In this Section, the new grammatical material includes the use of participles – of the verb ‘to be’ in Sections A–B, of active and middle verbs in Sections C–D.

Participles are very widely used in Greek: this means, in effect, that you should observe carefully the way they are used and not move on from Section 4 until you are quite happy with all the usages of participles encountered in this Section.

There are also more types of 3rd declension nouns, adjectives and pronouns (see GE pp.70–72, #77–80).

4A

Page 42

1 ὅσον πλῆθος Once again the exclamatory use of ὅσος. πλῆθος is neuter (GE p. 71, #78) so the two agree. ‘What a great crowd …!’

2 τὰ τείχη τεῖχος is another neuter noun of the 3rd declension like πλῆθος. The Long Walls joined Athens to the Piraeus. See the map on page 38 of RGT.

3 πυράς τινας The meaning should be clear (cf. τὰ πυρά in Section 3) but note that here we have the acc. pl. of another noun, ἡ πυρά ‘funeral pyre’.

4 πρὸς τῶν θεῶν ‘by the gods’ – the case usage will be explained later. δαίμων English ‘demon’ is derived from this word, but note that the Greek has no ‘bad’ implications – it is a neutral term meaning ‘god’, ‘divine spirit’.

6 κακοδαίμων ‘ill-starred’ is perhaps the closest English can get to this idea.

In this section you will practise a third variant of the contracted verbs that you met in Section 1. You will add -οω verbs (GE p. 20, #24) to -αω and -εω ones. It is easy to recognise which person the ending indicates. These are all in the active voice.

You will also meet a new pattern of verb in what is called the middle voice (GE pp. 43–46, #52–54). The active voice describes what the subject does to the object. The middle describes what the subject does for (or to) himself, or does for his own advantage, and it often does not have an object. The verbs you will meet in this section occur only in the middle and do not have an active voice.

You may want to make a chart of the present indicative middle and to add the new endings as you meet them, or you may just prefer to keep referring to GE pp. 44–45, #52–53.

You will also meet some more noun types (GE pp. 46–48, #55–58) which you will eventually have to learn, but you will be able to recognise what case they are in from the article used with them.

2A

After reading the English introduction, try reading through the whole of the first page (aloud, if circumstances permit!). Then try translating the paragraph, using the running vocabulary and the following notes for guidance if you need them.

The next three sections are taken from a lawcourt speech, with imaginary conversations between three jurors at intervals, which ingeniously reinforce the new points of grammar and syntax that have been introduced. Rhetorical Greek is often elaborately structured and you may find that you have to analyse the sentences carefully as a whole, before you can translate them in detail.

The case is also fairly confusing, so it is well worth reading the introduction before you start. The speech throws some interesting light on the position of women in Athenian society.

A great deal of new grammar and syntax is introduced in these sections and so it is wise to do the exercises when they occur to consolidate your learning with practice, or, if you find that makes you lose track of the story, finish reading Section 12 and then go back to revise the grammar and do the exercises.

Section Twelve: Neaira as slave

12A

Page 144

1–2 ἃλλος ἃλλον ὡς ὁρῶσιν ἣκοντα ‘as they see one another coming’.

3 οὗ ‘where’, relative. Cf. ποῦ ‘where?’ interrogative.

μέλλονσι δικάσειν μέλλω + future infinitive, ‘I am about to do something’.

9 οὐκ ἣλπιζον ἐντεύξεσθαι ἐλπίζω + future infinitive, ‘I did not expect to meet.’

9–10 ∑τρυμοδώρῳ … διατρίβοντι … νέῳ ὄντι καὶ ὰπείρῳ All agree.

11 ἐξέσται The future of the impersonal verb ἔξεστι: ‘it will be possible’.

15 ὄλοιο 2nd. s. aorist optative of ὄλλυμι: ‘may you perish’.

Translation for 12A

When the herald summons them the dikasts come into the courtroom.

Section 1A–G

1A

Speaking Greek CD

First, read the English introduction at the beginning of Section 1A.

Now listen to the whole of Section 1A as read on the Speaking Greek CD.

Replay the first paragraph (lines 1–7), pausing at the end of every sentence and repeating the Greek aloud.

Then try working out the translation of that first paragraph, with the aid of the running vocabulary on p. 5. You will find that several complete phrases are listed (e.g. ἐν Βυςαντίῳ) and that all the nouns appear with their articles (e.g. ὁ κυβερνήτης).

If you are uncertain, check with the translation suggested below.

