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BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS
LITERARY ALLUSIONS
HISTORICAL ALLUSIONS
MYTHOLOGICAL ALLUSIONS
ODDS AND ENDS
100
someone who helps another person, perhaps someone of a different race or background; from a NT parable about a Samaritan, a traditional enemy of the Hebrews, who stopped to help a Jewish man who had been beaten and left for dead at the side of the road.
What is the Good Samaritan?
100
A pure and noble man with limited ambition; in the legends of King Arthur, the purest and most virtuous knight of the Round Table, the only knight to find the Holy Grail J
Who is Sir Galahad?
100
a successful general for the American colonies during the Revolutionary War before switching sides and fighting for the British. His name has become synonymous with “turncoat.”
Who is Benedict Arnold?
100
a symbol of immortality or rebirth; named after 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.
What is the phoenix?
100
The most famous of the gorgons, three sister in Greek  mythology who had snakes for hair and who turned anyone who looked at them into stone. Refers to a repulsive or terrifying woman. The term is also  applied to extraordinarily wild, unruly hair.
Who is Medusa?
200
– a large person; from the giant from the Philistine city of Gath, slain by David, when he was a shepherd boy
Who is Goliath?
200
an imaginary and perfect society; British 1610, source Thomas More's novel
What is utopia?
200
government of people of the United States; derived from a business man in the 1900s.
What is Uncle Sam?
200
Something that opens the door for bad occurrences, opened by someone known for curiosity; named for the first mortal, sent by Zeus, to punish man for Prometheus’ theft of fire. For her curiosity in opening the box, Zeus gave her all human ills in the world, leaving only hope at the bottom.
Who is Pandora?
200
In Greek mythology, these were sea creatures who lured sailors to their deaths on the rocky shores by singing a beautiful, irresistible song. They are usually depicted as woman, or as half-woman, half bird. In modern usage, this term can refer to anything that tempts a person away from safety and toward a destructive path.
What are sirens?
300
any place associated with wickedness or sin; from the evil cities of the OT that were destroyed by fire
What is Sodom and Gomorrah?
300
A capricious person with two sides to his/her personality; from a character in the famous novel who had more than one personality, a split personality (one good and one evil)
Who is Jekyll and Hyde?
300
* a scandal based on secrecy • Historical Reference: a scandal during the 1970s resulting from the break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.
What is Watergate?
300
dark and gloomy; named after the river in the Underworld. The water is poisonous for human and cattle and said to break iron, metal and pottery, though it is said a horse's hoof is unharmed by it.
What is Stygian or Styx?
300
some creature of inspiration ; the daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus, divine singers that presided over thought in all its forms
What is a muse?
400
an extremely wise person; from the son of King David, the Israelite king who wrote Proverbs, and was known for wisdom
Who is King Solomon?
400
a libertine, profligate, a man obsessed with seducing women ; named after the legendary 14th century Spanish nobleman and libertine
What is a Don Juan?
400
a place of reputed wealth; from the legendary city in South America, sought by early Spanish explorers
What is El Dorado?
400
a long journey; named for the character in the epic by Homer. The character makes his long journey back from the Trojan War, encountering several obstacles along the way.
What is the Odyssey?
400
One who suffers a great deal but remains faithful; from an OT character whose faith in God was tested by Satan; though he lost his family and belongings, he remained patient and faithful
Who is Job?
500
a wasteful son who disappoints his father; from the NT parable of a man with two sons. When he split his estate between the two, the younger son gathered his fortune and left home to live the wild life, while the older son stayed home to work in the fields. When the younger son spent all of the money, he came crawling back to his father, who accepted him, pardoning his error by saying he was “lost but was found.”
What is the Prodigal son?
500
someone overly idealistic to the point of having impossible dreams; from the crazed and impoverished Spanish noble who sets out to revive the glory of knighthood, romanticized in the musical The Man of La Mancha based on the story by Cervantes
Who is Don Quixote?
500
* self-sacrificing servant, caretaker of the helpless • Historical Reference: a Roman Catholic religious sister and missionary who lived most of her life in India. Her selfless acts of charity to the poor of that country made her a symbol of sacrificial love.
Who is Mother Theresa?
500
someone (usually a male) who tries to fashion someone into the person he desires; from a myth adapted into a play by George Bernard Shaw; a woman hating sculptor who makes a female figure of ivory who Aphrodite brings to life for him.
Who is Pygmalion?
500
a traitor or a treacherous kiss; one of the 12 Apostles, notorious for betraying Jesus. His surname in Latin means "murderer" or "assassin." He disclosed Jesus' whereabouts to the chief priests and elders for thirty pieces of silver.
Who is Judas?