Νιφετός
snowstorm
Translated by Nick Nicholas25 Nov 2009Vetting: high7 revisions
Translation
[Meaning] quite thin descending snow. "There are four congealments of watery moisture in the air. Up above the earth, the lesser kind is snow, and the greater kind is hail. Down below on the earth, the lesser is hoar-frost, and the greater is frost. But a snowstorm is not congealment; rather its quality is of a different appearance."1
"So when the Scythian land is sprinkled often with a snowstorm, and it is impossible for them to live in any weather other than frozen."2
And elsewhere: "but for you, queen, being what you are, even the snowstorm chill bears fruit." 3
"So when the Scythian land is sprinkled often with a snowstorm, and it is impossible for them to live in any weather other than frozen."2
And elsewhere: "but for you, queen, being what you are, even the snowstorm chill bears fruit." 3
Greek original · Adler’s text
Νιφετός· ἡ κατάλεπτος καταφερομένη χιών. τέσσαρές εἰσι πήξεις τῆς ἐν τῷ ἀέρι ὑδατώδους πήξεως ὑγρότητος· ὑπὲρ γῆν μὲν ἄνω, ἐπ' ἔλαττον μὲν χιών, ἐπὶ πλέον δὲ χάλαζα· ἐπὶ γῆς δὲ κάτω, ἐπ' ἔλαττον μὲν πάχνη, ἐπὶ πλέον δὲ κρύσταλος· ὁ δὲ νιφετὸς πῆξις οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον περὶ τὴν ἀλλοίαν χροιὰν ἡ ποιότης αὕτη. ἅτε τῆς χώρας τῶν Σκυθῶν θαμὰ νιφετῷ παλυνομένης, καὶ ἀδύνατον ὂν αὐτοῖς ἄνευ κρυμώδους καταστήματος βιοτεύειν. καὶ αὖθις· ἐς δέ σ', ἄνασσα, τοίην χὠ νιφόεις κρυμὸς ὀπωροφορεῖ.
Betacode
*nifeto/s: h( kata/leptos kataferome/nh xiw/n. te/ssare/s ei)si ph/ceis th=s e)n tw=| a)e/ri u(datw/dous ph/cews u(gro/thtos: u(pe\r gh=n me\n a)/nw, e)p' e)/latton me\n xiw/n, e)pi\ ple/on de\ xa/laza: e)pi\ gh=s de\ ka/tw, e)p' e)/latton me\n pa/xnh, e)pi\ ple/on de\ kru/stalos: o( de\ nifeto\s ph=cis ou)k e)/stin, a)lla\ ma=llon peri\ th\n a)lloi/an xroia\n h( poio/ths au(/th. a(/te th=s xw/ras tw=n *skuqw=n qama\ nifetw=| palunome/nhs, kai\ a)du/naton o)\n au)toi=s a)/neu krumw/dous katasth/matos bioteu/ein. kai\ au)=qis: e)s de/ s', a)/nassa, toi/hn xw) nifo/eis krumo\s o)pwroforei=.
Notes (3)
- The first paragraph of this entry is also in the Synagoge, Photius (nu229 Theodoridis) and Lexica Segueriana 309.10, and similarly elsewhere, including a scholion on Homer, Odyssey 4.566 (where the headword occurs).
- 1Quotation unidentifiable (but see under chi 5 for something broadly similar). ↩
- 2Part of Menander Protector fr. 10.1 Blockley (112-113, = De Legationibus 7); cf. pi 120. Under orders from Chosroes (cf. chi 418 generally), the Persians poison all but a few of the Turkish envoys in the embassy of 567-568, and then circulate a rumor that they died from exposure to the heat and aridity of Persia. Find further extracts from this fragment at theta 509, pi 88, and omega 116. ↩
- 3Greek Anthology 6.252.5-6 (Antiphilus), on the gift of a quince, preserved in winter, to a noblewoman of high rank; cf. Gow and Page (vol. I, 92-93); (vol. II, 117); and further excerpts from this epigram at alpha 904, alpha 976, alpha 4212, kappa 2502, mu 934, pi 3074, and sigma 903. ↩
References
R.C. Blockley, ed. and trans., The History of Menander the Guardsman, (Cambridge 1985)
A.S.F. Gow and D.L. Page, eds., The Greek Anthology: The Garland of Philip and Some Contemporary Epigrams, vol. I, (Cambridge, 1968)
A.S.F. Gow and D.L. Page, eds., The Greek Anthology: The Garland of Philip and Some Contemporary Epigrams, vol. II, (Cambridge, 1968)
A.S.F. Gow and D.L. Page, eds., The Greek Anthology: The Garland of Philip and Some Contemporary Epigrams, vol. I, (Cambridge, 1968)
A.S.F. Gow and D.L. Page, eds., The Greek Anthology: The Garland of Philip and Some Contemporary Epigrams, vol. II, (Cambridge, 1968)
Linked from4 entries
- α904Ἀκμήmoment, point, still[Meaning] sharpness, the exact decisive moment of the intensity of the matter, and power, and youth. But "akme of opportunity" [means] good fortune. Thus Isocrates [writes]: "[it is best] to grasp the akme of the…
- α4212Ἄσπιλοςunblemished[Meaning] one who/which does not have any blemish. In the Epigrams: "I [am] a quince ... unblemished, unwrinkled." Also [sc. attested is the superlative] aspilotatos ["most/very unblemished"].
- κ2502Κρυμόςfrost[Meaning] coldness. "For such a one as you, queen, even the snowy frost bears fruit."
- μ934Μῆλονsheep; apple, quinceThe herd-animal. Also the fruit. In the Epigrams: "I [am] a ripe quince still kept in its new skin from early summer, spotless, unwrinkled, downy [as newborn ones], growing on the end of leafy branches."
Neighbouring entries
Revision history7 revisions · last 23 Oct 2024
- expanded n.2; added bibliography item, cross-references, and keywords — Ronald Allen
- expanded n.3, added bibliography, added cross-references — Ronald Allen
- coding — Catharine Roth
- tweaked and expanded notes — David Whitehead
- updated n.2 — David Whitehead
- more keywords; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- tweaks, keywords, status — Catharine Roth
- Translated — Nick Nicholas