Download AIENTA: Name from a Corinthian aryballos along with nine men`s

AIENTA: Name from a Corinthian aryballos along with nine men’s names who were perhaps
her lovers or admirers.
ALCESTIS: Daughter of Pelias and wife of Admetus who was rescued by Hercules when she
descended into Hades in place of her husband, meaning "might of the home."
ALCMENE: Mortal mother of Hercules by Zeus, meaning "might of the moon."
AMYMONE: The one daughter of Danaus who refused to murder her husband, thus escaping
her sisters' punishment.
ANDROMACHE: Kidnapped wife of Hector, derived from andros "of a man/warrior" and
mache "battle."
ANDROMEDA: Daughter of Cassiopeia who was to be sacrificed to the sea monster Cetus
but was rescued by Perseus. Andromeda was said to be an Ethiopian princess. Ancient
Ethiopians considered Perseus and Andromeda the progenitors of the black race. Derives
from Greek andros "man/warrior" and medomai "to think."
ANTIGONE: Sister of Priam, daughter of Oedipus, derived from anti "against; counter" and
gone "birth; generation."
ANTIOPE: Daughter of Ares and Hippolyte (a queen of the Amazons) who was kidnapped
and married by Theseus, making her the first Amazon ever to marry. The meaning is
debatable. The first half, Anti-, could have derived from anti "against; counter," or antios "set
against." The second half, -ope, could have derived from ope "hole," ops "voice," or opsis
"face."
APHRODISIA: Feminine form of Aphrodisios, meaning "risen from the foam."
APHRODITE: Goddess of love and mother of Eros, composed of afros "foam" and dity
"dive; rise."
APOLLONIA: Feminine form of Apollonios, possibly meaning "destroyer."
ARACHNE: Young girl who was turned into a spider by Athena, meaning "spider."
ARCADIA: Feminine form of Arkadios, meaning "of Arcadia." The place name Arcadia was
derived from the word arktos, meaning "bear."
ARETHOUSA: "The waterer." One of the Hesperides, and a water nymph (Nereid), daughter
of Nereus, who was pursued by Alpheus, the river god. Artemis changed her into a fountain.
ARIADNE: Daughter of King Minos, meaning "utterly pure."
ARTEMIS: Daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister to Apollo. The name is of uncertain
origin. It may be related to the word artamos "a butcher" or artemes "safe."
ARTEMISIA: Feminine form of Artemisios, a name derived from the name Artemis,
meaning either "safe" or "butcher."
ASPASIA: Derived from the word aspasios, meaning "welcome."
ASTARTE: Greek form of Phoenician Ashtoreth, goddess of fertility and war, equivalent to
the Semitic goddess Ishtar. Meaning is unknown.
ATALANTA: Fleet-footed maiden who refused to marry any man who could not beat her in
a foot-race.
ATHENA: Goddess of wisdom. Plato fancifully derived her name from A-theo-noa, meaning
"mind of God," but the true meaning is unknown.
ATHENAIS: Derived from Athena, the meaning of which is unknown.
ATROPOS: One of the original three Fates, known as the "inevitable" or "inflexible."
BERENIKE: Original Greek form of Berenice. It is most likely a Macedonian form of Greek
Pherenike, meaning "bringer of victory," which probably originated in the Egyptian royal
house of Macedon.
BRISEIS: Princess of Lyrnessus, taken by Achilles as a war prize.
CAENEUS: Formerly Caenis, a woman who was transformed into a man and became a
mighty warrior.
CALLISTO: Daughter of Lycaon, king of Arcadia. She may also have been a nymph. The
name derives from the Greek word kalliste, meaning "most beautiful."
CALLIOPE/KALLIOPE: Muse of Epic Poetry, from kallos "beauty" and ops "voice."
CALLISTA/KALLISTA: Nymph loved by Zeus, derived from the word kallistos, meaning
"most beautiful."
CALLISTRATE/KALLISTRATE: Composed of kallos "beauty" and stratos "army."
CALYPSO/KALYPSO: Probably meaning "she that conceals," from the word kalypto,
meaning "to cover/conceal." Nymph who detained Odysseus on his voyage back to Ithaca.
