# ἄναξ
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* ϝάναξ (wánax) — Corinthian, Doric, Laconian
* ἀνακός (anakós) — unknown

### Etymology

From earlier ϝάναξ (wánax), ϝάνακος (wánakos). Cognate with Mycenaean Greek 𐀷𐀙𐀏 (wa-na-ka) as well as Phrygian ουανακταν (ouanaktan /⁠wanaktan⁠/), Old Phrygian ϝανακτει (vanaktei), which may be an early loan from Greek or from a common third source.
The further origin is unknown, but likely a borrowing from a Pre-Greek substrate language, compare Aquitanian andox. Various alternative Indo-European etymologies have been proposed, including:
* Cognate with Tocharian A nātäk (“lord”) (female counterpart nāśi (“queen”); cf. ᾰ̓́νασσᾰ (ắnassă)), from a Proto-Indo-European *w(n̥)nákts (“lord”).
* Cognate with Sanskrit वणिज् (vaṇíj, “merchant, businessman”, an epithet of Indra in Vedic texts) from a Proto-Indo-European compound *wn̥-h₂eǵ-(t)- composed of *wenh₁- (“to strive”) + *h₂eǵ- (“to drive, lead”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /á.naks/ → /ˈa.naks/ → /ˈa.naks/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /á.naks/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈa.naks/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈa.naks/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈa.naks/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈa.naks/

### Noun

ἄνᾰξ • (ánăx) m (genitive ἄνᾰκτος); third declension
* lord, king
** (of men)
*** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.442–443:ὦ Χρύση, πρό μ’ ἔπεμψεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων παῖδά τε σοὶ ἀγέμενô Khrúsē, pró m’ épempsen ánax andrôn Agamémnōn paîdá te soì agémenChryses, Agamemnon, king of men, sent me forth to bring to you your daughter.
** (of gods, often Apollo and Zeus)
*** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 3.351:Ζεῦ ἄνα δὸς τῑ́σασθαι ὅ με πρότερος κάκ’ ἔοργε δῖον Ἀλέξανδρον, καὶ ἐμῇς ὑπὸ χερσὶ δάμασσονZeû ána dòs tī́sasthai hó me próteros kák’ éorge dîon Aléxandron, kaì emêis hupò khersì dámassonO Lord Zeus, grant me to punish the man who first has done me wrong, noble Alexander, and beat him down under my hands
*** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Homeric Hymn to Apollo 14–15:χαῖρε, μάκαιρ’ ὦ Λητοῖ, ἐπεὶ τέκες ἀγλαὰ τέκνα, Ᾱ̓πόλλωνά τ’ ἄνακτα καὶ Ἄρτεμιν ῑ̓οχέαιραν,khaîre, mákair’ ô Lētoî, epeì tékes aglaà tékna, Āpóllōná t’ ánakta kaì Ártemin īokhéairan,Rejoice, blessed Leto, since you have borne glorious children — the lord Apollo and Artemis strewer of arrows,
*** 458 BCE, Aeschylus, Agamemnon 513:νῦν δ’ αὖτε σωτὴρ ἴσθι καὶ παιώνιος, ἄναξ Ἄπολλον.nûn d’ aûte sōtḕr ísthi kaì paiṓnios, ánax Ápollon.But, in other mood, be our preserver and our healer, O lord Apollo.
* master, owner
** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 1.397–398:αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν οἴκοιο ἄναξ ἔσομ’ ἡμετέροιο καὶ δμώων, οὕς μοι ληίσσατο δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς.autàr egṑn oíkoio ánax ésom’ hēmetéroio kaì dmṓōn, hoús moi lēíssato dîos Odusseús.[Telemachus:] But I shall be lord of our own house and of the slaves that godlike Odysseus won for me."

#### Usage notes

* Often used to refer to Apollo. The vocative ᾰ̓́νᾰ (ắnă) is used only as an address to gods, for example in Ζεῦ ἄνα (Zeû ána, “O Zeus”).
* The vocative ἄναξ (ánax) can be combined with the vocative particle ὦ (ô) to form ὦναξ (ônax, “O lord”).

