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

to heaven exclaims, “Surely the LORD is in this
place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and
said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other
but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven”
(Genesis 28:16–17). <strong>The</strong> enemy brought up some cannon,
and the general’s confi dence faltered as he realized,
somewhat tardily, that they were trapped before heaven’s
gate.
Hebe (heebee) Personifi cation of youth. In Greek
mythology she is identifi ed as the daughter of Zeus
and Hera and the cupbearer to the gods before
being replaced by Ganymede. Another tradition
has it that she lost her position after stumbling and
falling while serving nectar to the gods. “Olivia,
now about eigh teen, had that luxuriancy of beauty
with which paint ers generally draw Hebe; open,
sprightly, and commanding” (Oliver Goldsmith,
<strong>The</strong> Vicar of Wakefi eld, 1766).
Hecate (hekbtee) Personifi cation of witchcraft
and sorcery. In Greek mythology Hecate was a
moon goddess who ruled the underworld and by
association the witches, ghosts, and world of
magic. She is often depicted with three heads as
she was identifi ed with Selene in heaven, Artemis
on earth, and Persephone in the underworld.
Drunken and screaming foul oaths, she erupted out of the
shadows like Hecate from the underworld.
hecatomb (hekbtom) A great sacrifi ce. <strong>The</strong> word
comes from the Greek hekaton, meaning “a hundred,”
and bous, meaning “an ox,” and referred
originally to the sacrifi ce of 100 head of oxen in
religious rituals. “Thirteen years later the Mahdi’s
empire was abolished forever in the gigantic hecatomb
of Omdurman; after which it was thought
proper that a religious ceremony in honour of
General Gordon should be held at the palace at
Khartoum” (Lytton Strachey, Eminent Victorians,
1918).
hector To badger, bully, or intimidate others.
<strong>The</strong> word is an allusion to Hector, the hero of
Homer’s Iliad (c. eighth century b.c.), who led the
Trojans against the besieging Greeks. <strong>The</strong> son of
King Priam and Hecuba, he was a courageous warrior
and the personifi cation of every virtue. He
died a hero’s death in battle against Achilles, but
the latter dishonored his corpse, dragging it behind
his chariot and refusing it proper burial until the
gods intervened. His name was invoked to
describe brave and virtuous knights in medieval
times, and it was only toward the end of the 17th
century that it came to be applied in a negative
sense, initially to gangs of wealthy young men who
called themselves “Hectors” and terrorized the
streets of London, frightening innocent passersby.
“. . . several personages, who would otherwise
have been admitted into the parlour and enlarged
the opportunity of hectoring and condescension
for their betters, being content this eve ning to
vary their enjoyment by taking their spirits- andwater
where they could themselves hector and
condescend in company that called for beer”
(George Eliot, Silas Marner, 1861).
Hecuba (hekybbb) Personifi cation of grief and
misfortune. In Greek legend, Hecuba was the second
wife of King Priam of Troy and saw many of
her sons (who included Hector and Paris) slain
one by one in the course of the Trojan War, as
related by Homer in the Iliad (c. eighth century
b.c.). After the fall of Troy Hecuba was claimed as
a slave by the victorious Odysseus. Her grief was
further intensifi ed by the death of her daughter
Polyxena (sacrifi ced on the demand of the ghost of
Achilles) and of her grandson Astyanax (murdered
Hecuba
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