NB. This procedure is recommended for the whole of Section 1. It should help you to get used to the script and the sound of the language.

If you think you would prefer to find out about the grammar and how it works before you start reading, then look at GE pp. 8–12, #8–11. You will find the answers to the exercises in this volume after our grammar and notes on 1A and 1B (p. 6).

Translation for 1A (ll. 1–7)

The ship is in Byzantium. And in Byzantium, Hegestratos goes into the ship, then Sdenothemis goes into the ship, and finally the captain and the sailors go into the ship. The ship sails to Chios. In Chios, the rhapsode boards. Then the ship sails to Euboea.

This continues the story begun in Section 16. Much of the syntax introduced continues to illustrate the primary – subjunctive, secondary – optative pattern. An important item of grammar is the verb (ἀφ)ἴημι (GE pp. 336–339, #308). There will be more about this after 17A, before the exercise on it.

17A

Page 205

1–2 ἔως τὰ χρήματα παρέχοιμι See GE p. 336, #307. ἔως (‘until’) (ever) can introduce an indefinite clause with, in primary sequence, ἄν + subjunctive and, in secondary, optative without ἄν. See also GE p. 341, #309–310

Page 206

8 ῆξαν This comes from the verb ἄσσω ‘to dash’ or ‘to dart’. See vocabulary.

ἔως ἄλοιεν. See GE p. 336, #307. An indefinite clause in secondary sequence.

10 ἐκβληθείσης δὲ τῆρας Genitive absolute. This is the aorist passive participle. Can you recognise the verb it comes from? If not, look up (ἐκ) βάλλω in the list of irregular verbs on GE pp. 436–442 #389.

10–11 εἰσελθόντες ἐπὶ τὴν γυναῖκά μον Notice the disgraceful intrusion into the women's quarters. Compare this with Hagnophilos' punctilious attitude in 17B.

11–12 πάντα τὰ σκεύη, ὄσα ἔτι ὑπόλοιπά μοι ἦν ‘all the furniture, as much as was still left to me’.

12 ἄ βούλοιντο Indefinite clause in secondary sequence: ‘whatever they wanted’.

15–16 Note the parts of ἀφίημι. ἐλενθέρα ἀφειμένη: perfect passive participle, ‘having been released free’, i.e ‘having been freed’ (GE p. 338, #308).

22 ἔως εἰσέλθοιεν ‘until they came in’.

Video, patres conscripti, in me omnium uestrum ora atque oculos esse conuersos; uideo uos non solum de uestro ac rei publicae uerum etiam, si id depulsum sit, de meo periculo esse sollicitos. est mihi iucunda in malis et grata in dolore uestra erga me uoluntas, sed eam, per deos immortales, deponite atque obliti salutis meae de uobis ac de uestris liberis cogitate. mihi si haec condicio consulatus data est ut omnes acerbitates, omnes dolores cruciatusque perferrem, feram non solum fortiter uerum etiam libenter, dummodo meis laboribus uobis populoque Romano dignitas salusque pariatur. ego sum ille consul, patres conscripti, cui non forum, in quo omnis aequitas continetur, non campus consularibus auspiciis consecratus, non curia, summum auxilium omnium gentium, non domus, commune perfugium, non lectus ad quietem datus, non denique haec sella curulis, sedes honoris, umquam uacua mortis periculo atque insidiis fuit. ego multa tacui, multa pertuli, multa concessi, multa meo quodam dolore in uestro timore sanaui. nunc si hunc exitum consulatus mei di immortales esse uoluerunt ut uos populumque Romanum ex caede miserrima, coniuges liberosque uestros uirginesque Vestales ex acerbissima uexatione, templa atque delubra, hanc pulcherrimam patriam omnium nostrum ex foedissima flamma, totam Italiam ex bello et uastitate eriperem, quaecumque mihi uni proponetur fortuna subeatur. etenim si P. Lentulus suum nomen inductus a uatibus fatale ad perniciem rei publicae fore putauit, cur ego non laeter meum consulatum ad salutem populi Romani prope fatalem exstitisse?

This is another very important section which introduces some more extremely valuable grammar: infinitives in 7A (GE pp. 134–135, #150–152), and then in 7D the aorist participle is introduced (GE pp. 142–145, #162–166).

You will find the style of these passages, which are only slightly adapted from the original, rather different from the style you have met before. In the first (7A–C), taken from Plato's version of Socrates’ defence at his trial (see Introduction), you will find some rhetorical features mixed with a discursive, almost colloquial style. In the second (7D–F) you will meet the typical style of the Platonic dialogue, reflecting a technical philosophical argument, and in the third (7G–H) you will meet the narrative style that Herodotus uses in his History.

