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2. Course Overview
Abstract: This intermediate module elevates your grammatical and conversational command of Attic Greek. Students transition from daily domestic life to the grand stage of history, exploring the legendary clashes between Greece and Persia. Through an inductive-contextual approach, the curriculum guides you through the practical acquisition of historical narrative tenses: the imperfect and the aorist.
Comprehensive Description: Special emphasis is placed on the past-tense verbal system, explaining the mechanics of the grammatical augment and practicing first, second, and root aorist formations. Unlike traditional passive translation courses, Level 3 focuses heavily on active metalanguage. You will learn the actual Ancient Greek terminology needed to discuss grammar and literature, learning to use expressions such as: "Does this verb take the accusative or the genitive?", "This is predicated of...", and "The original meaning was..., but it is used metaphorically of...". By integrating the final stages of the third declension and contract verbs, this module bridges the gap between basic pedagogy and advanced classical reading.
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, discussing historical strategies and character actions.
Visual Elicitation: Describing historical maps, battles, and classical artwork to bypass translation.
Linguistic Reformulation: Rewriting passages through personal paraphrases and targeted grammar drills to internalize complex syntactical structures.
Internalization: Gradually memorizing key dramatic dialogues, historical quotes, and original fragments to absorb the natural rhythm of the language.
Through these exercises, participants acquire not only the book’s lexicon but also the target-language terminology necessary to discuss grammatical structures and express complex thoughts in Ancient Greek.
4. Proficiency & Requirements
Language Level:
Framework Reference: Intermediate — Level 3 (Athenaze Vol. I, Chapters XII–XVI).
General Description: Designed for students who have successfully completed Level 2 or equivalent. Participants must have a firm command of the complete first and second declensions, active present indicative verbal systems, and an active core vocabulary of approximately 250 words.
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. 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. Please ensure you have your copy before the first session.
Grammatical Syllabus:
Morphology: The grammatical augment; first (sigmatic) and second (thematic) aorist active paradigms; the imperfect tense (including liquid verbs like μένω); remaining third-declension nouns (Σωκράτης, βοῦς, ναῦς); contract verbs in -όω; irregular athematic verbs (δύναμαι, κεῖμαι, ἐπίσταμαι); root/third aorist forms (γιγνώσκω, βαίνω, δύνω).
Syntax: Relative, demonstrative, and indefinite pronouns; comparative and superlative adjectives; locative adverbs; advanced case government and past-tense narrative discourse.
Classroom Metalanguage: Active use and application of grammatical terms in Ancient Greek ("verb," "noun," "adjective," "predicated of", "metaphorical usage").
6. Chapter Coverage & Readings
This module covers approximately 305 verses of narrative text (~12 verses per session):
XII. πρὸς τὸν Πειραιᾶ (α-β): 63 verses.
XIII. πρὸς τὴν Σαλαμῖνα (α-β): 41 verses.
XIV. ἡ ἐν ταῖς Θερμοπύλαις μάχη (α-β): 59 verses.
XV. ἡ ἐν τῇ Σαλαμῖνι μάχη (α-β): 73 verses.
XVI. μετὰ τὴν ἐν Σαλαμῖνι μάχην (α-β): 69 verses.
