Abstract:

Linguistic, philological and historical considerations show that the editors of the new Thebes tablets correctly interpreted ma-ka, o-po-re-i and ko-wa as the dative forms of three theonyms: M 'Mother Earth', O = o 'god of the fruits' (Zeus) and KoF (Attic Ko). The nouns 'mother', / 'earth', 'little girl' and 'mina' are Pre-Greek loan-words. The following interpretations are proposed for the three temporal clauses in the Fq tablets: Fq 126 o-te tu-wo-te-to oo o 'when he (: the priest) had placed the sacrifice (on the altar)'. Fq 130 o-te o-je-ke-te-to ooy o 'when he (: the priest) had exposed the tree-fruits (on the offering table)'. Fq 254 o-te a-pi-e-qe ke-ro- pa-ta o h^w osigmav; 'when he (: the priest) had made all the Elders follow him on both sides', i.e., 'when the priest had led a procession of all the Elders'. The editors correctly interpret de-qo-no (Fq 254) as the dative of ^wo 'person charged with the preparation of sacred meals'.—The appendix contains a discussion of the origin of

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1163/156852504322960796