Graecus

Graecus (in Greek Γραικός), was according to Hesiod, the son of Pandora and brother of Latinus. Their mother Pandora (named after her grandmother Pandora), was the daughter of Deucalion and Pyrrha and sister of Hellen.

According to other sources, Graecus was a son of Thessalus.

The Hellenic tribe Graecians took their name after Graecus. They were one of the first Greek tribes to colonize Italy. The area that came to be known as Magna Graecia tooks it name after them. The Latins used this term in refrence to all Hellenic peoples due to the fact that the first Hellenes they came into contact with were the Graecians.

Greeks were called after Graecus, those who followed Hellenic customs and after Latinus were called Latins.

Links

• Graecus from Charles Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1867)