Communitary and Individualistic Gods in German and Roman Religion

According to two episodes told by Saxo Grammaticus, Othinus was temporarily replaced by Mythothyn and, in a different circumstance, by Ollerus. Analysis shows that the former aspired to personal ownership and glorification, prohibiting votes dedicated to all gods, while the latter shows such an inclination in the name itself (Ullr “Glory”). Analogously Iovis son of Fortuna was the god worshipped by the Roman patricians, while the Ceres- Liber-Libera triad, the early Mercury and Saturn were worshipped by the plebeians as communitary divinities. We may infer that the gods of daily light had been considered promoters of individual power since many centuries

Les dieux gaulois à la bourse

Les attributs les plus fréquents du Mercure gaulois sont le caducée, la bourse, le coq et le bouc (ou le bélier). L'analyse de ces attributs, qui sont occasionnellement associés à d'autres divinités, montre que leurs functions concernaient le cycle de la régénération: plutôt qu'être un symbole de la richesse dispensée par Mercure ou Rosmerta, la bourse contient les germes ou âmes prêtes à la réincarnation. Le même symbolisme est dénoté par le seau de la déesse. Le coq aussi, comme l'oeuf, est un symbole de régénération, tandis que le bouc - comme chaque animal cornu - et le caducée dénotent que toute nouvelle vie contient le double principe reproduisant tant la vie que la mort données par ces divinités.The most frequent attributes of the Gaulish Mercury are the caduceus, the purse, the cock and the he-goat or ram. Analysis of these attributes, which are occasionally associated with other divinities, shows that their functions concern the cycle of regeneration. The purse seems to contain embryons of a new life rather than coins dispensed by Mercury or his mate Rosmerta. The same symbolism is denoted by the bucket sometimes held by the goddess. The cock, as well as the egg, is also a symbol of rebirth, while the he-goat - as well as any horned animal - and the caduceus allude to the fact that any new life contains intrinsically the double principle reproducting both life and death.Les attributs les plus fréquents du Mercure gaulois sont le caducée, la bourse, le coq et le bouc (ou le bélier). L'analyse de ces attributs, qui sont occasionnellement associés à d'autres divinités, montre que leurs functions concernaient le cycle de la régénération: plutôt qu'être un symbole de la richesse dispensée par Mercure ou Rosmerta, la bourse contient les germes ou âmes prêtes à la réincarnation. Le même symbolisme est dénoté par le seau de la déesse. Le coq aussi, comme l'oeuf, est un symbole de régénération, tandis que le bouc - comme chaque animal cornu - et le caducée dénotent que toute nouvelle vie contient le double principe reproduisant tant la vie que la mort données par ces divinités

Le parole etrusche ame, amce e la revisione di IE. *yem- ‘paaren’

