2. GREEK ΚΡΑΤΥΣ AND ITS GREEK CONGENERS

The following Caland-derivatives are part of the same word family as κρατύς:Footnote ²

• • The thematic adjectives κραταιός (probably built on the first compound member κραται-, on which cf. n. 5) and κρατερός (displaying an -ero-suffix), meaning ‘mighty’, ‘strong’, for example Il. 13.345 δύω Κρόνου υἷε κραταιώ ‘the two mighty sons of Cronus’, 1.25 κρατερὸν δ᾽ ἐπὶ μῦθον ἔτελλε ‘he laid upon him a stern command’.

• • κράτος,Footnote ³ neuter s-stem (Ionic κάρτος, Aeolic κρέτος),Footnote ⁴ meaning ‘superior power/victory’, for example Il. 6.387 τείρεσθαι Τρῶας, μέγα δὲ κράτος εἶναι Ἀχαιῶν ‘the Trojans were sorely pressed, and great victory rested with the Achaeans’.

• • Att. κρείττων/κρείσσων (Ionic κρέσσων, Doric κάρρων), κράτιστος/κάρτιστος (comparative and superlative), ‘more/the most powerful/victorious’ or ‘better/the best’, for example ὁππότερος δέ κε νικήσῃ κρείσσων τε γένηται ‘whoever wins and becomes the most powerful/the best’ (Il. 3.71).

• • κρατι-/καρτι- (first compound members), for example the man's name Καρτιδάμας (Thera).Footnote ⁵

• • καρτύνομαι ‘prepare for superiority = krátos’ (Nagy [n. 5], 5 §25, n. 51), for example ἐκαρτύναντο φάλαγγας ‘strengthened the ranks’ (Il. 11.215).

• • κρατέω ‘be strong, prevail, win’ (Hom.), also underlying the Pindaric compounds with first member κρατησι-; cf. Pind. Pyth. 10.16 κρατησίπους ‘winning by feet (in a race)’, matching ποσσί … κράτεσκε ‘he excelled in running’ (Pind. Nem. 3.52; cf. also Pyth. 10.23).

All these terms belong to the semantic field ‘strength, might, power, superiority’; hence κρατύς looks like meaning ‘mighty, powerful’ or possibly ‘superior’.

3. POSSIBLE MEANINGS OF ΚΡΑΤΥΣ WITHIN GREEK

Since antiquity κρατύς has been interpreted as a synonym of κρατερός/κραταιός, for example

Physical-strength sense is not normally predicated of Hermes,Footnote ⁶ a god commonly described as a resourceful character, who overcomes enemies thanks to his wiles (αἰμυλομήτης ‘of spell-binding wiles’, Hom. Hymn 5.13, etc.).Footnote ⁷ Thus the might designated by κρατύς is more likely to denote Hermes’ cunning intelligence than his use of brute force. A scholium on the Odyssey associates κρατύς with the semantic field ‘intellectual superiority’ (ε 49.b Pontani):

Perhaps κρατύς was glossed in this way because it applied to a god full of guile. Nevertheless, the semantic nuance ‘intellectual superiority’ overlaps with the meaning of the Indo-Iranian congeners of κρατύς, Vedic krátu-, Avestan xratu- (cf. §4). Let us now look more closely at the semantics of these terms.

4. INDO-IRANIAN COGNATES OF GREEK ΚΡΑΤΥΣ: VEDIC KRATU-, AVESTAN XRATU-

κρατύς resembles two Indo-Iranian words: Vedic krátu- ‘resolve’ and Avestan xratu- ‘guiding intellect’, central terms in the Old Indic and Iranian poetic corpora. Both Vedic krátu- ‘resolve’, ‘will’Footnote ⁸ and Avestan xratu-, ‘purpose’,Footnote ⁹ ‘guiding intellect’ denote intellectual force directed towards achieving a certain goal.Footnote ¹⁰ In particular, Vedic krátu- seems to allow its possessor to obtain success and victory; for example

