Amerias (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Ἀμερίας, 3rd century BC Macedonian : Америјас, Америја ) was an ancient Macedonian lexicographer, known for his compilation of a glossary titled '' Glossai'' (', terms or words). Αnother of his works was called ''Rhizotomikos'' ('), an etymological treatise. Words of Amerias have survived in the writings of Hesychius and

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (, or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; ) was an ancient Greek rhetorician and Grammarian (Greco-Roman), grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century ...

. From the titles and the wording of Athenaeus, it is evident that Amerias did not write an exclusively Macedonian dictionary. He included in his ''Glossai'' a

Homeric Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is ...

vocabulary as well, as with most of the

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

n grammarians. The only marked Macedonian term, given by Hesychius, is ''sauadai, saudoi, silenoi''. Athenaeus calls him many times Amerias the Macedonian but it is Seleucus of Alexandria who is quoted with the Macedonian bread ''dramis'', while Amerias in the same chapter is quoted with the bread ''ξηροπυρίτας, xeropyritas''. The suffix -as indicates a Doric word, as ''badas'' and ''rhappaulas'' but they are not reported as Macedonian; they may be, they may be not. Words that resemble the Macedonian sound-law of Hesychius are: ''badas'' (Attic ''batalos''), ''kalithos'' (Attic ''khalis''), ''grabion'' and ''kalarrhugai'', while ''Bathale'', ''pekhari'', ''scheron'', ''tetholos'', ''hyphainein'', as well the suffix ''-thos'' of ''kalithos'', contradict it. In any case, since Amerias is the only ancient proper grammarian and lexicographer, who is quoted as Macedonian, his Glossary is regarded generally as Macedonian at least of 4th to 3rd century BC.

References

Other sources

Amerias der Makedone by Otto Hoffmann
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amerias 3rd-century BC Macedonians 3rd-century BC Greek writers Ancient Greek lexicographers Ancient Macedonian linguists Ancient Greek grammarians

See also

References

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