Vār∈ġna, the falcon

7/28/2019 Vrna, the falcon

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V . 4 R f f G N A , T H E F A L C O Nby

B. H. STRICKERLeiden

T h e b i r d vdragna i s m e n t i o n e d i n t h r e e d i f f e r e n t p l a c e s i n th e A v e s t a .A d e s c r i p t i o n o f i ts h a b i t s i s g i v e n i n Ya g t , XI V 1 9 - 2 1 : I t s e i z es f r o mb e l o w a n d t e a r s t o p i e c e s f r o m a b o v e . I t i s t h e s w i f te s t o f a ll b ir d s , t h eo n l y o n e t h a t c a n o v e r t a k e a n a r r o w i n f li g h t. I t fl ie s a t d a w n w i t hi t s f e a t h e r s b r i s t l i n g a n d s e e k s i t s f o o d e a r l y i n t h e m o r n i n g a n d l a t e a tn i g h t . I t s k i m s o v e r t h e h i l ls a n d v a l l e y s , r i v e r s a n d t r e e s , li s t e n i n g t ot h e s o u n d o f t h e b ir d s . B o t h t h e o t h e r p a ss a g e s d e a l w i t h t h e s y m b o l i s mo f th e a n i m a l . A c c o r d i n g t o Y a g t , X I V 3 5 -3 8 , t h e f e a t h e r o f t h e varogna,t h e b i r d w i t h t h e b r o a d w i n g s p a n , e n d o w s w h o e v e r w e a r s it o r r u b sh i s b o d y w i t h i t w i t h t r a n s c e n d e n t p o w e r s , a n d a b o v e a ll , i n v u l n e r a b i l i t yi n b a t tl e . A b o n e o f t h e b i r d d o e s t h e s a m e t h i n g i n l i k e c i r c u m s t a n c e s .T h e p a s s a g e i n Y a g t, X I X 3 0 -3 9 , t a k e s u s b a c k t o t h e t i m e o f b l e s se d n e s sw h e n k i n g Y i m a s ti ll r e i g n e d o n e a r th . T h e w o r l d w a s a p a r a d i s e u n t i lt h e m o m e n t w h e n Y i m a t o l d a li e a n d f e ll i n t o s in . T h e n t h e hvaranah,t r a n s c e n d e n c e o r r o y a l g l o r y , l e ft h i m i n t h e f o r m o f t h e b i r d vdragna.

I d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f th i s b i r d i s p o s s ib l e o n t h e g r o u n d s o f t h e f i rs t o f t h ed e t a i l s g i v e n a b o v e : urva t6 adara.na~md_t, ple at6 upara.na~md_t, " s e i z i n gf r o m b e l o w , t e a r in g to p i ec e s f r o m a b o v e " . T h i s m e a n s m o r e t h a nm e r e l y t h a t t h e b i r d s ei ze s i ts p r e y w i t h i ts c l aw s a n d t e a r s i t t o p i e c e sw i t h i ts b e a k ; a l l b i r d s o f p r e y d o t h a t . W h a t w e a r e t o l d h e r e is t h a tt h e vdrggna a t t a c k s i ts p r e y in t h e a i r f r o m b e l o w , t a k e s i t t o t h e g r o u n d ,s t an d s o n i t a n d t h e n t e a r s it to p i ec e s. T h i s m e t h o d o f a tt a c k i s m e n t i o n e dt w i c e i n a n c i e n t l i te r a t u r e b e s id e s in t h e A v e s t a . B o t h r e f e r e n c e s a r e o fE g y p t i a n o r ig i n , a l t h o u g h w r i tt e n i n G r e e k , a n d c o n c e r n t h e b e h a v i o u ro f t h e fa l c o n . A e l i a n u s s a y s i n h i s b o o k o n t h e n a t u r e o f a n i m a l s :" O b s e r v e r s r e p o r t t h a t t h e f a l c o n fl ie s u p s i d e d o w n , l i k e a m a n s w i m m i n g

i The genitive occurs once as varonjinahe,Yagt, XIV 35, from w hich Ch. Bartholomaereconstructs a nominative vdrongan. This would mean "vat-killer", but up to nowit has n ot been possible to identify the element v~r.


