Discussion of Greek ethnic names, toponyms, name-formation, and accentuation patterns (oxynesis vs. barynesis), with examples like Aitolians, Kouretes, Magnes, Parnes, various Thracian names.
Αἰτωλοί». Ὅμηρος (Il. Ι 529) ὀξύνεται πρὸς διαστολὴν τοῦ «κούρητες Ἀχαιῶν (Il. Τ 248). τοῦτο γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ κόρος ὁ νέος κόρης ὡς ἰαμβικὸν κλίνεται διὰ τοῦ 'τος' καὶ βαρύνεται ὡς πένης· καὶ τὸ ἔθνος δὲ οὐκ ἐχρῆν ὀξύνεσθαι, καθότι οὐ φιλεῖ τὰ εἰς 'ης' λήγοντα ἐθνικὰ ὑπὲρ μίαν συλλαβὴν ὀξύνεσθαι, ἀλλὰ συνεξωμοιώθη τῷ ἀδμής καὶ ἀβλής. »ἐκλήθησαν δὲ Κούρητες, ὡς Ἀρχέμαχος ὁ Εὐβοιεύς φησιν, ὅτι, ἐπεὶ οἱ πολέμιοι τῆς κόμης αὐτῶν δραττόμενοι τῆς ἔμπροσθεν κατέσπων αὐτούς, ὄπισθεν τοῦ λοιποῦ ἐκόμων, κειρόμενοι τὰ ἔμπροσθεν. ἔνιοι δὲ ἀπὸ ἥρωος τοὔνομα ἔχειν τὸ φῦλον, οἱ δὲ ἀπὸ ὄρους τοῦ Κουρίου τοὺς Κουρῆτας εἶναί φασιν, οἱ δὲ θηλυστολοῦντας ὡς αἱ κόραι τοὔνομα σχεῖν τοὺς περὶ τὴν Αἰτωλίαν φασίν. εἶναι γὰρ καὶ τοιοῦτόν τινα ζῆλον ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὡς καὶ Ἰάονες ἑλκεχίτωνας εἰρῆσθαι καὶ κρωβύλον καὶ τέττιγα ἐμπλέκεσθαι καὶ τοὺς περὶ Λεωνίδαν κτενιζομένους τὴν κόμην, ὅτ´ ἐπεξῄεσαν εἰς τὴν μάχην, καταφρονηθῆναι ὑπὸ Περσῶν«. τὸ μέντοι σθενῆς, τεχνῆς, λαχνῆς, ζαχρῆς ἀπὸ συναλοιφῆς γίνονται· καὶ τὸ Φανῆς ἰαμβικὸν ἰσοσύλλαβον. Τὰ εἰς 'ης' δισύλλαβα ἔχοντα πρὸ τοῦ 'η' ἀμετάβολον μετ´ ἐπιπλοκῆς συμφώνου ἑτέρου κύρια ὄντα ἢ προσηγορικὰ βαρύνεται, Μέσθλης, μάσθλης, Μάγνης ὁ πολίτης Μαγνησίας ὁμωνύμως τῷ οἰκιστῇ, Πίγρης ὁ Τίγρης, Ὅπλης· Ὅπλητες δέ εἰσιν φυλὴ παλαιά, μία τῶν τεσσάρων τῶν ἀπὸ Ἴωνος παίδων, Πέτρης λιμήν τις. Μέμβλης, Βάμβλης, λάγνης, Πάσνης, Μάσνης ὀνόματα ποταμῶν, Τρίσπλης ἔθνος Θρᾴκιον. Ἑκαταῖος Εὐρώπῃ, Πάρνης τὸ ὄρος τῆς Ἀττικῆς. τοῦτο καὶ ἀρσενικῶς λέγεται. Ἀντιφάνης ἐν Πυραυνῷ »ἐς κόρακας· ἥξω φέρων τε δεῦρο τὸν Πάρνηθ´ ὅλον«· καὶ θηλυκῶς ὡς παρὰ Ἀριστοφάνει ἐν Νεφέλαις (v. 323) »βλέπε νῦν δευρὶ πρὸς τὴν Πάρνηθα«. Ἴγνης ἔθνος οἰκῆσαν τὴν Ῥόδον, ὃ καὶ χωρὶς τοῦ 'ι' λέγεται. Φάγρης πόλις Θρᾴκης· Ἑκαταῖος Εὐρώπῃ καὶ Θουκυδίδης δευτέρᾳ (c. 99). Βάβρης, Ἔγκρης, Σάτρης ἔθνος Θρᾴκης ὡς Ἑκαταῖος ἐν Εὐρώπῃ φησίν. Γόνδρης Θρᾴκιον ἔθνος. Νίγρης ποταμὸς Λιβύης καὶ ἔθνος, Γύμνης ἔθνος· ἐκλήθη δὲ ὅτι τῷ θέρει γυμνοὶ μένουσιν. εἴ τι δὲ περισπασθῇ, κατὰ πάθος γέγονε· τὸ γὰρ τεχνῆς, λαχνῆς, ζαχρῆς ἀπὸ συναλοιφῆς γίνονται. τὸ μέντοι γυμνής, χερνής, ἀβλής, προβλής, ἀδμής, ἀκμής ἐπιθετικὰ ὄντα ὀξύνονται.
