Kratos

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A figure in Greek mythology who personifies strength and power, often depicted as a powerful deity
2. The mythological character representing force and authority in ancient Greek stories
3. A divine entity in classic Greek religion symbolizing might and the exertion of power

Etymology: Kratos was the personification of raw power, and in Greek myth he was not a figure of abstract thought but a concrete attendant. In Aeschylus's "Prometheus Bound," he is one of the agents of Zeus who drags the Titan to his rock and nails him there, so the name describes a character who does the dirty work of authority. The Greek noun behind him, "krátos," meant "power" or "strength," and it sits at the heart of many familiar words: "democracy" (rule of the people), "aristocracy" (rule of the best), and "autocracy" (rule by oneself). The name is therefore simply the bare idea of might, given a body and a place in the divine household. Ancient Greek used personified abstractions like this often, so Kratos belongs to a group of minor gods such as Bia (Force), who appear alongside him in the same scene. Kratos is the word in its most literal, personal form: strength made into someone who acts.

Synonyms: power, strength, might, force

Antonyms: weakness, impotence, inability