Miltiades Elia Bolaris
June 17, 2009
June 17, 2009
Balkan Illusion - phantasia archaica:
"...it is very interesting to note that many of the authentic ancient Macedonian words, according to their etymology and pronunciation, have a striking resemblance to the appropriate words used in the modern Macedonian language (and other so called "Slav"[sic] languages)."..."Dada. The noun "dada" in the present day Macedonian language means "older sister". The name "Dada" is present In todays' Macedonian onomasticon." From: "Similarities between ancient Macedonian and today's' Macedonian Culture (Linguistics and Onomastics)" by Aleksandar Donski, celebrity "historian"-propagandist from FYROM.
Dadas / Δάδας & Dada / Δάδα The Prodromos Hellenikes Bibliothekes / Πρόδρομος Ελληνικής Βιβλιοθήκης, "A Forerunner to a Greek Library", published in Paris in 1805, was a literary collection of works by three ancient writers whom the editor considered as introductory to the corpus of the ancient classics. The editor and publisher was Adamantios Koraes, (Αδαμάντιος Κοραής, 1748–1833) a Greek humanist scholar and medical doctor and an active supporter of the French revolution
As a man of the Age of Enlightenment, who was in constant correspondence with the greatest liberal minds of his era He was in constant correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, for example), Koraes tirelessly worked for the liberation of Greece from the yoke of Ottoman slavery and for the education of young Greeks everywhere. His influence in the formation of the literrary modern Greek language has been compared to that of Dante for Italian or Martin Luther for the German language. Koraes believed in the power of education in liberating the minds of individual people and collectively their nations and convinced many wealthy expatriate Greeks to finance the publishing of books in the Greek language to be used in Greek schools in occupied Greece and abroad. The Prodromos Hellenikes Bibliothekes was one such case. In Koraes' Prodromos we find the short story of a Cretan woman named Dada, as relayed by Nikolaos Damaskenos / Νικόλαος Δαμασκηνός in his Ιστορίαι/Stories:
Ὀτι Σκάμανδρος ό βασιλεύσας πρώτος των Τρώων, Σάμωνι χρησάμενος συνεργώ, τους εν τή Τρωάδι ἐνίκησεν. ἀποθανόντος δε Σάμωνος κατά την μάχην, την γυναίκα αυτού Δάδαν [Dadan] μητέρα των νεανίσκων, εἰς το Πόλιον εξέπεμψε διά κήρυκος, ὠς ἀν έκεί συνοικήσειεν ότω βούληται. Ὀ δε κήρυξ κατά την όδόν βιασάμινος αὐτήν ήσχυνεν. Ἠ δε, το ξίφος έχουσα το του ἀνδρός, αὐτήν διεχρήσατο. Αίσθόμενοι δε οί Κρήτες τον κήρυκα κατέλευσαν, ένθα ό χώρος Ἀναίδειας ὠνομάσθη.
Dada's story was retold (using almost to the word Damaskenos' narrative) in French and then translated into English in the "Dictionary of Classical Mythology", by Pierre Grimal (Willey-Blackwell Publishing, 1990):
Dada/Δάδα
"The wife of the Cretan hero Samon, who helped Scamander take possession of the Troad. After Samon's death in battle Dada entrusted herself to a herald, asking him to accompany her to a nearby city, where she intended to remarry. On the way the herald violated her and, overcome with shame, Dada ran herself through with her dead husband's sword. When the Cretans became learnt of this tragic event they stoned the herald to death at the very place where he had carried out his rape; the place became known thereafter as the Field of Shamelessness."
This is an ancient Greek myth connecting a Greek woman from Crete named Dada and events on the island of Crete with Skamandros, the mythical king of the city of Troy, on the Asiatic shore of the Aegean Sea, by the Hellespont. The name Dada/Δάδα and her male equivalent Dadas/Δάδας are names that are found throughout the Greek speaking word, and not only in Macedonia, as professor Aleksandar Donsky implies. They happen to be far more widespread and popular in Ionia, and the rest of Hellenic Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey. Searching through the epigraphic record, we looked for the name Dadas and Dada, and their derivatives and other names derived from the same toot, and what we found is a rather disproportionate distribution:
We begin with Asia Minor: 45 mentions of Dadas or Dada 8 mentions of Dadouchos/Δαδούχος2 mentions of Adados/Ἀδαδος1 mention of Theudados/Θευδᾶδος (Θευδᾶδος is Ionian and Dorian for:Theodados/Θεο-δᾶδος. Θευ-= Θεο-=Theo-).1 mention of Νεικάδαδος/Neikadados.Below is an example on an inscription from Galatia, close to the modern Turkish capital Ankara:Regions : Asia Minor : GalatiaStrubbe, Cat. Pessinus 45 Gal., N. — Pessinous: Sivrihisar — AEMÖ 7.1883.182,56Δαδα Ἀλεξάνδρῳ ἀνδ-ρὶ κὲ Δίῳ υἱῷ μνήμης χάριν.Dada to Alexandros her husband and to Dion her son, in memory's favor.Another example from Phrygia, found not far from the first one:Regions : Asia Minor : PhrygiaMAMA 5 Lists Note:188,1[2/5] Phryg. — Dorylaion (Eskişehir), W. of: Inönü — MDAI(A) 25.1900.417,28 w/470ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ.Διὶ Βροντῶντι ἐπη-κόῳ θεῷ Δαδᾶς/Dadas Δαμᾶσὺν τοῖς τέκνοις Ὀ-νησίμῳ καὶ Διομᾶκαὶ Χρυσίῳ ὑπὲρ τῶνἰ]δίων εὐχὴν ἀνέστησανIn benevolent FortuneTo Zeus the Thundering onethe god who listens (epecoos), Dadas son of Damasalong with his children O-nesimos and Diomasand Chrysios, praying on their own behalf they raised this Next we look at inscriptions at the North Shore of the Black Sea: We find38 mentions of Dadas/Δάδας or Dada/Δάδα2 mentions of Dadaios/Δαδαίος4 mentions of Dadagos /Δάδαγος4 mentions of Dadakos /Δάδακος
Example of a Greek inscription from the Greek city of Ερμόνασσα/Ηερμονασσα, modern Tmutarakan (Тмутаракань) by the Cimmerian Bosporus,in Russia, a city strategically located by the entry from the Euxine Pontus into the Sea of Azov.
