Epicharmus and choral lyric poetry. A reappraisal of old and new evidence

Two variant readings in Epicharmus’ fragment 80 (transmitted in He- phaestion’s Encheiridion and in Choeroboscus’ commentary) have an Aeolic -οισα vocalism which may point to lyric parody. These readings have never been given consideration, but some arguments may come in their support. To begin with, a review of non-Attic quotations in Hephaestion and Choeroboscus reveals that the manuscripts transmitting the Aeolic forms are linguistically trustworthy. Secondly, the other words used in the fragment are foreign to lyric poetry, but have a poetic allure which would be compatible with the use of Aeolic vocalism. Furthermore, another possible instance of Aeolic -οισα vocalism in Syracusan literature (comedy or mime) is provided by lexicographical sources. Finally, the evidence for the geographical distribution of Aeolicisms in non-Attic literary and epigraphical texts is discussed.