Phrygia
/ˈfrɪdʒiə/noun
An ancient region of central and western Anatolia, in present-day Turkey.
Did you know?The ancient Greeks associated Phrygia with Cybele, the powerful Mother of the Gods, whose ecstatic rites involved drums, dance, and trance-like religious ceremonies.
Etymological Timeline
1st millennium BCE
Ancient Greek
Φρυγία (Phrygía)
“The region of Phrygia in central Anatolia; the name’s ultimate origin is uncertain.”
1st millennium BCE
Ancient Greek
Φρύγες (Phrýges)
“The Phrygians, the people associated with the region.”
1st century BCE–1st century CE
Latin
Phrygia
“The Roman Latin name for the Anatolian region.”
16th century
English
Phrygia
“The classical geographical name adopted into English.”
Modern English
English
Phrygia
“An ancient Anatolian kingdom and cultural region, remembered in connection with Cybele, Midas, and the Phrygian mode.”