CANDACE/KANDAKE: Several possible origins. Queen of Nubia who led rebellion against
Octavian.
CASSANDRA/KASSANDRA: Meaning "she who entangles men." Princess of Troy cursed
to see the future but never to be believed.
CASSIOPEIA/KASSIOPEIA: Meaning "she whose words excel." Queen of Ethiopia and
mother of Andromeda.
CHLOE: "Green shoot." Another name of the goddess Demeter.
CHLORIS: Goddess of vegetation, derived from the word chloros, meaning "green."
CHRYSANTHE: Feminine form of Chrysanthos, meaning "golden flower."
CHRYSEIS/KHRYSEIS: Daughter of Chryses mentioned briefly in Homer's Iliad, derived
from khrysos, meaning "gold."
CHTHONIA/KHTHONIA: Meaning "of the earth/underworld" another epithet of Hekate or
Persephone.
CIRCE/KIRKE: Meaning "bird." Sorceress who detained Odysseus on his voyage back to
Ithaca.
CLIO/KLEIO: Muse of poetry and history, derived from the word kleos, meaning "glory."
CLEOPATRA/KLEOPATRA: Derived from kleos "glory" and patēer "father." Seven
Ptolemaic queens including the famous last one.
CLOTHO/KLOTHO: "Spinner." One of the three Fates (Moirae).
CLYTEMNESTRA/KLYTAIMNESTRA: Derived from klytos "famous, praiseworthy," and
mnestria "wooing." Sister of Helen and unfaithful wife of Agamemnon.
CLYTIE/KLYTIE: Nymph who was buried alive in sand and transformed into a sunflower,
derived from klytos, meaning "famous."
CYBELE: Phrygian goddess of fertility adopted by the Greeks and Romans. The true
meaning of the name is uncertain; the traditional derivation is "she of the hair."
DANAE: Mother of Perseus, meaning "parched."
DEIANEIRA: Third wife and unwitting killer of Heracles.
DAPHNE: Nymph who was turned into a laurel tree by her father so that she might escape
Apollo's unwanted attentions, meaning "laurel."
DELIA: Name borne by Artemis, referring to her place of birth, meaning "of Delos."
DELPHINIA: "Of Delphi." Name borne by Artemis, referring to Delphi, where she had a
shrine.
DEMETER: Goddess of agriculture, derived from Doric Da-mater, meaning "mother earth."
DIONE: "The goddess." Mother of Aphrodite. The name is a feminine form of Zeus.
DIONYSIA: Feminine form of Dionysos, meaning "Zeus-Nysa."
DORIS: Goddess of the sea, consort of Nereus and mother of the Nereids (sea nymphs). The
name was derived from a Greek ethnic name meaning "Dorian woman."
ECHO: Oread (mountain nymph) who loved her own voice. From the Greek word eche,
meaning "sound."
EILEITHYIA: Goddess of childbirth, derived from the word eilelythyia, meaning "the readycomer."
EIRENE: Goddess of peace, meaning "peace."
ELECTRA/ELEKTRA: "Bright, shining." A Pleiad, an Oceanid, and the sister of Orestes
who helped him kill their mother Clytemnestra.
ELISSA: Queen who fell in love with Aeneas, and set herself on fire when he left her. She is
also known by the Phoenician name Dido, meaning "wanderer."
ENYO: "Horror." Greek counterpart of Roman Bellona, goddess of war known as the "waster
of cities" and depicted as being covered in blood and carrying weapons. She was a
companion of Ares and is sometimes said to be his sister or mother.
EOS: Goddess of dawn, meaning "dawn."
ERATO: Muse of poetry, derived from the Greek word arastos, meaning "lovely."
ERIS: Personification of "strife." She is the sister of Ares.
EUPHROSYNE: One of the three Graces, meaning "joy, mirth."
EUROPA: Phoenician woman, abducted by Zeus.
EURYDIKE: Name of several characters. The wives of Acrisius, Creon, Nestor, and Orpheus
all bore this name. It is composed of eurys "wide" and dike "justice."
EUTERPE: One of the Muses fathered by Zeus. She is called the "giver of pleasure," and her
name means "delight."
