Pharr's Homeric Greek Flashcards
Five main Greek dialects
Homeric, Aeolic, Ionic, Doric, Attic
The composition of the Homeric Dialect
Aeolic plus Ionic with the bulk of the forms being Ionic
ε +ο και ε+ου = _ in Attic and Homeric respectively
ου in Attic and ευ in Homeric
The digamma made what sound and what is its other name?
a “w” sound. and vau
Homeric double σ’s become _ in Attic?
ττ like θάλασσα και πρήσσω become θαλαττα και πραττω. but two sigmas brought together by inflection in Homeric drop down to one sigma in Attic
Homeric ρς becomes _ in Attic
ρρ
pronouncing gamma nasals γγ γκ γξ γχ
ng
nk like ink
nx
nkh like pink
pronounce αι
ai as in aisle
pronounce ου and ωυ
oo as in moose
pronounce ευ and ηυ
e-oo pronounced together quickly
pronounce αυ
ow as in house
pronounce υι
ui as in suite
pronounce οι
oy as in boy
pronounce ει
ay as in hay
when do you see a diaeresis?
over the second vowel of a diphthong signifying that the two vowels are to be pronounced separately like in προιϊάπτω = pro-i-ap-to
when a diphthong ending in υ is followed by a vowel pronounce a _ between them
w like ευορκος = eu-wor-kos
when a diphthong ending in ι is followed by a vowel pronounce a _ between them
y like αιολος = ai - yo - los
letters 21-24
φ, χ, ψ, ω
letters 17-20
ρ, σ, τ, υ
letters 9-16
ι, κ, λ, μ, ν, ξ, ο, π
sixth, seventh, and eighth letters
ζ, η, θ
first five letters
α, β, γ, δ, ε
the pitches of acute, grave, and circumflex accents:
acute: a higher or rising pitch (φίλη) grave: a lower or falling pitch. circumflex: a rising then falling pitch.
Greek has how many declensions?
3 with additional subgroups
a pattern of Greek suffixes
a declension
This declension, also called the alpha and eta stem declension, consists mostly of words of the feminine gender
the first declension
This declension, or omicron declension, consists mostly of masculine and neuter words
the second declension
This declension consists of nouns of all three genders. Many have stems that end in consonants.
the third declension
the purpose of numovables when found is what?
to make the words easier to pronounce
The Greek vowels are
α, ε, η, ο, ω (pure) and ι, υ, and the digamma (semi-vowels)
A syllable is long by position when…
its vowel is followed by two or more consonants, or by a double consonant. this also applies when those consonants come in the following word.
what is always the quantity of a diphthong?
long
the horizontal line - , called a macron, over a doubtful vowel means what?
it’s long
the quantity of vowels with a circumflex
always long
quantity of vowels (at least in Homer)
η και ω are always long. ε και ο are always short. α, ι, and υ (the doubtful vowels) are sometimes long and sometimes short
the double consonants
ζ =σδ, ξ=κς, γς, χς, ψ=πς, βς, φς
the spirants/sibiliants
σ και ζ
the liquids
λ και ρ
the nasals
μ (labial), ν (dental), γ-nasal (velar)
Rough/aspirate mutes
φ, θ, χ
middle/medial mutes
β, δ, γ
smooth mutes/tenues
π, τ, κ
Velar/palatal (palate)/κ/guttural (throat) mutes
κ, γ, χ
dental (teeth)/τ/lingual (tongue) mutes
τ, δ, θ
labial (lip)/π mutes
π, β, φ
list all of the mutes/stops
π, β, φ, κ, γ, χ, τ, δ, θ
a rough breathing mark is also called…
an aspiration
in ancient Greek and Latin only the last three syllables can be accented. what are they called?
the ultima is the last syllable of a word, the penult is the next-to-last syllable, and the antepenult is third-from-last syllable.
an accent, usually to be found in verbs, which occurs as early as the rules will allow is called…
recessive
a word with the acute on the last syllable is called…
oxytone (sharp-toned)
monosyllables with no accent of their own which closely precede other words are called…
proclitics
monosyllables that have lost their accents which closely follow other words and are often pronounced with the preceding word as if part of the last syllable of the preceding word…
enclitics
A Greek word has as many syllables as it has…
vowels and diphthongs
some common double forms:
μία (ἴα), γαῖα (γῆ), λείβω (εἴβω) drip, drop, pour; ἐρί(γ)δουπος loud-roaring, resounding; ξύν (σύν) together, with
metathesis of quantity
when the longness and shortness in back to back vowels trade places.
elision
the falling away of a short final vowel when the next word begins with a vowel or diphthong. an apostrophe marks the omission except in the case of elisions found within compounds
adjacent like-sounding vowels often contract into a common long sound in the following cases…
αα=α; εη=η; ιι=ι; οω=ω; υυ=υ
except εε becomes ει and οο becomes ου
an o sound absorbs an a or an e sound and becomes… long o (ω)
long o (ω), except εο gives ευ, while οε becomes ου.
