Orotalt
Part of the myth series on |
Religions of the ancient Near East |
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Pre-Islamic Arabian deities |
Arabian deities of other Semitic origins |
According to the 5th century BCE Greek historian
Alilat.[1]
Also known as
Arabia
.
Etymology
Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions[2] states that Orotalt is a phonetic transcription of the name of the sun god Ruḍā.
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable[3] derives it from a corruption of Allāh ta'āla ("God Exalted"). The transcription from Allāh ta'āla to Orotalt can be explained thus: The Semitic 'l' is commonly equated with 'r' in Greek, and vice versa. For example, the word "river" is Nahr in Arabic, Nehar in Hebrew and Nahal in other Semitic languages, which was likely transcribed as Νεῖλος in Greek (as in the Nile river).
References
- ^ Histories III:8
- ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
- ^ Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1890). Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (24th ed.). London, Paris and Melbourne: Cassell & Company. p. 841.