Classical Names

I'm taking a break from going through the alphabet and bringing you a list of names instead. These baby names are all classical; this was an easy theme for me to talk about, as Classics is another passion of mine. I thought it would follow on from Juno quite well too :) Classics is the study of ancient Greece and Rome so these names all come from mythology or history from these time periods. Some of them aren't strictly Greek or Latin names but were important people/characters from those cultures.

Roman names in particular are attracting a lot of attention at the moment. This is partly due to the success of the Hunger Games series of books/films which include many names of famous Romans (if you know the series, most names from the Capitol are Roman). I have included some of these in the list.

Having said that, I do acknowledge that most of these names would only be for the more adventurous baby-namer. Or maybe an exotic middle name?! I love the history behind each of these, although not all the namesakes were pleasant characters!

Ancient Greek

Ajax - hero from the Trojan War.

Ariadne - (pro. Ah-ree-ad-nee) Cretan princess who helped Theseus slay the Minotaur.

Artemis - goddess of hunting, the moon, chastity.

Antigone - (pro. An-tig-o-nee) tragic heroine who was killed for burying her brother who was seen as a traitor.

Cassandra - prophetess/ princess of Troy who was cursed with never being believed.

Draco - lawgiver of Athens, famous for being strict and severe.

Hector - prince of Troy, killed by Achilles.

Ino - sea nymph who helped Odysseus at sea.

Leonidas - king of Sparta who led at the battle of Thermopylae (300)

Orion - famous huntsman placed among the stars by Zeus.

Pandora - the woman who let all the bad things in the world out of the box, except Hope.

Persephone - (pro. Per-sef-o-nee) queen of the underworld, kidnapped by Hades but allowed to return to earth every spring.

Rhea - Mother of the gods (a Titan).

Theseus - Greek hero who killed the Minotaur.

Roman

Aeneas - (pro. Uh-nee-ass) Roman hero from the Aeneid who founded Rome.

Cybele (pro. Sib-eh-lee) - Roman equivalent of Rhea plus other gods, goddess of the earth/mother of the gods.

Cassius - one of the plotters of Julius Caesar's assassination.

Cato - Roman statesman.

Cinna - Roman consul.

Evander - ancient king of Pallanteum.

Marius - famed for reorganising the Roman army.

Octavian - given name of the first emperor Augustus.

Virgil - author of the Aeneid.