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From Alpha to Omega
A Beginning Course in Classical Greek
Fourth Edition
Anne H. Groton
From Alpha to Omega
A Beginning Course in Classical Greek
Fourth Edition
From Alpha to Omega
A Beginning Course in Classical Greek
Fourth Edition
Anne H. Groton
St. Olaf College
Focus Publishing
Newburyport, Massachusetts
From Alpha to Omega
A Beginning Course in Classical Greek Fourth Edition
© 2013 Anne H. Groton
Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company
PO Box 369
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.pullins.com
ISBN: 978-1-58510-473-4
Also available in paperback (ISBN 978-1-58510-391-1). To see all available eBook
versions, visit www.pullins.com. Some content that appears in the print edition may not
be available in other formats.
All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, by
photocopying, recording, or by any other means, without the prior writtent permission
of the publisher. If you have received this material as an examination copy free of charge,
Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company retains the title to the information and it may not
be resold. Resale of any examination copies of Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company
materials is strictly prohibited.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Groton, Anne H. (Anne Harmar)
From alpha to omega : a beginning course in classical Greek / Anne H. Groton. --
Fourth edition.
pages. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-58510-391-1
1. Greek language--Grammar. 2. Greek language--Textbooks. I. Title.
PA258.G79 2013
488.2’421--dc23
2013012496
Last updated April 2013
Table of Contents
Preface
Preface ix
Lesson 1 Introduction: The
The Greek
GreekAlphabet
Alphabet 1
Lesson 2 The Greek Accents
Introduction: The Greek Accents 9
Lesson 3 Ω-Verbs: Present
Present Active
ActiveIndicative,
Indicative,Present
PresentActive
ActiveInfinitive,
Infinitive, 13
PresentPresent Active
ActiveImperative
Imperative 13
Lesson 4 First Declension:
Declension:Feminine
FeminineNouns,
Nouns,Part
Part1 1 21
Lesson 5 First Declension:
Declension:Feminine
FeminineNouns,
Nouns,Part
Part2 2 27
Lesson 6 Ω-VERBS:Future
Ω-Verbs: FutureActive
ActiveIndicative,
Indicative, Future
Future Active Infinitive
Infinitive 31
Lesson 7 Second Declension:
Second Declension:Masculine
MasculineNouns
Nouns 37
Lesson 8 Second Declension:
Second Declension:Neuter
NeuterNouns;
Nouns;Adjectives:
Adjectives: 43
First/Second Declension
First/Second Declension 43
Lesson 9 First Declension:
Declension:Masculine
MasculineNouns;
Nouns;Substantives
Substantives 51
Lesson 10 Ω-Verbs: Imperfect
Imperfect Active
ActiveIndicative;
Indicative;Correlatives
Correlatives 57
Ω-Verbs:Middle/Passive
Lesson 11 Ω-Verbs: Middle/Passive Voice;
Voice;Prepositions
Prepositions 63
Lesson 12 εἰµί;
εἰμί;Enclitics
Enclitics 71
Lesson 13 Demonstratives
Demonstratives 77
Lesson 14 Personal
Personal Pronouns
Pronouns 83
Lesson 15 Contract Verbs
Verbs (-άω,
(-άω,-έω,
-έω,-όω);
-όω);Contracted
ContractedFutures
Futures 87
Lesson 16 Third Declension:
Declension:Stop,
Stop,Liquid,
Liquid,andandNasal
NasalStems
Stems 95
Lesson 17 Third Declension:
Declension:Sigma
SigmaStems;
Stems;Adjectives:
Adjectives:Third Declension
Third Declension 101
Lesson 18 Ω-Verbs: First Aorist
AoristActive
ActiveandandMiddle
MiddleIndicative,
Indicative, 107
First Aorist
Aorist Active
Activeand andMiddle
MiddleInfinitives First
Infinitives, Aorist
First AoristActive
Active
and and Middle Imperative
Imperatives 107
Lesson 19 Ω-Verbs: Second
SecondAorist
AoristActive
Active and Middle
and MiddleIndicative,
Indicative, 115
Second Aorist
Second AoristActive
ActiveandandMiddle
MiddleInfinitives, Second
Infinitives, Second Aorist Active
Aorist Active
and Middle Imperative;
Imperatives;Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns 115
Lesson 20 Ω-Verbs: Perfect
Perfect Active
ActiveIndicative,
Indicative,Perfect
PerfectActive
ActiveInfinitive,
Infinitive; 123
Pluperfect Active
Pluperfect ActiveIndicative
Indicative 123
Lesson 21 Interrogative
Interrogative τίς
τίςand
andIndefinite τις 131
Indefiniteτις
Lesson 22 Ω-Verbs: Perfect
Perfect Middle/Passive
Middle/PassiveIndicative,
Indicative,Perfect
PerfectMiddle/
Middle/ 137
Passive Infinitive;
Passive Infinitive;Pluperfect
PluperfectMiddle/Passive
Middle/Passive Indicative
Indicative 137
Lesson 23 Relative
Relative Pronouns;
Pronouns;πᾶς;πᾶς;Expressions
ExpressionsofofTimeTime 145
v
vi
Pronouns
Pronouns 385
Adjectives
Adjectives 389
Numerals
Numerals 394
Adverbs
Adverbs 396
Verbs
Verbs 397 397
Word Lists
Word Lists 439
441
English-to-Greek Glossary 455
English-to-Greek Glossary 457
Greek-to-English Glossary 483
Greek-to-English Glossary 485
Index 517
Index 519
St
r
ym
on
R
.
t
on
sp
lle
e
H
LESBOS
Pherae • AEGEAN
ION
IA
SEA
Thermopylae •
Delphi •
ATTICA
Marathon• SAMOS
• Athens
• SALAMIS • Miletus
Corinth
Argos • AEGINA
• Halicarnassus
PELOPONNESE
Sparta
•
Pylos •
Maps
xv
From Alpha to Omega would never have seen the light of day without the wise
counsel and support of my St. Olaf colleagues, particularly Professor James May, and
without the talents of the obliging staff at Focus Publishing. I am also grateful to my
colleagues at other schools who were daring enough to test a brand-new textbook
and with their eagle eyes spotted scores of typos and other errors that I had missed.
