Just a couple of questions

Greek Learning Greek
1

Hallo leute.

I have benn working in my textbook and I got some questions that you could helpe me to clarify, here they are:

“κακοῦργός τίς ἐστιν ὁ κολοιός· τοῖς γὰρ πτεροῖς, ἃ ἡμῖν ἀπεβέβλητο, τούτοις κεκόσμηται· ὥσπερ τεθηραμένα οὐδ’ ὡς ἑαυτοῦ ὄντα φέρει τὰ ποικίλα πτερά.” Καὶ ταῦτ’ εἰπόντες ὡρμήθησαν ἐπὶ τὸν δειλὸν κολοιὸν καὶ πάλιν ἐξέτιλλον ἕκαστος τὰ αὑτοῦ πτερά.

  1. My first question is related with the φέρει, why is there a present time? historical present? How could grammatically understand and explain that?
  2. My second deals with “ἐξέτιλλον ἕκαστος τὰ αὑτοῦ πτερά” why this nominative ἕκαστος in singular but the verb is plural, on the other hand how to understand the reflexive pronoun? I think it refers to each one -ἕκαστος- and I understand it as follows: each one of they started to plucked their own feathers.

Zeus speaking: “Πέπαυται γοῦν ἡ ἔρις ἄλλῃ, ἢ προσδέχεσθε· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ὑμῶν ἄξιός ἐστι βασιλεὺς κεκλῆσθαι, ἄγετε δή, ἀπέρχεσθ’ οἴκαδε· πάνθ’ ἡμῖν πεποίηται.”
3. ἄλλῃ how to understand it? With an adverbially meaning? If so how to translate it?
4. πάνθ’ ἡμῖν πεποίηται. I can´t get the sense for me it´s like: All has been made by us. But it does not make sense to me, what do you think is te best version to translate it.

Thanks a lot for your help

2

  1. The other birds are speaking here and they see the jackdaw carrying their discarded feathers. So it’s a normal present.

  2. In English too we could have said: they started each to pluck his own feathers.

  3. Yes, it’s an adverb: otherwise.

  4. I thought dative of agent with perfect: by us. But now I think it’s dative of relation: it’s all done for us. That’s all, folks!

3

Dear sir, thanks.

4

Here I have a question “his own feathers” own refers to the coloios or to themselves? in the last sense they were recovering their feathers.

5

Yes, they were recovering. Each was plucking his previously discarded feathers, which the jackdaw had collected.

6

Ok, that eautou refers to ekastos.

It´s clear now.
Thanks