British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Second Colloquium of the
Lexicon of Greek Personal Names
Old and New Worlds in Greek Onomastics
Abstract
Greek Reinterpretation of Iranian Names by Folk Etymology
Rüdiger Schmitt
Among the personal names of Iranian origin attested in Greek sources there are many, the Greek rendering of which is quite inaccurate. A special case of this kind are those names which have been refashioned after some Greek model and have been reinterpreted by so-called folk etymology (eg Herodotus' ????????? from OPers. Bagabuxsa or ?????????, contrary to Ctesias' ?????????). This phenomenon will be illustrated by a number of examples, which are discussed partly in great detail and partly in short hints only.