Graecians
TheGraecians(/ˈɡriːʃənz/;alsoGraeiandGraeci;Ancient Greek:Γραῖοι,GraȋoiandΓραικοί,Graikoí), were anancient Hellenictribe. Their name is the origin of theLatin(andEnglish)name of the Greeksas a whole.[1][2]
Etymology
[edit]It is possible that their name is derived from the toponym ofGraea(Γραία), a city inBoeotiaidentical withTanagraaccording toPausanias.[3]The word means "old" based on the adjectiveγραῖα"old (feminine)".[4]
History
[edit]According to the historianGeorg Busolt,the Graecians were among the first tocolonize Italy(i.e.,Magna Graecia) in the 9th century BC when they established the city ofCumae;they were the first Greeks with whom theLatinscame into contact, which then made them adopt the name ofGraecibysynecdocheas the name of theHellenes.[2]Aristotle(4th-century BC) records that during the deluge ofDeucalion,the Graecians were the inhabitants of Hellas (i.e., "the country aboutDodonaand the Achelous [river] ") who were also known asHellenes.[5]In theParian Chronicle,theHelleneswere originally calledGraeciansand established thePanathenean Gamesin 1522–1521 BC.[6]
Eponymous ancestor
[edit]Hesiodstated that theeponymous ancestorof the Graecians wasGraecus(Γραικός), the son ofDeucalion's daughterPandora,who also had a brother,Latinus.[7]Other sources have Graecus as the son ofThessalus.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^Hard 2004,pp. 401–436.
- ^abHarper, Douglas (2001–2020)."Greek (n.)".Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^Pausanias.Description of Greece,9.20.2.
- ^Beekes 2009,p. 285: The adjective derives ultimately from thePIE root*ǵerh2-/*ǵreh2-,"to grow old" viaProto-Greek*gera-/grau-iu.
- ^Aristotle.Meteorology,I.14.
- ^Robertson 1788,p.24.
- ^Hesiod.Catalogue of Women,Fragment 5.
- ^Smith 1856,pp.1010–1011.
Sources
[edit]- Beekes, Robert(2009).Etymological Dictionary of Greek.Leiden: Brill.ISBN978-90-04-17418-4.
- Hard, Robin (2004).The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology.London and New York: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).ISBN0-415-18636-6.
- Robertson, Joseph (1788).The Parian Chronicle, or The Chronicle of the Arundelian Marbles; with a Dissertation Concerning its Authenticity.London: J. Walter.
- Smith, William(1856).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.London: Walter and Maberly.