Orchoe
/ˈɔːr.koʊ.iː/noun
An ancient Greek and Latin name for the Mesopotamian city of Uruk, identified with the archaeological site of Warka in modern Iraq.
Did you know?Orchoe was the classical world’s name for Uruk, the legendary city associated with Gilgamesh and one of the earliest known centers of writing, monumental architecture, and urban civilization.
Etymological Timeline
3rd Millennium BCE
Sumerian
Unug
“The Sumerian name of the ancient Mesopotamian city later known as Uruk.”
2nd–1st Millennium BCE
Akkadian
Uruk
“The Akkadian form of the city’s name, used in Mesopotamian inscriptions and literary texts.”
Ancient Hebrew
Hebrew
אֶרֶךְ (Erekh)
“The biblical form of the city name, rendered as Erech in English translations.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Ὀρχόη (Orchoē)
“The Greek form of the name for the Mesopotamian city.”
Classical Latin
Latin
Orchoe
“The Latinized form used by classical authors writing about Babylonia.”
Modern English
English
Orchoe
“An archaic historical name for Uruk, now mainly encountered in classical, biblical, and archaeological writing.”