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47 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Abraham and Isaac
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Abraham's faith was tested by God, who asked him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. As Abraham put the knife to Isaac's throat, an angel told the father to free his son. Because of Abraham's faith and willingness to sacrifice, God promised Abraham that his descendents would be the chosen people of Israel.
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burning bush
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In the Book of Exodus, through a burning bush, God reveals himself and his name (Yahweh) to Moses, and tells the shepherd that he will lead the chosen people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt to the land God has promised them.
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Cain and Abel
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In the Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel were the first sons of Adam and Eve. Cain killed Abel, possibly because Cain was jealous of God's higher praise for Abel's offering. Cain is thus the first murderer, and Abel is the first death. When God asked Cain where his brother was, Cain replied , "Am I my brother's keeper?"
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15 Minutes of Fame
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This phrase, said by Andy Warhol, describes that most people will be in the spotlight, or famous, for a short period of time. An example of someone who had his 15 minutes of fame is Larry Platt who sang "Pants on the Ground" on American Idol.
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Judgement of Paris
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In Greek mythology, all gods were invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, with the exception of Eris, goddess of discord. Angry about being turned away, Eris sent a golden apple labeled 'To The Fairest'. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena claimed the apple. Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris of Troy to settle the dispute. He chose Aphrodite who promised him the most beautiful woman for a wife, Helene. Helene's abduction led to the Trojan War, and ultimately the fall of the city.
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Pangloss
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After Dr. Pangloss in Voltaire's Candide, a pangloss was a person who viewed a situation with extreme enthusiasm.
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A voice in the wilderness
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It is a common expression and it means that you are the only person expressing a particular opinion while everybody else doesn't agree with you and ignores you instead. You feel as if you are alone in the wilderness talking to yourself.
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Manna
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a sustaining life-giving source or food (sweetish bread-like) made from dew and given by God to the Israelites on their journey with Moses through the Sinai Desert to the Promised Land.
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golden calf
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According to Exodus (in the bible), this was made by Aaron to satisfy the Israelites' fear of abandonment, while Moses was up in Mount Sinai for forty days receiving the Ten Commandments from God. Aaron declared it their god, and they idolized it. Moses saw this and shattered the Ten Commandments in anger.
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Not with a bang but a whimper.
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"Not with a bang but a whimper" came from the poem "Hollow Men" by T.S Elliot in 1925. It embodies an ending that should have had a great impact but ended up falling flat.
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Cogito ergo sum
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From the French philosopher René Descartes in his "Discourse on Method". This statement makes the argument "I think, therefore I am" to prove that a person who wonders if they exist, must exist in order to do so. It is also seen as "Dubito, ergo cognito, ergo sum" meaning "I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am".
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Herod
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According to the bible, Herod was the king of the jews. He heard Jesus was going to be born and become the new king, so he ordered a killing of all babies. This is sometimes referred to as a "massacre of the innocent."
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Salome
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In the bible, Salome is the daughter of Herod Antipas and Herodias. At her mother's request, Salome coaxes her father with a dance, after which he then offers to give her anything she pleases. Salome asks him for John the Baptist's head on a platter, which she brings to her mother.
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Nurse Ratched
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A fictional and main character of Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, as well as the 1975 film. She was cold and ruthless. Nurse Ratched has become the stereotype of the nurse as antagonistic and overbearing. She has also become a popular metaphor for the corrupting influence of power and authority in bureaucracies.
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Armada
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The Spanish fleet that sailed against England in 1588 known as the Spanish Armada.The Spanish Armada sailed from Spain in July 1588. The Spanish Armada's task was to overthrow protestant England lead by Queen Elizabeth I. The Spanish Armada proved to be an expensive disaster for the Spanish but for the English it was a celebrated victory.
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Camelot
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The term Camelot refers to the castle where the legendary King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table lived. The term is associated with optimism, hope, equality, romance, and idyllic happiness. It is also used to represent an ideal place with high ideals, purpose, excitement, and culture. Some people say that John Kennedy's presidency was Camelot, when all was well and there was a period of hope, optimism, potential, and promise for the future, but like the Arthurian legend, the Kennedy Camelot was short-lived.
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Et tu, Brute?
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It is Latin for " And you, Brutus? These were the last word said by Julies Caesar when he is about to die and realizes that Brutus has betrayed him. This is fictional and comes from the novel "Julies Caesar" by Shakespeare. This phrase is universally used when trying to show betrayal. Betrayal.
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Cheshire Cat
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Made famous as a character in "Alice In Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, in the book the cat always displays a wide grin on it's face. One of its known features is that it disappears and the last thing seen is it's mischievous grin.
