ἐπί : upon,
on.—I. adv., thereon, on top, thereby,
besides; esp. ἔπι = ἔπεστι or ἔπεισι, οὔ
τοι ἔπι δϝέος, ‘thou hast nought to
fear,’ Il. 1.515, Od. 8.563. Here belong all examples of
‘tmesis,’ ἐπὶ δ᾽ αἴγειον
κνῆ τυ_ρόν, grated ‘on,’ Il. 11.639, 640; the appropriate case of
a subst. may specify the relation of the adv., ἐπὶ κνέφας ἤλυθε γαῖαν, darkness came
‘on’—over the earth, Il. 24.351
.—κρἔ ἔδων καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἄκρητον γάλα
πι?νων, ‘on top’ of the meat,
‘besides,’ Od.
9.297
; πρὸ μέν τ᾽ ἄλλ̓, αὐτὰρ ἐπ̓
ἄλλα, some before, some ‘after,’ Il. 13.799
; ἐπὶ σκέπας
ἦν ἀνέμοιο,
‘withal,’ Od.
5.443.—II. prep., (1) w. gen., local, of position,
on, at, or direction, towards, for;
and sometimes temporal; freq. ἐφ᾽ ἵππων, ἐπὶ
νηῶν; ἐπ̓ ἀγροῦ, ‘in the country,’
‘at the farm,’ Od.
1.190
; ἐπ᾽ ὄγμου, ‘at the
swath,’ Il. 18.557
; σι_γῇ ἐφ᾽ υ?μείων, ‘by
yourselves,’ Il. 7.195
; ἐπὶ παιδὸς ἕπεσθαι,
‘along with,’ Od.
1.278; direction, νήσου ἔπι
Ψυρίης, make ‘for’ the island, Od. 3.171, Il.
5.700; time, ἐπ᾽ εἰρήνης, ἐπὶ
προτέρων ἀνθρώπων, ‘in the time of,’
Il. 2.797, Il. 5.637.—(2) w. dat., of place, time, purpose,
condition; νέμεσθαι ἐπὶ κρήνῃ,
‘at’ the spring, Od.
13.408
; νῆα ἐπ᾽ ἠπείροιο ἔρυσσαν
| ὑψοῦ ἐπὶ ψαμαθοῖς, high
‘upon the sand,’ Il.
1.486
; ἐπὶ Πατρόκλῳ τέτατο ὑσμι?νη,
‘over Patroclus,’ Il.
17.543; so of charge or mastery, ποιμαίνειν ἐπ᾽ ὄεσσι,
Il. 6.25; υἱὸν
ἐπὶ κτεάτεσσι λιπέσθαι, ‘in charge
of,’ ‘as master of,’ Il. 5.154
; ἐπὶ ἴστορι πεῖρας ἑλέσθαι,
‘by,’ i. e. before a judge, Il. 18.501; freq. of hostile direction,
ἧκε δ᾽ ἐπ̓ Ἀργείοισι βέλος,
‘at the Greeks,’ Il.
1.382; addition, ὄγχνη ἐπ᾽
ὄγχνῃ, ‘pear upon pear,’ Od. 7.120, 216; of time, ἐπὶ νυκτί, ‘in the
night,’ Il. 8.529
; ἐπ᾽ ἤματι, ‘a day
long,’ Il. 19.229;
‘day by day,’ Od.
12.105
; ἐπ᾽ ἤματι τῷδε, ‘on this
day,’ Il. 13.234; cause or
purpose, γαστέρας ἐπὶ δόρπῳ
κατθέμεθα, ‘for supper,’ Od. 18.44
; ἐπ᾽ ἀρωγῇ,
Il. 23.574;
ἐπὶ ῥηθέντι δικαίῳ, ‘at a just
remark,’ Od. 18.414;
condition or price, μισθῷ ἔπι ῥητῷ,
Il. 21.445, Κ
304, Il.
9.602.—(3) w. acc., local, direction
to or at (hostile), or extension,
over; of purpose, for; and of time in
extension, for, up to;
ἕζεσθαι ἐπ᾽ ἐρετμά, ‘take
seats at the oars,’ Od.
12.171
; ἐπὶ ἔργα τρέπεσθαι, ‘to
work,’ Il. 3.422
; ὄρνυσθαι ἐπί τινα,
‘against,’ Il.
5.590
; ἐπ᾽ ἐννέα κεῖτο πέλεθρα,
‘extending over,’ Od.
11.577
; πάντας ἐπ᾽ ἀνθρώπους ἐκέκαστο,
‘the world over,’ Il.
24.535; so ἐπὶ γαῖαν, ἐπὶ
πόντον; purpose, ἀναστῆναι ἐπὶ
δόρπον, Il. 12.439; time,
παννύχιον εὑδεῖν καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἠῶ καὶ μέσον
ἦμαρ, Od. 7.288; so ἐπὶ χρόνον, ‘for a
time;’ ἐπὶ δϝηρόν,
‘for long.’