Greek Word of the Week 006 χάριν σοι ἔχω, thank you (Patreon)

Greek WotW 006

χάριν σοι ἔχω, thank you

Χαιρέτω ὁ πρόξενος! To thank you for all your support, I want to tell you how to say thank you in Ancient Greek: χάριν σοι ἔχω or οἶδα, literally “grace to you I have” or “I know.” Aren’t idioms fantastic! In the Koine Period a neologism εὐχαριστῶ is formed, which exists still in Modern Greek as ευχαριστώ. During the Second Sophistic, the Renaissance of Classical Greek literature in the early Roman Empire, Atticists harshly criticized Koine Greek terms like εὐχαριστῶ, recommending χάριν σοι ἔχω or οἶδα. I like the liberty this gives us: it shows us that, even in the Koine Period, in the vast Roman Empire, Attic forms still have the highest prestige, so we can use them all we like in speech, even at the exception of uniquely Koine forms; but also, Koine forms obviously existed as well and are just as valid for that type of literature and that time period.

What’s your preference: Attic or Koine? Or something else entirely? Ἀντιβολῶ σε, εἰπέ μοι. Χάριν σοι ἔχω, ὦ πρόξενε. Εἰς αὖθις!