Ancient Greek Place Names

AITHIOPIA Αιθιοπια (Country) Ancient Greek
Greek form of ETHIOPIA.

ALEXANDREIA Αλεξανδρεια (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Greek form of ALEXANDRIA.

ALEXANDRIA Αλεξανδρεια (Settlement) English, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
From the Greek given name Αλεξανδρος (see ALEXANDER), bestowed by Alexander the Great upon the cities he founded or conquered. This is the name of many cities throughout the world, notably in Egypt.

ANATOLIA Ανατολη (Region) Ancient Greek
From Greek ανατολη (anatole) meaning "sunrise", a term used by the Greeks to refer to the peninsula to the east (modern Turkey).

ARMENIA Αρμενια (Country) English, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Norwegian, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek, Ancient Persian
From Greek Αρμενια (Armenia), which was from Old Persian Armina, which is itself probably of Armenia origin. This is the name of a country in the Caucasus region, called Hayastan in Armenian.

ASIA Ασια (Region) English, Italian, Ancient Greek
Perhaps derived from Akkadian asu, meaning "east".

ASSYRIA Ασσυρια (Region) English, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
From Greek Ασσυρια (Assyria), derived from Akkadian Ashurayu, itself from the name of the empire's capital city ASHUR. This was the name of an ancient Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.

ATHENAI Αθηναι (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek form of ATHENS.

ATTIKE Αττικη (Region) Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek form of ATTICA.

BABYLON Βαβυλων (Settlement) English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Greek
Greek form of Akkadian 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 (Babili), which appears to mean "gateway of God", from Akkadian 𒆍 (babu) meaning "gate" and 𒀭 (ilu) meaning "God", though it may in fact derive from a non-Semitic language. This was the name of a major city in ancient Mesopotamia, the capital of the Babylonian Empire. It was located in present-day Iraq.

DAMASKOS Δαμασκος (Settlement) Ancient Greek, Biblical Greek
Greek form of DAMASCUS.

DELPHOI Δελφοι (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Greek form of DELPHI.

EUPHRATES Ευφρατης (River) English, Greek, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
From Greek Ευφρατης (Euphrates), the name of a river in Mesopotamia. It is derived from Old Persian Ufratu, itself from Elamite or Sumerian, of unknown meaning.

EURIPOS Ευριπος (Body of Water) Ancient Greek
Possibly from Greek ευ (eu) meaning "good" and ‘ριπη (rhipe) meaning "throw, swing". This was the name of the strait between Euboea and Boeotia.

HELLADA ‘Ελλαδα (Country) Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek form of ELLADA.

INDIA Ινδια (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
Derived from the name of the INDUS River. This is an exonym. In many languages of India, the name Bharat is used to refer to the country.

INDOS Ινδος (River) Ancient Greek
Greek form of INDUS.

KYPROS Κυπρος (Island & Country) Greek, Ancient Greek
Greek form of CYPRUS.

LYDIA Λυδια (Region) Ancient Greek, English
An ancient region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king LYDOS.

NAZARET Ναζαρετ (Settlement) Spanish, Italian, German, Greek, Armenian, Ancient Greek, Biblical Greek
Spanish, Italian, German, Armenian and Greek form of NAZARETH.

NEAPOLIS Νεαπολις (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
Greek and Latin form of NAPLES.

NEILOS Νειλος (River) Ancient Greek
Greek form of NILE.

NINEUE Νινευη (Settlement) Ancient Greek, Biblical Greek
Biblical Greek form of NINEVEH.

OLYMPOS Ολυμπος (Mountain) Ancient Greek, Greek
Meaning unknown. This is the name of the highest mountain in Greece. According to legend is the home of the Greek gods.

PERSIS Περσις (Country) Ancient Greek
Greek form of PERSIA.

PETRA Πετρα (Settlement) Ancient Greek, English
From Greek πετρα (petra) meaning "rock". This was the Greek name of the capital city of the Nabataeans, which may have been known as Raqmu to its Semitic inhabitants. Its ruins lie in Jordan.

PHILADELPHIEA Φιλαδελφεια (Settlement) Ancient Greek, Biblical Greek
Greek form of PHILADELPHIA.

SYRIA Συρια (Country & Region) English, Polish, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
From Greek Συρια (Syria), which was probably a variant of ASSYRIA, used in an expanded sense to refer to the northern Levant. This was the name of a province of the Roman Empire. It is now the name of a country in western Asia, having gained independence from the Ottoman Empire early in the 20th century.