Grecki bóg Hermes i bogini wedyjska Saramā w aspekcie porównawczym

Following the suggestions of nineteenth-century linguists (Max Müller, 1838, Monier-Williams, 1898) the author, basing on the linguistic and mythological comparative analysis, shows that the Greek good Hermes can be related to the Vedic goddess Sarama. The article firstly gives on overview of the different conceptions regarding the etymology of the theonym “Hermes”. The most popular and probable of them is the one proposed by Martin P. Nilsson (1949), who connects it with the greek noun ἕρμα ‘prop, support, reef, rock under water’. Some difficulties, which this hypothesis has given rise to, show that the problem of etymology of the name Hermes is long standing and unsolved. Thereafter, the author proves that etymologies of Hermes and Sarama can connect to the same Indo-European root *ser-. Also the oldest Greek and Vedic literature, primarily Homer’s poems, Homeric Hymn to Hermes and Rigvedic Hymn X. 108, demonstrates numerous similarities between both deities.

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