On the Appropriation of Space through Myth by Spanish Historians: Interpretation of Toponyms and Ethnonyms in the Footsteps of the Classical Tradition.

Abstract

The use of the etymology of words to define and explain the reality behind them wascommon in antiquity. In histories and geographies, non-Greek toponyms and ethnonyms were etymologically interpreted as Greek words and usually connected to myth. This was done to organize and simplify a complicated world, but also to ideologically appropriate areas which were of interest to Greek cities for colonial or commercial reasons, such as the southwest or east of the Iberian Peninsula. In the work of medieval Spanish historians, we can see this tradition continue, with the new purpose of giving prestige to cities and kingdoms through their connection with biblical and classical lore. However, the Renaissance, with its accompanying shifts in the influence and perceived purpose of the new Spanish empire, changed the direction of etymological appropriation: historians such as Nanni, Ocampo and Fernández de Oviedo began using classical etymological procedures not to claim descent from other civilizations, but to appropriate the origins and ancient history of other civilizations in the name of the Spanish crown.