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Muses
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The Muses were the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. The Muses are known for the music of their song, each Muse responsible for a different literary or poetic genre. Their specialties include history, tragedy, dance, astronomy, comedy, epic poetry, love poetry, songs to the gods, and lyric poetry.
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Solomon
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Biblical Jewish king famous for his wealth and for building the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Controlled the region from West Euphrates to Egypt around 967 B.C.E. Said to have over 700 wives and 300 concubines. Recognized for being witty and having great wisdom in a young age.
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Don Juan
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Don Juan is portrayed as a wealthy, seductive libertine who devotes his life to seducing women, taking great pride in his ability to seduce women of all ages and stations in life. His life is also punctuated with violence and gambling. He kills Don Gonzalo, the father of a girl he has seduced, Doña Ana. This leads to the famous last supper scene, whereby Don Juan invites the dead father to dinner. The ending depends on which version of the legend one is reading. Tirso's original play was meant as religious parable against Don Juan's sinful ways, and ends with his death, having been denied salvation by God
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Lion Lies Down With The Lamb
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This passage refers to a peaceful existence of creation. Lions are natural enemies, predators, of lambs. When Christ sets up His kingdom, nature will be at peace with one another, therefore the lamb will be able to lie down next to a lion.
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Ahab and Jezebel
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Jezebel was a princess who married Ahab, ruler the northern part of Isreal. Jezebel was a follower of the god Baal. This brought her into conflict with the prophet Elijah, who believed in Yahweh. After losing the competition between Baal/Yahweh, Jezebel died through being thrown from a balcony/her body eaten by dogs.
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Tower of Babel
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The Tower of Babel is a story told in the bible under the book of genesis. It focuses on a group of people generations after the Great Flood. They all spoke one language and migrated from the east. Their goal was to build a city with a tower that could reach to the heavens. As punishment for their pride, God divided humanity into many different languages and nations.
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Don Quixote, Sancho Panza
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Don Quixote de la Mancha is the main character of the book titled the same name. He is a middle aged man who has nearly gone blind from reading too many adventure books. So, he decides to go on an adventure himself to win the love of Dulciena. The story takes place inside the mind of Don Quixote, as well as in reality. But Don Quixote often has trouble distinguishing from either. Sancho Panza is a supporting character in the novel. He is a peasant who follows Don Quixote around because of greed and loyalty. Sancho is the only character to exist in and outside of Don Quixote's world. The allusion often relates to a hero's farsighted plight; a goal that is noble, but nearly impossible.
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The Furies
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The Furies are female deities of vengeance often depicted with the wings of a bat or bird and the body of a dog. The Furies in Greek Mythology were born from drops of blood that fell from Uranus after he was castrated by his son Cronus.
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Cleopatra
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Cleopatra was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, and she is known for her exceptional beauty and sex appeal because she was able to persuade the world's most powerful men to listen to her. After the lose of Battle Actium, Cleopatra killed herself with an asp bite in August.
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Leda
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daughter of the Aetolian king, Thestius, and wife of the king, Tyndareus, of Sparta. Her myth gave rise to the popular motif in Renaissance and later art of Leda and the Swan. She was the mother of Helen of Troy, Clytemnes, and Castor and Pollux.
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Romulus and Remus
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Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars and the Vestal Rhea Silvia, were the mythical founders of Rome. At birth they were placed in a basket and set afloat on the Tiber. The basket came aground at the grotto Lupercal, under a fig tree called Ruminal, where the twins were found and suckled by a she-wolf, and later raised by the shepherd family of Faustulus and and his wife, Acca Larentia. When young men, the brothers decided to found a city. After studying the flights of birds, and signs in the sky, it was determined that each Romulus and Remus would be in charge of a section of the new city, but the signs also determined that Romulus section would be twice the size of Remus' section. Romulus, using a plow pulled by a white cow and a white bull, cut a furrow to mark the boundary of his section. Remus, angry at his brother getting the larger part, jumped over the furrow into his brothers section, where Romulus killed him.
Romulus went on to build the city, which was named Rome after him. He was later deified and became associated with Quirinus, under whose name he was worshipped. |
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Sermon on the Mount
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A collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6 and 7). It is the first of the Five Discourses of Matthew and takes place relatively early in the Ministry of Jesus after he has been baptized by John the Baptist and preached in Galilee.
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Pyrrhus
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Started as a general/statesman of the Hellenistic era, but later became King of Epirus and King of the Molossians. He had costly military success against Macedonia and Rome which led to victory.