Regions : North Shore of the Black Sea
CIRB 1054
N. Black Sea — Hermonassa (Taman ) — 123-133 AD — IosPE IV 421
βασιλεύοντος βασι]-λέως [Τιβερίου Ἰουλίου]Κότυος υἱ[οῦ βασιλέως]Σαυρομάτου, [φιλοκαίσα]-ρος καὶ φιλορωμαίου,εὐσεβοῦς, ἡ σύνο-δος ἡ περὶ νακόρονΒάγην Σωσιπάτρου,καὶ ἱρ̣έα ΣτράτωναὈν̣[ησιδ?]ώ̣ρου καὶ ἱερομά-στορα Ἀπολλώνιον Χρυ-σαλίσκου καὶ γραμμα-τέα Ἀγαθοῦν Πολεμοκρά-του καὶ φιλάγαθον Μυρεῖ-νον β καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ θιασεῖτ[αι]·Καλοῦς ΜυρείνουΜέγης ΜηνᾶΔημοκράτης Δάδα/DadaἈρισταγόρας ἈγαθοῦΔάδας [Dadas] Ἀπολλωνί[ου]etcDuring the royal rule of king Tiberios Ioulios Kotys son of king Sautomates, who is philocaesar, philoroman, andpious, the council surroundingthe president of the temple:Bages son of Sosistratosand priest Straton son of Onesidoros and holy official Apollonios son ofChrysaliskos and secre-tary Agathon son of Polemo-krates and the well meaning Myrei-nos and the rest of the (Bacchic) thiasos members:Kalous son of MyreinosMeges son of MenasDemocrates son of DadasAristagoras son of AgathosDadas son of Apolloniosetc
Next we look at occurrences of these names in Thrace and Lower Danube:
19 mentions of Dadas/Δάδας or Dada /Δάδα.1 mention of Dadoparenos/Δαδοπαρηνός.1 mention of Dados/Δαδος.
The first examples is from ancient Οδησσός/Odessus, by modern Varna (not to be confused with Odessa of Ukraine, further north):IGBulg 286
Thrace and Moesia Inferior Odessus (Varna) — Galataabove relief.1 Ἥρωι Καραβασ]μῳbelow relief.2 Ἀγαθήνωρ Πόσσειος ὁκαὶ Δαδας/Dadas εὐχαριστήριονκατ´ εὐχὴν τοῦ πατρός.Agathenor Poseios alsoknown as Dadas, thanks offeringaccording to the wish of his fatherThe second example is from Byzantium/Βυζάντιον/Constantinople, modern Istanbul:IK Byzantion 234Thrace and Moesia Inferior Thrace — Byzantion (Istanbul) — 2nd c. BC (Fir.) Firatli-Robert (Annexe) 230 — SEG 24.721Χρηστὴ Δ̣α̣δα/Dada, Δα̣[δας]/DadasἈπολλωνίου.Chreste daughter of Dadas, Dadasson of ApolloniosWe now move to the Aegean Islands: Here we have5 mentions of Dadas/Δάδας3 mentions of Dadamas/ΔαδἀμαςBelow is a well published example from the island of Lesbos:Regions : Aegean Islands, incl. Crete (IG XI-[XIII]) : Lesbos, Nesos, and Tenedos (IG XII,2) IG XII,2 222 Lesbos — Mytilenefrom the base of a statue:ὀ δᾶμοςΔάδαν/Dadan Δίη, γύναικα δὲ Λεσβώνακτοςτῶ Ποτάμωνος, ἰρεύσαισαν Ἐτηφίλακάλως καὶ εὐσεβέως καὶ ἀποκατάσται-σαν τὰ ἶρα, ἀρέτας ἔννεκα καὶ εὐ-νοίας τᾶς εἰς αὖτον.
the peopleTo Dada daughter of Dies, and also wife of Lesbonaxson of Potamon, who has been priestess of Etephilain a good and pious way and was instrumental in reconstituting the Ira, due to her virtue and hergood will towards them, the people.
Incidentally, this same Dada, whose Roman citizen's name was Claudia, was later honored by the Mytilinean demos with a second statue. She was the daughter of Dies/Δίης, sister of Philon and wife of Lesboanax/Λεσβώναξ (yes, indeed, his name means "king of the Lesbians", and no, we should not get over-excited: it merely refers to the inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos).
The base of the second statue preserves the following commendation:
Κλαυδίαν Δα[δα?]/Dadaἠροίναν Γαίω[---]τὠ εὐεργέτα πα[ίδα].
To Klaudia Da[da?]a heroine to Gaio[---]to the benefactor child.Now we search for the same names in northern Greece, in Macedonia: We locate2 mentions of the name Dadas/Δάδας1 mention of the name Dadouchos/Δαδοῦχος. 1 mention of Dados/ΔάδοςExamples:EKM 1. Beroia 181
Macedonia : Bottiaia: Beroia
Διογένης Βαρναίου ἥρωςΔάδα/Dada ἡ[ρ]ώ̣ισσα.Diogenes son of Barnaios, a heroDada, a heroine
Another example comes in the form of a small inscription stamped on a clay vessel, an amphora, originating in the SE Aegean island of Cos:SEG 48:832,3Macedonia : Bottiaia: Pella, Unpublished Coan amphora stamp naming eponym Δάδας : DadasA third inscription from Macedonia, concerning the sale of a house: Regions : Northern Greece (IG X) : Macedonia Meletemata 22, Epig. App. 91 Meletemata 22, Epig. App. 90 Meletemata 22, Epig. App. 92 Makedonia (Edonis) — Amphipolis — 3rd c. BC — SEG 24.584
ἀγαθῆι τύ[χηι]. ἐφ´ ἱερέως Αἰσχύλου, ἐπισ̣-τάτου δὲ Κλεάνδρου, μηνὸς Δίου. Κίσσο-ς Ἑκαταίου ἐπρίατο παρὰ Σωσικράτους τοῦ Ἀ-νδρονίκου τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ τὸ οἰκόπεδον τὸπροσόν, ἧι γείτονες Ἀντίγονος Μαχάτα,Νίκανδρος Λεωνίδου, χρυσῶν ἑδομήκ̣-οντα τριῶν. βεβαιωταὶ Μαχάτας Ἀνδρονί-κ]ου, Καλλίστρατος Δάδου, Νύμφων Ξεν-οφῶντος καὶ αὐτὸς Σωσικράτης. μάρτυρ-ε]ς Νέων Ἰχναίου, Ἀ̣σ̣τιδ̣ί̣ης Ἀντιδότου.
In Good fortune. During the time of priest Aeschylos whenpresident was Cleandros, in the month of Dios, Kissosson of Hekataios took possession from Sosikrates son of An-dronikos of the house and the land plot adjacent to the properties of the neighbors Antigonos son of Machatas,and Nikandros son of Leonides, for seventy three gold (coins). Verifyiers: Machatas son of Andro-nikos, Kallistratos son of Dados/Δάδος, Nymphon son of Xeno-phon and Sosikrates himself. Witnes-ses Neon son of Ichnaios and Astides son of Antidotos. In Egypt of the Ptolemies we find: 2 mentions of the name Dadas/Δάδας1 mention of the name Dadouchos/Δαδοῦχος.1 mention of the name Dadouchios/Δαδοῦχιος.
Example of an inscription:Regions : Egypt, Nubia and Cyrenaïca : Egypt and NubiaSyringes 693
Eg. — Thebes [W.]: Syringes
Δαδᾶς/Dadas Ζ̣ιπύρουΘρᾶϊξ,Νίκανδρος Ζ̣ένωνοςΣελγεὺς ἥκω,ἐπ´ ἀγα-θῷ,εὐτυχῖτε {εὐτυχεῖτε}.Dadas son of Zipyros a ThracianNikandros son of Zenonwho came from Selgiafor goodness, well being.Joy to you!
