The Lyric Metres of Euripidean Drama - Universidade de Coimbra

Trochaic
iambic. 61 Theoretically, it would be possible to distinguish between ‘iambic’
(acatalectic) and ‘trochaic’ (catalectic) lecythia. But there is possibly little
tangible gain in such a distinction. Euripides and Sophocles often use the
‘iambic’ lecythion with a clausular effect to mark the end of a metrical period; 62
this would suggest that, even in otherwise non-trochaic contexts, it sounded
somehow intrinsically catalectic (cf. its repeated clausular use in a polymetric
— admittedly partly trochaic — lyric context at Ba. 579, 584, 588, 589, 593,
603). Another important fact which further reinforces its catalectic status is
the avoidance of word overlap between a lecythion and the following colon.
This is a striking feature in Euripides and Sophocles, 63 though (interestingly
enough) not in Aeschylus. 64 A lecythion ending with an elided word is also
rare: I have found only three instances in Euripides (Andr. 142, Tr. 830, Rh.
825) and none in Sophocles (Aeschylean practice is irrelevant here, since he
uses lecythia in synartesis).
It would seem, then, that the trochaic label has the stronger theoretical
claim, even in iambic contexts where the lecythion would be the only ostensibly
trochaic element. But perhaps it would be preferable to view the lecythion as
a genuinely ambiguous rhythm, poised half way between iambic and trochaic,
and the ideal gleitender Übergang, therefore, for effecting a transition from one
rhythm to the other. Owing to the scarcity of lyric trochees in extant tragedy,
however, we find that instances of the lecythion as a transitional phrase from
iambic to trochaic are rare: see Su. 368a~372a, Tr. 830~849, Hel. 235-7 and
IA 1481-2. Trochaic to iambic: Herc. 386~400, Ph. 1719-21, IA 1315, Phaeth.
100. 65 A lecythion follows a run of cretics at Ph. 317.
Occasionally, the lecythion provides the means for modulating into iambic
(or trochaic) from another rhythm and vice versa:
61 For lecythia as iambic, see Korzeniewski ( 2 1989: 4). Fraenkel, it would seem, viewed
lecythia as essentially trochaic (comm. Ag., vol. II, pp. 59 and 327).
62 Cf. Alc. 214b~227b, Hi. 1386, Andr. 276~286, 1210~1223, Hec. 706, Su. 366~370, El. 153,
480, Herc. 412, Tr. 1093~1111, IT 867, Ion 1476, Ph. 317, 1750, S. Ai. 868, 871 (|| B ), El. 208
(|| B )~228 (|| H ), 855~866, OT 199~212, 884~898, 886~900, 888~902, 1338 (|| B )~1358, Trach.
222, Ant. 1139~1148 (|| B ), Phil. 1171, 1212 (|| B ), OC 209, 1563 (|| B )~1575 (|| H ).
63 There is a Sophoclean exception at Trach. 133 with the divisions favoured by Dawe as well
as Lloyd-Jones and Wilson, but I would sooner follow Jebb in diving ‘ia + cr | 2 tr | lk’.
64 There are two doubtful instances in Diggle’s OCT: Andr. 484~492, avoidable with
Willink’s alternative colometry (cf. 2010: 227 n. 17; and n. 70 below); Or. 1370, also avoidable
(see Willink’s comm. ad loc.). There appear to be no lecythia in synartesis with the following
colon in Sophocles, who seems to have regarded it as a ‘sentence-ending’ rhythm. In Aeschylus,
however, we find dovetailed lecythia at Su. 1062-3~1068-9; Ag. 442-4~461-3, 681-3~699-701;
Ch. 607~617; Eum. 494~503, 497~506, 515~524, 782~812.
65 Parker (1990: 331 n. 1) offers a shorter list of examples from Euripides. She rightly draws
attention to the fact that the lecythion as a transitional phrase is an important metrical feature
of the Frogs’ Boating Song (cf. also 1997: 456-67). See also Morais (1995).
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