The name 'vátia' for berries is an idiom of the people of Salamina.
Name - Origin
sycamina or mora or avryna (ancient names - Athenaeus, Dipnosophistae 2.51) / berries
Additional information and bibliography
The berries are recorded in two ancient passages as "vátia" with special reference to the Salaminians. The earliest reference comes from Athenaeus (2nd - 3rd century AD) in his 'Dipnosophistae' and the second from the 'Lexicon' of Hesychius (5th century AD). Athenaeus, under the heading "sycámina", gives information on various names given to sycámina either by ancient authors or in different places (Athenaeus, Dipnosophistae 2.51f). Hesychius lists "vátia" as an entry, with the explanation "the fruit of the mulberry tree from Salamis" (Hesychius, Synagogue of All Words by Element - Translation: Hadjiioannou 1975, 363).
Athenaeus, Dipnosophistae 2.52c in Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists Loeb Classical Library, vol.1, Gulick C. B. (translation) (1969), Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 308.
Hesychius, Synagoguing of all words by element, word βάτια in Hadjiioannou K. (1975), Η Αρχαία Κύπρος εις τας Ελληνικάς Πηγάς, Vol. Α΄-Στ΄, Έκδοσις Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής Κύπρου, Λευκωσία, (Edition of the Holy Archbishopric of Cyprus, Nicosia), 362-363
Natasa Charalambous, Argyro Xenophontos
