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μέλω,
middle μέλομαι, used in both voices, either in neuter sense, to be an object of care or thought, or in active sense, care for, take an interest in.
__A present μέλω: imperfect ἔμελον, Epic dialect μέλον [[ 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 5.6: ] Refs 8th c.BC+]future μελήσω, Epic dialect infinitive μελησέμεν [[ 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 10.51: ] Refs 8th c.BC+]aorist ἐμέλησα: perfect μεμέληκ; also Epic dialect and Lyric poetry μέμηλα, Doric dialect participle μεμᾱλώς uncertain in [[ 5th c.BC: Pindarus Lyricus “O.” 1.89 (for _Epic dialect_ forms of _middle_ see.below 111.2): almost always _3rd.pers.?? ] Refs 5th c.BC+]singular and plural, except in present (see. below):—to be an object of care or thought, sometimes with a personal subject (not in Attic dialect Prose):
__A.I πᾶσι δόλοισιν ἀνθρώποισι μέλω by all manner of wiles am I in men's thoughts, i. e. am well known to them, [[ 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 9.20; Ἀργὼ πᾶσι μέλουσα 12.70; μελήσεις ἄφθιτον ἀνθρώποις αἰὲν ἔχων ὄνομα 6th c.BC: Theognis Elegiacus 245; Εὐθυμίᾳ μέλων εἴην 5th c.BC: Pindarus Lyricus “Fragmenta.” 155; μέλει σφισὶ Καλλιόπα [prev. author] “O.” 10(11).14; ἵνα θανοῦσα νερτέροισιν μέλω 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Andromache” 850 (Lyric poetry); Ἔρως.. οὐρανίδαισι μέλων [prev. author] “Tr.” 842; μέλων πολλοῖσι “Anthologia Graeca” 5.121 (1st c.BC-1st c.AD: Diodorus Epigrammaticus); ἡ μέλουσα ἀγέλη 4th c.AD: Themistius Sophista “Orationes” 1.10a: ] Refs 8th c.BC+]perfect participle, ἀρεταῖσι μεμαλότας dear to virtue, [[ 5th c.BC: Pindarus Lyricus “O.” 1.89 (uncertain)] Refs 5th c.BC+]; μέλεγάρ οἱ [Ὀδυσσεύς] [[ 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 5.6; τὸν ξεῖνον δὲ ἐῶμεν... Τηλεμάχῳ μελέμεν 18.420: but more frequently of things, μή τοι ταῦτα... μελόντων] Refs 8th c.BC+] let not these things weigh on thy soul, [[ 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 18.463, 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 13.362; μηδέ τί οἱ θάνατος μελέτω φρεσί 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 24.152 ] Refs 8th c.BC+]; σοὶ χρὴ τάδε πάντα μέλειν 'tis good these things should be a care to thee,[[ 5.490; πόλεμος δ᾽ ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει 6.492; μελήσουσιν δ᾽ ἐμοὶ ἵπποι 5.228; ᾧ τόσσα μέμηλε 2.25; οἷς ὕβρις μέμηλε κακή 8th-7th c.BC: Hesiodus Epicus “Opera et Dies” 238; τοῖσιν.. ἐνὶ φρεσὶν ἄλλα μεμήλει 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 1.151, compare 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 2.614; ὅσα φημὶ μελησέμεν Ἀργείοισι 10.51; ἔλεγε.. κομιδῆς πέρι τὴν ὥρην αὐτῷ μελήσειν 5th c.BC: Herodotus Historicus 8.19; μέλει γὰρ ἀνδρὶ.. τἄξωθεν 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Septem contra Thebas” 200; σοὶ χρὴ μέλειν ἐπιστολάς [prev. author] “Pr.” 3; οὗτος.. δμωσὶν ἂν μέλοι πόνος 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Supplices” 939; ἃ τοῖσιν ἀστοῖς ἔμελεν 5th-6th c.BC: Aristophanes Comicus “Ecclesiazusae” 459; τοῖσδε μελήσει γάμος 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Electra” 1342 (_anapaest meter_); τοῦτο ἴσασιν ἐμοὶ μεμεληκός 5th-6th c.BC: Xenophon Historicus “Apologia Socratis” 20. ] Refs 8th c.BC+]
Browse lexicon entries__I.2 impersonal with infinitive, οὐκ ἔμελέν μοι ταῦτα μεταλλῆσαι [[ 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 16.465; so in 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Agamemnon” 1250, 5th c.BC: Thucydides Historicus 1.141, etc.; also, μοι ἐμέλησεν ὥστε εἰδέναι 5th-6th c.BC: Xenophon Historicus “Institutio Cyri (Cyropaedia)” 6.3.19 ] Refs 8th c.BC+]: united with the personal construction, οὗτος μητρὶ κηδεύειν μέλει [[ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Rhesus” 983. