Notes to Herodotus' Histories

of IΩ, Europa and Medea

Joannes Richter

Abstract
Reading the initial chapter of the Herodotus' „Histories“ we may understand how the ancient
Greeks interpreted the settlement of Europe.
The main centres of the Bronze Age were located at Crete and Mycenae. The main impact for the
Bronze Age Collapse came from the north and may have occurred at the borderline between the
Greek-oriented Boeotian Orchomenus and Phoenician-oriented Thebes.
It all began with the rape of 3 princesses; (1) IΩ (Io), (2) Europa, and (3) Medea. Ultimately Europa
had to rescued by their brother Cadmus, the first Greek hero and king of Thebes.
Thebes and Orchomenus were described as rivals, who temporarily joined forces against enemies or
common projects such as the drainage of the Copais Lake.
Especially the first princess' name IΩ (Io) seems to have been loaded with symbolism. The modern
spelling (/ˈaɪ.oʊ/) of the name IΩ (Io) also may be related to the personal pronoun (Italian io,
Boeotian ἰώ (iṓ), ἱών (hiṓn), “iau” in Jauers etc.) and the various cores in the names of the sky-gods
Διός and δῖος.
Also the names of the cities Thebes and Tyre are loaded with symbolism. The name Thebes is found
as (1) a capital in Egypt, (2) in Boeotia and Thessaly (Greece) and (3) in Anatolia (Asia Minor).
Originally the city Tyre was named Melqart after the city-god, the name Tyre appears on
monuments as early as 1300 BC.1
In European languages a number of personal pronouns have been equipped with similar roots such
as the Boeotian ἰώ (iṓ) or (/ˈaɪ.oʊ/). Also the name Thebes (in Linear B *Tʰēgʷaii s (Ancient Greek:
Θήβαις, Thēbais, i.e. "at Thebes") may refer to the personal pronoun “ego” (“I”).
Thebes (modern Greek: /Thiva/) and Tyre may have been inherited towards the Germanic deities
Tiw and Tyr.

1 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) Egyptian period (1700-1200 BCE) (Tyre)

The initial phase of European history
Reading the initial chapter of the Herodotus' „Histories“ we may understand how the ancient
Greeks interpreted the settlement of Europe.
Of course Herodotus' story is a singular view and may deviate in the view of the other participants.
This paper concentrates on some names which may contain relevant symbolic keys.

The unwritten Layers of European history

First of all the settlers arrived in layers. At the beginning of Herodotus' „Histories“ Europa
already had been settled by numerous peoples. Especially the Mycenaean layer already may
have been activated. Some of the archaic peoples, citadels, lakes and rivers carried names
which carry special types of symbolism.
Before Herodotus' „Histories“ the Mycenaean project “the drainage of the Copais Lake” may have
been completed and left an abandoned palace on the citadel Gla, which in the Lake Copais must
have been an “Atlantic” island in the archaic predecessor of Lake Copais.

Google Earth photograph of the Mycenaean citadel Gla and the abandoned ruins of the
palace, dated at ~ 1400 BCE

Obviously many generations may have existed and prepared the historical substrate, which had to
wait for the first generation of historians.
The architecture and the style of the Mycenaean graves suggest the people came from the north.
According to the founding myth of Orchomenos, its royal dynasty had been established by
the Minyans, who had followed their eponymous leader Minyas from coastal Thessaly to
settle the site.
In the Bronze Age, during the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries, Orchomenos became a
rich and important centre of civilisation in Mycenaean Greece and a rival to Thebes. The
palace with its frescoed walls and the great tholos tomb (“Tomb of Minyas) show the power
of Orchomenos in Mycenaean times. A massive hydraulic undertaking drained the marshes
of Lake Copaïs making it a rich agricultural area. Like many sites around the Aegean,
Orchomenos was burned and its palace destroyed in ca. 1200 BC. – More information about
the history of Orchomenos here 2

