What are the meanings behind the names of the main Iliad and Odyssey characters? Just curious.
Certainly dear Anon! Let's see
(GOSH! This turned out longer than what I expected!)
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Some of the Greeks:
Achilles -> The Suffering of the People, The Grief of the People
coming probably from the greek word "ἄχος" (achos) which means "pain" or "suffering" or "sighing" or "grief" and "λαός" (laos) which means "people". (Apollodorous gave us a different origin, that his name came from the greek α which is a compartment that means "no" or "non" and the word χείλος aka "lip" so it means to him "No Lips" because according to a myth he transfers Achilles was fed by Chiron with the marrow of lions etc and his lips never touched the breast of a nursemaid)
The original name of Achilles according to Apollodorous was also supposed to be Λυγίρων Ligyron aka "the whining one" or "the crying one"
Odysseus -> The Anger Bringer, The Hate Bearer, Hated, Furious
According to the Odyssey coming from the verb ὀδύσσομαι which means "to be angry at" given to him by his grandfather Autolycus who was angry at many people and many people were angry at him
Menelaus -> The Anger of the People, The Fury of the Army
Coming from the Greek μήνις aka "fury" or "anger" and the word λαός which stands for both "people" and "army"
Agamemnon -> Very Steadfast, Unbowed, The One Who Provides Much, The One Who is Much Thoughtful
Agamemnon's name seems to have a dual potential. One comes from the words "ἄγαν" which stands for "very much" or "grandiosely" or at some free translation "great" and "μέμνων" could indicate someone who "insists" or someone who "remains". The other is the verb "μένδομαι" which means "to think on" or "to provide" or "to be mindful".
Ajax (Aias) -> The One of the Earth, The One who Cries 'Ah me!'
Ajax or Aias as it is in the Original Greek has rather interesting roots. The two primary I found is the word αἶα which seems to be another word for γαῖα aka "earth" however from Sophocles "Ajax" we seem to get phonetic association of Ajax the Great's name from the exclamation αἰαῖ which translates as "ah me!" or "ah! ah!" and the verb αἰάζω which means "to cry"
Teucer (Teukros) -> The Trojan, The Builder, The Maker
According to one interpretation the Greek name of Teucer comes from one of the tribes of Trojans named "τευκροί" so it seems that he simply was named to resemble the name of that tribe. Another is the word τεύκτωρ or τευκτήρ which means "the maker" essentially or "the one who builds"
Patroclus -> The Glory of his Father
Coming from the Greek πάτερ aka "father" and κλέος aka "glory"
(if someone brings a female counterpart that would be the famous name "Cleopatra")
Diomedes -> Divine Council, Divine Wisdom
From the word δίος aka "divine" and μήδος "council"
Nestor -> The Traveler, The One Who Returns
The name seems to potentially have roots to the verb νέομαι where the word νόστος (nostos) comes from. The verb means "to return" or in one way "to travel". Nestor seems to be one of the few kings that returned to their homeland after Troy without much loss along the way. He has also traveled more than once in his life if we take the myth that has him as one of the Argonauts
Antilochus -> Against Battle Cries, In Front Of Battle Cries
The name of the son of Nestor comes from the compartment αντί which means "against" of "opposite" or "on the other side of" and λόχος which stands for "battle cry"
Machaon -> The Fighting One, The Knife-Holder
The healer's name comes from either the verb μαχάομαι aka "to fight" or "to battle" or the word μάχαιρα aka "knife". Both attributes for his healing aspects (surgical knife and the fight for life) as well as his attribute as a soldier and fighter
Idomeneus -> The Fury of Ida
Deriving from the name of mount Ida Ῑ̓́δη and μένος aka "fury"
Helen -> The Bright One, The Radiant One
Helen's name deprives from the root Ελ which means "light" or "shine" similar to the first compartment of the name of Greece Ελλάς (Hellas)
Penelope -> Wild Duck, Wild Goose, The Weft-Like Woman
Two possible origins for Penelope's name seem to appear. One is the word πηνέλοψ that stands for a predatory bird most likely a goose or a duck but one other seems to be the combination of the Greek πήνη "weft" aka the loop-like thread at the end of the weaving process and ὤψ which stands for "face" or "eye" or "look" aka "appearance"
Telemachus -> Away From The Battle, Distant Warrior
The name deprives from the particle τηλέ which means "from afar" or "from a distance" and μαχάομαι which means "to fight".
