/

REESE LIBRARY
OP THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
Received
Accessions No. _^^/_

t*

C^
Y&44L

Shelf No.

THE

MODERN GREEK:
ITS

PRONUNCIATION AND RELATIONS TO ANCIENT GREEK,

WITH AN

APPENDIX ON THE RULES OF ACCENTUATION,

ETC.

BY

T. T.

TIMAYENIS,

OF THE SPRINGFIELD COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE.

LI B

UN

II

KY
OF

V KISS IT V

(;ALIFOKNIA.
NEW YORK:
D.

APPLETON AND COMPANY,

549

&
:

J.

551

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
D. GILL, 260 MAIN STREET.
1877.

BROADWAY.

COPYRIGHT, 1877,

BY

TIMAYENIS.

T. T.

UNIVERSITY PRESS WELCH, BIGELOW,

CAMBRIDGE.
:

&

Co.

TO THE

REV. M.

C.

STEBBINS, A.M.,

PRINCIPAL OF THE SPRINGFIELD COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE,

Uolume
IS

MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,

AS A TOKEN OF ADMIRATION

FOB DISTINGUISHED ABILITIES SUCCESSFULLY DEVOTED TO THE PROMOTION OF CLASSICAL

LEARNING IN THIS COUNTRY,

AND A MEMORIAL OF FRIENDSHIP

WHICH HAS EXISTED UNBROKEN DURING MANY YEARS OF ALMOST
DAILY INTERCOURSE.

THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.
IN preparing this volume, I have
"
of the
'IffTopta TI}? 'EXXrjviKfc

made frequent use

rXdW^,"

by the

late

Professor D. Mavrophredes (Smyrna, 1871). Important

aid has also been received from Professor Geldart's work
in its Relation to
on " The Modern Greek

Ancient Greek."

Language
which

Other works

advan-

have

" Tractageously consulted are, Anastasius Georgiades'

tatus de Elementorum Graecorum Pronunciatione," Gr.
1812 " Eclaircissements tires des Lanet
Lat., Paris,

gues semitiques sur quelques points de la Pronunciation

"
Professor Clyde's " Romaic Greek "
Grecque
Sopho"
cles'
Romaic Greek Grammar " and " Glossary of Later
and Byzantine Greek." Frequent references have been
;

made

also to the

works

of ancient

and modern Greek

authors, especially to those that have touched upon the

But my obligations
subject of Greek pronunciation.
are much greater to Konstantinus Oekonomos, whose

work, "IJepJ irpofopas TI}? 'J^XXipwd}? .TXwcrcrT??," St.

Petersburg, 1829, has been constantly by me.
The subject of Greek pronunciation has been often
discussed by scholars since the time of Erasmus, who
first to propagate that new system of pronunciation known as the Erasmian system.
Scholars to-day,

was the

PREFACE.

vi

generally speaking, although more or less convinced of

the fact that the Erasmian system of Greek pronunciaquite at variance with the nature of Grecian
phraseology, with the testimony of ancient authors, and

tion

is

established principles of history and

logic, yet tolerate

because " they do not see that any

good will result to students by adopting the pronun" We
ciation now prevalent in Greece."
They say,
it
imparts we do not care
study Greek for the culture
"
which is the true pronunciation
Now, we study the
this pronunciation

"

queen of languages," the language of infinite flexibility

and of unequalled vigor, the language which speaks to
the ear like French, to the mind like English,
the
language which possesses a literature enshrining works
" not
only of imperishable interest, but also of imperishable importance for the development of human thought "
we study the language without which human knowledge
would appear like the year without spring, or like the
" We do not
day without its bright sun and yet we say,
care how we pronounce such a language "
;

Now, we
the reasons

believe with the Rev. F.

why we spend

mastery of the Greek

W.

Farrar, that

so long a time in acquiring the

are, because the

Greek

is

one of

the most delicate and perfect instruments for the expression of thought which was ever elaborated by the mind
of

man, and because

both by

its

it is

therefore admirably adapted,

own and other

points of resemblance to our

modern languages, and by

its points of difference from

to
us
the idea or fundamental conception of
them,
give
all

Grammar

that

is,

of those laws

which regulate the

use of the forms by which we express our thoughts.

"
Again, the Greek being a
synthetic language," many of
its

advantages

lie

in

its

compactness, precision, and

PREFACE.

vii

beauty of form. Now, suppose we grant that the advantages we seek to obtain from the study of the Greek
cannot be increased by a change of pronunciation yet,
;

we

by adopting the pronunciation prevalent in

Greece, Grecian philology would receive a new impetus.
Scholars in this country and elsewhere, would be better
claim, that

able to judge of the literary productions of the modern

Greeks ; they would better observe how many idioms and

language prevalent among the ancient

authors, still remain unchanged in the language of the
modern Greeks and, finally, the study of modern lanpeculiarities

of

guage would become easier to the young student, because the euphony, grace, and variety of sound and
harmony of the pronunciation of the modern Greeks,

have in a greater or

less degree

been wrought into

all

modern languages.

Hence, their pronunciation is

matter
to attain, if one is thoran
easy
comparatively
the modern Greeks
which
sounds
in
the
drilled
oughly

the

give to the vocal elements

of their language.

On

the

other hand, the Erasmian system, an author remarks,

" causes its adherents to lo.se all
delicacy, euphony, and

accuracy of expression or sound."

The appendix " on accentuation,"

seem foreign

to a

work

although

it

may

of this kind, has been added at

It is to be hoped that
the request of many instructors.
there
means
of
rules
which
are
the
given, the study
by

become easier
and more interesting to the young student. A few other
grammatical rules have been added, which seem to me
are not given fully, either in Professor Goodwin's or
Professor Zelf's and Professor
Hadley's Grammar.
Gennadius' Grammars have been consulted in the preparation of these rules.
Scholars are wont to confound

of this difficult branch of

knowledge

will

PREFACE.

viii

Romaic with Modern Greek, and

to

mainly to be

is

me,

says,

seems

attributed to that statement of

who

Professor Sophocles,
"
Grammar

this sad mistake, it

in the preface of his

or, as it is often called,

Romaic,

Romaic
Modern

asserts that " this glaring mistake has influenced the opinions of many British

Greek."

Now, Professor Clyde

and proves most conclusively that " Professor

But
Sophocles has confounded things which differ."
scholars,

not only Professor Clyde, but Professor Geldart also

"
remarks,
Sophocles' works, especially his Grammar,
For the headings ' Anrequire to be used with caution.
'

and

'

Modern

'

which he places over his various

Language of Polite Society and Language of the Common
for the soPeople or Cultivated and Vernacular
called ancient forms never died out, but may nearly all be
found in the more cultivated modern Greek
Again,
cient

paradigms, should be read, in nearly every case,

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

in other

ways

to system, as

truth

is sacrificed

when he

modern Greek

by Professor Sophocles

gives rov rrarepa, rov avopa, as the

for rov
irarpds, rov dvSpos.

These forms

occur no doubt, but the classical forms are more

even in the vernacular."
.

common

But the reason why Professor Sophocles, a Greek himand a scholar of so distinguished a reputation, has
committed so serious a mistake is to be attributed to the
self,

fact that he left Greece

many

years ago,

young man, and when education

in Greece

when
was

quite a
in a sad

condition.

Hence, Professor Sophocles is familiar with

the vernacular Greek of his times,
which in fact might
be called "Romaic Greek,"
but since the emancipa-

and the establishment of the University

and other schools of learning " Romaic Greek " has entirely disappeared, and in its stead the modern Greek,
tion of Greece

PREFACE.
which

is

IX

the newest phase of the old Greek, has resumed

its place.

now, nor is this the place, to state

fully the distinction there exists between Romaic and ModSuffice it to say, that this difference cannot
ern Greek.
be better indicated in brief, than by that which exists
"
between " broad Scotch and " good English." Professor
" there are
phrases in one unknown to the
Clyde says
neffow o' glawr,' which all the
famous
the
like
other,
It is

not

my purpose

'

English of George IV. and his boasted knowledge of

Scotch to boot, were not able to explain."

There remains for me the pleasant duty of tendering

my warmest thanks, first of all, to the Rev. M. C. Stebbins, principal

of

the

Springfield

Collegiate

without whose valuable assistance I doubt

Institute,

much

if

this

volume would have ever seen the light. Not only has his
kind and valuable service aided much in the construction
of the plan and the development of the work, but also all
Should
the proofs have passed under his critical eye.
this work ever accomplish the mission for which the
author sends it out into the world, its success will mainly
be due to his broad and thoughtful scholarship.
To Professor W. S. Tyler, D. D., of Amherst College,

Anagnos of Boston, and to all others

who have honored this work with their favorable notice,
I beg to return my thanks.
Last, but not least, I must
to Professor E.

tender

thanks to a personal and esteemed friend, S.

Esq., for the very kind encouragement I have

my

Holman

work was yet in embryo.

With the valuable assistance of such a scholar as the
Rev. M. C. Stebbiris, my task might well have been executed far better than it is.
But such as it is, I commit it
received while this

very humbly to the judgment of the public

but with a

PREFACE.

comfortable degree of confidence that its deficiencies will

be charitably regarded by those who are best qualified to
appreciate the difficulties necessarily attendant upon the
discussion of the topics herein treated.
T.

SPRINGFIELD COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE,

SPRINGFIELD, MASS., September

1,

1877.

T.

TIMAYENIS.

CONTENTS.
PART

I.

PAGE

CHAP.
I.

II.

PRONUNCIATION OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE

THE ERASMIAN SYSTEM

....

.....

III.

LOCAL PECULIARITIES

IV.

MISTAKEN NOTIONS CONCERNING THE MODERN GREEK PRONUNCIATION

V.

...

VII.
VIII.

X.

I.

II.

III.

15

23

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE

....

25

39

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OLD ATTIC AND

THE MODERN GREEK

IX.

NEGLECT OF THE MODERN GREEK PRONUNCIATION

VI.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY

THE ASPIRATE

PART

II.

THE ALPHABET
SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS
DIGRAPHS

99

94

....

139

143

144
153

CONTENTS.

xii

IV.

V.
VI.
VII.

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS

THE CONSONANTS
COMBINATIONS OF CONSONANTS

155
167

192

EXAMPLES OF MODERN GREEK PRONUNCIATION

....

194

APPENDIX.
RULES OF ACCENTUATION

201

PART
CHAPTER

I.

I.

ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE.

'EAXas /xV lore

/a'a, iroA-ets

8e

'

avroi) TIV', ot 8 ""EAAr/ve?

6 KtopiKos Trapa AtKatdp^w, anotnr. 26.)

THE

pronunciation of the Greek language that

is prevalent in Greece, bids fair to find its way
into the schools and universities of the Old

World and

the

New.

Scholars everywhere, after

much

discussion, are coming to the conclusion

" that the
pronunciation of the modern Greeks,

even if it is not identical with the ancient, must

have a closer resemblance to the old than that of
the Western nations." It is high time, therefore,
that scholars should adopt in this country, and in
fact wherever the Greek language is studied, the
pronunciation prevalent in Greece, which, as we
will endeavor to prove, must have a closer re-

semblance to the old than any other pronunciation

now

in use.

Why it is

that so

little

attention

ON THE PRONUNCIATION

way the modern

Greeks pronounce their language we will notice
But it is worth while to consider how
hereafter.
eager we are to acquire a correct pronunciation
when we study a foreign language, and how careis

paid in this country to the

less in
loftiest

pronouncing "the language" in which

and deepest thoughts were expressed.

tlie

Perhaps the idea prevails that after the fall of

Greece, which dates from the war of the Pelo"
Greece not only saw her greatness
ponnesus,
fall,

but her spoken language also pass into obHow mistaken, indeed, he must be, who

livion."

supposes that the traditional language of the

Greeks is a thing of the past, is evident from

what follows. It may be true, that after Greece

had become a Roman province she saw, with
liberty, the arts, sciences, and literature fall into
It may be true that there were no
decadence.
more such statesmen and great captains as
Themistocles,

Miltiades,

and Cimon

Leonidas,

Pausanias,

no more great orators like

Aristides,
Pericles, Isocrates, Demosthenes, and .ZEschines
no more poets like Sophocles, Euripides, and
Pindar; no more historians like Herodotus,
Thucydides, Xenophon, Ctesias, and Polybius
no more philosophers like Pythagoras, Socrates,
no more sculptors like
Plato, and Aristotle
Phidias and Praxiteles
no more painters like
and
and
Zeuxis,
Parrhasius, yet the
Apelles,
;

OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE.

Greeks never

lost their language.

In spite of the

invasions of the Goths, of the Bulgarians, of the

Arabs, and of the Turks, the Greek language, I
repeat, never ceased to

be spoken by the descend-

ants of the ancient Hellenes.

Now,

let

not the

the injustice to suppose that I am

stateunduly influenced by patriotism in
is
to
ments.
to
deal
object
present facts,

reader do

me

my

My

with

facts,

to present them in their true light.

any defects in the pronunciation of

and

If there are

the modern Greeks, I will not hesitate to point

them out.
There is perhaps no nation in the history of the
world which has suffered so many invasions, from
different races ; yet, far from yielding to
the direful influences bearing upon her, she has

so

many

succeeded

in

preserving

many

of

the

virtues

of her illustrious ancestors, together with the lan-

guage, with so
that

little

change,

a change less than

between the English of Chaucer and the

English of to-day.
It is wonderful that the Greeks were able to
preserve their language under the many vicissitudes which the nation had to pass through,
It is
especially while under the Turkish yoke.

perhaps this that causes

as

it

was

to disbelieve the

as really a living language

in the days of Homer.
To bear in

fact that the

mind

Greek

many

the various

is

means the Turks adopted

to

ON THE PRONUNCIATION

so to speak, the Greek language,

the cruelty
and barbarity they exercised over the conquered
people,
might perhaps prepare one to believe
that " it was buried in a quiet grave and had given
place to a degenerate scion, or had at best sunk
kill,

into the dotage of a second childhood."

And yet, nothing is more true than the state-

ment, that the Greek

guage

as

it

was

in

is

the

truly a living lanTo

days of Homer.
as

express my sentiments, I can do no better than to

use the words of an English writer, who says on
"

That it is a strange and unparalone of the oldest known languages

in the world, a language in which the loftiest and
this subject,

leled fact that

deepest thoughts of the greatest poets, the wisest

thinkers, the noblest, holiest, and best of teachers,
have, directly or indirectly, found their utterance
in
far-off ages of a hoar antiquity, should at
^the
this day

be the living speech of millions throughout the East of Europe, and various parts of Asia
Minor and Africa; that it should have survived
the fall of empires, and risen again and again
from the ruins of beleaguered cities, deluged, but
never drowned, by floods of invading barbarians,
Romans, Celts, Slaves, Goths and Vandals,
often the lanAvars, Huns, Franks, and Turks
guage of the vanquished, yet never of the dead
with features seared by years and service, yet
;

still

essentially the sain^,

instinct with the fire

OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE.

of

life,

and beautiful with the memory of the

past."

" The
Professor A. N. Arnold says,
language
of Greece has undergone no revolution since the

time of the Attic historians, philosophers, orators,

and poets. Through all the successive invasions

and conquests of the country, by the Romans,
the Goths, the Huns, the Sclavonians, the Crusaders, the Venetians, and the Turks, the basis
of the population and the substance of the lanThere has
guage have survived unchanged.
never been a period when there were not some
who wrote Greek with a fair approach to Attic
Since

time

the

Homer, the
Greek has never been a dead language. Western

parity

of

Europe by that libel only proclaimed her own

ignorance and shame. If there has been a time

when even Athenians spoke a wretched

there were even at that time educated

women

in Constantinople

who spoke and wrote

would have been

not only to Plutarch and PauPericles and Plato."

the language in a style which

quite intelligible,
sanias, but also to

patois,

men and

LI

r,

H A

UY
OK

CHAPTER

II.

THE ERASMIAN SYSTEM.

AT
acy

the

first

appearance of the Turkish supremhundreds of families fled to the

in Greece,

West

of Europe, bearing with them that

very
system of pronunciation which not only the

use, but which learned Europe uniallowed

until the time of Erasmus.
versally

Greeks

still

The Erasmian system

of Greek pronunciation
was proposed about the beginning of the sixteenth
Hume informs us that the new system
century.

was vigorously opposed

it

also

divided

the

The
(at Oxford) into parties.
penalties inflicted for adopting the new pronunciation were no less than whipping, degradation,
Grecians themselves

and the Bishop declared that,

and expulsion
rather than permit the new pronunciation of the
;

were better that the language itself were

the universities.
banished
(Historv of
totally
England, Ch. XXXIIL, A. D. 1547.)
At present many seem to be satisfied that it is
Greek,

it

best for every one to pronounce Greek after the

This
analogy of his own vernacular tongue.

THE ERASMIAN SYSTEM.

of course gives rise to as many modes of reading

Greek as there are modern languages in Europe.

And

it

is

worthy of notice that

Greek pronunciation

conflicts

"

no system of

oftener with

the

direct testimony of the ancient grammarians, as

well as with the established principles of the

Greek language, than that which takes the EngProfessor Sophocles attributes
to the fact that in no other European language

lish for its basis."

it

same

combination of letters oftener

employed to denote more than one sound or no
sound at all.
However, some maintain that an

is

the

letter or

Englishman, for
easily

by

English.

instance,

attempting to

This

learns

pronounce

cannot be true,

it

Greek more
as if it were

for

"

English

orthoepy is confessedly complicated and discour-^

aging, even when it confines itself to its own
language."
Now, the general uniformity of modern Greek
pronunciation, wherever the language is spoken,

very strong argument for its antiquity, and

against its being a corruption resulting from conIn the Spanish diatact with other languages.
is

we

clearly trace the influence of Arabic, in

Italian of Teutonic, in French of Celtic sounds

lect

Greek, on the other hand, though the countries

where it is spoken are as widely distant and the
foreign influences to which it has been subject as
diverse, we find generally the same traditional
in

THE ERASMIAN SYSTEM.

pronunciation among learned and unlearned alike.

In Egypt, in Asia Minor, on the shores of' the

Euxine, in Constantinople, in Athens, in Crete, in

the ^Egean, the pronunciation presents the greatest harmony in respect to those letters on which
the whole controversy turns.

CHAPTER

III.

LOCAL PECULIARITIES.

THE same

local peculiarities

which existed

in

the different sections of ancient Greece are prevalent in those sections to-day. The Spartan of to-

day, like the Spartan of old, uses the same short,

He is inclined to an
cutting, laconic expressions.
active

life

of warfare, differing in this respect

modern Athenian, who possesses the

from the
same elegance in his bearing and expression as
It may not be out of place
the Athenian of old.
to remark that many of the superstitious notions
of

the

ancients

are

still

prevalent, especially
people of Asia Minor. For
among
instance, according to Herodotus, when Xerxes

the

common

was marching

to invade Greece.
tVe/ca

....

evpt

ScopTycra/xe^o?

aOavara) avopi eTTLTpeifjas

Now, it is curious to notice that this custom
"
of hanging trinkets to
Oriental planes" (plataThe people
ni) is still prevalent in Asia Minor.
a)

trinkets to such of the plane-trees as happen

It is a custom with the
strike their fancy.

hang
to

LOCAL PECULIARITIES.

10

people of that country, for which I doubt whether

they themselves can account. It is simply a cus-

tom handed down from generation to generation,

and from whicn neither time nor any other influence has been able to dissuade them.

Again, the same strong hold religion had upon

the great mass of the people is still prevalent,
especially in some of the islands of the Archipelago, such as Icaria, Rhodes, and the interior
of Asia Minor.
Mr. Alexander S. Murray in his

manual of mythology enumerates many of the

superstitious notions of the ancient Greeks, and,
in fact, it is astonishing to consider that neither

time nor Christianity itself could dissuade the

people from many of those religious notions.

Now,

it

is

a well-known

fact, that it

was

in the

firm belief of his interests being the special care

of a deity, that the husbandman sowed his seed

and watched the vicissitudes of its growth that

the sailor and trader intrusted life and property
;

to the capricious sea.

To-day, the husbandman

of Asia Minor sows his seed under the firm belief

George or St. James will watch over his

and will bring to him an abundant harThe sailor and the trader intrust life and

that St.

interests
vest.

property to
patron of

who, by the way, is the

In the city
seafaring people.

St. Nicolas,
all

of Smyrna, in a parish called u *Ava) Ma^aXa?,"

"
the upper parish,"
there is a sort of a cavern

LOCAL PECULIARITIES.
called

"17 Kpv<f>rj Tlavayid"

"
" secret
virgin

This

is

11

the secret virgin.

considered the patron

of mechanics, and her place is daily thronged by

of workingmen, who, in offering a part

all classes

of their scanty earnings to her, earnestly pray

may not cease to exercise her influence

that she

over their respective callings. Now,

that in ancient times the mechanic

it is

fact,

traced the

and handicraft, which grew unconsciously

upon him by the practice, to the direct influence
of a God. 'I knew of a poet in Asia Minor, by
the name of George Kanares (Feajpytos Kavdprjs)
who, a few years ago, wrote an interesting poem
and dedicated it to his patron saint, St. Eusthaskill

thios

In Mr. Murray's mythology,

we

notice

ascribed the mysterious evolution

of their ideas, and poets the inspiration of their
" a
song, to
supreme cause."
Everywhere in
nature was felt the presence of august, invisible
that

artists

the sky, with its luminaries and

on the sea, with its fickle, changeful
movements on the earth, with its lofty peaks, its
plains and rivers.
To-day, old women in the
East pretend to cure all sorts of diseases during
beings,
clouds

in

moon, and by the influence of certain invisible

Old women
beings who inhabit certain stars.
to
cure
pretend
pimples on the face by rubbing
mud on it during full moon. Again, the deities
of the ancients were represented as immortal,
and, being immortal, they were next, as a confull

LOCAL PECULIARITIES.

12

sequence, supposed to be omnipotent and omnis-

Their physical strength was extraordinary,

the earth shaking sometimes under their tread.
St. George to-day is represented as riding on a

cient.

fiery steed, with a spear in his hand with which

he killed a fiery dragon lying at the feet of his
horse.
Mythology teaches us that there were

and adventures of the Gods

among men, taking part in battles and appearing

tales of personal visits

in dreams.

Now, the greater part of those peculbarracks

the so-called churches
iar-looking
that are seen nestled on top of hills and scattered
hither and thither, in the interior of Asia Minor,
were erected because some devout Christian declared that such a saint appeared to

the erection of a church to his

him ordering

memory

In pray-

ing it was a custom of the ancients to lift their

hands and turn the face towards the east. This is
still

nor.

the practice of the ignorant classes in Asia MiHere is a specimen of what seems to have

been the usual form of praying among the ancient

Greeks: "Zeus, our Lord, give unto us whatever
is good, whether we ask it of thee or riot; whatever is evil keep far from us, even if we ask it of
thee."
The peasant in the East to-day, in praying, will lift his hands and turn his face towards
the east, and will say in a low tone, as appears to
have been the ancient custom, "My God, our
Lord, I pray to thee, give us whatever is good, and
keep far from us whatever is evil, even if we ask

LOCAL PECULIARITIES.
it

of

This

thee."

prayer, which

is

a very

13

common form

was handed down,

of

seems, from
Pythagoras, the phias

it

generation to generation.
losopher, taught his followers to pray with a loud
voice
but loud prayers do not appear to have
;

been customary.
Sneezing was regarded as something divine
and Xenophon informs us, that, on one occasion,
;

a soldier happening to sneeze, all those present,

with one accord, bowed to the God. "Touro Se Xe-

yovros avrov TTTapvvTai rt?

Tio)TOLi TTOLVTZS

To-day,

if

/ua

cx/coucraz^re? 8* ol crTpa-

opp,rj TrpocreKvvrjcrav

rov Oeov."

any one happens to sneeze

after nine

o'clock in the evening, the peasants of Asia Minor

are wont to pour wine on the ground.
Finally,

we must

not forget to mention, as a proof of the

wide-spread religious feeling of the ancient
Greeks, the national festivals or games, such as
the Olympian, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian,

maintained in honor of certain Gods.

To-day,

likewise, the peasant of the East, in celebrating

the feast of his patron saint, suspends all business

and celebrates the day with festivals and dancing,

cordial invitations being extended to both friends
and foes,
a custom which was in existence
among the ancient Greeks, because it is well
known that they used to suspend whatever war
might be going on between separate states, and to
permit visitors to pass unmolested, even through
hostile territories.

14

LOCAL PECULIARITIES.

This tendency to polytheism is certainly a remnant of the religion of the ancient Greeks. Although Christianity has shed its light in Asia
Minor and on the islands of the Archipelago, the
people are addicted to those superstitious notions,
and they will never be abandoned so long as the

barbarous Turk holds sway over those countries.

In the Kingdom of Greece the people are enlightened, and free from most of the superstitious notions of their brethren in the East.

Let us not, however, forget that the inhabitants

of Asia Minor are praiseworthy in retaining the
illustrious ancestors.
I have
"
"
alluded to the
local peculiarities which are still
in
to show that the Greeks are
order
prevalent,
a remarkably conservative race.
Although the

language of their

Turks prohibited, under penalty of death, the

Greek language to be spoken or taught anywhere
in Greece Proper or in Asia Minor; although a
war of extermination was carried on by them, not
only against the people, but against the renowned

monuments of antiquity although all teachers,

when pointed out, were instantly murdered, and
;

the silence which reigned in that country

once
the home of the hero and the statesman
re-

sembled the silence of an old cemetery, the

Greeks succeeded in keeping up their schools,
and thus kept their language, in spite of their
oppressors.

CHAPTER

IV.

MISTAKEN NOTIONS CONCERNING THE MODERN

GREEK PRONUNCIATION.

ONE

cause that makes scholars so averse to the

adoption of the modern Greek pronunciation

must have

the belief that the Greeks

is

lost their

language, owing mainly to the invasions of so

many barbarous tribes, to which Greece for centuries submitted, until the

War

of

year 1821, when the

Independence was

terminated in throwing off

But how erroneous this idea
"

proclaimed, which
the Turkish yoke.
An English writer

seems hardly too much to say that

says
our conduct in this regard shows a kind of literary ingratitude, which ought to shock our moral
sense.

that

it

Greece has, in various ages, preserved

to

us the succession of culture, when the rest of the

For us it has
earth was overrun with savages.

held the citadel of civilization against the barbarism of the world, and now the danger is over we

have forgotten our benefactor, and trouble ourselves

little

how

it

fares with him!"

