Mythful Meanings

In the English language, many meanings come from myths. This blog considers many of those words.

Myths are stories people tell to explain the great mysteries of life, such as birth and death, why the sun rises and sets, and why the moon changes in a predictable pattern.

I decided to start over from the end of the alphabet and work toward the beginning. I have a stack of index cards with information typed on them, all in alphabetical order. When I started this blog, I started at A, because I didn't realize that all the entries would be pushed down.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Aurora

In ancient Roman myth, Aurora was the goddess of dawn (Eos in ancient Greek). Aurora also meant Aurora's tears for her son, Memnon, who was slain in the Trojan war.

English word: Our modern word aurora refers to a luminous phenomenon, the rising light of morning. In the phrase aurora Borealis, it refers to the "northern lights," an electromagnetic phenomenon seen in the northern regions of the world. At the same time, the phrase aurora Australis equals "southern lights," the same phenomenon as the northern lights, in the southern hemisphere.

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