🔼The name Achaia: Summary
- Meaning
- Pain, Grief
- Etymology
- From the noun αχος (achos), pain or grief.
🔼The name Achaia in the Bible
Achaia or Achaea was the name of the northern portion of the Peloponnese; the peninsula just west of Athens. It was conquered in 146 BC by the Romans, who transferred its name upon the region at large: the Roman province Achaia, now covering the whole Peloponnese and also including the area north of it. In the north it bordered Macedonia.
As Corinth was an Achaian city, Achaia is mentioned 11 times in the New Testament — see full concordance.
🔼Etymology of the name Achaia
The name Achaia comes from the Greek noun αχος (achos), meaning pain or grief:
αχος
The noun αχος (achos) means pain (hence our word "ache") but mostly grief or distress as a state of mind.
Note that Achaia was also an epithet of Demeter. She was known as Grief because of the dire fate of her daughter Persephone.