For this reason, krátu- is described as sānasí- ‘bringing gain’ (RV 10.140.4d) or jaítra- ‘bringing victory’ (10.36.10c). It is also associated with the notions ‘strength’ (1.81.4a–b), ‘(over)power’/‘victory’ (cf. 6.12.4c vanván krátvā nā́rvā ‘he … winning like a steed with its determination’) and ‘leadership/sovereignty’ (for example 4.21.2c–d yásya krátur vidath_íyò ná samrā́ṭ , sāhvā́n ‘whose resolve, conquering and victorious like a sovereign king making ceremonial distributions’). In Avestan, xratu- is a form of intellectual energy or will which has a guiding role and allows someone to possess a certain type of knowledge or vision;Footnote ¹¹ cf. Y. 49.6b–d yā və̄ xratə̄uš xṣ̌mākahiiā ā.manaŋhā / ərəš vīcidiiāi yaϑā.ī srāuuaiiaēmā / tąm daēnąm yā xṣ̌māuuatō ahurā ‘to tell me what [the concerns] of your xratu- [guiding intellect] are to let me discern truly with the energy of your [adherent] how we might make heard the view/religion of one such as you, o Lord’.Footnote ¹²

Both Indo-Iranian terms are associated not only with the notions ‘intellect’, ‘knowledge’, ‘comprehension’ but also with ‘power’, ‘strength’ (Vedic krátu-), ‘superiority’ (both Vedic krátu- and Avestan xratu-). The latter conceptual association manifests itself in Vedic passages where krátu- designates the distinctive quality of a winner, leader, or sovereign, and Avestan passages where xratu- is identified with Ahura Mazda; cf. Vr. 19.1h–i xratūm vīspō.vīδuuā^̊ŋhəm yazamaide / yim ahurəm mazdąm ‘we sacrifice to the all-knowing xratu-, which is Ahura Māzda’.

5. GREEK ΚΡΑΤΥΣ, VEDIC KRATU-, AVESTAN XRATU-: ETYMOLOGY, DERIVATION AND PHRASEOLOGY

An etymological connection between κρατύς, Vedic krátu- and Avestan xratu- was proposed by CurtiusFootnote ¹³ and supported by Strunk.Footnote ¹⁴ The relationship between the terms was most convincingly reconstructed by Nussbaum through a standard pattern of internal derivation:Footnote ¹⁵ an adjective κρατύς ‘possessing superiority’ (ultimately reflecting an adjective with an alternance *krétu-/*kr̥téu̯- and generalized zero-grade of the root) is internally derived from a substantive *krótu-/*krétu-, continued by Vedic krátu-, Avestan xrátu- ‘resolve, guiding intellect’. I propose that the Greek and the Indo-Iranian terms derive from a root *kret- meaning ‘become superior’. Consequently, the three words should be kept apart from the root *(s)kert- ‘cut’ underlying Gothic hardus, Lithuanian kartùs ‘bitter’,Footnote ¹⁶ since this root and the Indo-Iranian terms display an incompatible word-structure: in a root like *(s)kert- the resonant sound -r- follows the root-vowel, but Vedic krátu- and Avestan xratu- must be traced back to a root in which the resonant sound -r- precedes the vowel. A semantic and comparative phraseological analysis of the Greek and Indo-Iranian terms will provide further support for the proposed etymology.