2 Source: Impressive Mycenaean chamber tomb from 14c BC discovered in Orchomenos

Orchomenos
Several settlements are named Orchomenos3. The common element between Orchomenus (Arcadia)
and Orchomenus (Boeotia) is the drainage system based on Katavothres and a man made tunnel.
1. Orchomenus (Arcadia), also called the Arcadian Orchomenus, a city of Arcadia
The two plains are characterized as closed geological basins (Karst depressions), where, even today,
precipitation has a seasonally inadequate subsurface drainage by ditches, Katavothres (Greek term
for ponors) and a man made tunnel.[2]
2. Orchomenus (Boeotia), also called the Minyean Orchomenus, a city of Boeotia
A massive hydraulic undertaking drained the marshes of Lake Kopaïs, making it a rich agricultural
area.[2] Like many sites around the Aegean Sea, Orchomenos was burned and its palace destroyed in
c. 1200 BC during the Bronze Age Collapse.
This people, according to tradition, seem to have come originally from Thessaly. We read of a town
Minya in Thessaly (Steph. B. sub voce Μινύα), and also of a Thessalian Orchomenus Minyeus. (Plin.
Nat. 4 4
3. Orchomenus (Euboea), a town of ancient Euboea. Strabo. Geographica. ix p. 416. Page numbers
refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
4. Orchomenus (Thessaly), a town of ancient Thessaly. In 302 BCE, Cassander planned to transfer to
town's population to Phthiotic Thebes but this was prevented by Demetrius Poliorcetes.[2][1]. In
Thessaly is Orchomenus, formerly called the Minyan 1 5. 1 So called from the people called Minyæ,
who derived their name from Minyas, the father of Orchomenus. In the time of Strabo, this city, the
capital of the Minyan empire, was in ruins. Its site is now called Seripu.

Thebes
Several settlements are named Thebes. These names seem to be of Greek origin. In Linear B its
attested core in the name is te-qa-i,[n 1] understood to be read as *Tʰēgʷaii s (Ancient Greek:
Θήβαις, Thēbais, i.e. "at Thebes", Thebes in the dative-locative case), which may be correlated to
“ego” (“I”).
• Thebes, Greece -Thebes, Modern Greek Thíva, dímos (municipality) and city, Central Greece
(Modern Greek: Stereá Elláda) periféreia (region). The city lies northwest of Athens. Thebes was the
largest city of the ancient region of Boeotia and was the leader of the Boeotian confederacy. It was a
major rival of ancient Athens,
It played an important role in Greek myths, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus,
Heracles and others. Archaeological excavations in and around Thebes have revealed a Mycenaean
settlement and clay tablets written in the Linear B script, indicating the importance of the site in the
Bronze Age.
• Thebes, Egypt - Thebes, ancient Egyptian Wase or Wo'se or (from c. 21st century BCE) Nowe or
Nuwe, one of the famed cities of antiquity, the capital of the ancient Egyptian
• Phthiotic Thebes - Thebai Thessalikai) was a city and polis in ancient Thessaly, Greece;[5] its site
north of the modern village of Mikrothivai.[6][7] In the late 4th century BCE, the city was joined
(synoecism) with the neighbouring cities of Phylace and Pyrasos. The new conurbation retained the
name of Phthiotic or Thessalian Thebes, and became the main city of the Phthiotic Achaean League
until it joined the Aetolian League in the late 3rd century BCE.[7] The original acropolis of Phthiotic
Thebes was ringed by a Cyclopean wall. The later wall of the lower city is still largely extant,
although in a ruined state. It features 40 towers and dates, according to Friedrich Stählin (Das
hellenische Thessalien, 1924), to the 4th century BCE.[7]
• Thebe Hypoplakia - Thebe Hypoplakia also Cilician Thebe, was a city in ancient Anatolia.

3 Orchomenus.
4 Orchomenus in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2,
London: Walton and Maberly
5 Chap. 15. (8.)—Thessaly Proper.-Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed
The Bronze Age Collapse
The Bronze Age Collapse (dated around the eruption of the volcano of Thera, ~1450 BC) may have
been a process in which the clash gradually arose from migrations. The process is complex and we
may have to reconstruct the historical events from legends and archaeological details.
In the video The Bronze Age Collapse (8:00) the centre of the collapse may have concentrated at
the borderline between Boeotian Orchomenus and Boeotian Thebes.
Boeotian Orchomenus which is located at the northern borderline of Thebes, seems to be a genuine
Greek colony as an earlier Orchomenus (formerly called the Minyan) had been located in Thessaly.
Boeotian Thebes had been considered as partly Phoenician, as the first king of Thebes, Cadmus, had
been described as a Phoenician prince, who as a sailor may have emigrated to Thebes. The name
Thebes refers to the Egyptian Thebes, which is the centre of the state Egypt where Io had been
kidnapped.
In Greek mythology, Cadmus (Greek: Κάδμος Kadmos), was the founder and first king
of Thebes.[1] Cadmus was the first Greek hero and, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon,
the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles.[2] A Greek prince,
son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and
Europa, he was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister
Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores of Phoenicia by Zeus.[3] In
early accounts, Cadmus and Europa were instead the children of Phoenix.[4] Cadmus
founded the Greek city of Thebes, the acropolis of which was originally named
Cadmeia in his honour. 6

