Sword of Damocles. The meaning of phraseology

Many expressions in our speech are borrowed from ancient myths, the Bible or literary works. Very often, using them in our speech, we do not think about their origin, although everyone deserves attention and has a history. Many of them have firmly entered our everyday life, for example the sword of Damocles. The meaning of this expression lies in an impending danger that can collapse at any moment, despite external well-being.

This phraseology was taken from ancient Greek mythology, in particular from Mark Tullius Cicero's Talkulan Conversations. According to this source, in one Greek kingdom the government was in the hands of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius. The tsar had everything in abundance, the servant did not dare disobey him, and the entire population recognized his one-man rule. He ate the best food, drank refined drinks from gold glasses and spent time in amusements and feasts. From the side his life looked carefree, and many of his subjects wanted to be in his place.

Sword of Damocles. The meaning of expression

One of the approximate tsar was the grandee Damocles. He did not conceal his desires and intentions to taste the royal life. Dionysius decided to show him what it's like to be a ruler in reality, what is the burden of royal responsibility and how to live in fear, thinking about the possible change of the confidants.

Putting on the throne of Damocles, the tyrant ordered his subordinates to obey him in everything, implicitly execute any of the orders and render honors worthy of the king. Considering himself the happiest of mortals, Damocles perceived his temporary stay at the place of the king at face value. It seemed to him that he was at the peak of bliss. Suddenly, sitting on the throne, he saw a sword hanging on a thin horse hair above his head. He was hung with a point down and could fall, striking him at any moment.

This legend explains the origin of such phraseology as the sword of Damocles. Its value boils down to a warning of a danger that can suddenly arise when the situation is misinterpreted. Understanding the imminent threat returned Damocles an awareness of reality, from which he wanted to turn away.

What Dionysius did was very clearly demonstrated to the nobleman that there is no bliss if a "sword of Damocles" hangs over a man. The meaning of this expression is used in a figurative sense, it denotes the existing threat and the feeling of permanent danger in external calm.

People communicate with each other, often using phraseological units in their speech, which briefly but very capacitively characterize the situation. In Russian there is a large number of winged phrases and expressions that make our speech laconic, but not dry. The meaning of phraseological turns is to give an emotional color to speech and significantly strengthen the meaning of the words spoken. They are indivisible and make sense only if they are used correctly.

The meaning of phraseological turns does not add up to the meaning of the individual words that make up their composition, and represent a single lexical unit. They do not allow the replacement of words or their rearrangements. For example, if the expression "Damocles sword" (the meaning of phraseology is already known to us) is used in another way, for example, "Damocles sword", then its meaning will be lost. Not for nothing that these phrases are also called stable. The most important characteristic of phraseological units is their ability to describe briefly the action, situation or emotional state.

Our speech becomes more colorful, if we use "winged" phrases. For example, if we use the expression "Damocles sword" (the meaning of phraseology is a possible threat), it will immediately be clear that behind visible prosperity there is a real danger that can prevent our peace and serene existence any day.