σάτρα

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Ancient Greek

Alternative readings

Etymology

The existence and meaning of this word is disputed. It was interpreted by some early scholars as a phonetic rendering of an Old Persian word, possibly *xšaθram (realm, kingdom).[1] Only attested in a line spoken in (mock-)Persian in Aristophanes' Acharnians.

Pronunciation

 

Noun

σάτρα (sátra? (indeclinable)

  1. (hapax) Persian word for gold

Usage notes

  • Alternatively, Andreas Willi (2004) suggests that the wordbreak should be inserted after the sigma, yielding *ατρα. He interprets this as an Old Median reflex of Proto-Indo-Iranian *átra (there, to that place) (compare Avestan 𐬀𐬚𐬭𐬀 (aθra, there, to that place) and Sanskrit अत्र (atra, here, in this place)):
    • 446 BCE – 386 BCE, Aristophanes, The Acharnians 100:
      Ἰ ἀρταμαν’ Ἐξαρξα ναπισσ’ ὀασ’ ἀτρα.
      hī artaman' ᵊḪšǣršā niyapiⁿθ' ovaθ' aθrā.
      The right-minded Xerxes has written thus here.
  • Another proposal comes from Brandenstein and Mayrhofer (1964), who offer the following reading:
    • 446 BCE – 386 BCE, Aristophanes, The Acharnians 100:
      ια ρταμανε Ξαρξα ναπισσ-ονα σατρα.
      hªya (a)rtamanā Ḫšayārša napaišuv yaunam ḫšaçam
      The rightminded Xerxes (greets) the coastal Greek realm.

References

  1. ^ Janda, Michael (2004) “*xšaϑra-”, in Die Sprache Der Meder (dissertation)‎ (in German), University of Zurich, page 138:gr. σατρα für medisch xšaϑra-

Further reading