In the sentence,

λύουσι (they free) τοὺς Ἑλλήνους (Greeks) **δεσμῶν** (fetters), *they free the Greeks from fetters*,

**they** is the subject. **Free** is the verb. **The Greeks** is the direct object. **From fetters** expresses the idea of **separating** someone from some thing. In English **separation** is expressed by the prepositional phrase **from fetters.** In Greek there is no prepositional phrase. Rather Greek expresses **separation** by placing the noun **δεσμῶν,** *fetters*, in the genitive case. The ending **-ων** tells us that the noun **δεσμῶν** *fetters* is genitive. The genitive case and context work together to indicate the meaning of separation that the noun has in the sentence.

With the genitive of separation, the idea of motion is often present. Compare and contrast these two sentences,

```
σὺ (you) βάθρων (steps) ἵστης (get up),
```
and

σὺ (you) **ἐκ** (from) **βάθρων** (steps) ἵστης (get up), *You get up from the steps*.

In both sentences, **you** is the subject and **get up** is the verb. In the first sentence, the idea of separation, **from the steps**, is expressed by the genitive case ending, **-ων**, on the noun **βάθρων** *steps*. No preposition is present. In the second sentence, the prepositional phrase, **ἐκ βάθρων** *from the steps*, expresses separation just as the prepositional phrase **from the steps** does in English. Note that in authetic texts, the genitive of separation without a preposition does not occur as frequently as does separation with a preposition.

In the above you have learned that Greek creates meaning through case endings and English creates the same meaning by using prepositional phrases. You have also learned that Greek and English can use prepositional phrases as building blocks to create the same meaning. When translating the genitive case into English, remember that you will often have to supply the prepositions **of** or **from**.

### **The Dative Case**

The dative case has four main functions.

**Function 1, Indirect Object (SGG 1457 and 1469; CGCG 30.37).** A frequently occurring function of the dative case is as an **indirect object**. An indirect object indirectly receives the action of a verb or is indirectly involved in a verb's action.

In the English sentence,

she gives money **to him**,

**She** is the subject; **gives** is the verb; and **money** is the direct object. **To him** is the indirect object and is indirectly involved in the action. **To him** is indirectly involved because it receives the money. It is the **money** that she gives, not the **him**.

Consider this sentence,

δίδωσι (he gives) τό βιβλίον (book) **τῷ ἀδελφῷ** (brother), *he gives the book to the brother*.

**He** is the subject. **Gives** is the verb. **Book** is the direct object—it directly receives the action of the verb. **To the brother** is the indirect object and indirectly receives the action of the verb.

In English, the indirect object is expressed by the prepositional phrase **to the brother**. In Greek, the case ending **-ῳ** tells us that the noun **ἀδελφῷ** *brother* is in the dative. The case ending **-ῳ** and context work together to create the noun's meaning in the sentence.

Consider two more examples,

δεικνύουσιν (they show) ἀσπίδα (a shield) **τῷ ἀδελφῷ** (brother), *they show a shield to the brother*,

and

γράμματα (a letter) **αὐτῷ** (him) ἐκόμιζον (I bring), *I bring a letter for him*.

In the first sentence **they** is the subject; **show** is the verb; **a shield** is the direct object, directly receiving the action of the verb. **Το the brother** is the indirect object and indirectly receives the action of the verb. In the second sentence, **I** is the subject; **bring** is the verb; **letter** is the direct object; and **for him** is the indirect object. English creates the meaning of the indirect object through the prepositional phrases, **to the brother** and **for him**. In Greek the ending **-ῳ** tells us that each noun, **ἀδελφῷ** *brother* and **αὐτῷ** *him*, is in the dative case. The dative case and context work together to create the meaning of the indirect object in the Greek sentences.

Finally compare and contrast these two sentences,

```
ταῦτα (these things) αὐτῇ (her) λέγω (I say)
```
and

ταῦτα (these things) **πρὸς** (to) **αὐτὴν** (her) λέγω (I say). *I say these things to her*.

In both sentences **I** is the subject and **say** is the verb. **These things** is the direct object and **to her** is the indirect object. In the first the indirect object is expressed by the ending -**ῇ** of the dative case of the pronoun **αὐτῇ** *her*. In the second the indirect object is expressed by the prepositional phrase, **πρὸς αὐτήν** *to her***,** just as the prepositional phrase **to her** does in English.

**Function 2, Dative of Means or Instrument (SGG 1503; CGCG 30.43–44).** Another frequently occurring function of the dative case is **as means or instrument.**

In the sentence,

βάλλει (he hits) με (me) **πέτρῳ** (rock), *he hits me with a rock*,

**He** is the subject. **Hits** is the verb. **Me** is the direct object, directly receiving the action of the verb. The English prepositional phrase **with a rock** translates the meaning of the Greek **dative of means** or **instrument**, informing us of the means or instrument by which the action of the verb happens. English creates this same meaning through the prepositional phrase **with a rock**. In Greek, the case ending **-ῳ** tells us that the noun πέτρ**ῳ** *rock* is in the dative. The ending **-ῳ** and context create the meaning of means or instrument for the noun, **πέτρῳ** *rock*. English builds meaning with prepositional phrases and Greek does the same through a mixture of case endings and prepositional phrases.

Consider this sentence,

φεύγει εἰς τὴν γῆν **νηί**, *she flees to the land by ship*.

**She** is the subject. **Flees** is the verb. **To the land** (εἰς τὴν γῆν) is a prepositional phrase in both languages. In Greek the case ending **-ι** tells us that the noun **νηί** *ship* is dative. The ending **-ι** and context create the meaning of means or instrument for the noun **νηί** *ship*. In English the prepositional phrase **by ship** creates the same meaning as does the dative case of the Greek noun **νηί** *ship*. Again we see that English creates meaning with prepositional phrases and Greek does the same through case endings.

**Function 3, Dative of Possession (SGG 1476; CGCG 30.41).** The dative of possession expresses ownership of one noun over another.

Like the genitive case, the dative case may express ownership, having the same function as the genitive.  In each sentence, case ending -**ου** or -**ῳ** and context work together to create the meaning of ownership between the two nouns.

In these examples,

**Δαρείου** (Dareios) ἡ γνώμη (judgment) *Dareios' judgment* or *the judgment of Dareios*;

and

**Δαρείῳ** (Dareios) ἡ γνώμη (judgment) *Dareios' judgment* or *the judgment of Dareios*,

the same explanation as given above applies: the case ending -**ου** or -**ῳ** and context work together to create the meaning of ownership between the two nouns. Though less frequent than the genitive of possession, the dative of possession occcurs in places where the genitive does also.

When a linking verb, often the verb **to be** (**εἶναι**), is used in sentences like these,

τῷ **Ὁμήρῳ** (Homer) ἐστὶ (is) ναῦς (ship), *there is a ship to Homer* (**Homer** has a ship),

and

```
τῷ Ὁμήρῳ (Homer) ἐστὶ (is) κύων (dog),
there is a dog to Homer (Homer has a dog),
```
then the dative case, more typically than the genitive, expresses possession. In each case ending, -**ῳ**, and context work together to create the meaning of ownership between the two nouns.

English shows ownership through an apostrophe followed by **s** (the brother**'s** son) and through a prepositional phrase using **of** or **to** (the son **of the brother**  or the son **to the brother**). Greek expresses the same meaning through the genitive or dative case endings.

**Function 4, Dative of Place Where (SGG 1530; CGCG 30.47).** The fourth most frequently occurring function of the dative case expresses **place where**: she lies on the ground; or they fight **at Marathon**.

When expressing place where in poetry Greek may use the dative case without a preposition,

**γῇ** (ground) κεῖται (she lies), *she lies on the ground*.

In prose Greek typically uses a preposition, often **ἐν**, followed by the noun in the dative case. In these two examples,

**ἐν** (on) **γῇ** (ground) κεῖται (she lies), *she lies on the ground*,

and

```
ἐν (in) τῷ νηῷ (the temple) ὁ στρατηγὸς (the general) ἦν (was),
the general was in the temple,
```
the endings -**ῃ** and -**ῳ** tell us that the nouns γ**ῇ** and νη**ῷ** are in the dative case. The preposition followed by the noun in the dative case work together to create a prepositional phrase that expresses **place where**.

With some place names Greek uses the dative without a preposition,

πολεμέουσι (they fight) **Μαραθῶνι** (at Marathon), *they fight at Marathon*.

The endings **-ι** tells us that the noun, **Μαραθῶνι**, is in the dative case. The noun in the dative case by itself, commonly called the locative, or with a preposition express the idea of place where.

In the case of **place where**, both English and Greek may create the same meaning through prepositional phrases. Greek often uses the preposition **ἐν** followed by a noun in the dative case. English typically uses the prepositions **in, at,** or **on** followed by a noun in the objective case. As we saw in the previous unit, nouns that are translated with prepositions create prepositional phrases and are called the **objects of the preposition**.

### **The Accusative Case**

The accusative case has two main functions.

**Function 1, Direct Object (SGG 1553; CGCG 30.8).** The main function of the accusative case is as a **direct object.**

For example in the sentence,

δίδωσι (he gives) **τό βιβλίον** (book) Ὁμήρ**ῳ** (Homer),

*he gives the book to Homer*.

**He** is the subject. **Gives** is the verb. **The book** is the direct object and directly receives the action of the verb. The case ending **-ον** tells us that the noun **βιβλίον** *book* is in the accusative case. **Ὁμήρῳ** *to Homer* is in the dative case, indicated by the dative case ending -**ῳ** and is the indirect object, indirectly receiving the action of the verb.

Consider this sentence,

ποίει (he holds) **ὁρτὴν** (a festival) Διονύσ**ῳ** (Dionysos), *he holds a festival for Dionysos*.

**He** is the subject. **Holds** is the verb. **Festival** is the direct object and directly receives the action of the verb. The ending **-ην** indicates that **ὁρτήν** *festival* is accusative. **Διονύσῳ** *Dionysos* is in the dative case, indicated by the dative case ending -**ῳ** and is the indirect object, indirectly receiving the action of the verb.

Note that English uses word order to indicate a subject of the verb and direct object. In the sentences,

the man sees the woman,

and

the woman sees the man,

word order determines who performs the verb's action and who receives it. In these examples,

ὁ ἀνὴρ (*the man*, nominative subject) τὴν γυναῖκα (*the woman*, accusative direct object) ὁράει (*sees*), *the man sees the woman,*

and

ἡ γυνὴ (*the woman*, nominative subject) τὸν ἄνδρα (*the man*, accusative direct object) ὁράει (*sees*),

*the woman sees the man,*

case ending, not word order, communicates who performs the verb's action and who receives it.

**Function 2, Extent of Space and Duration of Time (SGG 1580; CGCG 30.15–16).** The accusative case expresses the ideas of extent of space or duration of time. In the sentence,

they march **for five miles**,

**They** is the subject. **March** is the verb. **For five miles** expresses the idea of extent of space.

Consider the similar Greek sentence,

ἐλαύνουσι (they march) πέντε (five) **στάδια** (stades), *they march for five stades*.

Greek creates the meaning of extent of space by placing **στάδια** *stades* in the accusative case. The ending **-α** of the noun **στάδια** *stades* indicates that **στάδια** *stades* is in the accusative case. Context and case work together to communicate to the reader the meaning extent of space. English creates the same meaning through the prepositional phrase **for five stades** (a stade, by the way, is equivalent to about 200 meters or 600 feet).

Greek uses the accusative case to express duration of time. In this sentence,

ἐλαύνουσι (they march) πέντε (five) **ἡμέρας** (days), *they march for five days*,

**They** is the subject. **March** is the verb. In English the prepositional phrase **for five days** expresses the idea of duration of time. Greek expresses this same idea by placing the noun ἡμέρ**ας** *days* in the accusative case. The case ending **-ας** tells us that the noun is in the accusative. Context and case ending work together to indicate that πέντε ἡμέρ**ας** has the meaning **duration of time**.

### **The Vocative Case**

The vocative case has one function.

**Function 1, Direct Address (SGG 1283; CGCG 30.55).** Greek uses the vocative when one person is directly addressing another. In these sentences,

**Ὅμηρε** (Homer), πῶς (how) οἰκήσεις (will you live),

and

**ὦ Ὅμηρε** (Homer), πῶς (how) οἰκήσεις (will you live), *Homer, how will you live?*,

the ending **-ε** tells us that the noun, **Ὅμηρε**, is in the vocative case. The ending **-ε** and context work together to express the meaning, direct address. In the second sentence, the interjection **ὦ,** the ending **–ε,** and context work together to express the meaning, direct address. English creates direct address in writing by setting the person addressed off from the rest of the sentence with one or two commas. In speaking, English uses pause and intonation to indicate direct address.

### **Case and Function Chart**

Since English uses prepositions in many situations where Greek does not, when translating into English you often need to supply prepositions not present in Greek. The chart below tells you the case; the function of the case; and what preposition you need to supply in English when there is no preposition present in Greek. **None** indicates that there is no preposition to supply when translating from Greek into English. **None (ἐκ, ἀπό)** indicates that there is no additional preposition to supply when translating from Greek into English and gives the preposition that is commonly present in ancient Greek.

Also noted below is that nouns and pronouns in the genitive, dative, and accusative cases can all serve as objects of a preposition. Some prepositions take their objects in only one case. Other prepositions may have their objects in two or in all three cases. Prepositions are covered in Module 8.

The above are all case functions for nouns and pronouns.

## **Apposition of Nouns and Pronouns**

A common grammatical occurrence that happens in all cases of nouns and pronouns is apposition. Apposition is defined as an instance in a sentence when two nouns or two pronouns are in the same case referring to the same person or thing. The second noun or pronoun renames the first. Apposition can happen to a noun in any case and the second noun matches the case of the first. Consider the following examples. In each, the main noun is bolded and the noun in apposition is underlined.

