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Regency of πίνω in Anacreon's ode Πάντα πίνει

Latin Language Asked on February 26, 2021

The following poem is from the Odes of Anacreon:

ἡ γῆ μέλαινα πίνει,
Πίνει δὲ δένδρε’ αὐτήν
Πίνει θάλασσα δ’αὔρας,
Ὁ δ’ἤλιος θάλασσαν,
Τὸν δ’ἤλιον σελήνη.
Τί μοι μάχεσθ’ ἑτῖροι,
Καὐτῷ θέλοντι πίνειν;

If I understood it correctly, verses 3, 4 and 5 can be translated roughly as:

the sea drinks the breeze,
the sun drinks the sea,
the moon drinks the sun.

What I don’t understand is that in verses 4 and 5 the regency of πίνω seems to be accusative, but in verse 3 αὔρα appears in the genitive.

What’s going on?

One Answer

αὔρας is accusative plural: "the sea drinks the breezes." (And in Anacreon's poetic dialect, I think that he would have the genitive singular as -ης. -ας after ρ is Attic.)

Correct answer by b a on February 26, 2021

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