This Classical Life

A Little Classical Education a Day

Posts tagged myth

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centralscience: The name tantalum comes from the Greek tale of Tantalus who was eternally tortured by unsatisfied temptation when he was condemned* to stand in chin-deep water under a tree which grew perfect fruit. The water which would quench his thirst would drain if he bent to drink it and the branches of the tree would move out of his grasp if he’d try to reach for the fruit (hence the word ‘tantalize’). According to the wiki, Anders Ekeberg, who discovered tantalum, wrote: This metal I call tantalum … partly in allusion to its incapacity, when immersed in acid, to absorb any and be saturated. The story also goes that it was named this way in part because of the hard time chemists had in purifying the element from its ores. *oh, he was condemned for offering his son as a sacrifice to the gods…. by cutting him up, boiling him, and serving him to them…

centralscience:

The name tantalum comes from the Greek tale of Tantalus who was eternally tortured by unsatisfied temptation when he was condemned* to stand in chin-deep water under a tree which grew perfect fruit. The water which would quench his thirst would drain if he bent to drink it and the branches of the tree would move out of his grasp if he’d try to reach for the fruit (hence the word ‘tantalize’). According to the wiki, Anders Ekeberg, who discovered tantalum, wrote:

This metal I call tantalum … partly in allusion to its incapacity, when immersed in acid, to absorb any and be saturated.

The story also goes that it was named this way in part because of the hard time chemists had in purifying the element from its ores.

*oh, he was condemned for offering his son as a sacrifice to the gods…. by cutting him up, boiling him, and serving him to them…

(Source: Wikipedia)

Filed under myth chemistry

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A Greek word meaning TO DESTROY has the same sound as HELEN’s name. Obviously, Hell is the English equivalent of the pun. But I prefer not to use it, even at the expense of fidelity. Hell seems nowadays to lack dignity.
Edith Hamilton, AGAMEMNON (From a footnote) — 1939 W.W. Norton; 1965 Doris Fielding Reid, pg. 192 (via gidgetwidget)

Filed under greek homer edith hamilton myth

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iksbaie: Family tree of the Greek gods From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. ________________________________________________________________ [BONUS] Illustration about mythical creatures : (by Preshaa)

iksbaie:

Family tree of the Greek gods

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

________________________________________________________________

[BONUS]

Illustration about mythical creatures :

(by Preshaa)

Filed under myth

47 notes

thesilenceinthelibrary: Gods Behaving Badly / Marie Phillips So, I just realized they are making a movie of one of my favorite books! Gods Behaving Badly follows the Greek pantheon as they struggle to survive in a modern day London. Artemis is a dog-walker, Hermes has a blackberry, and Cupid is trying to straighten out his life in a suit and tie. The angle that really makes this an intellectual and intriguing read (though there are plenty of Apollo and Aphrodite sex hijinks) is that the plot revolves around ideas of faith, belief, and the “afterlife” of a religion. How do the Greek gods survive in the Judeo-Christian world? It’s funny, heart-warming, and of course, there’s a love story!  Also, I hear Christopher Walken’s playing ZEUS! 

thesilenceinthelibrary:

Gods Behaving Badly / Marie Phillips

So, I just realized they are making a movie of one of my favorite books! Gods Behaving Badly follows the Greek pantheon as they struggle to survive in a modern day London. Artemis is a dog-walker, Hermes has a blackberry, and Cupid is trying to straighten out his life in a suit and tie. The angle that really makes this an intellectual and intriguing read (though there are plenty of Apollo and Aphrodite sex hijinks) is that the plot revolves around ideas of faith, belief, and the “afterlife” of a religion. How do the Greek gods survive in the Judeo-Christian world? It’s funny, heart-warming, and of course, there’s a love story!

 Also, I hear Christopher Walken’s playing ZEUS! 

Filed under gods behaving badly marie phillips gods myth london

4 notes

Rufus Sewell as my favorite incarnation of King Agammenon (Helen of Troy miniseries, 2003) with James Callis (pictured background) as his brother Menelaus, King of Sparta. Of all the film/TV versions depicting fall of Troy, this miniseries takes the cake, and is most accurate as well, including material from the Oresteia and the story of the childhood abduction of Helen, as told in Illiad 3 and some fragments of Pindar.  But above all, Katie Blake plays a fantastic Clytemnestra and Agamemnon is just a fantastic creeper most of the movie. I mean, see for yourself here. 

Rufus Sewell as my favorite incarnation of King Agammenon (Helen of Troy miniseries, 2003) with James Callis (pictured background) as his brother Menelaus, King of Sparta. Of all the film/TV versions depicting fall of Troy, this miniseries takes the cake, and is most accurate as well, including material from the Oresteia and the story of the childhood abduction of Helen, as told in Illiad 3 and some fragments of Pindar. 

But above all, Katie Blake plays a fantastic Clytemnestra and Agamemnon is just a fantastic creeper most of the movie. I mean, see for yourself here. 

(Source: rufussewelldaily)

Filed under greek myth helen troy rufus sewell

7 notes

mywelshrabbit: Clearly, you come to New York to study Classics.  So, I have to give my two cents about the Percy Jackson book series by Rick Riordan. In short, this young adult series does a fantastic job of updating a vast array of Greek (Percy Jackson and the Olympains series) and Roman (The Heros of Olympus series) history and mythology for a YA-T audience. There is a movie (2010) already on DVD based on the first book, The Lightening Thief. The series revolves around a teenage Percy Jackson and his demi-god friends who must stop the time-old feud between Gods and Titans from destroying the world.  Also, Sean Bean as Zeus? Do not miss. 

mywelshrabbit:

Clearly, you come to New York to study Classics. 

So, I have to give my two cents about the Percy Jackson book series by Rick Riordan. In short, this young adult series does a fantastic job of updating a vast array of Greek (Percy Jackson and the Olympains series) and Roman (The Heros of Olympus series) history and mythology for a YA-T audience. There is a movie (2010) already on DVD based on the first book, The Lightening Thief. The series revolves around a teenage Percy Jackson and his demi-god friends who must stop the time-old feud between Gods and Titans from destroying the world. 

Also, Sean Bean as Zeus? Do not miss. 

Filed under percy jackson myth