The borderline between Orchomenus and Thebes

(from the video The Bronze Age Collapse (8:00))

6 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) Cadmus

The vowel symbolism of IΩ (IO)
The vowel symbolism concentrated in the word IΩ (Io), which represented a city Iopolis, and a
princess Io, who was named after the Moon (Io):
There was a village on the spur of Mount Silpion near Antioch named Io, Iopolis or Ione,
where Io was worshipped as a moon goddess. This name was always adduced as evidence
by Antiochenes (e.g. Libanius) anxious to affiliate themselves to the Attic Ionians.
The earliest worshippers of the Moon may have been the Sabians at Harran.
As a goddess the Moon may have ruled an archaic matriarchal society, which could be
identified in Harran7 (see the Appendix for details).
The planet cult of Harran8 (Roman: Carrhae) and Edessa (Urfa, and today: → Şanlıurfa) is
based on worshipping the sun, moon, and five other visible “planets”. 9
Io was the (symbolic ?) daughter of the first king Inachos at the most ancient European city of
Argos, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world10.
Argos is traditionally considered to be the origins of the ancient Macedonian royal Greek
house of the Argead dynasty (Greek: Ἀργεάδαι, Argeádai). The most celebrated members
were Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great.
Argos was a major stronghold of Mycenaean times, and along with the neighbouring
acropolis of Mycenae and Tiryns became a very early settlement because of its commanding
positions in the midst of the fertile plain of Argolis.
Io may represent the various cores in the names of the sky-gods such as Dyous, Διός and δῖος.
The Boeotian personal ego-pronoun (“I”) ἰώ (iṓ), ἱών (hiṓn) and its reversal dual form dual forms
(νώ, respectively the epic version νῶϊ for “we two”, respectively the plural form noi, nui, noi, and
nois for “we”) in Greek respectively Latin may refer to the core IΩ (Io).
Iolaus was a nephew of Heracles. He often acted as Heracles' charioteer and companion. He was
sometimes regarded as Heracles' lover, and the shrine to him in Thebes was a place where male
couples worshipped and made vows. This may indicate IΩ (in Iolaus) as the code for “couples”.
The IO-sayers (the “Ionians” and/or Boeotians ?) may have understood themselves as Plato's
“Children of the Moon” in Symposium.
Ultimately also the Latin core I(o)U in Jou-piter11 and the series or personal pronouns singular
“iéu”,“iau”,“iou”12 may be based on the core IΩ (Io).

7 The Seven Temples of Harran - Explaining the vowel symbols in ΙΑΩ

8 The Sabians of Harran - By Kemal Menemencioglu
9 Some Notes to Sabian Philosophy and Timaeus
10 Bolender, Douglas J. (2010-09-17). Eventful Archaeologies: New Approaches to Social Transformation in the
Archaeological Record. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-3423-0. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
11 The nominative Iuppiter, for Iūpiter (with shift of the length from vowel to consonant per the "littera" rule), comes
from the vocative combined with pater, and essentially meant "father Jove"; from Proto-Italic *djous patēr, from
*djous (“day, sky”) + *patēr (“father”), from Proto-Indo-European *dyḗws (literally “the bright one”), root nomen
agentis from *dyew- (“to be bright, day sky”), and *ph₂tḗr (“father”). (Source: Etymology Iuppiter
12 including the divine names (“Diéu” → the French Dieu , “Diaus” → the Indo-European Dyaus, “Dious” → the
Latin IU-piter). Source: Updating My 12 Paradigms (an overview & summary)
Conclusions
Reading the initial chapter of the Herodotus' „Histories“ we may understand how the ancient
Greeks interpreted the settlement of Europe.
The main centres of the Bronze Age were located at Crete and Mycenae. The main impact for the
Bronze Age Collapse came from the north and may have occurred at the borderline between the
Greek-oriented Boeotian Orchomenus and Phoenician-oriented Thebes.

