Introduction to Ancient Greek (Greek 1)
Fall 2008, M 1240-150 and TTh 110-230 (AB 343)
Robin Mitchell-Boyask, Associate Professor of Classics 327 Anderson Hall,
1-3672, robin@temple.edu. Office hours: TTh 9-10, F 1240-130
Course web site: http://www.temple.edu/classics/greek1.html
Subject web site: http://www.temple.edu/classics/greek.htmlupdated 26 February 2008
Text: Reading Greek. Two volumes: (1) Text and Vocabulary (2) Grammar and Exercises. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press. (These are the only texts for the entire year and will be used into the third semester.) It is essential that you obtain the 2nd edition.
Overview: This course aims to introduce you to the language of the ancient Greeks -- the language of Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Herodotus and St. Paul. By the end of the year, you will be reading actual ancient Greek texts!! That is, you will if you survive! This course will be hard, but it will also be extremely rewarding. No matter how clever you are, learning Greek will take a fair amount of time. You should not take this course unless you are willing and able to spend some time on Greek every day, for this time will be the single most important factor in your level of success. I will give you as much help as you want or need. Our goal is to finish the first two Parts, and have a peek at Part 3, if possible.
Approach: We will learn Greek by reading it in a text that starts simply and gradually increases in difficulty until we are reading authentic Plato and Herodotus in the second semester. Along the way we will read some adapted Plato and Aristophanes that often is barely changed from the original. You will learn both the Greek language and about 5th century Athens. It is very important that you not wander off or fall behind. If you are going to miss a class, you must call me or email, and I will return your message as soon as I can with your assignment. But it is imperative that you miss as few class meetings as possible.
You will have a vocabulary quiz every Tuesday on the previous week's new words and a grammar and reading test three times during the semester, and a final. If you are going to miss a class, you must call or email me, and I will return your message as soon as I can with your assignment. I will expect you to read the appropriate section of the Text volume before each class. I assign weekly vocabulary quizzes because memorizing a word's meaning then allows you to concentrate on its form when you are reading. Understanding a word rests on a combination of absolute meaning and contextual form. Learn the meaning and half the battle is won! Make yourself flash cards. An extra bonus here is that understanding Greek roots will increase your English vocabulary tremendously. Daily work is crucial; for any course you should spend two hours studying for every hour in class, so for this course you should devote eight hours each week if you would like to receive a high grade and actually learn to read Greek.
SOS? If you at any point feel overwhelmed, dumber than everyone else in the class, or just plain confused, please talk to me. Don’t sneak away and then try to avoid running into me on campus. I am very willing to offer advice or extra help. Consider setting up study groups with your classmates. There will be students around the module who have completed this course already.
Grades: Quizzes: %20, Tests 30%, Final %20, Daily work: %30 (includes attendance, participation and homework); test 1 is worth %8 and tests 2 and 3 are worth %11 each. If you miss a quiz or test without notifiying me in advance with justification, you may not make up the assignment.
Note that I will weigh the second half of the course more heavily than the first if you show real improvement as the semester progresses.
Starting out: By Thursday, learn the Greek alphabet for a quiz (see pages 4-5); be able to write out the alphabet in order. I STRONGLY urge to you consult a new interactive web site http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/greek/interactive.htm for learning the Greek alphabet. For now, learn the lower case letters, since these are the ones you will see the most. The single biggest obstacle most students face as they begin is the alphabet, so if you get used to it quickly, the rest will be much easier. The single biggest obstacle most students face as they begin is the alphabet, so if you get used to it quickly, the rest will be much easier.
Web help: THE ETON GREEK SOFTWARE PROJECT http://www.etoncollege.com/eton.asp?di=1379
Schedule: (Subject to modifications)
Week Section Grammar Reading Sept 2-4 I. 1 A Definite article The insurance scam Sept 8-11 1 B-D Verbs Sept 15-18 1 E-G 2nd decl. nouns Sept 22-25 1 H-I To be, I know Sept 29-Oct 2 Test Monday; 2 A-B Middle verbs, 1st decl. nouns The glorious past Oct 6-9 3 A-C 3rd decl. nouns Athens and Sparta Oct 13-16 3 D-E / Test Thurs. Various Oct 20-23 II. 4 A-C Participles Lawlessness in Athenian life Oct 27-30 4D-5B Imperfect tense Socrates corrupts (Plato's Defense) Nov 3-6 5C-6B Future and 1st aorist tenses Aristophanes’ Clouds Nov 10-13 6C / Test Thurs. Nov 17-20 7A-B 2nd aorist tense Socrates and intellectual inquiry Nov 24-25 7B-C Infinitives, comparatives Adaptations from Plato and Herodotus Dec 1-4 7F-H Aorist participles Dec 8-9 7H(8A?) Dec xx Final exam