So, this upcoming block is especially exciting for me because I am a major in Ancient Greek and I love etymology so much. I thought it would be fun to explain some of the choices Wizards has done for the names of characters / cards in Theros.
Although a lot of the names in Theros aren't direct analogues to Ancient Greek, it definitely has a lot of basis in the language--however corrupted the spellings are.
If I miss anything, please comment here so I can think about it.
Oh, yeah. For the record, I am also double majoring in Pre-Veterinary Biology.
-------------------------
Characters
Gods
Ephara
???
Erebos
A direct transliteration from the Greek erebos, meaning "depth" or "darkness". Along with Tartaros and Hades, Erebos may also have been another word for the Underworld. While Erebos was a Greek deity in himself, his namesake in Magic is more of an adaptation from Hades or the Roman Pluto. Although he resides over death, he is not inherently evil--something the Greeks were very clear about. Hades was never a bad guy--and neither is Magic's Erebos. To note, his domain over gold and wealth is much more strongly observed in Roman culture, where Pluto is also the god of greed.
Heliod
Derived from helios, which simply means "sun". While people typically refer to Helios (capitalized) as the "god of the sun", that's technically not correct--Helios is the actual personification of the sun. In that, his name translates directly to the English word for "sun". This is similar for deities like Hemera or Nyx, whose names literally mean "day" and "night". For this reason, many scholars typically translate their names as Day and Night, respectively, whereas some keep them as Hemera and Nyx for flavor.
Karametra
First people said that kar meant "head" (or, more correctly, "face") and ametra means "immeasurable". While this is true, it's probably not as likely now anymore, with the new article. Wizards stated indirectly that her role was the goddess of the hearth--a symbol in Ancient Greece of civilization and community. As a deity of agriculture as well, it is likely that Karametra is based off of Demeter. Both carry forms of the word meter (gen. metros), meaning "mother". Karametra means "head-mother".
Mogis
Comes from mogis that means "toil" or "pain".
Nylea
Not entirely sure about this one quite yet, but it is clear that she is based off of Artemis. It is interesting because Artemis' character arose first in Pre-Ancient Turkey and Wizards state her disdain for the goddess of the hearth, who in ancient times was first worshiped in Greece. Maybe a mirror to the Trojan War. Neleēs is a Greek word for "ruthless", "savage", or "punishing". (H)ylē is the word for "forest".
Purphoros
Most likely comes from the Greek pur, meaning "fire", and phoros, meaning "one that holds" (from the verb phero, "I hold"). Pur also donates the words "pyre" / "pyro-" to English. Phoros is where we get the words "phosphorus" and, in Latin, "Lucifer" as well--both of which mean "carrying light". As a character in Magic, he is most like Hephaestus--the god of the forge. Purphoros was also an epithet for Prometheus, the god who bestowed the creative spark (and fire) to humans.
Thassa
Most likely derived from thalassa, which literally means "sea". In some ways, thalassa refers more specifically to the physical embodiment of the Mediterranean Sea, while other "sea" words (like Pontos) refer to other seas. Thalassa as a proper noun refers to a primordial sea goddess, who probably predated the popular Greek pantheon. Another thing of note is that thalassa as word is very atypical of other Greek words, owing its roots to places other than the Greek Peloponnese. In other dialects, it might have been spelled talatta or thalatta.
Humans
Agnomakhos
From the Greek agnos and makhos meaning "pure" and "fight". A "pure battler".
Anax
Direct transliteration from Greek anaks, meaning "ruler" or "lord". Cavalry Pegasus cites Cymede as queen of Akros, so Anax is probably king. Edit: For those of you suggesting Ajax as a source for this, remember that the proper spelling is actually Aias, and that anax is actually a word.
Androphages
From aner (gen. andros), meaning "man", and phago, meaning "I eat". The Androphages are cannibals, so this name is fairly straightforward.
Anthousa
Greek name meaning "in blossom".