#### **Nominative**

**ἐγὼ** ταῦτα τῷ Ὁμήρῳ, ποιητής, δίδωμι. *I, a poet, give these things to Homer.*

#### **Genitive**

τὸ βιβλίον **τοῦ Ὁμήρου**, ποιητοῦ, σοὶ δίδωμι. *I give to you the book of Homer, a poet.*

#### **Dative**

ἐγὼ ταῦτα **τῷ Ὁμήρῳ**, ποιητῇ, δίδωμι. *I give these things to Homer, a poet.*

# **Αccusative**

ὁράει **τὸν Ὅμηρον** ποιητήν. *She sees Homer, a poet.*

### **Vocative** ὦ **βασιλεῦ** Κῦρε, ἔλθε. *King Kyros, come.*

The important items to note are that the two nouns refer to the same person or thing and each has the same case. Apposition occurs frequently in this textbook and in the authentic texts you are preparing to read.

### **Parsing**

Parsing English and Greek sentences enables you to understand what you have memorized, using analysis and logic. English has three cases: subjective for subjects; objective for objects; possessive for ownership. In parsing you identify the words in a sentence and give their case and function. In the sentence,

you stretch the frozen moments with your fear

**you** is in the subjective case and is the subject. **Stretch** is the verb. **The** and **frozen** are adjectives modifying the noun **moments**. **Moments** is in the objective case and is the direct object of **stretch**. **With** is a preposition. **Your** is a possessive adjective modifying the noun **fear**. **Fear** is in the objective case and is the object of the preposition **with**.

Parsing solidifies your understanding of the key conceptual system this book presents. It turns memorization into understanding. If you struggle with this aspect of the course, do not stress. Struggling with understanding is a necessary part of learning. Persist in your struggles and eventually you will come to understand language itself in a novel way, exercising even greater ability to communicate effectively.

**Lucian of Samosota c. 125 CE.** Born on the banks of the upper Euphrates River, Lucian was an Assyrian who wrote in ancient Greek but whose native language was probably Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic. What we know of Lucian comes from his own works. He was a satirist and rhetorician. He ridiculed hypocrisy, pedantry, religion, and superstition. Educated in Ionia, he lived in Athens for approximately 10 years during which time it is surmised that he wrote many of his works. Of the over 80 writings attributed to him, this textbook offers excerpts from *A True Story*, **Ἀληθῆ διηγήματα**; *The Lover of Lies*, **Φιλοψευδής**; and *The Ass*, **ὁ Ὄνος**, though it is not certain whether Lucian is the author of this last work. In his own day Lucian was very popular. Today his writings continue to exert influence.

**Practice Parsing in English.** For this translation of an excerpt from Lucian's *The Ass*, **ὁ Ὄνος**, use the **Case and Function Chart** to tell these six things (1) what case each noun would have in Greek; (2) what function each case has; (3) where Greek would use the preposition **ἐκ** or **παρά** + the genitive; **ἐν** + the dative; and **εἰς** + the accusative; (4) what words are verbs; (5) what words are adverbs; and (6) what words are conjunctions. Answers are found in the Answer Key.

**Euripides of Athens, Εὐριπίδης ὁ Ἀθηναῖος, c.480–406 BCE.** An innovator who did not gain wide acceptance until after his death, Euripides wrote satyr plays and tragedies. He introduced comedy into tragedy and presented the heroes and heroines of his plays as everyday people. He was a proponent of the new music, which broke with tradition and is one feature of his work that shocked some of his contemporaries. In several plays (*Helen*, *Ion*, *Iphigeneia in Tauris*), he created tragicomic plots that foreshadowed the so-called New Comedy. He is said to have composed his tragedies in a cave on the island of Salamis, to have been solitary and surly, and to have been prosecuted by Kleon for impiety. In support of this charge, Diogenes Laertius says that Protagoras first read his skeptical work on the gods at Euripides' house, in which he argued that it did not matter whether the gods existed—he was an agnostic; that there were two sides to every question, each opposed to the other; that the soul was nothing apart from the senses; that everything is true; that all values were relative; and that "man is the measure of all things, of things that are that they are, and of things that are not that they are not." Euripides' unpopularity probably caused him to accept an invitation to the court of Arkhelaos in Makedonia in c. 408 B.C., where about two years later he died. He wrote ninety-two plays and had four victories in the Athenian annual dramatic competition and festival in honor of Dionysos. Nineteen of his plays survive, more than any other tragedian. Without them our view of tragedy would be more rigid, dogmatic, and inaccurate. In upcoming modules, this textbook offers adapted selections from Euripides' *Alkestis*, *Bakkhai*, *Helen*, *Herakles*, *Iphigeneia in Tauris*, and *Medea*.

**Module 7 Practice Reading Aloud.** Practice reading this excerpt from Euripides' *Alkestis*. Read the excerpt a few times, paying attention to the sound each syllable makes and trying to hear the rhythm of the words.

### **Ἄλκηστις**

Ἅλιε καὶ φάος ἁμέρας,

245 οὐράνιαί τε δῖναι νεφέλας δρομαίου

### **Ἄδμητος**

ὁρᾷ σὲ κἀμέ, δύο κακῶς πεπραγότας, οὐδὲν θεοὺς δράσαντας ἀνθ' ὅτου θανῇ.

### **Ἄλκηστις**

γαῖά τε καὶ μελάθρων στέγαι νυμφίδιοί τε κοῖ-

ται πατρίας Ἰωλκοῦ.

#### **Ἄδμητος**

250 ἔπαιρε σαυτήν, ὦ τάλαινα, μὴ προδῷς· λίσσου δὲ τοὺς κρατοῦντας οἰκτῖραι θεούς.

### **Ἄλκηστις**

οἴμοι· πικράν γε τήνδε μοι ναυκληρίαν ἔλεξας. ὦ δύσδαιμον, οἷα πάσχομεν.

#### **Verse Translation**

#### **Alkestis**

Sun and light of day, Swirling clouds above

#### **Admetos**

Who gaze at you and me, we suffer, Yet did the gods no wrong that merits death.

#### **Alkestis**

Land and house and childhood bed, Iolkos, once my home.

#### **Admetos**

Arise, now up, poor dear, dare not betray me. Beseech the powerful gods to pity you.

#### **Alkestis**

Look, I see oars; Look, I see a ship Anchored there at port and see a ferryman, Hands on punt. He carries souls away. Kharon calls me, Ready? Why delay? Hurry. You detain me. Urging me on, he Presses me to go.

### **Admetos**

Alas, this ship you call by name pains me.

Oh ill of fate, what sufferings must we endure.

To hear me read, followed by Stefan Hagel's expert reading with a pitch accent, follow the link below:

Alkestis 244–259. 5

# **Etymology Corner VII by Dr. E. Del Chrol**

### Technical Terms 3

**Orthography, Module 1.** Previously we learned that orthography refers to the correct way of writing a word. In the orthography section of Module 1, there are three accents. The rising pitch is the **acute** (ὀξύς) accent, which comes from the Latin **acutus** *sharp*; **grave** (βαρύς) is an neutral accent, marking the end of a word's pitch rise (reread Stefan Hagel on pitch accent, if you need a refresher) from the Latin **gravis** *heavy*; and the one that *flexes around*, that is, bends up then down, is the **circumflex** (περισπώμενος) accent, from the Latin **circum-** *around* and **flectere** *to bend*. As noted, the accents originally denoted musical pitch. This makes etymological sense, since **accent** comes from the Latin prefix **ad-** *towards* and the Latin verb **cantare** *to sing*, meaning you are adding musicality to prose. When we run across the word **prosody**, we note that it is derived from the original Greek prefix **προς-** *towards* and noun **ᾠδή** *song*, the same two words that are used to build the word **accent**.

**What to Study and Do 7.** Before moving on to the next module, make sure that you have learned that case ending determines meaning, that you know how to use the **Case and Function Chart** when reading and translating, and that you understand what apposition is. It is a good idea to review the information in the **Case and Function Chart** a couple of times a week.

**Learning Tip 7: Create a Linked Story.** This textbook presents you with a variety of strategies for remembering information. These strategies can be used to memorize essential information that you need for this course, for life, or for any random information that you need or want to remember. The strategies require you to use your imagination. Imagination always beats your will to remember.

<sup>5</sup> https://loom.com/share/fc958326f10b478dbe22c07c4b54b684.

Try this experiment. Use your willpower to remember these 12 words:

fillmore, pierce, buchanan, lincoln, johnson, grant, hayes, garfield, arthur, cleveland, harrison, cleveland.

Spend a minute willing yourself to remember the words in order. After one minute, write down as many of the words as you can in order and from memory. Most people can remember about four or five of the words.

Next, imagine that you are standing at your kitchen sink and you fill more water into a pitcher than it can hold. You **pierce** the pitcher with a long needle and watch as the water pours out of the hole and down the drain. Out of the drain a shiny **new cannon** rises and situates itself on your countertop. Make the scene come alive in your mind. The **new cannon** shoots **links** of chain at an **inn** across the street from your house. You run to the inn to warn the people inside. Upon entering the inn, you have an urgent need to use the **john**. As you use the **john**, you call your **son**. You ask your son if he will **grant** you one wish. He says yes. You ask him to take some freshly harvested **hay** to a **far field** where King **Arthur** awaits, seated on his horse. Your son **cleaves** to the hay as he picks it up from the **land**. He gets in a truck driven by a **hairy son** and once again **cleaves** tightly to the hay he grabbed from the **land**. Spend a minute using your imagination to place the images into your mind, visualizing the events happening in real time. Use as many senses as you can when you replay the events in your mind. You should find that after one minute or less you are able to remember all the words in order and with ease. You should also find that you can recite the list forewards and backwards. Congratulate yourself on having memorized US presidents 13–24. Try using a similar strategy for remembering the first twelve US presidents. If you find you need some assistance, look at the Answer Key for one possible solution. To watch Yanjaa, a super-memorizer, use a similar strategy to remember random items in a magazine, follow this link:

Yanjaa's Memory Tips. 1

<sup>1</sup> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eRcAaTYfcU.

# Module 8 **Prepositions and Prefixes**

# **Prepositions**

A Greek preposition (**πρόθεσις**) has the same definition and the same function as does its English counterpart. Prepositions are typically one to two syllable words that take a noun or pronoun as an object. Consider these English examples:

**in** a great civil war; **on** a great battle-field; **of** that war; **above** our poor power; **to** the unfinished work; **for** the great task; **from** the earth;

and take note of the **preposition** and its object, which are referred to as a **prepositional phrase**. Prepositional phrases are a common building block for creating meaning both in Greek and in English.

Consider the following passage from Herman Melville's *Moby Dick* and note how frequently prepositions occur (**bold** marks a preposition and underline its object):

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely having little or no money **in** my purse, and nothing particular to interest me **on** shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part **of** the world. It is a way I have **of** driving **off** the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim **about** the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November **in** my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing **before** coffin warehouses, and bringing **up** the rear **of** every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand **of** me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me **from**  deliberately stepping **into** the street, and methodically knocking people's hats **off**—then, I account it high time to get **to** sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute **for** pistol and ball. **With** a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself **upon** his sword; I quietly take **to** the ship. There is nothing surprising **in** this. If they but knew it, almost all men **in** their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings **towards** the ocean **with** me.

In eight sentences there are twenty-three prepositional phrases. The preposition comes before its object almost every time. Leaving out the prepositional phrases, reread the passage, noting how much meaning is lost.

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely having little or no money, and nothing particular to interest me, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part. It is a way I have. Whenever I find myself growing grim; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing and bringing; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me—then, I account it high time to get as soon as I can. This is my substitute. Cato throws himself; I quietly take. There is nothing surprising. If they but knew it, almost all men, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings.

Consider the following Greek passage from Herodotos' *Histories*:

ἀναχθέντες δὲ **ἐκ** τῆς Κρότωνος οἱ Πέρσαι ἐκπίπτουσι τῇσι νηυσὶ **ἐς** Ἰηπυγίην, καί σφεας δουλεύοντας ἐνθαῦτα Γίλλος ἀνὴρ Ταραντῖνος φυγὰς ῥυσάμενος ἀπήγαγε **παρὰ** βασιλέα Δαρεῖον. ὁ δὲ **ἀντὶ** τούτων ἕτοιμος ἦν διδόναι τοῦτο ὅ τι βούλοιτο αὐτός. [2] Γίλλος δὲ αἱρέεται κάτοδόν οἱ **ἐς** Τάραντα γενέσθαι, προαπηγησάμενος τὴν συμφορήν· ἵνα δὲ μὴ συνταράξῃ τὴν Ἑλλάδα, ἢν **δι᾽** αὐτὸν στόλος μέγας πλέῃ **ἐπὶ** τὴν Ἰταλίην, Κνιδίους μούνους ἀποχρᾶν οἱ ἔφη τοὺς κατάγοντας γίνεσθαι, δοκέων **ἀπὸ** τούτων ἐόντων τοῖσι Ταραντίνοισι φίλων μάλιστα τὴν κάτοδόν οἱ ἔσεσθαι. [3] Δαρεῖος δὲ ὑποδεξάμενος ἐπετέλεε· πέμψας γὰρ ἄγγελον **ἐς** Κνίδον, κατάγειν σφέας ἐκέλευε Γίλλον **ἐς** Τάραντα. πειθόμενοι δὲ Δαρείῳ, Κνίδιοι Ταραντίνους οὐκ ὦν ἔπειθον, βίην δὲ ἀδύνατοι ἦσαν προσφέρειν. [4] ταῦτα μέν νυν οὕτω ἐπρήχθη· οὗτοι δὲ πρῶτοι **ἐκ** τῆς Ἀσίης **ἐς** τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἀπίκοντο Πέρσαι, καὶ οὗτοι **διὰ** τοιόνδε πρῆγμα κατάσκοποι ἐγένοντο.

In this paragraph of similar length there are thirteen prepositions. Because much meaning is created in Greek through the use of case endings on nouns and pronouns, Greek prepositions do not occur as frequently as they do in English. Nonetheless the point to take from the above is that the prepositional phrase is an important building block for creating meaning in Greek and in English. Learning to recognize prepositions and their objects and understanding how to translate them are key skills to acquire.

