Here are some notes I wrote up on Homeric usages relating to time. I did these in LaTeX format, so the reformatting into bbcode is not perfect.
-Ben
The Homeric language’s resources for talking about time are built on a set of cases inherited
from Indo European. These were used either alone or in combination with a set of prepositions.
The ancestral case system was inherently simple and logical as applied to time, and remained
so in Homer’s dialect; later usage became more complicated and irregular, so that when grammars
give oversimplified descriptions of time talk in Attic and koine, they are actually presenting
something more like the Homeric system.\cite{George-time}
— Vocabulary —
These cases and prepositions are applied to nouns — sometimes in bespoke phrases, as in
``the time of the first men,‘’ but more often to nouns that refer directly to time:
nouns:
ἦμαρ - day (n., ἤματος); also ἡμέρη
νύξ - night (f., νυκτός)
ἠώς - dawn (f., ἠοῦς/ἠῶθι)
μήν - month (m., μηνός)
χειμών - winter, winter storm, stormy weather
ὀπώρη - late summer, harvest time (f., ὀπώρης)
ἔτος - year (n., ἔτεος)
ἐνιαυτός - the year considered as a cycle of time
ὥρη - season, time
χρόνον - time (m, only the singular accusative used in Homer)
adjectives:
εἰαρινός - vernal
ἐννῆμαρ - nine days
πανῆμαρ - all day
adverbs:
εἰνάετες - for nine years
εἰνάνυχες - for nine nights
πότε - when?
ποτέ - at some time, in former times,'' someday;‘’ (negative) ever
τότε - then, at that time, and then
ὅτε - when (relative pronoun)
ὁπότε - whenever
— Cases used without prepositions —
Overview:
dative punctual ``the day when,'' ``for the night,'' ``the flowers in their season'' \
dative limitative ``the war was over in a year,'' ``born on the same night'' \
genitive descriptive ``in ancient times'' \
accusative durative ``the war went on for nine years''
Accusative: durative
The accusative is used when placing an action within a measured span of time defined by a noun
that explicitly refers to a time unit, but without emphasizing the limited extent of the time.
\cite{George-time} refers to this as the durative. Usually in these constructions if the
reference to time is removed then the clause loses something central to its meaning; this is
similar to the use of the accusative for the direct object of a verb.
Iliad 2.292
καὶ γάρ τίς θ᾽ ἕνα μῆνα μένων ἀπὸ ἧς ἀλόχοιο
and for some - one month stay, wait, remain from his/her own wife
ADV PCL m.NOM PCL m.ACC ACC PTCP.m.NOM PREP f.GEN GEN
for if a man remains for one month away from his wife
Iliad 18.274
νύκτα μὲν εἰν ἀγορῇ σθένος ἕξομεν, ἄστυ δὲ πύργοι
night - in assembly strength have town but wall, tower
ACC PCL PREP DAT ACC 1.pl.FUT ACC PCL pl.NOM
[But if we do as I say, then]
during the night we will be strong as a group, and the towers
[and gates will protect] the city.
Odyssey 15.455
οἱ δ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν ἅπαντα παῤ ἡμῖν αὖθι μένοντες
- but cycle of a year all, the whole near; because of I, me on the spot stay, wait, remain
pl.m.NOM PCL ACC m.ACC PREP pl.m.DAT ADV pl.PTCP.m.NOM
staying there with us for a whole year
Genitive: descriptive
This usage is like the durative except that the noun is not a unit used for
measuring time. The time period is only described, not measured.
Iliad 22.27
ὅς ῥά τ᾽ ὀπώρης εἶσιν, ἀρίζηλοι δέ οἱ αὐγαὶ
this; which - - fall go, come conspicuous, remarkable but - light
m.NOM PCL PCL GEN VERB pl.f.NOM PCL m.DAT pl.NOM
[Priam sees Achilles coming over the plain, like Sirius,] which comes in harvest time, and its bright light [is a bad omen]
Dative: limitative
What \cite{George-time} calls the limitative is similar to the durative except that there is
an emphasis on the completion of the action by the end of the time period.
Iliad 6.422
οἳ μὲν πάντες ἰῷ κίον ἤματι Ἄϊδος εἴσω·
this; which - all one go day Aídēs into
pl.m.NOM PCL pl.m.NOM n.DAT pl.IMPF DAT - PREP
who all went to Hades in one and the same day
If the mode of transportation available for getting to the underworld was a spaceship, we would
use the dative of spaceship;'' similarly, if fate has only a day available for sending people there, then we use the dative of day.‘’
Dative: punctual
The dative is also used for locating an action at a point in time.