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__I.3 less frequently with a conjunction, οὐ μέλειν οἱ ὅτι ἀποθνῄσκει [[ 5th c.BC: Herodotus Historicus 9.72 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; σοὶ μελέτω ὅκως.. [[ [prev. author] 1.9, compare 5th-6th c.BC: Xenophon Historicus “Anabasis” 1.8.13, etc.; ὡς δὲ καλῶς ἕξει.., ἐμοὶ μελήσει [prev. author] “Cyr.” 3.2.13 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐμοὶ τοῦτο μέλει, μὴ.. [[ 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Philoctetes” 1121 (Lyric poetry)] Refs 5th c.BC+]; οὐ τοσοῦτόν μοι μέλει εἰ.. [[ 5th c.BC: Lysias Orator 21.12. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__I.4 3rd.pers. singular is frequently used impersonal with the object in genitive, and person in dative, ᾧ μέλει μάχας to whom there is care for the battle, who careth for it, [[ 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Choephori” 946 (Lyric poetry), compare “Ag.” 974; ἐμοὶ δ᾽ ἔλασσον Ζηνὸς ἢ μηδὲν μέλει [prev. author] “Pr.” 938; θεοῖσιν εἰ δίκης μέλει 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Philoctetes” 1036; Ζηνὶ τῶν σῶν μέλει πόνων 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Heraclidae” 717; πάνυ μοι τυγχάνει μεμεληκὸς τοῦ ᾄσματος 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Protagoras” 339b; also μέλει μοι περί τινος 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Choephori” 780, 5th-6th c.BC: Aristophanes Comicus “Lysistrata” 502, 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus Alcaeus2.150d; μεμέληκέ μοι περὶ αὐτῶν [prev. author] “Cra.” 428b: less frequently with ὑπέρ, εἴπερ ὑπὲρ τοῦ κοινῇ βελτίστου δεῖ μέλειν ὑμῖν 4th c.BC: Demosthenes Orator 21.37. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__I.5 absolutely, μηδέ σοι μελησάτω [[ 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Prometheus Vinctus” 334 ] Refs 4th c.BC+]; οἶμαι θεοῖς τοῖς κάτω μέλειν, οἳ (nisi to be read οἷς) ἠδίκηνται [[ 5th c.BC: Antipho Orator 1.31. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__I.6 frequently with a negative, οὐδέν μοι μέλει I care not, [[ 5th-6th c.BC: Aristophanes Comicus “Ranae” 655; μή νυν μελέτω σοι μηδέν [prev. author] “Pl.” 208; τῷ δ᾽ οὐδὲν μ. 2nd c.AD: Alexander Rhetor 178.2 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; so τί δέ σοι μέλε; [[ 4th-3rd c.BC: Diphilus Comicus 73.10. ] Refs 4th c.BC+]
__A.II μέλον ἔστι periphrastic for μέλει, as τοῖσδ᾽ ἔσται μ. [[ 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Oedipus Coloneus” 653, compare 1433. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__II.2 neuter participle used absolutely, οὐδὲν ἄρ᾽ ἐμοῦ μέλον for they took no thought of me, [[ 5th-6th c.BC: Aristophanes Comicus “Vespae” 1288 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; δῆλον ὅτι οἶσθα, μέλον γέ σοι since you care about it, [[ 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Apologia” 24d; οὐδὲν αὐτῷ μ. τοῦ τοιούτου [prev. author] “Phdr.” 235a; μ. αὐτοῖς ἰσχυρῶς ὅπῃ τὸ μέλλον ἀποβήσοιτο 5th-6th c.BC: Xenophon Historicus “Institutio Cyri (Cyropaedia)” 5.2.24; οὔτε σκοπούμεναι οὔτε μ. αὐταῖς ἄλλο ἢ χαρίζεσθαι 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Gorgias” 501b. