ἥρως

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“watch over, protect”).

Pronunciation

• (5th BC Attic): IPA: /hɛ͜ɛ́rɔ͜ɔs/

• (1st BC Egyptian): IPA: /héːroːs/

• (4th AD Koine): IPA: /íros/

• (10th AD Byzantine): IPA: /íros/

• (15th AD Constantinopolitan): IPA: /íɾos/

Noun

ἥρως m (genitive ἥρωος, third declension)

1. hero
2. demigod

Inflection

Third declension of ἥρως, ἥρωος

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἥρως	ἥρωε	ἥρωες
Genitive	ἥρωος	ἡρώοιν	ἡρώων
Dative	ἥρωῐ	ἡρώοιν	ἥρωσῐ(ν)
Accusative	ἥρωᾰ	ἥρωε	ἥρωᾰς
Vocative	ἥρως	ἥρωε	ἥρωες

Because the root of ἥρως ends with a vowel instead of a consonant, shortenings are common, such as ἥρως for the genitive singular and ἥρῳ for the dative singular.

Derived terms

• ἡρωίζω
• ἡρωϊκός
• ἡρωΐνη
• ἡρωίς
• ἡρωϊσμός
• ἡρώιος
• ἡρωϊστής
• ἡρῷον

Descendants

• Russian: геро́й (gerój) m

References

• ἥρως in A Greek-English Lexicon by Liddell & Scott, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1940