The Old Phrygian word for ‘feet’: new readings in the ‘podas’-inscription (G-02)

Abstract

In this article, new readings are proposed for the Old Phrygian inscription G-02, which is famous for having been written next to a depiction of two feet, and for containing the sequence podas, which is commonly interpreted as denoting ‘feet’ and reflecting Proto-Indo-European *pod-/ped-. A careful examination of the damaged part of this inscription reveals the presence of a word petes, however, which is argued to be a better candidate for representing the Old Phrygian word for ‘feet’. Not only does this interpretation yield a better understanding of the composition of the inscription as a whole, it is also in accordance with the so-called Phrygian “Lautverschiebung”, which states that PIE mediae have become voiceless stops in Phrygian.

Lexicon of the Phrygian Inscriptions

“…πόδες. This identification for G-02 was suggested by Kloekhorst (2015) following his own reading, which improved the previous interpretation, iktes. In its context it agrees with agariṭoi: agariṭoi p̣ ẹtes adoikavoi...…”

“…111 It is also the case of Matzinger (2005Matzinger ( , 379 und 2006, who suggested a shift C [+voiced] > C [-voiced] /_Nasal, and Woodhouse (2006), who suggested many contexts where the PIE voiced stops become voiceless in Phrygian. Nevertheless, although some of Woodhouse's new etymologies are possible, his general theory -that the shift occurred because of the presence of /n/, /m/, /w/, */b h /, */d h / and perhaps /l/ in the same word -is not a satisfactory alternative to the more straightforward explanation given by Lubotsky. It is very likely that this is why his proposal remains unconsidered by other scholars. The aspirates and sonorants suggested by Woodhouse to be the cause of the shift do not constitute a natural class as regards this effect, it has no parallels and words identified after his paper do not fit his view: PIE *ped-> petes (G-02, Kloekhorst, 2015) and *dh3-ti-(NIL 61) > totin (M-01f, Ligorio 2016).…”

“…Even more examples that confirm his proposal have been identified since the publication of his paper: *doru-> torvetun (B-05; Hämmig 2013, 150, fn. 52, also in Ligorio & Lubotsky 2013, 185), *ped-> petes (G-02, Kloekhorst, 2015), *méǵ-h2 > mekas (M-05, G-111, etc., Obrador-Cursach 2016), *deh3-τοτοσσειτι ( 7 The plain voiceless stops seem to remain unchanged in most instances: *méh2tēr > matar (W-04, W-06, etc. ), *to-> τος (17.2 = 3, 18.3 = 6, etc.…”

The Phrygian god Bas

“…However, this is not the only levelling assumed in Phrygian, since A. Kloekhorst recently argued such a levelling for the word petes, "feet" (pl.nom. ), 40 where the expected o-grade of the PIE root has been substituted for the e-grade of the oblique cases (neither attested). Additionally, these morphological considerations fit the context.…”