(Not) Terrifying Phrygian Curses?

Many Phrygian inscriptions are found on grave markers, usually including (or only) a curse against grave robbers. These are often simple and of set form, like, “Whoever should bring harm to this grave or stele, let him be cursed”. However, in the past linguists have provided odd translations of some words. Lubotsky translated gegaritmenos as ‘devoted’ (comparing Greek kekharisménos, certainly cognate in form if not meaning) in Ph. tig gegaritmeno[s] eitou ‘let him become cursed/devoted’. This meaning doesn’t seem to fit the context, and others like Orel simply said ‘cursed’. The shift of meaning seems to come from a word for ‘judged as good / judged in a favorable way’ later becoming a generic ‘judged’ and then used for ‘judged (innocent/guilty)’ or judged correctly’, with its positive or negative connotation dependent on context. It also seems to be related to a number of IE words that allow shared outcomes of Greek *y > *d^ > dz to also explain *y > *d > t in Phrygian (since most PIE *d > t in other words):

*g^h(e)r(i)ye- > Skt. háryati, G. khaírō ‘rejoice / be glad, L. *xoriye- > horīrī

*g^h(e)r(i)ye- > *g^hariðe- > G. kharízō ‘show favor / oblige’

G. kekharisménos ‘agreeable’, Ph. gegaritmenos ‘*found innocent > judged (innocent/guilty)’

This shift is shared by another word found in curses:

G. díkē ‘custom/order/right / judgement/atonement/penalty’, Ph. tetikmenos ‘judged (innocent/guilty) > forgiven / condemned/cursed’

Since tetikmenos can be good or bad, it explains why it sometimes appears in curses as ‘let him be tetikmenos’ and ‘let him not be tetikmenos’ if someone breaks the taboo. An offender is ‘condemned/cursed’ or ‘not forgiven’, depending only on its placement within the related words in the sentence. Since these are warnings of curses to robbers, there would be no problem with interpretation for speakers of Phrygian at the time.

In a similar way, Obrador-Cursach and others seem to have no problem translating gegreimeno- as ‘written’ in ‘let him suffer the written curse of Zeus’. This is not especially terrifying. The only evidence for this meaning is its resemblance to Greek khrī́ō ‘graze / anoint/smear/color/rub/scratch’, with the assumption that many IE words for ‘scratch’ also becoming ‘write’ would apply here. Since ‘cursed/devoted’ also had no firm evidence, I can’t see this ‘written’ as anything other than a mistake. I would have to compare:

*g^hrei- > OE á-grísan ‘shudder/fear/dread’, grís-líc, E. grisly, *g^hi-g^hrei- > Skt. jihreti ‘feel shame’, *g^he-g^hrei- > Ph. gegreimenan ‘fearsome?’

making the phrase, ‘let him suffer the fearsome curse of Zeus’. This is much more likely to appear in a warning that is meant to terrify away trespassers.

Lubotsky, Alexander (1989) The syntax of the New Phrygian inscription No. 88

https://www.academia.edu/40716878

Obrador-Cursach, Bartomeu (2018) Lexicon of the Phrygian Inscriptions

https://www.academia.edu/36329518

Whalen, Sean (2024)

https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoricalLinguistics/comments/1ci5vvm/phrygian_mankan_mank%C4%93n_man/

Whalen, Sean (2024)

https://www.academia.edu/118406031/Changes_to_y_in_Greek_and_Phrygian_Draft_