Vedic krátu- and Avestan xratu- share collocations with their Greek congeners (κρατύς, κραται- and κράτος). This means that the verbal elements of all listed phrasemes show clear interconnecting links. The following matches can be identified:

1. (a) [put/set (*d^heh₁-) – superiority/might/resolve (*kret-)]: Greek [τίθημι – κράτος], cf. Il. 1.509–10 ἐπὶ Τρώεσσι τίθει κράτος ‘give superior power/victory to the Trojans’, matches Vedic [dhā – krátu-]; cf. RV 1.123.13b bhadrám-bhadraṃ krátum asmā́su dhehi ‘place ever more auspicious resolve in us’. Ir. dātā xratə̄uš (Y. 50.6, cf. also [xratūš – (nī.)dadat̰] in Y. 32.14a) is ambiguous: Avestan dātar- may correspond to Vedic dhātár- ‘creator’ or to Vedic dātár- ‘giver’, since Proto-Indo-Iranian *dh- and *d- merge in Avestan d-.

2. (b) [give (*deh₃-) – superiority/might/resolve (*kret-)]: Greek [κράτος – δίδωμι],Footnote ¹⁷ cf. Il. 11.319 Τρωσὶν δὴ βόλεται δοῦναι κράτος ‘for [Zeus] will give superiority [in battle]/victory to the Trojans’, overlaps with Vedic [dā – krátu-], for example RV 8.62.7a devā́ḥ ánu krátum daduḥ ‘all the gods conceded heroism and resolve [to you]’.

3. (c) [bear/bring (*b^her-) – superiority/might/resolve (*kret-)] underlies the man's name Φερεκράτης (IG I³ 1192) and the collocation [φέρω – κράτος], cf. Il. 13.486 αἶψα κεν ἠὲ φέροιτο μέγα κράτος ‘then at once would he win [‘bring’] great victory’. From a formal point of view, the Greek collocation is comparable to Vedic [(ā́-)bhar – krátu-], cf. RV 7.32.26a índra krátuṃ na ā́ bhara ‘Indra, bring your resolve to bear for us’, and to Avestan [auua.bar- – xratu-], cf. Yt. 17.2e–f uta hē āsnəm xratūm / auua.baraiti vārəma ‘and she bestows inborn guiding thought at will upon him’ (Skjærvø [n. 1]).

4. (d) [increase (*h₂u̯eks- ) – superiority/might/resolve (*kret-)] occurs as [ἀέξω – κράτος] in Greek; cf. Il. 12.214 σὸν δὲ κράτος αἰὲν ἀέξειν ‘he should ever increase your might’, which partly corresponds to Avestan uxšne xraϑβe ‘to increase xratu- (Vidēvdāt 4.45e). Furthermore, since Vedic vardh and Greek ἀέξω share a variety of collocations,Footnote ¹⁸ Vedic [vardh – krátu-] provides a further comparandum; cf. RV 8.62.10b–c út tvā́m út táva krátum / bhū́rigo bhū́ri vāvr̥dhu ḥ ‘they have increased you and your resolve many times, o you of many cows’.

5. (e) [great (*meĝh₂- ) – superiority/might/resolve (*kret- )] underlies Greek [μέγα – κράτος] and [μέγιστον – κράτος];Footnote ¹⁹ cf. Il. 6.387 μέγα δὲ κράτος εἶναι Ἀχαιῶν ‘great victory rested with the Achaeans’, Il. 2.118 τοῦ γὰρ κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον ‘for his power is the greatest’. Both collocations have Avestan comparanda, namely the Young Avestan possessive compound aš.xratu- ‘whose xratu- [(guiding) intellect] is great’ or ‘highly endowed with xratu-’; cf. Y. 31.9 ϑβə̄ ā gə̄uš taṣ̌ā aš.xratūš ‘also the fashioner of the cow, highly endowed with xratu-. Moreover, Young Avestan aš.xratu- matches the collocation [xratu- – mazaṇt-]; cf. Y. 62.4f–g xratūm pascaēta masitəm / mazā^̊ṇtəm apairi.āϑrəm ‘guiding thought in my inner ear[?], / large, great, [and] *non-erring’ (Skjærvø [n. 1]). As pointed out by Schindler,Footnote ²⁰ Young Avestan aš.xratu- ultimately reflects *m̥ĝh₂s-kretu-, while the superlatives aš.xraϑβastəma- and xraϑβišta- (Y. 1.1, Yt. 13.80) are built on the model of aš.aojastəma- ‘the very strong’ and aojišta- ‘the strongest’, which are attested in the same context as aš.xraϑβastəma-; cf. Yt. 10.141c–e aojištanąm asti aojištəm … baγanąm asti aš.xraϑβastəmō ‘among the ones possessing the greatest strength, he is the stronger … among the gods he is the one who is most endowed with xratu-’.Footnote ²¹

