The marriage of science and myth
The mythology and words
Our mythology has left an indelible mark on the way we use language. There are hundreds of words in our dictionary that take after the mythological figures and stories. And as we practice science something which is considered to be antithetical to the mythology we still have not let go of our roots in those mythological tales. It in a way underscores the role of our heritage while enlightening us as to what we were and what we have become.
Halcyon — Remember the good old halcyon days! Halcyon means characterized by happiness and great success. The word is inspired by the melancholic tale of Alcyone, the daughter of the God of wind Aeolus. She was happily married to Ceyx. While Cecyx was at sea Zeus came to know about the sacrilege of Alcyone and Ceyx, angered by which he drowned the ship of Cecyx.
Taken by her grief, when she came to know about Ceyx’s fate, she threw herself into the sea. Touched by her grief God changed them both into kingfishers. Halcyon days originally referred to the period in winter when Aeolus calms the winds at the sea to allow the couple to meet and nurture their hatchlings. But Halcyon days now refers to all the days you spent in calm and bliss.
By the way, what is the one of subfamilies of the kingfisher bird? It is Halcyoninae. Many of the genera of kingfisher are named after Ceyx and Alcyone. It kind of overwhelms me how age-old stories that our ancestors used to tell around still influence the world of science we are building. Gone are the days of Alcyone and Ceyx, if they ever existed, they still live here with us in our modern taxonomical classifications and in our dictionaries.
Tantalize — The word means to torture someone with the promise of something that they can see and hear but cannot obtain. The word was coined after a Greek mythological figure Tantalus, who used to live in Tartarus, a realm of the underworld. As he lived there he was convicted of certain crimes like cannibalism, thievery, and filicide. He was subsequently punished to stand in a pool with branches of a fruit tree over his head.
The punishment was that whenever he tried to reach for the fruit above his head the branches of the tree receded. And whenever he stooped down to take a sip of water from the lake the water levels receded. Now, the tantalus was forever stuck with eternal deprivation from any nutrition. And so the word tantalize means to torture someone with something they cannot obtain.
A lake in Turkey is associated with tantalus and has been named lake tantalus after him.
Jovial — the word means cheerful and friendly. In Roman Mythology, Planets were named after Gods and Jupiter was the king of all the Gods. So this huge majestic planet got its name from the majestic king of gods, Jupiter. Jupiter is the God of thunder and sky and was considered to be a source of cheer and joy. Jove was the other name of Jupiter. So, the word jovial comes out to mean cheerful and friendly.
The sacred animal of Jupiter, the God of thunder and sky, was an eagle. It later on also became the sign of the Roman Army. Now, the phrase bird of Jove refers to eagles and other birds of prey taking their name from Jupiter.
Narcissism — Everybody knows what narcissism means. But do you know the story of narcissus, a character from Greek Mythology, which forms the basis of the word? Narcissus was known for his beauty. He rejected romantic advances from most of the beautiful women of his time. There are many versions of the tale of narcissus but a popular version goes like this.
When narcissus was born a seer told his mother that he will live long only if he never discovers himself. Once in a forest, he was seen by Echo who immediately fell in love with him. Realizing that he was being followed he asked “Who’s there?” to which Echo replied back “Who’s there?”. When Echo revealed herself Narcissus rejected her. Heartbroken Echo lingered in the forest until nothing but her voice was left. (This is where the word echo comes from)
When Nemesis (nemesis also means enemy or rival), the goddess of revenge, came to know about it she planned revenge against narcissus and lured him to a lake. There he saw his own reflection and got smitten by it. So smitten that he spent the rest of his days looking at his own reflection refusing even to feed or to drink.
The place where narcissus died bloomed a flower, a daffodil. Also known as narcissus. Narcissus is another example of a mythological figure giving a scientific name to a species of flower.
Apollonian — After the Greek God Apollo, son of Zeus, the God of Sun. The word, just as Apollo, relates to the rational, and disciplined aspects of human nature. The word also signifies how we humans interpret our own history and mythology. Originally, Apollo was not always associated with rationality and discipline and he in many of his tales is shown to have a bad temper. But now our language does not know that.
Dionysian — Considered to be the counterpart of the word apollonian. It refers to the Greek God Dionysus, another son of Zeus. Greek God of irrationality, chaos, and wine represents passion and emotion. So the word dionysian means relating to the sensual, spontaneous, and emotional aspects of human nature.
The Greek mythology has this motif of Apollo and Dionysus reflecting the conflict between order and chaos, moderation and excess.
The last two words have not found their way into science yet but they have their mark on the philosophical work The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche.
We, as human civilization, may have come a long way. But here and there as we make this civilization we are leaving clues of what we were. We may have come far away from those humans who used to tell these stories around a campfire but these stories are with us, in one form or the other.
If you like my article and find it informative and fun, kindly like, comment, share, and subscribe.