You may find that it takes you a little while to get used to these changes of style and at first the Greek may seem more difficult. But once you adapt, you will enjoy the variation and will have acquired a new skill.

Make sure that you read the ‘Introduction’ to each passage so that you understand the context.

7A–C Plato: Apology 20c–23b

7A

Page 74

1 ἐρωτῶσιν οὖν τινες ‘some people ask, therefore …’: a typical rhetorical device which allows the speaker to pose the question which he wants to answer.

3 οὐ βουλόμεθα διαβάλλειν σε ‘we don't want to slander you’: βούλομαι + the infinitive – a very common pattern.

This section continues the story of Neaira. As in Section 12 there are long exercises which practise the grammar which has been introduced. Once again you may decide to do the exercises when they occur, or to continue reading to the end of Section 13 and then go back to revise the grammar and do the relevant exercises.

13A

Page 162

1–4 The main clause (δῆλά ρὰ τεκμήρια ‘There are clear proofs that …’) is delayed until the end of the sentence. The subordinate clauses (ὄτι μὲν … δούλη ἦν Νέαιρα … καὶ ἀπέδρα … καὶ ὁ Φρυνίων … κατηγγύησε …) come first. These clauses are all subordinate to the main clause.

8 πρὶν ʾθήναζε ἐλθεῖν πρίν + infinitive, GE pp. 272–273, #252: ‘Before she came to Athens’. You will meet lots of examples of this in 13A and B.

8–9 ὥσπερ αὑτοῦ θυγάτηρ οὗσα ‘as his own daughter’. Note the breathing: αủτοῦ could have meant someone else's daughter αὑτοῦ or έαυτοῦ ‘his own’ belongs to the subject of the main verb.

10–11 καὶ δὴ ἴστε τὴν Φανώ … μαθοῦσαν Accusative and participle: ‘You know that Phano had learned’.

14–16 Note the structure: ‘Phrastor seeing (ὁρῶν) that (acc. + participle twice) …, and having found out (ἄμα δὲ πνθόμενος) that (acc. + participle) … was very angry (ὠργίσθη μάλισια) … considering (ἠγούμενος) that he … (nominative + infinitives).’

Now we return to Dikaiopolis and the rhapsode, and to an episode based on another play of Aristophanes, where he escapes into fantasy from the bitter realities of life in Athens during the Peloponnesian War. The social comment, however amusingly expressed, is deeply serious.

This section introduces the genitive case formally. You have already met it frequently, but now all forms of it are laid out (GE pp. 160–161, #178–179) and the main uses are listed (GE pp. 163–165, #180). You will also meet other forms of the comparative (GE pp. 165–167, #181–182) as well as the optative mood (GE pp. 167–169, #183–186).

8A

Page 90

1 Look for the subject and the two aorist participles before you go on to the main verb.

4 ἀπιόντα Remember the difference between ὤν (‘being’) and ἰών (‘going’). The ‘going’ verb has an iota, the ‘being’ verb does not.

3–4 καθορᾶ …, κατιδών If you remove the prefix, καθ-, κατ-, you should be able to recognise the verb. ἰδ is the stem of the second aorist εἶδον.

8 λαμβάνεται τοῦ ἱματίου He takes hold of his tunic. The genitive is used because he takes hold of part of his tunic (not the whole thing). This is called a partitive genitive.

Page 91

11 τίς ὤν σύ … Note the idiomatic use of the participle, ‘Who are you to take hold of …?’

Appian: a native of Alexandria writing in the first half of the second century ad, he composed in Greek an admiring history of Rome, partially preserved, organized chronologically by the wars of conquest.

Asconius Pedianus, Quintus: mid-first century ad author of a mainly historical commentary on C.'s speeches, of which fragmentary notes on five speeches are preserved.

Cassius Dio: member of a senatorial family of Nicaea in Bithynia, he held governorships and wrote (in Greek) a detailed Roman History in the early third century ad; the best preserved part covers 69 bc to ad 46.

Diodorus Siculus: Greek author of a universal history from earliest times to 60 bc; he completed the work in 30 bc; of the original 40 books only 15 have survived entire.

