The company was originally named “Cadabra” and was at the website “Cadabra.com”.  After sales rocketed up quite quickly, Jeff Bezos decided to rename the company to reflect the broadening scope of the business (not just books).  He wanted the new name to begin with an “A” so that it would show high up on website indexes that listed things alphabetically, which a lot of internet browsing sites did at the time, including Yahoo.  Upon scanning through the dictionary, he saw “Amazon”, after the Amazon River, which in turn was named after the female Amazons in Greek mythology.  He liked the correlation between Amazon being one of the biggest rivers in the world and hopefully someday the company Amazon being one of the biggest businesses in the world (mission accomplished).

In Greek mythology, the Amazons were a race of woman warriors located outside the realm of Greek territories. They often fought in battles, the most notable being the battles of the Iliad (a famous Greek war.) Many Amazons are depicted as living in the tropics.

Photo of ruins in Delphi, Greece

In Greek mythology, an oracle (pronounced or·a·cle) was a mortal seer or psychic who often served as bridge between gods and men. Oracle also

refers to the shrine where the ancient priestess resided. Although, they were not gods or goddesses themselves, oracles were revered in Ancient

Greece because it was believed the gods spoke through them. Therefore, people traveled far and wide to seek the wisdom of oracles.

Dating back to 1400 BC, the Oracle of Delphi was the most important shrine in all Greece, and in theory all Greeks respected its independence.

Built around a sacred spring, Delphi was considered to be the omphalos – the center (literally navel) of the world.

People came from all over Greece and beyond to have their questions about the future answered by Pythia, priestess of Apollo (a Greed god). And

her answers, usually cryptic, could determine the course of everything from when a farmer planted his seedlings, to when an empire declared war.

Today, Oracle is known to be a manufacturer of database software – or in other words, an information database. For more than three and a half

decades, Oracle has been the leader in database software by providing innovative and creative solutions for businesses. Oddly enough, Greek

Mythology is often outlet for great names of software companies. Fun fact, there is a programming language named Delphi.

A depiction of Pandora opening the box

From Pandora’s website:

“The name Pandora means “all gifted” in Greek. In

ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received many gifts

from the gods, including the gift of music, from Apollo.

She was also, as we all know, very curious. Unlike

those gods of old, however, we celebrate that virtue

and have made it our mission to reward the musically

curious among us with a never-ending experience of

music discovery.”

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first mortal

woman. In Greek, the name Pandora means “all gifts,”

derived from the combination of pan meaning “all” and

doron meaning “gift.” Zeus gifted Pandora a jar

containing all of the troubles and ills that mankind

knows such as despair, pain, sickness, famine, and

disease. She was instructed never to open the jar

(which we more commonly refer to as a box).

Unfortunately, her curiosity got the best of her and she

opened the jar, unleashing all the evils into the world

buy only leaving hope inside.

You may be wondering why the music app Pandora shares its name with the Greek myth?

A picture of a broken statue of the Greek goddess Nike.

The SWOOSH logo is a graphic design created by Caroline

Davidson in 1971. It represents the wing of the Greek Goddess

NIKE. Caroline Davidson was a student at Portland State University

in advertising. She met Phil Knight while he was teaching

accounting classes and she started doing some freelance work for

his company. Phil Knight asked Caroline to design a logo that could

be placed on the side of a shoe. She handed him the SWOOSH

logo we all know today. He paid her $35.00. In spring of 1972, the

first shoe with the NIKE SWOOSH was introduced...the rest is

history!

NIKE, pronounced NI-KEY, is the winged goddess of victory

according to Greek mythology. She sat at the side of Zeus, the ruler

of the Olympic pantheon, in Mount Olympus. A mystical presence,

symbolizing victorious encounters, NIKE presided over history's

earliest battlefields. A Greek would say, "When we go to battle and

win, we say it is NIKE." The NIKE 'swoosh' embodies the spirit of

the winged goddess who inspired the most courageous and

chivalrous warriors at the dawn of civilization. (from Nike Consumer

Affairs packet, 1996)

The NBC Peacock logo is a very well-known logo presented by NBC. The multiple colored peacock logo has an interesting idea behind it. Visually, it's a very attractive logo, with multiple colors of the rainbow and that small indentation of the peacock’s beak. These are various things that make people take that double take on the logo of NBC. However, if you go further into the mythological details of the peacock, you will realize it was chosen for a specific purpose.

The peacock has a place in Greek mythology. Hera, the wife of Zeus, created the peacock from Argus (a giant with 100 eyes). The eyes were then turned into the feathers of the peacock's tail. The meaning of the opened peacock symbolized the vault of heaven and the eyes of the stars, meaning that it had all seeing knowledge. Interesting stuff right? So you must ask the question, why would NBC want a giant with 100 eyes turned into a peacock as its symbol?

Left: Depictions of Argus Panoptes, the 100 eyed giant

A depiction of Greek sailors being lured by Sirens

(Traditionally, Greek Sirens had wings and were more animal like)

The Starbucks logo is recognizable to many people. So one must ask the

question: Is this logo just part of the brand image or was it chosen

intentionally. The Starbucks logo refers to a mythical creature, the Siren,

which is common in Greek and Norse* mythology. The image represented in

the logo refers specifically to the “twin tailed Siren.” Sirens are mythical

creatures that are similar to mermaids. Sirens were known to seduce sailors

by their beautiful appearance and mesmerizing voices until the sailor was no

longer in control of their mind. As a result, the sailor drowned to his death.

