--- "Rex H. McTyeire" <
rexbo@...> wrote:
> [re boundaries of Thrace]
> Begin a line to the North of what would become
> Thessaly; eastward into
> the Aegean and on into Anatolia. Northward then
> along the west coast of
> the Black Sea, eastward again across the Dniester to
> the extent of
> modern R.O. Moldova, northward to turn back west,
> irregular at the
> extent of population dominance by Carps and
> Costobocs (North of the N
> Carpathian slope)
*****GK: (1) What do you make of Herodotus' comment
that "ancient Scythia" began just north of the Danube?
(2) Why do you think the Costobocs were "Thracian"
rather than "Celtic"? Their name sounds very close to
that of one of the Galatian tribes.*******
> Periodic influence: Deeper into Anatolia and the
> Aegean via Mysia,
> Bithynia, Phrygia; well into the Steppes east of the
> Dniester;
******GK: I suppose that in a very extended sense one
might consider a number of closely related linguistic
families "Thracian", though I personally prefer the
term "Thrakoid", so as to restrict "Thracia" in the
strong sense to the territories south of the Danube.
Despite the fact that Strabo noted that Daco-Getans
and Thracians spoke the same language, it is clear
(and has been made clear on this list) that not all
linguists would agree. I don't know enough about them
to ponder whether the relation between Thr. and
Dac./Get. was as close or closer than, say, that
between Castilian and Portuguese, or French and
Catalan et sim. In any case this "larger family"
certainly extended northeastward (at times) to a quite
considerable extent, judging by some interesting
hydronymic relicts. Perhaps the language spoken in
Herodotus' time between the Dnister and Dnipro up to
the forest zone bore the same or a similar relation to
Getan as the latter did to Thracian proper, and was
even closer to Baltic than recorded Thracian/Getan.
Perhaps we should call it "West Scythian" in contrast
to the Iranic speech of the Royal Scythians.*******
> (based on my interpretation of the origin of the
> Greek use of the Word,
******GK: BTW what does "Thrace" and "Thracian" mean?
"Scythian" has been linked to an Iranic word meaning
"archer". Is there an etymology for "Thracian"?******
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