Zu einem besonderen Hiat in Alkidamas’ Schrift περὶ σοφιστῶν und seinen Wurzeln in der Dichtung (insbesondere Hom. Od. 11, 596 und Sappho fr. 31, 9)

Abstract

In his work πeρὶ σοφιστῶν (‘On Sophists’), Alcidamas avoids hiatus with exceptional rigour. Recent research has largely neglected this stylistic peculiarity. Even the word καί (‘and’), which appears 144 times in πeρὶ σοφιστῶν, appears only once with hiatus. This one case is not an error, but a stylistic device deliberately chosen to underline the intention of the work. Alcidamas argues that the ability to improvise is more important than the ability to write, claiming that speakers who give speeches based on manuscripts will, if they suddenly want to add a new argument, become confused and fall silent. The hiatus καὶ ἄφωνον (‘and soundless’) marks and mocks this embarrassing moment of silence. Like so many aspects of early Greek ‘Kunstprosa’, or artistic prose, the use of hiatus as a stylistic means to emphasize the meaning has its roots in poetry. The most famous example of this, mentioned by several ancient grammarians, is Hom. Od. 11, 596. An even closer parallel is possibly Sappho fr. 31, 9 γλῶσσα †ἔαγe† (‘the tongue is broken’), where the problematic hiatus might also express a moment of silence.