Office hours: 12:30-1:30 MW

Syllabus

Course Description: The goal of this course is to complete preparations for the student to read authentic classical Greek. The semester will begin with a brief, concentrated review, and continue to review the fundamentals of Greek as the course proceeds. The focus of our reading will be a novel probably written in the second or third century AD when the majority of Greek speakers/readers used Greek as a second language. Since these non-native Greek speakers apparently liked episodic novels, we are lucky to still have quite a few of them. These texts, written for a broader audience than Athenian literature (readers like us who are not native Greek speakers), should provide us with a pleasant transition from the easy beginning texts of first year Greek to the full cultural and linguistic complexity of classical Greek. We will read the text, drill vocabulary and endings, discuss new grammar, use the new grammar in occasional compositions, and also discuss literary and social points of interest in the story.

Course Requirements: Above all else a steady, daily effort will be required. Students will have to a) read each assigned section of the story carefully, b) be prepared to take a quiz on its vocabulary and basic meaning, c) bring in questions on new grammatical structures as well as other points of interest, d) write several compositions using the vocabulary and new grammar of the story, and e) take a midterm and cumulative final exam.

Grading:

• Class participation 20%

• Quizzes 20%

• Compositions 20%

• Midterm 20%

• Final 20%

Texts:

Abbot and Mansfield, Primer of Greek Grammar.

Liddell and Scott, Abridged Greek Lexicon.

Xeroxed copy of novel.

[N.B. The instructor does not allow make up tests under any circumstances, nor does he accept late work.]

Attendance: Since class participation is a significant graded percentage of this course, each class a student misses will detract fromthis grade. Several absences will not do permanent damage, but more than 8 (out of 42 meetings -- i.e. almost 20%) will be serious.

Honor Policy: Like any academic work at UR all work done for this course falls under the honor code. If you have any doubt what constitutes "unauthorized assistance," please come and talk to the instructor before trying it.

Online Resources