Τάρταρος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

According to Strabo, this word had been fancifully believed to have been invented by Homer with the city of Ταρτησσός (Tartēssós) in mind, with a slight change of letters, it being west of the Ἡράκλειοι Στῆλαι (Hērákleioi Stêlai), or Pillars of Heracles, beyond which the sun sinks past Oceanus as it enters into Tartarus. A semantic connection of Definition 2 with the doomed, sunken civilization of Atlantis has not been overlooked.

Klein suggests (at least partly) otherwise: "prob[ably] word of imitative origin, suggestive of something frightful."

Pronunciation

 

Proper noun

Τάρτᾰρος • (Tártaros) m (genitive Ταρτᾰ́ρου); second declension

  1. Tartarus
  2. (Christendom) metaphor for Hell

Inflection

Derived terms

  • Ταρτᾰ́ρειος (Tartáreios)
  • ταρτᾰρῐ́ζω (tartarízō)
  • Ταρτᾰ́ρῐος (Tartários)
  • ταρτᾰρῑ́της (tartarī́tēs)
  • Ταρτᾰρόπαις (Tartarópais)
  • ταρτᾰροῦχος (tartaroûkhos)
  • ταρτᾰρόω (tartaróō)

Descendants

See also

References

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