#classical studies

• Agrippina — The Latin and international orthographic form frequently used in academic works for the historical name Agripina. It refers to the two outstanding female figures of the Julio-Claudian dynasty in the Roman Empire: Agrippina the Elder and Agrippina the Younger, renowned for their exceptional political influence and tragic fates within the imperial court.
• Achaean — Pertaining to the Achaeans, an ancient Hellenic population of the Bronze Age that dominated mainland Greece and founded the Mycenaean civilization; relating to or characteristic of their culture, language, or confederations. As a noun, it designates a member of this ancient Greek tribe, famous in Homeric epics for the siege of Troy.
• Acheron — A river in the Epirus region of northwestern Greece, famous in Greco-Roman mythology as one of the five rivers of the underworld (Hades). Known as the 'River of Woe' or sorrow, its dark waters were believed to be where Charon ferried the souls of the deceased to the realm of shades, with its name often used as a poetic metaphor for death, perdition, or hell.
• Achilles — The legendary chief hero of Homer's epic Iliad, son of the goddess Tethys and the mortal Peleus, famous for his courage, strength, and destructive wrath during the Trojan War. Dipped by his mother in the river Styx to become invulnerable, he remained vulnerable only at the heel by which he was held. In a broad sense, the name designates the prototype of the invincible warrior, and in anatomy, it names the strongest muscle tendon.
• Ajax — The name borne by two legendary Greek heroes participating in the Trojan War in Homer's epic, the Iliad. The most famous, Ajax of Salamis (or Ajax the Great), son of Telamon, is recognized as the second bravest and strongest Greek warrior after Achilles, characterized by a gigantic stature and a massive bronze shield; the second, Ajax of Locris (or Ajax the Lesser), son of Oileus, is famous for his speed and his tragic end caused by the wrath of the gods after desecrating Athena's temple.
• Alcaeus — A renowned Greek lyric poet from the island of Lesbos, who lived during the 6th century BCE, included by Alexandrian scholars in the canonical list of nine lyric poets of Ancient Greece. A contemporary and close associate of Sappho, Alcaeus created a vast body of work blending militant political themes, religious hymns, and drinking songs, and invented the alcaic stanza, a metrical structure that deeply influenced classical European lyric poetry.
• Alcestis — The original Greek form of the name Alcesta (Alcestis); it is also the name of a major main-belt asteroid (124 Alcestis), discovered in 1872 by the astronomer Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters. In a mythological context, it refers to the play written by Euripides in 438 BCE, considered one of the oldest surviving works of the playwright.
• Alcaeus — The standard Latinized form of the name of the Greek poet Alceu (Alcaeus); it is also the name of a butterfly species in the Hesperiidae family (Carcharodus alceus), distributed across the Palearctic region. In an international literary and academic context, it is structurally used to refer directly to the alcaic metrical schemes discovered in Antiquity.
• Alcides — The original Greek name (Alkeides) and patronymic of the mythological hero Heracles (Hercules), given to him in his youth in honor of his grandfather, Alcaeus, the Myeconian king. The name is etymologically linked to the Greek root 'alke', meaning strength, prowess, or protection, symbolizing the exceptional physical vigor and protective destiny of this demigod in classical legends.
• Alcimeda — A character in Greek mythology, known as the daughter of Phylacus (or Clymene) and wife of Aeson, making her the mother of the legendary hero Jason, leader of the Argonauts. In Hellenic epics and classical legends, Alcimeda represents the tragic figure of the mother suffering under the tyranny of Pelias, her courage and lineage being celebrated in Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica.
• Alcinous — The Latinized and international form of the name of the mythological king Alcinous, the wise ruler of the Phaeacians in Homer's Odyssey. In the context of ancient philosophy, the name Alcinous also refers to a 2nd-century CE Middle Platonist philosopher, author of the handbook 'The Handbook of Platonism' (Didaskalikos).
• Alcman — A renowned Greek lyric poet of the 7th century BCE, who active in Sparta and was included by Alexandrian scholars in the canonical list of nine lyric poets of Ancient Greece. He is historically recognized as the founder of Spartan choral lyric poetry and the creator of ritual hymns sung by maiden choires (partheneia), his work outstanding for its sensitive descriptions of nature, sensuality, and use of the Laconian dialect.
• Alcmene — The original Greek and international form of the name Alcmena (Alkmene); it is also the name of a major main-belt asteroid (82 Alkmene), discovered in 1864 by the German astronomer Robert Luther. In a mythological context, it represents the central figure of works written across various cultural eras focused on the birth of Heracles.
• Amythaon — A proper name or term of Greek mythological origin (Amythaon), designating a legendary character, son of Cretheus and Tyro, recognized in classical epics as the father of the wise Melampus and Bias. In historical philology and literature, the term functions as a fixed proper noun evoking the noble lineages and mythic dynasties of the Peloponnese.
• Aoroi — A mythological term adopted from Ancient Greek (aoroi) designating a special category of souls of those who died prematurely or before their time (literally 'the timeless ones'). In ancient beliefs, these spirits were thought to wander restlessly between worlds, unable to find eternal rest in Hades because they had not completed their natural cycle of earthly life.
• Ascanius — The Latin language name and international academic form for the son of Aeneas, strictly used in classical philology, ancient history, and literary historiography (especially in the analysis of Virgil's Aeneid). This character represents a key structural element in the political propaganda of the Augustan era, justifying the divine legitimacy of the Julio-Claudian dynasty through a direct connection to the goddess Venus.
• Attic — An old or archaizing Romanian adjectival form (variant for 'atic') used to describe something belonging to Attica, ancient Athens, or classical Greek culture. In philological texts or historical translations from past centuries, it qualified the literary style, dialect, or cultural spirit characterized by sobriety, artistic refinement, and structural balance.
• The Bacchae — The original Latin and English form for 'bacante'; the designation attributed to the ecstatic women in the retinue of the god Bacchus. In academic, literary, and theatrical circles, the term is often used unadapted to refer directly to Euripides' ancient Greek tragedy, representing a key concept in analyzing the dichotomy between the Dionysian and the Apollonian.