Balkans=Haimos

[akritas]

Balkans it is quite a recent term, popularized in the early 19th century by the German geographer August Zeune. He spoke of a Balkan Peninsula analogous to, say, the Iberian Peninsula.

In Bulgarian Balkan means simply ‘mountain’, and in Turkish ‘steep forested mountain’. It came, however, to denote the chain of mountains which in ancient times was known as Haimos.

Balkan Peninsula in the ancient times was called Haimos (pronounced Hemos) and this name would be the most apropriate name for this peninsula while the name for its populations would be Haimian (pronounced Hemian).

Some sources that can guide us that Haimos was the original name of the today Balkan (which sounds vastly more european by the way) and its Hellenic origin.

One from the source is the Hellenic mythologie.

The Haimos, son of Voreas and Orethias, was spouse of Rodopi and father of Evros. Haimos and Rodopi tried to be gods in the place of Zeus and Hera. The Zeus, wanting him to punishes him , transformed his woman in the homonym mountain, while his son him it made river, known Evros. The Haimos, wanting to be with his family, was transformed in the mountain range of Haimos, which surrounds the mountain of Rodopi and Evros river.

According the Columbia University Balkans , Bulg. Stara Planina (stä'rä plä'nēnä'), major mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula and Bulgaria, extending c.350 mi (560 km) from E Serbia and Montenegro through central Bulgaria to the Black Sea. It rises to 7,794 ft (2,376 m) at Botev, the highest peak. The Balkans are a continuation of the Carpathian Mts. The forested range is sparsely populated and rich in a variety of minerals.

[Peace Lover]

In Albanian can be interpretated " ëmë " wich is a Tosk dialect word , means " mother " . In standart Albanian is said " nënë " .

[akritas]

So the Greeks identified Haimos as male and the Albanians interpretated as ...female:)

[Peace Lover]

So the Greeks identified Haimos as male and the Albanians interpretated as ...female:)

The idea was , motherland in an old variety maybe , " ëmës " in Tosk Albanian dialect means of the mother .

[Tsontos]

Peace Lover which university did you get your degree in etymology and linguistics at?

[akritas]

...is obvious from Wikipedia University :)

[Sniper]

anyway in Greek means blood.isn't it?

[akritas]

No...the origin of this word is unknown !!!

[olvios]

αιμός means forested,forest in ancient greek

&

Balkan is a Persian word

[olvios]

Αίμος

Γιος του Βορέα και της νύμφης Ωρειθυίας, βασιλιάς της Θράκης. Σύζυγός του ήταν η Ροδόπη, με την οποία απόκτησε ένα γιο, τον Έβρο. Σύμφωνα με ένα μύθο που αναφέρει ο Πλούταρχος, επειδή ο Αίμος καλούσε τη Ροδόπη Ήρα και αυτή τον Αίμο Δία, οι δυο μεγάλοι θεοί αγανάκτησαν γι' αυτό και τους μεταμόρφωσαν στα ομώνυμα βουνά.
Σύμφωνα με άλλη πληροφορία ο Αίμος ήταν το βουνό, στο οποίο κατάφυγε ο Τυφώνας, που τον καταδίκασε ο Δίας. Εκεί αντιστάθηκε και εκσφενδόνιζε εναντίον του Δία ολόκληρα βουνά Τότε ο πατέρας των θεών τον πλήγωσε με τους κεραυνούς του και το αίμα που χύθηκε έβαψε το βουνό κατακόκκινο. Τ ο βουνό ονομάσθηκε έτσι από αυτόν.

In Greek mythology, King Haemus (or Haimos) of Thrace was the son of Boreas. He was vain and haughty and compared himself and his wife, Queen Rhodope, to Zeus and Hera. They changed him and his wife into mountains (Haemus Mons and Rhodope Mountains, respectively). In Greek, the Balkan Peninsula was thus known as the Peninsula of Haemus (Χερσόνησος του Αίμου). This naming of the Balkans has some basis amongst today Greeks as well.

