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ArchivesRe: Meaning of Larissa
in reply to a message by Haven
I had always thought that LARIS(S)A was the name of o mountain and a castle near Argos on the Peleponnes (30 km south of Corinth). The meaning seems to be unclear, I have heard of "castle", the Ionic-Greek word for it being "lerisai."
LARIS(S)A, daughter (or mother?) of Pelasgus was said to have come from Argos.
http://plato-dialogues.org/tools/loc/larissa.htm
So I always thought that the "laros" derivation (either with the stress on the first syllable > "dove", or on the second > "lovely") was a later interpretation of the name. But I would like to learn more about this.
LARIS(S)A, daughter (or mother?) of Pelasgus was said to have come from Argos.
http://plato-dialogues.org/tools/loc/larissa.htm
So I always thought that the "laros" derivation (either with the stress on the first syllable > "dove", or on the second > "lovely") was a later interpretation of the name. But I would like to learn more about this.
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Replies
Andy, you may very well be correct.
According to K.G.Kourtidis (History of Thrace, 1932, in Greek) Larissa is a Pelasgian name that possibly meant fortress. The acropolis of Argos was known as Larissa, as were several "fortress cities" in Thessaly, Crete, Argolis, Helia, Asia Minor, Attica, and Lesbos.
Moreover, it appears that the suffix –issa and -inthos (as in Larissa and Corinth) are of Pelasgian origin.
See also:
http://www.perseus.org/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2361971
According to K.G.Kourtidis (History of Thrace, 1932, in Greek) Larissa is a Pelasgian name that possibly meant fortress. The acropolis of Argos was known as Larissa, as were several "fortress cities" in Thessaly, Crete, Argolis, Helia, Asia Minor, Attica, and Lesbos.
Moreover, it appears that the suffix –issa and -inthos (as in Larissa and Corinth) are of Pelasgian origin.
See also:
http://www.perseus.org/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2361971
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