ANCIENT ONOMASTICS: PERSPECTIVES AND PROBLEMS Heikki Solin ABSTRACT: The importance of the collaboration between historians and philologists in onomastic studies is being stressed. We also owe important findings to the new more linguistically-oriented direction of onomastics, which has introduced a more historical and geographical approach into onomastic thinking. Some considerations of questions which are controversial or require further attention are offered. In the field of Greek onomastics the need for a new Onomasticon of Greek Names and a new issue of Bechtel's classic "Die historischen Personennamen des Griechischen bis zur Kaiserzeit" was stressed, as well as the need for a comprehensive treatment of Greek slave names. On the Roman side, a similar need for lexicographical compilations was pointed out, as well as a new comprehensive treatment of the Roman name-system. The latter part of the article is dedicated to questions concerning the interrelationship between Greek and Roman onomastics. My first duty is to thank our Greek friends, not both philological and historical methodology and least Athanasios Rizakis, not only for the honour achievements. So, without exaggeration, we can they have accorded to me by asking me to give say that the discovery of the crucial importance this opening lecture, but also for all their efforts of combining history and philology in onomastic in preparing the programme of this conference studies has had an extremely beneficial effect on and in gathering together here a large number of the development of our disclipine. And, as a leading experts. I am sure we shall work very well gathering of philologists and historians, we may, together during the next few days, which will be I think, expect lasting results from the lively and the occasion for many interesting papers. Our animated dialogue that I anticipate over the next thanks also go to the Finnish Institute at Athens, few days. which, from the very beginning, has participated But there are also other reasons why onomastic in the preparation of the colloquium and given research is nowadays so flourishing. Until quite much help with the practical arrangements. recently a real barrier to progress in onomastic If I begin by saying that ancient onomastics has studies has been the lack of certain indispensable made great advances in, let us say, the post-war research tools such as dictionaries or indexes of period, you might reply that the same is true for epigraphical publications. To take just two exam­ many other branches of classical scholarship. And ples, we did not enjoy the use of any comprehensive you would be right, for there are few disclipines in modern lexicon of Greek personal names until the the field of Altertumswissenschaft that can be first volume of the British Academy Lexicon of accused of lying fallow. It is, however, still true to Greek Personal Names saw the light of day in 1987. say that onomastic studies have progressed enor­ This was a major event and has immensely facilita­ mously during the last few decades. In my view the ted Greek onomastic research. I shall in due course principal reason for this is that, in the study of come back to this memorable publication. On the ancient personal names, historians and philologists Latin side one can point to Kajanto's Latin have finally begun to work together, and this Cognomina of 1965, a classic in its own right, where collaboration has given a new impetus to the for the first time —mirabile dictu!— the Latin research on ancient onomastics. This research cognomina were collected and interpreted morpho- requires a thoroughly interdisciplinary approach, logically and semantically. In addition, we now and it is only in recent decades that we have learned have the long-overdue publication of the Index that a true understanding of onomastic processes cognominum of the sixth volume of CIL, the is impossible without a profound knowledge of volume dedicated to Rome, where the richness of 1 H. SOLIN Latin onomastic documentation reveals itself best. The title of our conference is "Colloquium on The mere lack of this index volume has for decades Roman Onomastics: Social and Political Aspects ' '. prevented comprehensive analyses of problems This indicates an emphasis on historical aspects, in Roman onomastics. The lack of such lexico­ but I am sure that much of our discussion too will graphical compilations or indexes also explains the be about the philological interpretation of names. difficulty experienced in finding useful viewpoints And as we are in the centre of Hellenic civilization, from which the somewhat banal evidence of names it is self-evident that Greek onomastics will play becomes interesting. But today, the business of an important role in our colloquium, even though checking the distribution and frequency of Roman mostly connected with the presence of Roman names, once very laborious and still requiring dili­ power or at least of Italic elements. gence and accuracy, has gradually