Is Classical Greek really so "Irregular"

 IS CLASSICAL GREEK 

Really So IRregular ?

#classicalgreek #greek #irregular 

So a few times a year I like to review basic Greek and I did a Google search to see what people thought was the most difficult aspect of learning Classical Greek and after understanding the Alphabet the other problem that came up several times was "IRREGULAR" forms?

Yes Greek has more suffixes and morphs than English. 

Yes you have to learn Moods and Cases and Conjugations and Genitive and Declensions

 but think for a moment!

Is Greek really that much worse than English?

Greek has less homophones. 

Even so called irregular verbs follow common patterns.

You say the verb to be?

Look again at English. Modern English forms of the verb TO BE  fuses two different Old English Germanic verbs wesan and beon and then goes and uses other verbs that once had different meanings like should and would and could  to express conditionals and a change of spoken tone can make a statement like "you should be reading" into an Imperative an Exhortation or a Question?

So the Greek Subjunctive Mood is that much worse? 

Is it such a terrible thing that phrases like the The Good Book and the Good Woman use two different forms of THE and have case endings? 

Griffin Lebes

 GRIFFIN LEBES

This #griffin #lebes or #urn dates from the Hellenistic era probably about 350 BCE.

The griffins seem also plain compared to the florid "Corinthian" ornamentation on the base.

I wonder if perhaps the heads were using for hanging floral memorial wreaths from?

And why Griffins? 

Enjoy!

Griffin on a Seal

 #griffin #seal #intaglio 

Here's a example of Hellenistic carving on a smaller scale.  This image is larger than the original .

 

Let me know if you have found this Griffin sequence useful and enjoyable? 

CHRISTOUGENNA

 CHRISTOUGENNA - okay it s  NOT  Classical ! but Happy Christmas Everyone !

Writing Tablets

So just what did writing tablets look like?

Fortunatel the Romans and Greeks used the same kinds of writing materials and tools and Rome Frescos included a wide variety of themes.

In these two images one can see papyrus, parchment, tablets, something thats either a codice or a bound tablet with extra thin pages, stylus, an ink pot and pen.

Is AGAPE A LOAN WORD

Is AGAPE a loan Word from an West Semitic Afroasiatic language?

I've seen arguments for and against but I think yes for THREE reasons

ONE

There are no cognates to AGAPE in other IndoEuropean languages
even if you prefer the agape is aga with a verbal suffix added why no other cognates ?

TWO Hebrew Aramaic and Arabic have cognate words !

Aramaic has Chav / Hoeba etc KH-V
Hebrew has AHAV  HB
Arabic has H B B  hubb habba ahabba.

But Agape appears in Homer!
 Yes and so do Phoenician traders and stories about Greeks and Phoenicians intermarrying.

But Hebrew and Aramaic the Rkh M stem  more frequently!

So how do I explain this?

I think just as it is in modern standard colloquial Arabic likewise in ancient time it was a popular non literary term. Slang even !

It was brought to Greece maybe as early as the Mycenaean period by refugees from the collapse and defeat of the Hyksos dynasty described in myths as Egyptians and hearing it used by later Phoenician traders reinforced its usage plus there would have been Greek mercenaries who picked it up working in the Near East for the Assyrians and Persians alongside others who spoke West Semitic languages.

Frankly I expect there is a reasonable chance cognates to H B B will turn up on ancient tablets yet to be discovered.

One last point.

How did or could (a)H vowel B change to agape?

There is evidence many words or syllables starting with p or b may be been gw or kw sounds in older forms of Greek.

The sound written H in our alphabet in modern Western Semitic languages is an unvoiced version of AYN and ... we tend to hear ha but maybe greeks could only say gwa or hwa and changed the BB to a P the two Bs fusing into one P ?

We can't know for sure but this is what I speculate happened!

Your choice which you prefer!

If anyone reading this blog is far more fluent in Aramaic than me I've love to see and add some more examples that are NOT cited in the most common Google searches.

Greek Diphthongs

#diphthongs #greek #classicalgreek

GREEK DIPHTHONGS

Δίφθογγοι

αι Classical high aisle height Demotic e as in ten

αυ Classical how law house Demotic af or av

ει Classical fiancee fete they feign Demotic i

ευ Classical met moon new Demotic ef or ev

ηυ Classical ee + ou

οι Classical foil boy Demotic i

ου Classical moon Demotic u

υι Classical we why French oui lui

You are welcome to suggest or add other examples in the comments !