**Practice Picking out Prepositions.** From this excerpt of *Moby Dick,* practice picking out the prepositions and their objects. Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

Circumambulate the city of a dreamy Sabbath afternoon. Go from Corlears Hook to Coenties Slip, and from thence, by Whitehall, northward. What do you see?—Posted like silent sentinels all around the town, stand thousands upon thousands of mortal men fixed in ocean reveries. Some leaning against the spiles; some seated upon the pier-heads; some looking over the bulwarks of ships from China; some high aloft in the rigging, as if striving to get a still better seaward peep. But these are all landsmen; of week days pent up in lath and plaster—tied to counters, nailed to benches, clinched to desks. How then is this? Are the green fields gone? What do they here?

In doing the above exercise, aim for mastery—understand what a preposition and its object are and be able to pick out prepositions and objects from any sentence written in English. Since the meaning and function of English and Greek prepositions are the same, you will be able to transfer your knowledge of the preposition in English to your understanding of it in Greek.

# **Greek Prepositions**

Remember that in Greek and in English prepositions must take an object. If there is no object, then the word is not a preposition. In Greek the object may be in the accusative (acc.), genitive (gen.), or dative (dat.) cases, whose endings you will learn shortly. Some prepositions take only one case as their object. **ἐκ** only takes an object in the genitive case:

Other prepositions take objects in all three cases, such as **ἀμφί**:

Below is a list of the most frequently occurring prepositions. Memorize them. You will encounter them frequently in the rest of this book and they are not glossed. Note that in some cases the definitions are simplified. See the glossary for more complete ones.

### **Word Order**

As in English, in Greek the object of a preposition typically comes right after it, **ἐν** τῇ ὁδῷ *in the road*. The object, τῇ ὁδῷ, follows the preposition **ἐν**. At times words intervene between the preposition and its object, **διὰ** Διὸς πῦρ *through the fire of Zeus*. The noun **Διός**, *of Zeus*, possesses πῦρ *fire* and comes between the preposition **διά** *through* and its object πῦρ *fire*. Note that for the preposition **εἵνεκα** or **ἕνεκα** typical word order is object followed by **εἵνεκα** or **ἕνεκα**, as noted above.

## **Anastrophe of the Disyllabic Preposition**

In the majority of instances the object follows the preposition. In some instances the order is reversed and a preposition of two syllables follows the object, as in this example, κάλλ*ους* **πέρι** *concerning beauty*. Note that when anastrophe occurs, the accent shifts from the ultima to the penult, **περί** to **πέρι**.

# **Prepositions and Motion**

For the genitive, dative, and accusative cases, a general rule of motion applies in many instances.

The **rules of motion** are three and they are only generally true. In each the preposition is bolded and its object is underlined.

A preposition with its object in the genitive case can express **motion away from**:

ἔρχονται **ἀπὸ** τῆς γῆς *they go from the land.*

A preposition with its object in the dative case can express **place where**:

ἵστημι **ἐν** τῇ ὁδῷ *I stand in the road.*

A preposition with its object in the accusative case can express **motion towards** or **against**:

ἐρχόμεθα **εἰς** τὴν γῆν *we go to the land.*

In poetry the preposition may be omitted altogether. When you encounter prepositional phrases in the wild, keep in mind the general **rule of motion**.

**Practice Identifying Prepositions.** From this excerpt of Herodotos' *Historie*s (Ι.215) practice picking out the prepositions **ἐν**, **ἐς**, and **περί**. Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

Μασσαγέται δὲ ἐσθῆτά τε ὁμοίην τῇ Σκυθικῇ φορέουσι καὶ δίαιταν ἔχουσι, ἱππόται δὲ εἰσὶ καὶ ἄνιπποι—ἀμφοτέρων γὰρ μετέχουσι καὶ τοξόται τε καὶ αἰχμοφόροι, σαγάρις νομίζοντες ἔχειν. χρυσῷ δὲ καὶ χαλκῷ τὰ πάντα χρέωνται. ὅσα μὲν γὰρ ἐς αἰχμὰς καὶ ἄρδις καὶ σαγάρις, χαλκῷ τὰ πάντα χρέωνται. ὅσα δὲ περὶ κεφαλὴν καὶ ζωστῆρας καὶ μασχαλιστῆρας, χρυσῷ κοσμέονται. [2] ὣς δ᾽ αὕτως τῶν ἵππων τὰ μὲν περὶ τὰ στέρνα χαλκέους θώρηκας περιβάλλουσι, τὰ δὲ περὶ τοὺς χαλινοὺς καὶ στόμια καὶ φάλαρα χρυσῷ. σιδήρῳ δὲ οὐδ᾽ ἀργύρῳ χρέωνται οὐδέν· οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδέ σφι ἐστὶ ἐν τῇ χωρῇ. ὁ δὲ χρυσὸς καὶ ὁ χαλκὸς ἄπλετος.

#### **Translation**

The Massagetai dress similarly to the Skythians and have a similar way of life. They fight from horses and on foot, for they make use of both. They shoot bows and throw spears and customarily carry the battle-ax. They make abundant use of gold and bronze. They use bronze for the tips of arrows and spears and for their ax-heads. For adorning their heads and belts and straps, they use gold. For their tack, they take the same approach. They surround their horses' chests with breastplates made of bronze. They adorn with gold the reins, bits, and cheek-plates. They do not use iron or silver because their land has none, though gold and bronze are plentiful.

**Practice Choosing the Preposition.** In this translation of an excerpt of Herodotos' *Historie*s, for the bolded words choose the Greek preposition that best translates them. Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

**Concerning** customs all people think this way and it is possible to prove it is so by many examples and also **in** the following way. **During** his rule Dareios called some Greeks who were present and asked them **at** what price they would be willing to eat their dead fathers. They replied that they would do this **at** no price. **After** this Dareios called the Kallatians from India who eat their dead and while the Greeks watched and understood what was said **through**  an interpreter, asked **at** what price they would agree to burn with fire their dead fathers. They yelled loudly and bid him to watch his tongue. So it is with customs and I think Pindar's poem correctly says that custom is the king of everything.

**Practice Translating Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Adverbs.** Translate the paragraph below, paying attention to how the conjunctions, adverbs, and prepositions function. Often there is not an authentic connection between how ancient Greek expresses the meaning of a sentence and how English does. The main takeaway from exercises like these is a greater understanding of how each part of speech functions, not a greater understanding of ancient Greek idiom. Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

#### **Paragraph I (from** *Moby Dick***)**

It was a humorously perilous business for both of us. **πρὶν γὰρ** we proceed further, it must be said **ὅτι** the monkey-rope was fast **ἐπὶ** both ends; fast to Queequeg's broad canvas belt, and fast to my narrow leather one. **ὥστε** for better or for worse, we two, **εἰς νῦν**, were wedded; and should poor Queequeg sink to rise no more, **ἔπειτα καὶ** usage **καὶ** honor demanded, **ὅτι** instead of cutting the cord, it should drag me down in his wake. **οὕτως**, **ἔπειτα**, an elongated Siamese ligature united us. Queequeg was my own inseparable twin brother; nor could I any way get rid of the dangerous liabilities which the hempen bond entailed.

**οὕτως** strongly and metaphysically did I conceive of my situation **τότε**, **ὅτι μέχρι** earnestly watching his motions, I seemed distinctly to perceive **ὅτι** my own individuality was **νῦν** merged in a joint stock company of two; **ὅτι** my free will had received a mortal wound; **καὶ ὅτι** another's mistake **ἢ** misfortune might plunge innocent me **εἰς** unmerited disaster and death.

#### **Paragraph II (translation from Lucian's** *A True Story***)**

Athletes **καὶ** those seeking physical fitness pay attention to health **καὶ** exercise. They **καὶ** contend **ὅτι** well-timed relaxation is a vital part of training. Students **καὶ** I think profit **ἐκ** rest **μετὰ** reading serious works and **οὖν** return **εἰς** their studies invigorated. This rest works best **εἰ** they spend time **σὺν** books which provide contemplation **καὶ** inspiration **ἀλλὰ καὶ** wit, charm, **καὶ** attraction, just the sort of restful thought I think this work provides. I note **οὐ** only the novelty of the content and the charm of a compelling story **ἀλλὰ καὶ** the witty allusions **πρὸς** the ancient classics, filled with legends and monsters, written **ὑπὸ** poets, historians, and philosophers.

### **Prefixes**

Many verbs have prefixes added to them. The prefix typically changes the verb's meaning, doing so sometimes in slight, and other times in significant, ways. Note the following verbs and their meanings:

**\*δίδωμι** *give*; **δίκην δίδωμι** *I pay the penalty*; **δίδωμι χάριν** *I give thanks* **ἐκδίδωμι** *give up, surrender, give out* (of one's house), give (in marriage) **προδίδωμι** *betray, abandon, give up* (to an enemy)

**\*εἰμί** *be, be possible* **\*πάρειμι** *be near, be present*; (imper.) *be possible*

**\*εἶμι** *come, go* \***πάρειμι** *go in, enter, pass by*

**\*ἵστημι** *stand* **ἀνίστημι** *make stand up, wake, break up* (an assembly) **\*καθίστημι** *appoint, establish, put into a state*; (intrans.) *be established, be appointed*

**\*τίθημι** *put, place* **προτίθημι** *place before, propose, prefer*

**\*φερω** *bring, bear, carry* **προσφέρω** *bring to, apply to*

# **Object of Prefix**

A preposition always has an object. The prefix does not always but may at times also take an object as in these examples:

βίαν **προσ**φέρω αὐτῷ, *I apply force to him;*

**βίαν** is the object of **φέρω** and **αὐτῷ** is the object of the prefix **προς-**;

and

τῆς δὲ γῆς **ἀπ**έρχονται, *they depart the land.*

**γῆς** is the object of the prefix **ἀπο-**.

In each example above, the noun serves as the object of the prefix. In this next example, note that Herodotos uses the same prefix and preposition, one reinforcing the meaning of the other. The prefix and preposition are in bold. The preposition's object is underlined.

**περὶ** τὰ στέρνα χαλκέους θώρηκας **περι**βάλλουσι *They surround their chests with breastplates made of bronze.*

The preposition **περί** and its meaning around are reinforced by the prefix **περι-**. In this next example there is a similar repetition of the preposition and prefix.

**ἐν** τῇ ὁδῷ τέλματι βαθεῖ **ἐν**τυγχάνω. *Ι stumble upon a deep puddle in the road.*

In this sentence the preposition **ἐν** and the prefix **ἐν-** do not work together, reinforcing each other as **περί** and **περι-** do above. Rather the noun **τέλματι** is the object of the prefix **ἐν-** and the prepositional phrase **ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ** locates **τέλματι βαθεῖ** *the deep puddle*.

# **Elision**

A final short vowel at the end of a word or a prefix may be elided (eliminated) when the word or verb that follows starts with a vowel or diphthong. When elision occurs between two words, the missing short vowel is marked by an apostrophe. When elision occurs between a prefix and its verb, the short vowel of the prefix is eliminated. Note these instances of elision:

When the consonant directly before the elided vowel is kappa, pi, or tau—**κ, π,**  or **τ**—and is followed by a word with a rough breathing, the consonant changes to the corresponding aspirate: **κ** becomes **χ; π** becomes **φ;** and **τ** becomes **θ.**

**ἐπὶ ᾧ** becomes **ἐφ᾽ ᾧ. κατα ἵστημι** becomes **καθίστημι.**

In addition to the elision of short vowels, final -**αι** and -**οι** are occasionally elided:

**εἶναι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ** becomes **εἶν' ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ. οἴμοι ὡς ἀθυμέω** becomes **οἴμ' ὡς ἀθυμέω.**

Consider contractions that occur in English, such as **can't** or **watcha gonna do**, noting the different ways that words combine.

**Module 8 Practice Reading Aloud.** Practice reading this excerpt from Euripides' *Alkestis*. Read the excerpt a few times, paying attention to the sound each syllable makes and trying to hear the rhythm of the words.

### **Ἄλκηστις**

ἄγει μ' ἄγει τις· ἄγει μέ τις (οὐχ

260 ὁρᾷς;) νεκύων ἐς αὐλάν,

ὑπ' ὀφρύσι κυαναυγέσι βλέπων, πτερωτὸς Ἅιδας. τί ῥέξεις; ἄφες. οἵαν ὁδὸν ἁ δειλαιοτάτα προβαίνω.

#### **Ἄδμητος**

265 καὶ παισίν, οἷς δὴ πένθος ἐν κοινῷ τόδε.

#### **Ἄλκηστις**

#### **Ἄδμητος**

οἴμοι· τόδ' ἔπος λυπρὸν ἀκούειν καὶ παντὸς ἐμοὶ θανάτου μεῖζον. 275 μὴ πρός <σε> θεῶν τλῇς με προδοῦναι, μὴ πρὸς παίδων οὓς ὀρφανιεῖς, ἀλλ' ἄνα, τόλμα. σοῦ γὰρ φθιμένης οὐκέτ' ἂν εἴην· ἐν σοὶ δ' ἐσμὲν καὶ ζῆν καὶ μή· σὴν γὰρ φιλίαν σεβόμεσθα.

#### **Verse Translation**

#### **Alkestis**

Someone pulls and pulls me—don't you see?— Pulls me nigh where dwell the dead, and Stares with darkened brow, winged Hades.

What will you do? Let me go. What journey I'm to make, a soul most sorrowful.

#### **Admetos**

One sad to friends but most of all to me And our poor progeny who share this grief.

#### **Alkestis**

Let me down, down, now. On my back, I cannot stand. Here is Hades. Black of night creeps Up against mine eyes.  Children, look, enjoy the rays of day.

By gods, do not forsake me, dear,

By ours, those whom you leave now orphaned.

But up, arise.

Without you here I live no more.

In you there rests my life and death.

I honor you, my love.

To hear me read, followed by Stefan Hagel's expert reading with a pitch accent, follow the link below:

Alkestis 259–279. 1

<sup>1</sup> https://loom.com/share/80cb5fca014942a990485c0764381a1a.

