Sobre un presunto καθότι con valor locativo en Pausanias

Abstract

The conjunction καθότι, which resulted from the fusion of καθ᾽ ὅ τι “according to which, in the manner that”, serves to introduce comparative subordinate clauses of quality or manner. According to the LSJ dictionary supplements, καθότι has an additional, locative function, attested in Pausanias. A second possible example of this locative καθότι occurs in a passage of Herodotus as transmitted through the Roman family of manuscripts. This function could be compared with the pseudo-locative function of ὡς, which, actually, results from an illusion created by the semantic and pragmatic context. However, there are some arguments suggesting that, in the examples in question, καθότι is not a mere substitute for a relative adverb of place, but has its own spatial meaning. Everything indicates that this locative καθότι is merely a misspelling of the manuscripts, which should be corrected to καθ᾽ ὅ τι.