Messapian language
| Messapian | |
|---|---|
| Messapic | |
| Region | Apulian region of Italy |
| Era | attested 6th to 1st century BCE |
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Indo-European
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| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
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Linguist list
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cms |
| Glottolog | mess1244 |
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Messapian (/mɛˈsæpiən, mə-, -ˈseɪ-/; also known as Messapic) is an extinct Indo-European language of southeastern Italy, once spoken in the region of Apulia. It was spoken by the three Iapygian tribes of the region: the Messapians, the Peucetians and the Daunians.
The language has been preserved in about 300 inscriptions dating from the 6th to the 1st century BCE.
Messapian may have been related to the Illyrian language.
Messapian became extinct after the Roman Republic conquered the region of Apulia and assimilated the inhabitants.
Few, if any, Messapic inscriptions have been definitely deciphered.
From the Vaste inscription (Corpus Inscriptionum Messapicarum 149), a passage that probably consists mostly of personal names:
For this other Messapic inscription (Grotta della Poesia, Melendugno, Lecce):
Here, klauhi probably means "hear" (< PIE *kleu-, "to hear"); Zis has been interpreted as the Messapic Zeus; Dekias is a first name (compare Latin Decius); Artahias is a patronym or nomen gentile with the Messapic genitive -as suffix; Thautori is inferred to be an infernal god because of its placement next to what appears to be an adjective, andirahho (perhaps from PIE *ndher-, "under"). It is similar to Tartarus, a classical Greek name for the realm of Hades.
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