Theonyms

The discussion of Uralic theonyms in this 2012 conference paper have been significantlu developed and discussed in more detail in "Language and Mythology" (2017): https://www.academia.edu/35369652/Language_and_Mythology_Semantic_Correlation_and_Disambiguation_of_Gods_as_Iconic_Signs

The discussion of internal developments in Finnic mythology are discussed with emphasis on the epic Sampo-Cycle in "Confluence, Continuity and Change in the Evolution of Mythology" (2012): https://www.academia.edu/3687105/Confluence_Continuity_and_Change_in_the_Evolution_of_Mythology_The_Case_of_the_Finno-Karelian_Sampo-Cycle
and with emphasis on the role of the ritual specialist in "Shamans, Christians and Things in between":
https://www.academia.edu/4049431/Shamans_Christians_and_Things_in_between_From_Finnic_Germanic_Contacts_to_the_Conversion_of_Karelia

The name Tages, lacking any clear Latin or Greek etymology, is most likely related to an Etruscan form; however, it cannot be found in the theonymic repertoire passed on through captions to mirrors or wall paintings. The present work is aimed at formulating a new interpretative proposal, which, unlike previous efforts, takes into account the levels of phonetic and morphological analysis

Names of gods and other mythic agents are commonly seen as emblematic of the respective religions with which they are associated, both for researchers and for people involved in religious encounters. This paper explicates the relationship between names, images of mythic agents and people's social alignments with religious or cultural identities. These factors produce sociolinguistic perspectives on both theonym etymologies and on uses of the same names today.

Dans un corpus de littérature (autrement dit de textes écrits) de Tacite (vers 98) à Snorri Sturluson (vers 1220) j'ai essayé de tracer les apparitions des noms des dieux de la religion des anciens scandinaves, de voir entre les textes si les descriptions sont cohérentes ou non. Enfin, la grande question est de savoir si la cohérence provient de la reprise pour chaque auteur des textes qui sont antérieurs ou si cela vient d'une expression commune (orale) de la divinité.

Additionné à cela, j'ai essayé de repérer les facteurs et témoins de la diffusion des textes et des livres dans les mers septentrionales.

The inscribed gold fibula of Praeneste, uncovered 35 kms. to the South-East of Rome, is held to contain the oldest extant inscription written in the Latin language and in an archaic version of the Latin alphabet. After a long debate regarding its authenticity, partly due to the fact that it was devoid of an archaeological context, it has been declared authentic «beyond any reasonable doubt» in 2011. Still, in spite of its brevity, a substantial number of questions remains unanswered concerning its internal structure, meaning and purpose, as well as the morphology of the verb form VHEVHAKED. They have been repeatedly wielded as arguments against its authenticity, but have been unduly forgotten ever since the fibula was cleared of any suspicion of being a forgery. This work addresses these questions and tries to solve the problems by means of an in-depth study of the morphology of the four words it contains, their syntax and the circumstances of its making, and additionally reconsiders its dialectal filiation.

This article is a preliminary edition of some votive inscriptions of Aquitania for the corpus F.E.R.C.AN. After some methodological considerations about names and epithets of the deities transmitted in the epigraphical documents, it describes several altars from the territory of the Convenae and the Bituriges Cubi and introduces some new readings.
Cet article est un travail préliminaire à l’édition des inscriptions votives d’Aquitaine pour le corpus F.E.R.C.AN. Il propose, d’une part, quelques réflexions sur les noms et les épithètes des divinités, d’autre part, la description de plusieurs autels des Convenae et des Bituriges Cubi, avec de nouvelles lectures.

Gli idronimi del Peloponneso antico sono spesso in rapporto con personaggi femminili, come ninfe, dee ed eroine, locali e pan-elleniche. Si tratta per lo più di personificazioni delle località, come l’etimologia dei loro nomi e la loro tradizione dimostrano, e sono il riflesso di un immaginario arcaico, che collegava l’idea di femminilità all’acqua, alla natura, alla vita e alla morte. Taluni di questi personaggi hanno poi continuato a vivere, evolvendosi o trasformandosi, come archetipi artistico-letterari e religioso-morali, non solo nelle società greca e latina, ma perfino, direttamente o indirettamente, in quelle cristiane post-classiche, medievali e moderne, come nel caso delle ninfe, delle Danaidi o di Elena.

