ἥρως

Ancient Greek

FWOTD – 2 December 2015

Etymology

Uncertain. An original root *ἡρωϝ- (*hērōw-) was traditionally hypothesised by comparison with πάτρως (pátrōs), μήτρως (mḗtrōs), but had to be discarded considering the lack of /w/ in Mycenaean Greek 𐀴𐀪𐀮𐀫𐀁 (ti-ri-se-ro-e). Has been often compared with the theonym Ἥρα (Hḗra) and the proper name Ἥρυλλα (Hḗrulla). Assuming an original meaning “protector, defender”, traditionally also linked to Latin servō (“to protect, rescue”), Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬎𐬭𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (ha^uruuaⁱti, “to protect, defend”). According to Beekes, probably from Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /hɛ̌ː.rɔːs/ → /ˈi.ros/ → /ˈi.ros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /hɛ̌ː.rɔːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)e̝.ros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.ros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.ros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈi.ros/

Noun

ἥρως • (hḗrōs) m (genitive ἥρωος); third declension

1. (Homeric) a hero of the Trojan War: any of the major combatants of the Greek or Trojan forces
2. (classical) a hero or heroine of the ancient Greek religion: a human or demigod whose shrine was celebrated with chthonic rituals organized by local governments

Usage notes

Because the root of ἥρως (hḗrōs) ends with a vowel instead of a consonant, shortenings are common, such as ἥρως (hḗrōs) for the genitive singular and ἥρῳ (hḗrōi) for the dative singular.

Declension

Third declension of ὁ ἥρως; τοῦ ἥρωος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ἥρως ho hḗrōs	τὼ ἥρωε tṑ hḗrōe	οἱ ἥρωες hoi hḗrōes
Genitive	τοῦ ἥρωος toû hḗrōos	τοῖν ἡρώοιν toîn hērṓoin	τῶν ἡρώων tôn hērṓōn
Dative	τῷ ἥρῳ / ἥρωῐ̈ tôi hḗrōi / hḗrōĭ̈	τοῖν ἡρώοιν toîn hērṓoin	τοῖς ἥρωσῐ / ἥρωσῐν toîs hḗrōsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν ἥρω / ἥρωᾰ tòn hḗrō / hḗrōă	τὼ ἥρωε tṑ hḗrōe	τοὺς ἥρωᾰς toùs hḗrōăs
Vocative	ἥρως hḗrōs	ἥρωε hḗrōe	ἥρωες hḗrōes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of ἥρως; ἥρωος (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἥρως hḗrōs	ἥρωε hḗrōe	ἥρωες hḗrōes
Genitive	ἥρωος hḗrōos	ἡρώοιῐν hērṓoiĭn	ἡρώων hērṓōn
Dative	ἥρῳ / ἥρωῐ̈ hḗrōi / hḗrōĭ̈	ἡρώοιῐν hērṓoiĭn	ἥρωσῐ / ἥρωσῐν / ἡρώεσσῐ / ἡρώεσσῐν / ἡρώεσῐ / ἡρώεσῐν hḗrōsĭ(n) / hērṓessĭ(n) / hērṓesĭ(n)
Accusative	ἥρω / ἥρωᾰ hḗrō / hḗrōă	ἥρωε hḗrōe	ἥρωᾰς hḗrōăs
Vocative	ἥρως hḗrōs	ἥρωε hḗrōe	ἥρωες hḗrōes
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• ἡρωίζω (hērōízō)
• ἡρωϊκός (hērōïkós)
• ἡρωίνη (hērōínē)
• ἡρώϊος (hērṓïos)
• ἡρωίς (hērōís)
• ἡρωϊσμός (hērōïsmós)
• ἡρωϊστής (hērōïstḗs)
• ἡρῷον (hērôion)

Descendants

• Greek: ήρωας (íroas)
• → Armenian: հերոս (heros)
• → Latin: hērōs
  • Italian: eroe
  • → Old French: heroes
    • French: héros
    • → English: hero
      • Esperanto: heroo
      • Japanese: ヒーロー (hīrō)
      • → Thai: ฮีโร่ (hii-rôo)
  • → Portuguese: herói
  • → Sicilian: iroi
  • → Spanish: héroe
  • → Russian: геро́й (gerój)
    • → Kildin Sami: геройй (gjerojj)
  • → Serbo-Croatian: heroj

Further reading

• “ἥρως”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἥρως”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἥρως”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἥρως in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἥρως in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “ἥρως”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • demigod idem, page 209.
  • hero idem, page 397.
  • patron idem, page 599.
  • saint idem, page 731.
• ἥρως, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011