Lo spettacolo delle voci 9788879490832, 8879490834

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LO SPEACOLO DELLE VOCI a cura di

FRANCESCO DE MARTINO e

ALAN H. SOMMERSTEIN

LEVANTE EDIIDRI - BARI

«le Rane» Collana di Studi e Testi a cura di Francesco De Martino

con: Marco Fantuzzi, Enrico V. Maltese, Enrico Renna, Alan H. Sommerstein, Onofrio Vox, Bernhard Zimmermann

© Tutti i diritti riservati

S1ampato su carta 8"0roata "Pelatina · dli 100 grmq. delle Cer1iareMiliani Fabriano SpA

SOMMARIO PARTE PRIMA a cura di Francesco De Martino

Premessa:L 'unifJeTsosonoro... ........ .. ... . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . Pag. Francesco De Martino, La voce degli autori ........ ... .. ... .. " Massimo Vetta, La voce degli attori nel teatro attico .. .. .. " Claude Calame, Dalla poesiacoraleallo stasimo tragico:fun. pragmatica . d', vocz.fiemm,n, ''l' , ...................... . " z,one Annalisa Paradiso, Il motivo della vocecomekosmos erotico

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17 61

79

in Sa//o .... ........... ................................. ......... ..... ''

103

Dina Micalella, Platone e la voce del pubblico . .. .. .. .. .. ... .. " Carmen Morenilla Talens, Entre la interjecciony la cursiva fonica. La expresionde la tensionemocionalen la tra-

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__ ,1. • gea,a gr,ega ........................................................ . " Martin Steinrlick, Lautechos bei Anakreon .................... " ,.J~ fi . Stramag 1· Antomo 1a, Le voci. uc:, antasm,. .................... .. " Paola Radici Colace, Le voci delle stelle . ... . ... ... ... .. .. .. ... . " Enrico Renna, Le «voci»dei fenomeni sismico-vulcanicinel mondo greco-romano ............................................. . "

131 173 193 231

Idi D

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Cl ...................•......................................................

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243 257

PARTE SECONDA a cura di Alan H. Sommerstein

lntroduction . ... .. ..... ... .. .. .. .... ....... .. .. ... .. .. ... .... ... .. .. . .... . ... Pag. Mark Golden, Baby talk and ChildLanguagein ancientGree,, ce ...................................................................... . Laura K. Mc Clure, Fema/eSpeechand Characterizationin Euripides ............................................................ '' ,, Alan H. Sommerstein, The /anguageof Athenian women Stephen Halliwell, Forms of Address:Socratic Vocativesin Plato .................................................................. '' Jeremy Trevett, The Useof DirectSpeechby theAttic Orators " W. Geoffrey Arnott, Menander'smanipu/ationof language f or the individualisationof character.. .. ... .. .. .. ... .. .. . " M.S. Silk, Nestor,Amphitryon, Phi/ocleon,Cephalus:the /anguageof o/d men in Greekliteraturefrom Homer to Mena nder ............................................................... . " Index .......................................................................... ''

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PARTE PRIMA a cura di

FRANCESCO DE MARTINO

PREMESSA

L'universo sonoro «In caso di quiete e di assenza di moto si ha silenzio; se c'è silenzio e non si danno corpi in movimento, non si ha percezione uditiva; per poter udire qualcosa, è dunque necessario che si siano prima verificati urto e moto• (trad. L. Zanoncelli). Cosi lo Ps.-Euclide immagina in apertura della Sectio canonisun improbabile mondo immoto e silenzioso. Un mondo sia pure in miniatura immerso artificialmente nel silenzio cercb di ricostruire il re egiziano Psammetico, isolando due neonati in una capanna solitaria e ordinando che «nessuno parlasse mai di fronte a loro», in attesa che «spezzassero» la «prima cpwvri•(Erodoto II 2), che cioè pronunziassero il primo segmento sonoro di senso compiuto, la prima parola, nell'illusione che fosse quella primordiale, la parola pronunciata per prima al mondo. A sua volta l'autore del IV inno omerico cerca di raccontare lo sbigottimento prodotto persino in un dio come Apollo dalla prima nota al mondo suonata sulla lira appena costruita dal piccolo ed impertinente Ermes, lo stesso dio che immise nella (Esiodo, Teogonia prima fatale donna, Pandora, una ingannevole cpwvri 79-817). Ma queste primizie sonore sono brividi di epoche irrimediabilmente perdute. Nil mutum natura dedit, come dice Ausonio in una istantanea dell'universo sonoro (ep. 24.17). Ed anche per Lucrezio fu la natura a «costringere ad emetterè varios linguaesonitus»(V I 028; cf. 1379 ss.). Questo processo naturale, certo lento e forse dovuto alla competitività dei messaggi sonoro-uditivi rispetto a quelli silenziosi, posturali e visivi, è immaginato da Julian Jaynes nel tardo Pleistocene. Il mondo ai tempi di Psammetico era perb ormai da tempo in movimento e ricco di suoni. Se questa o quella entità come le Malattie

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LO SPETTACOLO DELLE VOCI • I

(Esiodo, Opere102-104) o Dike (Solone, fr. 3. 14-15 Gentili-Prato, frr. trag. ad. 486, 493 Kannicht-Snell) o qualche individuo &q,wvoçsono privi o sono stati privati provvisoriamente o definitivamente di voce, il mondo in cui questi taciturni vanno in giro, è pieno di voci reali e immaginarie, e persino di rumori, talora cosl insistenti, da diventare alibi - invocati anche da divinità - per più o meno serie scelte militari o urbanistiche. Nella Batracomiomachiapseudomerica Atena comunica a Zeus il suo rifiuto di prestare aiuto non solo ai topi ma anche alle rane, perché «tornata dalla guerra troppo sfinita un mattino,/ bisognosa di sonno», non la «lasciarono per il baccano,/ nemmeno un poco chiudere gli occhi» e restò «insonne/ con dolore di testa [Tr}vxe.q,«À11v &À-youaatv], fino al canto del gallo» (vv. 189-192; trad. M. Fusillo). In modo analogo nell'inno omerico Ad Apollo 257ss. Telfusa distoglie Apollo dal fissare il suo tempio presso di sé e lo induce a ripiegare su Crisa, con l'argomento del frastuono delle cavalle e dei muli: non una fisima, ma una ragione tecnica, perché il tempio, insieme a boschi, grotte e appositi locali, è uno degli ambienti per performancee per provare i canti. Ma il mal di testa, sia o no da rumori, può essere guarito con altri suoni, come mostra ad esempio il canto della poetessa Filinna (fr. 900.1520 SH). E i rumori stessi avevano un loro appeal,se Omero cercò di riprodurli in certi suoi versi (Demetrio, Stile 95). Accanto ai rumori, altre voci non umane riempiono la vita di tutti i giorni: e contraddistinguono gli ambienti, per esempio la città, con le sue vie e il suo centro ideale l'&-yopcx, e la campagna. Voci ambientali diverse, ma per entrambe le quali si può provare viva nostalgia, una volta perdute. Per qualcuno può essere un sogno la vita lontano dagli affari xat't'&-yopcxv, in campagna, dove è possibile &xoutw 1tpo~0t't(wv ~ÀT}X,wµlvwv/ 'tpu-y6ç'tt q,wY1jvdç ÀtXCXYT}Y w8ouµlYT}ç(Aristofane, fr. 402. 5-6 Kassel-Austin). Per Teognide 1197-1202 è la «voce» stagionale della gru a scatenare il ricordo dei «fertili campi» che ora «altri possiedono»: «ho udito acutamente risuonare/ il grido dell'uccello che annuncia la stagione/ propria dell'aratura, e cupo mi percosse il cuore:/ ora i miei fertili campi sono d'altri,/ né per me trascinano i muli il dente dell'aratro/ dal tempo del mio viaggio funesto sopra il mare» (trad. S. Quasimodo). Un vero e proprio choccardiaco, pari a quello che subisce Saffo al pensiero che qualcun altro abbia a portata di mano e di

PREMESSA

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orecchio la fanciulla «che parla dolcemente• (fr. 31.1-6 Voigt). Alceo (fr. 130 Voigt) smaniava invece di sentir (lµéppwv... bouacxt) bandire l'assemblea e il consiglio, con la stessa intensità con cui Saffo smania di vedere (fr. 16.17-18 Voigt '3ollo(µcxv... ~v) o un innamorato si precipita alla porta dell'amata «amando sentirne solo la voce• (Aristofane, Pluto 1008-1009). Sentire queste speciali voci di «piazza•, significa per Alceo rientrare in possesso dei propri diritti di ascolto: un vero e proprio patrimonio anche sonoro goduto dal padre e dal padre del padre. Una voglia simile ha anche, nell'omonima tragedia di Sofocle, Filottete, costretto a vivere isolato, anzi in quarantena nell'isola di Lemno. «Voglio sentire la voce (cpwvijçò' &xouacxt~ouÀoµcxt)•(225), confessa agli sconosciuti nei quali si imbatte e che dall'abbigliamento sembrano Greci. E quando uno di loro, Neottolemo, prende la parola, egli reagisce apostrofando la «carissima vocalità•: «o carissima vocalità. Oh, anche il cogliere/ un pronunciamento di un uomo cosi, dopo un lungo 'tCX'tOY YTl, i q>VT)µ.ati:oox opyatvcx (laringe, muscoli relativi, nervi dell'encefalo) da quelli che producono la S&txi:oç, i StaÀtxi:ooxopyOtVVli'v µ.Ly01) e quelle negli scoli (ltauxti, ijpiµ.01)sul• teatrali (µ.ucpòvÀiygLv,µ.git;ovÀiyitv, IJ.Tl la recitazione «sotto voce• (cf. BAIN,pp. 82-83 e RISPOLI, Declamazione)e Coricio, Apologia dei mimi 124, 129, 130, 141, 142. 'toii 1tV11>µ.ct'toç)• rispetto alla voce del parlante ' Sulla «sufficienzadel fiato (61.«pMLct (XGt'tÒt ffJ"q,wvi)v'tOG).tyOV"tOç), cf. Ermogene, L 'inwnzione4.4, p. 183.15-16Rabe. Teofrasto, sulla scia di Aristotele, insegnava a non far coincidere le pause con i ritmi respiratori del parlante o con i segni di punteggiatura (fr. 39 Matelli). Sull'«affanno• che disturba chi canta e danza, vedi Luciano, Danza 30. Sulla respirazione nei trattati di H. Fabricius (De visione,wce, auditu, Venezia 1600) e di G. Casserio (De 'OOCis auditusqueorganishistoria anatomica,Ferrara 1601),vedi CoLZANIin TA,JETI1-CoLZANI, pp. 78-86.

FRANCF.SCODE MARTINO· I.A VOCE DEGLI AUTORI

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to vocale è per cosi dire un intrigo di q,wVT) e &«U,xi:oç.Ciò che le Deliadi (inno om. Ad Apollo 162-164) sanno imitare è la cadenza dialettale e il timbro della voce nello stesso tempo, cioè proprio nel suo insieme quelle voci individuali, che caratterizzeranno il teatro comico. Un'improvvisa caduta di voce o il fiatone da stresso da emozione trova la sua humus ideale in un soggetto debole nella 8t - l'euripideo èxtppwcr',per questo semsarono, e soprattutto gli Attici•. Allo stesso modo uno scolio di Aristonico (ad Il. XIII Tale invece 172a)osserva che «Omero segmenta le frasi, per non risultare ~q,(oooç». si allenava a diventare Demostene, tale - fin troppo - si era rivelato Sofoclenel passo dell'Antigoneche gli sarebbe stato fatale. Per la predilezione per le parole «di volume più am«SIFC• 37, 1965, p. 197 n. 3 (con bibliografia). Analoghi composti pio•, cf. G. PASCUCCJ, sesquipedali si trovano già in altri poeti dagli eptasillabi «l'-fL1t,puc·doYCXç di Callino, fr. 1.2 di Tirteo, fr. lb.6 G.-P. (che coprono l'intera seconda metà del G.-P. e m01niuL13oiuYOuç pentametro) agli esasillabi livL'ljp6u1:ov di Tirteo, fr. 6.4 G.-P., I:IXÀ0t(.LLY01cp,1:wv di Solone, fr. 2.6 G.-P. (quasi l'intera seconda metà del pentametro) e ~xwtcd1:,L di Simonide, fr. matLcr!q>cxlloç,maup-roÀtç, 77.6 D.(• intera prima parte del pentametro) a XIX't(a)j.lOXcxvt, 7UMOX«p11j33Lv (dopo Eùpo(,LIOOVt14&t(a)), Lvyp01cnp4L«XIXLp(XV, ~pn:oxianiç di lppo2 natte (frr. 39.1, 151, 152, 126.1-2, 171 Degani ). Tanto più mozzafiato pronunciare «dodici parole bovine• (Aristofane Rane 924), cioè più composti sesquipedali tutti di seguito, per es. i dodici (vd. sopra n. 9 ciò che dice Melampode) nell'epigramma elegiaco citato da Egcsandro di Delft, FHG IV 413 (• Ateneo IV 162a-b). Sulla predilezione dei composti lunghi anche da parte degli innologi bizantini, in particolare di Giovanni Damasccno nele 55 TÀ(a)(Jaom>pa61Lopq>0ç, 119 1CIIX'n• l'inno pentecostale (per es. vv. 27 11:IXVOG,110Up-y6cpc,m,v cm>au1L1CÀIXCJ'touPToaup8poYOV [scii. 1MU(.LIX M7t(a)V1e011:pucwv 1tpoT1T1UYOv) cioè increatum,conche occupa pressoché per intero il verso), cf. Eustazio, Commentoalfactorem,consessorem, l'inno penucostak di DamascenoS90, p. 253 Mai • PG CXXXVI, coli. 604D-605A con un gioco di parole fra 7tV&U(.LIX'tUV1C«téiv«çcxpx«fouç 'ttvcxçY), Valerio Massimo VIII IO.I (che parla di una eburneafistula), Gcllio, Notti atticheI 10-16. 2 • Su uno di questi esercizi musicali informa Giamblico, Vita di Pitagora11O: «Credeva che anche la musica contribuisse molto alla salute fisica, se usata nei modi convenienti: soleva infatti - e non in linea secondaria - adoperare una tale forma di «catarsi•. Cosi infatti ("biamavala cura per mezzo della musica. In primavera egli eseguivaun esercizio musicale, nel modo seguente: poneva nel mezzo uno che suonava la lira, e in cerchio attorno a lui si sedevano i cantori. E cosi, con l'accompagnamento del citarista, cantavano in coro dei peani con i quali - come credevano - si dilettavano l'animo divenendo armoniosi e ordinati. Negli altri periodi dell'anno usavano la musica come mezzo terapeutico• (trad. L. Montoneri). Sulla voce di Pitagora, efficacecome quella di Orfeo anche sulle fiere, vedi lo stesso Giamblico, Vita di Pitagora62. l'J Per prevenire gli incidenti vocali gli attori (e sulla loro scia gli oratori) ricorrevano a ripetuti esercizi fonatori, preferibilmente di notte o di prima mattina. Alcune testimonianPlatone, LeggiII 665e, Ps.-Aristotele, Proze sono ricordate e.g. da PICKARD-CA.MBRIDGE: blemiXI 22, 90Ib, Ateneo VIII 343c, 344d, Plutarco, QuestionicomnvialiIX 737a-b, Polluce IV 88 (con il caso dell'attore comico Ermone, che intento a provare la voce fuori del teatro non rispose all'appello e fu multato), Cicerone, Sull'oratoreI 251 (esercizi vocali «stando seduti• sedentes,cf. III 224). Altre testimonianze sono ricordate da KRUMBACHER, Stimmpf/ege).La più ampia è quella di Quintiliano, pp. 84 e 101-107(Die gesundheitliche /.O. XI 3.19-29. Negli esercizi si poteva ricorrere ad una strumentazione, per es. dischi di bronzo da tenere sul petto, stando distesi (Plinio, Storia naturaleXXXIV 166, Marziale XI 75, Svetonio, Nerone20). Il decubito dorsale, assicurando una posizione perfetta della colonna vertebrale specie a livello della laringe, facilita l'emissione vocale (ROUSSELLE, p. 132). Le lastre di piombo verranno consigliate ancora nel'500 da Maffei (f A.JETTI).Un eserciziooriginale (esercitare esclusivamentei suoni gravi, lasciando perdere quelli acuti) è suggerito da un anonimo igienista in Oribasio, Coli.Med. VI 9. Interessante anche il rapporto fra tempo dedicato agli esercizi e tempo dell'effettiva attività professionale:rapporto spesso squilibrato ora in favore degli esercizi (Cicerone, Sull'oratoreI 251), ora degli affari professionali (Quintiliano). Si usavano anche prodotti alimentari (bevande e cibi) per aiutare la voce (KRUMBACHER, pp. 102-105),per esempio spicchi d'aglio e porri (Ps.-Aristotele, ProblemiXI 903b). Un vero e proprio intruglio era consigliato da Metrodora, e ancora Maffei consigliava dei preparati, dalle pastiglie di fico e gomma arabica al brodo di cavolo (fA.JETII). In Clcarco, fr. 2 K.-A. un citarodo dice che deglutendo dei gongri bianchi diventa «carnosa•. Una con le parti collose il 1MUl,l,Clsi rinforza e la «vocina(tÒ fll«f>WY)•

