Re: Persephone

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Joao S. Lopes" <josimo70@...> wrote:

>
> Persephone < *perso-gHwon- ???
> sheaf-destroyer?
>
> Could be...
>
> I prefer to see Perse- as Pre-Greek, cognate of Perseis (Helios' wife), Perse:s (Hekate's father, also name of a Helios' son), Perso: (=Hekate)
>
> The variants Persephone, Periphona, Phersephatta, Persephassa, Phersepone, Perrhe-, point to an original *Phersephon-.
>
> Perhaps *phon means "daughter", Pherse-phon, daughter of Perses, an epithet of Hekate.
>

I just saw some speculation on a supposed Pre-Greek form, so I thought I'd try to end it by saying it's definitely IE from *peruti-gWHon- 'driving away the previous year / last year-killing', whether as a poetic name for spring or describing a new year ceremony in which a chosen maiden kills or ritually pretends to kill a person/animal representing winter, I can't say.

The common irregular change in G of short V1-V2 > V1-V1 , etc., happened in some. Some of the forms come from met. of p-ph > ph-p and combining of forms rather than original ph-ph, also met. of *persiphona: > *poserphina: , etc. The conf. of -o:n -on- -n- with -o:n -ont- -nt- in G resulted in some of the imported fem. endings.