Ἑωλοκρασία

leftover-mixture

Translated by William Hutton19 Aug 2007Vetting: high5 revisions

5 notes · 65 words

[Meaning] yesterday's food, strictly speaking.¹ It was a custom among young diners and overnight guests to take take possession,² from the leftover dinners of those who were asleep, the juices³ mixed⁴ for such a prank. But personally I think⁵ instead that the term was created by the orator from 'leftovers', that is 'old things'; because Aeschines is making his accusations after mixing together old matters.

Notes (5)

Much of the lexicography on this word, including also epsilon 1886, derives from commentary to Demosthenes' On the Crown (18.50: web address 1). The closest parallels to this entry in its entirety are: Photius, Lexicon pi2524 Theodoridis; Etymologicum Magnum 352.23-29; and Etymologicum Gudianum 577.3-8, with important differences to be noted below.

1Up to this point the entry = Lexica Segueriana 246.2; Photius, Lexicon pi2522. ↩

2Photius, Etym.Magn. and Etym.Gud. (see general note above) have kataxei=n ('pour over') rather than kate/xein ('take possession'. This produces much better sense, and is consistent with what we know about this symposiastic custom from other sources: "it was a custom ... to pour the juices from the leftover dinners over those who were asleep." An error similar to the Suda's is found in the Lexicon anepigraphum quod incipit a voce *ai(mwdei=n 623.60-624.2 (kate/xein: 'hold possession'). ↩

3In an alternative (and more likely) explanation of the custom, it is not juices from last night's dinner but dregs from last night's wine that is poured over the sleepers: so scholia to Demosthenes 18.102; Hesychius epsilon7735; Lex.Seg. 258.12-14; Lexicon Patmense 151.8-14; the anonymous Lexeis Rhetoricae 48 Naoumides; Pardus, Commentarium in Hermogenis librum *peri\ meqo/dou deino/thtos 1159.3-12; Etym.Magn. 352.34-38; Etym.Gud. 577.17-18; scholia to Lucian 17.3 Rabe. See also epsilon 1886. ↩

4So also Photius (see general note above), but Etym.Magn., Etym.Gud. and the Lexicon...*ai(mwdei=n (see note 2) have tetramme/nois ('reared'), referring to the youths rather than to the juices. ↩

5This "I" is Didymus, according to Cohn (cited by Theodoridis); in any event this entire comment is quoted verbatim (with some slight variations) by several sources, including those who follow both the "dregs" and the "juices" variations of the custom. For the latter cf. Photius, Etym.Magn. and Etym.Gud. (see general note above); for the former, scholia to Demosthenes 18.102; Pardus (see note 3) 1159.3-12.

Ἑωλοκρασία

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Ἑωλοκρασία

Greek original · Adler’s text

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Greek original · Adler’s text

Notes (5)

External resources

Linked from3 entries

Neighbouring entries