FRANCESCODE MARTINO· LA VOCEDEGLI AUTORI

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frizioni di olio, astinenza sessuale, dieta frugale, perfette condizioni della gola (come fosse un flauto o un organo a canne)2'. Per un oratore presentarsi in assemblea con una sciarpa di lana significa non poter parlare, come mostra l'aneddoto relativo a Demostene che simula una laringite wç~11:oxixo!J.fJ.LY'1}ç atÙ't ffjç q>vijç (Plutarco, Demostene25, Gellio, Notti attiche XI 9.1). Analogo è l'aneddoto testimoniato dallo 356 per Trasibulo che, corrotto dagli scolio ad Aristofane, Ecc/esiazuse ambasciatori spartani, «finse di aver mangiato pere selvatiche e di non poter parlare». Un aneddoto dal quale desumiamo fra l'altro un tipo di cibo da evitare da parte di professionisti della voce. Ma anche Aristofane descrive nella parabasi delle Tesmoforiantiseconde(fr. 346 K.-A.) la raucedine che lo colpi nei quattro decisivi mesi anteriori alla rappre-

bevandafu fatale al giovane coreuta Diodoto che ne rimase avvelenato (nel VI discorso Antifonte·difendeva il corego che gliel'aveva somministrata). Persino «purgarsi con clisteri ed emetici• poteva servire a coltivare la voce (Svetonio, Ner. 20). Anche la chirurgia poteva intervenire per eliminare difetti articolatori (cattiva pronuncia di S, À, p, q>, 1t, x, x) come mostra un paragrafo (desunto da Antillo) delle Collezionimedichedi Oribasio (XLV 16). 26 Sulla voce in rappv in An. Gr. I, p. 190.9 Bekker(diversaspiegazionecorona139),e lcx~oç lwVT)v), e spesso rimaneva 11due o tre mesi di seguito, radendosi una sola pane del capo per non uscire, per vergogna, neanche se avesse avuto desiderio» (ivi 7.6). Il fiato cono era scomodo per lunghi periodi da recitare tutti d'un fiato, ma il difetto poteva essere eliminato ricorrendo ad un tecnica adeguata: «poiché era difettoso di fiato (i:ou8è 1tVeuµ.cxi:oç cxùi:ii> lv8tovi:oç) (si diceva) che avesse pagato diecimila dracme all'attore Neottolemo, perché gli insegnasse a recitare interi periodi senza prendere fiato (&1tveUtt òiµatçx«Ì «ntpbx cpwvfr,,. Cfr. 13, 45; 22, 227. Sulla voce degli dei in Omero cfr. J. CLAY,Demasand Aude: Tlu Nature o/ Divine Transformationsin Homer, «Hermes•

102, 1974, pp. 129-136. • P. ZUMTHOR, La presenzadella ooce.Introduzionealla poesia orale, tr. it. Bologna 1984 (Paris 1983), p. 198.

MASSIMO VETTA-LA VOCE DEGLI ATTORI NEL TEATRO ATTICO

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tro. Accanto a temi musicali ricorrenti, inevitabili e forse ricercati in tanto accumularsi di canti di scena monodici e corali, lo spettatore poteva cogliere e apprezzare anche le inflessioni ripetute del parlato 7 • Una scena povera come quella attica, limitata a uno sfondo convenzionale, invariabile, e a qualche riferimento simbolico, non poteva che affidare progressivamente il maggior onere dello spettacolo ai colori vocali, ai toni e al tempo di recitazione 8 • La scena povera schematizza il gesto, e trasferisce gran parte dell'impegno deittico appunto alla creatività della voce. A partire dall'inizio del IV secolo, numerose testimonianze rivelano il grande interesse degli ateniesi per l'arte degli attori. È naturale che affermazione o insuccesso negli agoni teatrali fossero spesso determinati per i poeti dalla qualità della prestazione vocale dei protagonisti, sia nel canto che nel declamato. Tenendo conto di questo aspetto, ci si può stupire di meno, ad esempio, della mancata vittoria dell'EdipoRe di Sofocle o del terzo posto delle Nuvole. D'altro canto, si trattava ancora di un condizionamento reciproco. Quando, nel 450/449 a.C., fu istituito un premio per il migliore attore tragico delle Grandi Dionisie', non dovettero essere rari i casi in cui un'eccellente interpretazione rimanesse oscurata nella stima della giuria dalla cattiva qualità del dramma. Molti decenni più tardi, quando ormai, secondo la frase di Aristotele, «gli attori avevano maggior peso dei poeti per il buon esito di un concorso» 10, l'ordinamento dell'agone fu cambiato, e ogni interprete doveva recitare un dramma di ciascuno degli autori concorrenti. Sulla voce teatrale non abbiamo testimoni anteriori ad Aristofane. Nella commedia antica non poteva mancare il dileggio di personaggi

Cfr. J. MUK.AiovsKt, li significatodell'utttica, tr.it. Torino 1973 (Praga 1966), pp. 302 s., a proposito di un'affermazione di E.F. BURIANsecondo cui il tempo sul palcoscenico può diventare ritmicamente misurabile sul modello della musica. • Quali siano le conseguenze di un teatro con scenografia ricchissima si può vedere ad esempio nell'affascinante descrizionedel teatro simbolico di Mejerchòl'd fatta da A.M. RIPELLINO, ll truao e /'anima, Torino 1965,pp.131 ss. 'Cfr. P. GHIRON-BISTAGNE, Recherchessur /es acteursdans la Grèceantique, Paris 1976, p. 1. IO Arist. Rhet. 1403 b 33 s. 7

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pubblici quali erano gli attori, ma è singolare come ne siano fatti oggetto esclusivamente gli attori tragici 11 • Sappiamo che, in quell'epoca, chi recitava tragedia non recitava mai commedia e viceversa. Evidentemente, si trattava della naturale estensione, perfino al modo di recitare, di quella parodia tragica che era costitutiva della commedia. Di voce Aristofane parla appena. Le qualità vocali di professionisti sottoposti a selezioni preliminari dovevano essere pregevoli e ben al di là di critiche appena giustificate. Siamo informati di fortuiti incidenti di dizione12,ma le canzonature aristofanee toccano quasi esclusivamente la mimica, l'aspetto fisico inadeguato e la pratica di audaci innovazioni orchestiche 13• In un luogo della Pacesi trova la più antica osservazione sul timbro sgradevole della voce di un attore. Nella preghiera alla Musa che occupa la sezione lirica della prima parabasi, il Coro si augura che non partecipino più agli agoni né Morsimo né suo fratello Melanzio (vv. 804-809): Ar. Vesp.1219 il figlio di Automene; 1479 s. e Pax 181 Carcino e i figli (oltreché danzatori, Carcino e il figlio Xenocle erano anche autori); Vesp. 1490 Frinico figlio di Corocle; Pax 804 e 1009 Melanzio; Ran. 53-55 Molone; 303 Egeloco; fr. 490 K.-A. Callippide; che in E«/. 22 ci si riferisca a un attore Cleomaco è notizia dubbia dello scoliasta. Xenocle, il terzo dei figli di Carcino, autore tragico e attore, è preso in giro in Nub. 12591261 per la voce lamentosa evidentemente proprio nella recita del suo Licimnio di cui, contestualmente, sono parodiati due versi (Nub. 1264 s.). Ma era beffato anche per le esagerate innovazioni orchestiche. A parte il finale delle Vespe,Platone comico (fr. 134 K.) lo e non si può escludere che questo epiteto, più che alle 1,1:11:x«vcxC definiva SwStxr.eµ:fix(XV()ç, dei suoi drammi, come improvvisa lo scoliasta, servisse a identificarlo con la cortigiana Cirene, famosa in quegli anni appunto come Sw&xcxµ:/1:xcxvoi; per le «dodici posizioni• (Ar. Ran. 1325-1328);lo scherno allora si riferirebbe alla sua opX71c11.ç smodata (cfr. KocK, ad /oc.e vd. GHIRON-BISTAGNE, Recherches,cit., p. 296 s.). 12 Ar. Ran. 303 ricorda l'infortunio occorso all'attore Egeloco, che nel 408, per un'imper -y«À-lr,,(«]), storpiò il v. 279 dell'Orestedi Euriprovvisa caduta di altezza di voce (-yclÀijv pide (cfr. Stratt. fr. 1 K.-A.). Dobbiamo immaginare che nel 405 l'attore comico rifacesse esattamente non solo l'errore di Egeloco, ma ne imitasse la voce e l'agogica intera del verso, se non anche il gesto. 11 L'attore Molone per la statura enorme (Ran. 53-55, o-µ.ucp6ç per antifrasi secondo lo scoliasta),Frinico di Corocle per la mimica esagerata (Vesp.1490, cfr. E. Roos, Dit T,ag,._ scht Orchestikim Zerrbildder a/tattischtnKomodie,Lund 1950, pp. 122-130),Carcino e i suoi figli per il modo di ballare (Vesp. 1479 s. e Pax 781), il celebre Callippide per l'eccesso di realismo gestuale (fr. 490 K.-A.). 11

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MASSIMO VETTA· LA VOCE DEGLI ATTORI NEL TEATRO ATTICO

1.1:118l Mù.cxvO,oç, où 871 1tl.XpO't«'C1)V&t(Xl"'l•

puaY Sl I lppel JJ.OL i\ µlÀLx11pwsenza la mediazione di Saffo, i cui µ,cpwv«r Àuxepw'tlpcx e µiÀÀtx6cpwvoç - cosi come lµep6cpwvoç, Àe1tpwv,detto del sonno (B 34), del vino (Z 264), del thymos (Hes. Se. 428) e probabile modello (non unico) del saffico µeÀ(q>wvoç.Nello specializzare in senso erotico tutti questi aggettivi sinesteticamente forgiati su designazioni della vista, del gusto o del tatto 26 • Ma la novità consiste anche nell'attribuire alla voce femminile umana un potere di sedu-

B. MARzuu.o, Studi di poesiaeolica,Firenze 1958, p. 48. Sul concetto di allusione, caro al Pasquali, cfr. ora M.G. BONANNO, L'allusionenecessaria.Ricercheintertestualisulla poesiagrecae latina,Roma 1990, pp. 11-40. » Cfr., infra, p. 99 e n. 18 sulla voce di miele, di giglio, fluida. La voce d'amore è raffi2'

gurabile? La voce (f(a)vli)è «luce della mente» ('6>ç voii)secondo una tarda razionalizzazione (EtimologicumMagnum s.v.). Contiene in~ un elemento visivo: il nome di una delle Sirene nella tradizione post-omerica è Aglaophonos,«dalla voce brillante» (Scho/. Ap. Rhod. ~ 892 .. Hes. fr. 27 M.-W.). Al cantore Demodoco, nell'Odissea,la Musa donb un benee un male: lo privb della vista ma gli concesse il canto (8 64 6'8«Àµi;>Y!Ù" «l'-'PG',SCSouS' ~Swzvt.li,e.13«>.À, x1tpòç1tCt.i,c.l8gç i,c.l8gç i,c.,.N,. 1tori,c.,Ow; cJ>t.i,c.,8,ç1to'tt Ne. ouv ß,pßtpLOV WUIJ,j,l,(X't, ioqnJX6)1J,tVCX x«l eul.Cvout; «crtp ßo'oi;, v{ptl.u-cov dluµ.cxx00v o1tOV'1'1pot; 'Ap-ct1J,Ca>v, x(ß&ril.ov ,upCaxCa>v ßCov, 11:oll«iuv lv Soupl-ct8dt; atuxtvcx, 11:oll«8' lv -cpoxcil, 1toll« Si VW'tOV axu-cCCa>t1 IJ,(XcrtL)'L 8Ca>1J,tX8,Ct;, x61J,TJV

pri herber kal

ksulin astra gal ksiksilon pleu sider boos plu asp anopolisin katelopomoisin ponerosAne kibdeloneuris bion polla endour (theis) aukhen pollad entro pollad skutin mastigi mikhtheis kom

Cf. Frg. 168 West, wo «'Epcxa11ovc&,i XetpO.CX,. semantisch und phonisch ausgesponnen wird und vielleicht Frg. 185 West, wo mit «K71PUx€&,i• gespielt wird (einesolche Interpretation in TBRGUM,LeiseLaute, pp. 33 ss. und pp. 70 ss.). 21

184

LO SPETIACOLO DELLE VOCI -1

vüvl1eiß«(viL aot'tLv&v cpop&v x«8tpµ

Mit «artopolisin», einem ganzen Wort, beginnt das Spiel der zweiten Strophe: Der lautliche Bezug zum Namen «Artemon» ist zunächst nur durch das erste Element «art» gegeben. Die (semantische) Beziehung Artemons zu den «bösen Zungen» der Brotverkäuferinnen ist vielleicht noch zu wenig verletzend, als dass sich dafilr ein Lautspiel lohnte. Jedenfalls beginnt erst in den darauf folgenden Isotopien eine Vertauschung (immutatio) der Liquida, welche eine Steigerung des cp6ro~erlaubt: Dabei wird der Lautwert eines Wortes fiir «freiwillige Prostituierte» (männlichen oder weiblichen Geschlechts) durch eine Krasis mit «x~i» soweit verändert, dass das Echo zu «Brotverkäuferinnen» trotz der Liquidavertauschung (r++1)gleich am Anfang zu sehen/hören ist: arto pol isin athe/o por noisi

Eine Funktion der Umstellung ergibt sich, wenn man die Beziehung zwischen «artopolisin» und «artemon» betrachtet: das zweite Glied «polisin» liess sich bisher mit keinem semantischen Echo in Verbindung bringen. Nach der Vertauschung von «r» und «l» hingegen ist eine Paronomasie leicht geworden, die dem Artemon den Beinamen «o 1tovrip6~» verpasst 22• arto polisin athelo pomoisi poneros Arte(mon)

Beide Gruppen, die Brotverkäuferinnen

21

und die Freizeithuren, sind

" Dabei filtert vielleicht «homilon• das «b der vorangehenden lsotopien weg und bereitet auf das «m• von «artemon• vor. 21 F. DE MARTINo,Scudi a rendere(Hor. Carm. 2, 7: i prcccdenti grcci), «A.1.O.N.• 12, 1990, p. 61, weist auf das hlufige Etymologie-Spiel der Batrachomyomachie ('Api-e.11:(ßouAO( als clnsidiapane• oder 'Ap-co-q,aro,als «Mangiapane•) und schllgt ein

MARTIN STEINRÜCK · LAUTECHOS BEI ANAKREON

185

also nötig, um den Namen des «Miesen• Artemon zu erklären. Doch die gewundene Ausdrucksweise des Strophenschlusses «x(ßMJAoveup(axwv ß(ov»verrät, was die Analyse fmdet: Die Steigerung der kriminellen Vergangenheit Artemons wird auch auf der lautlichen Ebene fortgesetzt. Dabei antwortet das Echo des Periodenanfangs «kibdeloneuris• eher dem Anfang der vorangehenden Periode, also dem zweiten Element der lsotopienkette (und nicht dem dritten): ano polisin kathelop omoisi poneros Arte(mon) kibdelo neuris

Die starke Viererkette verführt dazu, nicht nur eine Rhythmi-sierung, sondern auch ein Kalkül in ihr zu erblicken. Dennoch sei die produktionsästhetische Perspektive hier nur als Metapher verstanden, die den semantischen Bezug zwischen den lautlichen lsotopien beschreibt. Man könnte jedenfalls sagen, dass sich für einen Hörer die zweite Strophe lautlich nach dem Prinzip der Paronomasie organisiert. Einen Name, der wie in der zweiten Strophe die Grundlage für die Paronomasie bildete, hat die dritte Strophe nicht zu Verfügung. Entsprechend weniger deutlich sind die paronomastischen Glieder. Immerhin bietet die Strophe ein Motiv, das sich auf in der semantischen Ebene wiederholt: Das Thema «Haut• lässt sich als Oberbegriff der lautlichen lsotopien verstehen, die bis auf die erste Kolon und Wortgrenzen respektieren. Ferner weist die Seltenheit (nur hier) des Wortes «8w!L(Cetv•, darauf hin, dass die Kette sich nicht nur nach semantischen, sondern auch lautlichen Kriterien organisiert. Die Kola der ersten Periode werden durch ein Polyptoton und ein einfaches (keine Kette), aber kombinationsreiches Echo fest verbunden: «polla endour / polla entro». Dagegen beginnt eine ganze Kette von lsotopien direkt am Uebergang zwischen den Kola (theis fauchen). Auf der semantischen Ebene geht es dort um den Nacken. Vergleicht man die Stelle mit dem Motiv des Nackens bei Homer, so kön-

Spiel mit ii,urvvor: 'Af)'t-t!'-W" als «Vomitapane».

