Allusion Reading Journal


Mythology


Achilles

• First rank in Greek army
• Great warrior
• Invulnerable except for his heel
• His heel caused his downfall
• Usually explored when talking about greatness that comes with a great flaw that could lead to failure
• There is a good example in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian when Achilles himself warns Percy about the River of Styx. Achilles warns him that he will obtain a great strength and an even greater weakness. 

Agamemnon

• Led the Greek forces in the battle for Troy
• Artemis was angry because the Greeks had killed a hare
• Only Artemis could calm the winds that were keeping Greece from war
• Agamemnon had to kill his daughter as a sacrifice  
• He acted out of selfishness even though someone else's well being was at stake

 Antigone

• Daughter of Oedipus
• Has two brothers
• Oedipus is exiled and throne is vacant
• The two brothers fight over the throne and both die
• One brother is sentenced to not be buried on penalty of death to anyone who tries
• Antigone defies the law and buries her brother and is then killed
• Fought for what she believed in regardless of the consequences

Cupid and Psyche

• Psyche was very beautiful and Venus got jealous
• Venus asked Cupid to shoot Psyche with an arrow that would make her fall in love with a monster but instead shot himself on accident
• After Psyche's parents consulted an oracle about her marriage, they were to leave her on top of a mountain and the wind was to take her to an invisible palace
• Her new husband came by night and instructed her never to look at her
• Psyche's sisters convinced her to try to kill her husband because they were jealous
• She makes a mistake and wakes up Cupid who vanishes
• She looks for him and eventually goes to Venus who makes her do various tasks
• Cupid convinces Jupiter to tell Venus to stop
• Cupid then marries Psyche and they live happily ever after
• This story is reflected in Beauty and the Beast

Daedalus and Icarus

• Architect who built the Labyrinth for the Minotaur in Crete
• King Minos was angry that the Athenians could escape and assumed Daedalus helped because they couldn't have done it without him
• The King imprisons Daedalus and his son, Icarus, in the Labyrinth
• He made wings for them and they flew away
• Along the journey the son died, but the father made it to Sicily
• King Minos was angry at his escape and tried to lure him out by setting a challenge
• Daedalus completed the challenge and the King went to Sicily to seize him
• The King of Sicily refused and Minos was slain
• This story demonstrates the Golden Mean
• Icarus went above that and died
• One shouldn't have too much or too little of anything but just the right amount

Echo and Narcissus

• Punished for her misdeeds, Echo can only respond with questions
• She sees Narcissus at a pond and begins to respond to him
• He gets aggravated because she only responds
• Narcissus sees himself in the pond and falls in love
• This is punishment for scorning the nymphs
• He then bids farewell and weeps near the pond
• He starves to death and nymphs find a flower in place of his body
• This story focuses on the dangers of self love and self absorption

Eurydice and Orpheus

• Orpheus is a great musician who can play irresistible music that no one can refuse
• He marries Eurydice but the joy only lasts for a while
• Eurydice dies from a snake bite and goes to the Underworld
• Orpheus goes to the Underworld to get her back
• He is told to not look at her until they have both reached Earth
• He glances too soon and loses her forever
• He dies a horrible death on Earth
• This story focuses on the importance of patience and self control

Hector

• Son of Priam of Troy
• Greatest fighter in Troy and drove the Greeks to their ships in the Trojan War
• Kills Patroclus
• Achilles is deeply saddened and kills Hector
• His body is then dragged through the battlefield 
• His father asks for his body back and he is buried with the greatest honors

Hercules

• Greatest and strongest mortal ever
• Half god son to Zeus
• Not intelligent
• Sense of judgement
• Uncontrollable emotion that leads to the death of his family
• He feels the need to cleanse himself and consults an oracle
• The oracle tells him to go to Eurystheus who will give him impossible tasks to complete 
• He learned to control his emotion and think with a clear head
• He always had a clear view of justice and judgement

Jason and the Golden Fleece

• Wanting to reclaim from his uncle, he is tasked to retrieve a golden fleece to prove his worth
• After successfully retrieving the fleece, he is tasked to sow a field with fire breathing bulls and overcome heroes
• He needs the help of Medea so he marries her
• They are successful
• They are exiled to Corinth from Iolkos 
• The king in Corinth offers his daughters hand in marriage to Jason and he accepts 
• Medea is angry that he broke his promise to her and kills all their children and the other woman
• Jason is killed by a beam that falls on his head 

