Συρία

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

  • Σῠρῐ́η (Sŭrĭ́ē) — Ionic

Etymology

Apheretic form of Ἀσσυρία (Assuría, “Assyria”), from Akkadian 𒀾𒋗𒊏𒅀 (Aššūrāyu), from 𒀸𒋩 (Aššur, “Assur”).

The land corresponding to modern Syria was originally called Aram by its ancient inhabitants, the Arameans. After the Assyrian conquest of Aram, the Greeks applied the name Syria to this territory. Over time, Syria came to denote the broader Levant, while Assyria referred to Mesopotamia. Herodotus (5th century BCE) was among the earliest Greek authors to consistently distinguish Syria and Assyria.[1] After his time, some classical writers occasionally blurred the distinction.[1] Nevertheless, educated writers and administrative usage gradually preserved the distinction, with Syria referring to the Levant and Assyria to Mesopotamia.

Pronunciation

 

Proper noun

Σῠρῐ́ᾱ • (Sŭrĭ́ā) f (genitive Σῠρῐ́ᾱς); first declension

  1. (historical) Syria (a historical region of West Asia, extending from modern-day southeast Turkey to the north, the Euphrates and Arabian Desert to the east, the Sinai Peninsula to the south, and the Mediterranean sea to the west)
  2. (historical) Syria (an ancient Roman province between 64 BCE and 198 CE)

Declension

First declension of ἡ Σῠρῐ́ᾱ; τῆς Σῠρῐ́ᾱς (Attic)
Case / # Singular
Nominative ἡ Σῠρῐ́ᾱ
hē Sŭrĭ́ā
Genitive τῆς Σῠρῐ́ᾱς
tês Sŭrĭ́ās
Dative τῇ Σῠρῐ́ᾳ
tēî Sŭrĭ́āi
Accusative τὴν Σῠρῐ́ᾱν
tḕn Sŭrĭ́ān
Vocative Σῠρῐ́ᾱ
Sŭrĭ́ā
Notes:
  • This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

Descendants

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Joseph, John (2000), The modern Assyrians of the Middle East, Brill, page 21:
    Randolph Helm's researches show that Herodotus “conscientiously” and “consistently” distinguished the names Syria and Assyria and used them independently of each other. To Herodotus, writes Helm, “Syrians” were “the inhabitants of the coastal Levant, including North Syria, Phoenicia, and Philistia”; he “never [emphasis Helm’s] uses the name ‘Syria’ to apply to Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is always called ‘Assyria’ ... [and its] inhabitants ‘Assyrians’.” The clear distinction made by Herodotus, comments Helm, was “lost upon later Classical authors, some of whom interpreted [Herodotus’] Histories VII.63 as a mandate to refer to Phoenicians, Jews, and any other Levantines as ‘Assyrians’.”

Further reading

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Συρία (Suría, “Syria”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /siˈɾi.a/

Proper noun

Συρία • (Syría) f

  1. Syria (a country in West Asia in the Middle East)

Declension

Declension of Συρία
singular
nominative Συρία (Syría)
genitive Συρίας (Syrías)
accusative Συρία (Syría)
vocative Συρία (Syría)


Further reading

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