Thetis, Achilles’
mom is a water
Nymph who dips
him in the River
Styx
ACHILLES’
HEEL
Invunerable
Invincible
Except for a weakness
Acropolis – Athens famous hilltop
Parthenon: Temple to Athena – sits on top of the Acropolis
Ad Infinitum
Infinitum, i (neuter)
Ad = a preposition which takes the
accusative
AD + accusative
AD = TO (in the sense of direction)
I go to the queen: Eo ad reginam.
I’m nauseous!
Ad Nauseam
The teacher kept talking ad
nauseam: he kept talking and
talking.
Anno Domini
Annum, i
Dominus, i
Anno: ablative case – ablative
of time when
300 AD = in the 300th year of our Lord
Domini: genitive
BC is NOT Latin. BC = Before Christ
Anno Domini = In the year of
the Lord
300 AD = 300 CE = Common Era
200 BC = 200 BCE = Before the Common Era
The “Common Era” is the one we are commonly, or
altogether, living in.
Aegean Sea = named after King Aegeus,
Theseus’ Father
If Theseus came
back alive from
Crete (there was a
man-killing
Minotaur there), he
was to put up a
WHITE SAIL
Theseus did come back alive but forgot to
change the sail from BLACK.
His Father jumps into the sea because
of despair.
Agenda – To do list
Ago agere egi actum – 3rd conjugation
Agent has to do
stuff
Agora = marketplace/public
meeting place (greek word)
Forum, i = marketplace/public
meeting place
(latin word)
An Internet forum, or message board, is an
online discussion site where people can hold
conversations in the form of posted messages.
Let’s have a philosophical forum.
Foras (adverb) NOT DECLINABLE
Ite foras, discipuli!!!
The Modern Forum = Times Square, for example
AM = ante meridiem = before half day = before noon
PM = post meridiem = after
half day = after noon =
afternoon
In Greek mythology, ambrosia was considered the food or drink
of the Olympian gods, and it was thought to bring long life and
immortality to anyone who consumed it. It was often linked to
nectar, the other element that the gods consumed; usually, it
was thought that ambrosia was the food and nectar was the
drink of the gods.
In general, ambrosia was only
consumed by deities; when
Heracles achieved
immortality, Athena offered
him ambrosia; while
when Tantalus tried to steal
some to give to other mortals,
he was punished for
committing hubris.
Tantalus was the son of Zeus and the nymph Plouto in
Greek mythology, who was punished after death
in Tartarus. With his wife, who may have been Dione,
Taygete, Eurythemista, or Euryanassa, he
fathered Pelops, Niobe and Broteas. Thus,
through Pelops, he was the predecessor of the House of
Atreides, as his grandson was Atreus, and his greatgrandsons were Agamemnon and Menelaus.
According to the myth, Tantalus was welcomed in the
table of the deities in Olympus; however, he
stole ambrosia and nectar, thinking he could take it back
to his people, in order to make them immortal and
reveal the divine secrets. He later decided to sacrifice his
son to his gods; so, he cut Pelops in pieces, and served
him to the gods. The gods realized what happened and
did not eat at all; only Demeter, who was upset by her
daughter's abduction by Hades, took a bite of Pelops'
shoulder. When it was revealed what had
happened, Zeus told Clotho, one of the three Fates, to
bring the boy back to life, and the missing part of his
shoulder was replaced by an ivory piece forged
by Hephaestus.
Tantalus was thrown out of Olympus and after he died he
was punished for eternity; he was made to stand in a
pool of water, right under the branches of a fruit tree.
However, when he tried to reach for a fruit, the branches
would go higher and out of reach, while when he tried to
drink a sip of water, the waters of the pool would recede.
Whoever consumed ambrosia no longer had
blood in their veins, but another substance
called ichor.
One of the myths about Achilles’ immortality has it that his mother Thetis anointed him
with ambrosia when he was born and then passed him through flames, so that the
mortal elements of his body would be consumed. However, Peleus, his father, found out
and stopped her; this caused Thetis’ rage and left without managing to
immortalize Achilles’ heel. As a result, that was the only vulnerable spot in his body.