Ή έπιβίωσις του ονόματος του Διός εις ορκον καί έπίκλησιν εν Κρήτη
Part of : Πλάτων : περιοδικό της Εταιρείας Ελλήνων Φιλολόγων ; Vol.ΚΔ, No.47-48, 1972, pages 66-75
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66-75
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The subiect of the present study is the interpretation of the form Za in the oath μα το Za—μα Za and of the forms Ζανε and Ζώνε in the invocation Ζανε Θεε—Ζώνε Θεέ, all of which occur in the mountainous district of Ida in Crete. The suggested interpretations about the form Za are as follows : 1 ) Ow considers Za a doric relic, and obviously he applies it to the forms Zàv—Ζανός. But one would expect the accusative form Ζάνα from the nominative Ζάν. 2) Prof. N. Platon thinks that the oath μα Za is derived from the invocation uà Γα. This interpretation is faulty, mainly because μα Γα is an invocation meaning μήτερ Γη, while the present μα Za is an oath. 3) Pangalos' interpretation is unclear. It is certainly impossible to suppose that the form Za was derived from Zfjva. On the contrary the formation of the accusative Za from Ζέας would be possible in the Cretan dialect, but the accusative Zea —an assumption for such a development—is unattested. In my opinion the oath μα το Za—μα Za is a survival of the usual and panhellenic oath μα το Δία—μα Αία. The form Zà was derived from Αία by the change of δι to ζ before a vowel, a phenomenon attested in all periods of the Greek language. Some scholars, i. e. Soutsos, Schmidt, N. Politis attributed the form Ζανε—Ζώνε to the name of Ζευς but without a further interpretation, while Wachsmuth considers it more or less an Albanian word ! According to Kondylakis Ζανε Θεε was derived from Zàv Θεέ. This is not correct, because from Zàv Θεε one would expect the form Zà Θεέ and nothing more. Cook also occupies himself with the interpretation of these forms in his famous book ZEUS. According to him the forms Ζανε and Ζώνε were derived from the nouns * Ζανος and * Ζώνος, the latter again from Zàv and * Zàv)Α ίων respectively. This opinion is not correct because the nominatives Ζάνας—Ζώνας would derive from the accusatives Ζάνα and * Ζώνα of the forms Zàv and * Ζών respectively. Moreover the name Δίων= Ζενς is unattested. In my opinion the interpretation of the forms Ζανε and Ζώνε is as follows. From the ancient accusative Zäva was formed regularly (according to the known development of the third declension in post—classical Greek) the nominative Ζάνας and vocative Ζάνα. Further, from the expression Ζάνα Θεε in the vocative was formed Ζανε Θεε after analogy with the second declension Θεέ, cf. Δίε πανύψιστε{Αία . . . etc. Then the form Ζανε changed to Ζώνε most probably by folk etymology from ζώνη, ci. Καθήμεια{'Ακάδημεta because of κάθομαι ! The survival of the name of Ζενς in Crete, and especially in Ida where Zeus was greatly worshiped, is not strange And in the survival of this word is reflected the unbroken continuity of life of about three thousand four hundred years. In an inscription of Knossos one reads : di-ka-ta-/o di-we = Αικταίφ ΔιΕεί !
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