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__A.III middle is used by Poets and in [[ 5th c.BC: Hippocrates Medicus like ] Refs 5th c.BC+]active, μελόμεθα, -ησόμεθα, [[ 5th c.BC: Hippocrates Medicus “ἐπιστολαί” 27 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; to be an object of care, Ἄρτεμιν ᾇ μελόμεσθα [[ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Hippolytus” 60 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]: mostly in 3rd.pers. singular, ἐμοὶ δέ κε ταῦτα μελήσεται [[ 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 1.523 ] Refs 8th c.BC+]; μή τί τοι ἡγεμόνος γε ποθὴ μελέσθω let it not weigh on thy mind, [[ 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 10.505 ] Refs 8th c.BC+]; τἀντεῦθεν.. αὐτῷ μελέσθω Λοξίᾳ [[ 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Eumenides” 61; τἀνθάδ᾽ ἂν μέλοιτ᾽ ἐμοί 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Electra” 1436; γάμους.. σοὶ χρὴ μέλεσθαι 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Phoenissae” 759, etc.; ἰαχὰν μελομέναν νεκροῖς [prev. work] 1302 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]: rarely impersonal, σοὶ.. μελέσθω φρουρῆσαι [[ 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Electra” 74; μέλεταί τινί τινος 3rd c.BC: Theocritus Poeta Bucolicus 1.53, Oracle texts cited in 2nd c.AD: Lucianus Sophista “Alex.” 24. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__III.2 Epic dialect perfect and pluperfect passive μέμβλεται, μέμβλετο (from μέ-μλ-εται, μέ-μλ-ετο), with present and imperfect sense, ἦ νύ τοι οὐκέτι πάγχυ μετὰ φρεσὶ μέμβλετ᾽ Ἀχιλλεύς (for μέλει); [[ 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 19.343 ] Refs 8th c.BC+]; μέμβλετο γάρ οἱ τεῖχος (for ἔμελε)[[ 21.516; φόνος δέ οἱ οὐκ ἐνὶ θυμῷ μέμβλετο 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 22.12; ᾗσιν ἀοιδὴ μέμβλεται ἐν στήθεσσιν 8th-7th c.BC: Hesiodus Epicus “Theogonia” 61: hence later _Epic dialect_ formed a ] Refs 8th c.BC+]present μέμβλομαι, 2nd pers. plural μέμβλεσθε [[ 3rd c.BC: Apollonius Rhodius Epicus 2.217 ] Refs 3rd c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural μέμβλονται, in active sense [[compare (5th c.BC: Bacchylides Lyricus 11 below), μ. πόνοισι 2nd-3rd c.AD: Oppianus Anazarbensis Epicus “Halieutica - Poetae Bucolici et Didactici” 4.77: the regular ] Refs 5th c.BC+]perfect and pluperfect (with present and imperfect sense) also occur in later Poets, μεμέληται [[ 3rd c.AD: Oppianus Apamensis Epicus “Cynegetica” 1.436; Φοίβῳ μεμελήμεθα “Anthologia Graeca” 10.17 (1st c.AD: Antiphilus Epigrammaticus); μεμέληνται Callias Epigrammaticus “anonymous fragment” 119, 3rd c.AD: Oppianus Apamensis Epicus “Cynegetica” 1.349: 2 and 3 ] Refs 1st c.AD+]pluperfect μεμέλησο, -το, [[“Anthologia Graeca” 5.219 (6th c.AD: Agathias Historicus et Epigrammaticus), 3rd c.BC: Theocritus Poeta Bucolicus 17.46 ] Refs 3rd c.BC+]; participle μεμελημένος, α, ον, cared for, πολλοῖς μεμελημέναι ἡρωῖναι [[ [prev. author] 26.36, compare “Anthologia Graeca” 7.199 (3rd c.BC: Tymnes Epigrammaticus): ] Refs 3rd c.BC+]aorist participle passive μεληθέν[[ [prev. work] 5.200 ] Refs]; compare βέβλεσθαι.