Let me single out for special thanks Professors John Gibert (University of Colorado),
Clara Shaw Hardy (Carleton College), John Lenz (Drew University), Leslie Mechem
(Skidmore College), and Richard Wevers (Calvin College). Finally, I wish to thank
all the dedicated students who struggled cheerfully and patiently through one of the
earlier versions of the book and succeeded in learning Greek even from its flawed
pages. I hope that they will be pleased with this final version of a textbook created not
only for them but, to a large extent, by them.
ἐκ παίδων σ ικρῶν ἀρξά ενοι, έχρι οὗπερ ἂν ζῶσι,
καὶ διδάσκουσι καὶ νουθετοῦσιν.
From early childhood, their whole lives through,
people teach and admonish them. — Plato’s Protagoras 325c
A
Introduction
The Greek Alphabet
ἀρχὴ δέ τοι ἥµισυ παντός (Well begun is half done)
—one of Pythagoras’ sayings, quoted by Iamblichus in Pythagoras 162
4. Vowels. Of Greek’s seven vowels (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω), ε and ο are always short;
η and ω are the long versions of ε and ο; α, ι, and υ are sometimes short,
sometimes long. “Short” and “long” refer to the vowel’s quantity, i.e., the
duration of its sound. In the Classical age long vowels were held out about
twice as long as short ones. Apparently the quality, i.e., the sound, of α, ι,
and υ, did not change much when those vowels were held out; η and ω, on
the other hand, were not only longer but also more open in pronunciation
than their short counterparts, ε and ο.
5. A diphthong is two vowels combined in pronunciation; the sound of the
first either merges with or glides into the sound of the second. The two
vowels together form one long syllable.
Classical Greek has eleven diphthongs. The first eight listed below are called
“proper diphthongs” because, in each of them, both vowels continussed to
be pronounced. The last three in the list are called “improper diphthongs”
because the second letter (iota) in each of them eventually became silent. In
the Classical age, however, the iota was still pronounced.
Diphthongs
Proper Pronounced like the italicized letter(s) in the
English word:
ΑΙ Αι αι aisle
ΑΥ Αυ αυ ouch
ΕΙ Ει ει eight
ΕΥ Ευ ευ etch gliding into French u [or you]
ΗΥ Ηυ ηυ error gliding into French u [or hey you]
ΟΙ Οι οι oily
ΟΥ Ου ου ooze
ΥΙ Υι υι French u gliding into ee [or wee]
Improper Pronounced like the italicized letter(s) in the
English word:
ᾹI Ᾱι ᾱͅ or ᾱι ah gliding into ee [or same as ᾱ]
ΗΙ Ηι ῃ or ηι error gliding into ee [or same as η]
ΩΙ Ωι ῳ or ωι aw gliding into ee [or same as ω]
In an improper diphthong the iota may be written either next to the other
vowel or beneath it. When it is written next to it, the iota is called an iota
adscript; when it is written beneath it, it is called an iota subscript. The
ancient Greeks always wrote the iota as an adscript; the subscript did not
come into use until the eleventh or twelfth century. Today the iota is still
written as an adscript if the ᾱ, η, or ω is capitalized. If both vowels are in
lower-case letters, the practice varies, but a subscript is far more common.
This textbook prints the iota as a subscript unless the iota is combined with
a capitalized vowel.
During the Classical period the letters omicron, omega, epsilon, and
upsilon had the names οὖ, ὦ, εἶ, and ὖ. The expanded names they now
have (meaning “small o,” “big o,” “plain e,” and “plain u”) were created
for clarity’s sake by grammarians in the Byzantine age. By then the
Lesson 1 • 5
10. Exercises
A. Divide into syllables and pronounce each of the following words
(famous names from Greek history and mythology). Then transliterate
each word, i.e., replace each Greek letter or breathing with its English
equivalent (refer to the table Alphabet of Classical Greek earlier in the
lesson).
Rough breathing is transliterated as h.
Kappa may be transliterated as either k or c, chi as either kh or ch.
Rho at the beginning of a word is transliterated as rh, otherwise as r.
Upsilon is transliterated as u if it follows a vowel (and thus is the second letter in
a diphthong), as y if it follows a consonant.
Do not be alarmed if some of the famous names seem to be slightly misspelled
in your English transliterations. Many Greek words have come to us through
Latin, and their Latin spelling, not their original Greek spelling, is often the one
that English has preserved.
Lesson 1 • 7
B. Read aloud the following little story (Aesop’s Fable 119) for practice
in pronouncing the Greek letters. Pay close attention to the breathings
and stress the syllables that have an accent. A translation is provided for
your enjoyment.
Translation
A camel, observing a bull glorying in his horns, became envious of him
and wanted to get an equally fine set of horns for herself. So, going up to
Zeus, she begged him to grant her some horns. And Zeus, annoyed at her
since she was not content with the size and strength of her body but desired
greater dimensions, not only did not give her horns but even took away
a portion of her ears. Thus do many people [and animals!], eyeing others
jealously out of greed, unwittingly lose what is their own.