The

case

reminds us of the words of the Preacher " There

was a little city, and few men within it; and there
:

MISTAKEN NOTIONS CONCERNING THE

16

came a great king against

and besieged

bulwarks against

built great

it.

Now

and
there was
it,

a poor wise man, and he by his wisdelivered the city yet no man remembered

found in

dom

it,

it

that same poor man." ....

Why forget that during the time when Turkey
held control over Greece, and when Greece
seemed dead to the rest of the world when the
;

Turks, I repeat, had prohibited, under penalty

of death, the Greek language to be spoken any-

where within

their domain,

some remote

often

among the defiles of the mountains, and

far from the Turks, used to serve as a school,
church

where

Greek

the

spoken

language

was

taught

and

forget that the Greeks had subschools in Constantinople, the very

Why

terranean

of Turkey, where, under learned

professors, the Greek language was by
capital

Greek
night

Now, in those
taught to thousands of Greeks?
supernatural efforts, so to speak, on the part of the
Greeks, lies the whole mystery of their success
in preserving their language.

moment has
tors

up

not for a

moment

his language.

barians,

No

Greek forgot who were

the

had no

Not

for a

his ances-

has he thought of giving

Time, and the invasions of bareffect whatever to change or

demoralize either the people or the language.

Idiomatic expressions, peculiarities of language,
so common among the ancient Greek authors, are

MODERN GREEK PRONUNCIATION.

17

be heard, even to-day, in the different sections

of Greece.
Foreign words are rigorously exin the public press the names
and
even
cluded;
of foreign newspapers, sometimes also of foreign
to

are subjected to translation.

Thus, the
Times is known as 6 XpoVo?, the New York
and
Herald, as 6 Kyjpvg 7775 Ne'as 'TopKrjs, etc.
"
it would sound ridiculous to call
places,

Le

whereas

palais des Tuileries" the palace of the Tileworks,

u
it is
'A^a/cropa ra^
actually translated by the
"

Kepa^iaiv
It

may

in

modern Greek.

be well here to state that

it is

from the

ancient grammarians we learn the pronunciation

of the Greek language.
Moreover, a scholar
affirms that Dionysius of Halicarnassus,

by

re-

Greek alphabetical sounds to their

proper organs, has, as it were, embalmed them
for our use.
So that, knowing these facts, we
can assert that the modern Greek pronunciation
has a closer resemblance to the ancient Greek
ferring

the

than any other existing pronunciation.

Again, this is evident from the clearness and

which the educated classes esIt is evident from the strikpecially pronounce.
in pronouncing Greek
which
exists
ing similarity
in all the countries where the modern Greek
distinctness with

In Greece, in Asia
prevalent.
Minor, in Egypt, on the islands, one and the

pronunciation

is

same pronunciation

exists.

It

is

again evident

18

MISTAKEN NOTIONS CONCERNING THE

tk

from the purity of style with which the papers

It is evident from the fact
are edited in Greece.
that the Greek historians, such as Xenophon. and
Herodotus, are the delight of every Greek who
reads them as understandingly as the average
American does the history of his own country.
Take the last paragraph of the Olympian Oration,
delivered by Professor Philippos loannou, on the
second anniversary of the modern Olympiads,
"
The
subject of the oration is,
Intellectual Progress of the Greek Nation from

A. D., 1870.

The

War

of Independence to the Present Time."

In the closing paragraph Professor Arnold states
"
Embracing about a page and a half of closely
printed octavo, there are about fifty verbs, every
the

one of which

is

found in Liddell and

ancient Greek lexicon.

Scott's

.... Of

seventy-five or
eighty nouns, all but one are found in the abovenamed lexicon, and this one is simply a modification of a well
scholars,

and

known

root,

represented

familiar to

by

several

Greek
cognate

words (Tray ia>T7? s)

Of about fifty adjectives,
all but one are found in the lexicon, and of this
one the corresponding adverb is found.
Indeed,
the adjective itself is found in Pickering's lexicon.
All the nouns and adjectives, without the slightest
exception, are declined as in the ancient grammars.
Among eight or ten different pronouns,
personal, relative, demonstrative,

and compound,

MODERN GREEK PRONUNCIATION.

19

all about twenty-four times, there is

instance
of departure from ancient
one
only
Of ten adverbs, the only one not beusage.
to
the ancient language is the negative Se*>
longing
This
(contraction for ouSe*/) instead of ov or OVK.
and
the ancient form,
modern form is used twice,
occurs
twice.
So
also
slight is the difference
ov^i,
between the Greek language of B. C. 400 and
that of A. D. 1870."
Now, is this not a proof
that the language must be essentially the same ?

occurring in

And

does not identity of language necessarily

How is it that the
imply identity of sound?

Athens
theatre of Bacchus

people

of

recently filled

ancient

the

to overflowing, to witness the

Antigone in ancient Greek ?

representation of
How is it that the Athenian heart, ever finely
susceptible to the sentiments of humanity, gave

evidence
witnessed

a tear that the people who

were imbued with the spirit of the

by many
it

tragedy, and
of the piece
"

ancient

very hearts the pathos

To what do you

To what can
the

felt in their

it

attribute all this

be attributed but to the

Greek

"

is

fact that

to-day essentially the

living language of the modern Greeks?

more need be said in favor of adopting the

What
modern

Greek pronunciation, which alone is the true pronunciation of the Greek language ?
The Rev. John Groves, a distinguished Greek
"
We have, after an examinascholar, asserts that

MISTAKEN NOTIONS CONCERNING- THE

20

made with no

little labor, formed a decided

the
that
pronunciation of the Greeks lias
opinion
undergone very little change for TWO THOUSAND

tion

'

The

YEARS/

written language

itself

has been

preserved in greater purity, during an equal exyears, than any of the European lan-

tent of

He is inclined to
guages of the same stock."
with
an
in Greece,
traveller
believe,
intelligent
"
that the
contemporary of William of Malmesbury or of Froissart would find more difficulty in
conversing with his modern countrymen than any
Athenian of the purer ages with his."
Bishop Horsley remarks that it may reasonably
be supposed that the pronunciation of the Greek
language, even in the time of Eustathius, which
flourished in the beginning of the thirteenth century, much more resembled the pronunciation

of the best ages than anything

for

it

now

certainly

we can

substitute

much more than our

BAR-

BAROUS recitation of Greek, CORRUPTED by our

bad way of sounding it. To the same effect is
the opinion of a well-known English author, who
has bestowed as much attention upon the subject
of pronunciation generally as " any writer of our
There seems, says Mr. Midford, no reasonage."
able ground for doubting that the present polite
pronunciation of Constantinople approaches nearer
to the speech of the ancient

of

any

other moderns, with

Greeks than that

any advantage the

MODERN GREEK PRONUNCIATION.

21

study can give, and that in order to obtain the

nearest possible approximation to the ancient
Greek pronunciation we can do no other way so
well as to adopt the Constantinopolitan.
Furthermore, the University of Cambridge in

England has

candidly acknowledged that the

English are almost singular in the erroneous and
pronunciation of the Greek language.
And, in a well-known literary journal, a writer
"It is, I behas remarked, in strong language:
vitiated

an undisputed fact, that our pronunciation

of Greek bears not the slightest resemblance to
that of the ancients
A remedy should be
lieve,

Great attention ought to be paid to

found

modern Greeks, ....

which must obviously approximate more to the
standard of the ancients than the method prevalent in England and elsewhere."
the pronunciation of the

Again,

it

is

an undisputed

fact, that

by

study-

Greek as a living language, and by

adopting the modern Greek pronunciation, many
idioms of modern Greek may be employed in
a manner hitherto unlocked for, in the criticism
of documents of doubtful age, as, for example, the
with a view of determining
Gospel of St. John,
the period at which they were written.

ing the

Professor Geldart asserts that the relation be-

tween accent and quantity in poetry can never be

fully nor fairly judged by any one who is not

MODERN GREEK PRONUNCIATION.

22

familiar with the sound of

Greek read accentually,

a familiarity which can hardly be acquired apart

from a practical acquaintance with Greek as a

spoken language.
Furthermore, "the pronunciation of Greek, and
the interchange of certain letters within the limits
living,

of the Greek language, is a sealed mystery to

who are ignorant of the sounds which the

those

Greeks of the present day give

to the letters of

their alphabet and their several combinations."

Finally, as exactly the same letters appear to
be interchangeable in ancient and modern Greek,

we

hold

it

to

be in

pronunciation.
hereafter.

subject

We

the strongest proof of

modern and ancient Greek

itself

the general identity of

But we

will

notice

will no1^ proceed to

this

point
discuss the

concerning the neglect of the modern

Greek pronunciation.

CHAPTER

V.

NEGLECT OF THE MODERN GREEK PRONUNCIATION.

AFTER

may

the foregoing considerations, the reader

be curious to know why scholars are so loath

to adopt the pronunciation prevalent in Greece.

For, in fact, how can the Western nations ever

suppose that their pronunciation is correct, when

they pronounce the Greek, which is the living

language of millions of people, according to the

sound of their respective languages ? Is this not
a regrettable confusion ? Now, would it not be
better to have for the Greek one uniform pronunciation, such as we have for every other spoken

language

The

reasons for this neglect are many and

various.
With learned men of the old school it
" to a
certain antiquarian
due, very probably,
bent of mind, amounting to a positive prejudice
is

against everything modern."

Professor Geldart

certainly right, when he says, that with such

scholars the fact that a language is dead, is, of

is

the best reason for studying it,

forgetting
"
that
a living dog is better than a dead lion."
itself,

MODERN GREEK PRONUNCIATION.

24

To

such, the discovery that the Greek is as really

a living language as it was in the days of Homer,

can hardly be expected to prove welcome. The

manner of life which such persons lead is not
inaptly expressed in the words of Southey
"

My days among the dead

Around me I behold,

are passed.

Where'er these casual eyes are

The mighty minds of old

My

cast,

never-failing friends are they,

I converse night and day."

With whom

The remaining reasons for this neglect, Professor

Geldart attributes to " the politi cal insignificance
of the nation

the obscurity of its literature the

and last,
small practical use of the language
but perhaps not the least, the prevalence of the
;

Erasmian system of pronunciation."

CHAPTER

VI.

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

" (EDIPUS.

Where

are

we now, my

dear Antigone

Knowest thou the place ?

ANTIGONE. Far as my eyes can reach
With lofty turrets crowned and if I
;

a city

I see

err not,

This place is sacred ; by the laurel shade,

Olive and vine thick planted, and the songs

Of nightingale sweet warbling through the

THE

year."

Greece cannot be
people which has made

political insignificance of

of very long duration.

Greek nation,
independence was established, must "be

rapid strides in education as the

such
since

its

worth something,

after

Professor Felton

all."

said, in reference to the University of Athens,

" That
many of its professors would do honor to
"
any university of Europe

too

much when

Athens

is

and

say that

acknowledged to-day

best universities of
Europe.
is
widely spread in Greece,

not saying
University of

it is

the

as one of the very

General education

and no nation surmodern Greeks "in general informaBut in order that the reader may fully

passes the
tion."

understand the astonishing progress the Greeks

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

26

have made in the

that

is

sciences,

and

arts,

literature,

to say, in civilization, since 1832, the

when Greece was

year

declared an independent king-

it is
necessary that I preface my remarks
a
brief
description of the country before the
by
occurrence of that memorable event.

dom,

" Before I farther in the tale

It

seemeth

To
Of

tell

me

you

do

pass,

accordant unto reason

all,

the condition

each of them, so as

it

seemeth me,

And who they were, and of what degree,

And eke in what array they all were in."
In 1821 a general war against the Turks was
a most
declared, and, after a war of seven years
cruel and atrocious war
the Greeks succeeded in

Education during those

years, and previous to 1821, was indeed in a sad
The Turks would permit the Greeks
condition.
to have churches, but they would not permit them
"
to have any
The Greeks
regular schools."
obtaining their liberty.

accordingly turned

many

of their churches into

school-houses, and here is a faithful description

of one of those "schools" by a Greek who

attended one of them

attend the

"
:

subterranean

The

rich

schools

were wont

to

established in

These
Constantinople, Smyrna, and other cities.
schools were generally taught by able and
scholarly men, who had studied in Germany.

The poor attended

the schools held in the church.

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

27

The

school was kept at the entrance of the church,

and our teacher was the priest, a man of not
We went at about eight
extensive acquirements.
o'clock in the morning, and were ranged in two

lines in the porch,

The children sat

floor

with the wool up, the floor being swept very

clean.

the

one on each side of the door.

on sheepskins spread on the

Sometimes we were ranged round against

wall,

without distinction of age or

class,

brothers being generally placed together, and the

The exercises began at
girls in another group.
eight o'clock, by all standing, while a prayer was
Then we all said the
repeated by the teacher.

The

priest then repeated the

psalm beginning Eleeson me o Theos,' which is much

used by us in ancient Greek, of which I unCreed.

'

derstood

meaning when a

the

needed not a

translation.

When

little

boy.

It

was done,

this

the boys began to read, one at a time going with

his book to the master, who corrected any errors.

There were two

classes,

one in an alphabet

called 'phillada' (leaves); the other in

The Apostles
the Psalter, or the
Apostles.'
Both
contained the Acts and all the Epistles.

book,

'

Each

which he studied

as a lesson at his seat.

never studied mathematics, as

in the

'

Apostles were in ancient

scholar had a few lines to read,

the Psalter and the

Greek.

'

school of

Oekonomos

we
in

We

did afterwards,

Smyrna,

This

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

28

school of

Oekonomos was what

may

term a

A few such schools were to be

private school.'
found in Asia Minor at that time. But they were
generally placed under the protection of some
'

European power, and thus they were

molested.

To

this day, the

left

un-

Evangelical College

Smyrna, though a Greek institution, endowed

by a Greek, is under the protection of England.
After dinner we learned to write.
Three or four
small sheets of paper sewed together, without a
in

cover, served for each of

the older boys,

who

used to write with large crow-quills. These quills

The shepherds supplied us
were very durable.
from the birds they killed.
The pens were

mended by

We

the master.
sat on sheepskins,
as I mentioned, spread on the floor, and placed
the paper on our knees with our inkstands beside

The master gave

a copy of the alphabet

alone to each learner, and afterwards a line or
more, written always in a small hand. All the
exercise of the afternoon, for two or three hours,
us.

was in writing. Before the close of school-hours,

the writing was shown to the master, who punished the negligent by feruling their hands.
Great offences were punished by bastinado on the
*

This was performed after the Turkish manner, by lifting the feet up. In ours and the neighfeet.

boring villages of poor Greeks, the boys carried

every week ten paras (two and a half cents), or

V^$9V

Vi

<..

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

'-.

'

bread, olives, eggs, cheese, wine, to feed the ma&fcer.

This was the regular price. There was no dange/

Each was informed whether to\

of being starved.
carry a loaf of bread or a piece of cheese this
week, which was generally different from the last
and the next week. At the rates established then,
I suppose the master received about the value
of four dollars per month for teaching thirty

boys. There was no suoh thing as boarding, so

that the expense of living cannot be estimated as
in the United States

but everything was cheap.

Beef was two and a half cents a pound veal or

Flour
lamb, four cents goat's flesh, two cents.
;

was four cents a pound."

Such was the state of education

in those years
The monasteries, especially
of bitter slavery.
those on Mount Olympus, afforded instruction to

those

ing

it

who wished
was

to learn, but generally speak-

"

religious instruction,"

and those

at-

tending, for the most part, were preparing for

the ministry.
Shortly after the release from the
Turkish yoke, the courts of England, France,

and Russia, being desirous

to give to

fresh proof of their friendly

(?)

Greece a

disposition, took

upon themselves the responsibility of directing

the internal affairs of the kingdom, and of framing
a constitution for the nation.
The Greeks were

opposed to the friendly wishes of the Powers;

they were opposed to the form of government

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

30

the Powers wished to establish over

were

to

have

them

they

the
foreigners
so that, after the lapse
often years (since 1832), " The Minerva," a
Greek paper then published in Athens, asserted
in strong language, " After the
lapse of more
than ten years, and an expenditure of thirty

unwilling

destinies of their nation

direct

millions of dollars, the interests of the country

are so completely neglected, that to this moment
(1842), Greece is left with the greatest part of her

domain uncultivated

mud

with her forts

filled

with

with

many of her rich plains and valleys

in a state of progressive desolation
with some
;

few schools and seminaries of learning, supported

principally by private contribution, and denied
the benefit of a vigilant superintendence

with

churches more fit for stables than for temples

of religion with suppressed monasteries with a
;

with a navy inferior to the one in

the days of Capodistria with a population small
enough, and yet diminishing by constant emiclergy in rags

gration to Turkey; with many and rich uniforms,

but without a manufacturing establishment with
plenty of commercial treaties, but with a commerce poorer and more insignificant than ever;
;

with a bank which promises wonders, but with no

resources and public credit."
The above picture of Greece

an exaggeration of the actual

is

by no means

state of things at

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

The budget

31

1843 showed a revenue

of 15,669,795 drachmas, against an expenditure
of 18,666,582 drachmas, which it was feared
would be increased to more than 6,000,000 drachthe time.

for

mas, inasmuch as it was thought that the government would hardly realize more than 12,000,000
drachmas from the revenue of the realm. The

must be attributed
to the fact that the Powers were determined to
"
absolute monarchy,"
establish in Greece an
and the Greeks, on the other hand, wished to
causes of these misfortunes

Others laid
have a constitutional government.
the blame upon the Bavarians, upon those "who"
"
The Minerva "
to use the language of
" disbanded the veterans of
Greece, and gave
the bread of her liberators to worthless merce-

who

led to the slaughter-house the heroes

of her revolution, and exiled in foreign missions

naries,

the

best of her statesmen

who

shackled the

press, burdened the people with taxes, wasted the

loan and the revenue, gave the national lands to
strangers, weakened the interests of her protectors,

dampened the sympathies of her

friends,

disregarded the Protocols, despised the advice

of kings, persecuted the constitution, and intro-

duced into the country that system of government which must be stigmatized as absolute
and despotic.'"
*

Others maintain, and perhaps with justice, that

32

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

the real causes are to be sought in the memorable

treaty of the 7th of May, 1832, between the

Minister of Bavaria on one side and the Plenipotentiaries of England, France, and Russia on
the other.
By virtue of this memorable state

paper, the sovereignty of Greece was conferred

upon King Otho, and it was further agreed, be-

tween the contracting

parties, that his

Majesty,

being then a minor, should proceed to his kingdom, under the tutelage of THREE Regents, not
one of whom was to be a Greek, who, besides a
a loan of sixty millions of francs, were to have a
mercenary army of four thousand men
!

The history of the last fifty years, a Greek

asserts, has recorded many wrongs, many acts of
oppression and injustice but neither the history
;

of the present, nor the annals of ancient and

modern times, can afford us a more terrible ex-

ample of national vassalage than that which we

see in the case of Greece, and which portrays in
such vivid colors the beauties of an exotic policy,
which Mr. Macaulay has justly characterized as
the

worst

species

of

slavery.

Mr.

Perdicaris

remarks that the sacrifices of Greece, the full

hecatombs which she laid on the altar of liberty,
the deep sympathy which her suffering and heroic
courage created in. the minds of the civilized
communities of the world, are still fresh in our
memory, and we can hardly dissipate our blush,

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

33

smother our

indignation, when, with such

glorious antecedents, we find such wretched consequences when in the place of that substantial

or

good which animated the heroes of Greece, and

which was anticipated by her people arid her
friends, we have a government which requires
from two to three millions of dollars for its support, but which, at the same time, is swayed to
and fro by some one of the three potent and
irresponsible Plenipotentiaries of England, France,
and Russia
Is there anything more humiliating
!

or

more degrading than this !

But this state of things could not go on much

The Greeks resolutely took the matter

longer.
into their own hands, and by one master-stroke
they saved their country from its perilous and
degraded condition. This they accomplished by
that
It

memorable revolution of September

3,

1843.

accomplished a great deal of good, without

That great
consequences.
of a single day ended, in the
words of a Greek historian, in the acquisition of a
giving rise to

evil

popular movement

social compact, which is destined to protect, for

ages to come, the prerogatives of the throne and

the rights of the nation.

The Greeks, having

government such

established

as they wished,

a form

of

showed them-

selves capable of governing themselves.

They
commenced to rebuild their fallen city and to

'

34

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

preserve the renowned monuments of antiquity,

which suffered not so much from the conqueror
as they did

from the ruthless hand of the

anti-

quarian.

was the antiquarian, and not the conqueror,

ruined the temples of antiquity and deWe
spoiled the city of Athens of its treasures.
It

who

can only

says the indignant Byron, or imagine, the regret with which ruins of cities, once
the capitals of empires, are beheld the reflections
feel,

suggested by such objects are too trite to require

But never did the littleness of
recapitulation.

man, and the vanity of his very best virtues,

of patriotism to watch and valor to. defend his
country, appear more conspicuous than in the
record of what Athefis was and the certainty of
what she now is.
This theatre of contentions

between mighty

factions, of the struggles of

the
exaltation
and deposition of tyrants,
orators,
and triumphs and punishment of generals, is now

become a scene of petty intrigues and perpetual

disturbance between the bickering agents of certain British nobility and gentry
the wild foxes,
the owls, and serpents, in the ruins of Babylon
;

were scarcely less degrading than such inhabitants.

The Turks have the plea of conquest for
their tyranny, and the Greeks have
only suffered
the fortunes of war incident to the bravest.
But
how are the mighty fallen, when two painters

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

35

contest the privilege of plundering the Parthenon,

in turn according to the tenor of

and triumph

each succeeding firman

Sylla could but punish,
and
Xerxes
burn Athens, but it
Philip subdue,
remained for the petty antiquarian and his des!

picable agents to render her as contemptible as

himself and his pursuits.
let

However,

us not forget that neither the

conqueror, nor the antiquarian, nor time, the destroyer of all things, has succeeded in effacing
the wonders

of

art;

the

principal

of the city, and the Acropolis with

monuments
of

many

its

"

even
monuments, were spared, and Athens,
when under the government of a worthless slave,
continued to be the favorite of all those who had
an eye for art or for nature."
"

But lo from high Hymettus to the plain

The Queen of Night nsserts her silent reign.
"NTo murky
vapor, herald of the storm,
!

Hides her

fair face

or gilds her glowing form.

With

cornice glimmering in the moonbeam's play,

When the white column greets her grateful ray,

And

bright around with quivering beams beset,

Her emblem sparkles o'er the minaret

The groves of olive scattered dark and wide,
Where meek Cephisus sheds his scanty tide,
The cypress saddening by the sacred mosque,
The glimmering turret of the gay kiosk,
;

And

sad and sombre mid the holy calm,

Near Theseus'

fane, yon solitary palm,

All tinged with varied hues, arrests the eye,
And dull were his heart that passed them heedless by."

36

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

For the preservation of the " antiquities," a

society was formed under the name of the
tl

The memArchaeological Society of Athens."

bers went to work with willing hearts and hands,
so that they succeeded in rendering the " National

Museum " the most interesting and

richest museum of the world.
Ever

perhaps the

lovely, ever dear,

How may I salute thine ear!

O what size of words may tell
Half the charms that in thee dwell

In thy sight are joy and pleasure

Without stint and without measure.

In thy breath is all that flings

Sense and thought of choicest things.

the progress Greece has made since her

independence is evident from what follows

Now,

Greece in 1834 had a population of 650,000

In 1870 she had 1,238,000 inhabitthat is to say, her population was doubled
ants,
inhabitants.

increasing more rapidly

thirty-six years,
than in Great Britain, and much faster than in
in

any other country of Europe.

Greece, together

with the Ionian islands, has to-day a population

of one million and a half.

In 1830 there were in Greece 110 schools, and

In
the number of scholars amounted to 9,249.
with
in
752
there
were
Greece
schools,
1860,
52,860

scholars.

In 1837 there were in the

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

37

University of Athens 52 scholars; in 1866 there

In regard to the commercial and
were 1182.
maritime interests of the country, suffice it to say,
that in 1871 Greece had 35,000 sailors; three
times as many as Great Britain in proportion

Her commerce with

to her population.
in 1861 amounted to 923,000 English
in 1871

it

Education
the

sum
From

reached the
is

free.

"

"

great University

England
pounds;

of 2,332,000 pounds.
the village school to

of Athens, education

is

"
ContemAbout, in his work,
porary Greece," speaks in the following terms
free.

Edmond

"I have seen

concerning the Greek students
in Greece all kinds of students, but I never saw
the student who would not study."
Rev. Joseph
:

Cook thus eloquently portrays

progress of the Greek nation

the

intellectual

" What has

happened in Greece since she was liberated
from Turkey ?
"
Forty years ago not a book could be bought at Athens.
To-day one in eighteen of the whole population of Greece

Fifty years of independence and the Hellenic

have
doubled
the population of Greece, increased her
spirit
revenues five hundred per cent, extended telegraphic communication over the kingdom, enlarged the fleet from 440 to
is

in school.

5,000 vessels, opened eight ports, founded eleven new cities,

restored forty ruined towns, changed Athens from a hamlet
of hovels to a city of 60,000 inhabitants, and planted there
a royal palace, a legislative chamber, six type-foundries, forty

printing establishments, twenty newspapers, an astronomical

observatory, and a university with fifty professors and twelve

38

PROSPECTIVE STATUS OF GREECE.

hundred students.
King Otho's German
came from Nauplia to Athens in 1835, lived

court,

when he

at first in a shed

On Conthat kept out neither the rain nor the north wind.
stitution Peace in Athens, in 1843, the Hellenic spirit, without violence, and by the display of force for but a few hours,
substituted for personal power in Greece a constitutional

government

as free as that of England.

historian of the
affirms that,

were

George Finlay, the

Greek Revolution, and who fought in it,

even before that event, degraded as the people

could read and write

politically, a larger proportion

than among any other Christian race in Europe.

Undoubtedly long bondage, acting on the native adroitness of the
race, taught the

Greeks disingenuousness.

