The Middle Category in the Aorist Tense in the Homeric Epics: A Study of Form vs. Function

Abstract

This thesis investigates the middle category in Ancient Greek in general and its representation and usage in the aorist tense in the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, in particular. The thesis has two major goals: the first, describing, exemplifying, and explaining the various functions of the middle voice and their semantic-pragmatic range in Ancient Greek in general and especially in Homeric Greek; the second, describing and accounting for the functions of the middle specifically in the aorist tense in the Homeric epics. The first chapter describes in detail the six main functions of the middle voice in Ancient Greek: (i) direct reflexive; (ii) indirect reflexive (self-benefactive and possessive usages); (iii) reciprocal; (iv) anticausative; (v) deponent; (vi) passive. These functions are grounded in the morphosyntax of the middle voice, namely the effect that the middle voice has on the valency and argument structure of the verb in question. While the middle voice can also be described from a semantic point of view (as done, for example, by Allan 2003), in this study the middle voice is explored mostly through its morphosyntax, seeing that its morphosyntactical effect is discernible, identifiable, and definite. The first chapter, which describes the middle voice, its functions, and range of meanings and usages in Ancient Greek in general, serves also as an introduction to the dissertation itself, which focuses on the middle category in the aorist tense as attested in the Homeric epics. The second part of the dissertation, namely chapters 2–5, is dedicated to the functions of the middle in the aorist tense. The main question this part of the dissertation seeks to answer is: How are the functions of the middle, which in the present system are expressed by the middle voice, expressed in the aorist system? This question is particularly important for a nuanced understanding of the Homeric language, since this Kunstsprache offers a seemingly unending variety of verbal formations in the aorist, especially when compared to the fairly straightforward system familiar from classical Greek. In order to answer this question, each chapter is dedicated to one canonical function of the middle: direct reflexive (chapter 2); indirect reflexive (chapter 3); anticausative (chapter 4); passive (chapter 5); the deponent and reciprocal functions do not have a whole chapter dedicated to them, seeing that the topic is dealt with in chapter 1. Each of chapters 2–5 seeks to answer the question: In what ways, that is to say using what aorist formations, is the specific middle function expressed? Each chapter focuses not so much on the canonical way of expression (that has been dealt with in chapter 1) but on additional, sometimes even marginal, morphological mechanisms, some of which are unique to Homer and constitute either an archaism preserved in the Homeric language or an artificial formation which has evolved in the Homeric composition-in-performance process. For example, given that the anticausative function in the aorist is normally expressed in Ancient Greek by the θη-/η-aorist (the so-called “passive” aorist), chapter 4 as a whole is dedicated to describing the wide range of additional aorist formations capable of expressing this function, among which one finds active athematic aorists, active thematic aorists, middle sigmatic aorists, middle reduplicated aorist, as well as many specific cases deserving an individual discussion. Similarly, chapter 5, dedicated to the passive function, does not focus on the expression of this function by the θη-/η-aorist, given that this is the normal and expected state of affairs, but instead explores other aorist formations utilized for the expression of the passive function, for example active aorists and middle athematic and thematic aorists. It should be pointed out that in the series of chapters 2–5 chapter 3, dedicated to the indirect-reflexive function of the middle, stands out due to its different methodology: seeing that the indirect-reflexive function is expressed solely by the middle voice (of all aorist formations, including, for example, sigmatic, thematic, and athematic aorists) and given that the indirect-reflexive function is optional, that is to say it does not have to be marked morphologically on the verb, the chapter instead deals with the question of middle verbs utilized seemingly without an indirect-reflexive meaning, apparently as artificial, metrically convenient forms. A great deal of verbs has been claimed in previous scholarship to constitute cases of metri gratia formations without any indirect-reflexive meaning. Chapter 3 explores these verbs and shows that in many cases indirect-reflexive meaning is as a matter of fact discernible and plays a role in the correct understanding and interpretation of the Homeric text. The dissertation ends with a short conclusion outlining the various aorist formations used for the expression of each middle function. Thus, this dissertation makes a step towards a better and more precise understanding of the Homeric language, both at the macro- and micro-level.