218

Πρωτεσίλαος (fr. 42)

to epic and other elevated poetry, its incongruous appearance between lists
of livestock and drinking vessels continues the mixture of elevated and banal.
Various grammarians contend that σάκος (as opposed to σάκκος) is the
Attic form; e. g. Phryn. 229 σάκκος Δωριείς διά των δύο κκ, Αττικοί δέ δι’
ενός; Moer. σ 32 with Hansen 1998 ad loc. for additional examples. In fact, both
forms are found in Attic inscriptions (see Threatte 1980 1.517), and the distinc-
tion may have arisen from the occurrence of σάκκος at Ar. Ach. 745, where
it is used by the Megarian, as opposed to σάκος at Ach. 822 and elsewhere.
26 φιάλην A broad, shallow bowl with no handles and a central boss in
the interior; Agora XII.105-6; Kanowski 1984. 116-17;95 Richter-Milne 1935.
29-30. Phialai were normally produced in metal (e. g. IG II2 1445.31 [silver;
376/5 BC]; 1457.4 [tin; after 316/5 BC]) or glass (e.g. Syll? 1106.153 [Cos; ca.
300 BC]) rather than clay (see Agora XII for clay examples); the value comes
from the material alone.
λεπαστήν A drinking-cup probably named for the limpet (λεπάς), and
therefore presumably with a shape similar to its shallow, conical shell. No
surviving cup has been identified as a λεπαστή, and its identification was
disputed already in antiquity; cf. Olson 1998 on Ar. Pax 916. The vessel may
be identical with the λεπαστίδες mentioned in a short list, perhaps an inven-
tory note or price list, on a late archaic stamnos (Berlin 2188; ARV 297-8;
Beazley 1927. 349). Drinking-cups or other vessels named after animals are
fairly common (e.g. έλέφας [Damox. fr. 1]; έχϊνος [Ar. V. 1436; Eup. fr. 453];
cf. Sandulescu 1964, esp. 205-6). Since few of these names seem to have lasted
long and most are found only in comedy, Sparkes and Talcott (Agora XII.3 n.
4) suggest that the comic poets were ridiculing a current fad; this is not the
case for the λεπαστή, since it appears already at least two generations before
Anaxandrides, and is probably not true for most other similar names either.
27 χιόνος τε πρόχουν The Greeks both drank (melted) snow (e. g. Alex,
fr. 145.10 with Arnott 1996 ad loc.·, Dexicr. fr. 1) and used it to cool wine (e. g.
Stratt. fr. 60; Macho 270 with Gow 1965 ad loc.·, Agora XXIX. 181 n. 19); there
is accordingly no need for Kock’s Χίου. The fact that snow is included in a list
of lavish gifts suggests that the wedding took place during a time of year when
snow might be difficult to obtain; in any event, it is presumably regarded as
a local Thracian product, since in Attica and southern Greece generally any
accumulation of snow is rare aside from in the mountains.
The πρόχους was apparently a small jug or pitcher, similar to the oinochoe;
for the oinochoe and related forms, see Green 1972. The various occurrences

95 In the references on p. 117, for Agora, p. 12 read p. 20.