August 12: Edith Hamilton Day

Today is the birthday of Edith Hamilton whose writings on ancient civilization and mythology have been read by generations of students.

Born in Dresden Germany in 1867, Hamilton immigrated to the United States with her family as a child. At the age of seven, she began studying Latin and committing biblical passages to memory. She completed her education in classics at Bryn Mawr College in Baltimore where she later became headmistress. She gained a reputation as an excellent teacher, story teller, translator, and interpreter of Greek tragedies. Encouraged by her friends to write, she published her first book, The Greek Way (1930), in her 60s.

Hamilton continued writing into her 90s, writing a total of nine books. Although she wrote about ancient Rome and Israel, the civilization she seemed to admire the most was ancient Greece:

The fundamental fact about the Greek was that he had to use his mind. The ancient priests had said, "Thus far and no farther. We set the limits of thought." The Greek said, "All things are to be examined and called into question. There are no limits set on thought."

Hamilton's best known and most widely read book is Mythology (1942) which she wrote as an overview of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology. This book is known by generations of middle school and high school students who read it as a primer on the myths.

Prior to her death in 1963 at the age of 96, Hamilton received several honorary degrees in the U.S. and was also honored internationally as an official citizen of Athens, Greece in 1957 (1).

Today's Challenge: Words from the Gods
Many common English words spring from the stories that Hamilton told of the ancient Greek and Roman gods. Given the eight clues below, see if you can name the words.

1. This word for any grain, such as wheat or oats comes from the name of the Roman goddess of agriculture.

2. This word for a repeating sound comes from the name of a nymph who loved Narcissus.

3. This word for maintaining health and preventing disease comes from the name of the the Greek goddess of health.

4. This word for psychically induced sleep comes from the name for the Greek god of sleep.

5. This word for being full of happiness and playfulness comes from the name of the most powerful Roman god.

6. This word for being changeable or volatile comes from the name for the Roman messenger of the gods.

7. This word for sudden fear comes from the name of the Greek god of fields, forests, and wild animals.

8. This word, used to refer to something that induces sleep, comes from the name of the Roman god of sleep.

Today's Quote: It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated person, the enormous interest it adds to life. To be able to be caught up into the world of thought -- that is to be educated. --Edith Hamilton

Answers: 1. cereal 2. echo 3. hygiene 4. hypnosis 5. jovial 6. mercurial 7. panic 8. somniferous

1 - Sicherman, Barbara. "Edith Hamilton." The Reader's Companion to American History, Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors, published by Houghton Mifflin Company

January 1: Janus Day

Happy New Year!

On the first day of the year it is appropriate to explore the origins of the name January.

The Roman god Janus was the god of doorways, gates, and portals as well as the god of beginnings. Janus was depicted with two faces, one looking back to the past and one looking toward the future. As we look back on the year that just finished and look forward to the coming year, it becomes clear why Janus became the name-sake of our first month.

As the gatekeeper, Janus is also the source of the word Janitor. If you've been to a school lately you can see the appropriateness of this moniker; long after the students, teachers, and principal go home, there is a faithful janitor making his or her appointed rounds which include make sure doors are locked and secured (1).

Today's Challenge: The Beginning and the End
Ten of the 20 words below relate to beginnings. The remaining words related to endings. See if you can identify how each word relates to either the beginning or the end.

prologue
denouement
finale
fledgling
neophyte
epilogue
inaugurate
omega
initiate
exposition
prelude
alpha
terminate
culminate
terminus
postlude
cessation
genesis
commencement
epitaph

Quote of the Day: This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But, it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. --Winston Churchill

Sources:

1 - Word Histories and Mysteries. (by the editors of American Heritage Dictionaries. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.

Answers:
Beginnings: prologue, inaugurate, genesis, commencement, initiate, exposition, prelude, alpha, fledgling, neophyte

Endings: epilogue, terminate, culminate, denouement, finale, omega, terminus, postlude, apocalypse, cessation, epitaph