παιδικός
(Antiatt. π 16, Antiatt. π 17, Σ π 9 [= Phot. π 23, Su. π 8589, Ael.Dion. π 1], Poll. 2.19–20)

D. General commentary

The Antiatticist’s interest in the adjective παιδικός (‘like a child; boyish; childish’) is witnessed by two glosses which focus, respectively, on its equivalence with παιδαριώδης (‘childlike, puerile’, A.1) and on the substantivised use of the neuter, παιδικά, to mean ‘beloved boy, favourite’ (A.2). Both topics are also discussed in a gloss of the Synagoge (A.3). This is one of the few agreements between the Antiatticist and the original version of the Synagoge (see Valente 2015, 13–4), and it is explained with their derivation from a common source: Aelius Dioniyius’ lexicon, of which A.3 has been recognised as a fragment (Erbse 1950, 133–4).

Since an interest in morphology may underlie the equation between παιδικός and παιδαριώδης proposed by A.1 (and A.3), it is useful to begin with a brief overview of the origin and diffusion of their suffixesSuffixes. παιδικός is a denominal adjective in ‑ικός from παῖς (‘child’); on the suffix ‑ικός, whose diffusion begins to blossom in the intellectual discourse of the 5th and 4th centuries BCE and whose productivity peaks in Post-classical Greek, see entry ἀρχαϊκός. Given that ‑ικός vehiculates the notions of belonging and aptness, the original meaning of παιδικός is ‘of children’ (see DELG s.v. παῖς). The adjective is typically applied to boys: in a paean by Bacchylides, for example, it qualifies the songs performed by boys (or in their honour); fr. 4.80: παιδικοὶ θ’ ὕμνοι φλέγονται, ‘the songs of boys rise like flames’ (Transl. Campbell 1992, 259; see also the παιδικὸς χόρος, ‘the boys’ chorus’ e.g. in Is. 7.40.4). However, both erudite sources (A.3) and modern lexica (see LSJ s.v.) attest to the possibility of using it also for a female beloved (see below).

The spread of παιδικός may have contributed to the decline of another derivative of παῖς, παίδειος/παιδεῖοςπαίδειος, formed with the denominative suffix -ειος-ειος, which carries the same meaning (on the suffix, which can either derive from IE *-i̯o- or *-ei̯o- or be the Attic realisation of the Ionic and Homeric ending -ήϊος, see Chantraine 1993, 49–43 and entry ἀνθρωπεία, ἀνθρωπίνη, with bibliography). παίδειος/παιδεῖος was likely more ancient: its earliest occurrences are found in Pindar (I. 2.3: ῥίμφα παιδείους ἐτόξευον μελιγάρυας ὕμνους, ‘they swiftly shot sweet-voiced songs for the boys’, cf. Bacchylides’ παιδικοὶ ὕμνοι) and in tragedy (Aesch. Ag. 1242, 1593; Soph. Ant. 918). The diffusion of παίδειος/παιδεῖος – compared to that of παιδικός, with which it competed – already appears to have been lower in Classical Greek, as it is illustrated, for instance, by the distribution of the two adjectives in Plato (παίδειος/παιδεῖος occurs only 5x, in Laws, while παιδικός counts more than eighty occurrences, including those in which it denotes an eromenos). Over time, it decreases further, so that παίδειος/παιδεῖος mainly features in erudite sources (see, e.g., Hdn. Περὶ καθολικῆς προσωδίας GG 3,1.135.6–7: τὸ δὲ παιδεῖος ὁ παιδικὸς προπερισπᾶται, ‘the [adjective] παιδεῖος, which [means] παιδικός [‘of a child’] has a circumflex accent on the penultimate’); on adjectives in ‑ικός competing with adjectives formed with other suffixes, see Chantraine (1933, 391).

