Introduction
This section is a working grammar of ancient Greek, the language of the Greek-speaking world from Homer, through the poets, historians and philosophers of the classical age, to the first centuries that followed.
The base of the grammar is Attic, the dialect of Athens and the language of Plato, Thucydides, Xenophon, the orators and the tragedians. The Homeric dialect, Ionic and the Koine are treated in their own section, where they differ from Attic.
How the section is organized
The grammar follows the traditional architecture, ordered from simple to complex:
- Foundations: the alphabet and breathings, pronunciation, vowel quantity, syllables and accent, the principle of inflection and the dialects.
- Morphology: the forms of words (the article, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals, verbs and invariable words).
- Syntax: the uses of those forms (cases, tense and aspect, voice, mood, participles and infinitives, subordinate clauses, indirect speech and the period).
- Dialects and Verse: the Homeric dialect, Ionic and the Koine, and the metres of epic and elegiac verse.
Each page follows the same pattern: rule, notes and exceptions, authentic examples with translation, common pitfalls and a short self-test. Complete paradigm tables and reference material are kept apart, in Resources.
Working tree
This is the plan of the section. Pages marked with a green checkbox are complete. The priority figure (1 to 6) indicates the phase in which each page is written.
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Ancient Greek
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Introduction
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Foundations
- Alphabet, Breathings and Pronunciation
- Vowel Quantity and Syllables
- Accent, Proclitics and Enclitics
- Parts of Speech and Inflection
- Dialects and Periods (Overview)
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Morphology
- The Article
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Nouns (Case, Number, Gender)
- First and Second Declensions
- Third Declension (Consonant Stems)
- Third Declension (Vowel Stems), Contract and Irregular Nouns
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Adjectives and Adverbs (Declension of Adjectives)
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Pronouns
- Personal, Reflexive, Possessive
- Demonstrative, Relative, Interrogative, Indefinite
- Numerals
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Verbs (Principal Parts, Voices, Conjugations)
- Present and Imperfect Indicative Active
- Present and Imperfect Middle and Passive
- Contract Verbs
- Augment and Reduplication
- Future Indicative
- Aorist Active and Middle (First and Second Aorist)
- Liquid and Nasal Verbs
- Aorist and Future Passive
- Perfect and Pluperfect
- Verbs in -μι
- Imperatives
- Infinitives
- Participles
- Subjunctive
- Optative
- Verbal Adjectives
- Irregular Verbs (εἰμί, εἶμι, οἶδα, φημί)
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Invariable Words (Prepositions, Conjunctions, Particles)
- Prepositions
- Particles (μέν, δέ, γάρ, οὖν, ἄν)
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Syntax
- The Simple Sentence (Agreement, Word Order, Negatives)
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Uses of the Cases (Overview)
- Nominative and Vocative
- Accusative
- Genitive
- Dative
- The Article in Use
- Tense and Aspect
- Voice (Active, Middle, Passive)
- Infinitive Constructions
- Participle Constructions
- Moods in Main Clauses (Subjunctive, Optative, ἄν)
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Subordinate Clauses (Overview)
- Purpose, Result and Fear
- Temporal and Causal Clauses
- Conditionals
- Indirect Questions and Relative Clauses
- Indirect Speech
- Period and Style
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Dialects and Verse
- Homeric Forms
- Homeric Syntax and Formulae
- The Hexameter and the Elegiac Couplet
- Ionic (Herodotus)
- Koine (Overview)
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Resources
- Bibliography
- Glossary of Grammatical Terms
- Paradigms: Nouns
- Paradigms: Adjectives and Pronouns
- Paradigms: Regular Verbs
- Paradigms: Contract Verbs and Verbs in -μι
- Paradigms: Irregular Verbs
- Principal Parts of Common Verbs
- Accent: Quick Reference
Notes
The examples are drawn from authors from Homer to Plato, Xenophon, Thucydides, Sophocles and Aristotle wherever possible. The Greek is given in the polytonic script, with breathings and accents, and macrons mark the long α, ι and υ only where the length matters.
Byzantine and modern Greek are outside the present scope. The Koine receives a short overview, and New Testament Greek is not treated in a page of its own.
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