KM-+Traces...

1. Mars- The Greeks named the fourth planet after Ares. The fourth planet shines with a color resembling blood. Which reminded them of the god of war. The Romans identified their god of war, Mars, with Ares, so we knew the planetas Mars. []

2.March- Mars was one of the most important of the Roman gods. So, the third month of the year was named after him. []

3. Achilles heel- When Achilles was born, Thetis dipped him in the river Styx to try to make him immortal. She held him by the heel and forgot to dip the heel. The heel she held him by remanied mortal because the water of Styx didn't touch it.So, during the Trojan War, he was killed by an arrow in the heel, the one place where he could be mortally wounded. for this reason, any weak spot in an otherwise solid defense is called an "achilles heel." []

4. Volcano- The Romans had a god of fire and forge themselves. They picturedhim working in the depths of Mount Etna, the great Sicilian volcano. The Romans called this god Vulcan and identified him with Hephaestus. So, all moutains that belch fire and flame are now called "volcanoes." []

5. Swan- Zeus turned himself into a swan and. as usal, he honored the animal form he had taken by placing it among the constellations. It is named Cygnus, which means "swan" in latin. []

6.Cereal- Ceres, also known as Demeter, is the goddess of agriculture and particularly grains, such as wheat, corn, rice. barley and oats. These are the most important foods in farming and they are called "cereals" after Ceres. []

7.June- The sixth month, June, is named after Juno. Juno is also known as Hera. She is th goddess of marrige and June is stilled considered the traditional month for marriage. Many girls dream of having a "June bride." []

8. Nocturnal- Nox was the goddess of the darkness of night. When we refer to nocturnal we are talking about this goddess. Nocturnal means active at night. []

9. Pomegranet- Flora is the goddess of flowers and plant life in general. Amoung the plants was Pomona and so the latin word "pomum" means "fruit." From that we have "pome" meaning a juicy, fleshy fruit like that of an apple. Also there is "pomegranate," which is a fruit containing grains and with the outer apperance of an apple. []

10. fauna- The romans had a nature god called Faunus. Faunus was a god of animal life in paticular. Her name is now applied to animal life, so that biologists will speak of the "fauna" (animal life). [] Thanks to Words from the Myths by Isaac Asimov for all the information.