Asia

Latin Asia and Greek Ἀσία appear to be the same word. Roman authors translated Ἀσία as Asia. The Romans named a province , located in western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey). There was an Asia Minor and an Asia Major located in modern-day . As the earliest evidence of the name is Greek, it is likely circumstantially that Asia came from Ἀσία, but ancient transitions, due to the lack of literary contexts, are difficult to catch in the act. The most likely vehicles were the ancient geographers and historians, such as , who were all Greek. certainly evidences early and rich uses of the name.[30]

The first continental use of Asia is attributed to Herodotus (about 440 BCE), not because he innovated it, but because his Histories are the earliest surviving prose to describe it in any detail. He defines it carefully, and the , in contrast to and .

Herodotus comments that he is puzzled as to why three women's names were "given to a tract which is in reality one" (, , and , referring to Africa), stating that most Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of (i.e. ), but that the say it was named after Asies, son of Cotys, who passed the name on to a tribe at ., "" (Ἀσία) or "Asie" (Ἀσίη) was the name of a " or goddess of Lydia".[33]

In ancient Greek religion, places were under the care of female divinities, parallel to guardian angels. The poets detailed their doings and generations in allegoric language salted with entertaining stories, which subsequently playwrights transformed into classical Greek drama and became "Greek mythology". For example, mentions the daughters of and , among whom are a "holy company", "who with the Lord and the Rivers have youths in their keeping".