In Central Greece: 2 mentions of the name Dada/ΔάδαExample from Thessaly, from a marble-inscribed declaration of freeing of slaves, mentioning a freed woman named Dada:IG IX,2 324
Thessaly (IG IX,2): Hestiaiotis: Aiginion (Kalambaka)στρατηγοῦντος Ἀσκλάπωνος μηνὸ[ς]Ἑ]ρμαίου τρίτῃ· αἱ ἀπελευθερωθῖσαι ἀ-π̣ὸ Ἀντικράτους τοῦ Νικάνορος καὶ Ἀ-φθ]οννῶς τῆς Λαχάρου Δ[ά]δα / Dada [κα]ὶ Κ[—]- Ι̣ραὶς ἡ θυ[γάτ]ηρ άδας/ D— — — — — — οἱ ἀπελ]ευθερωθέντες
While Strategos was Asclapon on the monthHermaios, the third day; the freed byAntikrates the son of Nikanoc and aph-thono daughter of Lacharos, Dada and K[—]-Irais the daughter of Dada.— — — — — — the freed slaves...
In Syria, Arabia and Masopotamia we had to be especially carefull in selecting names, since Babylonian, Persian and numerous other non-Greek names appear which sound similar to but are not related to the Greek Dadas. We only chose the ones which are indisputably Greek:
1 mention of Dadados/Δάδαδος1 mention of the name Das/Δας (genitive: Dados/Δαδός)1 mention of the name Dadaia/ΔαδαίαExample from Arabia: Regions : Greater Syria and the East : ArabiaPPUAES IIIA 5,651^1 Syria, S./Arabia-Hauran—Inkhilσῆ[μα] τόδεγαμετῇ τεκτή-ν]ατο Δαδος / Dadosἥτις ἄγαν πι-ν]υτὴ δο[ύλη]πο[λ]υήρατο-ς ο̣ὖσ ̣, ἵλα̣-ος(?)
here is the tomb built for the married womannamed Daswho was always wise, a much de-sired slaveand a joyous one
In Attica/Athens there are countless mentions of the word/atribute dadouchos, due to the Eleusinian and Panathenian festivals and their torch relays, but we only chose this word (Dadouchos/Δαδούχος) only when used as a person's name. Therefore, in Athens we have:1 mention of the name Dadates/Δαδάτης1 mention of the name Dada/Δάδα.30 mentions of the name Dadouchos/Δαδοῦχος.2 mentions of the name Dados/Δάδος
Example:Regions : Attica (IG I-III) : AtticaIG II² 11032 Att. — Athens: Akr. — s I p
ΚορνηλίαΔάδα / Dada
Cornelia daughter of Dadas.And also:Regions : Attica (IG I-III) : AtticaIG II² 8944 Att. — Athens: Akr.
ΕὐρυδίκηΔάδου / DadouἸχναία.
Euridicedaughter of Dadosfrom Ichna
Italy: 1 mention of the name Dadouchis/ΔαδουχίςThe inscription contains a very long list of Greek names (about five hundred), from a religious document from a temple in the city of Rome.IGUR I 160
Italy, incl. Magna GraeciaItalia — Roma: Torre Nova, area of — ca. mid. 2nd c. AD — cf. IGUR IV, p. 148, 160
οἱ ὑπογεγραμμένοι Μακ]ρεῖνος ἥρωςΚεθ]ηγίλλα δᾳδοῦχος/dadouchos (a torchbearer, as a function not as a name)ἱερεῖςΓ]α̣λλικανόςΓ̣αλλικανόςΜακρεῖνοςὌρφιτοςΓλύκεροςΠτέρωνΚαικιλίαΔύναμιςΦιλήτηἘπίκτητοςΔαδουχίς/DadouchisΡοῦφαΜουσικήΦοῖβοςthe undersignedMak]reinos heroKeth]egilla a torch bearer (δᾳδοῦχος/dadouchos)
the priestsGallikanosGallikanosMakreinosOrphitosGlykerosPteronKaikiliaDynamisPhiliteEpictetosDadouchisRoufaMousikePhoebos
Now that we have seen the name Dada and Dadas as well as many of similar names in related form, all derived from the same root, let us look at their meaning.
Let us start with Hesychios, the 5th century AD lexicographer, who saved for us thousands of unusual Greek words and words in various Greek dialects:
δᾷδα· λαμπάδα Dada: a torch δᾷδας· λαμπηδόνας Dadas: torches (plural)δᾷδες· λαμπάδες Dades: torches (plural)δᾳδουχεῖ· λάμπει, φέγγει. φωτίζει. [φαίνει] verb: Dadouchei: it shines, lights upδᾳδουχίας· λαμπαδηφορίας λυχναψίας. φωτισμοῦ Dadouchias: about torch bearingδᾳδοῦχος· λυχνάπτης. [λαμπαδηφόρος] Dadouchos: torch bearerδᾳδουχοῦνται· φαίνονται verb Dadouchountai: they are being lit, seenδᾳδουχῶν· διαλάμπων. n φωτίζων Dadouchon: sparkling shiny, well litδαΐδες· λαμπάδες. g λύχνοι Daides: torches, lights (plural)δαΐδων· λαμπάδων (Σ 492) Daidon: of torches δᾳδῶχορ· λυχνία Dadochor: a night lightδαίς· πεύκη, λαμπάς Dais: pine, torchδαίων· καίων S Daion: the burning oneδαίω· καίω ἐξάπτω vgAS verb Daio: to burn, to torch.
In the monumental work of the German Linguist Julius Pokorny's Indogermanisches Etymologisches Woerterbuch, which was published in 1959, we find the root / lemma:
" dāu-, dǝu-, dū̆- which means : "to burn". "
Pokorny connected this to:"Old Indian dunṓti `burns (trans), afflicts', dūná- `burnt, afflicted', Pass. dūyatē `burns' (intr.), kaus. dāvayati `burns' (trans), dāvá-ḥ (with ablaut change davāḫḥ) `blaze', etc...as in δεδαυμένος[dedaumenos]". He continues further down:
"gr. Δαίω [daio] (*δᾰF-ι̯ω) `set on fire, inflame', Perf. δέδηε [dedëe]`be in flames, be on fire' (: Old Indian dudāva), participle δεδαυμένος [dedaumenos] (δαῦσαι[dausai] ἐκκαῦσαι Hes., ἐκδαβῇ[ekdave] ἐκκαυθῇ Λάκωνες Hes.), δάος n., δαΐς[dais], -ίδος f. `torch' (to ᾳ: von att. δᾱͅς[das], δᾱͅδός[dados] s. Schwyzer Gr. Gr. I 266), δᾱνός [dais] `easily ignitable = to dry' (*δαεινός from *δαFεσ-νός), δᾱλός `burning piece of wood' (*δαFελός = lakon. Δαβελός)[davelos];" and also:
"air. dōīm `singe, burn' (about air. dōīm `get, exert' see under deu̯(ǝ)-), Verbalnom. dōud = Old Indian davathu-ḥ `blaze, fire'; atūd `kindle, inflame' from *ad-douth, cymr. cynneu `kindle, inflame'".
