How Brasidas Was Honoured at Skione (Thucydides 4.121.1)

Konstantine Panegyres
2021 Mnemosyne: A Journal of Classical Studies  
The crux at Thucydides 4.121.1 has recently come under renewed scrutiny from scholars, but decisive conclusions were not reached. This article argues that commentators have not yet taken into account all relevant considerations, and that as a result the passage still remains incompletely understood. The verb προσήρχοντο is derived from προσέρχομαι, not προσάρχομαι. The unusual imperfect form προσήρχοντο (instead of expected Attic προσῇσαν) can perhaps be regarded as an instance of poetic verbal
more » ... inflection (compare Pi. O. 9.93 διήρχετο), a type of diction suitable in the context of Thucydides' heroic-poetic depiction of Brasidas. Modern scholars' focus on the textual criticism of this one word has in general caused them to neglect matters of verbal interpretation. As a consequence, some important aspects of Thucydides' language and the cultural context of the scene remain underappreciated.
doi:10.1163/1568525x-bja10083 fatcat:7bfanm6jbvhzdomvmxwxhcbcfi