If an a sound comes together with an e sound,
the one that comes first absorbs the other and becomes long (α,η).
α+α=
long alpha
long alpha plus short alpha equals
long alpha
short alpha plus long alpha equals
long alpha
α+αι=
αι
α+ᾳ=
ᾳ
α+ε=
long alpha
α+ει=
ᾳ but sometimes long alpha
α+η=
long alpha
α+ῃ=
ᾳ
long alpha plus iota=
ᾳ
α+ο=
ω
α+οι=
ῳ
α+ου=
ω
α+ω=
ω
ε+α=
η
ε+long alpha=
η
ε+αι=
ῃ but sometimes αι
ε+ε=
ει
ε+ει=
ει
ε+η=
η
ε+ῃ=
ῃ
ε+ι=
ει
ε+ο=
ευ
ε+οι=
οι
ε+ου=
ευ
ε+υ=
ευ
ε+ω=
ω
ε+ῳ=
ῳ
η+α=
η
η+αι=
ῃ
η+ε=
η
η+ει=
ῃ but sometimes just η
η+η=
η
η+ῃ=
ῃ
η+ι=
ῃ
η+οι=
ῳ
ι+ε=
long iota
ι+ι=
long iota
ο+α=
ω but sometimes long alpha
ο+αι=
αι
ο+ε=
ου
ο+ει=
οι rarely ου
ο+η=
ω
ο+ῃ=
οι rarely ῳ
ο+ι=
οι
ο+ο=
ου
ο+οι=
οι
ο+ου=
ου
ο+υ=
ου
ο+ω=
ω
ο+ῳ=
ῳ
υ+ι=
long upsilon
υ+υ=
long upsilon
ω+α=
ω
ω+ε=
ω
ω+ι=
ῳ
ω+ο=
ω
ω+ω=
ω
synizesis
when two successive vowels that do not form a diphthong are pronounced as one syllable for the sake of the meter
crasis
when a vowel or diphthong that ends a word is contracted and combined into a single syllable with the vowel that begins the following word (very rare in Homer)
syncope
the suppression (falling away) of a short vowel within a word which often happens when two words come together
ablaut
(or vowel gradation) a change or disappearance of a vowel in very closely related words like sing, sang, song, sung.
vocalic (sonant)
when the liquids (λ, ρ) and μ και ν of the nasals are used as vowels in certain combinations. when this happens they are found with a small circle underneath
compensative (compensatory) lengthening
when the loss of one or more consonants in a word occasions the lengthening of the preceding vowel.
consonantal υ
digamma/vau was basically a more consonantal sounding υ and the two traded places often. upsilon ultimately entirely substituted for it
where did the rough breathing come from?
it is a substitute for a lost sigma. the sigma was often retained in ancient Latin borrowings such as ὑπερ to super.
the only consonants that can stand at the end of a word
ν, ρ, ς. εκ, εξ, ουκ, ουχ seem to be exceptions but are proclitics so they don’t really matter. other consonants are dropped but retained in latin such as with amat and amabat much like how latin retained s’ where rough breathing marks were put in in Greek.
Inflection
the fusion of a stem and certain elements that express relationship to other words. it comes in the form of declension (nouns, pronouns, adjectives), comparison (adjectives, adverbs) and verbal conjugation.
a root
what’s left after all prefixes, suffixes, and formative elements have been removed. sometimes a root and a stem are identical
a stem
more complex than a root in that it usually has more than one possible form or is an expression of one form among many. it may have suffixes, prefixes, or other formative elements that a root does not have. sometimes identical with a root however
the stem characteristic
the last letter of the stem from which stems are classified as either vowel stems, mute stems, liquid stems, etc.
the three main classifications of stems
vowel, mute, and liquid stems
Rules of thumb for gender
- the names of males are masculine.
- the names of females are feminine.
- names of rivers, winds, and months are usually masculine.
- names of countries, towns, trees, and islands are usually feminine.
- most nouns denoting qualities and conditions are feminine.
some nouns have a common gender so can denote male or female based on context
the three basic personal pronouns and the genders they denote:
ὁ masculine, ἡ feminine, τό neuter
the two noun case endings that are the tell tale signs of its declension are…
the nominative and genitive.
the five main cases in Greek along with the three lost (now sub-) cases
nominative, genitiv, dative, accusative, and vocative. the locative, instrumental, and ablative.
the oblique cases
genitive, dative, accusative, locative, instrumental, and ablative
the two main ways nouns are declined
- the vowel declension for stems ending in the pure vowels, long alpha and short omicron.
