英语中的希腊神话典故

英语中的希腊神话典故宁波的Lydia问：Tom，你好，我是一名英语系的学生。

在一次考试中，我碰到了“Achilles' heel”这个词组，当时怎么也猜不出它的意思，只好空在那里。

后来经老师讲评才得知这个词源于希腊神话。

后来，我留心地注意了一下，发现在英语中类似的词汇好像还真不少，所以想请你帮忙总结一些英文中比较常用的这类词语。

Tom：英语中有很多词语都源于希腊神话故事。

应Lydia的要求，本次，我就讲讲其中一些最为常用的表达法，以及它们背后的故事。

如果你能在别人面前讲出这些典故，相信大家都会对你刮目相看的。

Theseus & the MinotaurTheseus was the Athenian king's son who travelled to Crete and killed the terrible Minotaur, a monster that was half-man, half-bull. The Minotaur lived in a complex underground maze called the Labyrinth. Today, a labyrinth means a difficult maze, or anything that is very convoluted and confusing (e.g. "a labyrinth of rules and regulations").特修斯和弥诺陶洛斯特修斯是雅典国王之子，曾前往克利特岛杀死了可怕的半人半牛怪物——弥诺陶洛斯。

弥诺陶洛斯生活在一个名叫拉比林特斯（Labyrinth）的复杂地下迷宫里。

而今“labyrinth”的意思是一个难解的迷宫，或者那种非常令人费解与迷惑的事情（例如“a labyrinth of rules and regulations”）。

HerculesKnown in Greek as Herakles, he was the son of Zeus - king of the gods - and a mortal woman. He was famous for his amazing strength. He once killed his own children in a bout of temporary insanity, and was punished by having to undertake twelve near-impossible tasks for his cousin, King Eurystheus. From his name, we get the word Herculean, meaning incredibly strong or powerful (e.g. "Herculean strength") or very difficult (e.g. "a Herculean task").海格立斯在希腊语中被称为赫拉克勒斯的他，是宙斯（众神之王）和一个凡间女子所生之子。

他以其惊人的力量而著称。

因一时的精神失常，他曾杀死了自己的孩子，并受惩必须为其堂弟欧律斯透斯国王处置12项几乎不可能完成的任务。

从他的名字中，我们得到了一个词“Herculean”，意思是不可思议的强壮或强大（例如“Herculean strength”）或是非常困难（例如“a Herculean task”）。

The Trojan WarThe greatest Greek fighter in the war with the Trojans was Achilles, who was invulnerable except in one place - his heel, and that was just where the Trojan Paris fatally wounded him with an arrow. So a crucial weakness is called an Achilles' heel.The siege of Troy came to an end when the Greeks pretended to depart, leaving behind a massive wooden horse as a "gift". In fact, the horse contained soldiers, and when the Trojansbrought it inside their city, they sneaked out at night and opened the gates to let in the rest of their army. Now, a Trojan Horse means a seemingly benign enemy in your midst, and in computing refers to a kind of virus. The saying "beware of Greeks bearing gifts" also comes from this, meaning that you should not trust enemies who suddenly appear friendly to you.Another Greek warrior at Troy, Odysseus, angered the god of the sea and suffered great troubles and years of delay when he tried to sail home. This story was called The Odyssey and today, "an odyssey" means a long and eventful journey.特洛伊战争在与特洛伊人的这场战争中，最伟大的希腊斗士就是阿基里斯，此人身上除了一个部位，即他的脚踵之外，都是无懈可击的，而特洛伊的帕里司正是用箭射中了这个地方，给他造成了致命的伤害。

于是，致命弱点就被称作“Achilles' heel”。

当希腊人佯装退去，留下一匹巨大的木马作为“礼物”之时，特洛伊城之围便告一段落。

事实上，那匹马中藏有士兵，当特洛伊人将其带入城中之后，他们便在夜间偷偷溜了出来，打开城门将余下的军队放了进来。

如今，“Trojan Horse”的意思是指在你方人群之中有伪善之敌，而在计算机方面则指一种病毒。

谚语“beware of Greeks bearing gifts”（要小心带着礼物的希腊人）也是来缘于此，意思是指你不该相信那些突然对你友善相对的敌人。

特洛伊之战中的另一位希腊勇士——奥德修斯，曾惹恼了海神，于是在他试图乘船返乡的途中，遭遇到了巨大的麻烦，被拖延了数年时间。

这个故事被称为“奥德赛”，如今，“an odyssey”的意思就是指一段路遥多舛的旅程。

NarcissusEcho was a nymph cursed by Hera, queen of the gods, to have no power of speech except to repeat the words of others. Echo fell in love with the handsome Narcissus, but he wanted nothing to do with her. Heartbroken, she retreated to secluded caves, where her flesh began to wear away. Her bones turned to rocks, then only her voice was left. She is still ready to reply to anyone who calls her, says the legend, and that is why in mountains and caves if you shout out you will hear an echo.Now, Narcissus was not exactly a nice guy. He was incredibly vain and thought of no one but himself. He was punished by the goddess Artemis by being cursed to fall in love, but a kind of love that could never be fulfilled. Narcissus came upon a clear spring and, as he bent to take a drink, caught sight of himself for the first time, reflected in the pool. Try as he might to touch this exquisite person in the waters, however, he never could. His love was his obsession and he would not leave the stream to eat, nor disturb his image to drink and so he died of thirst and hunger and unrequited love of himself. Where he lay a flower grew, still called the narcissus flower. In modern English, if you call someone a narcissist, you are saying that they are completely in love with themselves.那喀索斯艾科（Echo）是一位仙女，遭到了众神之后赫拉的诅咒，丧失了说话能力，只能重复别人的话语。

艾科爱上了英俊的那喀索斯，但那喀索斯却不想与她产生任何关系。

伤心的她退居僻静的山洞，其肉体在那里开始消逝。