The rape of the princesses (1) IΩ (Io), (2) Europa, and (3) Medea
It all began with the rape of 3 princesses; (1) IΩ (Io), (2) Europa, and (3) Medea. Ultimately Europa
had to rescued by their brother Cadmus, the first Greek hero and king of Thebes.
Io's father and her brothers, when they heard of her death, built a shrine to her and
called the place Iopolis and remained there until the end. And they performed a ritual in
her memory, banging on each other's doors every year and saying "io, io!" 13

Thebes and Orchomenus were described as rivals, who temporarily joined forces against enemies or
common projects such as the drainage of the Copais Lake.

The etymology of IΩ (Io)

Especially the first princess' name IΩ (Io) seems to have been loaded with symbolism. The modern
spelling (/ˈaɪ.oʊ/) of the name IΩ also may be related to the personal pronoun (Italian io, Boeotian
ἰώ (iṓ), ἱών (hiṓn), “iau” in Jauers etc.).
Io may also represent the various cores in the names of the sky-gods such as Dyous, Διός and δῖος.
Interpreted as “Iou” the root IΩ may be understood as “I(o)U” in Jupiter and as “iou” in the
personal pronouns of the Romansh (Grison) dialects or Aromanian language14. In fact Ju-piter also
may be interpreted as “IΩ-piter”.
Iolaus was a nephew of Heracles. He often acted as Heracles' charioteer and companion. He was
sometimes regarded as Heracles' lover, and the shrine to him in Thebes was a place where male
couples worshipped and made vows. This may indicate IΩ as the code for “couples”.

The children of the Moon

In Plato's Dialogue Symposium the philosopher describes the creation of the first androgynous man
as a theme of the Old Religion in which only one combination “man and woman” represented the
procreative couple:
Human beings each had two couples of arms, two couples of legs, and two faces looking in
opposite directions. There were three sexes then: one comprised of two men called the
children of the Sun, one made of two women called the children of the Earth, and a third
made of a man and a woman, called the children of the Moon15.

13 See the appendix for the details and source of this quotation
14 (PDF) The Role of the Vowels in Personal Pronouns of the 1st … and (PDF) The Art of Designing Languages
15 Extract from Plato's Symposium
The etymology of the cities Thebes and Tyre
Also the names of the cities Thebes and Tyre are loaded with symbolism. The name Thebes is found
as (1) a capital in Egypt, (2) in Boeotia and Thessaly (Greece) and (3) in Anatolia (Asia Minor).
Originally the city Tyre was named Melqart after the city-god, the name Tyre appears on
monuments as early as 1300 BC.16

The etymology of Ego

In European languages a number of personal pronouns have been equipped with similar roots such
as the Boeotian ἰώ (iṓ) or (/ˈaɪ.oʊ/). Also the name Thebes (in Linear B *Tʰēgʷaii s (Ancient Greek:
Θήβαις, Thēbais, i.e. "at Thebes") may refer to the personal pronoun “ego” (“I”).

The etymology of Iolaus

As a son of Iphicles, Iolaus (/aɪˈoʊlaʊs/; Ancient Greek: Ἰόλαος Iólaos) was a nephew of
Heracles. He often acted as Heracles' charioteer and companion. He was sometimes
regarded as Heracles' lover, and the shrine to him in Thebes was a place where male couples
worshipped and made vows.[2]
The Theban gymnasium was also named after him, and the Iolaia or Iolaea (Greek:
Ιολάεια), an athletic festival consisting of gymnastic and equestrian events, was held yearly
in Thebes in his honor.[3] The victors at the Iolaea were crowned with garlands of myrtle.[4]

The etymology of Tiw and Tyr

Thebes (modern Greek: /Thiva/) and Tyre may have been inherited towards the Germanic deities
Týr and Týr. This may be a strange correlation, but Týr and Týr merely follow the same track as
Ziu which is comparable to the Greek sky-god Zeus.
Týr (Old Norse), Tiw (Old English), Tīƿ (wynn spelling) and Ziu (Old High German) Hittite /sius/
is a god in Germanic mythology. Stemming from the Proto-Germanic deity *Tīwaz and ultimately
from the Proto-Indo-European chief deity *Dyeus.

16 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) Egyptian period (1700-1200 BCE) (Tyre)

Appendix 1 - Herodotus' Histories

Overview of the initial phase of the Histories

In Book I (Clio) Herodotus describes the triad of rapes of (1) Io, (2) Europa, and (3) Medea, which
motivated Paris to abduct Helen. The subsequent Trojan War is marked as a precursor to later
conflicts between peoples of Asia and Europe. (1.1–5)[3].
Io had been abducted from Argos, Greece to Egypt, Europa from Tyre and Medea from Medea.

