Classical Greek Online

Unlike Roman tradition, Greek accounts do not depict a heroic origin in the settlement of their country. The opening sections of Thucydides' History of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians provide the best and probably most accurate account of it. Among recent proposals about the entrance of the Greeks into the areas they settled, that of E.J.W. Barber, Prehistoric Textiles (Princeton University Press, 1991) is most convincing. She points out that, among the terms for textiles and weaving, those applying to simple applications like band-weaving are native Indo-European, but those for complex applications like use of the warp-weighted loom are imported. She concludes further that the Greeks picked up the terms for some of the complex applications as they came to the country through the Balkans from the northeast (1991: 260-82). Thucycides' account, which includes the excerpt given here, fully supports the conclusion that the newcomers had a simple civilization. Moreover, it also indicates that they were by no means united like the early Romans. The lack of political unity was maintained until the time of Alexander; one of its most difficult periods was the war from 431-404 B.C. that Thucydides describes so brilliantly.

Reading and Textual Analysis

In the opening section of Book I, Thucydides complains that he was unable to get much information about the early period. He goes on to state that in the area called Hellas there were no fixed habitations. The settlers simply moved about, raising enough for their own needs. Moreover, they had no mercantile traffic. He stresses the general weakness, as in Section 3 of Book I given here. He also points out that this was the situation at the time of Homer, which was much later than the time of the Trojan war. The rest of Book I describes the gradual increase in prosperity, first of Athens, but also the discord among the groups.

dêloi de moi kai tode tôn palaiôn astheneian ouch êkista.

• dêloi -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <dêloô> be clear, reveal -- it is clear
• de -- particle; <de> and, on the other hand -- but
• moi -- pronoun; dative singular masculine of <egô> I -- to me
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- also
• tode -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hode> this -- by this
• tôn -- article; genitive plural neuter of <ho> the -- of the
• palaiôn -- adjective; genitive plural masculine of <palaios> old, ancient -- ancient
• astheneian -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <astheneia> weakness -- weakness
• ouch -- particle; <ou> not -- not
• êkista -- adverb; <hêkista> least -- least

pro gar tôn Trôikôn ouden phainetai proteron koinê ergasamenê hê Hellas.

• pro -- preposition; <pro> before -- before
• gar -- conjunction; <gar> for -- for
• tôn -- article; genitive plural neuter of <ho> the -- of the
• Trôikôn -- adjective; genitive plural neuter of <Trôikos> Trojan -- the times of Troy
• ouden -- pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <oudeis, oudemia, ouden> no one, nothing -- nothing
• phainetai -- verb; 3rd person singular present middle of <phainô> seem -- appears
• proteron -- adverb; <proteron> earlier, before -- before
• koinê -- adjective; dative singular feminine of <koinos> common -- in common
• ergasamenê -- verb; nominative singular feminine of aorist participle of <ergazomai> work, make -- to have been carried out
• hê -- article; nominative singular feminine of <ho> the -- the
• Hellas -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <Hellas> Greece -- Greece

dokei de moi, oude toonoma touto xumpasa pô eichen, alla ta men pro Hellênos tou Deukaliônos kai panu oude einai hê epiklêsis hautê.

• dokei -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <dokeô> seem, think -- it seems
• de -- particle; <de> and, on the other hand -- indeed
• moi -- pronoun; dative singular masculine of <egô> I -- to me
• oude -- particle; <oude> not -- not
• toonoma -- noun; article <to> the + noun, neuter; accusative singular of <onoma> name -- this name
• touto -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <houtos> this -- this
• xumpasa -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <xumpas> all together -- in general
• pô -- adverb; <pô> yet -- yet
• eichen -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <eichô> have, be -- did ... exist
• alla -- conjunction; <alla> but -- but
• ta -- article; accusative plural neuter of <ho> the -- the time
• men -- particle; <men> on the one hand -- ...
• pro -- preposition; <pro> before -- before
• Hellênos -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Hellênos> Hellenos -- Hellenos
• tou -- article; genitive singular masculine of <ho> the -- the
• Deukaliônos -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Deukaliôn> Deucalion -- (son) of Deucalion
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- ...
• panu -- adverb; <panu> at all -- at all
• oude -- particle; <oude> not -- not
• einai -- verb; infinitive of <eimi> I am -- did ... exist
• hê -- article; nominative singular feminine of <ho> the -- the
• epiklêsis -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <epiklêsis> name, title -- title
• hautê -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular feminine of <houtos> this -- this

kata ethnê de alla te kai to Pelasgikon epi pleiston aph' heautôn tên epônumian parechesthai.