The

old blood

produced an Alcibiades as well as a Socrates, a Cleon as

well as a Phocion

there

was

in

it,

as in

American veins

to-day, a tendency to social, commercial, and political sharpBut after fifty years of independence the Hellenic
dealing.

devotes a larger percentage of public revenue to purposes of instruction than France, Italy, England, Germany,
Modern Greece, fifty years ago
or even the United States.
a slave and beggar, to-day, by the confession of the most
spirit

merciless statisticians, its enemies, stands at the head of the

list of self-educated nations."
" ' The
Deity has changed in nothing these cities ; but I

am

not surprised thereby; for I know the Destiny is ever

striving to produce something new, and changes the weak ns
"
well as the strong, by the power of Necessity.'
(PAUSANIAS.)

CHAPTER

VII.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

THE

Sepluagint, Polybius, and the

ment were written

u
Greek, or

rj

what

in

Koivrj

is

New

Testa|

called Hellenistic

SiaXe/cros."

may

in fact

remark that Hellenistic Greek, or " rj Koivrj SiaXe/cTos," first made its appearance in the Sepluagint.
For example, " efeX#e IK rfjs 7779 crov, KOL IK rrjs
crvyytvelas crov

Travres

^K\ivav OL^JLOL rj-^peLotavTav" sounds

t

6 \apvyt;
crOrjcrav rct^o? dt'ewy/xeVos

modern Greek.
Of Polybius it may be

just like

run of

his sentences is

said that the general

not so modern as the Sep-

tuagint, yet many of his peculiarities, or novelties,

The
Testament is
are decidedly modern.

New

written in the language in which the newspapers

are to-day printed in Greece.
Everything about
it

is

New
is

The language of the

decidedly modern.
Testament needs no translation with us it
;

as natural for a Greek,

understand the

Greek

"

as

it is

New
for

of fair education, to
Testament " in the

original

an American to understand the

language of an English paper.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

40

To-day there are many books published

Athens, written by modern Greeks, in a style
above that of the
stance

Kal

in
far

take, for in-

New_ Testament;

ovrog ICTTIV

r)p(i)TT)crav OLVTOVS Xeyoire?

ov v//,ets Xeyere on rvtykos lyevvrjOrj ;

VJJLCOV,
*
ovv apTi /3XeVei ;
KTreKpiO^crav avroT? ot yoavTov, KOL &TTQV oiSa/xe^ on 01)705 icrnv o wo?
KOLL on rv^Xo?
Now, in all this,
eyevvTJOrj.

wos

w ith the
r

exception of the word oiSapev, for which

modern Greek

the

thing- else

will

supply r^^evpo^^v, everysounds decidedly modern.

We now

into

pass

"

the

Roman
"

Lebeck's edition of Phrynichus,

period."

Eclogse and

Epitome," will perhaps give an idea as to the

state of the spoken language about 180 years
after Christ.

We

come next
lowing Nubian
Insc.

The

to the Diocletian age.

by

inscription

King

Silco,

as a type

serve

Corpus
p. 486, may
of the Greek spoken at that time in ^Ethiopia

OTTOJV

-r]\6ov et?

Te\/Jii,v

e^Opwv

arra^) eviKTjcra nraKiv

e>caOe(T0r)V

r/./
aTrag eviKfjaa
fiT

/Ltera
*

avrcov

awrwv

Kai,

Kal

rcov BXe/jL/JLVcov, Kal 6 0eos fpouteP

avrwv,

VY]V

iii.

fol-

KCLI

rwv OV\WV

vJVjt.'
Kau avrot,

/J,OL

TO

t/cparrjcra

JJLOV

TO

i]fyw(jav /ue*

w^oadv

pot,

vt,Kr)[j,a

TO,

ra?

/mera

TroXe/.?

JJLZV

>/

fTroirjcra

et^coXa

avrwv,

xai

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

TOV OpKOV CiVTWV
TCI

et<?

avw

aKfjur)v e/jLTrpoaQev

OVK

(cf.

a(j)a)

avrwv

ei>
J T-,

,.

avu>

eoj?

fjieT

e/Jiov-

/cat,

yap

IJLOI KOLI

Ol yap

T a Traioia

jap

(fiiXoveiKovcriv

Testament) avrovs
KCLI

/_>

yu-e

et?

\\?

TrapaicaXovaiv

pep?) hecov

ft? KCLTO)

per

CLJJLI

KCK,

et?

eiroXearjaa fjiera ra)v BXe/jL/jivcov Kal

TeX^Jew?
acj)(0

01

New

KaTrj^Lcoaav

fj,r)

elfjLL"

OVK

W7roK\ti>ovo-i,

avTwv.

v\1

xLya)

all-

fjieprj

acf>e(0vTai in

avOpCOTTOl,'

TWV aXXaw (3ao~i\ewv

oTTicrco

avTcov.

L(7LV

ore eyeyovo/jLrjv ftaai-

fieprj /JLOV

OVK a7rrj\0ov oXo)9

aXXa

Kd\OI,

O>9

41

Iv a-yraf

/cal

avTovs Ka0ecr0f)vat,

ol

aXXot NovjSaSwv

et9 TT\V

OVK eircoKav vrjpov eca)

(j)i\oveiKOvo'l

/JLOI

dpird^a)

aKiav

et9 TTJV

et /XT;

oiKiav

TWV yuvaiKwv

avTwv.

From

the age of Diocletian to the Byzantine

Period is but a step.
Now, until the time of

Ptochoprodromus, in the eleventh century after

"
" artificial
was still the language
Attic
Christ,
of literature but the popular dialect, often re;

ferred to

The

authors, keeps coming to the surface.

following is a short specimen of the

by

popular style adopted in this period, from the

"

"
Apophthegmata Patrum
'

H\0ov

eo(f)L\ov
TO.

tepa.

TTore TraTepe? et?

'A\%dv$piav

TOV ap%ie7Tia-K07rov iva

Kat,

eaOiovrcov

K\r)0evT6s VTTO

noir\ari ev%r)v

avrwv Trap

Kal jfafav fvq&v

avTOV

SaKpivojAevoi, Kal \aj3cov

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

2
f

rf

VP>

V KOTTClbiV

eTTHTKOTTOS

0(i)K6

'

-v

TrXrjGLOV CtVTOV jepOVTl

TO)

\eya)v, iBov TOVTO Ka\ov KOTra&iv eo"rw, (frdye a{3/3a.

Be a7roKpi6evT<i elirov.
et

Se

ecrrt
/c/jea?

'.Hyuet? ea>?

ou rpwyopev.

et? eavT(t)v yevcraaOai,

apri \ayava,

Kal

Ol

^aQlo^v

ov/ceri TrpoaeOero ovSe

avrov.

"
Greek literature" may be
period of
reckoned from_622, the date of the Hegira, to
1099.
We have here before our eyes "the tran-

The next

from the language of the grammarians to the language of the people."

Besides a host of
Theophanes (758-816).
new words, and ancient words with new meanings, he has the following grammatical innovasition in literature

tions

The endings

-aScs, -aSco*>, -aSas, in

01 a/iTjpaSes, emirs,
-15, -iv

for -tos, -iov

for

XaX^crtojiiei',

The

nouns

in -a?

The endings
rous d/x^paSa?.
6 Kvpis rov Kvpiv.
*As \a\yjand a?

etcreX^cycrt for etcreX-

perfect participle without redupli-

cation, as crtS^pw/xeVo?, KacrreXX&yieVos TrvpTroX-rj^ej/05.

^H/xtcru,

for tov

acrxrffJLO)

cusative.

The ending

indeclinable.

half,

for acr^/xoi'i

'ATTO 'AXefa^S/oetai/

airb
ets

-05

with the ac-

for

eV.

'ESiSa-

iv Kwz/crraz'Tiz'ovTro'Xei, ct? TO evKTijpiOV Trjs

o-vr with the genitive as well
'A^ao-raa-tas
ayias
as a'/xa with the genitive, etc., etc.
crAcer

The age
certainty.

of Malalas cannot be determined with

Professor Sophocles supposes that,

as,

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

43

however, most of the grammatical innovations

contained in the work that bears his name belong
to the language of the eighth and ninth centuries,
it

may be assumed

that he jvas_con temporary with

would seem,
Theophanes.
was not his mother tongue.

further, that

It

I.

The endings

Metaplastic
TrXctAca,

-es

dative

for

at,

plural

as Ilepo-eg for Hcpo-ai.

rcus TrXdVats, from 17

classical TrXdg 77X01*05.

ovra for

-ov,

and eWa

for

Greek

-e*>;

in
Participle active
TrecroVra, ot/coiWa,

6Vra, /xe'XXoz'Ta, Trape^ovra.

The accusative for the dative.

The

article be-

fore interrogative words. "A/m, with the genitive.

Mera, with,
'ATTO, by, for VTTO after passive forms.

followed

by the accusative.
The anonymous biographer

of

Leo Armenius

uses the following grammatical innovations

The ending
ovcri

-ovv for -overt

IK with the accusative

Kvpievovv for Kvpitv/cat

euya>os for euye-

The auxiliary as for a<^e?.

Leo the Philosopher (A. D. 886-911), in his
"
Tactica," employs a considerable number of new
words and the endings -o? for -779.
II. tStKos
proprium, as in Romaic. The end1^179.

ing -orat for

for

[vf\

-et

(second person sing, passive), ov

in the protasis,

etc.-

who wrote all his

common and spoken

Constantine Porphyrogenitus,

works purposely u

in the

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

44

language," with the exception of the Life of St.

"
Attic
Basil, which was written in the artificial

Greek " of that

period, gives us

The ending

-cus

for at; dXXafi/AO*>, gen. dXXa^'/xaros

crct9 for tyxwz>;
eW for eV; povoyevrj for the vocative of /xoz'oye^g;
for avTwv
etcre for el; crou for crcu, as KOL\TJ;

u
rjpepa,

Good morning

and So? with the

to

4>

accus.

A/xa,

w^&, followed with the accus.,

An anonymous

you"; va

for IVa,

with the subj. Mera,

etc.

known

as

"

Theophanes
" the
makes
use
of
the
Continuatus,"
expression,
common and impure language," which evidently
means the language of the illiterate. In his col"

lection entitled
find

writer,

Theophanes Continuatus," we

*AXv, gen. of *AXus,

The ending

a?,

/cpacras,

xpucros for ^pucrous.

vitner,

and periphrastic

future subjunctive.

Cedrenus (A. D. 1057) wrote in ancient Greek,

but with " indifferent success." His work contains
but few grammatical innovations Gen. in 77 from
the numeral adverb eTrrcu for I
775
:

Scylitzes gives
common dialect
:

us the following specimen of the

eoi ere

eVricra, ffrovpve'

= in modern Greek, 'eyw

VOL ere

xaXaera>,

built thee,

ea)

Iva ere

ere e/crtcra fyovpvt,

oven,

will de-

molish thee!

Anna Commena, who wrote

a history of the

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

Byzantine
the

45

War

common

about the year 1100, alludes to

dialect.
She has preserved the fol-

lowing popular tetrastitch

To aafiparov

TT}? TVpivrjs

Xaprjs A\ti6,

Kal

T7]v

evorjcres TO,

Seurepav TO

irpcot"

/ca\co<i

Eljra^

This closes the mediaeval period of Greek

liter-

ature.

Theodoras Prodromus (A. D. 1143-1180) may

be regarded as the earliest " modern Greek author."
He is said to have used the " popular dialect," or
"

Romaic Greek," in its entirety.

Before proit
be
well
to give the
ceeding any farther,
may
" Romaic
Greek."
origin of the term
ORIGIN OF THE

NAME "ROMAIC."

In Professor Sophocles' " Romaic Grammar"

we find that when Constantine the Great transferred the seat of empire to Byzantium, he called
it

Nea

ever,

'Pc^u//?,

New Rome.

was, and

still

Constantinople, that is Kaj^crra^TtVov 770X19,

770X15,

the city of Constantine.

is

now

titles

The popular name, how-

continues to be, Kaj^o-ra^rt^ou-

of

obsolete,
its

The

appellation Neiv

Rome

except in connection with the

bishop.

Thus,

Tpr^yopio<; eXeo^

eov

Ne'as 'PojiTs /cat

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

46

olKovfjLeviKos TrcLTpidp^qs, Gregory, by the

mercy of

God Archbishop of Constantinople, which is New

Rome, and Universal Patriarch. After that memorable event the name of 'Potato*,, Romans, was
applied to the Greeks as well as to the genuine
Eomans. The subjects of the Byzantine emperor
were sometimes distinguished from the
'

'

'PcofjLOiOi,

Western Romans,

by

the adjective

The Emperor's domain was known

Eastern.
'Pw/xa^ta,

as

Romania, the country of the Romans, a

e

Romanus, Roman.
The Greeks being thus changed into Romans,
was natural that the name of the language

derivative of

it

P<o/i,ai/o?,

should undergo a corresponding transformation.

The

adjective 'Pw/^auAcos

rectly

'Pwjucu/co?, is

less

(trisyllabic),

cor-

derived from 'Pw/xcuo?, after

the analogy of the classical 'A^aa/cog, from

Hence 17 'Pco/zac/cT; yXwcrcra, or simply ra

'

'

Romaic,

the language

The term

rj

of the Romans.

'EAXrjj/i/a)

TXcacrcra,

'EXXrjvLKa, is regularly applied

now

or simply ra
to the ancient

and present language of Greece.

Now, we have said that the first modern Greek
writer who can be said to have used the " Romaic
dialect" in its entirety was Theodorus Prodromus
"
(A. D. 1143-1180), nicknamed
Ptochoprodromus."

He

lived in the

Mangel Comnenus, was

him a series of popular

to

reign of the Emperor

a monk, and addressed
verses, crrt^oi

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

47

volume of
The burden of these
liis
Atacta," Paris, 1828.
verses appears to be the poverty of learned men.
They are written with great spirit, and in a style
which may be termed " barbarous ancient Greek."
Since the emancipation of Greece the style commenced to show its native power, so that " Romaic
Greek" or " barbarous ancient Greek" is a thing
preserved to us

by Coray

in the

first

"

The following

altogether of the past.

men of his style

is

a speci-

aov, jBao-tXeu, a<? rovro rl

TTJV

K6(j)a\r)V
if
VjV
Av

e%a) yeiTovav Ttvav

Na

TOV

Hapa

Na

eliTco

V*j

MdOe

etyro)

rt,

MdOe

JJLZ

Xeyet?

TO ypauaaTircbv va

KpaviapOKe'(j)a\ov TraWe? va

TOV

iraioiv ayopiv,
fce^rj

/M

fy')(rr) ;

ovopaGovv.

TO T^ayjaprjv TO iraioiv aov.

PeiTovav e%c0 TTCT^T^V^ ra^a

IlXrjv eve Ka\otyovvi(TT7]<;, eve

Orav yap

iSrj TTJV

avyrjv

Aeyei a? /Spaar) TO Kpacrlv

Ev6vs TO

Na

/cat,

real

/3a\e TO Trnrepiv

/3pa<reiv TO OepfJLov \eyet, Trpos TO iraiBiv

TO 7rai$LV

/u-ou,

ayopao~e

$epe Kol B\a%(,rcov TVplv a\\r)v

Kal
'A<f>

va Trpoyevawuai,, KCLI Tore va

ov oe (f>0aa-r) TO TVplv teal TCL

Kav

Tecrcrepa TOV &iSovo~iv 6t? TO

So?

fJL

Tpavov

Kal TrapevOvs vTroBrjaav eiracpet, teal Tre

Qiav Se TraXiv, /9ao-t\eO, yevuaTos; copa

TOV

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

48

TO KaXairoSiv rov, ptTnei Kal TO

Kal \eyei TTJV yvvaliccnov, Kvpa Kal #e?

Kai rrptoTOv fjilcraov e/efeerToV, Sevrepov TO atyovyydrov,
Kai rplrov TO aKptorracrTov o(>6ov airo /Jiepiov.

Kai TGTapTov povoKvOpov,

Acf)
^

7r\r)v /SXtTre

ov Be irapaOeaovaw Kal

va

Kai

vi-fye'rat,

/JUT)

/caTcr

AvaQe^a fjue Baai\ev KOI TpicravaOe/JLa fie,

Ovrav arpa(j)(Ji) KOI iBa) TOI/ XotTroz/ TO TTCO? Ka6

To

TTDJ?

avaKOfjiTToverai va TTiacrr) TO KOvraXiv,

Kat, ovbev rpe^ovv TO,

aa\ia

/uoy,

w?

Tpe^et, TO

Kai, eyco vTrayco K epxp^ai TroSa? ne'rpwv

EvOvs

r)TO)

r/

lov

lafJi/Bov^
r /

vpeva) TOV Ttvppi^iov

A\\a Ta

jjLerpa TTVV

Ilore yap

*H

TTW?

E&e

e/c

e/c

TWV arfycov.

jvpevco TOV

vv

Kai, TO.

(jjeXovv

TOV la^ftov va

\\

-v

\oi7ra ia

a^erpov

rrjv

/JLOV

irelvav

(jjayo)

TOV Ttvppi^Lov TTOTe

fjiov

va

T%vi,T7]<; 0o(j)i(rTr)<; e/tet^o? o

Elrre TO Kvpie Xeyaov,

rj

We

give here some of his grammatical innovations as collected by Professor Sophocles.

They
will

be found of importance to any one who

read his writings, and, in

dialect
I.

fact,

may

Eomaic

N, annexed to words ending in a vowel

peiv, tKTevio-OrjV, ye'irovav, TLVOLV,

VTroSrjfJiciLV,

<o'-

BpaSw,

The ending es or at? for at:

reWapes yaWcus. III. The accent of pro-

tKOiCdtpvv, icrlv.

res

key

to the

II.

paroxytone nouns and adjectives retains

its

place

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

49

6 /coVoias yetro^tcrcra?, Sevreprjv, crKovfJL7rpO7ra\ap,vIV. Augmentative endings, -a: ovpa,

SoTracrrov.

Ko^dnoLy KoppaTovpa.
-la for -eta
oj jbr at

V.

The

adjective ending

The

VJ.

rot? /xa/cpe'ag juvras.

thus, 'Ard? rov yivtrai 'larpds.

e//";

from the

XL

"Ei/,

&,

classical

tive

Jdrid.

by means

of

Trercrd^w,

or

or

cr^/cw^cu.

XII. Peri-

cto-t.

0e'Xo)

-oV&>

and the

infini-

a-vpew, the first

example of the
XIII. Future subjunctive by meansnof V~cT

thus,

tfe'Aeis

and the imperfect or

va pe

OOK

S/t cTi/c for 'cort

phrastic future

IX. Hoi; or

crov.

X. The verbal ending

OTTOV for 05, who.

et>i>o>

TOV iavrov

thus, Tp(f>

article

VII. 'Ard?,
VIII. 'Eau-

ot ap^d^ricrcres, ot crapses.

StSai/,

vd

'p,a0a.

aorist indicative

VOL

XIV. Imperfect

'ow,

passive
'

proparoxytone

^p^o^v and ripyovpow, vd pyd-

^ovfjiow, yivQV[LQvv.

XV. The ending

-vra&i for

-VTO thus, eVouXoiWacri for 'eTrajXov^ro. XVI. The

XVII. The acaccusative for the dative, passim.
:

cusative for the genitive after numeral adverbs

XVIII. Na and Sia
aTraf TOV xpovov, once a year.
:

vd as in the Greek of the present day.

XIX. Eufollowed
is
the
aorist
6vs TO,
infinitive,
equivalent
by
to the modern.
EvOvs TTOV, as soon as. XX. All
the prepositions take the accusative
Trjcnv.

XXI.

OuSeiSLfo^^ov,

crvv rrjv

77-

not.

Almost contemporary with Ptochoprodromus

was Simon Sethos, who is the first prose writer in

modern Greek.

~~

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

50
"

The

Book

Romania and

of the Conquest of

the Morea," Bi/BXiov TT?S /couy/cecrra? rrjs Pa>/*avia<$ KOLI TOV Mcupato?, by the Franks (French,
Italians), now ascertained to be a translation

from the French, belongs to the fourteenth century and represents the Romaic of that period.
It is published by Buchon in the second volume
of his "Recherches Historiques," Paris, 1845.
Professor Sophocles states, that from the abuse it
heaps upon the Greeks, because they, on more
than

one occasion, deceived the truth-loving

Franks, but chiefly because the Latins were
unable to induce that stiff-necked, perfidious,
lying people to recognize the apostolic claim of
the Holy Father, it is not difficult to perceive
that the translator, as well as the original au-

was a member of the Western church.

thor,

The

"

"

Book

of the Conquest
may be best de" as a
rhyming chronicle, which might

scribed

deserve the

name

prosaic, or of

of poor verse were

bad prose were

it

it

not so

not written in

metre."

To
titled

same period belongs the epic poem enBelthandros and Chrysantza." This poem

the
"

without question a far more imaginative poem

than the " Niebungelied."
The writer possessed
what is called "real genius."
If our reason were
is

disposed to deny
his

work

this,

will fully

our sensations on perusing

prove

it.

It is

an

infallible

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

proof of real genius

power

when a

51

writer possesses the

to stir the feelings, or to affect the mind,

most lively manner, by a few words, and

most perfect simplicity of language.
with
Such a genius conspicuously marks both Shake"
Belthandros and Chryspeare and the writer of
in the

the

santza."

The poem, as Geldart remarks, is a romance

of knight-errantry, in which we can plainly trace
The plot
the effects of the crusades in Greece.
of " Belthandros and Chrysantza" is simple but
imaginative.

The hero

is

Belthandros (a Grae-

cism for Bertran), the son of Rhodophilus, King

of Romania, who has two sons, Bertran and
Philarmus, one of whom he loves, and the other
of whom of course he hates.
Belthandros, the
unfortunate

'

object of his father's displeasure,

a journey eastward, and after
takes
accordingly
heroic exploits performed at the expense of his

men-at-arms, who are despatched to bring

him back, he reaches Armenia, and the fortress of
Tarsus.
Riding by the side of a small stream, he

father's

gleam of light in the running waters, and

follows up the course of the rivulet a ten days'
It leads him to a magic building called
journey.
the Castle of Love, built of precious stones, and
surrounded and filled with every imaginable form
of wonder, in the way of automaton, birds and
beasts of gold, reminding us of Vulcan's workespies a

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

52

Then

manship.

King

follows an introduction to the

of the Loves, the

palace,

who

gives

owner of the enchanted

him the task of choosing the

most beautiful out of forty women.

He first
selects three, and having thus equalized the problem to that which Paris of old had solved, he
proceeds to award the palm to Chrysantza, who
turns out to be the daughter of the King of
Antiochia, and whose subsequent appearance at
the court of Rhodophilus reconciles the father,
and terminates the story with the slaying of the
fatted calf.
" Did the

modern Greek language possess but

this single epic, to say that it is destitute of literature were a calumny indeed."

Emmanuel Gorgilas ('E^avov^X FewpyiXXas),

a native of Rhodes, belongs to the latter part of
He wrote several poems in
the fifteenth century.
About the same time the story of
Apollonius of Tyre (' ATroXXom'ov rov Iv Tvpo>) was
translated into Romaic from the Latin romance
Romaic

verse.

the

supposed prototype of
Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre.

Apollonius Tyrius,

The following works

are

attributed

to

Em-

manuel Gorgilas.
1.

Anfy^cris

ra? Trpafeis TOV Trepi/BoTjrov crrpa-

ets

rrjyov

TMV Pa)/Aa<,W /icyaXou BeXicra/n'ov (e^eSoOrj

Ba>erta

rai

4 TOAOVS.

1554

VTTO

QpajKicrKov

The w ork
r

is

metrical.

'Pa/x-TraTcrcrov

iv
ets

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE/'

V/53
1
'
4*
v/
/'
'

**r

--

2.

To

avaTiKov

picriavr)

rrjs

'

'PdSou (avcKSorifo lv
f

-"'/

TTJf

JIa-'

ty

>]/,.
Sprjvos r^5 K&j^o-ra^Tt^ovTroXeo)?.
Demetrius Zenos (A^/x^rpto? 6 ZT^O?), who
"
Ro
translated the Batrachomyomachia into the

3.

raaic dialect," represents the

spoken language of
This translation Martin

the sixteenth century.

Crusius, A. D. 1526-1607, translated into Latin.

But almost the only examples of Modern Greek

century consist of letters and

sixteenth

the

in

fragments of speeches, chiefly the utterances of

ecclesiastics.

The

"

"

great work of the seventeenth century,

Professor Geldart calls it, is one entitled

as
"

Erophile," written in the Cretan dialect, by one

Chortakes, a Cretan. It is a tragedy, and opens

with a monologue of Charon, the impersonation

<of Death, who speaks as follows
:

tf-r

xi aypia

Kal TO

l'
K

Spetroat

*H dypia

2
T)

4
**

a.ve\^ir'r]T-rj

rj

7)

ai>6\v7rr)Tr)
*

KorcfcaXa, K
1

'-\

r]

Jr

rj

O-KOTCIVT]

OTTOV ftacrTw;* KOI

TroXXat? BpovraLS, K
dypia

rj

TCI

0w/Hd

ou,

TO

JJLOV,

yvyvd

aarpaTrais

(6 &ypio$, -ta, -lov).

for aveXirio-Tos, ov,

= Gewpta.
= Speiravov,
dpeirdv
Ba<7rcD =

ravra

/C5

r\

(ywpia

with sense of desperate.

Oj

IJLOV

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

54
"OTTOV

JToto?

Na

avoi^aai, K

Ti}V jrjv
eifj,ai

10
u

CL7TOV T^r)

11

'

(ITT

/cat TV(f)\o

cTKv\oKap$rj

Ey(t)/jL

ocrou? /ae

13

Kal

KCIVOS TO \OL7TOV

ht^W^ai

roy

rcove 8/^co? /xtX

/jiova^d

(fravepwaovv <n]iiepov

> T-!

aTrov

eftyrjrc

BaGlXeVS

f'x

O\0i

fJLG

K CLTTOVOV
T^f]

12

fie

{JLLGOVGl,

\a\ovai.

/JL7rOpOV/J,l>OV<i

OV\OV$,

7r\ov(7Lov<; K avriinToov^ rf' a'e^rat? KOL r

KCU T

yepovras, pucpovs KCU

teal

T$] XcwXou?,

16

K 0X0^9 av6pwirovs rf*

aXXou?
17

yiajjid ovre (JLOV fyavr) pl%vc0

/
o\
>/*x |O
vs
et9 TOI^ aao
T^T? viorrj? TOI/? T^T;

18

JVa/xa,

>

Avovct) T

/^at

avarovco.

