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Black Sea: Difference between revisions
→Historical names and etymology
(Created page with "thumb|A map showing the location of the Black Sea and some of the large or prominent ports around it. The Sea of Azov and Sea of Marmara are also labelled.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Sea_map.png</ref> The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria...") |
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===Historical names and etymology=== | ===Historical names and etymology=== | ||
The earliest known name of the Black Sea is the Sea of Zalpa, so called by both the | The earliest known name of the Black Sea is the Sea of Zalpa, so called by both the Hattians <ref>The Journal of Indo-European Studies, p.79. United States, n.p, 1985. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QaMYAAAAYAAJ Google Books]</ref> and their conquerors the [[Hittites]]. The Hattic city of [[Zalpuwa|Zalpa]] was “situated probably at or near the estuary of the Marrassantiya River, the modern [[Kızılırmak River|Kızıl Irmak]], on the Black Sea coast.”<ref>Burney, Charles. Historical Dictionary of the Hittites, p.333. United States, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2018. [https://books.google.com/books?id=YRhbDwAAQBAJ Google Books].</ref> | ||
The principal [[Greek language|Greek]] name ''Póntos Áxeinos'' is generally accepted to be a rendering of the [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] word {{lang|ira|*axšaina-}} ("dark coloured").{{sfn|Schmitt|1989|pages=310–313}} Ancient Greek voyagers adopted the name as {{lang|grc-Latn|Á-xe(i)nos}}, identified with the Greek word {{lang|grc-Latn|áxeinos}} (inhospitable).{{sfn|Schmitt|1989|pages=310–313}} The name {{lang|grc|Πόντος Ἄξεινος}} {{transliteration|grc|ISO|''Póntos Áxeinos''}} (Inhospitable Sea), first attested in [[Pindar]] ({{circa|475 BC}}), was considered an ill omen and was euphemized to its opposite, {{lang|grc|Εὔξεινος Πόντος}} {{transliteration|grc|ISO|''Eúxeinos Póntos''}} (Hospitable Sea), also first attested in Pindar. This became the commonly used designation in Greek, although in mythological contexts the "true" name {{lang|grc-Latn|Póntos Áxeinos}} remained favoured.{{sfn|Schmitt|1989|pages=310–313}} | The principal [[Greek language|Greek]] name ''Póntos Áxeinos'' is generally accepted to be a rendering of the [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] word {{lang|ira|*axšaina-}} ("dark coloured").{{sfn|Schmitt|1989|pages=310–313}} Ancient Greek voyagers adopted the name as {{lang|grc-Latn|Á-xe(i)nos}}, identified with the Greek word {{lang|grc-Latn|áxeinos}} (inhospitable).{{sfn|Schmitt|1989|pages=310–313}} The name {{lang|grc|Πόντος Ἄξεινος}} {{transliteration|grc|ISO|''Póntos Áxeinos''}} (Inhospitable Sea), first attested in [[Pindar]] ({{circa|475 BC}}), was considered an ill omen and was euphemized to its opposite, {{lang|grc|Εὔξεινος Πόντος}} {{transliteration|grc|ISO|''Eúxeinos Póntos''}} (Hospitable Sea), also first attested in Pindar. This became the commonly used designation in Greek, although in mythological contexts the "true" name {{lang|grc-Latn|Póntos Áxeinos}} remained favoured.{{sfn|Schmitt|1989|pages=310–313}} | ||