Re: Scythian tribal names: Paralatai

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

>
> I also found this old message:
>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@>

wrote:

>
> > A brilliant idea, Sasha! Supposing that Targitaus is a mangled
> > Greek version of, say, *þrika-tavah- 'having threefold strength'
> > (or rather its late variant *þriga-tavah- with the voicing of
> > intervocalic *k), Av. þraetaona- (*þrai-tauna-) 'thrice potent'
> > would be for all intents and purposes the same name despite the
> > trivial suffixal differences (the same roots recur in both parts
> > of the compound). Are we on the trail of the oldest foundation
> > myth of the Iranians? :)
>
> Feel free to consider this as well, if only to argue against
> what it has in common with my theory.

You still haven't, seemingly, looked at the myths themselves,
wherein Thrita and Thraetaona Athwiya simply cannot be treated
separately from one another or from Trita Aptya of the Vedas.
On the other hand the similarities between Thraetaona/Thrita/
Trita and Targitaus are more than vague enough to allow us to
forget any direct etymological equation of their names should
that be found in any way problematic, which it has. Your own
etymology isn't properly based on recognized sound changes and
can't be accepted.

This forces us, whether we like it or not, to take Proto-Indo-
Iranian *trita- "third" as our point of departure for 'Thrae-
taona', whether or not that is also the case for 'Targitaus',
which is not a direct cognate. Note that Piotr did not claim
direct cognacy either, positing different suffixes in each name
for *traya- and *taw- both.

David