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”).^[1] Only attested in a line spoken in (mock-)Persian in Aristophanes' Acharnians.

Pronunciation

(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)

(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.

References

^ Janda, Michael (2004) “*xšaϑra-”, in Die Sprache Der Meder (dissertation)‎^[1] (in German), University of Zurich, page 138: “gr. σατρα für medisch xšaϑra-”