APPENDIX ONE:
On Hellenic and Makedonic Names.
In BLOOD & GOLD, I have rendered all proper names of persons or geographical locations in the Romanized Hellenic form, without exception. All other nouns and adjectives of Hellenic origin are given in a Hellenized English form wherever possible. For example, Athens is referred to by its Hellenic name, Athēnai (Gr. Ἀθῆναι), while its inhabitants, are referred to as Athēnaians, rather than by the transliterated Hellenic designation Athēnaioi (Gr. Αθηναίοι). Similarly, wherever a Hellenic word can be adequately translated into English, I have done so, such as using ‘Royal Bodyguard’ in place of the Hellenic term sōmatophylax basilikos (Gr. σωματοφύλαξ βασιλικός).
I have done my best to reflect the spirit, if not the letter, of Hellenistic naming conventions and practices, while at the same time, striking a balance with modern English for readability. Where an epithet was used for a person, it is preferred, in place of either the patronymic or the ethnic, namely when introducing a character in the story for the first time. This is especially true in the case of members of the Argead dynasty, where the same names tend to appear in each generation, sometimes multiple times.
Otherwise, for Makedones not commonly known by an epithet, the patronymic will be used to distinguish a character when this is necessary. For the Hellenes and other non-Makedones, I have opted to use the ethnic in place of the patronymic for identification. All patronymics are given in the Romanized transliteration of the genitive case, e.g., Ptolemaios Lagou (Gr. Πτολεμαῖος Λάγου). Ethnics (see below) are rendered as adjectives with a definite article, e.g., Aristoboulos the Potidaiean (Gr. Ἀριστόβουλος ὁ Ποτιδαιεύς).
Neither the Hellenes nor the Makedones used regnal numbers to identify their kings, although sometimes a number was added in order to avoid confusion in the rare case of a father and a son who both bore the same given name and patronymic. In general, however, epithets were preferred by contemporary historians to distinguish two kings where they both possessed the same given name. I have followed this Hellenic convention in BLOOD & GOLD, preferring the use of bynames to numbering. Incidentally, the regular epithet assigned by historians to a king could take various forms, including not only the official epithet used by the royal cult, but also an unofficial, and sometimes unflattering, common epithet that happened to become attached to the ruler.
One final peculiarity of note is that in our timeline, Alexandros was never assigned an epithet of by historians after his death. Instead, he was simply referred to as Alexandros by the Hellenes and Makedones. It was only much later, and under Roman influence, that he was known as Megas Alexandros (Gr. Μέγας Αλέξανδρος). This was true even for the purposes of the King’s cult throughout the Hellenistic world, where an epithet was, apparently, never deemed to be necessary to his worship. Out of faithfulness to this original practice, he is referred to in BLOOD & GOLD as such, whenever possible, with Megas Alexandros being used only very sparingly, when absolutely necessary for the reader’s clarification.
For the reader’s general information, the following is a summary of naming conventions and practices in the Hellenistic world.
THE ONOMA:
Unlike the Romans, who used the tria nomina—that is, the quintessentially Italic combination of the praenomen, the nomen gentilicium, and the cognomen, the Hellenes and the Makedones used only a given name, or onoma (Gr. ὄνομα).
Traditionally, it was the right of the father to choose his children’s names, which he could also later alter, if he deemed it necessary. The child would receive his or her name ten days after birth, in a special rite known as a dekatē (Gr. δεκάτη, literally ‘tenth day’). During this occasion, the father would also offer sacrifices and invite friends and other relations to take part in a celebratory feast. In addition to being a religious rite, the dekatē also served an important legal function, as in the eyes of the law of most poleis, it was sufficient proof to establish that a father had recognized his child as legitimate.
The given names of the Hellenes and Makedones took a variety of forms. Some were compound names, consisting of two ordinary roots, e.g., Dēmosthenēs (Gr. Δημοσθένης, from δῆμος ‘people’ and σθένος ‘strength, might, power’). Theophoric names, derived from the name or cult epithet of a god, were also common. These could either consist of the adjectival form of a divine name, e.g., Dēmētrios (Gr. Δημήτριος, from Δημήτηρ ‘Dēmētēr’), or else a compound of the name or title of a god and an adjective, e.g., Apollodōros (Gr. Ἀπολλόδωρος, from Ἀπόλλων ‘Apollo’ and δῶρον ‘gift’). Others were simple names, derived from ordinary nouns and adjectives, e.g., Xanthos (Gr. Ξάνθος, from ξανθός ‘yellow, blond’), or hypocoristic names, or shortened, forms of a compound name, derived from a term of endearment, e.g., Kleommas (Gr. Κλεόμμας), from Kleomenēs (Gr. Κλεομένης, from κλέος ‘fame, glory’ and μένος ‘mind, courage, power’).
