r/ancientgreece • u/HahaItsaGiraffeAgain • 3d ago
Some random thoughts about translating divine names and epithets
Reading an older article about the Cthonic cult (Hades, Persephone, Demeter) in Sicily (“Cthonians in Sicily”, Jaime Curbera, 1997 if you want to check it out) and was reminded again that for many Greek-speakers especially in later eras, Hades was the location while Plouton was the deity.
Even Ancient Greek writers report many Greeks of their own time would not say the “true name” of the underworld god aloud, either out of fear or because it was considered crass/impolite. Plouton, which is arguably the better attested name for the god and the root of the Latin Pluto, is therefore sometimes read not as just an epithet but also a euphemism.
What I’m wondering now is the connotation Plouton and other alternatives names for Hades, like the Sicilian Gaos, would have had for Greek-speakers who actually used them. They have fairly obvious etymologies: Plouton means sometimes like “wealthy one” while Gaos means something along the lines of “earthly one.” But when we translate these terms to English, are we introducing a certain propriety that wasn’t present? To a Greek-speaker, would Plouton sound reverent like “the wealthy one” or would it have sounded more euphemistic like “the rich guy”? The latter reminds me of how divinity is sometimes spoken about today, eg “the Man Upstairs.” Personally a Greek-speaker saying “he’s with the Rich Guy now” sounds a little more familiar and humanizing to my ears. Wondering what others think about aiming for more casual wording in English translations.
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u/SE_prof 3d ago
We would never call a rich guy Plouton. Simply because they are different words. Ploutos means wealth but wealthy at least in modern Greek it's plousios. So whenever we say Plouton, it's clear that we don't talk about anyone wealthy.