A Swallow in Winter

Abstract

The construction ἐν + accusative is a ghost in the dialect of Cyrene. The local inscriptions overwhelmingly attest to ἐς + accusative. A few alleged occurrences of this feature must be discarded. The only valid example, ἐν στάλ[αν] | λυγδίναν in the ‘Pact of the first settlers’ (seg 9.3, 16-7, 4th c. bce), remains an anomaly that calls for a justification. The paper tries to demonstrate that the co-occurrence of ἀναγράφω/καταγράφω ἐς + accusative and ἀναγράφω/καταγράφω ἐν + dative resulted in an unintentional blending of both constructions.