Iliad 3.189
ἤματι τῷ ὅτε τ᾽ ἦλθον Ἀμαζόνες ἀντιάνειραι·
day - when - go, come Amazṓn a match for men
DAT n.DAT CONJ PCL pl.AOR pl.NOM pl.f.NOM
the day when the man-hating Amazons came
Iliad 2.468
μυρίοι, ὅσσά τε φύλλα καὶ ἄνθεα γίγνεται ὥρῃ.
immense, myriad how much - leaf and flower become, happen season, time
pl.m.NOM pl.n.NOM PCL pl.NOM CONJ pl.NOM MP DAT
[Onto the plain of Scamander come swarming] countless [Greek soldiers], as many as the leaves and flowers in their season.
Although Attic Greek deviates from this rule for the specific words referring to night and the
seasons, Homeric Greek is consistent in its use of the dative:
Odyssey 5.485
ὥρῃ χειμερίῃ, εἰ καὶ μάλα περ χαλεπαίνοι.
season, time of winter if and very - be violent, rage
DAT f.DAT CONJ ADV ADV PCL OPT
[The shipwrecked Odysseus scrapes together a huge bed of leaves, sufficient for protection] even in violent winter weather.
Odyssey 7.253
ἐννῆμαρ φερόμην· δεκάτῃ δέ με νυκτὶ μελαίνῃ
for nine days bring, carry tenth but I, me night dark
ADV 1.IMPF.MP f.DAT PCL m.ACC DAT f.DAT
I was carried for nine days, but on the tenth black night [the gods bring Odysseus to Ogygia.]
— Use of διά, εἰς, and μετά with the accusative —
Overview:
διά + acc. lasting through, throughout \
εἰς + acc. until, from now, as in ``in five days'' \
μετά + acc. after
The use of these three prepositions is fairly intuitively clear to English speakers as variations
on the durative use of the accusative.
Διά sometimes emphasizes that the action occurs throughout the time period:
Iliad 8.510
μή πως καὶ διὰ νύκτα κάρη κομόωντες Ἀχαιοὶ
not somehow and among, through night head have long hair Achaiós
CONJ PCL ADV PREP ACC ACC pl.PTCP.m.NOM pl.m.NOM
[Hector tells his people to burn bonfires,] so that throughout the night
the long-haired Achaeans [will not try to flee].
But sometimes there seem to be no special semantics associated with διά, and it may be just
metrical filler:
Iliad 2.57
ἀμβροσίην διὰ νύκτα· μάλιστα δὲ Νέστορι δίῳ
immortal, divine among, through night greatly but Néstōr divine
f.ACC PREP ACC ADV PCL DAT m.DAT
[Agamemnon tells the elders that a divine dream has come to him]
during ambrosial night, having the appearance of Nestor…
Εἰς, into,'' is used to express until,‘’ or time from now at the end of which something
will happen, as in ``in five days.‘’ The word ἐνιαυτόν is almost never used except
with this preposition.
Odyssey 11.375
καί κεν ἐς ἠῶ δῖαν ἀνασχοίμην, ὅτε μοι σὺ
and - into dawn divine raise; endure when I, me you
ADV PCL PREP ACC f.ACC 1.AOR.OPT CONJ m.DAT NOM
[Alkinous asks Odysseus to tell him his triumphs before they go to bed,] and then
I should be able to wait until dawn, when you [can undertake to tell] me [your sorrows as well.]
Iliad 19.32
ἤν περ γὰρ κεῖταί γε τελεσφόρον εἰς ἐνιαυτόν,
even if, supposing that - for lie at least; emphatic completion into cycle of a year
CONJ PCL PCL MP PCL m.ACC PREP ACC
[Thetis reassures Achilles:] for even if [Patroclus] lies for a year [his body will not decay]
Μετά can be used in expressions of time to mean after:
Iliad 18.96
αὐτίκα γάρ τοι ἔπειτα μεθ᾽ Ἕκτορα πότμος ἑτοῖμος.»
at once for you thereupon among; after (+acc) Héktōr fate ready
ADV PCL m.DAT ADV PREP ACC NOM m.NOM
[My son, it is indeed not long until you meet your fate,] for soon after Hector yours will be at hand.
— Use of ἐπί —
Overview:
ἐπί + gen. in the time of \
ἐπί + acc. until, during \
ἐπί + dat. punctual: ``for this day,'' ``by night''\
ἐπί + dat. limitative: (1) same as without the preposition; (2) emphasizing multiple events within a fixed time
Unlike διά, εἰς, and μετά, which govern the accusative in expressions of time,
the preposition ἐπί can be applied to expressions of time in all three of the oblique cases.