%povovs TOVS T6\toi'co

8o'ou9 f

'

aypiais

/cap$Lat,s KaraTrovco, rfr/ \oyi(Tfjiovs

teal

irov

efcel

6
7

aTToD

jutXta
9

11

14
15
16
17

18
19

/jiaria fiov

JT/

themselves

so TTOT^ /AOU (never) in

my

life.

SiWircu.

('70^)

el/tat.

= m <rw^, finally (common in modern Greek).

= M wc?i Aate (me).
= hound-hearted.
(TKv\OK&p8r)
r6

Xoi7r6i'

12 aTr' 6'Xoi
/A
13

ia

OV^JLO

6/xiXta, -a?.

/iTropoOai

*E7tSwat

TTO\V

d?r6.

/ioraxaT-awe

10

/j.e

a\\uaaw

r'

/xiaoG(7i

rfij BacrtXei>s,
avfifj-iropovs

Xa>Xoi)s

Ftaju-a 7ia^id

X vu>

i.

e.

rods Ba<rtX^Fs, contracted for roi)s

= /wKpoi/s,

d6wdroi'S (weak).

6Wc, a5 soon as

P'TTW.

etymology

5ia/ta S^re \pbvov.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

w,

Hov TWV

'EXXrji/o)
l

21

d\dicaipais?
r]

fj,7rope o/u.ei>a?

&ev

^>vfJLval^

%copais

fc?

27

fcal

KaKOppi^iKOi^

rj

TTOV

^
8/^0)?

fJL

TTOV crrj yr) \iya/ci

evpw

25

TrA^crta

To ^6?

TTOV TO> 'Pw/Aiwv

<7TO \dtCKO KaTOlKOVV, j3oV/3ol

^TT/^a

TroXXo/ /3ov\ov(ri.

KOCT/JLOI,

Bacn\eiat,s

55

(TTOJULa
24

p^w/ia.

yidvra Be Qeaypovcn

TTW? \i<yaivovai, rf/; %povov<; TTOJ? irepvovai

eSuifiq, TO 7rpox&es TrX^o 8ei/

28
fjuicpr)

dv WTO par at,,

TO arifJLpo crra (TKOTewa Xoyarat.

1

TWV

'Sevav dvoiyofftpdXiafJLa,

Kat

Ta

S/^a)?

\VTrr)(ri,

Ka\\rj crjBvvw, K

ojj,op<f>o

Tou? Tcnreivovs Be Xe^oz/cG,

jTou? (frevyovv (f)Tav

Kai

S/^ft)?

i/a

//,e

ap/taTi, diroawva)

Kafj,id ira<i

30

avOpwiro (TKOTWVCO

TrpoawTro Be

oy\rjyopa T0f9
}

Kpd^ovei,

/ie

av^yd rf^

20

Treppa^dveTe aicopTroiiv,

TCL

31
(f)0/3ovjj,at,

fyjTovv fjiaicpaiva)

ya/zou?

$TO)%ol T apiraTe fyevyovai, Ta cr^/yyere

Ta

Xi>7roi)//,at,

TOL>? aypiovs Se

fj,7rat,vo).

7reroi)<7^,

KTieT %a\ovai,.

a\au/>ats, Cretan, for o\6K\tjpai.

21

22
yu

Si'xws

without.

The

/A

is

pleonastic.

23

25
ir\-fj<Jia.

2J

KOKoppifrifot

= ill-fated.

To

ptft/co

is

modern Greek for /ofe.

modern Gieek)

the same as in ireirpw^^vov (common in

that ivhich is deep fixed like a root in the ground,

idea

27
28

is

TO

t/'^s,

S7Ti'0a

yesterday evening.

STriflayU??.

29
<ivoiyo<T(pd\i(TiJ.a,

hence,

^o

s/m.

80

Tracra for Trclfra.

31

5^ for

5^

ou.

from awt^w and 0-0a\lfw,

i. e.

pi fa.

The

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

56
^

M 32
amua

2<a

/O ' '

o-pvv

r)

'*

ooga

era?,

'

-\

ra

TrXouTTjcra?

^Kopirova^ve /cal yavoviai, KOI r ovo^a

2a varov 8^ yLte TO %ept era? ypa/jijjLevo el?

aa

era? \vovet

irepiyidXt,

^TT) $Laicpicri rf/i OaXavffas, yrj

a evyeveo-rare Movp/jLovp' v
f

>

'

TT

rrpopa

Me

r/ N

a?ro rf^

Me

T^

:at T^A; TtyLtat?

rov KQTTQV va

JJLOV

^apai^

Oeww

"

vx

36

a^oerat?

r QVOfJM crov TOVTO

oero) ere

"

'

v'

o/\at?

<rov TrXr/cra i/a

r\o,

3S

aou

ae SXeVew /caX\o 7000

a7r\a<yxvos dve^ircarco, K aperpij

etcrat

TT

T^

TTJ (T/CQTfiM^,
n/r v

Treprj^avrjat,

Trot)

39'

JUtt T^it^a

paKpav rov Koa-pov

Se yevva \afBpa, ov&e

v

Vv

IJUQVO Kai, KCLTTVO TO.

c/>c5?

'

Tpiyvpa

The next writer we shall notice is Franciscus

Scuphos, who flourished about the year 1669.

He was

born in Crete and was educated in Italy,

and was also professor at the Greek school in
Venice.
He wrote a work on Rhetoric, which
may be regarded, in the words of an English
a living example of the fact that the
oratory of the ancients continues to live in the
oratory of modern Greece.
scholar,

= ainvd^p. Lat. scintilla.

= ws Kovtoprds (dust).

32

2a

2S

aa

ffK6vrj

34

2d

vdrov

35

xa/icu, Cretan, for the

36

87

Ttari

airiOa

wffav.

dperais

(is

modern

xd/^ou, the ancient

rds dperds.

tireiSrjTrep (yap).

88

39
,

a curious corruption and metathesis for

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

57

we

are, met by the

and
names of Kosmas the Aetolian
Rhegas of
the
and
both
Pherae,
great forescholarly men,
The following
runners of Greek independence.

In the eighteenth century

oath administered

an example of his deadly intolerance to

ates, is

tyranny
*/2

Baai\6i> TOV fcocraou opKi&uai a?

Srqv

yvtourjv

M.r]T

va TOVS

JEt? TO,

TMV TVppavwv va
SouXei/cra),

Ta^ifiaTa T&V va

Evoaw

TOV

fc5 cr'

Tov va TOVS

rt ~

juLe

aov

6 /zo^o?

CT/COTTO?

va gvai GTpaOepos.

ty]oa) CITTO

r'

Trapapct) TOV opicov, v

Kal va

ur)v e\6a) TTOTC.

va

varplBa ovvrpiffa) TOV

a%u>piG-Tos va

K>vav

fj,r)T

<re,

f^

KO<7fJ.ov,

atyavicro)

J7iO"ro9 et? T7)v

Ki

to all his confeder-

by Rhega

vyov

TOV o-TpaTrjyov.

''

'

'

aeTpatyri o ovpavo?

KUTaKavarj va yev caaav

Here is another war-song, which contributed

no small degree to fire the Greeks with that
enthusiasm for liberty which soon resulted in the

in

insurrection

a TOV 'HpaicXeovs opuaTe,

eva

%e/5fc,

fie

ue T a\\o

TTJV

yevvalws, Spaa/neTe o\oi

f

Kai, &it;aTe TUJV E\\r)i>cov TO yeVo? OTL

Kai

Av

Tt9

TbpLWTai,

KL a$e\<f)ia

Ap-^iTreXayov //a? Tovpxos a?

o/iftj? TO\jjL7](jr)

%rj.

Wappiavoi,

//rj

va TTappovatacrOf]

(fravrj.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

58

a?
va

va

/caroi/coo/iev

a ra

oprj /cal

ftovvd

Rhegas was betrayed to the Turks by the

Christian government of Austria, and was
by
them put to death on the spot, at Belgrade.
The following inscription was engraved on the
tombstone of Rhegas and Kosmas
:

Ovroi e\ev6epiav

Evpov

evl

Xalpere

6r]

fiA.o^o<? 'Oicpvoevra

rjpevral

KOifJLutfJLevoL,

fjuo

eaoicev

CLTT

KOI TOT

eyeipofjievot,

et?

TTO\/&)

aypav

crTreuSer

d.

In 1777, was born at Larissa, in Thessaly,

Constantinus Cumas, author of a great number
of geographical, mathematical, and philosophical
He was known under the name " 6
works.
"

Most of the
(the
philosopher).
learned Greeks of those times were from R,u<tXoo-o<o5

which province was in higher repute on

this account than any other in Greece.
Numbers
"
"
of the
Kleptes were men of scholastic attainments.
Having been abroad, and seen a better
melia,

state of things, as well as

having acquired

refine-

ment from books, they could not submit to the

degradation that awaited them among the Turks,
and therefore retired to the mountains and lived

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

59

In some of the wildest and

most dreary mountains were many of the most
intelligent of our people, and in the dress of shepherds were to be found men such as Constantinus
in independence.

Cumas.
Constantinus

Cumas was one

of those lettered

Greeks who began to propose the cultivation of

Their plan was as fol-

the spoken language.

lows

The

ancient inflections are to be preferred

to the corresponding modern and mediaeval inI.

flections.

All barbarous or foreign words and idioms

are to be banished.
II.

tion

new words

All

III.

and composition

ancient language.
IV. The ancient

are to be formed
after the

by

deriva-

analogy of the

orthography of words of

Greek origin is to be preferred.

The following is a specimen of Cumas

style:

'

etvai, 7T/30? -Jto?, <poi>tyto9 TE'KTWV ocrrt? ayopd^et,

teat

Trpioviov

ra

oirola

efiTroBl^ovrai airo tip

Kal TOU? aXXou? <7ToXfoy<iOL>9 va

TO, i8ta

va TTpiovity

(TTO\t(rr) Trjv

KOL

7T\Ka

TO Be eTepov

Trdo-^ei, vojj,l%a>

bcnis 8ta va

avTcov epya, tfyovv TO ev va

ajrapaXXaKTa
j\wao'av

/me yevircas

aTroXuTOU?

BOTCKCK;

real

tcivSuvevei,
%ft))0t5 dvaytcrjv Xefet? ao-ui/ei^tcrrof?,
et?

TOV9 aicovovTas

ij

va

Trjv

avayiva)-

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

60

The following

Cum as'

is

a catalogue of Constantinus

published works:
Vota.

ava\DTLK7] 7Tpayjj.aTia TOV

Kat\\ov.
a

1803

fjLa07j/j,cm,Ka)v KCLI

1
fyvaucwv TTpay^aTeiwv.

p7?;/,e/a9 eTriTOfir).

Swray/jia </>Xocro</a?.

T^

1812

1
3

1818

1819

<t\o<7o</a?.

...

1818

1818

1818

laropiK^ ypovoXoytas.

2vvo-fyis TraXata? yecoypcufrlas

8
2

1814

Bet,\dvBov 'AydOwv.

TevvejjidXov laropta

1807

1808

Treipa/jLa'riKTJs (j)vcrtKrj^.

^vvotlrLS

Appa

/ze

3 TnW/ea?.
:,

V0)76tcal

1818

.......'...

....

cov 777? 'EXXrjvircrjs

y\waar)<;.

BeL\dv$ov

A/3&r)plrai,.

1826

1827

IcrTopla TWV avOptoTTivav irpa^ewv.

1833
rpafjL^ariKTj.

'ASpiavou Bd\/3r] yea)ypa<f>ia.

1838

1830

32

12
1

1840

...

~45

The

name

that appears at the end of the

eighteenth century is that of Adamantius Coraes,
the great patriot and linguistic reformer, and one

great

most celebrated literati of Europe, as

Born
Professor Geldart and others justly assert.
at Smyrna, on April 27, 1748, the two sentiments
which formed his main-springs of action throughof

the

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

61

were early developed, namely,

out

life,

ism,

synonymous

patriotin his case with hatred of the

His historian
Turk, and a passion for learning.
informs us that in his native town he was greatly

and other studies by the

Dutch consular chaplain, Bernhard Keum, of
whom he makes frequent and affectionate men"
tion in his
Autobiography and CorrespondAt the age of twenty -four he became his
ence."
father's mercantile agent at Amsterdam, where he
spent six years, but the ledger was the least
interesting of his books, and in 1778 he was
assisted in his lingual

He

recalled.

returned with the greatest reluc-

tance, because his darling project was to

medicine in France, in order that, should

study
he be

among the Turks, he might

the only profession which
them
among

obliged to live
exercise

respectful treatment for the Greeks.

four melancholy years at Smyrna, his

procured
After

wishes were at length complied with, and in 1782

He

he arrived

at Montpellier.
self in this famous medical

distinguished him-

school, and,

having

obtained his diploma, removed to Paris in 1788,

where, instead of practising his profession, he
labors, most of
Here he wrote
countrymen, encouraging them in
for freedom to which Rhegas was
gating them and here he pursued

engaged in literary

a patriotic aim.

them having
letters, to

the

his

struggle

already instithose studies

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

62

which have established

his

fame as a European

Napoleon selected him to prepare a

translation of Strabo's Geography, the first volume of which was presented to the Emperor in
scholar.

In a letter dated Ley den, July 22d, of

same year, Wyttembach, writing to Larcher,

1805.
that

Coraes " not only a Grecian but a veritable

In 1807 his edition of Isocrates proGreek."

calls

cured for him the

Philology," and

of " Patriarch of

Greek

1814 he received an official

he would accept a Greek chair

in

letter inquiring if

in the College

title

Royal

About the

week
having extended his hand

of April, 1833, Coraes,

to reach a cup of coffee, fell to the

first

ground and

received injuries from which he died the 10th

He was buried at "Mont Parof April, 1833.
nasse," and the following inscription
on his tombstone

was engraved

AAAMANTIOS KOPAHS
XIOS

'TTTO

ewr)V

JJLCV

iaa Be

rrj

'.EXXaSt

7re<pi\r)iJ,evr)v

yrjv

TWV Tlapicriwv

KEIMAL
His published works are as follows
La M^decine

1787. Montpellier.
rov Selle.
rov
Merdtypaais
yeppavitcov
Introduction a 1'etude de la Nature et de la M^decine.
Clinique.

e/c

Ibid.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

Cate'chisme Orthodoxe Russe.
Plato, Archbishop of

63

the

(From

German

of

(From

the

Moscow.)

Vade-mecum du Medecin.

Montpellier.

English.)

Esquisse d'une Histoire de la Medecine.

(From

Paris.

1767.

the English.)

Pyretologiae Synopsis.

1786.

Montpellier.

an Answer to IlarpLKj] biSao-rcaX/a, a Forgery of the Turkish Government, published

under the name of Anthimus, Patriarch of Jerusalem, for
ASe\(j)iK7j Si,$acrKa\La,

the purpose of allaying the tumultuary tendencies of the

Greek subjects of the Porte.

Les Caracteres de Th^ophraste.

1799.

Traite d'Hippocrate, des airs, des eaux et des lieux.

Paris.
1806.
Ibid.,

second edition with Greek

1816.

title.

BeicKapiov Trepl O&L icy 1*0,7 &v KOL TTOIVWV.

Paris.

1802,

1823.
2d\7ri(r/j,a 7ro\efj,i(TTTipiov.

Paris.

1803.

(On

the

Paris.

1804.

In

death of Rhegas.)

'HXio&wpov AlQioTTiKa BiftXia

two Volumes.

Se'rca.

Lettre du Docteur Coray sur le testament secret des

Athe'niens, dont parle Dimarque dans la harangue centre

Demosthenes.
Aid\oryo<; Bvo

Tpaucwv

(caTol/ccov

T^? Beverlas.

1805.

1825.
XKrjviK^ BifiXioOJiKW.
\rjvifcri

Bi,p\i,o0iiKrj.

Paris.

1809 - 1827. 'Ex-

1807-1835.

15 volumes.

(Consisting of editions of classical authors, with notes.)

e
Ilapepya EXX. B^\ioO^K^. 1809-1827. 9 volumes.
pa^mSiat, A.

1811 - 1820.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

64

TOV

TWV aKZTTTiKwv

<J)I\OO~O(HI)V

jrepij3or)TOV

NO/AW tcatcov.
2 volumes.

aA.oV,

1818-1825.

Paris.

"Arcucra.

NofjiM

1831.

vvois

epas

AvTo/3ioypa<j)la.

1833.

Besides a great many articles in the " Logics

Hermes," a Greek periodical published in Vienna,

on philological and political subjects.

On his death he left his library and manuscripts
to the

gymnasium

at Chios, the birthplace of his

His unpublished works are more nunot

more voluminous, than those which
merous,
have been given to the world. Besides this, the
ancestors.

if

margins of

many

of his books are crowded with

notes in his handwriting.

The following is a catalogue

of the works
which were bestowed by him to the library of
Chios, and which remain as yet unpublished.
Adnotationes in Atha3neum.
Notes sur Eschyles.
-v|rw8/a E, e&>? TOV 250 (nl^ov.
et?

I(TOV

TOV 'AOrjvatov

TWV GTa\6eicrwv

real

'HpoSoTOV.

a-r)fjiiu)(Ta)v et?

V veav eicSocriv Ae^ifcov Hederius.

irepl

E. Barcker,

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

Ta\rjvov
Kelpevov

et?

<7eX.

65

TO irepi yvptov 'iTTTrotf/mToi;?, <re\. 1

75

170

0-77/1,.

401,

avTiypaifxnr,

Kai ciTeX???,
'Ape-raiov pe-rdfypacns Ta\\im], dSiopOcoros
<reX.

1-407.

TO irpocrwpivov HoXtTeu/xa
Observationes miscelaneae, pag. 1 - 905.
^77/zetfwo-et? et?

Idem
Idem

eiw? TOI>

'.

sine paginatione.
in

Athseneum, pag. 1 139.

'HpoSorov
Trapayp. 56 TOV 7

TO? KOL aTeX?)?,

Plus

T?}?

1'art

<r.

TO TpcuKiKov,

et?

creX.

1250

Bt,/3\iov.

241.

de la inedecine, pag.

1-10

une table

et

le

tout incoplet.

Keipevov Kai

a-ij/jieicoa-ew et?

TO frepl StatV^?

oe'ft>z>, teal

TOV 'IirTTOKpaTovs,
7re/)t a/^a/a? 'larpiK'fjs
TO KeifievoV) al a-rj/ju. cr. 117 408.

et?

TO

^/Ltetcocret? /cara-

ff\.

Ta\r)vov

1-1067. "En

TOV 'IinroKpaTOVs

etc

TWV avrov

Tti/e? o-77/ietajcret? ej?

creX.

o-eX.

116

Ta

1-21.

Tpa^iJiaTiKj] TT}? rpairciKrjs yXwo-o*^

Collationes des manouscris Grecs, pag. 1

1-141.

5*T/%oi 'Icodvvov Tferfof.

t

fjierpcov, o*eX.
'

et?

TO

- 84.

48.

A jro\\(i)Viov
r

Trepl truz/Tafew?, creX.

24.

AegircoXoyia airo TO

E\\r]viKOV

et?

TO TpaiKt,Kov.
t

Aegifcov

$(,a<f>opct)v

avyypcKJiecov

et? TCI^

I ir n'OKpar'r]V.
f

Adnotationes in varies Auctores Graecos.

c

A\\T] Ae%iKO\oyia cnro TO E\\7jvticov

et?

TO TpaiKiicov.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

66

Few

countries,

Geldart says, none certainly

save Germany, can show such a literary Hercules

as Adamanties Coraes, the second Leo Allatius
of Greece.

The next

writer

we

shall notice is Constantinus

Oekonomos, who was contemporary with Coraes.

He was a native of Thessaly, and had received a
He soon became remarkable
superior education.
for his opposition to some of the doctrines and
practices which had before prevailed amongst the
Greeks, or, at least, had not been openly opposed.
A Greek historian informs us that the bishop
soon viewed him with dislike, being a man inferior in education, talents, and soundness of
opinion, and at length interdicted his public
Oekonomos had a sincere desire to
preaching.
establish better principles amongst his countrymen, and intended to introduce all possible improvements in the system of education, and was

disposed to forward everything that might prove

He did not, therefore, allow
beneficial to them.

himself to be discouraged by the bishop's opposition, but made a journey to Constantinople to

obtain permission of Gregorius, the patriarch, to

preach where he pleased.

In

this

he succeeded

and, after his return to Smyrna, preached with

more zeal and boldness than before. The char-

Oekonomos was

most sincere,
frank, and friendly description, with the most
acter of

of the

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

kind and willing disposition.

67

He combined

an
His

extraordinary decision and independence.

historian informs us that he "regarded the observance of ceremonies, by many so much insisted
on,

as a matter of

small importance compared

with the feelings they were designed to cultivate

Oekonomos devoted his attention
or to express.

and time much

to the establishment of schools.

He

acted in this co-operation with various enlightened Greeks, who were anxious for the
greater extension of

knowledge among the Greeks,

and had taken pains

to introduce the Prussian

in the schools he was

system
endeavoring to establish.
Jacob Rhizos Nerulos, known under the appellation of "the modern Aristophanes of Greece,"

of

instruction

He was

was contemporary with Oekonomos.

the unsparing satirist of the " Logios Hermes,"

and his style was and is still known under the
"
Nerulian style."
appellation of the
To illustrate the above I give three short ex-

taken respectively from the "Auro/Sioypa<ia" of Coraes, the treatise " Tlepl Ilpo^opa?" of

tracts,

"
Oekonomos, and the

Kopafctort/ca," a

satirical

comedy of Nerulos, in which I need hardly say

the KopctAce? are the followers of Coraes.
Al
/cat,

e/rSoVefc?

IJLOV

&ev e\et^frav o/^w? va

e^Opovs, o\l<yovs vivas

cr^oXacrTi^ou?,

oyi TToXXou? TOV iepciTLKov ray/iaro?, ol

fjbo

evco/jievovs

oirolot,

//-e

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

68

ypiws w? KaivoToftov oyi

\fj,rj(rav

a\\a

BeiaSt

et?

icai,

avrr}v

JJLOV

Trjv

Tcopa, OTL Tou? dvTe7ro\ejjir)(ra K

et?

fjiovov

ra

Trep

Meravoa)

OprjGiceiav.

eyw'

(f)povifJLO)Tpa r)6e\a
'

rrpd^eiv^ av dfcoXovOovaa TO

" f/

77]TOVt

To

aocfrov Trapayye\/jLa

TOV

CORAES, Avroffioy pallet.

JESofez/ av-ro}.
*

Trepl yvrjalas

TWV E\\T]VIKWV
Eu-

TToXv/cporov TrpopXrjfAa, Trpo Tpiwv %8r) alwvwv et? rrjv

fj,eyd\a>v o-vty]Tr)aea)v wrroOeaw.

Upwro?

7Tpl TO> 1520 aVo\a/CT/<7a9 ryu

eTrevoijGev

e&J9

Tore

aXK.'rjv TTavTaTTaat,

vevo-

arvvrjOrj teal

veav

real

avr\Kov-

'

EXKvjvLKrjs y\wcro-i)S etc^covrjcriv, TTJV oTroiav Kal

7775

7rape'$(i)K6v

et?

TOU? OTraSou? TOV

to?

/JLOVTJV

d\r)0tvr)v /cal

'

yvr)(Tiav, Kaff v\v

]V

air

y\a)<Tadv

tdya /cal ol 7ra\aiol E\\i]ve$ errpofapov

OEKONOMOS TIepi

Tcov.

Elvai Bvo xpovia ratpa OTTOV o rraTe'pas fjiov

kv aXXotforo Tra0o<> TO va ofjii\r) KopaKUTTiKa,

8ev

Kafjivei

rrapd vd trrbX/fn Xefta, va TrXaTTr) Xefet?

KOVGTais Kal Trapa^evais, va oiafiafy

TV7rci)/jLva, orrov- TCI ovofjia^ovv

Kal vd \a\fj

Tl va
JJLOV

\oyiov

\gl
TOV.

va ypa<prj
6

iSios.

yid vd TOV vrro^pewcrco^ fiidfo TOV eavTov

eya>
'SlKTI

fju

vd TOV

o//tXa>

JJLOV,

<r

eTreior)

T?)

TOV OTTOV T]06\a

NERULOS,

(j>\vaplai,s,

Kai

aura Ta KaTapa/
Kai Ta KaTpevei,

^J^vvv^

yXuxraa
o\ov TOVTO,
rj

</>.

KopaKicrTifca,

dvr^-

Sta^oXo^apra

Srj/jiiovpyei

/jidOw avTals rat? arjBeo-Tarais

o\ov OTTOV Bev yvpvd

vr)

KCITI

EpfJLTf Kat,

yXcocrcra, OTTOV TIJV

jjbia

Ka/jLCi) ;

va

aXXo

KCLI

ykwa-aa TOU, Kal

TTpofa'pei,

fJil

BlBeL

t?

TJ]V

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

69

Modern Greece has not produced many authorBut among these, Angelica Pala, chiefly
esses.
known by the following ode " On the Death of
Lord Byron," is certainly the most distinguished.
She belongs

to the

beginning of the nineteenth

century.
i.

Tof<? XafJLTTpOVS V/JLVOVS T?}? VLKrjS

%66

\VTTQVVT ai

T' a,Kovi

r)po)ci)v

fjiatcpoOev

arparos

ijrvyfai,

Kal

d<j)iVCi)V

TWV

^a'ipet,

6 e

2.

'O

^>/X,05

^\^e
-v'

7r\7?z>

/io\i? TOV

S/

*
.

K\.aiOVT<; TOV Ta<pOV aVTOV,

TO
Kat, TO TpoTraiov QCLVCLTOV

3.
'

H\0e

va

r)v, <f>ev,

ISov

fj,7rveva-r) cw?

eXTT/Ic

BdpSos

jievei et?

aXXo? TvpTaio?

alwviov

4.
*

'/2? Se'vSpov KeiT

Nuv

OTT*

eKocrfiei

Trpo TToSwv (frOelpovffa TOV TO

Hvor] TO eppity

ave/jiov <r<j)oo'pov.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

70

5.
t

T-l^

-V

liiAAa?

