Chogoshvili, Irine

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Journal Phasis - Greek and Roman Studies

Phasis 13-14, 2010-2011Irine Chogoshvili (Tbilisi)THE LANGUAGE OF GODS AND THE USE OF FOREIGN WORDS WITH HOMEROne of the interesting problems in the studies of Homer's language is the language of gods, a notion encountered in his epic. According to the mythic tradition, Old Greeks believed that gods spoke a language different from that of ordinary mortals. Of course, people treated this language with special esteem and respect. Such an opinion is clearly expressed in Plato's Cratylus, where Socrates says: oƒ ge qeoˆ kaloàsin prÕj o¸qÒthta ¥per Ÿsti fÚsei ÑnÒmata ("Gods must clearly be supposed to call things by their right and natural names").1Thus, the language of gods or, in our terminology, the meta-language is a language spoken by gods. Homer was the first to make an attempt to translate words of the meta-language into Greek. There are two categories of words in his epic: first, derivatives that are translated and second, words that cannot be translated. As a rule, words in the language of gods have equivalents in the language of mortals in Homer's epic. However, there are two exceptions, which will be considered in more detail below.There are not many words from the language of gods mentioned by Homer. It is possible to regard no more than seven or eight of them as                                                 1 Bader G., Die Emergenz des Namens, Hermeneutische Untersuchungen zur Theo-logie, Tübingen 2006. http://books.google.ge/books?id=MtesocD5JeEC&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=Dionymien&source=bl&ots=Krknd9onVz&sig=8bf08hlTWUxCuSK2HSz78kKKI8E&hl=ka&ei=OPfuTdnrMs_o-gaPk8z-Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Dionymien&f=falseIrine Chogoshvili148such, but they belong to various spheres, denoting geographic, mytho-logical, botanical, and other notions. For example, gods' name in their own language of one of the mythological Hecatonchires giants, specifically A„ga…wn, is Bri£rewj (A, 403). Sk£mandroj a river in Troy, was called X£nqoj in the language of gods (Y, 74). The meaning of Plagkta… (M, 61), also a geographical name, is quite unclear. Bat…eia, a place name in Troy, is replaced with sÁma Mur…nhj (B, 813). There was a bird called kÚmindij, which gods named calk…j (X, 291). A kind of magic grass was called mîlu(K, 305) in the language of gods, but the language ordinary people did not have a corresponding word at all. Divine blood is mentioned only as Šcwr(E, 340, 416), but Iliad usually refers to human blood as aŠma.Researchers have argued for a long time now about what Homer calls the language of gods. The first important thing to do is to establish whether these words are Homer's fiction or something that really existed. To clarify this issue it is necessary to look into the etymological studies of these words.According to A. Heubeck, who studied in detail the language of gods with Homer, argues that the dionyms in the language of gods may be either ancient obsolete words linked to Indo-European stems or new poetic inventions.2 However, below we will consider a couple of words and their etymologies and parallels that show that they may have existed historically or may represent altered versions of ancient words. What is most important for us, some of them may belong to the Pre-Greek world. At any rate, the words that Homer regards as belonging to the language of gods, must be a reflection of the words that existed in his time. Considering below the etymology of each of the words, we will see that most of them are linked to the Pre-Greek world and some bear signs of being connected with Kartvelian languages.The first word is Sk£mandroj usually considered with another word with identical meaning in the language of gods – X£nqoj. A lot of well-known scientists have expressed their opinions on the pair. U. Wilamowitz believes that the name of the river was Barbaric and inconvenient, so some poets replaced it with a more convenient Greek name.3 P. Kretschmer divides non-Greek “Scamandros” in the human language from “divine” “Xanthos”, presuming that the phoneme X in the                                                 2 Heubeck A., Die Homerische Göttersprache 7 Würzburger Jahrbücher, für die Altertumswissenschaft, 4, 1949/50, 94.3 Wilamowitz U., Die Ilias und Homer, Berlin Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1916, 381, I.The Language of Gods and the Use of Foreign Words with Homer 149word may be coming from sk- in X£nqoj.4 According to one opinion, the stem sk- initially meant "yellow", which is precisely one of the meanings of the adjective x£nqoj. According to