Genitive of Comparison

Greek Learning Greek
1

If I want to say gold is sweeter than honey using a genitive of comparison construction, would I say Χρυσός μέλίτος ἡδίων or Χρυσός μέλίτος ἡδίονος and why? Thanks!

2

I’d say the answer is χρυσός μέλίτος ἡδίων. The adjective (comparative) is in the nominative, agreeing with the subject, χρυσός.

In these two examples from the LXX (Judg 14:18), the subject in each case is the interrogative pronoun (nominative singular, neuter) τί, and the adjective is in the nominative in agreement with it:

τί γλυκύτερον μέλιτος καὶ τί ἰσχυρότερον λέοντος

3

Thanks that helps. I was trying to understand this example from CGCG 30.24:

(φῃς) Σιμμίαν Σωκρατους . . . μείζω εῖναι, Φαίδωνος δὲ ἐλάττω (Pl. Phd. 102b)

and now I see that since Σιμμίαν is in the accusative (because of φῃς) that’s why μείζω is also in the accusative.