Incertarum fabularum fragmenta (fr. 481)

243

that play. But the contrast between the god’s habitual manners and the new
lifestyle he was forced to adopt under Phormio’s direction appears to have
been an important element in the plot (esp. fr. 272 with n.).
Citation context Additional scattered fragments of the original source
sketchily preserved in Photius are found in other lexicographers. Hesychius’
entry—which Hansen identifies as drawn from Diogenianus—is close to but
fuller than Photius’. But the entry in Pollux suggests that σκιάδειον is sup-
posed to be a gloss on σκιάς and that it was in a σκιάς that Dionysus sat.
- Poll. 7.174 θολία δ’ εκαλείτο πλέγμα τι θολοειδές, ώ άντί σκιαδιού έχρώντο
αί γυναίκες, και τό σκιάδιον δ’ έστίν έν χρήσει, και σκιαδοφόροι και
έσκιαδοφόρει, και σκιάς, ύφ’ ή ό Διόνυσος κάθηται (“tholia is the term for
a tholos-hke, woven object, which women used in place of a parasol, skia-
dion is also used, as are skiadophoroi (“parasol-bearers”) and eskiadophorei
(“he/she was carrying a parasol”), and a skias, under which Dionysus sits”)
- Poll. 10.127 και σκιάδιον, δ και σκιάδα αν ε’ίποις· οϋτω γάρ τό Διονύσου
σκιάδιον καλείται (“and a skiadion, which you could call a skias·, because
this is the term for the skiadion of Dionysus”)
- Hsch. σ 977 σκιάς· ή άναδενδράς. και σκηνή ώροφωμένη. και τό θολώδες
σκιάδιον, έν ώ ό Διόνυσος κάθηται. και τό πρυτανείαν, και κλάδοι
εύμεγέθεις σκιάδες λέγονται (“skias: a tree-climbing vine. Also a tent
with a roof. Also the tholos-hke skiadeion in which Dionysus sits. Also
the Prytaneion. Long branches are also called skiades”)
- Phot, σ 327 = Suda σ 602 σκιάς· άναδενδράς. σημαίνει δέ καί τήν παρά
Αθηναίοις λεγομένην θόλον (“skias: a tree-climbing vine. It also refers to
the Athenian structure called the Tholos”)
Interpretation A σκιάς (< σκιά, “shade, shadow”) is a “bower”, i. e. a shady
spot beneath trees or other greenery, or produced by an appropriately deco-
rated canopy. The statue of Dionysus carried in Ptolemy the Great’s procession
in Alexandria as described at Callix. FGrH 627 F 2 (ap. Ath. 5.198d) was pro-
vided with one “decorated with ivy, grapevines and other types of fruit; and
garlands, ribbons, thyrsoi, drums, headbands and satyric, comic and tragic
masks were attached to it”, and it was probably a standard part of the god’s
imagery; cf. the artificial Dionysiac “caves” covered with brushwood and full
of drums, fawnskins and the like in which Marcus Antonius passed his time
in Athens (Socrates of Rhodes FGrH 192 F 2 ap. Ath. 4.148b-c); Gow 1952 on
Theoc. 15.119. A σκιάδειον, by contrast, is normally a parasol (e.g. Ar. Av. 1508;
Th. 823 with Austin-Olson 2004 ad loc.·, Miller 1992), although at Pherecr. fr.
70.2 it seems to be a larger shade-casting device under which several people
can gather and business can be conducted, i. e. a “canopy”.