previous next

196. The future indicative is often used with κέ or ἄν by the early poets, especially Homer. The addition of ἄν seems to make the future more contingent than that tense naturally is, sometimes giving it a force approaching that of the optative with ἄν. E.g. Ἀλλ᾽ ἴθ̓, ἐγὼ δέ κέ τοι Χαρίτων μίαν ὁπλοτεράων δώσω, ὀπυιέμεναι καὶ σὴν κεκλῆθαι ἄκοιτιν, I will give you one of the younger Graces, etc. Il. xiv. 267. Καί κέ τις ὧδ᾽ ἐρέει Τρώων ὑπερηνορεόντων, and some one will (or may) thus speak. Il. iv. 176. δέ κεν κεχολώσεται ὅν κεν ἵκωμαι, “and he may be angry to whom I come.” Il. i. 139.Εἰ δ᾽ ἄγε, τοὺς ἂν ἐγὼν ἐπιόψομαι: οἱ δὲ πιθέσθωνIl. ix. 167. Παρ᾽ ἔμοι γε καὶ ἄλλοι, οἵ κέ με τιμήσουσι, others, who will honour me. Il. i. 174.Εἰ δ᾽ Ὀδυσεὺς ἔλθοι καὶ ἵκοιτ᾽ ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν, αἶψά κε σὺν παιδὶ βίας ἀποτίσεται ἀνδρῶνOd. xvii. 539. Here ἀποτίσεταί κε, which may be aorist subjunctive (201, 1), is used nearly in the sense of the optative, corresponding to the optatives in the protasis.

Κέ is much more common with the future than ἄν.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: