J. N. Madvig, Syntax of the Greek Language: Chapter III, The Cases: Nominative and Accusative

In Greek, an apposition is often attached to the subject or object of a proposition, sometimes even to a case governed by a preposition, to denote in what quality, to what end, the person or thing appears in the action: Ἥκεις μοι σωτήρ. Τίνος διδάσκαλοι ἥκετε; (Pl. Euthyd. 287). Οὐ χείρους βοηθοί σοι παραστησόμεθα ἢ εἰ παῖδας ἐκέκτησο (Xen. Cyr. 5, 8, 19). Τοὺς φίλους μάρτυρας παρέχω. Τὰ περιττὰ χρήματα πράγματα ἔχουσιν (Xen. Cyr. 8, 2, 21; as a burden, i.e. in their superfluous wealth they have only an incumbrance). Ἴσως τάχα τοὺς Θηβαίους ἄλλους Λακεδαιμονίους εὑρήσετε (Xen. Hell. 7, 1, 24). Σὺν σοὶ φίλῳ καὶ ταῦτα διαπράξομαι. [1]

[1] On the other hand a relation of time is never denoted (as it is in Latin) by the apposition of a substantive or adjective (without the participle ὤν). When, or as consul, is ὑπατεύων, as a child, παῖς ὤν. See § 174 b. R.

Rem. 1. Such an apposition is rarely found with objects which are not in the accusative, except with χρῶμαι (dative: Χρῶμαι τοῖς φίλοις βοηθοῖς) and τυγχάνω (genitive: Ἐρωτᾶτε τοὺς Τραπεζουντίους, ὁποίων τινῶν ἡμῶν ἔτυχον, Xen. An. 5, 5, 15, what sort of people they found us). (Θρασυμήδης οὐδὲν ᾔδει, οἵοις θηρίοις ἐπλησίαζε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τούτοις, Dem. 35, 8, with what monsters he associated, in having to do with these men.)

Rem. 2. In a numerical statement of breadth, length, height, weight, or value, the general term is often put as an apposition (100 feet as length, i.e. in length): and so, in speaking of a sum of money, the more special description of the way in which it is applied (30 talents as reward = for reward, as we also say, 30 l. reward). Τὸ ἄγαλμα τεσσαράκοντα τάλαντα σταθμὸν εἶχε χρυσίου ἀπέφθου (Thuc. 2, 13). Ἀρχέβιος καὶ Λυσιθείδης ἔχουσι χρήματα Ναυκρατικὰ, τίμημα τάλαντα ἐννέα καὶ τριάκοντα μνᾶς (Dem. 34, 11). Ἐπὶ μισθῷ τριάκοντα ταλάντοις (Hdt. 8, 4). Ἐμοὶ ὁ πατὴρ κατέλιπε τριάκοντα μνᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐργαστηρίου τὴν πρόσοδον (Dem. 27, 18, as the produce, the profits, of the workshop).

Rem. 3. An entire proposition may have a description of its purport, or of its predicate, annexed to it in the form of an apposition. In an active proposition, this apposition attaches itself to the object; in a passive one, to the subject; but in prose it consists only of an adjective or a similar expression in the neuter: Τὸ δὲ πάντων μέγιστον καὶ κάλλιστον, τὴν μὲν σὴν χώραν αὐξανομένην ὁρᾷς, τὴν δὲ τῶν πολεμίων μειουμένην (Xen. Cyr. 5, 5, 24). Παρμενίδης μοι φαίνεται, τὸ τοῦ Ὁμήρου, αἰδοῖός τε ἅμα δεινός τε (Pl. Theat. 183, P. seems to me, Homer's expression, both -, i.e. as Homer has it), Πανολεθρίᾳ δή, τὸ λεγόμενον, καὶ πεζὸς καὶ νῆες καὶ οὐδὲν ὅ,τι οὐκ ἀπώλετο (Thuc. 7, 87, as the saying is). In like manner the nature of the predicate is premised in the form of an apposition by such expressions as δυοῖν θάτερον, one or other of these two: (Τοιαῦτα ἐροῦμεν, ἐξ ὧν, δυοῖν θάτερον, ἢ μεταστήσομεν τὰς γνώμας αὐτῶν ἢ τὰς κατηγορίας ἐλέγξομεν ψευδεῖς οὔσας, Isocr. Antid. 197), ἀμφότερα (τοὺς ἀμφότερα ταῦτα, καὶ εὔνους τῇ πόλει καὶ πλουσίους, Dem. 18, 171), οὐδέτερον, ταὐτὸν τοῦτο, πᾶν τοὐναντίον, &c. (Hence ταὐτὸν τοῦτο, in the same way, likewise, τοὐναντίον, on the contrary, as adverbs.)

Rem. 4. With the verb λέγω, I mean, either the foregoing case is repeated, or the more exact specification is attached, as object, to λέγω: Πάντες οἱ στρατηγοὶ παρ' ὧν ἂν ἕκαστοι δύνωνται, τούτων τῶν τὴν Ἀσίαν οἰκούντων λέγω, χρήματα λαμβάνουσιν (Dem. 8, 24). Προσέκρουσα ἀνθρώπῳ πονηρῷ, ᾧ τελευτῶσα ὅλη προσέκρουσεν ἡ πόλις, Ἀνδροτίωνα λέγω (Dem. 24, 6).

In the nominative stands (1) the subject; the predicate; and (3) an apposition to the subject: Κῦρος πάντων κράτιστος ἐνομίζετο. Κῦρος στρατηγὸς ἀπεδείχθη. Γωβρύας ψευδὴς φαίνεται (Xen. Cyr. 5, 2, 4). Ὁ ἀδελφός μοι ζημία μᾶλλον ἢ ὠφέλειά ἐστιν (Xen. Mem. 2, 3, 6). Ὄνομα τῷ μειρακίῳ Ἀγάθων ἐστίν. [2]

[2] In Latin Damno magis quam utilitati and most frequently Nomen adolescenti Agathoni est.

Rem. 1. [Verbs of imperfect predication.] The verbs which in themselves do not form a complete predicate, and therefore require a predicate noun, are in Greek (besides εἰμί, ὑπάρχω, γίγνομαι, and certain passives (see § 24), πέφυκα, I am by nature. (Λαγχάνω, become by lot: Δημοσθένης οὔτ' ἔλαχε τειχοποιὸς οὔτ' ἐχειροτονήθη, Aesch. 3, 28. Δοκῶ with εἶναι omitted.)

Rem. 2. When a participle has a predicative-noun or an apposition, the predicate or apposition follows the case of the subject and of the participle: Ὁ φαῦλος νομιζόμενος, τῶν φαύλων νομιζομένων (of those who are accounted vile), Τοῖς ἄκουσιν ἁμαρτάνουσι μέτεστι συγγνώμης (Dem. 24, 49). Ἀντισθένην Ἀθηναῖοι εἵλοντο στρατηγόν, τὸν οὐδὲ ὁπλίτην πώποτε στρατευσάμενον (Xen. Mem. 3, 4, 1, who had never even served as a hoplite). Τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων προτέρων ἐλθόντων, οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἀπετράποντο.

Rem. 3. In comparisons with ὡς, ὥσπερ, and καθάπερ, there is often a nominative to which we must supply a verb in the indicative, which stands in the principal member of the sentence either as participle in a different case, or as infinitive (accusative with infinitive): Ἄξιον κολάζειν τοὺς παραβαίνειν τολμῶντας τὰς συνθήκας, ἄλλως τε καὶ τοὺς ὥσπερ Καλλίμαχος βεβιωκότας (Isocr. Call. 47). Πέπεισμαί σε μᾶλλον ἀποθανεῖν ἂν ἑλέσθαι ἢ ζῆν ὥσπερ ἐγώ (Xen. Mem. 1, 6, 4). Ἐν ἀνδράσιν οὕτως ἀνοήτοις ὥσπερ οἱ παῖδες (Pl. Gorg. 464, where εἰσίν is understood from the adjective). But the noun after the ὥσπερ may also pass, by attraction, into the case of the preceding noun, although the verb by which that case is governed, has nothing to do with the comparative clause: Ἀστυάγης τῷ Κύρῳ ἥδετο οὐ δυναμένῳ σιγᾶν ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ σκύλακι γενναίῳ ἀνακλάζοντι (Xen. Cyr. 1, 4, 15). (Cf. § 98 on the Comparative.)

Rem. 4. In the vague infinitive sentence, subject and predicate stand in the accusative: Ἤκουσα ὄνομα αὐτῷ εἶναι Ἀγάθωνα (Pl. Prot. 315). See under Infinitive.

The accusative is the case of the object of transitive verbs (whether in the active, middle, or passive-deponent form): Οἱ Ἕλληνες τοὺς Πέρσας ἐνίκησαν. (In the passive: Οἱ Πέρσαι ἐνικήθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων.) Τὴν ἀσπίδα προβάλλομαι. Νικίας τοὺς ἄλλους στρατηγοὺς μετεπέμψατο (sent for; in the passive: Παρῆσαν μεταπεμφθέντες ὑπὸ Νικίου). Οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι τοὺς τῶν Συρακουσίων ἱππέας ἐφοβήθησαν. (On the forms of the verb see chap. 7.)

Rem. 1. The active subject is usually expressed in the passive by ὑπό. Of the use of the dative and of the prepositions πρός, ἐξ, ἀπό, under certain circumstances, see under Dative (§ 38, b) and the Prepositions.

