Ζεύς

Forms

Ζεύς (Zeús) m (genitive Δῐός or Δῐϝός or Ζεός); third declension^[1] Mycenaean dative Mycenaean Greek di-we, genitive Mycenaean Greek di-wo.^[2][1] Dialect and poetic forms: Boeotian and Laconian Δεύς (Deús), Doric Ζάν (Zán), Cretan Τάν (Tán), poetic Ζήν (Zḗn), Pherecydes' Ζάς (Zás), Rhinthon's Δίς (Dís); old genitive Διϝός (Diwós) and dative Διϝί (Diwí) in inscriptions.^[3][2][1][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *Dzéus,^[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dyḗws, the old Indo-European word for the sky and the name of the god of the sky and of daylight.^[2][1] Beekes writes the reconstruction as *diēus.^[2]

Cognate with Sanskrit द्यौस् (dyáus, “sky, heaven”), Latin Iuppiter and Hittite 𒅆𒍑 (šīu-, “god”).^[2][1] The vocative in the phrase Ζεῦ πάτερ (Zeû páter) answers to the Latin name, and the old accusative Ζῆν (Zên) to Sanskrit द्याम् (dyā́m) and Latin diem.^[2] The oblique cases Διός (Diós), Διί (Dií) go with Sanskrit दिवः (diváḥ), दिवि (diví).^[2][3] The forms with α, such as Ζάν (Zán), spread from Elean Olympia.^[2]

The same root gave the word for ‘god’ in Sanskrit देव (devá-), Latin deus and Lithuanian diẽvas, probably first ‘the heavenly one’.^[2] An old derivation from the verb for ‘to shine’ is doubtful in Beekes's view.^[2]

Ancient writers derived the name from ζῆν (zên, “to live”) (Plato's Cratylus), from ζέσις (zésis, “boiling”) (Empedocles) or, for the oblique cases, from διά (diá, “through”) (Chrysippus).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The dative Mycenaean Greek di-we appears on the Mycenaean Linear B tablets.^[2] In Homer Zeus is the son of Cronus and Rhea, the father of gods and men and the Olympian god of the sky, who sends rain and thunderbolts.^[4][6]

Semantic evolution

The name kept a link with the sky: Alcaeus writes “Zeus rains” for “it rains”.^[3] Homer already calls Hades “Zeus of the underworld”, and later Greeks gave the name, with an epithet, to foreign gods: Ammon in Pindar, Semitic Baals and the Persian Ahura Mazda in inscriptions.^[3][4][1] It was a flattering title for rulers: Herodotus has Xerxes addressed as Zeus, the comic poet Cratinus mocks Pericles as a Zeus, and Roman emperors were called Zeus in inscriptions.^[3][1]

The phrase Διὸς ἀστήρ (Diòs astḗr) named the planet Jupiter from the Epinomis on, and Dio Cassius has a ‘day of Zeus’ among the days of the week.^[3] In comedy and prose the name is common in oaths such as νὴ Δία (nḕ Día) and μὰ Δία (mà Día).^[3][4] The Acts of the Apostles mention a priest of Zeus whose temple stood before a city.^[7][8]

Modern Greek Δίας (Días), a learned form made from the accusative Δία (Día), names the god and the planet Jupiter.^[9] Latin borrowed the name as Latin Zeus, and it passed to English and many other languages.^[1]

Timeline

• Mycenaean period – Linear B tablets record the dative Mycenaean Greek di-we.^[2]
• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey name Zeus the father of gods and men, and Zeus of the underworld for Hades.^[4][3][6]
• 7th–6th century BC – Alcaeus uses the name for the sky that sends rain.^[3]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar calls the Egyptian god Ammon Zeus.^[3][4]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus reports Xerxes called Zeus, and Cratinus mocks Pericles with the name.^[3]
• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes and Plato use oaths by Zeus, and Plato's Cratylus derives the name from life.^[3][4][5]
• 1st century BC – An inscription at Nemrud Dagh equates Zeus with Ahura Mazda.^[3]
• 1st century AD – The Acts of the Apostles mention a priest of Zeus.^[7][8]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – Dio Cassius names a day of the week after Zeus.^[3]
• Modern Greek – The learned Δίας (Días) names the god and the planet Jupiter.^[9]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. Zeus, son of Cronus and Rhea, father of gods and men, the Olympian god of the sky who sends rain and thunderbolts.^[4][3]
2. With an epithet, a particular aspect of the god (the Father, the Saviour, Zeus of the courtyard) or another god: Zeus of the underworld for Hades, or Ammon, the Baals or Ahura Mazda.^[4][3][1]
3. A title given in flattery to kings and to the Roman emperors.^[3][1]
4. In Διὸς ἀστήρ, the planet Jupiter; also alone.^[3]
5. (Pythagorean) A name for the monad.^[3]

Word family

• δῖος (dîos)
• Διόσκουροι (Dióskouroi)

Related words

• εὐδία (eudía)
• ἔνδιος (éndios)
• Latin Iuppiter
• Latin deus
• English Zeus

Usage notes

Oaths by Zeus are very frequent in comedy and prose: νὴ Δία (nḕ Día) “yes, by Zeus”, οὐ μὰ Δία (ou mà Día) “no, by Zeus”, and in Homer οὐ μὰ Ζῆνα (ou mà Zêna).^[3][4] “To vie with Zeus in wealth” was said of enormous riches (Herodotus 5.49).^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
6. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
7. ^ a b Thayer, Joseph Henry (1889), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, New York: American Book Company
8. ^ a b United Bible Societies (2023), UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (revised Louw–Nida semantic domains), open-licence ed.
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki