Tantalus

In ancient Greek and Roman myth, Tantalus was a wealthy king who was the son of Zeus (Roman, Jupiter), the king of the gods, and one nymph or another . Because of a terrible sin, he was punished in the lower world. He had to stand in water up to his chin, with a branch of fruit just over his head. Yet whenever he reached for some fruit or tried to drink some water, they were out of his reach.

English word: Our word tantalize means "to tease by keeping something desirable in view, but out of reach.

Venus

To the ancient Romans, Venus (Greek, Aphrodite) was the goddess of love. She was the wife of Vulcan and the mother of Cupid (although Vulcan was not necessarily his father).

English word: From Venus get the name for Venus, the second planet from the sun, which is often the morning or evening star. We also get venereal, relating to sexual intercourse, especially to describe sexually transmitted disease.

Vesta

Vesta was the ancient Romans' goddess of the hearth, fire, and cookery. The Romans had a temple dedicated to this goddess. It was tended by vestal virgins, who rekindled the sacred fire on March 1 every year, using the method of friction of wood.

English word: Our word vestal comes directly from the Latin. It means "characteristic of or befitting a vestal virgin, hence "chaste" or "pure."

Zephyrus

To the ancient Greeks and Romans, Zephyrus was the god of the west wind, the mildest and gentlest of the woodland gods.

English word: From this word we get zephyr, a gentle breeze.

Dryad

To the ancient Romans, a dryad (oak tree) was a type of nymph whose life is bound up with that of a tree. Dryads, some specific to particular trees, appear in several mythful tales, such as the story of Daphne and Apollo. Daphne was a beautiful nymph, and Apollo, the sun god, fell in love with her. However, she rejected his advances, and prayed to her father, a river god, for relief. The river god turned her into a laurel tree, which became sacred to Apollo. It's branches were used to crown victors of Roman games and in the Roman senate.

English word: Our word dryad refers to a Roman dryad.

Genius

The ancient Romans believed that each man is born of a spirit that guides him throughout his life, his genius. For women, the guiding spirit was her juno.

English word: In English, a genius is someone of extraordinary intelligence and creativity. The word "juno," however, was never adopted into English.