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Instructor: Professor Alexander Hollmann

MTWThF 1.30–2.20pm Savery 138

Office hours: Denny Hall 262E, office in ������ Dept Office, MW 3-4pm (or by appointment; Zoom possible too)

Welcome to the first course in a year-long sequence designed to introduce students to Ancient Greek (Classical and koine).

By the end of the course you will be able to:

     -read and translate simple selections from ancient Greek authors and compose simple sentences in Greek.

     -understand and explain literary, historical, and cultural context of ancient Greek texts

     -analyze and explain ancient Greek grammar and syntax

     -analyze and explain ancient Greek’s influence on and connection to other languages and literatures

By the end of the sequence (Greek 101, 102, 103 or Greek 300, Greek 103) you equip yourself to read any Greek author. In our second-year courses (Greek 304, 305, 306, 307) students read selections of Xenophon (306), Plato (307), Homer (307), and biblical texts (304).

Required textbooks:

Anne Groton, From Alpha to Omega (4th or 5th ed.)

Anne Groton and James May, 46 Stories in Classical Greek

Course components:

Homework                  20%

Vocabulary quizzes     20%

Quizzes                       40%

Final examination       10%

Participation                10%

 

used to convert percentages to GPA

 

Homework: this should be prepared to the best of your ability and in writing for the day it is assigned on the schedule. We will go through all or part of the assigned homework together in class. You should feel free to correct any mistakes then. Please then submit your homework via Canvas later that day by 11.59pm. You can do this by uploading a photo or scan of your homework or uploading a word file. I will then assign a grade for completion and accuracy of the work.

Vocabulary quizzes: these are taken in class on every other Friday (generally) and cover vocabulary encountered since the last vocabulary quiz. You will be required to know vocabulary both from Greek into English and from English into Greek. These quizzes are designed to be short (approx. 10 min.) and leave the rest of the period for other activities.

Quizzes: these are taken in class on those Fridays when a vocabulary quiz is not given. They will ask you to produce paradigms, mainly translate from Greek into English, and possibly answer questions about grammar and syntax. They are designed to take you 20–30 minutes to complete.

Final examination: this will have the same format as a typical quiz but will be somewhat longer. It will test knowledge of work done throughout the term including work done since the last quiz.

Participation: this assumes regular attendance in class but is assessed rather in terms of engagement with the class. This might be shown through interactions (constructive involvement in group work, discussion, translation, questions, comments, curiosity about the material) both inside and outside of class. I try to call on all students in class and create an open and supportive atmosphere where students are comfortable responding even if they feel they do not have an answer or the “right” answer. If you are experiencing anxiety, feel free to say “Can I pass on that one, please?” or let me know outside class.

 

Missing homework, vocabulary and other quizzes: if you need to miss or have missed any of these because of illness or personal or religious reasons (please see for University policy on observing religious holiday), please tell me as soon as you can. In the case of missing quizzes (both sorts) I will generally grant a make-up. If you are missing more than the occasional class, please get in touch with me.

 

Schedule (as of Sept. 24, 2025): changes may be made, but I will always let you know by email of the changes.

 

 

Week 1: Lesson 1 (Alphabet), Lesson 2 (Accents: initially only p. 9, we will come back to this lesson during the term), Lesson 3 (Ω-verbs pres. act. inf., indic., imperative)

 

W Sept. 24 Intro. and alphabet. PP shown in class .

Th Sept. 25 HW: p. 6–7 Ex A 1–24 (first copy the names out to practice writing in Greek and then transliterate the names with English letters, e.g. Ποσειδῶν Poseidōn, don't worry about dividing into syllables. Practice saying the names with ancient Greek pronunciation and seeing how this might differ from familiar English pronunciation). Submit .

F Sept. 26 Read pp. 13–19 but concentrate on pp.16–19 §§19–23 and don’t panic about §17-18! PP shown in class .

 

Week 2 Lesson 4 (1^st decl. part 1), Lesson 5 (1^st decl. part 2)

 

M Sept. 29 HW: p. 20 G to E sentences 1–10; E to G sentences 1–5. Submit .

T Sept. 30 Read Lesson 4 pp. 21–25. PP shown in class .

W Oct. 1 HW: p. 26 § 33 G to E 1-3, 5-10; E to G 1-3, 5. Submit .

Th Oct. 2 Read pp. 27–28. PP shown in class .

F Oct. 3 QUIZ 1 (Lessons 1,3,4, but not Lesson 5)

 

Week 3 Lesson 6 (Ω-verbs future indic. & inf.), Lesson 7 (2^nd decl.)

 

M Oct. 6 HW: p. 29 §37 G to E 1,3,4,6,7,9,10 E to G 2,3,4. Submit .

Read together in class p. 30 “A Fowl Plan Backfires”

T Oct. 7 Read Lesson 6 pp. 31–34. PP shown in class .

W Oct. 8 HW: p. 34 §41 G to E: 1,2,3,4,6,8,9; E to G 2,3,4. Submit . We'll look together at p. 35 Reading "Old Habits Never Die".

Th Oct. 9 Read Lesson 7 pp. 37–39. PP shown in class .

F Oct. 10 We read p. 35 Reading "Old Habits Never Die" and looked at for another weasel myth. VOCAB QUIZ 1 (covering vocab. in Lessons 3 through 6)

 

Week 4 Lesson 8 (2^nd decl. neut; adj. 1^st & 2^nd decl.), Lesson 9 (1^st decl. masc.)

