Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
69 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Abraham & Isaac
|
- Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac
- Son spared and Abraham received lord's blessing - symbolic of willingness to demonstrate faith (faith shall be rewarded) |
|
|
Achilles
|
- hero of Homer's Iliad
- slew trojan hero Hector - mother dipped him into river styx - slain by paris who shot an hero into his heel - Achilles heel refers to the vulnerable part of a person's character |
|
|
Agamemnon
|
- king who sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to win the god's favor for his war against Troy
- Unfaithful husband of Clytemnestra |
|
|
Antigone
|
- daughter of Oedipus
- symbolic of choice between god's authority and civil authority - symbolic of choice between justice and law |
|
|
Atlas
|
- titans who rebelled against Zeus
- holds heavens on his sholders |
|
|
Be Bread Alone
|
- Chris said "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word .... of God."
- refers to the idea faith can provide spiritual sustenance |
|
|
Cain and Abel
|
(Genesis)
- Cain murdered brother Abel out of jealousy - reference to innocent blood - archetypal brother vs. brother |
|
|
Camel through a Needle's Eye
|
Jesus the Pharisees for striving to strain out a gnat, yet being willing to swallow a camel
- Easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven |
|
|
Cassandra
|
- daughter of Priam, King of troy
- possessed the gift of prophecy but was fated by Apollo to never be believed (Prophet of Doom) |
|
|
Cast the first stone
|
- In John a woman caught in adultery was to be publicly stoned, Jesus said "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her..."
- Warning of hypocrisy |
|
|
Daedalus and Icarus
|
- Daedalus designed labyrinth that held the Minotaur
- Imprisoned with son (I) - designed wings to escape - (I) flew too close to sun (Apollo, sun god) - symbolic of the danger involved in daring to enter "the realm of the gods" |
|
|
Sword of Damocles
|
- Symbolic of impending peril
- seated at a banquet to see a sword over his head suspended by a thread - impending danger |
|
|
Damon and Pythias
|
- 2 inseparable friends who would lay down their lives for one another
- Symbolizes lasting friendship |
|
|
David and Bathsheba
|
- David had an adulteress relationship with Bathsheba and she became pregnant
- David sent husband into battle where he was killed - Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon |
|
|
David and Goliath
|
- David slew the "giant" Goliath
- Symbolic of defeating the unjust - later made way for Jack and the beanstalk |
|
|
Dionysus or Bacchus
|
- god of wine
- overuse or excess |
|
|
Divide the sheep from the goats
|
- biblical parable explaining the time of judgment, when the faithful would be separated from the unfaithful, true from false, worthy from unworthy
|
|
|
eye for an eye
|
practice of specific and equal punishment for a transgression
|
|
|
Garden of Gethsemane
|
Garden outside Jerusalem where the betrayal of Jesus took place
- Symbolizes a place of physical suffering |
|
|
Holy Grail
|
-The chalice or cup that caught the blood from Christ's side
- Object of a quest on parts of the knights of the round table |
|
|
Heap coals of fire
|
- treating enemy with kindness= heaping coals of fire upon them
- lesson in mercy and cautions - be kind to your enemy |
|
|
Iphigenia
|
- eldest child of Agamemnon
-sacrificed in exchange for a guarantee of fair winds for battle against Troy |
|
|
Isaac
|
Isaac's son jacob was a recipient of the promise of covenant with god
|
|
|
Jacob
|
biblical patriarch who 12 sons were founders of the 12 tribes of Israel
- name later changed to Israel |
|
|
Jacob and Esau
|
- twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah
- Jacob was cleverer, Esau sold Jacob his birthright in a moment of weakness -Symbolizes discord of birthright |
|
|
Jacob's Ladder
|
- dreamed of ladder from earth to heaven and heard the voice of god promise land and favor to his descendants
- Symbolizes path to god and heaven |
|
|
Jezebel
|
- Phoenician princess who married king Ahab and urged him to sin
- name given to a false prophet - a seductive woman who leads the hero astray |
|
|
Joseph and brothers
|
(Genesis)
- 11th son of Jacob - brothers became jealous and sold him into slavery - saved Egypt by accurately interpreting the pharaoh's dream of 7 lean cattle - forgave his brothers and shared grain with the tribes |
|
|
Jonah
|
- old testament prophet by god to warn Nineveh of its sinful condition
- god struck the ship with a terrible story - god caused Jonah to be swallowed by a huge whale - prayed and repented and the whale spit him out onto land |
|
|
Judas Iscariot
|
- betrayed Jesus by selling him out for thirty pieces of silver and identifying him with a kiss
- committed suicide - prototype of an ultimate betrayer |
|
|
Judgment of Paris
|
- beauty contest
- Paris, handsomest man, was the judge - Eris threw an apple marked to the fairest (hera, athena, and aphrodrite fought over it) - Paris chose Aphrodite and promised the love of Helen in return - sparked trojan war |
|
|
Know them by their fruits
|
- Christ warns against wolves in sheep's clothing
- judge others by actions and not appearances |
|
|
Labors of Hercules
|
- 12 difficult tasks had to be completed before becoming immortal
|
|
|
Lamb to the Slaughter
|
- servant of the lord thow took the sins of his people on himself and sacrificed himself for the expiation
- Christ is referred to as the sacrificial lamb |
|
|
Leda
|
