θέρμα, θέρμη
(Phryn. Ecl. 304)

A. Main sources

(1) Phryn. Ecl. 304: θέρμα· οὕτως ὁ Μένανδρος διὰ τοῦ α, ἀλλ’ οὔτε Θουκυδίδης οὔθ’ ἡ ἀρχαία κωμῳδία οὔτε Πλάτων, θέρμη δέ.

θέρμα (‘fever’): Thus Menander [says] with α (Georg. 94 = C.3), but neither Thucydides nor Old Comedy nor Plato [use it; they say] instead θέρμη.

B. Other erudite sources

(1) Harp. θ 10 (~ Phot. θ 119, Su. θ 244): Θέρμαν· Αἰσχίνης ἐν τῇ Παραπρεσβείας ἀπολογίᾳ. Θρᾴκιόν ἐστι τοῦτο ‹τὸ› πόλισμα, ὡς καὶ Θεόπομπος ἐν κβʹ φησίν.

Θέρμαν Photius’ cod. z and Dindorf : Θερμάν Suda : Θερμαν Photius’ cod. g (cf. Theodoridis 1982–2013 vol. 2, 293).

Θέρμαν (acc. sing.): Aeschines [mentions it] in the defence speech On the False Embassy (2.27). It is a city in Thrace, as Theopompus also says in book 22 (FGrHist 115 F 140).

(2) Orus fr. A 53 (= [Zonar.] 1030.14–9): θέρμη καὶ θέρμα, <***>. Φερεκράτης· ‘σκέψαι δέ μου | τὸ μέτωπον, εἰ θέρμην ἔχουσα τυγχάνω’ καὶ Μένανδρος· ‘βουβὼν ἐπήρθη τῷ γέροντι, θέρμα τ’ | ἐπέλαβεν αὐτόν’. οὐκ εὖ τοίνυν οἱ λέγοντες, ὅτι θέρμα μὲν ἡ πυρεκτική, Θέρμη δὲ ἡ πόλις.

Alpers postulates a lacuna after θέρμα and suggests supplementing ἑκατέρως λέγεται or χρὴ λέγειν or ἑκάτερον αὐτῶν or ἀμφότερα | Codd. LVCP, cod. Ruhnk. and Phav. have θέρμα τ’ (Alpers postulates that it may be a mistake on the part of Orus, who did not identify the iambic trimeter), whereas Tittmann and Menander have θέρμα τε, metrically guaranteed (cf. C.3).

θέρμη and θέρμα: … Pherecrates [says] (fr. 169 = C.1): ‘Touch my forehead, to see if by chance I have a fever (θέρμην)’, and Menander [says] (Georg. 94–5 = C.3): ‘the old man’s wound puffed out, he was gripped by fever (θέρμα)’ (Transl. slightly adapted from Arnott 1979, 115). Therefore, those who say that θέρμα [means] ‘fever’ while Θέρμη [is the name of] the city, are wrong.

(3) [Arcad.] 237.7–8 (= Hdn. Περὶ καθολικῆς προσῳδίας GG 3,1.255.15–6): τὰ εἰς ΜΑ θηλυκὰ σπάνια ὄντα βαρύνεται· τόλμα, θέρμα· ἀττικῶς δὲ τόλμη καὶ θέρμη.

At the end, Lentz adds the sentence ἔστι δὲ καὶ πόλις Θέρμα, ἣ ὕστερον Θεσσαλονίκη ἐκαλεῖτο, comparing St.Byz. θ 36 (Θεσσαλονίκη: πόλις Μακεδονίας, ἥτις ἄρα ἐκαλεῖτο Ἁλία), where Meineke corrected Ἁλία in Θέρμα based on Str. 7 fr. 13b: ὅτι μετὰ τὸν Ἀξιὸν ποταμὸν ἡ Θεσσαλονίκη ἐστὶ πόλις, ἣ πρότερον Θέρμη ἐκαλεῖτο.

The rare feminine [nouns] ending in –μα have no accent on the final syllable: τόλμα (‘courage’), θέρμα. In Attic [they are] τόλμη and θέρμη.

(4) St.Byz. θ 28: Θέρμη· πόλις Θρᾴκης. Ἀπολλόδωρος δὲ Μακεδονίας φησὶ καὶ Θουκυδίδης. ὁ πολίτης Θερμαῖος. ἔστι καὶ Θερμαῖος κόλπος.

Θέρμη: City in Thrace. Apollodorus (FGrHist 244 F 193) and Thucydides (1.61.2) say [that it is located] in Macedonia. The inhabitant [is called] Θερμαῖος. There is also a Θερμαῖος κόλπος (‘bay of Θέρμη’).

(5) Phot. θ 118: θέρμα· ἡ πύρωσις· Θέρμη δὲ ἡ πόλις, ἀφ’ ἧς ὁ κόλπος καλεῖται.

Alpers (1981, 176) attributes the gloss to Phrynichus’ Praeparatio sophistica, believing that Orus (fr. A 53 = B.2), disputes the doctrine stated here and in Phryn. Ecl. 304 (A.1).

θέρμα: [I.e.] fever. Θέρμη [is] the city after which the bay was named.

(6) Sophronius Grammaticus GG 4,2.406.22–4: ἰστέον ὅτι εἰς μα οὐκ ἔστιν ἀρσενικὸν οὐδὲ θηλυκόν· τὸ γὰρ θέρμα Ἀττικὸν ἀντὶ τοῦ θέρμη, ὅθεν ἀναλογώτερόν φαμεν ἡ τόλμη.

(Regarding the neuter nouns ending in α,) οne should know that there are no masculine and feminine [nouns] ending in μα; indeed, θέρμα [is the] Attic form in place of θέρμη, whence we analogically say τόλμη.

(7) Thom.Mag. 179.8: θερμότης καὶ θέρμη Ἀττικοί, θερμασία Ἕλληνες.

Users of Attic [employ] θερμότης (‘heat’) and θέρμη. Users of Greek [employ] θερμασία (‘heat’).

C. Loci classici, other relevant texts

(1) Pherecr. fr. 169:
                                                σκέψαι δέ μου
τὸ μέτωπον, εἰ θέρμην ἔχουσα τυγχάνω

Touch my forehead, to see if by chance I have a fever.

(2) Ar. fr. 346:
ἅμα δ’ ἠπίαλος πυρετοῦ πρόδρομος
ὁ δ’ ἔχων θέρμαν καὶ πῦρ ἧκεν (cf. schol. Ar. V. 1038a (VΓ) + Poll. 4.186).

Pollux’ codd. SA have θέρμαν, cod. F has θέρμα; Bergk corrected in θέρμην.

And at once a shiver precursor of fever [...] He had come burning with fever.

(3) Men. Georg. 92–5:
(ΔΑ.) θάρρει· τὸ πέρας δ’ ἄκουέ μου.
ἀπὸ τοῦ γὰρ ἕλκους, ὡς τριταῖον ἐγένετο,
βουβὼν ἐπήρθη τῷ γέροντι θέρμα τε
ἐπέλαβεν αὐτὸν καὶ κακῶς ἔσχεν πάνυ.

Cf. Ael. Ep. 2 Domingo-Forasté: ἡμέρων ὁ μαλακὸς φελλεῖ διέκοψε τὸ σκέλος πάνυ χρηστῶς, καὶ θέρμη ἐπέλαβεν αὐτόν, καὶ βουβὼν ἐπήρθη.

Cheer up, and hear me out. The third day saw the old man’s wound puffed out and swollen, he was gripped by fever, and became extremely ill. (Transl. Arnott 1979, 115).