A Short Grammar of Classical Greek: Part III, Syntax - IV. The Cases

158. The dative of union and accompaniment denotes union, approach or concurrence, in both a friendly and a hostile sense. Here the English generally uses the preposition with.

1. It follows verbs, adjectives and adverbs to denote the person (or thing) with whom any sort of union (or its opposite) is entered into; thus esp.

χράομαί τινι utor aliquo familiariter, am intimate with.

Σοφοῖς ὁμιλῶν καὐτὸς ἐκβήσῃ σοφός. Ἅμα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ.

Θεῷ μάχεσθαι δεινόν ἐστι καὶ τύχῃ.

Note. - Πολεμεῖν and μάχεσθαι σὺν τινι or μετά τινος mean:

to fight with = in alliance with one, as one’s ally.

2. It denotes accompaniment of military forces (mostly without σύν):

ὀλίγῳ στρατεύματι ἕπεσθαι parva manu.

δισχιλίοις ὁπλίταις στρατεύειν.

3. It stands with αὐτός “together with,” - “even inclusive of,” and: ὁ αὐτός τινι, “the same as:”

Μίαν ναῦν λαμβάνουσιν αὐτοῖς ἀνδράσιν with all the crew - men and all.

Ἐν ταὐτῷ ᾖσθα τούτοις at the same place as these.

4. It is often qualified by σύν (163, 27): σὺν τοῖς θεοῖς.

159. The dative (as instrumental case) is used like the ablative in Latin.

1. The dative of instrument denotes the means or instrument by which anything is accomplished. So especially with χράομαι: use, employ; treat, deal with; have as.

Οὐδεὶς ἔπαινον ἡδοναῖς ἐκτήσατο.

Χρῆται ἡμῖν βασιλεὺς ὅ,τι βούλεται.

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SYNTAX.

2. The dative of cause denotes the motive or cause. So esp. with verbs denoting emotion. See 150.

εὐνοίᾳ, ὕβρει, φθόνῳ, φόβῳ ποιεῖν τι out of kindness etc.

Ἀβουλίᾳ τὰ πολλὰ βλάπτονται βροτοί suffer harm because of.

Χαλεπῶς ἔφερον οἱ στρατιῶται τοῖς παροῦσι πράγμασιν.

Note. - Ἐπί is often added to this dative in connection with verbs denoting emotion.

θαυμάζειν ἐπὶ ποιήσει, μέγα φρονεῖν ἐπ’ ἀρετῇ etc.

Χαίρειν ἐπ’ αἰσχραῖς ἡδοναῖς οὐ χρὴ ποτε.

3. The dative of manner denotes manner or attendant circumstances. It is generally accompanied by an attribute.

τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ, οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ in this way, in no wise,

τῇδε, ταύτῃ, δρόμῳ, βίᾳ, κεραυνῷ, σιγῇ,

δημοσίᾳ publice, ἰδίᾳ privatim, κοινῇ jointly,

τῷ ὄντι, ἔργῳ in deed, in fact, really,

λόγῳ, προφάσει avowedly, professedly, pretendedly (141),

παντὶ σθένει with all one’s might, πάσῃ τέχνῃ καὶ μηχανῇ by every means and device.

Οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι κρίνουσι βοῇ καὶ οὐ ψήφῳ.

4. The dative of degree of difference with comparative expressions denotes measure or degree of difference: by how much ...

πολλῷ (μακρῷ) κρεῖττον much or by far better, ὀλίγῳ ἐλάττους τριακοσίων,

πολλοῖς ἔτεσιν ὕστερον many years later, πόλει λογίμῃ ἀσθενέστερος.

ὅσῳ - τοσούτῳ: quo - eo, the - the.

Note. - Besides πολλῷ etc., the adverbial accusative (141) is often used: πολὺ χείρων, ὀλίγον πρότερον, as always οὐδέν, τί and τι (never οὐδενί etc.).

160. The dative (as locative case), which corresponds to the Latin ablative of place and time, is used

1. as dative of place in answer to the question: “where?” In prose a preposition (ἐν, παρά, ὑπό) is always added - except in the adverbial expressions τῇδε, ταύτῃ, ᾗ - κύκλῳ - and in the locatives Μαραθῶνι, Ἀθήνησιν (51).

2. as dative of time in answer to the question: “when?”

a) without ἐν (dates or names of festivals!):

ταύτῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ, τετάρτῳ ἔτει,

τῷ ἐπιόντι μηνί, Παναθηναίοις, -

b) with ἐν (= during, within the space of, in the course of, see 152, 2):

Ἐν ἔτεσιν ἑβδομήκοντα ἐξῆν σοι ἀπιέναι.

Ἐν νυκτὶ βουλὴ τοῖς σοφοῖσι γίγνεται.

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PREPOSITIONS.

Note. - To be distinguished: τὴν ἡμέραν (140), ἡμέρας (152), τῆς ἡμέρας (152), τῇ ἡμέρᾳ and ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ.

161. The dative is used with verbs one of whose component parts is a preposition that requires the dative:

less frequently after verbs compounded with παρά, ὑπό: πάρειμι, ὑπόκειμαι.