μεγιστᾶνες
(Phryn. Ecl. 170)

D. General commentary

In the Eclogue (A.1), Phrynichus rejects the noun μεγιστᾶνες (‘magnates’, ‘nobles’), prescribing instead the syntagm μέγα δυνάμενοι, ‘very powerful (men)’. The same prescription is found in Thomas Magister’s lexicon (B.2).

As for the noun μεγιστάν – rarely used in the singular – different etymologies have been proposed. The most widely accepted connects it with the superlative μέγιστοςμέγιστος, with the addition of the suffix -ᾱν-; on this view, it is a recent formation modelled on ethnics in -ᾱν- (e.g. Ἀκαρνᾶνες, ‘Acarnanians’; cf. Ruijgh 1968, 125–6, DELG s.v. μέγας). Ethnics in -ᾱν- may have originated from stems in -ᾱ- < *-ah2-, in particular from place names or collective place names built on that stems: e.g. Ἀγριᾶνες connected with the geographic name *Ἀγριᾱ (cf. ἄγριος), or Ἕλλᾱνες, connected with *hellā < *sed-lah₂‚ ‘dwelling place’ (cf. Leukart 1980, 245–6 and Schaffner 2014, 370–1, who proposes a new hypothesis on the origin of the Greek suffix -νες and of the Slavic ethnics in *-'ěn-/-j'an-). A different etymology, by contrast, explains μεγιστάν as a calque of Middle PersianPersian *mahistān (see Schwyzer 1939, 521 n. 5; the influence of Persian culture on the reception of the term in Greek had already been noted by Sturz 1808, 182); cf. Old Persian maθišta- (‘greatest; chief’), from IE *meh₂ḱ- (‘long’); see NIL 478. On this reconstruction, the noun is therefore etymologically connected with μήκιστος, although μεγιστάν was later phonetically adapted to the superlative μέγιστος.

According to Phrynichus’ testimony, a sophist – possibly a contemporary of the Attic lexicographer – a certain Antiochus, who authored a work entitled Agora, used μεγιστᾶνες, allegedly taking it from Menander (C.2). It is not clear, however, whether the term actually occurred in the works of the comic poet, or whether Phrynichus is citing Menander as general negative model – the negative model par excellence, one might say, as though μεγιστᾶνες were a word deemed worthy of Menander; see Tribulato (2014, 199–204) – without having a specific locus classicus in mind, as the adverb ἴσως seems to suggest; see also Koerte, Thierfelder (1959), 260, ad Men. fr. 877. Yet, the use of Persian or otherwise exotic words, often with a derogatory connotation, would not be unparalleled in comedy, as the case of Μαρικᾶς, the eponymous character of Eupolis’ play, shows; see Cassio (1985). Be that as it may, the sophist in question should probably be identified with Antiochus of AegaeAntiochus of Aegae (Cilicia), active in the 2nd c. CE and mentioned by Philostratus (VS 2.568–70). On the chronology and identity of this figure, see PIR² vol. 1, 135–6, no. 730; Avotins (1971, 67–71), Puech (2002, 68–74). In addition to its use by Antiochus, as reported by Phrynichus, the noun μεγιστᾶνες is attested in astrological treatises dated between the 1st c. BCE and the 1st c. CE (see e.g. Doroth. 340.6, Antioch.Astr. CCAG 7.108.18), in several passages of the Septuagint (e.g. C.3, Ju. 2.2, Pr. 8.16), in three passages of the New Testament (C.4, Apoc. 6.15, 18.23), and in Flavius Josephus (see e.g. C.5, AJ 20.26, 20.66). The noun is also attested in LatinLatin texts as a calque of the Greek word (megistanes): cf. Sen. epist. 21.4, Frontin. strat. 2.9.5, Suet. Cal. 5, and Tac. ann. 15.27.3. In all these passages, the noun refers to magnates of foreign – namely Eastern – peoples, a circumstance also shared by many of the Greek occurrences of the term.