GREEK VERBS and the MST KEY

January is Back to Basics Month on  #metousia so something to help you learn #classicalgreek verb endings thats' also useful for NT and Koine Greek

GREEK VERB KEY

Greek verbs originally had endings

 very similar to this pattern 

μαι σαι ται

Μ Σ Τ

Mu Sigma Tau 

M S T 

Its No MYSTERY!

For most verbs

Μαι becomes ω or plural μεν or μεθα

S becomes ες or Vowel plus ς or ς to τ

so we have ετε or εται in plurals

T becomes ε or ον or plural ονται or ουσι(ν)

If you think of middle and "irregular" forms as simply variants of an older pattern the variety of endings becomes less confusing.

Alpha Demo

#alpha #demo #inkscape #greek

Here's a demo of things you can do in #Inkscape with various fonts and filters and the letter Alpha.

The Sounds of Greek Part One

#greek #classicalgreek #sounds #pronounciation  #greek alphabet

At the beginning of each year I like to review the basics! Starting with the ABC

IF you're a long term follower I have updated this !

THE SOUNDS OF GREEK

How Greek Was and Is Pronounced

As the Greek ABC has 24 letters I will be posting this article as a series of 4 blogs over the next fortnight.

Part One Covers the letters from Alpha to Zeta

A Note to Classical scholars planning to visit Greece. Learn the Demotic pronunciation!

Modern Greeks may study some Homer and Classical writers in Secondary School or University but using katherousa even accidentally may be offensive or more importantly just not understood!

I have tried to explain these sounds in a way that will make sense to people who havn't studied linguistics. If you do want a more formal explanation check out the excellent Wikipedia sites on Greek Phonology and language.

A α Alpha 

The vowel in Archon or cAlm or cUp or Italian Amare.

B β Beta 

The B in Biology or Bed.

However in Modern Greek this is V as in Voice!

English V in OVER would be written as οβερ.

Classical Greek wrote W and V sounds as OU

so when citing Latin or other non Greek names like Valerius start with ου.

The B sound in Modern Greek is written as μπ

but note that this is “mb” in the middle of a word.

The Greek Diphthongs αυ ευ are pronounced av and ev or af and ef depending on the following consonant. So Αυγά is avga in Demotic and αυτός is aftos.

Γ γ Gamma 

The G in Graph or Gang or Got. It's a HARD G in Classical Greek!

Modern Greek has a j / y or a sound like the G in German sagen or jager

or the g in Spanish fuego or English Yield or Gem or suGar.

The G sound in English Get is written as γκ.

A double gamma is used to represent the “ng” sound in Angle and Angel in Classical Greek hence New Testament and Classical aggelos.

It's Angelus in Latin and Angel in English.

Gamma before κ χ and γ is nk or ng.

Δ δ Delta 

D in Democracy or Deed or Dot

Modern Greek Delta has become “dh” the soft sound in

English This or breadTH or faTHer.

D as a sound is now written as ντ which also represents “nd” in the middle of a Greek word.

Dachshunds are Dogs becomes something like νταχσουντ αρ ντογξ!

Ε ε Epsilon 

E in Epigram or the vowel in pEt or French é

Ζ ζ 

 Zeta was a zd or sometimes dz sound as in Zeus

like English aDZe, glaZeD or wiSDom

Modern Greek Zeta is Z as in English laZy!

Τζ in Modern Greek is a ts dz type sound.

Other letters used to represent double consonants also known as digraphs are

Ξ ξ and Ψ ψ. This is a sensible innovation as Greek verbs add s to their stems in the Future and Aorist.

Having Too Much PLEONEXIA

In #mark 7 Jesus lists #pleonexia as a sin. #biblestudy #greeknewtestament #pleonexia

The Greek New Testament uses this word meaning avarice or greed also translated as covetousness in some older and other versions.

Coveting again is not just desire but misdirected desire.

The word breaks down into two roots pleo(n) probably from pleioon more and exia from ekhein to have.

This is more in the sense of EXCESS TOO MUCH having and wanting so sometimes in Greek it can also mean arrogance or advantage but however here it is clearly greed being referred to so remember

GREED IS NOT GOOD 

Byzantine Page Layout

#greek #calligraphy #byzantine #illuminedmanuscript

 Another example of #Byzantine #manuscript page layout

Note the way capitals are used and the placement of illustrations to the right rather than the left of the page and the delightful image of the stork nesting on a pillar.

KAIROS

KAIROS

#kairos #time #greeklanguage #oratory #biblestudy
There's a word at the beginning of Marks Gospel that also features in Classical Greek Literature and Oratory and Discussions of Rhetorical Technique

KAIROS

Mark 1:15 RSV translation "The Time is fulfilled ..." its Kairos not Khronos in Greek!

"Pepleerootai ho kairos " Why Kairos and not Khronos?

