GREK 101-01, Elementary Greek, Fall 2007

Abstract

Athenaze first appeared in England in 1980 and represents an attempt to bring instruction in ancient Greek more closely in line with recent advances in the study of how people acquire languages. In 2003, a second edition appeared. It is a “reading” course, which refers to the primary means of experiencing and acquiring the language. We will use the text as the foundation for this course. This semester, we will begin to work through the exercises and readings provided in Athenaze, most of which are written in the style of classical Attic Greek (i.e. the dialect of the Athenians of the fifth and fourth centuries) by two modern authors, Maurice Balme and Gilbert Lawall. Some readings, however, are “adapted” from real ancient Greek sources (i.e. adapted to novice Greek readers), whereas others are “authentic” ancient Greek (e.g., selections from the Gospel of Luke).