## **Etymology Corner VIII by Dr. E. Del Chrol**

### Technical Terms 4

**Accents, Modules 3, 5, 11.** A syllable is the smallest spoken chunk of a word, and comes from the Greek prefix **συν-** *together*, *with* and verb **λαμβάνειν** *to take*, (just like in **synchronize**, *to make two times* (χρόνοι) *the same*, or in **sympathy**, *to feel* (πάθος *experience, suffering, emotion*) *with* someone.

When accenting, there are three syllables we care about. There is the final one, the **ultima**, from the Latin **ultimus** *last*, *final* (anything that is **the ultimate** had best be the final one!). There's the one that is almost or nearly the final, the **penultimate**, from the Latin **paene** *almost* and **ultimus** *last, final* (a **peninsula** is *nearly* an *island,* from the Latin **insula**, *island* because a peninsula has water on three sides). The third from the last is the **ante-** *before* the **pen-** *almost* **ult** *final syllable*, the **antepenult**, (just as the Antebellum South, from Latin **ante-** *before* and **bellum** *war*, was the South *before* the *war* and just as in poker the **ante** comes *before* the bets).

The last datum we need to add is whether the **accent** is **persistent**, meaning it tries to stay over the same syllable, (**per**, *thoroughly*, **sistere**, *to stand firm*, like in insist) or **recessive**, meaning it tries to fall back towards the antepenult (**re**, *again*, like redo, and **cess** from Latin **cedere**, meaning to *yield* or *move back*, like in cede or recession).

**What to Study and Do 8.** Before moving on to the next module make sure that you have learned the definition and the function of prepositions, prepositional phrases, and prefixes. Remember that the English and Greek prepositions have the same function. If you understand the English preposition, you understand the Greek. As you work through this text, if you find yourself uncertain about the definition and function of the preposition, redo the exercises in this module and check your answers with the Answer Key.

**Learning Tip 8: Work through Difficulties.** Break seemingly intractable problems into tractable sub-problems. Break down each problem into its knowable and unknowable parts. Figure out what you do and do not know. Expose and examine your assumptions. Make guesses without being afraid of being wrong, recognizing that mistakes are necessary for growth and learning. Discover your errors quickly. Ask for assistance.

# Module 9 **The Verb and** μι-**Verbs** εἰμί, δίδωμι, τίθημι

# **The Verb**

In Greek and in English, verbs have the same definition and functions. Verbs are words that represent actions (**throw**) and states of being (**be** or **exist**). They differ in the same fundamental way that Greek nouns differ from their English counterparts: they use endings to create meaning in a way that English does not. The Greek verb **(ῥῆμα)** in its finite form has an **ending** that indicates what **person** and **number** the **subject** is. The Greek infinitive has an ending that indicates that it is unmarked for **person** and **number**.

In this module you will see how the Greek verb functions with three **μι-verbs: εἰμί, δίδωμι,** and **τίθημι**.

### Finite Verbs

The finite verbs **I run** or **we run** have a person **I** or **we** and a number, singular **I** or plural **we**. Note that the combination of a verb with its subject forms a **clause**.

### Infinitives

Infinitives are not marked for person or number. In English the infinitive is preceded by **to**. **To run**, **to go**, **to walk**, **to carry**, **to mark**, and **to sing** are all infinitives and are all unmarked for person and for number.

### Intransitive and Transitive Verbs

Verbs are either **intransitive** or **transitive**. **Intransitive verbs** do not take a **direct object**. **εἰμί** *I am* is an **intransitive verb**. **Transitive verbs** take a direct object. **ὁράω** *I see* is a transitive verb. It takes a direct object. In the sentence, **ὁράω αὐτόν** *I see him*, **αὐτόν** is the direct object of the transitive verb **ὁράω**.

Some verbs can be intransitive or transitive depending upon their use in context. For example the English verb **walk** is intransitive in the sentence, **I walk to the store**. And it is transitive in the sentence **I walk my dog to the**  **store**. **Dog** functions as the direct object of **walk**. Consider the verb **smell**. In the sentence, **the flower smells good**, the verb **smell** is intransitive and describes a quality of the flower's aromatic existence. In the sentence **I smell the sauteeing onions and garlic**, the verb **smell** is transitive and represents an action that **I** perform. **Onions** and **garlic** function as the direct objects of **smell**. Module 30 has practice translating exercises with the μι-verb **ἵστημι,** which can be both intransitive and transitive.

### Linking Verbs

Linking verbs connect two items in a sentence. The verb **to be** is the most common linking verb. In the sentence **she is a doctor**, the verb **is** connects the subject **she** and the predicate nominative **doctor**. In the sentence **he is hungry**, the verb **is** connects the subject **he** and the predicate adjective **hungry**. Some common linking verbs in English are these: **appear, become, feel, grow, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste,** and **turn.** Some common linking verbs in Greek are these: **γίγνομαι** *be, be born*; **δοκέω** *seem*; **εἰμί** *be*; **κεῖμαι** *lie, remain*; and **φαίνω** *seem***.** The two items connected by the linking verb are in the same case, which in Greek is typically nominative. In the examples below, the linking verbs are bolded and the words in the same case are underlined.

### Verb Tense

English and Greek have a variety of verb tenses which express time. Tense refers to the times of the **past, present**, and **future**. Each **tense** indicates when the action of the verb occurs. The present tense indicates action that is currently happening. The future tense refers to an event that will happen at some later point. The past tense refers to actions that have already occurred.

### Tense-Aspect

Time (tense) refers to the past, present, and future. Aspect refers to whether an action is incomplete (imperfective), completed (perfective), or in a state (stative). The present tense stem, which is used to form the present and imperfect tenses, communicates an incomplete action. The beginnings and ends of the action are undefined. Thus the tense-aspect for the present is present ongoing or repeated, and the tense-aspect for the imperfect is past ongoing or repeated (imperfective). The aorist tense stem communicates a completed action as a single whole. The boundaries of the action's beginning and end define the action as completed (perfective). The tense-aspect of the perfect and future perfect (not covered in this text due to its rarity) have a completed state that results from a previous completed action or have a completed state (stative) whose effects are still relevant. The future tense stems have a temporal value but no aspect, showing no distinction between the imperfective (incomplete) and perfective (completed) aspect (*CGCG* 33.4–6).

**Incomplete Aspect.** In the sentences,

she picks flowers,

and

she was picking flowers,

the aspect is called **incomplete** because the beginning and end of the action are undefined.

**Completed Aspect.** In the sentence,

she picked flowers,

the aspect of **picked** is **completed** because the boundaries of the beginning and end of the action are defined.

**Stative Aspect.** In the sentence,

he is amazed,

the aspect of **is amazed** is **stative** because the action of the verb results in the subject's being in a certain state, here amazement.

In sum the aspects are three: incomplete, completed, or stative. In English, aspect depends upon verb tense and context. In Greek, verb tense is a clearer determinant of aspect, though context still matters.

### Verb Mood

English has these moods: **the conditional, imperative, indicative, infinitive**, and **subjunctive**.

**The conditional mood** uses the helping verbs **could, might, should, would**. For the conditional mood, the proposition **(could, might, should, would)** depends on a condition **(if).** In this sentence,

If I show you my weak side, would you take me home?,

upon the successful conclusion of the conditional **if**, the proposition may be fulfilled.

**The imperative mood** gives someone a command,

So kick back, dig, while we do it.

Here the mood of the verb **kick** gives a command that may or may not be fulfilled.

The **indicative** is the mood of fact. This mood makes declarations that are presented as true. In this sentence,

Generals are gathered in their masses,

we are to believe that the generals have crowded together.

The **infinitive** is unmarked for person and number. Ιt is classified as a verbal noun and is best understood by thinking of its function as completing or enhancing the meaning of adjectives, clauses, nouns, and verbs. This is why the infinitive is referred to as a complement. Sometimes classified as a mood, the infinitive is potential in meaning, **ἐν δυνάμει,** because its action may or may not be realized. In this phrase,

standing in line to see the show tonight,

there is no guarantee that the person standing in line will get **to see** the show.

**The subjunctive mood** communicates ideas that are contrafactual, hypothetical, or uncertain.

I wish you were here. I ask that he be still a moment and this mystery explore. Oi, where be the bar, John?

**Be, explore,** and **were** are all subjunctives. In the first sentence the **were** is contrafactual, indicating that the subject **I** is in fact not **here**. Contrast this contrafactual sentence with the factual one: **we were two lost souls**. The two **weres** are identical in form but not in function. Context enables us to understand the difference in meaning between them. **Be** and **explore** both refer to events in the future that may or may not be fulfilled. In the third sentence the **be** expresses uncertainty as to where the bar be.

Greek also has five moods: **imperative** (command); **indicative** (factual statements usually); **infinitive** (potential); **optative** (factual or hypothetical); and **subjunctive** (hypothetical). English often uses helping verbs such as **may**, **might**, **should** to express hypothetical or uncertain situations that Greek expresses through a verb's mood.

### Verb Voice

English has two voices: **active**, (she throws) and **passive**, (she is thrown). Greek has three voices: **active**, **middle**, and **passive**.

**Active Voice.** In the active voice the subjects perform the verb's action. In the sentence

she throws,

**she** performs the act of throwing and so **throws** is active voice.

**Passive Voice.** In passive voice the action of the verb is performed upon the subject. In the sentence,

she is thrown, the act of throwing is performed upon the subject **she**. The verb **is thrown** is passive voice.

**Middle Voice.** Middle voice expresses actions the subjects perform upon themselves or actions that the subjects are personally interested in. Greek uses the middle voice to translate the English sentence,

she washes herself, **λούεται**.

Greek also uses the middle voice to translate the sentence,

she has her daughters educated**, παιδεύεται** τὰς θυγάτερας.

In sum the voices are three. The Greek active and passive voices function just as they do in English. English does not have a middle voice. The Greek middle voice, covered in more detail in Module 19, often has a reflexive meaning: I see **myself**; I wash **my** hands. Typically you will translate it via the English active voice.

### Principal Parts

English and Greek verbs have **principal parts**. In English the principal parts are these: **go, went, gone, going**. Speakers of English use these principal parts to compose the variety of tenses, moods, and voices the English verb enjoys.

Greek verbs have these **six principal parts:**

From these six principal parts are formed all the various tenses, moods, and voices the Greek verb enjoys.

**Practice with Verbs in English.** Read (or sing) this song by Little Richard and give as much information as you can about each verb. Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

> [Intro] La, la, la da da da da da

[Verse 1] I hope that I should live to see When every man should know he's free Prayers and suffrage from the past All make our heart to be this sad

[Chorus] I got my duty rock and roll Now everybody, everybody, everybody's got to be free, y'all

[Refrain] La, la, la da da da da da

[Verse 2] Let's get rid of that old man, hey hey hey hey And bring our government up to date It may seem very hard to do Just open your mind, let love come through

[Chorus] You hear me calling, hear my plea Everybody, everybody, everybody's gotta be free Oh yes!

[Refrain] La, la, la da da da da da

[Verse 3] We did our thing and we paid our dues And let's get rid of these freedom blues It may seem very hard to do Just open your mind, let love come through

[Chorus] I got my duty rock and roll Now everybody, everybody, everybody's got to be free, y'all

[Outro] La, la, la da da da da

The purpose of this exercise is to have you think actively about how the English verb conveys meaning. In doing this exercise reflect on how much you intuitively know about your native language. Also look to transfer this knowledge to your understanding of the Greek verb.

# **The** μι-**Verb** εἰμί

**εἰμί** frequently occurs. In all languages the verb **to be** is used so frequently that its forms resist change and they tend to be highly irregular. The finite forms of verbs indicate person and number. Because the forms of **εἰμί** are unique, it is difficult at first to discern the person and number of each form. When you learn **δίδωμι**, **τίθημι**, and the omega- or **ω-verb**, you will understand clearly how verb endings indicate person and number.

Memorize the below forms of **εἰμί.** Note that each form of the verb contains its own subject.  You will learn them in detail in Module 18. Greek often does not state them separately from the verb. Contrast **εἰμί** *I am* with **ἐγὼ εἰμί** *I am.* **εἰμί** without the pronoun **ἐγώ** occurs more frequently. When the ancient Greek pronoun is present, it is often there for emphasis or for contrast or for sound or for some other aesthetic or practical reason.

Memorize **εἰμί** so that you are able to recite and write the forms, going from Greek to English and vice versa. Remember that present refers to time now; that the indicative is used to state facts; and that in active voice the subject performs the verb's action or state of being.

### Present Indicative Active of εἰμί

1. The letter nu in the third person singular and plural is a nu-movable. It may be added to the ending when the following word begins with a vowel or at the end of clauses or verses. Otherwise it is left off.

### Present Infinitive Active of εἰμί

1. All forms but εἶ and εἶναι are enclitic**.** Enclitics are pronounced closely with the word that precedes them. Some common ones are the adverbs **γε, ποθέν, ποι, ποτέ, που, πως,** and **τοι**; the conjunction **τε;** the pronouns **με, μοι, μου, σε, σοι σου, τι,** and **τις;** and the verbs **εἰμί, φημί**. Enclitics sometimes have an accent and sometimes do not. They can also affect the accent of the word that precedes them. How they do is covered in Part II of the *21st-Century* series.

