Θεωρία and λέξις in Olympiodorus’ exegesis of Aristotle, Meteorology, 2.1, 354a8

This paper is about Olympiodorus of Alexandria’s comment on a passage of the Meteorology where Aristotle states that the sea swings to and fro. Olympiodorus provides two seemingly contradictory interpretations of the passage, as in one context he explains the phenomenon described by Aristotle as the interplay between internal and external forces, but in another he presents it as a completely internal adjustment. I argue that the difference between the two interpretations can be explained by the fact that they are given in two different sections of the comment on the passage, which have different aims: the θεωρία and the λέξις. Finally, the distinction between these two sections, typical of the commentaries produced at the Neoplatonic schools of Athens and Alexandria, is analyzed as a form of textualization.