Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

A. causal in pres., impf., fut., and aor. 1 (also in the later pf. and plpf. ἐφέστα^κα, ἐφεστάκειν [α^], v. infr. 11.1, VI. 2):

I. set, place upon, “τεῖχος τείχει” Th.2.75; “τι ἐπί τινος” Pl.Criti. 116a; “τι ἐπί τινι” X.HG3.1.7; “ὅρους ἐπὶ οἰκίαν” D.41.6: metaph., “ἐ. τὴν ἐκεῖ μοῖραν βίῳ” Pl.R.498c; “ἀνάγκην τινί” D.H.1.16.

II. set over, “μ᾽ Ἀπόλλων τῷδ᾽ ἐπέστησεν τέλει” A.Ag.1202; “φύλακ᾽ ἐπέστησεν βοτ” Id.Supp.303; “ἐ. τινὰ ὕπαρχόν τισι” Hdt.5.27; “τινὰ παιδαγωγόν τινι” Pl. Alc.1.122b, cf. X.Lac.2.1; “τινὰ πεντηκοντόρῳ” Id.An.5.1.15; “τινὰ τοῖς πράγμασι” Isoc.2.27; “τὸν νόμον” Arist.Pol.1292b28; “ἐπὶ [συμμάχων] τινά” Plb.2.65.9; “ἐφεστάκει τινὰς πρὸς χρείαν” Id.10.20.5; “κύνα ἐπὶ ποίμνην” D.26.22; “τινὰ ἐπὶ τὰς εὐθύνας” Id.18.112: c. inf., “βουλὴν ἐπιμελεῖσθαι τῆς εὐκοσμίας” Isoc.7.37:—Pass., to be appointed, instituted, PTeb.61 (b).358 (ii B. C.), etc.

2. bring in, “ἡ τύχη ἐπιστήσασα Ῥωμαίους” Plb.15.20.6; Φίλιππον ἐ. τοῖς πράγμασι to let him have a hand in the business, D.19.34.

3. bring in, cause, occasion, “κατάπληξίν τισι” D.S.14.62; κίνδυνον, ἀγῶνά τινι, App.Hann.55, Syr.10; “ἡ τύχη λοιμικὴν διάθεσιν ἐπέστησε Γαλάταις” Plb.2.20.7.

III. set up, establish, “ἀγῶνα” Hdt.1.167, 6.38: c. acc. et inf., ordain, prescribe, “ὁ νόμος ἐφίστησι τὰ λοιπὰ κρίνειν τοὺς ἄρχοντας” Arist.Pol.1287a26; ἐπιστήσατε quid facere debeamus, Plin.Ep.6.31.12.

IV. set by or near to, “ἐπιστήσαντες κύκλῳ τὸ σῆμα ἱππέας” Hdt.4.72; esp. place in rear, of troops, “τὴν φάλαγγα τούτοις κατόπιν ἐ.” Plb.1.33.6, cf. 1.26. 14.

V. stop, cause to halt, “ἐπιστῆσαι τὸ στράτευμα” X.Cyr.4.2.18; τὴν ὁδόν, τὴν πορείαν, D.S.17.112, Plu.Cim.1; “τοὺς ἱππέας τοῦ πρόσω” Arr.An.5.16.1; ἐ. τὴν ὁρμήν check it, Plb.16.34.2; τὴν διήγησιν interrupt it, Id.7.11.1; check, “ἔμμηνα” Dsc.1.125, cf. POxy.1088.20 (i A. D.): abs., ἐπιστήσας (sc. ἑαυτόν) having halted, X.An.1.8.15:—Pass., to be checked, stopped, PPetr.2p.62 (iii B. C.); “ἐὰν ἐφίστηται ἡ κοιλία” Sor.1.122.

