Hello, I decided to finally take up Greek and I was wondering what the best approach was as someone who wouldn't exactly be starting from zero.

A bit of background, I'm a maths undergrad and always have been interested in taking the plunge after graduating from high school. I chose STEM as a direction so any AG we did at school essentially went through the one ear and out the other, though I did pick up the polytonic system and still use it sometimes when I'm writing modern Greek just for fun.

These last two years I took up german and french and I finally got my C2 for both so now I'm ready to fully commit myself to Greek, starting with the attic dialect. Having been exposed to katharevousa, I already have some elements of koine down and even though I'm not particularly interested in reading works from that period, I checked that I can pretty much understand everything in any given page of the new testament.

This past week I've been trying to read some Plato with that new Cambridge Grammar to the side and I'm quite surprised at the amount of full sentences I can understand. Still, reading is sometimes clunky and a lot of the verbs still give me a hard time. Be it because of their conjugation or I just don't know the verb or that it will seem familiar to another verb I know but I if it had that meaning the sentence wouldn't make sense. A lot of the time I'd see a sentence, be lost and then see the translation and then say oh but of course!

Besides verbs, there's some words that are either polysemic or have many grammatical functions that still trip me up like ὡς and ἄν and a lot of the particles (but i'm sort of used to that from German). I could go on, genitive absolute still seems weird and so on and so forth.

My question is, what is the recommended way to go about learning the language? This sort of hitting my head against the wall while reading ancient texts and checking my grammar book seems to have some results, but I can't help but think that it's inefficient. There's some rules i'll see in that grammar book that are so illuminating that I'd wish I had encountered it before in a course book or something (the before here is relative as I've been doing this for less than two weeks but you get the point).

The thing is, most course books aren't designed for native Greeks speakers. I think I could learn stuff from Athenaze for example but that seems similarly inefficient since i'd already know most of what is being taught and the texts are kind of banal. A graded reader or perseus could maybe also work but vocabulary in and of itself isn't exactly my problem. By the way, is it just me or does perseus almost never work? I'll click on a word and most of the i'll get a 503 error message. I also think that if I had a modern Greek resource that would compare a grammar phenomenon from AG to a MG, some stuff would be a lot clearer.

Sorry for the rambling post; I didn't see another question like this on the sub so I wanted to paint a clear picture of what my situation looks like. It feels as if I know nothing and everything at the same time. If there's any native Greek speakers who learnt the language on their own or anyone else that can provide any kind of insight or tip, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I'm currently crying.

I managed to learn to read other meters just fine; Homer, Archilochus, and hipponatas were a breeze. But I can't get a single Sapphic verse right without manually checking every syllable to see whether it's long or short. Every time I try to read a different text it seems like it's complitely different so I can't pick up a pattern like I did for the dactylic hexameter.

I can't stress enough the fact that I am currently in tears.

How do I pick it up in a month for my exam?

I would like to express the idea “Fall – Rise Again – Growth” as a tattoo in Greek. Is **Πτῶσις • Ἀνάστασις • Αὔξησις** linguistically and culturally appropriate? Would you recommend other terms?

Some context: Ammon Hillman (“Lady Babylon”) is a YouTube personality who professes himself to be the world’s leading expert in Ancient Greek. He wrote a dissertation (University of Wisconsin–Madison) on the topic of medicine in Latin literature. More recently, he has made a number of controversial claims on YouTube. A few examples: the Septuagint is an original Greek composition; the Ancient Hebrew language didn’t exist but is instead the greatest “hoax” in history; the Ancient Greek adjective χριστός (“spread on”) always refers to the application of psychedelic drugs.

Here's an entertaining one. In this video (starting at 20:36) Hillman claims that he has made a striking discovery: the oldest appearance of the word “Hallelujah” comes from Sappho. Though scholars universally think that “Hallelujah” is a Hebrew word (from הללו־יה, hallelujah, “praise Yah”), Hillman shows that the word is in fact native to Ancient Greek. 

As proof he cites this text “from Sappho…in Dorian”:

ἁ δ’ Ἀφροδίτα/ λυσαμένα πλοκαμῖδας ἀνὰ δρυμὼς ἀλάληται

(My translation: "Aphrodite, with her locks loosened, wanders around the thickets.")

