Διογένης …… ἠρώτησε τίς ἐστιν ὁ θόρυβος καὶ τί ἐγένετο. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· "……"

I met a sentence:

Διογένης …… ἠρώτησε τίς ἐστιν ὁ θόρυβος καὶ τί ἐγένετο. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· “……”

I guess here “Ὁ” is a remnant (maybe this word is ok) of its usage as a pronoun, meaning “he”, but I’m not sure.

Yes that’s right. It’s a fossilized usage. ὁ δὲ … (“and he”) is common in Homer, and continues in subsequent prose as well as verse. It switches the subject.

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