Anthroponymy and polytheism in ancient Greece

If we turn to the practice of worship, did the names of those called upon to serve the gods have any significance? The Myrrhinè stele (IG I^st 1330), for example, suggests that the name of Athena's priestess Nikè was particularly well-suited to her function, as does an epigram from the II^nd century stressing the auspiciousness of the name of a certain Pausanias ("Who calms the torment"), priest of Apollo in Cyrene. Are there any particular patterns of name donation to priests or priestly families elsewhere in Greece?

Finally, can it be said that every name carried a certain religious charge? The giving of names to individuals was in fact sanctioned by specific rituals, often taking place on the tenth day after the birth of the newborn, and sanctioning its integration into the family home. Personal names could also be involved in a variety of religious devices, such as being inscribed on curse tablets with the aim of hindering the individual.

We propose to study these phenomena in ancient Greece using a broad approach, both chronologically (from Archaic Greece to Roman times) and disciplinarily (historical, anthropological or linguistic), and taking into account all types of sources, whether epigraphic, iconographic or literary.

Abstract

Near the Corycian lair in Cilicia Trachea, an ancient temple has yielded inscriptions engraved on several blocks, corresponding to a list of priests. Listing individuals over a period of at least 214 years, between the Hellenistic and Imperial eras, this list mixes names of Louvite origin and Greek names, with the latter gradually becoming the majority. This paper will first examine in detail the links between the names of different priests, particularly within the same family, but more generally within the priestly community. The Greek names on the list, most of which are theophoric, may have been influenced by Louvite anthroponymy. Thanks to a careful examination of the anthroponymic data, we will be able to highlight several cases ofinterpretatio based on Anatolian deities. Recent progress in the field of the Louvite language will then enable us to refine our understanding of the various epithets associated locally with this or that divinity. More broadly, this case study will give us the opportunity to question the relationship to the divine maintained by individuals through personal onomastics, in the specific context of an Anatolian priestly community in the Greco-Roman world.

Abstract

Did the names of priests and priestesses in ancient Greece have any particular significance for the function they performed? Were they considered to be an important element in the legitimacy of priests and priestesses? This is what certain cases seem to suggest, such as that of the priestess of Athena Nikè, Myrrhinè, whose funerary stele (IG I^st 1330) states loud and clear that her name was suited to her role as priestess. In this paper, we will use both epigraphic and literary documents to analyze similar examples, in an attempt to determine whether the names of cult agents functioned in the same way as Berufsnamen, as can be seen in other "professional" or social contexts. We will also suggest ways of investigating whether these agents of worship could have been the subject of a nickname or renomination at the time of their entry into office.

Abstract

In a series of curses written in Greek under the Roman Empire and in the world of horse racing - and even, more broadly, that of sport and spectacle - in Rome or Carthage, for example, different types of onomastic attributes are employed for the individuals targeted: male and female names, matronyms, heteronyms or nicknames. These names go hand in hand with horse names, as well as a highly complex divine onomastics that includes "barbarian names". As we know, the ritual writing of a curse exerts power over individuals through anthroponyms, of which they constitute a part of the social being. However, there are questions to be answered, such as the relationship between the different types of onomastic attributes used in the same form, the hierarchy between anthroponyms and "hipponyms", or the treatment of human, animal and deity names within a graphic device that brings them together - in some cases, around an image.

Abstract

Some 25 years ago, in his seminal article entitled "Theophoric names and the History of Greek Religion", Robert Parker concluded that, although the important gods of a given ancient Greek city or region sometimes seemed to leave their mark on the onomastic preferences of that place, it would nevertheless be "imprudent to attempt to rank the powers of a civic pantheon simply on the basis of its most popular theophoric given names". In my article, I wish to re-examine this question in the light of advances in onomastic research and the relevant scientific tools that have emerged since 2000. Is Parker's call for caution still valid, or does the currently available data confirm what many researchers seem to take for granted, namely that the importance of a cult is reflected in the naming practices of its local context? I will study the names derived from the main Olympian gods and analyze them in the light of available data on their cults in mainland Greece (with a few comparative digressions). From a broader perspective, how often - if indeed this is the case - can theophoric onomastic groups be mapped to important cult centers?

Abstract

The mass publication of Greek onomastic data, within the two linked projects of LGPN and LGPN-Ling, opens the way to a renewed study of onomastic choices within families, using quantitative approaches. However, such a study presupposes a long-term approach, taking into account both theepigraphic habit (evolutions in the use of engraving) and what might be called theonomastic habit (evolutions in the visibility of the elements of the name that appear in the documentation, depending on both onomastic uses and the typology of the sources), which undoubtedly explains the low number of properly quantitative studies on this subject. Yet, if only to validate micro-historical studies, these quantitative approaches are indispensable. My talk will suggest possible avenues of investigation, based on a few cases taken from well-documented Athenian families, focusing on the question of theophoric names.