ὄνομα δὲ ἐποιοῦντο οὐδενὶ αὐτῶν

Greek Learning Greek
1

I don’t understand how ἐποιοῦντο is being used here:
ἔθῡον πρότερον οἱ Πελασγοὶ τοῖς θεοῖς, ὄνομα δὲ ἐποιοῦντο οὐδενὶ αὐτῶν·

My book gives the translation: “Formerly the Pelasgians used to sacrifice to the gods but gave a name to none of them;”,
I can’t find any definition of “ποιοῦμαι” meaning “I give”. I was considering “a name was not made for any of them” but in that case the verb should be in the singular.

Can anyone please explain?

Betts, Gavin; Henry, Alan. Complete Ancient Greek: A Comprehensive Guide to Reading and Understanding Ancient Greek, with Original Texts (Complete Language Courses) (p. 267). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.

2

Don’t be misled by English. Greek would not normally speak of “giving” a name, as if it were a gift (διδόναι, δῶρον). ποιεῖν, or middle ποιεῖσθαι, as in making, creating, producing, is a much better term, more idiomatic and more accurate. τίθεσθαι (ἐτίθεντο) would be another possibility. Both verbs have wide application.

3

Thanks but I still don’'t understand why the middle plural is used. Does it mean “they did not make in their own interest a name for any of them”?

4

The middle voice is sometimes more a matter of nuance than anything else. It always signals the engagement of the subject in some way but not necessarily “in their own interest.”