Haemus 1 is said to have offended the gods, and for that reason turned into a mountain in Thrace [Ov.Met.6.83].

Haemus 2. Defender of Thebes during the war of the SEVEN [Stat.Theb.7.644].

http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/001ShortEntries/SEEurythemis.html

Its an Ancient Greek name of Greek individuals and of mythological personas

[Sniper]

αιμός means forested,forest in ancient greek

&

Balkan is a Persian word
Is there any word of the same root that still exists?

[olvios]

Polybius, Histories,24.3

Mount Haemus in Thrace

Mount Haemus is close to the Pontus, the most extensive
and loftiest of the ranges in Thrace, which it divides into two nearly equal parts, from which a view of both seas may be obtained.

Apollodorus, Library and Epitome,1.6.3

. Likewise he put away the sinews there also, hidden in a bearskin, and he set to guard them the she-dragon Delphyne, who was a half-bestial maiden. But Hermes and Aegipan stole the sinews [p. 51] and fitted them unobserved to Zeus.4 And having recovered his strength Zeus suddenly from heaven, riding in a chariot of winged horses, pelted Typhon with thunderbolts and pursued him to the mountain called Nysa, where the Fates beguiled the fugitive; for he tasted of the ephemeral fruits in the persuasion that he would be strengthened thereby.5 So being again pursued he came to Thrace, and in fighting at Mount Haemus he heaved whole mountains. But when these recoiled on him through the force of the thunderbolt, a stream of blood gushed out on the mountain, and they say that from that circumstance the mountain was called Haemus.6 And when he started to flee through the Sicilian sea, Zeus cast Mount Etna in Sicily upon him. That is a huge mountain, from which down to this day they say that blasts of fire issue from the thunderbolts that were thrown.7 So much for that subject.

Herodotus, The Histories,4.49.1

These are the native-born Scythian rivers that help to swell it; but the Maris river, which commingles with the Ister, flows from the Agathyrsi. The Atlas, Auras, and Tibisis, three other great rivers that pour into it, flow north from the heights of Haemus.

Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology > v. 2, page 324

HAEMUS ( Afjuos). I. A son of Boreas and Oreithyia, was married to Rhodope, by whom he became the father of Hebrus. As he and his wife presumed to assume the names of Zeus and Hera, both were metamorphosed into mountains. (Serv. ad Virg. Aen. i. 321; Ov. Met. vi. 87 ; Steph. Byz. s. vv.)

2. A son of Ares, and an ally of the Trojans in the war with the Greeks. (Tzetz. Antehom. 273 ; Philostr. Her. xv. 16.) [L. S.]

And many more....

[akritas]

Olvios your word is diffrent from the Haimos.

Αιμός...with dasia breathing in the letter -i- and the tone in the letter -o-
Αίμος ...with psili breathing and the tone in the letter -i-.

Tottally difrent words.

[Sniper]

Is there any word of the same root that still exists?

I mean about Αιμός...

[olvios]

The toning is different but it probably meant the same thing (thats why i put the tone).It was used as name for a person & location so it may have thus changed slightly as Αθηνά-Αθήνα.

[olvios]

Actually in most texts ancient and medieval the αίμος is used with the tone in front(see tlg).

[olvios]

I mean about Αιμός...

αιμός is δρυμός

[akritas]

The toning is different but it probably meant the same thing (thats why i put the tone).It was used as name for a person so it may have thus changed slightly as Αθηνά-Αθήνα.

Not only the toning but and the breathings . Tone (actually is accent) and breathings have introduced in a time where pronounciation of Greek language had changed and linguists of that time wanted to keep a written trace of the original pronounciation.

as about Athina there are also diffrents because the tone and the best person that might help us is Istor because he is philologos.

[Istor]

αιμός
αἱμός, ο (Α)· πυκνό δάσος, δρυμός.
[ΕΤΥΜΟΛ. βλ. λ. αιμασιά].

