Progression

halcyon (HAL-see-uhn) adjective

1. Peaceful; tranquil.

2. Carefree; joyful.

3. Golden; prosperous.

noun

Any of various kingfishers of the genus Halcyon.

[From Greek halkyon (kingfisher) via Latin and Middle English. Halcyon was a mythical bird, identified with the kingfisher, that was said to breed around the winter solstice. It nested at sea and had the power to charm the wind and waves so that they became calm.]

In Greek mythology, Alcyone was the daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx. When Ceyx drowned in a shipwreck, she threw herself into the sea. Out of compassion, the gods transformed them into a pair of kingfishers. To protect their nest, the winds were forbidden to blow for a week before and after the winter solstice.

Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=halcyon
Halcyon pictures: http://www.kingfisher-stamps.org/Halcyon.htm

"In the halcyon days, the company's total workforce between the two plants topped 3,300 but the decline in those numbers has been ongoing for some considerable time."
John Murphy; Concern Over Future of Plant; The Irish Examiner (Cork, Ireland); Mar 15, 2005.

So many mythological animals live on in literature, in our minds, and in our imagination, that they would fill a virtual zoo.

Because these creatures are myths, they're not bound by biological rules. Sometimes they're part human, part animal. They could have a human head and an animal body, or vice versa.

These permutations and combinations of body parts make it look as though the gods were playing a mix-n-match game of combining parts to make a composite. At times, it even takes more than a single head to make one of these mythical animals.

Enjoy looking at the menagerie this week and feel free to use them metaphorically to allude their attributes to situations in your life.

-Anu Garg
anu@wordsmith.org

Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/halcyon.html

Posted by Keya at April 4, 2005 07:35 PM