Attic Greek
The dialect of Athens during its golden age — the language of Plato, Sophocles, Thucydides, and Athenian democracy.
Overview
Attic Greek is the dialect of ancient Athens and its surrounding territory of Attica, used during the Classical period (5th–4th centuries BCE). As the language of Athens’ golden age, Attic Greek is the medium of an incomparable literary tradition: the tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides, the comedies of Aristophanes, the histories of Thucydides and Xenophon, the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, and the oratory of Demosthenes. Attic Greek later evolved into Koine Greek, the lingua franca of the Hellenistic world and the language of the New Testament.[8]
The Greek Alphabet
The Greek alphabet, adopted from the Phoenician consonantal script around 800 BCE (with the crucial addition of vowel letters), is the ancestor of the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets:[1]
| Letter | Name | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Α α | alpha | a |
| Β β | beta | b |
| Γ γ | gamma | g |
| Δ δ | delta | d |
| Ε ε | epsilon | e (short) |
| Ζ ζ | zeta | zd/dz |
| Η η | eta | ē (long) |
| Θ θ | theta | tʰ |
| Ι ι | iota | i |
| Κ κ | kappa | k |
| Λ λ | lambda | l |
| Μ μ | mu | m |
| Ν ν | nu | n |
| Ξ ξ | xi | ks |
| Ο ο | omicron | o (short) |
| Π π | pi | p |
| Ρ ρ | rho | r |
| Σ σ/ς | sigma | s |
| Τ τ | tau | t |
| Υ υ | upsilon | u/y |
| Φ φ | phi | pʰ |
| Χ χ | chi | kʰ |
| Ψ ψ | psi | ps |
| Ω ω | omega | ō (long) |
Greek also uses breathing marks (rough ʽ = /h/, smooth ʼ = ∅) and accent marks (acute, grave, circumflex) indicating pitch accent.[1]
Grammar Highlights
Attic Greek has a rich inflectional system:
- Nouns — Three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), three numbers (singular, dual, plural), five cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative)
- Verbs — Complex system of tenses (present, imperfect, future, aorist, perfect, pluperfect), moods (indicative, subjunctive, optative, imperative), voices (active, middle, passive), and participles
- Articles — The definite article (ὁ, ἡ, τό) is fully declined and essential for reading Greek
- Particles — Greek uses numerous particles (μέν… δέ, γάρ, οὖν, ἄν, etc.) to add nuance and connection to discourse
- Word order — Relatively free, with emphasis on the first and last positions in a clause[1]
Key Texts for Students
- Xenophon, Anabasis — Clear Attic prose, traditionally the first extended text students read
- Plato, Apology — Socrates’ trial speech; accessible philosophical prose
- Lysias, orations — Clean, simple oratory, excellent for intermediate reading
- Homer, Iliad and Odyssey — Not Attic but Ionic/Aeolic epic dialect; traditionally read after Attic prose
- Euripides, Bacchae and Sophocles, Oedipus Rex — Tragedy for more advanced students
Recommended Learning Path
- Learn the alphabet and pronunciation (including accents and breathings)
- Work through a grammar (Mastronarde or Hansen & Quinn — see below)
- Read adapted texts and exercises
- Progress to unadapted Xenophon or Plato
- Read Homer (with separate study of epic dialect features)
- Expand to tragedy, comedy, historiography
Sample Text
Opening of Homer’s Iliad (in polytonic Greek):
μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί᾽ Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε᾽ ἔθηκε
“Sing, goddess, the wrath of Achilles, son of Peleus, the accursed wrath that brought countless sorrows upon the Achaeans”
While Homer’s epics are in the Ionic/Aeolic literary dialect rather than pure Attic, they form the foundation of the Greek literary tradition and are essential reading for all students of Ancient Greek.
Learning Resources
Textbooks & Grammars
- Donald Mastronarde, Introduction to Attic Greek (2nd ed., UC Press) — The most widely adopted textbook in North American universities; thorough and systematic
- Hansen & Quinn, Greek: An Intensive Course — Intensive approach; very popular at universities with accelerated programs
- Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar — The comprehensive reference grammar (1920, still unsurpassed)
- Anne Groton, From Alpha to Omega — Accessible alternative for self-study
- Maurice Balme & Gilbert Lawall, Athenaze — Popular reading-based textbook that teaches Greek through a continuous narrative set in Classical Athens; excellent for self-study and university courses alike
Online Resources
- Perseus Digital Library — Greek texts with morphological analysis and dictionary lookup
- Logeion — Fast dictionary lookup (LSJ, Middle Liddell, Autenrieth)
- Ancient Greek Tutorials (Berkeley) — Free online textbook companion
- Alpheios — Browser extension for reading Greek with instant morphological help
- Dickinson College Commentaries — Annotated editions of several core texts
Courses & Communities
- Most Classics departments offer Ancient Greek sequence (Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Berkeley, Chicago, etc.)
- Paideia Institute — Living Latin and Greek programs, summer intensives in Rome and Athens
- r/AncientGreek — Active Reddit community for learners
- YouTube: Ancient Greek with Athenaze, Pharr’s Homer walkthroughs
References
- ↑ *Donald Mastronarde, Introduction to Attic Greek*** (2nd ed., UC Press) — The most widely adopted textbook in North American universities; thorough and systematic
- ↑ *Hansen & Quinn, Greek: An Intensive Course*** — Intensive approach; very popular at universities with accelerated programs
- ↑ *Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar*** — The comprehensive reference grammar (1920, still unsurpassed)
- ↑ *Anne Groton, From Alpha to Omega*** — Accessible alternative for self-study
- ↑ *Maurice Balme & Gilbert Lawall, Athenaze*** — Popular reading-based textbook that teaches Greek through a continuous narrative set in Classical Athens; excellent for self-study and university courses alike
- ↑ Perseus Digital Library — Greek texts with morphological analysis and dictionary lookup https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/
- ↑ Logeion — Fast dictionary lookup (LSJ, Middle Liddell, Autenrieth) https://logeion.uchicago.edu/
- ↑ Ancient Greek Tutorials (Berkeley) — Free online textbook companion https://ancientgreek.pressbooks.com/