Na

> X

eav TO

O-W/JLO,

(f>epij els fjLvrj/bia

rov

rj

-\

'

Ayy\ia

^rjra iraTpiKov.

Movffuw w

/jLrjrepa y\v/cela,

T6KVOV

6 ft09 TO>V MoU(7G)V.

Ei?re,

fJiOV

6.

p(OTQ)V TOU?
firjv

aKQvasv

TTJIS

Ta<j)ov a? e%r) rjpaxov

arr]v yrjv

The

great lyrical poet of Greece is, however,

Athanasios Christopulos, the so-called modern

He was

Anacreon.

donia, in 1772,

held the

office

born

Macewhere he

at Kastoria, in

and died

in Moldavia,
of judge, in 1847.

Professor

genius was
consecrated chiefly to the glory of the winebottle, yet he wrote some love -songs of exquisite

Geldart states that his undoubted

tenderness and beauty, which have been copied

acknowledgment by various modern
"
poets. Consciously or unconsciously, the
Nightingale" of Christopulos is certainly at the founda-

without

tion of the

"

Swallow" of Tennyson. Inasmuch

and the swallow only

as the nightingale sings,

readers will
twitters,

my

agree with Professor

Geldart in preferring the Greek to the English

poet in this particular case.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

71

Christopulos and two other very popular poets

of Modern Greece, Vallariotes and Solomos,
wrote for the common people in vernacular

Romaic.

The

following extracts, taken respec-

tively from the works of these three great poets,

may serve as examples
:

OLD AGE.

Na

rpt^e? crov

t]

ap%iov

AQavdcrie v dcnrpi^ovv

Na Sa/cpucov e
Na <re \eyei, teal 6
$i,\e TrXeov elffai
76/309,

'Sro effi Ka\r) -^1^77

Trf veoTijra

Ta

%aipeTa,
o e TO,,

ra irapevOvs,
'

ap^va pe

Ta
V>
2;

vyeia

ra jeparela
^
N
/I"
va Ta yevurjs.
ej;r)<;

iriKpa
v

TO

*>"

Aev ae nnavovv ra \ov\ovSia,

Aev ere irpeiTOW Ta TpayovBia,
Keivo<; 6

Ilrjy

Ta)pa

Ta(f>

Tcopa 6dvaTo<$

Twpa

%a/oo

OOev TT\GOV
Prj^e

He

o\a

TOV

TO.

i
/ca\a<rov

Koajiov^Ee Peid!

72

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

K.CU TO. Safcpva /Sacra povov

Eis

TTJV \v7rrjv

Mia

et9

TOV TTOVOV

jLiKr Traprfjopid

ANSWER TO THE PRECEDING.

Tla

r/o/^69

rj

a&TTpr) TOU?

Tl 6%

ToLjap

av a

rj

//,'

T* ao-Trpo

(friXoavras ay/cvXovet,

Ta

%ei\aKia

To

rpLavrd(j)v\\o

cr

TTJV a<j)7)

To \ov\ovoi TWV

'Epa)T(0v

Elvai acTrpo fcaOapo.

Kai TO KOKKIVO

rj

<f>v(7is

To

M
H

eva
(JLVpTia T779

Eis TO

irpao'ivo

Mecr &

K\aoi r^9,

TO, (f)v\\a

ra %\(i)pa

O\a KaTtfKTTrpa, adv %t,ovt,

Ta \ov\ovSid 7779 (j)vrpovet

dv6r)pd,

Kai

Aias

/col

rpvfapd.

/xeyaXo9

Tia 7^9 ArjSas rov 70 Ka\\os

KVKVOS ywrjtce fjita <f)opa.

eV
\

ttV

\.

"Epcos
/.

7OV KVKVOV TU <pTpa

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

To

\OITTOV

'As aff7rpio) Sev

Havre\ws

Cm

>

ff

f//-\

/JLC

Sej> /ue

ytte

\vrra

>

/<

0<70 TT

Toaro TT\eov
5
"

o "Epci)$

ayaTra.

//.

THE NIGHTINGALE.
arjSovafct, pov Ka\o,
Kiva KOI Traye Vro yia\o.
t/

Trjv avpi/Brj TTOV ^evpeis,

Na

Tra?
aai/

z/a

TT)I/ evpr)<z

//<

r^v /3p^9
icel

va

T\vica y\vtca

yLte

JVa cr/cv^y va

<je Traprj

'

Av a

Kal

i/a TT)Z/
18779

epcorrjo-r) T'I

& eav

TTOIOS o-e GTeXvet, air

TO

?rc3? et/xat

Elire,

IIoV\l
lift)? o 0^)61/7779 yu-ou e

Ta

TraOrj fjiov

Me

/LteXo9 i^a

va K\aiyco
o-' ra
\eyco.

T(jTpa (TKv^re rciTrewd

Kcu \a\r)(7e TTJV aiyava,
Kat, opKia

%TOV

A%

Kop<j)o

TTJV

va

arjSovaKi,

fj,

a ra Ka\\rj
ere

Sev

73

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

74

Sa

TO

ere

TTfG, Elcrat,

'E7rl/3ov\o

%70V

TTKTTO

fJLrj

KrjTTOV 7TOV

BACCHI LAUDES.
'

Orav
$70
Kal

TO KpaaaKL

TTiVco

XpVCTO
6

fJLOV TTOTTJpCtKl

1/01)5 IULOV

TOT ap%ifo

KCLI

Kal yeXw Kal

rj

Tore

far)

v%api<rTel.

fju

TTCLVOVV

fj

<f>povTioe$

Tore vfSvvovv y
Tore favyovv ol

K!
f,-

r]

/capSid
\

Kdt, TO

/j

JJLOV
/

(7T7;C705 fJLOV

N* avaaaivr) v
Tia TOP Koa-fjLov oev

As yvpify OTT&)?
To KpaaaKi JJLOV va

'H

KctvctTa

va

/JUT)

ATT TO TrXajt, va

N'

a7ro6ava)fjL6

Dionysius Solomos was born in the island of

Zacynthos in 1798 (April 8), and died the 21st

The following Ode to Libof November, 1857.

erty, written by him in the "month of May,"
1823,

is

justly

admired for

its

simplicity

and

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

75

imagination, and it has with justice become "The

National Song of Greece." It is played on all
great national holidays

i.
V

C17TO TJ]V
KO-yf.l,
>U

2,

yVO)pl%(0

flov

CL7TO TT]V

^^

Oyi,

2.

KOKKaKa

TO,

Twv

*Ei\\Tiv(t3v TO, iepa,

Kai aav Trpwra d

Xalpe,

co

'EXeuOepid

p^atyoe,

3.

E/cei ie

eva

E\a

a-TofjLa

va

TTttXt

atcapr epovaes
(7ov

Try*

4.
'

Apyeie v

a\6rj eKeiwrj

r(li

TjTCl'lt

-\

O\.Q> (TL(D'7TTI\(l )

TuiTi ra a/cia^e

Kai

rj
v

(j>o/3epa

rj

Ta
5.

Movrj cov

Kai,

Ilaprjyopia
e/jieve

va

7a

va

tc\ais.

X/ s

fiia fjLGTpaet, TTJV yrj.

/ji

//'

**S

TJ]V 7pOfJLpTJ,
v

'*

^>

//

76

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

6.

Kal

dfcaprepei, Kal atcaprepet,

$i\e\v0epr)v XaXftt,
'

Eva

KTV7rae T aXXo

7.

K* eXee?

TTOT, a

Trore fiyavco

To K<pa\L airo TG* e/o/itat? ;

Kal airoKpivovTO airo TTUVCO

8.

Tore

e<rr\Kove<s

TO

Me? ra

/cXai'ftaT

Kal

TO pov%o aov

et9

ecrTaJ"' at/ta

9.

Me

ra pov%a

He'jOO)

Na

oVt (l/Syaives

yvpevys

et?

Ta fe

10.

rj

Akv

Eav

elv
rj

TOV Bpouo

evtcoXais

77

Ovpais,

xpeia Tat? KOVpTa\rj.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

77

11.

CTOU

avaaiaaiv
v

.4XXo<?

Kal

aov Irafe Poifleia,

ere

yeXaae

<f>pt,KTa.

12.

A\\oi,

wfc/Lte /

e v

<7

TJ]V crvjjL(f>oa

ra ?rat8ta

avprj^

crov,

13.

$evyei, OTT/CTO) TO Tro&api,

Kal 6\oj\riyopo

Trarel

TO %opTapt, t

77]v Trerpa,

Uov

77

Tr

14.

GOV yepvei
'H.

TTTCO^OV TTOV
y

pdpos rov

elvai

77

fajTj.

15.

Nat

TT //I

a\\a

rcopa
^

J\(IU6 T6KVO (TOV

fJL

-f

Op/jLTJ,

Ilbv atcaraTravo-ra yvpevet,

r-r

i rriv ViKrj

v
rj

/)/

rrjv Uavrj.

aov

78

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

16.

KOKKaKa

TO.

Taiv EK\r)v<0v ra iepa,

aav irpwra
Xaipe,

<&

%atpe,

17.

MoXt?

O
EiS

ei&e TTJV opfjirjv crov

Ovpavos, TTOV

<yta TO*' e

TJ]v jrjv rr)v /jujTpiKrjv

avQia

Erpe(j>

aou

/cai

18.

icai,

Kcna%0ovia

Kai TOV

/JLM fforj,

Prjrya

IIo\efji6fcpa^7rj

&ov a
TJ

19.
/

/^^

U\oi

OL roTTOi

Kai ra

aov o

>

/.
e/cpagav,

crrofjiara etywvajrav

Off a alff6ai>6TO

TJ

/capita!

20.

Ecfccovdgave tw? T

Tov loviov KOL ra

Kat, effrjfcwffave

darepia
vrjaia,

ra %e/

Tia va Be i^o we ^apa.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

79

21.

M'

o\ov

To

/caOeva

Kal

6^9

TO yueVcoTTo

22.

Kal 7ov BdaiyfCTov yrj (the land

Kal TCL Gioepa ev0v/jirj6r]
rj

Uou

TTjv

eSevav

KCLI

23.

ATT TOV TTupyov 70V

2a va Xerj ere %aip6

Kal
To

TOV

7r)V xiJ ril v

Aeov7o.pi, 70 *Io~7rav6.

24.

E\a(f)tao~Qrj Try?

To

Qrjijnb,

A<yy\ias

Kal aepvet, evOvs

Ka7a T a/cpa rrj? *Povcrcrlas

Ta fiovyKpca-fJia7a 7G opyrjs.
25.

TO KivYjia 7ov

nV

/-.

CO? Ttt fJLe\7]

p.

ll>

CUVCL7a.

Kat, et? TOU Aiyaiov TO /cv^a

Mia

of

Washington)

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

80

These twenty-five stanzas will suffice to give

to the reader an idea of this unequalled poem.
The poem is composed of one hundred and fiftyeight stanzas.

Besides his "

Ode

Solomos wrote
a lyric poem on the death of Lord Byron, of one
hundred and sixty-six stanzas, commencing as
follows

to Liberty,"

i.

'AevOepia, yia

Na

XTVTras

Ta)pa

fie

\ljo

Trcnjre

TO arradl.

aijjicocre teal

K\ayfre

ELS TOV Mira'Cpov (Byron) TO

2.

Kat, /caroTTi a? aicXovOovve

Offoi

Movov

\a/JL7Tpa !

7Tpat;av

ATTOTTCLVOV TOV

a<?

<nr]6ia y
3.

TIpWTOl a? 6\00VV6

Kat

air

01 5*

TO Aetyavov auro

As pciKpaivovve ol 7r/9o8oT6?
7-r\>>
^>'
Aat
air ra \oyia OTTOV va TTOJ.
/j

O7r\a

yvpOovv Kara

vi} JTJ,

yvp^eva
TOV Map/cov

Tr) 6avr).

>

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

Uov

eiv 6a, \eve craaricr/jLevoi,

'

To Aeovrapt, TO
Elvat,

Kal

81

xyrrj rov

r)

70 fjuovKpLo-fjia ffovflo .....

Solomos wrote, besides these two poems we

have noticed, many other songs and sonnets, all
evincing the creative power and masterly genius

The following

of the poet.

"
sonnet, entitled

Scu'flovXa" (The Golden-haired Girl),

young and old in Greece

is

sung by

l$a

Trjv
rrv
1 rjv

??>

'/Tou

No.

ida y^e? apya,

efJLTrrjKe

irarj

TTJ

<j

2.
>

77

Hi(pOV<7KOV

CtCpl

Aevfcorara Travia,
TO 7TplO~7pl,

Uov

ra

dirXovei

3.

01

Me
Fal

avrr) fie TO pav-tiki

(handkerchief)

82

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

4.

Kal

TO

va
TTOV

'4^2?

Mov

rj

TTO\\T)

TO ^Kv-re Kal avro.

5.

oX/^o,

A\v

o\i<yaKi,

rjgepa va

Av
'

ej3\7ra

TTO),

TravaKt,,

H TOV TreXayov cxppo.

6.

Kal

a<f>ov Travi,

a TO

vepo,

01 (f)i\ot
>

T-,0

>

Eoa/cpvaa K

Aev

@apKov\a
ra
Travia
K\a<yto
,

K\aiya)

trdei

ra \evrca

Mov

Me

fcXaiya) TTJ

Mov
Hov

Me

ejco.

K\aiya)

ra %av6a

!i
rrj
rrjv

Tr)v

Travia,
TTJV

&av

fjia\\ia.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

who

Aristoteles Valaorites,

83

died twelve or

"a voluminous poet,"

The following
and
imagination.
power
"
OJ&TJ
may serve as an example
teen years ago, was

fif-

full

pe

Trjv avyr)
Tr]v avyrj

BpoaovXa

TT)

Spoo~ov\a

77)

fj,e

avoi^t, /jiova^a
rjffe

%av
Trj

/3yat,v6

Me ayamj
2av va

e/jiapadrjfce

eva po$o

TO po8o

ara irepi^ava K\apia TOV

e/cafj,6 KO.L 777

a^ovi aa

<>w\ia TOV

yvplar]

rov TTOV 6a

(f)a)\i>a

"OTav

e$<yaivav T

ae\r}vrj, OTCLV

rj

TO eOeaypovcrav, TOV aTf\wvave

TO,

%ejom.

r)de\av eKel errava) va TO rrdpovv TO

E\eyav

TTOJ? elv

T* ovpavov TO

T arjbovi

avoify yvplcrr) KOI r

rj

egecfrvrpcocr

dSep<f>i)

fJiovoTfaTi,

do-Tepia !

w%

do-Te'pia !

aTToioi, TTOV Tj/covcrav

EiTrav &lv

elvat,

e\eyav -Troi?

T optyavo 6a
TTOV

yprijopa

Oa

T arjSovi O~TO /c\apt,rov va \a\rj.

Tpayovo'i,, fjLvpo\oyt elv

....

creel

Ki oaoi eloav Ta? aKTivas TWV

dare'payv TOV ovpavov

Na

TO.

ye\ovv va 7raiyvi$Lovv

Eiirave

TCL <j>c0Ta eicelva

Elirav OTI elvai

a%

fj,e

&ev

(f>v\\a TOV ovpavov

elvat, TT}

TO, <p(OTa v

T^ v

avyri

fj.e

TTJ

opo&ovXa

TTJV avyr)

fj,e

TTJ

8poo~ov\a e/jiapddrjKe TO poSo

?7i/

'.

'

f/

/c\

6e(pVTpct)o~e eva pooo

of

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

84
'

11/0
IVLrjv

'

"/J

T>

<

eTrepaaev etceiuev o tiopias o

Kal aav

elBe reroio pooo 6 GK\r)pos e

'

A pTTClge
Kcu

Aev TO %evpw

T7) fJLVpCOO'ld

aia

TTJV Trrjpe

TOV

(j)Tepa

elire QTL

KaTroios

TOV

e'-^re'?

TO ffpd&v

ElSe Kairoiove va favyp aav Kcnrvos fj,6 TOV dyepa.

T' a\oyo TOV ?)TO pavpo cav TT}? vv%Tai TO
K e\a(f)po crav TOV alOepa,

El? TO %epi TOV ejSacTTovae,

(

Eva

a%afjLVo

poBo fJLapa^^vo.

OTO.V efavye aK\ov0a)VTa<; TOV ireXaov TTJV

V A

A%

Movov \ey GTQ

</

p>

aicprj axprj

oev e%vv eva oaxpv,

KV/JLCI,

TTOV TOV /BXerrei KCU,

fjiov etTreVe,

"
elv

wfjLOpfo TO po$o

Movov \eyet

<TTO

%opTapi,

IIov vrroKCLTto air TO Trobdpi

Tov d\oyov TOV

TreOalvei.

U A/

etyu.

TGTOIO poBo va $op(o

af*o<?

Terota poBa KOI TOV Xdpov KCLVQVV to/JLOp<f)a

Elvai d\r]66ia, elv d\^0eia !

K eye*

TO.

CTr^Oia

very popular poet of Greece is Zalocostas,

who has been dead some fifteen years or more,
a voluminous translator from Italian poets, as
Professor Geldart states, and, as an original writer,
full of power and imagination.
The following
as
an
serve
example
may
:

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

9 s*

/>>

85

SI 7T\rjpr)<>,<T7rTa)v ava^vricrewv

^wpa,

'

fl yrj tc\iv(*)v a6\wv,

To

ai/Aa Troiovcra

M'

opyrjv Kal

co

TTO^T^,

$ici

TL

<re {3\e7rofj,ev

a\yo<$

fjue

yrj

rjfjiwv !

a e/,eoLtei/
ica

a\\o

virrp%ov

fj,o%oi,

eiriderov

rwpa

ore

Se

/BXaarol Kal Xptarov

*

a> VO/JLOI

alcr^o?,

crK\7)pov

*/2 fjiapTVpes, Trota

Ta

irr)\6

eT

T6tcva V^JLWV opcfrava,

/2?

t?

cmy/Aa TO bvo^a fyepovv TOV

d(f)6ov

%ao9 Ta

bovXcov

peuf

TOV eQvovs

/cal fjiavpcov

Kat T

Ev

CLVTO TGOV

ovofi

TrpcoTOis TO Trvp

jrpoyovcav

e^eppdy

et?

(JLCLS

TO Sov

Efcel ol yevvalot,
Trarepes rj/mw

Eicpavyaaav iravres

/jLe

oev

peyav

et

Krvrrare avbpeloi
v ev

Krvrrare

Hpaiov Ta?

ytta^at? Trupo?

rj

Xd'iow pe f/0o? ogu

Tafet?

crfivvcov.

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

86
Tf?

Katcovpyos ef ov o\eOpia

T]v o

E<~ri\6ev
if

/-1

V/j

TrpwTT) epi&cov cnropa

r)

>

->.

LU

1L,

'

JEt? TT]V K6(j)a\ijv

j]vai

TOV vd Treey /Sapela

e rt9

a\yov$

va
ev copa OCLVCLTOV

TOV TVfJL^OV eKtlvOV

lS

">

Travrov /3$\vtcTov r bvo^d TOV

TOV

'Hv(p%6'r)

/ze

K.al T^? y?}?

*A

'

fJL\,\.QVT(i)V CliteVWV upci

TT\r](JLOV

Trdrayov %da/j.a
etc

TWV arr\dy^ywv TMV Kpvwv

&ev rjTO TOV vov /xou drrdTTj,

<frpov&ov TOV (j)o/3ov IJLOV TrXao-fia.

Mr}T

B\oavpov rrepMGTpefa 'pan,

Kai \afjiTrdoa (f)\oywv oiaTrvpav

Me

T7]v

aaapKOv ^Ipa

'EOepfjiavOrj

aiOrjp, KCLI

Kal

r)

7T

TI

Kpari.

a/JL7pov yvpov
yrj,

KOVLS avTT]

KUL 01 \tOoi^

TWV

/jiapTvpcov.

Tou? yevvaiovs /za? /mapTVpas

Oaoi erreaov iridTew^ <pi\oi,

Aid

el$a,

OavovTes rraTpiSa.

/uilav
,

GKvOpwrroi, Kal opyiXoi,

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

"

Of the so-called
of modern Greece,
specimen

87

Kleptic Ballads," the pride

the following may serve as a

THE BUPJAL OF DEMOS.

'O

/3acrL\eve, K

rjKtos

IJLOV,

Aa/ATTpa/crj

JJL

'Svpre, TratSfca

Kai

Nd
Kal

crv,

T ap^a-ra

(JLOV

6 Arjuos

TO vepov, ^coal

KaOov

avetyie,

(popeae, va rjaai,

TraiBia fAov, irapere TO

cret?,

<aV

airo^

e&a> KOVTCL IJLOV

KdTrnavos

eprj/jio

Ilpdcnva Kotyere /cXaSid, o-rpware

(f)epre TOV Trvev^a-riKo va

vii

fjiov

airaOi

/JLOV,

va

Kai

Na

TOV

eiTra)

Ta

Kpi/jLara TTOV

Tpiaisra \povi a/>tapTft)Xo?,

Kal Twpa

fjb

eiicoat, rrrevre K\(j)Tr]<;

K.

rjpOe Odvaros, Kal 6e\co v a

KdfjL6T6 TO Kl/Bovpl

(JLOV

Na

TroXe/xtw, /cat 8/7rXa

<IT etc

opdos va

TT\aTV,

va

K' aTTO TO fAepos TO Seft d(f)fjcrTe rrapaOvpi,,

Ta '^eK&ovia va p^covTat^ TTJV avoifyv va

Kal T

drjoovia TOV KCL\OV

Among

MaC

va

fjCe

uaQaivovv

the numberless and nameless

poems of

the mo'dern Greeks I agree with Professor Geldart

in saying, that I know nothing in any language

more

beautiful of
TO
A

pevfjia T77?
v

va

Ztia TL

Al

kind than the following

its

/JL6

or

d(f>

va ae

wr?

(J>ov

a7ravT7]cro)

0V SeV
iSco

T)(JO

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

88

ai
K\

fie

Kal
Ala

ere

p^,

fed/me

H va Bravery

TI

va

rj

TTVOI] JJLOV

r/crft)

II\eov

Aev &TCO,

ol <neva<yiAoi JJLOV

Tr)V /capSiav crov v

e\KU&ovv

Se\co povov, OTO.V

Trjs ^a)^?

Eva

IJLOV

ai

arevay/jiov

'/2? %CUpeTKTjiJLOV V

Kal

et?

TOV rd<j)ov

"Ev 00V SdtCV

8t'

IJLOV

va %f

JJL

modern Greek, Mr. Apostolos Arsakios, who,

living at Athens, when but eighteen years old wrote an " Idyl" which closely
resembles the style of Theocritus. Mr. Arsakios
I believe,

wrote

is still

"Idyl" to congratulate Napoleon the

a
First for
son which was born to the emperor,
but we really believe that the main object of the
this

author was to induce the conqueror of Austerlitz

who were then striving for

to help the Greeks,

independence.

The

idea of his style

following lines

may

give an

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

89

EIATAAION.
/cal

Ha
Ha

<r, yepai'j aSpavels fyopeowri, TroSe? IQV ataovov

8'

ap

KeKfJiaKws, fjieya

Kal TOCOOVTOS

i$pa)<? 'jrepi^i^po^e acofjia

yepaiov

evOa

av^ TTCOU cr/clBvar

yXw

r aaQ^aivwv aXaXaa-at,

tcai

evda

XeXa^o?

re
6opv/3q), vepeOa) re vroa?

Kyycov Be /BpaBvTrovv /^oXt? cop^aa" rj\vaiv apdpcov,

HtcifMravi (nco\iw arKrjpiTrTtoV yrjpa? afyavpov^

EvOa

/col

evQ 6 yepcov ^eOeiraJV

vrayav KIKVS fiav

(p>vj;r]\iBa Troif

ou/c eri, irpocrcrw

rpo/neovri re yvia

JEfipo%0<p ye bpofjw
Svpcri, TToOev /So/x/3o?

aepto?

*A\\a ae jap

Sr)

Ta
fue,

be

iroOev 8

fJLav

fjiav

py

tS ocrou?

/JUT)

Ta\\oi<riv a

X 66 96
/

fiapeia.

Xeye, Qvp(Ti, 11 TOVTIOV ev

yap

Tot?

TGKVOV

etcTrayXos a%a),

rot vitcijcnv aya\\o/jievoi, /cporeovri,

NIKO.I, fjbv

OvBe

evveire,

cr^apayw pav Travra raparret

JtJ\\avo)v gvve&eorcre /xeya? ^>&)?

Ov

ravra irarep 0/Xe,

r<L\Xo)v ^apyu-aro?

Tocrawv

TTCLVT

IJLOI

S'

e^aSe?

1^1;^

T^5 oiaei rocraov dyafcporov

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

90

Ov&e

TdSe

roiovrov.

vvv, </Xo9, dppev eyeipet,

IVa-TToXeozm TeAfo? Sa/jLapciTOv

A\\d

TV yap

<jivaQr}\av

rovro, rroOev^

8/7

TTOJ?,

^yade, eyvws

Qtpcris.

/jiV /cyycov, /ca@' vbprjXbv yLtaXa voj

'

S 0% 6 SoUTTO? CL(j)LK6rO
<j)
/
/
/
/
7T
LI para yLta^a? reK/jicop, oia re icpoiov ov
'

Kai j3\oavpov TrXaray^^a

Kat> 7ro\v(f)\oi(T/3ov e\et<^
oi's

<I>pa(7&6V

Mi/jt,vev, e<ya)v

KpcLitrva

H.\v6ov

ycov

/JLOI,

TO

fiofLftevov etfelvo

IJLCLV

^ap

{jo-pava?,

Kcopv&wv

ev

rcoSe

v6vs Be Trepao-aas Xalr/jia

axrre veo$
(roSe jap 1/6077770? oveiap)
vaaov rav yetTo^a, ev6a

yu-aX'
ear

AajJLOS aTra? eX.X^i' Keprcvpas (paivero

OvSe /j,ra\\dav

oto? r

r]V

^dp/jbaro^

TOVTIOV dppr]T(D' TO yap OVK olov T u

TOVTT leaves WOVTO' /3oa<? Se KCLT ^8
XaXa70)9
.Kat KOTOV a\\d\OL(TLV eovra TLV

Tlaura

"ZwT?

S'

iravra yavos

NAFLOAEftN !

