Well, since you are receiving "any general comments" on the subject with
thanks, I guess I can hazard a purely speculative response. I do think that
Nock is right about usage, or that' my impression from reading older Greek
religious texts--but why? Except for the O-declension, which ablauts the
vocative singular to E, the vocative is either an endingless form of a noun
or else identical with the nominative, and we certainly do see the
interjection (or appellative, or whatever it's called) W with a nominative
of direct address.
In older Greek, my impression is that a deity is addressed sometimes by a
personal name in the vocative, perhaps more often by an epithet in the
vocative (e.g. hEKHBOLE for Apollo, NEFELHGERETA for Zeus, ENNOSIGAIE for
Poseidon), but hO QEOS is an impersonal designation and is less likely to
be used by polytheists in a vocative; one does see the plural invocation W
QEOI, but that is more understandable, Later Hebrew practice seems to avoid
the personal name YHWH for the most part in prayer (although I think there
are exceptions) in favor of periphrases like ADONAY, "My Lord"--or, like
the Greek gods, is addressed with an epithet such as "My Strength and My
Redeemer." Then there's the profoundly religious feeling that one doesn't
really know the exact name of a god and one doesn't want to offend (cf.
Eduard Norden, AGNOSTOS THEOS), as comes quite clear in the opening phrase
of the hymn to Zeus in the parados of Aeschylus' Agamemnon:
ZEUS, hOSTIS POT' ESTIN, EI TOD' AU-
TWi FILON KEKLHMENWi,
TOUTO NIN PROSENNEPW.
OUK ECW PROSEIKASAI
PANT' EPISTAQMWMENOS
PLHN DIOS, EI TO MATAN APO FRONTIDOS ACQOS
CRH BALEIN ETHTUMWS.
Freely: "Zeus, whoever he may be (= whatever his real name is), if it
pleases him to be called by this name, that is what I call him. I cannot
imagine anything likely, when I weigh everything in the balance, except for
"Zeus," if I have to cast off, in any real sense, the futile burden from my
anxious heart."
Whatever else this may be, I think it must be recognized as authentic
prayer to one who is addressed as Zeus with intense anxiety and concern as
a savior called upon in need. And the third person is used here; that may
be a reason for the nominative being used in direct address to God. I don't
know, but I do think Rick has raised an interesting question.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/