Dans les discours sur les croyances des anciens scandinaves, les noms de dieux, ou théonymes, sont une représentation importante puisque l'écriture du nom demande un travail sensible. Ce travail obéit aux règles de la langue dans laquelle le texte est écrit. Mais le travail d'une volonté de l'auteur est aussi visible. Le Mémoire de Master soutenu à l'Université de Strasbourg en 2018 que je vais vous présenter s'est attelé à prospecter ces deux idées. J'ai, pour ce travail, recensé les théonymes et les textes où ces premiers apparaissent. Puis j'ai posé quelques commentaires sur ces noms dans la relation conflictuelle de leur origine orale et du texte rédigé par une main et un esprit à un instant T. Enfin, j'ai relevé quelques pistes de voyage des textes et des idées à travers l'espace pour étayer l'hypothèse des influences littéraires. Mots-clés: Théonymie; Mythologie Nordique; Scandinavie; Littérature.

Abstract : In the discourses on the beliefs of the ancient Scandinavians, the names of the gods, or theonyms, are an important representation since the writing of the name requires a sensible work. This work obeys the rules of the language in which the text is written. But the work of a will of the author is also visible. The Master's thesis defended at the University of Strasbourg in 2018, which I will present, explores those ideas. For this work, I have listed theonyms and the texts in which they first appeared. Then I comment on these names in the conflictual relationship between their oral origin and the text written by a hand and a mind at a specific time. Finally, I noted travel tracks of texts and ideas through space to support the hypothesis that literary influences are significant.

Greek title: Η απόδοση του Τετραγράμματου στα Ελληνικά στις ιερές Γραφές και την υπόλοιπη γραμματεία: Μελέτη στη διαχρονική πρόσληψη και εξέλιξη της εβραϊκής θεωνυμίας

English title: The rendering of the Tetragrammaton in Greek in the holy Scriptures and other literature: A study on the diachronic reception and development of the Hebrew theonymy

ΑΠΘ/Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, 2020.

En este trabajo la autora, que comienza aportando numerosas referencias nuevas sobre El Saucedo desde el siglo XVI, hace una propuesta metodológica: aunque había ya bastante bibliografía española sobre termalismo antiguo y lugares sagrados asociados con ellos, casi nunca se había tratado de definir cuál era exactamente el “paisaje del teónimo”, y descubrir a través de ello qué se curaba en estos lugares; para ello se precisa una mayor interdisciplinariedad.

Frente a la interpretación tradicional (y aún en vigor) de los excavadores de este yacimiento como una ‘villa’ privada reconvertida en el siglo VI en basílica cristiana (pero con una extraña diosa pagana bajo su “altar mayor”), la autora propone aquí que ya de antiguo el edificio, erigido en un ‘salicetum’ (saucedo), era un ‘locus sacer', un 'delubrum' o santuario pagano con zona termal, que fue cristianizado luego como ‘delubrum’ con baptisterio a los pies, seguramente por la importancia e influjo que ya tenía.

La diosa ‘Iscallis’ (antes entendida como un hombre, o bien como la diosa propia de la británica Exeter), que deja rastros en la toponimia regional (Escalona, Illescas), sería una divinidad local, y trasunto de Proserpina. Un nuevo análisis de su precioso mosaico permite reconocer mejor, además de las cinco cráteras ya conocidas, una serpiente con cornucopia y un creciente lunar invertido (como muchos de bronce aparecidos en la zona, romanos y posteriores). Dos mosaicos en sendos absidiolos enfrente de ella, con delfines y granadas, insisten de nuevo en su carácter sanador y en que se trata de la diosa del inframundo (cuyo culto pervive en las “Mundas” talaveranas), y algunos hallazgos previos, como las asas de tres sítulas de bronce, un elemento más propio del ámbito religioso. Igualmente apoya el carácter sacro y sanador la existencia de dos fuentes inmediatas con un epígrafe “A las Ninfas”, que antes de 1999 no había sido asociada al yacimiento por los excavadores.

Finalmente la autora sugiere que el carácter curativo vendría precisamente de los sauces del lugar, que aportan el componente primario del hoy popular ácido acetilsalicílico (aspirina). Las epidemias de fiebres que se dieron en la zona de Talavera del siglo XIX probarían este problema sanitario, y su uso en ellas.

Análisis polínicos hechos y publicados diez años después (en 2009) vendrían a comprobar el “paisaje del teónimo” previamente imaginado. Esto, junto con buenas fotos en color del mosaico, se encuentra en la Addenda (1-8) que ahora se ha añadido al final del estudio.

