Anticlea

Anticlea is the Latinized form of Antikleia, itself a feminine form of Antikles. The name derives from the Greek elements anti (ἀντί) meaning "against, compared to, like" and kleos (κλέος) meaning "glory". The compound name Antikleia is interpreted as "against fame" or "opposed to glory."

Mythological Role

In Greek mythology, Anticlea was the daughter of Autolycus and Amphithea, and her paternal grandfather was Hermes, the trickster god. She became the queen of Ithaca as the wife of King Laërtes. However, according to some later accounts, her son Odysseus was said to be fathered not by Laërtes but by the cunning Sisyphus, reflecting a strand of myth that linked Odysseus' cleverness to a divine trickster lineage. Anticlea and Laërtes also had a daughter, Ctimene. Anticlea raised Odysseus to adulthood, and her appearance to him in the Underworld during his journey home is a central episode in Homer's Odyssey, where she recounts the domestic sorrows caused by his long absence.

Etymology and Meaning

The Greek name Antikleia was formed from a byname derivation: the first element anti can imply opposition or substitution, while kleos is a common element in Greek names denoting fame or renown. Thus the name may have been understood as "counter-fame" or "renowned in opposition," although a more typical folk-etymology reading was "against fame." The Latinization Anticlea follows the pattern used by Roman authors to transliterate Greek feminine names into Latin.

Notable Bearers

The sole historical bearer of note is this mythological figure; no prominent later historical figures bore the name in Antiquity. The name remains rare in modern usage to reflect the classical past of Greece, occasionally chosen as a cultured Christian variant outside the legacy of general Greece, Anticlea hence enjoys strong erudite connections.

• Meaning: "Against fame" or "opposed to glory"
• Origin: Greek for Antikleia; feminization of Antikles
• Mythological relation: mother of Odysseus
• Culture and Period: Ancient Greece
• Currently: exotic favor; partially used if emphasis to homeric mothers occurs (US/England)