In the much more recent work "The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo European world, by J.P.Mallory and D.Q. Adams (Oxford University Press, 2006), a more updated lema is shown in *dehau, meaning "kindle, burn". On page 123 we read:"Getting a fire started may have been indicated by *dehau- "kindle, burn" with cognates in Celtic (e.g. OIr daud "burning"), Grk dai'o "kindle, burn", Skt Duno'ti "kindles, burns", and Tocharian (e.g. TochA twas- "kindle, ignite, light").
We look up some Sanskrit words in a Sanskrit-English dictionary freely available on the internet, and some words come up which are phonetically similar to the Greek dada and also etymologically related to it:"DAH, I. P. (E. also A.) DAHA, burn, consume with fire ; cauterize ; destroy ; torment, agitate ; pj.be burned; be destroyed; be consumed with inward fire ; be tortured : pp. DAFFDHA, i/, v. ; cs. DAHAYA, cause to be burned; burn (tr.); DO.DIDHAKEHA, be about to burn or destroy ; intv. DANDAHITL, dan- dagdhi, DANDANYATE, burn or destroy completely ; "
And also:"DAVA, m. (forest) conflagration; m. n. forest : -DAHANA, m. forest fire ; -Agni, m. fire of a burning forest; Tanala, iii. id.""A Sanskrit-English dictionary", by Arthur Anthony MacdonellDava is a word that in Sanskrit is related to both wood and fire, but particularly in a forest fire. The meaning of the Greek word for dada is similarly related to a piece of wood on fire. The word Dava-Agni-Davagni which indicates the fire of a burning forest could be of particular interest to us, since it has two familiar cognates: one in Greek (Sanskrit Dava – Greek Dada) and one for Latin (Sanskrit Agni - Latin Ignis [the Greek word agne/αγνή is also a cognate, although not an obvious one: agne=pure, purified – through fire). The English word "to ignite" is a cognate of the Sanskrit "agni", and the same word exists in Slavic too. The name Ignatius is derived from Ignis, for fire in Latin, and is therefore related to Agni; we will see it again, later on, so let us remember it, but it is interesting to see its Saskrit cognate here couple with Dada's Sanskrit cognate to form the Sanskrit forest-fight: "Davagni".As it becomes very apparent by now that the Greek word dais/δαίς-dados/δαδός and the names Dada/Δάδα Dadas/Δάδας and their derivatives all relate to the act of "starting a fire", "setting wood ablaze", "igniting", and of course "torches" and "torch bearing".
They are all derived from the verb daio/δαίω (in original form *δαF-ίω), which means "to light up", "to kindle", "to set on fire", "to burn,". Passive form: Dedaumai/δέδαυμαι, I am being lit up, torched. Δαίς/dais, is also found as δάς/das, in genitive form δαδός/dados, which translates as "the torch". In ancient Greek we also have the words δαδούχος / dadouxos for "the one holding a torch", as in the torch bearers at the festival of Eleusinian Demetra, in Athens, and δαδοφόρος / dadophoros which also means "the torch bearer". The two associates of the Persian Mithra, the prophet of Zaroaster, whose cult spread throughout the Roman empire and competed with Christianity for dominance in Europe in the beginning of the first millennium, always followed Mithra each holding a torch in their hand, and they were called Dadophoroi/Δαδοφόροι. The verb describing their action (bearing a torch) is δαδοφορέω/dadophoreo : to bear a torche, as in festivals (Liddel & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon, page 365, 1951 reprint). Dadaphorios/Δαδαφόριος was also the name of the fifth month in the calendar of Delphi (roughly equivalent to today's January, the Macedonian Peritios/Περίτιος and the Athenian Gamelion/Γαμηλιών). Dadophorios took its name from of the annual torch-light festival Dadaphoria/Δαδαφόρια that was held on this month in Delphi. Δαδουχεω/dadouheo is a verb meaning "to be a torch", being a torch bearer. The image of the two Dadophoroi/torch bearers passing a dais/dados, a torch to one another, shown at the beginning of this article, is from an ancient Greek amphora. It is showing the passing of the torch in such an athletic contest help during a religious festival, a Dadophoreia, a torch relay.
In modern Greek, δάδα/dada still means the torch. A quick "image" search in the internet (using a "copy and paste" for those who cannot spell it in Greek) of the word δάδα will bring up countless images of torches; especially the Olympic torches of the torch relay around the world (from the site of ancient Olympia, in the Peloponnese, to the Olympic city of that year). Dada/δάδα is what the statue of Liberty in New York harbor is holding on her right hand (also called a pyrsos/πυρσός, from Pyr/πύρ for fire). Dadi/δαδι in modern Greek is the resin wood chip used to ignite a fireplace fire.
Professor Aleksandar Donski/Александар Донски, of Skopje, FYROM, in his futile attempt to establish a non-existing connection between the ancient Greek names Dada/Δάδα - Dadas/Δάδας to words in the jugo-Slavic language spoken in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, proclaims that "The noun "dada" in the present day Macedonian [sic] language means "older sister"". He obviously forgot to inform us as to how Δάδας/Dadas is related to his own "Дада"". And what about Dados, Dadouchos, Dadates, etc...how are these men related to the Slavomakedonian "older sister-Dada/Дада"? Consistency, it seems, is not a pre-qualification criterion for the good nationalistic propagandist.
Having by now been informed of the meaning of Dada in the "present day" language of the modern inhabitants of FYROM (ancient Paeonia and Dardania-not Macedonia), it is time to recall what Dada means in the "present day" languages of most other European nations: DADA: an anti-war, anti-establishment radical art movement of the WWI years (started in Zürich in 1916), which reverberates on and off till now (the Punk subculture owed much to Dada). Unfortunately, the European Dada, despite its obvious phonetic similarities, happens to have about as much connection to the ancient Greek Dada/Δάδα and Dadas/Δάδας as the pseudo-makedonka "older sister"-"Dada/Дада".
In conclusion, Dada/Δάδα and Dadas/Δάδας and other similarly derived names of the same linguistic root, have been attested in Greek Mythology and Greek History. The Hellenic epigraphjic record containes numerous inscriptions with these names, as clearly demonstrated above. Equally important is the fact that Dadas, Dada and related names were popular throughout the Greek-speaking word, and certainly not only in Macedonia. While there are only four mentions of the name Dada (and similar, related names) in Macedonia, there are about twenty one mentions of these same names in Thrace (in modern Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece), over fifty-five mentions of these same and related names in Asia Minor (now Turkey) and forty eight in the (predominantly Ionian) Greek colonies of the Euxinus Pontus (the Black Sea), Greek cities in what is now Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia. There were, as we showed above, ancient Greek inscriptions with the names Dada/Δάδα, Dadas/Δάδας, Dados/Δάδος etc found in other places in Greece, from Thessaly and Athens to Crete, Delos and Lesbos, but also in places as diverse and distant from each other as modern Syria, Mesopotamia-Iraq and Saudi Arabia, but also in Egypt and in Italy-Rome.
