--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "amshuman_k" <amshuman_k@...> wrote:
>
> Hi list,
> I recognize the "Dio" portion of the word Dionysus. Is the second
> part "nysus" related to "nysa"? Does "nysa" have congates in other IE
> branches? Does it go back to PIE?
>
> Regards,
> Rangachari
******
Jaan Puhvel, who's a solid expert in Mythology and I.-E. linguistics
(but can be wrong like anyone else) in his "Comparative Mythology"
writes "[beside] the standard Dionysos ... there is also 'Dionysos
the Cretan' .. strictly a 'dying God' from the Minoan substratum. He
is in fact a younger 'recycled' version of the 'Cretan Zeus', and the
name fits, for *dios-nusos means 'the nurseling [or the like] of Zeus'".
He does't explain 'nusos' further and I don't recognize it.
Dan