On the other hand, the syntagm μέγα δυνάμενος, recommended by Phrynichus in place of μεγιστᾶνες, is attested as early as Homer (cf. μέγα δυναμένοιο in the hexameter clause of Od. 1.276 and Od. 11.414), and it is frequently employed by Attic authors: cf. e.g. C.1, Isoc. 18.23 (Θρασύβουλος καὶ Ἄνυτος, μέγιστον μὲν δυνάμενοι τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει, ‘Thrasybulus and Anytus, very powerful men among those in the city’); Ar. Pl. 128–9 (ἐγὼ γὰρ ἀποδείξω σε τοῦ Διὸς πολὺ | μεῖζον δυνάμενον, ‘For I will prove to you that you are much more powerful than Zeus’). See also Rutherford (1881, 283), for further attestations of the construction μέγα + δύναμαι.

The absence of μεγιστᾶνες from the works of Attic authors, its possible use by Menander, and its presence in koine texts – especially in contexts in which the term refers to the magnates of foreign peoples – are sufficient reasons to explain Phrynichus’ rejection of the word in favour of the widespread syntagm μέγα δυνάμενοι. However, beyond the issue of the canon, it is possible that Phrynichus also regarded the noun’s morphology with suspicion. Indeed, μεγιστᾶνες is the only attested formation with the suffix -ᾱν- derived from a superlative (cf. Lobeck 1820, 196), moreover within a category of nouns that is normally ethnic (note that this anomalous formation may itself point to the above-mentioned origin of μεγιστᾶνες as a Persian loan translation). On Phrynichus’ proscription of other anomalous formations connected with superlatives, see Ecl. 46Phryn. Ecl. 46 (τελευταιότατον), 65Phryn. Ecl. 65 (on which see entry ἀγαθώτερος, ἀγαθώτατος), and 213Phryn. Ecl. 213 (κορυφαιότατον). Finally, Phrynichus’ position is consistent with his broader tendency to prefer syntagmsSyntagms over more recent (and irregular) formations, which are often lexically specific and associated with technical language (see entries καλλιγραφέω, καλλιγράφος; χρεολυτέω; and μεσοδάκτυλα, with particular reference to the category of compounds).

E. Byzantine and Modern Greek commentary

The high frequency of μεγιστᾶνες in the Scriptures ensured its success in late antiquity and the Byzantine period. During the imperial and medieval periods, alongside the 3rd-declension koine form, a new form following the -ος paradigm, μεγιστᾶνοςμεγιστᾶνος, was created: cf. e.g. Josephus et Aseneth 20.8 (τοὺς μεγιστάνους), Historia Alexandri Magni (recensio F) 24.1 (οἱ μεγιστάνοι), Romanus Melodus 67.11.3 (μεγιστᾶνον), and LBG s.v. μεγιστᾶνος; see CGMEMG vol. 2, 260–1. In general, high-register authors continue to use the 3rd-declension form, but some oscillation is attested: see e.g. Theophanes the Confessor Chronographia 263.25 (τοὺς μεγιστᾶνας) and 292.15–6 (σὺν Λεοντίῳ εὐνούχῳ καὶ μεγιστάνῳ αὐτοῦ); Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus De cerimoniis 2.1.84 Flusin–Dagron–Feissel (Σαρακηνοὺς μεγιστάνας) and 2.47.75 Flusin–Dagron–Feissel (ἀπὸ μεγιστάνου Ἀμηρᾶ). In the Bellum Troianum, a feminine form is also attested: cf. 1840 τὰς μεγιστάνας (see CGMEMG vol. 2, 300). The term survives in Modern Greek, where it has been transferred to the -ας paradigm of masculine nouns in the form μεγιστάνας (m. sing.), a transition that already begins to emerge in Medieval Greek: see CGMEMG vol. 2, 260–1 and 302–4. In addition to denoting high officials of monarchical states (e.g. the Byzantine and Ottoman empires), in Modern Greek the term is also used of individuals who are pre-eminent or highly influential in a given field (‘tycoons’); see LKN s.v.

F. Commentary on individual texts and occurrences

N/A