**Practice Translating εἰμί.** Translate the sentences below, which have been adapted from Lucian's *The Ass*, **ὁ Ὄνος**. Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded and genitive endings are italicized. Also in these sentences, the definite article, which will be learned systematically in Modules 11 and 12, is present in these forms: **τῆς**, **τό**, **τῶν**. Translate each one as *the*. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

### **Adverbs and Verbs**

### **Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns**

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

# **The** μι-**Verbs** δίδωμι **and** τίθημι

Though not as numerous as **omega-** or **ω-verbs**, **μι-verbs** occur frequently. **μι-verbs** conjugate differently from **ω-verbs** in some tenses, typically the present, imperfect, aorist, and sometimes the perfect. In conjugating these verb forms, learn which **stem** to combine with which ending. The **stem** is the base of the word to which the ending is joined. Once you have the correct stem and ending, combine them to create the correct form. You may memorize the stems and endings or you may learn how to combine stems and endings so that you can recognize the forms as you encounter them. In the readings that occur in the textbook, use your knowledge of **δίδωμι** *give* and **τίθημι** *put, place* to identify the present indicative active forms of other μι-verbs, including **ἀπόλλυμι** *kill, lose; die*; **δείκνυμι** *show, display*; **ἵημι** *release, hurl, send*; (mid.) *hasten* and **ἵστημι** *place, stand, make stand*.

### **Present Tense Stems**

Use the long vowel grade stem for the singular (I, you, he, she, it) and the short vowel grade for the plural (we, you, they). Note that the stems differ even within the same tense, mood, and voice.

**Present Tense Endings**

Add to the correct tense stem.

**Primary Active** (use for the present tense)

**τιθη- τιθε-**

**Present Infinitive Active**

### Present Indicative Active of δίδωμι

### Present Infinitive Active of δίδωμι

short διδόναι *to give* unmarked

### Present Indicative Active of τίθημι.

### Present Infinitive Active of τίθημι

**Readers of Euripides of Athens, Εὐριπίδης ὁ Ἀθηναῖος, c.480–406 BCE.** Readers of Euripides tend to view him in polarized ways. There are those who think that he criticized traditional religion and shocked contemporaries by representing mythical figures as everyday, unheroic people or even as abnormal or neurotic personalities. Others view him as conventionally religious. He is considered by some a misogynist because of his unsparing analysis of feminine passion. Others view him as highly sympathetic to the plight of women. Euripides' enormous range spans these contradictory tendencies: he is both a rationalist and a romantic; he both criticizes the traditional gods and celebrates religion; some of his plays are more comic than tragic with happy endings, while others are bitter tragedies. He incorporates the new intellectual and scientific movements into his works but also conveys the irresistible power of the irrational.In modern times, Euripides has come to be increasingly appreciated for his intellectual subtlety, bold and original dramatic power, brilliant psychological insight, and ability to elicit unexpected symbolic meaning from ancient myth and cult.

**Practice Translating δίδωμι.** Translate the sentences below, which have been adapted from Euripides' *Medea* (**Μήδεια**). Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded, dative endings are highlighted, and accusative endings are underlined. Also in the sentences the definite article, which will be learned systematically in Modules 11 and 12, is present in these forms: **ἡ**, **τῇ**, **τό**, **τόν**. Translate each one as *the*. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

### **Verbs**

**\*δίδωμι** *give*; **δίκην δίδωμι** *I pay the penalty*; **δίδωμι χάριν** *I give thanks* **ἐκδίδωμι** *give up, surrender, give out* (of one's house), *give* (in marriage) **προδίδωμι** *betray, abandon, give up* (to an enemy)

### **Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns**

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

**Practice Translating τίθημι.** Translate the sentences below, which have been adapted from Euripides' *Alkestis*, (**Ἄλκηστις**). Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded; genitive endings are italicized; dative endings are highlighted; and accusative endings are underlined. Also in the sentences the definite article, which will be learned systematically in Modules 11 and 12, is present in this form: **τούς**. Translate it as *the*. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

### **Adverbs and Verbs**

### **Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns**

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

**Practice Parsing Greek Sentences.** Parse each word of the sentences found below. For nouns and pronouns, give case and function. For verbs, give person, number, tense, mood, and voice. For adverbs and conjunctions, identify them. For prepositional phrases, give the preposition and the preposition's object.

ἐγὼ μὲν ἔρομαι εἰ ἔνδον ἐστέ.

δίκην αὐτῇ καὶ αὐτῷ δίδως.

Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

**Module 9 Top 250 Vocabulary to be Memorized.** Like learning the alphabet and endings, memorizing vocabulary is essential to acquiring language. The better you memorize the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary words, the greater mastery of the language you will have.

### **Verbs**

**δίδωμι** *give; allow* 'x' in dat. or acc. + inf., **ἐμὲ (έμοί) εὐτυχέειν δίδως** *you allow me to prosper*

**εἰμί** *be, be possible* **ἵημι** *release, hurl, send*; (mid.) *hasten* **πάρειμι** *be near, be present*; (imper.) *be possible* **φημί** *say, affirm, assert*

# **Etymology Corner IX by Dr. E. Del Chrol**

### Technical Terms 5

**Enclitics, Postpositives, Proclitics, Module 4.** Let's talk about three additional technical words. **Enclitics** are pronounced closely with the word that precedes them and sometimes even affect the accent of that word. The etymology of enclitic is expressed in lexical entries like this: English **enclitic** < Latin **encliticus**, < Greek **ἐγκλιτικός**, < **ἐν** *on* + **κλίνειν** *to lean*, where the symbol **<** means *is derived from*). Think of **enclitics** as *leaning* (**κλίνειν** *to lean***)** *on* (**ἐν** *in, on, at*) the word preceding them (like how a **recliner** is a chair you *lean back* on, from Latin **re** *back* and **clinare** *to lean*)—a rare instance of Latin and Greek using the same root for a technical term. **Proclitics** modify the word coming next. Think of them as *leaning forward* from **προ-** *before, in front of* and **κλίνειν** *to lean.* Some words can't come first in a sentence, so they are *positioned after* the first element of the sentence. The word **postpositive** is built from the Latin prefix **post-** *after* and **positus** *placed.* The word **postpone** from Latin **post** *after* and **ponere** *to place* is built from the same Latin words as **postpositive** is.

**What to Study and Do 9.** Before moving on to the next module, make sure that you have memorized the high frequency verbs **εἰμί, δίδωμι,** and **τίθημι** so that you can write out from memory the verb forms of the present indicative and infinitive active of each. In order to remember these verbs over the long term, review them a few times each week. When reviewing, make sure that you can write them out from memory without looking at the answers.

**Learning Tip 9: Be Persistent.** Learning is innate and fundamental to our existence. Learning requires us to adapt to the wide variety of environments we experience. Learning a different language, or a yoga pose, or any new thing, requires you to adapt to new ways of knowing. Persistence in adapting results in your assimilating new knowledge. Once you have assimilated it, this new knowledge becomes a part of you and your understanding of the world.

# Module 10 **The Verbs** ἔχω**,** ποιέω**,** ἔρχομαι**,**  φημί

# **The Verb**

In Greek and in English, verbs have the same definition and functions. Verbs are words that represent actions (**throw**) and states of being (**be** or **exist**). They differ in the same fundamental way that Greek nouns differ from their English counterparts: they use endings to create meaning in a way that English does not. The Greek verb (**ῥῆμα**) in its finite form has an **ending** that indicates what **person** and **number** the **subject** is. The Greek infinitive has an ending that indicates that it is unmarked for **person** and **number**.

In this module you will see how endings create meaning in the **omega-** or **ω-verb ἔχω**, the contract **ω-verb ποιέω**, the deponent **ω-verb ἔρχομαι**, and the **μι-verb φημί**.

# **Present Tense Stems**

To obtain the present tense stem, remove the ending –**ω** or **–ομαι**. What remains is the present tense stem, the base of the word the ending is joined to. To this stem, add the present tense endings.

# **Present Tense Endings**

Add to the correct tense stem.

**Primary Active** (use for the present and future active tense)

#### **Present Infinitive Active**

# **The** ω-**Verb** ἔχω

**ἔχω** is referred to as an **ω-verb** because it ends in omega in the first person singular, present indicative active of the first principal part. **ω-verbs** differ from **μι-verbs** in stems and in endings in some tenses. All **ω-verbs** form their present indicative active just as **ἔχω** does. In the readings that follow, use your knowledge of **ἔχω** to recognize and translate the forms of other **ω-verbs**.

### Present Indicative Active of ἔχω

### Present Infinitive Active of ἔχω

**Practice Translating ἔχω.** Translate the sentences below, adapted from a variety of ancient Greek authors. Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded, dative endings are highlighted, and accusative endings are underlined. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

### **Verbs**

### **Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns**

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

# **The Contract** ω**-Verb** ποιέω

**ποιέω** is referred to as a contract **ω-verb** because its stem ends in epsilon in the first person singular, present indicative active of the first principal part. When the stem of principal part I or II ends in epsilon, the epsilon may contract with the endings in accordance with the chart below. In the readings that follow, use your knowledge of **ποιέω** to recognize and translate the forms of other epsilon contract ω-verbs. A second type of contract verb with its stem ending in alpha is introduced in Modules 17 and 19. Module 24 presents contract verbs in alpha, epsilon, and omega.

### Present Indicative Active of ποιέω

### Present Infinitive Active of ποιέω

**Practice Translating ποιέω.** Translate the sentences below, adapted from a variety of ancient Greek authors. Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded; genitive endings are italicized; dative endings are highlighted; and accusative endings are underlined. Also in the sentences the definite article, which will be learned systematically in Modules 11 and 12, is present in these forms: **ὁ, τάς, τήν, τῆς, τό, τοῖς, τοῦ**. Translate each one as *the*. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

#### **Verbs**

**ἀναγκάζω** *force, compel* **κοιμᾶσθαι** *go to sleep* **ἀπαιθριάζω** *clear away* **ὀφείλω** *owe; be obliged to* + inf. **ἄχθομαι** *be annoyed, vexed, grieved* **\*ποιέω, ποιήσω** *do, make, cause* **\*βούλομαι** *want, prefer; wish, be willing*  **συννέφω** *collect clouds*

**\*θέλω** *wish, be willing*

#### **Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns**

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

# **The Deponent Verb** ἔρχομαι

Deponent verbs are similar to other verbs except that they do not have active forms. Rather they have middle and passive forms that have active meanings. All deponent **ω-verbs** form their present indicative just as **ἔρχομαι** does. In the readings that follow, use your knowledge of **ἔρχομαι** to recognize and translate the forms of other deponent **ω-verbs**.

### **Present Tense Stems**

To obtain the present tense stem, remove the ending **-ομαι**. What remains, **ἔρχ-**, is the present tense stem.

### **Present Tense Endings**

**Primary Middle and Passive Endings (with active meaning)**. Add these endings to the correct tense stem.

### **Present Infinitive**

Remember that deponent verbs are active in meaning and middle and passive in form.

### Present Indicative of ἔρχομαι

### Present Infinitive of ἔρχομαι

ἔρχεσθαι *to go* unmarked

# **Historical Present**

The present tense in Greek can be used when writing about past events. In these situations, it is referred to as a historic, or storytelling, present. The reason why authors switch to the present tense when writing about the past varies. Some possibilities include emphasis, vividness, and stating current or general truths.

**Practice Translating ἔρχομαι.** Translate the sentences below, adapted from a variety of ancient Greek authors. Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded; genitive endings are italicized; dative endings are highlighted; and accusative endings are underlined. Also in the sentences the definite article, which will be learned systematically in Modules 11 and 12, is present in these forms: **τά, τῇ, τήν, τῆς, τό**. Translate each one as *the*. As you translate, consider the frequent use of the historical present in Greek. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

### **Adverbs and Verbs**

#### **Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns**

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

# **The** μι-**Verb** φημί

Though not as numerous as **omega-** or **ω-verbs**, **μι-verbs** occur frequently. **μι-verbs** conjugate differently from **ω-verbs** in some tenses, typically the present, imperfect, aorist, and sometimes the perfect. In conjugating these verb forms, learn which **stem** to combine with which ending. The **stem** is the base of the word to which the ending is joined. Once you have the correct stem and ending, combine them to create the correct form. You may memorize the stems and endings or you may learn how to combine stems and endings so that you can recognize the forms as you encounter them.

### **Present Tense Stems**

Use the long vowel grade stem for the singular (I, you, he, she, it) and the short vowel grade for the plural (we, you, they). Note that the stems differ even within the same tense, mood, and voice.

### **Present Tense Endings**

Add to the correct tense stem.

**Primary Active** (use for the present tense)

**Present Infinitive Active**

# **Present Indicative Active of** φημί

### Present Infinitive Active of φημί

**Practice Translating φημί.** Translate the sentences below, adapted from Euripides' *Alkestis* (**Ἄλκηστις**). Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded; genitive endings are italicized; dative endings are highlighted; and accusative endings are underlined. Also in the sentences the definite article, which will be learned systematically in Modules 11 and 12, is present in this form: **ὁ**. Translate it as *the*. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

### **Ιnterjection and Verbs**

#### **Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns**

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

**Practice Parsing Greek Sentences.** Parse each word of the sentences found below. For nouns and pronouns, give case and function. For verbs give person, number, tense, mood, and voice. For adverbs and conjunctions, identify them. For prepositional phrases give the preposition and the preposition's object.

καὶ φόβος αὐτὸν ἔχει καὶ διὰ ταῦτα φεύγει.

ὁράω γὰρ ὅτι οὐκ ἔρχῃ πρὸς καιρόν.

Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

## **The Greek Olympics**

Our first official record of the holding of the Olympic games dates to 776 BCE. The Greeks celebrated the Olympics in the city-state of Olympia in honor of Zeus, king of the gods. They held the Olympics once every four years. At first there were two events, the 200- and 400-meter footrace. Soon added were boxing, horse racing (single horse and four-horse chariot), a long distance race, the pankration (boxing, brawling, judo, wrestling), the pentathlon (discus, javelin, long jump, 200-meter sprint, wrestling), and wrestling. Training took place in the nude at the gymnasium (**γυμνός, -ή, -όν** *naked)*. Greeks revered their athletes, composing poems in their honor, dedicating statues to them, and giving them cash and free board.

**Module 10 Top 250 Vocabulary to be Memorized.** Like learning the alphabet and endings, memorizing vocabulary is essential to acquiring language. The better you memorize the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary words, the greater mastery of the language you will have.