Dio: see Cassius Dio.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus: active in Rome as a teacher of rhetoric from 30 bc, he was the author of works on rhetoric but also of a history (in Greek) in 20 books dealing with Rome from its origin to the First Punic War; book 11 is incomplete, books 12–20 survive only in excerpts.

fasti: the Roman name for the calendar (listing of dies fasti et nefasti) but also for other lists, including the fasti consulares and triumphales, which survive inscribed on arches.

This passage is reproduced unadapted from Herodotus, Histories 1.34–45. Herodotus writes in the Ionic dialect (see Introduction). You will find that you get used to this quite quickly, and the vocabularies will help you as well. However, before you start, you may want to look at GE pp. 359–360, #333–334 ‘The Dialect of Herodotus’.

It is very important to read both the introduction on pp. 225–226 of RGT and the beginning of the story, pp. 227–229, which is translated for you.

19A

Page 230

1 νέμεσις ‘retribution’. This is not punishment for an evil act, but punishment for ‘thinking more than mortal thoughts’. Perpetual happiness is the prerogative of the gods and not of man. Croesus commits an act of ‘hubris’ by exhibiting pride in his continuing happiness, and thus attracts the vengeance of the gods.

2 ἑωντόν = ἑαντόν.

ὀλβιώτατον Note the emphatic position.

οἱ ‘to him’.

2–3 ἐπέστη ὄνειρος The dream is personified; it ‘stood over him’, or ‘stood beside him’.

4 διεφθαρτο Literally this means that ‘he had been destroyed’, a brutal word for ‘handicapped’ (cf. ‘written off’), but it shows Croesus' feeling that he had only one son, for all practical purposes.

5 ῷν = οὗν. Note this carefully. You will meet it frequently, and it is always easy to confuse it with ὣν ‘being’. Apart from the accent, its position near the beginning of a sentence should help to distinguish it.

This passage is reproduced unadapted from Plato, Protagoras 320c–323a. The style is not typical of Plato. It is likely that he is here imitating the style of the sophist Protagoras, into whose mouth he puts the speech, but the iambic rhythms also suggest that the myth may be based on a long established story which had been told often in verse, perhaps in tragedy. Whatever its origins, it is a fascinating passage which describes the creation of the world and the social necessity for man of possessing δίκη and αἰδώς (a sense of right and a moral awareness of others and their response to one's actions). The introduction to this section in Reading Greek is important.

18A

Page 216

1 The verb ‘to be’ is often used in the sense of ‘to exist’.

2 χρόνος εἰρμαρμένος ‘allotted’ in the sense of ‘allotted by destiny’, ‘fated’.

γῆς ἔνδον ‘within the earth’.

3 τῶν = ἐκείνων. Here the article is used as a demonstrative pronoun. This is rare in Attic Greek, though normal in Homer.

ὄσα πυρὶ καὶ γῆ κεράννυται ‘as many as are mixed with fire and earth’. This refers to air and water, the other two elements. (Some Greek philosophers believed that all things were composed of four elements, earth, air, fire and water.)

5–6 νεῖμαι, νείμαντος, νέμει, νέμων Note the repetitions, and also that the aorist stem of νέμω is νειμ-.

Here you have the whole of Odyssey 6, partly in Greek and partly in translation. Make sure you read the excellent Introduction, RGT pp. 243–244, and notice GE p. 362, #337 on some vital features of Homeric dialect and syntax, and GE pp. 362–364, #338–339 on Homeric hexameters and Greek metre. There is also the Reference Grammar pp. 378–382, #349–352 ‘Homeric dialect’ – the main features’.

Remember that this is poetry in the oral tradition. Oral poets did not commit a poem to memory verbatim, but they had in their minds a huge collection of formulaic phrases which fitted neatly into a hexameter line and they could use these to tell the story. Do you remember the rhapsode in Section 1H, with the ‘winedark sea’ (ἐπὶ οἴνοπα πόντον) and the ‘black, hollow or swift ship’? These were ‘formulas’. You will quickly come to recognise such phrases, and it is interesting to consider how Homer uses them.

20A

Page 246

1 ὥς with an accent = οὔτως ‘so’, ‘thus’.

ἔνθα Odysseus is sleeping under an olive bush, having covered himself with leaves.

καθεῦδε = καθηῦδε. The absence of the augment is very common in Homer.

See GE p. 362, #337(a).

πολύτλας δῖος 'Οδυσσεύς A formulaic phrase; Odysseus is often referred to by this description, and it is entirely apt. πολύτλας: πολύ = ‘much’, -τλας is from τλάω ‘I endure’, thus ‘much-enduring’.