distinguished: in elative expressions; to express accumulation or continuity;
and to express the matching status or reciprocal relationship of the referents.
(a) Elative expressions. A superlative may be combined with a genitive
plural of the same word: RV 2. 33. 3 tavástamas tavása ̄m‘strongest of the
strong’, cf. 1. 5. 2, 11. 1; 2. 24. 3 deva ̄ ́na ̄m
̇
devátama ̄ya, ‘most godly of the
gods’; 3. 51. 4 nr ̄
̇
n
̇a ̄ ́m... nr ́
̇tamam, ‘most manly of men’, cf. 4. 25. 4; Yt. 10.
141 aojisˇtana ̨m asti aojisˇtəm, tan
̇
cis ˇtana ̨m asti tan
̇cis ˇtəm, ‘of the mightiest he is
the mightiest, of the strongest he is the strongest’; Aesch. Supp. 524 μακα ́ ρων
μακα ́ ρτατε κα? τελων τελειο ́ τατον κρα ́ το, ‘most blessed of blessed ones and
most powerful of powers’; Soph. OT 334 p κακ;ν κα ́ κιστε, ‘most villainous of
villains’;Phil. 65 #σχατ’$σχα ́ των κακα ́, ‘utmost of utmost ills’;CIL i.^2 9
duonoro(m) optumo(m); Plaut. Cas. 793 pessumarum pessuma, Men. 817 mise-
rorum miserrimus; Martial 1. 100. 2 mammarum maxima mamma; Lithuanian
geriu ̃ ̨ geriáusiasis, ‘best of the good’.
A comparative may be used with an ablative of the same word: RV 6. 47. 29
du ̄ra ̄ ́d dávı ̄yah
̇
, ‘further than far’; 1. 114. 6 sva ̄dóh
̇sva ̄ ́dı ̄yah
̇, ‘sweeter than
sweet’; 10. 176. 4 sáhasas ́ cid sáhı ̄ya ̄n, ‘stronger even than the strong’; Y. 43. 3
vaŋhə ̄usˇ vahyo ̄, ‘better than the good’; 51. 6 vaŋhə ̄ usˇ vahyo ̄ ... aka ̄t
̃
asˇ ́yo ̄,
‘better than the good... worse than the bad’; Sappho 156 χρ3σω
χρυσοτρα, ‘golder than gold’; Aesch. fr. 391 σοφο σοφ.τερο, ‘cleverer
than clever’(?); Soph. OT 1301 μεζονα (μα ́ σσονα Blaydes)... τ;ν
μακστων, ‘further than the furthest’; Plaut. Asin. 614 melle dulci dulcior,
‘sweeter than sweet honey’, cf. Truc. 371; Amph. 907 stultior stultissumo,‘a
bigger fool than the biggest’; English ‘whiter than white’.^121
An elative phrase is occasionally formed from a simple adjective or noun
with its own genitive plural: RV 10. 128. 7 dha ̄ta ̄ ́ dha ̄tr ̄
̇
n
̇a ̄ ́m, ‘the creator of
creators’;Taittirı ̄ya Bra ̄hman
̇
a 2. 6. 8. 3 deva ̄na ̄m
̇devam, ‘the god of gods’
(of Indra); Aesch. Pers. 681 p πισταπιστ;ν ‘(most) trusty among the trusty’; Soph. OT 465 Eρρητ’ qρρ των; OC 1238 κακα κακ;ν; in the
Carmen Saliare, diuom deo supplicate‘pray to the god of gods’; Plaut. Truc.
25 summa summarum, Curc. 388 reliquiarum reliquias; Petr. Sat. 37. 8
nummorum nummos; Florus 1. 22 urbem urbium, 2. 26 barbari barbarorum;
Hyndlulióð 1. 1 mær meyia... ro ̨cr ro ̨cra, ‘maid of maids... darkness of
darknesses’.^122
(b) Expressions of accumulation or continuity: CHLI i. 49 Karatepe 1.
41 ff., ‘and I made horse upon horse, and I made army upon army, and
(^121) Cf. Gonda (1959), 261 f.
(^122) Cf. Hofmann (1930), 49–61 (with abundant Norse and Baltic material); Gonda (1959),
263–5; Brigitte Gygli-Wyss, Das nominale Polyptoton im älteren Griechisch (Göttingen 1966),
- Aeschylus’Eναξ α, να ́ κτων (Supp. 524) imitates Near Eastern divine titles, see West (1997),
557 f.
112 2. Phrase and Figure