νεανίσκος

From νεανίας (neanías) (ultimately from νέος (néos) “young”) with the suffix -ίσκος (-ískos), diminutive in form but not necessarily in force.

νεᾱνῐ́σκος • (neānĭ́skos) m (genitive νεᾱνῐ́σκου); second declension (Attic, Koine)

1. young man, youth
   • 484 BCE – 425 BCE, Herodotus, Hist. 4.112.1:

     εἶχον δὲ οὐδὲν οὐδ᾿ οἱ νεηνίσκοι, ὥσπερ αἱ Ἀμαζόνες, εἰ μὴ τὰ ὅπλα καὶ τοὺς ἵππους, ἀλλὰ ζόην ἔζωον τὴν αὐτὴν ἐκείνῃσι, θηρεύοντές τε καὶ ληιζόμενοι.

     eîkhon dè oudèn oud’ hoi neēnískoi, hṓsper hai Amazónes, ei mḕ tà hópla kaì toùs híppous, allà zóēn ézōon tḕn autḕn ekeínēisi, thēreúontés te kaì lēizómenoi.

     Now the young men, like the Amazons, had nothing but their arms and their horses, and lived as did the women, by hunting and plunder.

   • c. 385 BCE, Plato, Symposium 211d:

     τοὺς καλοὺς παῖδάς τε καὶ νεανίσκους

     toùs kaloùs paîdás te kaì neanískous

     the beautiful boys and young men

   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 1303b21:

     ἐκ δύο νεανίσκων στασιασάντων, τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς ὄντων

     ek dúo neanískōn stasiasántōn, tôn en taîs arkhaîs óntōn

     because of two young men who engaged in factional conflict, though they held public office

   • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Hellenica 3.3.5:

     οὗτος δ᾿ ἦν καὶ τὸ εἶδος νεανίσκος καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν εὔρωστος, οὐ μέντοι τῶν ὁμοίων

     hoûtos d’ ên kaì tò eîdos neanískos kaì tḕn psukhḕn eúrōstos, ou méntoi tôn homoíōn

     He was a young man in appearance and vigorous in spirit, though not one of the Peers.

   • 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Philopoemen 11.2:

     νεανίσκους … ἀκμάζοντας τοῖς σώμασιν

     neanískous … akmázontas toîs sṓmasin

     the young men, in the prime of their physical strength

   • (historical) In Herodotus 3.53 the same youth is called both νεηνίης (neēníēs) and νεηνίσκος (neēnískos).
   • 484 BCE – 425 BCE, Herodotus, Hist. 3.53.2-7:

     περιεχόμενος τοῦ νεηνίεω (Λυκόφρονος)… κτείνουσι τὸν νεηνίσκον (Λυκόφρονα).

     periekhómenos toû neēníeō (Lukóphronos)… kteínousi tòn neēnískon (Lukóphrona).

     greatly desiring that the young man (Lycophron) should come… they put the young man (Lycophron) to death

   • (law) In Antiphon 3.4.6 and 8 the same person is called νεανίσκος and μειράκιον, and Lamprocles, the eldest son of Socrates, is called νεανίσκος by Xenophon, but μειράκιον by Plato.
   • Antiphon, Second Tetralogy 3.4.6-8:

     ὁ δὲ νεανίσκος οὐδὲν περισσότερον τούτων ἁμαρτών… τὸ μὲν οὖν μειράκιον ἀναμάρτητον

     ho dè neanískos oudèn perissóteron toútōn hamartṓn… tò mèn oûn meirákion anamártēton

     And the young man, having made no greater error than they… But since the adolescent is without fault

   • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Memorabilia 2.2.1:

     αἰσθόμενος δέ ποτε Λαμπροκλέα τὸν πρεσβύτατον υἱὸν αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὴν μητέρα χαλεπαίνοντα … καὶ μάλα, ἔφη ὁ νεανίσκος.

     aisthómenos dé pote Lamprokléa tòn presbútaton huiòn autoû pròs tḕn mētéra khalepaínonta … kaì mála, éphē ho neanískos.

     On noticing Lamprocles, his eldest son, angry with his mother … “Yes, certainly,” replied the young man.

   • 400 BCE – 387 BCE, Plato, Apology 34d:

     ὥστε καὶ οἰκεῖοί μοί εἰσι καὶ ὑεῖς γε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τρεῖς, εἷς μὲν μειράκιον ἤδη, δύο δὲ παιδία

     hṓste kaì oikeîoí moí eisi kaì hueîs ge, ô ándres Athēnaîoi, treîs, heîs mèn meirákion ḗdē, dúo dè paidía

     so that I have relatives and, men of Athens, I have three sons, one nearly grown up, and two still children

   • (Koine) In later Greek, νεανίσκος is more frequent than νεανίας (neanías) and is commonly used in the same age-denoting contexts (LSJ; Brill).
   • 200 BCE – 118 BCE, Polybius, Hist. 1.36.12:

     τοὺς δ᾿ ἐν Λιβύῃ διαμείναντας νεανίσκους ἀναλαβόντες ἐκ τῆς Ἀσπίδος ἔπλεον αὖθις ἐπὶ τῆς Σικελίας.

     toùs d’ en Libúēi diameínantas neanískous analabóntes ek tês Aspídos épleon aûthis epì tês Sikelías.