Rem. 2. In the transitive verbs which take the accusative, the relation of the action to the object is so conceived, that the object is the passive recipient or the result of the action. Distinct from these are the verbs in which the action or state is conceived, as having merely a reference to an object which is expressed by the dative; and also those in which the relation is conceived as a connexion with or a proceeding from an object which is denoted by the genitive. These latter come nearest to the properly transitive verbs.

a) In many verbs the view of the relation of the action to the object is somewhat different in the Greek from that which underlies the corresponding English and Latin words by which they are commonly rendered, whence they are construed in a different way, viz., transitively. This must be learnt in detail by practice, and from the Lexicon. For example, these verbs in Greek are transitive: εὐλαβοῦμαί (τι), εὐεργετῶ (τινα), κακουργῶ, ἐπιτροπεύω, δορυφορῶ (τινα), λανθάνω (escape the observation of some one), τιμωροῦμαί (τινα; avenge myself on some one, and punish him), αἰσχύνομαι (feel myself ashamed, or awed, before some one, e.g. τοὺς στρατιώτας). [3]

[3] The learner must especially be on his guard against supposing that the particular mode of conception which appears in certain Latin verbs, and the dative construction thence resulting also holds in the Greek. These verbs, for instance, in Greek, are simple transitives: ἀδικῶ, βλάπτω, πείθω, κολακεύω, οἰκτείρω, ἐλέω, ὠφελῶ, ἐνεδρύω.

b) Sundry usually intransitive verbs sometimes obtain a transitive signification in certain connexions, e.g. θαῤῥῶ (μάχας, θάνατον), δυσχεραίνω (τὴν ἀδικίαν), ὄμνυμι (τοὺς θεούς), πλέω (τὴν θάλασσαν); ἀποδιδράσκω (τὸν δεσπότην), εἶμι, πορεύομαι (ὁδόν), εἰσέρχομαι (γραφήν; as we say, enter a complaint before the judges), εἴσειμι (τυράννους, act [the part of] sovereigns on the stage), πρεσβεύω (εἰρήνην, negotiate a peace as ambassador [4]).

[4] Τεθνᾶναι τῷ φόβῳ τοὺς Θηβαίους (Dem. 19, 81), ἔξαρνον εἶναι (γίγνεσθαι) τὴν δίαιταν (Isocr. Call. 13, the award of the umpires). Ἀστύοχος τὴν χώραν καταδρομαῖς λείαν ἐποιεῖτο (Thuc. 8, 41).

Rem. 1. The passive, however, of such verbs, is, for the most part, never used.

Rem. 2. The poets often go much greater lengths in ascribing transitive signification to intransitive verbs: such poetical expressions are, e.g. χορεύω θεόν (celebrate with dancing), ἀΐσσω χεῖρα, παραβαίνω τὸν ἕτερον πόδα, ἧμαι (κεῖμαι, θάσσω, πηδῶ) τόπον τινά, διφρηλατῶ τὸν οὐρανόν. Τοὺς εὐσεβεῖς θεοὶ θνήσκοντας οὐ χαίρουσιν (Eur. Hipp. 1339). (In the passive: Πᾶν μέλαθρον αὐλεῖται, Eur. Iph. 367, is filled with the music of the flute.)

a) In particular it must be remarked, that many intransitive verbs, which denote a motion, on composition with a preposition (especially διά, μετά, παρά, περί, ὑπέρ, ὑπό) assume a transitive signification, partly proper, partly metaphorical, e.g. διαβαίνω (ποταμόν), διέρχομαι, δίειμι, διέξειμι, διεξέρχομαι, go through (in discourse and writing), διαπλέω, μετέρχομαι, prosecute in revenge and punishment, παραβαίνω, transgress, πάρειμι, παρέρχομαι, pass by, περίειμι (τὴν Ἑλλάδα), περιΐσταμαι (λόφον, ἄνθρωπόν τινα), ὑπερβαίνω, overstep, exceed, transgress, ὑπέρχομαί (τινα, flatter; we say, come over), ὑφίσταμαι (κινδύνους), ὑποδύομαι (πόνον, submit to a labour).

Rem. 1. In some verbs, not metaphorically used, the preposition is occasionally repeated, e.g. διαπορεύομαι διὰ τῆς χώρας.

Rem. 2. In verbs compounded with other prepositions, the transitive signification is more rare, and usually is found only in the metaphorical sense, e.g. in εἴσειμι (εἰσέρχεταί με ἔλεος, Pl. Phaed. 58; but also εἰσέρχεταί μοι δέος, Pl. Rep. 1, 330), ἐκβαίνω, exceed (τὰ τριάκοντα ἔτη), ἐξίσταμαι, ὑπεξίσταμαι (κίνδυνον, evade: = declinare); or poetical, e.g. εἰσπίπτω συμφοράν. (Cf. § 36, b. R. 1.)

b) Κατά forms from intransitive verbs transitives expressive of destruction, annihilation, as brought about by the action assigned by the simple verb, e.g. καταναυμαχῶ, καταπολεμῶ, καταπολιτεύομαί τινα - κατοψοφαγῶ, καθιπποτροφῶ τὴν οὐσίαν (waste my property by keeping horses).

