The Arm of The Starfish - Nomenclature

Nomenclature

Many of the characters in The Arm of the Starfish are named after biblical or religious figures. The surname of the duplicitous Dr. Eliphaz Ball is initially misunderstood by Adam as Baal, a name given to a number of deities considered "false gods" by the Hebrews in ancient times. The concierge at the Ritz Hotel is called Arcangelo. Doc Didymus shares a name with the Apostle Thomas as well as the ecclesiastical writer Didymus the Blind. There is even a special dolphin named after a famed 4th century Cappadoccian ascetic, Macrina, who apparently has two brothers Gregory (i.e. Saint Gregory of Nyssa) and Basil (i.e. Basil the Great of Caesarea). (The name Basil is later reused for another dolphin of Adam's acquaintance in A Ring of Endless Light.) Macrina's mended fin evokes the historical Macrina's scar, which her brother Gregory writes about in his Life of Macrina. Canon Tallis is named after English liturgical composer Thomas Tallis, and of course the name Adam is from Genesis. Classical names used in the book include Polyhymnia and the fictional Portuguese island of Gaea, named for a Greek goddess associated with the Earth.