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39-845: The earliest attestation of the word in Greek and of the worship of the winds by the Greeks, are perhaps the Mycenaean Greek word-forms 𐀀𐀚𐀗𐀂𐀋𐀩𐀊 , a-ne-mo-i-je-re-ja , 𐀀𐀚𐀗𐄀𐀂𐀋𐀩𐀊 , a-ne-mo,i-je-re-ja , i.e. "priestess of the winds". These words, written in Linear B , are found on the KN Fp 1 and KN Fp 13 tablets. The Anemoi are minor gods and are subject to the god Aeolus . They were sometimes represented as gusts of wind , and at other times were personified as winged men. They were also sometimes depicted as horses kept in

78-956: A , and their use as largely a matter of an individual scribe's preference. Nouns likely decline for 7 cases : nominative , genitive , accusative , dative , vocative , instrumental and locative ; 3 genders : masculine, feminine, neuter; and 3 numbers : singular , dual , plural . The last two cases had merged with other cases by Classical Greek . In Modern Greek , only nominative , accusative , genitive and vocative remain as separate cases with their own morphological markings. Adjectives agree with nouns in case , gender , and number . Verbs probably conjugate for 3 tenses : past , present , future ; 3 aspects : perfect , perfective , imperfective ; 3 numbers : singular , dual , plural ; 4 moods : indicative , imperative , subjunctive , optative ; 3 voices : active , middle , passive ; 3 persons : first, second, third; infinitives , and verbal adjectives . The verbal augment

117-438: A , can always be written wherever 𐁀 , a 2 , can. However, these are not true homophones (characters with the same sound) because the correspondence does not necessarily work both ways: 𐁀 , a 2 cannot necessarily be used in place of 𐀀 , a. For that reason, they are referred to as 'overlapping values': signs such as 𐁀 , a 2 are interpreted as special cases or 'restricted applications' of signs such as 𐀀 ,

156-464: A flame falls on the standing grain while the South Winds rage, or a rushing mountain stream lays low the fields, lays low the glad crops and labors of oxen, and drags down forests headlong. Another Roman poet, Tibullus 1.1, lines 47–48, speaks of the pleasure of lying in bed on rainy winter days: aut, gelidas hibernus aquas cum fuderit Auster, securum somnos igne iuvante sequi or when

195-740: A script first attested on Crete before the 14th century BC. Most inscriptions are on clay tablets found in Knossos , in central Crete, as well as in Pylos , in the southwest of the Peloponnese . Other tablets have been found at Mycenae itself, Tiryns and Thebes and at Chania , in Western Crete. The language is named after Mycenae, one of the major centres of Mycenaean Greece. The tablets long remained undeciphered, and many languages were suggested for them, until Michael Ventris , building on

234-438: A voiced dental or velar stop + *y ( *dy, *gy, *ɡʷy ), or in certain instances from word-initial *y , and corresponding to ζ in the Greek alphabet. There were at least five vowels /a e i o u/ , which could be both short and long. As noted below, the syllabic Linear B script used to record Mycenaean is extremely defective and distinguishes only the semivowels ⟨j w⟩ ; the sonorants ⟨m n r⟩ ;

273-739: Is a wind that originates in the south and blows in a northward direction. Words used in English to describe the south wind are auster, buster (a violent south gale), föhn /foehn (alps), ghibli ( Libya with various spellings), friagem (a cold south wind blowing into Brazil from the Antarctic ), khamsin (a hot spring wind in Egypt , with various spellings), kona (stormy southwest wind in Hawaii ), notus / lodos (see mythology below for origin) and sirocco (North Africa). In Greek mythology , Notus

312-753: Is almost entirely absent from Mycenaean Greek with only one known exception, 𐀀𐀟𐀈𐀐 , a-pe-do-ke ( PY Fr 1184), but even that appears elsewhere without the augment, as 𐀀𐀢𐀈𐀐 , a-pu-do-ke ( KN Od 681). The augment is sometimes omitted in Homer . Mycenaean had already undergone the following sound changes particular to the Greek language and so is considered to be Greek: The corpus of Mycenaean-era Greek writing consists of some 6,000 tablets and potsherds in Linear B, from LMII to LHIIIB . No Linear B monuments or non-Linear B transliterations have yet been found. The so-called Kafkania pebble has been claimed as