186

LO SPETTACOLODELLE VOCI • I

nte man der metrischen Position eine besondere Funktion zuweisen: Der Nacken fmdet bei Homer meist nur dann Erwähnung, wenn er gerade durchtrennt, und gerade dann oft als •zart•bezeichnet wird. Wenn auch im Anakreontext der sonst verletzliche Nacken ins Holz gesteckt wird und auf der metrischen Ebene die Wort- und Kolongrenze überschritten wird, kann die U eberlagerung zweier Trennungen beim Hörer mimetische Effekte auslösen. In der folgenden Periode wird der Rücken mit der Lederpeitsche bearbeitet: theisaukhen - skutin. Das Wort «Peitsche• setzt ein «m• hinzu, zusammen mit dem Wort «schlagen• ergibt sich dann eine Reihe von vier Isotopien aus den Elementen «Dental•, «s•, «Velar• und «i»: theisaukhe(n) - skuti(n) - (m)astig - (m)ikhtheis.

Die semantische Zusammmengehörigkeit von «Haut•, «Schlagen• und «Peitsche• arbeitet so mit einer lautlichen Isotopienkette zusammen. Die letzte Periode nimmt das Motiv durch die Bartepilierung beinahe (ekt) nur semantisch auf. Die vierte Strophe zeigt wie die dritte (polla - polla - polla) ein vielleicht dreiteiliges Polyptoton (phor - phor - pher), aber keine paronomastische Kette. Hingegen fällt eine hartnäckige Serie von kurzen Kombinationen aus «s+ k + i• auf, die keine Wortgrenze beachten: «paiskukeskai skiadisken•, noch einmal aufgenommen in der letzten Periode durch «gunaiksi•. Der Umstand, dass statt «o-xtcx8tov• das die Isotopie gleich zweimal führende «o-xtVTl" lwpµ.6vuw&f(T)(Jtv XOtl q,,.iu).ij,XOtL 1Gpu811-ov lxOV'tcx q>ex(va'tCXt x(Vl)ow, cnkw 'tc.>11 Ù1tÒyfjc;cpapoXOtÌ «ÀoyW'ttpwv ò ~xoc;'tptoµ~ 1tcxpcx1tÀ 11cn6c; lcntv, 'tfjc;llpacnucfjc; fL6v"lc; XOtl cpcxvtcxcnucfjc; fL&w..>11 Cwijc; rv3cx).fLCX cptpwv;e cfr. p. 118, 11). Su questo importante luogo procliano v. HoPFNBR sulla 1921, § 321; rispetto al testo di KROLL, ho segnato interrogazione dopo «1t&XaÀaaav scorta di A. J. FESTUGit!RE (a cura di), Proclus.Commentairesur la Rlpubliq,u, I, Paris, Vrin, 1970, p. 140 n. 3. V. pure l'interpretazione allegoricadei versi odissiacidata dal bizantino Tzctzc (cd. H. HUNGER,«ByzZ•,48 (1955),p. 33 [4-481vv. 76-86). 20 Hcrmctica, Excerpt.23, 33 (I, p. 474, 28s. Scott • IV, p. 10, 23 Festugière[-NockD = Stob. I, 49, 44 (I, p. 395, 12 Wachsmuth[-HcnscD:delle qiuxcx( si dice che «sibilavanoin guisa di aspidi• (l'tptCov&Cx7)11 à.cnd&wv). 21 PGM1-IV, 2733 (IV d.C.): spiriti «chesibilano selvaggiamente•(ciyptex aup(Covuc;). 22 Philostr., V.Apoll. II, 4. 21 Philostr. Lemn., /mag. mai. I, 4, 4. L'autore motiva invero il grido stridulo dell'anima di Mcneceo con il dispiacere, che essa proverebbe nell'allontanarsi dal suo bel corpo; ma questa chiosa ha molto di specioso,e pare legittimo un confronto con Apul., Met. I, 13, 6: cum i/le (se. Socrate, sgozzato dalle streghe) inpetu teli praaecata gula fJOUm immo stridore m incertumperfJUlnuseffunderetet spiritum rebulliret. 2• È merito di BEITINI 1986, p. 231 l'aver sottolineato come in realtà, appunto nell'ambito di una fievolezzavocale di fondo, non vi sia effettivo contrasto fra l'indistinto

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25 spettri che si esprimono con voce 'sottile' (Àe.7tff1 ), ma in un linguag6 gio articolato. Ae.7tff) è infatti, in Licofrone2, la voce che Odisseo udirà dai morti nell'oltretomba; Àe.1t't6'P(J)voç è Tiresia nella Nekyia lucianea:n;e la stessa fievolezzadi voce è mantenuta da due 'revenants' temporaneamente tornati sulla terra (Flegonte di Traile), che parlano Àe.1t-

tji tji q>c.>\lij28.

Sul toposgiocano i romanzieri29 • In Achille T azio30, perché appaia più credibile il 'ritorno dall'aldilà' dell'eroina Leucippe - creduta morta dal suo amato Clitofonte -, la ragazza risponde dalla bara ai colpi di un complice con voce «assai sottile• (1tcxwÀe.7tffJ) - con·grande terrore di Clitofonte! Dal canto loro, Rodane e Sinonide - i protagonisti del romanzo di Giamblico - si spacciano per fantasmi per sfuggire ai loro inseguitori, ed una delle ragioni per cui vengono creduti è proprio l'«"tovtot della voce che emettono11• Una simile situazione trova preciso riscontro in ambito latino. Qui una lezione teorica sulla fievolezza vocale dei defunti è impartita dalla specialista Eritto (Lucano), che spiega il fenomeno - antitipando, al fondo, il già citato Eustazio32 - con la decomposizione del corpo dopo

squittire a mo' di pipistrelli, tradizionalmente attribuito alle anime, e la voce sottile ma articolata di cui dispongono molti singoli fantasmi (v. infra nel testo): i due fenomeni sono ascrivibili rispettivamente alle esigenze cdi una descrizione simbolica• e «del discorso narrativo•. Cfr. anche infra,n. 45. 2 di queste testimonianze ~ ben distinta da quella ' Conviene precisare che la Àr.~ che la trattatistica antica ascriveva alle voci melodiose; in proposito, su Àr.1t't6çcome 'termine tecnico' cfr. ad es. W. B. STANFORD, TheSoundo/ Greele,Berkeley and Los Angeles, University ofCalifornia Presa, 1967, p. 150; e soprattutto KAIMio 1977, pp. 223 e 225 (e anche 191 e 201). l6 Alex. 686s. V. anche infra, n. 42. 21 Mmipp. 21. a Rispettivamente, Mir. 2, 6, 141 e 3, 4, 241 Giannini. Interpreta bene questo particolare BRJSSON1978, p. l 07. '"Cfr. in parte già K. KElmNYI,Die griechisch-orientalische Romanliteraturin re/igionsguchichtlicher Beleudrtung,Tdbingen, Mohr, 1927 (2• rist. con add4ndaDarmstadt, Wissensch. Buchgesellsch., 1973), p. 40 n. 60. lO lii, 17, 6. u Bab. 5 (p. 18, 14-18 Habrich). u Supra,n. 12.

200

LO SPETTACOLODELLE VOCI - I

la mone, e per questa ragione sceglie cadaveri ancora tiepidi, quando voglia interrogarne le anime". Sul piano linguistico, il verbo 'tecnico' è strid(e)o'4: onomatopeicamente affme a 'tp((35, esso è usato per fantasmi già da Accio (per Alcesti?)36,e poi almeno da Lucano 11, Petronio 38, Stazio19, Ammiano Marcellino40,Claudiano' 1• Non mancano comunque testimonianze che da tale 'Leitwon' prescindono: Virgilio menziona semplicemente la -oocemI exiguamdelle schiere che dimorano nell'Ade 42; in Orazio, le ombre che Priapo ode parlare con le streghe echeggiano tristeet acutum"; in Ovidio, Didone racconta di essere stata chiamata quattro volte, sono tenui, dall'immagine consacrata del defunto marito Sicheo"; parimenti, il fantasma di Remo parla a Faustolo ed Acca - sia pure in sogno exiguomurmure".Presuppone forse un confronto con la voce fioca che

,, VI, 621-623: la magaseguequesto criterio ut mododefancti tepidiqrucadawris ora I piena f10U sonmt necmembrissok pmutis I auribruinurtum feralis strideatumhra. 14 Che non a caso designava pure il verso delle strigulstrigae:v. in particolare Ov., Fast. VI, 140; Petr. 63, 4 ed i relativi commenti, nonché - da ultimo - CURLETIO 1987, p. 151. ,sCfr. almeno le voci relative in P. CHANTRAINE,Dictionnaireétymologiq,ude la languegrw/,U, Paris, Klincksieck, 1968-1980, p. 1138; A. ERNour-A. MEILLET, Dictionnaireétymologiqrude la languelatine, ibid., 19594, p. 656. 14 Trag. 57 Ribbeck 3 • D' Antò (Alastis): cum strideratretractarumu in/tris. 7 ' Cit. 111pra, n. 33. ,. 122, vv. 137s.: Ecu inter t11mulos atqruossacarentiabrutislumhrarumfacia diro stri-

doreminantur. Theb. Il, 51: stridoribi (se. presso il Tenaro, ove c•~ un accesso ali' Ade) et gemituspoenarum;VII, 770: stridmt animaecurrumqru(se.di Anfwao) uquunun; IX, 298s.: nuda necflebilisumhraI stridebitvestrosTydew inhumatw ad ignes. 40 XIV, 11, 17: sauciabantureius(se.di Costanzo Gallo) sennu circumstridentillmterrore larvarum. 1 • In Rufin. I, 126s.: illic (se. presso un accesso all'Ade) umhrarum tenui stridorewlantum I flebilisauditurqrustus. u Aen. VI, 492s. Già E. NORDEN notò l'esatta corrispondenza - che ~ anche di sede metrica - con la citata (111pra, n. 26) &ccx/À&1mJYdi Lycophr., Alex. 686s.; dati e precisa)t

Rispettivamente,

zioni in BETIINI 1986, p. 231 n. 29. u Sat. I, 8, 41. .. Her. 1, 106. •s Fast. V, 458. BOMER 1957, pp. 129s. ha cercato di dimostrare che l' exiguummurmur

ANTONIO STRAMAGLIA- LE VOCI DEI FANTASMI

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ha ora da morta il lamento (Silio Italico) della Sibilla cumana per itempi in cui, da viva, la sua voce risuonava haud segniternell'antro 46 • La relativa genericità di queste testimonianze, e fors'anche di alcune fra quelle greche ricordate poc'anzi, lascia spazio al dubbio che non sempre le voci fievoli dei fantasmi fossero ipsofacto stridule, come pure avviene nel grosso della tradizione; e in effetti, esiste un nucleo sicuro di testimonianze (greche), in cui le usuali emissioni foniche stridule/sibilanti cedono il posto a sussurri che si caratterizzano piuttosto per la loro profondità. Il luogo più significativo in questo senso è la scena necromantica nel romanzo di Eliodoro: il morto parla «con un mormorio (u1to-tpuCwv47) profondo e sordo, quasi proveniente da un recesso o dal dirupo di una cavema»48 • Su un registro affine sembra porsi il celebre x«xòç 49 che u1toq,8én1.'tcxt a Bruto la promessa di rivederlo a Filippi 50 : 8cx(µwv

indicherebbe una voce identica a quella posseduta dal defunto quando era in vita (su cib infra, S 2.4); ma lo studioso~ stato condizionato nei suoi argomenti (che non accolgo) dall'apparente contraddizione di cui si~ detto supra,n. 24. 46 Xlll, 497s.: 'Aethereafruerer cum lua, haud segniter~inquit, I 'Cymaeopopuliswx nostrasonabatin antro'. 1 • Invero, D. KoRAls('Hlu,&;,eovAl8wnuurw{Jc{JUa &ha, II, lv ll«ptcnoiç,ncxp«I.M. 'E~&p«p"t>.ov 1tovtLù;>xu(•ma lo spettro facevaanche cenno di colpire, e sembrava in atto di csortar{mia ciòJ•).Sul papiro cfr. il mio Duestoriedi fantasmi raccontateda fantasmi? PMidr inr,.3378 (Pade2 2629)e Apu/eio, Met. IX, 29-31,cZPE», 84, 1990, pp. 19-26(v. ivi, p. 20 n. 4, per i nessi additati in questa nota). Un altro possibile es. pliniano di spettro silente che agisce per gesti - ancorché in sogno - è in Ep. V, 5, 5 (Nerone apparso allo storico Gaio Fannio). ., Cfr. il mio contributo cit. nota precedente, p. 23 e n. 25. 10 Met. IX, 30, 4. 11 VI, 14, 6 (ambedue i sintagmi di cui nel testo). 12 63 (p. 92, 10-12Z.). Che il fracasso/non fracasso non dipenda semplicemente dal fragore delle armi, ma proprio dall'emissione o meno di voci, è chiarito esplicitamente da Damascio (ibid., l. 12): egli specifica che gli eserciti silenziosi sogliono cnon emettere il benché minimo suono» (f8tyy&a9~Loù3, lnt 1,LLXp6v). •

1

ANTONIO STRAMAGLIA• LE VOCI DEI FANTASMI

207

2.3 Grida Quando i magistrati di Minturne decisero di mettere a morte Gaio Mario - racconta Plutarco-, l'unico che ebbe il coraggio di prendere una spada e recarsi nella prigione in cui Mario era detenuto fu un Gallo (o un Cimbro ). «Ma la parte della cella in cui il prigioniero si trovava a giacere non era ben illuminata, anzi era oscura; e si dice che al soldato gli occhi di Mario apparvero emanare una grande fiammata, e dalle tenebre si levò una voce potente (q,wviiv8ì µ.e:ycxÀT}v lx 't'ou1t«ÀiaxCou yevio8«t): 'Tu, uomo, osi uccidere Gaio Mario?'». Ovviamente, l'improvvisato carnefice fuggi in preda al panico e i Minturnesi, sbigottiti, addivennero a più miti consigli sulla sorte da riservare al condottiero 11• Altrettanto ovviamente, Mario era tutt'altro che un fantasma; ma è chiaro che la narrazione plutarchea è congegnata in modo che l'illustre generale appaia come una creatura quasi soprannaturale: e in quest'ottica, il particolare della voce potente assume un indubbio rilievo. La µ.eycxÀT} q>V7l era sentita in effetti come pertinente al soprannarende turale; ma la mancanza di un termine-guida come 't'p(Cwlstrid(e)o alquanto difficili l'individuazione e la valutazione delle sparse testimonianze su fantasmi di defunti dalla 'voce grossa', e queste vanno quindi affrontate con la massima cautela. Come prima conseguenza, non annetterei valore decisivo ad attestazioni di apparizioni rumorose di massa, per le quali non sia specificata l'entità delle emissioni foniche dei singoli spettri: esempi tipici, il rumoreggiare delle anime che si assiepano attorno a Odisseo, assetate di sangue (Omero)1•; gli ululati dei morti tornati in massa sulla terra (Ovidio)75; i «lamenti» (cnev«yµ.o()e le «voci spaventose» (q,wv«t't'«p«· Plut., Mar. 39, 1-3 (citazione dal § 2). Fra le altre fonti dell'episodio (Liv., Per. LXXVII;Val. Max. II, 10, 6; Vell. II, 19, 2-4; Fior. II, 9, 8; Oros. V, 19, 7s.; etc.), solo in Appiano compare il particolare della voce,ma senzal'abile coloritura plutarchea (cfr. Beli. cifJ.I, 61, 274: 6 M~toç 01ù-tc\,; umvtcrtciiuvo,;ix 'tij,; wvij,; llll(36Tica 1t0t1.L1U"(&8r.,; 01ù-tcj:> [se. al Gallo] x-tÀ.). 1 klxi1); 633 ("ixù8WJt&cr(tl). Cruciale in questi due casi il si• Cfr. Od. XI, 43 (8101t&a!t1 gnificato di 8WJtfuto,;,ben chiarito nelle sue implicazioni foniche da KAIMIO 1977, pp. 3032 epassim. n Fast. II, 553s.: perqw'tJiasUrbislatosqueululasseper agrosI deformesani,nas, wlgus 71

inane.