The adjective παιδαριώδης derives from the diminutive παιδάριον (‘little child’, also indicating a young slave); on the suffix ‑άριον -άριον, see Chantraine (1933, 74–5) and entry κυνίδιον, κυνάριον. The suffix ‑ώδης derives from the root *od- (cf. ὄζω ‘to smell’ of something, ὀδμή ‘smell’, and    Latin odor, ‘smell’: see Wackernagel [1889, 44–7]). The suffix was formerly and erroneously believed to derive from ‑οειδής (‘looking like’ [something]); see Chantraine (1933, 429–30); Buck, Petersen (1944, 698); Willi (2003b, 44); AGP vol. 1, Chapter 5, Section B.5.5. Formations in ‑ώδης begin to spread during the second half of the 5th century BCE and are typical of Ionic; consequently, they characterise the vocabulary of scientific and philosophical prose and are relatively rare in poetry (AGP vol. 1, Chapter 5, Section B.5.5). ‑ώδης becomes particularly productive in Post-classical Greek: many formations in ‑ώδης are found, for instance, in Polybius (e.g. παιδαριώδης 4x) and Biblical Greek. In comedy, adjectives in ‑ώδης are very scarcely employed by authors of Old Comedy (on the use of formations in ‑ώδης in Aristophanes’ Plutus, see Willi 2003b, 43–4) while they occur more substantially in Middle and New Comedy (see AGP vol. 1, Chapter 5, Section B.5.5 for a detailed overview). The distribution of the earliest known occurrences of παιδαριώδης are in line with the general picture: the adjective first occurs in Plato’s Philebus (14d.7, see below), and then spreads in 4th-century BCE prose (Demosthenes, 1x; Aristoteles 4x); its sole known comic attestation is in Nicochares (C.7, on which see Orth 2015, 115).

Erudite sources (A.2, A.3, B.1) are mainly interested in the semantics of the substantivised neuter plural παιδικά, which is used to denote a single person, the eromenos within a pederastic relationship (on which Dover 1978 remains fundamental: on the use of παιδικά, see especially 16–7). The contrast between pederastic and heterosexual pleasure is widely diffused in comedy and satyr drama (see also Eur. Cycl. 583–4: ἥδομαι δέ πως τοῖς παιδικοῖσι μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς θήλεσιν, ‘And somehow, I take more pleasure in boys than in women’ [Transl. Kovacs 1994, 125]), and the theme is a staple of Greek literature throughout the centuries (Hunter, Laemmle 2020, 224). The Synagoge’s gloss (A.3), which derives from Atticist material – arguably Aelius Dionysius – and possibly rests on scholarship on comedy, collects several classical occurrences of παιδικά applied to both boys (the expected use, illustrated by C.1 and C.2) and girls (C.3 and C.4) and, metaphorically, to a beloved person in general, with no sexual connotations (allegedly, C.5). The gloss’ testimony on the use of παιδικά for female beloved in C.3 and C.4 – remarkably, the only known occurrences of such a use – arouses some suspicions. The fact that Eupolis’ line (C.4) is corrupt raises doubts as to the correctness of its exegesis (see Olson 2014, 75) and the mention of the female aulos-player does not necessarily ensure that she is the παιδικά that the speaker praises: it is possible that the line originally illustrated the typical contrast between sexual interest in women and in boys. The same contrast may be alluded to in C.3, even more so since Dionysus is said to be away from his concubine and may thus be viewed as lucky because he is free to indulge in homosexual pleasure (on the fragment and its interpretation, see Fiorentini 2022, 217–9).

The Antiatticist (A.1) draws attention to a topic that remains in the background in other sources: the meaning ‘childish, puerile’, that παιδικός can assume, and its semantic overlap with παιδαριώδης. The Antiatticist’s equation between these adjectives may be explained, first, based on semantic factors. A brief overview of some occurrences of these two adjectives in Classical and Post-classical Greek may help to elucidate their semantic convergence.

