ζέω
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
Ζεύς
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
Zeus
English translation (word)
Zeus
Transliteration (Etymon)
zeō
English translation (etymon)
to boil
Century
5 BC
Reference
fr. 33, 7
Edition
H. Diels, W. Kranz, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, vol. 1, (6th ed.), Berlin, 1951
Source
Stobaeus
Ref.
Anthologium 1, 10, 11b1
Ed.
T. Gaisford, Joannis Stobaei Florilegium, 1823
Quotation
Ἐμπεδοκλῆς Δία μὲν λέγει τὴν ζέσιν ‹καὶ› τὸν αἰθέρα
Translation (En)
Empedocles gives the name of Zeus to zesis "the boiling" and to ether
Parallels
Heraclitus, Allegoriae 23, 6 (Εἴη δ’ ἂν οἶμαι τοῦτο Ζεὺς ἐπώνυμος, ἤτοι τὸ ζῆν παρεχόμενος ἀνθρώποις ἢ παρὰ τὴν ἔμπυρον ζέσιν οὕτως ὠνομασμένος); Orion, Etymologicum, zeta, 65, 4 (Ζεύς. παρὰ τὸ ζέσιν); Athenagoras, Legatio sive supplicatio pro Christianis 22, 4 (Ζεὺς ἡ ζέουσα οὐσία κατὰ τοὺς Στωϊκούς, Ἥρα ὁ ἀήρ καὶ […] Ποσειδῶν ἡ πόσις)
Modern etymology
Zeus is the old Indo-European name of the sky, identical with Latin diēs and Sanscrite dyaus
Persistence in Modern Greek
The form "Δίας" has replaced the nominative "Ζεύς" in Modern Greek, to denote both the ancient god and the planet. The ancient genitive singular is still used to call ancient monuments, e.g., "Στήλες Ολυμπίου Διός" (Triandafyllidis, Dictionary of MG)
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
The etymology relies on the phonetic similarity between Zeus and zein "to burn", and on the philosophical conception of the four elements, fire (ether / Zeus), air (Hera), earth (Hades) and water (Poseidon), each associated with one of the major Olympian gods