VI. ἐφίστημι τὴν διάνοιαν κατά τι, περί τινος, fix one's mind upon it, attend to it, Isoc.9.69, Arist.Metaph.987b3, Thphr. Char.Prooem., etc.; “τὴν σκέψιν περί τινος” Arist.Metaph.1090a2; “τὸν λόγον” Id.Juv.470b5; “τὸν νοῦν τινι” D.S.12.1; “αὑτὸν ἐπιστήσας ἐπί τι” Arist.Top.135a26: ἐπιστῆσαι abs., give attention, “τούτοις ἐπιστήσαντες” Id.Mu.391a26; “περί τινος” Id.GC315b18; “περί τι” Id.HA487a13; “ἐπί τι” Plb.1.65.5, etc.; ἐπιστήσασι μᾶλλον λεκτέον one must speak with more care and accuracy, Arist.Pol.1335b3, cf. EN1144a22; “πότερον . . ἤ” Jul.ad Them.265b; ὅτι . . Sor.1.97 (hence ἐπίσταμαι, ἐπιστήμη, qq.v.).

2. c. acc. pers., arrest the attention of, Plu.TG17, cf. 2.17e, Gal.18(2).105; ἐπιστῆσαί τινα ἐπί τι call his attention to, Plb. 2.61.11, cf. 4.34.9; τοῦ καιροῦ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν διήγησιν ἐφεστακότος ἡμᾶς ἐπί τι having led us to . . , Id.10.21.2, cf. 31.23.1: hence, object, Plot. 1.4.5.

B. intr. in Med. and Pass., ἐφίσταμαι, aor. 1 ἐπεστάθην [S.] Fr. [1127.5], E.Hipp.819, IT1375, etc., with pf., plpf. (Aeol. plpf. 3sg. “ἐπήστα_κε” Schwyzer 646.16 (Cyme, ii B. C.): Dor. plpf. 3pl. ἐφεστάκεον [α_] SIG241.146 (Delph., iv B. C.)), and aor. 2 Act.: (the causal tenses are not found in Hom., the Med. or Pass. only in impf. “ἐφίστατο” Il.11.644; elsewh. always aor. 2 or pf. Act. with Ep. inf. “ἐφεστάμεναι” Od.24.380):—stand upon, “τεῖχος . . ῥύατ᾽ ἐφεσταότες” Il.18.515; “πύργῳ ἐφεστήκει” 6.373; “δίφρῳ ἐφεσταότος” 17.609, etc.; “ἐπέστη βηλῷ ἔπι λιθέῳ” 23.201; “ἡ . . ἐπισταθεῖσα ὀρθή” Arist.Metaph. 1051a28; “ἐπὶ τὰς . . σχεδίας” Plb.3.46.8.

2. to be imposed upon, “μόχθων τῶν ἐφεστώτων ἐμοί” S.Tr.1170.

3. stand on the top or surface, τὸ ἐπιστάμενον [τοῦ γάλακτος], i. e. cream, Hdt.4.2; “λιπαρότητες ἄνω ἐφιστάμεναι” Hp.Prog.12; ἐ. καθάπερ ὀρρὸς [γάλακτι] Dsc.1.72; of vapour, form, Arist.Juv.469b31.

II. to be set over, “ἐφίσταται πύλαις” A.Th.538; “οἷός τε πολλοῖς προβατίοις ἐφεστάναι” Ar.V.955; “οἷοι νῷν ἐφεστᾶσι σκοποί” S.Aj.945; “ἄρχοντες ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ μέρει ἐ.” X. Hier.9.5; “ἐπί τινος” Pl.R.460b; “ἐπὶ τῆς πολιτείας” D.19.298: rarely c. gen., “τὸν ἐπεστεῶτα τῆς διώρυχος” Hdt.7.117; “ὅσοι θεοῦ χρημάτων ἐφέστασαν” E.Andr.1098: abs. in part., ὁ ἐφεστηκώς the person in authority, the officer in command, X.Oec.21.9; οἱ ἐφεστῶτες, Ion. οἱ ἐπεστεῶτες, Hdt.2.148, S.Aj.1072, X.Mem.3.5.19.