KpaaSetcov

<t>i\Tpoi>,

coXecre ^ap/na,
778

ta yrjpvs.

Z^ /3a<ri,\vs 8e
8

jueyaXa)*;, 7TtXft)<?'

eyvwv, A(i(f>vi^ yuoyt?, 67^

877

'Pa

et? ^e^a Tre^Trov

rain appev eyeipei

Na7To\eovri Teo?, 'Pco/za? ^SacrtXef ?, avaOrfkav

Havra

8'

Toaaa

TI %ap{iaro<xepya /car

evpvrdrav

rp(,rr\a (ta\ 7786

rerparr\a

ap^av ywer

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

91

Another modern Greek, Mr. Demetrius Schoinas,

" Pindaric
Ode,"
composed a

in April, 1811, for

the purpose of congratulating Napoleon the First
for the son that was born to him
:

y!
'

Aiirev
(76

a^ OCOKOV evOa

ddaa"-

vvyaacri,

K re TroSd-

Ipiv

B\ tovoaagev 'AQavdrcos

VG/JLOV
?r

ayopdvSe

(iTTo S'

Se ALOS

KaXecrai,,

wpro TU% dyyeXeoiaa eTrel

j,e0 ojiautv a\6ov te-

Tocriv pa eveire Trayev SaTreSw

Trapa

eto?

crra

8'

ayyeXo?

e-

reja^ o

Icrre vvv @eot, tSe repTrecrde'

ayu-o?

yap

/-teya/

"

Writing in classical Greek" has of late years

been generally the habit of all educated Greeks.
The following extract from an essay, "Uepl TOV
el efrji>

KCU rat? yvv atf t rats Spa/xart/cat? eVtSeifecrt

Trapet^at,"

Athens,

written

by

a well-known doctor of

serve as an example

may

Ta>v ap-^aiwv ovtiev irepl rovrov /3e/3aiov KaraXeXonro-

rwv,

rpov

01,

vewrepot,

$id(f)0pov

Strr^

ol

TJ/ULLV

l&eav TrapeSa/cav,

etc

Siaue-

uev yap avvwv fjiaXiara elo-rjyayov

ra dearpa ra? yvvaiKas,

ol Be a7re/cXetcraj> et?

TO

et?

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

92
.... Ev

Se

rf}

^TrapTr),

rr}? TroXtreta?

cf)v\ov /Jiepos

OTTOV KOL TO

etc

rov

TWV

VOJJLQV crvvicrTa, ej

auras ra? ewyevevrepas, ov povov et? TO Oearpov

aXX' (ojrep KOL Tovff oiMO\o^ov^evw<^ e/ce/z/at? aTT?;-

<acrt, Kal
,

xj\

\\

i,}

/cat,

67rl

^ppeveiv

TOVTW

GTTI,

\r

<7fcr)i>rjS)

\a/ji/3dvi,v irapa

Oi Be a\\ot, OVK

eicelvos.

Kai,

viroKpuveavaL,

TOV ^oprjjov.

am Xoyoi;

Kai>

Tavra

TaDra Kpivav-

T9, KOL Qearplais aTrXw? avoiyovai TO Oearpov, KOI TOTTOV

Before closing this chapter, a few words are due

to our contemporaries.
The writings of many
modern Greek prose authors, as, for instance, the
"
'icrTOyotcc

TTJS 'E\\r)vu<rjs eVai>acrTacrea>9/'

ridon Tricupes, and "

by Spy-

AO/CI/AIO^ tcrropta? rrj?

'EXX^-

yXwo-o-T;?," by D. Mavrophredes, are well

known, and have been reviewed in some of the
vucrjs

Professor Asopios is
leading English journals.
"
his
well known by
Eicraywyrj a? TltVSapoz/," and
Professor Damalas

by

his

"

Ilepl ap^o)v.

Pap-

paregopulos History of Greece is remarkable, as

Professor Geldart states, for its clear and simple
style and the unstudied purity of its language.
I close this chapter with the following extract

from Plutarch's "Life of Caesar," as translated

by Mr.

A. R. Rangabes,

"Ek

rr)v

KaOo^ikov^v-qv^

(in the spoken language), late Greek Ambassador

in Paris, and well known not only as a scholar

and

archaeologist, but also as a poet:

MODERN GREEK LITERATURE.

\oirrov avrrj
t

''''/)

</

"

'

o Xoyo?, oart? eppeuij rrept, avrrjs.

Trape^e^ono

eyeptievret;

'

/li

TTJV

* /"'
ou JAOVOV OL
'

</

o,

Trporaacv avrov,

d\\a

7rpoofMi\r](7dvTa)v, apvovfjievoi ra? tS/a?

ra)i>

,
irape^e^ovro Tip e8t/crji/ TOU, eco? orov rfkOev r)
TOV
OVTOL 8 rjvavTiwQrjKdra)vo<; KOL rov Kdr\ov.
(7ipd

cav

^9

/car

a>?

/cat,

op/jirfi,

VTTOVOLCLV

fJLv az/S/365 Trape&oOrjaav

Kcuaapos,

ev

a)

yv/jLi>a

ra

Kal

on

(frovov

oXo)?

e^avecTTf]

oVw?

\ojov eppi-^re /cat,

avrov /3ta/a)?, ol

OavaroBajai,'

avrov Bia

evevvev avro^aTt/ca)?,

rj^evpw

TTO)? o

et?

TOV rrepl

7779

pov on, Sev

Trapovcrid^ero

evcomov TOV

TO>^

earpe^av
Kov-

TTJS

ol vtoi

n$VVpV

TOU, rov

7rpoo-/3\'^rav et?

(froffrjOeis

rov

STJ/JLOV, rj

Tovro

TOV

6yuft)<?

TO eypatyev
Ki/cepcav av elvai a'X^^e?, &ev

vrrareias \ojov

&xeX7]#7? rore eK
et?

i/ecov

\ejerat, on, 6

a&iKOV Kai rrapavo^ov Oewpwv.

&v

Kara 8e TOV

opfJiriaavTes,

A\\a

Kuctpwv, orav

tear

/8ouX^?, TroXXot TWI/

avrov.

picov, TcepiK.a\v-fyas Tore,

e^jyaye.

jJL6Ta

KiKtpwva rore

KO.T

%i,(f>?i

avrov,

Kaiwv

ef*}/o^TO TT}?

rov

<j>povpovvTO)v

civTOv, /col

TOV Kar^yopelro

r^

evtcaipia?

8'

vare-

tfns dptarrj

avrov Kara TOV Kalaapos, aXX eSeiXtaaev

Br]fjLOU,

(Jans vTrepTaTWS yvvoei rov Kaicrapa.

CHAPTER

VIII.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OLD ATTIC AND THE

MODERN GREEK.

THE only

between the old

pure Attic and the modern Greek or common
as follows

is

dialect,

difference that exists

The common

dialect is a loose Attic with a

mixture of Macedonian and Alexandrian words.

It

new

adopts various
K)(VVW,

LOL,

forms, as

CTTTJKO),

e/c^eet^,

OfJLVVO)

UTT^/JU,

o/xz'u/x.t

l//e9So<?,

it

it

uses old words in

I prove;
,

O^MI/LOV,

new

dXe'fc-

to rain,

crvvi-

wages ; epevyecrOai, eloqui ;

and it frames

fruit; XaXia, language;

7T(uSio#ej>, at/xaro^vcrta.
;

senses, as

new words and new compounds,

dual

VlKlf),

admits va-

rious poetical words, as avOevTeiv, to lord it

ecrOa) for ecr#uu
T0)p for a\KTpva>v
/Spe^a),
etc.

^I/co?,

i/ieucr/Aa,

for

entirely

It ceases to

as

ypjjyopw,
employ the

abandons the use of the optative

in oratio obliqua ; uses the infinitive instead of the

future participle after verbs of going, sending, etc.

admits ei with the subjunctive, ora^, /cat, tVa,
;

with the present indicative

and, finally, shows a

OLD ATTIC AND MODERN GREEK.

95

prepositions where
would have been originally
sufficient to express the meaning, and by employing the active with lavrbv instead of the middle.
"
(erdpa^v iavTov= Irapa^aro. See Farrar's Greek

tendency to

by using

analysis,

the case-terminations

Syntax.")
The dual number, which does not exist in
modern Greek, is not found in the 2Eolic dialect,
and, in fact, being altogether unnecessary, early
begins to vanish and to be treated as quite sub-

The dual number may be

ordinate to the plural.
"a
termed
superfluous exuberance," adding but
little force to the language.
Such being the changes which have passed over
the Greek language, we still hold that it has lost
neither the elasticity nor the life of the ancient
Greek. Her words are not, so to speak, " con"
void of life," as are the words
gealed," and
with the exception of the
of the French and

German

the words of other languages, which

retain the

meaning once given them.

be

said

that

this

produces

want of clearness; but

It

may

indefiniteness

and
one

for all that, this

of the strongest proofs of the

This is the reason
guage.
Hellenistic,"

ment,

is

why

is

of the lanthe

"

New

though somewhat under a new gar-

the

Greeks, which

through

life

traditional

language

of

the

old

for the* last thirty centuries runs

the Grecian heaven, at times shining with

OLD ATTIC AND MODERN GKEEK.

96

usual light, at times scarcely visible

all its

clouded

by

but never extinguished.

mist,

and
It is

not and cannot be termed the daughter of the

old Greek, just as the term is applied to modern
languages derived from the Latin, because these

languages are shoots from the root of the withered,

dried, and grafted trunk of the Latin, whilst the

modern Greek
tried,

the

is

same old trunk, variously

withered as to some of

its

branches, but

most part producing new branches in the

place of the ones withered, never losing its vitality,
and promising, under a careful cultivation, to become the same old shady and far-spreading tree
which it was formerly.
Modern languages, such as the French and the
Italian, are founded, as a modern Greek scholar
for the

"

popular Latin"; but this Latin

and it is from its ruins
is, so to speak, in ruins,
that these languages arose invested with new
asserts,

upon the

Notice how
forms, new idioms, and a new life.
the following Latin words, cabattus, annulus, lovis,
pater, mater, fratris, soror, pellis, oculus, ovum, testa,

instrumentum, corpus (corporis), become, so

to speak, mutilated in the Italian cavallo, annetto,
niger,

bove or hue, padre, madre, fmtello (especially

fratellus),

strumento,

sorella,

corpo,

pette,

occhio,

and in the

nove,

still

testa,

from
nero,

worse French,

cheval, anneau, boeuf, pere, -mere, frere, sceur, peau,

ceil,

03uf,

tete,

noire,

instrument, corps.

The three

OLD ATTIC AND MODERN GREEK.

97

genders in Latin are compressed into two. From

the demonstrative pronoun ille, ilia, the definite

and from the numeral imus,

una, itnum, the indefinite article uno, una, immune;
similar changes have occurred in the Greek lanIn the Homeric and Attic
guage, but when ?
article

fe,

la results

times only.

The forms
changed that

of the verbs were likewise so

it

was necessary

to

much

add separate

personal pronouns, to distinguish the persons,

which has never occurred in the Greek language.
J'aime, tu dimes, il aime, nous aimons, vous aimez,
instead of amo, amas, amat, amamus ; instead of
the one perfection, three were formed, defini, indefinij anterieur.

Besides

was added, the

"

this,

another new tense

conditional," which does not

really exist in the Latin.
Thus, in the Italian we
have the forms vender ei, vender esti, vender ebbe; and
in the French, je vendrais, tu vendrais,
etc.

il

vendrait,

Words

of either foreign, German, Greek,

origin have crept into the language

or Celtic

and are so thoroughly woven with the whole

language that they can never be
eradicated on the other hand, the foreign idioms
which have been introduced into the Greek language are, for the most part, superficial they are
spots which can easily be rubbed out, and are by
no means deep and indelible colors.
These languages, accordingly, are justly termed

fabric of the
:

OLD ATTIC AND MODERN GREEK.

98

"her daughters," but the "New Hellenistic" is

one and the same old Greek or, as a modern
;

Greek scholar

calls

old Greek,"

to

through

many

it,

" the
newest phase of

which

state

it

th'e

has come slowly

centuries, not violently, or acci-

dentally, but unassisted, and by means of those

very laws lying in her own nature.

may not be out of place here to remark, if

look to the matter of pronunciation in a practical point of view, what has already been stated
It

we

by a

recent scholar

who

travelled in Greece, viz.

knowledge of Greek, with the modem Greek
pronunciation, will obviate the necessity of engaging an interpreter when travelling in Greece,
:

Turkey, Egypt, and Asia Minor. Greek, as the

language of the most thriving mercantile race,
is the medium of communication between
many
of the various nations of the East.

Again,

by

discarding the pronunciation now prevalent, and

adopting instead the modern Greek, and by study" as a
ing the Greek
living language," I will mention what scholars like Ross and Tassow have
" that
great light may be thrown
already noticed,
the
of
Beclassical authors.'*
upon
meaning
sides, it is

as a living

a fact that the knowledge of Greek

of chief significance in
the verbal criticism of the New Testament and

language

the Septuagint.

is

CHAPTER

IX.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

THE word

"

prosody" retains among the modern

Greeks the signification of the old grammarians,
"the doctrine of accentuation." In this sense
"
it differs entirely from
prosody" as the word is
understood
those
who study the Greek
by
to-day
We do not believe in the
as a foreign language.
of
Vossius
and many others, that
J.
statements

" metrical
quantity" or
prosody meant simply
" musical
rhythm," and that the genuine prosody
"
unison of
of the Greek words was always in
"
"
sound with the poetical rhythm or the quantity
of the syllables," etc.
"
Now, that
prosody,"

scholar asserts,
u

Kal ras iv

<f)Q)VT)<s"

as

a modern

Greek

meant among the ancient Greeks

SiaXeyecr#ai racreis rrjs lyypafjLjjidTOv

"
viz. the
grammatical accents," is evident
TOJ

from what follows.

Aristotle (350 B. C.) calls definitely the " accent
of a word prosody."
"Tlapd Se rrjv Trpocroy^iav
iv

fjiev

rot? dvev ypacfrrjs StaXe/crt/co?? ov pa^iov Troirj.... a But from accent, in discussions

crai Ao-ycw"

which are not committed

to writing,

it is

not easy

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

100

frame an argument." (So</>icrr. eXey^. a, /3X.

Kal tfa&js).
Again, treating of -"the parts of
"
TTO)S rots robots
Rhetoric," Aristotle recommends

to

/3apia Kal ^arj, .... and

which we should employ its

Xpyo-Oai, olov ofeia

on the manner in
tones,

/cat

.... from which he

mediate,"

and the

the acute, the grave,

viz.,

"

says

inter-

harmony

results."

Accordingly, if musical intonation really was

characteristic of ancient Greek accentuation, this

been most faithfully preserved. Professor Geldart remarks that the Greeks, especially
feature has

when

excited in preaching or public speaking,

intone so melodiously that something very like a

tune

ways

heard of which the higher tones are

is

the

more emphatic

al-

Aristox-

syllables

enus, a pupil of Aristotle (330 B. C.), teaches

U

that

OLTraVTtoV,

7TpO)TOV

<5iopicrTlov

Xou?,

TO)

avTrjv

GLvrri<$ a>v

p,e\\ovTi

rrjv

7^5

T7]V

6v
ecrrt

Tvyyavti

KIVZLTOLL

etcrt^

tSeat

Kal

Siao-TrjfJiaTLKjj.

KivTJcrea)?

eivai (j>ap.ev

Kara

fjit-

ov yap eis
ptv yap Kal St
tlprjfJLevrjv

a^oTtpois rourot?

(Aptcrrof. ap^oviK. crrot^. Bt/3X. y, iv

creX. 3, rrjs eVSocr.

Mei'^o/x).

TI

Trepl

Kara TOTTOV

Kal /xeXwSou^raj^, rrjv

rjjjitov,
yap Kal fiapv $rj\ov a>5 IP

vd)v

KlVrjCTlV

(f)Ct)Vrj<$

TTpa^fJiaTevetrOaL

"

Again,

Avw

TOfJiaj

8e

(of the voice), 17 re

Trjv ^cv ovv awe^r)

StaXeyou/^teVa;^

yap

rjucov

ourw?

Tpoirov, wcrre ^Sa/^oi; So/ci^

rj

a,

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

Kara Se

TT)V erepar,

/cet,

Kal wdvTes TOV TOVTO

\4yeiv

<f)ao~lv,

(frevyofjiev

TTOTC

TJ

yive<rOai* Kal

tvavTitoS TT<f>vK

et<?

101

dXX*

tOTCurffai re oo-

OVKZTL

Tcoielv

(fiaivojjievov

aSew

TO icrrdvai rrjv

yap

rw StaXeyecr^at
av /XT) Sta TrdOos

SioVep e^
(frwvrjv,

Toiavrrjv Kivr)&Lv avayKa(T0a>fJLv e\0eiv

TO /xe^

8e ra> /xeXwSet^ TOVVOLVT'LOV TrotoD/xe^

,

TO

S'

icrravai rrjv

iv

yap

cos

(jxijvrjv

Dionysius the Thracian (66 B. C.) defines the

accent u

(/Hovrjs

avoLTacriv iv rrj ofeta

peta,

ivappoviov

0,7717^070-1^
7)

AcaTa o/xaXtcr/xo^ e^

^8a-

TT^

Cicero

KOTO, TrepiK\ai(TLv iv TTJ TreptcrTrw/xeV^."

77

AcaTa

77

(60 B. C.), speaking of the acute (acntum), grave

(gravum), and the circumflex (circumflexum), says,
"
that from these, results ---- quidam cantus "{Cicer.
Orator. 17), so that, as Oekonomos asserts, gram-

matical prosody in Latin was translated accentus

ad cano, viz. ad cantum}. Dionysius of
(ac-cino

Halicarnassus (30 B. C.) mentions as of like name

or meaning "prosody" and " accent": TdVei? <w-

^9

at

KaXovfjLevai,

The same

TrpocrwStat.

"
treating
rrepl /xa^Vecos ypa^aTa)^," says
TOV TOL OPOfJLCILTa TWV ypajJifJiaTOiV K[J,av6dvOfJiV

TOUS TVTTOVS Kal

j3a<$

Kal

TOL

TO,? Suz/a/xets

iv avrals irdOr]

eT^'

one,

"
Trpw-

7TlTa

OUTW Ta? orv\\a-

Kal fjbrd TOVTO

77877

Ta?

o~vfJL/3e^KOTa avTaLS, e/CTacret? T \eyaj

Kal o-vcrTo\ds KOL TrpocrwSta?." .... Sextus(190 B.C.)

Xefetg

/cat TO,

enumerates and distinctly

calls

"ras

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

102

TLKCOV TTpocrwSia?, o^ziav KOI

ftapeLav KOL
[jievrjv"

Hence

it

results

from the testimony

of the different authors mentioned, and of many

others omitted for the sake of brevity, that prosody

meant by no means what Vossius and Henninius

and others have asserted, u a singing and melody
in unison of sound with the poetical rhythm,"
"
accent accompanying the probut simply the
nunciation of a word," or " TO Xoyw8e9 /xeXo? TO iv
TCHS OVOIJLOLO-IV" as

Aristoxenus justly remarks.

Erasmus himself never recommended the disuse

of the Greek accent in pronunciation, and very
well draws out the distinction between accent and
quantity as follows.
He puts his lesson into the

who

is

made

to

"
say,

mouth

of a bear,

There are some men so

obtuse as to confound stress with length of sound,

while the two things are as different as^possible."
A sharp sound is one thing, a long sound is another.

Intensiveness

extensiveness.

And

not the same thing as

yet I know learned men,
is

who, in sounding the words cu/e^ou KOL OLTT^OV,

lengthened the middle syllable with all their
might and main, just because it has the acute
in fact, as
accent, though it is short by nature
short as a syllable could be.
Why, the very don;

keys might teach us the difference between accent

and quantity, for they, when they bray, make the
sharp sound short and the deep one long.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

" followers

The

of

Erasmus"

103
in

Germany,

their pronunciation in other reinvariably read Greek so that the accent

however vicious
spects,
is

heard, and never

dream

that they are sacrificing

quantity.

Professor Geldart asserts, "that our prejudice

against accents is for the most part insular, arid

deepened moreover by the insular peculiarities

This is especially the case
of our pronunciation.
with respect to long and short v, which we ordinarily pronounce in exactly the same manner,
namely as you. The result of this is, that when

we want

show the difference between long

and short v, we have no other means open to us
than that of laying a stress on the long v and
In -rjvTv^ei and
leaving the short unaccented.
to

we pronounce the v as you,

and we only distinguish between

vTTtvOvvos

i.

e., really
the
long,
long v
in the one case and the short v in the other
by

flying in the face of the Greek accent, and reading the words respectively yvTvyei and vtrevOvvos.
In this case, so far from preserving the true quan-

the use of the Latin accent,

covering a false one."

tity

by

Now,

there

is

we

are only

no human language without

whether written or not

accents of prosody
fixed or represented

by analogy

or custom.

its

Be-

Oekonomos remarks, the accent tends to

the unity of the w^ord, concentrating its syllables
cause, as

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

104

one whole, and rendering the meaning of the

word clear. Thus, the accentual, or, so to speak,
11
belonging to speaking," prosody of the common
dialect differed from the poetical prosody.
Hence
it results,
that Vossius and his 'followers are
into

wrong in affirming that the accents of the words

were always in unison with the metre of the
verses and the quantity of the syllables.
This is
a
modern Greek says, because, first,
evident, as
the whole nation were not poets and again, because the accents as a consequence would have
been unsteady or indefinite, being changed to suit
the quantity of syllables, which at times vary,
;

either long or short, for the completion

that is to say, the
or perfection of the metre,
accents could not then have had a definite and

becoming

fixed location in the

versation

common

dialect or in con-

the laws and

meaning of the language

would no longer have been unvarying, and it
;

could not have been a satisfactory

medium

of

communication for the people (who certainly did

not converse with each other in verse), or for
This reminds us how
philosophers themselves.
Lucianus, the famous writer, a native of Samosata, in a witty way says that Venus, once enraged against the inhabitants of Abdera, caused
them all to be seized with a poetical frenzy,
so that the one could not understand the
other

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

105

We

conclude, therefore, that there exists in the

Greek language the definite accentuation of

words as old as the language itself. Oekonomos

says that the Greek language expressed from the
earlier times the stress of its sounds, .that is to

say, the accentual prosody of the words, definitely

according to the custom of each dialect. The Do-

have the peculiarity of using

the circumflex accent in barytone futures, as in acrw
Stoo-w Xegovvn (Aefoucri).
The ^Eolians again, by
putting the acute accent on the penultimate, say
rians, for instance,

instead of fypQvziv, etc.

They
likewise, in words of two syllables, place the acute
accent on the penultimate, whilst others accent
fypovr^v, K&kriv, VQJ]V

the same words on the last syllables for instance,

crv(f)os or erodes AcaXo?, rpa^y^ ofus, TryXevs, Ov^os
ava>9 instead of avcos (aws, r)0)s) OVJJLOS, etc., and the
;

adverbs

/caXw?,

<ro</>&>9

instead of ws.

Thus, the

wont to say vyt'ets instead of

In like manner were formed

Boeotians were
(ei

77).

In like manner, although Plato

wrote ra^ur^ra, he also wrote ^eor^ra, avOpcoTroaiyX^eis, reX-^ei?.

rrjTa, TpaTYi^OTrjTa, KvaOoTTjTa, etc.

The

Attics used to say, TOVTL, ravrl, iKtivuvi instead of Tavra, TOVTO, IKZIVUV. They likewise said,
Trovrjpe KOL d\r)0es Kal

avriKpvs and l\0,

etTre,

evpe.

and Steres, ryotere?,

They
while
others accent the same words on the last
etc.,
syllable. The lonians and the Attics said, a
also said, 816x179, TpieY^s

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

106
avaiSeirj,

eu/cXeir?,

Karrj^eir),

wliilst,

on

other

tlie

hand, the Attic tragedians in these very words

accent the antepenult.

Now,
lectic.

there

is

these variations of accent are simply diaThey by no means change the fact, that

a definite law of accentuation in the Greek

language.
This definite law of accentuation existed even
before the Greek language was divided into diaSo long as the Greeks remained a tribe
lects.
of small numbers, inhabiting one and the same
country, they spoke one and the same language,
and the greatest harmony prevailed as respects

But
the accent and pronunciation of the words.
to
and
scatter
to
commenced
when the Greeks
in

migrate into different countries, then,

their

language also began to

variations

and

distinctions,

time,

by

certain

and hence the

dialects

differ

arose.

Similar dialectic variations exist to this day in

the Greek language, but the people understand

each other without any difficulty whatever. These

dialectic variations do not alter the language, consequently the rules of accentuation are uniform,
although the people adapt them to suit their
Poetic prosody likewise
idiomatic peculiarities.
teaches the uniform accentuation of words.
is

evident because

many

long in both the arsis

become
by means

short syllables

and the

thesis,

This

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

the

of

accent,

Oekonoinos

as

which,

lengthens somewhat the quantity

For instance, the Homeric
tion.
a/co/xicrT67?
JcTTtTy

asserts,

in pronunciaviroSegfy (IX.),

(OS. <), KOLKoepyir) (OS. ^), aepyirj (OS.

(OS. f), iXiou (IX. o),

(IX. e),

107

v7Tepo7T\iyo-L (IX. a)

aypiov

(IX. ^),

lengthen

a>),

ofjiouov

by means

accent, naturally short in these words.

Oekonomos also says, that o and e become long in
AtdXou (O. /c), 0,770 eOtv (IX. ), LTnroTrjv ('ETn/ypo/^/x,.

of the

Ilaucra^.

^,

10),

eayeV^i^

Likewise in the aywa

(Aur.

/cal

err.

11,

2),

etc.

opyvia (Herod, and

Xenop.). Now, it is only by the placing of the

accent on the antepenultimate that final a becomes
short, as, for instance,
virep (OS. 1, 328).

It is

dyviav

on

this

(IX. v,

254), opyvi

account that the

Attic tragedians, by shortening the last syllable,

used the -ZEolic forms r^iv, v^iv instead of rj^lv,
v/m>, etc.

Now, we

believe that the accents always exThere is no lanisted in the Greek language.

Aristophanes of
guage without its accents.
Byzantium (200 B. C.) might have introduced
written accents, in order to preserve the true pronunciation of Greek at the time when it was

becoming the vernacular of many Oriental

races,

but accents existed long before Aristophanes, and,

in fact, long before the

we

Homeric

era.

