Curated category
Princes in Greek mythology
- HectorThe name Hector derives from the Greek verb meaning to hold or possess. This root suggests a man who holds fast during siege or one who possesses princely…
- Paris (mythology)The name Paris appears in ancient texts as a figure of Luwian origin. A Hittite scribe recorded the name Parizitis, which scholars link to the Trojan prince.
- AchillesAchilles, the central figure of Homer's Iliad, carried a name that meant something like 'he who has the people distressed' - a striking label for a warrior…
- TriptolemusA young boy named Triptolemus lay sick in the palace of Eleusis. Demeter, disguised as an old woman named Doso, found him weak and dying.
- JasonA newborn son named Jason lay swaddled among female attendants who cried as if he were stillborn. Alcimede, his mother, had hidden him from Pelias, the…
- BellerophonThe name Bellerophon appears in ancient texts as a compound of Greek words meaning "slayer" and "Belleros." One theory suggests the root comes from the word…
- TelemachusA young man stands on the shore of Ithaca, watching waves crash against rocks that have seen no father for twenty years.
- AnchisesAphrodite descended to the hills of Mount Ida while Anchises herded his cattle. The mortal man possessed beauty that rivaled an immortal god.
- CadmusCadmus, the legendary Phoenician prince credited with founding Thebes, carried something far more consequential than a royal title: the alphabet.
- MeleagerA Calydonian prince named Meleager stood at the center of a family tree that ancient sources could not agree upon. Apollodorus records him as the son of…
- PeliasPelias, king of Iolcus in Greek mythology, owes his entire reign to a single missing sandal. When a young stranger arrived in Iolcus wearing only one shoe…
- SisyphusThe name Sisyphus appears in ancient texts with no single agreed-upon meaning. R. S. P. Beekes proposed a pre-Greek origin linked to the root word for "wise".
- Nestor (mythology)Nestor of Gerenia was the son of King Neleus and Chloris, daughter of King Amphion. Some accounts name his mother Polymede instead.