JWW LXXIX

Greek Learning Greek
1

At my stage I can’t do “translation” into Greek. These exercises check whether I can use the proper forms and syntax, within the limits of what White’s First Greek Book has presented up to this point. Not creative and surely of no great interest to anybody but me.

Still, I hope for your corrections.

  1. (JWW hints in parentheses)
  2. Let us go to the sea.
  3. They made the attack with a great shout.
  4. I say, therefore, that you ought to cross the Euphrates.
  5. But (while) saying this, he heard a noise (use the genitive) going through the ranks.
  6. They went frequently to his headquarters and demanded their pay.
    1. ἴωμεν ἐπὶ τὴν θάλατταν.
  7. ἐπῇσαν κραυγῂ πολλῂ.
  8. ἐγὼ οὖν φημι ὑμᾶς χρῆναι διαβῆναι τὸν Εὐφράτην ποταμόν.
  9. ταῦτα δὲ λέγων φορύβου ἤκουσε πορεχομένου διὰ τῶν τάξεων.
  10. πολλάκις ἰόντες ἐπὶ τᾱ̀ς αὐτοῦ θῡ́ρᾱς ἀπῄτουν τὸν μισθόν.
2

Typos:
θορύβου πορευομένου

3

I don’t know whether or not ἐπιέναι is good usage as “attack” without the explicit object. ἐπιτίθεσθαι would definitely be okay.

EDIT: But the LSJ has some absolute examples of ἐπιέναι “come against”: Αἰνείαν ἐπιόντα, etc.

4

I have a question here. Why did you use ἐπί? I had been taught that ἐπί + acc (as opposed to, say, εἰς + acc or πρός + acc) often connotes a somewhat violent action, so I wonder whether you had a particular reason for picking that preposition.

5

Thanks to all those who provided corrections and suggestions!

As for prepositions, I know from studying other languages that usage can be highly idiosyncratic. The only way I feel safe is if I see use in the identical collocation, or one that seems nearly identical: “to the shore,” “to the river.”

But maybe I remembered JWW’s using it this way. At any rate I do see it here, under 64.7