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V A R g G N A , THE FALCON 311o n h i s b a c k " . ~ I n t h is s t a t e m e n t t h e r e is a tr a c e o f d o g m a t i s m ; t h e f a l c o n ,w h i c h i s t h e i n c a r n a t i o n o f th e S u n - g o d , f lie s o n i ts b a c k s o t h a t i t c a nl o o k d i r e c tl y a t t h e s u n 2 H o r a p o U o , i n h i s b o o k o n t h e h i e r o g ly p h s ,e x p la i ns w h y t h e E g y p t i a n s u s e t h e s i gn o f t h e f a l c o n t o d e n o t e t h e w o r d" v i c t o r y " : " T h i s a n i m a l a p p a r e n t l y o v e r c o m e s a ll o t h e r b i rd s . F o r ,w h e n i t is h u n t e d d o w n b y a s t r o n g e r b i r d a t t h a t s a m e m o m e n t i t t u r n so v e r i n t h e a i r , s o t h a t i t s c l a w s a r e t u r n e d u p w a r d s a n d i t s w i n g s a n dt ai l d o w n w a r d s , a n d f i gh ts . F o r i n t h i s w a y th e a t t a c k i n g a n i m a l t h a tc a n n o t d o t h e s a m e i s b e a t e n " . 4

T h e r e m a i n i n g d e t a i l s a b o u t t h e v d r a g n a a r e i n a d e q u a t e t o i d e n t i f yi t b u t d o n o t a t l e a s t p r o v e i t s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a s t h e f a l c o n t o b e f a l s e .T h e v d r a g n a is d s i ~ t a , t h e s w i f t e s t o f a l l t h e b i r d s . T h i s c a n a l s o b e a p p l i e dt o t h e s w a l l o w b u t i t i s n o t a b i r d o f p r e y . W h i l e t h e c l a ss i ca l w r i t e rsa r e n o t i c e a b l y s i le n t a b o u t t h e c o n s i d e r a b l e s p e e d o f t h e s w a l l o w , t h e yc a n n o t s a y e n o u g h a b o u t t h e s p e e d o f t h e f a lc o n . H o m e r c al ls i t & K6q, 56 K 6 r c z e p o g , 6 6 K t ~ ' c o g n e ~ s q v ~ v , 7 ~ a c p p 6 ~ a ~ o ~ x e'C erlV ~V , s H e s i o dc b K v n ~ q q . 9 T h e E g y p t i a n s u s e t h e t e r m b ' h , 1~ t h e I n d i a n s i n t h e l ~ g - v e d at h e t e r m s d z; u, ~ d ~ u p a t v a n , ~ m a n o j a v a s , ~3 r a g h u . ~4 T h e v d r ~ g n a i s a l s op ~ g S p a r ~ n a , h a s b r o a d w i n g s . T h i s d o e s n o t s e e m t o b e v e r y a p p l i c a b l et o t h e f a l c o n , w i t h i ts w i n g - s p a n o f l it tl e m o r e t h a n a m e t r e a n d u n u s u a l l yn a r r o w w i n g s, b u t p a r a l le l p a s s a g es s h o w t h a t w h a t is m e a n t h e r e ist h a t t h e b i r d s p r e a d s i ts w i n g s w i d e. T h u s H e s i o d c a l ls t h e f a l c o n9 ~ v v c r l n ~ e p o g , 15 a n d t h e E g y p t i a n s c a l l i t p g ' - d m . t j , p d _ - d n . h . w j , d w n - r

Aelian., De Na t . An i ta . , X, 14.3 This do ctr ine is expressed in the Avesta by the epi thet hvara.dardsa, " l o o k i n g a tthe sun", Sanskr i t svard.rs Cf . m y f o r t h c o m i n g s t u d y o n " 'De Geboor te van Horu s"(Leiden, 1963), w 7.4 Horapo l l . , HierogL, I , 6.5 Horn. , // ., XV I, 582-583. O f the eagle: Alcaeus, f r . 52 (Diehl); Pindar . , N e m . ,I I I , 8 0 .6 H o m . , II . , X IH , 62. As a type of fa lco n: Aelian. , De N a t . A n i ta ., X H , 4 .Horn., IL , XV, 238 . O f the eag le : Idern, XXI, 253 .s H o m . , IL , X X I I , 1 3 9 , Od. , XII I , 87 .9 Hesiod. , Op. , 212.~0 A. Erm an and H. Grapo w, W~rterbuch t ier Jt 'gyptischen Sprache (Leipzig, 1926-1950), vol . I I I , p . 232, note 21. So a lso: D iod. Sic ., Bibl . Hist . , HI, 4; Plut . , D e I s.e t Osir . , 51 ; Porp hyr . , apu d Euseb., Praep. Evang. , I I I , 12, 2 .11 l~gv., I , 118 , 4, VI II, 5, 7.12 l ~gv . , IV, 26, 4 .13 "Q uick as tho ug ht", l~gv., IV, 26, 5 .14 I ~ g v . , V , 4 5 , 9 .~ Hesiod., O p . , 212, with schol ion; cf . Horn. , Od. , V, 65-66 . A s a type o f f a lcon :Aelian., D e N a t . A n i m ., XII , 4 . Of the eag le : Hes iod . , Theogon. , 523 ,525 ; Orph . , Li th . ,124; cf. Pindar. , P y t h . , V, 111-112. O f the thrush : Ho rn. , Od. , X X I I , 4 6 8 . O f th eswal low: A r i s toph . , A v . , 1411.


