Augment

Exceptions to the recessive accent of compound verbs.—a. The accent cannot precede the augment or reduplication: ἄπειμι am absent, ἀπῆν was absent, εἰσ-ῆλθον they entered, ἀπ-ῆσαν they were absent; ἀφ-ῖκται arrived (cp. ἷκται).

N.—A long vowel or diphthong not changed by the augment receives the accent: ὑπ-εῖκε was yielding (indic. ὑπ-είκω, imper. ὕπ-εικε).

b. The accent cannot precede the last syllable of the preposition before the simple verb nor move back to the first of two prepositions: περίθες put around, συνέκδος give up together (not σύνεκδος), συγκάθες put down together (not σύγκαθες). Compounds of the second aorist active imperatives δός, ἕς, θές, and σχές are thus paroxytone: ἐπίθες set on, περίθες put around, ἐπίσχες hold on.

c. When compounded with a monosyllabic preposition, monosyllabic second aorist middle imperatives in -οῦ from μι-verbs retain the circumflex: προδοῦ betray, ἐνθοῦ put in. But the accent recedes when these imperatives prefix a dissyllabic preposition: ἀπόδου sell, κατάθου put down. The open forms always have recessive accent, as ἔνθεο, κατάθεο.

d. The accent of uncompounded infinitives, participles, aorist passive, perfect passive, and of the second aorist middle imperative (2. p. sing., but see 426 c) is retained in composition.

e. ἀπέσται will be far from, ἐπέσται will be upon do not have recessive accent.

f. Compound subjunctives are differently accentuated in the Mss.: ἀποδῶμαι and ἀπόδωμαι, ἐπιθῆται and ἐπίθηται; the aorist of ῑ̔́ημι has προῶμαι and πρόωμαι. ἀπέχω has ἀπόσχωμαι. Compound optatives retain the accent of the primitives: ἀποδοῖτο, as δοῖτο. For συνθοῖτο, προσθοῖσθε (746 c) the Mss. occasionally have σύνθοιτο, πρόσθοισθε; and so πρόοιτο.

Pluperfect.—The pluperfect prefixes the syllabic augment ε to the reduplicated perfect beginning with a consonant; when the perfect stem begins with a vowel the pluperfect retains the prefix of the perfect.

Thus perf. λέλυκα, λέλυμαι, plup. ἐ-λελύκη, ἐ-λελύμην; perf. ἔ-σταλκα, ἔ-σταλμαι, plup. ἐ-στάλκη, ἐ-στάλμην from στέλλω send; perf. ἠγόρευκα, plup. ἠγορεύκη from ἀγορεύω harangue; perf. ᾕρηκα, plup. ᾑρήκη from αἱρέω seize.

a. Verbs showing ‘Attic’ reduplication (446), in almost all cases augment the pluperfect.

b. The verbs of 431 follow the perfects of 443; as ἐᾱ́γη (ἄγνῡμι), ἐώσμην (ὠθέω), εἵμην (ῑ̔́ημι), ἐρρώγη from (ϝ)ρήγνῡμι. ἵστημι forms εἱστήκη ( = ἐ-(σ)εστηκη), Ion. and poet. ἑστήκη (rare in Att. prose). ἔοικα am like forms ἐῴκη.

Reduplication in the Second Aorist.—ἄγω lead forms the second aorist ἤγ-αγον, ἀγ-άγω, ἀγ-άγοιμι, ἀγ-αγεῖν, middle ἠγ-αγόμην. So also ἤν-εγκα and ἤν-εγκον from φέρω.

The verbs ἄγνῡμι, ἁλίσκομαι, (ἀν)οίγνῡμι, ὁράω, which began originally with ϝ, show forms that appear to have a double augment; as ἐᾱ́γην, ἑᾱ́λων, (ἀν)ἐῳγον (rarely ἤνοιγον), ἑώρων, ἑώρᾱκα (and ἑόρᾱκα). These forms appear to be due to transference of quantity (34) from ἠ-ϝᾰγην, ἠ-ϝοιγον, ἠ-ϝορων (cp. 433).

Double Augment.—Some verbs take two augments, one before and the other after the preposition, as ἠν-ειχόμην, ἠν-εσχόμην from ἀν-έχομαι endure, ἠν-ώχλουν from ἐνοχλέω annoy, ἐπηνώρθωμαι from ἐπανορθόω set upright. So also, by analogy to the foregoing, a few verbs derived from compound words: ἠμφεσβήτουν from ἀηφισβητέω dispute, ἠντεδέκει from ἀντιδικέω go to law (ἀντίδικος).

Omission of the Augment.—a. In Attic tragedy the augment is sometimes omitted in choral passages, rarely in the dialogue parts (messengers' speeches), which are nearer akin to prose.

b. In χρῆν (from χρὴ + ἦν) the augment is strictly unnecessary, but is often added (ἐχρῆν) since the composition of χρῆν was forgotten.

c. In Homer and the lyric poets either the syllabic or the temporal augment is often absent; as φάτο and ἔφατο, βῆν and ἔβην, ἔχον and εἶχον. Iteratives (495) in Hom. usually have no augment (ἔχεσκον).

N.—In Homer the absence of the augment represents the usage of the parent language, in which the augment was not necessarily added to mark past time. It is therefore erroneous, historically, to speak of the omission of the augment in Homer.

d. In Herodotus the syllabic augment is omitted only in the case of pluperfects and iteratives in σκον; the temporal augment is generally preserved, but it is always omitted in verbs beginning with αι, αυ, ει, ευ, οι, and in ἀγῑνέω, ἀεθλέω, ἀνώγω, ἔρδω, ἐάω, ὁρμέω, etc.; in others it is omitted only in some forms (as ἀγορεύω, ἄγω, ἕλκω, ὁρμάω), and in others it is variable (ἀγγέλλω, ἅπτω, ἄρχω, ἐπίσταμαι, ἀνέχομαι); in cases of Attic reduplication the augment is never added. Hdt. omits the augment for the reduplication in the above verbs.

Iterative Imperfects and Aorists in -σκόε-.—Homer and Herodotus have iterative imperfects and aorists in -σκον and -σκομην denoting a customary or repeated past action. Homer has iterative forms in the imperfect and 1 and 2 aorist active and middle. Herodotus has no iteratives in the 1 aorist and few in the 2 aorist; and only from ω-verbs. Herodotus regularly and Homer usually omit the augment. -αω verbs have -αα-σκον or -α-σκον; -εω verbs -εε-σκον, in Hom. also -ε-σκον. -α-σκον is rare in other verbs than those in -αω. The vowel preceding the suffix is always short.

a. The suffix -σκόε- is added to the tense-stem. Imperf.: φεύγε-σκε (φεύγω flee), ἔχε-σκον (ἔχω have), νῑκά-σκομεν (νῑκάω conquer), γοάα-σκε (γοάω bewail), κρύπτα-σκε (κρύπτω hide), καλέε-σκον (καλέω call), ζωννύσκετο (ζώννῡμι gird) ; 1 aor.: ἀπο-τρέψα-σκε (ἀποτρέπω turn away); 2 aor.: φύγε-σκε, στά-σκε stood.