Ἑλένη

See also: ἑλένη and Ελένη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

  • Ϝελένα (Weléna) — Laconian
  • Ἑλένα (Heléna) — Doric
  • Ἐλένα (Eléna) — Aeolic

Etymology

Most likely from Proto-Hellenic *Ηwelénā, from a pre-Hellenic or late Proto-Indo-European *Swelénā (a solar deity), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swel- (“to shine, warm, smoulder, burn”). In that case, related to εἵλη (heílē, “sunshine, sun's heat”) and unrelated to ἑλένη (helénē), σέλας (sélas) or σελήνη (selḗnē).[1]

Pronunciation

 

Proper noun

Ἑλένη • (Helénē) f (genitive Ἑλένης); first declension

  1. (Greek mythology) Helen, a goddess worshipped in Laconia and Rhodes.
  2. (Greek mythology) Helen, the daughter of Zeus and Leda, considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world; her abduction by Paris brought about the Trojan War.
  3. a female given name, equivalent to English Helen

Inflection

First declension of ἡ Ἑλένη; τῆς Ἑλένης (Attic)
Case / # Singular
Nominative ἡ Ἑλένη
hē Helénē
Genitive τῆς Ἑλένης
tês Helénēs
Dative τῇ Ἑλένῃ
tēî Helénēi
Accusative τὴν Ἑλένην
tḕn Helénēn
Vocative Ἑλένη
Helénē
Notes:
  • This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

Descendants

Descendants
  • Greek: Ελένη (Eléni)
  • → Albanian: Elenë
  • → Georgian: ელენე (elene)
  • → Latin: Helena, Helene (see there for further descendants)
  • → Old Armenian: Հեղինէ (Hełinē)
  • → Old Church Slavonic: Елена (Elena)
  • → Persian: هلن (helen)

References

  1. ^ West, M. L. (2007) Indo-European Poetry and Myth, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, pages 230–232 (link to text)

Further reading

  • “Ἑλένη”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
  • Ἑλένη in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
  • Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,012
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