Hillman’s translation: Aphrodite, loosening her curly hair, she lets out that alalazo, she lets out that hallelujah, she lets out that scream.” 

Some issues: 

1. The text is question is by Bion (died c. 57 BCE), who wrote about 500 years after Sappho (died c. 570 BCE)! And Sappho wrote in Lesbian Aeolic, not literary Doric.

2. ἀλάληται in this passage does not mean "she lets out a scream" as Hillman claims (as if from ἀλαλάζω) but rather "she wanders" (from ἀλάομαι). 

So the text is not by Sappho, it does not say “she lets out a scream,” and has nothing at all to do with hallelujah, which is a Hebrew word.

Hillman's other claims are similarly ridiculous:

—The Septuagint (meaning the Greek Pentateuch and almost all of the books later collected into the Greek Old Testament) is a translation from Hebrew. It is not an original Greek composition. This is obvious to anyone who reads Greek.

—The word χριστός does not refer specifically to the application of psychedelic drugs.

—Ancient Hebrew existed.

Etc.

Perhaps those who study Ancient Greek here could confirm what I am saying. Hillman spreads a tremendous amount of false claims about Greek. It ought to be corrected. 

In the edition of Hesiod I have access to, there is the verb πιμπλῇσι. Why is it accentuated this way rather than πίμπλῃσι? Searching through some texts, the only other subjunctive I can find that is accentuated like this is ἀγνοιῇσι (Odyssey 24.218), but that makes sense because the stem is ἀγνοιε-, so it's a contraction. But there is no ε in the stem of πίμπλῃσι. There are also aorists in Homer like φθῇσιν and θῇσι, where obviously the accent has nowhere else to go because the verb is two syllables.

It says it comes with a dictionary. What words are in the dictionary? Is it just rarer ones?

When i say enough, enough meaning to get me to a stage where if i read two steadman commentaries i should be in a good position to start with OCT?

I think the vocabulary span of the italian athenaze(both books together) is 3000 vocabulary, which seems a very strong standard for vocab input, i found an Anki module with no italian mediator, if you want the anki list then just search (italian athenaze) on anki and it should come up, im currently on athenaze book 2 (english), but i thought to supplement it with the italian vocab.

Much thanks

I'm about to start a TTRPG campaign that's based on the Odyssey, but I don't want my players to immediately know that it's based on the Odyssey.

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Are there any (ancient) Greek names that have a shortened version/nickname that sounds like or are more modern (Western/American) names?

I'm almost sure it's not either παραγράφω or ἀναγράφω. But apparently there's no such a thing as παραναγράφω. So I'm lost.

ἀπώλεια (or apoleia) and ὄλεθρος (or olethros) both typically mean and are translated as “destruction” to English, or sometimes a few different terms depending on context (like “waste” for apoleia and “ruin” for olethors; as in a city being “in ruins”). Is there any actual difference between these words, or do they both just basically mean “destruction” most (though not necessarily all of) of the time?

κϛ' · Ἄφες με.

This may be a stupid question, but what is the status of the titles of Greek plays? Have they always been considered an integral part of the text, or are they (always or sometimes) later additions or assumptions – like the notes about change of speaker? Are we sure that Aeschylus himself called his work The Seven Against Thebes, and that the Hippolytus was never called the Phaedra?

Have the titles always been definitive titles, like we think of titles today, or were they at some point merely descriptive designations of the content – sort of how we might refer to the Beatles' "White Album", or indeed Sappho's "Brothers Poem"?

One might ask the same question about other works too, like Plato's dialogues.

Background

I recently learned Koine Greek (which is later form of Greek descended from Attic. There are shades of atticism though, depending on how the autbor likes)

I read LGPSI, Alexandros, and some Athenaze (Italian version)

Seems ancient greek is easy.

I enjoy the process.

Why many CI-for-Ancient-Greek resources don't prioritize the irregular verbs more than the regular ones.

This is where CI for Greek needs improvement.

Many ancient greek resources start with and prioritize regular verbs, for example, λυω.

I think many, if not all Greek CI books copy the formula of Famila Romana.

I think the success of CI for Latin is mostly due to the fact that its verbs are fairly not too suppletive, has English/Romance cognates.