S. Bugge,5 X£nqoj means "lustrous" and stems from Phrygian and Armenian.P. Kretschmer cites in detail the history of the river that has two names with Homer. In the times of Hittites, a city situated on the river was called Arina. This is how the place is referred to in Hittite texts and it is called Arna in Lycian. At the same time, it is noteworthy that initially, Arina could have been a river – the Xanthos river, where the city of Arina then stood, particularly as Arina also denoted "spring, pool, and water". During first contacts between Greece and Lycia and before the start of the Greek colonization in Homer's era, when close cultural relations developed, the adjective x£nqoj was used together with the Lycian-Phrygian name of the river Sibros as its Greek synonym and translation, which explained the name of the river. X£nqoj developed later into an independent name.Thus, there is no doubt that in Homer's time, the river already had a double (Lycian-Phrygian) name and it was after the river that the city was also called X£nqoj, like in the case of Arina. A. Heubeck concludes that Xanthos as a name of the river was invented by Homer, who used the double Lycian name of Xanthos-Sibros as a source. Correspondingly, Xanthos is a Greek translation of Sibros and Sk£manadroj corresponds to it in the human language.It is noteworthy that the forms of Scamandros and Xanthos are regarded as being linked to each other. They are believed to be coming from a source in Asia Minor with a Hellenic ending, like in Maiandros, Myriandros, and others. According to H. Jacobsohn, Myriandros may comprise a ‘theophoric’ element – mandroj.6A. Heubeck gives examples of the Indo-European stems with initial s-. Many of the stems comprise s+guttural or guttural+s. For example, xhrÒj(xerÒj), skhrÒj, schrÒj > chrsÒj, sk…foj, x…foj and so forth. H. Jacobsohn notes that the initial ‘sk’ sounds in ‘Scamandros’ could have replaced some phoneme, which existed before, but it is still unclear, which phoneme it could have been.7A. Heubeck believes that both Sk£mandroj and X£nqoj may have the same root. He thinks that Sk£mandroj is definitely a Pre-Greek name, but                                                 4 Kretschmer P., Glotta 13, 1924, 266.5 Bugge S. Lykische Studien, I, 1897, 39.6 Jacobsohn H., Deutsche Literaturzeitung, Berlin 1912, 953.7 Jacobsohn H., Hermes, 45, 1910, 81.Irine Chogoshvili150obviously refrains from maintaining the same regarding X£nqoj.8 It is noteworthy that R. Beekes also describes X£nqoj as being of unclear etymology, noting that it may be coming from Pre-Greek sources.9 It is noteworthy that X£nqoj can be found in Mycenaean sources in the form of ka-sa-to. According to one theory quoted by R. Beekes, it is linked to Greek xouqÒj with one of the meanings denoting ‘yellow’ and is represented in Mycenaean as -ko-so-u-to. Homer mentions it in connection with the wings of Dioscuri (Iliad, 33, 13). According to yet another opinion, Latin canus- is derived precisely from ‘Xanthos’.It is noteworthy that W. Brandenstein links X£nqoj to Etruscan zamqic. Although H. Frisk rejects the opinion10 and R. Beekes also regards it as not very convincing, it should be taken into account that Etruscan zamqi ‘gold’ and zamqic ‘golden’ are indeed similar in meaning and can be linked to them also with their form.At least one researcher believes that Scamandros and Xanthos are etymologically linked to each other, but the situation is quite different with Greek words aŠma and Šcwr encountered with Homer. Of the two, aŠma denotes blood of ordinary mortals and Šcwr blood of gods. It is believed that aŠma replaced in the Greek language the word Ÿar, which also denotes blood. According to one opinion, it is linked to Šcwr. Others link it also to Old Germanic *seim (Proto-Indo-European root *-sei) "honey of virgins" and Sanskrit -is- "renovation, restoration of forces". However, in this case, the etymology of Šcwr denoting "divine blood" is more interesting.The word Šcwr denoting "blood, the liquid part of blood" has the form of Šcw in acc. sing. with Homer and with Strabo it means "the blood of giants" According to P. Chantraine, the word has no identical morphological parallels and is presumably a foreign word.11 Composed words like ‡cw(ro)rrorew – "bleeding" and others are derived from it.According to H. Güntert, the two words meaning "blood" were used as synonyms in Proto-Greek. One was ‡cwr, which denoted the fluid part of blood, and the other was a‡ma denoting thicker blood. It is no surprise, that for Homer, gods should have had thinner blood than mortals. That is why it is possible that Homer used the word initially denoting thin blood                                                 