Image by Ismet Vukel.
KAT-AR: Kotor’s Illyrian roots through the prism of the myth of the Golden Fleece and ceremonial clothing. In official historiography, the name of ancient Kotor (Cattarum, Ascrivium, Δεκάτερα) is often left to cabinet definitions of “unclear pre-Albanian / pre-Roman or Mediterranean roots”.
However, when we remove the later administrative and grammatical layers, and when we analyze the toponymy through the living autochthonous lexicon, ethnology, and geomorphological matrix of space, an etymological formula deeply rooted in ancient myth appears before us.
Unraveling grammatical “costumes”The official linguistic analysis on the name Cattarum rightly identifies the derivation:
Catt- ➔ The first primary, unchanging word of the etymological root
-ar- ➔ The second primary, unchanging word of the etymological root
-um / -o / -on ➔ Grammaticalized suffixes for linguistic adaptation (Latin, Venetian, Greek)
The original historical basis around which civilizations changed is the CATTAR phonetic block. While official science saw abstract notions in it, the living languages of the Balkans reveal a completely understandable meaning.
Illyrian formula: The union of ceremonial clothing (Kat) and gold (Ar)
If we free the stable base Cattar- from imperial linguistic costumes, we arrive at a compound root word composed of two living Balkan words: Kat and Ar.
KAT (Ceremonial Clothing / Dowry / Armor):Despite the misconception that the word kat is exclusively of Turkish origin for floor or layer, in the indigenous culture it has retained its sacred and status meaning. In the customary context, “with a layer of clothes” means donning a complete set of festive, bridal clothing arranged in layers — a complete whole of dignity and protection (close to the Celtic root cath-/catu- for shield or armor).
AR (Flowers / Ar):The meaning of the word ar in the non-Balkan substratum is linguistically completely indisputable — it denotes gold.
Through union we obtain the pure semantic form:
Kat (Ceremonial Clothing / Shield) + Ar (Flower/Gold) = GOLDEN CLOTHING / GOLDEN KAT
The city in the eyes of its indigenous founders was not simply a random geographical notion, but a space known as the place/fortress of the origin of the Golden Fleece.
Mythological support: The legend of the Argonauts and Medea
This linguistic structure receives its ultimate legitimacy in the tradition that directly connects Kotor to the epic expedition for the Golden Fleece.
Sailing the Adriatic Sea, Jashon and Medea with the Argonauts found refuge precisely in the Bay of Kotor (Bokë) and there they built one of the first settlements.
The tragedy of this love reaches its climax when Iashon betrays Medena for the princess Glauka.
Medea’s revenge is well known — she sends her rival a gift, the golden kat:
The golden peplos dress and The crown, Soaked in poison and Fire.
Catt + Ar = CATTAR — The golden bridal floor. The gold that united them at the beginning, in the form of the golden dress, brought about the final ruin.
Geomythological reversal: Is Kotor the original Yolku?
When we compare the geomorphological characteristics of the Pagasa Gulf (where Iolku, the starting point of the Argonauts, was located) and the Bay of Kotor,
An identical archetype is observed: a closed sea, calm as a lake, compressed behind a monumental mountain wall, which, through a strait, serves as a bridge of fate.
Yolku lies at the foot of Mount Pelion.
Kotor lies compressed under the vertical massif of Lovćen and Pestingrad, while the Veriga Strait functions as a gateway to refuge.
If we understand that the myth developed in a significantly narrower space and that the mythical Jolku and Kotor are geomythological reflections of the same archetype, then the name Kat-ar (Golden Floor) takes on its absolute and literal meaning. This is evidence that this fortified bay was the true treasure and home of the mythological Golden Fleece.
Conclusion
Imperial chancelleries (such as Constantine Porphyrogenitus and his attempted translation into Dekátera — “ten walls”) simply tried to soften this notion. But the vernacular through Káttaron preserved the Illyrian compound word Kat+ar — the permanent monument to the city that forever remained wrapped in golden clothing.