Lesson 2
B
The Greek Accents
δεινὸν δ’ ἐστὶν ἡ µὴ ‘µπειρίᾱ (Inexperience is a dreadful thing)
—comment by a woman in Aristophanes’ Ecclesiazusae 115
11. In the last lesson we asked you to give extra stress to the accented
syllables, and that, in fact, is what most teachers and students do when they
pronounce ancient Greek. In reality, however, the marks were designed to
indicate raising or lowering of the pitch of the speaker’s voice and have
nothing to do with stress. Over time the original pitch accents were lost and
replaced with the stress accent now heard in Modern Greek.
Greeks of the Classical period had no need for accent marks because they
knew by heart which syllables had a change in pitch. The marks are said
to have been invented by Aristophanes of Byzantium in the third century
BCE, when non-native speakers of Greek required help in learning the
language’s pitch accents.
The accents of Greek words occasionally make a difference in what the
words mean, so learning them is helpful for understanding what the text
says, as well as for pronouncing the words as accurately as possible.
12. Types of Accents. There are three types of accent marks (usually referred
to simply as “accents”): acute (΄), grave (`), and circumflex (῀). The acute
denotes a gliding up of pitch, the grave a gliding down, the circumflex a
gliding up followed by a gliding down.
If a syllable is to be accented, an accent is placed above the vowel or
diphthong in that syllable; if a breathing also belongs there, it is written to
the left of an acute or a grave, and beneath a circumflex (῎, ῞, ῍, ῝, ῏, ῟). Like
the breathings, the accents always go above the second vowel of a proper
diphthong (e.g., εὔ), above the first vowel of an improper diphthong (e.g.,
ᾦ, ὦι), and to the left of a capital letter (e.g., Ἅ, ῞Ᾱι). In a capitalized proper
diphthong, the breathing and accent remain in their usual place, above the
second vowel (e.g., Αἵ).
There is much scholarly debate about the grave accent. The mark perhaps
shows, not that the pitch should glide down, but simply that it should not glide
up (i.e., it could remain steady).
13. Position of Accents. In most Greek words one (and only one) syllable is
marked with an accent, and that syllable is always one of the last three
9
10 • From Alpha to Omega
You will discover an exception to this exception in Lesson 36, but until then
you will be safe if you assume that final αι and οι are short.
A syllable is long by position when its vowel or diphthong is followed by
two consonants separately pronounced or by a double consonant (e.g.,
ἀρ-χή, ἧτ-τον, λεί-ψω, φύ-λαξ). Notice that the length of the vowel or
diphthong is not changed by its position; in φύλαξ, for example, the alpha
is still naturally short even though the syllable is long by position. In λείψω
the syllable is both naturally long (because it contains the diphthong ει) and
long by position.
A syllable is short when it contains a naturally short vowel followed by no
consonant (e.g., θε-ός) or by a single consonant (e.g., θύ-ρᾱ).
A syllable is short when it contains a naturally short vowel followed by two
or more consonants pronounced together (e.g., ἄ-κρον; see Lesson 1). This
holds true for Attic prose; in Greek verse, however, the poet may choose
to pronounce the consonants separately and treat the syllable as long by
position.
Two General Principles of Accenting
1. [Assume that the accent wants to be on the antepenult.]
General Principle: The acute can stay on the antepenult only if
the ultima is short (i.e., if it has a short vowel not followed by a
double consonant, or if it ends in -αι or -οι; e.g., διδάσκαλος,
διδάσκαλοι). If the ultima is long by nature or position, the
acute must move to the penult, i.e., one syllable to the right
(e.g., διδασκάλου, διδασκάλοις).
2. [Assume that the accent wants to be on the penult.]
General Principle: If the penult is naturally long and the ultima
has a short vowel or ends in -αι or -οι, the accent on the penult
will be a circumflex (e.g., δῶρον, κῆρυξ, παῦε, ἐκεῖναι). If the
penult is not naturally long, or the ultima does not have a short
vowel or end in -αι or -οι, the accent on the penult will be an
acute (e.g., τότε, ἵπποι, παύεις, ἐκείνᾱς).
16. Exercises
A. The following are all genuine Greek words transliterated into
English. Transliterate them back into Greek with proper breathings and
accents. (If you need a reminder about how to transliterate, see §3 and
§10 of Lesson 1.)
1. harmoniā, acute on penult
2. ainigma, acute on antepenult, proper diphthong
3. gltta, circumflex on penult
4. mēchanē, acute on ultima
5. rhapsidia, acute on penult, improper diphthong
12 • From Alpha to Omega
Γ
Ω-Verbs
Present Active Indicative, Present Active
Infinitive, Present Active Imperative
σπεῦδε βραδέως (Make haste slowly)
—one of Augustus’ sayings, quoted by Suetonius in Augustus 25
17. Greek has eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs,
conjunctions, prepositions, and particles. In this chapter we focus on verbs.
Some of the grammatical terminology may be intimidating at first, but you
should not let it scare you. Many of the terms are traditional and come from
Latin; once you understand them, you will find them convenient to use.
After all, they were designed to be helpful, not horrifying!
18. This section presents an overview of Greek verbs for those who would
like to have “the big picture” from the very beginning. You may find it
helpful to return to the section and re-read it as you proceed through the
textbook. For now it is enough if you merely familiarize yourself with the
terminology.
Verbs. Verbs are words that denote actions or states of being. Like English
verbs, Greek verbs have the properties of person, number, voice, mood, and
tense. Related to tense are the grammatical concepts of aspect and time.
Person. A Greek verb has one of three possible persons: first, second, or
third.
The verb is in first person if its subject is the person speaking (“I”
or “we”).
The verb is in second person if its subject is the person being
spoken to (“you”).
The verb is in third person if its subject is someone or something
other than the person speaking or the person being spoken to
(“he,” “she,” “it,” or “they”).
Number. A Greek verb has one of three possible numbers: singular,
dual, or plural.
13
14 • From Alpha to Omega
The singular denotes that the subject is just one person, thing, or
abstract idea.
