Adon

The triliteral root `A-D-N, often transliterated as Adon, and at times etymologically tied to Aten, is a Semitic form that has been in use from ancient to modern times. The basic meaning it expresses is that of "lord", "master", or "patron".

History

In Ugaritic texts, `adn in its meaning as "lord" appears a number of times. Used to refer to the lord and father over deceased kings, the term `adn `ilm rbm (meaning "the Lord of the Great Gods"), is thought by some scholars to be a divine epiteph of Baal, while others think it refers to El, Mardikh, Yaqar or Yarikh. `Adn ilm (meaning "the Lord of Gods") also appears in the texts to refer to El, and when Yam is described in at being at the height of his power, he is proclaimed `adn or "lord (of the gods).

Ugarit family households were modelled after the structure of the divine world, each headed by an `adn (meaning in this context "master" or "patron"). Generally, this was the patriarch of the family and there may be some relation between `adn and the Ugarit word for "father", `ad.

Adonis is a "Semitic divine title equipped with a Greek ending" derived from `adn; by the time of Sappho, a cult worshipping Adonis had emerged in Ancient Greece.

Bibliography

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