Helios

[mingshey]

[face=SPIonic]h(/lioj[/face] appears as [face=SPIonic]h)e/lioj[/face] in Homer. Is the pair of initial vowels [face=SPIonic]he[/face] just a very long 'e', or is it the relic of the old attic spelling([face=SPIonic]h[/face] for 'h', and [face=SPIonic]e[/face] for both short and long 'e')?

[Skylax]

My sources say that [face=SPIonic]h(/lioj - h)e/lioj[/face] are from *sa:welios (Gothic sauil, LITHUANIAN sáulè, Latin sol.

Evolution : *sa:welios > *ha:welios or *he:welios.

The "w" between vowels disappears from almost all dialects.
The "h" can disappear(1), Doric Greek [face=SPIonic]a)e/lioj[/face], Homeric [face=SPIonic]h)e/lioj[/face]. Attic contracted the vowels and maintained the rough breathing.

(1) see aoidoi.org : http://www.aoidoi.org/articles/lesbian.php about Aeolic "psilosis".

[annis]

My sources say that [face=SPIonic]h(/lioj - h)e/lioj[/face] are from *sa:welios (Gothic sauil, LITHUANIAN sáulè, Latin sol.

Evolution : *sa:welios > *ha:welios or *he:welios.

Gosh. What source is that?! I love reconstructive linguistics.

[Skylax]

It wasn't terrible anyway : LSJ and Michel LEJEUNE, Traité de Phonétique grecque, Paris, Klincksieck, 1947.

[mingshey]

Thanks, Skylax! Meloves etymology, too. I''ll have to look up if there's an English translation of the Lejeune's.

[annis]

I suppose some day I'll have to hunt down the Buck dictionary to feed this habit.