The dual denotes that the subject is a pair of people, things, or
abstract ideas.
The plural denotes that the subject is more than one person, thing,
or abstract idea.
Voice. A Greek verb has one of three possible voices: active, passive, or
middle.
A verb has active voice if its subject performs an action (e.g., “I
teach,” “I teach the children”).
A verb has passive voice if its subject is acted upon by someone or
something else (e.g., “the children are taught by me”).
A verb has middle voice if the subject performs an action for itself
or on someone or something of special interest to it (e.g., “I teach
[for myself],” “I have the children taught [because of my interest
in them]”; the words in brackets are implied by the verb’s middle
voice, but do not actually appear in the Greek sentence).
Verbs with active or middle voice may be either transitive (i.e.,
combined with a direct object that identifies who or what is being
acted upon; e.g., “I teach the children,” “I have the children
taught”) or intransitive (i.e., with no direct object appearing in
the sentence; e.g., “I teach,” “I teach [for myself].” A passive
sentence is the equivalent of a transitive active sentence; e.g.,
“The children are taught by me” describes the same situation as
“I teach the children.” In both sentences it is the children who
experience the teaching, but the idea is expressed in two different
ways: first with “children” as the direct object of an active verb,
then with “children” as the the subject of a passive verb.
Mood. A Greek verb has one of four possible moods: indicative,
imperative, subjunctive, or optative.
The mood of a verb reflects the speaker’s estimate of how real the
action is:
Indicative mood suits statements of fact or discussions of reality
and actual occurrences (e.g., a statement—“you are here”; a
question—“are you here?”).
Imperative mood is appropriate for commands, i.e., requests to
change reality (e.g., “be here!”).
Subjunctive and optative moods are associated with a variety
of actions that are all only contemplated or imagined (e.g., a
wish—“would that you were here!”; fear or doubt—“you may be
here”; a possibility—“you might be here”).
Tense. When it comes to Greek, the notion of “tense” can be
problematic, but because the term is traditional and still commonly
Lesson 3 • 15
Plural
1st person παιδεύοµεν (“we teach/are teaching”) -οµεν
2nd person παιδεύετε (“you [pl.] teach/are teaching”) -ετε
3rd person παιδεύουσι(ν) (“they teach/are teaching”) -ουσι(ν)
Present Stem. To form the present tense, you must first find the present stem.
When you look up a Greek verb in a lexicon, you will be confronted with six
principal parts. The first of these will be the first-person singular present ac-
tive indicative; if it ends in -ω (e.g., παιδεύω), the verb must belong to the
ω-conjugation. Dropping the -ω from the first principal part will give you the
present stem.
Endings. Each ending is actually a combination of a thematic vowel (a mark of
the present tense — usually ε, but ο is used before µ or ν) and a personal ending:
-ω = ο + lengthening, -εις = ε + σι (σ dropped out) + ς, -ει = ε + σι (σ dropped
out), -οµεν = ο + µεν, -ετε = ε + τε, -ουσι = ο + νσι (ν dropped out; ο lengthened
to ου). It is good to be aware that these phonetic changes have occurred, but you
need only memorize the endings in their final form, keeping in mind that the
first letter of each is a thematic vowel.
Movable Nu. The ν in the third-person plural ending is called a movable ν. It is
added to a word ending in -σι whenever the following word begins with a vowel
or whenever the -σι word falls at the end of a sentence.
Finite Forms. Verb forms that have personal endings are referred to as “finite”
because the action is confined to a specific person—first, second, or third—and
to a specific number—singular or plural. Finite forms do not need to be supple-
mented with personal pronouns (“I,” “we, “you,” “he,” “she,” “it,” “they”) to
clarify who is doing the action; the endings already make that clear. Personal
pronouns are added only for emphasis.
Recessive Accent. The accent of most finite forms is recessive, i.e., it wants to
move as far to the left in the word as possible. Thus, if the word has only two
syllables, the accent will recede to the penult (and be either a circumflex or an
acute, according to general principle #2 in §15 of Lesson 2). If the word has
three or more syllables, the accent will recede to the antepenult and stay there
unless it is forced back to the penult by general principle #1 (e.g., the acute re-
cedes to the antepenult in παιδεύοµεν, but the long ultima draws it back to the
penult in παιδεύω).
21. Infinitive. An infinitive is a special form that in English always appears
as the word “to” followed by a verb (e.g., “to write”). In both English
and Greek, it has the ability to function in either of two ways: as a verb,
complementing the main verb in the sentence (e.g., “I wish to write”), or
as a noun (e.g., “to write is difficult”; in this example the infinitive is the
subject of the sentence). Some scholars argue that the infinitive, when it
functions as a verb, should be classified as a mood. This textbook prefers to
see infinitives as constituting their own category.
The infinitive in Greek is built on a verbal stem, and as its name implies,
it is non-finite: its action is not limited to a particular person or number. It
has no mood, but it does have tense (which shows only aspect, not time—
exceptions will be discussed in later lessons) and voice.
Here is the infinitive of παιδεύω in the present tense, active voice:
18 • From Alpha to Omega
23. Negative Adverbs. In the indicative mood the normal negative adverb is
οὐ; the usual place to put οὐ is right before the verb (e.g., οὐ παιδεύεις,
“you are not teaching” or “you do not teach”).
A prohibition or negative command is signaled by µή (“not”); the usual
place to put µή is right before the imperative form of the verb (e.g., µὴ
παίδευε, “don’t teach!”).
24. Vocabulary
Words are grouped according to their part of speech and presented in this order:
verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, par-
ticles. Within each category the order is alphabetical. English derivatives are
printed in italics and placed in square brackets at the end of each entry.
