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2. Course Overview
Abstract: This introductory module establishes the grammatical and communicative bedrock of Attic Greek. Students navigate fundamental concepts—gender, number, case, and conjugation—through an inductive-contextual approach. The curriculum transitions from absolute beginning to the mastery of the second and first declensions, alongside initial third-declension forms.
Comprehensive Description: Special emphasis is placed on the verbal system, including the present indicative, imperative, and infinitive of εἰμί and -έω contract verbs. Students will begin developing practical classroom communication skills in the target language, mastering expressions such as: "How do you say...?", "I do not understand", and "It is your turn to speak.". Unlike traditional methods, Level 1 integrates original unadapted Greek from the very beginning. Students interlace their grammatical progression with the study of primary sources, moving from Pre-Socratic fragments to New Testament narrative and Attic drama.
3. Methodology & General Description
This course utilizes the second or third English editions of Athenaze; as the variations between these editions are negligible, both are suitable for the curriculum. Each twelve-week term consists of bi-weekly sessions comprising two academic hours (90 minutes total).
As a unique pedagogical complement to the Athenaze series, our approach integrates modern communicative language learning with century-old practices inherited from late antiquity and the Byzantine era. Students are expected to prepare for each session by reading 10–15 lines of the assigned text. During class, these lines become the basis for active practice:
Active Dialogue: Students formulate and answer questions entirely in Ancient Greek.
Visual Elicitation: Describing imagery related to the narrative to bypass translation.
Linguistic Reformulation: Rewriting passages through personal paraphrases and grammar drills.
Internalization: Gradually memorizing key narrative elements and original fragments.
Through these exercises, participants acquire not only the book’s lexicon but also the essential target-language terminology required to discuss grammatical structures and express nuanced opinions in the language itself. To further bridge the gap between the ancient and modern worlds, we occasionally introduce everyday vocabulary so students can describe their daily activities in the target language.
4. Proficiency & Requirements
Language Level:
Framework Reference: Beginner — Level 1 (Athenaze Vol. I, Chapters I–VII).
General Description: Absolute beginners. Students must be familiar with the Greek alphabet prior to the first session; the development of fluid reading is a core objective.
Estimated Self-Study Time:
Time Commitment: Approximately 3–4 hours per week (including 20 minutes of daily review).
Preparation: Preliminary reading of 10–15 lines from the assigned passage is required before each session.
5. Textual Encounters: Primary Sources & Anthology
Students will engage with the following authors and specific passages, integrated according to the grammatical progression of the course:
Pre-Socratic Philosophy & Archaic Wisdom:
Heraclitus of Ephesus (fl. 500 B.C.): Analysis of the philosopher’s stance on the continual state of change as reported in Plato’s Cratylus (402a): πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει.
The Seven Sages: Proverbial wisdom from the early 6th century B.C., including Cleobulus of Lindos (μέτρον ἄριστον), Pittacus of Mitylene (καιρὸν γνῶθι), Chilon of Sparta (ἐγγύα, πάρα δ' ἄτη), and Thales of Miletus (γνῶθι σεαυτόν).
Classical Poetry & Lyric:
Sophocles: Examination of Oedipus at Colonus (607-609), where the exiled king addresses Theseus on the nature of time and the gods: ὦ φίλτατ' Αἰγέως παῖ, μόνοις οὐ γίγνεται / θεοῖσι γῆρας οὐδὲ κατθανεῖν ποτε, / τὰ δ' ἄλλα συγχεῖ πάντθ' ὁ παγκρατὴς χρόνος.
Anacreontea: A lyric study of the ode to the cicada (no. 34): μακαρίζομέν σε, τέττιξ / ὅτε δενδρέων ἐπ' ἄκρων / ὀλίγην δρόσον πεπωκὼς / βασιλεὺς ὅπως ἀείδεις.
Marriage & Character: Iambic lines attributed to Hipponax (fragment 182) regarding the wise wife: γάμος κράτιστός ἐστι ἀνδρὶ σώφρονι / τρόπον γυναικὸς χρηστὸν ἕδνον λαμβάνειν.
Hellenistic & Attic Comedy:
Menander (344–292 B.C.): Mastery of pithy maxims from New Comedy, such as fragment 4: ὃν οἱ θεοὶ φιλοῦσιν, ἀποθνῄσκει νέος.
Callimachus of Alexandria (fl. 250 B.C.): Insights into his rejection of the epic genre (μέγα βιβλίον μέγα κακόν) and his funerary epigram (21) for the boy Nicoteles: δωδεκέτη τὸν παῖδα πατὴρ ἀπέθηκε Φίλιππος / ἐνθάδε, τὴν πολλὴν ἐλπίδα Νικοτέλην.
New Testament Koiné (Gospel of Luke):
Narrative & Titles:τὸ ἅγιον εὐαγγέλιον τὸ κατὰ Λουκᾶν.
Sayings & Miracles: Deep reading of the baptismal voice (σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός), the debate on the Sabbath (ὑποκριταί, ἕκαστος ὑμῶν τῷ σαββάτῳ οὐ λύει τὸν βοῦν αὐτοῦ...), and the moral treasury of the heart (Luke 6.45-46).
6. Materials & Bibliography
Required Textbooks:
Primary Text: Maurice Balme & Gilbert Lawall, Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek, Vol. I (2nd or 3rd English Edition).
Disclaimer: Acquisition of the physical or digital edition is mandatory for course attendance.
Grammatical Syllabus:
Morphology: Verb stems/endings; 1st, 2nd, and 3rd persons; 1st and 2nd declensions; 3rd declension consonant stems (velar, dental, nasal, liquid); Middle voice.
Syntax: Use of the article; Case functions; Prepositions; Attributive and predicate positions; Reflexive and interrogative pronouns.
Phonology: Basic accentuation; Persistent vs. recessive accent; Elision and proclitics.
7. Chapter Coverage & Readings
This module covers approximately 311 verses of narrative text (~12 verses per session):
I. ὁ Δικαιόπολις (α-β): 18 verses.
II. Ξανθίας (α-β): 26 verses.
III. ὁ ἄροτος (α-β): 43 verses.
IV. πρὸς τῇ κρήνῃ (α-β): 39 verses.
V. ὁ λύκος (α-β): 54 verses.
VI. ὁ μῦθος (α-β): 66 verses.
VII. ὁ κύκλωψ (α-β): 65 verses.