It was customary for the eldest son to be named for his paternal grandfather, the second son for his maternal grandfather, and, often, the third son after a paternal or maternal uncle. As far as we can tell, the same practices were also often used in the naming of daughters. Only in very unusual circumstances was a son named after his father. This makes the decision of Alexandros to name not one, but two of his sons after himself rather notable by contemporary standards.
On the other hand, a person could, and sometimes did, freely change his or her given name, usually to reflect an important event in his or her life. A notable example is Alexandros’ mother, who was originally named Polyxenē (Gr. Πολυξένη) by her father, King Neoptolemos of Epeiros. However, after her initiation into the Mysteries of the Kabeiroi on the island of Samothrakē, she took the name Myrtalē (Gr. Μυρτάλη). Later, when her husband’s horse won a great victory in the races of the Olympic Games, she assumed the new name Olympias (Gr. Ὀλυμπιάς). At each of these stages in her life, Olympias was known only by the given name she was using at the time, and never by all three names simultaneously.
In addition, it was fairly common for a person to be given an epithet by his or her family, friends, or fellow countrymen. This sobriquet or byname could derive from a variety of sources, such as a person’s profession, temperament, appearance, or place of origin. Often in the Hellenistic period, well-known individuals (e.g., philosophers, statesmen, generals, etc.) were cited by historians under both their given name and epithet. It was also a useful means to distinguish between two persons with the same name. Thus, we have Antigonos Monophthalmos (Gr. Αντίγονος ὁ Μονόφθαλμος, ‘Antigonus the One-Eyed’) and Ptolemaios Keraunos (Gr. Πτολεμαῖος Κεραυνός, ‘Ptolemaios Thunderbolt’). While this epithet was not technically part of a person’s legal name, it would often be noted in legal documents, usually under the formulae: ‘X, also known as Y,’ or ‘X, called Y.’
THE PATRŌNYMIKOS:
Apart from the given name, all Hellenes and Makedones also possessed a patronymic (Gr. πατρωνυμικός). The patronymic was not, technically speaking, the name of the father, but rather a name derived from it. It was formed from the father’s name in the genitive case, e.g., Alexandros Philippou (Gr. Ἀλέξανδρος Φιλίππου), that is, Alexandros (son) of Philippos. Note, however, that in Aiolic speaking regions of Hellas and Asia, such as Aiolis, Boiōtia, and Thessalia, the adjectival form of the father’s name was preferred instead of the genitive for the patronymic, e.g., Alexandros Philippeios (Gr. Ἀλέξανδρος Φιλίππειος), or, Alexandros (the) Philippeian. Due to the peculiarities of Hellenic grammar, the patronymic could be written after the given name either with or without a definite article, as if it were a regular epithet. For the sake of clarity, the use of the definite article with the patronymic has been omitted in Blood & Gold.
The patronymic was almost always used with the given name of a person in formal speech and in legal documents. It was also essential to indicating that a person was both legitimate and freeborn. Slaves and freedmen did not possess patronymics and illegitimate children typically used a metronymic (Gr. μητρωνυμικός) in its place, formed in the same way as the patronymic, but instead with the mother’s name.
In the case of married women, the patronymic was also used, but often a second patronymic, or, more properly speaking, a gamonymic, would be added after it. This uxorial name could also be used on its own, in place of the patronymic, and was derived from that of the husband. Like the patronymic, it was formed either from the genitive case or the adjectival rendering of the husband’s name, depending on the region, e.g., Olympias Neoptolemou Philippou (Gr. Ὀλυμπιάς Νεοπτόλεμου Φιλίππου), that is, Olympias (daughter) of Neoptolemos (wife) of Philippos.
THE ETHNIKOS:
An ethnic (Gr. ἐθνικός) is a byname that was used with the given name and the patronymic, indicating a person’s native polis or region of origin. It could occur in one of two forms, either as an adjective or as a noun, e.g., Aristoboulos the Potidaiean (Gr. Ἀριστόβουλος ὁ Ποτιδαιεύς), or Aristoboulos the Potidaiate (Gr. Ἀριστόβουλος ὁ Ποτῑδαιᾱ́της), respectively. Unlike the patronymic, however, the ethnic did not constitute a part of a person’s name in the technical sense, although it was commonly cited to refer to foreigners or resident aliens of a polis in formal speech and legal documents. It was also widely used as an epithet (see above) by historians when referring to well-known individuals.
In the local context, when a man was residing in his native polis or with his own fellow citizens or countrymen, an ethnic was never used. Instead, it was common practice in many Hellenic poleis for male citizens to be assigned a demotic (Gr. δημοτικός), in addition to the given name and patronymic. However, outside of the polis the demotic was not used.
The demotic took the adjectival form of the deme, or civil district, where a citizen was registered, e.g., Alkibiadēs Kleiniou the Skambōnid (Gr. Ἀλκιβιάδης Κλεινίου Σκαμβωνίδες), Alkibiadēs son of Kleinias of (the deme of) Skambōnidai. The regular use of the demotic was especially common in Athēnai, where the patronymic was often omitted altogether, in order to emphasize the equality of all citizens before the law.
