Rode/Rhode. Pproposta de transcripció del topònim de la colònia grega de ΡOΔΗ (Roses, Empordà, Girona)

Abstract

This article intends to propose a new transcription for the toponym of the small Greek colony of Rhode/Rode, placed in the north of the gulf of Roses, which is quite less known than Emporion (Empúries), that closes this gulf from the south. Although nowadays her possible relationship with the island of Rhodes has been totally rejected and almost nobody doubts that it was founded by phocaean-massaliotes settlers, the shortage of archaeological remains is a great setback for a better understanding of this very small city (πολίχνιον in Greek), whose life staunched with the arrival of the Romans. Despite this, its name has been transcribed almost unanimously as Rhode, from the Latin version of this name. However, this word in Greek –derived from the word ῥόδον (rose)– comes from an Indo-European consonantal group sr, in which the loss of the initial digamma (ϝ) produced in Greek a sooth breathing that indicates a lack of initial aspiration.   It doesn’t make any sense, then, to transcribe the name of this Greek colony as Rhode, entirely odd to the Catalan and the Spanish Language. Instead, we suggest Rode. In this article that is our proposal.