From: Glen Gordon
Message: 7908
Date: 2001-07-16
Mark O:
>Big cats were not known in Northern Europe or the Western Steppe. The
>lion got as far as the south Balkans (to Thrace), and other big cats
>were probably in the Caucusus. The wildcat (F sylvestris) does not
>have the mythic oomph of the lion.
Really? Interesting. That info titulates me with giddiness. So I guess we have a motive. However, the only problem is finding the reflex of *Launon in written Hattic. Ironically, from
what I've figured out so far, it appears as though it should end up as */tunu/ or */turu/. It
would be nice if I could find such a word with the mean of "lion" instead of the expected
"bull".
Did I mention to yous about "Lady Three" yet? Oh well, I'll make that a seperate story.
>To my understanding, the bull's mythic associations seem to be wholly borrowed into IE
>from the MidEast.
Me agrees.
But even here, how old is this "piece of luggage"? The heavy prominence of the horse in>It is the *HORSE* that has all the heavy mythic baggage in IE.