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

the staff, and extended itself upon the breeze. It
was a black fl ag. ‘Justice’ was done, and the President
of the Immortals, in Aeschylean phrase, had
ended his sport with Tess” (Thomas Hardy, Tess of
the D’Urbervilles, 1891).
Aesculapius See staff of aesculapius.
Aesop (eesop) A teller of simple tales with a
moral. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the deformed Phrygian
slave Aesop (c. 620–560 b.c.), who is traditionally
identifi ed as the author of a collection of animal
fables illustrating a variety of morals. In
reality, many of these tales seem to predate his era
by hundreds of years. Nonetheless, several later
writers have been dubbed Aesops of their age,
including the En glish writer John Gay (1685–
1732), called the Aesop of En gland, and the
French fabulist Jean de la Fontaine (1621–95),
known as the Aesop of France. “But how moral
you’ve become all of a sudden, at twelve o’clock
at night! Instead of being Mrs. Radcliffe, I shall
think you’re Mr. Aesop’ ” (Anthony Trollope, Doctor
Thorne, 1858).
Agamemnon See brave men before agamemnon,
there were; wrath of agamemnon.
Aganippe See helicon.
Agatha, Aunt (agbthb) A formidable aunt or,
alternatively, any older woman of fearsome disposition.
<strong>The</strong> original Aunt Agatha featured in the
Bertie Wooster stories of P. G. Wode house (see
jeeves), her chief role apparently being to make
unwarranted demands upon her hapless nephew’s
time and talents. His mother swept into the room and
glared at the intruders for all the world like Bertie
Wooster’s Aunt Agatha.
Agatha Christie (agbthb kristee) Mysterious,
unfathomable, sinister, or otherwise reminiscent
of the detective thrillers of Agatha Christie (1890–
1976). Featuring such memorable sleuths as miss
marple and hercule poirot, her novels were
notable for their inventive plots, which readers
struggled to unravel before the fi nal unmasking of
the culprit. “It’s all very Agatha Christie,” she said with
furrowed brow as she gave up the search for clues as to
the whereabouts of her diary.
age of Aquarius See aquarius, age of.
Aglaia See three graces.
Ahab (ayhab) Archetype of an arrogant, wicked
tyrant. Ahab is identifi ed in 1 Kings 16:29–22:40
as a king of ancient Israel and the husband of the
evil jezebel: “But there was none like unto Ahab,
which did sell himself to work wickedness in the
sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred
up” (1 Kings 21:25). He colluded in the introduction
of pagan worship and, when Naboth refused
to hand over his vineyard (see naboth’s vineyard),
had him stoned to death. Subsequently he
was warned by elijah that he faced divine vengeance
and the fall of his dynasty, which duly
occurred, Ahab himself being killed in battle and
his blood being licked up by dogs. Like the biblical
Ahab, he ignored all warnings that he would have to
answer for his wicked ways, possibly with his life.
Ahab, Captain See captain ahab.
Ahasuerus See esther; wandering jew.
Ajax (ayjaks) Archetype of a brave, strong warrior.
<strong>The</strong> Greek hero Ajax is depicted in Homer’s
Iliad (c. 700 b.c.), which tells the story of the
Ajax
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