Ancient Greek for Everyone:
A New Digital Resource for
Beginning Greek
as taught at
Louisiana State University
Fall 2012
Wilfred E. Major
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Χαίρετε, πάντες!
(Welcome, y’all!)
• This is a version of a digital textbook resource we have been
developing at LSU for several years, which also incorporates, as
noted, the developments made by other teachers at other
universities.
• This version is posted on the World Wide Web for students and
teachers of Greek everywhere to use and adapt. I ask only that you
give fair credit for the use of these materials and that you send
corrections to me (wmajor@lsu.edu). I would also ask that you be
willing to share additions or variations that you create. My sharing
these materials does not license anyone to use them for commercial
or profit-making enterprises.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Χαίρετε, πάντες!
(Welcome, y’all!)
• While these are fundamentally the same materials I distribute
to my students at LSU, I have omitted some information
specific to the course here (some policies on the syllabus, for
example), and some copyrighted materials which I can show
my class but do not have the right to distribute.
• I have, however, retained the schedule, quiz and exam
assignments, so that you can see the pacing that we use. You
should, of course, modify these to suit your classes and needs.
• Thank you for looking (and using) our project! And please be
in touch about what you think (wmajor@lsu.edu).
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Χαίρετε, πάντες!
(Welcome, y’all!)
• Unit 1 of Ancient Greek for Everyone focuses on the Greek
alphabet, sounds, and the writing system in general. You will
notice that the first Exam tests this material entirely.
• After Unit 1 comes an overview of the method and structure of
Ancient Greek for Everyone. This presentation matches the
way we present this information to our classes here, but if you
are teaching (or considering teaching) with AGE, you may
well wish to consult that overview in conjunction with this
introduction.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Χαίρετε, πάντες!
(Welcome, y’all!)
This class introduces you to Ancient Greek, primarily as the
language of Classical and Biblical texts. By the end of the
semester, you will understand simple sentences in Greek and be
reading simple texts from antiquity. This ability provides the
springboard for you to explore one of the most powerful,
captivating, and enduring languages in the world. It is a most
excellent journey, not easy, but one which is often quite fun and
exciting.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Grading:
Three components will determine your final grade:
• 60%: best three of four exams, 20% each
• 20%: final exam
• 20%: quizzes: expect that we will begin most classes
with a brief quiz.
I will always tell you exactly about the next day’s quiz.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
ἡ παιδεία
(education)
LSU is pioneering an entirely digital resource for teaching ancient Greek.
Consequently, there is no specifically printed textbook for this class. For your
optional convenience, the following pocket-sized reference guide has been
ordered:
Erikk Geannikis, Andrew Romiti and P.T. Wilford.
Greek Paradigm Handbook.
Newburyport: Focus, 2008. ISBN 978-158510-3072.
Class materials will cross-reference this resource as GPH. Again, this is for
your convenience, not a requirement.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
ἡ παιδεία
(education)
The resource that this class will be using goes under the title Ancient
Greek for Everyone (AGE) by a group of scholars dubbed “The
Hellenizers.” It consists primarily of the following:
• Power Point slide shows posted in *** (and mirrored at the website
www.dramata.com, but with LSU-specific content stripped out).
• Reference sheets posted as pdf’s, posted in *** (and again mirrored at
www.dramata.com).
• Byron Stayskal’s Elements of Ancient Greek (EAG), a prototype of a
textbook, mostly to be used for its readings. (These will NOT be mirrored
at www.dramata.com).
You need to be able to consult and use these resources in class, as well
as to use them in preparing for class. You are welcome to print them
out, use them on your computer, tablet, phone, etc., however you wish.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Since this will be the first time LSU has used all the components of this
system, we do not yet have a standardized schedule for each semester. In the
first semester, our goal is to complete the following units in AGE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
The Greek Alphabet and Writing System
Introduction to Greek VERBS: -μι conjugation active (primary)
Introduction to Greek NOUNS: Masculine
Conjunctions and Prepositions
VERBS: -ω conjugation active (primary)
NOUNS and ADJECTIVES: Neuter
VERBS: middle voice (primary)
NOUNS and ADJECTIVES: Feminine
VERBS: -ω conjugation active (secondary)
NOUNS and ADJECTIVES: 1st and 2nd declension
VERBS: -μι conjugation active (secondary)
NOUNS and ADJECTIVES: variations
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Each unit includes:
• Practice readings from Elements of Ancient Greek
• Readings from Classical Greek and
corresponding core vocabulary
• Readings in Greek from Biblical writings and
corresponding core vocabulary
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Each unit includes readings from Classical Greek and
corresponding core vocabulary
• Classical Greek strictly speaking refers to writings
from the city of Athens during the fifth and fourth
centuries B.C.
• For this reason, the terms Classical Attic (Athenian)
and Classical Greek are often used interchangeably.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Athens, capital of Greece, on a modern map
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Athens, Greece in ancient Greece
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Classical Greece
Modern Greece
Athens
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Classical Greek strictly speaking refers to writings from the
city of Athens during the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.
These writings include:
• Scripts of the world’s first plays, both comedies and tragedies
(Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes).
• Some of the earliest writings about history (Thucydides,
Xenophon).*
• The earliest complete writings of philosophy (Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle).
• Important legal and political writings, as well as the earliest
biographies, essays, literary letters, and historical fiction
(Xenophon, the canonical orators).
The readings in this course in Classical Greek draw primarily
from the above writings.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
• Classical Greek strictly speaking refers to writings
from the city of Athens during the fifth and fourth
centuries B.C., but it was little read or spoken outside
of Athens.
• Starting in the third century B.C., Greek become a
widespread language all around the Mediterranean
area for the next five hundred years.
• Attic Greek became the basis for this type of Greek,
called κοινή “common”
(koine, pronounced “koin=AY”).
Ancient Greek for Everyone
• Attic Greek became the basis for this type of Greek,
called koine (pronounced “koin=AY”).
• The most famous writing in koine Greek is the New
Testament.
• The Hebrew Bible was translated into koine Greek in the
second century B.C., and this version of the Old Testament,
called the Septuagint (abbreviated LXX), was the one known
to early Christians.
• Other writings from this period related to the Bible were also
written in koine Greek.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
• The terms Koine and Biblical Greek are often used
interchangeably.
• Each unit in this course includes readings in Greek
from Biblical writings and corresponding core
vocabulary
• The Biblical readings in this course draw from New
Testament, the Septuagint, and related ancient
writings.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
• Quiz #1 (Tuesday, August 21, 2012)
– Given the words Attic, Biblical, Classical, and
koine, group them together as:
– Attic and Classical
– koine and Biblical
Ancient Greek for Everyone
• Next class (Tuesday, August 21, 2012)
– Review some history about the Greek alphabet.
– Learn some Greek letters!