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Aeolic Greek

In linguistics, Aeolic Greek (/iːˈɒlɪk/), also known as Aeolian (/iːˈoʊliən/), Lesbian or Lesbic dialect, is the set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia; in Thessaly; in the Aegean island of Lesbos; and in the Greek colonies of Aeolis in Anatolia and adjoining islands.

The Aeolic dialect shows many archaisms in comparison to the other Ancient Greek dialects (Arcadocypriot, Attic, Ionic, and Doric varieties), as well as many innovations.

Aeolic Greek is widely known as the language of Sappho and of Alcaeus of Mytilene. Aeolic poetry, which is exemplified in the works of Sappho, mostly uses four classical meters known as the Aeolics: Glyconic (the most basic form of Aeolic line), hendecasyllabic verse, Sapphic stanza, and Alcaic stanza (the latter two are respectively named for Sappho and Alcaeus).

In Plato's Protagoras, Prodicus labelled the Aeolic dialect of Pittacus of Mytilene as "barbarian",[2] because of its difference from the Attic literary style:[3] "He didn't know to distinguish the words correctly, being from Lesbos, and having been raised with a barbarian dialect".

Phonology

Consonants

Labiovelars

Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Greek *kʷ changed to Aeolic p everywhere. By contrast, PIE *kʷ changed to Attic/Ionic, Arcadocypriot, and Doric t before e and i.

Similarly PIE/PGk *gʷ always became b and PIE *gʷʰ > PGk *kʰʷ always became ph (whereas in other dialects they became alternating b/d and ph/th before back/front vowels).

Labiovelars were treated the same way in the P-Celtic languages and the Sabellic languages.

Sonorant clusters

A Proto-Greek consonant cluster with h (from Indo-European *s) and a sonorant (r, l, n, m, w, y) changed to a double sonorant (rr, ll, nn, mm, ww, yy) in Lesbian and Thessalian (sub-dialects of Aeolic) by assimilation. In Attic/Ionic, Doric, and Boeotian Aeolic, the h assimilated to the vowel before the consonant cluster, causing the vowel to lengthen by compensatory lengthening.

PIE VsR or VRs → Attic/Ionic-Doric-Boeotian VVR.
PIE VsR or VRs → Lesbian-Thessalian VRR.[4]

Loss of h

Lesbian Aeolic lost initial h- (psilosis "stripping") from Proto-Indo-European s- or y-. By contrast, Ionic sometimes retains it, and Attic always retains it.

Retention of w

In Thessalian and Boeotian (sub-dialects of Aeolic) and Doric, the Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Greek semi-vowel w (digamma) was retained at the beginning of a word.

Vowels

Long a

In Aeolic and Doric, Proto-Greek long ā remains. By contrast, in Attic, long ā changes to long ē in most cases; in Ionic, it changes everywhere.[5]

Compensatory lengthening

Compensatory lengthening of a, e, o in Lesbian gives ai, ei, oi (in Attic, it would be ā, ei, ou) for example in the accusative plural of a and o stem nouns, or in many 3 Pl verb conjugations.

Boeotian

In Boeotian, the vowel-system was, in many cases, changed in a way reminiscent of the modern Greek pronunciation.

Accent

In Lesbian Aeolic, the accent of all words is recessive (barytonesis), as is typical only in the verbs of other dialects.[6]

Morphology

Contracted or vowel-stem verbs that are thematic in Attic/Ionic are often athematic (-mi) in Aeolic.[7]

Aeolic athematic infinitive active ends in -men or (Lesbian) -menai. ~ Attic/Ionic has -enai.

In the Lesbian dialect this ending also extends to the thematic conjugation, where Attic/Ionic has -ein. All three of these Aeolic endings occur in Homer.

Proto-Greek -ans and -ons → -ais and -ois (first- and second declension accusative plural) ~ Attic/Ionic -ās and -ōs (-ους).[8][9]

Dative plural -aisi and -oisi ~ Attic/Ionic -ais and -ois.

The participle has -ois and -ais for Attic -ōs (-ους), -ās.[10]

Glossary

Below is a list of several words in the Aeolian dialect, written in the Greek alphabet, along with a transcription in the Latin alphabet. Each word is followed by its meaning and compared to similar words in other ancient Greek dialects. The "notes" section provides additional information, and if applicable, an etymology is given.

Aeolian

Boeotian

Thessalian

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Roger D. Woodard (2008), "Greek dialects", in: The Ancient Languages of Europe, ed. R. D. Woodard, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 51.
  2. ^ Protagoras by Plato - Greek text
  3. ^ James A. Towle, Commentary on Plato: Protagoras 341c
  4. ^ V = vowel, R = sonorant, s is itself. VV = long vowel, RR = doubled or long sonorant.
  5. ^ Smyth, Greek Grammar, par. 30 and note, 31: Attic long e, long a
  6. ^ Smyth, par. 162 note: (Lesbian) Aeolic recessive accent
  7. ^ Smyth, Greek Grammar, par. 656: contract verbs in Aeolic
  8. ^ Smyth, par. 214 note 9: first declension in dialects
  9. ^ Smyth, par. 230 note: second declension in dialects
  10. ^ Smyth, par. 305 note
  11. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 516
  12. ^ Beekes 2009, pp. 1289–1290
  13. ^ Beekes 2009, pp. 313–314
  14. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 1270
  15. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 1273
  16. ^ Beekes 2009, pp. 1289–1290
  17. ^ Beekes 2009, pp. 343–344
  18. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 487
  19. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 580
  20. ^ Beekes 2009, pp. 711–712
  21. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 935
  22. ^ Beekes 2009, pp. 1172–1173
  23. ^ Scarborough 2023a, p. 71
  24. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 1161
  25. ^ Beekes 2009, pp. 1160–1161
  26. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 1471
  27. ^ Scarborough 2023a, p. 70
  28. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 1034
  29. ^ Beekes 2009, pp. 1411–1412
  30. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 1050
  31. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 547
  32. ^ Beekes 2009, pp. 291–292
  33. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 498
  34. ^ Beekes 2009, pp. 509–510
  35. ^ Boiotia — Orchomenos — early 1st century BC
  36. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 690
  37. ^ Athenaeus Deipnosophists -9.369
  38. ^ Boiotia —Anthedon
  39. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 118
  40. ^ Selected Papers in Greek and Near Eastern History [1] by David Malcolm Lewis, Peter John Rhodes
  41. ^ Skotoussa — 197-185 BC SEG 43:311
  42. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 1487
  43. ^ Thessalia — Larisa — 220-210 BC - SEG 27:202
  44. ^ Deipnosophists 14.663-4 (pp.1059-1062)
  45. ^ Scarborough 2023a, p. 76
  46. ^ Beekes 2009, p. 544
  47. ^ Krannon — c. 250 - 215 BC SEG 23:437, 7
  48. ^ Magnesia — Demetrias — late 2nd century BC [2]

General references

Further reading

Library resources about
Aeolic Greek
  • Online books
  • Resources in your library
  • Resources in other libraries

General studies

On the Boeotian dialect

On the Lesbian dialect

On the Thessalian dialect