σκόλιον,τό, prop. neut. ofσκολιός(sc.μέλος),
A. song which went round crookedly at banquets, being sung to the lyre by the guests one after another in irregular order, the singer holding a myrtlebranch (μυρρίνη) passed to him by the previous singer, ᾆσον δή μοι ς. τι λαβὼν Ἀλκαίον κἀνακρέοντος
Ar. Fr. 223
, cf. Arist. Pol. 1285a38 , Ath. 15.694a ; the word first in Pi. Fr. 122.11 (cf. Aristox. Fr.Hist. 66 , Ath. 13.573f ); examples in B. Scol.Oxy. 1361 , BergkPLGiii pp.643 sqq., cf. Ar. Ach. 532 , Ra. 1302 , V. 1222 , Pl. Grg. 451e (cf. Sch. ad loc.);τὰ Ἀττικὰ ἐκεῖνα ς. Ath. 15.693f . (The name was variously expld.: (a) fromσκολιός crooked, because of thecrookedorder of the singers, the bad singers being passed over, or the couches being crookedly arranged, Dicaearch.Hist. 43 , Aristox. Fr.Hist. 59 , Plu. 2.615c , Sch. Pl.l.c. (b) later, the omission of the bad singers being ascribed to the difficulty or non-social character of the songs (cf. Plu. 2.615b ),σκόλιονwas derived fromδύσκολονorδυσκολία, Hsch. , Sch. Ar. V. 1217 ; or it was said that the songs were easy, but appeared difficult to drunken revellers, Procl. in Phot. Bibl. p.321
B. ; or were called difficultκατ' ἀντίφρασιν, Procl. l.c., Suid. )