Hades

Hades was the infamous god of the dead, the ruler of the Underworld. In classical Greek, his name is always that of a person, never a place, although later, by extension, Hades came to be the name for the Underworld itself. (This happened through an elliptical use of the name in the genitive, meaning 'of Hades', with the missing but understood first word being 'house'.)

The original form of the name was Aides, this meaning 'the unseen', from a-, 'not', and eido, 'to see' (this latter verb being ultimately connected with Latin video). This 'invisibility' was by implied contrast with the sun, Helios, who was clearly visible.

In spite of this generally accepted derivation, however, there have been other suggestions regarding the origin of the name, one of them being a development from aianes, 'everlasting', 'wearisome', 'horrible'. This certainly conjures up an unpleasant endless torment in a version of Hell.

Haemon

Haemon was the name of one or more of the sons of Creon of Thebes, and also of the son of Andraemon. The name seems to derive from haema, 'blood', and indeed the first Haemon came to a 'bloody' end when he was throttled by the Sphinx for being unable to answer her riddle. (For the man who finally outwitted her, see Oedipus.) But perhaps we must consider another origin as a possibility, this being haimon, 'skilful'. Such a generally commendatory name would be suitable for almost anyone.

Halia

Halia was a nymph who married Poseidon and bore him Rhode and six sons. When these wanton boys ravished their mother, Poseidon sank them underground, but Halia threw herself into the sea where she was deified as Leucothea. (This same story, incidentally, is also told about Ino.)

So there are certainly enough maritime connections to justify her name, which means 'of the sea', from hais, halos, 'sea'. (The word is a base for several of the names that follow below.)

Haliartus

Haliartus was the brother of Coronus and the son of Thersander. The story goes that he had been adopted by Athamas, son of Aeolus, when Athamas had been guided by the oracle to find food after a flock of sheep had all been devoured by wolves. Haliartus has a name that thus means 'bread of the sea', from hals, 'sea' and artos, 'bread', and so was a kind of 'manna in the wilderness' for Athamas.

Halirrhothius

Halirrhothius was a son of Poseidon and the nymph Euryte. He attempted to rape Alcippe, the daughter of Ares, but Ares killed him. (As a result of this, Ares was brought to trial by Poseidon on a hill at Athens that henceforth came to be called the Areopagus, or 'hill of Ares'.)

As we know, Poseidon himself was not overmodest when it came to amatory advancement, and the name of Halirrhothius could be taken as referring to him in this regard, since it means 'roaring with waves', 'sea-beaten', from halirrhothios (hais, halos, 'sea' and rhothos, 'rushing noise as of waves', 'hoarse noise').

Halmus

Halmus was a son of Sisyphus (with brothers Glaucus, Ornytion and Thersander). His name, too, appears to be connected with the sea, deriving from halme, 'sea' (more specifically, 'sea water that has dried', 'brine').

This would make him a seaman of some kind, or one who worked by the sea. Thomas Keightley suggests that the names of all four brothers may indicate the bustle of commerce since Sisyphus was a trader at Corinth.

Hamadryads

Hamadryads were nymphs that some believed to be individual trees. As such, they died when their own tree did. This bonding is indicated in their name, which literally means 'together with a tree', from hama, 'together' and drys, 'tree'. See also Dryads.

Harmonia

Harmonia was the wife of Cadmus of Thebes. She was the daughter of either Ares and Aphrodite or Zeus and Electra (the daughter of Atlas). Her name is obvious, whether we interpret it as 'harmony', 'concord', 'union' or 'agreement'.

It is, however, an unexpected name for one who was (in one account) the daughter of the god of war (Ares) and the goddess of love (Aphrodite). One would expect there to be anything but harmony here!

Harpalyce

Harpalyce was the name of a daughter of Clymenus, king of Argos (who abducted her when she married Alastor), and of a daughter of Harpalycus, a Thracian king. The second Harpalyce clearly gets her name from her father.

The first was involved in a violent situation - before she married Alastor, Harpalyce's father had incestuously raped her, and after he abducted her, she murdered the child she bore him - and this may explain her name which means 'ravening wolf, from harpazo, 'to ravish', 'abduct' and lycos, 'wolf. (The name refers to her father's acts: compare Halirrhothius, whose name similarly relates to his father.)

Harpies

Harpies were monstrous bird-like women. Traditionally, there were three or four of them and they were held responsible for anything that could not be found or had somehow disappeared. In Homer, they carried people off to their death, but later they mainly snatched away food.

They seem originally to have been wind spirits. In any event, their name means 'snatchers', from harpazo, 'to carry off, 'snatch up' (compare Harpalyce). The English words 'rapt' and 'rapture' are related to the Greek word that gives their name.

Harpina

Harpina (or Harpinna) was, according to some accounts, the mother of Oenomaüs, king of Pisa. The name was also that of a mare owned by Oenomaüs. It can mean either 'snatcher', from harpazo (see Harpies) or more likely 'falcon', from harpe.

