as told in ancient Greek myths, the immortal gods lived. We now compare people with the Olympian gods who, under any circumstances, maintain an imperturbable calm of spirit.” We also call people who are arrogant and inaccessible. In our speech, such expressions as “literary Olympus” or “musical Olympus” arose - a group of recognized poets, writers and musicians. And Olympic calm is calm, undisturbed by anything.
Slide 11
Panic, panic horror
Panic is the word Greek origin. It came to us from the ancient Greek myth about the god of fields, forests and herds Pan, who was born overgrown with wool, with goat horns, hooves and a goatee. to his appearance the newborn frightened his mother so much that she left him in horror, but the son's father, Hermes, took his son to Olympus and showed him to the gods. The child made the gods laugh and they liked him very much, they accepted him into their number and gave him the name Pan. Pan loved music very much and often played the shepherd's pipe. However, Pan put everyone who approached his forest refuge to flight, terrifying them with his very appearance. According to legend, the fear that Pan inspired was so strong that it even took hold of the troops, who, hearing Pan’s wild howls, fled. From the mythological name Pan later came the word “panic”, meaning unaccountable, uncontrollable fear, mainly of a mass nature, as well as the word “alarmist” - “a person who easily succumbs to confusion, spreading alarming rumors.”
Slide 12
Procrustean bed
To find out the history of this expression, let's turn again to Greek mythology. There lived in Attica the terrible robber Polypemon, nicknamed Procrustes. He didn’t just kill travelers who entered his domain, but first laid his guest on a bed and looked to see whether it exactly corresponded to the unfortunate man’s height or not. If the guest was longer, he chopped off his legs, and if he was shorter, he stretched the joints to the required length. It also happens that someone tries, contrary to all meaning, to adjust a work of art or a discovery in science to certain requirements, that is, to drive it into an artificial framework. It is in such cases that this expression is used.
Slide 13
Cornucopia
An ancient Greek myth tells us that the cruel god Kronos did not want to have children, because he was afraid that his power would be taken away from him. Kronos's wife therefore gave birth to a son, Zeus, in secret, entrusting the nymphs to care for the baby. Zeus was fed with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea. One day a goat caught on a tree and broke off its horn. The nymph filled it with fruits and gave it to Zeus. Zeus gave the horn to the nymphs who raised him, promising that whatever they desired would appear from it. So the expression “cornucopia” became a symbol of prosperity and wealth.
Slide 14
Lantern of Diogenes
The ancient Greek writer Diogenes Laertius in his book “Life, Teachings and Opinions famous philosophers“says that the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope once lit a lantern during the day, and walking around with it, said: “I am looking for a man.” The expression that arose from this “to search with the lantern of Diogenes” is used in the sense of “persistently, but in vain, in vain to strive to find someone or something. IN Lately A synonym for this expression is more commonly used in speech - “to search with fire during the day.”
Slide 15
Pandora's Box
The ancient Greek myth about Pandora says that people once lived without knowing any misfortunes, illnesses or old age, until Prometheus stole fire from the gods for them. For this, an angry Zeus sent a beautiful woman to earth - Pandora. She received from Zeus a casket in which all human misfortunes were locked. Pandora, spurred by curiosity, opened the casket and scattered all the misfortunes. The expression “Pandora's box” means the source of misfortune, great disaster.
Slide 16
Sisyphus's work
Sisyphean work - “hard, endless work" The king of Corinth, Sisyphus, committed a lot of deceit and deception in his life. He dared to deceive even the gods. The gods were angry with Sisyphus and sentenced him to severe punishment. afterlife. In the kingdom of Hades, he had to roll a stone up a high mountain. Each time the stone is torn out of Sisyphus's hands, and he again takes up this hard labour. This is how the expression “Sisyphean labor” arose.
Slide 17
Apple of discord
The expression comes from an ancient Greek myth. Three beautiful Greek goddesses were present at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis: Aphrodite, Athena and Hera. Wanting to quarrel between them, the fourth goddess - the goddess of discord Eris - threw a golden apple with the inscription “To the Most Beautiful” into the crowd. A dispute ensued between the goddesses. Each believed that the apple was destined for her, and would never give it up to the other. The son of the Trojan king Priam, Paris, intervened in the dispute. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Athena and Hera got angry and began to set everything up Greek peoples against the Trojans. Thus broke out a bloody war, which resulted in the death of Troy. Since then, we have called every reason for disagreement a bone of discord.
Slide 18
And further…
Barrel Danaids Pillars of Hercules Sink into oblivion Tantalum's torment Promethean fire Sodom and Gomorrah Etc.
1. Augean stables are a heavily clogged, polluted or cluttered room.
In Greek mythology, the Augean stables are the vast stables of Augeas, the king of Elis, which were not cleaned for many years. They were cleansed in one day by Hercules: he directed a river through the stables, the waters of which carried away all the manure.
