12words
Greek Myth inspired by
Atlas
An atlas is a book of maps, named after a character of Greek myth of the same name. Atlas was the titan of astronomy and navigation from primordial times. In the epic war between the Titans and the Olympians, Atlas sided with his brother and the Titans. When the Titans were defeated, Zeus imprisoned many of them in Tartarus, the equivalent to hell in Hades, but Atlas’ fate was to forever hold up the celestial sphere.
Sculpture of Atlas made by Santiago de Compostela.
Chaos
Chaos is a word meaning disorder or extreme confusion. According to Ovid’s, Metamorphoses, Chaos was the gap from which the whole universe sprang. Chaos represented the disorder before the gods.
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Music
The nine muses, on a Roman sarcophagus from the 2nd century AD, from the Lourve
The word ‘music’ or ‘musical’ can be attributed to the Greek Muses. These goddesses, nine in number, were thought to be the ones who provide inspiration for the arts, including music. They were considered the source of the knowledge needed to complete matters of the arts.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a sleep-like state of consciousness. Hypnos was the Greek god of sleep who lived in a dark cave where the sun never penetrated. Other words have been derived from his Roman name, Somnus, for example, insomnia.
Martial
Hypnos and Thanatos, Sleep and His HalfBrother Death by John William Waterhouse
Martial is a word that means ‘warlike’ and relates to an army or to military life, think martial arts. Mars, the Roman god of War is the equivalent to the Greek god Ares, and also serves as the inspiration for this word.
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Tantalizing
Tantalizing which means to tempt but tortuously never allow the temptation to be fulfilled. Tantalus was a half-god and half-nymph who had killed and prepared his son for a dinner party with other gods. As punishment, Tantalus was forced to stand in a pool of water below a fruit tree Whenever he would reach down to take a drink, the waters would recede and whenever he reached up to pluck some fruit, the branches would rise up out of his reach. Thus Tantalus spent the rest of eternity being tantalized by water and food that he could never have.
Fortune The Forge of Vulcan by Diego Valazquez (1630)
Fortuna was a Roman goddess, and the personification of luck. Fortune is a word defined as chance or luck as an external, arbitrary force affecting human affairs.
Volcano A volcano is an opening in the earth through which lava erupts, and it’s name was inspired by the god of fire, Vulcan, Roman counterpart to the Greek Hephaestas.
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Fate The three Moirai, Flemish tapestry, ca. 1520
Nemesis
Fate is defined as predestined turn of events. This word is derived from the Greek myth based on the notion of the “thread of life”. The Fates, or Moirai, were three sisters, Lachesis, who allots each man a length of the thread of life, Clotho who would spin the thread, and Atropos , who would cut it. No one — not even the gods — could alter their decisions. (The word ‘cloth’ can also be attributed to Clotho, as it is material made by weaving)
A nemesis is a rival or enemy. In ancient Greece, Nemesis was the god who took revenge against those who showed arrogance before the gods.
Chronological When events are categorized chronologically, it means that they are arranged in order of time of occurrence. Cronos was the Greek personification of time, often depicted as a “Father Time” figure, as an old man with a long, gray beard. Not to be confused with the Titan Cronus, father of Zeus.
Erotic
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Erotic is a word that describes things that
are sexual in nature. Erôs was the son of Aphrodite and therefore the Greek god of love and sexual desire, his Roman counterpart was cupid.
The Eros Farnese of Thespiae by Praxiteles