Ἀχιλλεύς

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

Of uncertain origin. In Mycenaean Greek Linear B texts, the name 𐀀𐀑𐀩𐀄 (a-ki-re-u)[1] (nominative), 𐀀𐀑𐀩𐀸 (a-ki-re-we),[2] (dative) is attested and generally taken to be the same name.[3]

Since ancient times and in the present day, some have speculated that the name is connected to ἄχος (ákhos, “distress; grief”) and λαός (laós, “people”), as the grief Achilles causes people is a central theme of the Iliad.[4][5][6]

Another, unsupported hypothesis is the PIE word *h₂eḱ-pṓds (“painful foot”, literally “sharp foot”) evolved into Illyrian *āk̂pediós, then *ākhpdeós, then *akhiddeús and then, via a Pre-Greek source, the -dd- shifted to -ll-. The meaning "painful foot" would refer to his vulnerability but it may have been erroneously translated as "swift footed" because of the similarity with the root *h₂eḱ-u- (“sharp, quick”) from whence stems the similar Latin acupedius.

Pronunciation

 

Proper noun

Ἀχιλλεύς • (Akhilleús) m (genitive Ἀχιλλέως); third declension

  1. A male given name, equivalent to English Achilles

Inflection

Derived terms

  • Ἀχίλλειος (Akhílleios)

Descendants

References

  1. ↑ Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, volume 76 (1972, →ISBN
  2. ↑ Linear B, a 1984 Survey: Proceedings of the Mycenaean Colloquium (1985, →ISBN
  3. ↑ Glotta: Zeitschrift für griechische und lateinische Sprache (1993), The Name of Achilles: a revised etymology, page 19: a-ki-re-u (nominative) and a-ki-re-we (dative) at Knosses (Vc 106) and Pylos (Fn 06) respectively
  4. ↑ Leonard Palmer (1963) The Interpretation of Mycenaean Greek Texts, Clarendon Press, page 79
  5. ↑ Gregory Nagy (accessed 19 March 2015), “The best of the Achaeans”, in (Please provide the title of the work)‎, The Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University
  6. ↑ Glotta: Zeitschrift für griechische und lateinische Sprache (1993), The Name of Achilles: a revised etymology, pages 19 through 21, summarizes Nagy's, Palmer's, and also Kretschmer's theories in this regard.

Further reading

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