The Dual and Instrumental

Book Nav

103. Dual. The nominative and accusative in -ᾱ, from stems in -ᾱ, -η is only found as a masculine

Ἀτρεΐδᾱ, κορυστᾱ́ (Il. 18.163)

ὥκυπέτᾱ (Il. 8.42)

but feminine προφανέντε, πληγέντε (of two goddesses, Il. 8.378, 455).

Tha genitive and dative ending in all nοuns is -οιϊν, as ποδ-οῖιν, ἴππ-οιῖν. The contracted form -οιν and the feminine -αιν do not occur. The personal pronouns have:

  1. Nοminative and accusative νῶί, νώ (νῶϊν Il. 16.99, σφῶϊν Od. 23.52?); genitive and dative νῶϊν.
  2. Nominative and accusative σφῶϊ, σφώ; genitive and dative σφῶϊν (σφῷν Od. 4.62).
  3. Accusative σφωέ (encl.); dative σφωΐν (encl.).

104. Instrumental. The Homeric poems have preserved many instances of an ending -φι(ν):

ὄρεσ-φιν

στήθεσ-φι

ναῦ-φιν

ζυγόφι

βίη-φι

κοτυληδον-ό-φιν (Od.)

probably also the pronoun σ-φι(ν), Latin si-bi. These are relics of an original instrumental case.

Suggested Citation

D.B. Monro, A Grammar of the Homeric Dialect. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-947822-04-7. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/grammar/monro/dual-and-instrumental