Dedication of the Bronze Statue of Epicharmus

Notes

1. §18.2Ἅ τε φωνὰ Δώριος χὡνὴρ... Ἐπίχαρμος. — A nominal sentence with the copula (ἐστί) omitted. Two parallel clauses are coordinated: "The dialect is Doric, and this man, the inventor of comedy, is Epicharmus."
2. §18.5τοὶ Συρακόσσαις ἐνίδρυνται πεδωρισταὶ πόλει — The word "τοὶ" is the Doric article (or relative pronoun) corresponding to Attic "οἱ". "πεδωρισταὶ" can be interpreted as the nominative plural of a noun "πεδωριστής" (fellow citizen, one who shares boundaries, from "πεδά" [with/between] and "ὅρος" [boundary]), standing in apposition to the subject "τοὶ" ("they who are settled in the city of Syracuse as fellow citizens"). Another reading is "πεδ᾽ ὧριστᾷ πόλει" ("in the eminent city").
3. §18.8μεμναμένοις τελεῖν ἐπίχειρα — The word "τελεῖν" is an infinitive. Two interpretations are possible: either the "heap of words" is of such a kind as "to pay a reward (ἐπίχειρα) to those who remember them (μεμναμένοις, dative plural perfect participle)", emphasizing the benefit of his wisdom; or it means "it is fitting [for the citizens], remembering [his words], to pay him this reward (the statue)". The former interpretation is adopted here, where the words of wisdom themselves yield a reward to those who learn them.