Wantonness and Moral Corruption: μάχλος and δίυγρος from Suetonius to Eustathius

Abstract

This article aims to reconstruct the history of the gloss μάχλος· ὁ δίυγρος, attested in Suetonius and borrowed by Eustathius, who also mentions an ἄμπελος ῥεομένη that Aeschylus called μάχλος. After re-examining the dogma, proposed by the Philaeterus (an Atticist lexicon falsely attributed to Herodian) and accepted by several modern dictionaries, that μάχλος was referred to women—a dogma contradicted both by literary attestations and by non-Atticist lexica— I discuss the origin of μάχλος and its relationship to μάχομαι (it has already been noticed that both imply aggressivity, if not even hybris). With the help of Theophrastus, I identify the ἄμπελος ῥεομένη with the grapes that fall from the tree without ripening, as well as with the vine whose overdeveloped foliage has prevented their ripening. This process was often described with the verb διυγραίνω, which explains Suetonius’ word choice: with δίυγρος ὑπὸ καταφερείας he intends to refer to a man who is dissipated by wantonness.