III. stand by or near, “ὣς πυκνοὶ ἐφέστασαν ἀλλήλοισιν” Il.13.133; ἐπ᾽ ἄκρῳ χείλει ἐφεσταότες, ἐ. παρὰ τάφρῳ, 12.52, 199; “θύρῃσιν ἐφίστατο” 11.644; ἐπὶ τὰς πύλας, ἐπὶ τὰς θύρας, Hdt.3.77, Pl.Smp.212d; “ἐπὶ τοῖς προθύροις” Id.Phlb.64c; esp. of dreams or visions, appear to, “εὕδοντι ἐπέστη ὄνειρος” Hdt.1.34, cf. 7.14; “ὄναρ κεφαλῆφιν ἐπέστη” Il.10.496; “ἐπιστᾶσα τῆς νυκτός” Isoc.10.65; “ἄγγελος ἐπέστη αὐτοῖς” Ev.Luc.2.9: abs., stand by, Hdt.3.78; “πολλῶν ἐφεστώτων” App.Syr.10; “ἤμην ἐφεστώς” Act.Ap.22.20; “οἱ λέβητες ἐπεστεῶτες” Hdt.1.59; “ὁ ἀντίδικος ἐφέστηκε” Pl.Tht.172e, cf. Aeschin.3.79; without hostile sense, “ἐπέστης” S.OC558, cf. Ev.Luc.2.38, etc.; of troops, to be posted after or behind, “κατόπιν ἐ. τοῖς θηρίοις” Plb.16.18.7.

2. in hostile sense, stand against, “τὰ φρονέοντες ἐφέστασαν ἀλλήλοισιν” Il.15.703, cf.5.624; “ἔνθα μένος πνείοντες ἐφέστασαν” Od.22.203, cf. 24.380; appear before, of an army, “ἐπὶ τῇ πόλι” Hdt.4.203; “ἐπὶ τὸ βασίλειον” Isoc.9.58; come upon suddenly or by surprise, Th.8.69; “ἐξαίφνης ἐπιστὰς τοῖς γιγνομένοις” Isoc.8.41, cf. D.6.5, Luc.DDeor.17.1; “εἰς τοὺς ὄχλους” Isoc.18.9; so of events, etc., “αἰφνίδιος αὐτοῖς ἐ. ὄλεθρος” 1 Ep.Thess.5.3, cf. Ev.Luc.21.34; “διὰ τὸν ἐφεστῶτα ζόφον” Plb.18.20.7; “διὰ τὸν ὑετὸν τὸν ἐφεστῶτα” Act.Ap.28.2.

3. metaph., of events, spring upon one, occur, “πρίν μοι τύχη τοιάδ᾽ ἐπέστη” S.OT777, cf. Th.3.82; in pf., impend, be at hand, “τὸν ἐφεστηκότα κίνδυνον τῇ πόλει” D.18.176; “ὁ καιρός . . ἐφέστηκε” 2 Ep.Ti.4.6; “περὶ τοῦ βασιλέως . . ὁ λόγος ἐφέστηκε νῦν” Arist.Pol.1287a2, cf. Metaph.999a25; of a more remote future, to be in store, lie in wait for, “κῆρες ἐφεστᾶσιν θανάτοιο” Il.12.326.

IV. halt, stop, as in a march, “ἄλλοτε καὶ ἄλλοτε ἐφιστάμενος” X.An.2.4.26 (cf. A. V); “ἐπιστὰς περιέμεινα” Pl.Smp.172a: c. gen., “ἐ. τοῦ πλοῦ” Th.2.91.

V. fix one's mind on, give one's attention to, “σφαγῇ” E.Andr. 547; “τῇ τρύγῃ” PFlor.236.4 (iii A. D.); “ἐπί τι” Isoc.10.29, D.18.60; “τοῖς πράγμασιν . . ἐπιστάντες” Id.4.12; ἐπιστάς abs. (sc. τοῖς πράγμασι), Id.18.233; “διὰ ταῦτ᾽ ἐγρήγορεν, ἐφέστηκεν” Id.6.19.

C. aor. 1 Med. in causal sense, set up, “τὰς θύρας” X.Ages.8.7; set, post, “φρουροὺς ἐπεστησάμην” Id.Cyr.8.2.19; τέλος ἐπιστήσασθαι, Lat. finem imponere, Pl.Lg.802a: pres. is once so used, τοῦ με τήνδ᾽ ἐφίστασαι βάσιν; why dost thou cause me to halt? S.Tr.339.

2. ἐπιστησάμενος, intr., having been ἐπιστάτης, IGRom.4.1265 (Thyatira).