AP LANG ALLUSIONS LIST

DUE:
Below is a list of allusions from Classical or Biblical literature. It is imperative that you
understanding these allusions in your readings. For this assignment, you are required to research your
allusions and provide a through reference entry by doing a quick Internet search though it is
recommended that you take to reading the following text: The Illiad, Homer: Books 1, 9, 18, 22, 24;
The Odyssey, Homer: Books 1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 22, 23; The Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Psalms 19,
22, 23, 95, 121, 137, Job Matthew, Mark, and the early chapters of the Revelations. Please note the
words in the parenthesis to help with your search: Old Testament (OT), New Testament (NT), among
others. Keep in mind these readings are solely for academic purposes and simply a suggestion.
Please submit your assigned allusions as part of an email to caroline.rhude@gmail.com by the due
date or through quizlet (password:___________________).
All the allusions will be compiled on a quizlet for the class.
Ex: Allusion #1: Abram/ Abraham
Background: Abraham, a biblical allusion, was the father of Issac, whose life he was instructed
to end. God, however, discovering that Abraham was truly faithful, spared him from killing his
only son. Stories of Abraham can be found in the Old Testament (OT).
Characteristics/ Context: Abraham is often referred to as father of Israel and is typical used as
a model of the patriarchs.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.

Abram/ Abraham
Achilles
Adam
Adonis
Aeolian
Aeneas
Agamemnon
Aiolos
Apollo
Ararat
Ares
Argus-eyed
Ark of the Covenant
Aristotle
Athena/ Minerva
Atlantean
Attila
Aurora
Babbitt
Bacchanal/
Bacchanalian
Barabbas
Berserk
Bethlehem
Brobdingnagian

25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.

Brutus
Bumble (beadle)
Calliope
Cain and Abel
Caiaphas
Capaneus
Cassandra
Cassius
Centaurs
Cerberus
Charon
Chimera
Chronus
Cinderella
Circe
Cleopatra
Clytemnestra
Crown of thorns
Cupid
Cyclops
Daniel (OT)
David and Bathsheba
Dido
Don Juan
Don Quixote

50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.

Eden
El Dorado
Epicurus
Eros
Eve
Eye of the Needle
Falstaffian (Falstaff)
Filthy Lucre (NT)
Fortuna
Frankenstein
Friday (Robinson
Crusoe)
Furies
Galahad (King Arthur)
Gold, Frankincense,
Myrrh
Golgotha
Goliath
Good Samaritan
Gorgon
Guinevere
Hades
Halcyon
Handwriting on the wall
(OT)

72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.

Harpies
Harrowing of Hell
Hector
Helen (of Troy)
Helios
Hercules
Herod
Horatio Alger
Hydra
Icarus
Iris (as in rainbow)
Ishmael
Isaac
Ithaca
Isolde
Jacob (OT)
Jason and the
Argonauts
89. Jekyll and Hyde
90. Job
91. John the Baptist
92. Jonah (OT)
93. Joseph
94. Judas (noun)
95. Jupiter
96. Juno
97. King Ahab and Jezabel
98. King David
99. Lakonikos
100. Lancelot
101. Last Supper
102. Lazarus
103. Lethe
104. Little Lord Fauntleroy
105. Lot
106. Lothario (Nicholas
Rowe)
107. Lots Wife
108. Lucifer
109. Machiavelli
(Machiavellian)
110. Malapropism
111. Manna (Moses)
112. Mars
113. Mary Magdalene
114. McCarthyism
115. Medea
116. Medusa
117. Menelaus
118. Mentor
119. Mercury/ Hermes
120. F.A. Mesmer
(mesmerize)
121. Milquetoast (H.T.
Webster)

122. Minotaur
123. Mnemosyne
124. Moses
125. Muse (Nine Muses)
126. Narcissus
127. Nemesis
128. Neptune
129. Niobe
130. Noah
131. Nod/ East of Eden
132. Nostradamus
133. Odysseus
134. Olympian
135. Original Sin/ The Fall
136. Paean/ Paeon
137. Pandoras Box
138. Panglossian (Dr.
Pangloss)
139. Parnassus
140. Paris
141. Pearl of Great Price
142. Pegasus
143. Penelope
144. Penelopes Suitors
145. Persephone
146. Peter
147. Phaethon
148. Pharisees and
Sadducees
149. Phillistine
150. Phoenix
151. Pluto
152. Plutocracy (Pluton)
153. Pollyanna
154. Pooh-bah (Gilbert and
Sullivan)
155. Pontius Pilate
156. Poseidon
157. Priam
158. Prodigal Son (NT)
159. Promethean
160. Protean
161. Psyche
162. Pygmalion
163. Pyrrhic victory
164. Quixotic (Don Quixote)
165. Robot (Karel Capeks
Rossums Universal
Robots)
166. Rodomontade
167. Ruth and Naomi (OT)
168. Samson and Delilah
169. Saturnalia
170. Saturnine
171. Scrooge

172. Scylla and Charybdis

173. Semiramis
174. Sepulcher (OT)
175. Sermon on the Mount
176. Serpent
177. Shanghai (verb)
178. Sibyl
179. Simon Legree
180. Simon Magus
181. Sirens
182. Sisyphus
183. Sodom and Gomorrah
184. Solomon
185. Spartan (Sparta)
186. Stentor (Stentorian)
187. Stonewall (Stonewall
Jackson)
188. Stygian
189. Styx
190. Susannah and the
Elders
191. Svengali
192. Swiftian (Jonathan
Swift)
193. Sybaritic
194. Tantalus
195. Tartuffe
196. Terpsichorean
(Terpsichore)
197. Telemachus
198. Thebes
199. Theseus
200. Thespis (thespian)
201. Thetis
202. Tiresias
203. Tityus (Titanic)
204. Thirty pieces of silver
205. Three Wisemen
206. Tower of Babel
207. Tristan
208. Troy
209. Twelve Apostles
210. Twelve Tribes of Israel
211. The Virgin Mary
212. Uncle Sam
213. Uncle Tom
214. Uriah Heep
215. Utopia
216. Wagner (Wagnerian)
217. Walter Mitty
218. Waterloo (Napoleon)
219. Vulcan/ Hephaestus
220. Zeus
Complied by C. Rhude