If a verb can be used with an infinitive, the vocabulary item will begin with (+
infinitive), and the meanings that are appropriate when the infinitive is used will
have the word to following them in parentheses. The parentheses indicate that
the verb may be used either with an infinitive or without one.
If a word in the vocabulary list has an acute accent on its ultima, do not assume
that that accent can never change. Whenever the word is used in a sentence and
another word follows it with no intervening punctuation, the accent will switch
to a grave (as explained in §14 of Lesson 2). It is for simplicity’s sake that the
word is printed with an acute accent whenever it is quoted out of context.
25. Exercises
Greek-to-English Sentences
1. παιδεύεις καὶ οὐ κλέπτεις.
2. µὴ γράφε· σπεῦδε φυλάττειν.
3. καὶ θῡόντων καὶ παιδευόντων.
4. ἐθέλετε κλέπτειν; οὐκ ἐθέλουσιν.
5. σπεύδει παιδεύειν· µὴ κλεπτέτω.
6. ἐθέλοµεν καὶ θειν καὶ γράφειν.
7. µὴ κλέπτε· φυλάττει.
8. σπεύδουσι καὶ γράφειν; γραφόντων.
9. παιδεύω· θῡέτω.
10. φυλάττοµεν· µὴ σπεύδετε κλέπτειν.
English-to-Greek Sentences
1. Offer sacrifice (pl.) and do not steal!
2. Also hasten (sg.) to teach!
3. Is he willing to stand guard? Let him not continue drawing!
4. She is not writing; she is both educating and sacrificing.
5. Let them steal! We do not wish to guard.
Lesson 4
∆
First Declension
Feminine Nouns, Part 1
καλὸν ἡσυχίᾱ (Leisure is a fine thing)
—one of Periander’s sayings, quoted by Diogenes Laertius 1.97
21
22 • From Alpha to Omega
“dog” and “cat” in the sentence are reversed, “dog” becomes the object,
“cat” becomes the subject, and the sentence means the opposite of what it
originally did.
In Greek the position of a noun does not dictate how it is functioning in
the sentence; this is shown instead by the noun’s case. The idea of the dog
chasing the cat could be expressed in Greek with any of the following
arrangements of words: “the dog chases the cat,” “the cat chases the dog,”
“the dog the cat chases,” “the cat the dog chases,” “chases the dog the
cat,” “chases the cat the dog.” In none of the Greek versions would there
be any doubt that the dog is doing the chasing; the noun for “dog” would
be in the case appropriate for the subject of a sentence, while the noun for
“cat” would be in the case appropriate for the object. The speaker would
be free to choose whether to put the nouns before, after, or on either side of
the verb; the decision would depend on which words the speaker wished to
emphasize or which grouping of sounds was most pleasing to the ear.
Greek nouns have five cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and
vocative. It is traditional to list them in that order, with the last four cases
seeming to “decline” or fall from the nominative (the word case comes
from the Latin word for “a falling”). The next section gives an overview of
the cases and their uses.
28. Nominative: The nominative case designates the subject of the sentence. In
a sentence that has a “linking verb” connecting the subject with a predicate
noun, both the subject and the predicate noun will be in the nominative
case (e.g., “we are friends,” “you have become a nuisance,” “they will be
chosen as delegates”). Unlike a direct object, which is acted upon by the
subject, a predicate noun is equated with the subject and therefore must be
identical with it in case.
Genitive: The genitive case designates a noun that is being used to modify
another noun in the sentence. The relationship between the two nouns can
usually be conveyed in English with the preposition of (e.g., “the grapes
of wrath,” “love of life,” “the book of the student”; in the last example
the phrase shows possession and could be expressed alternatively as “the
student’s book”). The genitive also functions as a substitute for Indo-
European’s ablative case, of which only a few traces are left in Greek. Thus
the genitive is the appropriate case for nouns denoting a source or point of
origin (“away from,” “out of”).
Dative: The dative case designates a noun that has some relationship to
the action but is not the subject or direct object of the sentence. Often the
best way to translate a dative is with the preposition to or for (e.g., “give
the prize to the winner”; “for ducks, the weather is perfect”). The dative
also functions as a substitute for Indo-European’s instrumental and locative
cases, both of which have nearly vanished in Greek. Thus the dative is the
appropriate case for nouns denoting means, accompaniment, location, or
time (“by,” “with,” “in,” “at”).
Lesson 4 • 23
Accusative. The accusative case designates the sentence’s direct object, the
noun that is being directly acted upon by the subject. It is also used for
nouns that denote a destination or goal or an extent of time or space (“into,”
“to,” “toward,” “for”).
Vocative. The vocative case designates a person, either real or imaginary,
who is being addressed. It is common in Greek to personify things and
call out to them as well as to human beings (e.g., “farewell, Socrates!”; “O
death, where is thy sting?”).
29. First-declension nouns can be divided into two groups: feminines and
masculines. The feminines are discussed here and in the next lesson, the
masculines in Lesson 9.
