Pindaro, Ol. I 23 : syrakosion ippocharmon vasilia?

At Ol. I 23, all of Pindar's editors, from Aldus and Calergi onwards, constantly accept the later reading Συρακόσιον ἱπποχάρμαν βασιλῆα against Συρακοσίων ἱπποχαρμᾶν βασιλῆα attested in the older manuscripts, since the latter is considered metrically wrong (it presents the sequence ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ contrasting to ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˘ in the responsive passages). Instead, against this communis opinio, Συρακοσίων ἱπποχαρμᾶν is to be considered the original reading. Firstly, the Greek language, in order to mean ‘king of the Athenians', prefers by far – as underlined by Kayser – the plural genitive of the ethnic; only in second place the genitive of the toponym and in third place the adjective in agreement (see Appendix on this construction). Secondly, the purported metrical incorrectness of Συρακοσίων vanishes if we admit a simple consonantalization of iota (scil. Συρακοσί̭ων) – as far as I know, an explanation never proposed so far: this way we would have an unsolved iambic meter (˘ ˉ ˘ ˉ),

l'ode, inoltre, attesta un ulteriore caso di responsione imperfetta (cf. str. 9). Se questo è vero, la lezione attestata dai codici più antichi è corretta. Invece, la lezione Συρακόσιον, pur essendo attestata nell'antichità (cf. P.Oxy. 5201, col. I 16, che attesta un commentario pindarico) e pur essendo sostenuta da Didimo (cf. Sch. Pind. Ol. I 35c Drachmann), rappresenta un modo assai meno frequente per dire «re degli Ateniesi»; inoltre, non rappresenta l'unica possibilità metrica. Questa lezione potrebbe essere nata durante la trascrizione dei canti pindarici dall'alfabeto attico a quello ionico. La fortuna di Συρακόσιον comincia in età bizantina, quando viene recuperata da I. Tzetzes (XII d.C.), versato nella metrica, che la considerò più aderente ai passaggi in responsione. Poi la lezione si diffuse rapidamente nella tradizione bizantina tarda e in questo modo influenzò i primi editori moderni di Pindaro, quando nacque la vulgata editoriale che dura tuttora.[Testo dell'editore]

which corresponds to the solved iambics in the responsive passages and constitutes a by far less relevant deviation – the ode attests another case of this kind (str. 9). On its part, Συρακόσιον is indeed is the only reading attested in antiquity (the Pindaric commentary preserved in P.Oxy. 5201, col. I 16) and is supported by Didymus (cf. Sch. Pind. Ol. I 35c Drachmann), but represents a by far less frequent way to say ‘king of the Athenians' and, further, does not represent the only metrical chance as it was held so far. If Συρακοσίων is the correct reading, Συρακόσιον may have been produced during the transcription (metagrammatismos) of Pindar's songs from the Attic alphabet into the Ionic one; we have to suppose a text alternating between the two readings in antiquity – hence the emersion of Συρακόσιον in the hypomnema preserved in P.Oxy. 5201 has to be considered as a chance.

The scholars of Hellenistic times – Apollodorus, Didymus, Aristonicus and, possibly, Aristarchus – supported one reading or the other through internal arguments: this means that they had before them an uncertain text, which wavered between the two readings: indirectly, they confirm the circulation in antiquity of Συρακοσίων, which arrived to – and dominated – the oldest MS tradition of Middle Ages. The fortune of Συρακόσιον began in late Byzantine times, when it was recovered – possibly, after Didymus – by I. Tzetzes (XII CE), well expert in metrics, who considered it more adherent to the responsive passages and made own by Triclinius. Thereafter, the reading spread quickly in the late Pindar's MS tradition and this way influenced the first Western editors of Pindar in the Renaissance, when an editorial vulgata was born lasting until today. [Publisher's text]

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