Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks. Chloe appeared in Greek mythology as an alternative name for the goddess of agriculture and fertility, Demeter. To further explore the biblical episode of Paul and the slave girl from Philippi, see John Byrons Biblical Views column Paul, the Python Girl, and Human Trafficking, published in the May/June 2019 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. Paul encounters the unnamed slave girl and eventually exorcises the spirit of python from her. And of course: "A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God" (Isaiah 40:3. Similarly to the Simeon-overture, but much more elaborate: the Paul & Barnabas cycle starts when Barnabas (a.k.a. From her lair in a cave she devoured whatever ventured within reach, including six of Odysseuss companions. Although many baby names are separated by gender, Verywell Family believes that sex does not need to play a role in your name selection process. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you." Being between Scylla and Charybdis is an idiom deriving from Greek mythology, which has been associated with the proverbial advice "to choose the lesser of two evils". The most famous appearance of sirens in literature is in Homer 's Odyssey where the hero Odysseus, on his long voyage home following the Trojan War, successfully escapes their enchanting call. According to the Latin Argonautica of Valerius Flaccus, they never found Hylas because the latter had fallen in love with the nymphs and remained "to share their power and their love". Paul and the Slave Girl. Based on the episode from Acts 16 in the Bible, the painting dates to c. 1860 and appears outside the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome. Many of the ancient gods, like Zeus, had children as a result of their romantic involvement with mortals. Updates? [citation needed]. [10] This was in the context of the effect of the French Revolution on politics in Britain. No name, no personal identity, no dignity. It is cognate with the Latin words silvester ('wild, not cultivated'), silvicola ('inhabiting woodlands') or silvaticus ('of woodlands or scrub'). Without a name to identify this girl, its possible she was better known by her unusual gift. As we discuss more elaborately in our article on the Gospel of Impurity, the phenomenon Israel was never a matter of racial or ideological purity but always a hotchpotch and catch-all of whatever worked and could somehow made to fit in. Christine is a lifestyle journalist with 17 years of professional experience and the author of the parenting book, Rattled! Alternatively it may signify that the risks are equally great, whatever one does. The name Silas may be short for Silvanus, but it may also be a Hellenized version of the name Saul, which means Asked For, and which reminds of the harrowing words: "The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. The name comes from the early Christian disciple Silas. Catholicos Patriarch of the Church of the East, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Silas_(name)&oldid=1149019285, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Silas Adams, the intelligent, laconic henchman of, Silas Dengdamor from season two of the BBC America television series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Silas Greaves, bounty hunter and protagonist of, Silas Greenback, primary antagonist in the British TV series, Silas P. Silas, played by Method Man in the stoner comedy, Silas Thatcher, a supporting antagonist in the 2012 video game, Silas Vorez, antagonist in the video game, Silas, portrayed by Nicholas Hoult in the 2015 film, Silas, (A.K.A. A change of name is an important element in the narrative of the Torah, and marks the patriarch cycle: both arch-parents Abraham and Sarah attained the names of their fame through a dramatic name-change (see our article on the verb , gamos, to marry), and their grandson Jacob had his name changed to Israel, after "wrestling" with the angel of YHWH. If you're looking for an equally cool and strong name for your baby boy, you can't go wrong with Silas. When the armour of the slain hero Achilles was not given to Ajax Telamonian, he became mad with jealousy and killed himself. A little forest was known as silvula. It has been suggested that Silas is the Greek version of the Aramaic "Seila," a version of the Hebrew "Saul". [16], In the provinces outside of Italy, Silvanus was identified with numerous native gods:[17], The Slavic god Porewit has similarities with Silvanus. Some translations, including the New International Version, call him "Silas" in the epistles. Theocritus, on the other hand, has the nymphs shutting his mouth underwater to stifle his screams for Heracles. By the time of Nicholas Monsarrat's 1951 war novel, The Cruel Sea, however, the upper-class junior officer, Morell, is teased by his middle-class peer, Lockhart, for using such a phrase. No, even Amphitryon's bronze-hearted son, who defeated the savage Nemean lion, loved a boycharming Hylas, whose hair hung down in curls. Meaning, origin and history of the name Silvanus You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Paul refers to him as Silvanus in his epistles, though it is possible that Silas was in fact a Greek form of the Hebrew name Saul (via Aramaic). The troubling elements in this passage can serve as a caution today. The Bible was not written by a single willful person or counsel acting as one, but is rather a so-called "emergent