ng," with a participial suffix -ita, corresponding to the
Sanscrit participle in -it. Spita-ces and Spita-mas contain the root
spita, equivalent to spenta, "holy," which is found in Spitho-hates,
Spita-mens, Spita-des, etc. This, in Spita-ces, is followed by a
guttural ending, which is either a diminutive corresponding to the
modern Persian -efc, or perhaps a suffixed article. In Spit-amas, the
suffix -mas is the common form of the superlative, and may be compared
with the Latin -mus in optimus, intimus, supremus, and the like.
Ehambacas contains the root rafno, "joy, pleasure," which we find in
Pati-ramphies, followed by the guttural suffix.

There remains, finally, a class of Median names, containing roots not
found in any known names of Persians, but easily explicable from Zend,
Sanscrit, or other cognate tongues, and therefore not antagonistic to
the view that Median and Persian were two closely connected dialects.
Such, for instance, are the royal names mentioned by Herodotus, Deioces,
Phraortes, Astyages, and Cyaxares; and such also are the following,
which come to us from various sources; Amytis, Astibaras, Armamithres or
Harmamithres, Mandauces, Parsondas, Eama-tes, Susiscanes, Tithaous, and
Zanasanes.

In Deioces, or (as the Latins write it) Dejoces, there can be little
doubt that we have the name given as Djohak or Zohak in the Shahnameh
and other modern Persian writings, which is itself an abbreviation of
the Ajis-dahaka of the Zendavesta. Dahaka means in Zend "biting," or
"the biter," and is etymo-logically connected with the Greek.

Phraortes, which in old Persian was Fravartish, seems to be a mere
variant of the word which appears in the Zendavesta as fravashi, and
designates each man's tutelary genius. The derivation is certainly from
fra, and probably from a root akin to the German wahren, French garder,
English "ward, watch," etc. The meaning is "a protector."

Cyaxares, the Persian form of which was "Uvakhshatara," seems to be
formed from the two elements it or hu, "well, good," and akhsha (Zend
arsnd), "the eye," which is the final element of the name Cyavarswa in
the Zendavesta. Cyavarsna is "dark-eyed;" Uvakhsha (= Zend Huvarsna)
would be "beautiful-eyed." Uvakhshatara appears to be the comparative
of this adjective, and would mean "more beautiful-eyed (than others)."

Astyages, which, according to Moses of Chorene, meant "a dragon" or
"serpent," is almost certainly Ajis-dahaka, the full name wh