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Headword: *si/kuon
Adler number: sigma,400
Translated headword: cucumber
Vetting Status: high
Translation:
[Sikuon is the accusative case] from sikuos.[1]
In the Epigrams: "and a blooming cucumber, lying in leaves on the ground."[2]
Also [sc. attested is] sikuos, in the masculine. Aristophanes [writes]: "and if they were to see a cucumber or leveret anywhere ..."[3]
And elsewhere: "they went around the cucumbers growing there and began, in no sort of order, to eat them up."[4]
Greek Original:
*si/kuon: a)po\ si/kuos. e)n *)epigra/mmasi: kai\ si/kuon xnoa/onta, to\n e)n fu/llois pedokoi/thn. kai\ *si/kuos, a)rseniko/n. *)aristofa/nhs: kei)/ pou si/kuon i)/doien h)\ lagw/|dion. kai\ au)=qis: siku/ous e)ntau=qa/ ph fuome/nous ou)deni\ ko/smw| perii+o/ntes kath/sqion.
Notes:
The headword is a masculine noun, here in the accusative singular. See generally LSJ s.v., which identifies this plant as the widely cultivated Cucumis sativus (Tutin, p. 298), and pi 2941 (gloss). [In her critical apparatus Adler reports that this entry and sigma 401 are reversed in order.] See also sigma 404.
[1] Following a scholion to Aristophanes, Acharnians 520 (web address 1); see note 3. [Adler reports that ms F adds the definite article: a)po\ tou=.]
[2] Greek Anthology 6.102.5, attributed to Philip of Thessalonica: the farmer Damon's dedication to Priapus; see Gow and Page, vol. I, pp. 308-309. Among numerous word-plays, the epigram invokes phallic symbolism by way of si/kuos; see Henderson, p. 125n94. Gow and Page (vol. II, p. 342) prefer xloa/onta, fresh, but the Suda's xnoa/onta (blooming, flowering) is plausible, since the flower remains attached to the end of the young fruit for some time after it forms on the vine. Other passages with extracts from this epigram are alpha 4705 and gamma 192.
[3] Aristophanes, Acharnians 520 (web address 1), with scholion. Dicaeopolis is venting his ire at the Athenian citizens who provoked a war with Sparta by claiming that everything from hares to cucumbers were Megarian influences; see Olson, pp. 207-208.
[4] Procopius, History of the Wars of Justinian 2.18.8 (web address 2): troops led by Peter under Belisarius (c. 500-565 CE; beta 233 and OCD(4) s.v.) let down their guard to forage, thereby enabling the Persians to attack and rout them. [Adler reports that ms replaces ph with poi: without establishing order anywhere, whereas ms F transmits pe, an apparent misspelling.]
References:
T.G. Tutin, et al., eds., Flora Europaea, vol. 2 (Rosaceae to Umbrelliferae), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968
A.S.F. Gow and D.L. Page, The Greek Anthology: The Garland of Philip, vol. I, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968
J. Henderson, The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1975
A.S.F. Gow and D.L. Page, The Greek Anthology: The Garland of Philip, vol. II, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968
S.D. Olson, ed., Aristophanes Acharnians, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002
Associated internet addresses:
Web address 1,
Web address 2
Keywords: agriculture; biography; botany; comedy; definition; dialects, grammar, and etymology; food; gender and sexuality; historiography; history; imagery; military affairs; poetry; politics; science and technology; zoology
Translated by: Ronald Allen on 9 February 2014@18:55:46.
Vetted by:
David Whitehead (removed a note; tweaks and cosmetics; raised status) on 10 February 2014@03:36:32.
Catharine Roth (upgraded links) on 10 February 2014@09:37:14.
David Whitehead on 9 August 2014@10:39:48.
David Whitehead (coding) on 25 May 2016@10:56:11.
David Whitehead (tweaked translation, at the prompting of Prof Geoffrey Greatrex) on 16 April 2019@08:55:22.
Catharine Roth (cosmeticule) on 18 February 2022@00:13:01.
Catharine Roth (removed a link) on 18 February 2022@22:43:13.
Catharine Roth (cross-reference) on 18 February 2022@22:50:37.
Ronald Allen (tweak n.2) on 11 December 2022@14:31:26.

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