From Alpha to Omega : A Beginning Course in Classical Greek

by Groton, Anne H.

• ISBN13: 9781585103911
• ISBN10: 1585103918
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-05-01
• Publisher: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co.

Summary

A new edition of the bestselling Classical Greek textbook, that combines a traditionally rigorous introduction of ancient Greek with an encouraging, pleasant, and accessible presentation for today's modern students. From Alpha to Omegainspires students of Ancient Greek by structuring lessons around manageable selections of actual Ancient Greek writings, beginning with Aesop's most amusing and curious fables. By the second half of the book, students are able to take on instructive passages from The New Testament, Demosthenes, Xenophon, Thucydides, Lysias, Arrian, Aristotle, and Plato. Features: Readings from Ancient Greek authorsdemonstrate new vocabulary and syntax learned in the lesson, allowing students to develop the chapter's lesson through "real" Ancient Greek passages. Succinct, instructive vocabulary listsfor each lesson gives students a manageable list to learn and apply to the lesson's readings. Efficient translation exercisesso that students can effectively practice the chapter lessons through a reasonable amount of exercises and progress to the next lesson. Glossarycontaining all vocabulary words from lessons and readings, both Greek-to-English, and English-to-Greek, including page they appear in the book, for easy student reference. Appendix of paradigms, including the dual-forms for student reference. New to the Fourth Edition: Self-tutorial exercises with an answer keythat provide extra practice for students or individual learners. Streamlined and modernized layout, appealing to today's modern learners. Integrated online resources, including audio recordings of the vocabulary and readings, flashcards of the chapter vocabulary, and more!

