Gender Feminine
Scripts Δίρκη(Ancient Greek)
Meaning & History
Latinized form of Greek Δίρκη (Dirkê), which is of uncertain meaning, possibly derived from Greek δι- (di-) "two, twofold, in two" and ῥήγνυμι (rhêgnumi) "to break asunder, rend, shatter". In Greek mythology Dirce was the wife of the Theban king Lycus and aunt to Antiope, whom she treated cruelly. Antiope's twin sons by Zeus, Amphion and Zethus, later punished Dirce by tying her to a wild bull which tore her limb from limb.