In greek mythology, the hero Achilles was invulnerable to mortal wounds because his mother had dipped him as an infant into the magical waters of the River Styx, which flows around Hades, the underworld. But she held baby Achilles by the heel, and inevitably, in the war against Troy, Achilles was killed by an arrow which struck him in that one vulnerable spot.
And like most characters in Greek mythology, his family background was complicated, and his love life was, well, messy. He was the product of an incestuous union of Cinyras, King of Cyprus, and his daughter. He grew up to be beautifully handsome, and Aphrodite, the goddess of Love, fell in love with him. Being loved by a goddess was hazardous, however, and Adonis was killed while boarhunting (the boar was reputed to be the jealous war god Ares in disguise).
These are such qualities as rationality, intellect, a spirit of justice, creativity. All in all, a cast of mind opposite to DIONYSIAN, which is instinctive, irrational, uninhibited, destructive.
The German philosopher Nietzsche's influential writings on Greek tragedy viewed Apollo and Dionysius as the personification of opposing creative tendencies in man.
Arachne was a common girl with a remarkable skill in weaving. She won such fame that Athena (Goddess of Wisdom), slighted and envious, challenged Arachne to a contest. Athena wove themes, including the fate of foolish mortals who dared to vie with the gods. Arachne depicted the gods' compromising love-affairs. Outraged, Athena struck the girl with her shuttle and, after Arachne hanged herself, in remorse transformed Arachne into a spider, so that she and her species might practice her art of weaving, forever. An arachnid refers to any of the various arthropods of the class Arachnida, including the spider.
According to Greek myth, cleaning the stables of King Augeas was one of the 12 heroic labors of Hercules. Just how heroic can be judged from the statistics: the stables housed 3,000 oxen and hadn't been shovled out in 30 years!!! Hercules accomplished the task by diverting two rivers and using them to flush out the mess.
After Antaeus, a giant in Greek mythology. The son of Gaia and Poseidon,
he challenged all who came across him to wrestle. He invariably won,
because he received strength from his mother, the earth, as long as he
was in touch with her. Hercules discovered his secret, lifted him off
the ground, and crushed him.]