“Αἰτωλοί.” In Homer (Il. Ι 529) it is accented with an acute, by way of distinction from «κούρητες Ἀχαιῶν» (Il. Τ 248). For that word is from κόρος ‘the young man’, genitive κόρης, and, as an iambic, is declined through -τος and is barytone like πένης; and the ethnicon too ought not to be oxytone, since ethnics ending in -ης do not like to be oxytone beyond one syllable, but it was assimilated to ἀδμής and ἀβλής.
“They were called Κούρητες, as Archemacus the Euboean says, because, since their enemies, seizing their hair, used to drag them by the front, for the rest they wore their hair long behind, cutting the front. Some, however, say that the tribe has its name from a hero; others say that the Κουρῆτες are so called from Mount Κούριον; others say that those around Aetolia got the name because they wore women’s dress like maidens. For there is among the Greeks a certain such emulation as that the Ionians were called ‘with trailing tunics’ and that they plaited the κρωβύλος and the τέττιξ, and that those with Leonidas, combing their hair when they were going out to battle, were despised by the Persians.”
However, σθενῆς, τεχνῆς, λαχνῆς, ζαχρῆς arise from synaloepha; and Φανῆς is an iambic of equal syllable-count.
Disyllables in -ης which have before the η an unchangeable consonant with the interweaving of another consonant, being proper names or appellatives, are barytone: Μέσθλης, μάσθλης, Μάγνης the citizen of Magnesia, homonymous with the founder, Πίγρης, ὁ Τίγρης, Ὅπλης; and Ὅπλητες are an ancient tribe, one of the four descended from the sons of Ion; Πέτρης, a certain harbor. Μέμβλης, Βάμβλης, λάγνης, Πάσνης, Μάσνης, names of rivers; Τρίσπλης, a Thracian people. Hecataeus in his Europa: Πάρνης, the mountain of Attica. This is also said in the masculine. Antiphanes in Pyraunos: “to the crows! I will come bringing here the whole Πάρνηθ-”; and in the feminine, as in Aristophanes in Clouds (v. 323): “look now this way toward the Πάρνηθα.” Ἴγνης, a people who inhabited Rhodes, which is also said without the ι. Φάγρης, a city of Thrace: Hecataeus in Europa and Thucydides in the second book (c. 99). Βάβρης, Ἔγκρης, Σάτρης, a Thracian people, as Hecataeus says in Europa. Γόνδρης, a Thracian people. Νίγρης, a river of Libya and a people; Γύμνης, a people: and they were so called because in summer they remain naked.
But if anything is circumflexed, it has come about by affection; for τεχνῆς, λαχνῆς, ζαχρῆς arise from synaloepha. However, γυμνής, χερνής, ἀβλής, προβλής, ἀδμής, ἀκμής, being adjectival, are oxytone.