Re: OT: babel and english

Andreas Johansson wrote:

> Thomas Wier wrote:
> >
> >Right -- they're eponymous, like Romulus was for Rome.
> >(I wonder if Athena was eponymous for Athens;  it's hard to tell.
> >She was the patron deity of the city, and was worshipped even
> >in Minoan times.  If the experience of urbanization of extremely
> >ancient Mesopotamia is any indicator (ca. 3500 BC), where
> >cities developed out of prior religious centers, the deity might
> >well predate the city.)
>
> I can't find the source right now, but I distinctly remember reading
> "Probably, Athens is named after Athena, not vice-versa" somewhere.
Okay, I can buy that.  Either way seems plausible to me.  Do you
remember how old that source is?  When reading historical theory,
I typically try not to read something that's older than 50 years or
so, because so much of the field has been changed since then.  Unless
you're talking about Hegel or Toynbee or something, I mean, who are
still peripherally important, especially if you're arguing with Marxists.

===================================
Thomas Wier | AIM: trwier

"Aspidi men Saiôn tis agalletai, hên para thamnôi
  entos amômêton kallipon ouk ethelôn;
autos d' exephugon thanatou telos: aspis ekeinê
  erretô; exautês ktêsomai ou kakiô" - Arkhilokhos