208

LOSPETTACOLO DELLEVOCI - I

x,w8etç)udite nei bagni di Cheronea dopo l'uccisione del bandito Damone, ivi perpetrata (Plutarco }76; e anche i «gemiti• dei ~uxto8«vex"tot in 77 qualche tavoletta esecratoria • Già meno incerta, però condizionata dal peculiare statusdei defunti descritti, risulta la scena che si presenta ad Enea nel limbo, con le

continuoauditaeooces,vagituset ingens,I in/antumqueanimaeflentes1•; ma ad un esempio di massa davvero significativo si arriva forse solo con la testimonianza di Damascio - citata poc'anzi79 - sul fragore causato da eserciti-fantasma: un'attestazione probante, da un lato perché improntata ad esplicita antitesi con apparizioni perfettamente silenziose, dall'altro perché corroborata da significativi riscontri 80 • Comunque, il primo spettro per il quale sia individualmente ed esplicitamente attestata una voce 'stentorea' pare quello di Flegia, che

1 '

Cim. 1, 6. La defixio cipriota Sa/ami,u XIII, 198 (Ili d. C.), 7-9 menziona~ wVOt() cf. pure Ari-ri'jç-yijç(Probi.25, p. 938 a 7) non è un stot., Probi. 25, p. 938 a 12 s. La presenza di xoLÀCClt particolare accessorio, ma è funzionale alla produzione delle voci sismiche. Oltre ai passi

si

ENRICO RENNA- LE .vocb

DEI FENOMENI SISMICO-VULCANICI

245

le ad un muggito (µux~µot-tL ISµoLov), che si produce quando si fa emettere un suono (oç) per il collo di un'anfora oppure qualora - come fanno coloro che sono posti a guardia dei frutti (ol &twpoq,uÀotXiç) per atterrire gli animali - tolto il coperchio (o 1tUv8~ad un'anfora, lo si sfreghi (Mv -ttç .•. -tpC~l)) sul fondo, tirandolo in dentro ed in fuori: allo stesso modo il soffio corre avanti ed indietro, urta contro ostacoli, senza trovare una via d'uscita. Se questa è la dinamica dei «muggiti•, il loro precedere la scossa sismica vera e propria, è dato dalla circostanza che il rumore è fatto di parti più sottili e pertanto ha una maggiore forza di penetrazione dappertutto•. In Ario Didimo 9, che riporta il pensiero di Aristotele, i µux~µot-tot sono attribuiti all'irruzione dell'esalazione secca (-liç71p1tÒ yiiç'f' sono menzionati per Potenza Picena. A. 49 a. C. Frequenti terremoti con muggiti avvennero secondo Cassio Dione 29 a Roma. A. 46 d. C. Filostrato'°, nella Vita di A po/Ionio di Tiana, ricorda che, mentre il taumaturgo parlava nel tempio che si chiama Lebeno, furono avvenite continue scosse di terremoto con conseguente maremoto e «un tuono che rimbombava non dalle nubi ma dalla terra• (~poVfflSì oùx lx vtcpwv,&;).).' lx 't'ijçyijç U7tT)XT}voç: pp. 110, 111 p. 12 rtl'a8TJcnç: cxx«µct'toç: pp. 52, 53, 85 bo-li: p. 140 OOCOUl,LY: pp. 6, 28, 42, 133, 150, 235 n. 17, 240 e n. 32, 242 n. 38, 253 «xpL'tC>ç: p. 47 cllcxl.oç: p. 210 n. 92 à:ÀLyuyÀ(a)(JVt.Y1i'v: pp. 236 n. 18,237 e n. 20 CJUl'f6>\l{cx: pp. 235, 237 e n. 20 CJU!Lf6>vç: pp. 235 n. 17, 237 e n. 20, 239 CMICX"(Y{tlVTJ: pp. 5, 6, 7, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19 n. 4, 20 e n. 5, 22 n. 7, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 34, 36, 37 e n. 26, 38 n. 27, 39, 42, 50 n. 46, 51, 53, 54 e n. 51, 55, 56, 62 n. 5, 71 n. 28, 73 n. 33, 74 n. 34, 108,110,111,113 n. 26,193 n. 1, 198 n. 19, 199, 207, 213, 234, 235 e n. 16, 236 e n. 18, 237, 238 n. 22, 244 n. 7 iuc (Hsch. ex6821), and also refers to a priest (of Dionysus, Inscr.Magn. 117 .8, 1st century CE).

ci1tq>ex, «1tfv.7t01p« &iw~ 1t01A0110~ xat 1m'civ&p&>v. This distinction is still operative in Menander. In Homer, -r&).IXII is also used exclusively by women; cf. Hom. 0d. 18.327, ~tv, 1:li).1X11, 19.68 -r«AIXII;sec JOHN R. WILSON,«TOJ\MAand the Meaning of

w

TAAA:'E», AJP 92 ( 1971)294-295.

w

46

LO SPETTACOLO DELLE VOCI· Il

sex-exclusive term in Euripides, expressions such as w'tCXAcxw' lyw and the related formula 't.0L cf. HeL 1391; El. 394;An. 426; Hi. 1184, 1358. 46 For this conclusion, see Scott (above, note 40, 1905) 39; and Smereka (above, note 17) 67-68, clnteriectione vacat imperativus, cum domini servos alloquuntur (ut 1tp61to>.0L, &~. lmcxoo(e. sim.), sed interiectio adhibetur cum servus alter alterum admonet, ut w q,rl-mniaw3ou).,(An. 64), weu,&u>.& (Ion 1109)».

w;

w,

52

LO SPEITACOLO DELLE VOCI· ll

general rule, no such principle can be applied to discriminate types of address between male and female speakers. Thus there does not appear to be a particular pattern of employing the simple vocative or the vocative + wto express subordination or deference on the part of female speakers. However, a limited number of constructions with c':"> seem to be sex-specific.

Towith Parts of the Body A feature of the vocative in combination with w which seems favored by female speakers in Euripides is an address directed toward some part of the body, either to the speaker herself, or to another person as a term of affection. Andromache addresses several such apostrophes to her infant son, using w to introduce two long JLTl'tPt q,0..-tat-tov (Tro. 757), descriptive phrases: vtov wcatyx«Ataµ.cx XP-to, 718um,&6JJ.0t (Tro. 758), wxitp~ (Tro. 1178). By naming skin, breath, and hands, she invokes the very vulnerability of the child and her protective maternal embrace which must soon yield to force47 • Later, Hecuba, using the interjection in a participial construction, takes up the refrain over the dead body of Astyanax: w1toll« x6JJ,1tou, lxl3«).ovq,O.ovctt6JJ.Ot ( Tro. 1180). Medea uses a similar string of addresses to hands, mouth, body and face of the children she is about xdp, cpO..-tat'tO\I JL0L ctt6JJ,0t / XOtt CJX'iiJJ.Ot XOtt 1tp6a1tO\I to kill: w, cf. Eur. Cy. 498. 47

LAURA IC.Mc CLURE-FEMALE

SPEECH AND CHARACTERIZATION IN EURIPIDES

53

8' (Hee.424)". Again, the body invoked serves as a source of affect; the breast of the mother arouses pity and affection in the speaker". Further, these expressions evoke a tender intimacy perhaps considered more appropriate to females than to males. Only three such affectionate apostrophes uttered by men are found in Euripides. In the first instance, Agamemnon addresses Iphigeneia, whom he is about to sacrifice, with a rather elaborate apostrophe: wcntpVotxcxt 1totpfi8~,w eotVG«t x6i,c.cxt (JA 681). Orestes also uses this construction in his address to Electra: cntpVotci81Acpij,, qiO.ov1tp&rnwrµ' iµ6v (Or. 1049). A similar expression of tenderness is seen in Admetus' address to the restored Alcestis: wq»tA'tcxfll, -yuVottxoC 6µi,c.cx xcxt 8t~ (Ale. 1133). In all three cases, the male speaker addresses those parts of the female body which evoke an aesthetic and perhaps erotic response, dwelling on the eyes, the face, and the breasts, which here seem to have no maternal associations50 • The body, particularly the vulnerable body of a female or child, thus becomes the vehicle for conveying the emotions of the speaker. Another form of this construction, used interchangeably between male and female speakers, involves the address to the feet or hands as an exhortation to action, a usage perhaps modelled on epic poetry. Aged speakers suffering from physical infirmity are prone to using such constructions: wripott! 1to~ (Hecuba: Tro. 1275; old servant: Ion 1041), w'tAcxµwv ••• µot 1tou,(Hecuba: Hee. 169), w8~tdt x,£p (elderly male chorus: HF 268), w ~potx£wv (Iolaus: Held 739). This form of

w

41

w

Loraux(above,note 1)58, •The woman's bosom is mainly conjuredup as a source of affect, aestheticor sentimental:adpvovof Electra or lphigeneia clasped in thetender embraceof Orestesor Agamemnon;tender bosom of thevirgin lphigeneia, which Agamemnon,weeping over thebeauty of his sacrificialvictim, evokes...• Loma placesrather too much emphasison theaestheticaspects of adpvov,since there are only two contexts in Euripides in which µaac6c baserotic or aestheticovertones;when Menelaus drops his sword at the sight of Helen's breast (An. 629) and perhaps at Hee.560 where Polyxenais explicitlycompared to a statue (~ ~~In most cases,however,adpvovand µaac6csuggest maternalaffectionand nurturing. 49 For the baring of the breast in supplication as a plea for pity, cf. Eur. Or. 527,841; EL 1207; cf. also Aesch. Cho.896. !JO Willink sea nothing erotic in these apostrophes; cf. C. W. WII..LINK, Euripides'Orestes(Oxford,1989)263.

54

LO SPETTACOLODELLE VOCI- ll

elevated exhortation can also be addressed to the psyche, or to part of the body, as the speaker dares himself or herself to commit the unthinkable, as when Creu.sa contemplates the murder of Ion, wcl,uxci (Ion 859), or when Heracles formulates his plan to rescue Alcestis from the underworld, w1t6llix -r).aaixx«p&CLAouiuv, etc.) no less than 202 times 34 •

4. Forms of address In the use of forms of address in Attic there is evidence both of second- and of first- person differentiation. I will consider them in that order. When one's audience is wholly female, whether one woman or a group of women, the basic principle governing the choice of address forms is that both the most disdainful and the most deferential expressions are avoided. One way of showing contempt for a male addressee, or at least a lack of desire for closer acquaintance with him, was to address him as !v8pw1e,;but though, as is well known, the noun &v8p7to~ is frequently used in other cases than the vocative to refer disdainfully or condescendingly to low-status women, no woman, of whatever status, is ever so addressed. Similarly, it is common in comedy for men to address each other, with little or no offensive tone, as «god-forsaken one• (xcxx68attµov),«miserable one» (1t6Yr)p,), "Including Dyslc.648 and Bpitr. 989, where a male speaker quotes a woman's actual or hypothetical words. ,. This total represents 5.9% of all forms of address found in Plato (3410) and 20.1% of those which do not consist simply of the namc(s) of the addrcsscc(s) with or without w (1007); cpO.°'(vcl sim.) is much the commonest of all vocative epithets (proximt aeudit ciy«86c,together with its various superlatives, which occur 158 times). The two female speakers,Xanthippe (who speaks only at Phaedo60a) and Diotima, use ipO.,twice out of a total of 15 forms of address in their utterances. «Plato• here refers to the whole of the nine Thrasyllan tetralogies except the letters. The predilection for ipO.o,must be regarded u a Platonic rather than a Socratic peculiarity; its vocative occurs only once among the 421 forms of address in the Socratic works of Xenophon (ApoL 28: Socrate- making a jesting retort to his passionate devotee Apollodoros, «stroking his head and laughing»). See fur. ther Halliwell, this volume.

74

LO SPETTACOLO DELLE VOCI· ll

«ridiculous one• (xcx1:ocy&Aotou), and by other epithets implying stupidity or misfortune, and women also use these expressions to men and to each other; but, at least in Aristophanes, it is decidedly rare for a man to use them to a woman 35• The explanation may be that while a genuine insult may be hurled at anyone (see below), a jesting mock-insult implies a cenain feeling of fellowship with the addressee which a free man might be reluctant to acknowledge towards a woman, except perhaps his own wife36 • Epithets which genuinely carry offensive ovenones, imputing criminality, immorality or malediction, 37 such as «polluted one• (µ.totp«,µ.totp1:«fll ), «accursed one• (xcx1:«pcxu), «destined to perish horribly» (xcxxta-r'ci1t0Aouµ.tvri), can be freely used by men quarrelling with women 38• A man is permitted, it seems, to be rude to a woman (particularly perhaps if, like several in Aristophanes, she starts acting or talking above her station); what he may not, or at any rate does not, do is pretendto be rude to her. At the other end of the scale, it was common in addressing men to use one of a variety of honorific or complimentary epithets, the most common of which were ciyot8t«good• and its superlatives cipta-r,and

" In Aristophanestherearcaltogether99 vocativeexpressionsimputingmisfortuneor stupidity to the addrcsscc; in 67 cases both speaker and addrcsscc arc male, in 11 both are female, in 17 a female is addressing a male, but (despite the powerful stereotype which maintained that all women were stupid) only four times do we find a male addressing a female or females in this way (Peace113; Lys. 521, 891, 948). In Mcnandcr the number of relevant cases is very small and the evidence for or against differentiation is inconclusive (male to male, 21 cases; female to female, Peri'/c.758 and Samia 255; female to male, Bpitr. 468 and Samia 69; male to female, Dysk. 587 and probably Heros68). 16 A jesting mock-insult will only produce its desired effect if the addrcsscc is, or can be assumed to be, sufficiently familiar with the speaker to be confident that the insult was not seriously meant. Of the six cases in which a male addresses a female or females with an epithet implying stupidity or misfortune in Aristophanes and Menandcr, three arc of a husband addressing his wife, and in two of the other three the speaker is a slave. 37 This adjective figures in jesting mock-insults in Plato, but it is never so usedin Aristophanes (cf. HALLIWELL,this volume); it is not found in the vocative in Mcnandcr. 11 In Aristophanes this group of epithets arc used about as often by men to women (11 times) as by women to men (10 times); in Mcnandcr, so far as we can tell (several relevant speaker-assignments arc uncertain), men use them to women five times, women to men only once (Dysk. 441 ).

ALAN H. SOMMBRSTEJN -THB LANGUAGE OF ATHENIANWOMEN

75

~L).,:,ou. In over eighty places in Aristophanes use is made of vocative

adjectives of this kind. In only seven of these is a woman the addressee, and even in these the speaker is each time either her own husband or another woman". Of some twenty-five such vocative epithets in Menander two are addressed to women, and each time the speaker is a slave (once male, once female) and the addressee a citizen woman (but not the lady of the slave's own household). Free men, it seems, did not pay compliments, even of this formal and nominal kind, to women other than their wives. There were no forms of address reserved exclusively for women addressees, except those which were inevitably so reserved by virtue of their meaning, such as «woman» (-yuvcxt) and «old woman» (ypct6). There was a sharp contrast .between the latter and its masculine counterparts ylpov and 1tpi°'36'tcx«old man», which were respectful forms of address and could be used, for example, by a slave answering the door to a caller of citizen status (Ar. Ach. 397): the contexts in which ypcx6(or its diminutive y~tov) is used show that it is inherently disparaging'°, and in Menander it is used only to slaves or ex-slaves. In general we may way that forms of address used by men to women in normal circumstances (i.e. when the rules of etiquette had not broken down, as they might in a fierce altercation) were distinguished by their relative neutrality and colourlessness, devoid alike of conventional compliment and ironic mock-insult. But then neutrality and colourlessness were, it may well be said, precisely what the Athenian male expected in a citizen woman•1• " Husband: Birds 1759; Lys. 883, 945. Another woman: Ly,. 549, 762, 765 (all plural) and 1108. 40 In Lymtrata it is used to accompany a curse (506) and a kick (797-9), at Tlwm. 1073 in an impatient attempt to silence the uncontrollable Echo, and at Eltlel. 903 (by a female speaker)in an exchange of insults. 1 ' Cf. Thuc. 2.45.2: «that woman is highly thought of who bas the least reputation among males, whether for praise or blame•. Even to mention the nameofa living woman in public could be taken to imply that there was something not quite proper about her (see D.M. ScH.APs,«The Woman Least Mentioned: Etiquette and Women's Names•, CQ 27 (1977) 323-330; A.H. SoMMBRSTBIN, «The Naming of Women in Greek and Roman Comedy• QSt 11 (1980) 393-418).

