Entry Version:

This is the English version of this article translated by Patrick Hogan. The original Italian version was written by Lara Pagani and first published on 27/06/2007 - 25/07/2011.

Qui si trova la versione italiana della scheda.

Grammarian:

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Biography:

We can recover the native land of Aristeas of Rhodes from a passage of Erotianus⁷⁰⁶ that lists grammarians who composed lexicographical works on Hippocrates⁷⁰⁷ (p. 5, 16-18 Nachmanson); it names two figures who were born in Rhodes (cf. Anastassiou-Irmer, Test. Hipp. 1, 2006, pp. XXIV, 511): Aristocles⁷⁰⁸ and a second scholar, whose name appears in various corrupt forms in the manuscripts of Erotianus and whom Nachmanson has restored as Ἀριστέας on the basis of a comparison with Varr. ling. 10, 74-75, where the two scholars are again cited together (see infra). With regard to his date, it is plausible to place Aristeas in the Alexandrine age on the basis of the content of his few surviving fragments, and this is consistent with the cultural ferment at Rhodes in this period. Moreover, it is not impossible to consider the citation of Aristeas with Aristocles as an indication of a not only geographical but also chronological connection between the two: if this is so, Aristeas could be dated, albeit broadly, to the 1^st c. BCE.

With regard to the nature of his lexicographical work on Hippocrates, it appears from the arrangement of the text of Erotianus proposed by Schmidt (Did. Chalc., 1854, p. 24) and accepted by Nachmanson (Erot. Voc. Hippocr., 1918, p. 5) (cf. infra) that Aristeas, like Aristocles, reworked material collected by Euphorion⁷⁰⁹ (cf. S. Ihm, Clavis commentariorum der antiken medizinischen Texte, ‘Clavis commentariorum. Antiquitatis et Medii Aevi’ 1, Leiden-Boston 2002, p. 70).

A propensity for lexicographical studies would seem to be indicated also by the fragment contained in a gloss of Hesychius⁷¹⁰ that explains the word πευκαλεῖται as ξηραίνεται or as ζητεῖται ( π 2084): but Schmidt has provisionally emended the name of Aristeas there to Ἀμερίας⁷¹¹, one of the glossographers⁷¹² most frequently cited by Hesychius, and Wagner corrected the name to that of the tragic writer Ἀριστίας ⁷¹³ (cf. TrGF 9 F 7; cf. Hesychii Alexandrini Lexicon, 3, P-S, ed. post K. Latte continuans rec. et em. P.A. Hansen, SGLG 11, 3, Berlin-New York 2005).

The other fragments attributed to Aristeas demonstrate more generally linguistic interests in our author. The Sch. Il. 13, 137b names him as one of the scholars who read the word ὀλοοίτροχος with a rough breathing, thus deriving it from ὅλος + τροχοειδής (the other supporters of this reading whom the scholion cites are Demetrius Gonypesus⁷¹⁴, Hermap[p]ias⁷¹⁵, Nicias⁷¹⁶ and Aristonicus⁷¹⁷, or, according to an emendation of Erbse, Comanus⁷¹⁸; on the opposite side, Comanus [Aristonicus in Erbse’s version] and Ptolemy Ascalonites⁷¹⁹ give it a smooth breathing and a paroxytone accentuation, interpreting it as ὀλοός [= δεινός] + τρέχειν.

Aristeas probably formulated a definition of the concept of linguistic analogy, as Varro⁷²⁰ indicates ( ling. 10, 74-75); according to him the arguments maintained by our grammarian, and also by others, including Aristodemus⁷²¹ and Aristocles, seemed obscure (not more obscure, however, than the majority of the definitions that involve unknown material and are expressed in a synthetic form). The reference of Varro is cursory and does not allow a reconstruction of the position of the scholars cited by him.

Finally, it is not certain whether we should accept the identification of this grammarian with the homonymous author of a Περὶ κιθαρῳδῶν mentioned by Ath. 14, 623d (Ateneo, I Deipnosofisti. I dotti a banchetto, prima trad. it. commentata su progetto di L. Canfora; trad. e comm. a c. di R. Cherubina (libri IX 1-31, X, XI), L. Citelli (l. IV, XIV), M.L. Gambato (l. I, XII, XIII), E. Greselin (comm. l. III), A. Marchiori (l. II, V, VII, VIII), A. Rimedio (l. VI, IX 32-80, XV), M.F. Salvagno (tr. l. III), I-IV, Roma 2001, 3, p. 1609 n. 1; 3, p. 1902); the suspicion of L. Cohn (Aristeas [n. 15], RE 2, 1 [1895], 879) that the name Ἀριστέας is corrupt here does not seem to have documental support (cf. the apparatus of Kaibel, who reports nothing in this regard).

Bibliography:

Studies:

Didymi Chalcenteri grammatici Alexandrini fragmenta quae supersunt omnia, collegit et disposuit M. Schmidt, Stuttgart 1854 (repr. Amsterdam 1964), p. 24.

L. Cohn, Aristeas (n. 15), RE 2, 1 (1895), 879.

H. Erbse, Beiträge zur Überlieferung der Iliasscholien, ‘Zetemata: Monographien zur klassischen Altertumswissenschaft’ 24, München 1960, p. 329 n. 5.

The fragments of Comanus of Naucratis, ed. by A.R. Dyck, SGLG 7, Berlin-New York 1988, p. 241.

TrGF 1, p. 87.