The paper traces the thesis that Thracian linguistic data are a purely linguistic issue, on the one hand, but on the other – a specific historical source providing evidence on the entire chronological range of Thracian history: from the settling of the bearers of the Indo-European dialect – the future Thracian language – in the Balkan Peninsula (the earliest
Thracian toponymy) to the end of Antiquity and the assimilation of the Thracian language and ethnos (personal names, toponyms, theonyms and ethnonyms).

This work, “José M. Vallejo, Onomástica paleohispánica: Antroponimia y Teonimia. Parte I: testimonios epigráficos latinos, celtibéricos y lusitanos, y referencias literarias, University of the Basque Country, 2016 (551 pp.)” belongs to Hesperia project (database of Palaeohispanic languages) and collects the onomastic material directly related to the Iberian peninsula in antiquity (an on-line version is available at http://hesperia.ucm.es/consulta_hesperia/onomastica/acceso_onomastica.php). Specifically, it compiles personal and divinity names which have come down to us both in epigraphic documents (Celtiberian and Lusitanian), and in an indirect transmission, as texts written in Latin or Greek. As the title explains, in this first part, we have gathered up:
-indigenous personal names in Latin epigraphy in Hispania.
-literary personal names transmitted by Latin and Greek sources.
-personal names of Hispanic people found abroad.
-indigenous personal names in Celtiberian and Lusitanian inscriptions.
We have not included sure or probable personal names in Iberian inscriptions in indigenous script (although they are available in the on-line version).
Finally we also gather up:
-indigenous divinity names in both Latin or local epigraphy.

The article deals with the problem of theonyms in different languages and traditions. In the Islamic Sufi tradition, the system of theonyms is derived from the saying of the Prophet Muhammad, where the 99 Names of God are listed. The article proposes the problem of using Islamic theonyms in psychotherapy, since recitation affects the psyche and physiology of a person, like affirmations, healing moods, and auto-training. Deep awareness and recitation of each Name changes the character of the psychic in a person. Within the framework of this moment, psychological and interdisciplinary paradigms of studying the influence of Names on the psyche and the formation of higher emotions can yield important scientific results. Internalization deep into the consciousness and subconsciousness of the names can effect transformations in the psycho-emotional sphere. The research results can provide new directions for interdisciplinary research and practical application by scientists and practitioners alike.

Although the problem of translation of God’s names into Turkic languages was discussed by several authors, no thorough analysis was performed as to study different approaches to  render  the  theonym  YHWH  into  the  Tatar  language.  This  articles  discusses  non-translation, semantic translation, and transcription/transliteration as main methods of rendering the Tetragrammaton.

