An anime and myth fanatic is writing his first post after just joining?
The question: If I was to get a Greek Shepherd Dog (Hellenikos Poimenikos), I would give one a Greek name.

To anyone's knowledge, is there a name of the Ionic dialect (The poet Homer was a great figure mythical or not. I want to pay respects to him using an Ionic name since Homeric Greek was a form of Ionic) that would be appropriate to call the dog?

If I was to name the dog "Homeros", do I say Homeros or Omeros for the ancient Greek pronunciation?

Also, the ancient name is Thebes? What linguistic reasons did it change to Thivai? While English incorporating and changing the meaning/pronunciation of words is the norm, seems disrespectful to me that Greek would change it's own place names like that. At least with English, many of the Greco-Latin words it gets, the modernization of the words are usually spelled somewhat the same minus the letter changes.

Homer's name is variously translated as "blind","hostage", or "witness". What is the actual (meaning of his name or is it one of those names where there is no single exact and literal meaning?

Two last questions:
1. What are some fairly common Greek-derived names (ones that are close in keeping the original word. Alexander coming from Alexandros is a lot closer than names in Greek starting with an "I" being Latinized to having a "J") are from or very similar to Ionic dialect or Homeric sub-dialect? Since people here may have a hard time finding names of the latter, I ask more about the former?

2. What ancient Greek dialect did the name "Homer" come from?

Why don't you call the dog Argos?

If you want to call it homeros, then you have to say the name with a soft breathing on the letter "o", Try to say omeros with a little exhale of air. That gives it a very soft h sound. Also pronounce the word with the letter "e" as a longer softer sound like the word "air."

Thebes, is pronounced as t(air)ba. The letter theta is a softer version of the letter tau. In modern Greek the letter beta has simply become much softer, into a soft "v" sound. This is something that happens with all languages, consonants become softer with time.

I agree, Bob. "Argos" is perfect. When this question first came up that was my first, and last, thought as well.

Speaking of Homer, I was once asked by someone if it was sung. personally I think it was; they were called rhapsodes after all. The problem is I couldn't for the life of me think of what it might have sounded like. Today I was listening to this really beautiful song on utube, and I thought, join in to try and get what is a pretty unfamiliar sound. So I sang, "meinin aideda thea." It sort of fitted! I wonder if the Bulgarians kept a thracian way of singing alive? That the homeric poems do have a tune to them?