An Introduction to the Composition and Analysis of Greek Prose

Why learn to write in a dead language? Because a really good understanding of a language can only be attained by using it actively. Unlike earlier textbooks aimed at schoolboys, this work addresses modern adults who want to understand concepts fully as they learn. Drawing on recent scholarship where appropriate and assuming no prior background except some reading knowledge of Greek, the course combines a structured review of paradigms and vocabulary with clear and comprehensive explanations of the rules of Greek syntax. Large numbers of exercises are provided, both with and without key: a complete set of cumulative exercises and another set of non-cumulative exercises for those who prefer to dip into specific sections. The exercises include, as well as English sentences and paragraphs for translation, Greek sentences and passages for translation, analysis, and manipulation. A full English-Greek vocabulary and list of principal parts are included.

Table of Contents:
Preface; Bibliography; Accentuation; 1. Articles; 2. Modifiers; 3. Tenses, voices, and agreement; 4. Cases; 5. Participles; 6. The structure of a Greek sentence: word order and connection; Review exercises; 7. Conditional, concessive, and potential clauses; 8. Relative clauses; 9. Pronouns; 10. Indirect statement; 11. Questions; Review exercises; 12. Purpose, fear, and effort; 13. Cause, result, and 'on condition that'; 14. Comparison and negatives; 15. Commands, wishes, and prevention; 16. Temporal clauses; Review exercises; 17. Impersonal constructions and verbal adjectives; 18. Oratio obliqua; 19. Summary; 20. Consolidation; Appendices: A. Errors in Smyth's Grammar; B. English tenses and their Greek equivalents (indicative only); C. Hints for analysing Greek sentences; D. English conditional clauses; E. A selection of terminologies for describing Greek conditional sentences; F. Short, easily confused words; G. Partial answer key; H. The next step: prose composition as an art form; Principal parts; Vocabulary; Index to vocabulary.

About the Author :
Eleanor Dickey has taught Greek in the University of Ottawa, Columbia University, New York, the University of Oxford and the University of Exeter, and is currently Professor of Classics at the University of Reading and a Fellow of the British Academy. She is an expert on Greek and Latin linguistics and has published more than eighty scholarly works, including books on Greek forms of address, Latin forms of address, ancient Greek scholarship, and the Colloquia of the Hermeneumata Pseudodositheana (an ancient Latin and Greek textbook).

Review :
'Eleanor Dickey's book is nothing short of a complete, stand-alone Greek prose composition course, one that touches on the sorts of skills and practice found in recent studies to be essential to language acquisition: alternating composition with reading and analysis of sentences in the target language, constant self-testing, engaging students' recall, interleaving various types of exercises, regularly revisiting common structures, and recontextualizing important skills. There is simply no other Greek prose composition book like it.' Ryan C. Fowler, Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania 'Dickey's book satisfies a long-standing need for a serious, comprehensive textbook in Greek prose composition. Indeed, until now, teachers of Greek composition have had to rely on antiquated primers more than a century old, often geared to very young students rather than those at University level. Dickey's book offers students both basic and complex grammar review, and then gradually shows them how to think about style as well. Written in lucid, contemporary prose, with a variety of exercises systematically presented, this book will surely become the standard choice of our time for teaching Greek prose composition and style.' Ralph M. Rosen, University of Pennsylvania 'This is the book on Greek syntax that every teacher of Greek composition has always wanted. After using earlier versions of it in class over the years, I have to express my full satisfaction because each part serves entirely the needs of both students and their instructors. Students have at their disposal exercises that can be done in class, others that can be assigned as homework and more that can be used for extra practice. The ten exercises in each lesson that are in the answer key can also be useful when a student has to miss a class. At the end, students are fully prepared to proceed to a higher stage of learning how to compose passages in the style of a certain Greek author.' Raffaella Cribiore, New York University 'A pragmatic and hands-on textbook which will be of great value to those seeking to deepen their linguistic skills by back-translation.' Martin Revermann, University of Toronto 'Dickey dedicates this book to her students, and this devotion to students can be felt on every page. The choices made, the added details, the streamlined exercises all betray her thoughtful care and genuine concern for the student's experience. Witnessing my own students work through this book proved my original impressions about it: the students not only quickly improved and mastered the material despite its challenges, but clearly enjoyed doing so. But the best news of all may be that with the book's partial answer key and clear instructions, no student needs to wait until the class is on offer at their (or some nearby) university: just go buy the book, get to work, and enjoy it.' Stephen Kidd, Bryn Mawr Classical Review