Cymede
Not sure quite yet. Medeon means "guardian", though.
Formalists
This is actually a Greek philosophy term for those who fell into Plato's Theory of Forms. The Forms were abstract ideas that each corresponded to each state of being, each object, or anything there could potentially be a "form" of--speaking generally of course. So, the whole "back to Aether" lore thing is a play on this completely.
Hypatia
Greek name coming from (a female version of) hypatos, meaning "highest". She rides her pegasus to the highest heights, I guess. It's just a Greek name, though.
Perisophia
Really just comes from peri and sophia, meaning "about" and "wisdom". He's really all about wisdom. Clever, Wizards.
Other Non-Humans
Korinna
It's a Greek name coming from kore, meaning "maiden".
Medomai
Comes directly from medomai, meaning "I intend". An oracle in Greek mythos would be the person you go to in order to receive oracles (predictions of the future). Medomai might be able to glean the intentions of others. However, it is also to note that oracles in Ancient Greece were notoriously ambiguous such that they could be interpreted in many ways.
Polukranos
Comes from polu, meaning "many", and krania, meaning "head". Appropriate for a hydra.
Theophila
Nylea's nymph companion. Comes from theo, meaning "god", and phil-, meaning "love" / "friendship".
Thrasios
Comes from Phrasios, "speaker," from phrasdo, "I speak". It's a fairly common name, but probably represents his role as Thassa's speaker.
Xenagos
Probably comes from xen-, meaning "foreigner", and ago, meaning "I lead". Xenagos as a word means "mercenary leader" (one who leads foreigners).
-------------------------
Assorted Objects
Weapons
Akmon
Akmon is the Greek word for "lightning" or "meteor". It also grants the root akmo- meaning "forge" or "anvil", as in the word akmotheton, meaning "anvilblock".
Detella
Derived from the Greek word dikella meaning "two-pronged fork". Although this weapon was present in Greek myth, it was more a symbol of death, while the trident was the symbol of the sea. Edit: Actually, I just learned that the dikella (or bident) was a fishing tool used by the Egyptians. Neat!
Ephixis
Ephixis is a very obscure Greek word for "trueshot" or "bullseye"--some form of accuracy at long distance, pertaining to a projectile.
Khrusor
Chrysaor is Greek for "one who wields a golden weapon". It was also the name of Pegasus' brother, both of whom sprung out of Medusa's neck when Perseus beheaded her.
Mastix
Mastix is the Greek word for "whip" or "whipmaster".
------------------------------
Places
Akros
Akros
Akros just means "edge" or "on the edge". It's probably a reference to the Acropolis.
Kolophon
Colophon was actually a real city. It means "summit".
Pharagax Bridge
From pharanks (pharagx), meaning "chasm". Gammas before xi's in Ancient Greek were pronounced as English n's, but Wizards instead used the transliteration of gamma as 'g'. The Pharagax Bridge spans over a chasm.
Phoberos Badlands
From phoberos, meaning "fearful". The lore says that it's a fearful place.
Meletis
Dakra
Comes from dakr- meaning "tear" (like crying). The lore from the Planeswalker Guides say the Dakra were formed by Thassa's tears. These islands seem like they might be simply based off of the various islands in the Mediterranean.
Dekatia
Seems like it comes from the root deka- for "ten".
Meletis
Most likely a corruption of the name Miletus, which was an ancient city famed for its view of the sea. It was also pretty much the birthing grounds for all of Ancient Greek philosophy--something very blue indeed. Meleti is also apparently the word for "study".
Setessa
Amatrophon
Probably from ama, meaning "together", and trophon, meaning "one who feeds"--as in, "species in unison".
Kelema Veil
From kelema, meaning "magic spell". The phenomenon of the Veil is a blending of Nyx with Theros, so it is appropriate that it is named after the word that literally means "enchantment" or "charm".
Nistos Forest
Probably from some form of the root meaning "forest".
Setessa
Not sure it means anything. It doesn't have a very Greek construction here.