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312 B .H . STRICKERetc . 16 T h e v d r o g n a h u n t s s m a l l b ir d s . T h e r e i s a fi n e d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h i sh u n t i n g i n H o m e r ' s I li a s : " T h e f a l c o n , s w i f t o f f li gh t, s p e e d e t h f o r t ht o f ly , a n d p o i s i n g h i m s e l f a l o f t a b o v e a h i g h , s h e e r ro c k , d a r t e t h o v e rt h e p l a i n t o c h a s e s o m e o t h e r b i r d " . 17 F o r t h e E g y p t i a n s t h e b i r d -c h a s i n g f a l c o n is a s y m b o l o f th e p h a r a o h c h a s i n g h is e n e m i e s 2 s I tm a y b e s u p p o s e d f r o m t hi s s y m b o l i s m th a t e v e n t h e E g y p t i a n k i n g sw e n t i n f o r f a lc o n r y , b u t s o f a r th e r e i s n o p r o o f o f t h i s 3 9 T h e f a l c o nh u n t s a l l d a y l o n g , t h e v d r a g n a e a r l y in t h e m o r n i n g a n d l a t e a t n i g h t.T h e r e i s l it tl e i n o r n i t h o l o g i c a l m a n u a l s a b o u t g r e a t e r a c ti v i t y o n th e p a r to f th e f a l c o n a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f th e d a y , b u t h u n t i n g i n t h e e v e n i n gt w i l ig h t i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f s o m e t y p e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y o f t h e s m a l l f a l c o nt h a t t a k e s i t s n a m e f r o m t h i s h a b i t , t h e f a l c o v e s p e r t i n u s .

VARHFLAN g ~ O H RB4AZD II KHUSRAUFig. 1 . Sasanide Crowns

T h e s y m b o l i s m c o n n e c t ed w i th t h e v ~ r a g n a c a n b e s t b e i l l u s t r a t e d b yd a t a f r o m E g y p t i a n a r c h a e o l o g y . I n E g y p t t h e f a l c o n w a s t h e i n c a r n a t i o no f t h e S u n - g o d . T h e p r i e s ts c a ll ed h i e r o g r a m m a t e s a l l w o r e a f a l c o n ' sf e a t h e r o n t h e i r h e a d sY ~ T h e k i n g w a s a l s o a n i n c a r n a t i o n o f th e S u n - g o d ,h o w e v e r . T h e S a s a n i d i c p r i n c es w o r e a n i m a g e o f t h e vdra~,na, o r a tl e a s t o f it s f e a t h e r s , w o r k e d i n t o t h e i r c r o w n s . 21 C o m p a r e w i t h t h is t h ei~ Erman-Grapow, Wgrterbuch, vol. I, p. 562, 4, 568, 2, vol. V, p. 431, 10, 432, 15,16, 452, 5, 6, 578, 4.17 Horn., IL , XI I I , 62-64.1 8 Erman-Grapow, Wiirterbuch, vol. I, p. 444, 16, vol. IV, p. 455, 3, 460, 3, vol. V,p. 5 78, 9, 597, 11. Cf. Aelian., De Nat. Anita., II , 43, VII, 9; H orapoll . , Hierogl., I, 7.19 Cf. Oudheidkundige Mededelingen, new series, vol . X XX VI II (Leiden, 1957),p. 12-13.20 D iod . Sic., Bibl. Hist., I, 87.~1 Cf. K . Erdm ann, Ars Islamica, vols. XV -XVI (Ann A rbo r, 1951), p. 87-123. Ou rfig. 1 is tak en fro m fig. 18. The article was pointed o ut to me by Prof. J. Duchesne-Guillemin, Li6ge. The eagle as a divine symbol with the Iranians: Phil. Bybl., apudEuseb., Praep. Evang., I 10, 52, quoting from a work ~ I a p g ZuvaTo~yflby Z oroaster:"G od ha s the head of a falcon". As a royal symbol: Xenoph., Cyropaed., VII, 1, 4;Olympiod., Comm ent. in Platon. Alcib. I , 153-154.


