can a neuter plural subject take a participle in the singular?

Greek Learning Greek
1

I am thinking, e.g., of Plato, Phdr. 251b:
… δεξάμενος γὰρ τοῦ κάλλους τὴν ἀπορροὴν διὰ τῶν ὀμμάτων ἐθερμάνθη ᾗ ἡ τοῦ πτεροῦ φύσις ἄρδεται, θερμανθέντος δὲ ἐτάκη τὰ περὶ τὴν ἔκφυσιν, ἃ πάλαι ὑπὸ σκληρότητος συμμεμυκότα εἶργε μὴ βλαστάνειν, …
Can “τὰ περὶ τὴν ἔκφυσιν” be taken as the implied subject of θερμανθέντος? I am wondering about the syntactical possibility of this, regardless of whether or not this particular context actually supports such reading.

2

θερμανθέντος is not in agreement with a neuter plural – it’s genitive singular, and it’s a genitive absolute in agreement with an understood genitive masculine pronoun, maybe αὐτοῦ, whose referent is the subject of ἐθερμάνθη. ἐτάκη τὰ περὶ τὴν ἔκφυσιν is the subject of the sentence beginning θερμανθέντος, and this is a neuter plural with a singular subject.

". . . he gets heated [ἐθερμάνθη]. . . . When he has been heated [θερμανθέντος], the parts ​around the outgrowth melt . . . "

ἐθερμάνθη and ἐτάκη are “gnomic” aorists.

3

Thanks, Bill! My question is more general: is it possible for a neuter plural subject (whether an explicit or an implicit one) to be in agreement – in a genitive absolute construction or otherwise – with a participle in the singular? I’m asking because it is possible (and even normal) for a neuter plural subject to be in agreement with a verb in the singular.

4

The short answer is “no.” You might get a constructio ad sensum with regard to gender, but the participle would still be plural. The neuter plural/singular verb thing only works with finite verbs, and even then is (somewhat) optional.

5

Thanks a lot, Barry!