Could it be used to address a singular person (like English “you”)?
If so, did it have the connotation of politeness/respect (like German “Sie”)?
Thanks in advance.
Arkadi
Nope. A single individual was always σύ. The 2nd plural was only for more than one person.
A somewhat related question meanwhile came up.
Plato, Symposion, 174 a3–“hoi So^krate^”.
Why “hoi” here? Is it Attic (as dative)?
Hi,
It’s the dative singular of the 3rd personal pronoun.
[size=150]σωκράτη[/size] is, I think, an accusative. If we take it as the subject of the infinitive, then [size=150]οἱ[/size] means ‘with him’, i.e., "For he said Socrates to meet with him…’
Cordially,
Paul
“him”=the speaker?
Oh, I see… I was misled by translations, which all have: “He said that he met with Socrates…” (vel sim.).
Thanks a lot.
Arkadi
While we’re on the accuasative of Socrates, is there any good reason that Demosthenes and Socrates have an eta in the accusative but Pericles an (uncontracted) alpha and epsilon? All I can think of is possibly the force of a digamma hanging around in Periklewos and preventing contraction.
Is the name a compound of περί “exceeding” and κλέος “fame, repute”? That would bring digamma in.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking.