Arcadocypriot Greek

Last updated
Arcadocypriot Greek
Region Arcadia, Cyprus
Erac. 1200 – 300 BC[ citation needed ]
Indo-European
Early forms
Greek alphabet
Cypriot syllabary
Language codes
ISO 639-3
grc-arc
Glottolog arca1234
AncientGreekDialects (Woodard) en.svg
Distribution of Greek dialects in Greece in the classical period. [1]

Arcadocypriot, or southern Achaean , was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia in the central Peloponnese and in Cyprus. Its resemblance to Mycenaean Greek, as it is known from the Linear B corpus, suggests that Arcadocypriot is its descendant.

Contents

In Cyprus the dialect was written using solely the Cypriot Syllabary. The most extensive surviving text of the dialect is the Idalion Tablet. [2] A significant literary source on the vocabulary comes from the lexicon of 5th century AD grammarian Hesychius.

History

Proto-Arcadocypriot (around 1200 BC) is supposed to have been spoken by Achaeans in the Peloponnese before the arrival of Dorians, so it is also called southern Achaean. The isoglosses of the Cypriot and Arcadian dialects testify that the Achaeans had settled in Cyprus. As Pausanias reported:

Agapenor, the son of Ancaeus, the son of Lycurgus, who was king after Echemus, led the Arcadians to Troy. After the capture of Troy the storm that overtook the Greeks on their return home carried Agapenor and the Arcadian fleet to Cyprus, and so Agapenor became the founder of Paphos, and built the sanctuary of Aphrodite at Palaepaphos (Old Paphos). [3]

The establishment happened before 1100 BC. With the arrival of Dorians in the Peloponnese, a part of the population moved to Cyprus, and the rest was limited to the Arcadian mountains.

According to John T Hooker, the preferable explanation for the general historico-linguistic picture is

that in the Bronze Age, at the time of the great Mycenaean expansion, a dialect of a high degree of uniformity was spoken both in Cyprus and in the Peloponnese but that at some subsequent epoch the speakers of West Greek intruded upon the Peloponnese and occupied the coastal states, but made no significant inroads into Arcadia. [4]

Later developments

After the collapse of the Mycenaean world, communication ended, and Cypriot was differentiated from Arcadian. It was written until the 3rd century BC using the Cypriot syllabary. [5] [6]

Tsan was a letter in use only in Arcadia until around the 6th century BC. Arcadocypriot kept many characteristics of Mycenaean, early lost in Attic and Ionic, such as the /w/ sound (digamma).

Glossary

Arcadian

Arcadian wordEnglish transliterationMeaningOther Greek dialects
ἀμφιδεκάτη amphidekatê 21st of the month ἡ μετὰ εἰκάδα ἡμέρα(ampheikas)(dekatê tenth)
ἄνωδα anôda up-sideAttic ἄνωθε anôthe
ἄρμωλα armôla or ἀρμώμαλα armômalafood seasoningAttic ἀρτύματα artymata; ἀρτύω artyo
ἄσιστος asistos nearestAttic ἄγχιστος anchistos
δάριν darin or dareirspan of all fingers; see Ancient Greek units of measurement Attic σπιθαμή spithame, inch)
Ἑκατόμβαιος Hecatombaios epithet for Apollo in Athens and for Zeus in Gortys (Arcadia) and Gortyna, Crete
Ϝιστίαυ Wistiau Attic Hestiou, eponym genitive of Hestios; Cf.Hestia and gistia)
ϝοῖνος woinos wineCypriot, Cretan, Delphic, Magna Graecian; Attic oinos
ζέλλω zellô "throw, put, let, cast"Attic βάλλω ballô
ζέρεθρον zerethron pit(Homeric, Attic βέρεθρον berethron; (Koine barathron)
θύρδα thyrda outsideAttic ἔξωexô, thyra door; (Paphian θόρανδεthorande
ἴν in in, insideAttic en; Cypriot id.
κάθιδος kathidos water-jugAttic ὑδρία hydria; (Tarentine huetos)
κάς kas andAttic καί kai; Cypriotic id.
κίδαρις kidaris Arcadian dance (Athenaeus 14.631d.) [7] and Demetra Kidaria in Arcadia.
κόρϝαkorwagirlAttic korê; Pamphylian name Κορϝαλίνα Korwalina
ΚορτύνιοιKortynioi(Kortys or Gortys (Arcadia))
κυβήβη kubêbê boot, shoeAttic hypodema
ΛῆναιLênai Bacchae (Lenaeus Dionysus, Lenaia festival
μωρίαι môriai horses, cattle
οὔνη ounê or ouneicome on! Go!Attic δεῦρο, δράμε deuro, drame
πέσσεται pessetai it is cooked, roastedAttic ὀπτᾶται optatai
πος pos towards, intoAttic προς pros; Cypriot id. !

ποσκατυβλάψη [8] poskatublapse (Attic proskatablapsei)

σίς [9] sis who, anyoneAttic tis; Laconian tir; Thessalian kis; Cypr. sis (si se)

Cypriot

Paphian

  • ἐπίκορον epicoron (Attic ἐπίκοπον epikopon) cutting, re-stamped coin (from keirô and koptô cut)
  • ἐς πόθ' ἕρπεςes poth' herpes? (Attic πόθεν ἥκειςpothen hekeis? where do you come from?) (Attic ἕρπεινherpein to creep, to crawl, move slowly like a serpent
  • εὐτρόσσεσθαι eutrossesthai (Attic ἐπιστρέφεσθαιepistrephesthai return)
  • θόρανδεthorande (Attic ἔξωexo outside) θύραthyra door
  • ἵγγια hingia one (Cypr. ingia) (εἷςheis) (Cretan itton hen one)
  • ἰμίτραιον imitraion (Hsch. ὑπόζωστονhypozoston under-girdle, rope of ship
  • ἰμπάταὁν impataon (Attic ἔμβλεψονemblepson look inside -imperative) (Hsch. inkapathaon enkatablepson)
  • κάβειος kabeios young (Attic νέος neos)
  • καβλή kablê (Koine μάνδαλοςmandalos latch)
  • κακκέρσαιkakkersai (Attic κατακόψαιkatakopsai to cut, slay) (kata + keirô cut)
  • καλέχεο kalecheo (Attic κατάκεισοkatakeiso lay down -imperative) (Homeric λέχοςlechos bed)
  • καπατάξεις kapataxeis (Attic κατακόψειςkatakopseis you will cut, slay)
  • κάῤῥαξονkarrhaxon (Attic κατάραξονkataraxon strike -imperative) (kata + arassô
  • κατέρεαι katereai (Atticκάθισαιkathisa sit)
  • κίβος kibos (Attic kibôtos ark or ἐνεόςeneos speechless)
  • κιδνόν kidnon here (Attic ἐνθάδε enthade)
  • κόρζα korza or korzia heart ( Attic καρδία kardia ) ( Ionic kardiê )( Homeric kradiê ) ( Aeolic karza )
  • κύβος kubos saucer bowl dish (Attic τρύβλιονtrublion) (Attic kubos cube)
  • λιμήν limên ἀγορά and (ἐνδιατριβή endiatribê delay, abide, stay) (Attic λιμήνlimên port, harbour)
  • μοχοῖ mochoi inside (Attic ἐντός entos)(cf. muchos innermost part, nook, corner)
  • σάπιθος sapithos sacrifice (Attic θυσία thysia)
  • σάσαι sasai to sit (Attic καθίσαι kathisai) (cf. Poetic thassô sit, thôkos backless throne)
  • σέςses (Attic ἔλαθεςelathes you were hidden, escaped notice see λανθάνω lanthano)
  • σίαἱ sihai to spit (Attic πτύσαι ptusai to spit, cast out)
  • σοάναsoana (Attic ἀξίνηaxinê axe)
  • στροπά stropa (Attic ἀστραπή astrapê) (Homeric sterope, lightning flash)
  • ὕεσι huesi (Koine στολή stolê "garment", (Attic ἀμφίεσις amphiesis clothing, Hsch. ὑεστάκα huestaka)
  • ΦάπηPhapêΠαφία Paphia (Paphian Aphrodite)

See also

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References

  1. Roger D. Woodard (2008), "Greek dialects", in: The Ancient Languages of Europe, ed. R. D. Woodard, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 51.
  2. Georgiadou, Anna (2015). "The Tablet of Idalion (ICS 217)". Kyprios Character. History, Archaeology & Numismatics of Ancient Cyprus.
  3. Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.5.1 Archived 2008-01-26 at the Wayback Machine
  4. John T Hooker, Mycenaean Greece (Routledge Revivals). Archived 2015-12-24 at the Wayback Machine Routledge, 2014 ISBN   1317751221 p164
  5. Kypros, Salamis, c. 600 BC Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Kypros — Kourion ~320 BC Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Mortals and Immortals Archived 2016-12-24 at the Wayback Machine by Jean-Pierre Vernant
  8. Arkadia — Tegea — 4th century BC IG V,2 6 38 Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Arkadia — Mantineiastoichedon. — 5th century BC Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "LSJ". Archived from the original on 2022-01-26. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  11. Aristotle, Poetics , XXI Archived 2007-12-19 at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography

Further reading