Pages

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Telemachus

Stephanie West on Homer, Odyssey 1.113:
His name reflects his father's characteristic method of fighting; for Odysseus' skill at archery cf. viii 215 ff. (with Hainsworth's n.), xxi 393 ff., xxii 1 ff. The children of many Homeric heroes bear names which recall some aspect of their fathers' lives—Eurysaces (Ajax), Astyanax (Hector), Megapenthes (Menelaus), Iphianassa, Chrysothemis, and Laodice (Agamemnon), Pisistratus (Nestor)...
Name meanings:
  • Astyanax: city's king
  • Chrysothemis: golden law
  • Eurysaces: broad shield
  • Iphianassa: strong queen
  • Laodice: people's justice
  • Megapenthes: great sorrow
  • Pisistratus: persuader of the army
  • Telemachus: fighting from afar
See Nikoletta Kanavou, The Names of Homeric Heroes: Problems and Interpretations (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2015).