Papers of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (5.1886-1890)

INSCRIPTIONS FROM ANTIIEDON.

209

Translation,—Matron son of Dionysios (dedicates this statue of)
Herai's to Artemis Eileithyia.

Comment.—This inscription may be more closely dated on dialectic
than on palaeographic grounds. For, as one approximate limit, we
have the middle of the third century B. C, when occurs the earliest
example of the spelling iov=ov=Attic v, and, as the other limit, the
end of the same century, when the patronymic adjectives disappeared.
Aiuv— is the usual Boiotian spelling, though Aiov— is occasionally
met with.8 The form 'AprifuBi, repeated as it is in the next inscrip-
tion, is worthy of note. In all other Boiotian inscriptions the form is

Apra/it-,9 and the occurrence of 'Apre/uS*. in these two inscriptions of
Anthedon, so thoroughly Boiotian in their orthography, seems to in-
dicate one of those interesting local divergences which are not uncom-
mon within the dialect. The related names, 'Aprejieis, 'Apre/icw,

Aprepicrla, occur, however, elsewhere in Boiotia.

The worship of Artemis Eileithyia is shown by inscriptions to
have existed at Tanagra, Orchomenos, Chaironeia, and Thisbe. In-
cluding Anthedon, then, we know of five seats of worship of this
divinity in Boiotia, and yet not one of them is mentioned by Pausan-
ias.10 Eileitlvyia appears in a great variety of spellings, as may be
seen from the following : at Tanagra and Orchomenos, WikeiOvia ; at
Chaironeia, Wi\ei8la and El\i0ta ; at Thisbe, WiXeiOeLa ; at Anthe-
don, F>l\ei6ovtau and FJ\ei0iov[a. According to the general principles
of Boiotian vocalism, we should have expected "Widovla or 'iXidiovia,
but we see, from the preceding forms, that the etymologic spelling was
retained, always in the first syllable, with one exception in the sec-
ond, and in one case also in the third. In the Anthedonian forms,
the third syllable is written phonetically, showing the regular preser-
vation of the old u-sound, together with that affection of it which is
denoted by iov. From the fact that the inscription in which
Et\ei9ov[a occurs is later than that with ltLl\ei6i,ov[a, we must not
conclude that in the first instance the old pronunciation was preserved
without the affection. It is impossible to believe, with Larfeld,12

8 Cf. Meister, Die griechischen Dialekte, i, p. 230.

9 Gust a v Meyer's statement (Gr. Grammatik<--\ p. G4), that "Apra^is is allge-
"meindoriach, is incorrect. "ApTe/us is the only form in Kretan, and examples ol it
can be found in nearly every one of the Doric dialects.

10 Cf. Koumanoudes, 'AB-fivaiov, iv, p. 294. 11 See inscription No. III.
liSglloge Inscriptionum Boeoticarum, p. xxv.