6. (f) [superiority/might/resolve (*kret-) – mind (*men-)] underlies the man's name Κραταιμένης (Thuc.), which Nagy (n. 5) juxtaposes to [κρατερόν – μένος]; cf. Il. 7.38 Ἕκτορος ὄρσωμεν κρατερὸν μένος ‘let us rouse the mighty spirit of Hector.’ Both Vedic krátu- and Avestan xratu- are joined with derivatives of IE *men- ‘think’, as the following examples make evident:

   • – RV 4.33.9b abhí krátvā mánasā dī́dhyānāḥ ‘reflecting on it according to their purpose and with their thought’;

   • – Y. 48.3c–d vaŋhə̄uš xratūm manaŋhō yā xšnəuuīšā gə̄ušcā uruuānəm ‘(by whom) you may satisfy the intellect of good thought and the soul of the cow’ (Humbach – Faiß [n. 12]).Footnote ²²

7. (g) [follow (*sek^u̯- ) – superiority/might/resolve (*kret-)] is attested once in the shape [power_nom. – follow_mid. – X_dat.]; cf. Tyrt. fr. 4.9 West δήμου τε πλήθει νίκην καὶ κάρτος ἕπεσθαι ‘victory and power are to accompany the mass of the people.’ The etymological congeners of Greek κράτος and ἕπομαι occur in two Indo-Iranian collocations: the Avestan verb hac ‘follow’ (cf. Vedic sac, Greek ἕπομαι, IE *sek^u̯- ‘follow’) is constructed with a subject xratu- [xratu- – hac _mid.]; cf. Yt. 10.107a–d nōit̰. maṣ̌īm gaēϑīm stē / masiiā^̊ hacaite āsnō xratuš / yaϑa miϑrəmcit̰ mainiiaom / hacaite āsnascit̰ xratuš ‘no material man in existence is endowed with [lit. followed by] greater insight than that which supernatural Mithra is endowed with.’Footnote ²³ Vedic krátu- is the direct object of Vedic sac ‘follow’ in the collocation [sac – krátu- _acc.]; cf. RV 1.156.4a–b tám asya rā́jā váruṇas tám aśvínā / krátuṃ sacanta ‘that resolve of his [of Visnu] does king Varuṇa follow, that do the Aśvins.’Footnote ²⁴

8. (h) [shine (*b^heh₂-) – superiority/might/resolve (*kret-)] underlies the male names Φανοκράτης (IG II² 478, Attica)Footnote ²⁵ and Φασικράτης (IG II² 2332, Attica), with first members to Greek φαίνω ‘shine’ and collocation [κράτος – (ἐκ)φαίνω] ‘make shine power/victory’, cf. Pind. Nem. 4.68 δῶρα καὶ κράτος ἐξέφαναν ἐγγενὲς αὐτῷ ‘[they] made shine for him their gifts and his race's power’. Significantly, the same IE roots occur in the Vedic collocation [krátu- _instr. – ví-bhā] ‘widely shine by resolve’; cf. RV 6.68.9c–d máhivrataḥ, krátvā vibhā́t_iy ajáro ná śocíṣā ‘here is the one of great commandments [who] radiates by his resolve, like unaging [fire] with its flame’. The type [X_nom. – ví-bhā (widely shine) – A_instr.] matches the type [A_nom. – ví-bhā (widely shine)] within Vedic; cf. RV 1.92.11d cákṣasā ví bhāti ‘[the maiden] radiates forth with the eye’ and 9b cákṣuḥ … ví bhāti ‘[like] an eye shines forth’.Footnote ²⁶

