Κεφάλαιον Α′

Chapter I

Gods, Humans, and Beasts

Welcome

In this chapter we begin our journey into Ancient Greek with gods, humans, and beasts. As you read, do not try to translate every sentence. Instead, look carefully at the Greek and notice what changes and what remains the same.

The language itself will show you the patterns.

I. Lectio — Reading

Read the following sentences carefully. Look for repeated words and endings.

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Lectio I

Θεοί, ἄνθρωποι καὶ θηρία

Enter the interactive reading. Listen to the audio, read the Greek text, hover over words for translations, and click for grammatical parsing.

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Διόνυσος Ἑλληνικὸς θεός ἐστιν.

Ὁ Διόνυσος καὶ ὁ Ἥφαιστος Ἑλληνικοὶ θεοί εἰσιν.

Ἔστι καὶ Ἀπόλλων Ἑλληνικὸς θεός;

Ναί.

Ἀθηνᾶ Ἑλληνικὴ θεά ἐστιν.

Ἀθηνᾶ καὶ Ἀφροδίτη Ἑλληνικαὶ θεαί εἰσιν.

Χείρων Ἑλληνικὸν θηρίον ἐστίν.

Ὁ Χείρων καὶ ὁ Πήγασος Ἑλληνικὰ θηρία εἰσίν.

Observe

What happens to the endings when there is one person or thing? What happens when there are several?

II. Verba — Vocabulary

θεός

god

θεά

goddess

ἄνθρωπος

human, person

θηρίον

beast, creature

Ἑλληνικός

Greek

Ῥωμαϊκός

Roman

ἐστίν

εἰσίν

are

III. Observatio — Discovery

Look at these pairs. Can you see the pattern?

Singular	Plural
θεός	θεοί
Ἑλληνικός	Ἑλληνικοί
ἐστίν	εἰσίν
θεά	θεαί
Ἑλληνική	Ἑλληνικαί
θηρίον	θηρία

Remember: Greek nouns do not all form their plural in the same way. The ending tells you something about the noun.

IV. Grammatica — Grammar

Three Noun Patterns

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	-ος	-οι
Feminine	-α / -η	-αι
Neuter	-ον	-α

Important: Notice especially the neuter plural: θηρίον → θηρία. The plural ending is -α, not -οι.

The Definite Article

Singular	Plural
ὁ	οἱ
ἡ	αἱ

V. Negatio — Negation

Greek uses οὐ to make a statement negative. Its form changes depending on the following sound.

οὐ

οὐκ

οὐχ

οὐ ... ἀλλά

A particularly useful pattern is:

θεὰ οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν.

VI. Interrogationes — Questions

We can ask questions in several ways.

ἆρα καὶ Ἀπόλλων Ἑλληνικὸς θεός ἐστιν;

τίς ἐστιν;

Notice how the chapter moves from simple statements to questions about identity and then to questions that combine previously learned patterns.

VII. μέν...δέ — Contrast

Greek often places two things side by side with μέν...δέ: one thing on the one hand, another on the other.

ὁ μὲν Ἄρης καὶ ὁ Ἑρμῆς Ἑλληνικοί εἰσιν, ὁ δὲ Mars καὶ ὁ Mercurius Ῥωμαϊκοί.

VIII. Cultura — Culture

As we learn the Greek names of the gods, we also encounter their Roman counterparts. This relationship between Greek and Roman names provides a cultural thread throughout the chapter.

Greek	Roman
Διόνυσος	Bacchus
Ἥφαιστος	Vulcanus
Ἀθηνᾶ	Minerva
Ἀφροδίτη	Venus
Ἄρης	Mars
Ἑρμῆς	Mercurius

IX. Exercitationes — Exercises

Exercise I

Singular or Plural?

Is the following sentence singular or plural?

Ὁ Διόνυσος θεός ἐστιν.

Exercise II

Complete the Example

Complete the plural form.

θεός → ______

Exercise III

Recognize the Pattern

Which noun pattern follows each word?

θεός

θεά

θηρίον

X. Recapitulatio

By the end of this chapter, you have encountered:

εἰμί — ἐστίν / εἰσίν
Masculine nouns: -ος → -οι
Feminine nouns: -α / -η → -αι
Neuter nouns: -ον → -α
The definite article: ὁ / ἡ → οἱ / αἱ
Negation: οὐ / οὐκ / οὐχ
The pattern: οὐ...ἀλλά
Questions with: ἆρα and τίς
The contrastive pattern: μέν...δέ

You have now begun to see how Greek expresses identity, number, gender, negation, questions, and contrast.