The main purpose of this article is to demonstrate the groundlessness of the old and common thesis according to which Etr. ame, amuke, amce are parts of the verb “to be”. We can search for the true meaning of these words with the help of the so-called “comparative method”, a method that, in the last few decades, did not enjoy its due share of attention. My underlying thesis is that Etruscan, although not being an Indo-European language, has many IndoEuropean stems, which it acquired during many centuries of contacts. The comparative method might be of help just provided we strictly stick to the rules that define the phonological system of Etruscan (in the present work I present the system of the stops only). The term am(u)ce indicates ‘to be united, to make a pair with, co-’. In fact, amce is mainly found in connection with the words puia ‘wife’ and zilaθ (magistracy constituted by two or more persons). In extant inscriptions, we also find twice the word ame connected to puia, yet in most cases ame is a particle placed after the verb, where it fulfills the same function of the latin preverb cum, co-. As an example, in the Tabula Cortonensis the words eprus ame mean ‘co-operantur, (they) sacrifice together’. Moreover, there are five occurrences of the particle ama connected with the word ipa. In my view, ipa … ama can be interpreted as ‘simul… cum’ = ‘pariter… cum’. There are further Etruscan words beginning with *am -that belong to the same root of ame, am(u)ce. See for example amθuras, amaνunice, amnu, aminθ. There is also a personage represented in several engravings on mirrors the name of whom is amuke, which is said to echo Greek Αμυκος. Nonetheless, amuke has indeed an Etruscan meaning. In order to explain such Germanic words as Got. ibns ‘eben’, Ags. efn, emn etc. and Lat. imitor, aemulus etc. the I-E root *yem- ‘paaren; to pair, match, couple’ was assumed. Anyhow, it can be smoothly replaced with a hypothetic root *mbh-‘united, pair, together’ ≻ *H2embh- ≻ *amb(h)- ≻ *am- that could also explain such words as Lat. amb-, Gr. ἀμφ-, Gaul. amb-. Moreover, this root could be connected to Etr. ame, amce, Lat. amussis, amuletum, Amulius etc., together with words like Etr. ipa and inpa, Umbr. ife, ifont, Fal. efiles and Lat. ip(se). Such a hypothesis calls for an explanation of the reason why we find *ip- instead of *if- in Etruscan. This exchange is perhaps due to the fact that the borrowing took place when the principal stress was not yet on the initial syllable. For Etr. and Lat. par we could hypothesize the formation *par- ≺ *mp-ar- ‘to be with, par, similar’, by means of the suffix -ar- ≺ - er- which is to be found in IE *apero ‘ hinder, back’, *ndhero- ‘under, inferior’ etc. However it is hard to explain the presence of *mp from *mbh-.No disponible en español

Le radici di due nomi di persona dell’antica Dalmatia: Hostucia e Raecuis

1.1. Osobna venetska imena Osts, Ostios, Hostilius itd, tvorena su iz jedne osnove *host- > *ost- što se mora shvatiti kao proširenje *kwođ(h)-t / *kwed(h)-t korijena *kwed(h)-> *kwed(h)-y *kwod(h)~, *kwod(h)- koji izražava \u27ubod, oštrinu\u27 > \u27oštroumlje, poticaj, mentalnu snagu, spretnost, hitrinu\u27, Značenje venetskih imena dokazano je nizom sinonimija što ih nalazimo u venetskoj onomastici gdje je često prisutan cognomen ili patronim ili neki atribut koji je sinonim pojedinačnog imena (Osts Akuts Egests Egetor Votteios Fervatis). 1.2. Osnova *kwed(h)-t- \u27koji bode, oštar\u27 predstavlja izvor - uz različiti vokalni ishod - europskim nazivima za \u27kesten\u27 < bodljikavo (voće)\u27. Osnova *cast- < *kwedh-t- (koju vidimo već u etrurskom i retskom vokabularu, gdje se može utvrditi grafofonematski prijelaz -st- > -ts > oštro z) sreće se i u germanskom i u slavenskom. Da bismo protumačili etimon i drugih i.e. termina koji izražavaju isto semantičko polje, valja pretpostaviti paralelne korijene *gwhadh-, *gwhast-. 1.3. Neki europski nazivi za \u27ježa\u27 i za \u27osu\u27 mogu se izvoditi iz *k(h)wed(h)-, *k(h)wod(h)-. Da su \u27jež\u27 i \u27osa\u27 životinje "koje bodu” dokazuje se i drugim njihovim i.e. nazivima. 1.4. Osnova *cast- < *kwedh~t- objašnjava i umbrijsko castruo = lat. persona, (sinonim etrurskome &ersu e i grčkome %otpaKxrip). 2.1. Imena Hostucia i Hostidux u latinskim natpisima antičke Dalmacije izvedena su iz *host(u)~ \u27oštar, koji bode\u27. 2.2. Semantička konvergencija između gentilicija i patronima iskazuje se čini se i u onomastičkoj formuli Q. FONTEIUS RAECIF (Dalmacija): neki natpisi otkrivaju semantičku vezu između Raecia gens, voda i Nymphae.1.1 La radice *kwod(h)-t > *host- > ost- dei nomi di persona venetici Osts, Ostios, Hostilius ecc. esprime «puntura, acutezza, acume, rapiditá». Lo si deduce dalle convergenze semantiche fra nomi individuali e cognomina o patronimici riscontrabili nelle formule onomastiche di vari popoli antichi. 1.2 La base *kwed(h)-t- «pungente, aguzzo» da origine a tennini europei indicanti «castagna < (frutto) pungente». La base *cast- < *kwedh-t- (giá presente anche nel vocabolario etrusco e retico dove puó verificarsi il passaggio -st- > -ts > z aspro) é riscontrabile anche in germánico e slavo. 1.3 Alcuni nomi europei del «riccio, istrice» e della «vespa» (animah «pungenti ») sono derivabili da *khwed(h)~, *khwod(h)-. 1.4 Umbro castru- deriva dall’ampliamente *cast-r- < *kwed(h)-t-r- «carattere > persona». 2.1 I nomi Hostucia e Hostidux in iscrizioni latine dell’antica Dalmazia derivano da *host(u)~ «acuto, pungente». 2.2 La convergenza semántica fra gentilizio e patronímico pare verificarsi anche nella formula onomástica Q. FONTEIUS RAECI F. (Dalmazia): aleone scritte rivelano un nesso semántico fra la Raecia gens, le acque e le Nymphae