• kata -- preposition; <kata> completely, down, under -- from
• ethnê -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <ethnos> nation, people, tribe -- tribes
• de -- particle; <de> and, on the other hand -- on the other hand
• alla -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <allos> other -- other
• te -- conjunction; <te> and -- and
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- and
• to -- article; accusative singular neuter of <ho> the -- the
• Pelasgikon -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <Pelasgikos> Pelasgian -- Pelasgian = (Thessalian)
• epi -- preposition; <epi> on, about -- by
• pleiston -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <pleistos> most -- chiefly
• aph' -- preposition; <apo> from -- from
• heautôn -- reflexive pronoun; genitive plural masculine of <heautos> himself -- their own
• tên -- article; accusative singular feminine of <ho> the -- the
• epônumian -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <epônumia> name, designation -- name
• parechesthai -- verb; passive infinitive of <parechô> provide -- had furnished

Hellênos de kai tôn paidôn autou en tê Phthiôtidi ischusantôn, kai epagomenôn autous ep' ôphelia es tas allas poleis, kath' hekastous men êdê tê homilia mallon kaleisthai Hellênas.

• Hellênos -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Hellênos> Hellenos -- Hellenos
• de -- particle; <de> and, on the other hand -- but
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- and
• tôn -- article; genitive plural masculine of <ho> the -- the
• paidôn -- noun, masculine/feminine; genitive plural of <pais> child -- sons
• autou -- pronoun; genitive singular masculine of <autos> oneself, he -- his
• en -- preposition; <en> in -- in
• tê -- article; dative singular feminine of <ho> the -- the
• Phthiôtidi -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <Phthiôtis> Phthiotis -- Phthiotis
• ischusantôn -- verb; genitive plural masculine of participle aorist of <ischuô> be strong -- had become strong
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- and
• epagomenôn -- verb; genitive plural masculine of present participle passive of <epagô> bring in, invite -- were brought in
• autous -- pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <autos> oneself, he -- themselves
• ep' -- preposition; <epi> on, about -- for
• ôphelia -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <ôphelia> aid -- assistance
• es -- preposition; <es> towards -- to
• tas -- article; accusative plural feminine of <ho> the -- the
• allas -- adjective; accusative plural feminine of <allos> other -- other
• poleis -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <polis> city -- cities
• kath' -- preposition; <kata> completely, down, under -- by
• hekastous -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <hekastos> each, every -- all
• men -- particle; <men> on the one hand -- indeed
• êdê -- adverb; <êdê> already -- then
• tê -- article; dative singular feminine of <ho> the -- the
• homilia -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <homilia> being together -- association
• mallon -- adverb; <mallon> more and more -- more and more
• kaleisthai -- verb; infinitive passive of <kaleô> call, summon -- were called
• Hellênas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <Hellên> Greek -- Greeks

ou mentoi pollou ge chronou edunato kai hapasin eknikêsai.

• ou -- particle; <ou> not -- it was not
• mentoi -- particle; <mentoi> but, however -- however
• pollou -- adjective; genitive singular masculine of <polus> many -- long
• ge -- particle; <ge> indeed -- indeed
• chronou -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <chronos> time -- time
• edunato -- deponent verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <dunamai> be able -- would
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- and
• hapasin -- adjective; dative plural masculine of <hapas> all -- to all (clans)
• eknikêsai -- verb; infinitive passive of <eknikaô> prevail -- prevail

tekmêrioi de malista Homeros

• tekmêrioi -- verb; 3rd person singular present optative of <tekmêrioô> prove positively -- demonstrated
• de -- particle; <de> and, on the other hand -- indeed
• malista -- adverb; superlative of <mala> very -- above all
• Homeros -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Homeros> Homer -- Homer

pollô gar husteron eti kai tôn Trôikôn genomenos oudamou houtô tous xumpantas ônomasen oud' allous ê tous meta Achilleôs ek tês Phthiôtidos.

