μίαν μίαν
(Antiatt. μ 24)

D. General commentary

Antiatt. μ 24 (A.1) is the only surviving erudite source concerned with the reduplicated numeralNumerals μίαν μίαν (an overview of Greek reduplicationReduplication is provided in the entry on μᾶλλον μᾶλλον). According to the interpretamentum, in Sophocles’ Eris (C.1) this expression meant ‘one by one’ (κατὰ μίαν). This would therefore identify μίαν μίαν as an instance of the distributive reduplication of numerals, which can convey the idea that something is distributed in a series (‘one after the other’) or that it is presented as the object of distribution (Kallergi 2015, 337). κατὰ μίανκατὰ μίαν, which has thousands of attestations, always refers to a preceding feminine noun (the implied ναῦς in C.2 and παρθένος in C.3; ῥάβδος in C.4, etc.). It is impossible to determine whether μίαν μίαν also modified a feminine noun in Sophocles’ passage (as in C.6, see below) or whether it occurred alone.

The information provided by the Antiatticist is precious: it allows us to date back to Classical Greek an alternation (implying a sort of semantic equivalence) between distributive expressions consisting of a preposition (or distributive quantifier) + noun (κατὰ μίανκατὰ μίαν) and reduplicated numerals (μίαν μίαν). Such alternation is common in Modern Greek (Kallergi 2015, 337–45; see E.). The masculine numeral εἷς provides a parallel, though its distributive constructions appear to have been less common than those in the feminine. The first instance of the distributive prepositional phrase κατὰ ἕνα ἕνακατὰ ἕνα ἕνα is found in LXX, Is. 27.12.3 LXX Is. 27.12.3 in reference to υἱούς. The reduplicated expression in the nominative is first attested in the Septuagint: see LXX 1 Ch. 24.6 LXX 1 Ch. 24.6 εἷς εἷς εἷς εἷς ‘one by one’ (i.e. the sons of each household).

In the whole of ancient and Byzantine literature, the distributive function of μίαν μίαν recurs in only one other text, C.6, where μίαν μίαν modifies βαθμίδα to convey the idea that the ladder of ascension must be climbed ‘step by step’. Here, reduplication emphasises gradation. In all the other texts, though, μίαν μίαν is always used adverbially, without any reference to a preceding feminine noun. The distributive function is still clear in the example in C.10 (a text probably produced in the Byzantine age), where the emphasis is on the action happening gradually (‘little by little’). In the remaining attestations, however, μίαν μίαν has a temporal function that must be explained. This particular function is first attested in the Sayings of the desert fathers (C.7), a collection of anecdotes assembled around the 6th century CE to transmit, in simple language, the words and deeds of the most representative hermits of 4th- and 5th-century CE eastern monasticism. Here, μίαν μίαν modifies the verb συγκαταβαίνειν to convey the idea that the action of ‘coming down’ (to the monks’ needs) must be performed sometimes (for the occurrence of the single μίαν at l. 80.1, see F.1). Obviously, in this context neither the distributive meaning ‘one by one’ nor the intensive ‘little by little’ will do – the implication, rather, is a temporal one, which may also be translated with ‘every now and then’. The same meaning surfaces in C.8 and C.9 (6th century CE).

These references suggest that the distributive μίαν μίαν, always used as an apposition to a feminine noun, evolved at some point into a lexicalised adverbial expression with an emphasis on frequency or gradation. At the same time, a temporal meaning developed, probably out of a phrase like μίαν ὥρανὥρα ‘for a while’ (e.g. NT Ev.Matt. 26.40NT Ev.Matt. 26.40, NT Ev.Marc. 14.37NT Ev.Marc. 14.37), where the indefinite function (‘for a while’ > ‘some time, ‘a little’) became increasingly strengthened. Bleaching of this expression’s original meaning may have subsequently led to the loss of ὥραν, which was no longer semantically pregnant: this is suggested by instances in Byzantine and Medieval Greek where a single μίαν means ‘once’ (see E.). This temporal meaning may then have been further strengthened by means of reduplication.