Abductors Raped princesses Kingdom Destiny

Phoenicians Io, daughter of Inachos Argos (Hellas) Argos → Egypt
Greeks (Cretans ?) Europa Melqart Melqart (Tyre) → Greece
Tyre (Phoenicia)
Greeks Medea Aea (Aia)(Colchis) Medea → Greece
Table: the triad of rapes of (1) Io, (2) Europa, and (3) Medea

Description of the rape of the 3 princesses

Herodotus explains the rape as follows:
The Persian learned men say that the Phoenicians were the cause of the dispute. These
(they say) came to our seas from the sea which is called Red,171 and having settled in the
country which they still occupy, at once began to make long voyages. Among other
places to which they carried Egyptian and Assyrian merchandise, they came to Argos,
[2] which was at that time preeminent in every way among the people of what is now
called Hellas. The Phoenicians came to Argos, and set out their cargo. [3] On the fifth or
sixth day after their arrival, when their wares were almost all sold, many women came
to the shore and among them especially the daughter of the king, whose name was Io
(according to Persians and Greeks alike), the daughter of Inachos. [4] As these stood
about the stern of the ship bargaining for the wares they liked, the Phoenicians incited
one another to set upon them. Most of the women escaped: Io and others were seized
and thrown into the ship, which then sailed away for Egypt.

In this way, the Persians say (and not as the Greeks), was how Io came to Egypt, and
this, according to them, was the first wrong that was done. Next, according to their
story, some Greeks (they cannot say who) landed at Tyre in Phoenicia and carried off
the king's daughter Europa. These Greeks must, I suppose, have been Cretans.

So far, then, the account between them was balanced. But after this (they say), it was the
Greeks who were guilty of the second wrong. [2] They sailed in a long ship to Aea, a
city of the Colchians, and to the river Phasis:118 and when they had done the business
for which they came, they carried off the king's daughter Medea. [3] When the Colchian
king sent a herald to demand reparation for the robbery and restitution of his daughter,
the Greeks replied that, as they had been refused reparation for the abduction of the
Argive Io, they would not make any to the Colchians19.

17 1 Not the modern Red Sea, but the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters.
18 1 This is the legendary cruise of the Argonauts.
19 Book I (Clio)
Overview of the relevant names

Notes to the city of Argos

Argos (Ancient Greek: Ἄργος) is a city in Argolis, the Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the
oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.[2] It is the largest city in Argolis and a
major center for the area20.
Io was the daughter of the first king Inachos at the most ancient European city of Argos.
The ancients connected Io with the Moon,[21] and in Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, where
Io encounters Prometheus, she refers to herself as "the horned virgin".

Suda Lexicon in three volumes, Cambridge, 1705; Greek text and Latin
translation thereof at the Internet Archive: Vol 1 , Vol 2 ,Vol 3

We may not be surprised that Inachos, king of Argos named a city and his daughter "Io" after the
Moon. The legend also describes the ritual of banging the doors saying "io, io!".
IO. A name. Inachos, a king of Argos [Myth, Place], founded a city which he named
for the moon, "Io", for that is what Argives call the moon. He also had a daughter Io;
Picus21 who is also [called] Zeus[1] abducted her and fathered a daughter, Libya, by
her. And Io, lamenting her ruin, fled to the Silpion Mountain[2] 22 and there died. Her
father and her brothers, when they learned this, built a shrine to her and called the
place Iopolis and remained there until the end. And they performed a ritual in her
memory, banging on each other's doors every year and saying "io, io!"