8 Heubeck A., Op. cit., 99.9 Beekes R., Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill Academic Publishers 2010, 1033.10 Frisk H., Griechisches etymologisches, Wörtebuch 1966, 333.11 Chantraine P., Grammaire homérique, Paris: C. Klincksieck 1942, 212.The Language of Gods and the Use of Foreign Words with Homer 151for "divine blood".12 It is interesting that we encounter ‡cwr "thin blood" with authors of later period (Aristotle, Plato, and others). It is used particularly frequently as a scientific term, but has never been widespread in the colloquial language. It is unlikely that scientists could have managed to establish the meaning of ‡cwr without any knowledge of Homer and the meaning of the word he used.According to A. Heubeck's observation, it was the appropriate passage from Iliad, which could have made it clear that "divine blood" had special characteristics, that ‡cwr was later introduced in medicine and biology to denote lymphatic fluid and similar notions. It is common knowledge that ‡cwr was a borrowed word in Greek, coming from Hittite išhar (ešhar)"blood",13 which is for its part linked to Alat. aser and Greek Ÿar, e‡ar "id". Taking into account the Hittite language, it can also be linked to Tocharian ysar.As H. Güntert notes, ‡cwr as well as another word from the language of gods alone – mîlu – is presumably an earlier form of a Greek word, which Homer knew from the religious language. In Odyssey (K 305), mîlumeans "magic plant with unknown force" and does not have a corresponding word in the language of mortals. There is an opinion that this plant is completely from the sphere of fantasies and is linked to the Pre-Greek world. Güntert believes that it is the same as the Old Indian mulam "root".14 However, A. Heubeck refers to P. Kretschmer, Walde-Pokorny, and H. Güntert, noting that the word is Greek and was formed from Inro-European *mulo/mo(u)lo, which later developed into mèluza "a sort of garlic" like koru > kÒruza, knu > knàza, which must be derived from the name of a plant – kÒruza, and mèluza was formed on the basis of the model. It is possible that mîlu found with Homer is an earlier form or was restored by the poet on the basis of mèluza.15 According to G. Neumann, mîlu was borrowed from Hittite-Luwian. Albeit various opinions have been expressed in connection with mîlu, the assumption that the word is of Pre-Greek origin sounds most convincing.The next two words with interesting etymology are kÚmindij and its equivalent in the language of gods – calk…j. With Homer (X, 291), kÚmindij denotes a bird of unknown origin. Aristophanes also uses the word. It was widespread in Greek in the form of kub»naij (kÚbindij) that                                                 12 Heubeck A., Op. cit., 109-110.13 Friedrich J., Kurzgefaßtes hethitisches Wörterbuch, 1991, 33.14 Güntert H., Op. cit., 92.15 Heubeck A., Op. cit., 111.Irine Chogoshvili152was presumably borrowed by Latin, which has cybindis, cibinnus (‘hawk’). The word was regarded as having the same meaning as kikumw i ?j(kikumwj) which gave rise to the tradition of regarding it as denoting ‘owl’. R. Beekes believes that the word was borrowed from Anatolian or Pre-Greek, an opinion based first and foremost on the presence of the suffix nd.16 Its equivalent in the language of gods – calk…j – comes from calkÒj (‘ore’, ‘copper’, ‘bronze’) and is regarded as a polysemantic word of unclear origin. It can be found in Mycenaean documents in the shape of -ka-ko, ka-ke-u, denoting, in addition, a kind of fish.Both Calk…j and kÚmindij are used by Homer, as well as Aristophanes, as the name of a bird. Given the colour, it later denoted a plant and a kind of lizard. R. Beekes regards calk…j as a word extant in ancient Indo-European languages with the meaning of ‘ore’ and ‘copper’ and as linked to Latin aes ‘copper’ and Sanskrit ayah. R. Beekes notes that it is no accident that it is similar to words denoting ‘purple’ – k£lch, c£lkh, c£lch. Initially they could have been used to denote red metals. The word is also linked to Baltic-Slavic words denoting ‘iron’, for example, Lithuanian geležis and Russian želézo, a comparison, which R. Beekes deems unconvincing phonetically, but adds that they may be independent borrowings from common oriental sources. In this case, c£lch could be the initial form, which is linked to a Hittite (Hattian, Hurrian) lexeme, which means ‘iron’ – hapalki-apalki.17According to Homer, in the language of gods, A„ga…wn was called Bri£rewj (A, 403). There is no doubt that A„ga…wn is linked to the Aegean Sea and words related to it. In H. Güntert's opinion, the water demon bearing this name was later transformed into Poseidon, and some viewed him as