• pollô -- adverb; dative singular neuter of <polus> many -- much
• gar -- conjunction; <gar> for -- for
• husteron -- adverb; <husteron> later -- later
• eti -- adverb; <eti> still -- still
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- and
• tôn -- article; genitive plural neuter of <ho> the -- the
• Trôikôn -- adjective; genitive plural neuter of <Trôikos> Trojan -- the times of Troy
• genomenos -- deponent verb; nominative singular neuter of present participle middle of <gignomai> happen, become -- being
• oudamou -- adverb; <oudamou> nowhere -- nowhere
• houtô -- adverb; <houtôs> so, thus -- at all
• tous -- article; accusative plural masculine of <ho> the -- them
• xumpantas -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <xumpas> all together -- all together
• ônomasen -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <onomazô> speak of by name -- referred to
• oud' -- particle; <oude> not -- nor
• allous -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <allos> other -- other
• ê -- conjunction; <ê> or, than -- than
• tous -- article; accusative plural masculine of <ho> the -- the ones
• meta -- preposition; <meta> after, with -- with
• Achilleôs -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Achilleus> Achilles -- Achilles
• ek -- preposition; <ek> from, out of -- from
• tês -- article; genitive singular feminine of <ho> the -- the
• Phthiôtidos -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <Phthiôtis> Phthiotis -- Phthiotis

hoiper kai prôtoi Hellênes hêsan, Danaous de en tois epesi kai Argeious kai Achaious anakalei.

• hoiper -- article used as demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <ho> the + particle <per> indeed -- these... indeed
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- and
• prôtoi -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <prôtos> first -- the first
• Hellênes -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <Hellên> Greek -- Greeks
• hêsan -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect of <eimi> I am -- were
• Danaous -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <Danaoi> Danaans -- Danaans
• de -- particle; <de> and, on the other hand -- but
• en -- preposition; <en> in -- in
• tois -- article; dative plural neuter of <ho> the -- the
• epesi -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <epos> words, saying -- poem
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- and
• Argeious -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <Argeios> Argive -- (as)Argives
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- and
• Achaious -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <Achaios> Achaean -- Achaeans
• anakalei -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <anakaleô> designate -- he designates

ou mên oude barbarous eirêke dia to mêde Hellênas pô, hôs emoi dokei.

• ou -- particle; <ou> not -- not
• mên -- particle; <mên> verily -- even
• oude -- particle; <oude> not -- but not
• barbarous -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <barbaros> foreigner, non-Greek -- barbarians
• eirêke -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <eirô> speak, say -- he did ...speak of
• dia -- preposition; <dia> through, by -- because of
• to -- article; accusative singular neuter of <ho> the -- this
• mêde -- particle; <mêde> and not -- not
• Hellênas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <Hellên> Greek -- the Greeks
• pô -- adverb; <pô> yet -- yet
• hôs -- conjunction; <hôs> as, thus -- as
• emoi -- pronoun; dative singular masculine of <egô> I -- to me
• dokei -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <dokeô> seem, think -- it seems

antipalon es hen onoma apokekristhai.

• antipalon -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <antipalos> contrast -- (to provide) a contrast
• es -- preposition; <es> towards -- with
• hen -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <heis> one -- a common
• onoma -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <onoma> name -- name
• apokekristhai -- verb; perfect infinitive passive of <apokrinô> separate, answer -- (they had not yet) been separated

hoi d' oun hôs hekastoi Hellênes kata poleis te hosoi allêlôn xuniesan kai xumpantes husteron klêthentes ouden pro tôn Trôikôn di' astheneian kai ameixian allêlôn hathrooi epraxan.

