The wordanax derives from the stem wanakt-, and appears in Mycenaean Greek written in Linear B script as, wa-na-ka, and in the feminine form as ???, wa-na-sa. The digamma ϝ was pronounced and was dropped very early on, even before the adoption of the Phoenician alphabet, by eastern Greek dialects ; other dialects retained the digamma until well after the classical era. The word Anax in the Iliad refers to Agamemnon and to Priam, high kings who exercise overlordship over other, presumably lesser, kings. This possible hierarchy of one "anax" exercising power over several local "basileis" probably hints to a proto-feudal political organization of Aegean civilizations. The Linear B adjective, wa-na-ka-te-ro, "of the the king, royal", and the Greek word ἀνάκτορον, anáktoron, "royal , palace" are derived from anax. Anax is also a ceremonial epithet of the god Zeus in his capacity as overlord of the Universe, including the rest of the gods. The meaning of basileus as "king" in Classical Greece is due to a shift interminology during the Greek Dark Ages. In Mycenaean times, a *gʷasileus appears to be a lower-ranking official, while in Homer, Anax is already an archaic title, most suited to legendary heroes and gods rather than for contemporary kings. The Greek title has been compared to Sanskrit', a word for "merchant", but in the Rigveda once used as a title of Indra. The word could then be from Proto-Indo-European *', roughly "bringer of spoils". However, Robert Beekes argues there is no convincing IE etymology and the term is probably from the pre-Greek substrate. The word is found as an element in such names as Hipponax, Anaxagoras, Pleistoanax, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Astyanax Anaktoria, Iphiánassa, and many others. The archaic plural Ánakes was a common reference to the Dioskouroi, whose temple was usually called the Anakeion and their yearly religious festival the Anákeia. The wordsánax and ánassa are occasionally used in Modern Greek as a deferential to royalty, whereas the wordanáktoro and its derivatives are commonly used with regard to palaces.
