οἷος (Paus. 1.19.1)

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daivid
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οἷος (Paus. 1.19.1)

Post by daivid »

This is Pausanias talking about Theseus:
οἷα δὲ χιτῶνα ἔχοντος αὐτοῦ ποδήρη καὶ πεπλεγμένης ἐς εὐπρεπές οἱ τῆς κόμης, ὡς ἐγίνετο κατὰ τὸν τοῦ Δελφινίου ναόν, οἱ τὴν στέγην οἰκοδομοῦντες ἤροντο σὺν χλευασίᾳ, ὅ τι δὴ παρθένος ἐν ὥρᾳ γάμου πλανᾶται μόνη:

My best translation is:
And wearing a reaching-his-feet tunic and having plaited his hair into a pleasant (form), as became by the temple, those the roof making asked with ridicule why was a virgin (of an age form marriage) wandering alone

but I don't understand at all what οἷος is doing.
I also don't know what αὐτοῦ is doing.

I think ὡς ἐγίνετο κατὰ means as he came into a state of being by but I'm not sure.

The full sentence is this:
λέγουσι δὲ ὡς ἐξειργασμένου τοῦ ναοῦ πλὴν τῆς ὀροφῆς ἀγνὼς ἔτι τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀφίκοιτο Θησεὺς ἐς τὴν πόλιν: οἷα δὲ χιτῶνα ἔχοντος αὐτοῦ ποδήρη καὶ πεπλεγμένης ἐς εὐπρεπές οἱ τῆς κόμης, ὡς ἐγίνετο κατὰ τὸν τοῦ Δελφινίου ναόν, οἱ τὴν στέγην οἰκοδομοῦντες ἤροντο σὺν χλευασίᾳ, ὅ τι δὴ παρθένος ἐν ὥρᾳ γάμου πλανᾶται μόνη: Θησεὺς δὲ ἄλλο μὲν αὐτοῖς ἐδήλωσεν οὐδέν, ἀπολύσας δὲ ὡς λέγεται τῆς ἁμάξης τοὺς βοῦς, ἥ σφισι παρῆν, τὸν ὄροφον ἀνέρριψεν ἐς ὑψηλότερον ἢ τῷ ναῷ τὴν στέγην ἐποιοῦντο.
It seemed to me however that the colons could as easily been full stops so I took the middle bit separately to make it manageable.
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bedwere
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Re: οἷος (Paus. 1.19.1)

Post by bedwere »

Conjunction, my bet.



αὐτοῦ is Theseus, the subject of the genitive absolute.

ὡς ἐγίνετο κατὰ as he came down to

mwh
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Re: οἷος (Paus. 1.19.1)

Post by mwh »

οἷα, technically neuter plural used adverbially, is prefixed to the participial phrases (gen.abs., as bedwere says), and is probably best translated “inasmuch as,” and the participles as finite verbs: “Inasmuch as he was wearing a full-length chiton and his hair was neatly plaited, …”. The meaning is much like ἅτε (itself neut.pl. used adverbially), and the construction is the same. LSJ οἷος V 3 is the category. The workmen mock his girly appearance.

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Re: οἷος (Paus. 1.19.1)

Post by jeidsath »

It doesn't seem to be a repeated action, so imperfect ἐγίνετο looks like it means that he "was coming near." Should I be surprised by that?
“One might get one’s Greek from the very lips of Homer and Plato." "In which case they would certainly plough you for the Little-go. The German scholars have improved Greek so much.”

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Re: οἷος (Paus. 1.19.1)

Post by mwh »

No Joel you shouldn’t. This was an action in progress, under way. The jeering got going as he approached. Aorist would mean when he got there. What roofer would hold off that long?

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Re: οἷος (Paus. 1.19.1)

Post by daivid »

Thanks to all of you for clearing up all of my uncertainties.
mwh wrote:No Joel you shouldn’t. This was an action in progress, under way. The jeering got going as he approached. Aorist would mean when he got there. What roofer would hold off that long?
A lot of things about about Ancient Greece are quite alien to us - but not roofers.
:P
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