Sannyrion

Sannyrion (Greek: Σαννυρίων) was an Athenian comic poet of the late 5th century BC, and a contemporary of Diocles and Philyllius, according to the Suda.^[1] He belonged to the later years of Old Comedy and the start of Middle Comedy.^[1]

He mocked the pronunciation of Hegelochus, the actor in Euripides' Orestes, which was presented in 408 BC. In line 279 of the play, instead of "after the storm I see again a calm sea" (γαλήν’ ὁρῶ), Hegelochus recited "after the storm I see again a weasel" (γαλῆν ὁρῶ). (In the nominative, the adjective forms that give "calm sea" are γαληνός, γαληνόν^[2] and "weasel" is "γαλῆ or γαλέη";^[3] The accusative of γαλῆ is γαλῆν and the accusative (plural) of of γαληνόν is γαληνά, which results in γαλήν’ ὁρῶ after apocope (indicated by the apostrophe between the words).^[4] The difference heard by the audience was a rising-falling tone, marked by circumflex, instead of a rising tone, marked by acute accent. The error was also ridiculed by Strattis in his Kinesias (Κινησίας) and Psychastae (Ψυχασταί) and by Aristophanes in his Gerytades, where he, Meletus and Cinesias are chosen as ambassadors from the poets to the shades below.^[1] Curiously, Sannyrion himself ridiculed Meletus on the same ground in his Τέλως Telōs.

Titles of Sannyrion's works:

• Τέλως Telōs (Finally)
• Δανάη Danae
• Ιώ Io
• Σαρδανάπαλλος Sardanapalus (The title could have been mistaken by Suda; reading a passage of Athenaeus strongly suggests that Suda mistook it for the play by Strattis mentioned above, Psychastae (Ψυχασταί)^[1])

References

• Public and Performance in the Greek Theatre by Peter D. Arnott