     Then having taken on board at Aspis the soldiers who remained in Libya they set sail again for Sicily.

   • 200 BCE – 118 BCE, Polybius, Hist 4.20.2:

     …νεανίσκοις γενομένοις ἕως τριάκοντ’ ἐτῶν…

     …neanískois genoménois héōs triákont’ etôn…

     …once they had become ᾽᾽᾽young men᾽᾽᾽, until the age of thirty…

   • 70 CE – 90 CE, The Gospel of Matthew 19:20:

     λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ νεανίσκος· ταῦτα πάντα ἐφυλαξάμην· τί ἔτι ὑστερῶ;

     légei autōî ho neanískos; taûta pánta ephulaxámēn; tí éti husterô?

     The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”

   • (medical, philosophical) A recognized life stage in age-classification systems after childhood παῖς (paîs), following μειράκιον (meirákion) and preceding ἀνήρ (anḗr).
   • 375 BCE, Plato, The Republic 413e–414a:

     ἐν τε παισὶ καὶ νεανίσκοις καὶ ἐν ἀνδράσι βασανιζόμενον

     en te paisì kaì neanískois kaì en andrási basanizómenon

     being tested among children, young men, and adult men

   • Diog.Laert., 8 10:

     παῖς εἴκοσι ἔτεα, νεηνίσκος εἴκοσι, νεηνίης εἴκοσι, γέρων εἴκοσι· … ὁ μὲν νεηνίσκος μειράκιον, ὁ δὲ νεηνίης ἀνήρ.

     paîs eíkosi étea, neēnískos eíkosi, neēníēs eíkosi, gérōn eíkosi; … ho mèn neēnískos meirákion, ho dè neēníēs anḗr.

     a child for twenty years, a youth for twenty years, a young man for twenty years, an old man for twenty years; … the youth is an adolescent, while the young man is an adult man.

   • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates of Kos, On Hebdomads 5:

     νεανίσκος δ’ ἄχρις αὐξήσιος ὅλου τοῦ σώματος, ἐς τὰ τετράκις ἑπτά·

     neanískos d’ ákhris auxḗsios hólou toû sṓmatos, es tà tetrákis heptá;

     A youth lasts until completion of the body’s growth, until the fourth seven-year period.

   • 129 CE – 216 CE, Galen, Commentary on Hippocrates' Aphorisms 6.644.4-8:

     Τῶν νεανίσκων ἡλικία κατὰ τὴν πέμπτην ἑβδομάδα περιγράφεται … ἡ γὰρ ἐχομένη τῶν νεανίσκων ἡλικία ταῖς ἐφεξῆς ἑβδομάσι δύο παρεκτείνεται

     Tôn neanískōn hēlikía katà tḕn pémptēn hebdomáda perigráphetai … hē gàr ekhoménē tôn neanískōn hēlikía taîs ephexês hebdomási dúo parekteínetai

     The age of young men is defined within the fifth seven-year period… For the age after that of young men extends over the next two seven-year periods…

2. servant, attendant; a young man functioning in a subordinate or assisting role
   • (with possessive pronoun) Used to denote a personal servant or attendant.
   • 125 CE – 200 CE, Lucian, Alexander the False Prophet 53:

     …ἐξαπατηθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐμοῦ νεανίσκου

     …exapatētheìs hupò toû emoû neanískou

     …misled by my servant

   • (in the plural) According to BDAG (and perhaps LSJ) a variant reading in Mark 14:51b may doubtfully be assigned to this category.
   • 50 CE – 100 CE, New Testament, Mk. 14:51b:

     Καὶ κρατοῦσιν αὐτὸν [οἱ νεανίσκοι]

     Kaì kratoûsin autòn [hoi neanískoi]

     and [the young men] seized him

• Ionic: νεηνίσκος (neēnískos); cf. νεηνίης (neēníēs) (Ionic of νεανίας (neanías))

In New Testament usage, lexicons such as BDAG and Thayer assign the singular νεανίσκος (neanískos) in Matthew 19:20, Mark 14:51, and Mark 16:5 to the general sense “youth” or “young man,” while noting that a plural variant in Mark 14:51b (οἱ νεανίσκοι) may be assignable to the secondary sense “servant.”

• μειράκιον (meirákion)
• ἔφηβος (éphēbos)
• νεανίας (neanías)
• νέος (néos)
• ἀνήρ (anḗr)

• “νεανίσκος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Franco Montanari et al. (2015), Madeleine Goh and Chad Schroeder, editors, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN
• G3495 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

Scholarly discussions of age terminology and νεανίσκος include:

• Carmen Soares, “Childhood and Youth,” in *A Companion to Plutarch*, Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
• Kennell, Nigel M. “Who Were the Neoi?” in *Epigraphical Approaches to the Post-Classical Polis*, ed. P. Martzavou & N. Papazarkadas, Oxford University Press, 2012.
• Hatton, Stephen B. “The Comic Frame of Mark’s Passion.” *Horizons in Biblical Theology* 43.1 (2021).
• Cantarella, Eva. “Neaniskoi: Age classes and status transitions in Athenian law.” *Mélanges de l'École française de Rome. Antiquité* 102.1 (1990): 37–51.