Anax

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The archaic inscription […] Ι ϜΑΝΑΚΤΙ ( […] i wanakti ) on this ceramic fragment corresponds to the word ἄναξ ánax , “prince” in classical Greek.

Anax ( Greek ἄναξ , originally ϝάναξ wánax , from Mycenaean ??? wa-na-ka ) referred to the earthly “ruler” in the Mycenaean state, but also the king of the gods. The word is a nominal formation of the verb ϝαν-άγειν "(to lead an army)". Tassilo Schmitt , on the other hand, supports the thesis that wa-na-ka was the designation of a god.

A few centuries after the end of the Mycenaean culture, Homer uses Anax as the title of a high king in mythical prehistoric times. In Cyprus , the title lived on as a direct heir of the Mycenaean culture in classical times. This is proven for the 4th century BC. Also Isocrates and Aristotle . Isocrates explains that the sons and daughters of Basileus are anaktes or anassai by virtue of their birthright . Aristotle writes in the only fragmentary text “State of the Kyprians” ( Πολιτεία τῶν Κυπρίων ) that the sons and brothers of the Cypriot kings are called anaktes ( ἄνακτες , plural of ἄναξ ), while sisters and wives use the title anassai ( ἄνασιινασιι ). The title of a wa-na-ka ( ϝάναξ ) is passed down many times and is translated as “prince”. These anaktes were part of the safeguarding of power in Cyprus and performed tasks in the administration as governor. In contrast, all the Cypriot kings themselves bore the Mycenaean title pa-si-le-u-se , the Cypriot form of basileus ( βασιλεύς "king").

The scientific name Anax for the genus of the royal dragonflies is derived from this .

literature

  • Pierre Carlier: wa-na-ka derechef: Nouvelles réflexions sur les royautés mycéniennes. In: Bulletin de correspondance hellénique . (BCH). Vol. 122, No. 2, 1998, pp. 411-415, digitized .
  • James T. Hooker : The Wanax in Linear B Texts. In: Kadmos . Vol. 18, No. 2, 1979, pp. 100-111, doi: 10.1515 / kadm.1979.18.2.100 .
  • Thomas G. Palaima: The Nature of the Mycenaean Wanax: Non-Indo-European Origins and Priestly Functions. In: Paul Rehak (Ed.): The Role of the Ruler in the Prehistoric Aegean (= Aegaeum. Vol. 11, ZDB -ID 284257-9 ). Proceedings of a Panel Discussion presented at the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, New Orleans, Louisiana, December 28, 1992. With Additions. Université de Liège - Histoire de l'art et archeology de la Grèce antique u. a., Liège et al. a. 1995, pp. 119-139.
  • Martin Schmidt : Some Remarks on the Semantics of ἄναξ in Homer. In: Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy , Irene S. Lemos (ed.): Ancient Greece. From the Mycenaean palaces to the age of Homer (= Edinburgh Leventis Studies. Vol. 3). Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2006, ISBN 0-7486-1889-9 , pp. 439-447.
  • Tassilo Schmitt : No king in the palace. Heterodox reflections on the political and social order in the Mycenaean period. In: Historical magazine . Vol. 288, No. 2, 2009, pp. 281-346, doi: 10.1524 / hzhz.2009.0012 .
  • Naoko Yamagata: ἄναξ and βασιλεύς in Homer. In: The Classical Quarterly , Volume 47, No. 1, 1997, pp. 1-14, doi: 10.1093 / cq / 47.1.1 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ PY KN V c 73; PY Na334 u. a .; in addition and further references Anna Morpurgo: Mycenae Graecitatis Lexikon. In: Incunabula Graeca , Vol. III, Rome 1963, pp. 351-353 and Index Graecus , p. 386 sv anax. John Chadwick: The Mycenaean World. Translated from English by Ingeburg von Steuben. Reclam, Stuttgart 1979, p. 95.
  2. ↑ Tassilo Schmitt: No king in the palace. Heterodox reflections on the political and social order in the Mycenaean period. In: Historical magazine . Vol. 288, No. 2, 2009, pp. 281-346.
  3. ↑ Isocrates, Euagoras 9:72.
  4. ↑ Aristotle Fragment 526 Rose, from: Harpokration sv ἄνακτες καὶ ἄνασσαι and Suda , keyword ἄνακτες καὶ ἄνασσαι , Adler number: alpha 1925 , Suda-Online ; see Maria Iacovou: From the Mycenaean QA-SI-RE-U to the Cypriote PA-SI-LE-WO-SE: The basileus in the kingdoms of Cyprus. In: Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy, Irene S. Lemos (ed.): Ancient Greece: From the Mycenaean Palaces to the Age of Homer (= Edinburgh Leventis Studies. Volume 3). Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2006, p. 329 ( online ). For both authors, consanguinity is the connecting element of Basileus and Wanax.
  5. ↑ Concrete, for example, for Soloi epigraphically in Cypriot script ; see Olivier Masson: Les inscriptions chypriotes syllabiques. Recueil critique et commenté (= Études Chypriotes. Volume 1). E. de Boccard, Paris 1961, No. 211 = Markus Egetmeyer: Le dialecte grec ancien de Chypre. Volume 2: Répertoire des inscriptions en syllabaire chypro-grec. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2010, p. 806, No. 1: o-wa-na-xe | sa-ta-si-ja-se | sa-ta-safety- ka ra-te-o-se "the prince Stasias, (son) of Stasikrates" (accessed via De Gruyter Online).
  6. ↑ Olivier Masson: Les inscriptions chypriotes syllabiques. Recueil critique et commenté (= Études Chypriotes. Volume 1). E. de Boccard, Paris 1961, No. 212 = Markus Egetmeyer: Le dialecte grec ancien de Chypre. Volume 2: Répertoire des inscriptions en syllabaire chypro-grec. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2010, pp. 806 f., No. 2; on the titles of kings in Cyprus see Christian Körner: Monarchy on Cyprus in the 5th and 4th centuries BC Chr .: rule of king and polis? In: Stefan Rebenich (ed.): Monarchical rule in ancient times. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2017 pp. 217–244, here: pp. 230–234 and passim (accessed via De Gruyter Online). For the development of the Mycenaean term qa-si-re-u , which was unique in Cyprus, from a high functionary of the palace administration who was responsible for the bronze and metal trade, for the term for the Cypriot basileus, see Maria Iacovou: From the Mycenaean QA-SI-RE -U to the Cypriote PA-SI-LE-WO-SE: The basileus in the kingdoms of Cyprus. In: Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy, Irene S. Lemos (ed.): Ancient Greece: From the Mycenaean Palaces to the Age of Homer (= Edinburgh Leventis Studies. Volume 3). Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2006, pp. 315-335.