- Zeus came to Leda in the shape of a swan to father 4 children
- favorite theme of Michelangelo and Dali |
|
|
Lion lies down with the lamb
|
- classic image of idyllic harmony
|
|
|
Lot(s) Wives
|
(Genesis)
- Moral Inhabitant of sinful city of Sodom - nephew of Abraham - family warned of impending doom - took his wife and daughter's and fled, god told them not to look back but his wife couldn't resist - Symbolizes that God punishes those who are disobedient |
|
|
Mammon
|
- wealth
- evil personification of riches |
|
|
Mary (The Virgin)
|
- Mother of Jesus and wife of Joseph
- Symbolic of Purity, virginity, and maternal love |
|
|
Medusa
|
-chief of three gorgons
- killed by Perseus who took her head with a sword given to him by Hermes - Pegasus the winged horse sprang from her blood |
|
|
Minotaur
|
- monster with bull's head and a man's body
- Poseidon sent a bull from the sea and Minos was crowned king of Crete, neglected to sacrifice Poseidon's bull - Minos' wife and the bull had a baby -> Minotaur - imprisoned in labyrinth built by Daedalus |
|
|
Moses
|
- received 10 commandments from Jehovah
-child rescued by pharaoh's daughter and raised to be the prince of Egypt -not permitted to enter the promise lang |
|
|
Nemesis
|
- personification of righteous anger
- the word currently refers to an unbeatable enemy |
|
|
Noah and the flood
|
(Genesis)
- god decided to punish the wicked world with a flood - choose Noah to build an Ark - 40 days and 40 nights |
|
|
Odyssey
|
Odysseus' journey with his men after the trojan war
|
|
|
Pandora
|
- 1st woman, given the power to bring about the ruin of mankind
- curiosity made her open the box and all the evils flew out and they have continued to harm humans ever since |
|
|
Persephone
|
- Goddess of fertility
- daughter of Zeus and Demeter - Kidnapped by Hades - spent half the year with Hades and the rest with her mother |
|
|
Philistines
|
- traditional enemies of Israelites fought against Samson, david, and other jewish heroes
|
|
|
Nirvana
|
- Sanskrit word that means going out (like a light)
- Buddhists believe that it is the doctrine of release, a state of perfect bliss |
|
|
Mary Magdalene
|
- reformed prostitute who may have been the woman saved from the mob
- washed Jesus' feet with tears -present at crucifixion - 1st to see the tomb open 3 days later - Symbolizes power of forgiveness |
|
|
Phoenix
|
- mythical bird that lived for 500 years, burned to death, and rose from its own ashes
- Symbolizes death and resurrection |
|
|
Prodigal Son
|
- younger son who wastes his inheritance
- his father forgives him and celebrates his homecoming over his brother's protests |
|
|
Prometheus
|
- Titan and champion of men against gods
- stole fire from Mt. Olympus and gave the precious gifts to the humans - Zeus nailed him to a mountain where n eagle tore out his entrails each day and the regenerated over night |
|
|
Pygmalion
|
- sculptor, and king of Cyprus, who created a statue of Aphrodite
- Aphrodite brought the statue to life and he married her (Galatea) |
|
|
Romulus & Remus
|
- twin sons of mars and an vestal virgin
- thrown into Tiber but found by a herdsman and his wife - founded Rome and fought over it - Romulus killed Remus |
|
|
Ruth
|
- Moabite widow who refused to abandon her mother-in-law Naomi
- eventually married Boaz and became the great-grandmother of David |
|
|
Satyrs
|
- Woodland demigods
- Followers of Dionysus - known for chasing wood nymphs |
|
|
Scylla and Charybdis
|
- Jealous Circe turned Scylla into a sea monster with 12 feet and 6 heads
- Charybdis was hurled into sea by Zeus, created a whirlpool - Straits of Messina |
|
|
Sisyphus
|
- cheated death by telling telling his wife to forgo usual birthrights when he died , thus giving him permission to return from the underworld to punish her
- condemned but eternally rolling a huge rock up a hill only to have it roll back down |
|
|
Sodom and Gomorrah
|
2 major cities destroyed by fire and brimstone
- Symbols of Debauchery |
|
|
Solomon
|
- wised and grandest of the kings of Israel
- Son of David and Bathsheba - Solomon-like decision: two woman 1 baby, he said baby should be cut in half and the fake mother agreed while the real mother was willing to give up her claim so it would live |
|
|
Sphinx
|
- monster with the face of a woman, body of a lion, and wings of a bird
- posed a riddle the citizens of Thebes -Oedipus answered correctly - what walks on four legs in the morning, two at midday, and 3 in the evening (a man) - represents monumental silence |
|
|
Styx
|
- one of the five rivers of hell
- Charon carried the dead of the underworld across it |
|
|
Thirty Pieces of Silver
|
- Amount paid to Judas Iscariot for betraying Jesus by identifying him with a kiss
- refers to betrayal and treachery |
|
|
Through a glass darkly
|
- Paul prophesied a time for perfect love and clarity of the knowledge of god
- writers who wish to convey the opposite of perfect love and clear knowledge through irony |
|
|
Tower of Babel
|
- Descendants of Noah built a tower to reach heaven
- Jehovah, unhappy with their hubris, confounded their speech so they could not understand each other - biblical explanation for various languages around the world |
|
|
Trojan Horse
|
- large wooden horse designed and built like by the Greeks as a gift to Athena
- placed troops inside the horse and at night the crept out and took Troy at last |
|
|
Utopia
|
- ideal society, where ignorance, crime, and injustice do not exist
|
|
|
Waterloo
|
- town in Belgium where Napolean was resoundingly defeated in 1815
- refers to a crushing, final defeat |