Ateneo, I Deipnosofisti. I dotti a banchetto, prima trad. it. commentata su progetto di L. Canfora; trad. e comm. a c. di R. Cherubina (libri IX 1-31, X, XI), L. Citelli (l. IV, XIV), M.L. Gambato (l. I, XII, XIII), E. Greselin (comm. l. III), A. Marchiori (l. II, V, VII, VIII), A. Rimedio (l. VI, IX 32-80, XV), M.F. Salvagno (tr. l. III), I-IV, Roma 2001, 3, p. 1609 n. 1; 3, p. 1902.

S. Ihm, Clavis commentariorum der antiken medizinischen Texte, ‘Clavis commentariorum. Antiquitatis et Medii Aevi’ 1, Leiden-Boston 2002, p. 69.

Hesychii Alexandrini Lexicon. 3, P-S, ed. post K. Latte continuans rec. et em. P.A. Hansen, SGLG 11, 3, Berlin-New York 2005, ad π 2084.

A. Anastassiou-D. Irmer, Testimonien zum Corpus Hippocraticum. 1, Nachleben der hippokratischen Schriften bis zum 3. Jahrhundert n. Chr., Göttingen 2006, pp. XXIV, 511.

Sources:

Source 1: Ath. 14, 623d (?)

ἐμοὶ μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἐλάττων εἶναι νομίζεται τοῦ παλαιοῦ Ἀμοιβέως, ὅν φησιν Ἀριστέας ἐν τῷ περὶ Κιθαρῳδῶν ἐν Ἀθήναις κατοικοῦντα καὶ πλησίον τοῦ θεάτρου οἰκοῦντα, εἰ ἐξέλθοι ᾀσόμενος, τάλαντον Ἀττικὸν τῆς ἡμέρας λαμβάνειν.

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Source 2: Erot. p. 5, 16-18 (Nachmanson)

καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἀναδεξάμενος αὐτὸν Εὐφορίων πᾶσαν ἐσπούδασε λέξιν (sc. Ἱπποκράτους) ἐξηγήσασθαι διὰ βιβλίων ςʹ, περὶ ὧν γεγράφασιν Ἀριστοκλῆς καὶ Ἀριστέας (ἀριστοστέας A: ἀριστοτέας CK: ἀριστοπέας HLMO) οἱ Ῥόδιοι. ἔτι δὲ Ἀρίσταρχος καὶ μετὰ πάντας Ἀντίγονος καὶ Δίδυμος οἱ Ἀλεξανδρεῖς (περὶ ὧν ... Ῥόδιοι in codd. post Ἀρίσταρχος collocata: transp. Didymi Chalcenteri grammatici Alexandrini fragmenta quae supersunt omnia, collegit et disposuit M. Schmidt, Stuttgart 1854 (rist. Amsterdam 1964)., p. 24).

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Source 3: Hsch. π 2084 (?)

πευκαλεῖται· ξηραίνεται. ἢ ἀντὶ τοῦ ζητεῖται. Ἀριστέας (Ἀριστίας Wagner [cfr. TrGF 9 F 7]; Ἀμερίας dub. Schmidt).

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Source 4: Sch. Il. 13, 137b

D / Ori ὀρθ. (?) ὀλοοίτροχος: λίθος περιφερὴς καὶ στρογγύλος, ὁ ἐν τῷ τρέχειν ὀλοός, ἐπεὶ καταφερόμενος πᾶν τὸ ἐμπῖπτον βλάπτει. | Δημήτριος ὁ Γονύπεσος δασύνει, ἵν’ ᾖ ὅλος τροχοειδὴς καὶ κατὰ πᾶν μέρος ἀστήρικτος, τῷ δὲ τόνῳ ὡς κακότροπος· οὕτω δὲ καὶ Ἑρμαπίας καὶ Νικίας (fr. 16 B.) καὶ Ἀριστέας καὶ Ἀριστόνικος. Κομανὸς δὲ καὶ Πτολεμαῖος ὁ Ἀσκαλωνίτης (p. 52 B.) ψιλοῦσι (ἀριστέας καὶ κομανός. ἀριστονίκος δὲ καὶ πτολεμ. ὁ ἀσκ. ψιλοῦσι Erbse, ad loc.; cfr. Id., Beiträge, 1960, p. 329 n. 5; The fragments of Comanus of Naucratis, ed. by A.R. Dyck, SGLG 7, Berlin-New York 1988., p. 241) καὶ παροξύνουσιν, ἀκούοντες τὸν ἐπὶ τὸ τρέχειν ὀλοὸν καὶ δεινόν. ἐπένθεσις δὲ τοῦ ι περιττή· καὶ γὰρ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ σώζεται τὸ μέτρον, καὶ ἔδει αὐτὸ ἀναλογῆσαι τῷ “Ἄτλαντος θυγάτηρ ὀλοόφρονος” (α 52). Δημόκριτος (Vors. 6 68 B 162) δὲ τὸ κυλινδρικὸν σχῆμα “ὀλοοίτροχον” καλεῖ. A

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Source 5: Varro ling. 10, 74-75

analogia non item ea definienda quae derigitur ad naturam verborum atque illa quae ad usum loquendi. nam prior definienda sic: analogia est verborum similium declinatio similis, posterior sic: analogia est verborum similium declinatio similis non repugnante consuetudine communi. at quom harum duarum ad extremum additum erit hoc “ex quadam parte,” poetica analogia erit definita. harum primam sequi debet populus, secundam omnes singuli e populo, tertiam poetae. haec diligentius quam apertius dicta esse arbitror, sed non obscurius quam de re simili definitiones grammaticorum sunt, ut Aristeae, Aristodemi, Aristocli, item aliorum, quorum obscuritates eo minus reprehendendae, quod pleraeque definitiones re incognita propter summam brevitatem non facile perspiciuntur, nisi articulatim sunt explicatae.

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