10. Great Expectations (pg. 94): “Whether myrmidons of Justice, specially sent down from London, would be lying in ambush behind the gate? Whether Miss Havisham, preferring to take personal vengeance for an outrage done to her house, might rise in those grave-clothes of hers, draw a pistol, and shoot me dead?”:
Dickens makes a reference to Greek mythology that speaks of Myrmidons, who were ants changed into men. Achilles’ soldiers that came with him to Troy were Myrmidons; these warriors carried out orders without question. Dickens is using this reference to illustrate the fear that Pip has that he will be punished for punching the “pale young gentleman.”
“myrmidon.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 27 December 2009. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/myrmidon
“myrmidon.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 27 December 2009. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/myrmidon.
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