9. (i) [superiority/might/resolve (*kret-) – (conquering) force (*g^u̯ei̯ -)] lies at the basis of several Greek phraseological binomials; cf. νικῆσαι κρατερῆφι βίηφιν ‘win by means of powerful strength’ (Il. 21.501); the couple Κράτος and Βίη ‘Kratos (Might) and Biē (Force)’ (Hes. Theog. 384–5); the compound κρατησιβίαν (Pind. fr. Isthm. 16* S–M) ‘victorious in strength’.Footnote ²⁷ The same IE roots figure in the Vedic collocation [krátu- – jaítra-] attested in RV 10.36.10c.

10. (j) [find/obtain – superiority/might/resolve (*kret-)] underlies Greek [ἐξευρίσκω – κράτος] ‘find [that is, obtain/gain] superiority/victory/triumph’, cf. Pind. Isthm. 8.5 καὶ Νεμέᾳ ἀέθλων ὅτι κράτος ἐξεῦρε ‘because at Nemea he gained triumph in the contests’. Vedic [ved – krátu- _acc.] and kratuvíd- ‘finding resolve’ (RV 9.44.6)Footnote ²⁸ semantically overlap the Pindaric iunctura;Footnote ²⁹ cf. 1.42.7c pū́ṣann ihá krátuṃ vidaḥ ‘Pūṣan, here you will find the resolve’.

These numerous phraseological matches among Greek congeners of κράτος, Vedic krátu- and Avestan xratu- provide strong support for the etymological connection between these terms.

6. VEDIC KRATU- … AGNI- AND GREEK ΚΡΑΤΥΣ ΑΡΓΕΪΦΟΝΤΗΣ

In all cases presented so far, Vedic krátu- and Avestan xratu- are substantives. Therefore, their collocations are mostly comparable to those of the Greek substantive κράτος. However, the Indo-Iranian terms are occasionally used as adjectives, just like κρατύς in Greek. Such Indo-Iranian phrasemes are structurally comparable to Greek κρατὺς Ἀργεϊφόντης.

Specifically, while, in the Avestan corpus, only Ahura Mazda is identified as xratu-,Footnote ³⁰ Vedic krátu- occurs as an attribute or an appellative of three Vedic gods:Footnote ³¹ Agni (RV 1.77.3, 3.11.6, 6.9.5), Soma (9.86.43, 107.3) and Indra (10.104.10). Moreover, possessive or verbal compounds of krátu- mostly apply to the same divinities:

1. (i) sukrátu- ‘having a good/strong resolve’ applies twenty-three times to Agni, sixteen times to Indra and eleven times to Soma.

2. (ii) Indra is often described by means of compounds with a second member -kratu-: śátakratu- ‘having a hundred resolves/victories’ (sixty-seven times), the hapax eirēmena Vedic ámitakratu- ‘of unmatched resolve’ (RV 1.102.6a), avāryákratu- ‘of unobstructable resolve’ (8.92.8c), aviharyatákratu- ‘of un-deflectable resolve’ (1.63.2c), r̥jukrátu- ‘of straight resolve’ (1.81.7b), sambhr̥tákratu- ‘of concentrated resolve’ (1.52.8a), vŕ̥ṣakratuḥ- ‘of bullish resolve’ (6.45.l6c).

3. (iii) Soma is most commonly the referent of the epithet kratuvíd- ‘finding resolve’ (see §5.j above). Moreover, he shares with Agni the epithets ádr̥ptakratu- ‘of undistracted resolve’ (RV 8.79.7b) and kavíkratu- ‘having a kavi's [poet's] resolve’ (9.9.1c, 25.5c, 62.13c).

