advantage

Dative of Advantage or Disadvantage (dativus commodi et incommodi).—The person or thing for whose advantage or disadvantage, anything is or is done, is put in the dative. The dative often has to be translated as if the possessive genitive were used; but the meaning is different.

ἐπειδὴ αὐτοῖς οἱ βάρβαροι ἐκ τῆς χώρᾱς ἀπῆλθον after the barbarians had departed (for them, to their advantage) from their country T. 1.89, ἄλλο στράτευμα αὐτῷ συνελέγετο another army was being raised for him X. A. 1.1.9, ἄλλῳ ὁ τοιοῦτος πλουτεῖ, καὶ οὐχ ἑαυτῷ such a man is rich for another, and not for himself P. Menex. 246e, στεφανοῦσθαι τῷ θεῷ to be crowned in honour of the god X. H. 4.3.21, Φιλιστίδης ἔπρᾱττε Φιλίππῳ Philistides was working in the interest of Philip D. 9.59, τὰ χρήματ᾽ αἴτι᾽ ἀνθρωποῖς κακῶν money is a cause of misery to mankind E. Fr. 632, οἱ Θρᾷκες οἱ τῷ Δημοσθένει ὑστερήσαντες the Thracians who came too late (for, i.e.) to help Demosthenes T. 7.29, ἥδε ἡ ἡμέρᾱ τοῖς Ἕλλησι μεγάλων κακῶν ἄρξει this day will be to the Greeks the beginning of great sorrows 2. 12, ᾱ̓́ν τίς σοι τῶν οἰκετῶν ἀποδρᾷ if any of your slaves runs away X. M. 2.10.1.

a. For the middle denoting to do something for oneself, see 1719.

b. In the last example in 1481, as elsewhere, the dative of a personal pronoun is used where a possessive pronoun would explicitly denote the owner.