Greek mythology lives on in our language. Many words reached English through Latin; others were coined in modern times by scientists and writers who knew the classics.
Words
| Word | Comes from | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Panic | Pan | The woodland god suddenly frightened travellers |
| Museum | The Muses | The Mouseion was a place sacred to the Muses; in Alexandria it was a centre of learning |
| Music | The Muses | The "art of the Muses" |
| Echo | The nymph Echo | She could only repeat others' last words |
| Narcissism | Narcissus | He fell in love with his own reflection |
| Chimera | The Chimera | An impossible monster, hence "an idle dream" |
| Chaos | Chaos | The primordial void from which the world was born |
| Ocean | Oceanus | Titan of the river that circled the earth |
| Atlas | Atlas | The Titan holding up the sky, shown on early collections of maps |
| Hypnosis | Hypnos | God of sleep |
| Morphine | Morpheus | God of dreams |
| Erotic | Eros | God of love |
| Aphrodisiac | Aphrodite | Goddess of love and beauty |
| Chronology | Chronos, time | Often confused with the Titan Cronus, who swallowed his children |
| Titanic | The Titans | Giants of enormous strength |
| Herculean | Hercules (Heracles) | Extraordinary strength or effort |
| Mentor | Mentor | Odysseus entrusted Telemachus to him; Athena took his form to advise the boy |
| Harpy | The Harpies | A greedy, nasty woman |
| Siren | The Sirens | A warning signal, but also a seductive woman |
| Nemesis | Nemesis | Goddess who punishes arrogance |
| Iris | Iris | Messenger of the gods, the rainbow |
| Tantalize | Tantalus | Tormented by food and water always out of reach |
| Arachnid | Arachne | Turned into a spider by Athena |
Idioms
- Achilles' heel: someone's weak spot (Achilles).
- Opening Pandora's box: unleashing a chain of troubles (Pandora).
- Ariadne's thread: whatever helps you out of a tangle (Theseus).
- A Sisyphean task: work that never ends (the underworld).
- The apple of discord: the cause of a quarrel (Trojan War).
- Trojan horse: a trick that slips in unseen; in computing, malicious software in disguise.
- Between Scylla and Charybdis: caught between two dangers (monsters).
- A Herculean labour: an extremely hard task (the twelve labours).
- An odyssey: a long journey full of obstacles (Odysseus).
- In the arms of Morpheus: fast asleep.
Famous names
Brands and scientific projects borrow names from myth too: NASA's Apollo moon missions and Artemis programme, the European Hermes spaceplane project, sports shoes named after Nike, goddess of victory, and many more.
See also the myth glossary.