2. Ariadne's thread is what helps to find a way out of a difficult situation.
The expression originated from the Greek myths about the hero Theseus, who killed the Minotaur. The Athenians were obliged, at the request of the Cretan king Minos, to send seven young men and seven girls to Crete every year to be devoured by the Minotaur, who lived in a labyrinth built for him, from which no one could escape. Theseus was helped to accomplish this dangerous feat by the daughter of the Cretan king, Ariadne, who fell in love with him. Secretly from her father, she gave him a sharp sword and a ball of thread. When Theseus and the young men and girls doomed to be torn to pieces were taken into the labyrinth, Theseus tied the end of a thread at the entrance and walked through the intricate passages, gradually unwinding the ball. Having killed the Minotaur, Theseus found the way back from the labyrinth along a thread and brought out all the doomed.
3. Achilles' heel is a weak spot.
In Greek mythology, Achilles (Achilles) is one of the strongest and bravest heroes. He is sung in Homer's Iliad. Achilles' mother, the sea goddess Thetis, dipped him into the sacred river Styx to make her son's body invulnerable. While dipping, she held him by the heel, which was not touched by the water, so the heel remained Achilles’s only vulnerable spot, where he was mortally wounded by Paris’s arrow.
4. The sword of Damocles is an impending, threatening danger.
The expression originated from an ancient Greek legend told by Cicero in his essay “Tusculan Conversations”. Damocles, one of the close associates of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius the Elder, began to enviously speak of him as the happiest of people. Dionysius, in order to teach the envious man a lesson, put him in his place. During the feast, Damocles saw a sharp sword hanging above his head from a horsehair. Dionysius explained that this is an emblem of the dangers to which he, as a ruler, is constantly exposed, despite his seemingly happy life.
5. Gifts of the Danaans. - “insidious” gifts that bring with them death for those who receive them.
A Trojan horse is a secret, insidious plan (hence the Trojan virus (Trojan)).
The expressions originate from Greek tales of the Trojan War. The Danaans (Greeks), after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, resorted to cunning: they built a huge wooden horse, left it near the walls of Troy, and themselves pretended to sail away from the shore of the Troas. Priest Laocoon, seeing this horse and knowing the tricks of the Danaans, exclaimed: “Whatever it is, I am afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts! “But the Trojans, not listening to the warnings of Laocoon and the prophetess Cassandra, dragged the horse into the city. At night, the Danaans, hiding inside the horse, came out, killed the guards, opened the city gates, let in their comrades who had returned on ships, and thus took possession of Troy.
A myth is a story that arose from the most early stages stories. And his fantastic images ( legendary heroes, gods) were a kind of attempt to explain and generalize many natural phenomena and events occurring in society. Mythology reflects both the aesthetic attitude of the individual to reality and moral views. The most famous and popular today are Many of them are used in literature and rituals. And phraseological units from ancient Greek myths are expressions that can be heard everywhere. However, not everyone knows where this or that comes from. catchphrase. So, let's figure out which phraseological units from myths we use and why.
Augean stables
We use this phrase when we are talking about a room that is too dirty, where there is complete chaos. Or we call it an enterprise, an organization where all things are running. Why do we say this? The fact is that in Greek mythology, these stables are the huge possessions of the king of Elis - Augeas, which have not been restored to order for many years. And Hercules cleared them in one day, channeling the Alpheus River through the stables. This water took all the dirt with it. This phraseological unit from the myths of Ancient Greece became known thanks to the historian. It was he who first told about this myth.
Ariadne's thread
This is another phraseological unit from the myths of Ancient Greece, which in figuratively means an opportunity, a guiding thread, a way to help find a way out of a difficult situation. Ariadne in mythology is the daughter of Pasiphae and the Cretan king named Minos. When Prince Theseus arrived in Crete, doomed along with other guys to be devoured by the Minotaur, the girl fell in love with him. And the Minotaur lived in the Labyrinth, where there were a huge number of passages. Once a person entered there, he would never get out. Ariadne gave Theseus a large ball of thread, which the guy unwound, getting to the monster. Having killed the Minotaur, Theseus easily left the room thanks to the threads.
Sink into oblivion
In Greek mythology there was a river of oblivion - Lethe, which flowed in the underground kingdom. When the soul of a deceased person tasted the water from this source, it forever forgot about earthly life. This phraseological unit from the myths of Ancient Greece means - to disappear without a trace, to disappear into an unknown place, etc.
Wheel of Fortune
In mythology, Fortuna is the goddess of happiness and misfortune, of blind chance. She is always depicted standing on a wheel or ball, blindfolded. In one hand she has a steering wheel, which indicates that fortune decides the fate of a person, and in the other - a cornucopia, indicating the prosperity that the goddess can give. A wheel or ball speaks of its constant variability. Using this phraseological unit from the myths of Ancient Greece, we mean blind chance, happiness.
Panic fear
This is another phraseological unit that we use almost every day. Pan in mythology is the god of flocks and shepherds. Pan is capable of instilling such fear in a person that he will run headlong wherever his eyes look, without even thinking that the road will lead to inevitable death. Hence the expression, which means a sudden, unaccountable fear that grips a person.