Editing Gyges of Lydia (section)

==Attestations and etymology==
The name {{lang|en|Gyges}} is derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] form {{Transliteration|grc|Gugēs}} ({{langx|grc|Γύγης}}) recorded by Graeco-Roman authors. In addition, the annals of the Assyrian king [[Ashurbanipal]] refer several times to {{Transliteration|akk|Gu(g)gu}}, king of {{Transliteration|akk|Luddi}}, to be identified with Gyges, king of the Lydians.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pedley |first=John G. |author-link= |date=1972 |title=Ancient Literary Sources on Sardis |url= |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |pages=82–83 |isbn=978-0-674-03375-7}}</ref>

{{Transliteration|akk|Gu(g)gu}} and {{Transliteration|grc|Gugēs}} are respectively the Akkadian and Greek forms of the [[Lydian language|Lydian]] name {{Transliteration|xld|Kukas}} ({{lang|xld|{{script|Lydi|𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤮}}}}),<ref name="Browne1"/><ref name="Browne2"/> which means "grandfather".<ref name="Bianconi">{{cite book |last=Bianconi |first=Michele |author-link= |date=2021 |title=Linguistic and Cultural Interactions between Greece and Anatolia: In Search of the Golden Fleece |url= |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |pages=119–120 |isbn=978-9-004-46159-8 }}</ref> {{Transliteration|xld|Kukas}} is derived from a common Proto-Indo-European root from which evolved [[Hittite language|Hittite]] {{Transliteration|hit|ḫuḫḫa-}} ({{lang|hit|{{cuneiform|ana|𒄷𒄴𒄩}}}}), [[Luwian language|Luwian]] {{Transliteration|xlu|ḫūḫa-}} ({{lang|xlu|{{cuneiform|ana|𒄷𒌋𒄩}}}}) and {{Transliteration|hlu|huha-}} ({{lang|hlu|{{script|Hluw|𔕳𔓷}}}}), and [[Lycian language|Lycian]] {{Transliteration|xcl|xuga-}} ({{lang|xcl|{{script|Lyci|𐊜𐊒𐊄𐊀}}}}) in the [[Anatolian languages]] family, as well as [[Latin]] {{lang|la|avus}}, all meaning "grandfather".<ref name="Bianconi"/>

Another derivation for {{Transliteration|xld|Kukas}} suggests that it might be a loanword from [[Carian language|Carian]] {{Transliteration|xcr|Quq}} ({{lang|xcr|{{script|Cari|𐊨𐊲𐊨}}}}), which was represented in Greek as {{Transliteration|grc|Gugos}} ({{lang|grc|Γυγος}}), and was a cognate of the various [[Anatolian languages|Anatolian]] words for "grandfather": [[Hittite language|Hittite]] {{Transliteration|hit|ḫuḫḫa}} ({{lang|hit|{{cuneiform|ana|𒄷𒄴𒄩}}}}), [[Luwian language|Luwian]] {{Transliteration|xlu|ḫūḫa-}} ({{lang|xlu|{{cuneiform|ana|𒄷𒌋𒄩}}}}) and {{Transliteration|hlu|huha-}} ({{lang|hlu|{{script|Hluw|𔕳𔓷}}}}), [[Milyan language|Milyan]] {{Transliteration|imy|xuga-}} ({{lang|imy|{{script|Lyci|𐊜𐊒𐊄𐊀}}}}), and [[Lycian language|Lycian]] {{Transliteration|xcl|xuga-}} ({{lang|xcl|{{script|Lyci|𐊜𐊒𐊄𐊀}}}}).<ref>{{cite book |last=Adiego |first=Ignacio J. |author-link= |date=2007 |title=The Carian Language |url= |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |pages=334–335 |isbn=978-9-004-15281-6 }}</ref> If this etymology is accurate, it correlates with the probability of a Carian origin of the [[Mermnad dynasty]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Yakubovich |first=Ilya |date=2017 |title=An Agreement between the Sardians and the Mermnads in the Lydian Language? |url=https://www.academia.edu/35571454 |journal=Indogermanische Forschungen |volume=122 |issue=1 |pages=265–294 |doi=10.1515/if-2017-0014 |s2cid=171633908 |access-date=13 November 2021 }}</ref>

Attestations of Gyges's name from the period of the Lydian kingdom are found on the legends of coins by his great-grandson [[Alyattes]], reading {{Transliteration|xld|Kukalim}} ({{lang|xld|𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤩𐤦𐤪|}}), meaning "I am of Kukas".<ref name="Browne1"/><ref name="Browne2"/>