 

M Oct. 13 HW: p. 40 §48 G to E 1,3,4,6,7,8; E to G 1,2,3. Submit . We may read together p. 41 "Fleeting Joys and Fleeing Fish"

T Oct. 14 Lesson 8: read pp. 43–47. PP shown in class .

W Oct. 15 HW: p. 48 §57 G to E 2,5,6,7,9,10; E to G 1,2. Submit . We read by Palladas ("All life is a stage").

Th Oct. 16 Lesson 9: read pp. 51–54. PP shown in class .

F Oct. 17 QUIZ 2 (Lessons 5,6,7,8 but not Lesson 9)

 

Week 5 Lesson 10 (Ω-verbs imperf. indic. act), Lesson 11(Ω-verbs middle/pass.)

 

M Oct. 20 HW: p. 54 §64 G to E 1,3,5,6,7,8,9; E to G 1,3. Submit .

T Oct. 21 Lesson 10: read pp. 57–60. PP shown in class .

W Oct. 22 HW: p. 60 §70 G to E 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,10; E to G 1,2,4. Submit .

Th Oct. 23 Lesson 11: read pp. 63–68. PP shown in class .

F Oct. 24 VOCAB QUIZ 2 (Lessons 7 through 10)

 

Week 6 Lesson 12 (εἰμί, enclitics), Lesson 13 (demonstratives)

M Oct. 27 HW: p. 68–69 §78 G to E 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10; E to G 2,4,5. Submit .

T Oct. 28 Lesson 12: read pp. 71–74 (but don't worry too much about pp. 73–74). PP shown in class .

W Oct. 29 HW: p. 75 §82 G to E 1,2,3,5,7,8,9; E to G 2,5. Submit . We looked at some statements.

Th Oct. 30 Lesson 13: read pp. 77–79. PP shown in class .

F Oct. 31 QUIZ 3 (Lessons 9 through 12)

 

Week 7 Lesson 14 (personal pronouns)

 

M Nov. 3 NO CLASS: INSTRUCTOR ILL

T Nov. 4 We will read together in class "A Sheepish Mistake" (p.76) and "Sticking Together" (p. 81). We looked at .

W Nov. 5 HW: p. 80 G to E 4,5,6,7,8,9; E to G 1,3. Submit .

Th Nov. 6 Lesson 14: read pp. 83–85. PP shown in class .

F Nov. 7 We looked at . VOCAB QUIZ 3 (Lessons 11–13)

 

Week 8 Lesson 15 (contract verbs, contracted futures)

 

M Nov. 10 HW: pp. 85–86 G to E 1,3,4,5,7,8,10; E to G 1,2. Submit .

T Nov. 11 NO CLASS: VETERANS DAY

W Nov. 12 Lesson 15: read pp. 87–91 (and don't panic!). PP shown in class .

Th Nov. 13 HW: p. 92 G to E 2,3,5,7,8,9; E to G 1,3. Submit .

F Nov. 14 QUIZ 4 (Lessons 13–14).

 

Week 9 Lesson 16 (3^rd decl.: stop, liquid, nasal stems) Lesson 17 (3^rd decl.: sigma stems, adjs.)

 

M Nov. 17 Lesson 16: read pp. 95-98. PP shown in class .

T Nov. 18 HW: 1. Take the nouns νύξ, νυκτός (f.) ‘night’ and ἐλπίς, ἐλπίδος (f.) ‘hope’ and produce all possible forms. 2. Do p. 98 G to E 1,2,6,7,8,9,10; E to G 1,4. Submit .

W Nov. 19 Lesson 17: read pp. 101-104

Th Nov. 20 Lesson 17 presentation cont'd. We looked together at readings p. 93 "Mighty Mouse" and p. 99 "Where To Draw the Lion"

F Nov. 21 We continued with reading p. 99 "Where to Draw the Lion".  We looked at some variants . VOCAB QUIZ 4 (Lessons 15 and 16)

 

Week 10 Lesson 17 cont'd (3^rd decl.: sigma stems, adjs.)

 

M Nov. 24 NO CLASS: INSTRUCTOR AT MEDICAL APPT

T Nov. 25 HW: Decline fully the noun γένος, γένους (n.) “class, type”. Pp. 104–105 G to E 1,3,4,5,7,8,9; E to G 4,5. Submit .

W Nov. 26 NO CLASS

Th Nov. 27 NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING

F Nov. 28 NO CLASS: NATIVE AM. HERITAGE DAY

 

Week 11 Catch-up, reading, revision: in-class work

 

M Dec. 1 Reading and worksheet in class. Worksheet 1 . Answer sheet .

T Dec. 2 Reading and worksheet in class. We looked at these plus these uses of .

W Dec. 3 Reading and worksheet in class. Worksheet 2 .

Th Dec. 4 Reading and worksheet in class. Worksheet 3 .

F Dec. 5 Reading and worksheet in class. We'll look at some Aeschylus and Aristophanes . Worksheet 4 .

 

EXAM WEEK

FINAL EXAM: M Dec. 8 2.30-4.20pm Savery 138 (our usual classroom- but note that the start time is 2.30, rather than our usual 1.30). Exam information .