CONCLUSION
One last thing about Greek verbs: they have seven tenses (present, imperfect, aorist, future, perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect), three voices (active, middle, and passive), and six moods (indicative, subjunctive, optative, imperative, infinitive, and participle).
This concludes our introduction to ancient Greek. You now know the alphabet, a few words, and the basics of noun and verb declensions. If this merely whetted your appetite, don’t worry; there is still plenty to learn. :)
If you are left wanting more, the next step would be a beginner’s Greek grammar, such as the ones I learned from:
– Chase
and Phillips, A New Introduction to Greek. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1977.
Very terse, but complete and well-organized.
– Crosby
and Schaeffer, An Introduction to Greek. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1928.
Repetitious and a little disorganized, but overall easier to understand.
More books about ancient Greek are available, some newer and well-recommended.
When you get really into it, check out the readings from the original Greek texts of Aristarchus and Archimedes (something to look forward to!)
I leave you with some prepositions, their commoner meanings, and English words derived from them:
| ἀνά | “up” | anabolic | + βάλλω, “throw” | ||
| ἀπό | “from” | apostasy | + στάσις, “standing” | ||
| διά | “through” | diagonal | + γωνία, “angle” | ||
| ἐκ | “out of, from” | eccentric | + κέντρον, “point, center” | ||
| ἐν | “in, among” | empathy | + πάθος, “experience, feeling” | ||
| ἐπί | “on, against” | epigastric | + γαστήρ, “stomach” | ||
| κατά | “down” | catalyst | + λύσις, “loosing, parting” | ||
| μετά | “with, after” | metaphysical | + φύσις, “nature” | ||
| παρά | “beside” | parallel | + ἀλλήλων, “each other” | ||
| περί | “about, near” | perihelion | + ἥλιος, “sun” | ||
| πρό | “before” | prologue | + λόγος, “word” | ||
| σύν | “with” | symphony | + φωνή, “sound” | ||
| ὑπέρ | “over, above” | hyperbaric | + βαρύς, “heavy” | ||
| ὑπό | “under” | hypodermic | + δέρμα, “skin” |