Ancient Greek

This text serves as an introduction to Classical Greek, appropriate for a first year course. This text is in the development phase. Please join the discussion if you'd like to contribute.

Before You Begin

As you probably already know, Greek and English use different alphabets. Because of this, you need to download and install a Greek font to properly view any of the following pages. If you don't, they will appear as gibberish. Below, you should see the first line of the Iliad.

μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος

Don't worry if you can't read the letters yet (that's the first lesson). You should see five words with a few types of accents. If you see question marks or boxes (even if you see a few Greek letters interspersed), you need to install a font which supports Polytonic Unicode Greek, or upgrade your browser. If the size of the font makes reading uncomfortable for you, you may wish to adjust your browser or display settings.

Table of Contents

Chapter I: Introduction to Classical Greek

• Preface
• Alphabet

  Pronunciation | Diacritical Marks | Punctuation

• Dialects

Chapter II: The Greek Noun

• Basic Nouns

  Basic Nouns/First Declension

  Basic Nouns/Second Declension

  Basic Nouns/Third Declension

Chapter III: Verbs

• Basic Verbs

  Personal Endings | Tenses | Aspect | Irregular Verbs

External Links

• The Perseus Classics Library at Tufts university has texts, grammars, and dictionary tools.
• For more free language-learning materials on classical Greek go to Textkit's website at http://www.textkit.com
• Greek Language Course and Libraries at Elpenor; audio files, forums, select links.