κελευεις με αποδυντα ορχεσασθαι; M-27.II.10 p.232

κελευεις με αποδυντα ορχεσασθαι; etc.

The key gives “Do you command me to strip off my (outer) clothes and dance? I will do this since we are alone here.”

I understand “αποδυντα” to be the accusative singular masculine present active participle of αποδυω. Is that correct?
If so, here is my first problem: on p.202 I read that αποδυω needs to be in middle voice to mean " strip off one’s own clothes". Thus I would have expected “αποδυομενος”. I am also somewhat puzzled by the request to an apparently male person to strip off his clothes and dance. But then…

Surely I am missing something. Please enlighten me.

Thanks to all.

ἀποδύω

mostly with intr. aor. 2 Act. ἀπέδυν

The aorist active is intransitive

Hi,

This act. usage with the athematic aor. of ἀποδύω is referred to in LSJ ἀποδύω II (see especially II.2), as Bedwere links above. Also see the Cambridge Greek lexicon (CGL from now on here on Textkit?), ἀποδύω 2 (note my underline):

2 strip > —> someone > Hdt. Antipho Ar. Pl. + —(W.ACC. > of a cloak> ) Theoc.; (fig.) —> a boy’s soul > Pl. || MID. and > ATHEM.AOR.ACT. > remove one’s clothing (for an activity, esp. exercise), > undress oneself > Th. Ar. Pl. X. Plu.; > strip oneself > (prior to being whipped) Ar. || PASS. be stripped Ar. —W.ACC. > of a cloak > Lys. Ar.

Also, to respond to:

I am also somewhat puzzled by the request to an apparently male person to strip off his clothes and dance. But then…

This comes directly from the Menexenus 236d:

εἴ με κελεύοις ἀποδύντα ὀρχήσασθαι, χαρισαίμην ἄν, ἐπειδή γε μόνω ἐσμέν.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0179%3Atext%3DMenex.%3Apage%3D236

More generally, the answer to questions of puzzlement is often, “that’s Socrates”.

Cheers, Chad