#### Synonyms

* (lord, master, king): ᾰ̓́νασσᾰ (ắnassă, “queen”) (feminine), βᾰσῐλεύς (băsĭleús), δεσπότης (despótēs), κοίρᾰνος (koírănos), κῡ́ρῐος (kū́rĭos), μεδέων (medéōn), μέδων (médōn), πρύτᾰνῐς (prútănĭs), τύραννος (túrannos)

#### Derived terms

* ᾰ̓νακτορῐ́ᾱ (ănaktorĭ́ā)
* Ἀνακτορία (Anaktoría)
* ᾰ̓νακτόρῐος (ănaktórĭos)
* ᾰ̓νάκτορον (ănáktoron)
* Ᾰ̓νακτοτελέσται (Ănaktoteléstai)
* ᾰ̓νάκτωρ (ănáktōr)
* Ᾰ̓ναξᾰγόρᾱς (Ănaxăgórās)
* Ἀναξάνδρα (Anaxándra)
* Ἀνάξανδρος (Anáxandros)
* Ᾰ̓ναξᾰρέτη (Ănaxărétē)
* Ᾰ̓νάξαρχος (Ănáxarkhos)
* ᾰ̓ναξῐ́ᾱ (ănaxĭ́ā)
* ᾰ̓ναξίαλος (ănaxíalos)
* Ἀναξίβια (Anaxíbia)
* Ᾰ̓ναξίβιος (Ănaxíbios)
* ᾰ̓ναξιβρέντας (ănaxibréntas)
* ᾰ̓ναξιδώρᾱ (ănaxidṓrā)
* Ᾰ̓νᾰξῐκρᾰ́της (Ănăxĭkrắtēs)
* Ᾰ̓ναξῐ́μανδρος (Ănaxĭ́mandros)
* Ᾰ̓ναξιμένης (Ănaximénēs)
* ᾰ̓ναξίμολπος (ănaxímolpos)
* Ἀνάξιππος (Anáxippos)
* ᾰ̓ναξιφόρμιγξ (ănaxiphórminx)
* ᾰ̓νάσσω (ănássō)
* Ἀστυάναξ (Astuánax)
* Ἀστυάνασσα (Astuánassa)
* εὐδῐᾰ́νᾰξ (eudĭắnăx)
* Εὐρυάνασσα (Euruánassa)
* ῐ̔ππιᾰ́νᾰξ (hĭppiắnăx)
* Ἱππῶνᾰξ (Hippônăx)
* οἰκῶνᾰξ (oikônăx)
* πᾱσῐᾰ́νᾰξ (pāsĭắnăx)
* Πλειστοᾰ́νᾰξ (Pleistoắnăx)
* πῠριπηγᾰ́νᾰξ (pŭripēgắnăx)
* Τῑμῶνᾰξ (Tīmônăx)
* χειρῶνᾰξ (kheirônăx)

#### Related terms

* ᾰ̓́νασσᾰ (ắnassă, “queen”)

#### Descendants

* Greek: άναξ (ánax)
* → Translingual: Anax

### References

* 1 2 Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἄναξ, -ακτος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 98-99
* ↑ Mallory, J. P. with Adams, D. Q. (2006) The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World (Oxford Linguistics), New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 268
* ↑ Wodtko, Dagmar S., Irslinger, Britta, Schneider, Carolin (2008) “*h₂eĝ-”, in Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon [Nouns in the Indo-European Lexicon] (in German), Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, pages 267, 270

### Further reading

* “ἄναξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “ἄναξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “ἄναξ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* ἄναξ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
* ἄναξ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* ἄναξ in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
* “ἄναξ”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited. chief idem, page 129.king idem, page 469.lord idem, page 500.master idem, page 517.prince idem, page 641.ruler idem, page 726.
* Anax on Wikipedia.Wikipedia