This would be a good descriptive name for a horse that was very swift (as the Harpies were). Admittedly, it is less fitting when applied to Oenomaüs' mother.

Hebe

Hebe was the cup-bearer of the gods and the personification of youth, a kind of female equivalent of Ganymede. She was the daughter of Zeus and Hera and the sister of Ares, and there is evidence in a temple at Phlius (a town usually allied with Sparta) that she was locally actually called Ganymeda.

Her name means simply 'youth', 'puberty', and the word hebe implied freshness, vigour, passion and the like - in fact, all the joys of youth. Her rather less exciting Roman equivalent was Juventas.

Hecabe

Hecabe has a name that to most people, almost entirely thanks to Shakespeare, is more familiar in its Roman form of Hecuba. She was the daughter of Dymas, king of the Phrygians, and became the wife of Priam, by whom she had nineteen children, including Paris, Hector and Cassandra. A lady of some consequence, therefore.

Her name, however, is not so straightforward. Like that of Hecate (with whom she must not be confused), it may mean something on the lines of 'far off, from hecas, 'far'. This could mean she was 'distant' in some way - perhaps having an influence from a distance, or producing a distant effect.

In one account she was stoned to death, and as she died turned into a bitch, later returning in this form to haunt the area where earlier her youngest son Polydorus had been murdered by the Thracian king Polymestor. This haunting could be regarded as a 'distant' influence.

Hecate

Hecate was a Titaness and thus an earth goddess. She was associated by the Greeks with the moon, and her parents were Perseus or Zeus and Demeter. For a goddess associated with the moon (and later specifically with Artemis) her name can be more confidently interpreted as 'she who has power from afar'.

This refers not only to the rays of the moon but to her special power as a giantess. The name was also one of the many by-names of Apollo and his sister Artemis.

In this respect it is worth noting that the Greeks quite often formed names from the by-names of other gods (but only very rarely from the real names), and it might almost be that this particular by-name somehow became detached from Artemis and became a separate moon goddess. Robert Graves and others, however, derive her name not from hecatos, 'far' but from hecaton, 'hundred'.

This could refer to a hundred of a number of significant things: victims on her altars, years during which unburied souls were detained, months of a king's reign, multiplicity of a harvest (a hundredfold), and the like. Either way, whether 'far-darting' or 'a hundredfold', she has a powerful and impressive name.

Hecatoncheires

Hecatoncheires were the three hundred-armed giants Cottos, Gyes and Briareüs who were the offspring of Uranus and Gaia (who also bore the Cyclopes). Their name (from hecaton, 'hundred' and cheir, 'hand', 'arm') may be taken literally in view of their special status, or perhaps more metaphorically, for example because they acted a hundred more times more powerfully when they did anything than anyone else.

Hector

Hector was the great Trojan hero who was the son of Priam and Hecabe and the husband of Andromache. His name derives from echo, 'to hold fast', 'uphold', 'defend', since he was the Trojan war leader, the 'prop of Troy'.

It is interesting that the name of his little son Astyanax has a similar meaning, reflecting his father's great powers of resistance. The English verb 'to hector' meaning to bully or bluster (or both) derives from his name, since this is how Hector was represented in medieval romances.

Hegemone

Hegemone was one of the two original Charités, with Auxo. Auxo represented the spring, and Hegemone autumn. Her name actually means 'leader', 'ruler', from hegemon, 'leader'.

Heleius

Heleius (or Helius) was the son of Perseus and Andromeda. He plays only a small part in mythology, in spite of his famous parents, and his name means simply 'pity', 'mercy', 'compassion' (heleos).

Helen

Helen, best known as 'Helen of Troy', was the famous daughter of Zeus and Leda. She was the wife of Menelaüs, king of Sparta, and later of Paris, son of Priam. Her name in Greek is Helene, and most authorities derive it from hele, 'light', 'heat', although there are good grounds for regarding it as a non-Greek name, but as one associated with birds and trees in some way.

In his Agamemnon, Aeschylus ingeniously relates her name to Helenas, 'ship-destroyer', since she 'took the ships' (helein, 'to take', naus, 'ship'). Her name may go back to Sanskrit sarama, 'born of the sky', fittingly enough for her, since she was the daughter of Zeus.

Whatever the case, the modern girl's name Helen seems to owe its popularity not so much to her but to a more earthly Helen - St. Helena, the mother of the emperor Constantine. But inevitably some of the mythological Helen's charisma and beauty must rub off on modern Helens.

Helenus

Helenus was the son of Priam and Hecabe, and the twin of Cassandra. He was a noted seer and warrior who figures in the Iliad of Homer.

According to one account, he allowed the Greeks to capture him in the Trojan War because he was angry with the Trojans for giving Helen, whom he coveted for himself, to be married to Deïphobus. (But Deïphobus was killed before he could do so.) Perhaps we should translate his name as 'Helen man' in view of this.