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Αἰανὴς κύκλος · dread circle (αι 7) · Suda

Letters

Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω

Near αι7

αι3wail, wailing
αι4to wail
αι5Aiakides, Aeacides
αι6aiakix, aeacix, aiakis, drinking-cup
αι7dread circle
αι8Aiantean laughter, Ajax's laughter
αι9Aiax, Aias, Ajax
αι10spotted (?)
αι11aibale

Suda/ΑΙ alphaiota/αι7

← Previous entry,αι6 Next entry,αι8 →

Αἰανὴς κύκλος

dread circle

Translated by Anne Mahoney21 May 1999Vetting: high9 revisions

definition
dialects, grammar, and etymology
imagery
poetry
tragedy

2 notes · 26 words

Translation

[Meaning one that is] dark, unceasing. Sophocles [writes]: "night's dread circle".¹
Or [sc. with different accent] ai)anh=s, [meaning] lamenting. From the [verb] ai)a/zw, [meaning] I lament.²

Greek original · Adler’s text

Αἰανὴς κύκλος· σκοτεινός, ἀδιάλειπτος. Σοφοκλῆς· νυκτὸς αἰανὴς κύκλος. ἢ Αἰανῆς, θρηνητικῆς. παρὰ τὸ αἰάζω, τὸ θρηνῶ.

Betacode

*ai)anh\s ku/klos: skoteino/s, a)dia/leiptos. *sofoklh=s: nukto\s ai)anh\s ku/klos. h)\ *ai)anh=s, qrhnhtikh=s. para\ to\ ai)a/zw, to\ qrhnw=.

Notes (2)

The "dread" of the headword phrase (ai)anh/s) is a poetic adjective of uncertain etymology. The connection implied by the second gloss here between this word and the adverb ai)ei/ ("always") has been accepted by some scholars (cf. LSJ s.v.) and has left its mark on translation and interpretation (see, for instance Jebb's translation of the word in the Sophocles passage quoted below: "weary" (i.e. unrelenting)). Chantraine, however, disputes this etymology and sees instances where the term has unequivocal connotations of "everlasting", "persistent" or "wearisome" as secondary usages based on folk etymology. Fairly early examples occur, however, e.g. Aeschylus, Eumenides 672.
1Sophocles, Ajax 672 (text at web address 1), with Lloyd-Jones' translation from the Loeb edition. The Suda's glosses are derived from scholia on this verse. The same verse is quoted at iota 296 and lambda 322 with a different accentuation: ai)anh=s rather than ai)anh/s (see the second part of this entry). With that accentuation the adjective "dread" applies to "night" rather than "circle". Most mss. of Sophocles actually exhibit this alternative accentuation, but some Sophoclean mss. and most modern editors present the form recorded in the headword phrase here: ai)anh/s. See Jebb and Kamerbeek ad loc. The belief that the adjective modifies "night" here may have inspired the frequent glossing of the word as "dark." ↩
2Probably derived from a scholion on Sophocles, Electra 505, where the headword occurs (web address 2), though the etymological connection between the word and ai)a/zw (on which see alphaiota 4) is also reflected in scholia and commentary elsewhere (e.g. scholia to Pindar, Pythian 4.236, Isthmian 1.49). No modern scholar seems to take this etymology seriously. On the accentuation issue, see previous note. There is probably no significant semantic distinction between the two forms. cf. alphaiota 4.

External resources

Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
Web address 2 perseus.tufts.edu

Neighbouring entries

αι5ΑἰακίδηςAiakides, Aeacides αι6Αἰακίξaiakix, aeacix, aiakis, drinking-cup αι7Αἰανὴς κύκλοςdread circle αι8Αἰάντειος γέλωςAiantean laughter, Ajax's laughter αι9ΑἴαξAiax, Aias, Ajax

Revision history9 revisions · last 22 Nov 2015

22 Nov 2015cosmetics — David Whitehead
13 Jul 2010tweaked punctuation — Catharine Roth
13 Jul 2010tweaks to tr; cosmetics in notes — David Whitehead
12 Jul 2010updated links — Catharine Roth
12 Jul 2010tweaked headword and tr., augmented notes, added cross-references and keywords, raised status — William Hutton
27 Feb 2003added keyword — David Whitehead
6 Sep 2002augmented notes, added links and keyword — Catharine Roth
—
—
21 May 1999Translated — Anne Mahoney

Cite this entry

Suda On Line, s.v. Αἰανὴς κύκλος (Adler number alphaiota 7), trans. Anne Mahoney, 21 May 1999. https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/alphaiota/7

Translation by Anne Mahoney for Suda On Line, revised by David Whitehead, Catharine Roth, William Hutton, , licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Shown unchanged, under the same licence, non-commercially. Original on SOL ↗