The genitives of words like day'' and night,‘’ when used without a preposition, are
descriptive, i.e., when there is no notion of measuring time — for example, Siruis, which comes in harvest time.'' When the noun doesn't explicitly refer to time, adding the preposition ἐπί to the genitive helps to clarify the meaning, setting up an adverbial phrase that is understood from context as referring to time. Cf.~love in the time of cholera,‘’ or, with
less semantic similarity, ``once upon a time.‘’
Iliad 5.637
οἳ Διὸς ἐξεγένοντο ἐπὶ προτέρων ἀνθρώπων·
this; which Zeús be born; be by birth on, at sooner, earlier human being
pl.m.NOM GEN pl.AOR.MID PREP pl.m.GEN pl.GEN
[Lyingly they say that you were born to Zeus, for you are wanting compared to many men] who were born to zeus, in the days of the first men.
Ἐπί + acc.~can mean ``until the end of.‘’
Iliad 2.299
τλῆτε φίλοι, καὶ μείνατ᾽ ἐπὶ χρόνον ὄφρα δαῶμεν
take upon oneself friend and stay, wait, remain on, at time so that; until learn
2.pl.AOR.IMPV pl.m.VOC CONJ 2.pl.AOR.IMPV PREP ACC CONJ 1.pl.AOR.SBJV
Bear up, my friends, and wait a while to learn [whether Calchas’s prophecy is right.]
The dative is used for both punctual and limitative constructions. In punctual usages, ἐπί +
dat.~can be translated with phrases such as for this day'' or by night.‘’
Iliad 8.529
ἀλλ᾽ ἤτοι ἐπὶ νυκτὶ φυλάξομεν ἡμέας αὐτούς,
but truly; either, or on, at night guard, be on guard I, me self; pronoun
ADV PCL PREP DAT 1.pl.FUT pl.m.ACC pl.m.ACC
But let us stay where we are for the night.
In limitative constructions, ἐπί + dat.~can have the same meaning as the bare dative, but
it is also often used when multiple events occur within a certain time, or to describe rates,
as in English ``miles per hour.‘’
Iliad 10.48
ἄνδῤ ἕνα τοσσάδε μέρμεῤ ἐπ᾽ ἤματι μητίσασθαι,
man one this much baneful, evil on, at day be skillful; plan
ACC NUM pl.n.ACC pl.n.ACC PREP DAT AOR.INF.MID
one man [Hector] to devise so many difficult [acts of sacrifice] in a day
Odyssey 12.105
τρὶς μὲν γάρ τ᾽ ἀνίησιν ἐπ᾽ ἤματι, τρὶς δ᾽ ἀναροιβδεῖ
trís - for - let go, propel on, at day trís but anarroibdéō
ADV PCL PCL PCL VERB PREP DAT ADV PCL VERB
three times per day [describing Charybdis]
— Rare usages of pronouns —
ὑπό + acc.: Iliad 22.102, during
ἀνὰ + acc.: Iliad 14.80, during
ἐν + dat.: Iliad 2.471, placing a time expression within a time interval (``that time in spring’')
πρό + gen.: before
— Quantitative idioms that Homer never uses: ``ago,‘’ age in years, names of months —
In ``The Godfather,‘’ Michael Corleone’s naive young Sicilian bride shows her proficiency in
English by rattling off the days of the week. In our measure-hungry time, even a small child is
expected to be able to tell a looming stranger their age as a number of years, or if necessary
show it by holding up fingers.
The Myceneans did have a calendar, but by Homer’s account the habit of reckoning time seems to
have dwindled among the illiterate people of a dark age. Named months do not occur, although
\cite{Papathanassiou} speculates that this is only because they differed among regions.
Iliad 22.27 mentions Sirius as being visible at harvest time.
A person with even basic competence in English is supposed to be able to say things
like five years ago,'' but such constructions are actually pretty rare in the classical period,\cite{George-time} and do not occur in Homer. There is no word meaning ago.‘’ For five years ago,'' the Attic idiom would be essentially the sixth year,‘’ using the accusative,
i.e., one counts from the present year as year one, and context makes it clear that we are
reckoning backward in time. The Myceneans have a word \emph{pe-ru-si-nwa}, which resurfaces
as Attic πέρυσι, ``last year, a year ago.‘’
There is no evidence in Homer that people were in the habit of counting up their ages. For
``thirty years old,‘’ Attic authors would have said τριάκοντα ἔτη γεγονώς,
with the accusative, while Luke 3:23 has ἦν Ἰησοῦς ἀρχόμενος ὡσεὶ
ἐτῶν τριάκοντα, with the genitive. Neither of these constructions shows up in Homer.
The aged Priam dates himself by recalling the war with the Amazons.
References: \cite{George-time}, \cite{Chantraine}, \cite{Monro}, \cite{Papathanassiou}.