Everyday LifeGreek → English
Eleutherius
/ˌɛljuːˈθɪəriəs/noun
A male given name, Latinised from Greek, borne by a second-century pope and several saints.
The Greek roots
ἐλευθέριος
eleuthérios
of freedom, liberating
ἐλεύθερος
eleútheros
free
Literally: “the liberator”
The story of the word
Before it was a Christian name it was a title of Zeus. After the Persians were driven out, the Athenians honoured Ζεὺς Ἐλευθέριος, Zeus the Liberator, and built him a colonnade in the Agora where Socrates is said to have talked. The name is alive in Greek as Ελευθέριος, and its most famous modern bearer, Eleftherios Venizelos, has Athens airport named after him.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
In a sentence
The church keeps the feast of Saint Eleutherius in May.
Pope Eleutherius led the Roman church in the late second century.