Aspect in Ancient Greek - Nijmegen Centre for Semantics

14 Chapter 2. The interpretations of aoristic and imperfective aspect“Every year he gave him presents and he gave him Babylon.”Hdt. 3.160.2In (12), aoristic aspect (δωκε, edōke) is used to describe the single completedeventuality of giving Babylon. By contrast, imperfective aspect (δίδου, edidou)is used for the habit of giving presents. In (12), an iterative adverbial ispresent: ν πν το̋ ana pan etos ‘every year’. However, as (13) shows, thisreading does not require such an adverbial:(13) πειδ δepeidē deτtowhen prtπαιδίον γένετοpaidion egenetothe.nom child.nom exist.pst.aor.3sgµν, hēmin, hēwe.dat the.nomµήτηρmētērατauto θ ή λ α ζ ε νethēladzenmother.nom it.acc suckle.pst.IPFV.3sg“When the child was born to us, its mother suckled it.” Lys. 1.9Here θήλαζεν ethēladzen ‘suckle.ipfv’ has a habitual interpretation, as becomesclear from the context:(14) Πρτον µν ον, νδρε̋, (δε γρ κα ταθ µν διηγήσασθαι)οκίδιον στι µοι διπλον, σα χον τ νω το̋ κάτω κατ τν γυναικωντινκα κατ τν νδρωντιν. πειδ δ τ παιδίον γένετοµν, µήτηρ ατ θ ή λ α ζ ε ν να δ µή, πτε λοσθαι δέοι, κινδυνεηκατ τ̋ κλίµακο̋ καταβαίνουσα, γ µν νω διητώµην, αδ γυνακε̋ κάτω. κα οτω̋ δη συνειθισµένον ν, στε πολλάκι̋ γυν πήει κάτω καθευδήσουσα ̋ τ παιδίον, να τν τιτθν ατδιδ κα µ βο. κα τατα πολν χρνον οτω̋ γίγνετο, κα γοδέποτε πώπτευσα, λλ οτω̋ λιθίω̋ διεκείµην, στε µην τνµαυτο γυνακα πασν σωφρονεστάτην εναι τν ν τ πλει.“Now in the first place I must tell you, sirs (for I am obliged to giveyou these particulars), my dwelling is on two floors, the upper beingequal in space to the lower, with the women’s quarters above and themen’s below. When the child was born to us, its mother s u c k l e dit; and in order that, each time that it had to be washed, she mightavoid the risk of descending by the stairs, I used to live above, andthe women below. By this time it had become such an habitual thingthat my wife would often leave me and go down to sleep with thechild, so as to be able to give it the breast and stop its crying. Thingswent on in this way for a long time, and I never suspected, but wassimple-minded enough to suppose that my own was the chastest wifein the city.” Lys. 1.9-10 33 Lamb’s (Lysias 2000) translation.