Un poetismo in Tucidide: a proposito di ἀλγεινός in 2. 39-43, 7. 68-75

Abstract

Abstract: This paper aims to contribute to the description of Thucydides’ lexicon of
pain through an analysis of the adjective ἀλγεινός. The adjective shares its root with
the noun ἄλγος, one of the many Homeric terms that made it to Classical antiquity
only through its use in poetry. Being an alternative form of the epic term ἀλεγεινός,
during the 5th century BC its use was particularly popular in tragedies, with a few
rare occurrences in prose. The fact that the few instances of ἀλγεινός in Thucydides’
work belong to solemn contexts such as Pericles' Funeral Oration (2. 39, 2. 43) and
the Sicilian Expedition (7. 68 with the noun-based superlative ἄλγιστος, 7. 75) clearly
shows that this term belongs to a high and tragic register. In addition, it is a testament
to Thucydides’ sensitivity to the nuances of contemporary poetic language, which the
comments on his work sometimes fail to note. In this case it is significant that the historian
used much more frequently the term λυπηρός (11x), based on the post-Homeric
term λύπη, which lacked the stylistic markedness of ἀλγεινός.