--- Sergejus Tarasovas <
S.Tarasovas@...>
wrote:
>
> As for the comparison of ("Scythian", according to
> Herodotus) <Api'>
> ~ Baltic *a`pe: (if the East Baltic forms are indeed
> of secondary
> origin, < *h2p- is not impossible, and we would have
> to speak of West
> Baltic *a`pe: vs. East Baltic *u`pe: in that case) <
> *h2ap- and
> <Tabiti'> ~ (unregistered) Baltic **ta:bi:te:, they
> are not
> impossible from the formal point of view. /.../. The
only problem is that two examples are not
> enough to approve
> or reject such ad hoc'ish explanations. It would be
> nice if you
> provided me with at least 20-30 of Petrov's
> Scytho-Baltic
> counterparts.
*****GK: OK I'll find the time to come up with a list
in the next week or so. Unfortunately it'll have to be
from "Slavic Ethnogenesis" (where these things are
scattered about and more "popular" in presentation,
than from "Skify.Mova i Etnos" (since I don't
presently have access to the latter). One that I
remember from "Skify" (but not in technical detail) is
Petrov's view that Scythian "oior-pata" (the
"man-killer" Amazons) is best understood by reference
to Baltic equivalents. I think he argued that "oior"
was a Greek (mis)pronunciation of the word "vir"(?) or
something close to this (I only remember that this
word looked very much (to me) like the Latin "vir").==
As to your other request, here is the reference for
Petrov's 1965 statement: "Baltica i Slavika v
hidronimiji Nadrosja", in "Pytannia hidronimiky.
Materialy 3-oi Respublikans'koi onomastychnoi
(hidronimichnoi) narady", Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, 1971,
pp. 13-16.. So it looks as though the proceedings of
the December 1965 conference were not published until
1971. If I find any other examples offered at that
time (they may be mentioned in the "Hidronimia
Ukrajiny...)" I am presently leafing through, I shall
let you know.******
>
> ST:Another question is how Petrov has come to the
> semantics like 'River
> Mother Goddess' for <Api'> and 'she who is the best'
> for <Tabiti'>.
/.../ So,
> in semantic
> terms, so to say, Petrov's comparison is ungrounded
> and must be
> rejected.
*****GK: Petrov seems to be working from the Scythian
Foundation Legend as he understands this, and making
connections between points made therein and other
Herodotean statements about Gods and Goddesses. In the
SFL "Zeus" (=Papai) is presented as the husband (so
Petrov thinks) of the "daughter of the River
Borysthenes". You can see the logic even if it seems a
bit arbitrary (it does to me BTW on other grounds). If
Zeus is the husband of "the daughter..." and if Zeus'
wife is "Ge" then "Ge"="Api". He then makes "Api" the
daughter of "Tabiti" (="Hestia"). And since on this
view both Tabiti and Api are mothers and rivers
(Tabiti=the river Borysthenes) he concludes that the
Scythians had a "Mother cult of the Dnipro, the
Mother-River". What about Herodotus' analogies to
Greek deities? I think Petrov sees these as of
secondary importance. I'm not sure, actually whether
either Petrov or Herodotus have it right. Not if the
"daughter of the River Borysthenes" is the
Viper-maiden I've linked to the Ashkelonite Aphrodite
Urania. In that case of course she couldn't be Api.
But such a "Royal" combination doesn't tell us much
about the local pre-Royal myth it was adapted to, and
here it is quite possible that Petrov is closer to the
truth (the river cults). I would also be keen to know
why the Royals worshipped Poseidon/Neptune
(Thasimagadas).*****
>
> Sergei
>
>
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