αἰανὴς suits the idea of persistent calamity. Whatever its real etymology, it was associated with “ἀεί” ( Aesch. Eum. 572“ἐς τὸν αἰανῆ χρόνον”, ib. 672 “αἰανῶς μένοι”), and was used to denote that which pains by wearying, or wearing (as Pind. P. 1. 82“κόρος...αἰανής”: Pind. I. 1. 49“λιμὸν αἰανῆ”). The form “αἰανὴς” has the best authority, and some critics hold that “αἰανὸς” (Hesych.) was a Byzantine invention. But in Aesch. Eum. 416, “ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν νυκτὸς αἰανῆς τέκνα” (so L, schol., and Tzetzes on Lycophron 406), “αἰανῆ” is far less suitable.
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