SECTION C: MORPHOLOGICAL ATTICISM 9. Second Declension Contraction
10. The Attic Declension
10.1 Development of the Variation
Attic declension words can usually be identified by the suffix -ως (neuter -ων) in the nominative singular and -ω in the genitive singular. The resulting case endings closely resemble normal 2nd declension endings, but -ω- appears in place of -o- or -ου-.356
Table 10-1 Regular and Attic Second Declension Suffixes
Number/Case Regular decl. Attic decl.
sg. nom. -ος/-ον -ως/-ων
acc. -ον -ω(ν)
gen. -ου -ω
dat. -ῳ -ῳ
pl. nom. -οι/-α -ῳ/-α
acc. -ους/-α -ως/-α
gen. -ων -ων
dat. -οις -ῳς
There are various reasons why Attic declension nouns and adjectives might have developed -ω- rather than -o- in their inflectional suffixes. Attic declension words can be grouped into three broad categories based on their origin and/or the non-Attic version with which they alternate.
The first and most easily recognised group includes nouns and adjectives which have Attic declension forms in -εως that alternate with Koine forms in -αος and Ionic forms in -ηος. These words came to have the form they do in Attic by a three-step process of phonological change involving: 1) the pan-Greek loss of certain intervocalic
356 Inflections without -o- in the regular 2nd declension are not changed. The dative singular and genitive plural, which already have -ω-, retain -ω-. The neuter nominative and accusative plural, which both end in -α, retain -α.
155 consonants, 2) the Attic-Ionic change of long ᾱ [ā] to long η [ē] and 3) the process of quantitative metathesis popular in Attic.357
The noun λεώς, for example, is thought to have derived from a PIE proto-form
*lāwos.358 With the loss of *w in the history of Greek, the word came to be λαός, as it remained in some dialects including Doric and the Koine. As discussed in the phonology section under the heading “Attic reversion”, Attic and Ionic underwent a sound change in which long α [ā] became long η [ē] (cf. Attic-Ionic μήτηρ versus Doric μάτηρ “mother”). The Ionic form of λαός, therefore, is ληός, as one would expect from such a shift. In Attic, however, the process of quantitative metathesis (also mentioned briefly in the phonology section) resulted in a switching of quantity of the two vowels in the word. This process tends to occur when a long vowel (like η) is followed by a short vowel (like ο). The long vowel shortens and the short vowel lengthens, resulting in a swapping of quantity (cf. gen. singular of πόλις: Attic πόλεως vs Ionic πόληος). By this process Attic derives from ληός [lēos] the final “Attic declension” form λεώς [leōs].
The most common words in this group of the Attic declension are the nouns νεώς (Ionic νηός, Koine ναός), λεώς (Ionic ληός Koine λαός), the proper name Μενέλεως (Koine Μενέλαος) and the adjective ἵλεως, -ων (Koine ἵλαος, -αον).
The second group of words in this declension contains lemmas which have Attic declension -ως forms (in the nominative singular) that alternate with non-Attic forms in -ος. In some cases, the presence of -ω- in the Attic version is a result of contraction (e.g.
from -ωος or -οος), but sometimes there is a simple variation between long ω and short o in different dialects which are not always clearly understood.359 The most important examples belonging to this group are as follows:
λαγῶς (or λαγώς) is the Attic declension form of the word meaning “hare” and seems to be a contraction of the Epic form λαγωός. The Ionic spelling has instead a shortened
357 Allen 1871: 19; Sihler 1995: 74; 256
358 Allen 1871: 29
359 Allen suggests that these alternations are “duplicates” or “collateral-forms” in which the one form has a basic short -o stem but the Attic form has an amplified stem with addition of a suffix like –ϝo (e.g.
λαγός/λαγο-ϝος). On this, see Allen 1871: 24; 29.
