Re: [tied] Re: Tor/Tur/(e)

John:

>The *-tl-s in Atlas seems to have been derived from the pre-Greek
>non-Indo-European inhabitants of Greece,

Really? Are you sure "Atlas" doesn't derive from /a-/ "not, without"
and /tlan/ "to endure"?

>and is related to the word Thalassa (earlier *thalatta) = Sea.

That, on the other hand, _is_ considered pre-Greek, although which
language in particular, whether Tyrrhenian or something else is still
something I'm trying to figure out personally.

>There also seems to have been some connection here with the
>Tyrsenoi/Tyrrhenoi, who emerged into history as the Etruscans.

Not as far as I see. Sounds like wild etymologizing at this point.

>The erruption at Thera (1628 BCE) generated a long-lived cloud that
>could be seen from as far away as Knossos, and reached to "hold up
>the sky" - hence the later story of Atlas as the Titan who held the
>sky separate from the Earth.

Hence nothing. I'm sure that the story of "Atlas" in some form or
another well predated the Thera eruption. In fact, afais, the story
of Atlas is thematically relatable to the concept of the Goddess
with uplifted arms, as if herself holding up the sky while her feet
bathed in serpents, the symbol of waters and the lower realm.


= gLeN

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