Some verbs govern, besides the object itself, the accusative of a substantive or adjective, which, as apposition or predicate-noun to the object, serves to complete the notion of the verb. In the passive, these verbs usually take a predicate-noun in the nominative by § 20. Such verbs are:

a) Those which denote: to make (to be) something (elect, nominate, appoint); to have (take, give) as something; to shew and exhibit somewhat in a certain way, as something. Δαρεῖος Κῦρον σατράπην ἐποίησε καὶ στρατηγὸν ἀπέδειξε πάντων, ὅσοι εἰς Καστώλον πεδίον ἀθροίζονται (Xen. An. 1, 1, 2). Θρασύβουλος ὑμᾶς μὲν πενεστέρους ἀπέδειξε, τοὺς δὲ κόλακας τοὺς αὐτοῦ πλουσιωτάτους τῶν πολιτῶν ἐποίησεν (Lys. 28, 4). Οἱ στρατιῶται Ἀλκιβιάδην στρατηγὸν εἵλοντο (Thuc. 8, 82). Ἀριαῖον ἠθέλομεν βασιλέα καθιστάναι (Xen. An. 3, 2, 5). Τῷ Ἀλκιβιάδῃ Περικλῆς ἐπέστησε παιδαγωγὸν τῶν οἰκετῶν τὸν ἀχρειότατον ὑπὸ γήρως (Pl. Alc. P. 122). Τὰ περιττὰ χρήματα πράγματα ἔχουσιν (Xen. Cyr. 8, 2, 21). Λύσανδρος στεφάνους παρὰ τῶν πόλεων ἐλάμβανε δῶρα (Xen. Hell. 3, 8, 8. See § 19). Τὸν ἰδιώτην χρὴ ἑαυτὸν παρέχειν εὐπειθῆ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν (Xen. Cyr. 2, 1, 22). Λῆρον ἀποδεικνύασιν Ἐνδυμίωνα (Pl. Phaed. 72; they make Endymion a farce; surpass him so much that he becomes mere child's-play in comparison). Οὐδεὶς ἕξει ψευδῆ ἀποφῆναι, ἃ εἰρήκαμεν (Pl.).

Rem. The Greeks even say [proleptically], αὐξάνειν τινὰ μέγαν, αἴρειν τι μέγα, and the like; where the notion expressed in the apposition is already involved in the verb, and διδάσκεσθαί τινα σκυτέα, to set a person to learn to be a shoemaker.

b) The verbs which denote to name, call (λέγω, καλῶ, ἀποκαλῶ, ὀνομάζω, προσαγορεύω; προσεῖπον), and to regard (hold, account, declare) as something (νομίζω, ἡγοῦμαι, κρίνω). Οἱ Ἕλληνες τοὺς ἄλλους πάντας βαρβάρους ὠνόμαζον. Φίλον σε ἡγοῦμαι (Pl. Gorg. 473). Ἀθλιωτάτην ταύτην τῶν πόλεων κρίνω (Pl. Rep. 9, 578).

Rem. 1. Instead of the name, title, or denomination itself, a pronoun may stand in the neuter: Τί σε καλῶμεν; Τοῦτο καλοῦμαι. Ἀντὶ φίλων καὶ ξένων, ἃ τότε ὠνομάζοντο, νῦν κόλακες ἀκούουσιν (Dem. 18, 46). Also, καλεῖν τινα ὄνομά τι. Ἀνακαλοῦσι ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα ἑαυτούς, ἀδελφούς, πατέρας, υἱεῖς (Pl. Rep. 5, 471). Καλεῖν, τίθεσθαι, προσειπεῖν τινι ὄνομά τι, to give a person a name; τίθεσθαί τινι ὄνομα Σωσίαν (Dem. 48, 74). (Ἐπωνυμίαν ἔχω τύραννος.)

Rem. 2. ἡγοῦμαι, νομίζω, κρίνω, often take an accusative with infinitive (εἶναι), sometimes even ὀνομάζω: Σοφιστὴν ὀνομάζουσι τὸν ἄνδρα εἶναι (Pl. Prot. 311).

c) The verbs which denote, to distribute into (to make into somewhat by parting, διαιρῶ, διανέμω, κατανέμω): Ὁ Κῦρος τὸ στράτευμα κατένειμε δώδεκα μέρη (Xen. Cyr. 7, 5, 13). (In the passive: Ἡ γῆ τὰ αὐτὰ μέρη διανέμεται, Pl. Legg. 5, 737.) Also Περσῶν δώδεκα φυλὰς διαιρεῖν (Xen. Cyr. 1, 2, 5).

