Theonyms, Alignment and Social Stance-Taking: From Bronze-Age Borrowings to Baby Names (original) (raw)
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Language and Mythology: Semantic Correlation and Disambiguation of Gods as Iconic Signs
In Shamanhood and Mythology: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy and Current Techniques of Research: In Honour of Mihály Hoppál, Celebrating His 75th Birthday. Ed. Attila Mátéffy & György Szabados with Tamás Csernyei. Budapest: Hungarian Society for Religious Studies. Pp. 85–134. , 2017
In this article, I introduce the terms and concepts semantic correlation and semantic disambiguation as tools for examining aspects of mythological thinking that interface with the lexicon. Semantic correlation describes a phenomenon whereby the name of the god and of the phenomenon become the same. In other words, a change in the theonym affects a change in the common noun or vice versa. In a culture where semantic correlation is a basic principle of mythological thinking, theonym and noun co-vary so that the god ‘Thunder’ is always called the same thing as ‘thunder’, the god ‘Sky’ and phenomenon ‘sky’ are called the same thing, and so on. Semantic correlation reflects the iconicity of the god, which becomes built into the lexicon. Semantic disambiguation describes the change from a theonym and corresponding noun being the same to becoming lexically distinct: either the name of the god or the noun for the phenomenon change independent of the other. Semantic disambiguation is an indicator that the god is no longer iconic of a natural phenomenon per se: a god may be identified with the sky as a location or be identified as producing thunder by, for example, driving a chariot, but the agent does not converge with the phenomenon. Recognizing semantic disambiguation can be significant because it is an indicator of change in a fundamental principle of mythological thinking. Discussion is organized in three case studies. The first is of Uralic sky-gods. This study by language family includes discussion of the development spread of a Finnic theonym Ilma-ri to Udmurt, Sámi and probably Chuvash, and also addresses the problem of Finnic juma-la ['god']. The second case study explores an isogloss of changes in the Mari and Mordvin branches of Uralic and the Baltic and Germanic branches of Indo-European, as well as probably an Indo-Iranian language which was in contact with Finnic as well as potentially other languages subsumed by Finnic language spread. In these languages, the inherited theonym 'Sky' disappears as does the corresponding noun, and in its place appears a common noun 'God' as a theonym. This process is proposed to derive from a spread of religious change that moved across languages, quite possibly already in the Bronze Age. The third case examines names of the thunder-god in the Circum-Baltic area, revealing an isogloss in which the theonym underwent semantic disambiguation in some, but not all, branches of Finnic, Germanic and Sámi languages. Many readers may only be superficially familiar with the history of some of the languages discussed, and even readers familiar with these languages may not be aware of the transformations in understanding that have developed during the past decade in particular. In order to make the discussion accessible to a wider range of readers, information on the historical spread and change of these languages is introduced as it becomes relevant. Although the individual case studies may each stand on their own merits, the overarching aim here is to illustrate the phenomena of semantic correlation and disambiguation and to illustrate their value as tools for examining historical changes encoded in a lexicon.
On calling the gods by the right names
2013
""Do you need to know the name of the god you're praying to? If you get the name wrong what happens to the prayer? What if the god has more than one name? Who gets to decide whether the name works (you or the god or neither)? What are names anyway? Are the names of the gods any different in how they work from any other names? Is there a way of fixing the reference without using the name so as to avoid the problems of optional names? There is a type of formula used in prayer in ancient Greece which I call (in this paper) a "precautionary formula". The person praying uses expressions like "whether you want to be called [x] or [y]", and "if this is the name by which you would like to be called". I also include here the practice of adding definite descriptions that identify the god by means other than the name (e.g. their place of birth or residence, their deeds etc). In this paper I ask what these formulae were for, why so many occur in philosophical work, particularly Plato, and whether the puzzles about the names of the gods go back to the Presocratics.""
