Allusions Study Of Greek Mythology

Elizabeth Elizalde
AP Literature
10/28/15

Allusions Study (Mythical and Biblical)

Mythology (Greco-Roman)

Icarus and Daedalus This classic ancient greek myth is about an exceptionally clever inventor named Daedalus who uses his talents to escape the island of Crete with his son Icarus. Before the conflict began King Minos asked Daedalus to build him a maze to imprison the Minotaur, years later Daedalus helps Theseus navigate through the labyrinth which infuriated King Minos. Desperately needing to escape the island, Daedalus invents wings made out of feathers and wax, though he warns his son not to fly too close to the sun nor too close to the ocean; as they’re flying away Icarus gets carried away and forgets his father's warning and plummets
Knowing that no one has ever made it out of the maze alive Princess Ariadne asks Daedalus to find a way for Theseus to make it out of the labyrinth alive. He advised Theseus to use a thread to trace his path to find his way out once he succeeded in defeating the Minotaur. He made it out alive and left the island of Crete with Princess Ariadne angering King Minos.

3) Prometheus and Fire The myth of Prometheus and fire is a classic example of the way ancient greeks used mythology to give reasoning to the way the world worked. The titan of foresight, Prometheus, is recognized as the one who gave fire to mankind. While Zeus and the other gods spent time lounging around wasting time Prometheus saw how the people down on earth were struggling. He wanted to provide them with fire to keep warm and so he did and for that Zeus punished him by chaining him to the side of a mountain for all eternity, though he is eventually rescued by Hercules.

4) Sisyphus and the
For the first labor Hercules must go to Nemea and slay a giant lion, for the second he has to kill the Hydra, for the third Hercules has to capture a giant boar and bring it to Eurystheus alive. The fourth labor requires Hercules to retrieve a deer with golden horns, for the fifth labor Hercules has to clean the Augean stables, and for the sixth labor he has to get rid of man-eating birds. For the seventh labor Hercules has to capture the Cretan bull, then for the eighth labor he has to capture King Diomedes horses, for the ninth labor Hercules has to get the belt of Hippolyte. For the tenth labor Hercules has to steal cattle from a giant named Erytion, for the eleventh labor Hercules has to obtain golden apples from the Hesperides, and finally for the twelfth labor Hercules has to capture Cerberus the three-headed dog from the