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Gender Masculine
Scripts Πευκόλαος(Ancient Greek)
Other Forms FormsPeucolaus (latinized form), Peucolaos (partial latinization)

Meaning & History

Derived from the Greek noun πεύκη (peuke) meaning "pine (tree)" combined with the Greek noun λαός (laos) meaning "(the) people". This was the name of one of the men who participated in Dimnos of Chalastra's conspiracy to assassinate Alexander the Great (4th century BC).

Peukolaos was also the name of an Indo-Greek king from the 1st century BC. One source claims that the king's name ought to be interpreted as having the meaning of "the man from Pushkalavati". Pushkalavati was the historic capital of Gandhara, located in the Valley of Peshawar. In other words: this source basically indicates that the king's name is a hellenization of an Indian name. That is unlikely to be correct, despite the fact that the ethnicity of later Indo-Greek kings is sometimes not all that clear. After all: all other Indo-Greek kings bore names that are clearly of Greek origin. Why would king Peukolaos be the one exception to that rule?
Added 1/28/2021 by Lucille
Edited 1/31/2021 by Lucille