The document provides summaries of ancient Greek names from mythology, including their meanings and origins. It describes figures like:
- Damocles, whose story illustrates the danger of a king's position with a sword suspended above his throne.
- Damon and Pythias, friends who demonstrated great loyalty by one taking the other's place in prison.
- Danaë, the mother of Perseus who was impregnated by Zeus in the form of a golden shower.
- Daphne, the nymph pursued by Apollo who was turned into a laurel tree to escape him.
- Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and mother of Persephone.
The document provides summaries of ancient Greek names from mythology, including their meanings and origins. It describes figures like:
- Damocles, whose story illustrates the danger of a king's position with a sword suspended above his throne.
- Damon and Pythias, friends who demonstrated great loyalty by one taking the other's place in prison.
- Danaë, the mother of Perseus who was impregnated by Zeus in the form of a golden shower.
- Daphne, the nymph pursued by Apollo who was turned into a laurel tree to escape him.
- Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and mother of Persephone.
The document provides summaries of ancient Greek names from mythology, including their meanings and origins. It describes figures like:
- Damocles, whose story illustrates the danger of a king's position with a sword suspended above his throne.
- Damon and Pythias, friends who demonstrated great loyalty by one taking the other's place in prison.
- Danaë, the mother of Perseus who was impregnated by Zeus in the form of a golden shower.
- Daphne, the nymph pursued by Apollo who was turned into a laurel tree to escape him.
- Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and mother of Persephone.
The document provides summaries of ancient Greek names from mythology, including their meanings and origins. It describes figures like:
- Damocles, whose story illustrates the danger of a king's position with a sword suspended above his throne.
- Damon and Pythias, friends who demonstrated great loyalty by one taking the other's place in prison.
- Danaë, the mother of Perseus who was impregnated by Zeus in the form of a golden shower.
- Daphne, the nymph pursued by Apollo who was turned into a laurel tree to escape him.
- Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and mother of Persephone.
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Ancient Greek Names
DAIDALOS Δαιδαλος m Greek Mythology
Greek form of DAEDALUS.
DAMOCLES Δαμοκλης m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek name Δαμοκλης (Damokles), which was derived from δαμος (damos) "the people", a Doric Greek variant of δημος (demos), and κλεος (kleos)"glory". In Greek legend Damocles was a member of the court of Dionysius the Elder, the king of Syracuse. Damocles expressed envy of the king's station so Dionysius offered to switch roles with him for a day. To illustrate to Damocles the peril of a man in his position he suspended a sword over the throne.
DAMOKLES Δαμοκλης m Greek Mythology
Original Greek form of DAMOCLES.
DAMON Δαμων m Greek Mythology, English
Derived from Greek δαμαζω (damazo) meaning "to tame". According to Greek legend, Damon and Pythias were friends who lived on Syracuse in the 4th century BC. When Pythias was sentenced to death, he was allowed to temporarily go free on the condition that Damon take his place in prison. Pythias returned just before Damon was to be executed in his place, and the king was so impressed with their loyalty to one another that he pardoned Pythias. As an English given name, it has only been regularly used since the 20th century.
DANAË Δαναη f Greek Mythology
From Δαναοι (Danaoi), a word used by Homer to designate the Greeks. In Greek mythology Danaë was the daughter of the Argive king Acrisius. It had been prophesized to her father that he would one day be killed by Danaë's son, so he attempted to keep his daughter childless. However, Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and she became the mother of Perseus. Eventually the prophecy was fulfilled and Perseus killed Acrisius, albeit accidentally.
DAPHNE Δαφνη f Greek Mythology, English, Dutch
Means "laurel" in Greek. In Greek mythology she was a nymph turned into a laurel tree by her father in order that she might escape the pursuit of Apollo. It has been used as a given name in the English- speaking world since the end of the 19th century.
DARDANOS Δαρδανος m Greek Mythology
Possibly from Greek δαρδαπτω (dardapto) "to devour". In Greek mythology Dardanos was a son of Zeus and Electra. He was the founder of the city of Dardania in Asia Minor.
DEIMOS Δειμος m Greek Mythology
Means "terror" in Greek. This was one of the sons of the Greek god Ares. Also, a moon of Mars bears this name. DELIA (1) Δηλια f English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek Mythology Means "of Delos" in Greek. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis, given because she and her twin brother Apollo were born on the island of Delos. The name appeared in several poems of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it has occasionally been used as a given name since that time.
DEMETER (1) Δημητηρ f Greek Mythology
Possibly means "earth mother", derived from Greek δα (da) "earth" and μητηρ (meter) "mother". In Greek mythology Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, the daughter of Cronus, the sister of Zeus, and the mother of Persephone.
DESPOINA Δεσποινα f Greek Mythology, Greek
Means "mistress, lady" in Greek. In Greek mythology this was the name of a daughter of Demeter and Poseidon.
DIKE Δικη f Greek Mythology
Means "justice" in Greek. In Greek mythology Dike was the goddess of justice, one of the ‘Ωραι (Horai).
DIOMEDES Διομηδης m Greek Mythology
Derived from Greek Διος (Dios) meaning "of ZEUS" and μηδομαι (medomai) meaning "to think, to plan". In Greek legend Diomedes was one of the greatest heroes who fought against the Trojans. With Odysseus he entered Troy and stole the Palladium. After the Trojan War he founded the cities of Brindisi and Arpi in Italy.
DIONE (1) Διωνη f Greek Mythology
From Greek Διος (Dios) meaning "of ZEUS". By extension, it means "goddess". This was the name of an obscure Greek goddess who, according to some legends, was the mother of Aphrodite.
DIONYSOS Διονυσος m Greek Mythology
From Greek Διος (Dios) meaning "of ZEUS" combined with NYSA, the name of the region where young Dionysos was said to have been raised. In Greek mythology Dionysos was the god of wine, revelry, fertility and dance. He was the son of Zeus and Semele.
DIONYSUS Διονυσος m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latin form of DIONYSOS.
DORIS Δωρις f English, German, Croatian, Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
From the ancient Greek name Δωρις (Doris) which meant "Dorian woman". The Dorians were a Greek tribe who occupied the Peloponnese starting in the 12th century BC. In Greek mythology Doris was a sea nymph, one of the many children of Oceanus and Tethys. It began to be used as an English name in the 19th century. A famous bearer is the American actress Doris Day (1924-).
ECHO Ηχω f Greek Mythology
Means "echo" from the word for the repeating reflected sound, which derives from Greek ηχη (eche) "sound". In Greek mythology Echo was a nymph given a speech impediment by Hera, so that she could only repeat what others said. She fell in love with Narcissus, but her love was not returned, and she pined away until nothing remained of her except her voice. EILEITHYIA Ειλειθυια f Greek Mythology Greek form of ILITHYIA.