EN XXXVa: ἀπείρατος

Although used in a handful of passages by Pindar and once by the orator Demosthenes in the sense of ‘untested’, the adjective ἀπείρατος, meaning ‘one who has not experienced’ a certain condition (such as sexual intercourse, anger, etc.), does not belong to the vocabulary of Classical Greek. In the latter sense it appears no earlier than Diodorus of Sicily (first century BC), to be followed two centuries later by Josephus, Plutarch, Arrian, and Lucian of Samosata. It also appears in many of the authors who are of interest to us. Beyond rare and occasional usage occurring in some Christians (including Didymus), the authors who employed this are Gregory of Nyssa, Theodoret, and Cyril of Alexandria. No doubt, Theodoret used the term following his readings of Josephus, Diodorus of Sicily, Plutarch, and Lucian of Samosata. Still, his initial insipiration came from the poet Pindar and the orator Demosthenes. As a matter of fact, Theodoret treated Pindar with respect and quoted from his poems in order to make his case against paganism, and so he did with Demosthenes, whom he also respected and quoted with commendation in one of his epistles.

Gregory of Nyssa, In Ecclesiasten, v. 5, p. 365; Adversus Eunomium, 1.1.142; De Virginitatis Integritate, 8.1; De Beatitudinibus, PG.44.1228.38; De Vita Gregorii Thaumaturgi, PG.46.912.42; De Hominis Opificio, pp. 216; 229.