Among the numerous theonyms attested in Roman provincial epigraphy of Northwestern Europe, dating from the 1st until the 5th century AD, some candidates feature potential language and culture contact phenomena between Germanic and Celtic tribes. For instance, the complex derivational suffixes ( ahen ,  ihen ,  aneh  and –ineh ) in the theonymic subgroup of matrons’ names have convincingly been derived from Old-Celtic suffix conglomerates by means of language contact (Scheungraber 2015). The matres or matronae were female deities venerated mainly in Germania, Eastern Gaul, and Northern Italy, which are often depicted on votive altars in groups of three; in the Latin inscriptions on these altars, the deities’ names turn out to be either Celtic or Germanic. In most cases, the semantics of the theonyms in question can be elicited by etymological investigation and their linguistic allocation.
However, there are several deities, whose names feature both Celtic and Germanic traits or whose names were borrowed from one language into the other (e.g. Baduhenna, a local goddess of battle, whose name is attested by Tacitus; cf. Scheungraber 2016). Some theonyms even occur in duplicate forms: e.g. Germanic Alagabiae (Bürgel, G.I.) versus Celtic Ollogabiae (Mainz, G.S.). Other doublet theonyms have, despite their obvious Germanic appearance, a secure Celtic etymology: Virodacti (Mainz, G.S.) and its orthographic variants Viradecthi (Birrens, Brit.), Virathethi (Stree, Belg.), Viroddi (Kälbertshausen, G.S.) are generally assumed to be cognate to OIr. ferdacht ‘manhood, virility, manliness’; but is it not puzzling, why a female deity bears such a name? Another theonym of interest is Magusenos, which is usually derived from the Celtic lexemes *mogu- ‘mighty’ and *seno- ‘old’, but formally it has adapted to its Germanic phonological equivalent (“Lautsubstitution”) as Magusanus (most frequent) and even once as Macusanus (with the equation of Celtic g = Germanic k in the speakers/writers mind).
In my talk, I would like to present and evaluate the onomastic evidence for both language and culture contact between the Celts, Romans and Germanic tribes. By discussing the individual etymology of these theonyms as well as their geographic distribution and genuine linguistic classification, we might be able to answer some or all of the following research questions:
- What features of the Old-Celtic and Old-Germanic pantheon can be regarded as direct continuants of Old-Indo-European religion?
- Did the Germanic and the Celtic tribes originally worship the same or different deities? Are the naming practices comparable to each other?
- Was the language and culture contact as attested indirectly by those theonyms unidirectional, bidirectional or even multidirectional?
- What role did the Romans play in the transmission process of common ritual practices and in naming and worshipping indigenous deities?
- What led the indigenous tribes to associating some of their locally worshipped deities with the common Roman gods like Mercurius, Mars, Apollo, etc. and have their indigenous names appear as postponed epithets thereof (e.g. Mercurius Valdivahanus from Cologne, G.I.)? Why then did not all theonyms of Germanic and Celtic origin undergo this allocation as per “Interpretatio Romana”?
- Does the geographic distribution of linguistically Celtic or Germanic theonyms match our knowledge about the historical settlements of Celtic or Germanic tribes in these areas?
In order to draw conclusions in this regard, I have placed my focus on those theonyms with abnormal orthographic representations, doublet forms and on theonyms which could theoretically be both Celtic and Germanic regarding their etymologies. Only these contemporary witnesses enable us to fathom the linguistic and cultural/religious contacts between Germanic and Celtic tribes in Late Antiquity.

References:
Scheungraber, Corinna. Die komplexen Suffixe der rheinischen Matronennamen und der Sprach- und Kulturkontakt zwischen Germanen, Kelten und Römern am Rhein. In: Germanische Altertumskunde: Quellen, Methoden, Ergebnisse. Akten des Symposiums anlässlich des 150. Geburtstags von Rudolf Much, Wien 28.-30. September 2012. Reichert, Hermann & Scheungraber, Corinna (eds.). (= Philologica Germanica 35). Vienna 2015, 239-253.
Scheungraber, Corinna. Baduhenna - keltische Göttin in germanischem Gewand? In: Tagungsakten der Sektion „Onomastik und Historisch-vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft“ der 39. Österreichischen Linguistiktagung 26.-28.10.2012. Gruber, Elisabeth & Windhaber, Irina (eds.). (= Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Onomastik Bd. 15). Vienna 2016, 101-121.

Par l'analyse du théonyme Déméter,  Δημήτηρ, nous extrayons la racine dām-, qui a le même sens qu'augeo. Damia et Auxésia sont donc deux déesses dont le nom a le même sens, avec deux racines différentes. Le « damium » dont parle Festus est  le  δημός, l'épiploon, l'omentum, ou une métonymie pour une truie pleine. La damiatrix est l'équivalente féminine de l'augure. Quant au nom de Déméter, il signifie donc «  celle qui fait pousser, qui accroît », comme Cérés, Maia, et Auxésia.

In Hymn. Merc. 415 πῦρ ἀµαρύσσων has to be corrected to πῦρ ἀµαρύσσоν. This expression applies to Hermes' powerful gaze. At the same time, the sequence Ἀργεϊφόντης … πῦρ ἀµαρύσσων "Argeiphontes … darting fire" (Hymn. Merc. 414-415) is likely to have been influenced by a synchronic etymology of Hermes' epithet Argeiphontes. As such, it counts as an example of synonymic dittology. An analysis of ancient commentaries and glossaries shows that the second compound member °φόντης was occasionally connected with Gk. φαίνω, "to shine".