A double accusative, to express a nearer and a more remote object (the former a person, or something conceived as person) is taken by verbs which denote, to demand (αἰτῶ, ἀπαιτῶ, πράττομαι; more rarely πράττω, εἰσπράττω), to deprive, bereave, make to lose (ἀφαιροῦμαι, ἀποστερῶ, also συλῶ); clothe and strip, invest and divest (ἐνδύω, ἐκδύω, ἀμφιέννυμι), teach (διδάσκω, διδάσκομαι, set to learn, have a person taught to be somewhat), admonish, make to remember (ἀναμιμνήσκω, ὑπομιμνήσκω), conceal (κρύπτω, ἀποκρύπτω). In the passive construction, the nearer object becomes the nominative, while the accusative of the more remote object remains: Πολλοί με σῖτον αἰτοῦσι, πολλοὶ δὲ ἱμάτια (Xen. Cyr. 8, 3, 41). Σωκράτης οὐδένα τῆς συνουσίας ἀργύριον ἐπράττετο (Xen. Mem. 1, 6, 11): Μεσσήνην ὑμᾶς οἱ Θηβαῖοι ἐπιχειροῦσιν ἀποστερεῖν (Isocr. Arch. 16). Ὁ μέγας παῖς τὸν μικρὸν παῖδα τὸν ἑαυτοῦ χιτῶνα ἠμφίεσεν (Xen. Cyr. 1, 3, 17). Πόθεν Διονυσόδωρος ἤρξατό σε διδάσκειν τὴν στρατηγίαν; (Xen. Mem. 3, 1, 5). Ἀναμνήσω ὑμᾶς καὶ τοὺς τῶν προγόνων κινδύνους (Xen. An. 3, 2, 11). Διογείτων τὴν θυγατέρα ἔκρυπτε τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἀνδρός (Lys. 32, 7). - Τισσαφέρνης ὑπὸ βασιλέως ἐτύγχανε πεπραγμένος τοὺς ἐκ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀρχῆς φόρους (Thuc. 8, 5). Ὅσοι τε τῶν πολεμίων ὅπλα ἀφῄρηνται, ταχὺ ἄλλα ποιήσονται; ὅσοι τε ἵππους ἀπεστέρηνται; ταχὺ πάλιν ἄλλους κτήσονται (Xen. Cyr. 6, 1, 19). Ἡρακλῆς τὰς βοῦς ὑπὸ Νηλέως καὶ τῶν παίδων ἐσυλήθη (Isocr. Arch. 19). Ἀδύνατοί εἰσί τινες ταύτην τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν διδαχθῆναι (Xen. Oec. 12, 12).

Rem. 1. Some of these verbs also admit a different construction, especially ἀποστερεῖν, viz., τινά τινος, to deprive a person of a thing: ἀποστερεῖν τινα τῶν πατρῴων (Dem. 29, 8), ἀποστερεῖσθαι μεγάλων (Pl. Rep. 1, 329). (Ἀφαιρεῖσθαί τί τινος, to take something from some one; and so παραιρεῖσθαι: Τὰ ὅπλα τοῦ πλήθους παρῃροῦντο, Xen. Hell. 2, 3, 41. Ἀφαιρεῖν in the active has τινί τι, to take something from some one. Αἰτεῖν τι παρά τινος. Ἀναμιμνήσκειν τινά τινος, e.g. Γοργίου.)

Rem. 2. Now and then, such a substantive accusative of the remoter object is found with some other verbs, which otherwise have instead of it a preposition, e.g. in προκαλοῦμαι and ἐρωτῶ: Λακεδαιμόνιοι ὑμᾶς τὴν εἰρήνην προκαλοῦνται (Arist. Ach. 652. Usually it is: προκαλεῖσθαί τινα εἰς εἰρήνην. Ταῦτά σε προκαλοῦμαι, with the pronoun in the neuter by § 27). Κῦρος ἠρώτα τοὺς αὐτομόλους τὰ ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων (Xen. Cyr. 3, 3, 48). Ἐρωτᾶσθαι τὸ ὄνομα (Pl. Legg. 10, 895. Usually περί τινος). With others (ἀναγκάζω, ἀποκωλύω) we find, as accusative of the thing, only a neuter adjective or pronoun (see § 27): Τοῦτο μὴ ἀνάγκαζέ με (Pl. Rep. 5, 473). Ἀπέρχομαι πρὶν ὑπὸ σοῦ τι μεῖζον ἀναγκασθῆναι (Pl. Phaed. 242).

Rem. 3. The verbs, to make (ποιῶ, ἀντιποιῶ, δρῶ, ἐργάζομαι, poetically, ἔρδω), and say, speak (λέγω, εἶπον, ἀγορεύω) in the sense, to speak to, or address a person in a certain manner (especially in an evil manner), sometimes also to make mention of, take the accusative of the person with another accusative, mostly a neuter adjective or pronoun, denoting that which is done to or said of or to the person: Ἐκ τούτων τῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ οἱ τὰ μέγιστα κακὰ ἐργαζόμενοι τὰς πόλεις γίγνονται καὶ οἱ ἀγαθά; σμικρὰ δὲ φύσις οὐδὲν μέγα οὐδέποτε οὐδένα δρᾷ (Pl. Rep. 6, 495). Οἱ ὑποκριταὶ ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις ἀλλήλους τὰ ἔσχατα λέγουσιν (Xen. Mem. 2, 2, 9). Instead of the second accusative we may also have merely the adverbs εὖ and κακῶς: Κακῶς λέγουσιν οἱ ἀγαθοὶ τοὺς κακούς (Pl. Euthyd. 284). [1]

