Singular

Collective Singular.—A noun in the singular may denote a number of persons or things: ὁ Μῆδος the Medes T. 1.69, τὸ Ἑλληνικόν the Greeks 1. 1, τὸ βαρβαρικόν the barbarians 7. 29, ἡ πλίνθος the bricks 3. 20, ἵππον ἔχω εἰς χῑλίᾱν I have about a thousand horse X. C. 4.6.2, μῡρίᾱ ἀσπίς ten thousand heavy armed X. A. 1.7.10. On the plural verb with collectives, see 950. Cp. 1024, 1044.

a. So with the neuter participle: τὸ μαχόμενον almost = οἱ μαχόμενοι the combatants T. 4.96.

b. The name of a nation with the article may denote one person as the representative (King, etc.) of a class: ὁ Μακεδών the Macedonian (Philip) D. 7.6.

The inhabitants of a place may be implied in the name of the place: Λέσβος ἀπέστη βουληθέντες καὶ πρὸ τοῦ πολέμου Lesbos revolted, having wished to do so even before the war T. 3.2.

Distributive Singular.—The singular of abstract nouns may be used distributively (rarely with concrete substantives): ὅσοι δίκαιοι ἐγένοντο ἐν τῷ ἑαυτῶν βίῳ all who proved themselves just in their lives P. A. 41a, διάφοροι τὸν τρόοπον different in character T. 8.96. The distributive plural (1004) is more common than the distributive singular: cp. νεᾱνίαι τᾱ̀ς ὄψεις youths in appearance L. 10.29 with ἡδεῖς τὴν ὄψιν pleasing in appearance P. R. 452b.

Greek writers often shift from a particular to a general statement and vice versa, thus permitting a free transition from singular to plural, and from plural to singular: οὐδὲ τότε συγχαίρει ὁ τύραννος· ἐνδεεστέροις γὰρ οὖσι ταπεινοτέροις αὐτοῖς οἴονται χρῆσθαι not even then does the despot rejoice with the rest; for the more they are in want, the more submissive he thinks to find them X. Hi. 5.4.