Re: [tied] Thanatos and Vanth

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 7510
Date: 2001-06-09

The trivial certainty that <vanth> comes from *somewhere* does not mean that its source is or will ever be identifiable to us. In a poorly understood language like Etruscan many names will be etymologically ambiguous or obscure. The fact that they resemble something in a different language means practically nothing if a connection cannot be independently established. And why should Vanth be connected with a word meaning "king", of all things?
 
But wait! How do you know that the names Vanth and Thanatos are unrelated? Thanatos < *thwánato- (< *dHwnh2-to-). Why not an Etruscan borrowing from early Greek?
 
Piotr
 
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Glen Gordon
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2001 10:15 PM
Subject: [tied] wanax: vN-h2eg'-t- ?

Alright, but then where does the name of Vanth come from? The names Thanatos and Vanth are not the same. Tell me, what possessed the Etruscans to call Thanatos "Vanth" then? Sometimes mythologies collide and new functions are given to old deities. Is there reason to doubt the antiquity of the name?