E. Byzantine and Modern Greek commentary

Later evidence for the two meanings of μίαν μίαν – temporal and distributive – is contradictory. The distributive function, while seemingly less common in Ancient Greek, is the only one to survive in Modern Greek, where reduplication with a distributive pronominal function is part of the grammatical system and concerns all three genders of the numeral (ένας-ένας, μία-μία, ένα-ένα ‘one by one, singly’: see further below). As noted in D., the temporal meanings ‘once’ and ‘every now and then’ are attested in late antique texts (C.7, C.8, C.9) which are likely to have been linguistically reshuffled in Byzantine times. It is possible that this temporal function was influenced by the frequent usage of the elliptical single μίαν to mean ‘once’ in Medieval Greek (see Kriaras, LME s.v. είς under β at the very end of the entry), which in turn may be connected with the grammaticalisation of the phrase εἰς μίαν ‘at once’ (Kriaras, LME s.vv. εις μία and ζιμιό). This temporal use of the numeral does not survive in Standard Modern Greek, where μια is always accompanied by a noun (μια μέρα ‘one day’, μια φορά ‘once’). However, it is attested dialectally, as for example in a folktale from Aravani in Cappadocia (Dawkins 1916, 334): ιμιά ένα πατισ̑άχος είχε ιρυό κορίτσ̑α ‘once (upon a time) a king had two daughters’ (I thank the referee for this suggestion).

Concerning the Modern Greek reduplicated numerals that express distribution, Kallergi (2015, 336–7) notes that they never convey the meaning ‘X each’, which is found in many other languages, and that they have two main functions: the expression of serial ordering (in time or space), and the identification of something as an object of distribution. In both cases, they may have competing synonymic expressions. This may, however, emphasise different types of actions, as in θα αναγράψεις μία μία τις διαφάνειες ‘you will copy the slides one by one’ (example 8.41 in Kallergi 2015, 337, ‘emphasizing the separative nature of the process’) and θα αναγράψεις τις διαφάνειες κάθε μια ξεχωριστά ‘you will copy the slides each one separately’ (Kallergi’s example 8.42, ‘a very detailed and literal way to express the distribution’).

F. Commentary on individual texts and occurrences

(1)    Apoph.Patr. 77.50–80.10 (C.7)

In the text, two almost identical sentences occur a short distance apart, both pronounced by the same person: ὅτι χρὴ μίαν συγκαταβαίνειν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς (80.3–4) and χρὴ οὖν μίαν μίαν συγκαταβαίνειν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς (80.9–10). In the first sentence, the occurrence of μίαν alone is puzzling, as the required meaning is ‘sometimes’ and not ‘once’ (a meaning that μίαν has at any rate only in Medieval Greek): one would expect μίαν μίαν. The edition in MPG 65, which is merely a copy of that by Cotelier (1677) , laconically annotates (n. 4): ‘Al. μίαν μίαν’. The text of this anecdote is contained in just three of the six manuscripts reporting the whole collectio alphabetica of the Apophthegmata (see Guy 1962, 16–19): cod. Par. gr. 1599Par. gr. 1599 (12th century), on which Cotelier based his edition; cod. Sinai 448 Sinai 448 (copied in the year 1004); and cod. Ath. 504Ath. 504 (12th century). In all of them, the reading is μίαν. However, the expected reading μίαν μίαν is preserved in the four manuscripts transmitting the abbreviated collectio alphabetica (on which see Guy 1962, 42–58): cod. Par. Coisl. 257Par. Coisl. 257 (11th century; f. 89r), cod. Par. gr. 1596 Par. gr. 1596 (11th century; f. 218v), cod. Ambros. F 100 sup.Ambros. F 100 sup. (12th century, f. 1v), and cod. Par. Coisl. gr. 378Par. Coisl. 378 (14th century; f. 12r). This provides evidence that the required meaning was that of μίαν μίαν. It would therefore be advisable to emend the text given in MPG 65 to μίαν μίαν.