2 notes on accents- Classical Greek
While some vowels are LONG “BY NATURE” (e.g. η, ω…), ALL DIPHTHONGS are long (e.g., ει, οι, ευ…). There are two exceptions, however, to this diphthong rule. For indicative verbs – and all nouns and infinitives – FINAL –αι and –οι were pronounced quickly by the Greeks, and so regarded as short when determining accent type and placement. Note,…
The Recessive Accent 3 rules you need to know – Classical Greek
For most Greek verbs, the principle of RECESSIVE ACCENTUATION determines which syllable will receive the accent. In other words, the accent on a Greek verb form will fall as far back from the ULTIMA as the rules allow. There are three rules. Rule 1: If a verb form has…
Ancient Greek prepositions
Prepositions in Greek for the most part work as they do in English . The principal difference is that the object of a Greek preposition must be inflected in either the genitive, dative, or accusative case. The preposition together with its object is called a PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE. Three…
Ancient Greek: ίστημι
Active Present Indicative Conjunctive ίστημι ιστ-ώ ίστ-ης ιστ-ής ίστ-ησιν ιστ-ή ίστ-αμεν ιστ-ώμε ίστ-ατε ιστ-ήτε ιστ-άσιν ιστ-ώσι/ ιστ-ώσιν Are you looking for Greek Lessons/ courses in Manchester or online with a professional teacher? Click here: Modern Greek Language courses to learn more about our Greek lessons. You…
Iota subscript – GCSE Classical Greek
When iota comes after long alpha, eta or omega, it is written in miniature form underneath: ᾳ ῃ ῳ It is not certain how far it was pronounced in classical times, but it is convenient to sound slightly to differentiate ᾳ from ordinary long alpha…
5 gifts Ancient Greece gave to the world.
It was home to the first recognized historian. The mission of Herodotus, also known as the “father of history,” was to make sure that “human achievement may be spared the ravages of time, and that everything great and astounding, and all the glory of those…
The secrets behind the myth of Prometheus
Arnold Toynbee professes that there is always a basic myth which dominates the birth of a civilization. For the Greek civilisation, it is not hard to discover it; it was the Myth of Prometheus. Prometheus was a hero who revolted against Zeus, stealing fire to rescue…
Connecting words- Classical Greek
The following are very common: καί and τε*… καί both…… and ἀλλά but * This comes second word in a phrase, after the first…
4 GCSE CLASSICAL GREEK BOOKS
1. Greek Stories Author: John Taylor and Kristian Waite Greek Stories is an ideal first reader for students of Classical Greek. It offers 100 self-contained passages of manageable length, chosen for their intrinsic interest and adapted from a wide range of ancient authors. 2. Greek to GCSE: Part…
The verb to be – Classical Greek
As in most languages, this is irregular, but will quickly be familiar: εἰμί εἶ ἐστί(ν)* ἐσμέν ἐστέ εἰσί(ν)* * again the “movable nu” is added (to make pronunciation easier) if the next word starts with a vowel, or if this is the last word in…