Tuesday 14 April 2015

Epigraphic round-up

The Medes appear in the Idalion Bronze (Buck 1955: 211, no. 23, line 1) as ma-to-i, that is, Μᾶδοι. Two words in the same line (ka-te-vo-ro-ko-ne / κατε̄́ϝοργον and ke-ti-e-ve-se / Κετιε̑ϝες) show the treatment of the inherited long e (eta in Attic and Ionic) in contrast to the treatment of the long a (eta in Attic and Ionic) in this ethnic.

The Gortyn Lawcode is IC 72 (Anne Jeffery's notes thereon).

Buck (1955: 146, § 195) on Arcadian refers to a decree of Megalopolis of about 200 BC that 'is mainly in the native dialect' that was found in Caria at Magnesia on the Maeander.

The digamma in Arcadian δερά̄: now you see it (Orchomenos, 369-361 BCE), now you don't (Olympia, 189-167 or 182/181 BCE: Elean ?).

Chian (East Ionic) πρήξοισιν (2x) shows Ionic <η> and moveable nu, but the Aeolic/Lesbian -οισι for -ουσι (from -onsi). For a translation and some commentary, see S. Colvin (2007: 112-115, no. 20).

The first of the Etruscan abecedaria (IG XIV 2420) introduces the series of PHI entries. See also LSJ on the letter Ϻ.

Καρόφι SEG XX 756. ϝοίκω Schwyzer 323 C, line 23 (= Buck 1955: no 52, p. 241), which is functionally equivalent to οἰκόθεν (Buck 1955: 103). 

SEG XLIII 212 (A)
ὅπω]ς δὲ κὴ φανερὴ ἴωνθι τὴ ἐπανγελμένη κὴ δεδωῶση
[γουνῆκες, καταλο]γίττασθη τὸ ὄνουμα κὴ ἐπιπατρόφιον κὴ ὁπόττον κα ἑ-
[κάστα ἴη δεδωῶ]σα·

Boeotian τοῖ (face c, line 76) / τῦ (line 34) / τεῖ (line 4) / (locative in origin) ταμίη (< *αι, an old locative, functionally equivalent to τῷ ταμίᾳ: cf. κή for καί in Boeotian and Il.21.180-181 ἐκ δ’ ἄρα πᾶσαι | χύντο χαμαὶ χολάδες·; -ίᾱι gives -ίᾱι/ίᾳ in Boeotian).

A fun film about the longest (?) inscription of Antiquity, which is non-official to boot: "A Gigantic Jigsaw Puzzle: The Epicurean Inscription of Diogenes of Oinoanda".

The Thessalian dative plural participle εἴντεσσι is in SEG XXXVI 548.1: εἴντεσσι τοῦν πετταροῦν γενίουν ...

The numeral ἴα outside Homer: Boeotia (SEG III 359).

The adjective ἀταλόφρων is found on Thasos and as a personal name in Attica (col. II, line 63).

The adjective ἀταλός as a superlative adverb in the mid-eighth century: the Dipylon jug (Anna Jeffery's notes thereon).

δεκάω is a ghost word that originated from the first edition of this inscription.

Leumann knew the Dipylon Oinochoe and dated it to the eighth century (1950: 141), but also thought that its wording depended on Il.18.567, which is considered (by Bolling) to be an interpolation: παρθενικαὶ δὲ καὶ ἠΐθεοι ἀταλὰ φρονέοντες.

G. M. Bolling explains the chain of developments that must be assumed for the traditional analysis in Language 27.1 (1951) 68-80, at 73-74: αταλοφρων (sic) > αταλοφρονεων > ἀταλὰ φρονέων > ἀταλάφρων.

Chadwick (1996: 218-221, at 220) compresses this: 'Ἀταλός, probably an artificial back-formation from ταλάφρων, has very much the semantic range of Latin delicatus.'

Chadwick took ΠΑΙΖΕΙ as an indicative in the absence of ἄν. He interpreted the second line as τοῦ τόδε κἄν μιν [.

On the Dipylon Oinochoe's letter forms, esp. the reclining alpha and its iota and lambda (similar to those of early Cretan inscriptions), see C.D. Buck, The Greek Dialects (1955: 348-349): a (partial) photograph (and line drawing) illustrates the alpha, lambda, and pi clearly. Wikipedia has photographs from two angles so as to give the full (legible) text.

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