Dvojezični feničko-etrurski tekst zlatnih pločica iz Pyrgija

In 1964, the archaeologists excavating the ancient Etruscan city of Pyrgi brought to light three golden plates.Two of the plates were written in Etruscan, while the third one had a Phoenician inscription on it. The archaeologists suspected immediately that the longer Etruscan inscription and the Phoenician text might be related. Yet, scholars\u27 hopes that the promising text of the Etruscan plate might have been an Etruscan kind of "Rosetta stone" were dashed to the ground. They realized very soon that the two texts were -at best -a paraphrasis of each other but they contained no literal translation which might have offered a key to Etruscan hermeneutics. Since then, no author was able to offer a reliable interpretation of the Etruscan plate, dealing with the donation made by the Etruscan chieftain or "king" of the important city of Caere, Thefariei Velianas, to the Phoenician goddess Aštart. We therefore decided to re-examine the plates "from scratch". As a first step, we went through extant translations of the Phoenician inscription and we discovered that some of its terms had been misunderstood and/or mistranslated. After preparing a new and more reliable translation of the Phoenician lamina, we used it as a key to compare and translate the doubtful expressions of the Etruscan text. We are now glad to publish our results that represent the first integral and -in our humble opinion -creditable translation of these laminae.Arheolozi su u iskapanjima etrurskoga grada Pyrgija 1964. pronašli tri zlatne pločice, od kojih su dvije bile s tekstom na etrurskom jeziku i jedna s feničkim tekstom. Etrurski tekstovi sadržajem odgovaraju feničkomu, no ne radi se o doslovnome prijevodu. Autori iscrpno proučavaju etrurske tekstove, uspoređujući ih na nov način s feničkim tekstom, koji je dan u detaljnome prijevodu i tumačenju, te ujedno predlažu novo tumačenje etrurskih tekstova

La procedura di acquisto "Ante causam" nella "Tabula Cortonensis" e nel "Cippus Perusinus"

La finalidad de estas páginas es demostrar la existencia de una analogía entre los dos documentos judiciales etruscos más relevantes, la "Tabula Cortonensis" y el "Cippus Perusinus". En particular, un período básico de un texto se correspondería con el período principal del otro: ambos tienen una estructura sintáctica análoga y expresan contextos semejantes. La interpretación de uno y otro pasaje debe fundarse en el conocimiento de las formas de la construcción pasiva y del sistema fonológico del etrusco. Y el resultado es que ambos textos judiciales reflejan el mismo procedimiento de negociación, controversia (debida a las diferentes mediaciones efectuadas por las partes) y la solución de los pleitos

Il femminile corne derivato nell 'onomastica etrusca

Zavaroni Adolfo. Il femminile corne derivato nell 'onomastica etrusca. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 81, fasc. 1, 2003. Antiquité - Oudheid. pp. 69-91