Originally all first-declension feminine nouns had stems ending in -ᾱ; this
remained so in the Doric and Aeolic dialects. In Attic, however, -ᾱ was replaced
by -η (e.g., σκηνή) in all cases of the singular, except when -ᾱ was preceded by
ε, ι, or ρ (e.g., θε, ἡσυχίᾱ, χώρᾱ). This meant that, in Attic, there were two
different types of first-declension feminines, ᾱ-stems and η-stems:
First-Declension Feminine Nouns, ᾱ-Stems & η-Stems
Singular (“goddess”) (“leisure”) (“place”) (“tent”) Endings
Nominative θε ἡσυχίᾱ χώρᾱ σκηνή -ᾱ -η
Genitive θεᾶς ἡσυχίᾱς χώρᾱς σκηνῆς -ᾱς -ης
Dative θεᾷ ἡσυχίᾱͅ χώρᾱͅ σκηνῇ -ᾱͅ -ῃ
Accusative θεν ἡσυχίᾱν χώρᾱν σκηνήν -ᾱν -ην
Vocative θε ἡσυχίᾱ χώρᾱ σκηνή -ᾱ -η
Plural (“goddess”) (“leisure”) (“place”) (“tent”) Endings
Nominative θεαί ἡσυχίαι χῶραι σκηναί -αι -αι
Genitive θεῶν ἡσυχιῶν χωρῶν σκηνῶν -ων -ων
Dative θεαῖς ἡσυχίαις χώραις σκηναῖς -αις -αις
Accusative θες ἡσυχίᾱς χώρᾱς σκηνς -ᾱς -ᾱς
Vocative θεαί ἡσυχίαι χῶραι σκηναί -αι -αι
As you can see, first-declension feminines all have the same endings in the plu-
ral: -αι, -ων, -αις, -ᾱς, -αι. The singular endings are -ᾱ, -ᾱς, -ᾱͅ, -ᾱν, -ᾱ only if
the preceding letter is ε, ι, or ρ; otherwise they are -η, -ης, -ῃ, -ην, -η. Notice
that the nominative and the vocative forms are identical. You will soon discover
that the nominative and vocative are identical in the plural of every declension
(though not always in the singular).
Persistent Accent. The accent of these and all other Greek nouns is persistent,
i.e., the location of the accent in the nominative singular shows where the accent
wants to stay or “persist.” “Location” refers not to antepenult, penult, etc., but
to the actual letters making up the accented syllable; in the nominative singu-
lar of χώρᾱ, for example, the accented syllable is χω-, and the acute accent tries
to remain with that particular group of letters. (Notice that this is different from
the accent of finite verbs, which wants simply to recede.) When the case-ending
changes, the general principles of accenting (see §15 of Lesson 2) may force the
noun’s accent to move to another syllable or to change its form (e.g., χώρᾱ be-
comes χῶραι). It is vital for you to memorize the location of the accent in the
nominative singular.
24 • From Alpha to Omega
32. Vocabulary
Greek lexica always give a noun’s nominative and genitive singular and
the appropriate definite article (in the nominative singular). The noun’s
declension is shown by the first two forms, its gender by the article (e.g.,
ἡ = feminine). This is the way nouns will be presented in the vocabulary
at the end of each lesson.
Recall that the words are listed according to their part of speech: verbs,
nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, particles.
πέµπω send [cf. propempticon]
ἀγορ, -ᾶς, ἡ marketplace, market [cf. agoraphobia]
ἐπιστολή, -ῆς, ἡ letter, message [cf. epistle]
ἡσυχίᾱ, -ᾱς, ἡ leisure, stillness, tranquillity
θε, -ᾶς, ἡ goddess
σκηνή, -ῆς, ἡ tent [cf. scene]
χώρᾱ, -ᾱς, ἡ land, country, countryside, space, position
εἰς (preposition + object in accusative case) into, to
ἐκ (ἐξ) (preposition + object in genitive case) out of (ἐξ is
used before words starting with a vowel) [cf.
eclectic, ecstasy]
Like οὐκ and οὐχ, ἐκ violates the rule that a Greek word can end only in a
vowel, ν, ρ, ς, ξ, or ψ. There are no other exceptions to the rule.
ἐν (preposition + object in dative case) in [cf. entropy,
enzyme]
εἰς, ἐκ, and ἐν are proclitics; like οὐ, ἡ, and αἱ, they have no accent. A
Greek preposition, like an English preposition, is usually placed in front
of the noun that serves as its object. ἐκ and εἰς imply that someone or
something is moving out of one environment and into another; ἐν implies
that someone or something is in a certain environment, neither entering it
nor moving out of it.
26 • From Alpha to Omega
33. Exercises
Greek-to-English Sentences
If you see a noun that can serve as the subject, substitute that noun for the “he,”
“she,” “it,” or “they” that you would have used if the sentence had had no noun
in the nominative case and you had had to rely solely on the verb-ending. Your
sentence should not read, for example, “The goddess she is eager.”
English-to-Greek Sentences
1. We are writing, and we wish to send the message into the
country.
2. Do you (sg.) sacrifice also to the goddess of the marketplace?
3. He is not guarding the tents in the countryside.
4. Let them not steal the letters out of the marketplaces!
5. Tranquillity, hasten into the land of the goddess!
Lesson 5
E
First Declension
Feminine Nouns, Part 2
ἀλλὰ καὶ ὥρη / εὕδειν (But there is also a time for sleeping)
—comment by Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey 11.330-331
34. In the Attic dialect a short alpha was allowed to creep into the nominative,
accusative, and vocative singular endings of some ᾱ-stem and some η-stem
nouns, thus creating two relatively small (but still important) subcategories
of first-declension feminine nouns:
First-Declension Feminine Nouns, α/ᾱς & α/ης Subcategories
Singular (“fate”) (“sea”) Endings
Nominative µοῖρα θάλαττα -α -α
Genitive µοίρᾱς θαλάττης -ᾱς -ης
Dative µοίρᾱͅ θαλάττῃ -ᾱͅ -ῃ
Accusative µοῖραν θάλατταν -αν -αν
Vocative µοῖρα θάλαττα -α -α
Plural
Nominative µοῖραι θάλατται -αι -αι
Genitive µοιρῶν θαλαττῶν -ων -ων
Dative µοίραις θαλάτταις -αις -αις
Accusative µοίρᾱς θαλάττᾱς -ᾱς -ᾱς
Vocative µοῖραι θάλατται -αι -αι
The plurals of these nouns are no different from the plurals of the nouns
in Lesson 4. The singulars are not difficult if you keep in mind that a short
alpha in the nominative dictates that the accusative and vocative singular
will also have a short alpha. In a noun like µοῖρα the circumflex over the
penult confirms that the alpha in the nominative singular ending is short
(the accent would be acute if the α were long, as it is, for example, in the
genitive singular ending: µοίρᾱς). If a noun’s genitive singular ending has
an eta, but its nominative singular ending has an alpha (e.g., θάλαττα, -ης),
you can be sure that the α in the nominative singular ending is short.