Other
Arixmethes
Not sure yet, but the whole sinking city thing reeks of Atlantis. -meth- isn't really a word part you typically see in place names.
Nyx
Nyx is the Greek word for "night"--also the name of the physical embodiment of the night itself.
The Rivers that Ring the World
Dude, Hades (the Greek Underworld) also has five rivers. Go figure.
Theros
Theros probably comes from therion, the Greek word for "beast", where the word panther comes from. An alternative would be theros, which means "summer", or eleutheros, which means "free".
We are a global network of neurochemical reations. And the self amplifiying cycle of accptance and accknowledgement, sustained by the daily choices of our interactions, is the chain reaction that will ultimately define our collective ability to overcome imagined differences and look at life in the grand scheme of things. -Athene's theroy of everything
This is extremely interesting. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and doing the research!
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----Commander----
The Mimeoplasm, Pest Control
Marath, Mononoke's Call
Kruphix, Walking the Horizon
Ephara, Miracles in a Flash
Balthor, A Short Story About Zombies
Seizan, Truth or Draw
Talrand, Journey to the Sky
Feldon, Artificial Love ----Modern----
BW Tokens
Melira Pod (Retired) ----Horde----
Zombies!
These are excellent, thank you. Any possibility of citing sources?
Most of it was guess-work on past knowledge, and a little bit of checking from the Tufts dictionary. For example, we talked a lot about Miletus in my Plato & Aristotle class, and the one thing I remembered was that the philosopher Thales used the view of the sea to formulate his postulates about physical matter.
Most myth things I knew off the top of my head, but a few I actually learned while doing this--like the ditella's significance in myth--from a quick Wikipedia search.
There are also a few points which are harder to cite because it requires a longer explanation to how we come to such conclusions (such as the whole Proto-Indo European root for pur).
A team should be as happy as a meal - TEAM HAPPYMEAL
EDH - UWGrand Arbiter Agustin IV UBW Oloro, Ageless Ascetic Modern - Mono U tron / Polymorph / NFTW (ninja for the win)GR tronGR
Buy All the planeswalkers!!!
Buy All the Dual Lands!!!
Buy All the fetches!
Create tons of EDH Decks!!!
Eat Nothing but Oats!! (LOL, not true)
Train MMA!!!
Marry My girlfriend!!!
Get her Pregnant only Once!
Teach my Son/Daughter Sports and magic cards!!!
Continue my legacy son!!!/Daughter!!
"Meletis" could also be from the titan Metis, daughter of Tethys and Oceanus and mother of Athena. Seems to have appropriately marine/blue-aligned properties.
Phoros is where we get the words "phosphorus" and "Lucifer" as well.
Lucifer is pure Latin: lux, lucis 'light' + ferre 'to bear or bring'. But this root does appear in the Greek name of the figure, Eosphoros 'Dawnbringer'. And, of course, ferre and pherein are related words.
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Vive, vale. Siquid novisti rectius istis,
candidus inperti; si nil, his utere mecum.
Lucifer is pure Latin: lux, lucis 'light' + ferre 'to bear or bring'. But this root does appear in the Greek name of the figure, Eosphoros 'Dawnbringer'. And, of course, ferre and pherein are related words.
Very cool. What is the loose translation of your name at the 'Salv?
Your etymological knowledge can also be helpful in guessing the properties of cards when all we have are names. I have a B.A. in English - Creative Writing, so word history has always been a fascination to me. Once one can recognize prefixes and suffixes, one can deduce the meaning of certain words, and even the translation of words of the Romantic nature.
Very cool. What is the loose translation of your name at the 'Salv?
Your etymological knowledge can also be helpful in guessing the properties of cards when all we have are names. I have a B.A. in English - Creative Writing, so word history has always been a fascination to me. Once one can recognize prefixes and suffixes, one can deduce the meaning of certain words, and even the translation of words of the Romantic nature.
Keep up the good work!
