dative as direct complement of verbs

(I) To benefit, help, injure, please, displease, be friendly or hostile, blame, be angry, threaten, envy.

βοηθεῖν τοῖσιν ἠδικημένοις to help the wronged E. I. A. 79, οὐκ ἂν ἠνώχλει νῦν ἡμῖν he would not now be troubling us D. 3.5, <*>ντὶ τοῦ συνεργεῖν ἑαυτοῖς τὰ συμφέροντα ἐπηρεάζουσιν ἀλλήλοις instead of coöperating for their mutual interests, they revile one another X. M. 3.5.16, εἰ τοῖς πλέοτιν ἀρέσκοντές ἐσμεν, τοῖσδ᾽ ἂν μόνοις οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἀπαρέσκοιμεν if we are pleasing to the majority, it would not be right if we should displease them alone T. 1.38, εὐνοεῖν τοῖς κακόνοις to be friendly to the ill-intentioned X. C. 8.2.1, ἐμοὶ ὀργίζονται they are angry at me P. A. 23c, τῷ Θηρᾱμένει ἠπείλουν they threatened Theramenes T. 8.92, οὐ φθονῶν τοῖς πλουτοῦσιν not cherishing envy against the rich X. A. 1.9.19.

Some verbs of benefiting and injuring take the accusative (ὠφελεῖν, βλάπτειν, 1591 a); μῑσεῖν τινα hate some one. λῡσιτελεῖν, συμφέρειν be of advantage take the dative.

(II) To meet, approach, yield.

ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπήντησαν αὐτοῖς οἱ στρατηγοί but when the generals met them X. A. 2.3.17, περιτυγχάνει Φιλοκράτει he meets Philocrates X. H. 4.8.24, ποίοις οὐ χρὴ θηρίοις πελάζειν what wild beasts one must not approach X. C. 1.4.7, σὺ δ᾽ εἶκ᾽ ἀνάγκῃ καὶ θεοῖσι μὴ μάχου yield to necessity and war not with heaven E. fr. 716. On the genitive with verbs of approaching, see 1353.

(III) To obey, serve, pardon, trust, advise, command, etc.

τοῖς νόμοις πείθου obey the laws I. 1.16, τῷ ῡ̔μετέρῳ ξυμφόρῳ ὑπακούειν to be subservient to your interests T. 5.98, ᾱ̓̀ν μηδεμιᾷ δουλεύῃς τῶν ἡδονῶν if you are the slave of no pleasure I. 2.29, ἐπίστευον αὐτῷ αἱ πόλεις the cities trusted him X. A. 1.9.8, στρατηγῷ στρατιώταις παραινοῦντι a general advising his men P. Ion 540 d, τῷ Μῡσῷ ἐσήμηνε φεύγειν he ordered the Mysian to flee X. A. 5.2.30, τῷ Κλεάρχῳ ἐβόᾱ ἄγειν he shouted to Clearchus to lead X. A. 1.8.12.

κελεύειν command (strictly impel) may be followed in Attic by the accusative and (usually) the infinitive; in Hom. by the dative either alone or with the infinitive. Many verbs of commanding (παραγγέλλειν, διακελεύεσθαι) take in Attic the accusative, not the dative, when used with the infinitive (1996 N.). ὑπακούειν (and ἀκούειν = obey) may take the genitive (1366).

(IV) To be like or unlike, compare, befit.

ἐοικέναι τοῖς τοιούτοις to be like such men P. R. 349d, τί οὖν πρέπει ἀνδρὶ πένητι; what then befits a poor man? P. A. 36d.

The dative of the person and the genitive of the thing are used with the impersonals δεῖ (1400), μέτεστι, μέλει, μεταμέλει, προσήκει. Thus, μισθοφόρων ἀνδρὶ τυράννῳ δεῖ a tyrant needs mercenaries X. Hi. 8.10, ὡς οὐ μετὸν αὐτοῖς Ἐπιδάμνου inasmuch as they had nothing to do with Epidamnus T. 1.28, οὐχ ὧν ἐβιᾱ́σατο μετέμελεν αὐτῷ he did not repent of his acts of violence And. 4.17, τούτῳ τῆς Βοιωτίᾱς προσήκει οὐδέν he has nothing to do with Boeotia X. A. 3.1.31. ἔξεστί μοι it is in my power does not take the genitive. For the accusative instead of the dative, see 1400. Cp. 1344.

a. For δοκεῖ μοι it seems to me (mihi videtur), δοκῶ μοι (mihi videor) may be used. b. For other cases of the dative as direct complement see 1476, 1481.

An intransitive verb taking the dative can form a personal passive, the dative becoming the nominative subject of the passive. Cp. 1745.

τῑμωρεῖν (poet. τῑμωρεῖσθαί) τινι means to avenge some one (take vengeance for some one), as τῑμωρήσειν σοι τοῦ παιδὸς ὑπισχνοῦμαι I promise to avenge you because of (on the murderer of) your son X. C. 4.6.8, εἰ τῑμωρήσεις Πατρόκλῳ τὸν φόνον if you avenge the murder of Patroclus P. A. 28c. τιμωρεῖσθαί (rarely τῑμωρεῖν) τινα means to avenge oneself upon some one (punish some one).

For the dative of purpose (to what end?), common in Latin with a second dative (dono dare), Greek uses a predicate noun: ἐκείνῳ ἡ χώρᾱ δῶρον ἐδόθη the country was given to him as a gift X. H. 3.1.6. The usage in Attic inscriptions (ἧλοι ταῖς θύραις nails for the doors C.I.A. /lref>, add. 834 b, 1, 38) is somewhat similar to the Latin usage. Cp. 1502.

a. The infinitive was originally, at least in part, a dative of an abstract substantive, and served to mark purpose: τίς τ᾽ ἄρ σφωε θεῶν ἔριδι ξυνέηκε μάχεσθαι; who then of the gods brought the twain together (for) to contend in strife? A 8. Cp. “what went ye out for to see?” St. Matth. 11. 8.