From Achilles' Heel to Zeus' Shield

Absolutely loved this book. Its relatively short and full of great myths and stories dealing with the etymology of hundreds of words we use every day.For example, the common breakfast cereal comes from the Roman god Ceres - goddess of agriculture and grains.The word 'tantalizing' comes from the Greek mythological character Tantalus, a wicked man who was condemned to stare at food and drink that was just out of his reach, for eternity.The book is filled with tons of such stories and fables and is a pleasure to read. Its also not only ROman and Greek mythologies, but African, Norse, Aztec, Chinese and other myths that are mentioned. For example the term 'mumbo jumbo' comes from Senegal, where local priests chased away the evil spirit of Mamba Diambo by yelling and screaming non-sense to frighten the spirit.Great read for anyone who loves myths, etymology and just wants to understand how our language was shaped by history.