The common thread uniting these names is their "burning", "fire-igniting" and "torch"-related etymology:
Dadas/Δάδας, Dados/Δάδος, Dadaios/Δαδαίος, Dada/Δάδα: if they were Romans, instead of Greeks, with etymologically similar Latin names, they would have been named Inflammatus, Candelabrarius, Candela, or Ignatius: they too are "burning", "inflaming", "fire-igniting" and "torch" related names, like Dada/Δάδα and Dadas/Δάδας.
Miltiades Elia Bolaris
American Chronicle
As a man of the Age of Enlightenment, who was in constant correspondence with the greatest liberal minds of his era He was in constant correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, for example), Koraes tirelessly worked for the liberation of Greece from the yoke of Ottoman slavery and for the education of young Greeks everywhere. His influence in the formation of the literrary modern Greek language has been compared to that of Dante for Italian or Martin Luther for the German language. Koraes believed in the power of education in liberating the minds of individual people and collectively their nations and convinced many wealthy expatriate Greeks to finance the publishing of books in the Greek language to be used in Greek schools in occupied Greece and abroad. The Prodromos Hellenikes Bibliothekes was one such case. In Koraes' Prodromos we find the short story of a Cretan woman named Dada, as relayed by Nikolaos Damaskenos / Νικόλαος Δαμασκηνός in his Ιστορίαι/Stories:
Ὀτι Σκάμανδρος ό βασιλεύσας πρώτος των Τρώων, Σάμωνι χρησάμενος συνεργώ, τους εν τή Τρωάδι ἐνίκησεν. ἀποθανόντος δε Σάμωνος κατά την μάχην, την γυναίκα αυτού Δάδαν [Dadan] μητέρα των νεανίσκων, εἰς το Πόλιον εξέπεμψε διά κήρυκος, ὠς ἀν έκεί συνοικήσειεν ότω βούληται. Ὀ δε κήρυξ κατά την όδόν βιασάμινος αὐτήν ήσχυνεν. Ἠ δε, το ξίφος έχουσα το του ἀνδρός, αὐτήν διεχρήσατο. Αίσθόμενοι δε οί Κρήτες τον κήρυκα κατέλευσαν, ένθα ό χώρος Ἀναίδειας ὠνομάσθη.
Dada's story was retold (using almost to the word Damaskenos' narrative) in French and then translated into English in the "Dictionary of Classical Mythology", by Pierre Grimal (Willey-Blackwell Publishing, 1990):
Dada/Δάδα
"The wife of the Cretan hero Samon, who helped Scamander take possession of the Troad. After Samon's death in battle Dada entrusted herself to a herald, asking him to accompany her to a nearby city, where she intended to remarry. On the way the herald violated her and, overcome with shame, Dada ran herself through with her dead husband's sword. When the Cretans became learnt of this tragic event they stoned the herald to death at the very place where he had carried out his rape; the place became known thereafter as the Field of Shamelessness."
This is an ancient Greek myth connecting a Greek woman from Crete named Dada and events on the island of Crete with Skamandros, the mythical king of the city of Troy, on the Asiatic shore of the Aegean Sea, by the Hellespont. The name Dada/Δάδα and her male equivalent Dadas/Δάδας are names that are found throughout the Greek speaking word, and not only in Macedonia, as professor Aleksandar Donsky implies. They happen to be far more widespread and popular in Ionia, and the rest of Hellenic Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey. Searching through the epigraphic record, we looked for the name Dadas and Dada, and their derivatives and other names derived from the same toot, and what we found is a rather disproportionate distribution:
We begin with Asia Minor: 45 mentions of Dadas or Dada 8 mentions of Dadouchos/Δαδούχος2 mentions of Adados/Ἀδαδος1 mention of Theudados/Θευδᾶδος (Θευδᾶδος is Ionian and Dorian for:Theodados/Θεο-δᾶδος. Θευ-= Θεο-=Theo-).1 mention of Νεικάδαδος/Neikadados.Below is an example on an inscription from Galatia, close to the modern Turkish capital Ankara:Regions : Asia Minor : GalatiaStrubbe, Cat. Pessinus 45 Gal., N. — Pessinous: Sivrihisar — AEMÖ 7.1883.182,56Δαδα Ἀλεξάνδρῳ ἀνδ-ρὶ κὲ Δίῳ υἱῷ μνήμης χάριν.Dada to Alexandros her husband and to Dion her son, in memory's favor.Another example from Phrygia, found not far from the first one:Regions : Asia Minor : PhrygiaMAMA 5 Lists Note:188,1[2/5] Phryg. — Dorylaion (Eskişehir), W. of: Inönü — MDAI(A) 25.1900.417,28 w/470ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ.Διὶ Βροντῶντι ἐπη-κόῳ θεῷ Δαδᾶς/Dadas Δαμᾶσὺν τοῖς τέκνοις Ὀ-νησίμῳ καὶ Διομᾶκαὶ Χρυσίῳ ὑπὲρ τῶνἰ]δίων εὐχὴν ἀνέστησανIn benevolent FortuneTo Zeus the Thundering onethe god who listens (epecoos), Dadas son of Damasalong with his children O-nesimos and Diomasand Chrysios, praying on their own behalf they raised this Next we look at inscriptions at the North Shore of the Black Sea: We find38 mentions of Dadas/Δάδας or Dada/Δάδα2 mentions of Dadaios/Δαδαίος4 mentions of Dadagos /Δάδαγος4 mentions of Dadakos /Δάδακος
Example of a Greek inscription from the Greek city of Ερμόνασσα/Ηερμονασσα, modern Tmutarakan (Тмутаракань) by the Cimmerian Bosporus,in Russia, a city strategically located by the entry from the Euxine Pontus into the Sea of Azov.
Regions : North Shore of the Black Sea
CIRB 1054
N. Black Sea — Hermonassa (Taman ) — 123-133 AD — IosPE IV 421
βασιλεύοντος βασι]-λέως [Τιβερίου Ἰουλίου]Κότυος υἱ[οῦ βασιλέως]Σαυρομάτου, [φιλοκαίσα]-ρος καὶ φιλορωμαίου,εὐσεβοῦς, ἡ σύνο-δος ἡ περὶ νακόρονΒάγην Σωσιπάτρου,καὶ ἱρ̣έα ΣτράτωναὈν̣[ησιδ?]ώ̣ρου καὶ ἱερομά-στορα Ἀπολλώνιον Χρυ-σαλίσκου καὶ γραμμα-τέα Ἀγαθοῦν Πολεμοκρά-του καὶ φιλάγαθον Μυρεῖ-νον β καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ θιασεῖτ[αι]·Καλοῦς ΜυρείνουΜέγης ΜηνᾶΔημοκράτης Δάδα/DadaἈρισταγόρας ἈγαθοῦΔάδας [Dadas] Ἀπολλωνί[ου]etcDuring the royal rule of king Tiberios Ioulios Kotys son of king Sautomates, who is philocaesar, philoroman, andpious, the council surroundingthe president of the temple:Bages son of Sosistratosand priest Straton son of Onesidoros and holy official Apollonios son ofChrysaliskos and secre-tary Agathon son of Polemo-krates and the well meaning Myrei-nos and the rest of the (Bacchic) thiasos members:Kalous son of MyreinosMeges son of MenasDemocrates son of DadasAristagoras son of AgathosDadas son of Apolloniosetc
Next we look at occurrences of these names in Thrace and Lower Danube:
19 mentions of Dadas/Δάδας or Dada /Δάδα.1 mention of Dadoparenos/Δαδοπαρηνός.1 mention of Dados/Δαδος.
