希腊罗马神话期末考试

Section1：T or F

Section2：Choice

Section3：Explain idioms

• 1. Pandora’s Box 灾难之盒

含义：to open Pandora's box means to create evil that cannot be undone.

来源：Pandora's box involves a mythological story in which the a box was given to a human who was warned never to open the box, but his curiosity made him open it resulting in a disaster.

• 2. The Horn of Amalthea丰饶角

含义：A symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form.

来源：One day, as Amalthea played with little Zeus, she accidentally broke off her horn. To make up for it and as a sign of gratitude, Zeus made the broken horn always be full of whatever its owner desired.

• 3. The Midas/Golden Touch点石成金

含义：Ability to turn everything he touched into . if someone has the Midas touch, everything they do is successful and makes money for them

来源：Midas’s job knew no bounds and as soon as he got home, he ordered the servants to set a splendid repast on the table.

• 4. A Procrustean Bed 强迫一致

含义：When something is Procrustean, different lengths or sizes or properties are fitted to an arbitrary standard.

来源：Procrustes was a rogue smith and bandit from Attica who physically attacked people by stretching them or cutting off their legs, so as to force them to fit the size of an iron bed.

• 5. Sow the Dragon Teeth挑起纠纷

含义：The dragon's teeth, once planted, would grow into fully armed warriors.

来源：In , dragon’s teeth feature prominently in the legends of the Phoenician prince Cadmus and Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece.

• 6. Apple of Discord祸根

含义：A euphemism for a small matter that could lead to a bigger dispute.

来源：The Greek goddess of discord, , became disgruntled after she was excluded from the wedding of and . In retaliation, she tossed a golden apple inscribed (‘for the most beautiful one'), into the wedding party. Three goddesses claimed the apple: , , and . of was appointed to select the recipient. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite, thus indirectly causing the .

•7. The Heel of Achilles唯一的弱点

含义：A deadly weakness in spite of overall strength, that can actually or potentially leads to downfall

来源：The mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, metaphorical references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to downfall are common.

Thetis treated Achilles with Ambrosia, making him invulnerable. Thetis burned away his mortality in the house fire except on the heel, with which he was held.

Thetis dipped the infant Achilles in the river Styx, holding onto him by his heel.

•8. Penelope’s Web永远做不完的工作

含义：The tactics of delaying sth on purpose; the task that can never be finished

来源：Penelope is the wife of Odysseus who was called to fight in the Trojan War. She waits twenty years for the final return of her husband .In order to put off remarriage, She has devised tricks to delay her suitors, one of which is to pretend to be weaving a burial shroud for Odysseus's elderly father Laertes and claiming that she will choose a suitor when she has finished. Every night for three years, she undoes part of the shroud, until Melantho, one of twelve unfaithful serving women, discovers her chicanery and reveals it to the suitors.

•9. Between Scylla and Charybdis进退维谷

含义：Being between Scylla and Charybdis is an idiom expresses the meaning of "having to choose between two evils".

来源：Scylla was rationalized as a rock shoal (described as a six-headed sea monster) on the Italian side of the strait and Charybdis was a whirlpool off the coast of Sicily. They were regarded as a sea hazard located close enough to each other that they posed an inescapable threat to passing sailors; avoiding Charybdis meant passing too close to Scylla and vice versa. According to Homer, Odysseus was forced to choose which monster to confront while passing through the strait; he opted to pass by Scylla and lose only a few sailors, rather than risk the loss of his entire ship in the whirlpool.

•10. Necklace of Harmonia不祥之物

含义：Necklace of Harmonia brought great misfortune to all of its wearers or owners.

来源：Aphrodite bore a daughter, Harmonia, from Ares' seed. Harmonia married Cadmus, the founder of Thebes. Upon hearing of the royal engagement, Hephaestus presented Harmonia with an exquisite necklace as a wedding gift. The necklace was made by Hephaestus' own hand and was cursed to bring disaster to any who wore it.