Accents,

say, always existed, but the ancient Greeks

did not generally write them.
The fact that

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

108

many

of

the

inscriptions

that have

covered are without accents does

prove that accents did not exist

been disno
means
by

among

the an-

modern Greeks seldom,

Now,
if ever,
put any accents on capital letters, that
is to
say, on words composed of capitals, and it
would not be strange if the ancient Greeks likecient Greeks.

the

wise were accustomed to leave off the accents

from
with

inscriptions,
capitals.

It

which were generally written

is, however, worthy of remark

that a verse of Euripides, with accentual marks,

has been discovered written on the walls of Her-

was natural

Greeks
to pronounce their language correctly, even without marking the syllables on which the stress
To this
ought to fall by means of the accent.
culaneum.

day,

It

for the ancient

many women

of Greece, in writing to their

from home, usually write without

husbands away
But do they not know how to prothe accents.
nounce their language just as well as those who

make

constant use of written accents

To

pro-

nounce correctly, to lay the stress on the syllable

on which the accent falls, is natural to every
Greek, although he may do it unconsciously. He
is taught to
pronounce according to accent from
he pronounces correctly, alchildhood
early
though he may not know the laws of prosocty.
We said that accents have always existed in
the Greek language.
Homer (1000 B. C.) says
;

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

and Tpcoas
re/coc,

109

'AXX' elcrepx^o

(IX. ^, 57).

ofipa craa)o-rjs Tpaia?

/ecu

Tyowas,

ope^s. Now, how could Homer otherwise than by means of the accent distinguish
/cGSos

between the male and female inhabitants

nomos

also brings the

example of S/xwo^

Oeko-

/ecu

59 and 399) from S/^ww^ KCU

and 25, 45, 154). How could
121
08.
(07 8^a)^,
he distinguish finally XdW and Xavv (IX. <, 314)
It is by means
unless by means of the accent 1
OS.

(6 S/za>9

of the accent, Oekonomos says, that Homer lengthened in the arsis or thesis the short syllable of
the penult and the antepenult, as

t/xe^ai, apo/ze-

6t9, KaKoepyLrj, aypiov, 6/xotou, etc.

i/at,

he also

shortened the long syllable, or the one before

by means of the

accent, as

eyeipo^L.v

a.7ro0LOfjiv instead of eyetpw/>te^, /3ov\r)Tai,

Compare
9,

also

the eVet^

'OSucreus, 'OSvcr^o?,

it,

/3ouXercu,

/Ae/Ado)?

because

it

is

on ac-

count of the force of the following accent that the

one of the consonants was omitted. The ancient

grammarians spoke in
facts, as

his

"

detail

concerning these

did also the great scholar Hernnanus in

EJementa doctrinse

page 56, etc.

B.
Again, Aristophanes (430
C.), by means of
the accent, shows the difference in the meaning
of the words
(Barp. 40,

'ITTTT.

metricae,"

Bo'eio? 877/^09

95) and

(Boeotian, Sia7reu>aju,es

(oxytone) from

StaTre^w/xe^
KOLL

from

SiaTru/o/xes).

Srj/xos

StaTriVo-

His con-

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

110

temporary, Isocrates, played upon the words

vov with KOLIVOV (ypafiioiov KGLIVOV, /cat /SiftXiov
vov,

"

and so

Plato (390 B. C.) distinctly says,

on).

IIoXXa/ct9 e7re/xy8aXXo/xe^
,

/cat

KCLL-

ypd^ara,

TOL 8'

l^aipov-

Trap o /BovXofMeOa ovopdtpvres, /cat ra? 6

rouro tVa cx^rt
>, oiov Att <tXo9

TO? ovo^a
,

T)\LIV

TOIVVV

avrodev twra

TT}? peer?)? o-vXX

aXXcoz^ 8e TOVVOLVTLOV

ofetas

ra Se ftapvTtpa

(ftOeyyojJieOa.

V KOI TO TOMS OivOptoTTtoV OVO^OL TTeTTQvOtVy O)?

e/xol So/cet- e/c

/iaro5,

yevrjTai, TO, re erepov

feat di'Tt

TOU

a,

yap

^05 ypa/xfiapvTepas r^9 reXev-

yo^/xaros oz/o/^a yeyovev,

efatpe^eWo?,

/cat

TTJS ye^o/xeV^?, ivTtvOcv 6 a^^pcuTro? (ecrrt^) avaOpuv

"
a oTToiTre
often put in and leave out let-

We

ters in words,

and give names as we

and
example, the words

change the accents. Take, for

Att ^tXo?.

please,

In order to convert these into a noun

we omit one

of the iotas, and sound the middle

as, in other words
syllable grave instead of acute
and
the
letters
are
inserted,
also,
grave is changed
;

into

an acute

The name

was once a phrase and

is

avOpuTros,

now

which

a noun, appears

be a case just of this sort; for one. letter,

which is the a, has been omitted, and the acute
of the last syllable has been changed to a
to

grave
called

Hence man, of
avOpoiTTOs, meaning

all

animals,

is

avaOpwv a

rightly
otrajTrev.

Again, Aristotle (350 B. C.) says: Ilapa 8e

TT)I>

HI

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

eV jno> rot? avev ypac/^s SiaXeKTiKots ov

paSiov Troirjcrai Xoyoz>, iv Se rots yeypa/x/xeVoi? KOL
olov /cat ro^ 'Q^pov cWot
7TOi7jfjiao~i \6yov paXkov

SiopOovvTai irpos TOUS eXey^oz/ra? a>5 droTraj? etp^U To

KOTOL .....
/^e^ OV KCLTCLTrvdeTai OfJL/BpCO," \.VOV(T L

yap avrb

Kat
rrj TTpocrcoSia Xeyoz/re? TO ou o^vrepov.
TO Trept TO IVVTTVLOV Tov Aya/>te/xi^o^o9, OTI ou/c ai/ros
"
6 Zeu? elTre .....
StSo/xe^ Se ot eS^o? apecrOai"
dXXa

TO)

IvvTTviq) StSo^at.

"

But from accent, in discussions which are not

committed to writing, it is not easy to frame an
argument, but rather in writings and poems as,
for instance, some defend Homer against those
;

who

accuse him as having spoken absurdly,

To

/xev

ov KaraTrvBcTai

for they solve this

be marked with an

o//,/?pw,

accent, saying that ov is to

Also about the
acute accent.

by

dream of Agamemnon, because Jupiter himself

does not say,
Se ot ev

but says to the dream

StScWi.

Such

things,

assumed (explained) from accent."

the
Greek language from its earlier
Although
"
times had
accents," their use became more prevalent in both writing and speaking after the time

therefore, are

of Aristophanes (200 B. C.),

as their inventor.

who

is

also considered

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

112

Ol %povoi Kai

01 TOVOI Kal

VVV/

-/{.

Kdt,

Aeeo)?,

dpjjLOviav,

e/cacnov

TO

irpos

av

ft>9

avrwv

)_/

eo'^rjfjLaria'TaL

e/jL6\\6

TW \oy<p
^

*-

eTraSoi/jiev

yava,

TTJV /j,ovcriKr)V OVTOJ

TO

(f>0iyyo/jivoi.

/AeA,o9

/cat TT^ /^ez> dvielarav. Try 8'

vrjv

ofu TO 8e ^Sapu o^o/Ltafoucra^,

it

eireiori

:.

T. X.

TCI

bp-

vavra
KO.I
'

/cat

TO

ApicaS. Ilapa Bi-

cre\. ta.

from what has been

results

teat,

aptcx/u-ou

eV^Te/^oucray,

Now,

J^NV^

opjava ecreadai ewpatce jap

'/1 V
KO.I

NN
TOU^

8'

.^Vevjrcu

KOL otve/o)?, KaQilTrep

wvofjLatJTai

'^

777? (pwvrf^ av/JLTraaT)?, KCLI TTJ

\/

afJLa

KOI

o)(T7Tp

rf

TTvevfACLTa,

re

yLte\o?

(fivei/cox;

Ta

said,

and

from the direct testimony of the different authors

mentioned, and of many whose testimony might
have been cited, that grammatical accent or pros-

from " poetical prosody." The modern Greeks in pronouncing according to accent agree in every respect with the
direct testimony of the ancient grammarians, the

ody

is

essentially different

divine Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Plutarch, Aristoxe-

Nicanor (120 B.C.), Aristophanes,

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and of many others.

nus, Sextus,

The statement

of Professor Sophocles that all

vowel sounds in modern Greek are isochronous
is

incorrect,

because in

nounce more or
acute accent.
as

Oekonomos

many

insta,nces~r\f e pro-

the grave as well as the

distinguish the acute accent,

less

We

justly remarks,

by pronouncing

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

113

word more emphatically, or by raising the

voice, and especially so in questions, as TIS TOP

the

Kafji

flex,

we pronounce likewise the circumthough rarely, by prolonging the voice. This

KpLTtfv

especially to be noticed in Thessaly and Epirus,

in which countries the people pronounce elSa
is

uSar and Soy^a as

Now,

to

if it

were

Soo/xa, etc.

attempt to pronounce the Greek ac-

cording to the principles of Latin accentuation is

simply absurd. It is a fact that Latin prosody in

some instances agrees with Greek accentuation,

many respects there is a wide difference
between the two. To begin with, the Latin accentuation of many words renders doubly sure
the accuracy and correctness of the accentuation
For instance, the proof the modern Greeks.
but in

paroxytone words,
eprjfjios,

IvepyyiJia,

'ATro'XXwi'og, 'Hptco^o?,

Trapa/cX^ro?, the

eibuXov,

ancient Latin

poets used likewise to pronounce by marking

the antepenultima with the acute accent, as Apolrionis
linis, Orlonis (sse vumque
ensem, Hor),
Idolum (Auson).
those
who
Now,
pronounce
|

simply according to the quantity of syllables,

pronounce as if the words were written, etSwXo*>,

and so forth, and thus, as Oekonomos

act in violation of the principles of both

'ATToXXoiz/o?,

puts it,
the Grecian and Latin Muse.

The Latins never

accent the last syllable of a word.

On the other
hand, the Greek language possesses many such

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

114

nouns, and hence this difference alone suffices to

put an insurmountable barrier between the Latin

The Latin tongue, being

and Greek prosody.
fashioned after the ^Eolic dialect, keeps, generally
speaking, its accentuation, especially so in words
of two syllables, which the .ZEolians pronounced

by placing the accent on the penultima, as auw?

e^t (aw?, et/xt). Many words of three syllables
they pronounced by placing the acute accent on
the penultima, as 'A^AXevs

Latin

'A^tXX^?, 'TSuo-crevs.
Oxytone or paroxytone
TI

Achilles, Ulysses.
trisyllabic words the .ZEolians used to
:

pronounce

by placing the acute accent 011 the antepenultima,

for instance, Swaros instead of Swaro?, and so
But even
two and three
on.

in the accentuation of

words of

syllables, generally speaking, the

^Eolians differed materially from the Latins. Thus,

the ^Eolians pronounced Kara,

crtw, li)v,

and, again,

M^acrta?, etc.
Again, Oekonomos justly rethat
Latin
marks,
prosody materially differed from
ieprjs,

the Greek, inasmuch as the Latins accent the antepenultimate even when the last syllable is, accord-

ing to the Greeks, long.

On

the other hand, the

Greek prosody always strictly observes the last

syllable of every word and its change in respect
to the cases, and places the accent according t6
the quantity of the last syllable. For instance, the
Latins say Philosophia, Historia, Theologia, Ecclesia, and the genitives Corporum, angeli, and so

'

-v
ACCENT AND QUANTlffy
placing the accent on

on,

'*/.
/

>,<, '*~4,
^^0,
A^M*A*aa^-*
^^^.

which fact is in direct violation ofc^

of Greek prosody, which is always directed
the accentuation of a

word by the quantity o

the last syllable.

Again, the change of the accent by contraction is a thing unknown among

the

Latins,

as

cdreo

-^apeco,

^rjpevaj,

xypect),

So-o>, and Se/coj, Set/ecu, KVVOJ, SOKW, doceo

hence So/cw. There are, besides, numberless
other peculiarities of the Greek language, both dialectic and perpetual, which divide and separate its
prosody from the Latin. But however well Latin
prosody has been fashioned and formed by her
glorious poets and writers, yet it never could
>,

>,

attain,

the

imitate, or approach, either the

elasticity,

or

the

euphony,
manifold and very rich

variety of the Grecian prosody.

Finally, it is
a fact that modern Philology, owing to the great
changes which have passed over the Latin lan-

guage, ever since the second century after Christ,

has been unable to ascertain the original sound
"

Thus we claim

of her

letters.

sistent

with well-established principles and facts

pronounce Greek according to Latin

that

it

is

incon-

to attempt to

There is certainly much similarity

between the Greek and Latin, but this similarity
or ^resemblance is not, as a Greek
says, that of
one egg to another, neither that of one drop of
accentuation.

\vater to

another.

The Latin language resem-

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

116

Greek language

just as a daughter
resembles her mother, or just as a sister might
resemble her sister or, as Oekonomos says, how"bles

the

ever strong a resemblance there may be between

the two languages, the warbling of a Procne
(swallow) differs from that of a nightingale.
Now, that the accent plays a most important
part in the meaning of a word, is manifest from
the following collection of words, which are
written alike, but distinguished from each other
The distinguished
in meaning by the accents.
scholar, Gottlob

Hoffman, said in reference to this

Why anybody can easily distinguish
point,
the word Sea from Sta and povrj from JHOI/T) (/Aei>a>)
"

and some other

similar

words simply by the

"

However, there are many words and

meaning
many nouns in the Greek language distinguished
!

from each other simply by means of the accent,

but without which all the soothsayers of the world
could never

tell

the meaning.
KUTTW

ter ;

A.

ay.

^Esch.Pers.

425.
'AyeAaios,
'Aye'Aatog,

belonging to a herd.
of the herd or mul-

titude ; ay.

avOpfDTTOi,

os,

opp. to

Agetus, a Spartan,
admired, famous.
Ancyra, a city of Ga-

latia.
"Ayr;, in

good sense, wonder,

reverence, awe; in bad sense,
envy, hatred.

'Ayij,-i}s,

breakage,piece,splin-

"AyKvpa,

an anchor.

in the
'Ayopcuo?, to be bought
market; as in most Edd.

of the N. T. apros.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

the

to

belonging

'Ayopatos,

steep,

JEsch. Ag.

hill.

285, etc.

ayopd, Zevs dyopaios.

117

atTros

Trpos

ieWi,

"Aywv, ayovros, leading.

'AyoSv, -wvos,

contest.

AITTOS,

^s,

nus.

very rarely -os,

assembled in crowds.
-ov

"A#poos,

noiseless, only in

scot-

S,

-oi/,

of Mount Athos.

^Esch. Ag. 285.

AT#os,

lop.

heat,

burnt, fire-col-

-ov,

Find. p.

8,

65.

Bachyl. 12.
Atvos, -ov,

hence, a fable;
-rj,

-ov,

tale, story,

praise.

2,

Ep. word

= 6Wos,

dread, dire, fearful.

Ato'Ao?,

-ov,

->;,

quietly

moving.
high and

1,

of Messenia

JEpea, a city
2, a city in

the island of Cyprus, later,

Soli.
At7ros,

-eos,

TO,

1,

69.

the extremity ;

Acris, a city of Libya.

-tSos,

'AKpo/2dXds,

locust.

owe ^Aa^

throve

afar, a skirmisher.
'AKpo/?oXos, -ov, struck from

from

'AXt'a, -as,

an assembly,

gather-

'AXta, -a?,

"AXis, adv.,

in heaps, in crowds,

salt-cellar.

in swarms.

steep; lofty.
-?;,

-tos,

a river of

1,

ing.

AtoXos, -ovjhegodofthe winds.

AiTreta, -as,

2,

Ads,

afar.

easily turning,

At7Tta, fern, of Atxus,

Diod.
is,

1,

6,

6,

Theoc.

Sicily.
,

-77,

point-barb,

splinter.

fire.

ored, fiery.

17,

*A/as, -tSos,

a burning

-cos,

Joh. Phi-

spotless.

'A/as, -tSos,

*A0uos,-7),

Aivos,

inexorable.

gramm.

free.

Ai0o's,

of the city Ptoleinais

0po'os),

unpunished,

'Atfojos, -ov,

the earlier

-4ce,

name

in Phoenicia.

priv.

(a.

CUTTVS,

cities.

silence, etc.

'Afyo'os, -a, -ov,

Eustath. p. 1387.

of

a point, edge;

1,

17,

2,

-ov,

Ep. for

-ov,

-r),

A, lofty, usu.

chatterer; dSoXeJob. Philoposubtle.

,

height,

'AXts, -t8os, saltness.

a threshing-floor.
a festival of Demeter.
"A/A?7Tos, -ov, 6, a reaping, har'AXcoa,

'AXwa,

vesting.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

118

the harvest gathered

S,

having just given

birth /

in.
^,

oft in

-?/?,

Theophr.

the almond-tree.

'ApriTo//,os,

an almond.

aA.??, -779,

"Apa, Ep. pa, then, straight-

'Apa, a?,

curse.

'Apaio'?,

-ov,

->?,

cut.

asphodel.

producing aspho-

'Ao-<oSeJVos,
del.

etc.

way,

having just

'Ao-</)o8eAos, 6,

js,

ifAm, narrow,

a flute-player.
a farm-servant.

weal:.
'Apace?, -aia,

accursed.
"Apy>7?, -ov, 6,

Bato?, -a, -ov, ^'^/e, insignifi-

Arges or Cyclops.

Hes. Th. 140.

a kind of serpent.
79,

B.

prayed against,

-^ros, white, bright.

6, Argus, son of
and Niobe, and King

cant.
Bato?, Boeus, a

belonging to Bacchus or Ai's r^es.

,

iter

ux,

wight.
"Api/etos, -eta, -eiov,

#/*

$ lamb

Apyetos,

-oi),

6,

a young ram

just full-grown.

sheep, etc.
"Apvos, Arnus, a river of Etruria,

-TTOUC,

now

a queen, princess.
kingdom.
Ae threshold.

-ov, 6,

Babylonian

deity.
Bio?, -ov, 7i/e.
Bio?,

a bow.
,

-w, weak, nerve-

-a,

the Arno.

js,

ayr;, -rjs,

seizure, rapine.
a hook, esp. for

drawing up a bucket.
"Apcrt?, -ew?, ^,
-1805,

raising up.
arrow-point.

Pharor.
,

a metrical

syllables,*-

-ov,jBelus, a

or

'Api/os,

-- ~.

shining,

-6V,

-77,

sub.

foot of three
or

OS.

man.

new-born.

woody plant,

flow-

ering late.
Bporos, ~ov,

6,

mortal, m,an.

Bporos, blood that has flowed

from a wounded man,
?, -ov, ^Ae depths of the
sea / water-deeps.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

a fine yellowish flax,

Buo-o-o?,

and the linen made from

it

Ata, ace.

119

o/

Ata, prep. 5y, through.

(cotton).

TJs,

noble,

AtoyeV?;?,

r.

born of Jove.

Diogenes, a man's

name.

a round-built Phoeni-

cutting in two.

cian merchant-vessel.

-ov,

pass.,

cw

^/i

s,

-ov,

a wa-

milk-pail,

ter-bucket.

laughable, absurd.

exciting

laughter,

divided equally.
AOKOS, 6, opinion.
AOKO'S, foam.
,

AoAio?,

-77,

-ov,

bright, gleam-

6, Dolius, a slave
of Laertes in Ithaca.

an edible

fish

of gray

Apv//,os, #ft> oak-coppice, thicket.

color.

which

FoVos, -ov, /ia

ten,

Drymus, a city of Pho-

cs.

is begot-

child.

Twos, corn-land, a sown field

E.

(Horn.), usu. in phrase, Tovvov oAony?.

Fvpo's, -a, -ov,

said.

round, Lat. cur-

vus.

coming, arrival.

'EAevo-i5,

Fvpo?, -ov,

a round ring,

-ti/o?,

ip??,

and promon-

'E^cu/oeTos,

-ov,

country

dis-

trict.

->;,

-ov,

that can be

approval, praise.

'ETraivo?,

tallow.

-77,

adv. publicly.
-ra,

things.

out,

-ov,

exceedingly

awful.

A?7/xos, -ov,fat,
ta,

taken

taken out.
E7ratvo5,

tory.
A-^/AOS,

-ov,

picked.

the neck, throat.

city

city.

A.
--5?,

Eleusis,

circle.

'Eaiperos,

j,

crafty, deceit-

AoXto?, -ov,

ing, etc.
r/VavKos,

-ov,

ful.

merry.
rAavKo?,

-a,

neut.

public

a province.
a woman's name.

'Eptveo?, the
'EptVeos,

wild fig-tree.

of wool, woollen.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

120
"Eros,

a year.

'ETOS,

in vain.

fern,

flowery.

Evav0>js,

seeing.

Euanthes, a name.

well-born (a

TJ?,

civil,

po-

s, -7J, -oi/,

warm,

ing.

lite

man), evyev^s aV$pw7ros.

yeVT/s, Eugenes,^ -^oQi of the

pinous, used

Anthology.

counteract the

Athens to

in

effects

of

sow?/

2,

dome.

Eumenes, a brave

^Ae lupine, esp. w-

-ov,

drink.

well-disposed.

?}?,

hot, boil-

Athenian at Salamis.
renown, good fame.
Euclia, an appella-

Ev/cAeta,
Ev/cAeta,

tion of Diana.
rjs,
s,

5,

-ov,

1,

^Ae

wrath, etc.
tliyme, Lat.

0v/>tos, -ov,

thymus.

stout, lively.

Eusthenes, a name.
'la,

"la,

voice.

17,

old Ion. cwey plural, violet.

Z.

Zorus, founder of Car-

imp. aor. mid.

behold.

'I3ov, /o /

thage.

part. pres.
part. perf.
rws^, etc.
eVo?,

JT^,

TO

TOT) /AeXtTo?,

e7rai/(o

/cat
's,

Eust. p. 906, 52.

5, -to?,

one of the Sporades,

etc.

H.
/,

slinger.

/,

gen.

Ipnus, a place
,

ing horses,

pi.

-a, -ov,

belonging to

C,

Hercules.
'Hpa/cXetos,

"Hrron/,
,

herculean.

compart.
part, of rjTTow.

etc.

horse-haired, etc.
-ov,

arming

in Locris.

keeping or groom-

equipping,

horses.

TroKopvo-r^c, Hippocorystes,
masc. prop. noun.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

,

1,

Katpor, -ov,

strictly the right

2, the right meas-

measure;
ure of time.
also

Ka~po?,

slips, or

KO/XTTO?,
OS,

ttt

Kracr^at

of the loom.
adorned

from
from

W, aCCUS.

Callisthenes, an

Kvpro?,
05,

orator.

KcLW, dry wood, fire-wood.

os,

KoAoV, neut.
KaAws, adv. from

Krao/x-ai.

KTetVw.

Imix.

with

strength.
KaAAio-tfeV?;?,

proud.

a proper name.

threads,

thrums on the beam

KaAAio-flei'?/?,

Cnemus, a name.
pride.

a ram.

Kpto?,

Kaipws,

121

Of KVKWV.

creed.

crooked.

of a river.
fjiTrrj,

Ketvo'?,

y>

K>}/3os,

handle.
-ov,

the people.

Aao?, the

name of a

Aao?,

e/ceu/os.

a charmer.
charmed.
from Ke
from

Aapo?,
,

a?,

-a, -OK,

->/,

-6V,

winepress.

renowned, fa-

mous.
KAeto),

to

?,

oe,

KAeiros, Clitus,^ proper

tell

of,

pleasant, nice.

a 5are roc/;.
a limpet.

Cerus, a river.

07,

nnme.

make fa-

throwing stones.
struck with stones.

Ai^avos, fore-finger.

string of a harp.

mous.
w, Clio,

M.

one of the Muses.

the thistle.

city.

Aapo?, a ravenous sea-bird ;

the gull.

empty".

JT-rj<?,

pretext.
j,

caterpillar.

for

907.

A.

bending, winding, as

p.

curved, bent, arched.

KuAw?, a rope.
j,

Eust.

a fishing-basket.

long.

o?,

yellow.

Ma/<pos, length.

os,

woody.

~M.aXu.Kia,

softness.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

122

MaXa/cta, water-animals of soft

substance.

of milk.

a staying (convent).

rj,

fern,

/,

o?,

of MoVos.

ly.

icretched.

gen. from ^via;

muscle.

a mountain.
a trench.

Qvpos,
[AVIWV,

MuAAo?, awry, crooked.

an edible

OVKOW, not therefore, so not.

OVKOVV, therefore, according-

laborious.

Mu'AA.09,

\Op6<s,yhe watery or serouspart

Ovpos,

tail.

Ovpd,

Ovpa, boundaries.

fish.

n.

MvAwv, a place for a mill,

etc.

narpoKToi/05, parricidal.

Mv\o)v, a city.

narpo/croi/09, slain

Mvpi'ot, infinite in numbers.

Muptoi, ten thousand.

Ilet^w, to
Ilet^w,
,

N.
Neo9,

by a father.

persuade.

persuasion,

etc.

fat.

i/,

1, aor.;

young.
y,

Neo9, /res/i land, fallow.

part, of

rattling sound.

washing-trough.
washed. Schol. Aris-

?,

a pasture.

2,

tophanes' Plut. 1062.

IToto?, -Trota, Trotov,

H.
Eav0o9, golden, yellow.
Ecu/00?, a proper name.
Eevtov,

of what na-

ture?

a room for strangers.

Iloto?, -a,

-oi/,

ture, kind,

o/*

a certain na-

etc.

a drinking-bout / c-

HoYo?,

EeVwv, a proper name.

->/,

-or,

verb, adj.

drunk, for drinking.

O.

IIptoToyoj/o9, first-born.

"OKI/OS, <7e?ay.
s, -rj,

oV, iW/e,

IlpwroyoVo?,

cowardly.

ertheless.
ally, etc.

ountain.

bringing

forth

first.
IIpwTOTOAco9, first-born.

IIpwroroKoc,

born.

bearing her

first-

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

123
or

me-colored.

man's

Pyrrhus,

bench.

name.

