Enclitics
There are two classes of words in ancient Greek that do not carry accents.
You have already encountered some examples of the class of words called proclitics, such as the forms of the article ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ, the negating word οὐ and the prepositions εἰς, ἐκ/ἐξ, and ἐν. (There will be a few more in future modules.) Proclitics do not carry an accent of their own and may be used as the first word in a clause.
Enclitics do interact with the accent of the word that precedes them in a sentence: their name signifies their “leaning on” the word they follow. Enclictics cannot be the first word in a clause since they need a word ahead of them to lean on. Enclitics are generally listed without an accent in paradigms and in glossaries or lexica. Enclitic words are frequently one syllable but may be two syllables. An enclitic you have already encountered in Module 1 is the conjunction τε, and now you can add the indefinite pronoun and adjective above.
Enclitic accent rules
- A word accented on the ultima, with an acute or cicumflex, retains that accent when followed by an enclitic word. The acute does not change to grave because the enclitic is “added on” to the word in terms of pronunciation. The enclitic remains unaccented.
- A word accented on the antepenult with an acute or a word accented on the penult with a circumflex will have an acute accent added to the ultima. That is the circumstance when you will see two accents on the same word. The enclitic remains unaccented.
- A word accented with an acute on the penult will not have any accent changes when followed by an enclictic. A one-syllable enclitic following such a word will remain unaccented. A two-syllable enclitic following a word accented on the penult with an acute will be accented on its own ultima. That is one circumstance in which you will see an enclitic accented.
- A proclitic followed by an enclitic will receive an acute accent. An enclictic followed by another enclitic in a sentence will also receive that enclitic’s accent on its ultima, which will remain acute.
Practice recognizing enclitics
Looking through the following passage (Lysias 1.6–7), identify which words are enclitics and how they have affected the accents of the preceding words. Which of the rules above are involved in each example you identify? Which words without accents are proclitics rather than enclitics?
ἐγὼ γάρ, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐπειδὴ ἔδοξέ μοι γῆμαι καὶ γυναῖκα ἠγαγόμην εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν, τὸν μὲν ἄλλον χρόνον οὕτω διεκείμην ὥστε μήτε λυπεῖν μήτε λίαν ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνῃ εἶναι ὅ τι ἂν ἐθέλῃ ποιεῖν, ἐφύλαττόν τε ὡς οἷόν τε ἦν, καὶ προσεῖχον τὸν νοῦν ὥσπερ εἰκὸς ἦν. ἐπειδὴ δέ μοι παιδίον γίγνεται, ἐπίστευον ἤδη καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐμαυτοῦ ἐκείνῃ παρέδωκα, ἡγούμενος ταύτην οἰκειότητα μεγίστην εἶναι: ἐν μὲν οὖν τῷ πρώτῳ χρόνῳ, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, πασῶν ἦν βελτίστη: καὶ γὰρ οἰκονόμος δεινὴ καὶ φειδωλὸς ἀγαθὴ καὶ ἀκριβῶς πάντα διοικοῦσα: ἐπειδὴ δέ μοι ἡ μήτηρ ἐτελεύτησε, πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἀποθανοῦσα αἰτία μοι γεγένηται.