76

LO SPETJ"ACOLODELLE VOCI· Il

Passing now from second- to first-person differentiation, the forms of address which are used exclusively or preponderantly by women are principally those involving the adjectives with feminine associations ~cx>.cxc, y>.uxu~ - already mentioned. In addition, only a woman can address an individual man•2 as «man• (!vgp)''; and it is likely, though not certain, that in ordinary (as distinct from poetic) speech ~txvov«child• was used as a form of address only by (older) women". There is a much longer list of forms of address which arc scarcely or not at all used by women"'. (e.g. XPua!ov, (1) Diminutiw forms ending in -tov, -cxptov,-£8LOV 1tcxtMpt0v,1tcx1t£St0v, yp~tov) are very frequently (41 times in Aristophanes) used in the vocative by men and children as an affectionate or ingratiating form of address; there is only one

,a.~,

42

Most often her husband, butA:t. Tham.614sbowsthatanymanmaybe10addresKd.. In Aristophanes the convene also applies: only a man may addressan individualwoman simply as «woman» ("fWCXL); any woman may be so addressed (e.g. the brideswoman at Acla. 1063, the bread-seller at Wasps1399), though most often it is the speaker's wife. A:t. fr. 592.6 is not provably an exception, since only the last five letters of the line survive and y6Y«L as in Lys. 95. In Menander yw«t the full vocative expression may have been [w q,O.TJ] is also used by women - but only in one passage, where it occun five times in s.a:teen lines (Epitr. 858, 859, 864, 866, 873) in the recognition-scene between Habrotonon and Pamphile. It is perhaps relevant that Habrotonon and Pamphile have never spoken to one another before - despite which the emotions involved in their meeting are so powerful that each also finds herself addressing the other as q,cl~ffl (860, 871; on the deployment of forms of address in this scene see A.W. GoMME and F.H. SANDBACH,Ml1falfdn: A Commentary,Oxford 1973, p. 359) . .. See Bain 1984, pp.38-39. A:t. Thum. 1198 is prima facie an exception; but the speaker is a Scythianslave whose Greek is semi-pidginiv:d and who has panicular trouble with gender, and the possibility is very real that Aristophanes has made him address the dancing-girl in a manner normally employed only by women (and actually employed by the girl's supposed owner «Artemisia• - really Euripides in disguise - at 1181). In A:t. fr. 129 one of the two speakers is a bread-seller; since bread-sellers in Old Comedy (like other working women) were normally envisaged as relatively old (cf. J.J. HENDERSON,«Older Women in Attic Old Comedy•, TAPA 117 (1987) 105-129, at pp. 121-122) it is likely that she is the person who ends each of three half.line utterances with w 4 ' Whether w 't«v(exclusively masculine in Euripides; see McClure, this volume) should be included among them is a moot point; in its twenty Aristophanic occurrences Lysistrata (Lys. 501, 1163; both times addressing men) is the only woman to use it. 0

uxvov.

ALAN H. SOMMBRSTEIN • THE

LANGUAGE OF ATHENIAN WOMEN

77

Aristophanic instance (Beel. 891) of such a form being used by a woman. (In Menander women do use these forms, but only in addressing slaves or ex-slaves [Georgos54; Perik. 190, 322).) (2) Women do not use those forms of address which imply a brusque assumption of superiority, like clv8pc.m,«fellow» or the yet curter forms which use the nominative instead of the vocative case (e.g. o E«v8(~, o Tp('3cxllo,); and the sharp monosyllable 1tcxi',the normal tiummnns to a slave, is used only by men 46 • (3) Addressby name, by far the commonest of all forms of address, is used freely by women among themselves, but in Aristophanes they hardly ever address men in this way: against 23 instances of women addressing women by name, there are at mosr 1 three of women so addressing men, one of which is paratragic (Thesm. 1134) while in another (Thesm. 634) the addressee is the ultra-effeminate Kleisthenes. In Menander, however, this differentiation has disappeared; women address men by name seven times, other women six times. (4) Several of the most common complimentarywcatiw epithets such as ~L).:rtai:,,!ptai:&,«excellent one» and µcxx&pie, 8cxtµ.6vt,«blest 48 one» are scarcely used at all by women, in whom it may have been thought presumptuous to profess to judge the wonh of members of the superior sex. In Aristophanes these four epithets are used in tlfe vocative a total of35 times by men and twice by women (Lys. 762, and Beel. 1129 where the speaker is drunk); in Menander 21 times by men and again twice by women (Epitr. 873 - in the remarkable Habrotonon-Pamphile dialogue already discussed - and Samia 81). (5) Whereas a man is free to address a woman as ypcxu,women do not address men by terms designating the man's age such as yLpov,

.. A womanmay sayncxw£ov (Perile.190, 322). 1 • «At most• because Them,. 1175 is a doubtful case; it is probable, however, that the piper Teredon is a boy rather than a girl (see my edition of~-, Warminster 1994, on 1160-75, where I also argue against the suggestion of O.P. TAPLIN,ComicAngels and OtherApproachesto GreekDrama throughVase-Paintings,Oxford 1993, pp. 107-108,that Teredon is none other than the piper who accompanied the whole performance). is in Attic a respectful, deferential form of address was shown by .. That &cxtfWYt& A.H.SoMMBRSTEIN, «Notes on Aristophanes' Wasps•, CQ 27 (1977) 261-277, at p. 272.

78

LO SPETIACOLO DELLE VOCI· Il

vecxv(axe,IJ.&tpatov. There are no exceptions either in Aristophanes or

in Menander, save that in Menander's GeorgosJ>hilinna, formerly Myrrhine's nurse, addresses Myrrhine and her son alike as uxvov (25, 84, 109)4'. Indeed, especially in Aristophanes, if one compares the spectrum of forms of address used by men to each other with those used by women to men, they scarcely meet at any point, except where the addressee is a visitor from abroad, who stands in the same relation of outsidership to all members of the community, and whom men and women alike may address as Etv, (cf. Ar. Thmn. 882, 893, 1107).

5. Obscene language Various studies of various cultures have observed that women avoid using what is regarded as «obscene» language, though in some'° they use such language freely among themselves and avoid it only when speaking to or in front of men. Before we can deal with this subject as regards Aristophanes' 1 we must know what we mean by an obscenity. We certainly do not mean any and all of the words discussed in Henderson's The MaculateMuse; for his catalogue (very properly, given its aims) includes many euphemistic and/or metaphorical expressions which taken literally. are not obscene at all, and such expressions are freely used by women. By an obscenity, or more precisely what I shall call a primary obscenity, I mean a word which directly denotes some sexual or excretory organ, state or activity, and whose distribution in literature puts it in the class defined

., Ar. fr. 148 K-A (w ,cp&aj3in«) is a possible funbcr exception, if the speakerthereis indeed, as the editors of PCG (followed by L. GIL, •El Arist6fancs pcrdido• CPC 22 (19891,39-106, at p. 69) assume,a lena rather than a Imo. '°An example is Moroccan Berber (A. Roux, •Qudqucs notes sur l"' langav des Musiilrnan" marocaincs• Orbis l (1952) 376-384). In Attica the of obscenelanguageby women was particularly associated with the women-only banquet at the festival of the Haloa (scbol. Luc. 280.14-20 Rabe; H.W.PARKE,FestifNJU of tlt4 Atlrmians,London 1977, pp. 98-99). 51 The incidence of obscene language, as defined below, in Menandcr is too low for analysis to be useful.

use

ALAN H. SOMMERSTEIN• THE LANGUAGEOP ATHENIANWOMEN

79

by D.M. Bain, Six Greek Verbsof Sexual Congress,«CQ» 41, 1991, pp. 51-77, at p. 53: Such words are almost entirely absent from the higher prose genres like oratory, philosophy, and history (as well as from romance) and, although they describe entities and activities which are often the concern of doctors, they are scrupulously avoided by literate writers on medicine. Naturally they are also absent from the higher poetic genres. Their literary appearances and those of their reflexes tend to be most prolific in Old Comedy. Elsewhere their appearances are practically restricted to iambic poetry, New Comedy ..., and satirical and sub-literary prose. Often they figure in non-literary provenances, in graffiti, curse tablets, and magical texts.

In Lysistrata, Thesmophoriazousai and Ekklesiazousaithere occur sixteen words, or families of words, of this class52, a total of 7 5 times. Of these 75, men utter 5553 and women 2054, though in all these plays, as we have seen, women have more to say than men overall. Moreover, while men are quite uninhibited about using these words in the presence of women 55, women never normally utter them in the presence of men. This distinction emerges not so much from the raw

~"''iY( + derivatives), 8iq,&.,pea.,,, nioc,dp8&09«L,1tpo cpO.,l-c«rp,.As in §2, we can underscore the distinctiveness of this material by remarking that there is not a single occurrence of c':'> l-c«rp, in the mouth ofXenophon's Socrates. It is much more feasible in this case than in the previous one to narrow down a range of relevant associations against whose background Plato has developed a peculiarly Socratic usage. In terms of the literary tradition, the most peninent resonance is that of the camaraderie and conviviality of elegiac, iambic and sympotic poetry. Here we find such things as Archilochus fr. 168.3 West (the poet addressing Charilaus as no).ucp0.-c«8' l-c«Cpwv), fr. 196 W (a confession the moralising of love to an anonymous companion: c':'>-c«rp,); earnestness of Theognis 753 (-c«u-c«µ.ot86>v, cpO.'l-c«rp,, •••), in a collection for which male comradeship - with all its social, political and personal ovenones - is a fundamental and recurring concern; and the drinking-songs, whether anonymous or by Praxilla, of 749-50 PMG (= 897, 903), which evoke the close atmosphere of the symposium. No doubt such affinities, both with the camaraderie and with the moral earnestness projected by cenain literary images of companionship, panly colour the world of male friendship dramatised in Plato's dialogues - not just in the specific setting of a symposium (Symp.20 la8), but in all the other contexts where Socratic encounters take place. The term hetairos is, of course, a supple one, highly susceptible to local contexts and their ovenones. At Apo/. 2lal Plato

STEPHEN HALLIWELL· FORMSOF ADDRESS:SOCRATICVOCATIVESIN PLATO

95

makes Socrates describe Chairephon to the jury as a hetairosboth of himself and of the democrats exiled in 404-3. The second point is evidently political, but how much is implied by the first 11, and how does it differ, if at all, from Socrates' reference to Damon as his hetairosat Laches 197d3, or from Hippothales' description of Miccus as Socrates' hetairosat Lysis 204a5? In general we might reasonably expect the force of the term hetairoson Socrates' lips, or on those of his associates, to reflect a specifically philosophical conception of companionship. In the final sentence of the Phaedo (118a15) Phaedo refers to Socrates, with memorialising solemnity, as «our companion• ('tou l'tO.. at l 99e 13.

106

LO SPETTACOLO DELLE VOCI· ll

say always counts as justice in all cities ... • The vocative is surely a jeering imitation of Socrates' own manner (cf., most immediately, 6> ~t>.-rtau, with irony, at 337e4, and at 6>!ptau 338d5). Subsequently in this same exchange, Thrasymachus's exasperation vents itself in more overtly supercilious vocatives: 6>,u7J8mcxuEwxpcxuc at 343d2, and 6> 1 ii3ta-t, at 348c7, both of them unique in Plato• • 6>!pta-t, too is capable of shades of irony and wit: as when, later in this same section of the Republic,Socrates thank~ Thrasymachus for his (pseudo-) politeness (l.35ld8); in Socrates' droll request for forgiveness from Phaedrus for his «philosophical» attachment to the city (Phdr. 230d3); or in the heavily quizzical (and rhetorical) questioning of Meletus at Apo/. 27b7-8. But this vocative type is perhaps the most elusive of those so far considered. Socrates uses it with interlocutors of very different status and attitudes: young and old, friendly and hostile, familiar and (in imaginary exchanges) anonymous. It can mark satisfaction with an answer (e.g. Euthd. 282c6, Lys. 209c3), or a corrective tone towards an aberrant interlocutor (Meno 73d6, 79d6). It may lend a note of solemnity or gravity (Apo/. 29d7, Grg. 505bl, Phdo l 15e5), but can equally emphasise what Socrates takes to be an obvious or self-evident point (Chmi. 168d9, Meno 77cl, Rep. l.349el0). More broadly, its surface effect is to stress a typically Socratic combination of seriousness and civility. When Thrasymachus calls Socrates «disgusting» (bde/uros, Rep. l .338d3), the latter's response is a polite denial of mischievous intention, reinforced by the vocative w!pta-t,: the contrast is meant to speak for itself. §6 In this section I collect, with abbreviated comments, a set of

trenchant vocatives all of which maintain the pattern of association with Socrates which we have seen in the preceding cases, and each of which adds something to the expressive accentuation of Socratic speech in Plato.

wµ.cxxapLI. /-ot:41

For this sense of118u~cf. 337d6, Grg. 49le2, Euthd. 300a6.

STEPHEN HAWWELL • FORMSOF ADDRESS:SOCRATICVOCATIVESIN PLATO

107

Socratic works 40 spokenby Socrates 38 (incl. words ascribed to the Thracian doctor, Chrm. 157a4,and to Protagoras, Tht. 166c2) spurious works 3 non-Socraticworks 11

This usage, with or without a proper name, evidently developed by a process we cannot now reconstruct from the original and basic sense of felicitation (as seen e.g. in Socrates' ironically hyperbolic praise of the sophist brothers at Euthd. 303c4)42 • The development is a substantial one, since the vocative comes to be capable of conveying correction, rebuke, or even indignation 43, though this is often softened in Socrates' case by a shading of good humour: superficially, at any rate, the vocative retains an air of politeness (cf. Rep. 9.589c6-7). A good idea of the span of usage can be gathered from the four occurrences in Rep. 1, all spoken by Socrates to Thrasymachus: 34lb3 (a firm denial [«I can assure you ... •] of T.'s imputation of argumentative malice and duplicity); 345b2 (accompanying, with a note of scepticism, an injunction to T. to produce a more convincing account of the benefits of injustice); 346a3 (a somewhat impatient warning to T. not to dissemble his real beliefs); 354a8 (an ironic marker, reinforced by the proper name - w!Lcxx(ipLe 0pcxouµcxx,- of Socrates' satisfaction at his fmal refutation ofT.'s position). Other examples of the vocative's underscoring of correction or censure are Crito 48e2 («stop repeating the same thing ... •), Euthph. 12a6 («exen yourself, w !Ll',tatptthus caps here the shared pretence that Phaedrus is subjecting Socrates to unfair psychological compulsion. Reading these three passages, the English-speaker is likely to think of, say, «you rogue», as does LSJ s.v. l'Lcxp6~ 5 (adding «in a coaxing sense•). The suggestion is not inappropriate, but its weakness is that «rogue» has become largely confined in modem English to precisely such ironic usage, whereas this was clearly not the case with miarosin the fourth century: for that reason, something along the lines of «How wicked you are!• might be closer, though this too fails to capture the specifically teasing nuance of a term that could independently be applied in genuinely crude abuse 63 •

(6>)cp0.71 X!!pCXAT) This expression, which involves a familiar kind of synecdoche or metonymy64, is found three times in Plato, always spoken by Socrates. At Ion 53ld12, the context makes an echo of Homer (see Iliad 8.281, Agamemnon to Teucer) perhaps appropriate, though the phrase evidently conveys a slightly condescending force, since Socrates is on the point of exposing (so he believes) a radical weakness in Ion's position. At Grg. 5 l 3c2 too it is apt to discern a degree of irony, though of a sharper-edged variety, since the dramatic situation and the relationship between the two speakers are very different in spirit. Here

1

I assume that Pbaedrus's offer to swear by the nearest plane tree is a facetious allusion to Socrates' penchant for swearing «by the dog• (fourteen times in Plato, though never in Xenophon). 12 Babai occurs nine times in Plato (and twice more in spurious works): the only nonSocratic instance is Soph. 249d9 (the Eleatic Stranger) . ., Cf. ~ 'lt0M>~ ,rat Grg. 499b9, though panourgosis a milder term than miaros. "In addition to Iliad 8.281, compare the same figure, with different epithets, at II. 23.94, Hdt. 3.29.2, Aristoph. AcJ,. 285, Dem. 21.135 (with 117 and Aeschin. 3.212): the last three are all abusive. '

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LO SPBTTACOLO DELLE VOCI· ll

the vocative concludes a long speech in rebuttal of Callicles' materialist principles, in the course of which Socrates has used w 80tu1.1.cxot, (512b4), IJ.CXXCXP"' (512d6-7), and 6at4L6v1.& (513a4-5), all of which have been cited in earlier sections of this paper: as in many other passages, it is partly through the sense of a cumulative series of vocatives, each with its intensification of a particular point in this morally fervent argument, that Socrates' special attentiveness to his individual respondent is conveyed. Very different, however, is the use of Cl>0twp,, cp0..71 xtcp«).71, at Phdr. 264a8, where the register is genuinely affectionate, and should be compared to the warmth of feeling expressed by other Socratic vocatives addressed to Phaedrus (see §4 above).

w

w

w1:av(Apo/. 25c6) w-y,wcx80t (Chrm. 155d3) w).o,;e Ilw).t..(Grg.467bl I) w,G80tt!J.O" (Rep.5.450c6) wcptA6'tTJ~ (Phdr.228d6) wcp!pto,;e. (Phdr. 238d8) w1.1.!)., (Tht. l 78e9) 65

