Rule #1: Names Matter

The first thing to remember in navigating the Greek Mythscape is that Greek Names Mean Things.  Most Greek names translate to various shades of Awesome, with meanings keyed to Greek ideals of behavior and character.  Some common elements of Greek names and their meanings include:

a - not
adno - holy
agatho - good/great
agora - the agora, center of political life
alex - defense/defender
alki - strength
amphi - on both sides
ana - up
anax - lord/master
andro - man/manliness/bravery
anthe - flower/flourishing
aster - star
asty - city
ari - very
arist - the best
arkho - commander
auto - himself
boulo - counsel/advice
demo - people
dike - justice
dio - Zeus
doro - gift
eide - seen/visible
elpi - hope
eu - good
eury - wide/far
gany - joy
genes - birth/lineage
glauko - white/pale
gono - born
harpo - grab/seize
helio - sun
hell - bright
hege - leader
hippo - horse (often used as a sign of wealth or class)
iphi - noble/nobility
iso - fair/even
kalli - beautiful
khalko - bronze
khairo - joy
kleo - glory
klyto - famous
krato - power
kreon - ruler
krito - decision
kydo - praise
lampe - bright
laos - people
leon - lion
leuko - white
lyko - wolf
lyt/lysi - freeing/dissolving/breaking up
machos - warfare
mede - plans
mega - big
mela - dark
meli - sweet
menos - strength
mnesi - rememberance
neo - new
niko - victory
nous - mind
oeno - wine
onoma - name
palai - old/ancient
pan - all
patro - father
peisi - obedience
peri - all around
phane - light/revelation/display
pheid - thrift
phere - bringing
philo - love
phron - mind
poly - many/much
proto - first
pyla - gate
so/sos/sosi - savior/saving/safe
speud/speus - quick/haste
stheno - strength
stratos - battle line
tele - from afar/at a long distance
theo - god
thersi - brawl
thrasy - brave
tim/timo/time - honor
tisi - revenge
xantho - blonde
xenos - stranger/friend
zeno - Zeus

From here the average Greek parent would be free to mix and match at leisure, although most important families passed down names from grandfather to grandson in alternating generations.  But most of the common names we know from our Greek history classes can be parsed according to this chart: Perikles (glory all around!), Demosthenes (power to the people, yo), Sokrates (save your strength, dude, that hemlock will take a lot out of you).

The Greeks understood the power of their names to impart information about people.  The comedian The Bestest Presentation (Aristophanes) loved to play with the names of his characters.  The son of a wealthy mother and a thrifty father in his Clouds is named Pheidippides after his parents couldn't decide on a proper name.  His father's 'pheid' component of the name loses out when the son takes a liking to racing horses and bankrupts his family.  The eponymous heroine of his Lysistrata does exactly that: breaks up the battle lines with her famous sex strike.  Knowing the meanings of the names of the people around you will give you your first big edge in surviving in the world of Greek Mythology.

TCE