Hello,
Christopher wrote:
>We have Greek Nerteros "pertaining to the otherworld" which is
>etymologically related to English "North"
>The Germanic Hell (or Otherworld) was placed in the North - which parallels
>the meanings behind the Irish words Tuaith "North" (*Teuti-) and Tuath
>(*Teut-o) which means "left/evil" and Old Welsh Tut "magician" (*Teut-o).
I thought I'd remind you that apart from the linguistic 'north'- connections
the ancient Greeks also believed Apollo to stay 'behind the north wind', far
away in an otherworld of 'boreas' during the Winter - even though the sun in
Winter seems to hide in the south and make the dark north even darker.
Although here in Greece even in Winter there is a lot of light, the darkness
of the north seems to have been frightening enough to believe the god of
light to have gone to the fearful 'northern' darkness.
And one question: Does the name of the 'Tuatha de Danaan' in Irish mythology
then mean 'northern Dan(aen) people'? Why? where there others, too?
Sabine