The Grammaticalization of Daimonie at Iliad 24.194

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Homer’s use of the address form δαιµονίη for Hekabe atIliad24.194, has been particularly troublesome, and these problems have remained largely unresolved because the word’s etymology, its later use, and its generally negative tone contrast with the otherwise non-confrontational tone of Priam’s speech atIl.24.194-199. This mismatch has led to a wide range of interpretations, and no general consensus. In this paper I argue that the term here appears to be undergoinggrammaticalizationin the direction of a discourse particle, and as such does not characterize the addressee but the context of Priam’s subsequent speech. Although use of the term by later authors shows that this process was terminated, nevertheless, the development of δαιµόνιε proposed here patterns with that of other divine address forms such as Latinmehercule!andedepol!, Frenchmon Dieu!, Englishoh my God!, etc. which have come to function like other discourse particles such aswow!