Open AccessThe meaning of ἀγών in epic diction
Author(s) -
J. D. Ellsworth
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
emérita/emerita
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.116
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 1988-8384
pISSN - 0013-6662
DOI - 10.3989/emerita.1981.v49.i1.809
Subject(s) - meaning (existential) , contest , diction , context (archaeology) , epic , greeks , linguistics , philosophy , literature , history , epistemology , art , theology , classics , poetry , archaeology
The earliest meaning of ἀγών is generally considered to be ‘assembly, gathering’. Of the 34 occurrences of ἀγών in epic, 22 designate an assembly of people gathered together to view games, an ‘assembly-with-contests’. Five occurrences designate the ships of the Greeks (Il.: ἀγὼν νεῶν); elsewhere (CPh 49, 1974, pp. 258-64), I have shown that this usage is a metaphorical extension of the meaning ‘assembly-with-contests’. Three occurrences have the later meaning ‘contest’. Therefore, the opinion that ἀγών means ‘assembly’ in general rests on four occurrences only: Hom. Il. VII 298, XVIII 376; Hes. Th. 91, Sc. 205. In this article, it is shown that (1) these four occurrences have a partial deficiency in context, (2) hence, they are unable to stand as evidence for any meaning, (3) ‘assembly-with-contests’, however, is a suitable meaning for each one, and (4), in conclusion, the meaning ‘assembly’ must be eliminated as a possible meaning of ἀγών in epic