[1] Ἔξεστιν ὑμῖν ἄνευ δαπάνης τὰ δίκαια ποιῆσαι τοῖς εὐεργέταις (Dem. 20, 12).

a) Verbs in themselves incapable of an object accusative have nevertheless not unfrequently the accusative of a substantive derived from the same root or of corresponding meaning, usually connected with an adjective or pronoun or similar adjunct serving to define and characterize the action more closely. (In English, we usually employ a verb of general signification, which can take the substantive as its regular object, in place of the special and intransitive verb in the Greek.) Ἥδομαι τὰς μεγίστας ἡδονάς (Pl. Phil. 21; I feel, experience, enjoy). Χαιρεφῶν ξυνέφυγε τὴν φυγὴν ταύτην (Pl. Apol. 21; took part in; shared). Οἱ Θρᾷκες, ἐπεὶ εὐτύχησαν τοῦτο τὸ εὐτύχημα, συνελέγοντο τῆς νυκτός (Xen. An. 6, 1, 6). Λακεδαιμόνιοι μετὰ ταῦτα τὸν ἱερὸν καλούμενον πόλεμον ἐστράτευσαν (Thuc. 1, 112). Ἀπήραμεν τὴν προτέραν πρεσβείαν (Dem. 19, 168; we set out on the first embassy). Νικᾷν νίκην καλλίστην. Λακεδαιμονίους φασὶν ἐν Πλαταιαῖς πρῶτον μὲν φεύγειν, ἔπειτα δὲ ἀναστρεφομένους ὥσπερ ἱππέας μάχεσθαι καὶ οὕτω νικῆσαι τὴν ἐκεῖ μάχην (Pl. Laches 191). Τὰς μὲν νενικήκατε ναυμαχίας; τὴν δ' ἐκ τοῦ εἰκότος νῦν νικήσετε (Thuc. 7, 66) [2]. Πάσας νόσους κάμνω (Pl. Rep. 8, 408). Νόσον νοσοῦμεν τὴν ἐναντίαν (Arist. Aves, 31). Ἤδη ἠσθένει ταύτην τὴν νόσον (Isae. 1, 14). Πρὸς τὸ αὑτοῖς συμφέρον καὶ τοὺς νόμους τίθενται καὶ τοὺς ἐπαίνους ἐπαινοῦσι καὶ τοὺς ψόγους ψέγουσιν (Pl. Gorg. 488: praise, when they praise, and blame, when they blame). Hence sometimes a passive is formed: Ὁ βεβιωμένος σοι βίος (Dem. 19, 200, the life you have led [so we: the life you have lived]). Οἱ πόλεμοι οἱ ἐπὶ Θησέως πολεμηθέντες (Xen. Mem. 3, 5, 10).

[2] Νικᾶν, κρατεῖν τῇ μάχῃ, to conquer in the fight (ἥ ἐς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους δόξα, ἣν διὰ τὸ αἰσχρὸν δὴ βοηθήσειν ὑμῖν πιστεύετε αὐτούς, Thuc. 5, 105, the confidence you have in the Lacedæmonians, that they of very shame, etc.).

Rem. 1. The poets employ even bolder constructions, e.g. Τίς δῆτ' ἂν εἴη τήνδ' ὁ προσθακῶν ἕδραν; (Soph. Oed. C. 1166, that sits here in this sort?)

Rem. 2. In the same manner, some phrases are formed of a verb with a substantive, related in signification, but more special, without adjective or pronoun: νικᾶν Ἴσθμια (to gain an Isthmian victory, = νικᾶν τοὺς στεφανίτας ἀγῶνας), θύειν εὐαγγέλια, θύειν τὰ Λύκαια, ἑστιᾶν γάμους. (Ἑστιᾶν θεσμοφόρια τὰς γυναῖκας, Isae. 8, 10, see b.)

Rem. 3. This accusative may also stand with verbs which govern a genitive or dative: Δημοσθένης δέησίν τινα ἰσχυρὰν ἐμοῦ ἐδεήθη μὴ παραλιπεῖν τοῦτο (Aesch. 2, 48). (Δεινὰ ἔπη κατηγορεῖν τινος, Soph. Oed. R. 513.)

