Phrygian mekas and the recently discovered New Phrygian inscription from Nacoleia

Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to argue for the interpretation of Phrygian mekas as an adjective meaning 'great' and inherited from PIE *méǵ-h2-, taking into account all its testimonies documented in the Phrygian corpus and accepting the theory of a Phrygian Lautverschiebung. Furthermore, through a new reading of the last lines of the recently discovered New Phrygian inscription from Nacoleia, where the accusative μεκαν can be read in agreement with the theonym Τιαν, a new interpretation of the apodosis of the New Phrygian inscription 25 is given. Finally, a comparison of the Phrygian and the Greek forms reveals a common innovation in the presence of the ending -s in the masculine nom. sg. despite the lack of the -λο- suffix in the Phrygian inflection of this word.