Uzbekistan state world languages university d. U. Ashurova m. R. Galieva

phraseological units derived from Greek and Roman myths

Pandora’s box – a source of many unforeseen troubles (from Greek mythology Zeus gave to Pandora a box with instructions not to open it but she gave in to her curiosity and opened it. As a result all the miseries, evils and diseases flew out to afflict the mankind);

Achilles’ heel – a seemingly small but actually crucial weakness; a place of especial vulnerability, especially in a person’s character (from the mythological legend about Greek hero Achilles, who was killed by arrow pointed at his heel, the only vulnerable place in his body);

Trojan horse – a subversive group or device placed within enemy ranks(the hollow wooden horse in which, according to the legend, Greeks hid and gained entrance to Troy, later opening the gates to their army);

In conclusion it should stressed that phraseological units are culture relevant linguistic units since they reflect people’s culture, their history and literature, cultural values, customs and traditions, beliefs and superstitions, i.e. they represent, store and transfer cultural knowledge and accumulated experience of generations that a society has been collecting over a long period of time.