Greek adjective
πολύς
πολύς, πολλή, πολύ
πολύς is a Greek adjective. In the 5 analysed lines it was read in, it means “many” (3 times), “most” (once), “much” (once) and “of many” (once).
In the texts
Each line as the reader shows it: every word in its case colour with its meaning underneath, and arcs from πολύς to the words it goes with.
Ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, μοῦσα, πολύτροπον, ὃς μάλα πολλὰ πλάγχθη, ἐπεὶ Τροίης ἱερὸν πτολίεθρον ἔπερσεν·
Tell me, O Muse, of the much-traveled man, who wandered very much, after he sacked the sacred citadel of Troy.
πολλὰ: tells how or when about πλάγχθη.
κίνησις γὰρ αὕτη μεγίστη δὴ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἐγένετο καὶ μέρει τινὶ τῶν βαρβάρων, ὡς δὲ εἰπεῖν καὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἀνθρώπων.
For this was indeed the greatest movement for the Greeks and a certain part of the barbarians, and, one might say, over most of mankind.
πλεῖστον: object of the preposition ἐπὶ; the phrase goes with ἐγένετο.
μάλιστα δὲ αὐτῶν ἓν ἐθαύμασα τῶν πολλῶν ὧν ἐψεύσαντο, τοῦτο ἐν ᾧ ἔλεγον ὡς χρῆν ὑμᾶς…
But most of all I marveled at one of their many lies, this one in which they said that it was necessary for you to be wary lest you be deceived by me, as though I were skilled in speaking.
πολλῶν: goes with ἓν (“of …”).
…θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί’ Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε’ ἔθηκε, πολλὰς δ’ ἰφθίμους ψυχὰς Ἄϊδι προΐαψεν ἡρώων, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια…
Sing, goddess, the wrath of Achilles, son of Peleus, a destructive wrath, which placed countless pains upon the Achaeans, and sent forth many valiant souls of heroes to Hades, and made their bodies a prey for dogs and all birds—and the will of Zeus was accomplished—from the moment when first the son of Atreus, lord of men, and godlike Achilles, stood apart in quarrel.
πολλὰς: describes ψυχὰς.
πολλῶν δ’ ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω, πολλὰ δ’…
He saw the cities of many men and knew their minds; he suffered many pains on the sea in his heart, striving for his own life and the return of his comrades.
πολλῶν: describes ἀνθρώπων.
Forms
Every form of the word in these texts, with what it is.
| Form | Grammar | Read |
|---|---|---|
| πολλὰ | Accusative · Plural · Neuter | 2 |
| πλεῖστον | Accusative · Singular · Neuter · Superlative | 1 |
| πολλὰς | Accusative · Plural · Feminine | 1 |
| πολλῶν | Genitive · Plural · Neuter | 1 |
| πολλῶν | Genitive · Plural · Masculine | 1 |
Words it goes with
Joined to πολύς by an arc in these lines, most often first.
Grammar
- About the accusativeThe Greek accusative marks the direct object, motion towards after εἰς and πρός, and the subject of an infinitive. Real lines from Homer, Aesop and John.
- About the genitiveThe Greek genitive covers “of” and “from”: possession, the whole a part belongs to, prepositions and the genitive absolute. Real lines from John and Aesop.
- About agreementHow Greek articles, adjectives and participles agree with their nouns in case, number and gender, and how the article frames a phrase, shown in real lines.
- About word orderWhy a Greek adjective can stand far from its noun, as in the Odyssey’s first line: the endings carry the grammar, so order is free for emphasis.