ἀνθηρός

Validation

No

Word-form

ἄντρον

Transliteration (Word)

antron

English translation (word)

cave

Transliteration (Etymon)

anthēros

English translation (etymon)

flowery

Author

Epimerismi homerici

Century

9 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, alpha 350

Ed.

A.R. Dyck, Epimerismi Homerici: Pars altera. Lexicon αἱμωδεῖν [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 5.2. Berlin - New York: De Gruyter, 1995: 59-761.

Quotation

ἄντρον: ἀνάτορόν τι ὄν, τὸ ἀνατετρημένον. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄνθος ἀνθηρόν ἄνθρον καὶ ἄντρον· λειμωνι<ά>δων γὰρ νυμφῶν ἐνδιαίτημα. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄντομαι, τὸ ἱκετεύω· ‘ἅζετο δ’ ἀντομένην Ἥραν’ (Ap. Rh. 3, 77) καὶ ‘ἀλλ’ ἀντόμεθα πρὸς Ζηνὸς Ὀλυμπίου’ (fr. trag. adesp. 145a; SH 1018)· ἐν ἄντροις γὰρ τοὺς θεοὺς ἱκέτευον, ἱερὰ τὰ σπήλαια ἡγούμενοι.

Translation (En)

Antron "cave": an *anatoron, as it were, that which is pierced (anatetrēmenon). Or from anthos "flower", anthēron "flowery" and antron: because it is the residence of the meadow nymphs. Or from antomai "to implore" : ‘She was awestruck to see Hera beseeching her’ (Ap. Rh., Arg. 3.77, transl. Race, Loeb) and ‘let us turn as supplicants to Olympian Zeus’ (fr. trag. adesp. 145a; SH 1018): because they used to worship the gods in caves, thinking the caves were sacred

Comment

This etymology was apparently suggested by the context in which the cave of the nymphs appears in the Odyssey (Od. 3.102-104): αὐτὰρ ἐπὶ κρατὸς λιμένος τανύφυλλος ἐλαίη, / ἀγχόθι δ’ αὐτῆς ἄντρον ἐπήρατον ἠεροειδές, / ἱρὸν Νυμφάων, αἳ Νηϊάδες καλέονται. The association of the "charming" (ἐπήρατος) cave and the surrounding vegetation may have suggested the group of the paronymic ἄνθος. It implies several formal manipulations: change of [th] into [t], syncope of the vowel [ē] (and retraction of the stress, but the criterion of stress was most of the time not taken into account by etymologists other than Herodian).

Parallels

Etym. Genuinum, alpha 938 (Ἄντρον· τὸ σπήλαιον γ 103, 347· ‘ἐγγύθι δ’ αὐτῆς ἄντρον ἐπήρατον ἠεροειδές’, ἀνάτορόν τι ὄν, τὸ ἀνατετρημένον· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄνθη ἄνθηρον καὶ ἄνθρον καὶ ἄντρον κατὰ συγκοπήν· εἶναι γὰρ λειμονίδων νυμφῶν ἐνδιαίτημα. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄντω, τὸ ἱκετεύω, ἄντομαι καὶ (Ap. Rh. 3, 77) ‘ἀντομένην Ἥρην’, ἄντορον καὶ ἄντρον, διότι θεοὺς ἐν αὐτοῖς ἱκέτευον ἱερὰ τὰ σπήλαια ἡγούμενοι); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 115 (idem); Etym. Symeonis, vol. 1, p. 86 (ἄντρον (ν 103, 347)· τὸ σπήλαιον· ἀνάτορόν τι ὄν, τὸ ἀνατετρημένον. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄνθη ἄνθηρον καὶ ἄνθρον καὶ ἄντρον· εἶναι γὰρ λειμωνιάδων θεῶν ἐνδιαίτημα. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄντω, τὸ ἱκετεύω, ἄντορον καὶ ἄντρον, διότι θεοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ ἱκέτευον); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 193 (idem)

Modern etymology

Unclear (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Modern Greek still has άντρο designating 1. "any natural curve/cave inhabited by animals", 2. (metaphor.) "a refuge for criminals", 3. in anatomy, some curves of the human body. The word also survives in "Δικταίο άντρο", the cave where Zeus was raised.

Entry By

Le Feuvre