| A | B |
|---|
| aegis | the piece of defensive armor or protective shield carried by Zeus, the sight on which filled enemies with horror |
| epicurean | Epicurus, the founder of a school of philosophy, believed the supreme goal in life should be pleasure |
| mentor | faithful advisor to whom Odysseus entrusted the education of his son, Telemachus, while he fought at Troy |
| chimerical | Chimera, a fire-breathing monster with a lion head, a goat body, and a dragon tail |
| labyrinth | built to contain the monster Minotaur (cleverly killed by Theseus), this maze was a masterpiece of confusion |
| palladium | the statue walls of Pallas was prophesied to protect the city of Troy as long as it remained inside the city's walls. |
| museum | the Muses, nine Greek goddesses, presided over arts and literature. This structure was the name of their temple. |
| narcissism | Narcissus fell in love with himself after seeing his own reflection in a pool. He pined away and died of despair. |
| Herculean | Hera, wife of Zeus, arranged for Hercules to be given penance of performing 12, apparently impossible, tasks |
| laconic | the disciplined and militaristic Spartans were known for being blunt and using words sparingly |
| zephyr | this mild westwind is the harbinger of spring and always supplants the cold northerly winds of winter. |
| nemesis | this goddess doled out rewards for noble acts but vengeance for evil ones. Punishment wasn't always immediate. |
| odyssey | Homer's hero had adventures with Calypso, Circe, and the Cyclops, among others, before returning to Troy. |
| meander | a Turkish river which was known in ancient times for its crooked and wandering course. |
| stoical | a Greek philosophical school believing that one should avoid joy, grief, and passions, in order to obtain wisdom. |
| protean | This sea-god would reveal the secret of getting home, but he had to be caught first before he changed forms. |
| flora | the name of the goddess of spring and flowering plants, especially wild flowers and plants not raised for food. |
| ambrosia | Homer, in the Iliad, said that Zeus sent out his workers every day to bring back this delicious substance. |
| hermetic | Hermes was the god who conducted souls to the judges of the Underworld where one's afterlife was determined. |
| promethean | Prometheus protected the human race from Zeus and taught them all the arts and skills to make humans unique |
| nectar | beverage of the gods like the divine food, ambrosia, conferring immortality on any mortal lucky enough to find it. |
| sibylline | In the Aeneid, a priestess delivered a prophesy that led Aeneas to his father in the Underworld. |
| tantalize | Tantalus so offended the gods that he was condemned in the afterlife to an eternity of hunger and thirst |
| Delphic | the oracle of Apollo in Delphi made pronouncements that would be the right answer regardless of the outcome. |
| halcyon | This is the Greek word for kingfisher, a bird of classical legend, that the Greeks believed could nest at sea. |
| platonic | The Greek philosopher, Plato, believed that physical objects are weak representations of their ideal form. |
| draconian | Draco, an Athenian legislator in the 600s B.C., was noted for the severity of his code of laws. |
| calypso | She was the sea nymph who detained Odysseus for seven years on her lush and hidden island of Ogygia. |
