Tense and aspect in the counterfactual constructions in Classical Greek

a case study based on Herodotos VIII

Abstract

Many different analyses have been provided for the use of the tenses and moods in the counterfactual and potential constructions in Greek. So far, however, the actual instances of the counterfactual constructions in Classical Greek have not been studied in detail as to their temporal and/or aspectual meaning. In this article, I use the instances of the modal indicatives of Herodotos, Historiai Book VIII (the preparations for the Battle of Salamis, the Battle itself and its aftermath) as a case study for such an investigation. As this article focuses exclusively on the aspect of the modal indicatives, I will only briefly discuss the aspect in Classical Greek and Herodotos, and will neither treat the relation between aspect and Aktionsart, nor the origins of the counterfactual and past potential constructions. After the overview of the aspect uses, I analyse the passages in which these forms occur and use as Arbeitshypothese that the use of the aorist or imperfect with the modal indicatives is based on aspectual criteria and not on temporal reference. By this I mean that the aorist is not confined to the so-called irrealis of the past and the imperfect to that of the present. If different variants are attested or when it is unclear whether a certain form is modal or not, they will be discussed as well.