Ersa

Ersa was the daughter of Zeus and Selene (the moon). Her name means 'dew' (erse), which was believed to have been caused by the moon - compare the lines from A Midsummer Night's Dream where the Fairy sings: Ί do wander everywhere, Swifter than the moone's sphere; And I serve the fairy queen, To dew her orbs upon the Green', and where Oberon speaks of 'young Cupid's fiery shaft Quench'd in the chaste beams of the wat'ry moon'. Ersa's name was also doubtless metaphorical to denote a young and tender being, one born in the freshness of the morning.

Erymanthis,

Erymanthis, in the tale of Heracles' Fourth Labour, was the name of the mountain in Arcadia where the Erymanthian Boar lived. This mountain was said to have taken its name from a son of Apollo who had been blinded by Aphrodite because he had seen her bathing naked (compare the fate of Actaeon).

The name seems to be based on mantice, 'divination' with the suffix ery- coming from eryo, 'to draw'. It thus means 'divining by lots', which is presum­ably intended as a powerful and propitious name.

Erysichthon

Erysichthon was the name first of a son of Cecrops and Aglaurus and, second, of a son of Triopas, king of Dotion in Thessaly. This second Erysichthon dared to invade a grove of Demeter at Dotium, and began cutting down the sacred trees to provide timber for his new banqueting hall. Demeter punished him by making him perpetually hungry, so that he became a street-beggar, eating filth from the ground.

The trouble here is that eryo means both 'to tear' and 'to guard', so his name can mean either 'earth tearer' (with the latter half of his name from chthon, 'earth') or 'earth guardian'. As a beggar he had to 'tear earth' in order to eat and survive, but we are not told how he guarded any land.

Perhaps we can compromise and consider 'ploughman' (one who both 'tears' the earth and guards it). One theory suggests erysibe, 'mildew' as lying behind his name: mildew, after all, devours, and this represents Erysichthon's insatiable hunger.

Erythea

Erythea was the name of one of the Hesperides. Her name means 'red' (erythros), this obviously referring to the colour of the sun setting in the west.

Erytheïs

Erytheïs was another of the Hesperides. Her name, too, means 'red'.

Eryx

Eryx was a son of Aphrodite and Poseidon (or Butes), who became a king of part of north-west Sicily. His name seems to mean 'heather' (ereice) - compare the Latin botanical name for heather, Erica. Heather was a plant that had a special significance for the Greeks, perhaps because of some medical or magical association.

Eteocles

Eteocles is a name that one would expect to find belonging to a king, since it means 'true glory', from eteos, 'true', 'real' and cleos, 'glory'. And indeed we find that it was the name of a son of Andreus and Euippe who was an early king of Orchomenus in Boeotia, and of a more famous king of Thebes who was the son of Oedipus and Jocasta, The latter's brother was Polynices, and their names indicate clearly who was the 'good' brother and who was the 'bad' one.

Eteoclus

Eteoclus has a name that means exactly the same as that of Eteocles, 'true glory'. He was one of the Seven Against Thebes.

Euanthes

Euanthes was the son of Dionysus and Ariadne. His name means 'blooming' or 'flowering', from euanthes, literally 'fine flower'. This is a 'winy' name like those of his brothers: Oenopion, Thoas, Staphylas, Latronis and Tauropolus.

Eubuleus

Eubuleus was the by-name, or rather the euphemistic title, of Hades - although sometimes he is said to be a brother of Triptolemus. The name means 'good counsel', 'prudence', from euboulia (eu-, 'good' and boule, 'counsel'). A name like this would be used not to anger the bearer of the real, fearsome name, in fact to avoid even mentioning his real name.