21st Century Classical Greek -- Summary 9, the particle an

The grammars and lexicons want you to always treat an as if it is part of the apodosis to a conditional. This is not true, but it is what the authorities said and nobody ever challenged the authorities by doing good research.

An is a pivot. In conditionals with an indicative verb in the protasis, it pivots away from asserting that the protasis is true. That is, it appears in “conditionals contrary to fact.” In conditionals with an epistemic verb in the protasis, it pivots away from any assertion that the protasis is more likely than not to be true. 

An also appears in a number of contexts where there is no hint of a conditional. In Book II 93.3, we have three uses of an that let us explore what it means. The last example is definitely the apodosis of a conditional. Tell me what it means based on the modality of the verbs.

οὔτε γὰρ ναυτικὸν ἦν προφυλάσσον ἐν αὐτῷ οὐδὲν οὔτε προσδοκία οὐδεμία μὴ ἄν ποτε οἱ πολέμιοι ἐξαπιναίως οὕτως ἐπιπλεύσειαν, ἐπεὶ οὐδ᾽ ἀπὸ τοῦ προφανοῦς τολμῆσαι ἂν καθ᾽ ἡσυχίαν, οὐδ᾽ εἰ διενοοῦντο, μὴ οὐκ ἂν προαισθέσθαι.

There is no hint of a conditional in the cause leading up to the first use of an. It’s a straight statement, “not at any time the enemies might have unexpectedly sailed up.”  What is an pivoting away from? The rest of the context is about what the Lakedaimonians are doing about the Athinaians and the an pivots away from the enemy to what the Athinaians are doing or thinking.

The most extreme example of an as a pivot keeps the reader, once again, from thinking that the wrong party is under consideration. In Book III 28.1:

..,ὥστε Ἀθηναίοις μὲν ἐξεῖναι βουλεῦσαι περὶ Μυτιληναίων ὁποῖον ἄν τι βούλωνται καὶ τὴν στρατιὰν ἐς τὴν πόλιν δέχεσθαι αὐτούς,

…such that for the Athinaians it was [due and owing] possible to consider anent the Mutilinaians what sort [of treatment] they wished* and they would [be obliged to] accept the army into their city….

* “Wished” is an oblique; they might decide on no action at all against the Mutilinaians, but it’s more likely that they would. However, the closest substantive is the Mutilinaians, and it’s clear that this cannot be the subject of boulontai. The next closest substantive is the Athinaians, and that’s where an pivots to.

However, the dekhesthai after that is in the straight line of the subsection, and at the start there is the phrase oi en tois pragmasin. There are two factions in Mutiline, rebels and the political leaders they are rebelling against. Chapter 28 starts out referring to the leaders. These are the ones who dekhesthai the army, to protect themselves from the rebels.

So now go back to your favorite author and find all the times he used an, and decide which of the three possibilities you have:

1.         A conditional with no ei in the protasis;

2.         A “might have”;

3.         A clue that whoever is carrying out the verb, it is not the closest substantive but further back in the subsection – and not the actual agent in the whole affair.