The name "Christopher Columbus" constitutes evidence of mythmaking when viewed through the lens of symbolic Christian language. The Latinized surname Columbus, meaning "dove," evokes key biblical and theological associations. The dove appears in Genesis as the bird that returns to Noah’s ark with an olive branch, signaling divine reconciliation with the world. It also functions as a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, descending at Jesus’ baptism. The given name Christopher, from the Greek Christophoros, meaning "Christ-bearer," was traditionally associated with the legendary saint who carried Christ across a river. When combined, the full name presents a figure who bears Christ across water and arrives as a dove, suggestive of a divinely guided bringer of peace. The convergence of Christian imagery: Christ, dove, and water aligns closely with the Church’s ideological framing of his mission. The symbolic coherence of the name supports the argument that mythic narrative construction was at play.

In Cratylus, Plato argues that names are not random but reveal the essence of things, and that letters in names can be added, dropped, or rearranged for euphony. Applying this idea, it’s plausible that the name Socrates (Σωκράτης) is a shortened form of Sophia-krates—meaning “power of wisdom” , “rule of wisdom”, or maybe even "power of sophistry", "rule of sophistry." This reinterpretation fits Plato’s portrayal of Socrates perfectly: not as someone with political might, but as a man whose strength lay in his pursuit and embodiment of wisdom. Likewise, Solon (Σόλων), the famous Athenian lawgiver, may be a shortened form of Sophōn, meaning “the wise one.” While traditional etymologies link his name to words meaning “whole” or “safe,” these ideas often overlap with ancient concepts of wisdom and soundness. Given Solon’s role as a sage, reformer, and moral teacher, “the wise one” captures his identity far more directly, and is of the same archetype of Solomon. Both names, when reexamined through Plato’s own linguistic lens, seem to encode their deeper philosophical roles: Socrates as the strength of wisdom in action, and Solon as wisdom in law.