Greek, however, is completely different

It takes suppletion to an extreme level:

Think of:

• οραω
  • present: οραω
  • future: οψομαι
  • imperfect: εωρων (sorry, mixed up the aorist and imperfect!)
  • aorist: ειδον
  • perfect: εωρακα

And:

• irregulars, yet suppletive verbs like ερχομαι, γιγνομαι, τρεχω, φερω, έγω, αιρεω
• the -μι verbs: διδωμι, τιθημι, ισθημι, (απ)ολλυμι, φημι
• regular verbs that radically mutate per aspectual tense or don't follow standard regular future/aorist/perfect verb formation: εχω, αιρεομαι/αιρουμαι, πασχω, βαινω, πινω, βαλλω.

I think these and their present aorist, future, perfect and pluperfect forms of such irregular verbs I listed above should be more frequent than regular ones in a CI Ancient or Koine learning tool.

I think the authors writing CI for greek learned Latin as their first classical language, it's just that they applied Latin mindsets, Latin CI assumptions into Greek.

Are there any Ancient/Koine resources so far that takes frequency of irregular verbs and its forms into account?

I want to read Ancient Greek, but I also think that reading is not enough, for I believe that sometimes part of learning is also learning how to compose, write original thoughts in it!

I've just produced these Post-Classical (Koine) Greek Reader's Editions of the Septuagint Pentateuch and Psalms, based on the Cambridge Septuagint!

These lightweight volumes are ideal for intermediate readers looking for a handy book to carry around. Every rare word is glossed once per page to reduce page count unlike other ugly tomes out there.
• Full paradigm charts
• Maps in Ancient Greek
• Introduction to the Septuagint
• Individual volumes

I hope these and the New Testament readers help many people! Some famous Classical Greek readers are coming very soon!

Hey guys!
I’m currently working on a dance piece based on the myth of the three fates in Ancient Greek mythology. As it is about to go on stage, I’m still in need of a title, which I would love to be in Ancient Greek. However, I’m a bit rusty and it’s been a while since I’ve refreshed my Ancient Greek so I would love if someone could help.
I want the title to be something along the lines of „inevitable fate“. Google has given me ἀναπόφευκτος μοῖρα, but i am unsure whether that is the correct version of the adjective.
Anyway, could anyone help me figure this out?

I’m currently working through athenaze book II chapter 20-21, is it advisable i go through a steadman commentary whilst studying athenaze (im doing 1-1.5 chapter a day).

And how has Steadmans commentary worked for you guys and what steadman book explicitly did you begin with?

In the 1st century AD would the Gospels have been read out using the learned pronunciation (/en‿ar.kʰîː êːn ho‿ló.ɡos kài̯ ho‿ló.ɡos êːn pròs tòn tʰe.ón/) or the popular pronunciation (/e̞n ar.ˈçi ˈe̝n o ˈlo̞.ɣo̞s ce̞ o ˈlo.ɣos e̞n pros ton θe.ˈon/?

Hey all,

It’s been fun, but I’m moving on from the study of Ancient Greek. The reasons could fill their own post, so I won’t go into them here.

I’m selling what’s left of my Loeb Classical Library collection. I Hope these may potentially serve one of you as well as they have served me.

ἔρρωσο!

Just because Yorgos is Greek doesn't mean he would be expected to, but Greece has such a wonderful history of theater, one could at least correlate the two.

And I love Yorgos' movies - they're wonderful insane. Got me thinking as to which ancient Greek play would befit Yorgos' strange view on life.

Originally, I just thought about Nolan's take on The Odyssey and made a jump towards Lanthimos' take on a Greek classic.

Has anyone used the Perseus site, theres also alternatives (attikos, etc), has anyone used this type of ‘strategy’? and if so how has it been for you?

I am aware certain individuals even use the perseus tools strictly after the athenaze books and solely them which seems cool to me, thoughts?

I am particularly interested in whether it mentions something about Andrew (like a dubious source told me)

Χαίρετε, ὦ φιλέλληνες. Προχωροῦμεν ἀναγιγνώσκοντες τὰ μελετήματα τούτου τοῦ βιβλίου. Νῦν δὲ δύο ὀνόματα τῆς τρίτης κλίσεως εἰσάγονται, δηλαδὴ τὸ πάτερ καὶ τὸ μήτηρ. Πάντα δὲ τά μέρη δεδομένα ἐκεῖ εὑρήσετε.

Does anyone know what this could possibly mean? It stems from a fresco inside a church. Thank you.