An
epithet (from
Greek ἐπίθετον -
epitheton,
neut. of
ἐπίθετος -
epithetos, "attributed,
added") is a descriptive word or phrase accompanying or occurring
in place of the name of a person or thing, which has become a fixed
formula. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly
real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and
biological nomenclature.
Linguistics
In
linguistics, an epithet can only be a
metaphor, essentially a reduced or
condensed
appositive. Epithets are
sometimes attached to a person's name or appear in place of their
name, as what might be described as a glorified nickname. An
epithet is linked to its noun by long-established usage and some
are not otherwise employed. Not every adjective is an epithet, even
worn
clichés: an epithet is especially
recognizable when its function is largely decorative, as when
"cloud-gathering Zeus" is otherwise employed than in conjuring up a
storm. "The epithets are decorative insofar as they are neither
essential to the immediate context nor modelled especially for it.
Among other things, they are extremely helpful to fill out a
half-verse",
Walter Burkert has
noted.
Some epithets are known by the Latin term
epitheton
necessarium because they are required to distinguish
the bearers, e.g. as an alternative to ordinals after a prince's
name — such as
Richard the
Lionheart, or
Charles the Fat
alongside
Charles the Bald. Still
the same epithet can be used repeatedly, in different spheres of
life and/or joined to different names, say
Alexander the Great as well as
Catherine the Great.
Other epithets can easily be omitted without serious risk of
confusion, and are therefore known (again in Latin) as
epitheton ornans; thus the classical
Roman author Virgil systematically called the armsbearer of Aeneas,
his main hero,
fidus Achates, the epithet being
fidus, which means faithful or loyal.
There are also specific types of epithets, such as the
kenning which appears in works such as
Beowulf. An example of a kenning
would be the term
whale-road,
meaning "sea".
Literature
Epithets are characteristic of the style of ancient
epic poetry, notably in that of
Homer or the northern European sagas. See above, as
well as
epithets in Homer. When
James Joyce uses the phrase "the
snot-green sea" he is playing on Homer's familiar epithet "the
wine-dark sea". The phrase "Discreet Telemachus" is also considered
an epithet.
- the Greek term Antonomasia, in
rhetoric, means substituting any epithet or phrase for a proper
name, as Pelides, signifying the "son of Peleus", to
identify Achilles; an opposite substitution of a proper name for
some generic term is also sometimes called antonomasia, as
a Cicero for an orator.
Religion
In many
polytheistic religions, such as
in ancient Greek and Roman religions, a deity's epithets, easily
multiplied in the practice of
cultus generally reflected a particular
aspect of that god's essence and role, for which their influence
may be obtained for a specific occasion: Apollo
Musagetes
is "
Apollo, [as] leader of the
Muses" and therefore patron of the arts and sciences
while
Phoibos Apollo is the same deity, but as shining
sun-god. "Athena protects the city as
polias, oversees
handicrafts as
ergane, joins battle as
promachos and grants victory as
nike."
Alternatively the epithet may identify a particular and
localized aspect of the god, sometimes already ancient
during the classical epochs of Greece or Rome, such as a reference
to the mythological place of birth or
numinous
presence at a specific sanctuary: sacrifice might be offered on
one and the same occasion to Pythian Apollo (
Apollo
Pythios) and Delphic Apollo (
Apollo Delios). A
localizing epithet refers simply to a particular center of
veneration and the cultic tradition there, as the god manifested at
a particular festival, for example: Zeus Olympios, Zeus as present
at Olympia, or Apollo Karneios, Apollo at the Spartan
Carneian festival.
Often the
epithet is the result of fusion of the Olympian divinity with an
older one: Poseidon Erechtheus, Artemis Orthia
, reflect intercultural equations of a divinity with
an older one, that is generally considered its pendant; thus most
Roman gods and goddesses, especially the Twelve Olympians, had traditional
counterparts in Greek, Etruscan, and most other Mediterranean
pantheons, e.g. Jupiter
as head of the Olympian Gods with
Zeus, but in
specific cult places there may even be a different equation, based
on one specific aspect of the divinity. Thus the Greek word
Trismegistos "thrice grand" was first used as a Greek name
for the Egyptian god of science and invention,
Thot, and later as an
epitheton for the Greek
Hermes and, finally, the fully equated Roman
Mercurius (
Mercury; both were
also messenger of the gods). Among the Greeks, T. H. Price notesthe
nurturing power of
Kourotrophos might be invoked in
sacrifices and recorded in inscription, without specifically
identifying
Hera or
Demeter.
Some epithets were applied to several deities of a same pantheon,
rather accidentally if they had a common characteristic, or
deliberately emphasizing their blood- or other ties; thus in pagan
Rome, several divinities (including demi-gods, heroes) were given
the
epitheton Comes as
companion of another (usually major) divinity. An epithet can even
be meant for collective use, e.g. in Latin
pilleati 'the
felt hat-wearers' for the brothers
Castor and Pollux. Some epithets resist
explanation.
Similar practices still exist in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity
in the veneration of
Christ and,
mainly, of the saints. "
Our Lady of
Lourdes" is essentially
periphrasis,
unless some aspect of the Virgin were being invoked.
Politics and military
In historical, journalistic, and other writings, one often
encounters epitheta, but it is worthwhile distinguishing different
types. While the same rationale as in the genealogical section
above may apply, in some cases posthumously politicians, unlike
ordinary citizens, often have some control over public opinion and
generally more of an interest in their image, so whether forged for
themselves or contrived by opponents, their epitheta often carry a
political message.
Indeed while these differ from official titles as they don't
express any legal status, epitheta have been awarded and adopted
(though the official procedure may provide for the formal decision
to be issued by another institution, such as a legislative
assembly) by statesmen in power for fairly formal use, not
dissimilar in purpose to various sinecures, knighthoods or
peerage-type titles in post-feudal societies: they confer prestige
without any legal authority, so essentially a matter of image or
even propaganda, aimed at a domestic and/or foreign target
audience. Examples of such epithets are the various traditions of
victory titles (see there) awarded to
meritorious generals and rulers since antiquity, and the epithets
awarded to entire units, e.g. such adjectives as 'Fidelis'
('loyal') to various Roman legions.
Alternative contemporary usage
In contemporary usage,
epithet is sometimes used to refer
to an abusive or defamatory phrase, such as a
racial epithet. This euphemistic use is
discredited by Martin Manser and other
prescriptive linguists.
References
- Epithetos, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A
Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus
- W. Burkert, The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern
Influence on Greek Culture of the Early Archaic Age 1992, p
116.
- Hence the word mouseion= museum)
- Walter Burkert, Greek Religion (Harvard University
Press, 1985) III.4.4. "The special character of Greek
anthropomorphism", especially p. 184.
- Price, Kourotrophos, 1978, noted by Burkert
1985:184.
- Burkert 1985:184.
- Manser, Martin H. (2007), Good Word Guide sixth
edition, A&C Black, 147 ISBN 978-0-7136-7759-1
See also