You may ask yourself: So why does Starbuck use a siren?

From the Starbucks website:

“So, a little history.

Let’s go all the way back to 1971, to when Starbucks was first coming to be.

In a search for a way to capture the seafaring history of coffee and Seattle’s

strong seaport roots, there was a lot of poring over old marine books going

on. Suddenly, there she was: a 16th century Norse woodcut of a twin-tailed

mermaid, or Siren. There was something about her – a seductive mystery

mixed with a nautical theme that was exactly what the founders were looking

for. A logo was designed around her, and our long relationship with the Siren

began.

Over the last 40 years we’ve made some changes to that identity. Now we’re

doing that again, to keep ourselves relevant as we evolve without ever losing

sight of our heritage. But the Siren has always been there. She is at the heart

of Starbucks.”

*Norse mythology refers the myths and tales of Scandinavia – Norway, Sweden, and Finland

A depiction of Bellerophon and Pegasus

The logo that you are looking at represents the Mobil oil & gas company. Today it is

known as Exxon Mobil (after two separate companies. Exxon and Mobil, merged

into one). The Mobil logo uses one of the most recognized and beloved

mythological creatures: the Pegasus. The Pegasus has been depicted by many

popular companies such as Disney and Tristar Pictures.

Pegasus is a beautiful winged horse. In the Greek myth, the hero Perseus cut off

Medusa’s head and the blood soaked the earth to create Pegasus. Later, this

creature was caught and tamed by Athena. There are many stories of Pegasus and

its riders’ adventures. One of them who goes by the name of Bellerophon, who

captured the stallion near the fountain Peirene with the help of Athena and

Poseidon. They needed the Pegasus to defeat the Chimera (a monster with a lion’s

body, a snake tail and a goat’s head on its back). Pegasus also carried Zeus’s

thunderbolts and lightning from Mt. Olympus.

The Pegasus logo designed for Exxon mobile appears as a bold red. The red white

and blue color scheme hints at American patriotism. The automobile industry is a

large source of income for the United States which include gas and petroleum

products. In the logo, Pegasus has been recognized as a vehicle, which heroes

have ridden on, to defeat monsters. Why would a gas station feature Pegasus, a creature that is noble but is also a means of transportation?

Arm & Hammer is a brand name that is well known, most especially for

their baking soda and other household products. Their current logo,

which was first introduced in 1867 by the sons of Austin Church (of

Church and Dwight Co., Inc.), is of a muscular hammer-wielding arm

of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metalwork, or otherwise the

blacksmith god.

Vulcan is the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hephaestus.

Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of all

gods. His knowledge and power in the art of craftsmanship and fire,

was responsible for forging technology, blacksmiths, sculptures, and

metals. Hephaestus was synonymous with fire and his breath of fire

helped forge the ideas of metal working and industry.

This relation to the brand Arm & Hammer, which utilizes the Hammer

of Hephaestus in its logo, is still relevant today because today, when

you think of an all-purpose use product you think of Arm & Hammer

baking soda to aid in everyday use.

A depiction of the Greek god Hephaestus (Vulcan in Roman mythology)

A depiction of the Greek god Hermes (Mercury in Roman mythology)

The Wingfoot symbol of the Goodyear tire brand is

known today in every country on earth The choice of

logo belongs to Frank Seiberling, the founder and

president of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.

Mr. Seiberling's attention was attracted to a statue of

the Greek god Hermes (Roman name: Mercury), and

he felt that the god it portrayed embodied many of the

characteristics for which Goodyear products were

known. Among the sketches prepared for the meeting

at Mr. Seiberling's suggestion was one using the

winged sandal of Mercury.

Mercury/Hermes in ancient times was the god of trade

and commerce; but it was as a swift messenger for all

the gods of mythology that he was best known, and as

such he has continued to be known through the

centuries. Hermes therefore could travel great

distances with his winged sandals that mortals could

not achieve.

The idea of speed had much to do with Goodyear’s

selection of the symbol, for the wing-footed Mercury

was regarded as a swift teller of good news. So the

question is: Why would Goodyear choose Hermes to represent its brand?

Midas Inc. is a chain of automotive service centers throughout

North America. Midas stands for: The Muffler Installation

Dealers’ Associated Service. Midas’ original service offered

was replacement of mufflers and therefore was known as

Midas Muffler. They now however, have expanded their

services to include most regular maintenance services,

significantly increasing their business in the automotive service

industry.

The name “Midas” does come from the king Midas of Greek

mythology. Therefore the MIDAS company capitalized on that

for marketing their brand. Their slogan is very well known

among consumers – “Trust the Midas Touch!” Other slogans

have included: “Did you think about you should trust a Midas

touch? “, “You should trust a Midas touch”, “Trust Midas” and

“The Midas Touch”.

In the Greek myth, King Midas made a wish to the god

Dionysus that everything he touched would turn into gold.

Already a king with great fortune, Dionysus granted him the

wish. When King Midas awoke the next morning, he began to

test his power. To his amazement, everything he touched

turned into gold. However, he did not account that every food

he touched would turn to gold. His family. His most precious

loved ones. As a result, the greed of turning everything into

gold made King Midas regret his choice. To this day if

someone says you have the “Midas touch,” it means that you

are blessed with great fortune.

(Left: Depictions of King Midas)