Greek adjective and proper noun
Ἀθηναῖος
Ἀθηναῖος, -α, -ον
Ἀθηναῖος is a Greek adjective and proper noun. In the 4 analysed lines it was read in, it means “Athenians” (4 times) and “Athenian” (once).
In the texts
Each line as the reader shows it: every word in its case colour with its meaning underneath, and arcs from Ἀθηναῖος to the words it goes with.
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.
Ἀθηναῖοι: describes ἄνδρες.
Ἐγὼ γάρ, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐπειδὴ ἔδοξέ μοι γῆμαι καὶ γυναῖκα ἠγαγόμην εἰς τὴν…
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.
Ἀθηναῖοι: addressed directly, with διεκείμην.
Θουκυδίδης Ἀθηναῖος ξυνέγραψε τὸν πόλεμον τῶν Πελοποννησίων καὶ Ἀθηναίων, ὡς ἐπολέμησαν…
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.
Ἀθηναῖος: describes Θουκυδίδης.
ἐν μὲν οὖν τῷ πρώτῳ χρόνῳ, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, πασῶν ἦν βελτίστη·
Therefore, in the first period, O Athenians, she was the best of all.
Ἀθηναῖοι: addressed directly, with ἦν.
Forms
Every form of the word in these texts, with what it is.
| Form | Grammar | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Ἀθηναῖοι | Vocative · Plural · Masculine | 2 |
| ἀθηναῖοι | Vocative · Plural · Masculine | 1 |
| ἀθηναῖος | Nominative · Singular · Masculine | 1 |
| ἀθηναίων | Genitive · Plural · Masculine | 1 |
Words it goes with
Joined to Ἀθηναῖος by an arc in these lines, most often first.
Grammar
- About the vocativeThe Greek vocative is the case of address, often after ὦ: ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι. How it differs from the nominative, with real lines from Homer and Plato.
- About the nominativeThe Greek nominative names the subject and the word that renames it after εἰμί. How to spot it, and how the article helps, with lines from John and Aesop.
- 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.