I. of Place, backwards, opp. to πρόσω, Il.12.272 ; to προπρηνές, 3.218 ; “ἀνεχάζετο τυτθὸν ὀπίσσω” 5.443 ; “ἀ. πολλὸν ὀ.” 16.710 ; “πάλιν εἶσιν ὀπίσσω” Od.11.149 : in Prose also, τὸ ὀπίσω, contr. “τοὐπίσω, τὸ ὀ. φεύγειν” Hdt.1.207, cf. 8.108 ; “ἄναγε εἰς τοὐπίσω” Pl.R.528a, cf. Th.4.4, Arist.Fr.106, etc.; “[γνάμ]φθη δ᾽ ὀπίσσω [φάσγα]νον” B.12.53 ; τὰ ὀ. the hinder parts, LXXJl.2.20 ; “τοῦ προπύλου τὸ ὀ. μέρος” SIG756.17 (Athens, i B. C.); τὴν ὀ. τοῦ προπύλου στέγην ib.12 ; ἐκ τοῦ ὀ. on the back (of the papyrus), BGU1002.16 (i B. C.); “τἀπίλοιπα ὀ.” PTeb.58.37 (ii B. C.).
2. back, back again, of movement, “ἀπήνυσαν οἴκαδ᾽ ὀπίσσω” Od.7.326 ; “ὀπίσω πάλιν οἴκαδε” Pi.N.3.62 ; “ἂψ ὀ.” Theoc.25.74; “ἀπίκοντο ὀ.” Hdt.1.62 ; ὀ. πορευόμενοι ib.75 ; ὀ. ἀναπλῶσαι ib.78 ; ἐν τῇ ὀ. κομιδῇ on his way back, Id.8.120, cf. 1.111, etc.
3. back again, again, of action that reverses an action or occurrence, ἀνακτᾶσθαι ὀ. τὴν τυραννίδα ib.61, cf. 68, 2.14 ; “ἀποδόντες ὀ.” Id.5.92.γ᾽ ; “σφραγίζεις λύεις τ᾽ ὀπίσω” E.IA38(anap.).
4. c. gen., δεῦτε ὀ. μου come after me, follow me, Ev.Matt.4.19.
II. of Time, hereafter, since the future is unseen and was therefore regarded as behind us, whereas the past is known and therefore before our eyes, “ἡμῖν τεκέεσσί τ᾽ ὀπίσσω πῆμα λίποιτο” Il.3.160 ; Τρῳαὶ δέ μ᾽ ὀπίσσω πᾶσαι μωμήσονται ib.411, cf. Hes. Op.741, Th.488 ; “ἔς περ ὀπίσσω” Od.20.199 (“εἰσοπίσω” S.Ph.1104(lyr.)) ; opp. to “νῦν, τούτῳ δ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἂρ νῦν φρένες ἔμπεδοι [εἰσίν], οὔτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὀπίσσω ἔσσονται” Il.6.352 ; to “προπάροιθε, σεῖο δ᾽, Ἀχιλλεῦ, οὔ τις ἀνὴρ προπάροιθε [ἦν] μακάρτατος, οὔτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὀπίσσω [ἔσσεται]” Od.11.483 ; where ὀπίσσω and πρόσσω are opposed, πρόσσω must be the past and ὀπίσσω the future, “οἶδε νοῆσαι ἅμα πρόσσω καὶ ὀπίσσω” Il.1.343 ; “ἅμα πρόσσω καὶ ὀ. λεύσσει” 3.109 ; “ὅρα πρόσσω καὶ ὀ.” 18.250, Od.24.452 ; so “ὅσα τ᾽ ἦν ὅσα τ᾽ ἔσθ᾽ ὅσα τ᾽ ἔσται ὀπίσσω” Emp.21.9 (ap.Arist.Metaph.1000a30); οὔτ᾽ ἐνθάδ᾽ ὁρῶν οὔτ᾽ ὀπίσω neither present nor future, S.OT 488(lyr.) ; “τοὐπίσω σκοπεῖν” E.Fr.49 ; “θνητὸς πεφυκὼς τοὐπίσω πειρῶ βλέπειν” Isid.Trag.2 ; cf. “ὄπισθεν” 11.1.