Greek particle
μέν
μέν is a Greek particle. In the 12 analysed lines it was read in, it means “on the one hand” (11 times) and “indeed” (once).
In the texts
Each line as the reader shows it: every word in its case colour with its meaning underneath, and arcs from μέν to the words it goes with.
Κἀκεῖνος τὸ μὲν πρῶτον μετρίως προσέλαμψε·
And that man at first shone moderately.
μὲν: goes with προσέλαμψε.
Ὅτι μὲν ὑμεῖς, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πεπόνθατε ὑπὸ τῶν ἐμῶν κατηγόρων, οὐκ οἶδα·
What you, O men of Athens, have suffered from my accusers, I do not know.
μὲν: goes with πεπόνθατε.
Δαρείου καὶ Παρυσάτιδος γίγνονται παῖδες δύο, πρεσβύτερος μὲν Ἀρταξέρξης, νεώτερος δὲ Κῦρος·
From Darius and Parysatis two sons are born: the elder Artaxerxes, the younger Cyrus.
μὲν: goes with Ἀρταξέρξης.
…κατῴκει τήνδε γῆν Κορινθίαν ξὺν ἀνδρὶ καὶ τέκνοισιν, ἁνδάνουσα μὲν φυγῇ πολιτῶν ὧν ἀφίκετο χθόνα, αὐτή τε πάντα ξυμφέρουσ’…
Nor would she now be living in this Corinthian land with her husband and children, having persuaded the daughters of Pelias to kill their father, pleasing the citizens to whose land she came in exile, and herself agreeing with Jason in everything.
μὲν: goes with ἁνδάνουσα.
…ἐξίτηλα γένηται, μήτε ἔργα μεγάλα τε καὶ θωμαστά, τὰ μὲν Ἕλλησι τὰ δὲ βαρβάροισι ἀποδεχθέντα, ἀκλεᾶ γένηται, τά τε…
This is the publication of the history of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, in order that neither the things that came into being from humans may become faded by time, nor great and wondrous deeds, some by Greeks and some by barbarians, may become inglorious, and also (to explain) the other things and for what reason they waged war against one another.
μὲν: goes with Ἕλλησι.
…μοι γῆμαι καὶ γυναῖκα ἠγαγόμην εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν, τὸν μὲν ἄλλον χρόνον οὕτω διεκείμην ὥστε μήτε λυπεῖν μήτε λίαν…
For I, O Athenians, since it seemed good to me to marry and I brought a wife into the house, for all the other time I behaved so as neither to grieve nor to be overly dependent on her to do whatever she might wish, and I kept watch as much as was possible, and I paid attention as was fitting.
μὲν: goes with χρόνον.
…ὤς με φώναισ’ οὐδ’ ἒν ἔτ’ εἴκει, ἀλλ’ ἄκαν μὲν γλῶσσα †ἔαγε†, λέπτον δ’ αὔτικα χρῶι πῦρ ὐπαδεδρόμηκεν, ὀππάτεσσι…
For whenever I look at you even briefly, I can no longer speak at all; my tongue is broken, a subtle fire at once runs beneath my skin, my eyes see nothing, my ears hum, cold sweat pours down me, trembling seizes me all over, I am paler than grass, and I seem to myself little short of dying.
μὲν: goes with ἔαγε.
…καὶ τὸ ἄλλο Ἑλληνικὸν ὁρῶν ξυνιστάμενον πρὸς ἑκατέρους, τὸ μὲν εὐθύς, τὸ δὲ καὶ διανοούμενον
Thucydides the Athenian wrote the history of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, how they waged war against each other, beginning immediately at its outbreak and expecting that it would be both great and the most worthy of record of previous wars, judging that both sides were at their peak going into it with all their resources, and seeing the rest of the Greek world assembling with each side, some immediately, others also intending to do so.
μὲν: goes with εὐθύς.
Forms
Every form of the word in these texts, with what it is.
| Form | Grammar | Read |
|---|---|---|
| μὲν | Particle | 12 |
Words it goes with
Joined to μέν by an arc in these lines, most often first.