Remus

Remus was the son of Mars and Rhea Silvia, and the famous twin brother of Romulus. The Oxford Classical Dictionary suggests that the name may derive from some local place-name, such as Remona, or even Roma, 'Rome'.

Rhadamanthys

Rhadamanthys (or Rhadamanthus) was a judge of the dead, and a son of Zeus and Europa, or a brother of Minos and Sarpedon, or even a son of Phaestus. His name looks Greek and meaningful enough, but it is not straightforward. If we bear in mind that he was a judge, then the second half of his name may relate to mantis, 'soothsayer', 'seer'. If this is so, the first half of his name can perhaps be derived from rhabdos, 'rod', 'wand', so that he is a 'rod diviner', that is, he divines by means of a rod or wand.

But would a judge actually divine? Again, as the name of a member of the family of Minos, one would expect a 'shining' name, but Rhadamanthys does not seem to relate to the moon or the sea, for example. It has been pointed out that Hesychius uses a verb rhadameo, 'to make grow', and if this combined with anthos, 'flower', we can get a sense something like 'flower-grower', in other words a sort of masculine Flora. But the truth of the matter is that the name is almost certainly pre-Greek.

Rhea

Rhea was a Titaness, the daughter of Uranus and Gaia and the consort of Cronos, her brother, to whom she bore Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. It is a pity that for such an important character we have such an uncertain name.

Attempts have been made to associate it with that of Hera, by means of a kind of transposition, as well as to derive it from rheo, 'to flow', this latter interpretation being made by the third century BC Greek philosopher Chrysippus ('Golden Horse'!) 'because rivers flow from the earth'.

Leonard Ashley sees the name, however, as meaning 'thingness', which is about as basic - or as vague - as one can get. She does really seem to have been an earth goddess, however, as the name of her Roman equivalent Ops suggests (see this name), so perhaps it is best to return to Hera and decide in favour of one of the origins we considered for her name - that of era, 'earth'.

Rhea Silvia

Rhea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, and so not a Greek goddess at all. Indeed, her name often appeared as Rea Silvia, and it is possible that the spelling Rhea was introduced by writers or editors who were thinking of the Greek Rhea in the entry above.

If she is Rea Silvia, then the first part of her name may be nothing more than rea, 'one accused', 'one condemned', perhaps referring to the 'guilt' of her giving birth to Romulus and Remus. (One account tells how her uncle Amulius 'exposed' the twin brothers after Rhea had given birth to them, and then imprisoned her; she was released many years later by her sons.) Silvia suggests 'of the forest' (latin silva). In an early version of her story, in which Rhea is said to be the daughter of Aeneas, she is called Ilia, after his homeland of Ilium (i.e. Troy).

Rhesus

Rhesus was a Thracian king and an ally of king Priam of Troy. He was a son of Eioneus or the river-god Strymon and one of the Muses. His name seems to be a 'belligerent' one, from rhexis, 'breaking', so that he is a 'breaker'.

The king's name came to be applied, apparently with no logical connection at all, to the so called rhesus monkey. This monkey was widely used in medical experiments, and so passed its name in turn to such expressions as the 'rhesus factor' of blood.

Rhexenor

Rhexenor was the eldest son of Nausithoüs, king of the Phaeacians. He was the father of Arete, who married his brother Alcinoüs. His name is a warlike one, rhexenor, 'breaking through ranks of warriors', from rhexis, 'breaking' and aner, 'man'.

Rhode

Rhode (or Rhodos) was a nymph, the daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite (or Aphrodite), who is said to have given her name to the island of Rhodes. Her name may be linked, prettily enough, with rhodea, 'rosy', and rhodon, 'rose' has also been suggested as the origin of the name of the island. In fact both its name, and hers, are probably pre-Greek or even pre-Indo-European.

Romulus

Romulus, the twin brother of Remus, was the mythical founder of Rome in 753 BC. As possibly for Remus' name, Romulus is a name that almost certainly derives from that of Rome itself, so that it simply means 'Roman'.

The actual name of Rome is disputed: it may derive from an early name of the river Tiber that flows through it, this being Ruma or Rumon, or something similar, and itself perhaps related to Greek rheo, 'to flow'. The important thing here is that Romulus did not found Rome, Rome 'founded' him!