Genius
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In Ancient Rome, the genius was the guiding or "tutelary" spirit of a person, or even of an entire gens. A related term is genius loci, the spirit of a specific locale. In contrast, the internal driving force within all living things is the animus. A specific spirit, or d?mon, may inhabit an image or icon, giving it supernatural powers.
A comparable term from Arabic lore is a djinn, often Anglicized as "genie". Note, however, that this term is considered a false friend, not a cognate by most Anglo-American anthropologists. Recent work by Russian, Romanian, Italian and a few American linguists may return the word to cognate status.
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genius#Etymology
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Peace Idl,
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genius#Etymology
Thank you for the very interesting info. Wiki actuall had some misleading info about the pre-Islamic sources which were in fact post-Islamic. I edited it here
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie#Jinn_in_pre-Islamic_Era
I think that the term is not a false friend and unlike the post-Islamic sources that are posted on Wiki, the Roman etymology is real pre-quranic evidence we have on the subject.
Peace,
Ayman
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Genius and Juno. Dear Dr. Ayman, very informative and revealing!
Peace Idl,
Thank you for the very interesting info. Wiki actuall had some misleading info about the pre-Islamic sources which were in fact post-Islamic. I edited it here
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie#Jinn_in_pre-Islamic_Era
I think that the term is not a false friend and unlike the post-Islamic sources that are posted on Wiki, the Roman etymology is real pre-quranic evidence we have on the subject.
Peace,
Ayman