Kairos is not just time in general or season or event but the moment to take action, a kind of pivotal turning point during which action will have results whether its stabbing someone in a vital organ leading an attack giving a speech that's an exhortation to action or in the case of Marks Gospel, Jesus "heralding the good news from god" and telling people to repent and believe.

The use of kairos is an exhortation and a calling to action.

A final note on Kairos. The Romans translated it with a word that is the ancestor of our English word opportunity.

So whether you are reading about it in Aristotle Isocrates or the New Testament think about what sor tof "Time" is being referred to: Khronos or Kairos.

The most important word in the Greek new Testament is surely

#agape #font #specialcharacters #greek

The most important word in the #greeknewtestament is surely this one?

ΑΓΑΠΗ αγαπη

αγαπη ΑΓΑΠΗ

ΑΓΑΠΗ αγαπη

and oh its feminine gender so a perfect bump for #idw 2018

Scroll down for a #howto #diy note !

How to generate Greek letters? In this example I was in Open Office and the fonts used to display AGAPE in Greek, are Times New Roman , New Athena Unicode, and Lucida Sans Unicode, and the method is to select and then use the Special Characters dialog box, scrolling down to the Basic Greek subset. Then I copy and paste the text into Google blogger.

Come back next Saturday or Sunday depending on your time zone and join us for Mark's Gospel.

I take or try to a very ecumenical approach in my comments on New Testament Greek.

Mid week I post mainly on Classical Greek art and literature, language and philosophy, and related topics, so do consider following regularly?

Greek Accents - a sampler

#fonts #accents #specialcharacters #greek

Sundays is usually bible study but as I just finished Matthews Gospel back to basics for a few posts!

A Sampler of how Greek Accents look in several fonts.

Remember you will need the insert Special Characters Command to find and add these.

GREEK WITH ACCENTS

Greek with Accents Times New Roman

α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ ς σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω

ά έ ή ί ϊ ΐ ϋ ό ύ ώ

Greek with Accents Palatino Linotype

α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ ς σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω

ά ἀ ἁ ἂ ἃ ἄ ἅ ἆ ἇ ᾰ ᾱ ᾲ ᾳ ᾴ ᾶ ᾷ

έ ἐ ἑ ἒ ἓ ἔ ἕ

ή ἠ ἡ ἢ ἣ ἤ ἥ ἦ ἧ ᾐ ᾑ ᾒ ᾓ ᾔ ᾕ ᾖ ᾗ

ί ϊ ΐ ῐ ῑ ῒ ΐ ῖ ῗ ἰ ἱ ἲ ἳ ἴ ἵ ἶ ἷ

ό ὀ ὁ ὂ ὃ ὄ ὅ ὸ ό

ϋ ΰ ϋ ύ ὐ ὑ ὒ ὓ ὔ ὕ ὖ ὗ ὺ ύ ῠ ῡ ῢ ΰ

ώ ὠ ὡ ὢ ὣ ὤ ὥ ὦ ὧ ὼ ώ ᾠ ᾡ ᾢ ᾡ ᾢ ᾣ ᾤ ᾥ ᾦ ᾧ ῲ ῳ ῴ ῶ ῷ

ῤ ῥ

Greek with Accents in Lucida sans unicode

α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ ς σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω

ά ἀ ἁ ἂ ἃ ἄ ἅ ἆ ἇ ᾰ ᾱ ᾲ ᾳ ᾴ ᾶ ᾷ

έ ἐ ἑ ἒ ἓ ἔ ἕ

ή ἠ ἡ ἢ ἣ ἤ ἥ ἦ ἧ ᾐ ᾑ ᾒ ᾓ ᾔ ᾕ ᾖ ᾗ

ί ϊ ΐ ῐ ῑ ῒ ΐ ῖ ῗ ἰ ἱ ἲ ἳ ἴ ἵ ἶ ἷ

ό ὀ ὁ ὂ ὃ ὄ ὅ ὸ ό

ϋ ΰ ϋ ύ ὐ ὑ ὒ ὓ ὔ ὕ ὖ ὗ ὺ ύ ῠ ῡ ῢ ΰ

ώ ὠ ὡ ὢ ὣ ὤ ὥ ὦ ὧ ὼ ώ ᾠ ᾡ ᾢ ᾡ ᾢ ᾣ ᾤ ᾥ ᾦ ᾧ ῲ ῳ ῴ ῶ ῷ

ῤ ῥ

Greek with Accents ms reference sans serif

α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ ς σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω

