The first two years of the Great Books Tutorial focus on Greek literature. This tutorial will give students the opportunity to develop the reading knowledge of ancient Greek that will allow them to read at least portions of our Great Books readings in their original language. Our text will be
Introduction to ANCIENT GREEK,
Third Edition by Mollin/Williamson. This tutorial is available free to all GBT II students and the class recordings are available free to all ETS students.
If students would like to take Classical Greek, I highly recommend planning at least 10 hours a week of study time. If you would like to start working on some of the lessons before class starts, please email me and I will give you the address for the class recordings.
If you will be taking Greek with me please try to master as much of the alphabet and basic paradigms as you can before class begins using my intro video . Your learning the Greek alphabet will be aided by using our Greek alphabet song . ( parts ) ( youtube recording ) Please make sure to install the Greek font and see the bottom of the alphabet page for instructions on learning to type the letters.
Click here for a great history of the alphabet - you can use the ESC key to pause the demo. Students looking to improve their Biblical greek should use the app Scripture Direct and Mastering New Testament Greek . For extra help on grammar, watch Greek 101. I do not offer a third year of Greek, however, you will be well equipped by the end of Greek II to continue on your own with the translation appendices at the back of Mollin Williamson. To do so, you will want to order a verb guide and Lexicon , however, many notes are included in Mollin Williamson to help you along with the translation.
I also encourage my students to take the National Greek Exam
A student who learns ancient Greek will have direct access to the great literature of the ancient and early Christian world unimpeded by translations, and this is particularly important to the Christian who wishes to read the New testament (and the Old testament too, in the Septuagint, the Greek translation made long before Christ's time) in the original language.
His relationship to the New testament: "It is generally recognized that for the best results in the study of the New testament, students should read a considerable amount of other Greek first. In the whole circle of Greek literature the two authors most important for the student of the New testament are Homer and Plato. Herodotus informs us that Homer and Hesiod were the chief sources of the Greek popular religion; and certainly one cannot obtain a clear grasp of the forces opposed to Christianity without a good knowledge of Homer and of the hold that Homer had upon the popular mind. If one is to read intelligently the works of the early church fathers, he must be well acquainted at first hand with Homer. It is Homer, Homer's religion, and Homer's gods which recur constantly in their works and which are attacked over and over again as being the bulwarks of the heathen faith which they are striving to supplant. Homer and the ideas he represents are infinitely more important for the student of the New testament and of the early church than is Xenophon; and if one can study not more than a year or so of Greek before taking up the New testament, he should be all means have some Homer followed by Plato. Experience has shown that after a year of Homer, students can and do pass with little difficulty into the New testament. The passage from Homer to Attic, or to Hellenistic, Greek is of course a great deal easier than vice versa, and occupies very little time and effort."
"Learn Greek; it is the language of wisdom." --George Bernard Shaw
"I would make everyone learn English; then I would let the clever ones learn Latin as an honor--and Greek as a treat." --Sir Winston Churchill
"The only purpose of education is to enable one to read Homer in the original Greek." --Sir J. T. Sheppard, Provost of King's College, Oxford
"To read Homer in Greek is the best lesson in poetry." --Hugh McCarron.
"Owing to the exigencies of the present educational situation, many who desire to use the Greek testament are unable to approach the subject through a study of classical Attic prose. The situation is undoubtedly to be regretted, but its existence should not be ignored. It is unfortunate that so many students of the New testament have no acquaintance with classical Greek..." --J. Gresham Machen
"It cannot be said too often that Greek is an evolving language and that an understanding of ancient Greek includes mastery of both Attic [Classical] and koine. The former was the language of the great works of history, literature, and philosophy of the classical period that have had such a profound influence on our Western culture. Koine Greek, on the other hand, is the dialect of the New testament writers who recorded the beginnings of the most significant religious movement of the West. Whatever the student's or scholar's own particular interests, he cannot fully appreciate the one without an understanding of the other and of the relationships between the two." --Stephen Paine
"And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." --St. Luke
Thanks to Mr. Callihan for furnishing the content of this page!
For the first week of Greek I, please memorize and type the Greek Alphabet