Odysseus and the Trojan horse

• Formulated a plan to defeat the Trojans
• Architect behind the Trojan horse
• The plan was to leave one man behind to act as a traitor
• Then allow the Trojans to take the horse into the walls
• When the Trojans were drunk and asleep, the Greeks came out of the horse and killed all the men and enslaved the women and children 

Oedipus

• King Laius hears of a prophecy that his own son will kill him
• He leaves his son to die on a mountain but a man saves the baby
• Years later, the king is killed by robbers
• A sphinx is oppressing Thebes
• Oedipus approaches the sphinx and is challenge by a riddle
• Oedipus is correct and the sphinx dies making Oedipus the King 
• A plague ravages Thebes and a god says that for the plague to go away, the killer of Laius must be punished
• Oedipus looks for the truth and in the end finds that he killed his father
• His mom kills herself
• He gouges his eyes out 
• He exiles himself

Persephone

• Persephone is the daughter of Demeter
• Demeter is the god of harvest
• Hades kidnaps Persephone and brings her to the Underworld
• While Demeter is longing for her daughter, the world is in a winter
• Zeus intervenes and tells Hermes to go to the Underworld and get Persephone back
• Hades allows Persephone to leave but he gives her a pomegranate seed
• If she eats it, she has to return to the Underworld
• Demeter then goes back to Mount Olympus
• Because Persephone ate the seed, she has to go to the Underworld for four months every year, thus why we have winter

Perseus

• son of Danae who is the daughter of Acrisius
• There is a prophecy that the son of Acrisius' daughter would kill him
• The only way to prevent this is to kill his own daughter
• He can't, so he imprisons her. 
• Zeus impregnates her and she has a child
• They are exiled and taken in by Dictys
• Polydectes becomes fond of Danae and wants to get rid of her son
• He sends Perseus to kill Medusa to try to get him killed
• Perseus is successful
• He brings her head back and turns Polydectes and all his supporters into stone
• He goes back to his homeland with his mother and find that the father had left
• Years later, Perseus accidentally kills his father with a discus

Prometheus

• He is tasked by Zeus to create humans
• He makes humans upright
• He gives them fire
• Zeus resents the power that Prometheus gave humans and punishes him
• There was a prophecy that Zeus' own son would betray him and only Prometheus knew his name
• Despite threats, Prometheus wouldn't say anything and endured being eaten by birds

River Styx

• A mythological river that is the gateway to the realm of the dead
• The river can make someone invulnerable
• Legend has it that Achilles was dipped in the river and was made invulnerable except for the heel that his mother held him from

The Gods of Olympus

• These were the most powerful of the Gods who were the descendants of the Titans
• They were called the Gods of Olympus because they live on Mt. Olympus
• The twelve were Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis, and Hephaestus

Theseus

• Great Athenian hero
• Son of Aegeus
• His father puts a sword in a hole covered by a big rock and declares that once the child is strong enough they should bring the weapon to him and become the heir
• After many years, Theseus appears before his father but his father doesn't recognize him
• Seconds before Theseus is poisoned, he pulls the sword out and his father recognizes it
• Because of some unfortunate events King Minos is angry with Athens
• He vows revenge by forcing Athens to give teenage tributes to a minotaur
• Theseus volunteers and tells his father that he will kill the Minotaur and raise a white sail as confirmation of his success
• He kills the minotaur and sails home but forgets the white sail
• His dad kills himself
• Theseus later has a son with Phaedra
• Later Phaedra falls in love with her step son
• He refuses her advances
• She fakes his assault in a letter and kills herself
• Theseus finds her and the letter and banishes his innocent son
• Artemis appears to Theseus that he's made a mistake but it's too late because he already died at sea

Bible

Story of Creation Genesis 1

• God created heaven and earth
• God created light from the darkness
• He separated the two and made night and day
• He then created the dry land and the seas
• Then God created the grass and herbs
• Then came seasons, days, and years
• He then created the light that ruled the day and the light that ruled the night
• Then came fish and birds
• Cattle and other land animals came next
• Then man was created and he blessed them