Translation of the entry IO - Suda Lexicon in three volumes, Cambridge, 1705

20 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) Argos

21 Picus Zeus, a composite king merging the first Latin king Picus with the Greco-Roman deity Zeus (Jupiter), both
sons of Saturn (i.e. Cronus), and rendering the composite into a human monarch. Picus Zeus, a composite king
merging the first Latin king Picus
22 At an elevation of 440 meters, Mount Silpion (Mons Silpius, present-day Mount Habib-i Neccar) forms the eastern
boundary of the city of Antioch (alpha 2692, modern Antakya, Turkey); cf. Barrington Atlas map 67 grid C4.
Notes to Picus Zeus
Picus Zeus is a composite king merging the first Latin king Picus with the Greco-Roman deity Zeus
(Jupiter), both sons of Saturn (i.e. Cronus), and rendering the composite into a human monarch23.
• Picus-Zeus is identified with Ninus, or the brother of Ninus, and is the father of Perseus, the
ancestor of the Persians.
Faunus, his son = Hermes Trismegistus, and forms the link with Egyptian history.
Io also plays a part in this systematisation of history. Antioch was founded on the site of
Iopolis, to which she fled to escape Faunus—Hermes Trismegistus24.
• Diodorus Siculus (6.5.1) introduces the Roman god Picus (normally son of Saturn) as a king of Italy
and calls him brother of Ninus (and therefore perhaps son of Belus).
The odd connection between Picus and Ninus reappears in John of Nikiû's25 Chronicle (6.2f) which relates
that Cronus was the first king of Assyria and Persia, that he married an Assyrian woman named Rhea and
that she bore him Picus (who was also called Zeus) and Ninus who founded the city of Ninus (Nineveh).
Cronus removed to Italy but was then slain by his son Zeus Picus because he devoured his children. Then
Zeus became the father of Belus by his own sister. After the disappearance of Zeus Picus (who apparently
reigned over both Italy and Assyria), Belus son of Zeus Picus succeeded to the throne in Assyria (later
Faunus who is elsewhere always the son of Picus reigns in Italy before moving to Egypt and turning into
Hermes Trismegistus father of Hephaestus). Upon the death of Belus, his uncle Ninus became king and
then married his own mother who was previously called Rhea but is now reintroduced under the name of
Semiramis. It is explained that from that time on this custom was maintained so that Persians allegedly
thought nothing of taking a mother or sister or daughter as a wife.

Later historians and chronographers make no mention of such stories. They either do not mention Belus at
all or accept him as father of Ninus. They also dispute as to whether the Biblical Nimrod was the same as
Belus, the father of Belus or a more distant ancestor of Belus.

It is likely that this Assyrian Belus should mostly not be distinguished from the euhemerized Babylonian
Belus. But some chronographers make a distinction between them. 26

Notes to the Prehistory of Antioch and the village Io27

The settlement called Meroe pre-dated Antioch. A shrine of the Semitic goddess Anat, called
by Herodotus the "Persian Artemis", was located here. This site was included in the eastern
suburbs of Antioch. There was a village on the spur of Mount Silpius named Io, or Iopolis.
This name was always adduced as evidence by Antiochenes (e.g. Libanius) anxious to
affiliate themselves to the Attic Ionians—an eagerness which is illustrated by the Athenian
types used on the city's coins. Io may have been a small early colony of trading Greeks
(Javan). John Malalas also mentions an archaic village, Bottia, in the plain by the river.[4]

Notes to Iopolis or Ione

Iopolis or Ione was a town on Mount Silpion near Antioch, where Io was worshipped as a
moon goddess.

23 Picus Zeus, a composite king merging the first Latin king Picus
24 The Classical Review Picus-Who-Is-Also-Zeus
25 John of Nikiû (fl. 680-690)
26 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) : Belus (Assyrian)
27 Prehistory (Syrian Antioch)
The Sabian Moon-God “Sin”
In the archaic Sabian religion the Moon had been the primary deity. The Sabians were star-
worshippers.
The city Harran was the chief home of the Mesopotamian moon god Sin, under the Assyrians
and Neo-Babylonians/Chaldeans and even into Roman times.

Their city Harran became a bastion for the worship of the moon god Sin during the rule of
Nabonidus in 556–539 BCE, much to the consternation of the city of Babylon in the south,
where Marduk remained the primary deity[20]. 28

Sin's temple was rebuilt by several kings, among them the Assyrian Assur-bani-pal (7th century
BCE) and the Neo-Babylonian Nabonidus (6th century BCE).[27][28] Herodian (iv. 13, 7)
mentions the town as possessing in his day a temple of the moon.

Harran was a centre of Assyrian Christianity from early on, and was the first place where
purpose-built churches were constructed openly. However, many people of Harran retained their
ancient pagan faith during the Christian period, and ancient Mesopotamian/Assyrian gods such
as Sin and Ashur were still worshipped for a time29.

In the Early Christian period Harran was called Hellenopolis (Ancient Greek: Ἑλληνόπολις
meaning "Greek city")30.
Strange as it may seem “Io” also was a priestess for Hera, although her father obviously was a priest
for a cult for the Moon:
Io was a priestess of the Goddess Hera in Argos,[5][16] whose cult her father Inachus was
supposed to have introduced to Argos.[5]
Argos was a major stronghold of Mycenaean times, and along with the neighbouring
acropolis of Mycenae and Tiryns31 became a very early settlement because of its
commanding positions in the midst of the fertile plain of Argolis.

