George Choeroboscus, Prologue and Notes on Theodosius of Alexandria’s Introductory Rules 303.12-20
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/228
Context
Choeroboscus (“Swineherd”), whose posthumous reputation may have suffered
from an association with iconoclasm, was a ranking official and teacher in the Patriarchate
of Constantinople during the early 9th century. He played an important part in the
transmission of ancient grammatical research to Byzantine scholarship. His wrote a
commentary on the Introductory Rules for the Declension of Nouns by
Theodosius of Alexandria, dated to circa 390-410 C.E., which also depended on other sources
of the Roman era. This passage paraphrasing Aelius Herodianus (Declension of Nouns
751.25-33), who wrote over six centuries before Choeroboscus, cited the toponym
Kaisareia as an example of a particular word-formation.
Text
τὰ εἰς -α λήγοντα θηλυκά, ἐὰν μὲν ἔχῃ τὸ -α καθαρόν, τουτέστι μὴ
προηγουμένου συμφώνου, ἢ πρὸ τοῦ -α τὸ ρ, ἢ μακρόν, φυλάττει καὶ ἐν τῇ γενικῇ, φημὶ δὴ
τὸ -α, καὶ προσθέσει τοῦ ς ποιεῖ τὴν γενικήν. ἔστω δὲ παραδείγματα τοῦ κανόνος ταῦτα· τὸ
ᾱ μὲν καθαρὸν οἷον μαῖα μαίας, γραῖα γραίας, γαῖα γαίας, Μήδεια Μηδείας (τὸ γὰρ “Μηδείης
ὑπ᾿ ἔρωτι” Ἰωνικόν ἐστι), Κράτεια Κρατείας, Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἀλεξανδρείας, Καισάρεια
Καισαρείας, Ἀντιόχεια Ἀντιοχείας.
1
Note
Ed. Hilgard 1889Translation
As for feminine nouns
ending -a, if they have pure -a (i.e., no preceding consonant), r before -a, or long -a, it
persists also in the genitive, I mean the -a, and by addition of -s makes the genitive. Take
these examples of the rule: pure -a, e.g., maia-maias,
graia-graias, gaia-gaias,
Medeia-Medeias (since “Medeies hyp’ eroti” is Ionic
dialect), Krateia-Krateias, Alexandreia-Alexandreias,
Kaisareia - Kaisareias
,
Antiocheia-Antiocheias.
Translation Note
Trans. J. L. RifeDiscussion Note
“Medeies hyp’ eroti” is quoted from Apollonius of Rhodes, Voyage of the Argo 3.31.Works Cited
- 1 George Choeroboscus, Georgii Choerobosci Scholia in Canones Nominales [Theodosii Alexandrini], in Grammatici graeci, ed. Alfred Hilgard, repr. Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1965, vol. 4.1, 9 vols. (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1889), 103–417, p: 303, line: 12-20.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “George Choeroboscus, Prologue and Notes on Theodosius of Alexandria’s Introductory Rules 303.12-20,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/228.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “George Choeroboscus, Prologue and Notes on Theodosius of Alexandria’s Introductory Rules 303.12-20.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/228.About this Entry
Entry Title: George Choeroboscus, Prologue and Notes on Theodosius of Alexandria’s Introductory Rules 303.12-20
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “George Choeroboscus, Prologue and Notes on Theodosius of Alexandria’s Introductory Rules 303.12-20”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “George Choeroboscus, Prologue and Notes on Theodosius of Alexandria’s Introductory Rules 303.12-20”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife