The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions - Green Valley High School

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Zeboiim See admah and zeboiim.
zephyr (zefer) A gentle breeze; a soft wind. <strong>The</strong>
allusion is to Zephyrus, the god of the west wind
in Greek mythology, identifi ed as the son of Astraeus
and Aurora and the father of Xanthus and Balius
(the two immortal horses of Achilles) by the Harpy
Podarge. <strong>The</strong> west wind itself was sometimes
referred to by the name Zephyrus, which might
itself have come ultimately from the Greek zophos
(meaning “darkness” or “west”). “He felt a zephyr
curling about his cheek, and turned. It was Bathsheba’s
breath—she had followed him, and was looking
into the same chink” (Thomas Hardy, Far from
the Madding Crowd, 1874).
Zeus (zoos) <strong>The</strong> king of the gods in Greek
mythology and thus, by association, any person
who makes decisions or dispenses advice from a
position of apparently unquestionable authority.
<strong>The</strong> son of Cronus and Rhea, he was reputed to rule
heaven and earth from his seat on Mount Olympus
in <strong>The</strong>ssaly and to be the father of many gods,
demigods, and mortals. He is conventionally
depicted with the lightning bolts that he could aim
at will at those who displeased him. <strong>The</strong> name is
thought to have come originally from the Greek
for “bright.” His equivalent in Roman mythology
was the supreme god jupiter. For a short time the
president was credited with having the insight and allencompassing
authority of a Zeus. See also eighth
wonder of the world.
Zeuxis (zooksis) An artist noted for the realism
of his or her work. <strong>The</strong> original Zeuxis, a fi fthcentury
b.c. Greek paint er famed for the verisimilitude
of his painting, was a native of Heraclea
in southern Italy. He is remembered chiefl y for the
contest in which and he and his younger rival, Parrhasius,
attempted to outdo each other with the
realism of their still lifes. Zeuxis painted a bunch
of grapes so realistic that birds tried to eat the
fruit, but he subsequently admitted defeat when
Parrhasius invited him to pull aside the curtain
concealing his painting, only to fi nd when he tried
to grip the cloth that the curtain itself was painted.
Alone among the new generation of artists she has donned
the mantle of Zeuxis through the lifelike character of her
work.
Zion (zion) <strong>The</strong> name of the hill on which the
city of Jerusalem was fi rst built and sometimes
called David’s City. In biblical times, the city of
Jerusalem grew signifi cantly, and Mount Zion is
now in the southeast of the old city of Jerusalem.
In poetic and prophetic writing of biblical times,
Zion referred to Jerusalem as a whole (for example,
Isaiah 2:3 and 33:14) and even for the land