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Яндекс.Метрика

DOI: 10.46698/v7422-2575-0768-k

DONBETTYR: THE ANCIENT NAME OF THE ANCIENT DEITY

Gutieva, Elmira T.
Izvestia SOIGSI. 2020. IIS 37 (76).
Abstract:
Theonym Donbettyr, the name of the water deity of the Ossetian Nart epic, is traditionally
considered an example of onomastic Christianization, assigning the name of a Christian Saint to
a pagan God. The paper considers the hypothesis of V. I. Abaev about renaming the ancient God in
honor of the Apostle Peter. The alternative etymologies proposed in this work indicate not only the
archaic nature of the image of the deity, but also allow us to assume the archaic nature of his name
also. The postpositive element of the theonym *Bettyr is interpreted through a common Indo-European
root with the meaning «father». The main arguments in support of this approach can be
considered the high-frequency character of the element with the meaning «father, parent» among
the names of divine entities and the phonetic similarity between the elements. Marked with the element
* pəter- many of the Supreme gods of the Indo-Europeans are connected in one etymological
nest. This approach allows to suggest the onomastic connection of Donbettyr with the Olympic gods,
with the Supreme Roman God. The presumption about the possible fossilization in the name of the
representative of the Nart Pantheon of the proto-Indo-European formula requires Further research.
The formula denoted the Supreme God and was preserved in other ancient epic systems of the Indo-
European peoples. It is important to review the theonyms of different epic systems, hagiographic
literature, especially in terms of epithets of saints, to research related ethnonyms.
Keywords: theonyms, etymology, Donbettyr, Poseidon, Deus Pater, Christianization, epic
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