ά ἀ ἁ ἂ ἃ ἄ ἅ ἆ ἇ ᾰ ᾱ ᾲ ᾳ ᾴ ᾶ ᾷ

έ ἐ ἑ ἒ ἓ ἔ ἕ

ή ἠ ἡ ἢ ἣ ἤ ἥ ἦ ἧ ᾐ ᾑ ᾒ ᾓ ᾔ ᾕ ᾖ ᾗ

ί ϊ ΐ ῐ ῑ ῒ ΐ ῖ ῗ ἰ ἱ ἲ ἳ ἴ ἵ ἶ ἷ

ό ὀ ὁ ὂ ὃ ὄ ὅ ὸ ό

ϋ ΰ ϋ ύ ὐ ὑ ὒ ὓ ὔ ὕ ὖ ὗ ὺ ύ ῠ ῡ ῢ ΰ

ώ ὠ ὡ ὢ ὣ ὤ ὥ ὦ ὧ ὼ ώ ᾠ ᾡ ᾢ ᾡ ᾢ ᾣ ᾤ ᾥ ᾦ ᾧ ῲ ῳ ῴ ῶ ῷ

ῤ ῥ

   

Byzantine Christogram

Double metousia today since I couldnt do the midweek post however I'm still adjusting to a change of work hours so today some Christian #byzantine art featuring birds.

Back to #greeknewtestament next week !

I do love the corner knot patterns in this #mosaic and note the use of the Alpha Omega symbol!

Sicilian Eagle Coin

#greekcoinage #greekcoins #eagle

In  keeping with our #bird theme here is a particularly beautiful #Sicilian #coin depicting two eagles from one of the Greek Colonies on that island . I have no why a grasshopper is in the background! Note that the prey is an HARE not a rabbit!

EROS and AGAPE

With Valentine's day this Teusday I'm doing a hybrid post today comparing Classical and NT Greek usage.

#classicalgreek #eros #newtestamentgreek #agape #philia

One of the most striking differences between Classical Greek and New Testament Greek is the preference for AGAPE over EROS and PHILIA.

In Classical Greek Prose and Poetry, Drama and Comedy, Eros and Philia are the verbs most frequently loved to describe relationships of desire,  love and friendship, and familial affection is rarely discussed.

However in the NEW Testament GOD IS LOVE - AGAPE

Now one idea I have seen is that AGAPE is actually a loan word based on the AfroAsiatic HBB stem and given how the Greeks altered  other loan words from Egyptian and Phoenician that seems possible but I think another reason was cultural. The NT writers wanted to distance themselves at first from Greek philosophers' ideas about love, Platonic or other.

Eros even in its widest meanings refers to passionate love usually with  sexual or romantic element.

Philia is friendship

Storge Affection.

HBB / Agape covers all those things and more though we should bear in mind Aramaic also used other words.

A possible issue is people using Greek as a second language. Look at the differences between the declensions of EROS and Agape and their connected Verbs. People learn the simplest forms first.

With Latin usage starting to spread into the Eastern empire Philia could have caused confusion as the Romans had filius and filius to describe children  and since neither Greek or Aramaic used a F sound in the initial position  at that time period that I know of ...

Agapaa agape agapoo easy to pronounce and write and read no need to remmeber eroos has a T in other cases than nominative and the initial Consonant cluster in STORGEE plus an R next to a G .

AGAPE WINS! with so many advantages over other words, philosophical, semantic, theological, cultural, sociolinguistic, and artistic. The return of Eros to Western art though is a subject best discussed over on my Glyphika blog.

Spicy or not so spicy Greeks

Greek cooking has used the same herbs and spices for centuries yet the ANCIENT Greeks also lacked or only had as expensive imports spices we take for granted.

We know for sure these spices were used being used as they are mentioned in Linear B texts or have origin myths.

Coriander Sesame Cumin Mint

Scholars think these herbs were used since they are mentioned by Theophrastus or Hellenistic and Imperial era writers like Athenaeus

Some of them may have been used more for essential oils and making perfume or medicines.

Cassia Cinnamon Chervil Dill Fennel Oregano Rocket Lovage Bay Cardamon Thyme Rosemary

Only about half or less of the herbs and spices available this century!

And fruit ... most of the fruits were not citrus or stone and unless a shepherd brought them down to a lowlands market the supply of nuts and berries was limited too!

No pepper or ginger  before the Roman era. No or very few  Indian or Chinese spices.
No nutmeg No AllSpice  No curry masalas

Some things we do better than the Classical world!

Christmas Greetings

#xmas #ecard #joy #khara 

An Ecard with "Hellenic" flavour for #Christmas

Wishing you all 

Khara reflects the ancient pronunciation 

which would have sounded more like a strong aspirated K to modern English speakers.