The Idaean Syndrome V°

This paper explores a cluster of interconnected hypotheses about the personal name Gyges — both the Lydian king and the mythological Hundred-hander — and the morpheme -ka- in Anatolian onomastics. Building on the Lydian compound *kuka-, attested in the numismatic legend kukalim, the author proposes that *ku- may carry the meaning "god/daimon" and *-ka- that of "offspring," so that Gyges' name could be understood as "offspring of god/goddess." If this reading holds, it would suggest a deliberate ideology of divine descent running through the early Mermnad dynasty, possibly reflected in Plato's treatment of the Gyges myth.The paper then traces *-ka- as a nominal element across a range of Anatolian place names and personal names, drawing on evidence from Hittite, Luwian, Lycian, Lydian, and Carian, while remaining attentive to the limits of the available data.A further section considers the Hittite deity Ḫašamili — associated with invisibility, the underworld, and the protection of kings — as a possible Anatolian counterpart to the mythological Gyges, suggesting that the two figures may draw on a shared religious and narrative tradition.The paper closes by revisiting the Hittite kinship terms neka-, nekna-, and kaina- in light of the proposed value of *-ka-, offering tentative new segmentations that may clarify their morphological structure.