Aea (Aia)
AEA, a huntress who was metamorphosed by the gods into the fabulous island bearing
the same name, in order to rescue her from the pursuit of Phasis, the river-god. (Val.
Flacc. i. 742, v. 426.)

Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.32

The name of Colchis first appears in Aeschylus and Pindar. The earlier writers only speak about it
under the name of Aea (Aia), the residence of the mythical king Aeëtes: "Kolchian Aia lies at the
furthest limits of sea and earth," wrote Apollonius of Rhodes.[20]
Obviously Egyptians, due to appearance, practise of circumcision, a similar way of
working linen, and similar way of life and speech. Wore wooden helmets and small

28 Neo-Babylonian period (Harran)

29 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) Harran
30 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) Harran
31 Prehistoric town of Argolis, located in a valley between the hill in Nauplion and Mycenae. According to tradition,
the city took its name from the hero named Tirynthos, son of Argos, grandson of Zeus, but was founded by Proetus,
brother of the king of Argos Acrisius, who fortified Tiryns calling for this purpose, as Strabo refers, the seven
Cyclops from Lycia. (Source: The Mycenaean acropolis in Tiryns)
32 Aea (Aia)
 shields of oxhide and carried short spears and swords.33

The Colchian Late Bronze Age (fifteenth to eighth century BC) saw the development of significant
skill in the smelting and casting of metals. Sophisticated farming implements were made, and
fertile, well-watered lowlands and a mild climate promoted the growth of progressive agricultural
techniques.

The princess Ἰώ (/ˈaɪ.oʊ/)

In modern Greek the first name Ἰώ of the raped princess is spelled /ˈaɪ.oʊ/, which in itself contains
a historical message.
I identified the name Ἰώ as a multi-vowel word /ˈaɪ.oʊ/ which seems to have been loaded with
religious symbolism.
Io (/ˈaɪ.oʊ/; Ancient Greek: Ἰώ [iːɔɔː] was, in Greek mythology, one of the mortal lovers of
Zeus. An Argive princess, she was an ancestor of many kings and heroes such as Perseus,
Cadmus, Heracles, Minos, Lynceus, Cepheus, and Danaus.
The root /ˈaɪ.oʊ/, is a fine sample of the archaic triad of the long vowels AIΩ, which may have been
extended to the 5-fold series of the Latin AEIOU-vowels.
/ˈaɪ.oʊ/ also may be related to the personal pronoun (Italian io, Boeotian ἰώ (iṓ), ἱών (hiṓn), “iau”
in Jauers etc.) and the various cores in the names of the sky-gods Διός and δῖος:
The vowel core “io” in Διός and δῖος is equivalent to “iou” in J(o)u-piter and “eu” in Ζεύς.
These vowels may also refer to the personal pronouns of the single form ἰώ (iṓ), ἱών (hiṓn)
and the dual form (νώ, respectively the epic version νῶϊ), respectively noi, nui, noi, and nois.
The letters “ἰ and ώ” in the Boeotian ego-pronoun “ἰώ” and ι respectively ό in Διός may
have been included in the name Ionians (Greek: Ἴωνες, Íōnes). The Ionians (Greek: Ἴωνες,
Íōnes, singular Ἴων, Íōn) may have been named ἰώ (“I”)-sayers, which also is practiced in
today's naming of the Jauers (the Romansh / Grison people who use the personal pronoun
“iau” as an ego-pronoun)34.

Melqart (Tyre)
Tyre (Arabic: ‫ ص ور‬Ṣūr), is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in
medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny population. It was one of the earliest Phoenician
metropolises and the legendary birthplace of Europa, her brothers Cadmus and Phoenix, as well as
Carthage's founder Dido (Elissa).35 Early names of Tyre include Akkadian Ṣurru, Phoenician Ṣūr,
and Hebrew Tzór (‫)צור‬.[9] In Semitic languages, the name of the city means "rock"[10] after the
rocky formation on which the town was originally built. The official name in modern Arabic is Ṣūr (
‫)صور‬.
The predominant form in Classical Greek was Týros (Τύρος), which was first seen in the works of
Herotodus but may have been adopted considerably earlier.[9]36

