Prosody: Aeolic 'n', accentuation/weight of disyllables ending in -βης, -γης, -ης; Aristarchus and other scholars' views; examples of names and ethnics.
χωρὶς τοῦ 'ν' ζαῆ ὡς «ἀκραῆ Ζέφυρον» (β 421)· ἔστιν οὖν Αἰολικὸν τὸ μετὰ τοῦ 'ν' καὶ ἔδει αὐτὸ Αἰολικῶς βαρύνεσθαι ὡς τὸ «αἰνοπάθη πατρίδ´ ἐπόψομαι» παρὰ Ἀνακρέοντι. ὁ δὲ Ἀρίσταρχός φησι περισπᾶσθαι καὶ οὕτως ἔχει ἡ παράδοσις. Τὰ εἰς 'βης' δισύλλαβα παραληγόμενα φωνήεντι βαρύνεται Λάβης, λέβης, Κέβης, Κάβης, Χάβης, Σίβης, Ἰνδικὸν ἔθνος, Βύβης πόλις κατὰ Πευκετίους καὶ τὸ ἐθνικὸν οἱ Βύβαι ὁμοφώνως ὡς Λοκροί καὶ Δελφοί. Νούβης ἔθνος Λιβύης παρὰ Νείλῳ. Ἀπολλόδωρος δευτέρῳ περὶ γῆς. λέγονται καὶ Νουβαῖοι ὡς Σαβαῖοι καὶ Νουβάδες οἱ αὐτοί. τὸ δὲ κιβῆς περισπᾶται ἀπὸ τοῦ κιβέας. Τὰ εἰς 'γης' δισύλλαβα βαρύνονται χωρὶς εἰ μή τι ἐκ συνθέτου καταλελειμμένον εἴη ἢ παρώνυμον ἐπιθετικόν. τότε γὰρ περισπᾶται, ὅτε συναλήλιπται ἢ βραχείᾳ παραλῆγον ἰσοσυλλάβως κλίνοιτο. καὶ ἃ μὲν βαρύτονα, Μέγης «Τεῦκρον Μηριόνην τε Μέγην τ´ ἀτάλαντον Ἄρηϊ» (Il. Ο 302). τοῦτο ὁ μὲν Ἀρίσταρχος βαρύνει ὡς «Μέσθλην τε Γλαῦκόν τε» (Il. Ρ 216) καὶ ἐπείσθη ἡ παράδοσις. ὁ δὲ Ἀσκαλωνίτης καὶ ἄλλοι περισπῶσιν ὡς Ἑρμῆν καὶ Ποδῆν. τὰ γὰρ εἰς 'ης' λήγοντα, φασί, βαρύτονα δισύλλαβα, ἀπὸ βραχείας ἀρχόμενα, περιττοσυλλάβως κλίνεται, λέβητα, Λάχητα· εἰ δ´ οὐχ´ οὕτως ἐκλίθη, δῆλον, ὅτι περισπασθήσεται. ἄλλως τε εἰ εὑρέθη αὐτοῦ ἡ αἰτιατικὴ ὡς ἀπὸ βαρυτόνου «Φυλλείδην τε Μέγητα» (Il. Τ 239), ὅτε μὴ οὕτως ἔχῃ, περισπασθήσεται ὡς Θαλῆν καὶ Θάλητα καὶ Φαλῆν Φάλητα. ἔστι δὲ ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἀριστάρχου πρὸς αὐτοὺς πρῶτον μὲν ἐκεῖνο εἰπεῖν, ὅτι οὐχ ἁπλῶς τὰ εἰς 'ης', ἀλλὰ τὰ ῥηματικὰ μὴ εἰς 'της' λήγοντα τὴν προειρημένην ἀναδέχεται κλίσιν οἷον λέβης, Λάχης, Δάρης, Χάρης, πλάνης, πένης, Τρόμης, Κράτης. πρόσκειται δὲ «μὴ εἰς 'της'» διὰ τὸ δότης, πλύτης, θύτης. ἔπειτα πολλά ἐστι διχῶς κεκλιμένα. τὸ γοῦν Μύνης ὁ μὲν ποιητὴς περιττοσυλλάβως ἔκλινεν «πέρσεν δὲ πόλιν θείοιο Μύνητος» (Il. Τ 296)· ὁ δὲ Σοφοκλῆς ἐν Αἰχμαλωτίσιν ἰσοσυλλάβως «Μύνου Ἐπιστρόφου τε», μύκητά τε καὶ μύκην, εἰ καὶ πολλὰ σημαίνει ἡ λέξις· σημαίνει γὰρ καὶ τοὺς σπινθῆρας τοὺς ἐπικειμένους τοῖς λύχνοις ὡς παρὰ Καλλιμάχῳ ἐν Ἑκάλῃ (fr. 4)
Without the ‘ν’, ζαῆ, as in “ἀκραῆ Ζέφυρον” (β 421); therefore the form with the ‘ν’ is Aeolic, and it ought to be accented in Aeolic fashion with a grave, like “αἰνοπάθη πατρίδ᾽ ἐπόψομαι” in Anacreon. But Aristarchus says it is to be circumflexed, and so the tradition has it.
Disyllables in -βης, with a vowel in the penult, are accented with a grave: Λάβης, λέβης, Κέβης, Κάβης, Χάβης, Σίβης—an Indian people; Βύβης, a city among the Peucetii, and the ethnic name οἱ Βύβαι, with the same accent, like Λοκροί and Δελφοί. Νοῦβης, a people of Libya by the Nile: Apollodorus in the second book On the Earth. They are also called Νουβαῖοι, like Σαβαῖοι, and Νουβάδες, the same people. But κιβῆς is circumflexed from κιβέας.
Disyllables in -γης are accented with a grave, unless something has been left over from a compound or is a denominative adjectival form; for then it is circumflexed, when it has undergone contraction or, with a short penult, is declined isosyllabically. And among the barytones is Μέγης: “Τεῦκρον Μηριόνην τε Μέγην τ᾽ ἀτάλαντον Ἄρηϊ” (Il. Ο 302). Aristarchus accents this with a grave, like “Μέσθλην τε Γλαῦκόν τε” (Il. Ρ 216), and the tradition was persuaded. But the Ascalonite and others circumflex it, like Ἑρμῆν and Ποδῆν. For words ending in -ης, they say—disyllabic barytones beginning with a short—are declined perittosyllabically, λέβητα, Λάχητα; but if it is not declined thus, it is clear that it will be circumflexed. Especially if its accusative is found as from a barytone, “Φυλλείδην τε Μέγητα” (Il. Τ 239): when it is not so, it will be circumflexed, like Θαλῆν and Θάλητα, and Φαλῆν, Φάλητα.
But in support of Aristarchus against them one must first say this: that it is not simply the words in -ης, but the verbal ones not ending in -της, that admit the aforesaid declension, for example λέβης, Λάχης, Δάρης, Χάρης, πλάνης, πένης, Τρόμης, Κράτης. And “not in -της” is added because of δότης, πλύτης, θύτης. Next, many are declined in two ways. Thus Μύνης the poet declined perittosyllabically: “πέρσεν δὲ πόλιν θείοιο Μύνητος” (Il. Τ 296); but Sophocles in Captive Women isosyllabically: “Μύνου Ἐπιστρόφου τε”; and μύκητά and μύκην, although the word has many meanings—for it also means the sparks that lie upon lamps, as in Callimachus’ Hecale (fr. 4).