Poseidon's son. In the appropriate passage with Homer, A„ga…wnwas closely linked to Thetis, the goddess of water, which is yet another proof that A„ga…wn was linked to water.It is noteworthy that its divine name is Bri£rewj, who is a giant with hundred hands in Iliad. As we know, the adjective briarÒj means ‘powerful’, which Hesiod used in the form of Obri£rewj ‘the one, who damages’. The word briarÒj is derived from the root bri, which R. Beekes believes was Pre-Greek.18 It is also encountered in Mycenaean in the form of pi-ra-ta-wo. The word frequently makes part of composites. E. J. Furnée assumes that the root                                                 16 Beekes R., Op. cit., 802.17 Beekes R., Op. cit., 1611.18 Beekes R., Op. cit., 239.The Language of Gods and the Use of Foreign Words with Homer 153found in briarÒj is also linked to brimÒj ‘hard, difficult’, which is also Pre-Greek.19 The word Ûbrij is derived from the same root.It would be interesting to see, whether the words from the language of gods encountered with Homer that obviously comprise a Pre-Greek substrate correlate with the opinion developed by E. J. Furnée and R. Gordeziani on the connection between Pre-Greek components and Kartvelian and whether it is possible that some of the aforementioned words comprise Kartvelian components.For example, according to one theory mentioned above, Etruscan zamθi- ‘gold’ is linked to Xanthos. R. Gordeziani considers this Etruscan word, which could mean both ‘gold’ and ‘fibula’ or ‘jewellery’ and ‘decoration’ in general. The inscription, where this word is found, is dated 7th century and is made on a golden fibula. The inscription reads as follows: "I am Arath Velavesna's gold (fibula, decoration) I was given by Mamurke Tursikina". Interestingly, the word has the form of zamaθi in this text, while zamθi- may be linked to Old Georgian mzitev-/zitev-, which denotes a property that should be given to someone. This word may also be linked with Persian zatt and Armenian ozit. 20R. Gordeziani21 links ‡cwr to the Kartvelian root *zisxl (Georgian sisxl-, Megrelian zisxir-, Laz dicxir/dincxir-, Svan zisx- ‘blood’). In his opinion, the Greek word could have been derived from it in the following manner: Kartvelian *zisxl- > Pelasgian *sisxl-/sisxor- > Greek ‡cwr > ‡cwr.As regards mîlu, R. Gordeziani assumes that it is linked to Kartvelian *mol- (Georgian mol-, Svan muel-/melu- ‘grass, lawn’.22 Later, however, R. Gordeziani himself regarded it more convincing to link it to another Kartvelian root – *bol, which can be found in all three Kartvelian languages: cf. Kartvelian bol-k'o-, bol-ok'-; Georgian bol-kv-i ‘bulb’, Megrelian bul-ek'-i, Laz bul-ek'-i/bul-eč'-i, Svan bol-ek' ’radish’.M. Chukhua found a Nakh correspondence – *bon – to the Kartvelian root. It also means "garlic". Ichkerian bo (pl. bon-aš), Ingush bo (pl. bon-aš/ž) "(mountain) garlic", Batsbi bo "garlic". The Nakh root is better preserved in the plural forms – bon-. The Kartvelian *bol- and Nakh *bon- show a                                                 19 Furnée E. J., Die wichtigsten konsonantischen Erscheinungen des Vorgriechischen, The Hague 1972, 168.20 Gordeziani R., Mediterranean-Kartvelian Relations. Etruscan. Final Comments, Tbilisi 2008, 306 (in Georgian).21 Gordeziani R., Proto-Greek and Kartvelian, 1985, 60 (in Georgian).22 Gordeziani R., Mediterranean-Kartvelian Relations, II, 2008, 235 (in Georgian).Irine Chogoshvili154regular correspondence and the semantic side is also comparable –"radish" and "garlic".23As regards Bri£rewj, E. J. Furnée expressed the opinion that in case of Proto-Greek bri- and briarÒj-, we have the root *ph with the added element r, which is found in Georgian proverbs priad- and upro- "more, very". Pelasgian probably had the root *bri and *briar.24Given the aforementioned, we can assume that words from the language of gods found with Homer are often linked to the Pre-Greek world. Homer showed in his epic that people in his era believed that gods had their own language and he decided to use the words belonging to gods. Since the words were rarely used in the popular language in Homer's era, the poet could ascribe them to the language of gods.                                                23 Chukhua M., Comparative Grammar of Ichkerian-Iberian Languages, 2008, 288 (in Georgian).24 Furnée E. J., Paläokartvelisch-pelasgische Einflüsse in den indogermanischen Spra-chen, Leiden 1986, 33.

The Language of Gods and the Use of Foreign Words with Homer

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The Language of Gods and the Use of Foreign Words with Homer

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Journal Phasis - Greek and Roman Studies