The Lyric Metres of Euripidean Drama - Universidade de Coimbra

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Introduction
is that well-known example in Sophoclean spoken trimeters (OT 332, line
ending in ταῦτ’). More instances of the so-called εἶδοc Cοφόκλειον are
listed by Zuntz (1965: 232-4); the elided word is either δ’ or τ’, attached to
the following line. 20
Turning to Euripidean lyric, in Murray’s OCT there was an instance
of elision at period-end in the Phrygian’s aria in Orestes (1489-90 3 ia || 2
dochmiacs, with strong sense-pause after ἔκειντ’), but this is avoided in Diggle’s
OCT by a clever rearrangement of lines thereabouts. Do any examples remain
in Diggle’s text? No absolutely certain examples, where (for instance) a colon
ending in elision would correspond with a colon ending with hiatus (at Andr.
512~534 the phenomenon is rightly avoided by different editors by different
means: cf. Willink 2010: 646), breuis in longo or featuring indisputable anceps
iuxta anceps. But I should like to draw attention to the following perplexing
instances of elision in places where period-end would be expected: Alc. 413 (ia
+ sp with strong sense pause punctuated by colon || enoplian ‘blunt praxillean’),
Med. 648 (diomedean + ithyphallic, 21 with sense pause punctuated by comma
|| odd colon, labelled ‘trochaic’ by Page, comm. Medea p. 185; possibly hδ), 22
Rh. 911 (where the period-closing ‘T + ba’ ends in elision 23 ).
A fascinating question raised by the choral songs of Greek drama concerns
the presence of asymmetrical phrasing in responding stanzas, something
which tempts us to speculate on the poet’s method of composition. Consider,
for instance, Alc. 112-21~122-31 (second strophic pair of the parodos):
ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ναυκληρίαν μόνα δ’ἄν, εἰ φῶc τόδ’ ἦν
— — ∪ — — ∪ — ia + cr ∪ — ∪ — — ∪ — ia + cr
ἔcθ’ ὅποι τιc αἴαc ὄμμαcιν δεδορκὼc
— ∪ — ∪ — — ith || — ∪ — ∪ — — ith ||
cτείλαc, ἢ Λυκίαν Φοίβου παῖc, προλιποῦc’
— — — ∪ ∪ — D — — — ∪ ∪ — D
εἴτ’ ἐπὶ τὰc ἀνύδρουc ἦλθ’ ἂν ἕδραc cκοτίουc
— ∪ ∪ — ∪ ∪ — D — ∪ ∪ — ∪ ∪ — D
†Ἀμμωνιάδαc ἕδραc† Ἅιδα τε πύλαc.
— — ∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ — ? — — ∪ ∪ — an ||
δυcτάνου παραλύcαι δμαθένταc γὰρ ἀνίcτη,
20 Cf. Sappho 31.9-10 PLF ἀλλ’ ἄκαν μὲν γλῶccα †ἔαγε†, λέπτον || δ’ αὔτικα χρῶι πῦρ
ὐπαδεδρόμηκεν, on which see West (1982: 33) and Itsumi (2007: 306 n. 2).
21 Cf. Diggle (1994: 206).
22 But at Med. 648, αἰῶν’ could be avoided with Stinton’s αἰῶ, printed by Kovacs in his Loeb
text. Mastronarde prints αἰῶν’, but admits ‘one would expect period-end at 648’ (comm. Med.,
p. 274). For a different approach, see Parker (1976: 20).
23 Kovacs radically disposes of the elision with his πλέουc’ ἐπλάθη for the transmitted
ἔπλευcα πλαθεῖc’ and confirms the expectation of period-end at 911 by the introduction of
hiatus between 911 and 912, but Liapis (comm. Rh., p. 312) is right to diagnose nothing more
serious than ‘superficial textual corruption.’
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