Nouns in these subcategories have persistent accent with the two
peculiarities characteristic of first declension (i.e., circumflexes on the
ultima of genitive and dative singular and plural, if accented; genitive
plural always accented on the ultima). Notice how the acute in θάλαττα is
27
28 • From Alpha to Omega
“pulled” from the antepenult to the penult when the case-ending is a long
syllable (e.g., θαλάττης).
35. Reflexive Use of the Definite Article. The definite article is often used
in a reflexive sense to indicate someone or something that belongs to the
subject, has some relation to it, or is a physical part of it. Thus, when the
Greek literally says, “Teachers earn the salaries,” “Do you love the father?”,
“We are washing the hands,” it may actually mean, “Teachers earn their
salaries,” “Do you love your father?”, “We are washing our hands.” The
context will make clear when the article has this reflexive sense. Example:
ἡ δέσποινα κελεύει τς θεραπαίνᾱς.
36. Vocabulary
ἀκούω (+ genitive or accusative) hear, listen, listen to [cf.
acoustics]
The genitive case is used if it is a person who is being heard, the accusative
case if it is an actual sound that is being heard. This makes sense since a
person could be the source of a sound, but never the sound itself.
βλάπτω harm, hurt
κελεύω (with accusative or dative + infinitive) order (to),
command (to), urge (to)
The person who receives the order to do something may appear in either
the accusative or the dative case. If the speaker regards the person as the
subject of the infinitive (i.e., as the doer of the commanded action), then
the accusative case is appropriate—a grammar point that will be discussed
in later lessons. If the speaker thinks of the person as the recipient of the
order, then the dative case (designating an indirect object) is preferable.
You have the option to use whichever of the two cases you wish; your
choice will not affect the basic meaning of the sentence.
δέσποινα, -ης, ἡ mistress (of the household), lady, Lady (title for a
goddess)
θάλαττα, -ης, ἡ sea [cf. thalassocracy]
θεράπαινα, -ης, ἡ servant (female), maid
κλνη, -ης, ἡ couch, bed [cf. clinic]
µοῖρα, -ᾱς, ἡ destiny, fate; Μοῖρα = Destiny or Fate (personified
as a goddess)
ὥρᾱ, -ᾱς, ἡ season, hour; (with accusative or dative + infinitive)
it is time (to) [cf. horoscope, hour]
When ὥρᾱ is combined with an infinitive, you will very often find that the
sentence appears to have no main verb. Actually it is just that the speaker
has chosen to leave out the word for “is,” assuming that you will supply
it. The best way to translate the idiom into English is to begin with “it is”
(“it is the hour to...” or, more simply, “it is time to...”). The person who
Lesson 5 • 29
is expected to do the action is put into the accusative or the dative case,
depending on the speaker’s point of view (see the note above on κελεύω).
Example: ὥρᾱ τὴν θεράπαιναν [or τῇ θεραπαίνῃ] θειν (“it is time for
the maid to offer sacrifice”).
37. Exercises
Greek-to-English Sentences
1. ὥρᾱ κελεύειν τς δεσποίνᾱς θειν ταῖς θεαῖς;
2. ἐκ τῆς θαλάττης σπεύδουσι καὶ κλέπτουσι τς σκηνς.
3. ἡ Μοῖρα µὴ ἐθελέτω κλέπτειν τὴν ἡσυχίᾱν ἐκ τῆς χώρᾱς.
4. ἐπεὶ ἡ δέσποινα παιδεύει, σπεύδοµεν ἀκούειν.
5. µὴ βλάπτε, ὦ Μοῖρα δέσποινα, τς θεραπαίνᾱς.
6. οὐκ ἐθέλω γράφειν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τῇ δεσποίνῃ.
7. φύλαττε, ὦ θε τῆς χώρᾱς, τς σκηνς ἐν τῇ ἡσυχίᾱͅ.
8. γράφεις, ὦ θεράπαινα, ἐν τῇ κλνῃ; οὐχ ὥρᾱ πέµπειν
ἐπιστολς.
9. ἄκουε τῆς θεᾶς ἐπειδὴ κελεύει· σπεῦδε ἐκ τῆς κλνης.
10. καὶ τς θεραπαίνᾱς πέµπουσιν εἰς τὴν χώρᾱν.
English-to-Greek Sentences
1. Also order (pl.) the maids to hasten out of their beds.
2. Mistress, do you wish to send a message to the countryside?
3. Since they are guarding the market, we are writing in the tent.
4. It is time to sacrifice to Lady Destiny; I hear the goddess.
5. Let the sea not harm the (female) servants!
30 • From Alpha to Omega
Reading
A Fowl Plan Backfires
(Aesop’s Fable 55)
38. The future tense (active voice) of the indicative mood uses the same
endings as the present tense (active voice): -ω, -εις, -ει, -οµεν, -ετε, -ουσι(ν).
