Greek Word of the Week 005 ἀντιβολῶ σε! please! (Patreon)

Greek WotW 005

ἀντιβολῶ σε! please!

Χαῖρε, χαῖρε, ὦ πρόξενε! How do we say “please” in Ancient Greek? There are different schools of thought on this question. Ἀντιβολῶ σε is fairly common among those wishing to speak in Attic. Αἰτοῦμαί σε is also sometimes heard. Other ways include εἰ δοκεῖ or εἰ σοὶ δοκεῖ, like sī tibi vidētur in Latin, if it seems (proper) to you, or even εἰ σοὶ φίλον, if it is amenable to you. A term used in Modern Greek is παρακαλῶ, which is also found in Koine Greek.

Ἀλλ’ ἀντιβολῶ σε, εἰπέ μοι· which term do you prefer? Νῦν δ’ ἴθι χαίρων!