The first examples is from ancient Οδησσός/Odessus, by modern Varna (not to be confused with Odessa of Ukraine, further north):IGBulg 286
Thrace and Moesia Inferior Odessus (Varna) — Galataabove relief.1 Ἥρωι Καραβασ]μῳbelow relief.2 Ἀγαθήνωρ Πόσσειος ὁκαὶ Δαδας/Dadas εὐχαριστήριονκατ´ εὐχὴν τοῦ πατρός.Agathenor Poseios alsoknown as Dadas, thanks offeringaccording to the wish of his fatherThe second example is from Byzantium/Βυζάντιον/Constantinople, modern Istanbul:IK Byzantion 234Thrace and Moesia Inferior Thrace — Byzantion (Istanbul) — 2nd c. BC (Fir.) Firatli-Robert (Annexe) 230 — SEG 24.721Χρηστὴ Δ̣α̣δα/Dada, Δα̣[δας]/DadasἈπολλωνίου.Chreste daughter of Dadas, Dadasson of ApolloniosWe now move to the Aegean Islands: Here we have5 mentions of Dadas/Δάδας3 mentions of Dadamas/ΔαδἀμαςBelow is a well published example from the island of Lesbos:Regions : Aegean Islands, incl. Crete (IG XI-[XIII]) : Lesbos, Nesos, and Tenedos (IG XII,2) IG XII,2 222 Lesbos — Mytilenefrom the base of a statue:ὀ δᾶμοςΔάδαν/Dadan Δίη, γύναικα δὲ Λεσβώνακτοςτῶ Ποτάμωνος, ἰρεύσαισαν Ἐτηφίλακάλως καὶ εὐσεβέως καὶ ἀποκατάσται-σαν τὰ ἶρα, ἀρέτας ἔννεκα καὶ εὐ-νοίας τᾶς εἰς αὖτον.
the peopleTo Dada daughter of Dies, and also wife of Lesbonaxson of Potamon, who has been priestess of Etephilain a good and pious way and was instrumental in reconstituting the Ira, due to her virtue and hergood will towards them, the people.
Incidentally, this same Dada, whose Roman citizen's name was Claudia, was later honored by the Mytilinean demos with a second statue. She was the daughter of Dies/Δίης, sister of Philon and wife of Lesboanax/Λεσβώναξ (yes, indeed, his name means "king of the Lesbians", and no, we should not get over-excited: it merely refers to the inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos).
The base of the second statue preserves the following commendation:
Κλαυδίαν Δα[δα?]/Dadaἠροίναν Γαίω[---]τὠ εὐεργέτα πα[ίδα].
To Klaudia Da[da?]a heroine to Gaio[---]to the benefactor child.Now we search for the same names in northern Greece, in Macedonia: We locate2 mentions of the name Dadas/Δάδας1 mention of the name Dadouchos/Δαδοῦχος. 1 mention of Dados/ΔάδοςExamples:EKM 1. Beroia 181
Macedonia : Bottiaia: Beroia
Διογένης Βαρναίου ἥρωςΔάδα/Dada ἡ[ρ]ώ̣ισσα.Diogenes son of Barnaios, a heroDada, a heroine
Another example comes in the form of a small inscription stamped on a clay vessel, an amphora, originating in the SE Aegean island of Cos:SEG 48:832,3Macedonia : Bottiaia: Pella, Unpublished Coan amphora stamp naming eponym Δάδας : DadasA third inscription from Macedonia, concerning the sale of a house: Regions : Northern Greece (IG X) : Macedonia Meletemata 22, Epig. App. 91 Meletemata 22, Epig. App. 90 Meletemata 22, Epig. App. 92 Makedonia (Edonis) — Amphipolis — 3rd c. BC — SEG 24.584
ἀγαθῆι τύ[χηι]. ἐφ´ ἱερέως Αἰσχύλου, ἐπισ̣-τάτου δὲ Κλεάνδρου, μηνὸς Δίου. Κίσσο-ς Ἑκαταίου ἐπρίατο παρὰ Σωσικράτους τοῦ Ἀ-νδρονίκου τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ τὸ οἰκόπεδον τὸπροσόν, ἧι γείτονες Ἀντίγονος Μαχάτα,Νίκανδρος Λεωνίδου, χρυσῶν ἑδομήκ̣-οντα τριῶν. βεβαιωταὶ Μαχάτας Ἀνδρονί-κ]ου, Καλλίστρατος Δάδου, Νύμφων Ξεν-οφῶντος καὶ αὐτὸς Σωσικράτης. μάρτυρ-ε]ς Νέων Ἰχναίου, Ἀ̣σ̣τιδ̣ί̣ης Ἀντιδότου.
In Good fortune. During the time of priest Aeschylos whenpresident was Cleandros, in the month of Dios, Kissosson of Hekataios took possession from Sosikrates son of An-dronikos of the house and the land plot adjacent to the properties of the neighbors Antigonos son of Machatas,and Nikandros son of Leonides, for seventy three gold (coins). Verifyiers: Machatas son of Andro-nikos, Kallistratos son of Dados/Δάδος, Nymphon son of Xeno-phon and Sosikrates himself. Witnes-ses Neon son of Ichnaios and Astides son of Antidotos. In Egypt of the Ptolemies we find: 2 mentions of the name Dadas/Δάδας1 mention of the name Dadouchos/Δαδοῦχος.1 mention of the name Dadouchios/Δαδοῦχιος.
Example of an inscription:Regions : Egypt, Nubia and Cyrenaïca : Egypt and NubiaSyringes 693
Eg. — Thebes [W.]: Syringes
Δαδᾶς/Dadas Ζ̣ιπύρουΘρᾶϊξ,Νίκανδρος Ζ̣ένωνοςΣελγεὺς ἥκω,ἐπ´ ἀγα-θῷ,εὐτυχῖτε {εὐτυχεῖτε}.Dadas son of Zipyros a ThracianNikandros son of Zenonwho came from Selgiafor goodness, well being.Joy to you!