The Fall Genesis 3

• A serpent persuaded Eve to eat fruit from the forbidden tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden
• She also gave some to her husband
• Their eyes were both opened and they were naked
• As the Lord is strolling through the garden, he calls for Adam and Eve
• Adam replies that he is afraid of the Lord and is naked
• The Lord asks why he is naked and if he ate from the tree
• Adam says he ate fruit from his wife who took it from the tree
• Eve says that the serpent tempted her into doing it
• The Lord cursed the serpent and told Adam that from now on he has to tend for himself and work for his food from working the ground
• The Lord put a cherubim and flaming sword at the entrance to the Garden and the tree of life

The Flood Genesis 6

• Men multiplied and their wickedness grew
• The Lord was ashamed of his creation and vowed to kill everything but saw grace in one man
• God instructed Noah to build an Ark of specific measurements and put two of every specie in the Ark
• The Lord was going to flood the entire earth and kill everything
• Noah was also instructed to take as much food and supplies as needed

Cain and Abel Genesis 4

• Adam and Eve had a son named Cain 
• Then they had his brother named Abel
• Abel tended to the animals while Cain tilled the fields
• When it came time to make offerings, the Lord only respected Abel's offering
• Cain got angry and killed Abel
• The Lord punished Cain heavily and cursed for the rest of his life

Abraham and Issac Genesis 22

• The Lord told Abraham to kill his son and offer him to the Lord
• Abraham obeyed and took his son and a few others up to a mountain
• He went off alone with his son and the altar supplies
• He builds the altar and binds his son to it
• As he prepares to kill him, the Lord stops him and says that he is glad that Abraham fears him and would sacrifice his son for him
• He then gives more descendants to Abraham

Exodus 

• Israel grew and multiplied
• The King of Egypt began to be afraid of the strength of Israel 
• The Egyptians became harsh and made work for the people of Israel
• The King also told the midwives of Israel to kill all the male babies and let the females live
• The midwives feared the Lord and didn't do it
• Then the King declared that every son that is born is to be cast into the river while the daughters can live
• There came to be a baby in the house of Levi that was a boy
• Levi's wife hid the boy for three months
• When she couldn't hide the boy any longer, she made a parcel and laid him in it then proceeded to let him go down the river
• When Pharaoh's daughter found the package when she was bathing in the river, she gave the child to one of her nurses and asked her to nurse the baby
• The nurse did so and when he was old enough, he became the Pharaoh's daughter's son
• She named him Moses
• Moses grew to be a man 
• He saw an Egyptian whipping a Hebrew and was troubled by it
• When no one was looking he killed the Egyptian
• Pharaoh chased him out of Egypt and he wandered the land of Mid'ian 
• He came upon a well and drank from it
• There were women who were watering the flock at the well
• He had a son with one of the women 
• The king of Egypt died and the Lord looked down with respect unto the people of Israel
• As Moses was tending to flock, a bush burst into flame and spoke to him
• God called Moses to bring his people out of slavery and bring them to the land of milk and honey
• Go and get all the elders and tell them what I told you
• The Lord then said that he will smite Egypt if they disobey
• Moses said they won't believe me
• The Lord then proceeded to make his staff into a snake and vice versa
• He told Moses that he will do amazing miracles with his staff
• Aaron will be your mouth to the people and I will tell you what to say
• Moses meets up with Aaron
• They bring the elders together and embark for Egypt
• Pharaoh refuses to release the people
• God told Moses to turn the water in the river into blood
• Then he told him to release frogs into Egypt 
• Then came the lice and the flies
• Then the Lord killed all the cattle in Egypt
• Then the Lord commanded Moses to pick up ashes and throw it to the heavens
• The ashes would give everyone in Egypt boils 
• Hail was to come next upon Egypt and kill many animals 
• The Lord sent locusts that killed and ate all the green of the land
• Then darkness fell over Egypt 
• The Lord declared that the first born of every house hold would die if they didn't put the blood of a lamb on their door during the Passover
• Pharaoh's first born is dead and he lets the people go
• As they are leaving, they need to cross the red sea
• Pharaoh decides to pursue them and slay them
• The Lord splits the sea and let the people go through but holds pharaoh back
• He lets Pharaoh through but drops the sea on the Egyptians
• God Gave the ten commandments