**Verbs**

# **Etymology Corner X by Dr. E. Del Chrol**

### Technical Terms 6, Parts of Speech

**Adverbs, Module 4.** The first part of speech we have learned is the **adverb** (**ἐπίρρημα**), which can modify modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. The word **modify** *to restrain* or *to restrict* is derived from the Latin verb **facere** (-**ify**, -**fy**) *to make* and the Latin noun **modus** *limit, amount*. When you say you are **mostly** done cleaning your room you are putting a *limit* on the amount of doneness there is. And why is an adverb an adverb? Because it's a word that has been added, from the Latin prefix **ad-** *to,* to the verb (from the Latin **verbum** *word*), just as the Greek word for adverb, **ἐπίρρημα**, is built from the prefix **ἐπι-** *to* and the noun **ῥῆμα** *word, line*, *verb*. In Latin, **verbum** means *word*, and this isn't very useful, except if you take it as THE word. As we will see shortly, a whole sentence in Greek, like in Latin, can be contained in a single verb. This is part of the reason why in grammatical terms **verbum** or **ῥῆμα** means *verb*, the word indicating an **action** or **state of existence** in a sentence. Unlike its Latin parent, the meaning of the English word **verb** maintains a narrow definition. The semantic change of the Latin **verbum** *word* to the English **verb** is called **specialization**. Contrast the **semantic change** of the Greek noun **δίσκος** *discus* which derived into the general English noun **dish** and specific noun **disc**. This type of semantic change is called **generalization**.

**What to Study and Do 10.** Before moving on to the next module, make sure that you have memorized the high frequency verbs **ἔχω**, **ἔρχομαι,** and **φημί** so that you can write out from memory the verb forms of the present indicative and infinitive active of each. In order to remember these ending and verbs for the long term, review them a few times each week. When reviewing, make sure that you can write them out from memory without looking at the answers.

**Learning Tip 10: Move Up Bloom's Pyramid.** Benjamin Bloom edited the first volume of *Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals*. In 2001 the revised version of the taxonomy was published. At the base of the revised pyramid is knowledge. Thus, memorization initiates the first step of learning. Understanding comes next and is achieved through applied practice in novel situations. Memorizing the facts of a language (definitions, endings, and vocabulary) and understanding how to interpret these facts in a variety of different contexts (sentences in a setting) are essential to learning. In learning how to interpret these facts you must also learn key concepts. One main concept you are currently learning is that endings create meaning. The right side of your brain is engaged when you learn new information. As you memorize, process, and understand this new information, it moves from the right half of the brain to the left. Thus learning involves both halves of the brain. If you do not memorize, process, and understand this new information, you will not learn it. Once you have done so you are freed and can move up Bloom's revised taxonomy: knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, evaluation, creativity.

# Module 11 **The Definite Article and Persistent Accent**

# **The Definite Article and Adjectives**

In Greek and in English the definite article, **the**, is an adjective. Greek and English adjectives have the same function, though the Greek adjective has endings and the English adjective does not. Adjectives in both languages are words that describe nouns and pronouns. In the below,

```
a midnight dreary,
```
and

I ponder, **weak** and **weary**,

**a** and **dreary** describe the noun **midnight**; **weak** and **weary** describe the pronoun, **I**. In English, words can change their function and part of speech without changing form. Consider the sentence,

I left my gal and **home**.

In this sentence **home** is a noun. In the sentence,

I go **home**,

**home** is an adverb. In the sentences,

I miss my **home** town,

and

I hit a **home** run,

**home** is an adjective. In Greek, words do not typically change function and part of speech without changing form. In Greek the adjective has endings becauses each adjective agrees in gender, case, and number with the noun it modifies.

## **The Definite Article**

Though in Greek and in English the definite article is an adjective, the functions of the two definite articles have important similarities and differences. Often the Greek definite article, **ὁ, ἡ, τό***,* is best translated with its English equivalent **the**. In this case the function of the article in both languages is the same. In other situations English calls for a translation of the Greek article with a possessive adjective: **my, your, his, her, our, your, their**. As you proceed through this text and Part II of the *21st-Century* series, you will encounter additional differences between the way the Greek and English articles function and the meanings they create.

Memorize the forms of the article. Be sure to memorize letters, breathings, and accents so that you can reproduce from memory each form of the article.

1. Note that the masculine and feminine singular and plural nominative forms, **ὁ, ἡ, οἱ,** and **αἱ** do not have an accent. They are proclitics and pronounced so closely with the word that follows them that they almost form a single word. All of the genitive and dative singular and plural forms have a circumflex accent. The remaining nominative and accusative forms have an acute accent.

Remember that the **article** is an **adjective**. In Greek and in English **adjectives** are words that describe nouns. In Greek, adjectives agree with the nouns that they modify in gender, number, and case. In translating Greek, the ability to see the relationship between an adjective and the noun it modifies is one that you will use in every sentence you translate. Consequently, understanding how the adjective relates to the noun it modifies is essential to your learning the language. The article is the most commonly occurring adjective in ancient Greek. It is also very versatile. In the next module, we will see how it affects meaning in three common instances.

### **Persistent Accent**

Adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, nouns, and pronouns mainly have a persistent accent. Since they are declined, accents on adjectives, nouns, and pronouns can change nature—acute, grave, circumflex—and position—antepenult, penult, ultima. When presented with any noun or pronoun in a lexicon, the nominative case of the noun or pronoun is given first, the genitive case of the noun or pronoun, second, and the article, third:

Remember that the article indicates gender. Persistent accent remains the same accent (acute, grave, circumflex) over the vowel or diphthong it is on, as given by the nominative singular in all forms of the word, unless forced by the possibilities of accent to change in nature (acute, circumflex, grave) or position (antepenult, penult, ultima). If an accent violates one of the possibilities (you cannot have a circumflex on the antepenult), the accent will change in nature (acute, grave, circumflex) before position (antepenult, penult, ultima). The accent of most noun forms is persistent and is learned as part of the vocabulary.

# **Vowel Length**

In the paradigms and accenting practice of this text, macrons mark alpha, iota, and upsilon if long. Short vowels and diphthongs are not marked. In authentic texts and in the Practice Translating of this text, macrons do not occur. Diphthongs are by definition long with this exception: final **-αι** and **-οι** are short for purposes of accentuation except in the optative, a mood learned in Part II of the *21st-Century* series. **-αι** and **-οι** are final when they appear as the last two letters of a word, λῦσ**αι** but not λύσ**αις**.

# **Review Possibilities of Accent**

Review these four possibilities, rememorizing them if you need to.

### **Acute Accent**

### **Circumflex Accent**

# **Additional Possibilities of Accent**

Memorize these additional possibilities.

### **Acute Accent**

### **Circumflex Accent**

### **Grave Accent**

# **Chart for Possibilities of Accent**

**Acute Grave Circumflex Antepenult** Possible if ultima is short: á-pe-ŭ Never Never **Penult** Possible but not if penult is long and ultima is short: a-pé-u Never Possible if penult is long and ultima is short: a-pê-ŭ **Ultima** Possible if pause follows: a-pe-ú + pause between words Possible if no pause follows: a-pe-ù + no pause between words Possible: a-pe-ũ

**Key: a** stands for antepenult; **pe** for penult; and **u** for ultima.

If, when reading the above, your head is left spinning, do not worry. Most people need to start applying what they are learning before they can begin to enter into understanding. In the below exercises you can learn from the examples. As you need to, go back and reread the possibilities for accent, committing them to memory through applied practice.

**Application of the Chart for Possibilities of Accent in Persistent Accent.** Consider the following examples.

### **Explanations.**

to three and it is not possible to have a circumflex on the antepenult. **δρᾱμάτων:** the accent must change position because the ultima is long.

5. **ἀρετήν, ἀρετάς:** there is no violation of the possibilities and so no change.

**Use these examples and the Chart on Possibilities of Accent to help you complete the persistent accent practice.**

**Practice with Persistent Accent.** The first word in bold gives the persistent accent. Accent the unbolded words. Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

There is additional accent practice in Appendix X.

**Practice Translating**. Translate the sentences below adapted from Euripides' *Alkestis* (**Ἄλκηστις**). Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded; genitive endings are italicized; dative endings are highlighted; and accusative endings are underlined. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

### **Adverbs, Prepositions, and Verbs**

**ἐμβάλλω** *throw in, put in; put* 'x' in acc. *into* 'y' in dat.

#### **Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns**

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

**Practice Parsing Greek Sentences.** Parse each word of the sentence found below. For nouns and pronouns, give case and function. For verbs, give person, number, tense, mood, and voice. For adverbs and conjunctions, identify them. For prepositional phrases, give the preposition and the preposition's object. For adjectives, tell what noun they agree with in gender, number, and case.

ὁ Ζεὺς κτείνει παῖδα τὸν ἐμόν, Ἀσκληπιόν, καὶ στέρνοις ἐμβάλλει φλόγα.

Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

## **Herodotos**

Born in Halikarnessos (Halicarnassus), a gateway between the Greek and Persian worlds, Herodotos began the telling of history. Most biographical information about him is gleaned from his historical work, his *Histories*. In writing it, Herodotos traveled throughout the Mediterranean and the surrounding lands, interviewing sources and looking over data. In helping to create the genre of history, Herodotos focuses on the eighty-two years from 560 to 478 BCE. Outside of this frame he looks back to the origins of the first eight gods, and forward to the events of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C.E.). In crafting his narrative, he makes use of a variety of source material, records events he does and does not believe, and passes judgment where he deems it appropriate, taking pains to establish the truth of what occurred. Where this is not possible, he still preserves what his sources relate. As he worked, he made mistakes and he got things right. His scope is a broad one. As he crafts his narrative, he discusses many other subjects, including the great struggle between the Persian Empire and the Greekspeaking city-states at the dawn of the classical era. These other things include chronology, colonies, customs, deeds, flora and fauna, food, funeral practices, genealogy, geography, great works, lineage, marriage, origins, religion, and sex. Herodotos does not merely list events or tell tales; his history inquires into the causes of events, and casts its net wide to include ethnography and legend as well as military and political history. Though parts of his work read as though Herodotos is a carnival barker, calling his audience to view the strange and incredible world of flying snakes, fish-eating horses, and gold-digging ants, underlying even these fantastic accounts is a reasonable and rational mind, seeking to present what it has gone to great lengths to discover. In presenting his findings, Herodotos weaves a variety of perspectives into his work, creating a complexity that recognizes the difficulties involved in explaining the past. The result is a rich narrative, full of nuance, that offers certainty when it can and uncertainty when it cannot.

**Module 11 Top 250 Vocabulary to be Memorized.** Like learning the alphabet and endings, memorizing vocabulary is essential to acquiring language. The better you memorize the top 250 most frequently occurring words, the greater mastery of the language you will have.

#### **Adjective and Particle**

**ὁ, ἡ, τό** *the* (proclitic, **ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ**)

**ὦ** (precedes a noun, marks for the vocative case, often not translated) *oh*

#### **Verbs**

**ἄγω** *do, drive, lead*

**ἀκούω** *hear, hear of or about, listen, heed* + gen. or acc. of thing or gen. of person

**ἄρχω** *rule, command; begin* + gen.

**δύναμαι** *be able, be strong enough* + inf.

**καλέω** *call*

**οἴομαι (οἶμαι)** *think, suppose, believe*

**πράσσω (πράττω)** *do, make; fare;* + **κακῶς** *suffer*

**φέρω** *bring, bear, carry; endure*

# **Etymology Corner XI by Dr. E. Del Chrol**

### Technical Terms 7, Parts of Speech

**Conjunctions, Module 5.** The root meaning of the Greek word for conjunction, **σύνδεσμος**, is very close to the root meaning of its Latin counterpart, **conjunction**. We already met **συν**- *together, with*. Its equivalent in Latin is **con-, co-, cum-**. **δεσμός** *bond* binds, chains, or links things together. The Latin **jungere** *to join* also binds, chains, or links. Think about how a **junction** is where two roads or wires meet. The root of **jungere** *to join* is part of a large number of English words like **join** and **yoke** (something that *binds* animals to a plow). The English word **yoga** is derived from the Sanskrit word **yoga** *act of joining*, which is derived from the same Indo-European base as **yoke**. Two words, like **yoga** and **yoke**, which are derived from a common source word are called **cognates**. **Derivatives** or **loan words**, like **postpositive**, are aliens that come from a non-native source. All English words whose etymologies are Greek or Latin are derivatives or loan words. A crude estimation suggests that of the 20,000 most commonly spoken English words about 12,000 are loan words from Greek (2,000) and Latin (10,000).

**What to Study and Do 11.** Before moving on to the next module, make sure that you can write out the forms of the article from memory and that you understand the concept of adjective and noun agreement. In order to remember the article for the long term, review the forms a few times each week. When reviewing, make sure that you can write them out from memory without looking at the answers. Also memorize the possibilities for accent and make sure that you are able to accent nouns.

**Learning Tip 11: Own Your Learning.** Teachers can assist your learning but cannot bring about your understanding. Good teaching explains information clearly. Good teachers encourage, guide, inspire, and support you, reminding you that mistakes are necessary, that setbacks and barriers are part of the process, and that stress inhibits learning. Ultimately it is you who control your learning and how deeply your thinking goes.