• hoi -- article; nominative plural masculine of <ho> the -- those
• d' -- particle; <de> and, on the other hand -- but
• oun -- adverb; <oun> indeed -- actually
• hôs -- conjunction; <hôs> as, thus -- thus
• hekastoi -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <hekastos> each, every -- themselves
• Hellênes -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <Hellên> Greek -- Greeks
• kata -- preposition; <kata> completely, down, under -- by
• poleis -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <polis> city -- cities
• te -- conjunction; <te> and -- and
• hosoi -- relative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <hosos> as many -- as many
• allêlôn -- pronoun; genitive plural masculine of <allêlôn> one another -- one another's (speech)
• xuniesan -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect of <xuniêmi> bring together, understand -- they understood
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- and
• xumpantes -- adjective; nominative plural masculine <xumpas> all together -- together
• husteron -- adverb; <husteron> later -- later
• klêthentes -- verb; nominative plural masculine aorist participle passive of <kaleô> call, summon -- called together
• ouden -- pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <oudeis, oudemia, ouden> no one, nothing -- nothing
• pro -- preposition; <pro> before -- before
• tôn -- article; genitive plural neuter of <ho> the -- of the
• Trôikôn -- adjective; genitive plural neuter of <Trôikos> Trojan -- the times of Troy
• di' -- preposition; <dia> through, by -- because of
• astheneian -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <astheneia> weakness -- weakness
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- and
• ameixian -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <ameixia> lack of intercourse -- lack of intercourse
• allêlôn -- pronoun; genitive plural masculine of <allêlôn> one another -- with one another
• hathrooi -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <hathroos> together -- together
• epraxan -- verb; 3rd person plural aorist of <prassô> achieve, manage -- carried out

alla kai tautên tên strateian thalassê êdê pleiô chrômenoi xunêlthon.

• alla -- conjunction; <alla> but -- but
• kai -- conjunction; <kai> and -- even
• tautên -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <houtos> this -- for this
• tên -- article; accusative singular feminine of <ho> the -- the
• strateian -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <strateia> expedition -- expedition
• thalassê -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <thalassa> sea -- sea
• êdê -- adverb; <êdê> already -- already
• pleiô -- adjective; accusative singular feminine comparative of <polus> many -- considerable
• chrômenoi -- deponent verb; nominative plural masculine middle participle of <chraomai> need, use -- (when) they made... use of
• xunêlthon -- deponent verb; 3rd person plural aorist of <sunerchomai> unite, come together -- they united

Lesson Text

dêloi de moi kai tode tôn palaiôn astheneian ouch êkista. pro gar tôn Trôikôn ouden phainetai proteron koinê ergasamenê hê Hellas. dokei de moi, oude toonoma touto xumpasa pô eichen, alla ta men pro Hellênos tou Deukaliônos kai panu oude einai hê epiklêsis hautê. kata ethnê de alla te kai to Pelasgikon epi pleiston aph' heautôn tên epônumian parechesthai. Hellênos de kai tôn paidôn autou en tê Phthiôtidi ischusantôn, kai epagomenôn autous ep' ôphelia es tas allas poleis, kath' hekastous men êdê tê homilia mallon kaleisthai Hellênas. ou mentoi pollou ge chronou edunato kai hapasin eknikêsai. tekmêrioi de malista Homeros pollô gar husteron eti kai tôn Trôikôn genomenos oudamou houtô tous xumpantas ônomasen oud' allous ê tous meta Achilleôs ek tês Phthiôtidos. hoiper kai prôtoi Hellênes hêsan, Danaous de en tois epesi kai Argeious kai Achaious anakalei. ou mên oude barbarous eirêke dia to mêde Hellênas pô, hôs emoi dokei. antipalon es hen onoma apokekristhai. hoi d' oun hôs hekastoi Hellênes kata poleis te hosoi allêlôn xuniesan kai xumpantes husteron klêthentes ouden pro tôn Trôikôn di' astheneian kai ameixian allêlôn hathrooi epraxan. alla kai tautên tên strateian thalassê êdê pleiô chrômenoi xunêlthon.

Translation

The weakness of ancient times is also clear to me, not least from the following. Before the times of Troy, Hellas appears to have carried out nothing in common. Indeed, it seems to me that it did not yet have this name; before the time of Hellen, son of Deucalion, this title did not even exist. Rather, other tribes had furnished them by their own designations, and chiefly the Pelasgians. But when Hellen and his sons had become strong in Phthiotis, and were brought in for assistance to the other cities, then all were called Hellenes more and more because of this association. It was not for a long time, however that the name would prevail for all clans. Homer especially demonstrated this. Although being much later than the times of Troy, he nowhere at all referred to them all together, nor to others than the followers of Achilles from Phthiotis. They indeed were the first Hellenes, but he designates them in the poems as Danaans and Argives and Achaeans. He did not even speak of Barbarians because, as it seems to me, the Hellenes did not yet exist. They had not yet been separated with a common name to provide a contrast. Those who came together as Hellenes by cities and as they understood one another's speech and were later classed together carried out nothing together before the times of Troy because of weakness and lack of intercourse. But even for this expedition they united only when they already made considerable use of the sea.

