Don’t make him angry!!!!!
Don’t make him angry!!!!!
Why learn Greek?
The Greek Curriculum
Fall 2008 Greek 1 Syllabus
Intesive Summer Greek 2008
Learning Ancient Greek is a fun ordeal. Fun ordeal? Why, that’s an oxymoron or or paradox (oops, those are both words derived from Ancient Greek! And what DO those words mean, anyway?)
Why should YOU learn Ancient Greek (other than fear of Zeus)? If you’ve ever enjoyed reading Sophocles or Plato in English, you’d be amazed to realize how much more fascinating they are in the original Greek, and by the end of your first year of Greek you start to study these authors in their own words. Free yourself from the tyranny of translators and talk to the authors themselves!
Greek not only provides enjoyment and intellectual stimulation, but it is also very practical. Consider:1) It sharpens analytical language skills and improves knowledge of English; introduces Greek words that have been borrowed by English, e.g. architect, athlete, Catholic, Christ, dyslexia, fancy, holistic, pedagogy, psychiatry, and sophomore. 2) Many English technical vocabularies, from philosophy to geology, since the time of the Renaissance are based on Greek. Almost all terms in biology, medicine and other hard sciences are derived from Greek. If you learn Ancient Greek, you are several steps ahead of your peers in in understanding scientific concepts.
3) Greek is often required or recommended for students who plan to enter seminary, or pursue graduate studies in Western theater, history, literature, political science, or philosophy.
4) Because of the advantages listed above students of Greek tend to do very well indeed on such pre-graduate and professional exams as the GRE (grad school), MCAT (med school), and LSAT (law school).
Ancient Greek 51-52 is offered every year. If you are interested or have questions, please contact Robin Mitchell-Boyask, Chair of GHR Classics (and Greek teacher), robin@temple.edu or 1-3672. By the end it's not just Greek that you've learned. You discover that with steady effort and patience you can learn to read the actual words of the founders of the Western intellectual tradition. You come to know yourself not just as kids from Cherry Hill or Philadelphia who hope to find a job someday, but as someone who has engaged Herodotus, Plato and St John in conversation.
The Greek Curriculum The unique course of instruction in first-year Greek (51-2) allows students to read connected Greek narrative right from the beginning and guides them to the point where they can begin reading complete classical texts. We start by reading adapted passages from Homer, Aesop, Plato and stories about Alexander the Great, with lots of Herodotus during the spring The first half of the second year (61-62) focusses on Classical Attic prose, beginning with a short courtroom speech by the orator Lysias about one man's murder of another, Eratosthenes, who was caught in bed with his wife. In addition to sharpening their reading skills, students will here learn much about the Athenian legal system. Students then move on to Plato's Crito, and, time allowing, either an oration by Demosthenes against Philip of Macedon or selections from the historian Thucydides; these texts are read in editions from Duckworth Press that are designed especially for students in their second year of Greek. The spring semester typically concentrates on Homer (specific books TBA) or a Greek tragedy. The third year (101-2) would likely study Herodotus or Thucydides in the fall and a drama or Homer in the spring. And if you need more Greek than that, we will be more than happy to oblige you.
Some of these sites include sound files so you can hear the results of current scholarship on how ancient Greek sounded. If you listen to more than one site you will notice that nobody pronounces Greek the same! We strongly encourage you to listen to these files.
Web Resources for Studying Ancient Greek The Open University's introduction to the Greek alphabet. Terrific interactive exercises to get you started.
Athenaze Exercises from the University of Victoria. Start here!
Ariadne: Resources for Athenaze
Drills for Athenaze by Jean Alvarez
Supplementary Exercises for Athenaze created by James F. Johnson (Austin College)
Ancient Greek Tutorials has on-line drills for Greek forms, and a very handy accentuation drill. You must have a particular configuration of browser and font. The macs in the student room in the Classics module are thus correctly configured.
Helma Dik (University of Chicago) has an index page of very helpful handouts (pdf files) on various aspects of the Greek language, suitable for Greek 51-2.
New!Classical Language Instruction Project is designed to function as a resource for college undergraduates hoping to gain some insight into the pronunciation and elocution of ancient Greek and Latin. As the rationale for the Project states on the site: "There may be considerable debate among scholars about the most 'authentic' way to pronounce Greek or Latin; yet it is certain that the texts from the ancient world reflect a vivid and complex spoken language, not a lifeless code." With that in mind, the site features different classical scholars reading passages by a number of writers, including Homer, Plato, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and Seneca. As the scholars read, students can follow along, view the passage in English, and pause the recording in order to develop an understanding of the text and its pronunciation. Finally, the site also includes a brief essay on rhythm and meter in Greek and Latin.
Society for the Oral Reading of Greek and Latin Literature has information on the "restored pronunciation" of ancient Greek, and sound files, including a reading of the Greek alphabet and simple Greek words
The Sound of Ancient Greek - Classical Pronunciation. Excerpts from Aeschylus, Plato and Homer, using classical phonemes as well as a reconstruction of the classical pitch accent, applied to the domain of the word and appositive group as well as of the phrase.
Gregory Nagy's Homer in Performance Web Page Sound files of Homer recitations in Greek