b) Such an accusative of the notion contained in the verb, or of one nearly related to it, together with a defining and characterizing adjunct, may also stand with a verb which governs a proper object-accusative: Θρασύβουλος καὶ Θράσυλλος ὥρκωσαν πάντας τοὺς στρατιώτας τοὺς μεγίστους ὅρκους, ἦ μὴν δημοκρατήσεσθαι καὶ ὁμονοήσειν (Thuc. 8, 75). Τοὺς πολίτας μεταδιδόναι ἀλλήλοις χρὴ τῆς ὠφελείας, ἣν ἂν ἕκαστοι τὸ κοινὸν δυνατοὶ ὦσιν ὠφελεῖν (Pl. Rep. 7, 519). Μιλτιάδης ὁ τὴν ἐν Μαραθῶνι μάχην τοὺς βαρβάρους νικήσας (Aesch. 3, 181) [1]. Αἰσχίνης Κτησιφῶντα γραφὴν ἱερῶν χρημάτων ἐδίωκεν (Dem. 19, 293). Τιμωρία ὑμῖν ἥξει εὐθὺς μετὰ τὸν ἐμὸν θάνατον πολὺ χαλεπωτέρα ἢ οἵαν ἐμὲ ἀπεκτόνατε (Pl. Apol. 39). This accusative may remain, when the proposition is expressed passively, and consequently the proper object becomes subject: Τοιοῦτον τμῆμα τέμνεται τὸ τεμνόμενον, οἷον τὸ τέμνον τέμνει (Pl. Gorg. 476; is cut with such a cut). Οὐδὲν ὄρνεον ᾄδει, ὅταν πεινῇ ἢ ῥιγοῖ ἤ τινα ἄλλην λύπην λυπῆται (Pl. Phaed. 85). Τὰς ἄλλας μάχας, ὅσας Πέρσαι ἡττήθησαν, ἐῶ (Isocr. Paneg. 145). Θρασύβουλος ἐδέθη καὶ ἐκρίθη ἀμφοτέρας τὰς κρίσεις ἐν τῷ δήμῳ (Dem. 24. 134). Τύπτεσθαι τῇ δημοσίᾳ μάστιγι πεντήκοντα πληγάς (Aesch. 1, 159).

[1] Usually νικᾶν τινα μἀχῃ μεγάλῃ.

a) Verbs which in themselves cannot govern an object-accusative, may take the neuter accusative of a pronoun or of a numeral adjective, to denote the contents and compass of the action; and in like manner sometimes another description of adjective which serves to characterize the measure and extent of the action. (The pronoun or adjective belongs, properly speaking, to the substantive notion involved in the verb.) Ἓν σοι (τοῦτο, πολλὰ) οὐχ ὁμολογῶ. Τί διαφέρει ταῦτα; Κῦρος Λυσάνδρῳ ἄλλα τ' ἐφιλοφρονεῖτο καὶ τὸν ἐν Σάρδεσι παράδεισον ἐπέδειξε (Xen. Oec. 4, 24). Σμικρόν τι ἀπορῶ (Pl. Theat. 146). Ταὐτὰ λυποῦμαι καὶ ταὐτὰ χαίρω τοῖς πολλοῖς (Dem. 18, 292). Ὁ ὀργισθεὶς οὐκ ἐλάσσω πταίει ἢ ὁ εὐοργήτως τοῖς πράγμασιν ὁμιλήσας (Thuc. 1, 122). Δέομαι μέτρια καὶ δίκαια ὑμῶν (Dem. 37, 3; my request does not exceed the bounds of moderation and justice). Δέομαι ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, βοηθῆσαι ἡμῖν τὰ δίκαια (Dem. 27, 63). Τέχνη ἔσθ' ὅ,τι προςδεῖταί τινος ἀρετῆς; (Pl. Rep. 1, 342; is there any respect in which Art requires any additional virtue?). - Ὅσα διαγωνίζονται πολλάκις ἥλικες πρὸς ἀλλήλους (Xen. Cyr. 1, 4, 4; what they contend, i.e. the contests they make). Οὐκ ἀξίως ἐκείνων ὧν (for ἅ by attraction, see ch. 9) ἐναυμαχήσαμεν (Arist. Aves, 677; what we fought, i.e. the way we fought in the naval engagement). Hence sometimes the passive is formed, especially in the participle: Τά σοι πεπρεσβευμένα (Dem. 19, 240; your acts as ambassador = ἃ σὺ πεπρέσβευκας). Τὰ ἐν ὅπλοις καὶ κατὰ τὴν στρατηγίαν ἀτυχηθέντα (Dem. 18, 212; the mishaps sustained).

Rem. 1. Especially we must remark the use of a pronoun in the accusative neuter with χρῶμαι (χρῶμαί τινί τι, make a certain use of an object, use it for [a certain purpose]): Τί βούλεται Κῦρος ἡμῖν χρῆσθαι; (Xen. An. 1, 3, 28). Ὑμεῖς νυκτί, ὅσαπερ οἱ ἄλλοι ἡμέρᾳ, δύνασθε χρῆσθαι (Xen. Cyr. 1, 6, 12). Πολλὰ χρῆσθαί τινι (Pl. Theat. 157). Οὐκ ἔχω, ὅ,τι χρήσομαι τούτῳ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ (Pl. Symp. 216; what I shall do with him: what to do with him). (Χρῆσθαί τινι ἐπὶ πρᾶγμά τι, χρῆσθαι τοῖς νεύροις εἰς τὰς σφενδόνας.)

