Re: The Pontic Indics

From: George Hinge
Message: 37230
Date: 2005-04-17

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Aigius" <segijus@...> wrote:

> Do You mean that Hypanis must be pronounced as Ypanis or Upanis? If
as
> Ypanis, then can it be related to Lithuanian word YPAS? There is
such
> Lithuanian phrase ISHGERTI VIENU YPU, meaning TO SWIG DOWN. If as
> Upanis, then it means just RIVER (from Lithuanian word UPE, Latvian
> word UPE, Old Prussian word APE, and probably Dacian word APA,
meaning
> RIVER).

I mean that the Ionians pronounced it [ýpanis], and that it is
most natural a representation of a native form *u(:)pa(:)ni-.

Since there are two Scythian Hypanises and even an Indian Hypanis, as
George points out, it is probable that we have to look for an Indo-
Iranian etymology, even though if it not 100% certain that the native
forms are identical, only because they are identical in the Greek
rendering of them.

The Indic Hypanis seems to have been pronounced with a short ypsilon
and alpha, if one is allowed to trust the 2nd century AD metric
testimony of Dionysius Periegetes (Orbis descriptio 1145, daidale/hn
U)pani/s te fe/rei qei=o/s te Ma/garsos).

I suppose that the first Hypanis known to the Greeks was Bug, and
Kuban was the second one, whereas the Indic Hypanis did not come into
the picture until later. So when Hypanis [(h)ýpanis] was established
as a possible hydronym at one place in the Greek world, it could be
used as a rendering of what ever vernacular form the Greek colonists
would meet at other locations.