351-615: Is clean-shaven, with curly hair and a friendly expression. Because Apeliotes is a minor god, he was often syncretized with Eurus, the east wind. The Roman counterpart of Apeliotes is Subsolanus . Skiron was the name used in Athens for the wind which blew from the Scironian rocks (a geographical feature near Kineta to the west of Athens). On the Tower of the Winds , however, he appears on

390-405: Is necessary. Even so, for some words the pronunciation is not known exactly, especially when the meaning is unclear from context, or the word has no descendants in the later dialects. The Mycenaean language is preserved in Linear B writing, which consists of about 200 syllabic characters and ideograms . Since Linear B was derived from Linear A , the script of an undeciphered Minoan language ,

429-489: Is not notated. In most circumstances, the script is unable to notate a consonant not followed by a vowel. Either an extra vowel is inserted (often echoing the quality of the following vowel), or the consonant is omitted. (See above for more details.) Thus, determining the actual pronunciation of written words is often difficult, and using a combination of the PIE etymology of a word, its form in later Greek and variations in spelling

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468-745: Is not observed in the Linear B corpus. While the use of Mycenaean Greek may have ceased with the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, some traces of it are found in the later Greek dialects. In particular, Arcadocypriot Greek is believed to be rather close to Mycenaean Greek; it was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia (central Peloponnese ) and in Cyprus . Ancient Pamphylian also shows some similarity to Arcadocypriot and to Mycenaean Greek. Proto-Greek Mycenaean Ancient Koine Medieval Modern South wind A south wind

507-444: Is the Greek deity of the northeast wind. He is shown on the monument as a bearded man with a shield full of hailstones. Apeliotes (or Apheliotes; the name means 'from the (rising) sun') is the Greek deity of the southeast wind. As this wind was thought to cause a refreshing rain particularly beneficial to farmers, he is often depicted wearing high boots and carrying fruit, draped in a light cloth concealing some flowers or grain. He

546-583: Is the god of the north wind and the harshest of the Anemoi. He is mostly known for his abduction of the Athenian princess Orithyia , by whom he became the father of the Boreads . In art, he is usually depicted as a bearded, older man. His Roman equivalent is called Aquilo . Zephyrus (Gk. Ζέφυρος [ Zéphyros ]), sometimes shortened in English to Zephyr , is the Greek god of the west wind . The gentlest of

585-566: Is the north wind and bringer of cold winter air, Zephyrus (Favonius in Latin ) is the west wind and bringer of light spring and early-summer breezes, and Notus (Auster in Latin ) is the south wind and bringer of the storms of late summer and autumn; Eurus , the southeast (or according to some, the east) wind, was not associated with any of the three Greek seasons , and is the only one of these four Anemoi not mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony or in

624-425: Is uncertain how it was pronounced. It may have represented a pair of voiceless and voiced affricates / ts / and / dz / (marked with asterisks in the table above): / ts / deriving from Pre-Greek clusters of a voiceless or voiceless aspirated velar stop + *y (*ky, *kʰy, *kʷy, kʷʰy) and corresponding to -ττ- or -σσ- in Greek varieties written in the Greek alphabet, and / dz / deriving from Pre-Greek clusters of

663-544: Is widely accepted that Eurus is the east wind, while Apeliotes is the southeast wind. Eurus' Roman counterpart is Vulturnus , according to Pliny the Elder ; but for Aulus Gellius Volturnus was the equivalent of the southeast wind Euronotus. In the Latin poems, the name Eurus is generally used for the east or southeast wind, as in Greek. Eurus is a wind of storm, described as a turbulent wind during storms and tossing ships on

702-669: The Orphic Hymns . The deities equivalent to the Anemoi in Roman mythology were the Venti ( Latin , "winds"). These gods had different names, but were otherwise very similar to their Greek counterparts, borrowing their attributes and being frequently conflated with them. Ptolemy's world map listed 12 winds: Septentrio (N), Aquilo (NNE), Vulturnus (NE), Subsolanus (E), Eurus (SE), Euroauster (SSE), Austeronotus (S), Euronotus (SSW), Africus (SW), Zephirus (W), Eurus (NW), Circius (NNW). Boreas

