Re: [tied] Basileus

Mycenaean <qa-si-re-u> was probably something like "headman"
or "man in charge of a small group". Here's a nice overview
of the pre-Homeric social order:

http://www.indiana.edu/~classics/aegean/R25.html

Piotr

----- Original Message -----
From: "Glen Gordon" <glengordon01@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2001 6:24 AM
Subject: [tied] Basileus


>
> Piotr:
> >What if <basileus> is simply a truncated variant of
*gWasi-la:wos [...] 'he
> >who has the lâos going/marching', i.e. 'the man in
charge, commander'?
>
> Clever. Very clever. I don't have any objections to it
other than
> that the literal meaning is somewhat awkward and that the
resultant meaning
> of "commander" doesn't seem to be quite in line with what
a /basileus/
> really is. Isn't a /basileus/ more along the lines of a
> "chief"?
>
> - gLeN