Coulter H. George Livres

Focusing on the evolution of passive verb constructions in Ancient Greek, this work examines how agents were expressed through various prepositions. It investigates the conditions under which agents are marked by constructions other than hupo with the genitive, tracing changes from Homeric texts to classical prose and drama. The study highlights semantic, syntactic, and metrical influences on preposition usage and concludes with an analysis of the decline of hupo as an agent marker by the first millennium AD, making it relevant for linguists interested in prepositional system changes.

English speakers find it hard to explain why they say something happens at a particular time, but on a certain day, and in a given year; however this book does just that for Ancient Greek, describing not only variation among Classical authors, but also diachronic change in the following centuries.

Different languages have different personalities, and there is a lot that can be lost in translation. This volume offers an engaging and accessible introduction to six ancient and medieval languages, introducing their most distinctive features and showing how these linguistic traits play out in short excerpts from actual ancient texts.