ἀκούειν

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 ἀκούειν

   a-KOU-ein

   to hear
2. sentence🔊 Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ πάντες καὶ οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες ξένοι εἰς οὐδὲν ἕτερον ηὐκαίρουν ἢ λέγειν τι ἢ ἀκούειν τι καινότερον

   a-thê-NAI-oi DE PAN-tes KAI hoi e-pi-dê-MOUN-tes KSE-noi eis ou-DEN HE-te-ron ê-u-KAI-roun ê LE-gein ti ê a-KOU-ein ti kai-NO-te-ron

   Athenians now all and the residing foreigners for nothing other were spending time except to say something or to hear something newer

Exegesis

This main verb governs a pair of complementary infinitives introduced by the exceptive particle e {ἢ | ē}: e legein ti e akouein ti kainoteron {ἢ λέγειν τι ἢ ἀκούειν τι καινότερον | ē lé-gein ti ē a-koú-ein ti kai-nó-te-ron}. The repetition of e with parallel infinitives legein and akouein, each followed by the indefinite pronoun ti, creates a balanced structure that underscores both speech and listening as their shared preoccupation. The placement of kainoteron at the end gives climactic focus to “something newer,” capturing the cultural bent toward novelty. In English, the habitual aspect of eukairoun is represented with “were spending their time” and “would do nothing with their time,” while the coordinated infinitives are rendered as “to tell … or to hear” and “talk … or listen,” preserving the parallelism and the sense of an exclusive focus on new ideas.