Author Biography

Anne H. Groton is Professor of Classics at St. Olaf College, where she has chaired the Department of Classics and directed the programs in Ancient Studies and Medieval Studies. In 1995 she received the American Philological Association's Award for Excellence in the Teaching of the Classics.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface xi Lesson 1 Introduction: The Greek Alphabet Lesson 2 Introduction: The Greek Accents Lesson 3 V-Verbs: Present Active Indicative, Present Active Infinitive, Present Active Imperative Lesson 4 First Declension: Feminine Nouns, Part 1 Lesson 5 First Declension: Feminine Nouns, Part 2 Lesson 6 V-Verbs: Future Active Indicative, Future Active Infinitive Lesson 7 Second Declension: Masculine Nouns Lesson 8 Second Declension: Neuter Nouns; Adjectives: First/Second Declension Lesson 9 First Declension: Masculine Nouns; Substantive Lesson 10 V-Verbs: Imperfect Active Indicative; Correlatives Lesson 11 V-Verbs: Middle/Passive Voice; Prepositions Lesson 12 e\u00dem\u00db; Enclitics Lesson 13 Demonstratives Lesson 14 Personal Pronouns Lesson 15 Contract Verbs (-.v, -\u00a1v, -\u00f1v); Contracted Futures Lesson 16 Third Declension: Stop, Liquid, and Nasal Stems Lesson 17 Third Declension: Sigma Stems; Adjectives: Third Declension Lesson 18 V-Verbs: First Aorist Active and Middle Indicative, First Aorist Active and Middle Infinitives, First Aorist Active and Middle Imperative Lesson 19 V-Verbs: Second Aorist Active and Middle Indicative, Second Aorist Active and Middle Infinitives, Second Aorist Active and Middle Imperative; Reflexive Pronouns Lesson 20 V-Verbs: Perfect Active Indicative, Perfect Active Infinitive; Pluperfect Active Indicative Lesson 21 Interrogative t\u00dbw and Indefinite tiw Lesson 22 V-Verbs: Perfect Middle/Passive Indicative, Perfect Middle/Passive Infinitive; Pluperfect Middle/Passive Indicative Lesson 23 Relative Pronouns; pw; Expressions of Time Lesson 24 V-Verbs: Present Active Participle, Future Active Participle, First and Second Aorist Active Participles, Perfect Active Participle Lesson 25 V-Verbs: Present Middle/Passive Participle, Future Middle Participle, First and Second Aorist Middle Participles, Perfect Middle/Passive Participle Lesson 26 Direct and Indirect Questions; Alternative Questions Lesson 27 V-Verbs: Aorist Passive Tense Lesson 28 V-Verbs: Future Passive Tense; Future Perfect Active and Middle/Passive Tenses; o\u00e4da Lesson 29 Third Declension: Vowel Stems, Syncopated Stems Lesson 30 Deponent Verbs; Genitive Absolute; e\u00e5w; o\u00e9de\u00dbw /mhde\u00dbw Lesson 31 Adverbs: Positive Degree; Result Clauses Lesson 32 Adjectives and Adverbs: Comparative and Superlative Degrees; Genitive of Comparison; Partitive Genitive Lesson 33 Adjectives and Adverbs: Irregular Comparative and Superlative Degrees; -uw, -eia, -u Adjectives; Dative of Degree of Difference Lesson 34 Numerals Lesson 35 Subjunctive Mood: Present, Aorist, Perfect Tenses; Active, Middle, Passive Voices; Independent Uses of the Subjunctive (Hortatory, Prohibitive, Deliberative) Lesson 36 Optative Mood: Present, Future, Aorist, Perfect Tenses; Active, Middle, Passive Voices; Independent Uses of the Optative (Wishes, Potentiality) Lesson 37 Conditions Lesson 38 Conditional Relative Clauses; Relative Adverbs Lesson 39 Purpose Clauses Lesson 40 e\u00e4mi; Indirect Discourse (\u00f7ti/\u00c9w) Lesson 41 fhm\u00db; Indirect Discourse (with infinitive) Lesson 42 Indirect Discourse (with participle); Crasis Lesson 43 More Uses of the Infinitive; pr\u00dbn Lesson 44 Verbal Adjectives in -t\u00a1ow and -t\u00f1w Lesson 45 Clauses of Effort and Fear Lesson 46 MI-Verbs (d\u00dbdvmi, \u00e1sthmi) Lesson 47 MI-Verbs (t\u00dbyhmi, \u00e1hmi) Lesson 48 MI-Verbs (de\u00dbknumi); Unattainable Wishes Lesson 49 ba\u00dbnv, gignÅskv; Directional Suffixes; Accusative of Respect Lesson 50 Redundant m\u00ae; Uses of m\u00af o\u00e9 and o\u00e9 m\u00ae; Attraction of Relative Pronoun Word Lists Greek-to-English Glossary English-to-Greek Glossary Appendix—nouns, definite article, pronouns, adjectives, numerals, adverbs, verbs Index

Excerpts

LESSON 1 INTRODUCTION: The Greek Alphabet

?ρχ? δ? τοι ?µισυ παντ?ς (Well begun is half done)
—one of Pythagoras’ sayings, quoted by Iamblichus inPythagoras162

Greek belongs to a large and colorful family of Indo-European languages, all thought to be descended from a very old, now extinct language spoken by people who roamed over the Eurasian continent during prehistoric times. Other prominent members of the family are the Italic (including Latin and the Romance languages), Germanic (including English), Celtic, Baltic, Slavic (including Russian), Armenian, Iranian, and Indic languages.

The Greek language has been in continuous use for more than three thousand years; its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation have been evolving gradually over the centuries. There is a great deal of difference between, say, Greek of the seventh century BCE and Greek of the first century CE, even though they are both “ancient” from our point of view. Moreover, each geographical region of Greece had its own dialect. Some authors wrote in their native dialect; others, working within an established literary genre, wrote in the dialect(s) that tradition demanded.
The ancient Greek taught in this book is Classical in date. It is the sort of Greek that would have been used by educated people during Greece’s Classical age, roughly the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. These were glory days for Athens, artistically and intellectually as well as militarily. Much of the literature surviving from the Classical period is written in Attic, the dialect of the Athenians. (Attica is the name of the district that includes Athens.) The philosopher Plato, the orators Lysias and Demosthenes, the historians Thucydides and Xenophon, the comic playwright Aristophanes—to name just a few of Athens’ most famous authors—all wrote in Attic.