Language & Mythology: Achilles' Heel

Achilles was a hero in Greek mythology. He was an important person in the Trojan War, and in Homer's Iliad. Achilles was the son of Peleus and the nereid Thetis.
The meaning of the phrase Achilles' heel is "a weak or vulnerable factor".

The legend of Achilles has it that he was dipped into the river Styx by his mother Thetis in order to make him invulnerable. His heel wasn't covered by the water and he was later killed by an arrow wound to his heel.

In the Trojan War, Achilles was the best Greek warrior-hero. He killed Hector, but was killed by Paris, who shot his heel with a poisoned arrow.

Although the legend is ancient, the phrase Achilles' heel wasn't picked up in English until the 19th century. It is used as a metaphor for vulnerability, as in the earliest citation, an essay by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in The Friend; a literary, moral and political weekly paper, 1810:
"Ireland, that vulnerable heel of the British Achilles!"

Language & Mythology: The Trojan Horse

- The Story Behind the Horse

A Trojan horse is someone or something that is accepted because it seems good or hamrless, but that is really intended to cause harm:
Senator Simon claimed the new law would reduce violence on TV, but opponents have attacked it as being a “Trojan horse” that would lead to censorship of TV programming.
The term comes from Greek mythology: the Trojan horse was a wooden horse used by Greek soldiers to trick their enemies the Trojans during the Trojan War. The Greeks hid inside a large wooden model of a horse and were taken into Troy by Trojan soldiers, who thought that it was a gift.

- The Woman Behind The War

Helen of Troy was the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris; the Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back which resulted in the Trojan War
The Trojan War is a war which is said to have been fought between the Greeks and Trojans because the Trojan prince Paris had carried off Helen, wife of Menelaus, a Greek king. The war was won by a trick in which Greek soldiers hid inside the Trojan horse. Homer describes the Trojan War in his book The Iliad.

Mythology & Language: Echo and Narcissus

Echo

Echo was a nymph in Greek Mythology. She was very beautiful, but loved her own voice.
According to the Ancient Roman poet Ovid, Echo once had the job of distracting Hera (Zeus' wife) while Zeus was having relationships with other women. She did this by leading Hera away and flattering her. When Hera found out she was very angry with Echo. She put a curse on her that meant that she could only speak the last words of other people after she had heard them. It is due to this story that we get the meaning behind the word echo.

Narcissus

After she was cursed, Echo fell in love with Narcissus. Narcissus was very handsome and anybody who saw him always fell in love with him. However, Narcissus had no heart and could not fall in love with anybody. Echo could not speak to Narcissus but wanted to be able to see him. She therefore followed him everywhere, but made sure that he could not see her.
Narcissus got lost and called out "Is anyone here?". Echo said back "Here, here, here." Narcissus then asked Echo to come out of her hiding place. Echo did so and then told Narcissus that she loved him by hand movements. Narcissus, who was angry that so many people loved him, told Echo that he did not love her.
Echo was very upset and prayed to the goddess Aphrodite for death. Aphrodite granted Echo's wish, but she liked Echo's voice so much she kept it alive.
As Narcissus had rejected Echo and broken her heart, she then went and haunted valleys and mountainous ares where echoes are able to be heard in all hollow places of the earth.
Narcissus was renowned for his beauty. He was exceptionally proud and he disdained those who loved him. As divine punishment he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool, not realizing it was merely an image. When Narcissus realised he was in love with his own reflection, he became utterly distraught and realising no way to fulfill his love, he took his hunting knife and stabbed himself through the heart. As the blood drops fell to the ground they produced the first growth of the Daffodil, also known as the Narcissus flower (or plant).
The term narcissism means an excessive love or admiration of oneself. It is also used to refer to a psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem. Narcissism is then defined as the attribute of the human psyche charactized by admiration of oneself but within normal limits.

Language & Mythology: The Cassandra Complex

In ancient Greek stories, Cassandra was the daughter of Priam, the King of Troy. The god Apollo gave her the power to see what would happen in the future, but he also made sure that no one would believe her, so when she warned her father that the Greeks could use the Trojan Horse to take control of Troy, no one believed her. Struck by her beauty, Apollo had provided her with the gift of prophecy, but when Cassandra refused Apollo's romantic advances, he placed a curse ensuring that nobody would believe her warnings. Cassandra was then left with the knowledge of future events, but could neither alter these events nor convince others of the validity of her predictions.
People are sometimes called a “Cassandra” if they warn that something bad will happen, but no one believes them. The Cassandra metaphor (variously labelled the Cassandra 'syndrome', 'complex', 'phenomenon', 'predicament', 'dilemma', or 'curse'), is a term applied in situations in which valid warnings or concerns are dismissed or disbelieved.

Language & Mythology: Oedipus Complex

In ancient Greek stories, Oedipus was the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. When he was a baby, Oedipus was left to die on a mountain by his father, but he was found and taken to live with the King of Corinth, so he did not know who his real parents were. When he became an adult, Oedipus returned to Thebes and, without knowing who they were, killed his father and married his mother. The story is told in the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.
The Oedipus complex is an unconscious desire that a son feels for his mother, combined with a hatred for his father, according to Freudian psychology.

Phrases from Mythology: Sisyphean Task

In ancient Greek stories, Sisyphus was an evil king whose punishment after death was to roll a very large stone to the top of a steep hill. Each time he got near to the top of the hill, the stone rolled down to the bottom, and he had to start again, and he had to continue doing this for ever. A very difficult job that seems impossible to finish is sometimes described as a "Sisyphean task".