Electr- is Latin for "amber" (signifying "electricity") and phoros is Greek for "carrying", so really, it means "electric eel". It's because some time in high school, I decided to make all my internet usernames after marine biology terms.
Cymede
mēd- is mind. I dont know if Cy means anything, but there are a LOT of characters whose names start with Cy. It might just be something that they threw on the front of the name to make a legendary figure. May be a reference to Ganymede (which is the only character I can think of that ends in -mede), Zeus' lover. Ganymede is male, but he had both masculine and feminine qualities and the card has a guy and a gal on it.
Anax could just be from Ajax major or Ajax minor, which were probably derived from anaks.
Thero is the name of one of Ares' nurses and I think it's derived from Theriates, another name for Ares.
Wow, I almost regret reading this. Some of the name's etymologies are so obvious that I wonder if Greek players who are reading the articles are rolling their eyes at the uncreativeness of the names. But hey, as a non-Greek, the names do sound cool and foreign. I guess that's the American way.
I think I've learned to treat Magic cards like baseball cards: keep 'em in a binder in numerical order, don't play with 'em, try to finish the set and just keep my head down.
You're missing the fact that every god is based on two Greek Deities. A primary (IE: Heliod being based off of Apollo) and a secondary (The various Zeus traits that Heliod also takes on).
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Cyme we inne frið, fram the grip of deaþ to lif inne ðis smylte land.
Awesome post Its nice when history majors can contribute (I'm a modern African historian, so I doubt I'll ever be able to comment on my specialist subject in these forums :-/).
More on topic, isn't "Lea" a Greek name which means "Bringer of Good News". Since Nylea is the god of the seasons, could her name be a hybrid of "Nymph" (or some other more apt word begining with "Ny") and "Bringer of Good News" in reference to the fact she can becon in summer? It seems to make sense flavour wise, but I'm not sure if its etymologically sound.
Awesome post Its nice when history majors can contribute (I'm a modern African historian, so I doubt I'll ever be able to comment on my specialist subject in these forums :-/).
More on topic, isn't "Lea" a Greek name which means "Bringer of Good News". Since Nylea is the god of the seasons, could her name be a hybrid of "Nymph" (or some other more apt word begining with "Ny") and "Bringer of Good News" in reference to the fact she can becon in summer? It seems to make sense flavour wise, but I'm not sure if its etymologically sound.
Rumor has it that Huey block is Hutu vs Tutsi themed.
So, this upcoming block is especially exciting for me because I am a major in Ancient Greek and I love etymology so much. I thought it would be fun to explain some of the choices Wizards has done for the names of characters / cards in Theros.
Although a lot of the names in Theros aren't direct analogues to Ancient Greek, it definitely has a lot of basis in the language--however corrupted the spellings are.
If I miss anything, please comment here so I can think about it.
Oh, yeah. For the record, I am also double majoring in Pre-Veterinary Biology.
-------------------------
Characters
Gods
Ephara
Erebos
Heliod
Karametra
Mogis
Nylea
Purphoros
Thassa
Humans
Agnomakhos
Anax
Androphages
Anthousa
Cymede
Formalists
Hypatia
Perisophia
Other Non-Humans
Korinna
Medomai
Polukranos
Theophila
Thrasios
Xenagos
-------------------------
Assorted Objects
Weapons
Akmon
Detella
Ephixis
Khrusor
Mastix
------------------------------
Places
Akros
Akros
Kolophon
Pharagax Bridge
Phoberos Badlands
Meletis
Dakra
Dekatia
Meletis
Setessa
Amatrophon
Kelema Veil
Nistos Forest
Setessa
Other
Arixmethes
Nyx
The Rivers that Ring the World
Theros
How To Keep Your FOIL Cards From Curling: http://youtu.be/QTmubrS8VnI
The Best Deck Boxes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEwgLph_Pjk
The Best Binders: http://youtu.be/H5IauASYWjk
The Mimeoplasm, Pest Control
Marath, Mononoke's Call
Kruphix, Walking the Horizon
Ephara, Miracles in a Flash
Balthor, A Short Story About Zombies
Seizan, Truth or Draw
Talrand, Journey to the Sky
Feldon, Artificial Love
----Modern----
BW Tokens
Melira Pod (Retired)
----Horde----
Zombies!