Antinous -> Against All Reason, Unreasonable, Madman
Depriving from the compartment αντί which means "against" or "opposing" or "opposite of" and the word νους which stands for "mind" or "reason"
Amphinomus -> Between Two Rules, Between Two Shares
Depriving from the compartment αμφί which means "two things" or "two sides" and νόμος "rule" or νομή aka "share"
Eurymachus -> Of Wide Battle, The One of The Wide Strife
From the adjective ευρύς "wide" or "spread out" and μαχάομαι "to battle"
Polites -> Citizen
The Greek word πολίτης
Eurlylochus -> Of The Wide Battle Cry
From the compartment ευρύς which means "wide" and λόχος which means "battle cry"
Peisistratus -> Persuasion Of The Army, Obedience Of The Army
From the ancient Greek πεῖσις "persuasion" or "obedience" (coming from the verb πείθω "to persuade") and στρατός "army"
Euryclea -> With Much Glory
From the adjective ευρύς "wide" "plenty of" and κλέος "glory"
Anticlea -> Without Glory
From the compartment αντί which means "against" or "opposite" and κλέος "glory"
Laertes -> The Gatherer of People
From the Greek λαός aka "people" and εἴρω which means "to gather together" or "to rise up someone"
Eumaeus -> The One Who Searches Well, The Good Seeker
From the compartment εὐ "good" or "well" and probably the verb μαίομαι which means "to search" or "to seek"
Philoetius -> Beloved of Fate
From the word φίλος "beloved" or "friend" and οἶτος "fate" or "destiny"
Ctimene -> The Acquired One
From the verb κτάομαι "to acquire"
Neoptolemous -> New Warrior, Young Warrior
From the word νέος "new" or "young" and the word πτόλεμος aka an archaic form of πόλεμος which means "war" (giving also the name to πτολίεθρον aka "citadel" or "city surrounded by walls" or "castle")
(Name given at birth Πύρρος Pyrrhus aka "Fire-Like" or "Fiery Like Fire" or potentially "Red Like Fire")
Argos -> Swift, Fast, Quick
From the homeric word that means such
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Some of the Trojans:
Priam -> The Bought One
Priam's name is technically his slave's name according to Dares the Phrygian and comes from the verb "πρίαμαι" which means "to buy" when his sister Hesione gave her golden veil as a payment for her brother to Heracles
(According to the same source Priam's birth name was Ποδάρκης Podarkes which means "swift-footed")
Hector -> The Holder, The One Who Holds Out, The One Who Possesses, The One Who Holds (Everyone Together)
Hector seems to emanate from the verb ἕχειν which means "to hold" or "to have" or "to possess"
Andromache -> The Battle of Men
Depriving from greek άνδρας aka "man" and μάχη "battle"
Astyanax -> Ruler of the City, The King Of The City
Coming from Greek ἄστυ "city" and άναξ which stands for "king" or "prince" or generally "ruler"
Paris -> Youth, Beautiful Youth
Most versions seem to agree on Luwian origin and the name Parizitis which stands for "youth".
His nickname Alexander comes from Greek αλεξ which means "to repel" or "to protect" and άνδρας which means "man" so the name means "Protector of Men" and "Repeller of Men" which he got when he protected the shepherds that raised him
There is some folk etymology on the Greek word for backpack "pera" so his name could also mean "The One Carried in a Backpack" in this case but most likely not entirely the case
Sarpedon -> Someone On High Power, The One who Sees High Power
Possibly of Luwian origin (according to Dunford) sar-pēdan with sar standing for "up" or "on" unless you also add the possibility of a Greek addition to εἴδω which stands for "to see"
I know I am not including them all nor that this is by any means perfect but I hope it helps dear Anon!
