The term originated from this Greek story: there was this guy named Oedipus who, at birth, was destined by fate to kill his father (who also happened to be the King of Thebes) and marry his mother. The people in Thebes thought that this was a pretty big deal, so when Oedipus was an infant, he was sent away. As an adult, Oedipus returns to Thebes only to - you guessed it - kill his dad and marry his mom.
By the way, the reverse condition (women who seek to kill their mother and marry their father) …show more content…
Thetis did not like the fact that her son was part mortal, so she was told to dip him into the River Styx to cleanse him of his mortality and render him invincible. She did this, but held him by his heel as she dipped. His heel was left untouched by the water, and so that remained the only part of him that was not invincible. Years later when he was in battle in the Trojan War, Achilles' enemies took advantage of his weak spot and shot a poisonous arrow directly into his heel, and he …show more content…
Heracles is famous for his unbelievable strength. Throughout his life, Heracles was also challenged to many physical tasks (such as defeating the many-headed Hydra). Each and every time, Heracles successfully accomplished his "labors," all because of his god-like strength. Today, we use the term "Herculean task" to refer to a challenge that is so difficult, that only Heracles, with his god-like strength, could accomplish it. It doesn't mean that something is impossible, but it means that it's overwhelmingly large and should require more than one person.
* Pandora's Box: Pandora was the first woman, and she had a good relationship with the gods. One day, the god Epimetheus told Pandora not to open a certain box. She opened the box anyway, and pain, war, illness, and all of the other evils of the world poured out. The only thing left in the box was hope.
When people today speak of opening a Pandora's Box, they mean that even a small, well-intentioned action can release a flood of negative repercussions.
Greek mythology also has a strong presence in pop culture. For