Lost Dictionaries, Forgotten Entries. Two Byzantine lexica on the Athenian ΣΩΦΡΟΝΙΣΤΑΙ.

An important ancient Athenian institution was the ephēbeia: an institution with a military character during the later fourth century BC, which eventually acquired a paideutic one during the Hellenistic and Roman ages. Two Byzantine lexica, the lexicon of Photius and the Lexeis Rhētorikai, inform us on the functions of an office connected with the classical Athenian ephēbeia, namely the sophronistēs. The article investigates the possible sources (Hellenistic, Romanera, Byzantine) from which both Byzantine lexica received the entry. What arises is the role of a lost Roman-era lexicon of Attic realia, the Athenian Onomasticon, to the transmission of this entry. The article argues that the Athenian Onomasticon might have severely downplayed on the military character of the classical Athenian ephēbeia; it also stresses the need for an edition of the fragments of the Athenian Onomasticon, a process that will shed light upon the working habits of its compiler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]