Done reading the Iliad, and one of the reasons I'd been stalling on reading it before was how much hate I saw people give Hera or Agamemnon.
And then I read the actual text and found how silly everything is??? Why didn't anybody tell me that the Iliad is literally just a family feud between the gods, and full of dudes (and Athena) throwing bolders at each other, and Agamemnon and Achilles acting like they're having a petty break-up.
Hera (on at least 3 seperate occasions) tells Zeus that he's their father's worst child, and that he's obligated to listen to her because she's not only his wife but his elder sister. Like, she hit him with the "I'm older than you how dare you talk to me like that."
Then we have Zeus banning all the gods from interfering with the war (except of himself of course) before announcing the "Trojan War: Frenzy Round" where he calls all the gods to join (including A RIVER???) and lets the Greeks win just because Hera slept with him.
Athena manipulating Zeus in almost every interaction because she's "daddy's little girl" + everytime she goes to battle she wears her father's tunic and I'm just imagining it like some toddler wearing their parent's shirt.
She also beats the crap out of Ares AND Aphrodite, leaves them on the floor and says "whoever messes with me will get owned"
Hera proceeds to beat the crap out of Artemis with her own bow. Hermes is literally on Hera's side, but sees that and is like "yo Leto I'm not gonna fight you because I think you should go check on your kid..." while Artemis runs crying to Zeus who's like "my precious daughter who hurt you???" And she's like "YOUR WIFE!"
(Also, on the other end, so many people hate on Agamemnon but not Achilles as well? Like they were both stubborn, Achilles more so. PLUS Achilles brutally killed/enslaved so many people even before Patroclus' death, I'm surprised that Agamemnon-only hate is more popular. Like everyone sucks in the Iliad, it's either you hate everyone, or you like the characters in spite of their crimes.)
It takes Patroclus dying for Achilles to forgive Agamemnon (at this point Agamemnon was convinced to give Achilles so many gifts including but not limited to (returning Briseis, gold, land, one of Agamemnon's daughters' hand in marriage)) Achilles then proceeds to murder a bunch of people.
Odysseus and Diomedes jumping a guy, killing 13 other people, and stealing horses.
Nestor drinking wine in the middle of a battle, hearing the chaos, and saying "wait a minute, I gotta get a good view of this action" Also Nestor kicking Diomedes to wake him up.
Helen insulting the crap out of Paris.
Hector insulting the crap out of Paris. Also Priam basically calling his surviving sons trash now that Hector is dead.
Idomeneus and Meriones being tag-team bros. Why don't I ever hear about them huh?
Also the amount of times I read the phrase "the two named Ajax" or "Ajax and Ajax" like did they just stick to each other because they share a name? Like Ajax (the greater) literally has Teucer, his own half-brother to back him up, and for some reason the two of them just hang out with Oilean Ajax on the battlefield???
There are a lot more but I can't remember any right now.
I used to be one of those basic bitches who think Odysseus is the only character in the trojan cycle. The only man ever.
Now I've changed, and even though my blog is about Odysseus, because he will always be my favorite character, I now have so much love for all the others.
Paris? You mean the arrogant farm boy who caused a war because he was horny? Love him to bits.
Menelaus? The sad hubby who has never done anything wrong ever? Protect him at all costs!
Agamemnon? The incompetent general who is whiny and petty but would do litterally anything for his little brother? I will give him a hug (but I will also rejoice when his wife slaughters him)
Ajax the Great? He is so cute and dumb, leave him alone (and give him Achilles' armour before he does something really stupid)
Helen? She is so chaotic, you will never understand shit with her. She will swear she's on Greece's side, but then will imitate your wife's voice while you are hidden in that damn horse, just for funzies. What a queen!
And the ultimate yapper? The father figure of all the Achaeans? The one and only Nestor?
Gosh I even love Idomeneus, he is so kind, and Ajax number 2 don't you dare disrespect him ever again!