Links coming soon!
Most of it was guess-work on past knowledge, and a little bit of checking from the Tufts dictionary. For example, we talked a lot about Miletus in my Plato & Aristotle class, and the one thing I remembered was that the philosopher Thales used the view of the sea to formulate his postulates about physical matter.
Most myth things I knew off the top of my head, but a few I actually learned while doing this--like the ditella's significance in myth--from a quick Wikipedia search.
There are also a few points which are harder to cite because it requires a longer explanation to how we come to such conclusions (such as the whole Proto-Indo European root for pur).
Cymede seems to be a derivation from the name of one of the Amazons in mythology, Cyme, or alternately from Cybele.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
so if the weapon detella is a symbol of death... does it mean that Thassa is evil??
edit: based on the clash of the titans movie...the detella is the favored weapon of hades.
EDH - UWGrand Arbiter Agustin IV
UBW Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Modern - Mono U tron / Polymorph / NFTW (ninja for the win)GR tron GR
Buy All the Dual Lands!!!
Buy All the fetches!
Create tons of EDH Decks!!!
Eat Nothing but Oats!! (LOL, not true)
Train MMA!!!
Marry My girlfriend!!!
Get her Pregnant only Once!
Teach my Son/Daughter Sports and magic cards!!!
Continue my legacy son!!!/Daughter!!
New to Commander? Read the Above article.
candidus inperti; si nil, his utere mecum.
The dikella was a fishing tool too, I guess.
Yeah, I didn't really clarify well.
http://alteredartmagic.blogspot.com/search/label/Nicolarre
or in my Humble Alter Gallery at DeviantArt: http://nicolarre.deviantart.com/gallery/
Your etymological knowledge can also be helpful in guessing the properties of cards when all we have are names. I have a B.A. in English - Creative Writing, so word history has always been a fascination to me. Once one can recognize prefixes and suffixes, one can deduce the meaning of certain words, and even the translation of words of the Romantic nature.
Keep up the good work!
Electr- is Latin for "amber" (signifying "electricity") and phoros is Greek for "carrying", so really, it means "electric eel". It's because some time in high school, I decided to make all my internet usernames after marine biology terms.
Cymede
mēd- is mind. I dont know if Cy means anything, but there are a LOT of characters whose names start with Cy. It might just be something that they threw on the front of the name to make a legendary figure. May be a reference to Ganymede (which is the only character I can think of that ends in -mede), Zeus' lover. Ganymede is male, but he had both masculine and feminine qualities and the card has a guy and a gal on it.
Anax could just be from Ajax major or Ajax minor, which were probably derived from anaks.
Thero is the name of one of Ares' nurses and I think it's derived from Theriates, another name for Ares.
Death =/= evil. Death is an integral part of nature, which is what I think they're going for. She's also the goddess of hunt, i.e. killing an animal.
What was the point of this post? And, clearly not the case for this set.
And what were German players thoughts on Innistrads names?
But yeah cool post and interesting to see all of the likely background work done to build (or bastardize) the lore by WotC creative staff.
More on topic, isn't "Lea" a Greek name which means "Bringer of Good News". Since Nylea is the god of the seasons, could her name be a hybrid of "Nymph" (or some other more apt word begining with "Ny") and "Bringer of Good News" in reference to the fact she can becon in summer? It seems to make sense flavour wise, but I'm not sure if its etymologically sound.
Rumor has it that Huey block is Hutu vs Tutsi themed.
Not much to add yet... but as the OP mentioned, the Perseus Project digital library from Tufts is a great resource. Here is the entry for ἔφιξις .