Where does the name Ermioni come from?

Ancient Hermione was originally founded by the mythical hero Hermion and dedicated to the 'messenger' god Hermes, as Hermione means 'the one who carries the beauty of Hermes'.    

Many centuries later, during the late Mycenaen period, the town was honoured to Hermione, the only daughter of Helen and Menelaus, King of Sparta.  When Helen and Paris sailed together for Troy, Hermione was abandoned to the care of Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon, King of Argos and Mycenae.  Hermione, later married Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War.  In the Iliad, Homer mentioned ancient Hermione's involvement in the Trojan War, 1260 - 1250 BC, under the command of the Argive King Diomedes, also the number of warships that sailed to Troy to bring back the beautiful Helen, Queen of Sparta.  Ancient Hermione has always been allied to Sparta.  

Over a thousand years later, the Augustan Roman geographer Strabo wrote about the town, as 'lying on the South-Eastern end of the Argolida, whereby history goes far back in time'.  Strabo also pointed out that 'it is not one of the lesser towns'.  Built and later re-built on the same site, Hermione has been inhabited since 3000 BC.


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Ermioni - Hermione........name day

Today in Ermioni, the community celebrated the name day of Ermioni, or Hermione as it is sometimes written from ancient texts.  Ermioni is actually a female Greek name which derives from the Greek messenger god Hermes. Hermione means "gorgeous as Hermes".  Hermione is an ancient Greek name which continued to be used in the early Christian years to date.

For the Greek Orthodox church, it is associated with Hermione, the daughter of Apostle Philip.  She had the gift of prophecy and was buried in Ephesus.  Ermioni was declared a saint by the Greek Orthodox Church, and the memory and name day of Aghia Hermione is celebrated on 4 September in Ermioni.

There is an evening service on the 3 September, followed by the official morning service, held at the Byzantine church of Aghia Hermione, on Pronos Hill.

The original Hermione was the daughter of Helen and Menelaus of Sparta, who married the son of Achilles, who was the Greek hero of the Trojan War.  Hermione later eloped  and married Orestes (pictured above).