On the origins of the κ- aorist of the verb ποιώ

Jerneja Kavčič

University of Ljubljana

As is known, some Modern Greek dialects display the κ-stem aorist of the verb ποιώ (e.g., έποικα, εποίκα, έπ’κα; cf. Andriotis 1974, s.v. ποιῶ). These forms are usually explained as descendants of the Ancient Greek perfect πεποίηκα. The latter is believed to have adopted the function of the perfective past and to have replaced the corresponding aorist indicative ἐποίησα, whereas the reduplication was replaced with the augment (Horrocks 2010: 302; Holton et. al. 2019: 1344). Recently, Holton et al. (2019: 1344) have also drawn attention to shortcomings of this interpretation, arguing that “the evidence … in Greek papyri is relatively slender and relatively late.” For instance, the earliest attestation of the “augmented” ἐποίηκα appears go back to the Chronicle of John Malalas (6th century AD), and “the popularity of κ-aorists … dates from long after the demise of the perfect” (loc. cit.). Additional evidence against this view, as I argue, concerns the fact that non-literary papyri do not seem to display any significant tendency toward πεποίηκα adopting the function of the perfective past, in contrast to certain other perfects that appear to have been particularly prone at adopting this function (namely, γέγονα, εἴρηκα, εἴληφα, ἐλήλυθα, πέπρακα, εὕρηκα; Mandilaras 1973: 226‒227; cf. Bentein 2016: 154‒155). As a result, it may seem more reasonable to adopt the view that this aorist is a “recent formation due to the analogy” (Jannaris 1969: 273).

I aim to provide additional evidence in support of the view that the κ-aorist of the verb ποιώ originates from the perfect πεποίηκα. This evidence includes the tendency, displayed by some post-Classical lower-register texts, toward the perfect πεποίηκα adopting the function of the perfective past. This perfect is frequently modified with time specifications of anterior events or co-occurs with the aorist indicative in coordinative constructions referring to consecutive past events. These are widely accepted criteria for identifying the perfective use of the perfect (cf. Bentein 2016: 154‒155; Mandilaras 1973: 226). Furthermore, epigraphic sources also display the use of the contracted formΠΕΠΟΙΚΑ, as well as (rarely) of the augmented form ΕΠΟΙΚΑ (e.g. SEG 28.1140).

My evidence concerns Post-Classical texts that are usually given much less attention than, for instance, non-literary papyri or the New Testament — as is the case also in Holton et al. (2019: 1344). The texts I focus on include the works of early apologists (e.g. Justin Martyr) and epigraphic sources, including the Greek translation of Res Gestae Divi Augusti, which may have been – in contrast to other translations of Roman official documents – composed by a native speaker of Greek (Wigtil 1982). Therefore, I also stress the importance of studying these texts. In addition, I draw attention to what appears to be the continuity in the use of πεποίηκα (and its descendants) in the area of Asia Minor, briefly addressing also the (controversial) issue of potential region-specific characteristics of the Hellenistic Koine of (ancient) Asia Minor (e.g. Bubenik 1989: 237‒252; Horrocks 2010: 113‒114; Sitaridou 2014: 30).

References

Andriotis, N. 1974. Lexicon der Archaismen in neugriechischen Dialekten. Wien: Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Bentein, K. 2016. Verbal periphrasis in Ancient Greek. Have- and be- constructions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bubenik, V. 1989. Hellenistic and Roman Greece as a sociolinguistic area, Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Holton, D., Horrocks, G., Janssen, M., Lendari, T., Manolessou, I. & N. Toufexis, 2019. The Cambridge grammar of Medieval and Early Modern Greek. Vol. 3: Verb morphology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Horrocks, G. 2010. Greek: A history of the language and its speakers. 2^nd ed. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

Jannaris, A. N. 1969. An historical Greek grammar, Chiefly of the Attic dialect. Reprografischer Nachdruck der Ausgabe London 1897. Hildesheim: Georg Olms.

Mandilaras, B. G. 1973. The verb in Greek non-literary papyri. Athens: Ministry of Education.

Sitaridou, I. 2014. The Romeyka infinitive. Continuity, contact and change in the Hellenic varieties of Pontus. Diachronica 31. 1: 23‒73.

Wigtil, D. N. 1982. The Translator of the Greek Res Gestae of Augustus, The American Journal of Philology 103. 2: 189–194.