Πάνδαρος

Forms

Πᾰ́νδᾰρος (Pándaros) m (genitive Πᾰνδᾰ́ρου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain: Wiktionary and Bailly tentatively analyse it as from Ancient Greek παν- (pan-, “all”) + δέρω (dérō, “to skin, flay”).^[1][2] Etymonline notes that the name is perhaps not Greek, since its bearer in Homer is a Lycian.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad Pandarus is the Trojan archer, son of Lycaon, who leads the men of Zeleia below Mount Ida.^[4][5][6] Prompted by Athena he wounds Menelaus with an arrow and breaks the truce, wounds Diomedes, and is killed by Diomedes' spear.^[4][6]

Semantic evolution

Later Greek writers discussed his double homeland: Homer places him both at Zeleia in the Troad and in Lycia, and Strabo used this to argue for Lycians in the Troad.^[6] He was honoured as a hero at Pinara in Lycia.^[7] Plato mentions him in the Republic, and ancient scholars saw his death by a spear through the tongue as fit punishment for a perjurer.^[8][6] Vergil gives him a brother, Eurythion.^[6] The name was also given to real people: LGPN records five bearers, in Thessaly, Boeotia and elsewhere, from the later 4th century BC.^[9]

The medieval Troy romances made him the go-between in the love of Troilus and Cressida, a story unknown in antiquity.^[3] Boccaccio called him Italian Pandaro and Chaucer Pandare, whose role gave English the noun pander, a procurer.^[3]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad tells of the archer Pandarus, who breaks the truce and is killed by Diomedes.^[4][5]
• 4th century BC – Plato mentions Pandarus in the Republic.^[8]
• Later 4th century BC – Inscriptions record men called Pandaros in Thessaly and Boeotia.^[9]
• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Strabo discusses his home in Lycia or in the Troad.^[6][8]
• Late 14th century – Chaucer names the go-between of Troilus and Criseyde Pandare, after Boccaccio's Pandaro.^[3]
• 1520s – English pander, a procurer, is first recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. Pandarus, a Lycian archer on the Trojan side in the Trojan War, son of Lycaon.^[4][2][6]
2. A man's name.^[9][10]

Related words

• Λυκάων (Lukā́ōn)
• Latin Pandarus
• English pander

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
5. ^ a b Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, tr. Robert P. Keep, New York: Harper and Brothers
6. ^ a b c d e f g Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ Smith, William, ed. (1873), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
8. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b c LGPN-Ling: Etymology and Semantics of Ancient Greek Personal Names, ANHIMA/EPHE and Lexicon of Greek Personal Names, Oxford, https://lgpn-ling.huma-num.fr
10. ^ Βικιλεξικό, the Greek Wiktionary, https://el.wiktionary.org