33 Cultural Notes in Herodotos : Citations in Herodotos: 1.2 abduction of Colchian king's daughter in response to some
Greeks' abduction of Europa; 2.104 circumcision; 2.106 shared way of working linen with Egyptians; 3.97
requiment to pay tribute; 4.37 land beyond the Saspires extending to the northern sea (Black Sea); 4.40 to the east is
the Red Sea and to the North, the Caspian Sea and Araxes River; 7.79 wooden helmets, oxhide shields, spears and
swords.(Source: Colchians | Department of Linguistics) - The Ohio State University
34 The Initials of European Philosophy
35 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) Tyre
36 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) Etymology (Tyre)
While the city was originally called Melqart after the city-god, the name Tyre appears on
monuments as early as 1300 BC. 37
Melqart was the tutelary god of the Phoenician city of Tyre. The name is a variant of MLK
QRT and means "King of the City".[1] In Akkadian, his name was written Milqartu. To the
Greeks and the Romans, he was identified with Hercules and, when necessary, distinguished
as the Tyrian Hercules.
Melqart's head, indistinguishable from a Heracles, appeared on its coins of the 4th century BCE 38.
It seems that Melqart had a companion similar to the Hellenic Iolaus, who was himself a native of
the Tyrian colony of Thebes39.

Iolaus
A great number of IO-derivates may be listed as follows: Iolaus, Ιολάεια,
As a son of Iphicles, Iolaus was a nephew of Heracles. He often acted as Heracles' charioteer
and companion. He was sometimes regarded as Heracles' lover, and the shrine to him in
Thebes was a place where male couples worshipped and made vows.[2]
The Theban gymnasium was also named after him, and the Iolaia or Iolaea (Greek:
Ιολάεια), an athletic festival consisting of gymnastic and equestrian events, was held yearly
in Thebes in his honor.[3] The victors at the Iolaea were crowned with garlands of myrtle.[4]
Iolaus provided essential help to Heracles in his battle against the Hydra, his second labor.
Seeing that Heracles was being overwhelmed by the multi-headed monster (the Lernaean
Hydra), who grew two heads in place of each one cut off, Iolaus helped by cauterizing each
neck as Heracles beheaded it.
Heracles gave his wife, Megara, age thirty three, to Iolaus, then only sixteen years old[5] –
ostensibly because the sight of her reminded him of his murder of their three children. They
had a daughter, Leipephilene. He was one of the Heraclidae.[6] 40
In Euripides' tragedy, Iolaus, Heracles' old comrade, and Heracles' children, Macaria and her
brothers and sisters have hidden from Eurystheus in Athens, ruled by King Demophon; as the first
scene makes clear, they expect that the blood relationship of the kings with Heracles and their
father's past indebtedness to Theseus will finally provide them sanctuary.

37 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) Egyptian period (1700-1200 BCE) (Tyre)

38 Archaeological evidence
39 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) : Graeco-Roman traditions Melqart
40 Source: (Wikipedia's entry) :Iolaus
Contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................1
The initial phase of European history...................................................................................................2
The unwritten Layers of European history......................................................................................2
Orchomenos................................................................................................................................3
Thebes.........................................................................................................................................3
The Bronze Age Collapse.....................................................................................................................4
The vowel symbolism of IΩ (IO) ........................................................................................................5
Conclusions..........................................................................................................................................6
The rape of the princesses (1) IΩ (Io), (2) Europa, and (3) Medea.................................................6
The etymology of IΩ (Io) ...............................................................................................................6
The children of the Moon.......................................................................................................6
The etymology of the cities Thebes and Tyre..................................................................................7
The etymology of Ego.....................................................................................................................7
The etymology of Iolaus..................................................................................................................7
The etymology of Tiw and Tyr .......................................................................................................7
Appendix 1 - Herodotus' Histories.......................................................................................................8
Overview of the initial phase of the Histories.................................................................................8
Description of the rape of the 3 princesses.................................................................................8
Overview of the relevant names......................................................................................................9
Notes to the city of Argos ..........................................................................................................9
Notes to Picus Zeus...................................................................................................................10
Notes to the Prehistory of Antioch and the village Io..........................................................10
Notes to Iopolis or Ione .......................................................................................................10
The Sabian Moon-God “Sin”....................................................................................................11
Aea (Aia)...................................................................................................................................11
The princess Ἰώ (/ˈaɪ.oʊ/)..........................................................................................................12
Melqart (Tyre)...........................................................................................................................12
Iolaus ........................................................................................................................................13