156 simple -ο-; λαγός (gen. λαγοῦ).360 The feminine noun ἡ ἅλως (“threshing-floor”) also seems to be a contraction of the alternative ἅλωος (Pre-Greek stem *walow-os).361 The defective adjective σῶς (neuter σῶν) (“safe”) also belongs to this group, having some forms attested in σόος/σόον and σῶος/σῶον (as well as σάος/σάον).362
In addition to the ω/ο alternation found in λαγῶς/λαγός, there is also the word κάλως (“reefing rope”) with a shortened variation κάλος (gen. κάλου) found in Epic and Ionic.
Similarly, ὀρφώς (or ὀρφῶς) meaning “sea-perch” appears primarily in this spelling, but Herodian (Pros. Cath. 245.2) suggests a shortened version ὀρφός (which is attested in some post-Classical writers).
The last group in the Attic declension includes words that may have originated from either phonetic changes or contraction, but what unites them is that these words each have one variation in which they behave like (Attic) 2nd declension nouns, alongside an alternative (non-Attic) variation which belongs to the 3rd declension. Two common examples in this group are Tυφώς (gen. Tυφῶ) (“the Whirlwind”) which has a later alternate 3rd declension version Tυφῶν (gen. Tυφῶνος) and ταώς/ταῶς (gen. ταώ/ταῶ) (“peacock”) which has an alternate 3rd declension form ταών (gen ταῶνος).363 Also in this third category is the word ἥρως (“hero”), which has both an Attic 2nd declension set of inflections (modelled on gen. ἥρω) and a 3rd declension set (modelled on gen.
ἥρωος). This noun is, in fact, normally classified as a 3rd declension noun, because of the latter being the more prevalent choice though both are well attested.364
The feminine ἡ ἕως “dawn” is a unique example of this category, being one of very few feminine Attic declension nouns. The Attic declension spelling ἕως at first appears to be not unlike the first group of Attic declension nouns in -εως (the Doric form is ἀώς). But in this case, the long -ω found in the Attic spelling is original and not a result of quantitative metathesis, as is evident from Doric ἀώς and Ionic ἠώς. While the Attic
360 The origins of this lemma are discussed in Allen 1871: 24. He suggests that λαγωός, which is found in Homer, comes from *lagowos, with loss of w causing compensatory lengthening. According to his assessment, Ionic λαγός has a separate origin.
361 Allen 1871: 23
362 Allen 1871: 27; LSJ σῶς (A)
363 Allen 1871: 27; LSJ: Τυφώς; LSJ: τάως; Tυφώς refers originally to the giant Typhos (also known as Τυφωεύς or Typhoëus). The word was extended to become a metonym for a whirlwind.
364 Allen 1871: 30
157 spelling follows the paradigm of the 2nd declension, specifically the Attic 2nd declension, the Doric and Ionic versions follow the 3rd declension with genitives in ἀοῦς and ἠοῦς respectively.365
Another feature which distinguished this noun from other Attic declension nouns is that the accusative has assimilated to match the genitive ἕω (not ἕων as one would expect).
Although the most well-known example of this phenomenon, there is evidence of other Attic declension words taking accusative singular forms in -ω. Allen refers to examples of ἥρω for ἥρων and ἅλω for ἅλων, suggesting they may be contractions of unusual 3rd declension ἥρωα and ἅλωα, and Threatte cites examples of accusative νεώ in inscriptions from the second quarter of the 4th century BC onwards, created on analogy with ἕως, ἕω.366 Tυφώς also appears to have taken an accusative singular form without
ν, as is evident from the quote in Moeris given in the next section.
In summary, then, there is a set of nouns and adjectives which, although belonging to the 2nd declension, have their own special set of endings in -ω- rather than -ο-. The -ω- variations are particularly associated with the Attic dialect. This set of words contains three broad types: those that result from phonological processes (loss of intervocalic consonants, change of long ᾱ to long η and quantitative metathesis), those that result from contraction or for some other reason have a lengthened -ω- in Attic with alternate -o- forms in other dialects, and those that have regular 3rd declension forms alongside the Attic declension. I will now consider the evidence (modern and ancient) for regarding Attic declension forms as markers of Atticism.