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V A R ~ N A , THE FALCON 31 3i m a g e o f t h e f a lc o n w o r n b y t he E g y p t i a n p h a r a o h a s a c r o w n 3 ~ S o m ei n te r e s ti n g e x a m p l e s o f t h is s y m b o l i s m c o l le c t ed f r o m E g y p t i a n m o n u -m e n t s a r e s h o w n i n P la t e I. O n e s e es : (a ) t h e p h a r a o h s t a n d i n g u n d e rt h e p r o t e c t i o n o f th e c r o w n e d , d i v in e f a l c o n ; ~8 ( b) t h e n a m e o f t h ep h a r a o h , w r i t te n i n a s i n gl e h i e r o g l y p h , p l a c e d i n th e s a m e w a y u n d e rt h e p r o t e c t i o n o f t h e f a l c o n ; 2~ ( c) th e f a l c o n b e h i n d t h e p h a r a o h ' s h e a d ,w i t h b o t h w i n g s p r o t e c t i v e l y a r o u n d i t; 25 ( d ) t h e n m ~ o r h e a d - c o v e r i n gw o r n b y t h e p h a r a o h . 2G T h i s e n d s o n h i s c h e s t in t w o t ai ls , t h e r o u n d e ds h a p e o f w h i c h s u g g e st s t h a t i n t h e d i s t a n t p a s t t h e y r e p r e s e n t e d t w ow i n g s . A s t h e v d r o g n a w a s t h e s y m b o l o f t h e k i n g ' s OVaronah o r t r a n s -c e n d e n c e , s o t h e f a l c o n w a s t h e s y m b o l o f h is p o w e r , 6 6 v al xl g, a n d a u -t h o r i t y , &pZ~, 27 a l so o f v i c to r y , v [~c ll.2s T h i s w a s t a k e n s e r i o u s l y ;a n y o n e w h o k i l le d a f a l c o n w a s h i m s e l f k i ll e d . ~9 T h e f e a t h e r o f t h ev d r a ~ n a e n s u r e d t h e w e a r e r ' s i n v u l n e r a b i li t y . A f e a t h e r w a s l ik e w i s ew o r n b y t h e E g y p t i a n s o ld i er , as is a p p a r e n t f r o m t h e h i e r o g l y p h b j~ ,a n d b y t h e L i b y a n c h ie fs , 3~ b u t t h e se d i s c a r d e d t h e f e a t h e rs w h e n t h e yt o o k f li g h t. 3~ I t c a n n o t b e p r o v e d t h a t a l l t h e s e w e r e f a l c o n ' s : fe a th e rs ,b u t i t is p r o b a b l e . W h e n t h e fa l c o n a li g h ts o n t h e b a n k o f t h e N i l et o d r i n k i t b r i s t l e s i t s f e a t h e r s , b u t w h e n i t h a s d r u n k i t f l a t t e n s t h e ma g a i n a s a s i gn t h a t i t h a s s a f e l y e s c a p e d t h e c r o c o d i l e . I f i t w e r e t o b es e iz e d b y t h e c r o c o d i le t h e f e a t h e r s w o u l d r e m a i n b r i s t li n g ? ~ T h i ss t a t e m e n t o n l y m a k e s s e n se if t h e f e a t h e r s m a k e t h e f a l c o n i n v u l n e r ab l e .T h e b o n e o f th e v d r a g n a h a s t h e s a m e p o w e r a s t h e fe a t h e r ; a c c o r d i n gt o t h e E g y p t i a n s t h e b o n e o f th e f a l c o n p o s s e s s es th e e q u a l l y p l e a s a n t

