Hera/hero etymological link; proto-Hera/Hermes

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Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

Sleep well. Hope your dreams are good ones. :)

zzzzz
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by Cindy B. »

Just sharing more online etymology discoveries from http://debunktionjunction.net/archives/3730

". . . A hero (heroine is usually used for females) comes from the Greek “ἥρως” (heros), “hero, warrior,” literally “protector” or “defender,” the postulated original forms of these words being *ἥρϝως, hērwōs, and *ἭρFα, Hērwā, respectively. It is also thought to be a cognate of the Latin verb servo (original meaning "to preserve whole") and of the Avestan (C: Iranian) verb haurvaiti ("to keep vigil over"), although the original root is unclear.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the Indo-European root is *ser meaning “to protect.”

According to Eric Partridge in Origins, the Greek word Hērōs ”is akin to” the Latin seruāre, meaning "to safeguard."

Partridge concludes, “The basic sense of both Hera and hero would therefore be “protector. . .”

***

I've started looking through Jung's Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, and with the expectation that what I need is in a footnote, but so far no luck. More later, Clemsy.

I'm starting to believe that perhaps I'll never uncover the words "hero is etymologically derived from Hera." I'm not throwing in the towel just yet, though. :P

Now enough for one day. Later!

Cindy
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by Clemsy »

Wouldn't be surprised if they are parallel; defining the noble qualities of the ancient gender roles?
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Post by Cindy B. »

That may turn out to be after all, Clemsy. We shall see for sure either way. I hope. :P

Cindy
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by Andreas »

Thanks Cindy, good to know.

I let you know if I find something else about these words.
“To live is enough.” ― Shunryu Suzuki

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Post by Cindy B. »

Thanks again, Andreas. :)
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by Cindy B. »

Clemsy, I give up. A search of my own library has revealed nothing, and it seems most likely that hero was not etymologically derived from Hera. Case closed....

...unless I run across the alternative later, then all will be sure to hear about it. :P


Thank you again, Andreas, for your help. I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did online without you. 8)


Cindy
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by Neoplato »

Mmmm...maybe I'll "coincidently" run across something in the near future. For me, the jury is still out. :wink:
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Post by Cindy B. »

Please do let us know, Neoplato, if you run across new information. :)

Cindy
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Post by Clemsy »

You say tomato, I say tomahto! lol!
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

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Post by Myrtle »

Cindy,


These texts mention Hera (Here)/Hero. I added partial quotes to show where the info is.


Augustine's The City of God, Book X Chapter 21:
…If the ordinary language of the Church allowed it, we might more elegantly call these men our heroes. For this name is said to be derived from Juno, who in Greek is called Here…
English:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/to ... ision=div1

Latin:
Chapter [XXI]
http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/augustine/civ10.shtml


Plato's Cratylus
Dialogue about Language:
… but what is the meaning of the word "hero"? (eros)…
… Here is the lovely one….
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/cratylus.html


Myrtle
Last edited by Myrtle on Thu Aug 23, 2012 7:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Andreas »

:o

Thanks, Myrtle. Here is a part of the dialogue about the meaning of the word.
Her. Then I rather think that I am of one mind with you; but what is the meaning of the word "hero"? (eros)

Soc. I think that there is no difficulty in explaining, for the name is not much altered, and signifies that they were born of love.

Her. What do you mean?

Soc. Do you not know that the heroes are demigods?

Her. What then?

Soc. All of them sprang either from the love of a God for a mortal woman, or of a mortal man for a Goddess; think of the word in the old Attic, and you will see better that the name heros is only a slight alteration of Eros, from whom the heroes sprang: either this is the meaning, or, if not this, then they must have been skilful as rhetoricians and dialecticians, and able to put the question (erotan), for eirein is equivalent to legein. And therefore, as I was saying, in the Attic dialect the heroes turn out to be rhetoricians and questioners. All this is easy enough; the noble breed of heroes are a tribe of sophists and rhetors. But can you tell me why men are called anthropoi?- that is more difficult.
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Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

I was hoping that you might show up, Myrtle. :D


This certainly is suggestive of what I originally thought, Hera/Here --> hero:
Myrtle wrote:Augustine's The City of God, Book X Chapter 21:
…If the ordinary language of the Church allowed it, we might more elegantly call these men our heroes. For this name is said to be derived from Juno, who in Greek is called Here…
Well, heck with "suggestive." St. Augustine said it first not me. :lol: I can't say whether or not this is what I once read, though, obviously, since I can't recall.


Yet this that I didn't post yesterday supports Clemsy's reminder of the history involved and my mentioning that Plato stated that Hera was linked to the Babylonian goddess Aruru* (and sound similar):
Unlike some Greek gods, such as Zeus and Poseidon, Hera's name is not analyzable as a Greek or Indo-European word. She therefore seems to be a survival of a pre-Greek "great goddess" figure - perhaps one of the powerful female divinities of the Minoan pantheon, or of some unidentified pre-Greek ("Pelasgian") people.
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/Hera.html


This is related to what Andreas told us about the use of the letter h:
Plato's Cratylus
Dialogue about Language:
… but what is the meaning of the word "hero"? (eros)…
… Here is the lovely one….
And this highlights as well, too, the feminine/masculine and female/male blurring of boundaries that I mentioned in reference to Iro/Hero. Also, the Greek Eros was male, of course, yet in archetypal psychology, "eros" refers to the inherent disposition to connect through relationship, feeling, and intuition that is traditionally attributed to the feminine (including the anima) and to females. (Contrast with "logos.")


And, Myrtle, are you aware if the Greeks ever referred to Hera by another name that on the surface does not appear to be related to Hera/Here? Just curious. I could find nothing along this line, and I'm not sure if this is important or not in the analytical scheme of things, but I'd like to know nonetheless.


So, it seems to me that indeed nothing can be said definitively, but your first quote is most definitely something. Maybe I hadn't been dreaming...? :P


Thanks, Myrtle! A word wonk after my own heart. :lol:
(A little eros there for you.)


Cindy


* Ruh-roh! Every time I hear this name in my mind, I think of Scooby-Doo. Ha!
Last edited by Cindy B. on Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:17 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Post by Cindy B. »

And thanks again to you, too, Andreas, for your recent post. :)

Cindy
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Post by Myrtle »

You're welcome Andreas and Cindy

Cindy - I'll look around for Hera's other names

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