Greek mythology and allusions. Greek myths are stories that were told by the ancient Greeks. Myths were a way for people to explain something in nature or teach about how people should act and the consequences of not following the rules. Ari and Zayd are visiting Greece to read more mythology when they come across a beautiful box. “Oh, look! Let’s open it and find out what’s inside!” “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It could be like opening Pandora’s Box!” “I can’t take it, I have to know what’s inside!” “I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas, anymore.” An allusion is a figure of speech that makes reference to another well-known person, place, event or piece of literature. Allusions help us by creating a visual in our minds by connecting what we are reading to something we already know about. In modern-day literature, authors will sometimes use allusions to Greek mythology to describe a character’s personality or a story’s events. Understanding the stories of Greek mythology helps us make connections to references used in the stories we read. In the myth, “Pandora’s Box”, Pandora had the gift of curiosity. She was given a gift of a beautiful box and was given strict instructions to never open it under any circumstances. Her curiosity got the better of her, she opened the box and unleashed evil into the world. Now, when an author alludes to Pandora's Box in a story, they are connecting the actions or traits of their characters to that of Pandora. Here's an example of an allusion to this myth. Every time my mum tells me to clean my room, it's like opening Pandora's Box. The message here is that you are about to do something that is going to cause a lot of issues that you didn't know about beforehand. "There's someone, let's ask what is happening." "Excuse me, can you…" "Don't look at her!" Medusa was a beautiful, young maiden who was very vain, meaning she only cared about her looks. She would boast about her beauty to everyone and could talk about nothing else. One day she said she was more beautiful than the Goddess Athena, so she was punished by being turned into a monster with a head full of snakes. Anyone who looked directly into her eyes would instantly turn to stone. Today, when a story alludes to Medusa it's referring to a scary woman, or someone with unruly hair. The phrase, 'if looks could kill, I'd be dead right now' also alludes to the story of Medusa. It is used to describe when a character is very angry with someone. Ari had read enough myths to know who could help this situation, it was Perseus! Perseus was a demi-god and the son of Zeus. He is known for being a brave and clever hero who slayed the monster, Medusa, in order to save his mother from an evil king. When modern stories allude to, or reference, Perseus, it refers to characters showing great bravery and facing challenging quests. An example of an allusion would be: He faced off against the playground bully like Perseus and the Gorgons. Here, we can connect the actions of this character to the noble actions and traits of Perseus. While Perseus once again defeats Medusa, let's summarise. Remember, Greek myths are stories to explain something in nature, or teach lessons about how people should act and the consequences of not following the rules. An allusion is a figure of speech that makes reference to another well-known person, place, event or piece of literature. Allusions help us by creating a visual in our minds by connecting what we are reading to something we already know about. Authors sometimes use allusions to Greek mythology to describe a character’s personality or a story’s events. Understanding the stories of Greek mythology helps us make connections to references used in the stories we read. "Zayd, things would be a lot easier if you just listen to me the first time." "Yes, sorry, that seems to be my Achilles heel!”