<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The cartographic and historiographic traditions interpreting the Greek toponym <italic>Erythra Thalassa</italic> indicate this expression could designate several water basins in classical historiography, though it is usually rendered univocally as the Red Sea. This research applies cognitive semantics to the history of geography to retrieve the <italic>encyclopaedic meaning</italic> of the term <italic>erythros</italic> in relation to its <italic>dictionary meaning</italic> “red”. Computationally generated lists of frequency from about 50 ancient Greek and Latin oeuvres denote a predominant toponymic use of the term and a <italic>fixed collocation</italic> in conjunction with <italic>thalassa</italic> “sea”. Additional statistical data extrapolated from the <italic>Septuagint</italic> and the Greek New Testament reveal the tendency in the biblical tradition to use exclusively the inflected form <italic>erythra</italic> in <italic>fully fixed collocations</italic> with the term <italic>thalassa</italic>. The paper finds out that the specific shade of red denoted by <italic>erythors</italic> has been used since the seventh century BCE in a number of other toponyms and ethnonyms to convey the conceptual meaning of “southern”. To comparatively verify this hypothesis, several Greek toponyms incorporating the term <italic>leukos</italic> – “white” or “western” – are discussed in relation to their relative position in the oikumene. Based on comparative chronologies and diatopic attestations of the phenomenon, the hypothesis that the Turkic colour cardinal points system and the linguistic means to convey it was introduced to Greece during the period of contact with the Scythe people is proposed.</p>
</abstract>

The cartographic and historiographic traditions interpreting the Greek toponym Erythra Thalassa indicate this expression could designate several water basins in classical historiography, though it is usually rendered univocally as the Red Sea. This research applies cognitive semantics to the history of geography to retrieve the encyclopaedic meaning of the term erythros in relation to its dictionary meaning “red”. Computationally generated lists of frequency from about 50 ancient Greek and Latin oeuvres denote a predominant toponymic use of the term and a fixed collocation in conjunction with thalassa “sea”. Additional statistical data extrapolated from the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament reveal the tendency in the biblical tradition to use exclusively the inflected form erythra in fully fixed collocations with the term thalassa. The paper finds out that the specific shade of red denoted by erythors has been used since the seventh century BCE in a number of other toponyms and ethnonyms to convey the conceptual meaning of “southern”. To comparatively verify this hypothesis, several Greek toponyms incorporating the term leukos – “white” or “western” – are discussed in relation to their relative position in the oikumene. Based on comparative chronologies and diatopic attestations of the phenomenon, the hypothesis that the Turkic colour cardinal points system and the linguistic means to convey it was introduced to Greece during the period of contact with the Scythe people is proposed.

The Encyclopaedic Meaning of <italic>Erythros</italic> in Koine Greek Toponyms. A Cognitive Approach to the Definition of the Ancient Colour Cardinal Points System

Sustainable Multilingualism

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Encyclopaedic Meaning of  in Koine Greek Toponyms. A Cognitive Approach to the Definition of the Ancient Colour Cardinal Points System

The cartographic and historiographic traditions interpreting the Greek toponym Erythra Thalassa indicate this expression could designate several water basins...

The Encyclopaedic Meaning of Erythros in Koine Greek Toponyms. A Cognitive Approach to the Definition of the Ancient Colour Cardinal Points System

Published Online: Jul 04, 2022

Page range: 233 - 261

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2022-0010

Keywords
Ancient Greek toponymy, colour cardinal points system,

© 2022 Moreno Bonda, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Encyclopaedic Meaning of Erythros in Koine Greek Toponyms. A Cognitive Approach to the Definition of the Ancient Colour Cardinal Points System

Published Online: Jul 04, 2022

Page range: 233 - 261

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2022-0010

KeywordsAncient Greek toponymy, colour cardinal points system,

© 2022 Moreno Bonda, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Ancient Greek toponymy, colour cardinal points system,