αιμασιά
η (Α αἱμασιά)· 1. τοίχος, φράχτης από πέτρες και χώμα, ξερολιθιά· 2. (γεν.) τείχισμα, περίβολος, φράχτης, μάντρα· || (αρχ.) 1. τα τείχη πόλης ή κάστρου· 2. το εσωτερικό περιμαντρωμένου χώρου.
[ΕΤΥΜΟΛ. Αβέβαιης ετυμολογίας. Πιθ. να συνδέεται με το λατ. saepes(και sepes «φράγμα, φραγμός, περίβολος», οπότε θα ανάγεται σε αρχ. ρίζα *saip-mo- «ξύλινο περίφραγμα, φράχτης» (ήτοι *saep-m- > *saem-m, με αφομοίωση > *saem- με απλοποίηση· πρβλ. αἱπ-μὸς > αἱμὸς «δρυμός», Ησύχ.). Κατ’ άλλους, η λέξη ανάγεται σε αρχ. τύπο *saimen-, που μαρτυρείται στο σανσκρ. sima «σειρά, χώρισμα», σαξον. simo «δεσμός, σκοινί, χορδή», πιθ. και στα ελλην. ἱ-μον-ιά «σκοινί πηγαδιού», ἱ-μαν-τ(ς) (> ἱμάς «ιμάντας, λουρί»)· σε τέτοια περίπτωση, το αἱμασιά θα ερμηνευθεί από αρχ. τύπο *sai-mn > (*αἱμα, τ. ουδετ. ονόμ. που θα δώσει ως παράγωγο* αἱματ-ιὰ > αἱμασιά. Ως προς τη σημ. τής λ., πρόκειται προφανώς για λ. τού αγροτικού βίου, που ξεκινάει με τη γενική σημ. τού «φράχτη», φτιαγμένου από (ξερές) πέτρες («ξερολιθιά») και που συχνά περιγράφεται από τους σχολιαστές ως «φράχτης από αγκάθια», γεγονός που οδήγησε και στην παρετυμολογική σύνδεσή του με το ρ. αἱμάσσω. Τέλος, από τη σημ. «τού περιβάλλοντος τοίχου, τής μάντρας», εξελίχθηκε, όπως μαρτυρούν τα επιγραφικά κείμενα, στη σημ. τού «περιβαλλόμενου με τοίχο χώρου, τού εσωτερικού ενός περιμαντρωμένου χώρου».

Ο Ησύχιος επιβεβαιώνει: αιμός = τράχηλος.
και Αιμονία = η Θεσσαλία (θυμηθείτε το σχήμα της)
Και οι δυο λέξεις παίρνουν δασεία όπως η λέξη Αίμος.

Η λέξη μάλλον έχει σχέση εννοιολογική με τον φράχτη.

Πολλά τοπωνύμια στην αρχαιότητα έφεραν το όνομα Αίμων, Αιμονία, Αίμος, Αιμονιάς, .....

[olvios]

Same meaning its the wall of mountains,trees,forests and the shape and functin of it in general.They assigned the wall or fence to the trees and the mountains.

[akritas]

Istor Αἴμος came from αἱμός ?

[Orphic_Hymn]

"Λεξικό του Αρχαίου Κόσμου" του Γιάννη Λάμψα τόμος 1ος, σελ. 154

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c259/panosvls/fa7ab210.jpg?t=1205274018

[akritas]

You know what I realize Orphic with Lamsas quote ? That the monotonic system destroying our language!!!

[Orphic_Hymn]

Don't know re su, you might be right but... look at Apollodorus at Perseus.tufts (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod.+1.6.3)

So being again pursued he came to Thrace, and in fighting at Mount Haemus he heaved whole mountains. But when these recoiled on him through the force of the thunderbolt, a stream of blood gushed out on the mountain, and they say that from that circumstance the mountain was called Haemus.6

Now look at note 6:

Haemus, from haima (blood); hence “the Bloody Mountain.” It is said that a city of Egypt received the same name for the same reason (Stephanus Byzantius, s.v. hêrô).

[akritas]

I have 5 lexicon (one electronic) and none of them give any kind of etymology as about the name Haemus.