The Book of Job

• Job has a lot of earthly possessions
• God praises Job for how good he is 
• Satan decides to challenge God and see if he can make Job crack
• He kills everyone but his wife, takes all his possesions, and destroys his houses
• Job remains loyal
• He then brings physical pain and ailments to Job but he is still loyal
• Job demands an explanation and the Lord scolds him
• For being so loyal, he gets double what he had before and dies at an old age

The Book of Ruth

• Famine hits Bethlehem which force Elimelech and his wife Naomi to move east with their sons to Moab
• They live there for about 10 years
• During this time the sons marry two girls, Ruth and Orpah.
• Elimelech and his two sons die 
• This leaves just the three women left
• Naomi decides to go back to Bethlehem but tells the girls to stay behind
• Orpah goes back but Ruth stays with her
• They need food so they go to a well known guys farm
• They realize that the owner is Boaz, a relative of Elimelech,. He is obligated to marry Ruth as next of kin
• Naomi tells Ruth to brown nose up to Boaz and get him to marry her
• Boaz is pleasantly surprised and is keen to marry her but says that there is a closer next of kin
• The random family member is not interested in the marriage so Boaz marries her
• They have a son who becomes the grandfather of David

David and Goliath

• The Philistine army had waged war on Israel
• The two armies were camped opposite each other 
• The Philistine champion, Goliath, came and mocked the Israelite army
• David, a teenager, was sent to the camp to get news from his brothers
• David saw the giant and wasn't afraid so he volunteered to fight him
• David was armed with only a sling shot and some rocks
• Goliath cursed at him and attacked him
• David slung a rock right at Goliath's forehead and killed him
• This prompted the Israelites to pursue the camps of the Philistines

The Nativity

• A baby was given to a virgin, Mary, who was engaged to Joseph
• She was instructed that she would have a child by the power of the Holy spirit
• She would name him Jesus
• She had the child
• Joseph was initially skeptical but the Lord convinced him otherwise
• At the time, a census was taken and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Mary was pregnant with Jesus at the time and there was no room in the inns so she had to give birth to him in a stable
• After seeing an angel announcing the Messiah, sheperds traveled to Bethlehem to see the child
• The wise men followed a star and arrived in Jerusalem
• They met with the rulers and asked where the child was
• The rulers instructed them to report back when they found him
• The magi gave gifts like incence and myrrh

Lazarus

• There was man named Lazarus who was loved by Jesus
• His name is Lazarus
• When he became sick, his sisters sent a message to Jesus
• He eventually came but by then Lazarus had died
• He wept with them 
• He then went back the tomb with the giant stone
• Jesus screamed for Lazarus to come out and he did

The Last Supper

• When the Passover started, Jesus instructed two of his disciples to prepare the meal
• That night, Jesus ate his final supper before going on the cross
• He told the twelve that one of them would betray him
• The bread was broken, the wine blessed and they ate
• This is a very sacred ritual

Judas and the Betrayal

• One of Jesus' beloved twelve
• He betrayed Jesus by identifying him to the chief priests
• Satan entered him which made him betray Jesus

The Denial 

• As the Last Supper was finishing, Judas Iscariot was revealed as the betrayer
• Jesus made a prediction that all his disciples would abandon him during his time of trial
• Peter vowed that he wouldn't
• Jesus replied that before the rooster crowed, Peter would betray him three times
• Later Jesus was arrested
• Peter struck one of the high priest's servants ears
• Peter snuck away to a courtyard where he was quickly recognized
• He immediately denied it
• He was accused again and he denied again
• Finally, a third person said Peter's Galilen accent gave him away as a follower of Jesus
• Peter denied once more and at that moment a rooster crowed

The Crucifixion

• Jesus was accused of blasphemy
• They took him to Rome to confirm his death sentence
• Pontius Pilate found him innocent but feared the crowd and let them decide
• Jesus was publicly torn apart and was forced to carry his own cross
• He was placed on the cross between two convicted criminals
• Darkness covered the land
• A little later, Jesus gave up his spirit

The Resurrection 

• Christ's body was placed in his own tomb after his crucifixion
• It was sealed by a large stone
• On the third day, several women went to his body to anoint him
• The stone was rolled away and they went inside in disbelief
• Jesus was no longer in the tomb and the women went and told the disciples
• As the women were going to the disciples, they ran into Jesus and were afraid
• He told them to see the disciples
• Jesus appeared to the women near the tomb and later twice to the disciples while they were gathering for prayer