Herodotus 3.134

Greek Learning Greek
1

ὡς δὲ ἄρα μιν μετὰ ταῦτα ἰώμενος ὑγιέα ἀπέδεξε, ἐνθαῦτα δὴ διδαχθεῖσα ὑπὸ τοῦ Δημοκήδεος ἡ Ἄτοσσα προσέφερε ἐν τῇ κοίτῃ Δαρείῳ λόγον τοιόνδε. ‘ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἔχων δύναμιν τοσαύτην κάτησαι, οὔτε τι ἔθνος προσκτώμενος οὔτε δύναμιν Πέρσῃσι. [2] οἰκὸς δὲ ἐστὶ ἄνδρα καὶ νέον καὶ χρημάτων μεγάλων δεσπότην φαίνεσθαί τι ἀποδεικνύμενον, ἵνα καὶ Πέρσαι ἐκμάθωσι ὅτι ὑπ᾽ ἀνδρὸς ἄρχονται. ἐπ᾽ ἀμφότερα δέ τοι συμφέρει ταῦτα ποιέειν, καὶ ἵνα σφέων Πέρσαι ἐπίστωνται ἄνδρα εἶναι τὸν προεστεῶτα, καὶ ἵνα τρίβωνται πολέμῳ μηδὲ σχολὴν ἄγοντες ἐπιβουλεύωσί τοι. [3] > νῦν γὰρ ἄν τι καὶ ἀποδέξαιο ἔργον, ἕως νέος εἶς ἡλικίην> : αὐξομένῳ γὰρ τῷ σώματι συναύξονται καὶ αἱ φρένες, γηράσκοντι δὲ συγγηράσκουσι καὶ ἐς τὰ πρήγματα πάντα ἀπαμβλύνονται.’

The Greek physician Democedes has cured the Persian queen Atossa’s breast cancer, and now it is her turn to return the favor to Democedes. Accordingly, she tells her husband, the king Darius, what Democedes wants him to say. I’m not sure what the optative construction with ἄν I have underlined does. Is it a sort of mild injunctive, more polite than an imperative? “For you should accomplish some deed now, as long as you are young”?

Thanks.

2

Hi Paul,
I think this is a potential optative, where Atossa is expressing her opinion that he should do something now, while he’s young. She can’t really command him, so she can only point out the propriety of such an action. She has already set the tone in line 2 with " οἰκὸς δέ ἐστι…"At least that’s the way I’d read Smyth:
1824. Potential Optative.—The potential optative with ἄν states a future possibility, propriety, or likelihood, as an opinion of the speaker; and may be translated by may, might, can (especially with a negative), must, would, should (rarely will, shall). So in Latin velim, videas, cognoscas, credas.

3

I think this is exactly right. It’s a particular species of potential optative, fairly common in tragedy, which I’ve seen referred to (in an old article by Richmond Lattimore?) as a polite imperative. If negatived it becomes a question and means much the same thing. As with all potential optatives it can be thought of grammatically as an apodosis with suppressed protasis (e.g. “if you know what’s good for you”).

4

Thanks. I wanted to make sure, as I was uncertain about this.