Spelling

There are, unfortunately, competing ways of spelling Greek names. For the principal hero of the Iliad , for instance, we will see both Akhilleus  and Achilles; beside Herakles , we find
also the spelling Hercules ; or, more radically, we find both Odysseus  and Ulysses  for the same man. The reason for this is that the Greek names were taken over into the Roman tradition,
and in the course of taking the names over, slight (and sometimes not so slight) alterations were made. We might compare for instance our use of Munich  for German Munchen ; or Naples  for Italian Napoli. In the examples above, Akhilleus  is a transliteration from the Greek, which many these days prefer to use; and likewise, Herakles  and Odysseus  are also direct transliteration from the Greek. The Latin forms, Achilles, Hercules, Ulysses  were preferred in an earlier era because of the continuity of the literary tradition in the west from Rome to England; that is, writers in earlier centuries (such as Shakespeare or Milton) were likely to think of the Greek names as they had passed through the more familiar (to them) Latin traditions.

Forms as different as Hercules for Herakles or Ulysses for Odysseus simply have to be learned-- but there are only a few of these. For most of the spelling differences, there is a more or less predictable variation, in accordance with the rules of spelling in the two languages. The following chart should help you sort out the principal differences between the Latin and Greek ways of spelling the Greek names.

Latin c  = Greek k : Calypso = Kalypso, Circe = Kirke
Latin final a  = Greek final e : Athena = Athene
Latin j  = Greek i : Jocasta = Iokaste, Ajax = Aias
Latin ae  or e  = Greek ai : Gaea = Gaia, Clytemnestra = Klytaimnestra
Latin e  or i  = Greek ei : Rhea = Rheia, Chiron = Kheiron
Latin oi  = Greek oi : Oedipus = Oidipus
Latin final us  = Greek os : Telemachus = Telemakhos
Latin final um  = Greek on : Ilium = Ilion (a name for the citadel of Troy)

Pronouncing

For help with pronouncing Greek names, consult the very useful
Pronouncing Glossary at the back of Fagles' translation of the
Iliad.