Aglaios

Aglaios, also spelled Aglaïos, is an ancient Greek male given name. The form derives from a Greek term meaning something along the lines of “bright,” “shining,” or “splendid.” As a name, it was used across the Greek-speaking world in various periods, from the Archaic through late antiquity, and it appears in inscriptions and literary texts as a personal designation rather than as a single, unified character.

In classical literature and epigraphy, Aglaios does not denote one fixed mythic or historical figure. Instead, it occurs as the name of several minor individuals in genealogies, local legends, and contemporary records. Because the surviving evidence is fragmentary and dispersed, modern scholarship treats these bearers as distinct persons who share a common given name rather than as a single, coherent narrative figure. The name’s presence on inscriptions and coins also attests to its broad geographical distribution within the Greek world, including areas of the mainland, the Aegean islands, and Hellenistic territories.

As a proper name, Aglaios continued into later periods, including the Roman era, where Greek-speaking communities maintained traditional naming practices. In scholarly discussions, it is typically regarded as an example of a traditional Greek personal name rather than a figure central to a well-defined myth or historical biography. Because of limited and scattered sources, precise identifications of individual Aglaios bearers vary among researchers.

See also: Greek given names, Aglaia (related feminine name).