σάτρα

Ancient Greek

Alternative readings

• ατρα (atra)
• -(α)στρα (-(a)stra)

Etymology

The existence and meaning of this word is disputed. It was interpreted by some early scholars as a phonetic rendering of an Old Persian word, possibly *xšaθram (“realm, kingdom”). Only attested in a line spoken in (mock-)Persian in Aristophanes' Acharnians.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /sá.tra/ → /ˈsa.tra/ → /ˈsa.tra/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sá.tra/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.tra/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.tra/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.tra/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.tra/

Noun

σάτρα • (sátra) ? (indeclinable)

1. (hapax) Persian word for gold
   • 446 BCE – 386 BCE, Aristophanes, The Acharnians 100:

     ἰαρταμαν ἐξαρξαν ἀπίσσονα σατρα.

     iartaman exarxan apíssona satra.

Usage notes

• Alternatively, Andreas Willi (2004) suggests that the wordbreak should be inserted after the sigma, yielding *ατρα. He interprets this as an Old Median reflex of Proto-Indo-Iranian *átra (“there, to that place”) (compare Avestan 𐬀𐬚𐬭𐬀 (aθra, “there, to that place”) and Sanskrit अत्र (atra, “here, in this place”)):
  • 446 BCE – 386 BCE, Aristophanes, The Acharnians 100:

    Ἰ ἀρταμαν’ Ἐξαρξα ν[ι]απισσ’ ὀ[υ]ασ’ ἀτρα.

    hī artaman' ᵊḪšǣršā niyapiⁿθ' ovaθ' aθrā.

    The right-minded Xerxes has written thus here.

• Another proposal comes from Brandenstein and Mayrhofer (1964), who offer the following reading:
  • 446 BCE – 386 BCE, Aristophanes, The Acharnians 100:

    ια ρταμανε Ξαρξα ναπισσ-[Ι]ονα σατρα.

    hªya (a)rtamanā Ḫšayārša napaišuv yaunam ḫšaçam

    The rightminded Xerxes (greets) the coastal Greek realm.

Further reading

• Willi, Andreas (2004) “Old Persian in Athens Revisited (Ar. Ach. 100)”, in Mnemosyne, volume 57, number 6, →JSTOR, pages 657-681
• Brandenstein, Wilhelm, Mayrhofer, Manfred (1964) Handbuch Des Altpersischen, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, page 91
• “σάτρα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σάτρα in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette