λάγυνος
(Moer. λ 9)
A. Main sources
(1) Moer. λ 9: λάγυνος ἀρρενικῶς Ἀττικοί· θηλυκῶς Ἕλληνες.
Users of Attic [employ] λάγυνος (‘flask’) in the masculine; users of Greek [employ it] in the feminine.
B. Other erudite sources
(1) Ath. 11.499b–d: λάγυνον δὲ μέτρου λέγουσιν εἶναι ὄνομα παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, ὡς χοὸς καὶ κοτύλης· χωρεῖν δ’ αὐτὸ κοτύλας Ἀττικὰς δώδεκα. καὶ ἐν Πάτραις δέ φασι τοῦτ’ εἶναι τὸ μέτρον. ἀρσενικῶς δὲ εἴρηκε τὸν λάγυνον Νικόστρατος μὲν ἐν Ἑκάτῃ· ‘(A) τῶν κατεσταμνισμένων | ἡμῖν λαγύνων πηλίκοι τινές; (Β) τρίχους’. καὶ πάλιν· ‘τὸν μεστὸν ἡμῖν φέρε λάγυνον’. καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐπιγραφομένῃ Κλίνῃ· ‘καὶ δυσχερὴς λάγυνος οὗτος πλησίον | ὄξους’. Δίφιλος ἐν Ἀνασῳζομένοις· ‘λάγυνον ἔχω κενόν, ὦ γραῦ, θύλακον δὲ μεστόν’. Λυγκεὺς δ’ ὁ Σάμιος ἐν τῇ πρὸς Διαγόραν ἐπιστολῇ γράφει· ‘καθ’ ὃν χρόνον ἐπεδήμησας <ἐν> Σάμῳ, Διαγόρα, πολλάκις οἶδά σε παραγινόμενον εἰς τοὺς παρ’ ἐμοὶ πότους, ἐν οἷς λάγυνος κατ’ ἄνδρα κείμενος † οἰνοχοεῖτο, πρὸς ἡδονὴν διδοὺς ἑκάστῳ ποτήριον.’ Ἀριστοτέλης δ’ ἐν τῇ Θετταλῶν Πολιτείᾳ θηλυκῶς λέγεσθαί φησιν ὑπὸ Θετταλῶν τὴν λάγυνον. καὶ Ῥιανὸς ὁ ἐποποιὸς ἐν Ἐπιγράμμασιν· ‘ἥμισυ μὲν πίσσης κωνίτιδος, ἥμισυ δ’ οἴνου, | Ἀρχῖν’, ἀτρεκέως ἥδε λάγυνος ἔχει, | λεπτοτέρης δ’ οὐκ οἶδ’ ἐρίφου κρέα· πλὴν ὅ γε πέμψας | αἰνεῖσθαι πάντων ἄξιος Ἱπποκράτης’.
τὸ μέτρον τὴν λάγυνον cod. A (τὴν λάγυνον is deleted by Olson, as a gloss) | <ἐν> codd. MP and Musurus | Ἀρχῖν’ Casaubon : †ἀρχινε† cod. A | κωπίτιδος cod. A, corrected to κωνίτιδος by Toup | κρέα Meineke : κρέας cod. A.
They say that a λάγυνος is the name of a Greek unit of measure, like a χοός and a κοτύλη, and is equivalent to twelve Attic κοτύλαι. They also say that this unit is used in Patras. But Nicostratus in Hecate (fr. 10.1–2 = C.2, including both quotations) has the word as masculine: ‘(A) How large (masc.) are the λάγυνοι we transferred from the wine-jars? (B) They hold three χόες’. And again (Nicostr.Com. fr. 10.3 = C.2): ‘Bring us the full λάγυνος (masc.)!’. And in his play entitled The Couch (Nicostr.Com. fr. 14 = C.3): ‘This λάγυνος (masc.) full of vinegar that’s next to us is also disgusting’. Diphilus in Men Trying to Get Home Safe (fr. 12 = C.4): ‘I’ve got an empty λάγυνος (masc./neut.), old woman, but a full grain-sack’. Lynceus of Samos writes in his Letter to Diagoras (fr. 6 Dalby = C.5): ‘During the time you visited Samos, Diagoras, I know that you were often at my drinking parties; at them, a λάγυνος (masc.) lay beside each man, full of wine, offering every person a cup whenever he felt like one’. But Aristotle in his Constitution of the Thessalians (fr. 499 Rose = C.1) claims that the Thessalians use the word as feminine. So does the epic poet Rhianus in the Epigrams (fr. 75 Powell = HE 3246–9 = C.6): ‘This λάγυνος (fem.), Archinus, contains precisely one-half pine-cone resin, and one-half wine, and I’ve never seen meat from a skinnier kid. But Hippocrates, who sent these gifts, deserves our praise on all accounts’. (Transl. Olson 2009, 433–5, slightly modified).
C. Loci classici, other relevant texts
(1) Arist. fr. 499 Rose = fr. 503 Gigon = Ath. 11.499d (B.1).
