Question

Read this excerpt from Herman Melville's "The Lightning-Rod Man," which contains a mythological allusion.

"Mr. Jupiter Tonans, I am not accustomed to be commanded in my own house. "



"Call me not by that pagan name. You are profane in this time of terror."



Which of these statements best conveys the meaning of the allusion?

Answer 1

"Mr. Jupiter Tonans, I am not accustomed to be commanded in my own house. "

Step-by-step explanation:

Jupiter Totans was the aspect of the Roman god Jupiter, worshiped in the Temple of the Iluppiter Tonans. Jupiter is the Greek mythological equivalent of Zeus as the chief deity, god of sky and thunder.

The statement "Call me not by that pagan name. You are profane in this time of terror." conveys the meaning of the allusion through the adjectives "pagan" and "profane". Something is usually described as pagan when it is part of a polytheistic non-Abrahamist religion. Thus calling somebody using a Roman god name is understood by the interlocutor as a profane act.