4. (iv) Agni is once described as ádr̥ptakratu- ‘of undistracted resolve’ (RV 6.49.2b), ádbhutakrátu- ‘having unerring resolve’ (8.23.8a), kratuvíd- ‘finding resolve’ (10.2.5c, see §5.j above) and váreṇyakratu- ‘whose resolve is worthy to be chosen’ (8.43.12b). Additionally, the epithet kavikrátu- ‘having the resolve of a kavi [wise poet]/a poet's purpose’ applies to him seven times (1.1.5). Finally, Agni is directly compared to krátu-; cf. durókaśociḥ krátur ná nítyaḥ ‘whose blaze is beyond domestication like one's own will’ (1.66.5a).

Since the semantic palette of krátu- ranges from ‘power/strength’ to ‘mental power, resolve, superiority’ to ‘intention [of sacrificer and receiver of the sacrifice]’, it is not surprising that the term and its compounds ultimately refer to Indra, a deity mostly celebrated for his heroic achievements, and to two deities who are primarily involved in sacrifice, Agni and Soma. Given the common characteristics that Agni and Hermes share,Footnote ³² I submit that Vedic collocations with the structure [krátu-/sukrátu-/kavíkratu- – Agni] are partial matches to Greek κρατὺς Ἀργεϊφόντης.

7. THE ETYMOLOGY OF GREEK ΑΡΓΕΪΦΟΝΤΗΣ

The epithet Ἀργεϊφόντης, the object of intensive scholarly debate concerning both its etymology and its meaning,Footnote ³³ provides further support for this comparison, since it may be interpreted as a suitable epithet for an IE fire-god, whose prerogatives were partly inherited by Hermes. As explained by Koller,Footnote ³⁴ the form may reflect an analogical metrical adaptation of *Ἀργεϊφάων or *ἀργεϊφόων, resulting from a univerbation of *ἀργεϊ φά(Ϝ)ων ‘shining/brilliant with/in whiteness/brightness’. Koller's interpretation may be supported in the light of Vedic bhā́r̥jīka- ‘shining with/in whiteness/brightness’ or, possibly, ‘whose whiteness/brightness is shining’.Footnote ³⁵ This epithet exclusively belongs to the Old Indic fire-god Agni (RV 1.44.3, 3.1.12, 14, 10.12.2) and is built with the same lexical material as Ἀργεϊφόντης: IE *b^heh₂- (bhā́- cf. φάων, -φόντης) and *h₂erĝ- (the second compound member -r̥jīka- contains IE *h₂r̥ĝi- [cf. *h₂erĝesi- being represented as ἀργεϊ- in Greek] and IE -h₃k^u̯o- ‘white-appearance’).Footnote ³⁶ This correspondence suggests further possible phraseological comparisons, namely between κρατὺς Ἀργεϊφόντης and

1. (i) the Vedic collocation [krátu-/sukrátu-/kavikrátu- – Agni] (cf. §6.iv);

2. (ii) Vedic syntagmas in which krátu- is joined to bhā, namely [krátumant- – ví-bhā], [krátu- _instr. – ví-bhā] (cf. §5.h). The collocation [krátumant- – ví-bhā] applies to Br̥haspati's power;Footnote ³⁷ cf. bŕ̥haspate áti yád aryó árhād , dyumád vibhā́ti krátumaj jáneṣu ‘Br̥haspati! That which will be worth more than what belongs to the stranger, [that which] will radiate among the peoples with brilliance and purpose’ (RV 2.23.15a–b).

Although Vedic [krátu- _instr. – ví-bhā-] is not predicated of Agni, the collocation occurs in the framework of a ‘fire metaphor’; cf. ayáṃ yá urvī́ mahinā́ máhivrataḥ , krátvā vibhā́t_iy ajáro ná śocíṣā ‘here is the one of great commandments who radiates through the two wide [worlds] with his greatness and by his resolve, like unaging [fire] with its flame’ (RV 6.68.9c–d).