Grammar

1. The alphabet and sound system.

1.1. The alphabet.

The Greek alphabet was taken over from the Phoenicians. It in turn was taken over by the Romans, but from a version of the alphabet that differs somewhat from the standard. The names are generally well known, such as the first two from our word alphabet, the third from gamma rays, and so on.

The pronunciations are also straightforward. Those used in the classical period differ somewhat from the pronunciations typically used in instruction today. When they differ, the classical period pronunciations are indicated below using words in parentheses.

In addition, a word beginning with a vowel or diphthong may have an initial [h] sound. This is called a breathing. If the [h] sound is present, the breathing is called rough, signalled by a rough breathing sign [with a added for illustration]: ha. The rough breathing may also be used with initial rho: hr.

1.2. The sound system.

The system is as follows:

Classical Greek had a musical accent. There are three such accents. Vowels marked with oxia (e.g., a) had high pitch; those with varia (e.g., a) had a low or falling pitch; those marked with perispomeni (e.g., a) had rising and falling pitch.

The place of the accent is determined chiefly by the quality of the last syllable; exceptions will be noted later. If the last syllable is short and the accent is an oxia, it can fall on the third syllable from the end of a word. If it is short, and the second last vowel is long, it may have perispomeni accent. If it is long, the second last syllable can only have oxia accent. In monosyllables the final vowel has oxia accent if it is short, a perispomeni if long. The varia accent replaces a final oxia accent before words beginning with a consonant.

2. Greek, a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) language.

The basic word order of Classical Greek is verb-final, as in the following sentence.

alla kai tautên tên strateian thalassê êdê pleiô chrômenoi xunêlthon.
"But they united even for this expedition when they were already making considerable use of the sea."

Thucydides, however, has a highly complex and personal style, so that he rearranges his sentences to emphasize certain elements. For example, the first sentence here begins with a verb, dêloi, as does the third with dokei. The reason for the specific order in other sentences may be obvious when they are interpreted; for example, the second clearly emphasizes the final noun Hellas by placing it last. The texts of later lessons will be simpler; this text was selected because of its importance for information on the state of Greece in earlier times.

3. Modifications of the basic sentence pattern.

As noted in section 2, modifications of the basic sentence pattern are often carried out for stylistic purposes. A further example is the sentence:

Tekmêrioi de malista Homeros.
"Then Homer established this especially."

Both the position of the verb, and that of the subject, serve to indicate the place of emphasis. Similarly, the following sentence, with the object identifying the earliest identified sub-group of the Greeks, has been carefully constructed. Fortunately the ample inflections provide great assistance in the analysis and interpretation of sentences.

4. Nominal inflection.

Nouns, adjectives and the article are inflected for three genders, three numbers, and four cases. Among the numbers that of the dual is infrequent, and will not be presented here. The four cases are the nominative, genitive, dative and accusative. The uses of the ablative, such as for the target in comparative constructions, are largely assumed by the genitive. The principal uses of the cases are readily defined. The nominative is the case of the subject and of nouns after the copula in the predicative nominative. The genitive is the case of possession. The dative is the case of the indirect object. The accusative is the case of the direct object.

Because of the common use of the article, its forms might well be memorized.

Examples of the o-declension, masculine and neuter, and the a-declension, feminine, are given here.

5. Verb inflection.

Greek verbs are inflected for three voices, active, middle and passive, for four moods, indicative, subjunctive, optative and imperative, three systems or tenses, present, aorist and perfect, three numbers, singular, dual, plural. The augment 'e' (epsilon) is used with past tense forms, imperfect, aorist, and pluperfect, but only in the indicative. The perfect stem is often reduplicated. In addition there are infinitives and participles.

In view of its regularity, the verb paideuô 'educate' may be used to illustrate the various forms. Here the present and the imperfect indicative active are given. Before vowels, 'n' (nu) is added to some forms ending in a vowel.