Incertarum fabularum fragmenta (fr. 48)

271

Citation Context The present fragment is preserved in prose by Pollux, in
Book 3 of his Onomasticon, where he goes through multiple terms designating
various types of kinship (συγγένεια); within this context, Pollux naturally
discusses matters relating to marriage, hence he deems it necessary to cite a
term (διαπαρθένια δώρα), which he knows Amphis was the first to use.
The passage is preserved in four of Pollux’ codices: F, S, A, and C. On
Pollux’ manuscript tradition see Intro. 3 (“Tradition & Reception”).
Constitution of Text None of Pollux’ codices actually preserves Amphis’
name. Codices F, S, and C preserve the reading άμφιας, while codex A pre-
serves άγιας. It was Jungermann (in his 1706 edition of Onomasticon) that
he corrected the reading to Αμφις; the following complement ό κωμικός (the
comic poet) agrees with and confirms Jungermann’s insightful correction.
Interpretation The way in which Pollux registers Amphis’ usage of the phrase
διαπαρθένια δώρα unambiguously points to the fact that, at least to Pollux’
knowledge, Amphis was the first (and possibly the only) one who had used
that phrase. The adjective διαπαρθένια derives from the verb διαπαρθενεύω
(deflower a maiden·, e.g. Hdt. 4.168) and is probably a resourceful coinage of
Amphis. Indeed, διαπαρθένια is a hapax term, and so is the entire expression
διαπαρθένια δώρα, which is obviously meant to designate the gifts (δώρα)
that the groom offers to his bride as an exchange for the gift that she offers
to him, i. e. her virginity. Intriguingly, although we do know (cf. below) that
the groom typically presented his bride with various gifts, these gifts (δώρα)
are nowhere identified as διαπαρθένια. Hence, it is highly probable that the
term διαπαρθένια was coined by Amphis as a purely comic description of the
gifts, emphasising the sexual/erotic element rather than anything else. The
original context of such a phrase within Amphis’ (unknown) play remains
highly elusive. The general backdrop could be either a rape (featuring New
Comedy’s repertoire; cf. Amphis fr. 33 “Interpretation”) or marriage; sexual
intercourse (and a maiden’s deflowering) had either already occurred or was
about to; in either case a male character thinks of how to make it up to the
female character through the offer of gifts, which are comically - and re-
sourcefully - described as deflowering.
The offer of gifts (mostly jewellery and clothes) from the groom to his
bride is a stereotypical feature of wedding ritual ever since the Homeric poems
and throughout antiquity, and has duly received much scholarly attention.
Marital gifts constitute a multifarious issue, which not only pertains to ritual
procedure, but also calls for both anthropological and sociological approaches
and analyses, wherein lies the quintessential for the Greek thought notion of
reciprocity; cf. Gill-Postlethwaite-Seaford (1998) 13-50 (NB the entire vol-