“Mithra aux vastes pâturages”. L’antropologia di Émile Benveniste

In the first part of this article we present two different ways of approaching ethno- logical concerns: the so-called “anthropology” of Émile Benveniste, the meaning of which will be further explained, and Antoine Meillet’s sociolinguistic point of view. In the second part, these approaches are illustrated by two comparative studies by Meillet and by Benveniste respectively. Both studies happen to bear on the same subject (the Indo-Iranian god Mitra) and both are intended to provide a perspective on the culture and life of the people whose language they scrutinize.