I don’t get the logic behind how ακρον το ορος means “top of the hill”. το ορος is not in the gen. case, it’s in the nom. case, and I can’t tell what ακρον even is, is it an adjective, a noun? What is it?
Hi, this is the adjective ἄκρος. It is one of the adjectives of place which, when used in predicate position (i.e. without an article in front of it) agrees with the substantive in case.
I assume you’re referring to εἰς ἄκρον τὸ ὄρος on p. 67 (I just went down to a bookstore over lunch to find the reference, I don’t have this textbook). Here it’s in the accusative after εἰς (not nominative, as per your post). The whole phrase is also glossed on p. 66.
There’s a description of this in Smyth 1172:
- Adjectives of Place.—When used in the predicate position (1168) ἄκρος (high) means the top of, μέσος (middle) means the middle of, ἔσχατος (extreme) means the end of. Cp. summus, medius, extremus.
As a “hack”, think about “mid-” in English as a loose analogy: you might say “middle of the journey” but “mid-journey” (no “of” in that construction). It’s not quite the same thing, but may assist.
Cheers, Chad
Maybe help to render/think as ‘Atop the hill’?
Hi, I wouldn’t use ‘atop’ personally, as it means something different (‘on the top’).
I’d suggest that we shouldn’t look for an exact 1-for-1 correspondence between the languages (absorbing the differences is one of the benefits of learning other languages in the first place): soon the Greek construction will feel natural. (Latin too uses this construction.)
Cheers, Chad