Accentuation rules for Greek nouns ending in -νος and -νων, discussing how the vowel before the ending (e.g. ο vs ω, αιμων) affects whether the word is acute or grave; examples include personal names, ethnics and place-names (Ἀρτέμων, Πολέμων, Διδύμων, δαίμων, Αἵμων, Λακεδαίμων, Λακεδαίμων of Cyprus, Μέμνων, Κραννών, Δάφνων). Notes on compounds and etymological variations influencing accentuation.
τοῦ 'νος', τῆς πρὸ τέλους οὔσης διὰ τοῦ 'ο', ὀξύνεται· εἰ δὲ διὰ τοῦ 'ω', βαρύνεται, οἷον ἐπὶ τῶν βαρυτόνων Ἀρτέμων, Πολέμων, Διδύμων· τῶν δὲ ὀξυτόνων τὸ δαιτυμών, Ἰτυμών, κηδεμών, ἀκρεμών, ἡγεμών, ἐθνυμών τὸ ἔθνος. Τὰ διὰ τοῦ 'αιμων' βαρύνεται, δαίμων, αἵμων καὶ Αἵμων υἱὸς μὲν Χλώρου τοῦ Πελασγοῦ, πατὴρ δὲ Θεσσαλοῦ, ὡς Ῥιανὸς καὶ ἄλλοι, καὶ τὸ ἐθνικὸν ὁμοφώνως. ἀναίμων. Εὐαίμων πόλις Ὀρχομενίων. Θεόπομπος ἐν ἕκτῳ. κακοδαίμων, εὐδαίμων, Λακεδαίμων πόλις ἐνδοξοτάτη τῶν ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ. Λακεδαίμονα δὲ οἱ μὲν ἀπὸ Λακεδαίμονος ἢ ὅτι μετὰ τὴν τῶν Ἡρακλειδῶν κάθοδον συνθεμένων κλήρῳ διανείμασθαι τὴν χώραν καὶ τὸν λαχόντα πρῶτον ταύτην λαβεῖν καὶ Λαχεδαίμονα κληθῆναι ἢ Λαβεδαίμονα, διότι ἀγαθῷ δαίμονι ταύτην ἔλαβεν ὁ λαβὼν ἢ ἔλαχεν ὁ λαχὼν καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ 'β' ἢ τοῦ 'χ' εἰς 'κ' Λακεδαίμονα. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἑτέρα Λακεδαίμων Κύπρου μεσόγειος. ὀλβιοδαίμων, Παλαίμων. Τὰ εἰς 'νων' ἔχοντα σύμφωνον ἐν ἐπιπλοκῇ ἢ κατὰ διάστασιν, εἰ μὴ ἐπὶ πόλεως εἴη ἢ περιεκτικά, βαρύνεται, Μέμνων, ἔστι καὶ ἔθνος Αἰθιοπικόν, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται, ὡς ὁ πολυίστωρ φησίν, ἀγρίους τινὰς ἢ μαχίμους καὶ χαλεπούς. Δάφνων, Ἅγνων. Σέννων ἔθνος Γαλατικόν. τὸ Κραννών ὡς ἐπὶ πόλεως ὀξύνεται· ἔστι δὲ πόλις τῆς Θεσσαλίας τῆς Πελασγιώτιδος ἐν τοῖς Τέμπεσιν, ὡς Ἑκαταῖος Εὐρώπῃ. ἔστι καὶ ἄλλη πόλις Ἀθαμανίας ἀπὸ Κραννῶνος τοῦ Πελασγοῦ. καὶ τὸ δαφνών ὡς περιεκτικόν. Τὰ εἰς 'νων' ἔχοντα τὴν πρὸ τέλους εἰς φωνῆεν ἢ φωνήεντα λήγοντα, εἰ μὴ τοπικὰ εἴη, βαρύνεται καὶ τὰ διὰ τοῦ 'ονος' ὡς ἀμείνων
Of -νος, when the syllable before the last is with ο, it is accented with an acute; but if with ω, it is accented with a grave, as in the barytones Ἀρτέμων, Πολέμων, Διδύμων; and among the oxytones: δαιτυμών, Ἰτυμών, κηδεμών, ἀκρεμών, ἡγεμών, ἐθνυμών, and ἔθνος. Those in -αιμων are accented with a grave: δαίμων, αἵμων, and Αἵμων, son of Χλῶρος the Πελασγός and father of Θεσσαλός, as Ῥιανός and others say, and the ethnic name likewise with the same accent. ἀναίμων. Εὐαίμων, a city of the Ὀρχομένιοι; Θεόπομπος in the sixth book. κακοδαίμων, εὐδαίμων; Λακεδαίμων, a city most renowned of those in the Πελοπόννησος. As for Λακεδαίμων, some derive it from Λακεδαίμων, or because after the return of the Ἡρακλεῖδαι, when they agreed to divide the land by lot, the one who first obtained this received it and was called Λαχεδαίμων or Λαβεδαίμων, because the one who took it received it with a good δαίμων, or the one who drew the lot drew it; and by changing β or χ to κ, Λακεδαίμων. There is also another Λακεδαίμων, inland in Κύπρος. ὀλβιοδαίμων, Παλαίμων. Forms in -νων that have a consonant in combination or at a distance, unless they are of a city or are collective, are accented with a grave: Μέμνων (there is also an Αἰθιοπικόν nation, which is interpreted, as the πολύϊστωρ says, as certain wild men or warlike and harsh); Δάφνων, Ἅγνων; Σέννων, a Gallic nation. Κραννών, as being of a city, is accented with an acute; it is a city of Thessaly, of Pelasgiotis, in the Tempe, as Hecataeus in the Europa. There is also another city of Athamania, from Κραννῶν the Pelasgian; and δαφνών as collective. Forms in -νων that have the syllable before the last ending in a vowel or vowels, unless they are local, are accented with a grave, and likewise those in -ονος, as ἀμείνων.