William Watson Goodwin, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses of the Greek Verb

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[*] 613. （Ἕως.) 1. When ἕως, until, refers to a definite past action, it takes the indicative, usually the aorist. E.g. Νῆχον πάλιν, εἷος ἐπῆλθον εἰς ποταμόν, “I swam on again until I came into a river.” Od. vii. 280. Αὐτὰρ ὁ πεζὸς θῦνε διὰ προμάχων, εἵως φίλον ὤλεσε θυμόν. Il. xi. 341.So Od. v. 123. Οἰμωγὴ κατεῖχε πελαγίαν ἅλα, ἕως κελαινῆς νυκτὸς ὄμμ᾽ ἀφείλετο, “until the eye of dark night interrupted.” AESCH. Pers. 426. Πίνει ἕως ἐθέρμην᾽ αὐτὸν ἀμφιβᾶσα φλὸξ οἴνου. EUR. Alc. 758. Ἔμειναν ἕως ἀφίκοντο οἱ στρατηγοί. XEN. Hell. i. 1, 29. Καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἐποίουν ἕως ἐκ τῆς χώρας ἀπῆν. Id. Cyr. iii. 3, Id. Cyr. 4. Οὐ πρότερον ἐπαύσαντο, ἕως τὴν πόλιν εἰς στάσεις κατέστησαν. LYS. xxv. 26. Μέχρι τούτου φίλος ὠνομάζετο, ἕως προὔδωκεν Ὄλυνθον. DEM. xviii. 48.

In the last two examples πρότερον and μέχρι τούτου are antecedents of ἕως, until, as τέως often corresponds to ἕως, while.

2. When a clause with ἕως, until, refers to a result which was not attained in past time in consequence of the non-fulfilment of a condition, it takes a past tense of the indicative, like a conditional relative clause in a similar case (528). E.g. Ἡδέως ἂν τούτῳ ἔτι διελεγόμην, ἕως αὐτῷ τὴν τοῦ Ἀμφίονος ἀπέδωκα ῥῆσιν ἀντὶ τῆς τοῦ Ζήθου, I should gladly have continued to talk with him, until I had paid him back Amphion's speech in return for Zethus's. PLAT. Gorg. 506B. Οὐκ ἂν ἐπαυόμην, ἕως ἀπεπειράθην τῆς σοφίας ταυτησί. Crat. 396C. Ἐπισχὼν ἂν, ἕως οἱ πλεῖστοι τῶν εἰωθότων γνώμην ἀπεφήναντο, . . . ἡσυχίαν ἂν ἦγον, i.e. I should have waited until most of the regular speakers had declared their opinion, etc. DEM. iv. 1. (For ἄν here, see 223.) So AR. Pac. 71. In LYS. xxii. 12 we have ἕως ἐπέλιπε after ἐχρῆν φαίνεσθαι.

The leading verb must be an indicative with ἄν, or some other form implying the non-fulfilment of a condition. (See 559.)

3. When a clause with ἕως refers to the future, and depends on a verb of future time (not an optative), ἕως has ἄν or κέ and the subjunctive, like a conditional relative clause (529). E.g. Μαχήσομαι αὖθι μένων, εἵως κε τέλος πολέμοιο κιχείω, I shall remain here and fight, until I (shall) find an end of the war. Il. iii. 291.So xxiv. 183. Ἕως δ᾽ ἂν οὖν πρὸς τοῦ παρόντος ἐκμάθῃς, ἔχ᾽ ἐλπίδα, until you learn the whole from him who was present, continue to hope. SOPH. O.T. 834. So AR. Nub. 1489. “Μέχρι γὰρ τούτου νομίζω χρῆναι κατηγορεῖν, ἕως ἂν θανάτου δόξῃ τῷ φεύγοντι ἄξια εἰργάσθαι” , for so far do I think I ought to proceed in my accusation, until it shall appear that deeds deserving death have been done by the defendant. LYS. xii. 37. Δεῖ μὴ περιμένειν ἕως ἂν ἐπιστῶσιν, “we must not wait until they are upon us.” ISOC. iv. 165. Οὐκ ἀναμένομεν ἕως ἂν ἡ ἡμετέρα χώρα κακῶται, we are not waiting until our land shall be ravaged (i.e. until the ravaging shall be going on). XEN. Cyr. iii. 3, 18. The present subjunctive is rare; but when it is needed, it is unobjectionable: see THUC. i. 90 (quoted in 614, THUC. 1).

4. When a clause with ἕως refers to the future and depends on an optative with ἄν, it generally has the optative (without ἄν） by assimilation, like a conditional relative clause (531). E.g. Εἰ δὲ πάνυ σπουδάζοι φαγεῖν, εἴποιμ᾽ ἂν ὅτι παρὰ ταῖς γυναιξίν ἐστιν, ἕως παρατείναιμι τοῦτον, but if he should be very eager to eat, I should tell him that his dinner is with the women, until I put him to torture. XEN. Cyr. i. 3, 11. Καὶ τὸ μὲν ἂν ἐξαλείφοιεν, τὸ δὲ πάλιν ἐγγράφοιεν, ἕως ὅτι μάλιστα ἀνθρώπεια ἤθη θεοφιλῆ ποιήσειαν, and they would blot out one thing and again put in another, until they made human characters as pleasing as possible to God. PLAT. Rep. 501B. Ὡσαύτως ἂν διδοίης (λόγον), ἕως ἐπί τι ἱκανὸν ἐλθοις. Plat. Phaed. 101D. So after an infinitive depending on an optative; as δέοιτό γ᾽ ἂν αὐτοῦ μένειν ἕως ἀπέλθοις, he would ask him to remain until you departed (should depart). XEN. Cyr. v. 3, 13. In Hom. Od. ii. 77 we have ἕως κε with the optative (542): τόφρα γὰρ ἂν κατὰ ἄστυ ποτιπτυσσοίμεθα μύθῳ χρήματ᾽ ἀπαιτίζοντες, ἕως κ᾽ ἀπὸ πάντα δο θείη. In PLAT. Phaed. 101 D, ἕως ἂν σκέψαιο represents ἕως ἂν σκέψωμαι of direct discourse (see 702).

The optative with ἕως is most common after past tenses, in the construction of 614.

5. When the clause introduced by ἕως, until, depends upon a verb denoting a customary or repeated action or a general truth, and refers in a general way to any act or acts of a given class, it takes ἄν and the subjunctive after primary tenses, and the simple optative after secondary tenses. (See 532.) E.g. Ἃ δ᾽ ἂν ἀσύντακτα ᾖ, ἀνάγκη ταῦτα ἀεὶ πράγματα παρέχειν, ἕως ἂν χώραν λάβῃ, “they must always make trouble until they are put in order.” XEN. Cyr. iv. 5, 37. “Ποιοῦμεν ταῦθ᾽ ἑκάστοθ᾽, ἕως ἂν αὐτὸν ἐμβάλωμεν ἐς κακόν,” “we always treat him thus, until we cast him into trouble.” AR. Nub. 1458. Περιεμένομεν οὖν ἑκάστοτε, ἕως ἀνοιχθείη τὸ δεσμωτήριον, “we waited every day until the prison was opened.” PLAT. Phaed. 59D.