Grammatical Observations on Euripides' Bacchae

227 Pages·1991·19.942 MB·English

by  Albert Rijksbaron

GRAMMATICAL OBSERVATIONS ON EURIPIDES' BACCHAE
Albert Rijksbaron - 978-90-04-35163-9
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AMSTERDAM STUDIES IN GREEK PHILOLOGY
EDITORS
IRENE J.F. DE JONG & ALBERT RIJKSBARON
VOLUME ONE
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ALBERT RIJKSBARON
GRAMMATICAL OBSERVATIONS
ON
EURIPIDES' BACCHAE
J.C. GIEBEN, PUBLISHER
AMSTERDAM 1991
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CIP-DATA KONINKLUKE BIBLIOTHEEK, DEN HAAG
Rijksbaron, A.
Grammatical observations on Euripides' Bacchae /
A. Rijksbaron. - Amsterdam : Gieben
ISBN 90-5063-041-3
SISO 804 UDC 801.5:87
Subject heading: Euripides "Bacchae".
Cover design: Ester Wouthuysen
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Voor Caroline
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Albert Rijksbaron - 978-90-04-35163-9
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Preface
'No other play of Euripides has been so much discussed as the Bacchae;
very few have been the subject of such exact and careful study on the
linguistic side'. Thus opens the preface to the first edition of Dodds'
commentary. One might subscribe to these words nowadays even more
readily than at their original date of publication (1944), if only because
Dodds himself has added considerably to our understanding of the play.
And yet, as I hope to show on the following pages, the linguistic side is
perhaps due for a reappraisal. I am not so much thinking here of
applying the latest insights of general and Greek linguistics (although
naturally these may very well have a bearing on the interpretation of the
text), but rather of making use of the impressive grammatical apparatus
which is at the disposal of classical philologists, but whose value is not
always fully acknowledged.
I have selected for discussion notably (a) passages where scholarly
opinions vary, (b) passages where one individual commentary seems
wrong, and (c) a number of passages which are not treated by any
commentary -unjustly, to my mind. I have included some observations
that are not strictly grammatical. Two problems of a more technical
nature are discussed in an appendix. Jargon has been avoided as much
as possible, but perhaps I should note that as a general rule I use the
neutral term 'state of affairs' instead of 'action' for the lexical meaning
of a given verb.
The book originates from two seminars devoted to grammatical
problems in the Bacchae. I wish to thank the students who participated
in these seminars for their critical cooperation. Special thanks are due to
Sjoerd van den Berg, Amber Chabot and Emilie van Opstall, who
contributed papers on the semantics of the middle, the constructions offi
and~. and the uses of TlKTE"L, respectively. Amber Chabot and Emilie
van Opstall also provided invaluable assistance in checking the
references. I am indebted, moreover, to the members of the
'Amsterdamse Hellenistenclub', to Dr J. Ysebaert, to Hotze Mulder, and
above all to Marietje van Erp Taalman Kip and Kees Ruijgh, who were
vii
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true collegae, in the sense of 'co-readers', if I may be allowed this
Gelegenheitsetymologie. Finally, the book could not have been
produced without the editorial and word-processing skills of Noor
Kegel.
Amsterdam, January 1991
viii
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Table of contents
Preface vii
Grammatical observations on the Bacchae 1
Appendix 1. Differences with Murray's text 163
Appendix 2. The speeches of Pentheus and Teiresias, 215-262
and 266-327 165
Appendix 3. The constructions of ou µ11 167
Appendix 4. Forms in -0w in questions:
future indicative or aorist subjunctive? 175
Bibliography 191
Index locorum 199
Index graecus 212
Index rerum 215
ix
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A note on texts etc.
References are to the plays and fragments of Euripides, unless indicated
otherwise. Abbreviations are in accordance with LSJ; note, however,
that Heracleidae = Held., Phoenissae = Pho. and Troades = Tro.
The following text-editions have been used (only authors referred to
regularly are included):
Homer: D.B. Monro & T.W. Allen (OCT)
Pindar: B. Snell & H. Maehler (Teubner)
Aeschylus: D. Page (OCT)
Sophocles: A.C. Pearson (OCT)
Euripides: for Cy., Ale., Med., Held., Hipp., Andr., Hee.,
Supp., El., HF, Tro., IT, Ion: J. Diggle's edition
(OCT); for Hel., Pho., Or., Ba., IA, Rh.: G.
Murray's edition (OCT)
Herodotus: C. Hude (OCT)
Aristophanes: V. Coulon & H. van Daele (Bude)
Thucydides: H. Stuart Jones & J.E. Powell (OCT)
Xenophon: E.C. Marchant (OCT)
X
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