GAIA: Goddess of earth, wife of Uranus and mother of the Titans, meaning "earth."
GORGOPHONE: Daughter of Perseus, composed of the name Gorgon and the element
phonos "murderer, slayer."
HARMONIA: Daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, meaning "concord, harmony."
HEBE: Goddess of youth, derived from the word hebos, meaning "young."
HEKABE/HECUBA: Mother of Cassandra and Polydorus and 17 others by Priam, possibly
meaning "far off."
HEKATE: Original Greek form of Latin Hecate, meaning "far off."
HELEN: Most beautiful mortal woman ever to exist whose abduction by Paris caused the
Trojan war. The name has been disputed for a long time. There have been attempts to link it
with Greek helene "torch" or selene "moon." However, recently it has been compared by
scholars to Vedic Saranyu, wife of Surya, who was abducted just as Helen of Greek
mythology was; the name may therefore be from the Proto-Indo-European root sel "to elope"
and have been borrowed from the older Hindu myth of the abduction of the goddess of dawn.
HERA: Wife of Zeus. Her name is not Greek or Indo-European, it is therefore believed that
she may be a female deity of the Minoan pantheon or of some other unidentifiable pre-Greek
people. Her Roman name Juno means "vital force."
HERMIA: Feminine form of Hermes, meaning "of the earth."
HERMIONE: Daughter of Menelaus and Helen, wife of Neoptomeus and Orestes, derived
from the name of the Greek god Hermes, meaning "of the earth."
HERO: Lover of Leander, meaning "hero."
HESTIA: Goddess of the hearth, meaning "hearth, fireside."
HIPPOLYTE: Feminine form of Hippolytos, meaning "horse-freer." Daughter of Ares.
HYPATIA: Feminine form of Hypatos, meaning "most high, supreme."
IANTHE: Ocean nymph, meaning "violet flower."
IO: Princess loved by Zeus. Meaning unknown.
IOLANTA: Variant of Greek Iolanthe, meaning "violet flower."
IOLE: Woman loved by Herakles, meaning "violet."
IPHIGENIA: Daughter of King Agamemnon, sacrificed to Artemis, composed of iphios
"strong" and genes "born."
IRIS: Messenger goddess, meaning "rainbow."
ISMENE: Sister of Antigone.
JOCASTA/IOKASTE: possibly meaning "violet tinted (clouds)." Mother and wife of
Oedipus.
KORE: Name borne by Persephone, goddess of the underworld, meaning "maiden."
LACHESIS: One of the three Fates, meaning "apportioner."
LEDA: Mother of Castor, Pollux and Helen, meaning "woman."
LETO: Mother of Apollo and Artemis, meaning "the hidden one."
LIGEIA: One of the Sirens, derived from ligys meaning "shrill whistling voice."
LYSISTRATE: Name composed of lysis "freeing, loosening, a release" and stratos "army,
expedition, multitude."
MAIA: Eldest of the Pleiades and mother of Hermes by Zeus. The name is said to have
originated from the babbling of an infant trying to say "mother," thus the name is usually
translated "mother."
MEDEA/MEDEIA: Meaning "cunning." Helped Jason steal the golden fleece and murdered
his children when he abandoned her.
MEDEA/MEDOUSA: Meaning "guardian." The only mortal gorgon.
MEGAIRA: Original form of Latin Megaera, meaning "to grudge."
MELETE: "Exercise, practice." One of the three original Muses, before their number was
increased to nine.
MELISSA: Nymph who cared for Zeus in his infancy, derived from melissa, meaning
"honey-bee."
MELPOMENE: Muse of tragedy, meaning "choir."
MNEME: "Memory." One of the three original Muses, daughters of Mnemosyne.
MNEMOSYNE: Personification of "memory," a Titaness and daughter of Gaia and Uranus,
and the mother of the three original Muses, Mneme, Aoide, and Melete.
MYRINE: Warrior queen of the Gorgon Amazons, possibly meaning "swiftly bounding."
NEMESIS: Goddess of justice and vengeance, meaning "retribution; righteous anger."
NIKE: Goddess of victory, meaning "victory."