In Central Greece: 2 mentions of the name Dada/ΔάδαExample from Thessaly, from a marble-inscribed declaration of freeing of slaves, mentioning a freed woman named Dada:IG IX,2 324
Thessaly (IG IX,2): Hestiaiotis: Aiginion (Kalambaka)στρατηγοῦντος Ἀσκλάπωνος μηνὸ[ς]Ἑ]ρμαίου τρίτῃ· αἱ ἀπελευθερωθῖσαι ἀ-π̣ὸ Ἀντικράτους τοῦ Νικάνορος καὶ Ἀ-φθ]οννῶς τῆς Λαχάρου Δ[ά]δα / Dada [κα]ὶ Κ[—]- Ι̣ραὶς ἡ θυ[γάτ]ηρ άδας/ D— — — — — — οἱ ἀπελ]ευθερωθέντες
While Strategos was Asclapon on the monthHermaios, the third day; the freed byAntikrates the son of Nikanoc and aph-thono daughter of Lacharos, Dada and K[—]-Irais the daughter of Dada.— — — — — — the freed slaves...
In Syria, Arabia and Masopotamia we had to be especially carefull in selecting names, since Babylonian, Persian and numerous other non-Greek names appear which sound similar to but are not related to the Greek Dadas. We only chose the ones which are indisputably Greek:
1 mention of Dadados/Δάδαδος1 mention of the name Das/Δας (genitive: Dados/Δαδός)1 mention of the name Dadaia/ΔαδαίαExample from Arabia: Regions : Greater Syria and the East : ArabiaPPUAES IIIA 5,651^1 Syria, S./Arabia-Hauran—Inkhilσῆ[μα] τόδεγαμετῇ τεκτή-ν]ατο Δαδος / Dadosἥτις ἄγαν πι-ν]υτὴ δο[ύλη]πο[λ]υήρατο-ς ο̣ὖσ ̣, ἵλα̣-ος(?)
here is the tomb built for the married womannamed Daswho was always wise, a much de-sired slaveand a joyous one
In Attica/Athens there are countless mentions of the word/atribute dadouchos, due to the Eleusinian and Panathenian festivals and their torch relays, but we only chose this word (Dadouchos/Δαδούχος) only when used as a person's name. Therefore, in Athens we have:1 mention of the name Dadates/Δαδάτης1 mention of the name Dada/Δάδα.30 mentions of the name Dadouchos/Δαδοῦχος.2 mentions of the name Dados/Δάδος
Example:Regions : Attica (IG I-III) : AtticaIG II² 11032 Att. — Athens: Akr. — s I p
ΚορνηλίαΔάδα / Dada
Cornelia daughter of Dadas.And also:Regions : Attica (IG I-III) : AtticaIG II² 8944 Att. — Athens: Akr.
ΕὐρυδίκηΔάδου / DadouἸχναία.
Euridicedaughter of Dadosfrom Ichna
Italy: 1 mention of the name Dadouchis/ΔαδουχίςThe inscription contains a very long list of Greek names (about five hundred), from a religious document from a temple in the city of Rome.IGUR I 160
Italy, incl. Magna GraeciaItalia — Roma: Torre Nova, area of — ca. mid. 2nd c. AD — cf. IGUR IV, p. 148, 160
οἱ ὑπογεγραμμένοι Μακ]ρεῖνος ἥρωςΚεθ]ηγίλλα δᾳδοῦχος/dadouchos (a torchbearer, as a function not as a name)ἱερεῖςΓ]α̣λλικανόςΓ̣αλλικανόςΜακρεῖνοςὌρφιτοςΓλύκεροςΠτέρωνΚαικιλίαΔύναμιςΦιλήτηἘπίκτητοςΔαδουχίς/DadouchisΡοῦφαΜουσικήΦοῖβοςthe undersignedMak]reinos heroKeth]egilla a torch bearer (δᾳδοῦχος/dadouchos)
the priestsGallikanosGallikanosMakreinosOrphitosGlykerosPteronKaikiliaDynamisPhiliteEpictetosDadouchisRoufaMousikePhoebos
Now that we have seen the name Dada and Dadas as well as many of similar names in related form, all derived from the same root, let us look at their meaning.
Let us start with Hesychios, the 5th century AD lexicographer, who saved for us thousands of unusual Greek words and words in various Greek dialects:
δᾷδα· λαμπάδα Dada: a torch δᾷδας· λαμπηδόνας Dadas: torches (plural)δᾷδες· λαμπάδες Dades: torches (plural)δᾳδουχεῖ· λάμπει, φέγγει. φωτίζει. [φαίνει] verb: Dadouchei: it shines, lights upδᾳδουχίας· λαμπαδηφορίας λυχναψίας. φωτισμοῦ Dadouchias: about torch bearingδᾳδοῦχος· λυχνάπτης. [λαμπαδηφόρος] Dadouchos: torch bearerδᾳδουχοῦνται· φαίνονται verb Dadouchountai: they are being lit, seenδᾳδουχῶν· διαλάμπων. n φωτίζων Dadouchon: sparkling shiny, well litδαΐδες· λαμπάδες. g λύχνοι Daides: torches, lights (plural)δαΐδων· λαμπάδων (Σ 492) Daidon: of torches δᾳδῶχορ· λυχνία Dadochor: a night lightδαίς· πεύκη, λαμπάς Dais: pine, torchδαίων· καίων S Daion: the burning oneδαίω· καίω ἐξάπτω vgAS verb Daio: to burn, to torch.
In the monumental work of the German Linguist Julius Pokorny's Indogermanisches Etymologisches Woerterbuch, which was published in 1959, we find the root / lemma:
" dāu-, dǝu-, dū̆- which means : "to burn". "
Pokorny connected this to:"Old Indian dunṓti `burns (trans), afflicts', dūná- `burnt, afflicted', Pass. dūyatē `burns' (intr.), kaus. dāvayati `burns' (trans), dāvá-ḥ (with ablaut change davāḫḥ) `blaze', etc...as in δεδαυμένος[dedaumenos]". He continues further down:
"gr. Δαίω [daio] (*δᾰF-ι̯ω) `set on fire, inflame', Perf. δέδηε [dedëe]`be in flames, be on fire' (: Old Indian dudāva), participle δεδαυμένος [dedaumenos] (δαῦσαι[dausai] ἐκκαῦσαι Hes., ἐκδαβῇ[ekdave] ἐκκαυθῇ Λάκωνες Hes.), δάος n., δαΐς[dais], -ίδος f. `torch' (to ᾳ: von att. δᾱͅς[das], δᾱͅδός[dados] s. Schwyzer Gr. Gr. I 266), δᾱνός [dais] `easily ignitable = to dry' (*δαεινός from *δαFεσ-νός), δᾱλός `burning piece of wood' (*δαFελός = lakon. Δαβελός)[davelos];" and also:
"air. dōīm `singe, burn' (about air. dōīm `get, exert' see under deu̯(ǝ)-), Verbalnom. dōud = Old Indian davathu-ḥ `blaze, fire'; atūd `kindle, inflame' from *ad-douth, cymr. cynneu `kindle, inflame'".
In the much more recent work "The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo European world, by J.P.Mallory and D.Q. Adams (Oxford University Press, 2006), a more updated lema is shown in *dehau, meaning "kindle, burn". On page 123 we read:"Getting a fire started may have been indicated by *dehau- "kindle, burn" with cognates in Celtic (e.g. OIr daud "burning"), Grk dai'o "kindle, burn", Skt Duno'ti "kindles, burns", and Tocharian (e.g. TochA twas- "kindle, ignite, light").
