Aspect in Ancient Greek - Nijmegen Centre for Semantics

4.5 Aorist and coercion: the ingressive and complexive interpretations 93(cf. section 3.3.3) comes into play. This is due to the fact that MAX and INGRinfluence the duration associated with the predicate in different ways. MAXraises the lower limit of the duration associated with an unbounded predicateand leaves the upper limit the same. For example, the duration associated withthe predicate John be king ranges from seconds (since it is a stative predicate,and hence fully divisive) to a whole life. The duration of maximal being kingeventualities, however, ranges from, let’s say, weeks to a whole life. INGRreturns predicates with which no duration is associated. It lowers the upperlimit, and for non-stative predicates it lowers the lower limit as well (stativepredicates can already be true of moments themselves).The fact that the effects of the two operators on duration are different iscrucial for the choice between them, since information on duration from variouslinguistic sources must be compatible, as stated by the Duration Principle. Theaorist morphology introduces the duration information that the time of theeventuality is included in the topic time. The information introduced by thepredicate, that is, the typical duration associated with the predicate, must becompatible with this information. This means that there must be eventualitiesin the extension of the predicate whose duration is at least as short as the topictime. Whether this is the case may be different for the predicates that resultfrom the application of MAX and INGR, respectively.Let me illustrate this with a few examples. In (116) (= (20)) we have aningressive interpretation of the aorist.(116) ΑποθνήσκειApothnēiskeiδ ον Μάριο̋d’ oun Mariosdie.prs.ipfv.3sg prt prt Marius.nom σ χ εeschehave.pst.AOR.3sgπαραυτίκαparautikaimmediatelyτνtēnthe.acc. . . κα...; kaiandΡώµηνRōmēnRome.accµέγαmegagreat.nomχάρµαcharmajoy.nomκαkaiandθάρσο̋tharsoscourage.nom“Then Marius dies, and immediately great joy and courage took possessionof Rome.” Plu. Mar. 46.6Depending on whether ingressive or complexive reinterpretation is involved,we get the logical form in (117a) or (117b) (where λe j have r(e)is thepredicate for great joy and courage have Rome):