Reference address : https://ellopos.net/elpenor/lessons/lesson3.asp?pg=10

ELPENOR - Home of the Greek Word

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    Elpenor's Lessons in Ancient Greek

 In Print:
The Original Greek New Testament

LESSON 3
HADES - From Homer's Odyssey

by George Valsamis

 

ELPENOR EDITIONS IN PRINT



Page 10

 

English In Greek is :  

Helen was concocting a fraud

nominative  ->

Ἑλένη δόλον ἤρτυε.

I touch Helen

genitive  ->

Ἅπτομαι Ἑλένης.

I see Helen

accusative  ->

Ὁρῶ Ἑλένην.

I follow Helen

dative  ->

Ἕπομαι Ἑλένῃ (Ἑλένηι).

Helen, come with us!

vocative  ->

Ἑλένη, μεθ' ἡμῶν ἐλθέ!

 

Watching the right column, the column with the Greek phrases, we see that the name of Helen is changed in genitive, accusative and dative, but not in nominative or vocative. Other names, however, change in vocative too, like, e.g. Σωκράτης, who becomes in vocative Σώκρατες.

Helen's name does not change in the nominative, because inhere she is the subject - she is not followed or seen or touched: she does something by herself, she concocts. When Helen becomes the 'object' of an action, her name changes. She is influenced by that action, she responds, and her reaction is pictured in the change of her name, which is the grammatical case, the 'departure' from the nominative.

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Cf. The Complete Iliad * The Complete Odyssey
Greek Grammar * Basic New Testament Words * Greek - English Interlinear Iliad
Greek accentuation * Greek pronunciation

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Reference address : https://ellopos.net/elpenor/lessons/lesson3.asp?pg=10