It is a well-known fact that tmesis (independent use of the preverb from its verb) as a linguistic phenomenon was progressively eliminated from Ancient Greek, so that only residual usage is attested in the language of the Classical age. However, one verb, ἀναδραμεῖν, retained tmetic usage with the particle τε intervening between the preverb and the verb, ἀνά τε ἔδραμε, until late Antiquity (Appian, Eunapius). It is significant that this construction (on par with the non tmetic form ἀνέδραμε) was used in prose, which suggests that it was part of actual linguistic usus. The article examines the reasons behind the unique longevity of this tmesis. Following an overview of the occurrences of ἀνά τε ἔδραμεν in Herodotus, Appian and Eunapius, and the comparison of the use of the tmetic and non tmetic forms, the elements of the construction are discussed. It is shown that the survival of ἀνά τε ἔδραμεν must have been influenced by the semantic development of the verb (the root no longer denotes actual running, but springing to one’s feet or rapid growth), as well as the capacity of the preverb ἀνα- to appear independently of its verb (the deontic ἄνα). Finally, a possible shift in meaning of τε (as invariable part of the expression) is discussed. While it is impossible to pinpoint one single factor that determined the singular longevity of the tmesis ἀνά τε ἔδραμε in Greek, a combination of factors seems to have contributed to its survival
This paper examines the form διεπρήστευσε, obelized in the editions of Herodotus. There have been two ways of interpreting the form: some scholars have taken it to refer to an act of speech, while others have sought here a verb of motion. Both groups of scholars proposed a variety of conjectures, some of them addenda lexicis and none of them commanding immediate acceptance. After a review of various solutions that have been proposed to-date, this paper argues in favor of retaining the reading of the paradosis and analyzing (-)πρηστεύω as a verb of quick motion. The verb is argued to be an Ionic colloquialism (or even Herodotus’ own Augenblicksbildung), derived from the root of πίμπρημι in its original meaning ‘to blow’ (of which ‘to burn’ is a secondary development) via an agent noun πρηστήρ / *πρήστης, cf. μνηστεύω ‘woo’: μνηστήρ ‘suitor’ or δυναστεύω ‘hold power’: δυνάστης ‘person with power’. The proposed translation ‘blasted, dashed’ is supported by typological parallels for the semantic development ‘to blow’ → ‘to move (impetuously)’, such as Old English blǽstan ‘to blow; to move impetuously’ or Russian dut’ ‘to blow; to dash, to rush’. Interestingly, Hittite (parip) parāi-, the cognate of Gk. πίμπρημι, may show the same semantic development: ‘to blow’, ‘to ignite fire by blowing’ > ‘to move swiftly’.
In the second book of the Histories, Herodotus recounts a legend that attributes the establishment of the oracle of Dodona to Egypt’s influence: a more fantastical variant of the tale features a black dove capable of human speech, while a more realistic rendition identifies an abducted Egyptian priestess as the founder. Notably absent from Herodotus’ account are the Selloi, a group of ascetic diviners mentioned in the Iliad’s brief depiction of Dodona, where they are said to sleep on the ground and refrain from washing their feet, presumably to maintain a spiritual connection to earth. This absence of the ancient priesthood from the Histories led some scholars to conclude that the Selloi must have disappeared by the time of Herodotus, fully replaced by a college of priestesses said to derive their sacred knowledge from the Egyptian Thebes. This point of view was challenged lately, as more evidence for the continued presence of male priests in Dodona had been uncovered and cataloged. Hence it seems consequent to suppose that the exclusion of the Selloi from the Histories may have been entirely intentional on Herodotus’ part, since the existence of this college and its acknowledgement in the Iliad could be difficult to reconcile with a theory proposed in the second book, which suggests that Dodona had a foundational role in the early development of the Greek religion as a conductor of the Egyptian influence in the pre-Homeric Greece