Ancient Greek is the language of the epics of Homer, the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the comedies of Aristophanes, the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, etc. In this course, students will learn the grammar of Greek and acquire a fundamental vocabulary. Attention will also be given to pronunciation and recitation of poetry and prose. Discussions of Greek culture and thought will occasionally result. In the second semester, significant passages from ancient authors will be read.

The first part of the semester will be spent on the Apology of Socrates in the versions of both Xenophon and Plato, in an attempt to build up some fluency in reading the kind of Attic prose for which the first-year textbook was the foundation. At some point in the second half of the semester we will switch to the opening of Homer's Illiad, and learn the basics of dialect, meter, and epic word order. (Greek 202, Spring 1999, will be a continuation of the Illiad, with some look at passages in the Odyssey, the Homeric Hymns, and Hesiod as well.) There will be vocabulary quizzes every week.