χαλινός bit, bridle vs. στόμιον bridle-bit, bit

Semantic Range, Lexicography, and other approaches to word meaning - in general, or for particular words.
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Stephen Hughes
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Joined: February 26th, 2013, 7:12 am

χαλινός bit, bridle vs. στόμιον bridle-bit, bit

Post by Stephen Hughes »

James 3:3 wrote: Ἴδε, τῶν ἵππων τοὺς χαλινοὺς εἰς τὰ στόματα βάλλομεν πρὸς τὸ πείθεσθαι αὐτοὺς ἡμῖν, καὶ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα αὐτῶν μετάγομεν.
Am I right in thinking that if there is a difference to be made between these, I think that that χαλινός would be the whole thing including the στόμιον, while στόμιον would be just the part in the mouth as distinct from the χαλινός. [Reins are τὰ ἡνία.] Are metal bits an ancient or modern invention? Could it be that the leather of the bridle became the leather of the bit? Consider:
Xenophon, [i]On the Art of Horsemanship[/i], 6.9 (Loeb via Perseus) wrote:δεδιδάχθω δὲ καὶ τάδε ὁ ἱπποκόμος, πρῶτον μὲν μήποτε ἄγειν τῆς ἡνίας τὸν ἵππον: τοῦτο γὰρ ἑτερογνάθους ποιεῖ: ἔπειτα δὲ ὅσον δεῖ ἀπέχειν τὸν χαλινὸν τῶν γνάθων. ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἄγαν πρὸς αὐταῖς τυλοῖ τὸ στόμα, ὥστε μὴ εὐαίσθητον εἶναι, ὁ δὲ ἄγαν εἰς ἄκρον τὸ στόμα καθιέμενος ἐξουσίαν παρέχει συνδάκνοντι τὸ στόμιον μὴ πείθεσθαι.
The groom should also be instructed in the following points: first, never to lead the horse on the rein—that gives the horse a hard mouth on one side—and secondly, what is the correct distance from the bit to the jaws. For if it is too high up, it hardens the mouth so that it loses its sensitiveness; and if it lies too low in the mouth, it gives the horse power to take it between his teeth and refuse to obey.
While noting that E. C. Marchant and G. W. Bowersock were not translating literally, it seems that the bridle (χαλινός) could be too tight or loose, and the bit (στόμιον) is what the horse could take between its teeth. Was it one and the same material, just twisted or plaited a different way?

Another thing is that, while I get that "Ὁ ἱππεὺς ἐπέβην ἵππον." is talking about "The rider mounted a horse.", is there a difference to be made between "Ὁ ἱππεὺς ἐπιβέβηκεν (/ ὁ ἐπιβεβηκώς) [ἐπὶ] ἵππον. The rider is seated on a horse." and "Ὁ ἱππεὺς ὁ καθημένος ἐφ’ ἵππον." (cf. Rev. chapters 6, 9 and 19)? What would a difference be in English between "mounted on" and "seated on"? Is καθημένος a current Koine usage, or a legacy Epic (Homeric) usage?
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
Shirley Rollinson
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Re: χαλινός bit, bridle vs. στόμιον bridle-bit, bit

Post by Shirley Rollinson »

Stephen Hughes wrote:
James 3:3 wrote: Ἴδε, τῶν ἵππων τοὺς χαλινοὺς εἰς τὰ στόματα βάλλομεν πρὸς τὸ πείθεσθαι αὐτοὺς ἡμῖν, καὶ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα αὐτῶν μετάγομεν.
Am I right in thinking that if there is a difference to be made between these, I think that that χαλινός would be the whole thing including the στόμιον, while στόμιον would be just the part in the mouth as distinct from the χαλινός. [Reins are τὰ ἡνία.] Are metal bits an ancient or modern invention? Could it be that the leather of the bridle became the leather of the bit? Consider:
Xenophon, [i]On the Art of Horsemanship[/i], 6.9 (Loeb via Perseus) wrote:δεδιδάχθω δὲ καὶ τάδε ὁ ἱπποκόμος, πρῶτον μὲν μήποτε ἄγειν τῆς ἡνίας τὸν ἵππον: τοῦτο γὰρ ἑτερογνάθους ποιεῖ: ἔπειτα δὲ ὅσον δεῖ ἀπέχειν τὸν χαλινὸν τῶν γνάθων. ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἄγαν πρὸς αὐταῖς τυλοῖ τὸ στόμα, ὥστε μὴ εὐαίσθητον εἶναι, ὁ δὲ ἄγαν εἰς ἄκρον τὸ στόμα καθιέμενος ἐξουσίαν παρέχει συνδάκνοντι τὸ στόμιον μὴ πείθεσθαι.
The groom should also be instructed in the following points: first, never to lead the horse on the rein—that gives the horse a hard mouth on one side—and secondly, what is the correct distance from the bit to the jaws. For if it is too high up, it hardens the mouth so that it loses its sensitiveness; and if it lies too low in the mouth, it gives the horse power to take it between his teeth and refuse to obey.
While noting that E. C. Marchant and G. W. Bowersock were not translating literally, it seems that the bridle (χαλινός) could be too tight or loose, and the bit (στόμιον) is what the horse could take between its teeth. Was it one and the same material, just twisted or plaited a different way?

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I doubt that a bit was ever made of leather. I tried using leather once with my own pony - and she chewed right through it in a few minutes.
Metal bits have been in use since the Bronze Ages. Before that it is thought that wood, bone, rope, or other fairly hard material was used for the bit.
The part in the horse's mouth can't be all one piece with the cheek-straps - one has to have some sort of pivot between cheek-strap and bit in order to put pressure on the bars of the horse's mouth correctly (the bit has to fit on the place on the horse's jaw, called the bars, where there are no teeth), and one has to be able to keep the bit in place when turning etc.
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