Tarasij

This name derives from the Ancient Greek “Tárās (Τᾰ́ρᾱς) Tarásios (Ταράσιος), probably from Illyrian “*darandos,” meaning “oak.” Taras was, according to Greek mythology, the son of Poseidon and the nymph Satyrion. Taras is the eponymous founder of the Greek colony of Taras (Tarentum, modern Taranto), in Magna Graecia. Note that a harbor close by Taranto is still called Torre Saturo (derived from Satyrion). In Torre Saturo, almost 15 km south of Taranto, Spartan colonists settled their first colony in the Taranto zone. Saint Tarásios was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 25 December 784 until his death on 25 February 806. Tarásios was born and raised in the city of Constantinople. A son of a high-ranking judge, Tarásios, was related to prominent families, including that of the later Patriarch Photios the Great.