741-600: The Afri . Other minor wind deities included: Mycenaean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language , on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC), before the hypothesised Dorian invasion , often cited as the terminus ad quem for the introduction of the Greek language to Greece. The language is preserved in inscriptions in Linear B ,

780-507: The Sea of Azov : Semper hiemps, semper spirantes frigora cauri Always winter, always the northwest winds breathing cold Lips is the Greek deity of the southwest wind, often depicted holding the stern of a ship. His Roman equivalent was Africus , due to the Roman province Africa being to the southwest of Italy . This name is thought to be derived from the name of a North African tribe,

819-434: The harpy Podarge (also known as Celaeno ), Zephyrus was said to be the father of Balius and Xanthus , Achilles ' horses. In the story of Eros and Psyche , Zephyrus served Eros (or Cupid) by transporting Psyche to his abode. Zephyrus was also claimed to have killed one of Apollo's many male lovers Hyacinth out of jealousy. Hyacinth was killed by a discus thrown by Apollo. Though according to some sources, his death

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858-442: The sibilant ⟨s⟩ ; the stops ⟨p t d k q z⟩ ; and (marginally) ⟨h⟩ . Voiced, voiceless and aspirate occlusives are all written with the same symbols except that ⟨d⟩ stands for /d/ and ⟨t⟩ for both / t / and / tʰ / ). Both / r / and / l / are written ⟨r⟩ ; /h/ is unwritten unless followed by /a/ . The length of vowels and consonants

897-418: The "Special Mycenaean" represented some local vernacular dialect (or dialects) of the particular scribes producing the tablets. Thus, "a particular scribe, distinguished by his handwriting, reverted to the dialect of his everyday speech" and used the variant forms, such as the examples above. It follows that after the collapse of Mycenaean Greece, while the standardized Mycenaean language was no longer used,

936-449: The diagnostic criteria to reconstruct two dialects within Mycenaean. In particular, more recent paleographical study, not available to Risch, shows that no individual scribe consistently writes "Special Mycenaean" forms. This inconsistency makes the variation between "Normal Mycenaean" and "Special Mycenaean" unlikely to represent dialectical or sociolectical differences, as these would be expected to concentrate in individual speakers, which

975-559: The extensive work of Alice Kober , deciphered the script in 1952. The texts on the tablets are mostly lists and inventories. No prose narrative survives, much less myth or poetry. Still, much may be gleaned from these records about the people who produced them and about Mycenaean Greece, the period before the so-called Greek Dark Ages . Mycenaean preserves some archaic Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Greek features not present in later ancient Greek : The consonant usually transcribed z probably represents *dy, initial *y, *ky, *gy. It

1014-460: The fall of the palaces because the script was no longer used, the underlying dialects would have continued to develop in their own ways. That view was formulated by Antonin Bartonek. Other linguists like Leonard Robert Palmer and Yves Duhoux  [ de ] also support this view of the 'Mycenaean linguistic koine'. (The term 'Mycenaean koine' is also used by archaeologists to refer to

1053-409: The last half of the 15th century BCE and the earliest years of the 14th. While the Mycenaean dialect is relatively uniform at all the centres where it is found, there are also a few traces of dialectal variants: Based on such variations, Ernst Risch (1966) postulated the existence of some dialects within Linear B. The "Normal Mycenaean" would have been the standardized language of the tablets, and

1092-453: The material culture of the region.) However, since the Linear B script does not indicate several possible dialectical features, such as the presence or absence of word-initial aspiration and the length of vowels, it is unsafe to extrapolate that Linear B texts were read as consistently as they were written. The evidence for "Special Mycenaean" as a distinct dialect has, however, been challenged. Thompson argues that Risch's evidence does not meet

1131-557: The northwest side. His name is related to Skirophorion , the last of the three months of spring in the Attic calendar . He is depicted as a bearded man tilting a cauldron, representing the onset of winter. His Roman counterpart is Caurus or Corus . Caurus is also one of the oldest Roman wind-deities, and numbered among the di indigetes ('indigenous gods'), a group of abstract and largely minor numinous entities. The Roman poet Virgil writes when describing steppe winter weather near