Since its earliest occurrences, παιδαριώδης has primarily disparaging connotations and means ‘puerile’: see Plato (C.6), Aristotle (e.g. Pol. 1271a.10: παιδαριώδης γάρ ἐστι λίαν, ‘it is indeed too puerile’, criticising the procedure for the election of the elders), and Polybius (e.g. 5.29.2: εὐκαταφρόνητοι καὶ παιδαριώδεις, ‘negligible and childish’). Interestingly, it is employed for style evaluation in the treatise On the Sublime to criticise the style of Timaeus (4.1.5–6: ὑπὸ δὲ ἔρωτος τοῦ ξένας νοήσεις ἀεὶ κινεῖν πολλάκις ἐκπίπτων εἰς τὸ παιδαριωδέστατον, ‘and his insatiable passion for starting strange conceits often lands him in the most puerile effects’ [Transl. Fyfe, Russell in Halliwell 1995, 171]). The reproachful meaning of παιδαριώδης is often noted in the lexicographical tradition: in addition to B.2, see also Hsch. π 3097, Σ π 829, Phot. π 1114; note further that a parodic nuance is common to many adjectives in ‑ώδης (cf. AGP vol. 1, Chapter 5, Section B.5.5). Although the negative understanding prevails, παιδαριώδης may also be used with a neutral meaning evoking resemblance: see, e.g., Arist. Pr. 892a.18–20: ὅσοι δὲ διὰ τροφῆς ἔνδειαν ἀτελεῖς γίνονται, οὗτοι καὶ παιδαριώδη τὰ μέλη ἔχοντες φαίνονται, ‘But those who come to be imperfect owing to a lack of nourishment also appear to have parts of children’ (Transl. Mayhew 2011, 291, adapted; note that Problem 10 may be an epitome of Aristotle’s or Theophrastus’ materials, see Mayhew 2011, 279–81); see also – though this occurrence is considerably later – schol. (Tz.) Ar. Nu. 1382a: βρῦν· οἶνον κατὰ τὴν παιδαριώδη φωνήν, ‘βρῦν [‘drink’]: Wine in the voice of a child’. Nonetheless, this use is significantly minoritarian.

By contrast, the standard meaning of παιδικός is merely descriptive and does not imply any evaluation. Aside from the aforementioned meaning ‘of a boy’, ‘of boys’, it mainly refers to childhood: see Pl. Lg. 653a.5–6: τῶν παίδων παιδικὴν εἶναι πρώτην αἴσθησιν ἡδονὴν καὶ λύπην (‘That in children the first childish sensations are pleasure and pain’ [Transl. Bury 1926, 89]); Arist. EN 1165b.25–6: ταῖς παιδικαῖς φιλίαις (‘In childhood friendships’); Theoc. 23.32: καὶ κάλλος καλόν ἐστι τὸ παιδικόν, ἀλλ’ ὀλίγον ζῇ (‘And fair the beauty of boyhood, but brief-lived’ [Transl. Gow 1952, 179]). This meaning also continues to prevail in koine Greek: see, e.g., the expressions παιδικὴ ἀγωγή (‘childhood education’, e.g. in Plb. 10.21.6); παιδικὴ ἡλικία (‘the time of childhood’, e.g. in Ph. De agricultura 2.9); τοῖς παιδικοῖς ἀπομνημονεύμασιν (‘in childhood memories’, in Plu. Alc. 2.2). παιδικός can also be used in the sense of ‘puerile’, although occurrences with this sense are less frequent: see, for instance, Pl. Tht. 169c.9–10, where it denotes a quality for which Socrates fears he will attract blame (μή που παιδικόν τι λάθωμεν εἶδος τῶν λόγων ποιούμενοι, καί τις πάλιν ἡμῖν αὐτὸ ὀνειδίσῃ, ‘that we do not inadvertently give a playful turn to our argument, and somebody reproach us again for it’ [Transl. Fowler 1921, 105]); Pl. Phlb. 49a.8: τὸν παιδικὸν ἰδόντες φθόνον ‘gaining insight on the childish envy’.

