οὕνεκα

English (LSJ)

and (usu. before a vowel) οὕνεκεν (first in Pi., v. infr.): relat. Conj. for οὗ ἕνεκα,

   A on account of which, wherefore, δὸς δ' . . ἐμὲ πρήξαντα νέεσθαι, οὕ. δεῦρ' ἱκόμεσθα Od.3.61; ἡ δ' Ἄτη σθεναρή τε καὶ ἀρτίπος, οὕ. πάσας . . ὑπεκπροθέει Il.9.505; οὕνεκεν τὸ πεποναμένον εὖ μὴ . . κρυπτέτω Pi.P.9.93.    2 correlat. to τοὔνεκα, because, after τοῦδ' ἕνεκα Il.1.111; after τῷ Od.13.332: but usu. without any antec. expressed, Il.1.11, etc.; οὕνεκ' ἄρα 7.140, 11.79; οὕ. δή 3.403, cf. Pi. N.9.36, A.Supp.639 (lyr.), Fr.374, S.Ph.586, al.; οὕνεκα πιστὸς ἔφυς IG12.1017; οὕνεκεν πλεῖ τὴν θάλασσαν Herod.2.21.    3 like ὅτι, that, i.e. the fact that, after οἶδα Od.5.216; ἔγνω h.Ap.376; ἐνόησε Od.7.300; ἐρέει 16.379, cf. 330, 15.42; τόδε . . νεμέσσα 23.214: in Trag., after ἴσθι S.Ph.232; ἐννοεῖν Id.Ant.63; μαθεῖν Id.OT708; αἰσθάνεσθαι Id.El.1478; λέγειν E.IA102.    II οὕνεκα (in this sense rarely οὕνεκεν, Herod.1.84), as Prep. c. gen., = simple ἕνεκα, εἵνεκα, on account of, because of, sts. following its case, Sol.37.5: freq. in Trag., as A.Pr.347, Ag.823, S.Ph.774, El.387, al. (S. never uses ἕνεκα); whereas reversely in Call., A.R.4.1523, and even in h.Ven. 199, εἵνεκα, ἕνεκα (q. v.) are used for οὕνεκα, because.—It has been suggested that the Ion. form εἵνεκα shd. be restd. for οὕνεκα, wherever it occurs as a Prep.; εἵνεκα occasionally occurs in Mss., as A.Supp. 188, Ar.Pax210, Lys.74, Ec.659: but οὕνεκα as a Prep. freq. occurs in Inscrr., IG12.802, 1037, 2.1334.11, etc.; οὕνεκεν χρόνου in respect of years, Poet. in PMich.Zen.77.9 (iii B. C.).—Poet. word, rare and late in Att. Prose, IG2 l.c. (iii A. D.), f.l. in Th.6.56, D.49.36,53, 59.39.