The paper focuses on the most peculiar aspect of the written sources on Slavic pre-Christian religion: the lack of indigenous reports on the topic and its consequences. Since the Slavic paganism had been described only by Christian and mostly non-Slavic clerics, the depiction of its gods, rituals, divination systems and other features is fundamentally blurred behind the ideological filters of so called interpretatio Christiana. The paper therefore presents some of the issues connected with this problem. By analyzing the literary terms for Slavic “religion” itself and by the case study of comparison of possible pan-Slavic theonyms in these sources it shows the general difficulties of studying the Slavic paganism and its medieval literary construction. In the background of these efforts there is also an attempt to set a solid ground for historical reconstruction of the system of pre-Christian Slavic religion that in the sources has no voice of its own and it is known only by means of the Latin and, later, the Old Church Slavonic literary traditions, both emerging from a cultural contact situation, either contact of different cultures (Frankish and Saxon Christians vs. Slavs), or of different layers of the same society (Russian Christian clergy vs. popular religious syncretism and survivals).

Mit meiner Dissertation habe ich mich den Namen der alten heidnischen Götter verschrieben. Diese wurden von den Germanen und Kelten u.a. im römerzeitlichen Rheinland verehrt. Ihre Namen sind in rauen Mengen in lateinisch-sprachigen Inschriften auf Steindenkmälern überliefert. Da die literarische Überlieferung in diesem geographischen Raum erst einige Jahrhunderte später beginnt, sind diese Namen das älteste Sprachmaterial, das der Forschung zur Verfügung steht.
Bezeichnend für die Region um Köln, Bonn und entlang des Rheins sind zahlreiche Sprachkontakterscheinungen, die sich in den Götternamen manifestieren. Die hier ansässigen Kelten und Germanen verehrten damals die sog. Matronen, das sind Triaden von Muttergottheiten, die mit Funktionsbeinamen bezeichnet wurden oder auch nach lokalen Gegebenheiten wie den jeweiligen Kultorten benannt waren. So hießen beispielsweise eine Gruppe von Matronen bei den Germanen Alagabiae, bei den Kelten aber Ollogabiae; beides heißt übersetzt ‚die Alles Gebenden‘.
Mit meiner Dissertation über die knapp 400 keltischen und germanischen Theonyme wurde eine langjährige Forschungslücke geschlossen und dieses wertvolle und oft vernachlässigte onomastische Material für die historische Sprachforschung aufbereitet. Jeder an der Altertumskunde Interessierte kann sich nun in meinem Buch über die Theonyme zu den genauen Namensbelege, die Wortherkunft und die Bedeutung der Götternamen informieren.

Διὰ τὴν ἑβραϊκὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ Κυρίου παρασημείωσιν ταῦτα λεκτέον. Δέκα ὀνόμασι παρ' Ἑβραίοις ὀνομάζεται ὁ Θεός:

Για την εβραϊκή περιθωριακή σημείωση αναφορικά με το «Κύριος» θα πρέπει να λεχθούν τα εξής. Με δέκα ονόματα από τους Εβραίους ονομάζεται ο Θεός:

Regarding the Hebrew marginal note on "Lord" should be said the following. With ten names is named God by the Hebrews:

01. Αδωναῒ [אדני]
02. Ιά [יה]
03. το Τετραγράμματο [יהוה]
04. Ηλ [אל]
05. Ελωείμ [אלהים‬]
06. Αδών [אדון]
07. Σαβαώθ [צבאות‬]
08. Σαδδαΐ [שדי]
09. Αἰϊὲ [אהיה]
10. {Αἰϊὲ} ἐσεριὲ [אהיה אשר אהיה ?]

>> «ο ειρμός των πέντε γραμμάτων», το Πενταγράμματο: יהשוה

Αναφορά:
Βασιλειάδης, Παύλος (2018). «Απόδοση στα Νέα Ελληνικά του Σχολίου του Ευάγριου Ποντικού σχετικά με το ΠΙΠΙ [יהוה]». Academia, 27 Μαρτίου 2018.

Already has been discussed here:
https://www.academia.edu/s/366b2dd66d/vasileiadis-pavlos-academia-201803-evagrius-in-pipi

The main goal of this paper is to make a mature reflection on Hispanic god name (GN) analysis; after having checked the different kinds of theonymic study (essentially etymological), the basic conclusion is that linguistics cannot be used as a starting point, but as a complement to other disciplines. The proposal we make is a specific model of GN study, in which linguistics does not appear in the first place.

