Bebryces
TheBebryces(Greek:Βέβρυκες) were a tribe of people who lived inBithynia.According toStrabothey were one of the manyThraciantribes that had crossed from Europe into Asia,[1]although modern scholars have rather argued for a Celtic origin.[2][3]
Name
[edit]Classical linguists considered the name of Bebryces related to the thracian tribeBryges,which was later renamed toPhryges(Phrygians),[4][5]based on the geographic proximity, as well as the migration route of the Phrygians known from ancient myths.[6][7]
B. Sergent suggests that the nameBebrycescould be related to the Celtic tribesBebruces,living in thePyrenees,andBriboci,dwelling in Britain,[8]all ultimately stemming fromProto-Celtic*brebu('beaver'; seeGaulishbebros,bebrus,Old IrishBibar,'beaver').[2][9]Ivan Duridanovalso suggested that the ethnonym was related to Indo-European words meaning "beaver".[10]
The same word denotes beaver inSlavic Languages(*bebrusinProto-Balto-Slavic,boberinSlovenian,bobarinBulgarian,bobrinRussian).[11][12]
History
[edit]According to legend they were defeated byHeraclesor theDioscuri,[13]who killed their king,MygdonorAmycus.[13]Their land was then given to KingLycusof theMariandynians,who built the cityHeracleathere. Some say Amycus was a brother of Mygdon and another Bebrycian king; both were sons ofPoseidonandMelia.Greek mythology offers two different accounts for the origin of the name 'Bebryces': either from a woman named Bebryce (Eustath. adDionysius Periegetes805.), or from a hero namedBebryx(or Bebrycus) (Steph. Byz. s.v. Bebrycus). Bebryce is possibly the same as Bryce, a daughter ofDanaus,a mythical King ofLibyaandArabia(Apollodorus). Bebryx was also the father ofPyrene.
Notes
[edit]- ^Strabo,7.3.2.
- ^abSergent 1988,pp. 345–350.
- ^Delamarre 2003,p. 69: "B. Sergent a démontré de façon convaincante (REA 40 [1988], 329-358) que les Bebrukes d'Anatolie étaient un peuple celtique et non pas thrace"
- ^Strabo, Geography § 7.3.2
- ^Pliny the Elder, The Natural History § 5.41
- ^Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), PACATIANA, PHRY´GIA
- ^Bithyni / Bryges / Bebryces Thracian Tribe — Phrygians (jan 2, 3000 BC — jan 1, 690 BC) (Timeline)
- ^Sergent 1988,p. 346.
- ^Matasović 2009,p. 59.
- ^Duridanov, Ivan (1985).Die Sprache der Thraker.Bulgarische Sammlung (in German). Vol. 5. Hieronymus Verlag. p. 67.ISBN3-88893-031-6.
- ^Czech Etymological Dictionary
- ^Romanian Etymologial Dictionary
- ^abApollonius of Rhodes[full citation needed]
References
[edit]- Delamarre, Xavier (2003).Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental(in French). Errance.ISBN9782877723695.
- Matasović, Ranko (2009).Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic.Brill.ISBN9789004173361.
- Sergent, Bernard(1988)."Les premiers Celtes d'Anatolie".Revue des Études Anciennes.90(3): 329–358.doi:10.3406/rea.1988.4340.
- Strabo,The Geography of Strabo.Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Strabo,Geographicaedited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877.Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.