[*] 248. The aorist for the perfect. The aorist is very often used where we should expect the perfect. 1. Many verbs form no perfect. So many of the liquid verbs. The aorist is next of kin. In later Greek many mechanical perfects have been formed from the desire of analogy. See Curtius, Verbum II, 211. “ἀλλὰ Θετταλία πῶς ἔχει; οὐχὶ τὰς πολιτείας καὶ τὰς πόλεις αὐτῶν παρῄρηται, καὶ τετραρχίας κατέστησεν,1 ἵνα μὴ μόνον κατὰ πόλεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατ᾽ ἔθνη δουλεύωσιν;” DEM.9.26. DEM.9.26(see above). ISOC.5.19-21: “οὐκ ἐλάττω τὴν βασιλείαν πεποίηκεν ἀλλ᾽ εὐχῆς ἄξια διαπέπρακται. τί γὰρ ἐλλέλοιπεν; οὐ . . . πεποίηκεν . . . προσῆκται . . . πεποίηκεν … κατέστραπται . . . εἴληφεν . . . γέγονεν; ἁπάσης δὲ τῆς Θρᾴκης οὓς ἠβουλήθη δεσπότας κατέστησεν”; (A solitary aorist after a long string of perfects.) AR. Av. 301: “τί φῄς; τίς γλαῦκ᾽ Ἀθήναζ᾽ ἤγαγε;” (No classic perfect.) AESCHYL. P. V. 28: “τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐπηύρου ῾νο περφεξτ̓ τοῦ φιλανθρώπου τρόπου” . PIND. O. 10.7-8: “ὁ μέλλων χρόνος” | “ἐμὸν καταίσχυνε βαθὺ χρέος” (see note ad loc.). HOM. Il. 5.127-8: “ἀχλὺν δ᾽ αὖ τοι ἀπ̓ ὀφθαλμω_ν ἕλον, ἣ πρὶν ἐπῆεν”, | “ὄφρ᾽ εὖ γιγνώσκῃς ἠμὲν θεὸν ἠδὲ καὶ ἄνδρα” (“ᾕρηκα” is not found in Homer).
1 HAL., De admir. vi, 54 (R. vi, p. 1120), in quoting this passage, gives “καθέστακεν”, a characteristic variant.
Syntax of Classical Greek from Homer to Demosthenes. Basil L. Gildersleeve. New York. American Book Company. 1900.
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