Instructor: Professor Alexander Hollmann
MTWThF 1.30–2.20pm Savery 138
Office hours: Denny Hall 262E, office in Classics Dept Office, MW 3-4pm (or by appointment; Zoom possible too)
Welcome to the first course in a year-long sequence designed to introduce students to Ancient Greek (Classical and koine).
By the end of the course you will be able to:
-read and translate simple selections from ancient Greek authors and compose simple sentences in Greek.
-understand and explain literary, historical, and cultural context of ancient Greek texts
-analyze and explain ancient Greek grammar and syntax
-analyze and explain ancient Greek’s influence on and connection to other languages and literatures
By the end of the sequence (Greek 101, 102, 103 or Greek 300, Greek 103) you equip yourself to read any Greek author. In our second-year courses (Greek 304, 305, 306, 307) students read selections of Xenophon (306), Plato (307), Homer (307), and biblical texts (304).
Required textbooks:
Anne Groton, From Alpha to Omega (4th or 5th ed.)
Anne Groton and James May, 46 Stories in Classical Greek
Course components:
Homework 20%
Vocabulary quizzes 20%
Quizzes 40%
Final examination 10%
Participation 10%
Chart used to convert percentages to GPA
Homework: this should be prepared to the best of your ability and in writing for the day it is assigned on the schedule. We will go through all or part of the assigned homework together in class. You should feel free to correct any mistakes then. Please then submit your homework via Canvas later that day by 11.59pm. You can do this by uploading a photo or scan of your homework or uploading a word file. I will then assign a grade for completion and accuracy of the work.
Vocabulary quizzes: these are taken in class on every other Friday (generally) and cover vocabulary encountered since the last vocabulary quiz. You will be required to know vocabulary both from Greek into English and from English into Greek. These quizzes are designed to be short (approx. 10 min.) and leave the rest of the period for other activities.
Quizzes: these are taken in class on those Fridays when a vocabulary quiz is not given. They will ask you to produce paradigms, mainly translate from Greek into English, and possibly answer questions about grammar and syntax. They are designed to take you 20–30 minutes to complete.
Final examination: this will have the same format as a typical quiz but will be somewhat longer. It will test knowledge of work done throughout the term including work done since the last quiz.
Participation: this assumes regular attendance in class but is assessed rather in terms of engagement with the class. This might be shown through interactions (constructive involvement in group work, discussion, translation, questions, comments, curiosity about the material) both inside and outside of class. I try to call on all students in class and create an open and supportive atmosphere where students are comfortable responding even if they feel they do not have an answer or the “right” answer. If you are experiencing anxiety, feel free to say “Can I pass on that one, please?” or let me know outside class.
Missing homework, vocabulary and other quizzes: if you need to miss or have missed any of these because of illness or personal or religious reasons (please see for University policy on observing religious holiday), please tell me as soon as you can. In the case of missing quizzes (both sorts) I will generally grant a make-up. If you are missing more than the occasional class, please get in touch with me.
Schedule (as of Sept. 24, 2025): changes may be made, but I will always let you know by email of the changes.
Week 1: Lesson 1 (Alphabet), Lesson 2 (Accents: initially only p. 9, we will come back to this lesson during the term), Lesson 3 (Ω-verbs pres. act. inf., indic., imperative)
W Sept. 24 Intro. and alphabet. PP shown in class here.
Th Sept. 25 HW: p. 6–7 Ex A 1–24 (first copy the names out to practice writing in Greek and then transliterate the names with English letters, e.g. Ποσειδῶν Poseidōn, don't worry about dividing into syllables. Practice saying the names with ancient Greek pronunciation and seeing how this might differ from familiar English pronunciation). Submit here.
F Sept. 26 Read pp. 13–19 but concentrate on pp.16–19 §§19–23 and don’t panic about §17-18! PP shown in class here.
Week 2 Lesson 4 (1st decl. part 1), Lesson 5 (1st decl. part 2)
M Sept. 29 HW: p. 20 G to E sentences 1–10; E to G sentences 1–5. Submit here.
T Sept. 30 Read Lesson 4 pp. 21–25. PP shown in class here.
W Oct. 1 HW: p. 26 § 33 G to E 1-3, 5-10; E to G 1-3, 5. Submit here.
Th Oct. 2 Read pp. 27–28. PP shown in class here.
F Oct. 3 QUIZ 1 (Lessons 1,3,4, but not Lesson 5)
Week 3 Lesson 6 (Ω-verbs future indic. & inf.), Lesson 7 (2nd decl.)
M Oct. 6 HW: p. 29 §37 G to E 1,3,4,6,7,9,10 E to G 2,3,4. Submit here.
Read together in class p. 30 “A Fowl Plan Backfires”
T Oct. 7 Read Lesson 6 pp. 31–34. PP shown in class here.
W Oct. 8 HW: p. 34 §41 G to E: 1,2,3,4,6,8,9; E to G 2,3,4. Submit here. We'll look together at p. 35 Reading "Old Habits Never Die".
Th Oct. 9 Read Lesson 7 pp. 37–39.
F Oct. 10 VOCAB QUIZ 1 (covering vocab. in Lessons 3 through 6)
Week 4 Lesson 8 (2nd decl. neut; adj. 1st & 2nd decl.), Lesson 9 (1st decl. masc.)
M Oct. 13
T Oct. 14
W Oct. 15
Th Oct. 16
F Oct. 17 QUIZ 2
Week 5 Lesson 10 (Ω-verbs imperf. indic. act), Lesson 11(Ω-verbs middle/pass.)
M Oct. 20
T Oct. 21
W Oct. 22
Th Oct. 23
F Oct. 24 VOCAB QUIZ 2
Week 6 Lesson 12 (εἰμί, enclitics), Lesson 13 (demonstratives)
M Oct. 27
T Oct. 28
W Oct. 29
Th Oct. 30
F Oct. 31 QUIZ 3
Week 7 Lesson 14 (personal pronouns)
M Nov. 3
T Nov. 4
W Nov. 5
Th Nov. 6
F Nov. 7 VOCAB QUIZ 3
Week 8 Lesson 15 (contract verbs, contracted futures)
M Nov. 10
T Nov. 11 NO CLASS: VETERANS DAY
W Nov. 12
Th Nov. 13
F Nov. 14 QUIZ 4
Week 9 Lesson 16 (3rd decl.: stop, liquid, nasal stems)
M Nov. 17
T Nov. 18
W Nov. 19
Th Nov. 20
F Nov. 21 VOCAB QUIZ 4
Week 10 Lesson 17 (3rd decl.: sigma stems, adjs.)
M Nov. 24
T Nov. 25
W Nov. 26 class attendance optional
Th Nov. 27 NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING
F Nov. 28 NO CLASS: NATIVE AM. HERITAGE DAY
Week 11 Catch-up, reading, revision
M Dec. 1
T Dec. 2
W Dec. 3
Th Dec. 4
F Dec. 5
EXAM WEEK
FINAL EXAM: M Dec. 8 2.30-4.20pm Savery 138 (our usual classroom)