On fertility, old Kurds, and sheep

Miguel Carrasquer Vidal mcv at WXS.NL
Tue Nov 10 09:10:18 UTC 1998


Artur Karp <hart at POLBOX.COM> wrote:

>2) Even if Turan were a fertility goddess and her name's morphological
>structure were tur-an, it doesn't follow that her name must mean
>"fertility" [in fact, the meaning of her name is thought to be something
>closer to "Dispenseress" - which may agree with her nymphic (Aphrodite,
>Venus) nature;

Yes, Etruscan <tur-> is "to give".  There is possibly a connection
with Pre-Greek <turannos> "king, tyrant", which would fit the Minoan
"palace economy" rather well (the king being the one who gives, or
rather, redistributes).  Whether that makes Venus/Turan the
"Dispenseress" or "Tyrant Love", I don't know.

=======================
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
mcv at wxs.nl
Amsterdam





More information about the INDOLOGY mailing list