Remember that each of these is actually a combination of a thematic vowel
(ε/ο) and a personal ending. These six endings are added to the future stem,
which is ordinarily just the present stem + the tense-marker σ:
Future Active Indicative
Singular Endings
παιδεύσω (“I shall teach/shall be teaching”) -σ-ω
παιδεύσεις (“you [sg.] will teach/will be teaching”) -σ-εις
παιδεύσει (“he/she/it will teach/will be teaching”) -σ-ει
Plural
παιδεύσοµεν (“we shall teach/shall be teaching”) -σ-οµεν
παιδεύσετε (“you [pl.] will teach/will be teaching”) -σ-ετε
παιδεύσουσι(ν) (“they will teach/will be teaching”) -σ-ουσι(ν)
Notice that the accent is recessive, as expected in finite forms, and that mov-
able ν is added to the third-person plural. While the present tense is much more
likely to have imperfective than aoristic aspect, the future tense is just as likely
to have aoristic aspect (e.g., “we shall eat dinner when we are hungry”) as it is
to have imperfective aspect (e.g., “we shall be eating dinner for an hour”). The
future tense may be translated with “shall,” “will,” or “am/are/is going to.”
Euphony. If the present stem ends in a vowel or a diphthong, adding a sigma
to form the future stem presents no complications. If the present stem ends
in a consonant, however, the collision between the consonant and the sigma
produces either a double consonant (ψ, ξ) or a phonetic change of some sort,
designed to avoid roughness in sound. The ancient Greeks always strove for
euphony, a pleasing blend of sounds, in their language.
Here is a summary of the euphonic changes that take place when the future
stem is formed:
31
32 • From Alpha to Omega
40. Vocabulary
ἀλλάττω, ἀλλάξω change, alter [cf. parallax]
ἀλλάττω does not mean “I change” in the sense of “I become different”;
rather, it means “I make something or someone change.” Thus, in the ac-
tive voice, it always has a direct object with it; i.e., it is always transitive.
διώκω, διώξω pursue, chase, hunt, drive away, banish
ἔχω, ἕξω/σχήσω have, hold, possess; (+ infinitive) be able (to) [cf.
cathexis]
ἕξω has imperfective aspect (“I shall possess [for a period of time]”), while
σχήσω has aoristic aspect (“I shall get hold of [on a particular occasion]”).
µέλλω, µελλήσω (+ future infinitive) be about (to), intend (to); (+
present infinitive) delay (to), hesitate (to)
κόρη, -ης, ἡ maiden, girl, daughter; Κόρη = Maiden (another
name for Persephone, daughter of the goddess
Demeter) [cf. hypocorism]
κόρη is an exception to the rule that, in Attic, ᾱ after ρ never changes to η.
34 • From Alpha to Omega
41. Exercises
Greek-to-English Sentences
1. µέλλεις πάλιν θσειν τῇ θεᾷ; φυλάξοµεν τὴν σκηνήν.
2. παιδεύσω καὶ κελεύσω, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐθελήσεις ἀκούειν.
3. µὴ µέλλε τς θεραπαίνᾱς εἰς τὴν οἰκίᾱν πάλιν πέµπειν.
4. ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ ἔχω γράφειν τς ἐπιστολς, ἀλλὰ θειν οὐκ ἔχω.
5. κελευέτω ἡ δέσποινα ταῖς θεραπαίναις ἔτι φυλάττειν τὴν
οἰκίᾱν.
6. ἐπεὶ ὥρᾱ γράφειν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τῇ κόρῃ, οὐ µελλήσω
γράφειν.
7. αἱ θεαὶ ἐκ τῆς χώρᾱς καὶ εἰς τὴν θάλατταν σπεύσουσιν.
8. µέλλει διώξειν τς κόρᾱς; οὐκέτι ἕξοµεν τὴν ἡσυχίᾱν.
9. ἄκουε τῆς θεραπαίνης, ὦ δέσποινα, καὶ µηκέτι βλάπτε.
10. ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς πάλιν κλέψειν µέλλετε τς κλνᾱς;
English-to-Greek Sentences
1. Shall we pursue the maids into the market?
2. I intend to educate the girls, mistress, since I still have leisure.
3. They will guard the tents, but they will not write the letters.
4. Will you (sg.) be able to change your destiny in the
countryside?
5. It is time to sacrifice to the goddess; let them not hesitate to
hasten out of the house.
Lesson 6 • 35
Reading
Old Habits Never Die
(Aesop’s Fable 50)
Ζ
Second Declension
Masculine Nouns
ὑπὸ παντὶ λίθῳ σκορπίον, ὦ ἑταῖρε, φυλάσσεο
(Beware, comrade, of a scorpion under every stone)
—Praxilla, fragment 4
42. Second Declension. We are not quite finished with the first declension (its
masculine subgroup remains to be discussed in Lesson 9), but we are going
to put it aside temporarily and devote the next two chapters to the second
declension. Nouns in this declension can be divided into two groups:
masculines and neuters. The masculines are covered in this lesson, the
neuters in Lesson 8. You will be glad to learn that the second declension
has fewer complications than the first.
43. All second-declension masculines have the same set of endings; there are
no variations caused by features of the Attic dialect. The endings resemble
those of the first declension, but with ο, not ᾱ or η, as the stem-vowel. Here
are two typical ο-stem masculine nouns:
Second-Declension Masculine Nouns
Singular (“human being”) (“river”) Endings
Nominative ἄνθρωπος ποταµός -ος
Genitive ἀνθρώπου ποταµοῦ -ου
Dative ἀνθρώπῳ ποταµῷ -ῳ
Accusative ἄνθρωπον ποταµόν -ον
Vocative ἄνθρωπε ποταµέ -ε
Plural
Nominative ἄνθρωποι ποταµοί -οι
Genitive ἀνθρώπων ποταµῶν -ων
Dative ἀνθρώποις ποταµοῖς -οις
Accusative ἀνθρώπους ποταµούς -ους
Vocative ἄνθρωποι ποταµοί -οι
Notice that the accent is persistent, remaining above the same letters as in
the nominative case unless a long ultima forces it to move (e.g., ἄνθρωπος
but ἀνθρώπου).
Just as in the first declension, the singular and plural endings of the genitive
37
38 • From Alpha to Omega
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