- the consonant declension for stems ending in a consonant or the semi-vowels, iota and upsilon
the two declensions stemming from the vowel declension
- the first declension from stems ending in an alpha or long alpha
- the second declension from stems ending in omicron
the consonant declension/third declension stems from stems ending in
a semi-vowel of either iota or upsilon
the only two genders of the first declension
masculine and feminine. the other two declensions have all three
raw case endings of the first declension masculine singular
nom. σ or none
gen. ο (ιο)
dat. ι
acc. ν
voc. none
raw first declension feminine singular case endings
nom. none
gen. ς
dat. ι
acc. ν
voc. none
raw first and second declension masculine and feminine dual case endings
N.A.V. none
G.D. ιιν
raw masculine and feminine third declension dual case endings
N.A.V. ε
G.D. οιιν
Raw second declension male and female singular case endings
nom. ς
gen. ο (ιο)
dat. ι
acc. ν
voc. none
Raw second declension neuter singular case endings
nom. ν
gen. ο (ιο)
dat. ι
acc. ν
voc. ν
Raw masculine and feminine third declension singular case endings
nom. ς (none)
gen. ος
dat. ι
acc. ν, α
voc. ς (none)
raw third declension singular neuter case endings
nom. none
gen. ος
dat. ι
acc. none
voc. none
raw masculine and feminine first and second declension plural case endings
N.V. ι
Gen. ων
Dat. (ι)σι, ις
Acc. νς
Raw second declension neuter plural case endings
N.V. α
Gen. ων
Dat. (ι)σι, ις
Acc. α
Raw third declension masculine and feminine plural case endings
N.V. ες
Gen. ων
Dat. σ(σ)ι,
εσ(σ)ι
Acc. νς, ννς
Raw third declension neuter plural case endings
N.V. α
Gen. ων
Dat. σ(σ)ι,
εσ(σ)ι
Acc. α
incarnate first declension, masculine, singular endings
N. ης, (α, ας)
G. αο, (εω,ω)
D. ῃ, (ᾳ)
A. ην, (αν)
V. η, α,
incarnate first declension, feminine, singular endings
N. η, α G. ης, ας D. ῃ, (ᾳ) A. ην, αν V. η, α,
incarnate first declension masculine and feminine dual endings
N.A.V. α
G.D. ῃιν
incarnate first declension masculine and feminine plural endings
N.V. αι
G. αων (έων, ῶν)
D. ῃσι, ῃς (sometimes αις with feminine)
A. ας
incarnate second declension singular mas. and fem. endings
N. ος, (ως, ους)
G. οιο, ου, (οο, ωο, ω)
D. ῳ
A. ον, (ων)
V. ε (ος)
incarnate second declension singular neuter endings
N. ον
G.
D. ῳ
A. ον
V. ον
incarnate second declension dual masc., fem, and neuter endings
N.A.V. ω
G.D. οιιν
incarnate second declension plural masculine and feminine endings
N.V. οι, (ῳ)
G. ων
D. οισι, οις
A. ους, (ως)
incarnate second declension plural neuter endings
N.V. α
G.
D. οισι, οις
A. α
incarnate third declension singular masc. and fem. endings
N. ς
G. ος, (ευς, ους, ως)
D. ι, (ι, ῳ)
A. α, ν, (η, ω)
V. (ς)
incarnate third declension singular neuter endings
N.
G. ος, (ευς, ους, ως)
D. ι, ( ι, )
A.
V.
incarnate third declension dual masculine, feminine, and neuter endings
N.A.V. ε
G.D. οιιν
incarnate third declension plural masculine and feminine
N.V. ες, (εις, ους)
G. ων
D. σι, εσσι, (εσι)
A. ς, ας, (ις, υς, ιες)
incarnate third declension plural neuter endings
N.V. α, (η, ω)
G. ων
D. σι, εσσι, (εσι)
A. α, (η)
iota, the dative singular ending for all declensions, always becomes an iota subscript after what kind of letter?
long vowels
the regular forms for the ending of the dative plural in the first two declensions are what?
ῃσι and οισι. occasionally ῃς, οις but almost always when vowels start the next word in which case they should be treated as examples of elision (with an apostrophe at the end)
the genitive plural of all forms ends in what?