(2) Nicostr.Com. fr. 10:
(A) τῶν κατεσταμνισμένων
ἡμῖν λαγύνων πηλίκοι τινές; (Β) τρίχους
…
τὸν μεστὸν ἡμῖν φέρε λάγυνον.
(A) How large are the λάγυνοι we transferred from the wine-jars? (B) They hold three χόες. … Bring us the full λάγυνος! (Transl. Olson 2009, 433).
(3) Nicostr.Com. fr. 14:
καὶ δυσχερὴς λάγυνος οὗτος πλησίον
ὄξους
This λάγυνος full of vinegar that’s next to us is also disgusting. (Transl. Olson 2009, 435).
(4) Diph. fr. 12:
λάγυνον ἔχω κενόν, ὦ γραῦ, θύλακον δὲ μεστόν.
I’ve got an empty λάγυνος, old woman, but a full grain-sack. (Transl. Olson 2009, 435, slightly modified).
(5) Lync. fr. 6 = Ath. 11.499c–d (B.1).
Lynceus’ fragments and testimonia are collected by Dalby (2000, 384–94).
(6) Rhian. fr. 75 Powell = HE 3246–9:
ἥμισυ μὲν πίσσης κωνίτιδος, ἥμισυ δ’ οἴνου,
Ἀρχῖν’, ἀτρεκέως ἥδε λάγυνος ἔχει.
λεπτοτέρης δ’ οὐκ οἶδ’ ἐρίφου κρέα· πλὴν ὅ γε πέμψας
αἰνεῖσθαι πάντων ἄξιος Ἱπποκράτης.
This λάγυνος, Archinus, contains precisely one-half pine-cone resin, and one-half wine, and I’ve never seen meat from a skinnier kid. But Hippocrates, who sent these gifts, deserves our praise on all accounts. (Transl. Olson 2009, 435).
D. General commentary
An entry in Moeris’ lexicon (A.1) deals with the grammatical gender of λάγυνος (‘flask’). The etymology of the noun is obscure, but it is possibly a PIE loan from Hittite laḫan(n)i (cf. also Akkadian laḫannu). Beekes (EDG s.v.) points out that vessel namesUtensils are often loan words and postulates a pre-Greek origin; see also DELG s.v. Moeris prescribes the masculine form as Attic, whereas the feminine is attributed to the Ἕλληνες. Indeed, Athenaeus (B.1) attests to the use of the masculine by the poets of Middle (Nicostratus: C.2, C.3) and New Comedy (Diphilus: C.4; Lynceus: C.5, although the passage quoted is from a letter and not a comic fragment), while the feminine form is attested in an epigram by the Alexandrian poet Rhianus (C.6). Interestingly, Athenaeus also states that λάγυνος is used as a feminine noun in Thessaly, following Aristotle’s account (C.1). This is one of several examples where Atticist lexicographers (as well as other erudite sources) discuss cases of gender change; see AGP vol. 2, Morphology, forthcoming and entries βάτος, βῶλος, ὄμφαξ, ὕσπληξ, φάρυγξ, and χάραξ. The use of the feminine in Rhianus (see also Plu. De garrulitate 509d.6 and 509d.8) seems to be in line with Moeris’ claim that the feminine form belongs to koine Greek, while the masculine is Attic, as confirmed by the masculine occurrences in comedyComedy. Although no attestations of λάγυνος in 5th-century BCE authors are preserved, the usage of 4th-century BCE comic poets may reflect an earlier usage. Indeed, the language of 4th-century comedy is sometimes taken as a model by Atticist lexicography, and the uncertainty about Moeris’ position towards 4th-century authors (see entry Moeris, Ἀττικιστής) leaves two possibilities open: either the masculine form was already used by 5th-century comic poets, or it was prescribed precisely on the basis of its use in recent comedy. Furthermore, the term λάγυνος belongs to a category of technical termsTechnical language, so that, in the absence of earlier attestations, even a second-rate Attic term can serve as an acceptable model.
E. Byzantine and Modern Greek commentary
N/A
F. Commentary on individual texts and occurrences
N/A
Bibliography
Dalby, A. (2000). ‘Lynceus and the anecdotists’. Braund. D.; Wilkins, J. (eds.), Athenaeus and His World. Reading Greek Culture in the Roman Empire. Exeter, 372–94.
Olson, S. D. (2009). Athenaeus. The Learned Banqueters. Vol. 5: Books 10.420e–11. Edited and translated by S. Douglas Olson. Cambridge, MA.
CITE THIS
Elisa Nuria Merisio, 'λάγυνος (Moer. λ 9)', in Olga Tribulato (ed.), Digital Encyclopedia of Atticism. With the assistance of E. N. Merisio.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30687/DEA/2974-8240/2024/03/022
ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS
Gender, grammatical
FIRST PUBLISHED ON
12/12/2024
LAST UPDATE
12/12/2024
