Re: The Scythian Brothers

From: tgpedersen
Message: 11990
Date: 2002-01-04

--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
>
>
> The reason why I insist on Iranian in this case is that <-ksaïs>
makes the best sense as an Iranian element (*-xs^ayah). Some Scythian
princes may have sported non-Iranian names, of course (conversely,
there are many examples of Iranian names among non-Iranian-speaking
peoples), but _hybrid_ names, say half Thracian, half Iranian, are
more difficult to imagine. From the formal point of view, *ripa-
xs^ayah would perfectly suffice as an etymological reconstruction of
<lipoksaïs>.
>
> Piotr

Yes, but what do make then of the bona fide Thracian name of
Zalmoxis/Zamolxis, in which -x- is also by most ascribed to Iranian
*xs^ayah-? As I see it, there must be two options:
1) a hybrid, half-Iranian name
2) -ks- is also Thracian
(both assuming that *zalmo- is Thracian, as the sources claim)

Torsten