ων
the nominative, accusative, and vocative of all _ are alike.
neuters
the three cases at a pre-Homeric stage of the Greek language:
the instrumental (means, manner, instrument), the locative (denoting the place where), and the ablative (denoting separation, source, etc.)
what happened to the three lost cases?
the dative fused with the instrumental and locative. the genitive absorbed most of the functions of the ablative
first declension feminine noun (βουλή, ῆς, ἡ) singular
N. βουλή
G. βουλῆς
D. βουλῇ
A. βουλήν
V. βουλή
first declension feminine noun (βουλή, ῆς, ἡ) dual
N.A.V. βουλά
G.D. βουλῇιν
first declension feminine noun (βουλή, ῆς, ἡ) plural
N.V. βουλαί
G. βουλάων (έων, ῶν)
D. βουλῇσι, ῇς
A. βουλάς
first declension feminine noun (θεά, ᾶς, ἡ) singular
N.A.V. θεά
G. θεᾶς
D. θεᾷ
A. θεάν
first declension feminine noun (θάλασσα, ης, ἡ) singular
N.A.V. θάλασσα
G. θαλάσσης
D. θαλάσσῃ
A. θάλασσαν
first declension feminine noun (γαῖα, ης, ἡ) singular
N.A.V. γαῖα
G. γαίης
D. γαίῃ
A. γαῖαν
first declension feminine noun (γαῖα, ης, ἡ) dual
N.A.V. γαία
G.D. γαίῃιν
first declension feminine noun (γαῖα, ης, ἡ) plural
N.V. γαῖαι
G. γαιάων (έων, ῶν)
D. γαίῃσι, ῃς
A. γαίας
first declension feminine noun (θάλασσα, ης, ἡ) dual
N.A.V. θαλάσσα
G.D. θαλάσσῃιν
first declension feminine noun (θάλασσα, ης, ἡ) plural
N.V. θάλασσαι
G. θαλασσάων (έων, ῶν)
D. θαλάσσῃσι, ῃς
A. θαλάσσας
first declension feminine noun (θεά, ᾶς, ἡ) dual
N.A.V. θεά
G.D. θεῇιν
first declension feminine noun (θεά, ᾶς, ἡ) plural
N.V. θεαί
G. θεάων (ῶν)
D. θεῇσι, ῇς (θεαῖς)
A. θεάς
First declension masculine noun (Ἀτρεΐδης, αο, ὁ. son of Atreus) singular
N. Ἀτρεΐδης
G. Ἀτρεΐδαο (εω)
D. Ἀτρεΐδῃ
A. Ἀτρεΐδην
V. Ἀτρεΐδη
First declension masculine noun (Ἀτρεΐδης, αο, ὁ. son of Atreus) dual
N.A.V. Ἀτρεΐδα
G.D. Ἀτρεΐδῃιν
First declension masculine noun (Ἀτρεΐδης, αο, ὁ. son of Atreus) plural
N.V. Ἀτρεΐδαι
G. Ἀτρεΐδάων (έων, ῶν)
D. Ἀτρεΐδῃσι, ῃς
A. Ἀτρεΐδας
First declension masculine noun (Aἰνείας, αο, ὁ. Aeneas) singular
N. Aἰνείας
G. Aἰνείαο (ω)
D. Aἰνείᾳ
A. Aἰνείαν
V. Aἰνεία
First declension masculine noun (Aἰνείας, αο, ὁ. Aeneas) dual
none
First declension masculine noun (Aἰνείας, αο, ὁ. Aeneas) plural
none
First declension masculine noun (αἰχμητής, ᾶο, ὁ.) singular
N. αἰχμητής (αἰχμητά)
G. αἰχμητᾶο (έω)
D. αἰχμητῇ
A. αἰχμητήν
V. αἰχμητά
First declension masculine noun (αἰχμητής, ᾶο, ὁ.) dual
N.A.V. αἰχμητά
G.D. αἰχμητῇιν
First declension masculine noun (αἰχμητής, ᾶο, ὁ.) plural
N.V. αἰχμηταί
G. αἰχμητάων (έων, ῶν)
D. αἰχμητῇσι, ῇς
A. αἰχμητάς
Masculines usually take the case ending _ in the nominative singular whereas the feminines do not
ς
masculines and feminines in both the dual and the plural are all declined alike in what declension?
the first
in the first declension masculines are declined like feminines except in the _ and _ singular and occasionally in the _ singular
nominative and genitive. vocative
masculines ending in δης have _ in the vocative singular. those ending in της have _ and those ending in ας have _.
η, τα, α
nouns of the second declension have stems ending in _
ο (ε in the vocative sing. f and m.). primarily a masculine and neuter declension with very few feminines
which two genders are declined alike in the second declension?
masculine and feminine.
how do neuters differ from masculines and feminines in the second declension?
- nom., acc., and voc. singular all end in ν (ον).
2. The nom., acc., and voc., plural end in α.