The Use of the Moods in the Root *wekw- in Homer

Abstract In this article, I investigate the use of the subjunctive and optative moods of the root * wek w - ( ἔειπον ) in Homer. First, I explain the choice of this root; give a brief overview of the scholarship on the moods in Homeric Greek, focusing on two theories, the one arguing that both moods belong to an irrealis -continuum, and the other that they were in origin future forms (some explanations combine both theories); and describe the problems in determining the moods. Then I proceed to the actual analysis and divide the corpus into broad categories, as I cannot discuss all the instances. Special attention is devoted to the optatives (as they are much less common than the subjunctive), to the instances where optative and subjunctive have both been transmitted, and to the instances of the verba timendi (verbs of fearing). I start with the subjunctive, proceed to the optative afterwards, and discuss the passages with - ωμι and - οιμι and the ones where both forms are transmitted. Thereafter, I turn to Iliad 6.479 and compare it to Iliad 6.459. I devote an entire section to the verba timendi with past reference, as this is an element in which Homeric syntax differs from later (Attic) Greek. Finally, in three passages, I contrast the use of the moods of the root * wek w - with those of the other verbs in the same passage. A separate analysis of the use and absence of the modal particle ( MP ) is beyond the scope of this paper.