The Verb 'Be' In Ancient Greek

A reprint, with new introductory essay, of the D. Reidel edition of 1973.

This reissue of Charles Kahn's classic work includes a substantial new introductory essay, which presents a reformulation of the theory of syntactic and semantic unity for the system of uses of the verb be in Greek (conceived primarily as a verb of predication), and hence a defense of the conceptual unity for the notion of Being in Greek philosophy.

The book offers a systematic description of the use and grammar of the verb to be in Ancient Greek, before the philosophers took it over to express the central concepts in Greek logic and metaphysics. Evidence is taken primarily from Homer but supplemented by specimens from classical Attic prose. Topics discussed include the original status of the verb in Indo-European, as well as the logical and syntactic relations among copula, existential, and veridical uses.