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Armada
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The Spanish fleet that sailed against England in 1588 known as the Spanish Armada.The Spanish Armada sailed from Spain in July 1588. The Spanish Armada's task was to overthrow protestant England lead by Queen Elizabeth I. The Spanish Armada proved to be an expensive disaster for the Spanish but for the English it was a celebrated victory.
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Phoenix
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A symbol of immortality or rebirth; named after the Egyptian Mythology phoenix, a long bird which lived in the Arabian desert and then consumed itself in fire, rising renewed from the flame to start another long life. The phoenix was subsequently adopted as a symbol in Early Christianity.
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Lamb to the Slaughter
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From biblical passage Isaiah 53 and later referenced in Roald Dahl's short story "the lamb to the slaughter". The allusion refers to the ingenuous/naive lamb's ignorance leading to its own demise. The lamb parallels pure innocence, and it is because of this innocence that it leads to it's own slaughtering.
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Crown of Thorns
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After the biblical account of a mock crown made of thorny branches that Roman soldiers placed on Jesus's head before his crucifixion; a religious allusion usually referring to any affliction that causes great suffering
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Delphi
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Greek methology. At Delphi messages were given from Apollo (son of Zeus. Apollo is the god of music) to the oracle. These messages were very obscure. Located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus.
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Samson and Delilah
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In the book of Judges, God gave Samson a special gift, almighty strength. He then told Samson to keep the secret of his strength, which was his hair, hidden from everyone. Delilah was paid by the philistines to seduce Samson and find out the origin of his strength. He finally gave in, and while asleep in delilahs lap, phiistine's guards came and cut his hair. With Samson being weakened he was captured. He was chained between two pillars for a sacrificial ritual, where he prayed to God and asked for one more ounce of strength. When God granted him this he brought the temple down along with everyone in it, including himself.
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Cast the First Stone
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This allusion comes from the Bible. A woman committed adultery, and she was taken to Jesus and asked if they should stone her. In reply Jesus said unto them "he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." What this means is that the men had no right to judge the woman because they were all guilty of a sin. The men were being hypocrites.
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Isaac and Ishmael
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In Genesis, Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar (his servant) was disowned in favor of his brother, Isaac, the son of Abraham and his wife, Sara. An Angel appeared to Hagar and spoke about Ishmael, saying, "His hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him." The name "Ishmael" has come to mean "outcast."
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Prometheus
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Prometheus is known for his intelligence and considered the "champion of mankind". He is credited with creating human kind from clay and giving man fire, which enabled civilization and progress.
Prometheus was a Titan in Greek Mythology. Because Prometheus was a trickster and a trouble maker Zeus sentenced him to eternal torment. |
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The Flood
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The flood is commonly associated with Noah’s ark. It was said that God could no longer tolerate the evilness and cruelty of humanity, so he decided to cleanse the earth via universal flood. It rained for forty days and nights, and the flood covered the earth for one hundred and fifty days before receding. Every living thing on earth was wiped out, except for those that were on Noah’s ark. After the event, God promised never to flood the earth again in order to erase humanity.
God's intended purpose was not to kill the people on earth, but the wickedness and sin that manifested in them. |
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Pericles' funeral oration
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A speech given from Pericles, who was an Athenian politician, at a public war funeral. The speech stands out because it goes against the typical speeches of public funerals and boasts about Athens' achievements and especially their belief in democracy. It was made to inspire the people of Athens in their time of war.
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labors of Hercules
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Hercules was known to be a hero in Greek mythology who was renowned for his strength and courage. He is best known for completing his 12 labors, which included killing or capturing legendary creatures, gaining various items, and diverting a river to clean out the stables of Augeas. A Herculean feat is one very hard to perform, especially one requiring great strength.
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Pygmalion
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An ancient Greek sculptor whose talent and love of art brought him to create many ivory statues. One day, he created a statue in the shape of a beautiful woman, and he clothed it and put jewels on it. He named it Galatea (sleeping love). He prayed that she would become human so that he could marry her. After turning human, Galatea fell in love with Pygmalion and they lived happily for the rest of their lives.
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Catch 22
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A paradoxical situation that is considered to have no solution. Often referred to as a "no-win" situation, where an answer to the problem creates another problem. It is usually caused by rules, regulations, and procedures that must be followed. It originated from the satirical novel by Joseph Heller
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lilies of the field
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"Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow." Matthew 6:28. This is referring to when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, and he's saying how people shouldn't worry about things such as clothes or food or water because God knows they need all of that, and He will provide it.
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Code of Hammurabi
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A Babylonian law code with punishments based off "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." The punishments are graded by social status as in free man versus slave.
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