23 Fig. 2 afte r: R . Lep sins, De nkm iiler au s .;t"gypten und J t'thiopien (Berlin, 1849-1859),vol. II I, pl. 33, i . The eagle as a ro ya l symbol with the Egyptians: D iod. Sic., BibLHi~t., I , 87; Horapoll . , Hierogl., I I , 56; Lexie . Sud. , sub voce AdTog. The archae-ological data are to b e found in P. Kri~ger, Rev ue d'Egyptologie, vol. XI I (Paris, 1960),p. 37-58; H. Brunner, Zeitsehrift fiir .~'gyptische Spraehe und Altertumskunde, vol.LX XX VII (Berl in, 1962), p. 76-77.23 Statue of ph ara oh Nectanebo in the Metropolitan Mu seum, New York.2~ Stela in the Louvre, Paris. The reading o f the nam e is uncertain.2~ Statue of ph arao h Khep hren in the M useum o f Antiquities, Cairo.28 Statue o f ph araoh Am enemhat I II in the Museum of Antiqui ties, Cairo.27 Plut., De Is. et Osir. , 50 .28 Horapoll. , HierogL, I , 6.23 Herod., Hist . , II, 65.30 Pian khis tela, 107.31 Israelste la, 6.3z Plut., De Is. et Osir. , 51. O f the eagle's feather: Prin., Nat. Hist. , X, 4, 15; Pint.,Quaest. Conviv., V, 7, I; Aerian., De Nat . An im. , IX , 2. O f the ibis' feather: A elian.,De Nat . Anim. , I , 38 ; Ho rapoll . , Hierogl., II, 81. Fo r the gxepSv I~ac~.etov, cf. alsoPorphyr., apud Euseb., Praep. Evang., II I 11, 45.


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314 B.H. STRICKERpower of attr acting gold. 33 "Fa lcon' s bon e" was also a na me for the lode-stone that attracts iron. 34 Iro n had a diabolic character and was used tomake weapon s; there is no doubt that the attraction of the magnet wasunderstood as victory.

Fig. 2. Pharaonic head-dressWe have so far only spoken about the falcon. There are, however,many birds of prey closely related to the falcon, with the same abilityto tur n over in the air. Judging from the informat ion we received85 weassume that all members of the falconidae and accipitridae families dothis. It is difficult to choose fro m among them. Egypti an materia lgives us no definite answer. In the reliefs the sacred bird of the Egyptianshas a stereotyped shape which, particularly in the drawing of the eye,mos t resembles the peregrine. 8~ But in the texts at least seven terms areused fo r this one figure, 37 while an examination of the mummies of ab outthree hundred and fifty birds of prey showed all the falconidae and allthe accipitridae to be represented. ~8 So the Egyp tians were not veryselective; this was even remarked on in ancient times, a9 Wit h the Greeksand particularly with the Romans the symbolism of the Egyptian bird33 Aelian.,D e N a t . A n i m . , X, 14.3~ Plut.,De Is . e t Os ir . , 62: 6cr~ov ~f~pou.3~ From J. van den Assem, Leiden, Dr. W. K. Kraak, Bussum, E. Nieboer, Amster-dam, Dr. A. C. Perdeck, Arnhem, and Prof. F. Vir6, Digne. Were mentioned by name:the peregrine falcon, the hobby, the merlin, the golden eagle, the hen-harrier, thesparrow-hawk and the goshawk.3e Cf. V. Loret, Bu lletin de l ' Inst itut d'Archdologie Orientale au Caire, vol. HI (Cairo,1903), p. 1-24.8 7 Erman-Grapow, W6rterbueh, Belegstellen, voh VI, p. 48.a~ Cf. L. Lortet and C. Galliard, L a F a u n e M o m i f i ~ e d e l ' A n c i e n n e E g y p t e (Lyon,1903 -1909).,9 Strab.,Geogr.,X V I I , 1 , 49.


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Plate I .