NIOBE: Daughter of Tantalus who declared herself to be superior to Leto, causing Artemis
and Apollo to kill her fourteen children.
NYX: Goddess of night, meaning "night."
OLYMPIA: Variant of Olympias, the feminine form of Greek Olympos, "home of the gods,"
of which the true meaning is unknown.
OLYMPIAS: Mother of Alexander the Great, meaning "from Olympus."
PALLAS: Unisex name derived from pallô, meaning "to brandish, to wield (a weapon)." It is
the name of many characters in Greek mythology: a son of Evander; a giant son of Uranus
and Gaia; a Titan son of Crius and Eurybia; the father of the 50 Pallantids; a daughter of
Triton; and it is an epithet of Athena.
PANDORA: First mortal woman whose curiosity unleashed evil into the world, composed of
pan "all" and doron "gift."
PARTHENIA: Unnamed river nymph is said to have been the mother of a Trojan hero who
fought against the Greeks. She is known only by the title Naias Parthenia, meaning "Naias
Nymphe of the River Parthenios (in Paphlagonia, Anatolia)." Parthenia and Parthenios were
both derived from the Greek word parthenos, meaning "virgin."
PARTHENOPE: One of the Sirens, composed of parthenos "virgin" and ops "voice."
PENELOPE: Patient wife of Odysseus who waited ten years for his return during which she
refused several proposals of marriage by princes. The name is composed of pene "needle"
and lopas "spool," which is taken to mean "weaver of cunning," denoting someone whose
motives are hard to decipher.
PERSEPHONE: Daughter of Zeus and Demeter, probably composed of perso "person;
human being" and phonos "murderer, slayer."
PHAEDRA/PHAIDRA: Meaning "bright." Wife of Theseus who attempted to seduce his son
Hippolytus.
PHERENIKE: Original form of Berenike, meaning "bringer of victory."
PHILOMELA: Composed of philos "dear, sweet" and melos "song," usually rendered "sweet
singer; nightingale."
PHOIBE: Original form of Latin Phoebe, feminine form of Phoibos, meaning "shining one."
PHYLLIS: Girl who killed herself over love and was transformed into an almond tree,
meaning "foliage."
POLYMNIA: Original form of Latin Polyhymnia, muse of dance and sacred songs,
composed of polys "much" and hymnos "hymn, song."
POLYXENA: Daughter of Priam and Hecuba, sacrificed after the fall of Troy, composed of
polys "much" and xenoi "hospitable (esp. to foreigners/strangers)."
PSYCHE: Maiden loved by Eros, derived from the Greek word psykhe, meaning "the soul,
mind, spirit, breath, life."
RHEA: Wife of Cronus and mother of Zeus, meaning "menstruation; birth-waters."
RHODO: Meaning from Rhodes.
SAPPHO: Possibly derived from the word sappheiros, meaning "lapis lazuli; sapphire."
SELENE: Moon goddess, meaning "moon."
SEMELE: Lover of Zeus, mother of Dionysus. It is the Phrygian form of Greek Khthonia,
meaning "of the earth/underworld."
TERPSICHORE: Muse of dance, meaning "enjoying the dance."
THALIA: Muse of comedy and pastoral poetry. The name derives from thallein, meaning
"blooming, flourishing."
THEMIS: Titan who was the mother of the three original Fates by Zeus, meaning "law."
TISIPHONE: One of the Erinyes, composed of tisis "vengeance" and phone "murder." Virgil
named two others: Megaera "grudging," and Alecto "unceasing."
TRYPHAINA: Derived from tryphe, meaning "delicate, soft."
URANIA/OURANIA: Muse of astronomy, derived from the word ouranios, meaning
"heavenly."
XENIA: Derived from xenos "stranger, foreigner." Zeus was sometimes referred to as Zeus
Xenia because he was also a god of "travellers." For this reason the ancient Greeks
considered it a religious obligation to be "hospitable" to travellers. In fact, the Trojan War
began as a result of a violation of Xenia, for Paris had been a guest of Menelaus and violated
Xenia by abducting his host's wife.
ZENOBIA: Meaning "life of Zeus."