property", namely an emergent property of society, arising organically (like language, like law, science and art, like a vastly complex old-world Wikipedia page on human reality) from the unbridled interactions of countless participants rather like the ten-thousand widely different estimations of the amount of beans in a jar at a country fair, whose average is nearly always much more accurate than the most accurate single guess (see James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds, 2004). [3] In some accounts, his father was Euphemus[4] or King Ceyx of Trachis. As noted above, Silas can be regarded (and usually is) as short for Silvanus, and Silvanus comes from the Latin noun silva, meaning forest or woodland (the suffix -anus means "from" or "of the"). Our Latin noun stems from a Proto-Indo-European root "swel-", meaning both wood in the sense of forest, and wood the material. The name Silvanus occurs 4 times and the name Silas occurs 13 times; see full concordance. A little forest was known as silvula.The adjective silvestris or silvester means wooded or overgrown with forests, or simply denoted anything growing wild and uncultivated; hence the names Silvester . "22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. Paul travelled to Athens, and Silas and Timothy later joined him in Corinth.[5]. Luke is a master of the fine art of painting pictures with names, and the structures he depicts are baffling (and almost certainly represent structures in physics, chemistry and biology). Catholic theologian Joseph Fitzmyer further points out that Silas is the Greek rendition of the Aramaic Seila (), a version of the Hebrew Saul (.mw-parser-output .script-hebrew,.mw-parser-output .script-Hebr{font-family:"SBL Hebrew","SBL BibLit","Taamey Ashkenaz","Taamey Frank CLM","Frank Ruehl CLM","Ezra SIL","Ezra SIL SR","Keter Aram Tsova","Taamey David CLM","Keter YG","Shofar","David CLM","Hadasim CLM","Simple CLM","Nachlieli",Cardo,Alef,"Noto Serif Hebrew","Noto Sans Hebrew","David Libre",David,"Times New Roman",Gisha,Arial,FreeSerif,FreeSans}), which is attested in Palmyrene inscriptions.[3]. For more than a millennium, people sought the prophecies of Apollos famous oracle at Delphi: Pythia, a priestess at the temple, who was said to have the spirit of the god. [5], After Heracles killed Theiodamas in battle, he took on Hylas as his arms-bearer and taught him to be a warrior. Siren s were creatures from Greek mythology that enticed sailors to their destruction with their irresistibly beautiful singing. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. But it could also refer to the subject matter of a poem or treatise, as opposed to its "mind" or intelligence (i.e. As protector of the forest (sylvestris deus), he especially presided over plantations and delighted in trees growing wild. Build up, build up the highway, remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples" (Isaiah 62:10). The harassers followed the trio to Berea, threatening Paul's safety, and causing Paul to separate from Silas and Timothy. 100 most popular boy's name in the U.S., according to2020 Social Security Administration data. Narcissus' name lives on as the flower into which he was transformed and as a synonym for those obsessed with their own appearance. Corrections? Verywell Family's content is for informational and educational purposes only. [8], Silvanus is described as the divinity protecting the flocks of cattle, warding off wolves, and promoting their fertility. Idiom deriving from Greek mythology, "to choose the lesser of two evils", "Scylla and Charybdis" redirects here. . Silas | The amazing name Silas: meaning and etymology - Abarim Publications Peter's original name was Simon, and while at the house of his deliberate namesake Simon (a , burseus, skinner) at Joppa (Acts 9:43), he saw the vision of the Great Sheet, that clearly embodied the principle of Passover, and that directly inspired Peter to go see to Cornelius. That the myths contained a considerable element of fiction was recognized by the more critical Greeks, such as the philosopher Plato in the 5th-4th century bce. Somewhat similar to the story of Saul of Tarsus and Sergius Paulus of Roman Cyprus, the historian Josephus (Joseph son of Matiyahu, or Matthias), assumed the name of his Roman host, the emperor Vespasian, whose son Titus had sacked Jerusalem in 70 AD. Here are some passages where Silas is mentioned in the New Testament: 22Then the apostles and elders,with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antiochwith Paul and Barnabas. Saul, Paul's old name, or perhaps a.k.a. (Acts 16:1624, NRSV). Silas and Judas are mentioned as being leaders among the brothers, prophets and encouraging speakers. They were aware of black holes and spacetime curvature (see the noun , ampelos, vine, as well as dark matter (see the noun , yarek, genitalia), and a great deal more. Family Pelias was the son of Tyro and Poseidon. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey.[1]. Joses, or Joseph, of Cyprus, see Acts 4:36) sets out to track down Saul of Tarsus and bring him to Antioch (Acts 11:25). Highways, of course, come to pass when first a heap of individuals individually choose to take the same route, thus creating a natural path, after which a government of sorts piles rocks upon the path and tops it off with pavement. In Acts 16:1624, the apostle Paul meets a slave girl with a spirit of python, who is able to tell the future. Still searching for the perfect baby name?