become easier, To begin my reflections, I should first like to sketch thanks to the above-mentioned indexes and to some a picture of current trends in ancient onomastics, extent also to the Finnish School; and the compen­ and then focus on some central problems. dium of Mócsy and his team also deserves mention. Today in our field three different and overlapping But for gentilicia Schulze is still needed; so too, for approaches can be discerned1. Firstly, there are tribes, Kubitschek. purely philological attempts to collect, arrange However, not only the completion of such and explain material, according to etymological indexes, but also the progress of epigraphical principles, and, when this is done, the semasiological science in general, has brought great advances in arrangement plays a great role. Classics in this the study of onomastics. Inscriptions are the central field are, e. g., the works by Friedrich Bechtel and source-material in onomastic research and this is Iiro Kajanto. Furthermore, we owe important the reason why onomastic and epigraphic studies findings to the new more linguistically-oriented are so closely related. In fact, an onomatologist direction of onomastics, which has introduced a would not even consider pursuing his studies more historical and geographical approach into without at all times taking this main source into onomastic thinking. As to the study of the onomastic account; and as the inscriptions are full of names material of the Western Mediterranean, this —in fact these form the main part of normal epi­ approach has been developed and applied above graphic texts— the epigrapher is continously forced all by the Tübingen school of Hans Krahe, by scholars like Helmut Rix, Carlo de Simone, Jürgen to pose onomastic questions. So the epigraphers 2 and onomatologists cannot escape each other. This Untermann and Ulrich Schmoll . As to the Eastern part, the works of Ladislav Zgusta on the names of symbiosis also explains, at least in part, the birth 3 of the Finnish onomastic school, the origins of Asia Minor can be mentioned . Whereas the great which go back to the foundation of the Finnish pioneers in this field like Wilhelm Schulze had, in Institute at Rome. For many reasons it was quite the tradition of conventional Indo-European natural that the new institute of a country impoveri­ linguistics, subjected personal names (and also shed by the Second World War would not undertake toponyms) without onomastic context and chrono- expensive archaeological excavations, but would, logical fixing to etymological artistry and far- rather, invest in the study of source-material which would not incur excessive costs. And as most of the Finnish classical scholars of the first post-war generation were classical philologists, it is more 1. Some outlines are traced in H. Solin, "Probleme der than understandable that in the milieu of our Roman römischen Namenforschung," BNF5 (1970) 276 ff. institute a special interest in onomastic questions 2. Some of their work mentionedin Solin, BNF5 (1970) grew. At first this interest was more philologically 276hf. oriented, but later it expanded in a more historical 3. Esp. Kleinasiatische Personennamen (Prag 1964); direction. It would be no exaggeration to say that further Neue Beiträge zur kleinasiatischen Anthroponymie (Prag 1970). Especially valuable are also the numerous our onomastic research forms a distinctive contri­ studies by L. Robert; in particular see his Noms indigènes bution of Finland to modern classical scholarship. dans l'Asie-Mineure gréco-romaine I (Paris 1963). 2 ANCIENT ONOMASTICS reaching linguistic deductions, the new orientation Perhaps the most urgent need is for a new Onoma- has taken the opposite direction. One should first sticon of Greek names and a new issue of Bechtel 's lay down the documentation locally and chrono­ classic Historische Personennamen des Griechi­ logically before proceeding to a synthesis. This schen bis zurKaiserzeitP. As to the former, we all method, which refrains as far as possible from giving know that the well-known Pape-Benseler dictio­ a semantic meaning to the names studied, has in nary was most uncritical and completely insuf­ fact introduced a new chapter into the onomastic ficient even on publication7. But it was not until study of the Mediterranean area. It is especially recently that a new Onomasticon of Greek names suited to the investigation of older, pre-classical (and only personal names) was undertaken. The conditions, say, in Italy, in the western provinces large-scale project has been realized by the British and also in Asia Minor. This does not exclude the Academy; of the five-volume enterprise the first 8 fact that in historically clearer periods, as in the two volumes have appeared . The first volume Empire, in the larger cities and in well-defined contains the names of the Aegean Islands, Cyprus areas one can achieve good results by applying an and Cyrenaica, rather a strange combination, which etymological approach.