La onomástica divina en lengua griega es la temática a la que está dedicado el último libro de Robert Parker, Wykeham Professor de Historia Antigua de la Universidad de Oxford hasta 2016, año de su jubilación. Un breve prefacio precede a las 178 páginas que forman el cuerpo de la obra, dividido en seis capítulos y un apartado de conclusión. Lo completan ocho apéndices que profundizan en cuestio-nes abordadas por el autor en los seis capítulos y suman 53 páginas; a estos siguen 11 páginas de bibliografía y un detallado índice temático de 12 páginas. El libro tiene su origen en tres de las seis Sather lectures de la Universidad de California Berkeley impartidas por el autor en 2013, que revisadas y ampliadas constituyen los capítulos 2 y 3 y el apéndice H. Su objeto de estudio es concretamente la interacción entre las convenciones griegas para llamar a los dioses y las propias de otras culturas que entran en contacto con la cultura helénica y adoptan su lengua en tiempos helenísticos y romanos, así como las implicaciones teológicas y cultuales de esta interacción. En otras palabras, Parker se pregunta cómo las maneras de dirigirse y referirse a los dioses en griego se Recensiones Arys, 16, 2018 [532-544] issn 1575-166x PARKER, ROBERT (2017). Greek Gods Abroad: Names, Natures, and Transformations. Sather Classical Lectures LXXII. Oakland: University of California Press. 257 pp. 40, 03 € [ISBN 978-0-5202-9394-6].

En la segunda mitad del siglo XIX se descubrió en un campo de Estollo un ara votiva romana con inscripción dedicada a un dios de nombre indígena. Tras siglo y medio de investigaciones, mediante el análisis crítico de los estudios realizados y la comparación con otras mitologías, podemos establecer una interpretación bastante fiable tanto del sentido del nombre como de algunas características de su culto.

Entre les Ve s. av. J.-C. et IIe s. ap. J.-C., le terme Kourotrophos apparaît dans plusieurs documents épigraphiques liés aux cultes athéniens. Mais que désignait-il exactement? Était-il le théonyme ou l’épiclèse d’une divinité? Et quelle(s) prérogative(s) cette divinité aurait-elle pu alors exercer? Afin de limiter le champ d’étude, il s’agira d’analyser le rapport qui existait entre Kourotrophos et des entités ancrées dans l’espace de la cité, telles qu’Athéna Polias, Aglauros, et Pandrosos.

Si le sanctuaire de Méfitis de Valle d’Ansanto était pour les Romains le lieu « méphitique » par excellence, caractérisé par ses exhalaisons mortelles et sources sulfureuses, celui de Rossano di Vaglio a permis d’apporter un éclairage nouveau sur cette divinité que les Romains, en l’empruntant aux Osques, ont réduit à un aspect qui n’était vraisemblablement que la caractéristique d’un sanctuaire en particulier, et de non de la déesse elle-même. Le sanctuaire lucanien, qui apparaît à la fin du 4ème siècle av. J.-C. et qui se développe en complexe monumental dès le 3ème siècle, a révélé un corpus épigraphique osque important, avant de passer dans la sphère romaine au début du 1er siècle, sans interruption du culte de Méfitis : cette continuité est en effet visible à la fois dans les inscriptions en langue latine découvertes sur le site, ainsi que dans l’épigraphie du proche municipe romain de Potentia, où le culte est transféré à la fin de la République après l’abandon du sanctuaire de Rossano. Le rapport aux sources de la déesse, certes sulfureuses à Ansanto, mais limpides à Rossano, a cependant pu être le biais qui a conduit les Romains à cette assimilation. L’hypothèse d’une « déesse-source » avait été dessinée par Lejeune, et nous entendons réconcilier cet attribut premier de la déesse par une nouvelle interprétation d’une étymologie du théonyme qui lie ce dernier au thème i.-e. *medhu- “hydromel, ivresse”. Selon nous, le thème *medhu-, également associé à l’ethnonymie, la toponymie et l’hydronymie dans les domaines italique et celtique, pouvait servir de désignation métaphorique de sources ou de cours d’eau, en lien avec les caractéristiques de l’hydromel (effeverscence, bouillonnement, couleur ?), or c’est par ce biais qu’il faut sans doute comprendre le théonyme de Méfitis, déesse incontestablement liée aux sources. Nous noterons cependant et garderons à l’esprit que, quoique l’étymologie puisse renseigner sur l’origine du théonyme, celle-ci n’éclaire pas les fonctions de la divinité ni son identité en synchronie (ainsi LEJEUNE 1986 : 210, “ Il ne faut pas attendre du théonyme lui-même qu’il nous éclaire sur la nature de la déesse”).