When you memorize vocabulary, repetition is a standard strategy. Some words, such as **ἄνθρωπος** or **βίος**, you will remember based upon your knowledge of the meanings of the Greek loan words **anthropology** and **biology**. Continue to use the memorization strategies that work well for you. For words you need help memorizing, try as an alternative the strategy of linking. This strategy is the same as the one introduced for learning vowel sounds. Applying this strategy well takes concentration, so clear your mind and focus your attention. You need to **SEE** each word. Your senses—hearing, seeing, tasting, touching, smelling—are closely linked with your memory. When you use your imagination to create an image in your mind, make it come alive with your **S**enses. **E**xaggerate the image and **E**nergize it, causing it to act. When you use your imagination in this way, the tedium of memorization is replaced by the excitement of invention.  In linking, you associate the English equivalent *man, husband* with the word you need to remember, **ἀνήρ.** First think of an English word or two that sound like the Greek word. To me **ἀνήρ** sounds similar to **on air**. To link the two come up with an interaction between **man** and **on air**, exaggerating the image so as to make it memorable. I imagine a **man** floating **on air** over Greece, in a flying suit made out of the blue and white Greek flag. As he flies, the man is eating fresh-baked bread dipped in tzatziki. On his finger is a huge wedding ring made of gold with many doves etched into it. The wedding ring reminds me that the noun **ἀνήρ** also means *husband*. You can apply this same strategy to English words you have difficulty recalling. I consistently falter in recalling the word **hibiscus**. Recently I linked the **hibiscus** plant with **Biscuit**, the dog belonging to my in-laws. I picture **Bis**cuit sitting in the plant with a big hibiscus flower on his head, wagging his tail **hi**. Since I created this link, I no longer have trouble recalling this word. To watch Nelson Dellis explain the process of linking for remembering vocabulary, follow the links below,

Nelson Dellis, The Linking Method I1

Nelson Dellis, The Linking Method II. 2

<sup>1</sup> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjk5nBtqM3c.

<sup>2</sup> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6j2mU8OCsA.

# Module 12 **Substantive Adjectives and the Article**

# **Substantive Adjectives**

**A Substantive Adjective** is created by using an adjective as a substitute for a noun or pronoun. Greek often uses the article and other adjectives to create substantive nouns. English uses it also but not as frequently. Some well-known examples are these:

**The meek** shall inherit the earth. **The Good**, **The Bad**, **The Ugly**.  If feces were gold, **the poor** would not have any anuses.

**The Article** may be used in conjunction with an **adverb**, another **noun**, or a **prepositional phrase** to create a **substantive adjective**.

(1) **Article with Adverb:** the feminine plural article **αἱ** joins with the article **τότε** to create the noun **αἱ τότε** *the women of the past*.

(2) **Article with Noun:** the neuter plural article **τά** joins the genitive plural noun **τῶν ἀνθρώπων** to create the noun **τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων** *the possessions of people*.

(3) **Article with Prepositional Phrase:** the masculine singular article **ὁ** joins with the prepositional phrase **ἐπὶ τῷ ἵππῳ** to create the noun **ὁ ἐπὶ τῷ ἵππῳ** *the man on the horse*.

**Practice Translating Substantive Adjectives.** Translate the phrases below. After translating each as best as you can, check your answers and be sure to understand why each translates as it does. Once you understand why each phrase translates as it does, read through the exercises at least two more times. Doing so helps your brain process the information as part of your working knowledge of Greek. Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

#### **Vocabulary**

**Practice Making Up Your Own Phrases.** Using the vocabulary above, create your own substantives. Be creative and don't worry about making mistakes, which are necessary for you to have success in any activity you pursue. Own the ancient Greek language and your learning of it. Make it yours.

**Practice Translating.** Translate the sentences below, adapted from Euripides' *Iphigeneia at Tauris* (**Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Ταύροις**). Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded; genitive endings are italicized; dative endings are highlighted; and accusative endings are underlined. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

**Ἰφιγένεια: ὁ** Ταντάλει**ος** εἰς Πῖσαν ἔρχεται καὶ θοαῖς ἵπποις Οἰνομά*ου* γαμέει κόρην. **ἡ** δὲ τίκτει Ἀτρέα.  Κάλχ**ας** λέγει ὅτι τῷ πατρὶ μὲν δεῖ ἐμέ, κόρην τὴν Ἰφιγένειαν, σφάζειν Ἀρτέμιδι καὶ αὐτῇ δὲ λαβεῖν ἄποινα. καὶ Κάλχ**ας** λέγει αὐτῷ ὅτι κάλλιστον εὔχεται παῖδα φωσφόρῳ θύειν θεᾷ. τὴν παῖδ' οὖν Ἰφιγένειαν **ἡ** Κλυταιμήστρ**α** τίκτει. **ὁ** Κάλχ**ας** τὸ κάλλιστον εἰς ἐμὲ ἀναφέρει ὥστε χρὴ τὸν πατέρα θύειν. **ὁ** δὲ ἐμὲ Ὀδυσσ*έως* τέχναις μητρ*ὸς* παραλαμβάνει ἐπὶ γάμοις Ἀχιλλ*έως*.

### **Adverbs and Verbs**

**θύω** *sacrifice*

### **Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns**

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

**Practice Parsing Greek Sentences.** Parse each word of the sentence found below. For nouns and pronouns, give case and function. For verbs give person, number, tense, mood, and voice. For adverbs and conjunctions, identify them. For prepositional phrases, give the preposition and the preposition's object. For adjectives, tell what noun they agree with in gender, number, and case.

δεινῆς δ' ἀπλοίας τυγχάνει ὥστε εἰς ἔμπυρ' ἔρχεται καὶ αὐτῷ λέγει ὁ Κάλχας ταῦτα.

Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

# **Classics and Our Modern World: the Aquila Theatre and Theater of War Productions**

Presenting classics from throughout time, the Aquila Theatre puts flesh and blood on the great works of the past. Past performances from the ancient world include, *Herakles*, the *Iliad* and *Odyssey*, and *Philoktetes*. Aquila seeks to reinterpret the Classics for contemporary audiences and to bring diversity to them. Aquila expands the canon and attempts to change our perceptions. It also provides extensive educational offerings and is an award-winning leader in the field of public humanities programming. For more information, follow this link:

Aquila Theatre. 1

<sup>1</sup> https://www.aquilatheatre.com/.

Theater of War Productions presents dramatic readings of classical Greek tragedies and modern and contemporary works. After the performance, it holds town-hall-style discussions designed to confront social issues by discussing the themes highlighted in the plays. The open discussions invite audience members to share their perspectives and experiences and seek to break down stigmas, foster empathy, compassion, and a deeper understanding of complex issues. In an effort to reach communities directly, Theater of War Productions partners with a range of organizations and government agencies. For more information, follow this link:

Theater of War Productions**.** 2

**Module 12 Top 250 Vocabulary to be Memorized.** Like learning the alphabet and endings, memorizing vocabulary is essential to acquiring language. The better you memorize the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary words, the greater mastery of the language you will have.

### **Verbs**

**ἐθέλω (θέλω)** *wish, be willing*

**πείθω** *persuade* + inf.; (mid. or pass.) *listen to, obey* + dat. or gen.

**τυγχάνω** *happen*; *meet* + gen.; *obtain* + gen.; *hit the mark, strike* + gen.

**φαίνω** *show, reveal*; (pass.) *appear*

**χράομαι** *use, employ, experience* + dat.

# **Etymology Corner XII by Dr. E. Del Chrol**

### Technical Terms 8, Parts of Speech

**Coordinating Conjunctions, Module 5.** Think about map coordinates—you go over on the x axis for a bit, then go up on the y axis. Both halves of the coordinates are equally valuable. If your clothing coordinates, your attire comes together in complementary colors or styles and no particular piece sticks out. This is because they are ordered with the other pieces of clothing, from Latin **co-** *with, together* and **ordo** *row, order, rank (***ordo** is the word from which the English word **order** derives). This is why a **coordinating conjunction** has both words or clauses on an equal footing: one isn't dependent on another. Creating dependence is what a **subordinating conjunction** does. More on that next.

<sup>2</sup> https://theaterofwar.com/about.

**What to Study and Do 12.** Before moving on to the next module, make sure that you have learned what a substantive adjective is and how Greek uses the article to create one. After you have completed Modules 14 and 15, come back to this module and complete for a second time the practice exercises for the substantive adjective. Notice how much your understanding of this fundamental concept has improved.

**Learning Tip 12: Consonance and Dissonance.** The right side of our brain processes new information. As we process it, the left half of our brain brings analysis, logic, and reason to what we have learned. In the end both hemispheres come to a shared understanding of the new information. When we engage in further defining information we use our left hemisphere. The left half of our brain rationalizes information and rejects anomalies. It sees things through a flashlight's beam. If a gorilla walks through a volleyball game, the left side of our brain tends to miss the strangeness completely. When we consider ambiguities and contradictions, we engage the right side of our brain. We look out, holding a lantern's light. Dissonance in the right side of our brain opens us to novelty, to new ways of thinking, to creativity. When using your long-term memory to assist your short-term memory, you are accelerating your brain's ability to store new information. Remember the formula **LTM + STM = MTM** and remember that by using your imagination to create memorable images that you can **SEE**, you improve your brain's ability to process and store new information.

# Module 13 **Third Declension Nouns**

## **Nouns**

Nouns in Greek are defined just as nouns in English; but the way they create meaning is different. As in English, Greek nouns (**ὀνόματα**) refer to people, places, things, and ideas. Greek nouns have endings. English nouns can change form when they show possession, as in **Jada's book**, where the **'s** is added as a suffix and indicates that the book belongs to Jada. English nouns also change form when expressing the plural: two **suns**, three **oxen**, four **mice**. The endings on Greek nouns, as we have seen previously, create the same meanings that English does through form change, word order, and the use of prepositional phrases.

# **Greek Nouns**

In Greek there are three noun declensions: first, second, and third. In this text, the third declension, also called the consonant declension, is taught first because it offers the most complexity. Once you understand the third declension, it is easier for you to learn the remaining two declensions. Learning the third declension first also reinforces why the stem, the base to which endings are attached, is taken from the genitive singular. Also by learning the third declension before the other two, you will be less inclined to match or rhyme noun and adjective endings when you modify a noun with an adjective.

# **Noun Sets 1–10**

Since each Greek noun takes only one set of endings, this text numbers the endings by sets 1–10. The aim in doing so is to make clear the correspondence between one noun to which one set of endings is added. It is also a helpful way to refer to the endings when identifying nouns and discussing things like case and function. The noun sets learned in this module are sets 9 and 10, so numbered to maintain consistency across the traditional order of nouns of the first, second, and third declension.

### **Noun Gender**

Most nouns have only one gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. Sometimes the noun's gender matches biological sex: **ὁ πατήρ** *father* is masculine and **ἡ μήτηρ** *mother* is feminine. At other times noun gender and biological sex do not match: the noun **τὸ παιδίον** *child* is neuter in gender. Occasionally the same noun may have a common gender that depends upon biological sex: **ὁ θεός** *god*; **ἡ θεός** *goddess*; **ἡ παῖς** *girl*; **ὁ παῖς** *boy*; **ἡ ἵππός** *mare*; **ὁ ἵππος** *stallion*. Τhe article, **ὁ, ἡ, τό,** indicates the noun's gender. **ὁ** indicates that the noun is masculine. **ἡ** indicates that the noun is feminine and **τό** that it is neuter.

### **Third Declension Nouns**

All third declension nouns have a stem that ends in a consonant or an iota **ι-**, or upsilon **υ-**. All third declension nouns use the same endings but for some nouns the ending is disguised by ablaut, contraction, or quantitative metathesis. In this module you learn the endings and also how to recognize them when they are disguised. Unlike nouns of the first and second declension, the nominative singular of nouns of the third declension varies. For this reason a blank, **---**, is written for the nominative singular of these nouns. The gender of third declension nouns that take set 9 endings is either masculine or feminine. The gender of nouns that take set 10 endings is always neuter. The gender of third declension subtype nouns is indicated within each paradigm.

## **Identifying Noun Sets**

As already noted, the article, roughly equivalent to the English **the**, tells you the gender of each noun. Most nouns have one gender, though occasionally a noun can have the common gender of either feminine or masculine, i.e. it can be either feminine or masculine. In lexical entries like the ones below, the nominative singular form comes first. The genitive singular comes second and the article third. From these three pieces of information you can identify each noun's gender and you can identify what set of endings any noun has. Remember that each noun has only one ending set. By the end of Part I of the *21st-Century* series you will have learned 10 noun sets found in three noun declensions.

# **Declining Third Declension Nouns**

To decline third declension nouns, first get the stem by removing the genitive singular ending **-ος**. What remains is the **stem**, the base of the word the ending is joined to. To the stem add the endings from either Set 9 or Set 10, in accordance with what set the noun belongs to.

1. For Set 9 the nominative singular varies, hence the blank, **---**.

Consider the following third declension nouns and note how each declines.

For each noun, above the first form is the nominative singular, the second is the genitive singular, and the third is the article.

### **Singular**

#### **Plural**

5. When **-αντ-, -εντ-,** and **-οντ-** are combined with the ending **-σι**, the nu and tau, **-ντ-**, drop out and a long vowel or diphthong appears by a process called compensatory lengthening. A diphthong that results from compensatory lengthening is called a spurious diphthong. Look carefully at the following dative plural nouns:

noting how the letters combine and the form changes.

### **Four Subtypes of Third Declension Nouns**

All third declension nouns use the same endings, but for some nouns the ending has been disguised by ablaut, contraction, or quantitative metathesis. Do not plan on memorizing each of the four subtypes, though you may find memorizing the contractions helpful. Do memorize the endings of sets 9 and 10. Use your knowledge of the endings of sets 9 and 10 to recognize the subtypes and case of each noun.

### **1) Subtype 1 Nouns with Stem Ending in ρ- or ερ-** (ablaut)**:**

**2) Subtype 2 Nouns with Stem Ending in σ-** (ablaut, contraction, and disappearance of intervocalic sigma, **-σ-):**

### **Neuter Nouns Ending in –ος: γένος** *race*

**Neuter Nouns Ending in –ας: γῆρας,** *old age*

### **Feminine and Masculine Nouns Ending in ης-: τριήρης** *trireme*

4. In the Attic dialect after sigma dropped out the vowels did contract: **εα > η ; εε > ει; εο > ου; εω > ω**.

### **Proper Nouns Ending in ης-: Σωκράτης** *Sokrates*

**3) Subtype 3 Nouns with Stem Ending in ι-** (ablaut, contraction, disappearance of intervocalic digamma, -**ϝ**-, quantitative metathesis):

# **S Pl N** πόλις πόλιες, πόληες, πόλεις (εϝες) **A** πόλιv πόλιας, πόληας, πόλῑς, πόλεις **G** πόλιος, πόληoς, πόλεως πόλιωv, πόλεων (εϝων) **D** πόλιι, πόλι, πόληι, πόλει (εϝι) πολίεσσι (v), πόλεσι (ν), πόλισι (ν) **V** πόλι πόλιες, πόληες, πόλεις (εϝες)

#### **Feminine**

**4) Subtype 4 Nouns with Stem Ending in ηυ- or ηϝ-** (contraction, disappearance of intervocalic digamma, -**ϝ**-, quantitative metathesis):

**V** βασιλεῦ (ηυ) βασιλῆες, βασιλῆς, βασιλεῖς

10.Similar nouns are **ἱππεύς** *horserider*, **χαλκεύς** *metal-worker*, **Πρωτεύς** *Proteus*, **Ἀχαρνεύς**, *Akharnian*.

