Hello – Colossus 218

Many words have changed meanings over the years and there’s usually an interesting view of history behind the words. Here are some words from ancient Greece.

Paraphernalia, for instance, comes from the Greek para alongside and pherne dowry. In ancient Greece, when a bride moved into her husband’s house, she took her personal property with her, cooking utensils, jewellery, cosmetics etc which she was allowed to keep. If they got divorced, which was quite common then, the woman was allowed to keep her paraphernalia, while the families sorted out the lands, cattle, house and money.

In those ancient days, the world as they knew it was surrounded by the great river Oceanus, for it was generally considered that the world was flat. If you failed to return from a voyage on the dreaded River Ocean, you must have fallen off the edge. Oceanus gave its name to ocean.

A long, arduous and eventful journey can be described as an odyssey, which also comes from ancient Greece. The Greek poet Homer wrote the long epic poem Odyssey about the Greek hero, Odysseus (known as Ulysses to the Romans) and his long journey back to Greece after the fall of Troy.

The Trojan War lasted ten years and it took him another ten to reach home. His wife Penelope was still waiting for him, fighting off her many suitors, with the help of her son.

Marathon runners might be interested to know that the village called Marathon, north of Athens, was the spot where the Persians invaded Greece, about 2,500 years ago. The Athenians defended and the battle raged on in Athens, resulting in a win by the home side.

A Greek soldier, Pheidippides, who had fought all day, was ordered to tell the people of Marathon that their city was saved. For some reason he ran all the way, about 43 kms, delivered the good news, and dropped dead from exhaustion.

This distance of 43kms, or 26 miles, is now the standard marathon distance run, thanks to poor old Pheidippides.

Happy Puzzling!