The Ethnicity of the Sea Peoples - RePub - Erasmus Universiteit ...

Phrikonis (in casu Pitane and Larisa itself) produced some
Mycenaean IIIC1b ware (as we have noted above the
hallmark of the settlement of Sea Peoples in the Levant),
reported to be connected with the foundation of Emborio
on Chios412 – likewise inhabited by Pelasgians at the
time! 413 As such, then, it is certainly possible that the Pelasgians,
either from Crete and/or the west coast of Lydia
(especially for Askelon), are responsible for the introduction
of Mycenaean IIIC1b ware in Philistia.
If our identification of the Biblical Philistines with the
Pelasgians from Greek literary sources applies, we enlarge
our basis for linguistic analysis considerably. According to
Herodotos, the Pelasgians of Kreston, who originated from
Thessaly, speak the same language as their tribesmen in
Plakia and Skylake on the Hellespont, who once lived with
the Athenians. 414 Thucydides adds to this information that
the Pelasgians of Akte, who are of origin Tyrrhenians once
living in Lemnos and Attica, are bilingual and speak Greek
next to their own language. 415 Now, as the Pelasgians in
mainland Greece appear to be ancestral to their kinsmen in
the north-Aegean region (and western Anatolia), it seems
advisable to have a look at them first. An interesting tradition
in this respect is formed by the story of the Pelasgian
king of Argos, 416 Akrisios, son of Abas and brother of
Proitos, who in fear of his grandson Perseus flees from his
hometown to Larisa in Thessaly under the rule of the likewise
Pelasgian king Teutamias. 417 Here we encounter at
least one clearly Indo-European name, Teutamias, which is
based on the PIE stem *teut- “society, folk, people”. 418
412 Mee 1978: 148; cf. Hope Simpson 1981: 206, who distinguishes
as many as three building phases in Mycenaean IIIC1b for
Emborio.
413 Strabo, Geography XIII, 3, 3; Dionysios Pieregetes as presented
by Lochner-Hüttenbach 1960: 59.
414 Histories I, 57.
415 Peloponnesian War IV, 109.
416 Since the expression Pelasgikon Argos is used both for the
Thessalian (Homeros, Iliad II, 682) and Argive (Sakellariou 1977:
205, note 4) town of this name, Argos (< PIE *h2erg- “bright
white”) may well be considered a Pelasgian place name, which
would add further substance to the Indo-European nature of this
people.
417 Lochner-Hüttenbach 1960: 3 (Pherekydes of Athens, Fragmente
der griechischen Historiker 3 F 12); 4 (Hellanikos of Lesbos
F 91); 29-30 (Apollodoros of Athens); cf. 23 (Kallimachos);
160 (general discussion).
418 Lochner-Hüttenbach 1960: 151-3; Sakellariou 1977: 132-3;
99
The same root is also attested for the name of the leader of
the Thessalian Pelasgians in their journey to Crete, Teutamos,
referred to above, 419 and that of the grandfather of
the Pelasgian leaders in the Trojan war, Teutamids,
probably a patronymic. 420 It is particularly relevant to our
purposes to note that this root occurs in the New Phrygian
form teutous and in the Thracian man’s name (= MN)
Tautomedes, etc. 421 Furthermore, Abas is the heros eponym
of the Abantes, a Thracian tribe. 422 Finally, Akrisios
and Proitos have closely related Phrygian counterparts in
the divine name Akrisias423 and the root of the magistracy
proitavos, 424 respectively. The impression we gain from
these examples, is that Pelasgian, insofar as onomastics is
significant in this respect, may well be an Indo-European
language of Thraco-Phrygian type. Further instances can
be adduced to emphasize this point, like Adrastos, 425 corresponding
to the Phrygian MN Adrastos, 426 and Arkas, 427
related to the root of the Phrygian patronymic Arkiaevas.
428
The situation is different with the Pelasgians in western
Anatolia. Thus, it is reported by Strabo that at the time
Gamkrelidze & Ivanov 1995: 33; 652; 835; pace Beekes 1998.
419 See note 404 above.
420 Homeros, Iliad II, 840-3. Note that the Late Bronze Age date
of this onomastic element is emphasized by its presence in Linear
B te-u-ta-ra-ko-ro, see Chantraine 1958: 127.
421 Haas 1966: 95; Detschew 1976, s.v.
422 Homeros, Iliad II, 536-45; Strabo, Geography X, 1, 3; cf.
Woudhuizen 1989: 196.
423 Diakonoff & Neroznak 1985: 91; based on the PIE root *akr-
“high”, see Lochner-Hüttenbach 1960: 160-1 and cf. Sakellariou
1980: 207-10, or *aker-, see Haas 1966: 145, 213 and cf. Gamkrelidze
& Ivanov 1995: 96.
424 Brixhe & Lejeune 1984: M-01b; Woudhuizen 1993b; based on
the PIE roots *pro “before” and *ei- “to go” (cf. Sakellariou 1980:
207-10). For other instances of magistracies used as personal names,
cf. Hittite Labarnas < labarna- “king”, Lydian Kandaules <
Luwian ®antawat- “king”, Etruscan Porsenna < purne “prytanos”,
Etruscan Camitlna < camthi (title), Etruscan Macstrna < Latin
magister “magistrate”, Latin Lucius < Etruscan lucumo “king”,
Phoenician Malchus < mlk- “king”, and, from Homeros, Palmus <
Lydian pal1ml1u- “kingship” and Prutanis < prutanos, again.
425 Lochner-Hüttenbach 1960: 13 (Euripides).
426 Herodotos, Histories I, 34-5; Woudhuizen 1993b. Cf. Lydian
Atrata-, see Gusmani 1964, s.v.
427 Lochner-Hüttenbach 1960: 68 (Hesychius Alexandrinus).
428 Brixhe & Lejeune 1984: M-01a; Woudhuizen 1993b.