__B with an object, care for, take an interest in a thing, with genitive, [[ 8th c.BC: Homerus Epicus only in ] Refs 8th c.BC+]perfect participle, μέγα πλούτοιο μεμηλώς busied with, attending to.., [[ 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 5.708; μέγα πτολέμοιο μεμηλώς 13.297 ] Refs 8th c.BC+]: later in present, οὐκ ἔφα τις θεοὺς βροτῶν ἀξιοῦσθαι μέλειν [[ 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Agamemnon” 370 (Lyric poetry); μέλειν μὲν ἡμῶν 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Ajax” 689; δεινόν σε.. τικτούσης μέλειν [prev. author] “El.” 342 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]: later with dative, care for, μέλω κύρτοις [[ “Anthologia Graeca” 10.10 (1st c.BC: Archias Jun.); θεοῖς μέλοντες 1st-2nd c.AD: Plutarchus Biographus et Philosophus “Sulla” 7 ] Refs 1st c.BC+]: absolutely, to be anxious, μέλει.. κέαρ [[ 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Septem contra Thebas” 288, compare “Pers.” 1049 (both Lyric poetry); μελούσῃ καρδίᾳ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Rhesus” 770. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__B.2 rarely with accusative, πεντήκοντα βοῶν ἀντάξια ταῦτα μέμηλας thou hastinvented, [[ hymnus ad Mercurium 437 ] Refs] (perhaps μέμηδας).
__B.3 with _infinitive_, θεοὶ τῶν ἀδίκων μέλουσι (μέλλουσι codices _optative_) [[καὶ τῶν ὁσίων ἐπᾴειν 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Hercules Furens” 773 (assuming variant).] Refs 5th c.BC+]
__B.II _middle_ μέλομαι, care for, take care of, with genitive, [[ 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Septem contra Thebas” 177 (Lyric poetry), 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Oedipus Tyrannus” 1466, 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Hippolytus” 109, “Heracl.” 354 (Lyric poetry), 3rd c.BC: Apollonius Rhodius Epicus 1.967 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὰ λοιπά μου μέλου (where τὰ λ. is adverbial) [[ 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Oedipus Coloneus” 1138; μεμελημένοι ἀέθλων 2nd-3rd c.AD: Oppianus Anazarbensis Epicus “Halieutica - Poetae Bucolici et Didactici” 4.101: with _dative_, ἐτητυμίῃ μεμελημένος 3rd c.BC: Callimachus Epicus “Aetia” 3.1.76; ἱππασίῃ μεμελημένον ἦτορ 4th c.AD(?): Quintus Smyrnaeus Epicus 4.500: with _accusative_, μέλομαι ῥόδον (probable reading for μέλπομαι) “Anacreontea” 53.2: with Preps., μέλεσθαι ἀμφί τι or τινος, 3rd c.BC: Apollonius Rhodius Epicus 2.376, 4.491; ἀμφ᾽ αἰγῶν μεμελημένοι “Anthologia Graeca” 6.221 (1st c.AD: Leonidas Alexandrinus Epigrammaticus); ἐμέλοντο περὶ σφίσιν 3rd c.BC: Apollonius Rhodius Epicus 3.1172 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]: with infinitive, μέλομαι.. ἀείδειν [[ 6th c.BC: Anacreon Lyricus 65; μελέσθω λαὸς ἐκπονεῖν ἄκη 4th-5th c.BC: Aeschylus Tragicus “Supplices” 367, compare 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Heraclidae” 96 (Lyric poetry)] Refs 6th c.BC+]: aorist in same sense, with genitive, τάφου μεληθείς [[ 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Ajax” 1184. ] Refs 5th c.BC+]