The Lyric Metres of Euripidean Drama - Universidade de Coimbra

3.Anapaestic
Anapaestic
The traditional layout of anapaests in the standard editions of Greek
tragedy gives the appearance of there being two basic cola in lyric, as in
recitative, anapaests: the dimeter and its catalectic version, the paroemiac.
Dale, it may be remembered, argued in favour of considering the dimeter the
normal anapaestic phrase-length ( 2 1968: 48). Nonetheless, that both ‘cola’
might be nothing more than a figment of the Hellenistic (and, later, Byzantine)
imagination – in other words, a meaningless convention adopted down the
centuries by generations of copyists – is a probability we must bear in mind
(see West 1977: 89-94). However, even West (his disagreement with Dale on
this issue notwithstanding) did not go as far as to advocate a change in the
way anapaests are printed in our texts, ‘because any gain would be outweighed
by the inconvenience of disturbing standard line-numeration’ (p. 94). So
anapaestic dimeters will in all likelihood be with us a good while longer.
The one thing we can say with some confidence about anapaests is that
the lyric variety is subject to fewer constraints than its recitative counterpart.
Take the paroemiac, for instance. Although it is frequently found in lyric as a
period-closing phrase and clausula, sometimes with breuis in longo, 73 it is not
exclusively used (as in recitative) to mark the end of a ‘system’, but can actually
constitute the opening line of a run of lyric anapaests (cf. Ion 144, 859), or
even be used, as it were, κατὰ cτίχον (cf. Ion 171-5, a run of five paroemiacs).
Similarly, period-end can occur independently of catalexis, 74 as at Ion 167
λίμναc ἐπίβα : τᾶc Δηλιάδοc — — ∪ ∪ — : — — ∪ ∪ ∩ 2 an || B
or at Hi. 230-1, where Phaedra closes her anapaestic delirium with
εἴθε γενοίμαν ἐν cοῖc δαπέδοιc — ∪ ∪ — — — — ∪ ∪ — 2 an
73 Cf. Diggle (1981: 96-7; add Or. 1454a); for a paroemiac ending in hiatus, see Diggle
(1981: 95-6) and (1994: 121; add IT 169, Ph. 827, Phaeth. 82).
74 Anapaestic dimeters ending in breuis in longo are founded at Med. 133 (colometry and text
are contentious here: see Diggle 1994: 279-81), El. 113=128, IT 125, 193 (but the ensuing text
is corrupt), 231, Ion 167; hiatus is found at Med. 132 (although the phenomenon may not be
exactly the same, since here we have correption), El. 112=127, 113=128, IT 146, Ion 153, Cycl.
51, Phaeth. 82. This list differs slightly from the one offered by Diggle (1981: 96-7).
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