Hello!
Just as a quick introduction to this blog/blog topic, my name is Paige Leifer and I am a fine arts major at Kutztown University. I'm currently taking a class on Greek and Roman art history which is what this blog is essentially for. I have chosen the topic of studying how in modern day we use Greek and Roman inspiration for our businesses and advertising throughout the world. There are so many businesses who use Greek and Roman inspiration for their ads, logos, decor, etc and most of us never really notice, including myself, until now.
My post today will be focused on businesses that took inspiration in creating their name after something Greek or Roman. Just to give you some examples, businesses like Trojan condoms, Ajax cleaner, Mars Candy, Pandora music, etc have all taken inspiration from Greek mythology whether intentional or not in creating their name. There may not be much reasoning behind choosing a name after something of Greek/Roman culture, but just noticing how many businesses HAVE taken a name that links to ancient historical time is fascinating because the number is quite substantial. The majority of the businesses that I found to have a Greek or Roman name, had the names of a ancient mythological god. I will only be focusing on a few of the well known companies.
To start at the top of the alphabet is the company Amazon! Amazon.com is one of Americas largest booksellers and very successful retail companies. Now after some research, I revealed that the owner named the company after the Amazon river. I understand that the name may not directly connect with Greek history but I found out that the Amazon river got it's name from Spanish explorers. Female warriors called "Icamiabas", meaning "women without husbands" attacked Francisco Orellana. Orellana named the river "Rio Amazonas" after these women whom he compared to the Amazons of ancient Greek mythology. So there is a link between the two names, tracing back to a Greek inspired name!
The company Asus is another who's name is inspired by Greek mythology. It's named after Pegasus the winged horse of greek mythology. The company site expresses how; "Asus embodies the strength, creative spirit and purity symbolized by the regal and agile mythical creature." The first three letters were dropped in order to have a higher position in alphabetical listings. And for those of you who are un-aware, Asus is a globally known computer company.
Then, of course, there is the all knowing and loving shoe company, Nike! Nike is named after the winged goddess of victory often associated with Athena and/or Zeus. She could run and fly at great speeds, which are also what the shoes are designed for. Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight created the company starting with the name Blue Ribbon Sports. Later, Jeff Johnson, Nike's first real employee came up with the name Nike, of course after the Greek goddess, in the early 1970's.
There are plenty more companies whose names are related to a Greek mythological god or goddess but these seemed to have the most information and most well known popularity. I hope you learned a little something from this starting entry. I just wanted to give you an idea of my interesting topic which I will soon be expanding on. That's all I have for today! I hope to inform and interest you, readers more on this topic but that's all for now!
Source:
http://thanasis.com/modern/biz.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_company_name_etymologies
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Amazoncom-Inc-Company-History.html
http://nikeinc.com/pages/history-heritage