Finally, I cite a batch (not a complete list) of vocatives which are each spoken only once by the Platonic Socrates (though Phdr. 238d8, with its Homeric term, comes from the rhetorical exercise of Socrates' first speech in this work). These are not to be regarded as automatically more remarkable for that reason, since, as I have tried to illustrate in the preceding sections, many vocatives of the commoner kinds cannot be treated simply as typical or standard features, but are meaningful in ways which vary closely with context. Thus, w1:avis not an intrinsically unusual expression: it appears more than twenty times in Aristophanes 66, as well as in a spread of other authors, though

Burnet prints 1:cxv; accentuation of the wordis disputable. LSJ's erroneous statement about Aristophanes is corrected in the Supplement. On generalusage, see G. DB VRIES, Mnem. 19 (1966) 225-230, P. T. STEVENS, Colloquial Expressionsin Eun'pides(HermesEinzlscbr. 38: Wiesbaden,1976)42-3, and Gomme-Sandbacb on Men. Dysc. 247. 6

'

66

STEPHENHALLIWELL-PORMSOP

ADDRESS: SOCRATIC VOCATIVES IN PLATO

117

elsewhere in the Platonic corpus only at Epist. 3.319el (Plato to Dionysius). Its ostensible politeness is capable of bearing traces of superiority towards the addressee, as is evidently the case with Socrates' lofty urgency at Apo/. 25c6 (cf. d2 for a similar effect). Nonetheless, it is tempting to speculate that there was something about the tone of this phrase which made it broadly unsuitable, to Plato's ear, for Socratic speech or philosophical discussion. A similar inference may also be justified in the case of c':'> µ.L).1.,whose Aristophanic occurrences suggest a fairly colloquial status (as well as a potential sharpness of voice)67,and whose use at Tht. l 78e9 marks a heavy irony, as Socrates underlines his allusion to Protagoras's at Rep. 5.450c6 seems to professional earnings. Although c':'>1.u80tLµ.ov 68 be an unparalleled usage , it can best be understood as a local variation on another vocative already considered, wµ.cxxcxpLr.: the two adjectives are near-synonyms, and this passage (which is coloured by neighbouring vocatives at d2 and 5) projects a mildly ironic self-depreciation which is not out of line with some of the examples given for that other phrase in §6. The three remaining examples in this group are all markedly IlwAe,Grg. 467bl 1, represents a droll response to humorous. c':'>AL 'tOU(&.xv.(tOV'tCI(· Nuc6f3oul.0< s· im,~ ion, xctl-t«x~ ~(t&L, xctli,dyotf8iyy&-totL, xctl(3aacfflPCcxv ipopu.

Third, we often fmd the son of elliptical expressions that are common in colloquial speech. So for example when Euphiletos tells his wife to go away and feed their baby she retons t'vcxcru T' 1te~ Trl"1tcxt8(0'X'r)Y ('So that you can make a pass at the maid') (Lys. lv,:cxu8cx 1.12). Similarly, Demosthenes' reply to Demon (32.32) omits the protasis of the conditional clause: 41iµwv,lqrri,lrw 1tot1iawfdv ~ &v en, Xf.AIUt)C X\l'tci'Y'~ as an abusive adjective at Ar. Plut. 106, Men. Pk. 394, Sam. 550, fr. 733 K6ne-Thierfelder, and cnc«"toq,cx1,r" at Antiphanes fr. 126.4 K = 124.4 KA; at Crobylus fr. 7 K + KA the adjective is applied literally to boars); 892 l1ecxaxo"* sensuobsceno(see Sandbach, comm. ad loc.) and >.cxi.mcnt; (cf. Straton fr. 1.36 K + KA, Cephisodorus fr. 3.5 K + KA; Jocelyn, PCPS 206 (1980) 12ff.). (5) He uses oaths more frequently than any other character in the play (cf. Dohm, Feneron) except Sostratos. Before his fmal scene with Getas and Knemon (890ff.), in which the assignment of pans is not always clear9, Sikon speaks 66 whole and 30 incomplete lines, with thineen imprecations and addresses to or oaths by the gods 10: Apollo 415,659, Dionysus 639, Heaven 629, Heracles 622, Pan 401, Posidon 504, 633, Zeus 516, gods generally 411, 503, 623, "to'3cipcx8po\l 394. In variety this far exceeds the swearing indulged in by other characters. Two funher points may be made here (a third is postponed to a later pan of this analysis) about Sikon's highly coloured vocabulary. First, the instances cited above prepare an audience for the cook's lyrical extravaganza when he describes the party at the end of the fith act (943-53). Secondly, the linguistic mannerisms that they reveal may help sometimes to identify Sikon in act five as the speaker of lines otherwise difficult to assign with any confidence (e.g. 923f. with the 1ecxpcx1t&'tCXCJILCX (3cxp'3cxp1.XO\I Uq>CX\l't6\I, cf. 929f.).

ou

Sostratos:Sandbach, EH, 116; Feneron, 88f.; Heap, 57. Sostratos' 'easy and flexible' style (Sandbach) is not easy to exemplify in detail, but contrast the logical fluency of his sermon to his father (797-812) with the incoherent and awkwardly expressed arguments of Gorgias'

•Seethe commentaries of Handley on Dys/c.894, and Sandbach on 900ff. and 93lff. The problem is caused by the paucity of named assignations in B (only Getas 901, Knemon 919) and a number of omitted or displaced dicola. 10 I include the polite wvnavcx x01(pgw at 401 but not the reference to the Nymphs at 643.

156

LO SPETTACOLODELLE VOCI• II

sermon to him (271-87, 289-98). Two characteristics of Sostratos' style, however, deserve mention. He swears more oaths (22 in all, by seven gods or groups of gods) than any other character in the play; Feneron well notes that this not only serves to reveal his effusively emotional state throughout the play, but also characterises him as truly his pious mother's son. Secondly, Heap observes that in his monologue describing the rescue of Knemon from the well (666-90) Sostratos shows a tendency to repeat cenain words and phrases: µ.ucpou 669, 681, 687; oux o-roxwv678, 684; 7CATIY 673, 679; acp68p« 674, 680, 688. Are these intended to be speech mannerisms of Sostratos, or simply examples of a playwright's unconscious repetition of a word or phrase that has just come to mind? EPITREPONTES

Habrotonon:Arnott, PLLS, 353ff. She is a counesan, and her tendency to address free men and women (but not slaves) with effusive superlatives may be intended to reflect her profession (-y>..uxu-ccx-r, 143, [-y>..ux)u-rcx-r, suppl. Wilamowitz 953, wcpO.-rcx-rov [-rtxvovsuppl. Jensen] to Charisios' and Pamphile's baby 856, cptA't, 326f. 't(, A11µ.tat, ~o~~; I 't( ~~' &v6Tj-re; 465 Moax,Cwv, lat µ.', lat iu, Moax,Cwv (cf. Polemon above, in Pk.), 470f. 'tou~-y«µou~latnoerv,/ -ro~ -y«µou~l« µ.enoerv,579f. 'touµ.6v... lµ6v. Compare (a) Moschion 673 ff. ou cptpe~;. . . ou-r~, ou cptpe~;688 ou8d~ . •. ouS, ,~ (but not 664f., where the repetition emphasises a difference between two statements);

W. GEOFFREYARNOTT -MENANDER'S MANIPULATIONOF LANGUAGE

159

(b) Nikeratos 532 c":>-tcilcxclrw,-tcilcxc,535 ff. ffl\l 8urcxup' (suppl. Austin) ffl\l l1,1,71v -t 1tcxt8~/ -tt't8Cov 8t8ouoCX\I lvoovx«-tl).cx(3ov 'tq>poygtv. 14

162

LO SPETTAOOLO DELLE VOCI • D

influenced directly by his immediate predecessors in the field of comedy, and above all by Alexis ofThurii. Alexis, whose long Athenian career seems to have extended from the 350's to the 270's (Kaibel, RE s.v. 9, col. 1468; Amott in Studi di filologia c/assicain onoredi G. Monaco, 1, Palermo 1991, 332tf.) and thus both commenced before and ended after Menander's, is described by the Suda(et 1138 Adler) as Menander's paternal uncle, and by the excellent anonymous tractate on comedy (11.17, p.9 Kaibel = 111.45 p.10 Koster = Men. testimonium2 KOne-Thierfelder = Alexis test. 2 Kassel-Austin) as his teacher. The latter statement is far more likely to be true than the former, which loses some plausibility from Alex.is' alleged South-Italian origins and Menander's impeccable Atbenian ancestry, but both assenions could in fact have been guesses of Hellenistic scholarship based on apparent links and similarities between their extant plays. Most of these links have been extensively itemised and discussed by other scholars (e.g. L. Gil, Est. Clas. 14 (1970) 3lltf.) besides myself (e.g. QUCC 33 (1989) 33f.), and do not need to be repeated here. Yet some instances of linguistic characterisation curiously parallel to those of Menander but employed by Alexis in work in all probability produced before Menander began to produce his comedies (some time between 324 and 320 B.C.: cf. the introduction to vol. I of my Loeb Menander, pp. xiv f.) have previously been overlooked. Here I shall list three (one cenain, two perhaps more controversial), which emerge in the fragments of two plays (the At~'l~ and the TetpCX\l'ttvot) which cannot have been composed after 320 B.C. and are likely to have been produced somewhat earlier 15 •

The A~c, which is one of the candidates for the Greek original of Plautus'Allhd4ria (Wien. Stud. 101 (1988) 18lff.), can be dated roughly to the period between 334 andea. 324 B.C. by (1) references to one Aristonikos (frs. 130.2, 131.2 K-A) who has been convincingly idel1tified as the Athenian politician whose political career extended from 334 to 322 B.C. (THALHEIM,RE s.v. Aristonikos, l, 960.57ff., and (2) a probably facetious identification (fr. 129.13 K-A) of the fragment's main speaker with Glaukias, the celebrated physician who was executed in 324 B.C. after failing to preserve the life of Alcunder's general, Hephaistion (cf. WEBSTER,SLGC 66). In the T,xpanmvo, a present-tense reference 15

W. GEOFFREY ARNOTT· MENANDER'S MANIPULATION OF LANGUAGE

163

(1) In fr. 129 of the At~~ a cook (cf. Ath. 9.383 c) explains to a 1t0t~(v.14: either his own or his hirer's slave; cf. also Kock, 2.342; Dohm, Mageiros,90; Nesselrath, Die attischemitt/ereKomodie,Berlin and New York 1990, 302, n.44) with arrogant assurance a way to conceal the taste of burnt pork by soaking it in wine-vinegar. This remedy he dresses up in scientific (and especially medical) language. In v.4 he claims Z«atfJ.OV ... -co 1t~8~ lO"'C£. Vv. 7-12 contain a string of words and expressions that are especially at home in the Hippocratic corpus: 7 S~1CU~in its literal sense of 'red-hot' (only Eur. Cycl. 631 in Attic, 11 times in the corpus), 8 neit St' etlffli~\IO't£Set (cf. Hippocr. Morb. 1.20 G.xtt ~ iu-co \IO"C£8« -cw~;Diogenes of Apollonia A33 Diels-Kranz, Arist. PA 3 637 b7, Meteor. 1 343a8ff., Theophr. CP 5.6.1), {ufJ.OUfJ.&\17) (only here in comedy, cf. Hippocr. Vet. Med. 11), St~6Sou~O'OfJ.q>~ (StLeoSo~ is the standard medical and 9-10 lficp,-cett scientific term for 'through-passage': 27 times in the corpus; also e.g. Pl. Tim. 67e, 84d, 91c, Arist. PA 4 684 b26; Gaiser in Synusia: Festgabefiir W. Schadewaldt,Pfullingen 1965, l 73ff.), 10 St' ffl\l u-ypeta£0t\l lxSLe,-cett (cf. Hippocr. Gland. 3 «l St [sc. &Stvec)•.• ffl\letu8~ 'Yt\lOfJ.e\17)\1 •. • u-ypeto-£1)\1 lxS,x6fJ.&\IOt, 5 "CCX Se lv,:ipet . . . lxStxe-cett••• -cfiv u-ypeta£1Jv), 12 lrxul« S' &-cp,fJ.d (the use of &-cp4«,et(~) and &-cp,fJ.d to qualify an adjective in the sense 'slightly/rather' first appears in the axtatv (cf. e.g. Hippocr. corpus; cf. Headlam, CR 16 (1902) 284, ff!V Art. 8, Moch/. 41). To this parade of pseudo-medical jargon the 1t0t~ responds (v. 13) with., A1tollov, 6>~lcx-cp~, and facetiously calls him Glaukias, the name of the physician who tended Hephaistion. Although Alexis' cook is by no means unique in his appropriation of medical language (he shares it with cooks in Anaxippus (fr. 1.16, 45-47: Dohm, 70) Damoxenus (fr. 2.25-33: Dohm, 16lff.) and Nicomachus (fr. 1.30-35: Dohm, 173ff.), his cook is far and away the first in extant literature to employ this particular feature of individualised language.

wv

(fr. 225) to the courtesan Nannion, whose career in Athens seems to have lasted from ea. 345 to ea. 320 (cf. WEBSTER,CQ 2 (1952) 21; Hunter's Eubulus, introduction to Nannum, pp. 152f.), in all probability dates the play to the same period.

164

LO SPETIACOLO DEllE VOCI - II

(2) In this same fragment the cook twice interposes into his narrative a parenthetical question which expects and receives no answer: ei,vt,~; at v.6, and 1J4Y8&Y,~; at v. 15. Could this also be a deliberate attempt at individualisation by the use of idiosyncratic speech patterns, comparable with those developed later by Menander? (3) Fr. 222, a pessimistic hedonist's defence of his philosophy, introduces a series of vivid if hackneyed cliches (vv.3-6, life a 9, human affairs are IJ4Y~ 10-14, life an euphemism for µo!pp 718ur.mi~, in whose eventful life (//. I 247-51) ... 8uoµiv rivicxtiup6,twvMp&mwv lq,8£«8'•••

Nestor's long speech in Iliad XI (656-803) is eminently representative of his linguistic habits1 : «-nnu 't' !p'

6>8''Axv.W( 6).oq,upf.'tCXt u~ 'Axcxlb>v,

ou8i 'tt ota, 3aaot &ii~0.1atv~~).{icx'tcxt; niv8,~, &raovlipwp,XCX't« cnpcx't6v· ol y«p &ptcnot lv vriuotv>WX'tcxt ~~).'1)1.1,ivot o~µ,voC 'tf.. ~i~AT)'tCXt µ.ivoTu8,tS-ric; xpcx'ttpoc; Atoµ"18TJc;, oG-tcxcncxt 8' 'O8uCff.U«; oouptXAU't0«; -fi8''Aycxµiµvwv· ~i~ATj'tCXt 8l xcxtEupU1CUA~ XCX't« !'TIPOV 6tcn• 'tOU'tOV 8' roovlyw viov -flycxyov lx 1COAiµot0 lei> «noVtupijc;~~ATjµivov.CXU't«p 'Axtll,uc; lae).oc;lwv Acxvcxwv OUxT}8t'tCXL ou8' lMCXCp,t. Ii µivit ,l( ~ xi &iivi'jic;8ocxt!-yxt8~ 8ipwV'tcxt, 'Apydwv~ nupoc;8TJCot0

660

665

'For Greek literature I know of no equivalent to Maltby (1979), itself an unusual item within the study of Latin literature. Incidentally helpful are: F. PREISSHOFEN,Untersuchungenzur Darstellungdes Greisenaltm in der fruhgri«hischenDichtung (Wiesbaden 1977); Falkner and de Luce; Richardson. The main ancient discussion is Aristotle's (below, pp. 178-180). 1 This and subsequent Greek quotations follow the latest OCT text, unless otherwise indicated.

168

LO SPETIACOLO OBI.LE VOCI - II

lv8' &vapcc xu(VCX( 1tUµct-rov l.Cnov·~ •Axcu.ol &cl, &noBowcpcccnoLO Ilul.0\18'lxov ~xi«( f1t1to~. n~ 8' ,uxi-r6wv-roOc&>v 4Ll NtcrropC-r'«vSp&>v. ~ lov, ,r no-r' lov y,, iu-r' «vSp&cnv. cw-rlip'Axi.Uw,; oto,;fll'i &pt-ril,; &novfJcn-rcxL • 1ju µw ou..> lnd x' &nol.cxo,; n'l'tCU.. noll« 1,1,t'tCXXACXUL 3l lvoovUv-ri,;,lyw xcxl8to,;'08uacnu,;, nmcx µ«A' lv 1,1,tl'«poL,; T}XOUO!U\I ~ lmull,. Il TIAiiO'i 8' lx6µtCJ8cx 86µou,;tu \ICXL4'tv8' l1t1tT1A«'tCX IlT1Atu,; nCovcx 1,1,'IP(CX xcxr,~o,;4tl 'ttp,ttxtpccUVL µlv&µq,l~o,;lnt'tO\Ixpicx,vwL8' lntt-rcx crrijµ,vlvt npo8upoLaL· 'tCXq>WY 8' &v6pouat\l'Axtl.l.,6,;, l,; 8' &r, Xttpo,;il.wv, XCX'tat 8' i8pt«cxCJ8cxt my,, eievL«'t' ,uncxpt~iv, &'tt eievo"-OiµL,;lcrr£v. lnd 'tacxtCJ8, npo-rl&crruvc&>v &noxcxlXALaL«Wv•.