The Antiatticist (A.1) – or possibly Aelius Dionysius, as his source – may have noted the two adjectives’ semantic convergence and recorded the possibility of using παιδικός in the negative sense of παιδαριώδης (a possibility that is legitimised by the use of classical authors, although the author invoked is Alexis, C.8, a poet of New Comedy). Equally likely is the notion that παιδικός came to the lexicographer’s attention because it entered into competition with παιδαριώδης, usurping its meaning and spreading at the expense of the latter. Several entries of the Antiatticist address adjectives in ‑ικός, which appear to have aroused its interest for morphological reasons (see entry ἀρχαϊκός); conversely, παιδαριώδης is the only adjective in ‑ώδης that occurs in the lexicon, alongside the hapax σκιραφώδης (‘tricky’, ‘swindling’, in Antiatt. κ 7Antiatt. κ 7, on which, see entry κόβαλος). The shortage of adjectives in ‑ώδης in the Antiatticist appears to be in line with their distribution in Atticist lexica: they are indeed absent from both Moeris’ lexicon and Phrynichus’ Eclogue. An exception is Phrynichus’ Praeparatio sophistica, in which adjectives in ‑ώδης are more frequently found: see ἀνδραποδώδης (‘slavish’, PS 51.18–9Phryn. PS 51.18–9), βορβορώδης (‘filthy’, PS 52.14–5Phryn. PS 52.14–5), παγετώδης (‘frosty’, PS 100.9Phryn. PS 100.9), στραγγαλιώδης (‘knotted’, PS 109.19–20Phryn. PS 109.19–20), τυντλώδης (‘muddy’, PS 112.15–7Phryn. PS 112.15–7), ληρώδης (‘frivolous’, PS 112.15–7Phryn. PS 112.15–7), ὑποζυγιώδης (‘like a beast of burden’, PS 116.1–3Phryn. PS 116.1–3); in addition to many other employed in the interpretamenta. Some adjectives in ‑ώδης feature in Pausanias’ lexicon, in which, aside from ἀνδραποδώδης (α 117)Paus.Gr. α 117, ἀκανθώδης (‘thorny’, β 9Paus.Gr. β 9) and σφηκώδης (‘wasp-like’, σ 34Paus.Gr. σ 34) are also found.

E. Byzantine and Modern Greek commentary

Both παιδικός and παιδαριώδης lived on in Byzantine literature. παιδικός is used recurrently to mean both ‘of children’ (for instance in the ubiquitous phrasing παιδικὴ ἡλικία ‘childhood’) and, albeit less frequently, ‘puerile’ (see, e.g., John Sikeliotes’ commentary on Hermogenes’ On Ideas, 329.19–20 Walz: παιδικὸν δὲ μᾶλλον τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ οὐ σπουδῆς ἄξιον, ‘the matter is very puerile and not worthy of attention’). παιδικά is also found in use, sometimes meaning ‘erotic pleasure’ but free from homosexual connotation (for instance, in the expression τὰ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης παιδικά, ‘Aphrodites’ pleasures’, euphemistically referring to sexual intercourse, e.g. in Niceph.Basil. Prog. 23.28–9); it is also used to mean ‘interest’, ‘passion’. παιδαριώδης mainly occurs in middle-high and high register meaning ‘puerile’ (see e.g. Michael Choniates Epistulae 101.28); note, however, that it is found with the neuter meaning ‘of children’ in the famous passage of Anna Comnene’s Alexiad discussing schedography, an exercise which was used to teach grammar at elementary level in Byzantine education (15.7.9: ἐπειδὰν ἀπήλλαγμαι τῆς παιδαριώδους τούτων σχολῆς καὶ εἰς ῥητορικὴν παρήγγειλα καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἡψάμην καὶ μεταξὺ τῶν ἐπιστημῶν πρὸς ποιητάς τε καὶ ξυγγραφεῖς ἤιξα, ‘After I had left the childhood occupation on such things [i.e. schedē] and I moved on to rhetoric and I engaged in philosophy and, among sciences, I turned eagerly to poets and historians’; on this passage, see in detail Agapitos 2013; on schedography see at least Nousia 2016, 52–92).

Both adjectives ultimately survived into Modern Greek, in which their meaning remains the same. Whereas παιδικός is in use in standard language and means ‘of/for children’ (e.g. παιδικός σταθμός corresponds to ‘kindergarten’) but also ‘childish’, ‘puerile’ (from which the noun παιδικότητα, ‘immaturity’ derives), παιδαριώδης is a learned word and denotes someone who is puerile or something of minor importance (see LKN s.v.). For ‘puerile’, Modern Greek also has παιδιάστικος, which is more standard than παιδαριώδης.

F. Commentary on individual texts and occurrences

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