What's in a Divine Name? Religious Systems and Human Agency in the Ancient Mediterranean, 2024
Theophoric personal names simultaneously serve to identify an individual and make a statement about the deity invoked by each name. These personal names, this study argues, can be considered primary sources in their most essential form, reflecting one facet of a human attitude toward the divine that is otherwise free from the theological bias of an editor or redactor. Containing both onymic and semantic value, theophoric personal names can be read alongside divine epithets as they both shed light on humankind's perception of the gods. This chapter explores theophoric personal names in the Aramaic speaking world of diasporic and cosmopolitan Elephantine during the Persian period in order to seek insight into questions of how human names depict the complex and interrelated religious landscapes of multi-cultural communities. The rich theological landscape of Persian period Egypt as evidenced in Aramaic personal names demonstrates a confluence of cultures and religious traditions.
"If by This Name it Pleases Him to be Invoked": Ancient Etymology and Greek Polytheism
What's in a Divine Name? Religious Systems and Human Agency in the Ancient Mediterranean, ed. by Alaya Palamidis and Corinne Bonnet, 2024
Is the etymological interpretation of divine names a good way to get to know the divine according to the perspective developed by a Greek intellectual elite (poets, orators, grammarians, philosophers) throughout the centuries? Applying etymology to divine names discloses a dynamic and relational approach to the divine figures within Greek polytheism. It underlines, on the one hand, the decoding of multiplicity in a unitarian direction and, on the other hand, the functionalisation of the divine figures according to the (literary, ritual, performative, local, historical) context. This chapter provides a theoretical overview of possible intersections between ancient etymology and Greek polytheism, corroborated by concrete examples from literary and philosophical texts. It is structured around three main topics: the mutual χάρις between gods and men, the exploitation of onomastic ambiguity and the intersection between etymology and interculturality.
What's in a divine name? Religious Systems and Human Agency in the Ancient Mediterranean
2024
Divine Names are a key component in the communication between humans and gods in Antiquity. Their complexity derives not only from the impressive number of onomastic elements available to describe and target specific divine powers, but also from their capacity to be combined within distinctive configurations of gods. The volume collects 36 essays pertaining to many different contexts – Egypt, Anatolia, Levant, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome – which address the multiple functions and wide scope of divine onomastics. Scrutinized in a diachronic and comparative perspective, divine names shed light on how polytheisms and monotheisms work as complex systems of divine and human agents embedded in an historical framework. Names imply knowledge and play a decisive role in rituals; they move between cities and regions, and can be translated; they interact with images and reflect the intrinsic plurality of divine beings. This vivid exploration of divine names pays attention to the balance between tradition and innovation, flexibility and constraints, to the material and conceptual parameters of onomastic practices, to cross-cultural contexts and local idiosyncrasies, in a word to human strategies for shaping the gods through their names.
An exploration into the conceptual, factual and biblical significance of names
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2021
Globally, works of literature have significantly revealed that everything that existed has a name. The name has significant importance in realizing the sustainable identity, purpose, performance, or destiny of what is named. Despite these laudable significances, numerous investigations have shown that the impact of these naming supposition, ideas, and explanations among the conceptual, factual, and biblical or covenant naming concepts are obscure. The King James Bible was adopted as the conceptual framework for this study because all things (including the significance of naming) are made and upheld by the word of God. The researcher explored a narrative review, analysis, and synthesis of vast works of literature that revealed significant information and insights on the symbolism, purpose, characteristics, importance, and significance of names, especially in Igbo, Nigeria, Africa. The researcher also extracted some documentaries from King James Bible, and peer-reviewed articles within the last five years from electronic databases, engaging some keywords like "Significance of naming in Africa", "Covenant naming", "purpose of naming", etc. Results show that names are not mere tags for simple identification, but that names connect the name bearers to their hopes, calling, and destiny in life. Results also show that names have cultural and historical connections that can impact the significant personality of the person named, his sense of belonging in a community, and his hope for his glorious destiny, and place in the world at large. Results and insights from this study may have a positive social impact on naming, research and innovations on the significance of names.