Re: ERXOMAI hIERWi

Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Thu, 12 Dec 1996 09:04:44 -0600

At 11:07 AM -0600 12/12/96, Paul Zellmer wrote:
>
>How strong would your point be if you were to use the example, "I am
>going to the temple."? What would that be in Koine, "ERXOMAI hIERW."?
>Does this case also imply the events of the recent past and near future?

There were some good points in Paul's post (actually on aspect in present
tense), but I can't let this bad one get by without challenge--though only
for fear that someone might emulate it: although I know of one occasion in
Latin (Vergil's IT CLAMOR CAELO), I don't know of any in Greek where a goal
of movement is expressed with a dative. Curiously, one may say either

TAUT' EIPE MOI hO DIDASKALOS or
TAUT' EIPEN hO DIDASKALOS PROS EME

but you have to use an accusative with PROS or EIS with ERXOMAI. ERXOMAI
hIERWi, if it means anything, could only mean "I go FOR a sanctuary."

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/