Etruscans (was: minimal pairs)

[Steve Gustafson]

Dr. David L. White wrote:

>> Like the Germans who must have spoken PIE with a terrible
>> brogue, the Etruscans seem to have done great phonetic violence to Greek
>> words they imported.  Klytaimnestra = Clutmsta,  Herakles = Hercle,
>> Menelaos = Menle, Polydeuces = Pulutuk, Diomedes = Zimite.

> Also "Aplu".  But are these names really Greek, in the sense of
> having IE etymologies?  I have heard that of the Greek gods only Zeus is IE.
> Perhaps we have (in some cases) not mangling but borrowing from a common
> source.

I don't have a classical dictionary handy right here, but yes, most of the
Greek names on the list have specifically Greek etymologies.  This is what I
remember:  Hera-kles is "fame [kle(w)os] of Hera."  Klytaimnestra also
contains the klut- root, here meaning "famous for," but I forget what.
"Polydeuces" means "very sweet," and exists as a separate word in Greek with
that meaning.  (poly + deukos < gleukos).  Dio-medes means "protected by
Zeus."  Mene-laos means "confronting the people."

I am not sure if anyone has fathomed an IE etymology for Apollo.  There are
a number of other deities whose etymology, IIRC, is unknown (Poseidon) or
whose Greek etymology is considered dubious or after-the-fact (Aphrodite).

There was, of course, a substantial Greek presence in Italy during the years
before the rise of Rome as a major power.  And, as noted, the Etruscans seem
to have some connections on Lemnos and perhaps Asia Minor.  While I can
imagine widely different cultures inheriting deity names (Tyr/Zeus &c.), it
is a bit hard for me to imagine that the Etruscans would have somehow
inherited the House of Atreus and Trojan War story cycles from a common
source they shared with the Greeks.

--
    We will walk into the snow, and we will keep walking, until
    we reach the grey horizon.

    Ceterum censeo sedem Romanam esse delendam.