We look up some Sanskrit words in a Sanskrit-English dictionary freely available on the internet, and some words come up which are phonetically similar to the Greek dada and also etymologically related to it:"DAH, I. P. (E. also A.) DAHA, burn, consume with fire ; cauterize ; destroy ; torment, agitate ; pj.be burned; be destroyed; be consumed with inward fire ; be tortured : pp. DAFFDHA, i/, v. ; cs. DAHAYA, cause to be burned; burn (tr.); DO.DIDHAKEHA, be about to burn or destroy ; intv. DANDAHITL, dan- dagdhi, DANDANYATE, burn or destroy completely ; "
And also:"DAVA, m. (forest) conflagration; m. n. forest : -DAHANA, m. forest fire ; -Agni, m. fire of a burning forest; Tanala, iii. id.""A Sanskrit-English dictionary", by Arthur Anthony MacdonellDava is a word that in Sanskrit is related to both wood and fire, but particularly in a forest fire. The meaning of the Greek word for dada is similarly related to a piece of wood on fire. The word Dava-Agni-Davagni which indicates the fire of a burning forest could be of particular interest to us, since it has two familiar cognates: one in Greek (Sanskrit Dava – Greek Dada) and one for Latin (Sanskrit Agni - Latin Ignis [the Greek word agne/αγνή is also a cognate, although not an obvious one: agne=pure, purified – through fire). The English word "to ignite" is a cognate of the Sanskrit "agni", and the same word exists in Slavic too. The name Ignatius is derived from Ignis, for fire in Latin, and is therefore related to Agni; we will see it again, later on, so let us remember it, but it is interesting to see its Saskrit cognate here couple with Dada's Sanskrit cognate to form the Sanskrit forest-fight: "Davagni".As it becomes very apparent by now that the Greek word dais/δαίς-dados/δαδός and the names Dada/Δάδα Dadas/Δάδας and their derivatives all relate to the act of "starting a fire", "setting wood ablaze", "igniting", and of course "torches" and "torch bearing".
They are all derived from the verb daio/δαίω (in original form *δαF-ίω), which means "to light up", "to kindle", "to set on fire", "to burn,". Passive form: Dedaumai/δέδαυμαι, I am being lit up, torched. Δαίς/dais, is also found as δάς/das, in genitive form δαδός/dados, which translates as "the torch". In ancient Greek we also have the words δαδούχος / dadouxos for "the one holding a torch", as in the torch bearers at the festival of Eleusinian Demetra, in Athens, and δαδοφόρος / dadophoros which also means "the torch bearer". The two associates of the Persian Mithra, the prophet of Zaroaster, whose cult spread throughout the Roman empire and competed with Christianity for dominance in Europe in the beginning of the first millennium, always followed Mithra each holding a torch in their hand, and they were called Dadophoroi/Δαδοφόροι. The verb describing their action (bearing a torch) is δαδοφορέω/dadophoreo : to bear a torche, as in festivals (Liddel & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon, page 365, 1951 reprint). Dadaphorios/Δαδαφόριος was also the name of the fifth month in the calendar of Delphi (roughly equivalent to today's January, the Macedonian Peritios/Περίτιος and the Athenian Gamelion/Γαμηλιών). Dadophorios took its name from of the annual torch-light festival Dadaphoria/Δαδαφόρια that was held on this month in Delphi. Δαδουχεω/dadouheo is a verb meaning "to be a torch", being a torch bearer. The image of the two Dadophoroi/torch bearers passing a dais/dados, a torch to one another, shown at the beginning of this article, is from an ancient Greek amphora. It is showing the passing of the torch in such an athletic contest help during a religious festival, a Dadophoreia, a torch relay.
In modern Greek, δάδα/dada still means the torch. A quick "image" search in the internet (using a "copy and paste" for those who cannot spell it in Greek) of the word δάδα will bring up countless images of torches; especially the Olympic torches of the torch relay around the world (from the site of ancient Olympia, in the Peloponnese, to the Olympic city of that year). Dada/δάδα is what the statue of Liberty in New York harbor is holding on her right hand (also called a pyrsos/πυρσός, from Pyr/πύρ for fire). Dadi/δαδι in modern Greek is the resin wood chip used to ignite a fireplace fire.
Professor Aleksandar Donski/Александар Донски, of Skopje, FYROM, in his futile attempt to establish a non-existing connection between the ancient Greek names Dada/Δάδα - Dadas/Δάδας to words in the jugo-Slavic language spoken in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, proclaims that "The noun "dada" in the present day Macedonian [sic] language means "older sister"". He obviously forgot to inform us as to how Δάδας/Dadas is related to his own "Дада"". And what about Dados, Dadouchos, Dadates, etc...how are these men related to the Slavomakedonian "older sister-Dada/Дада"? Consistency, it seems, is not a pre-qualification criterion for the good nationalistic propagandist.
Having by now been informed of the meaning of Dada in the "present day" language of the modern inhabitants of FYROM (ancient Paeonia and Dardania-not Macedonia), it is time to recall what Dada means in the "present day" languages of most other European nations: DADA: an anti-war, anti-establishment radical art movement of the WWI years (started in Zürich in 1916), which reverberates on and off till now (the Punk subculture owed much to Dada). Unfortunately, the European Dada, despite its obvious phonetic similarities, happens to have about as much connection to the ancient Greek Dada/Δάδα and Dadas/Δάδας as the pseudo-makedonka "older sister"-"Dada/Дада".
In conclusion, Dada/Δάδα and Dadas/Δάδας and other similarly derived names of the same linguistic root, have been attested in Greek Mythology and Greek History. The Hellenic epigraphjic record containes numerous inscriptions with these names, as clearly demonstrated above. Equally important is the fact that Dadas, Dada and related names were popular throughout the Greek-speaking word, and certainly not only in Macedonia. While there are only four mentions of the name Dada (and similar, related names) in Macedonia, there are about twenty one mentions of these same names in Thrace (in modern Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece), over fifty-five mentions of these same and related names in Asia Minor (now Turkey) and forty eight in the (predominantly Ionian) Greek colonies of the Euxinus Pontus (the Black Sea), Greek cities in what is now Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia. There were, as we showed above, ancient Greek inscriptions with the names Dada/Δάδα, Dadas/Δάδας, Dados/Δάδος etc found in other places in Greece, from Thessaly and Athens to Crete, Delos and Lesbos, but also in places as diverse and distant from each other as modern Syria, Mesopotamia-Iraq and Saudi Arabia, but also in Egypt and in Italy-Rome.
The common thread uniting these names is their "burning", "fire-igniting" and "torch"-related etymology:
Dadas/Δάδας, Dados/Δάδος, Dadaios/Δαδαίος, Dada/Δάδα: if they were Romans, instead of Greeks, with etymologically similar Latin names, they would have been named Inflammatus, Candelabrarius, Candela, or Ignatius: they too are "burning", "inflaming", "fire-igniting" and "torch" related names, like Dada/Δάδα and Dadas/Δάδας.
Miltiades Elia Bolaris
American Chronicle
