Assignment for Wednesday, 11-02-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

On Wednesday, November 2, we'll begin our reading of Xenophon's Anabasis. In preparation, please do the following:

(1) Read the Britannica Online article on Xenophon, esp. the sections on his life ("Life") and his works ("Works > General characteristics" and the paragraph on the Anabasis).

(2) Homework (not to turn in):

• Read and translate all of page 51 (book 1.1) in our Anabasis textbook.

NOTE: All of the vocabulary is in its own section in the back of the book. Your editors, Mather and Hewitt, also provide helpful notes (a.k.a. commentary) starting on p. 227. You will NOT be able to read the assignment without these notes, so be sure to consult them.

NOTE: Even though the commentary will provide help, we have not yet covered every piece of necessary grammar. So here is some additional help, keyed to Groton's textbook. Have a look at what she says, but don't obsess over the details. Just get what you need in order to translate and move on.

• line 2: πρεσβύτερος and νεώτερος: comparatives: Groton, Lesson 32.

• line 14: ἐπιβουλεύοι: an example of the optative mood, 3rd singular: Groton, Lesson 36. We'll discuss this mood a little in class; for now, just translate the verb, with the ὡς, as "of plotting against him."

I expect that this assignment will take you some time. Do your best, and we'll see what's what in class.

DC

Assignment for Sunday, 10-30-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists:

By 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 30, please do the following:

(1) Complete Section D (Reading aloud) of our second exam. Call my campus voicemail with your perfected reading of the midterm passage. Before you left the exam, you were handed a sheet with full instructions and a copy of the passage to mark up.

D

Midterm Exam on Friday, 10-28-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

Our midterm exam on Friday, October 28, will have the following format.

(A) Verb blocks:

I'll give you the first principal part of a verb and specify a person and number, you give me the Greek forms in all tenses of the indicative and all voices — 14 forms in all, 3 verb blocks total.

NOTE: Although I will chose at least one contract verb, all of the verbs will be fairly regular: that is, they'll all have six principal parts and display a minimum of volatility from part to part.

(B) Genitive absolute transformations:

I'll give you up to 5 Greek sentences that feature a subordinate clause introduced by a conjunction, you translate the sentence and rewrite the original Greek sentence with a genitive absolute in place of the subordinate clause.

(C) Passage to translate:

A short passage of connected Greekprose, using vocabulary and grammar through chapter 30. Read it carefully and write out your translation.

(D) Reading out loud (take-home portion, due Sunday, October 30, 11:00 p.m.):

Practice reading the midterm passage out loud: use Groton's textbook to help you determine vowel/consonant sounds and place accents. When you have perfected your reading, call my campus voice mail and read me the Greek over the phone. 

NOTE: Please prepare for and complete this portion of the exam on your own. I'll supply a copy of the passage for you to practice on and mark up. (No, you do not have to memorize the passage. Yes, you can read from the copy.)

*                    *                    *                    *                    *

For this exam, you'll be responsible for all concepts and vocabulary through Groton Chapter 30. Your preparation will necessitate some memorization. Toward that end, I would suggest (at a minimum) memorizing principal parts of all verbs from chapters 22 onward, as well as the formation of all participles.

Everyone will be allowed to ask, out loud, one vocabulary question per established custom.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

DC

Assignment for Wednesday, 10-26-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

For Wednesday morning, October 26, please do the following:

(1) Homework (not to turn in):

• Read and translate "Athens Reacts to Bad News — Part 2" (#188, pp. 208–9).

NOTE: Don't miss the Greek at the top of p. 209.

Khang will review the passage with you and award points, as per usual. The rest of class will be devoted to review before the midterm exam, so bring your questions!

DC

Assignment for Sunday, 10-23-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

For Sunday evening, October 23, please do the following:

(1) Homework (due by 11:00 p.m.):

• Greek-to-English sentences A.3, A.4, B.3 and B.4 from Friday's in-class exercise.

NOTE: Although the English is similar from A-sentence to B-sentence, please read the English carefully each time so as to be sure your translation is accurate.

DC

Assignment for Friday, 10-21-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

For Friday morning, October 21, please do the following:

(1) Reading: Groton, Lesson 30, on the following forms and concepts. Note any questions along the way.

• Genitive absolutes (#185, pp. 203–4).

(2) Homework (due by 8:00 a.m.):

• Greek-to-English sentences: ONLY 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 (#188, pp. 207–8); and
• English-to-Greek sentences: ONLY 2, 3, and 4 (#188, p. 208).

DC

Assignment for Wednesday, 10-19-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

For Wednesday morning, October 19, please do the following:

(1) Review vocabulary in Lesson 30 in preparation for the vocabulary quiz.

(2) Homework (not to turn in):

• Read and translate "A Pact with the Persians" (handed out last Friday).

DC

Assignment for Sunday, 10-16-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

For Sunday evening, October 16, please do the following:

(1) Reading: Groton, Lesson 30, on the following forms and concepts. Note any questions along the way.

• Fully deponent verbs (#184, p. 203);
• The adjective εἷς, μία, ἕν; its negative compounds; and double negatives (#186, pp. 205–6); and
• Vocabulary for Lesson 30 (#187, pp. 206–7).

NOTE: Skip #185 (on genitive absolutes) for now.

(2) Homework (due by 11:00 p.m.):

• Greek-to-English sentences: ONLY 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10 (#188, pp. 207–8); and
• English-to-Greek sentences: ONLY 1 and 5 (#188, p. 208).

DC

Assignment for Friday, 10-14-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

For Friday morning, October 14, please do the following:

(1) Review vocabulary in Lesson 29 in preparation for the vocabulary quiz.

(2) Homework (not to turn in):

• Read and translate "Athens Reacts to bad News — Part 1" (#183, pp. 200–1).

DC

(No) Assignment for Wednesday, 10-12-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

Just a reminder that Wednesday, October 12, there will be no homework and no class in observance of Yom Kippur.

This does mean, however, that our weekly vocabulary quiz will be postponed to Friday, October 14.

See you on Friday!

DC

Assignment for Sunday, 10-09-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

For Sunday evening, October 9, please do the following:

(1) Reading: Groton, Lesson 29 on the following forms and concepts. Note any questions along the way.

• Third declension nouns with vowel stems (#180, pp. 195–6);
• Third declension nouns with syncopated stems (#181, pp. 196–7); and
• Vocabulary for Lesson 29 (#182, p. 198).

(2) Homework (due by 11:00 p.m.):

• Greek-to-English sentences (all) (#183, pp. 198–9).

DC

Assignment for Friday, 10-07-16

Dear Intermediate Hellenists,

By Friday morning, October 7, please do the following:

(1) Homework (due 8:00 a.m. via email):

• English-to-Greek sentences (all) (#179, p. 193).

DC