A to Z Guides Blog

The island of Thassos is believed to be named after a Phoenician prince in Greek mythology called Thasus (or Thasos). According to the historian Herodotus, Thasus led an expedition to find and rescue his sister Europa after Zeus, the god of gods, abducted her. During his quest, he stopped at the island, loved its rich forests and nature so much, he decided to stay.

One tradition regarding Rhodes is that it was named after a sea nymph in Greek mythology who married the sun god Helios. Alternatively, some linguists and historians trace the name to the ancient Greek word rhodon, which is the name for a rose.

The name for the island of Kos (Greek: Κῶς) dates back to ancient times and is first recorded in Homer’s Iliad. Its exact etymology remains uncertain, though historians, linguists, and mythologists offer conflicting explanations.

The origin of the name for the island of Crete remains officially unknown. However, it first appeared in written history in 15th-century BC Mycenaean Linear B tablets as (“Cretans”) and later in Homer’s Odyssey. Scholars and myths propose several linguistic and legendary explanations. The ancient Egyptians who traded with Crete called the people living on the island the Keftiu.

The name Santorini is a contraction of Saint Irene, a saint who has a church dedicated to her in the village of Perissa. Named by the Venetians, the island bore the name Santorini since at least the middle of the twelfth century, the first mention being made by the geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi c. 1154; During antiquity it was known as Thēra; and before then, according to ancient writers, as Kallístē, the most beautiful one and according to a modern tradition, as the circular one. The ancient name Thera was named after Theras, the leader of the Spartans who colonised the island in classical times. The name was revived in the nineteenth century as the official name of the island and its main city, but the colloquial name Santorini is still in popular use.

The name for the island of Anafi comes from Greek mythology; as the Argonauts returned home from the island of Colchis, they were caught in a storm and begged the ancient Greek god Apollo to save them. Apollo responded to their calls and magically created an island in front of them, becoming their refuge from the tempest. Analfi in Greek means “to emerge” or “to appear”.

Regarding the island of Naxos, there are two main theories about its name. The first is that it was named in honour of Naxos, the ruler of the island’s first settlers; the second, that the name derives from the ancient Greek word naxai, meaning “to sacrifice” because of the many religious ceremonies that took place there in honour of the gods.

Skiathos’ name dates back to the pre-Hellenic period and has remained largely unchanged for thousands of years. The primary theory is that the island’s first settlers, the Pelasgians, named it after the deep shade or shadow (skia in Greek) cast by its dense, lush pine and tree forests.

The name of the island of Mykonos is inspired by the hero Mykonos, a descendant of the legendary king Anius, a king of Delos and a priest of Apollo, born to Apollo and Rhoeo. Mykonos famously hosted and aided the Greeks before the Trojan War and Aeneas during his flight from Troy.

The island of Skyros got its name from the wild rocky terrain; skiron or skyros in Greek means stone debris.

The island of Leros derived its name from the island’s mostly flat terrain with only low mountains; the ancient Greek word ‘leros’ means smooth and flat.

The island of Aegina near Athens traditionally derived its name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king.

Hydra in ancient times was known as Hydrea (Ὑδρέα, derived from the Greek word for “water”), a reference to the natural springs found on the island.

Spetses was given its name by the Venetians, who used to call it “Isola di Spezzie”, meaning the island of aromas (spices).

The name of the island of Amorgos possibly comes from the word amorgά, which is the Greek word for the long roof beam of a building. The island’s long, narrow configuration could be likened to a roof beam. Another more likely origin is that the island grew flax, which was used to make robes called “amorgos.”

The ancient writer Pausanias tells us that the poet Ion of Chios believed the island received its name from Chios, the son of Poseidon by a nymph of the island, who was born during a snowstorm (Ancient Greek χιών chiōn “snow”).