Hello, dear people, what comes to your mind when you hear the word "Myrmidon"? Don't look it up, just tell me whether you a) have ever heard that, b) in which language/area and c) what it meant. Thank you for your help! You all get a bee plushie*. Spoiler: Background for the question The background is that I have a character who chooses a new name for himself and I want it to be something with a meaning that matches his personality but is not overly obvious. The character speaks (or at least can read and write) old latin and old greek, so he would be able to know about the background of this name. And because this will be his profession, the name just fit. The german wikipedia also says, that the myrmidones showed "unconditional obedience, valour and exceptional fighting power" in the battle for Troy, which is also what the character embodies. He had another name until now, but that has a less-than-cool meaning in the english language so I need to discard it. :/ *"bee plushie" may refer to a metaphorical crocheted stuffed bee and not a physical one
Huh. 27 views and not one wrote "Never heard that." or "That's a really common word, are you stupid!?" Please - just a short answer.
Most of those views are from the robots I believe. I don't care for the name myself. Hard to pronounce and looks like a rash or something.
Planescape Torment comes to mind. Those weird creatures that are shaped like dodecahedrons. I wonder where that term is from in actuality though . . . I have a feeling it comes from mythology.
Initial reaction is something aquatic, or gorgon related. I feel like I have heard the name, but can't place it. After contemplation, it seems almost Camelot, or something with ancient lore from europe. Definitely sounds like a type of creature regardless. That's just what I get from it without looking it up. After looking it up, I still don't associate it with Troy or mercenaries at all. That must be where I first heard it, but even after getting that refresher it doesn't seem like I would associate it with that in my mind. Still feels like some sort of mythological beast.
My immediate thought was mermaids, I have to admit. But then I realised I had actually heard the before, so I googled it. But yeah, not the first thing that comes to mind, even when I've heard the word before. For me it's too similar to mermaid. But english isn't my first language, so maybe that's why.
I thought of the unit class from Fire Emblem games. It'd seem like an odd name to me - like someone naming themself 'warrior' or 'rogue', y'know?
Achilles and his soldiers. Also, ants. Edited to add, I didn't read the spoiler until after I answered. I was already familiar with the name.
This frustrates me. Nobody on the forum is entitled to a response. People who get offended that they aren't getting enough attention just turn me off and make me less inclined to invest in their questions in the future. At the very least, you could word your bump post (which are frowned upon anyway, I might add) in a polite and non-entitled manner. E.g "Anyone? Really curious to hear your thoughts!" That being said, here's my response to your original post: I've never heard the word before. But it doesn't strike me as a person's name. I didn't look it up so I don't know what it means (I'm assuming it's a real word?). It feels like the name of a race of creatures - someone from the land of Myrmidia, you get what I mean? Otherwise, it also sounds to me like a medicine or the name of an aquatic vessel (ship/submarine/etc). But at the end of the day, you need to choose whatever name suits your character and makes sense in the context of your story. Whatever you choose, if you present it with intentionality and confidence and don't make too big a fuss out of it either way, readers will just accept it. Good luck
Sorry, if my second post offended you. That was not my intention. I was just confused why there were so many views and not one answer. I tried adressing the subject with some humour, but it seems that didn't transfer via text form. Thank you all, who commented.
Don't worry @ChaseTheSun had not got up early enough to get the early worm, which frankly she shouldn't, being nocturnal, but she takes her unusual hours out on random new members in a vicious fest of owl beak and claws. Frankly the owl is a maniac.
I totally understand the desire to have lots of feedback on one's own threads. I'm sorry if I over-reacted. I have just seen a few people recently get snippy about 'not enough people' engaging with their threads. It detracts from the goodwill vibe of the community and creates a sense of obligation. Like, is someone tallying up how many threads I open but don't respond to? That's going to make me feel even less inclined to engage. I appreciate that your comment was an attempt at humour. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I got nothin'.
I totally agree with you that nobody is entitled to a response and I completely understand that "begging for response" does lower the incline to respond even more. It's just that when nobody answered (and it was the same for my first post) I was starting to worry whether my question was so stupid that people just closed the thread again. So I got anxious and made the second post. ^^ But if that is normal, then I will relax in the future.