DOI: 10.53084/22209050_2023_27_72

N.K. Malinauskene
The designations of light in Homer's epic: the noun φάος/φόως and related words

Abstract: The article presents the etymological and contextual analysis of the main Homeric designation of light – the noun φάος/φόως (its standard Attic form is τὸ φῶς, φωτός) 'light' and its derivatives: the adjectives φαεινός 'light', φαέθων 'brilliant', 'radiant', φαεσίμβροτος 'illuminating people' as well as the verbs φαείνω 'to shine' and φαίνω 'to show'. In Homer the noun denotes the light of the sun, dawn, fire, its plural form φάεα is used in the meaning of the 'eyes'. Light can symbolize victory, salvation, glory, life. The adjective φαεινός 'bright', 'brilliant', 'sparkling' is an epithet of objects and phenomena emitting light (the moon, the dawn) and of objects reflecting light. The adjective φαέθων 'bright', 'brilliant', 'radiant' is an epithet of the sun. The verb φαείνω is only used in the meanings 'to shine', 'to glitter', while the verb φαίνω has a wider range of meanings, including the very common meaning 'to appear' (about the dawn). The adjectives φαίδιμος 'the brightest', 'glorious', φαιδιμόεις 'brilliant', 'glorious', as well as
φαιδρός 'clear', are derived from a different root (φαιδ-). However, over time the external sound similarity of words with the initial φαιν- and φαιδ- could probably have an influence upon the development of the meaning of the adjective φαίδιμος from 'clear' to 'light' and even contribute to the appearance of its figurative meaning 'glorious'. As a result of the study, it also becomes obvious that in the Greek language the formations from the IE root *bhā- associated with light can indicate both the radiance of light sources in the proper sense and the brilliance of certain bright
objects or phenomena as well as the brilliance as a reflection from any objects.

Keywords: ancient Greek, Homeric epic, lexical semantics, color designations

To cite this article: Malinauskiene N.K. The designations of light in Homer's epic: the noun φάος/φόως and related words. Aristeas XXVII (2023): 72–80.

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Author:

N.K. Malinauskene