λίθος

λίθος [ῐ], ου, o( (v. infr. 11),

A stone, Hom., etc.; esp. of the stones thrown by warriors, τρηχὺς λ., λ. ὀκριόεις, Il.5.308, 8.327; also, stonequoit, Od.8.190;

ἑλέσθαι . . ἐκ γαίας λίθον A.Fr.199.4

; of building- stones,

λίθοι βασιλικοί PSI4.423.28

, PCair.Zen.499.20 (both iii B.C.): prov.,

ἐν παντὶ γάρ τοι σκορπίος φρουρεῖ λίθῳ S.Fr.37

; λίθον ἕψειν 'to lose one's labour', Ar.V.280; also of stupid persons, 'blockheads',

λίθοι Id.Nu.1202

, cf. Thgn.568, Pl.Hp.Ma.292d, Gal.9.656; λ. τις, ou) dou/lh Herod.6.4; προσηγορεύθη διὰ τὸ μὴ φρονεῖν λ., of Niobe, Philem.101;

ὥσπερ λίθον ζῆν Pl.Grg.494a

sq.; λίθῳ λαλεῖς prov. of ἀναίσθητοι, Macar.5.61.

2 stone as a substance, opp. wood, flesh, etc.,

ἐπεὶ οὔ σφι λ. χρὼς οὐδὲ σίδηρος Il.4.510

; λαοὺς δὲ λίθους ποίησε turned into stone, petrified, 24.611, cf. Pl.Smp.198c; so [

νῆα] θεῖναι λ. Od.13.156

; as an emblem of hard-heartedness,

σοὶ δ' αἰεὶ κραδίη στερεωτέρη ἐστὶ λίθοιο 23.103

, cf. Theoc.3.18.

II λίθος, ἡ, twice in Hom., Il.12.287, Od.19.494, just like masc., also in Theoc.7.26, Bion Fr.1.2: later mostly of some special stone, as the magnet is called Μαγνῆτις λ. by E.Fr.567 (but ἡ λίθος simply in Democr.11k, Arist.Ph. 267a2, cf. v.l. de An.405a20); also Λυδία λ. by S.Fr.800 (but in B.Fr. 10 J. Λυδία λ. = touchstone); Ἡρακλεία λ. by Pl.Ion533d, Epicur.Fr. 293; so of a touchstone, Pl.Grg.486d; ἡ διαφανὴς λ. a piece of crystal used for a burning-glass, Ar.Nu.767, cf. Luc.Alex.21; χυτὴ λ. was perh. a kind of glass, and so an older name for ὕαλος, Epin.1.8 (the same thing as the ἀρτήματα λίθινα χυτά in Hdt.2.69; cf.

τὴν ὕαλον . . ὅσα τε λίθων χυτὰ εἴδη καλεῖται Pl.Ti.61c

); λ. = precious stone is fem. in Hp.Nat.Mul.99, IG22.1421.92, 1460.21, but masc. in Hdt.2.44, etc.; in the sense of marble mostly masc.,

λευκὸς λ. Id.4.87

(simply

λίθος 1.164

), S.Fr.330 (λευκοὶ λ. is opp.

πέτρινοι λ. Supp.Epigr.4.446.8

([place name] Didyma));

Πάριος λ. Pi.N.4.81

, Hdt.3.57;

Ταινάριος λ. Str.8.5.7

; λ. Θάσιος, Αἰγύπτιος, etc., Paus.1.18.6, etc.;

κογχίτης Id.1.44.6

;

κογχυλιάτης X.An.3.4.10

; but

Παρία λ. Theoc.6.38

, Luc.Am.13; cf. λυχνίας, -ίτης; πώρινος λ. tufa, Hdt.5.62.

2 collectively, πέφυκε λίθος . . ἄφθονος, ἐξ οὗ . . X.Vect.1.4.

III grave-stone (fem.), Call.Epigr.8.1.

IV at Athens, λίθος, ὁ, was a name for various blocks of stone used for rostra or platforms, as,

1 the βῆμα (q.v.) of the Pnyx, Ar.Ach.683, Pax 680, Ec.87.

2 another in the ἀγορά used by the κήρυκες, Plu.Sol.8; prob. the same as ὁ πρατὴρ λ., on which the auctioneer stood when selling slaves, etc., Poll.3.78, cf. 126.

3 an altar in the ἀγορά, at which the Thesmothetae, arbitrators, and witnesses took their oaths, Philoch.65, D.54.26 (restored from Harp. s.v. λίθος), Arist.Ath.7.1, 55.5, Plu.Sol.25; cf. λιθωμότης.

4 two stones on which litigants stood in the Areopagus, Paus.1.28.5.

V piece on a draughtboard, Alc.82, Theoc. 6.18, cf.

γραμμή 111.1

: hence pron.,

πάντα λίθον κινεῖν Zen.5.63

(who explains it differently).

VI Medic., stone in the bladder, calculus, Arist.HA519b19, Hp.Morb.4.55, al.

VII Δία λίθον ὀμνύναι, = Lat. Jovem lapidem jurare, Plb.3.25.6.

VIII λίθοι χαλάζης hail- stones, LXX Jo.10.11.

IX λ. ὁ οὐ λ. the philosophers' stone, Zos. Alch.p.122 B.