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V A R ~ O N A , TIIE FALCON 3 17is g r a d u a l l y m o n o p o l i s e d b y t h e m o s t m a j e s ti c o f t h e a c c i p it ri d a e , t h ee a g le . 4~ I t i s w i t h t h e G r e e k s t h a t w e b e l ie v e w e h a v e f o u n d t h e a r g u m e n tw e s e e k c o n c e r n i n g t h e vardgna . T h e y d i s t in g u i s h b e t w e e n t h e fig x6 g,e a g l e , a n d t h e [ ~ p a ~ , t h e l a t t e r t e r m b e i n g u s e d i n t h e t w o p a s s a g e sq u o t e d a b o v e f r o m t h e w o r k s o f A e l i an u s a n d H o r a p o l l o a n d t h u so b v i o u s l y d e n o t i n g t h e fa l c o n i d a e a n d s m a l l e r a c c ip i tr id a e . T h e e t y -m o l o g y o f t h e w o r d [ ~p et~ is n o t k n o w n . T h e G r e e k s t h e m s e l v e s d e ri v ei t f r o m ~ er ta t, " t o h u r r y " , 41 b u t a r e a l s o a w a r e t h a t t h e a d j e c t i v e [ gp 6 g ," h o l y " h a s s o m e p a r t i n th e f o r m a t i o n o f th e w o r d . ~2 H o m e r g iv e s~ pT I~, n o t i c e a b l y w i t h o u t s p i r it u s a s p e r , a n d H e s y c h i u s i n h is d i c t i o n a r y[S gip ~K e g a s a v a r i a n t i n t h e p l u r a l . ~z T h i s b r i n g s u s t o w h e r e w e w a n tt o b e , f o r t h i s v a r i a n t s h o w s s u f f i c i e n t s i m i l a r i t y t o t h e I r a n i a n vdrognaf o r th e t w o w o r d s t o b e r e g a r d e d a s i d en t ic a l. P h o n e t i c a l ly t h e y a r en o t e n t ir e ly t h e s a m e ; i n t h e G r e e k t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e v o w e l i n t h e f ir sts y l la b l e a n d t h e q u a n t i t y o f th a t i n t h e s e c o n d r e m a i n u n e x p l a i n e d .T h e L a t i n t e r m is f a l c o w i t h f i n s t e a d o f t h e v o n e w o u l d e x p e c t h er e .T h i s i s s a id t o b e d e r i v e d f r o m t h e w o r d f a l x , " s i c k l e " , b y m e a n s o fm e t o n y m y a n d i t is p o i n t e d o u t i n d e f e n c e o f t h is c l a i m t h a t t h e G r e e kw o r d 6 [p n q a ls o d e n o t e s t h e s i c k le a n d a t t h e s a m e t im e a b i r d o f p r e y .

T h e t e r m vdra~,na h a s d i e d o u t i n I r a n i a n . I t h a s b e e n p r e s e r v e d i nS o g d i a n a s w'r~,n, a n d i n K h w a r e z m i a n a s w d r a ~ n f k , b o t h m e a n i n g" f a l c o n " , 44 a n d l a s t o c c u r s i n t h e f o r m ' O p z 6 v q g , Urhan , a s t h e n a m eo f t h e s e c o n d k i n g o f t h e O s m a n d y n a s t y a n d a t t h e s a m e t im e t h e n a m eo f a b i r d ; 45 i f S z e m e r ~ n y i ' s a t t r a c t i v e c o n j e c t u r e i s c o r r e c t . 46 A m o n gt h e m a n y t e r m s M o d e r n - P e r s i a n h a s f o r t h e f a lc o n i fo r m e s b d z i s m o s tg e n e r a l i n m e a n i n g . I t o c c u r s f ir s t i n t h e T a l m u d i n th e c o m p o u n d~ a k a r b d z a y , " f a l c o n r y " , a w o r d c l e ar ly o f I r a n i a n o r ig i n . 47 T h e e t y m o l o g yo f b d z is u n k n o w n . I f n o b e t t e r d e r i v a t i o n c a n b e f o u n d t h e p o s s i b il it yt h a t i t is d e r i v e d f r o m t h e E g y p t i a n w o r d f o r t h e f a lc o n , b ' k , C o p t i c b ~g ,m a y b e c o n s id e r ed .

40 Cf. D 'Ar cy W. Thompson, A Glossary of Greek Birds (London, 1936), p. 2-16.41 Etym . M agn., p. 467-468; Eustath., Com ment. in H orn. 1l. , p. 87, 5-8.42 Etym . M agn., p. 534.~3 Hesych., Lexic., sub voce 13e~pct~ce~.~ According to W. B. Henning, Zoroaster (Oxford and Lon don, 1951), p. 45.45 Lao n. Khalcocond., De Reb. Turc., p. 2 31d (Fabrot).~ In F . Al theim, Geschichte der Lateinisehen S prache, Frankfurt am Main, 1951,p. 71, note 1.4~ Ta lm . Bab l., Sanh., 95a.

Vār∈ġna, the falcon

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