800

765

770

775

780 782

at

The speech is prompted by the sudden appearance of Patroclus, enquiring - on Achilles' behalf- about the latest Achaean casualty. The enquiry might seem to imply that Achilles, though still sulking in

M.S. SILK· NESTOR, AMPHITRYON,PHILOCLEON,CEPHALUS

169

his tent, is disposed to pity his fellow Achaeans. Nestor disputes the implication (656): i:£1tUi:' &p'wa· 'Axilw, 6l.ocpup,i:«L •••;

It is, on reflection, noteworthy that he should begin like this. Patroclus had said nothing about any o>.a OUycip'Cl.( npije~11:tA.f.'tct.L xpur.potor6ow· ~ y&.plnr.XAwar:t.Y'to 8rol 8r.LA.otaL ~powtCJL, Cwr.LV cixwµ.tvo~·ct.U'tol 8t 't' cix-ti3~ da(. Sowlycip'tf.n£8oL xcx'tcxxr.£a.'ta.L lv 4L~ ou3r.L Swpv ot'atSc&>aL, xcxxC>v, l'tr.p~&l~v· 4>µ.ivx' ciµ.iu~~ SwuZwcupnw~. roouµ.ivu xcxx lSrr. xupr.'tct.L, rooug• loe).4>• 4>St Xf. 'tWVAuypwv&wu,AW~T)'tOY l&rixi, xa:£, xcxxT) ~"~~ lm x86va.oLct.Y Ua.uvr.L, fOL't' ouu 8rotCJL 'tf.'tLµ.i~OU'tf. ~po'tOLCJLV. ~ µ.ivxcxlIlT}Aiji 8rol 86aa.v«"(Act.&. Swpa. lx rr.vr.'tijc·11:m~ y&.pln' civ8pwnouc lxixa.CJ"to QI¼> 'tf.ffAOU't~ u, &va.aar. Si Mupµ.L86vr.CJCJL, xa:£ol 8vtrt4>l6Y'tL 8r.&.v 11:oC'l)aa.v &xoL'tLV. ill' lnl xcxl'tct>8Tjxr. 8~ xccx6v,lS't-no[ oG'tL na.£8wvlv µ.r.rcxpOLCJL 'YOYTI rtvr.'tOxpr.L6Y'twv, ill' lvcxna.i&t'taf.\l ffa.vct.wpLOY' ou&t\IU 'ro\l"(f. rriPCXCJXOY'tct. XOIJ.{Cw, lnd l,LCXA.ct. 'tT}A68L ffCX'tP")C ~µ.a.L lvl Tpo£u,at 'tf.x118wv 118la&.'tixva.. xcxlat, rtpov, 'tOnplvµ.lvcixouoiuv6l.~Lovr.tvcxL· lSaaovAt~ &vw,Mcixcx~ l&oc, lY't~ Upyr.L xcxl~puy('I)xcx8unr.p8r. xcxl'Ell71CJ11:0Y't~ cindpwv, n xa.lu[ciCJL ~al xr.xcia8cxL. 'tW\Iar.,rtpov, 11:AoU"t~ a.U-tci.p lm( 'tOL 1riif.c.a. 't68'~a.rov Oupa.vCwvr.c, a.lie'tOL nr.pl«CJ'tU µ.cxxa.L 't' civSpox'ta.aCa.L 'tf..

520

525

530

s·

535

540

545

176

LO SPETTACOLO DELLE VOCI· II

!wxao, 1''18'ci).£cxcnoyo8upaoaov XtJt'l:v lv l''Y«potv'tot x8t~~ ,..,iiµ.e't£potat86µ.otat, 'teuxe' lxw\l wµ.otat\l,lq,&O"t«µ.&\IOtL x«t «µ.uvetv &va~ µ.\ITJO"tfi~· 't't) xe aq,£v you\lOt't'l>.uacx 1tOAAW\l lv µ.ey«pOtO'L, auaiq,pt~ lv6ovlYTJ8&~•-

380

With its anecdotal recollection, Laertes' reply, as Heubeck observes, «recalls the Iliadic Nestor», though with the difference that Laertes' 10

Hamlet I iii: seen. 39 below.

178

LO SPETrACOLO DELLE VOCI· II

speech is less concerned with the future (and is, on that account, less «exhonatory• and more «retrospective•)11• Like Nestor in our paradigm, nevenheless, Laenes offers a pure bifocal personaJiiation within the syntactic structure of an impossible wish (376-9): extyap... otoc •. . 't'oi'oclwv 't'Otx8tC6c. . . And in a now famiJiar move the old speaker implicitly sets himself alongside no less a hero than his own n .•• V.uacx.•• au&i••. lr/i8ite. son (381-2):'t'v-roto&t6vicmv ~80~, ol 8, npl0{3uupot xcxl 1tcxp1pq1.cxx6't~ ax&Sov a 'tWVlVOMu.>V 'tOU'tO~ 'tli ,tA,gtcmt lxoucnv~8Ldt rcxp -ro noUdt l'tT) ~g(3U&>xlvcxt xcxl nlg(V, ouu 8LCX~!~CXLOUV'tCXt ou8tv, ~n6v -rg«"(CXV'tCXt 1tCXV'tCX ft ggr. xcxloioV'tCXt, l'acxcn 1tpocm8tcxcnv «al 'tO tG~ xcxl"r«XCX, xcxl 8' ou8tv, xcxl«µ.q>tooEouvu~ 1tCXV'tCX ltrouGLVOU't~, ncxr~ 8' ou8tv. xcxlXCXXOT)8g~ dcnv· lcm rdt?

I

2 3

Heubeck ad loc. The fi&ri which Aristotle categorizes by age (Rhet. II 12-14) are not formally specified as male, but that is implicit. Many ancient comments on ~ elsewhere must be assumed likewise to refer primarily to old men, in accordance with normal Greek presupJ»sitions, linguistic and cultural. 11 12

179

M.S. SILK· NESTOR, AMPHITRYON,PHILOCI..EON,CBPHALUS

4 5

9 10 11

12

a,

a,

15

16

a,

xwcofi8,ux'tOlm'tOx,tpov Uffl>ACX1,&(3«v&tv MY'tCX. l'tt xczxu,tOff'tO( dot 8tdcfflY&ntcmcxv, !itto'tOt St' il,l,mtp£cxv. xcxloGu q>IAOULA6µu9ov; IX 13, «most of the Odysseyconsiscence and more: IX 11 ffiL6v Lcrttvlv [opp. 8pcxjA.Ottut6v1 &t&p sts of narrative, which is characteristic of old age• (8LTJT1U,14-ruc6v ffiLOY yfJpwc);in IX 15 the Odysseyis further associated, by flirtue of its author's age, with li&oc (opp. nii9oc;)and even with xwfl,Ct)3£« •.• "19o).oyouµiVT}: the point is presumably the realism of New Comedy (cf. Russell ad lac.), not the humorousness of comedy as such notwithstanding which, the argument is as obscure as it is unconvicing, but in any case beyond the sphere oflanguage.

m

182

LO SPETTACOLO Dm.I..E VOCI· II

For a stan, extensive though the corpus of extant material is, it is not bursting with examples of speeches that presuppose delivery by or in the person of an old man. The best available example is, no doubt, 15 , a speech in 8t.86o9cxt 't xcipLvlx&LY,6) (3ou>.11. 'l:, 3-tL 11.0L ffCtpgox&u«cr& 'tOYciyci>YCt '1:0U'l:OYC.,cp6upovyap oox lxwv ff~Y if. ~ wu ~(ou >.6yov&o(TI". wvt &Lei 1:ou,:ov&1'.7JCPCt. x«l n,Lr,&cro11.0tL 'l:ftl l!LCtU'l:ov &l ~~L(l)x6,;etIL&XPL A6y 1:061:ov 11.lvlnL&,~etL 1pwU11.,vov, 'rijffl\l 1tOV1JPCcxv 0t01:0uoGu f£>. oGu lx8P1C01:& lXP"}aci!LTI" 0t01:.11, &iP-~la-tL4?8ovv, 3-tL1:0LCtU'tll X&XP"}IL&VOC oui,,.cpo"' 'l:OU't'OU ~g).,:(wy,f!Ll ffOA(ffi,.XCttTUI>04,LCtL &,rv. 6) ~ou>.11. 'I:« ,:OU G~II.Ct'I:~ 8uawx111L0t1:0t 1:0~'til, l( rcrou'l:UGU!LfO"'XCttfflY&Lcivouxv ~(I) XCtt'1:0Y ruov ~(oy S~w. ,:( 1:0U1:ou &to(aw; ,cpoc:r/pcgL Ilgpt i,,lv ouv 'l:OU't'WY 1:oaetU'l:ci 11.0L dPfla8w· u,clp wv St 11.0L ).tygLY, &vot6v 1:, 8Lei~petx,,1:&1:wv lpci>.f")aty«p o XCt'l:flTOpc>C oo XCtt T«P'l:ftlG~ILCt'l:L 81JCCt~I" ACt~&LY1:0ffetp«'til,,c6).~ upyupLOY' 8uYCta8etL XCttoux &{YCtL 1:ci>v ci&uvci1:wv. XCtl1:txvrivln(a'l:Cta8etL 'l:OLCtU'l:TjY 'tik i,,lv wa-t&x«t &v&u 1:ou8L8oJdvou 1:ou1:ou ~- x«t ux11.71p(o~ x,pfj1:0tL fll~ s· lv 'l:Uuxvn 'l:OU G~II.Ct~~11.~. ~L lnt 1:ou,t',c,cou,~(YW, gu,cop£etc, lJ1:t8UYCtfLCtL GUY&i:YCtL 8UYCt1LIYO~ civ8p6>1CO~ ciYCt).£crX&LY. ffl\l itlv ouv lx 'Cil,1:tXV71, gu,copCcxv x«t ,:ov !llov m l!A,ov~(ov, o~ 1:UYXciv&L, ffffl~ u~ otOII.CtL TL~LY" l,~ &l ,uiyt:>&Lei ~petxic.>v lpci>.l11.ot T«Poi,,lvffetffjpXCt'l:IALff&Y ou8tv. ffj\l &litT)flpetUA&UffjaotOUY fflffCtUII.CtL 1:p'f(l)Y1:p(1:ov l1:~ ,:oun, 1t0ti8~8t 11.0L oGffwdalv ot' I" 8&petffWCSOUGL. 'l:IXV")Y &lWfflll.CtL ~petxtCt8UYCtJdvriv Wf&A&i:v, fivCtU'tO(

1

2

w~

3

4

w,

5

6

is

ry•.

One of the speeches dated by Dover, 187-9, to «the late fifth or early founh ccntu-

M.S. SILK· NESTOR,AMPHITRYON,PHILOCLBON,CEPHALUS

183

iuv fl&ti xcv.11t~ lp-y~oi,ux,,-rov8"'3~6iu\lO\I8' «Uffl\l ()\m(a) 8uVUf'(Xt X~L. 1tp6a~ a,f.U)t ouxl(4, 6) ; and that (like a Priam) he is prepared to represent himself as pitiable, albeit envied by his accuser (2). As against this, his general tone is far from querulous, so much so that it accommodates precisely that wit which to Aristotle was so alien to the persona of the old man. This is apparent from the opening sentences, where the speaker ironically thanks his accuser for giving him an excuse for producing an account of his life2°.All in all, the sense that the speaker is old is muted, to say the least. As far as this speech goes, one might well invoke Dover's scepticism about the extent of 118011:oitcx in this supposedly most ethopoeic of orators 21 • E.g. Lys. XVII 1 iu ... irw... iw, ... Arguably, though, even these give a muted impression of self-confidence, as docs his ~w nivx«ptv at the very end of the speech (27). 20 Note also the dry humour of§ 13: if the bouk is to reclassify the speaker as able-bodied, will he find himself made an archon? 21 Dover 76-93. Like other Lysianic speeches, this one is not in an individual persona either: 0. BOcHLER,Die Unterscheidungder rednrden Personen bei Lysias (Heidelberg 1936) 39. It is possible to argue that the search for Lysianic character-representation is ascribed to the orator in antiquity means something like chimerical, in that the -i)9cnto,fot «moral representation•, not «characterization• in our sense: sec Dover 76-7. However, also ascribes to him Dionysius, who is foremost in ascribing to Lyaias mastery of "1907totCc1, which (inter a/ia) addresses differences of -1)).r.xux among 'tdtt1:p6).(80~ !nexvt~ ln6r.L,:ou~lvox>.ouY-t~; &tr.plµol wvt yivot-t'• ou8lvydtp&q,80'olWupov AL8(YWY yivoL-t'&v«YSpl.MWY ffexvtcxxou. WY8' OU~wrt6vmt, µdt'COY 'Acncl:rpn6v. >.cx>.oua' lmµl3cx(vo~ ,~ ,:oxwp£ov T\M). ncxp'CXUff)Y fflYo8ov'Y«{),Yfl.:1(cx, r.l'w8cx 8Lcx,:p(~f.ty' 0~ou8' lpy«Coµcxt ,:oG,:oi:o µipo~,:ouxwp(ou,niq,r.uycx Sl Sr.awu~ncxpL6v-r~. ID' ln1,:ou~).6LO'tCX'I/OtL 1'Cc.tpeta6iu8et, 8,71ac.t XOtt ,:oui:o~YOtU(Jt ~01)8,rv,:o1tl.iovOUatY1)upµ.6~ the forward-looking tone of the whole. Or again, take Pindar's King Pelias responding to Jason's call for peace (Pyth. IV 156-67): "Eaoµ.etL µ.fPOficULXCetfi i:o!Ofi'ill' fi81)iu Y1Jp0tLOY a:µ.q>L1tOAc.!• a0Y8' av80fi~ «P,:LXU• µ.etCvc.t • 8uYOtl70tL 8' &:q,,l.,rv xoµ.~0tL µ.avwx,8ovCwv. xtl.ei:0tL yciplav p~Ofi ll.86\l'tC&>· v,r. iuµ.cxy,:c.uµ.etL 8' lnt KetcnUpo~.