1170-530: The oldest known Mycenaean inscription, with a purported date to the 17th century BC. However, its authenticity is widely doubted, and most scholarly treatments of Linear B omit it from their corpora. The earliest generally-accepted date for a Linear B tablet belongs to the tablets from the 'Room of the Chariot Tablets' at Knossos, which are believed to date to the LM II-LM IIIA period, between

1209-422: The particular local dialects reflecting local vernacular speech would have continued, eventually producing the various Greek dialects of the historic period. Such theories are also connected with the idea that the Mycenaean language constituted a type of a special koine representing the official language of the palace records and the ruling aristocracy. When the 'Mycenaean linguistic koine' fell into disuse after

Anemoi - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-619: The sea. He is referred to as the "savior of Sparta" in a Homeric paean , or poem. Eurus is also called the "hot wind" by Nonnus in Dionysiaca . Eurus is closely related to Helios in passages of the Dionysiaca, being called from his place near Helios ' palace, Phaethon, where the sun rose in the east. Four lesser wind deities appear in a few ancient sources, such as at the Tower of the Winds in Athens: Kaikias (or Caecius)

1287-480: The sounds of Mycenaean are not fully represented. A limited number of syllabic characters must represent a much greater number of syllables used in spoken speech: in particular, the Linear B script only fully represents open syllables (those ending in vowel sounds), where Mycenaean Greek frequently used closed syllables (those ending in consonants). Orthographic simplifications therefore had to be made: Certain characters can be used alternately: for example, 𐀀 ,

1326-494: The stables of the storm god Aeolus , who provided Odysseus with the Anemoi in the Odyssey . The Spartans were reported to sacrifice a horse to the winds on Mount Taygetus . Astraeus , the astrological deity (sometimes associated with Aeolus ), and Eos / Aurora , the goddess of the dawn , were the parents of the Anemoi, according to the Greek poet Hesiod . Of the four chief Anemoi, Boreas (Aquilo in Roman mythology )

1365-592: The winds, Zephyrus is known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring. It was thought that Zephyrus lived in a cave in Thrace . Zephyrus was reported as having several wives in different stories. He was said to be the husband of Iris , goddess of the rainbow. He abducted the goddess Chloris , and gave her the domain of flowers. With Chloris, he fathered Karpos ('fruit'). He is said to have vied for Chloris's love with his brother Boreas, eventually winning her devotion. Additionally, with yet another sister and lover,

1404-407: The winter South Wind has poured out his cold waters, to fall asleep carefree with the help of a fire. The name Australia (the "southern land") is derived from Auster . Eurus ( Εὖρος , Euros ) according to some was the southeast wind, but according to others the east wind. On the Tower of the Winds in Athens, Eurus occupies the southeast side, while Apeliotes is in the east. However, it

1443-554: Was Auster, the embodiment of the sirocco wind, a southerly wind which brings cloudy weather, powerful winds and rain to southern Europe. ( Auster named the compass point Australis and the country's name Australia .) The Auster winds are mentioned in Virgil 's Aeneid Book II, lines 304–307: in segetem veluti cum flamma furentibus Austris incidit, aut rapidus montano flumine torrens sternit agros, sternit sata laeta boumque labores, praecipitesque trahit silvas Just as when

1482-418: Was said to be an accident, others said that Zephyrus was the true culprit, having blown the discus off course. Notus ( Νότος , Nótos ) was the Greek god of the south wind . He was associated with the desiccating hot wind of the rise of Sirius after midsummer , was thought to bring the storms of late summer and early autumn, and was feared as a destroyer of crops. Notus' equivalent in Roman mythology

1521-458: Was the god of the south wind and bringer of the storms of late summer and autumn. In Roman mythology the south wind was represented by Auster . In Egyptian mythology , Shehbui is the god of the south wind. He was depicted as a man with the head of a lion. In Native American Iroquois tradition, the south wind is brought by the Fawn, and has a warm and gentle temperament reminiscent of

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