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2. Course Overview
Comprehensive Description: This module focuses on the systematic acquisition of advanced nominal and verbal morphology in Attic Greek. The curriculum prioritizes the linguistic mechanisms of the third declension (consonant, liquid, and vowel stems) alongside the formal introduction of the future and second aorist paradigms. Rather than treating syntax as a closed corporate skill or a rapid checklist, this course approaches classical philology as an entry point into a lifelong engagement with humanistic traditions, directly affecting how the scholar evaluates structural and historical frameworks. Students systematically build the cognitive framework required to interrogate text and articulate text-critical anomalies directly in the target language.
3. Methodology & General Description
The English edition of Athenaze will be used (either the second or the third edition; there are no major differences between them). Each course lasts 12 weeks. Each session consists of two academic hours (90 minutes total).
Students are expected to prepare for each session by reading 10–15 lines from the book. During the sessions, students will actively practice the grammar and vocabulary from the lines they have read through various activities suited to each level. This approach draws on modern techniques of communicative language learning as well as century-old practices from late antiquity and Byzantine times.
Students will be asked to formulate and answer questions in Ancient Greek, describe images related to the passage, rewrite it with their own paraphrases, or participate in grammar drills to internalize the rules. Gradually, students will also be asked to memorize key elements from the book or fragments from original authors. Through these exercises, students will acquire not only the vocabulary presented in the book but also the target-language terminology necessary for discussing the text, including grammatical terms and ways to express their thoughts and opinions (e.g., "How do you say...?", "It is your turn to speak"). Occasionally, everyday vocabulary attested in Ancient Greek will be introduced, so students can learn to describe their daily activities in the target language. Twenty minutes per day are expected for reviewing the material covered in class.
4. Proficiency & Requirements
Language Level:
Framework Reference: Beginner — Level 2 (Athenaze Vol. I, Chapters VIII–XI).
General Description: Open to students who have finalized Level 1 or its absolute equivalent, displaying functional control over the first and second nominal declensions, the present indicative paradigm of εἰμί, and elementary immersive environments.
Estimated Self-Study Time:
Time Commitment: 3–4 hours per week.
Daily Review: 20 minutes required for systemic vocabulary retention and morphological drills.
Session Preparation: Independent reading of 10–15 lines of the designated Greek text prior to each class meeting is mandatory.
5. Textual Encounters: Primary Sources & Philological Context
As grammatical structures become more complex, students progress from pedagogical texts to authentic fragments of classical and biblical literature, consolidating their academic foundation and expanding the conceptual framework of their learning:
· Classical Lyric and Elegiac Poetry:
· Archilochus (Poem No. 1): Examination of the transition from epic frameworks to the personal voice of the poet-soldier declaring his dual allegiance to war and the Muses:
εἰμὶ δ' ἐγὼ θεράπων μὲν Ἐνυαλίοιο ἄνακτος καὶ Μουσέων ἐρατὸν δῶρον ἐπιστάμενος.
· Archilochus (Poem No. 2): The author notes that his entire life depends upon his spear:
ἐν δορὶ μέν μοι μᾶζα μεμαγμένη, ἐν δορὶ δ' οἶνος Ἰσμαρικός· πίνω δ' ἐν δορὶ κεκλιμένος.
· Sappho (The Deserted Lover: A Girl's Lament): These lines are quoted by an author on Greek meter (Hephaestion, 2nd century A.D.) without naming the creator. Some scholars attribute them to Sappho of Lesbos (7th century B.C.), the greatest female poet of Greek literature. The metric structure is analyzed (D. A. Campbell, Greek Lyric Poetry, page 52), presenting the text as it was preserved in the Attic dialect alongside a restoration of Sappho's original Aeolic forms:
δέδυκε μὲν ἁ σελάννα καὶ πληιάδες· μέσαι δὲ νύκτες, παρὰ δ' ἔρχεθ' ὥρα· ἐγὼ δὲ μόνα καθεύδω
· Simonides of Ceos: An epigram (No. LXXVI, Campbell) composed by Simonides of Ceos (late 6th to early 5th century B.C.) on sailors lost at sea; they were carrying first-fruits and spoils of war (ἀκροθίνια) from Sparta to Delphi as an offering to Apollo (ὁ Φοῖβος). Since the men were lost at sea and the hull of their ship served as their tomb, the verb ἐκτέρισεν is used ironically:
Τούσδε ποτ' ἐκ Σπάρτας ἀκροθίνια Φοίβῳ ἄγοντας ἓν πέλαγος, μία νύξ, ἓν σκάφος ἐκτέρισεν.
· Theognis of Megara (Floruit, 550 B.C. - Lines 567–570): Theognis was a nobleman from Megara who was exiled when a democratic revolution broke out. Several of his poems lament the transience of youth and the imminence of death—reflections characteristic of much of Greek literature:
Ἥβηι τερπόμενος παίζω· δηρὸν γὰρ ἔνερθεν γῆς ὀλέσας ψυχὴν κείσομαι ὥστε λίθος ἄφθογγος, λείψω δ' ἐρατὸν φάος ἠελίοιο· ἔμπης δ' ἐσθλὸς ἐὼν ὄψομαι οὐδὲν ἔτι.
