Saturday 26 May 2012

Queens ladies and Mistresses


Queens Mistresses and Ladies.

There are three words in Greek that can be translated as Queen Lady or Mistress.

Ἄνασσα was a archaicism and ποτνια and the related forms δέσποινα and δέσποτις can be appplied to a woman whether she was human or mortal.

The most common word in classical times was βασίλεια which with a shift of accent βασιλεία also meant realm. The Greeks changed this by adding other feminine suffixes to the βασιλε radical.

Linear B texts give us an earlier form of *gwasir or mayb even*wasil?

I rather prefer *gwasir since we now of other words in Classical Greek with an initial B that derived from a change of IE *GW to B.

Other words are βασιληίς βασιλίς βασίλιννα and βασίλισσα.

Do I hear anyone thinking kyria? That only translates as lady and never to my knowledge as Queen?


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