The explicit acknowledgement of his age (157) and the parallelizing contrast with Jason's comparative youth (158) clearly evoke the profile, but the overall cast of words - from the opening lcro1,14t(156) to the emphatic ~µ.wµ.t(166) - straightforwardly reflects, not the fact that Pelias is old, but the fact that he is king and can choose what he will be and will do. In the matter of control a fuller, and clearer, set of paradigms is provided by the old men of tragedy - not because the genre «requires• a speaker to be such and such, but precisely because it allows a much greater degree of variation than we find in Thucydides or Lysias. At Euripides, Heracles217-35 old Amphitryon, standing up for the family against the tyrant Lycus, finishes a long speech in recognizable tones:

wycxtcxK«Sµou· x«l y«p ~ ai cxtp{cOf,LCXt lv&t'touµ.a~· ).6yo~ 6v,t.3~ 't!XVOta( 't&; 'tOLCXU't' cxµuv,8''Hpcxx).er Mtwcx~8~'~ &n:cxat StcltIJ4X"l~ JLOAWV 8-fil3a~l&rpcav 61'1'' L>.,uO,pov ~>.ln:atv. ouS' 'EllcxS' fivaa' - ouS' cxvl(oµcxC n:ou ~ n:cxi8'lµ6v, atywv- xcxx(cmr,, >.cxµl3cxvv fivxsnl"vaoaao~'tora8, n:up).6-yx~ &t).cx tplpouacxv l).8,tv, n:OV'tCwv x«Ocxpµ&'twv xlpaou 't' cxµot~~- wvt lµ6xfhia~ xcxptvt. 't« S', w't!XV',~µivoG't& 8T)~Cwvn:6).~ oGO''E>.>.a~cxpxat·n:~ S' lµ' cxa8avij tpc>.ov cp6tpov. S&Upxat't',ou&lv6V'tat11:AT)V TAWGGT)~ pwµT)y«p hll>.otn:avf)vn:plv,rxoµ.av, jlipqt Si 'tpoµ.apayutcxxcxµcxupov a8l~. d ~ 't&x&'ttawµat't~ xpat'tWV, &vlrxo~ 'tou&,'tOU~ ecxvOou~ n:>.6xou~ ACX~\I &v,W.(qt

s,

220

225

230

"'°~

235

Like an orator's formula, the first-person future in 217 is insignificant. More significant is the despairing question of 219; the series of present negations in 222 and 227-8, which in 229 is duly extended to the old speaker himself(ou&lv~vi:cx); the personalization of

191

M.S. SILK - NESTOR, AMPHITRYON,PffiLOCLEON, CEPHALUS

the speech from 228 on; the simple preoccupation with both his own 231-2) and the age and generational status of others age (i'lp~: ('t!xvotat 219, n«w' 223, veoaao~ 224, i:bcv« 227); and especially the bifocal contrast (np(v: li:t 230-2) and the impossible condition (in effect a wish) with which the speech closes. A parenthetic jerkiness adds to the effect. Amphitryon is helpless and his high-density version of the profile shows it. Compare and contrast old Peleus, speaking up for Hector's widow and young son against Menelaus at Euripides, Andromache 693-726: otµ.oL,xcx8''EU«a' ~ ~ voµ.£1;,-rcu •

vroc

6-tcxv i:pomxtcx 11:olgµ.£wv O"CT)µ.iVOL

tjj i:' ixf.t'a-tpcx'C"/11'£qt, T po(qtx&8'1)a8i µ.6x8oLcnv &llwv xcxln6vo~ l1'CT)Pµ.ivoL. s,cew 8' l-ywC,OL µ.-ij,:ov 'IScxrovIlcxpw µ.,(Cwvoµ.(Cf.LV IlT)A~ lx8p6v11:ou, d µ.-ijq,8,Pij-ci'ja8'c!>c i:cxxLa-t' cxno.ai:&c {µ.cxv,:wv a-tpoq,C8occ ~cxvfic,oµ.cx,. w8', wXCXXLCJn, -ci'ja8'Uuµ.T)\1(1) xepexc; ~ouvi\ >.eovi:'fllm{f.Clvi:..Cv,w ~p6xo~; i\ µ.-ijec,oe lcx~uc,' cxµ.uvcx8oL-r6 c,g l8,LCJcxc; lp,c, &,up'u11:'«rx&>.cxc, ~pecpoc, ei,llu, &c,µ.dc µ.T)'tr,6(· lv Cl>8£qi a' l-yw 8p€cpw!'&'Y'IXV -roraS'lx8p6v. d 8' cxfl:'ijv 8opoc

705

710

715

720

192

LO SPETIACOLO DELLE VOCI· II

'tO~ l:mxpn«'tOt~

't!il'

36Eat XOtt ~ «ywv,

725

~ rem 11-1)3,"°' '3&).'tuw~.

In the course of the Menelaus-Peleus scene the old man's age is commented on several times, as it is - by the chorus - immediately after this speech (727-8): «ll&LfU\IO\I 'tL ~ 1tp&Oj31rtW\I yf\lO~ XOtt 8u. 706

But it is only «more or less», and this is the more: there is a less as well. Between the confident lyw and le xopo~ 11:~l"\I

On Bruch. 170-369 (2nd ed., p. 90). This implication of ~11:ly,~ seems to have been missed by commentators.

M.S. SILK -NESTOR,AMPHITRYON,PHILOCLEON,CEPHALUS

195 205

195

xopwooiuv id).).'-'>V xope.ugw

to the point of enforcing an oxymoron with the old-age markers, 193

Y'P'-'>" ytpov"tt1t0tt8cxy'-'>')"TIO''-'> O''iyw

and in this formulation, above all, the assenive idiom, l-yw + future, evokes a self-confidence that is not merely lordly, but (given the Dionysiac power) divine 10• In the same transfigured spirit, the elderly pair turn their backs on any elderly negation of the present. And yet, caught in their elderliness, they cannot escape the elderly instinct for finding something wrong, even if it is only their own impropriety as seen by others 31: ip,r ~ ~ 'tii~ ouxotlcJxuvof.1.0tt. Likewise an old man must still seek the reassurance of self-equation, (185-6), even if it is only with his fellow votary: auµoL-yipwv-yipov-tL -yipwv-yipov-tcx .•. a' l-yw (193). The contradiction inherent in their situation is writ large in their language. The Bacchic old men represent a confused version of a norm. In tragedy that norm is best exemplified not in individuals, but in groups: that is, in the tragic chorus. Weak or devoid of control as a tragic individual may be, he has at least his individual specificity as a point of reference. He will never be quite as helpless as the anonymous group can be - as (say) the chorus of Herac/esis, even by comparison with old Amphitryon, obsessed as it is, from its first appearance, with its age (107-l l)204

un6po" cxot• 30( wO"t, no>.~ ~pv~-

and thus caught up in the familiar bifocalization of the present (126-9): 'Y'P'-'>" "(&pov'tot 1totpotX6µ.tC' ,

io )I

Cf. M.S. SILK,«Heraclesand Greek tragedy», G&R 32 (1985) 9, 13, 21 (n. 53). I leave to one side the obscure negation in 200 (on which see Dodds ad loc.).

196

LO SPETTACOLO DELLE VOCI· ll

(t>~A.IX 86poc'tll Ytac Yi

'tO1t~ iYi)).UCt,,xw't«v L( u).~ 'tOU{ijv «cptxVQ, 't; x«&u~ptacxv. 8f.OL 'Y«Pf.Uf.L'V 04',8' daopwa', ~«v 'tpa1tji· 't« 8,r' «cp..C; 't~ L( 'to f.L«(via8at oIL~au,'tixvovAlr~. ~ul.ou 1t«8f.tY. 't(Xf.L'V 'tOL«u't'OUV gl36't'lx8L8&axof,Lf.Y,

,u

1530

1535

Though blind as well as old, and though insistent on his own jiip«~ ( 1519), the battered hero speaks with all the unhesitating authority of the inspired prophet. The first-person future of his opening words, undiluted by any connecting particle, epitomizes his knowledge of events, as well as his control over words: this l-yw8tMew (1518) is something more than the orator's formulaic netp«aoµ.cxt lnt8e~cxt33 • The impression of authority, enforced by similar means in 1520, is kept up throughout the quoted part of the speech, notwithstanding the negative injunctions in 1522-3, which refer only to the hypothetical future and are not appeals to change the effective or imminent present. Except for the magisterial generalization of 1536-7, the whole emphasis is on the future, and away from, indeed remote from, the speaker: there is no querulous or self-defensive personalizing here. Only at the last, with his prophetic mission fulfilled, does Oedipus leave the prophet's mode of speech for the old man's (1540-1): xwpovs·,l1t€L-yf.t -y&pIL' 'tOOX 8,ou 1t«p6v, fl8-ti, f,LTJ8' l't' lV'tpf.1tWf,Lf.8cx. O"tf.(XCa>!Lf.V

This time the negative injunction signifies anxiety, and with this change of mood one might also associate the striking syntactic dislocation, a feature we have met in isolation, but one that now finds "Lys. XXIV l: above,p. 27.

198

LO SPBTIACOLO DELLE VOCI- II

an echo in the uneven tempo of the sentences that bring Oedipus' speech to its close ( 1542-55): w1tOtW",w8' lmo6'. lyw ycxp~"(&f'W\I cci,,yytc, n:p6a&,n:oun:O't'~ae· 4c,6v,

s·laxcx-t6v\I Si x«t «1t&crtf.pT)µiYOL x«l 't6u µ.iv ,u~Y't&(. W\I ou3l ~Y't&(. lYLOL 't(X('tW\Iow((l)v 1tpo1tT)AIXX(a&i.< 'tOU~ o3upoY'tlXL, x«Ll1ti 'tOU't..,u8,pCet quite precisely. From this point onwards, however, Cephalus' answers to Socrates give a different impression, and perhaps significantly, it is within this latter pan of their exchange that the discussion o( death is introduced. After some words about his property 37, the old man is asked to specify the greatest benefit his possessions have brought him. His reply begins (330 d-e):

a,

a·

,u

"O, ~ IS~.rCK&)~ oox &vno).).ou~n,£a«tµ.t).tr(a)v. r«P roet, ~. w twxpeti:~. ISi:t, ln,.Mv ~ l™ t i:ou oi.io8etti:,).w-n'Jcnw, alatpxai:ett0toi:4> Xettq>povi:~ n,pt WV(µ.npoo8,voox alo-{iat. of ff -ydtp ).,-y6µ.,votµ.u8otn,pt i:wvlv .,Atoou, ~ i:ovlv0&.8,&8LXT1CJ0tY1:0t S,t wt mou fflY StS6YOtt SCxTJY, X0t1:et-y&AWjA.&YOt ,:~. ,:6,:a &riai:p&q>OUCJtv 4,uXT)Y IA.TI &A7J8&~ WCJtv' XOtL QtO~ - i\,:otinco nj; ,:ou'YTIP~&o8,v,£~fi XOtL WC71t&p fi8T) lrru,:t~ WY,:wvwt µ.all6v i:t Xet8o~cxo,:li - incocl,£~ a·OUYXOtL Sdµ.cx,:o~ µ.aa,:~-y£-yv,i:cxt xcxt~o-y£{,i:cxt f18T) XOtL CJXOff&t ,r i:tv«i:t ~SCxT)cnv.

a~

Cephalus has already indicated his own fondness for conversation {atl,u.pti:ouc A6youclnt8uµ.Cctt u XOtt -iioovat( 328 d). 37 Somewhat generationally directed words - about the money-maltinghabits of his forebears(330b)- though the question to which his words arean answer certainly invites 330 a). There is also an elesuch a response (1t6i:'f)OII ... ,:ck,w.((I)1t0tp~&C f\ L1t&Xfl!GCt> ment of modest self-equation:oµ.!vrcii> nmoe... lrwwvetc. ie

202

LO SPBTTACOLO DELLE VOCI - II

The tow~ of the opening sentence is one straightforward profile i:6u feature, and with only a little ingenuity one might relate the ~: &ficontrast to another (albeit bifocal presenting of the past is not involved). The Greek is at one point slightly parenthetic (XOttooh6' ... ), but not in a way that seems distinctive for a Platonic speaker3', and for the rest (and notwithstanding the «Aristotelian» phrase T'I~ &cr9e.v,£cx~) no other relevant linguistic features are apparent either here or in the continuation of Cephalus' speech, which finishes at 331b. Conversely, and very relevantly, it is apparent that, despite an invitation to make a personal statement by way of answer to Socrates' question ('What do you think is the greatest benefit you have derived from the possession of property?', 330d), the actual answer, almost perversely, is non-personal, ...

l1t1t8cxv

l™u...xcxlcxu'l:6(•••

-rl(

and carries on in that vein to the end. It is worth adding that, particularly in the latter part of his exchages with Socrates, Cephalus' speech-patterns include an interesting quasi-Polonian tendency to recall and quote authoritative bonsmotsand the like: 329c 330d 33la

,ulx,1

'tO'tOUEhµtcrt0x>.€oui; of ff -y«pA1-y6µ&YOL µ.u8ot

c:,i;xcxlIl£v8«poi; ).f-y1t.

From the earlier part of the dialogue there is also 329c

1tf,1.0AO"f'LY ... 11:pMJl31mpo" ... w f,l.tvf.L.11 't'J)AI.XOimw &,r« incidental thought: cipµ.6-r,:ei rx,>f.L.OAO'T'etv 1b:pe11:~ W011:tp xcd w f.L.U8oAoygtv. As with his tip about hyperbole (n. 55 below), cipµ.6-r,:et / «11:pe11:" seems to point to a prescription out of line with the evidence. 31

M.S. SILK· NESTOR, AMPHITRYON, PHILOCLEON, CEPHALUS

329a

203

ff1V ml.ex~ 1ecxpot11-£cxv,

The supra-personal (if sometimes slightly rambling) quality inherent in these generalities accords well with the increasingly outward-looking character of Cephalus' disquisitions on death. In this light compare Cyrus' death speech in Xenophon's Cyropaedia(VIII 7 .6-28).The speech begins (7.6): Ilcxtal(l!'oi xcxi1Cffll( ol ~ q,O.ot,ll'OLi,t!v-roG~(ou w 't0.0( il&Ti ,ccxpacmv· lx nollwv 'tOU'tO acxq>c Tt~· uµ.i( 8! XPT), UAW'CT)CJW, ~ mpi ,u8cx(!'O"Oc l11-0G XCXL >.,yetvxcxi1COtlt\l 1CCX\l'tCX. lyw ycxp,ccxfc'tl wv't(Xlv 1C0ttai vo11-tC61"YCX XCXACX 8oxw:wccxp,cwa9oct, lnd 'tl ~'ljCJ0t,'tCX lv ygcxv(axo~, u>.u6c u ciVT)p y,v611-,v0( 't(Xlv 0018pciat • lntyt"(YWCJXltv l86xouvxcxi CJUY 't.w"'" 'tO8! ,cpo~ou>.,ur.tv XCXL 'tOiiy,ra9cxt «l'fO't'pouc uµ.i( 011-0~, w1CCXWI(' lq,' lS'tt &vXCXtpOC 8oxti ,iv«t, 'tOU'tO 1Cpoa'tCX't't6) 't.6ywvcxxpt~v axtv8cx>.~oUt; µ.cx&fiaoµ.cxt;

It is implicit in the Acharnians passage that, even without the pressure of the law court and its rhetoric, an old man may turn into an ineffectual babbler, -cov8opu{wv j/)p~ (683): a Tithonus, u1eo j/)pw~ µ.cxv· ~· lrw rplpv «v8pcxxwv rpop-nov oux &vln' lµ.i'j~'Y'v,6"t'T)"t'O~, w&,q>CXUA.(I)~ &v6 ~XOA.ou8ouv cl>cxull'i) "t'plx,wv, U1t'lµ.ou"t'6u8twx6µ.g~ cr1tovoorp6~OU"t'~ ~lrpu-y,vou&'&vUcxrp~ &v«1t!1tA~CX"t'O. vuv8' lniwii cruppi,vf181) wuµ.ovmtxvfiµ.tov, XtXt 1tCXACXtii> Acxxpcxu£8-o "CO crxtA.~l3vx,wpCv· xoux&vficrw 1tplv&vcrx,or~ cxuw!crtv «YUµ.1tcx-yii> ~68UVT)p~

205 210 215

220 225 230

...

Vengeful pursuit it is at first, but pursuit slows to a halt, and vengefulness turns into oAocpupµ6~, when physical incapacity forces them to remember their age (lx1eecpeur'..• 208). The switch of rhythm from the opening trochaics (204-7) to the cretic-paeonics that follow (208-18) serves to mark off the retardation, if hardly to enact it65 • Then, as the trochaics return, the old men continue their querulous reflections (219-21), before hauling themselves back to present and future action (3Lxi:eo~221), in which spirit (now in cretic rhythm) they muster a simple future assertion: xoux &v/iaw... meµ1e0t-y (229-30). In their oAocpupµ6~itself one notes: the personal self-absorption (for the group is presented linguistically as one man:

at

.. Cf. eg. Cratinus 71 PCG, Pherecratcs156 PCG, Eupolis 384 PCG. 65 Cf. B. ZIMMERMANN, Untersuchungmzur Form und dramatischenTechniktier Aristophanischen Komodien,I (Meisenheim 1984)36-7.

212

LO SPBTIACOLO DELLE VOCI· II

l!,1-WY 210, 4tii~ 211, lrw 212, lµ.ou217, -eouµ.6v 219); the preoccupation with age and time (l-e&>v 210, vdrnrto~ 212, ~' 212, -e6-t,217, wv6' 219, 1ecxlcxt 220), in association with bifocal reminiscence (&t' lr6>: wv6' 212-9); the self-equation of lr6> ••• cl)cxGll (212-14); and the disruption of the simple clause vuv 6' . . . orx,-ecxtby a grumbling parenthesis (219-21)66 • The whole sequence reads almost like a summuy of the profile in (say) one of its denser Nestorian guises but it is, of course, a ,n1mmary with a humorous difference, because where Nestor is a great leader thinking back to heroic battles, these are labouring charcoal-burners thinking back to the dayswhen, as part of their trade, they could really run. The point, in general terms, was taken by a scholiast61 : n«w Si 4tiu).wc ml JU't« ncimiccip,'tijc6 no,Tlfflc4t.4'-fiacxw w~ r"'6vtwv 'tpcmoucml l.6-youc·'tpcmouciuv ix ~ cixpoxol.~, l.6-y~ Si ix 'tijc 'tWVncxl.cxt6'>v lp-ywvlp-ywv1>1C01'~- 'tow&toe-lu,.rvxcxl6 Nio-twp8onr l.i-ywv "-/i~I'' c!>c ~• ln' wxu~" ml ncil.w "d9' we-/il3o4'-' < ~£11 u itoi litn~ ,r11 >. 't.uacx!L'~fcw1tillcxx-iivwxotpCov. WY 8' OUxp