Ὀλυμπᾶς
Olympas
Definition
Olympas is a personal name of a Christian man mentioned in the New Testament. He is listed among the believers in Rome to whom Paul sends greetings in Romans 16:15. The name itself is a proper noun with no distinct lexical meaning beyond identifying the individual. In the biblical context, it refers solely to this specific person within the early Christian community in Rome, and there are no other scriptural senses or meanings attached to the word.
Biblical Usage
The word Ὀλυμπᾶς is used only once in the New Testament, in Romans 16:15. In this verse, Paul includes 'Olympas' in a list of fellow believers whom he greets. The usage is purely as a personal name within a closing greeting section of an epistle, identifying him as part of a group of Christians in the Roman church.
Etymology
The name Ὀλυμπᾶς (Olympas) is of Greek origin. It is a masculine personal name derived from or related to Ὄλυμπος (Olympos), the name of the mythical mountain home of the Greek gods. The name likely means 'from Olympus' or 'heavenly,' reflecting its mythological and geographical roots. It was a known name in the Greco-Roman world, and its adoption by a Christian shows the cultural context of the early church.
Semantic Range
In the first-century Greco-Roman world, names like Olympas were common, often carrying cultural or religious connotations from Greek mythology. For a Christian to bear this name illustrates how the early church existed within and transformed the surrounding pagan culture. The name itself, meaning 'from Olympus,' would have been widely recognized, but for this believer, his identity was now rooted in Christ, not in the mythological associations. His inclusion in Paul's list highlights the diverse, personal nature of the early Christian community in Rome.
There are no direct synonyms for this proper name. Other personal names in the same greeting list include: Φιλόλογος (Philologos, G5378) and Ἰουλία (Julia, G2456) — distinct individuals also greeted by Paul in Romans 16:15.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Dodson Greek-English Lexicon, a concise public-domain resource suitable for introductory word study. Brief glosses are supplemented by STEPBible TBESG data (CC BY 4.0). For advanced research, standard scholarly references include BDAG (Danker, 3rd ed.) and LSJ.
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