[B-Greek] Proleptic Aorist question

Elizabeth Kline kline-dekooning at earthlink.net
Sun Sep 11 12:17:02 EDT 2005


On Sep 11, 2005, at 8:15 AM, Elizabeth Kline wrote:

> Here is another one Iliad 9:412-413:
>
> εἰ μέν κ’ αὖθι μένων Τρώων πόλιν
> ἀμφιμάχωμαι,
> ὤλετο μέν μοι νόστος ...
>
> EI MEN K' AUQI MENWN TRWWN POLIN AMFIMACWMAI,
> WLETO MEN MOI NOSTOS  ...
>
> If I hang around the city of the Trojans fighting,
> my return home is lost ...
>
> See H.W. Smyth 1334,2326b

D.B. Monro (Homeric Grammar 78:1) comments: "The speaker puts himself  
at the (future) point of time given by the context, and uses the  
Tense which then becomes appropriate."

Not bad for a book published in the 19th century. In the last fifteen  
years it has become fashionable to view the choice of aspect as a  
subjective decision on the part of the author to present an event in  
a certain light within a narrative frame. Consequently, attempts to  
tie aspect to absolute temporal points of reference are now viewed  
with suspicion. Along these lines terms like future aorist might be  
best left behind.


Elizabeth Kline







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