**Practice Identifying Third Declension Nouns.** For the nouns below, tell whether the noun takes set 9 endings, set 10 endings, or declines like one of the four subtypes of third declension nouns. Το succeed, you need to identify correctly the gender and the nominative and genitive singular, matching each with the correct set or subtype.

**Practice Understanding Adjective and Noun Agreement.** Pick the article that agrees in gender, case, and number with the nouns below. Note that to perform this exercise correctly you must know both the gender and the case of each noun. To determine a noun's gender you may cut and paste the noun into the search bar of the PDF, you may look the noun up in the glossary in this text, you may use the online resource, Logeion Lexicon, or Wiktionary1 or you may

<sup>1</sup> https://logeion.uchicago.edu/lexidium https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CF%86%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AF

use any resource that gives you the correct gender of nouns. To determine the correct case, use your knowledge of stems and endings. Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

### **Helen**

Born to Leda and to Zeus, Helen has three siblings: Klytaimnestra, Kastor, and Polydeukes. Helen and Polydeukes (aka Pollux) are said to be the children of Zeus and Leda, the wife of Tyndareus, whom Zeus seduced after taking the form of a swan. Kastor and Klytaimnestra are the children of the mortals, Tyndareus and Leda. Helen is cited as the reason why the Greeks fought the the Trojan War, whose cause dates back to a time when the gods and goddesses were celebrating the wedding of the mortal Peleus to the goddess Thetis. All divinities were invited to the wedding except for Eris, the goddess of discord and strife. She attended anyway and threw a golden apple amidst the guests, announcing that it belonged to the most beautiful. Zeus' wife Hera claimed the apple as did Athene, goddess of war and crafts, and Aphrodite, goddess of love. Each goddess thought she was the most beautiful and should be given the golden apple. Zeus turned the matter over to the Trojan prince, Paris (aka Alexandros) who presided over a beauty contest, referred to as the Judgment of Paris. Each goddess offered Paris a bribe. Hera offered him world dominion; Athene offered him martial excellence; and Aphrodite offered him Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, though she was already married to the Greek king Menelaos. Paris chose Aphrodite and Helen. He sailed to Greece and took Helen from her home. She either went willingly, went against her will, or was sent to Egypt with a phantom Helen taking her place in Troy and in Paris' arms. Menelaos and his brother Agamemnon assembled an army of Greeks, charged with going to Troy to take Helen back. In Euripides' play, *Helen* (**Ἑλένη**), Helen has been in Egypt for the ten years of the Trojan War when her husband Menelaos arrives, shipwrecked on his journey home from Troy.

**Practice Translating.** Translate the sentences below, which are adapted from the prologue of Euripides' *Helen* (**Ἑλένη**). Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded; genitive endings are italicized; dative endings are highlighted; and accusative endings are underlined. Note that the third declension increases the number of possible endings for the nominative singular. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

**Ἑλένη:** λόγ**ος** ὅτι Ζ**εὺς** κύκν*ου* μορφώματα λαμβάνει καὶ Λήδαν πέτεται εἰς ἐμὴν μητέρα**.** ὄνομ**ά** δ' ἐστι ἐμοὶ Ἑλέν**η** καὶ ἃ δὲ πάσχω κακά, λέγω τοῖς Ἑλλήνοις. ἔρχονται **αἱ** θε**αὶ** κάλλ*ους* πέρι εἰς Ἰδαῖον, Ἥρ**α**, Κύπρ**ις** τε παρθέν**ος** τε. **αἱ** θε**αὶ** μορφ*ῆς* ἐθέλουσι διαπεραίνειν κρίσιν. Κύπρ**ις** νικάει καἰ ἐμὸν κάλλος Ἀλέξανδρι δίδωσιν. ἐκ δὲ Ἰδαί*ου* λείπει Πάρ**ις** καὶ εἰς Σπάρτην ἥκει καὶ βούλεται ἐμὸν λέχος ἔχειν. Ἥρ**α** δὲ μέμφεται ὅτ' οὐ νικάει τὰς θεὰς καὶ ἐξανεμόει ἐμὰ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ λέχη. Ἥρ**α** δὲ δίδωσι οὐχ ἐμὲ ἀλλ' ὁμοιόει ἐμοὶ εἴδωλον καὶ οὐραν*οῦ* συντίθησιν ἄπο. τ**ὰ** δὲ Δι*ὸς* βουλεύματ**α** πόλεμον εἰσφέρει Ἑλλήν*ων* χθονί καἰ Φρυξί. **ὁ** δὲ Ζ**εὺς** βούλεται ὄχλ*ου* βροτ*ῶν* πλήθ*εος* τε κουφίζειν μητέρα χθόνα καὶ γνωτὸν τιθέναι Ἀχιλλέα. λαμβάνει δέ ἐμὲ Ἑρμ**ῆς** καὶ νεφέλῃ καλύπτει καὶ εἰς οἶκον Πρωτ*έως* ἱδρύει.

### **Verbs**

### **Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns**

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize

**Practice Parsing Greek Sentences.** Parse each word of the sentence found below. For nouns and pronouns, give case and function. For verbs, give person, number, tense, mood, and voice. For adverbs and conjunctions, identify them. For prepositional phrases, give the preposition and the preposition's object. For adjectives, tell what noun they agree with in gender, number, and case.

τὰ δὲ Διὸς βουλεύματα πόλεμον εἰσφέρει Ἑλλήνων χθονί καἰ Φρυξί.

Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

**Module 13 Top 250 Vocabulary to be Memorized.** Like learning the alphabet and endings, memorizing vocabulary is essential to acquiring language. The better you memorize the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary words the greater mastery of the language you will have.

### **Nouns**

**ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός ὁ** *man, husband*

**βασιλεύς, βασιλῆος (βασιλέως) ὁ** *king, chief*

**γυνή, γυναικός ἡ** *woman, wife*

**δύναμις, δυνάμιος (δυνάμηος, δυνάμεως) ἡ** *might, strength, power; force, army*

**Ἕλλην, Ἕλληνος ἡ ὁ** *Greek*

**νηῦς (ναῦς), νεός (νεώς) ἡ** *ship*

**παῖς, παιδός ἡ ὁ** *child*

**πατήρ, πατρός ὁ** *father*

**πόλις, πόλιος (πόληος, πόλεως) ἡ** *city*

**Verb**

**μέλλω** *be about to, be going to; be likely to* + inf. (fut. inf. in Attic)

1. The noun **ναῦς** is similar to the third declension noun **βασιλεύς**.

## **Etymology Corner XIII by Dr. E. Del Chrol**

### Technical Terms 9, Parts of Speech

**Subordinating Conjunctions, Module 5.** The word **subordinate** is built from the Latin prefix **sub-** *below, under* and noun **ordo** *row, order, rank*. A subordinating conjunction *ranks* one clause *below* the other clause, linking a dependent to an independent clause (similarly a sub**marine** (E marine < L **mare** *sea*) goes *under* the sea. So, what does independent (**in** *not*, **de** *down from*, and **pendere** *to hang down*) mean? **Pendere** *to hang down* conveys the meaning of *hanging* in the way a **pendulum** *hangs* and swings or a **pendent** is a piece of jewelry that *hangs* from a chain. The prefix **de-** means *down from*. The prefix **in-** *not* negates **dependent** and functions just as the Germanic prefix **un-** does for Anglo-Saxon words, like **uncool** (cool < OE *cōl* < a Germanic root).  I always think of sloth babies1 (follow the link to see a picture). Once your kids come of age and can (or at least should be able to) take care of themselves, they are independent, or literally, *not hanging off* of you anymore.  A **clause** has the sense of *distinct, closed off* from the other parts of the sentence. Clauses are like kids. If they can stand on their own, they are **independent clauses**. If they rely on another clause to complete their meaning, they are **dependent clauses**.

<sup>1</sup> https://www.google.com/search?q=sloth+babies+hanging+on+mother

**What to Study and Do 13.** Before moving on to the next module, make sure that you have memorized ending sets 9 and 10 for third declension nouns and that you can decline third declension nouns. Your main focus should be on committing ending sets 9 and 10 to memory. In order to remember these endings for the long term, review them a few times each week. When reviewing, make sure that you can write them out from memory without looking at the answers. Plan on reading this module two or three times. On each read your understanding will improve.

**Learning Tip 13: Stress is Normal.** Continuous learning requires analysis, logic, and memorization. Discontinuous learning involves ambiguity, creativity, and reframing. As you are presented with a novel concept, such as a completely different system of communication, you experience ambiguity and discomfort because you are required to assimilate new factual information (endings and vocabulary) and to think differently about this information from how you have done before. This process can be stressful. Remember that this stress is normal. Accept the difficulty and continue to work at understanding the new information. Using memory techniques can help to ease your stress. Of all the memory strategies used by expert memorizers, the memory palace is the one they employ most frequently. This textbook offers several variations on the memory-palace technique. The first variation is based upon your car. Let's say you want to memorize the preposition and adverb **ἀνά** (prep.) *on, upon, onto* + gen. or dat.; *up to, throughout* + acc.; (adv.) *thereon, thereupon, throughout*. We start at the car's grille. I picture **Anna** Karenina standing **on** or **upon** the car's grille. **Anna** reminds me of **ἀνά. Anna's** standing **on** or **upon** the grille reminds me of the meanings **on** or **upon**. Anna steps from the grille **onto** the hood. On the windshield is a case of **Gen**esee beer and a bowl filled with **dates**. The **Gen**esee beer and the bowl of **dates** remind me that when **ἀνά** means **on, upon, onto**, it takes the **gen**itive or **dat**ive case. Next **Anna** Karenina drives the car **up to** a river in the park. She takes a picture and then drives **throughout** the park. As she drives **throughout** the park, she sees a policeman pointing an **accus**ing finger at her. The policeman's **accus**ing finger reminds me that **ἀνά** takes the **accusative** case when it means **up to** or **throughout.** Picture the events happening in real time, and feel the heat of the policeman's **accus**ing finger directed at Anna. Anna **ad**ds a **verb** of declaration to the scene. She declares **thereon** or **thereupon** that **throughout** she has been innocent. She quickly departs the park and drives **up to** the garage and away from the **accus**ing finger of the policeman. When she arrives she sits **on** or **upon** the grille of the car and then steps **onto** the hood where she drinks a **Gen**esee beer and eats a **dat**e from the bowl. The car can be one of many different memory palaces you use in order to remember information you want to recall precisely. The memory technique still requires repetition and review. As you improve at using this technique, you will find your ability to remember accurately also improves

# **Self-Assessment Modules 1–13**

Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 represents mastery and 1 its opposite. Answer each of the below thoughtfully. For any score less than a 7, review the material.

# **MEMORY**

# **APPLICATION AND CONCEPTS**

# Guest Feature 2 **Tom Holland on the Art of Translating Herodotos**

Tom Holland, an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster, tells us about his lifelong fascination with Herodotos. For more information, visit his website:

### Tom Holland.1

Herodotus is my favourite historian. I first read him when I was twelve, and since then I have repeatedly returned to him. Every time I do so I find new things to notice, to admire, to enjoy. Only when I sat down to translate him, however, did I feel that I was truly coming to know him. The chance to live with Herodotus from the beginning of what he had written to the very end felt like entering a kind of marriage. It took me time to become easy with his ways. He was full of complexities that caused me trouble and difficulty. Only with familiarity did I come to appreciate just how various his moods might be. Never once, though, did I regret it. Translation can make or break a relationship. Translating Herodotus, I was confirmed for good in my love.

His great work is many things—the first example of non-fiction, the beginning point of history, the most important source of information we have for a stirring episode in human affairs—but it is above all a treasure-trove of wonders. There is very little that Herodotus does not find fascinating. He is forever moving from theme to theme. The Greek word, **ἱστορία**, at the time when he used it to describe what he was attempting, meant not a study of the past, but simply 'enquiry'—and though there is certainly no lack of history in his great work, there is also plenty of geography, ethnography and zoology. There are laugh-out-loud anecdotes and chilling tales of revenge,

<sup>1</sup> https://www.tom-holland.org/.

accounts of mummification and disquisitions on giant ants, stirring narratives of battles and tales of bedroom duplicity. This means that there is never one single style. The fun of translating Herodotus lies not just in tracking the range and variety of his Greek, but in finding ways of conveying some sense of it in English. The many different accents and tones with which Herodotus speaks are the surest key to Herodotus himself.

Centuries after his death, a critic in the Roman Empire described him as being "very like Homer". By this he meant that Herodotus was to prose what the author of the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey* was to epic: the supreme, the original fountainhead. To read his 'enquiry' is to engage with something both primal and heroic: an attempt to push back the frontiers of knowledge on almost every conceivable front. The premium that Herodotus set on providing sources for his material is so taken for granted now by historians that it is possible not to recognize just how revolutionary it originally was. In his account of the build-up to the battle of Plataea, for instance, he describes what he has been told by a man called Thersander of Orchomenus, who in turn is reporting what he was told at a banquet by a Persian fellow-guest. It is a moment to send a shiver down the spine. Men dead for two-and-a-half-thousand years are being given voice. We are witness to the birth-pangs of historical method. History is doubly being made. Thrilling though it is to read such a passage in English, it is even more so to read it in Greek. Few experiences in literature can rival it.