Rem. 2. Sometimes an adjective thus accompanying the verb acquires almost the force of an adverb; see Adjectives, ch. 8. Τί (somewhat, in a certain degree) and (σμικρόν τι) and οὐδὲν are used as complete adverbs even with adjectives (οἱ ἀρετῆς τι μεταποιούμενοι, Thuc. 2, 51, οὐδὲν ὅμοιος, σμικρόν τι ὅμοιος), and with adverbs (σχεδόν τι, πάνυ τι). Ταῦτα acquires sometimes the sense for this reason, therefore: Αὐτὰ ταῦτα καὶ νῦν ἥκω παρὰ σέ (Pl. Prot. 310, this is the very reason of my now coming). Ταῦτ' ἄρα καὶ ἐνεώρας μοι; (Xen. Cyr. 1, 4, 27). (In the poets also τάδε, τοιαῦτα = οὕτως.)

b) Such an accusative may also stand with a transitive verb which governs an object-accusative (the adjectives almost always in the plural): Ἐὰν ἐμὲ ἀποκτείνητε, οὐκ ἐμὲ μείζω βλάψετε ἢ ὑμᾶς αὐτούς (Pl. Apol. 30; will bring greater hurts, = will harm more). Ταῦτα καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα ἐγκωμιάζουσι τὴν δικαιοσύνην (Pl. Rep. 2, 368). Λακεδαιμόνιοι πολλὰ τὴν πόλιν ἡμῶν ἠδικήκασι καὶ μεγάλα (Dem. 18, 98). This accusative may remain with the passive: Πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ ἠδικήθην (Isae. 8, 4). Οὐ βλάψονται ἄξια λόγου (Thuc. 6, 64; they will suffer no loss worth mentioning). (Θαυμάζεσθαι τὰ εἰκότα, Thuc. 1, 38, to enjoy becoming honours. Τοιαῦτ' ἔπη κλύων, ἃ νῦν σὺ τήνδ' ἀτιμάζεις πόλιν, Soph. Oed. R. 340, = ταῦτα, &c. - the affront thou puttest upon the city.)

a) The accusative stands with the prepositions ἀνά, up along something, along through something (of space and time), up to (ἀνὰ τὸ ὄρος), and εἰς, to, into something, together with ὡς, to, and with ἀμφί, διά, ἐπί, κατά, μετά, παρά, περί, πρός, ὑπέρ, ὑπό, in certain significations (those which start from the conception of a motion to something, a spreading round or over something).

Rem. 1. Εἰς (agreeably with its signification into) is never (in Attic, rarely in Ionic writers) applied to individual persons (πρός; ὡς). To persons in the plural it is applied, when these persons denote an assembly (εἰς τοὺς δικαστάς, εἰς ὑμᾶς, into the assembly of the people), a definite place (εἰς τοὺς πολεμίους; εἰς τοὺς ὑστάτους ἐμβάλλειν), or an extension (land and people) and expansion: Ἐπορεύθησαν εἰς Ταόχους, Xen. An. 4, 7, 1. Πέλοψ ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας χρήματα ἔχων ἦλθεν εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἀπόρους, Thuc. 1, 9. Παρὰ βασιλέα καὶ ἄλλοσε ἐς τοὺς βαρβάρους, Thuc. 1, 9. Διαβέβληνται εἰς τοὺς ἄλλους, Pl. Rep. 7, 589, in the minds of. Τῆς πόλεως ἡ δύναμις εἰς ἅπαντας ἀνθρώπους διαφανὴς ἐγένετο, Pl. Tim. 25). In speaking of disposition and behaviour towards any one, εἰς is also applied to individuals (εὔνοια εἴς τινα, ὑβρίζειν εἴς τινα, λέγειν τι εἴς τινα, of and against him). Ὡς is used only of persons. [1]

[1] Ἀνά in Epic and lyric poetry with the dative, on, upon, not implying motion.

Rem. 2. The poets use with verbs of motion an accusative without εἰς or πρός: Δόμους στείχω ἐμούς (Soph. Oed. C. 648). Πάρειμι (= ἥκω) Δίρκης νάματ' Ἰσμηνοῦ θ' ὕδωρ (Eur. Bacch. 5). In prose we find instead of εἰς, only some names of cities in the form -δε (-ζε, cf. the Accidence): ἐξελθεῖν Ἐλευσῖνάδε, Ὀλυμπίαζε.

Rem. 3. Transitive verbs compounded with the prepositions διά and ὑπέρ, in their proper local signification, sometimes take besides their object-accusative, the accusative of the name of the place through or over which the motion takes place: Ὑπερήνεγκαν τὸν Λευκαδίων ἰσθμὸν τὰς ναῦς (Thuc. 3, 81). (In Herodotus also τεῖχος περιβάλλεσθαι τὴν πόλιν, Hdt. 1, 163.)

b) Likewise with the particle μά in asseverations: Ναὶ μὰ τὸν Δία. Οὐ μὰ Δία. (In the poets sometimes οὐ without μά: Οὔ, τὸν πάντων θεῶν θεὸν πρόμον Ἅλιον. Soph. Oed. C. 666.)