· Theognis of Megara (Lines 783–788): The poet traveled to Sicily, Euboea, and Sparta during his exile, but always longed for his native Megara:
Ἦλθον μὲν γὰρ ἔγωγε καὶ εἰς Σικελήν ποτε γαῖαν, ἦλθον δ' Εὐβοίης ἀμπελόεν πεδίον, Σπάρτην δ' Εὐρώτα δονακοτρόφου ἀγλαὸν άσυ· καί μ' ἐφίλευν προφρόνως πάντες ἐπερχόμενον· ἀλλ' οὔτις μοι τέρψις ἐπὶ φρένας ἦλθεν ἐκείνων· οὕτως οὐδὲν ἄρ' ἦν φίλτερον ἄλλο πάτρης.
· Greek Wisdom and Maxims (Greek Wisdom & Gnomai):
· Periander of Corinth: Integration of the apothegms of the Seven Sages into daily classroom communication:
μελέτη τὸ πᾶν.
· Menander (From The Shield, lines 417–418): On the unpredictable nature of human fortune:
ἐν μιᾷ γὰρ ἡμέρᾳ τὸν εὐτυχῆ τίθησι δυστυχῆ θεός
· Biblical Greek (Koiné Greek - Gospel According to Saint Luke):
· Luke 5:20–21 (The Healing of the Paralytic): While Jesus was teaching, some men wanted to carry a paralyzed man to him to be cured; when they could not get near, they lowered him through the roof. Jesus is the subject of the clause with which our excerpt begins:
καὶ ἰδὼν τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν εἶπεν, Ἄνθρωπε, ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου.
The scribes and Pharisees began to debate, saying:
Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὃς λαλεῖ βλασφημίας; τίς δύναται ἁμαρτίας ἀφεῖναι εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ θεός;
· Luke 5:30–32 (The Feast with Levi): Jesus had called Levi, a tax collector (τελώνης), to follow him, and Levi entertained Jesus, his disciples, many tax collectors, and others in his house. The scribes and Pharisees then murmured against Jesus' disciples:
καὶ ἐγόγγυζον οἱ Φαρισαῖοι καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς αὐτῶν πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ λέγοντες, Διὰ τί μετὰ τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἐσθίετε καὶ πίνετε; καὶ ἀποκριθεῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς, Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ὑγιαίνοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλὰ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες· οὐκ ἐλήλυθα καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς μετάνοιαν.
· Luke 6:20–21 (The Beatitudes): Study of the structural repetition from the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount:
Καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμὺς αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ ἔλεγεν, Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοί, ὅτι ὑμετέρα ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ. μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες νῦν, ὅτι χορτασθήσεσθε. μακάριοι οἱ κλαίοντες νῦν, ὅτι γελάσετε.
· Luke 6:27–29 (The Sermon on the Mount): Analysis of the imperative syntax and moral commandments:
Ἀλλὰ ὑμῖν λέγω τοῖς ἀκούουσιν, ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν, καλῶς ποιεῖτε τοῖς μισοῦσιν ὑμᾶς, εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς καταρωμένους ὑμᾶς, προσεύχεσθε περὶ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμᾶς. τῷ τύπτοντί σε ἐπὶ τὴν σιαγόνα πάρεχε καὶ τὴν ἄλλην.
· Luke 6:31–33 (The Sermon on the Mount): Examination of the rhetorical structure of the Golden Rule:
καὶ καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως. καὶ εἰ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστίν; καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτοὺς ἀγαπῶσιν. καί [γὰρ] ἐὰν ἀγαθοποιῆτε τοὺς ἀγαθοποιοῦντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστίν; καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν.
· Luke 6:35–36 (The Sermon on the Mount): Philological approach to the concept of mercy:
"πλὴν ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καὶ δανείζετε μηδὲν ἀπελπίζοντες· καὶ ἔσται ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολύς, καὶ ἔσεσθε υἱοὶ ὑψίστου, ὅτι αὐτὸς χρηστός ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀχαρίστους καὶ πονηρούς. Γίνεσθε οἰκτίρμονες καθὼς [καὶ] ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν οἰκτίρμων ἐστίν".
6. Materials & Bibliography
Required Textbooks:
Primary Text: Maurice Balme & Gilbert Lawall, Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek, Vol. I (2nd or 3rd English Edition).
Grammatical Syllabus:
Morphology: Full systematic overview of the third declension (stems concluding in labials, dentals, velars, nasals, liquids, and diphthongs); irregular nouns (ἡ γυνή, ἡ χείρ, ὁ βασιλεύς); first/third declension adjective matrices (πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν); systemic conjugation of the irregular verb εἶμι.
The Verbal Matrix: Present active and middle/passive participles; active and middle sigmatic and liquid futures; the mechanics of the thematic second aorist; formal properties of verbal aspect and structural prefixes (augments).
Syntax: Temporal expressions (points of time, internal duration, elapsed time); active deployment of the future participle to denote intent/purpose; introduction to impersonal verbal constructions; advanced case usage of the genitive and semantic expansions of the definite article.
7. Chapter Coverage & Readings
This section tracks approximately 277 lines of primary pedagogical and literary prose (~11 lines per instruction unit):
VIII. πρὸς τὸ ἄστυ (α-β): 67 verses.
IX. ἡ πανήγυρις (α-β): 79 verses.
X. ἡ συμφορά (α-β): 58 verses.
XI. ὁ ἰατρός (α-β): 73 verses.