-a, -6v,

a community.
a public feast in hon-

ia,

wpos, -ov, tufa-stone.

?,

^e

a carpenter's

in

plummet

blind; misera-

/aa,

or of Theseus.

ble.

anything that draws,

drags, or tfears along with
violence ; 2, fashion, mode.
/o/xo?, 1,

P.

Job. Phil.

'PtVr;,

shark.

'PITT?/,

town-wall.

as of wind.

proper

East. p.
T.

301.
cor,

Syrmus,

name.

a rosebud.

TavpoKTovos, slaying bulls.

Rhodon, masc. prop.

17,

Tai;poKToi/o5, killed

by 'a

bull.

om afafa

name.
'Po'Sio?,

Mhodian,

adj.,

of

'PoSto?,

name

Rhodes.

(son

of

Ulysses).

subst.,

Rhodius,

J?,

riv7 er.

appearing afar.
Telephanes, a prop.

name.
cutting.

oc,

WVO5,
wv,
9,

from

^ lewd fellow.
o-atpw,

gen. fern, of

sweeping.

volume.
Topos, piercing, thrilling.
Topoc, a 5orer used in trying

o-os.

for water.

a moth.
a hole, trench.
d<j>r),
a^ry, a digging.
?,

wheel, etc.
course.

o?,

a running

lion's whelp.
?,

Y.

young of every other

c

beast.
v,

-77,

Y/?o?-,

-oV,

sown,

scat-

Y/?o?,

tered.

^Ae shrub.
,

a 5w?icA of grapes.

-77,

-ov,

hump-backed.

Ae bunch or

hump of

camel.

"Y/3pts, insolence.
t?,

a night-bird ofprey.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

124

3>aiSpos, -a, -ov,

<a~Spos,
<o'pos,

hail.

beaming, bright.

Phwdrus, a pr. name.

-,

bearing, carrying.
<uAaKiJ, a watching or guard-

a man's name.

3>opo's,

a
city.

e
?,

X.
XaAao/?oAo9, showering hail;

Again,

by

shoulder.

raw, rough,

etc.

^O^os, paleness.

proper nouns are formed from

many

substantives

instance

glad-eyed,

-ov,

-ry,

bright-eyed.

tribute, tax.

ing a watch.
a
<v/\aKi7, Phylace,

with

stricken

XaAao7?oAo9,

For

transposition of the accent.

from

from fcActros.
from AevKos.
from AOJTO?.
from
Hippos and Iluppa, from
KAetro?,

a/ce<rr/7<?.

Avyrj,

Baios,

from avyrj.
from
from
and Topyw, from

?n;ppo9,

-pa.

or

yop-

5/xt/cp09,

from

er/it-

yo?.
Atoyei/r;?,

from
from

and
eu

from

8po5, -Spa,.

In like manner, to this day,

proper simply

by

which are either

many nouns become

a change of the accent, some of

local

and idiomatic, so

to speak,

to certain places, whilst other nouns are common

to all the Greeks.
For instance Xpvcros, from
:

bs, like x/oucr^s (IX. a)

and "Xpucros

EtcriSo-

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

125

TOU 'Atf^cuos" (Olyp. 236), found in an Attic in-

XafjiTrpos.

from crravpos. Aa//,7rpos, from

from (f>opos. 'Pio9, from /koei?,

2<Tavpos,

scription.

<l>opo5,

whence the " /HOUS #e<rcraAias ^wpa." St^tos, from

cri/xos, whence ^L^w Si/^am'S^?, Si/^/uas SijU^9(o? ( a
diminutive Boeotian appellation), and many others
which I might enumerate, as well as numberless
other forms or innovations of the accent both in

ancient and

modern Greek, which show the

care

w e ought to exercise in pronouncing Greek.

Now, many believe that the ancient Greeks
T

pronounced the verses, such as "the hexameters"

and "the iambic" simply according to the " quantity of the syllables," and that they entirely overlooked or neglected the accent. But this does not
seem so certain, and there are many things that go

show

that the Greeks, in pronouncing the verses,

never neglected or overlooked the accent.
"
No
in
to

language ever uses

poetry

an accentual

prosody" directly opposite and antagonistic to

the one in prose.
In pronouncing Latin verse
we sometimes overlook or, so to speak, neglect
the natural accent of the words for the sake of
the rhythm.

But

by no means proves the necessity

of pronouncing Greek verse in like manner.
In
the first place, who assures us that Virgil himself
this fact

pronounced
lent?

We

manner now prevacan only form a meagre idea from

his verses in the

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

126

Quintilian concerning Latin versification, from

the fact that he did not speak in detail about

these things.
Now, Geldart affirms that just because the Latin accent, however fallaciously applied to Greek,

does in a remarkable manner

tend to preserve to a great extent (though by no

means completely) the quantity of

syllables, the

it could not be otherwise

That
this
notion
is
preserved.
completely false
is practically shown even in Latin, in which we
have to recognize, and do recognize, the length
of the many long syllables, which it is impossible
even according to the Latin system to accent. It
is, besides, a well-known fact that many distin-

notion has arisen that

guished European scholars asserted that we ought

by no means to neglect accent in pronouncing
Latin verse.

Again,

Homer

lengthened

by means

of the accent not only the short syllable in the

arsis, but also in the thesis, as AidXov, and so on.

He

likewise shortened, as

we have

already remarked, the syllable before or after the accent

simply by means of it. He at times used the

on the

syllable accented

thesis as a short one, as

192) instead of aX^rat;

sometimes even the accent causes one X to be
I

7T7TOV5

aXe rat

(IX.

X,

omitted, as in A^tXev?, and

short, the ancient poetry was

so on.

by no means

arated from the accents of prose.

mann,

"

Elementa

And,

doctrinse rnetricse.")

in

sep-

(See Herr-

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

127

Aristotle says that the iambic metre is mostly

J
common conversation. u O S ta/x,/3o9 CLVTTJ
e

used in
ICTTIV

TI

Xefts

rj

TO*V troXXwv

'

Sto jitaXto~Ta TTOLVTMV

"

TMV

For the

Herpatv ta/x/3eta ^Otyyovrai Xeyonres."

is most of all adapted to converan evidence of this we most frequently speak in iambic in familiar discourse with
each other." Plutarch says concerning the "iam-

iambic measure
sation.

And

as

bic measure" "TO,

{lev

\eyovraL irapa Kpovcriv, ra

.... TO Se Trapa

Se a&ovTai

rr)v Kpovcriv Xeyecr^at*

KOI
Oekonomos
TO
OLVTO
rj TrapafcaraXoy^.")
(elvai
"
"
is what the moderns call
TTapaKOLToXoyri
says,
"
recitativum" a sort of address, in which the poems

are pronounced, as the Italians say,

do" whilst tlie term tl /caraXoyaS^^ "
means u ro ra acr/xara OVK VTTO

quasi parlan"rj Kara-

and

Dionysius of Halicarriassus describes the movableness, transposing, or changing of the accents

which takes place in the odes. Now, what difference there exists between hexameters and iambics
on the one hand and lyric odes on the other is
Demosthenes himself distinguishes the
evident.
"
metrical" (as, for instance, the Homeric verses)
from those that are sung, such as the odes of

Pindar, the

"

"
choruses," the
dithyrambic," the

strophes

and others which are

speak, by
KOL TOT;?

a varying melody of the voice

TOJV e/x/xeV^wf /cat TOL><? TOW

/cat

TroXXou?

Ta)V

so

uttered,

"
:

to

c/

flo-re

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

128
TO,

Kiva)V epya rrs OLVTMV

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, treat(Aoy. eVtra<).

ing of the changes which are necessary for the
composition or formation of harmony,
that they
at

(0^779,

must be*

"

Sta</>opot

/cat

TrpocnwStat,

/caXov/xej'at

teaches

at racrets

/cXeWoucrat

rrj<?

rfj

TOV Kopov."
So that, recommending the
same rules for the formation of harmony in both

Trot/ctXta

metrical and prose writings, he distinctly asserts

the importance and the necessity of respecting

the accent both in metrical and prose writings.

In another passage he says, " MOVO-LKTJ ns 771^ /cat rj
TO)V TTQ\ITLKO)V \6yO)V 67T ICTTTJ fJLTTJ , TO) TTOCTO)

Sta^epOUCTa

Iv aSSat? /cat o/oya^ots, ou^t TO) Trotw- /cat yap iv

Ty /cat jiteXo? e^ovcnv at Xefets /cat pv9p.ov /cat
}jieTa/3o\rjv /cat TrpeVo^."

the

orators

Now,

as a

modern Greek

according to
rhythm and according to the accents, why not
says,

if

the poets also

pronounced

And if the

speeches of the orators

must be read according to the accents, why not
read the poems in like manner 1 Dionysius also
rhetorical passages of the same
with poetical verses of like rhythm, for

compares

rhythm

*$

many

instance that of Demosthenes,

"

MT/T* iSias

and says that

it is

^0pa<s /x^8e/xtas cveKa,"

exactly an elegiac pentameter,

just like

He

compares in

like

manner many other passages

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

129

of the same orator, saying merely that these prose

passages differ from the poems, inasmuch as the

former are " poetical, rhythmical, and melodious,"

that is to say
whilst the poems are in rhythm
"
" accordant in
harmony" and according to meas"
"
" musical"
ure and
eppv Opa KOI Upperpa KCU
jiteXwSiKa," because the poems possess in succession
similar metres arid

rhythms arranged according

to verse, period, or strophe, whilst the rhetorical

"
phrases or the so-called oratorical cadences" have

rhythm, but not the same in succession. On the

contrary, they are irregular and wandering, and

mixed obscurely with

others, so that the rhetorical

phrase becomes, as Aristotle termed it, "/x/qrc e/x/AeTpos pyre dppv&iJios," neither "metrical nor void
of rhythm."

We

must remark that Dionysius, who is justly

called a -very critical scholar, by no means considered the poems as void of accent, as some have
supposed, because he would naturally have said so.
Oekonomos says that one can observes many
other hexameter passages in Demosthenes, such

as,

'

Tov yap

ev

'Afufrur&g

TroAejuoi/,

Si'

ov

ets

Also
Twv

'

a'AAwv

as well as in

Chrvsostom
roV

Tov

many

other writers, for instance

St.

i^XiaKOJv aacfiyiav Aa/x,7rporcpa ovcra TT/^,

....

/caTrvov 7rpocre^)Xe^e, KCU -^/xai'pwtrev aTrao-av

(Trcpt 'lepwcr.), etc.

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

130

Aristiades, the KoiWtXta^o? (Quintilian), recom"

TTTapa)v crTo^d^ecrOaL eWotag re Trpeirov-

mends
0-775,

/cat Xe'fe&j?,

#7?yetrat

OVTC

JJLZV

r)

/cat

apiLOVias, /cat pvOfJiov- TrpOKa-

eWota

TrdVrcog, TJS

aVeu ovre atpecrts

lyyiveraL' TavTrjs Se jjLijjLTjf

/cat
Trpo? TJ)V rov TreXa? aKorjv re /cat TreiOa)
re /cat
CLVTTJ Se of yr^r^ra?
d^ay/cata
<f)vyrj

rti'os

TrpocrXa/BoiHTa

(perhaps

crvy/ce^u/AeVoj^) /xe^,

Se

Xoyots

Stacrr^jLtaraj^,

JJLTOL

rot?

cru/x^xw^ot?

appoviav

eyevvrjcrev

pv0p,ov"

reray/^eVo)^

Now,
accent, which tends to mark the word
clearly, were overlooked in the recitation of
poems, it is evident that so much confusion and
doubt would have resulted as to render the meanif

ing of the verse extremely obscure.

(350 B. C.) likewise recommends as the

Aristotle
first

excel-

lence of poetical recitation the clearness of ivords.

Now, how can words

possess clearness

respect their accents!

ra)v

wondrous

eVt Ttov

"*H yap

if

Xe'fts,

we do
^rot

77

not
Sta
/cat

CLVTrjv e^ei SiW/iw

eVt TMV Xdyco^."
Quinctilian
"that poems should be read in such

pfJLr)VLa, T7)v

efJLjJLeTpajv

/cat

recommends
a manner that the reader may appear rather to
be pronouncing a "prose passage" and "without
metre," whilst the prose passages of the orators

should be recited just like poems

that

is

to say,
to be

rhythm of the poems ought

sung, nor the harmony of the words (in prose)
to be confounded with the stupid and rude or

neither the

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

131

That is
unpolished conversation of the rabble.
what Caesar meant, saying, "if you sing the poem
you sing it badly, if you read it you sing it well."
Finally, not one of the old grammarians recommends the reading of the poems simply according
to the quantity of syllables.

On

the 'contrary,

Tryphoii (Tpvfav) censures the practice, calling

And Erasmus
"TO, Kara TroSa, /caKo/xerpa."
it
also distinguished accent from quantity, and complained because in his church neither the quan-

nor the accent of the words

tity of the syllables

was kept with accuracy,

odes."

especially in "musical
"Accenfois non indicat doctrinam quantitatis

syllabicce"

.... and "Chorus

ecelesiastieus

nee in

psalmis recitandis nee in eanticis solemnibus ulliim

habet brevium aut long arum delectum, ne tonorum

quidem admodum magnam rationem"

de rect. Linq. Graec. pronunt.)
It

becomes evident,

etc.

(Dialog,

therefore, that the custom-

ary pronunciation of those who pronounce simply according to the quantity of syllables cannot

be

the

or

way of pronunciation.
a modern Greek exclaims,
"for what purpose were the poets of Greece
compelled to compose metres (and especially the
safe

correct

"For what purpose,"

heroic) in every respect and directly opposite to

the accentual prosody of the words, and, so to
speak, without any foundation in the very nature

of the language?

Or, perchance, did they not

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

132

compose verses

for

they sought to teach

their

and

fellow-citizens,

to please

whom

What more

than the neglect or the absence of accents from

the poems could render them incomprehensible
to the

many?"

Vossius and his followers blamed the so-called

"

TroXm/cous CTTIXOVS" (popular verses) of the

mod-

Greeks, which possess rhythm simply by

means of the"acceht and the number of the syjlables. But it becomes evident from these popular
ern

verses that our fathers, in pronouncing the verses

of Homer and of the other poets, observed also

the accent together with the quantity, because

the "popular verses" are only imitations of many

Homeric and other old verses pronounced simply

according to accent without regard to quantity.
Attention to the quantity of syllables had disa PP eare(i from the common conversation of the

v ^V

multitude at the time even

passed

was

its

prime.

when

the language had

But even whilst the language

acme, the unpolished multitude did not

distinguish between the long and short with as
at its

much emphasis and

precision as the poets and the

were accustomed to do. Oekonomos says,
that many syncopated words extant in both the
poets and the orators give evidence of the fact,
into oT/x,cu and oicrOa., KefiXr)
e.
g. oiOjjiaL and o?Sacr#a
from KefiaXrj instead of /ce^aXr/I crav/ccus from eraorators

/3\a)crKa)

instead of

/xoXtcrAco;

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

from

juecnj/xepia

133

(/*ecr7?/x/Ha),

Aayer^?, Aayo?
other
and numberless
forms, both
dialectic and common to all, as well as those
AaiTiOrjs (Xao-mOrjs),

>),

words resulting from syncope and synizesis, and

these Attic words which, although terminating
a long vowel,
euyews, Me^eXews,

in

accent the antepenult, e. g.

the multietc., show "that

hurriedly and not so

clearly and distinctly the long vowel sounds."

tude pronounced

rather

The circumflex, pronounced somewhat hurriedly,

was confounded easily with the acute, as in the
Homeric, TO pev ov instead of ov or ov, as well as
ovns, transformed into ouns (Od. I. 366).
But the comedians, imitating the common conversation of the people, made many innovations
or changes in the rhythm, at times shortening the

long syllables, then introducing trochaic and

iambic together with anapestic measures, thus
endeavoring to imitate the voluble manner of conversation extant

among

the

common

classes.

modern Greek

asserts that after the language

prime the distinction between the

had passed its

long and short

syllables was much neglected.

of great poets, the absence
the
absence
Finally,
of the theatres, the confusion of dialects, and other

caused the general neglect of quanAbout the year 170 (B. C.) Pausanias, a

like changes,
tity.

pupil of Herodes the Athenian,

somewhat

distin-

134

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

guislied as a

"

stump-speaker," was often blamed

because he confounded long and short syllables,

just as his Cappadocean compatriots were wont
But this did not at all interfere with
to do.

the genuine prosody of the spoken language.

"
Poetical prosody" is one thing and " prosody
of accents" is another.
The former deals with

the quantity of syllables, the latter considers the

The former changes
location of special stress.

with the rhythm of the poem, the latter has a

After " poetical
fixed position in every word.
"

became

prosody

less

the prosody

prominent,

of accent remained an inseparable

Our contemporary poets used

peculiarity.

this as the

founda-

tion of verse-making, dividing the metres of the

verses no more according to quantity, which the

ignorant and unpolished multitude could no longer

appreciate, but only according to the accent and
the

number

so-called

"

of the syllables, from which arises the

popular rhythm," which has a very

close connection with the musical

ancients.

rhythm of the

Those who composed these verses bor-

rowed, so to speak, the peculiarity of this versification from the ancients, i. e. from the trochaic

metre of ^Eschlus' Pers.

*/2 j3aQv(i)vu>v avacrcra

M?J7p

77

Bep^ov

TlepaiSwv vireprarij,

yr)pai,a, 'Xjalpe

Having simply kept the

of fifteen syllables,

e. g.

Aapeiov yvvat.

accents, they

formed verses

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

Tto? Aiveiov

<yvi]crio<$

135

ACTKCIVIOS rrjv

*A7ro Kpeovarjs <yvvaiKbs, TT}? Ovyarpos Ilptafjiov,

Ti]v iroXiv

For

A\j3av

w/crjae

aw

Tot?

reason Eustathius (1118 A. D.) termed

these verses of .fifteen syllables "Jrocliaic verses."
this

Again, Oekonomos says that from the iambic of

Aristophanes, which has two metres, e. g.
dyvwv opyiwv
'

Avaaaa,

Verses of eight syllables were formed, stich as

those composed by Symeon Metaphrates about

1050 A. D.
ATTO p
ATTO j3Se\vpas

ATTO afcaOapTOv
'Etc -^ru^rj? eppu7r(t)fJLV7)<;

Serjaiv

XpLare

And

again, from the same syllables, simply by

changing the accent, the harmony of the verses
was also changed by " <rvvyta$."

Nvv

al Avvafjieis

ovpavwv

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

136

According
>

to the Anacreontic,
>>

171

JLpco re orjTa K

OVK epw

'

fJLaiVOfJLCLi

K 0V

Alexander Apollinarius (350 A. D.) is generally

believed to have been the first who wrote in these
"
so-called
popular verses." He rendered, at any
verse the psalter, and, in fact,
into
hexameter
rate,
of the writings of the Church.
Professor
that
the
states
"d/ca#icrros
vpvos" is the
Sophocles

many
office

of the Virgin, partly read and partly sung,

on the Saturday of the fifth week in

all standing,

And

as Georgius Pisides (A. D. 617) was

the readiest versifier of that period, it has been

Lent.

conjectured that he was the author of the prinThe distinctive portions of this
cipal part of it.
office

are

its

Their rhythm

twenty-four
is

accentual,

ol/cot,
i.

houses,

stations.

e.

OupavoOzv e7r/
Enrelv TTJ
eoroKM TO Xalpe

Kai

aw

Ty aa-cofiarM

2a)/jt,aTovfjievov ere

KOL

<f)a)vf}

Oewpwv, Kvpie,

KnaTO Kpawyd^wv

Trpos avrrjv

However, many scholars suppose that it was

Apollinarius (350 A. D.) who composed this in-

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

Anacreontic verses of similar

JTeyU-7T6T6

TWV

@oa<? aKciTOVS

Aevpo KdXelv

the above the

Compare with

stead of Pisides.

8' ClTT

OLKCiJV,

67T* olB/jia

VO/JLOS ecr

"

137

crvvyias," such as

U.TTVO IGilGl %<f)VpOV,

Xipvas (Evpnr.J

XP OV

'AXiov 7Tpoa-e/3a\V appa (EvpiTT.

Many other examples could be brought to show

that many of the odes, especially of the Church,
are fashioned exactly after many lyric and other
odes of the ancients.

Rhyme, which
is

Greek,

is

recognized

very common in

by

modern

the classical poets,

i.

e.

(Sophocles, Aj. 765, 766)

And
is

"Eyveoica

jap

Kal

TraXata?

TT}?

Sr)

<<HTO<? r)7raTr)iJ.evr],

xa

the following in the "Iliad"

"

what Oekonomos

Ev

fiev Tt?

....

Sdpv

6r)^aa6o)

calls

(,

382),

6/xoioreXevra

which
ets

67)%da6(i), ev 8' currr/Sa 6e<r6<i)

....

6ecr6o)

....

Again, in the "Iliad" (^, 152)

rrj

ACCENT AND QUANTITY.

138

ev
,

Kal vv K

3>i\oio

%e/3crt KO/LUJV

lolai Be TTCLGIV

....

jooio

alOofievoiOy

/2?

(f>aos '.HeA/oto.

.... 'HeX/oto.
"
(<f>,

6ewv 8e

523 - 25)

....

<prjicev

In the " Odyssey"

....

we

e /jurjvis dvrjtcev

edrjice TTOVOV, 7ro\\olai Se

A^iKevs Tpwecrat, TTOVQV Kal

AvrJKev

etrf

/crfSe*

/crJSe'

find instances of

rhyme

147, 148, 111, 112, 125, 126 t, 148 AC, 44

See also Herder's " Ursachen des
604, etc.)

(Od.
X,

i^epov copae yooio.

oBvpo/jievoHnv eSv

"
Again, in the Iliad

Tlacri B

erapoio

vcf)

0,

gesunkenen Geschmacks bey den verschiedenen

Yolkern," etc., pages 278-290, and Sulzer's Dictionary, article

"

Eeim."

CHAPTER

X.

THE ASPIRATE.
THIS is no longer sounded in modern Greek
and if it had any sound at all in ancient Greek
This is
it must have been extremely evanescent.
evident from the fact that Aristotle says,
;

Tlapa Be

TT]V TrpocrcoBiav

\oyoi

fjuev

OVT6 TWV \eyofjiva)v

OVK eicnv ovTe TWV

TrXrjv

el

Tives oX/yot

eo-Ti

TO ov Kara-

'

ofro? o Xoyo?

av, otov
olicia
KTfc?

77

oiKta apa

TavTO

Apaye

vai" OVKOVV TO ov KaTa\vei<s TOV tcaTa\vei<?

vai

'

e<f)r)cra<;

aTro^acrtt?.

a-rj/jLaivei,

Be elvat TO ov tcaTa\veis oiKiav

if2?

Be \VTeov Brj\ov

TO fiev o^vTepov TO Be ffapvTepov

ov yap
prjOe'v.

It becomes evident, therefore, that in the times

of Aristotle, the golden age of Grecian learning,
the pronunciation of the rough ov (ov fcaraXuei?)

differed little

from the pronunciation of the smooth

ov.
It is

probable that the only difference between

the rough and smooth breathing may have been

that it was the custom to turn /c, TT, T into %>
#
<

before syllables which had the rough breathing,

which is still the practice of the modern Greeks,

THE ASPIRATE.

140

whereas before the smooth breathing these consonants remained unaltered. But in the Ionic diausage did not prevail.
In modern Greek, though the rough breathing

lect this difference of

is

not heard,

ceding tenuis

from eV

eros,

it
;

affects the

pronunciation of a pre-

and several compounds,

ptOoLViov for

as

e</>eros

PART

II

CHAPTER

I.

THE ALPHABET.
THE modern Greek

letters, breathings, accents, arid

of punctuation are the same as in classical Greek.

LETTERS.
FIGURES.

marks

CHAPTER

II.

SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS.

A
French a, or like the English a in the
pronounced
words car, far, father, calm.
Schleicher observes that a was frequently represented by e
This is more especially noticed in the dialectic forms:
or o.
like the

is

We

for (3dpaOpov apo-rjv.

have /<Aeos for KAaFas,
epo-fjv
from grdvas, TrAeFw or TrAe'co from pldvdmi, etc. In modern
Greek we have riirora (tepota) for TtVore (tepote).
Geldart gives the form o-Tporo? ov<a ovc^wp^ore = orpaTo? aVa>
/2epe0pov

avcxuprja-e (stratds

have

ah'no anehdrese).

we

In modern Greek

Ka.Taj366pa for KarajSdOpa (katavah'thra), ap^aOid for

6/0-

Schleicher observes that the three terHa6id (ormahthedh).

minations of contracted verbs, -aw, -ew, and o'w were originally

but one,

have

viz. -aw.

common

of the

fyrdei for

teete),

In modern Greek, at least in the language

people, -o>

^ra

and so on.

vvj;

(nix),

always represented by

-duo.

We

(peripa-

Geldart states that a in ancient Greek

seldom weakened into

case in

is

(zetee}, Trepnra.Ta.Tf. for TreptTraretrc

ow

v,

is

yet this appears to have been the

(dnex), KVK\O<S (keklos), /AvAo? (melos),

and a few other words, as /u,vWa (mis'tax), which also appears

in the form /xa<rra
(mdhstax) and fBvOos (vethos), which is
also written fidOos (vdhthos).
In modern Greek we get O-KU(sJcdhphos) or O-KO.^ (shdphe).
the diminutive appellation a^tov, as

^>os (sJcephos) for O-KO-^O?

again,

we have

(hordhpheon), frequently represented by

(zoepheon).

The

ancient Greeks prefixed

(a euphonicum), as d/SA^x/aos (ahvlechros),

\xfriov,

to

So,

as

many words

dcrrac^ts

(astap/us),

SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS.

(ahsterope) for

TJ

(vlechrds), ora^i's (staphis),

/3A,?7Xpo's

In modern Greek we have aftporavov

(sterope).

(ahvrdtanon),

145

(ahvrdmelon) for

d/?pa/i,vAov

/3pa/x,i>Aoi/

(vrdh-

melori), /3pa/?vAov (vrdhvelon).

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
'ASa/uas-,

ahihdmas.

'Ada/xao-roi-,
,

'Ayopavopos, ahghorahnomos.
'AjSpojSaroy, ahvrovahtos.

ahthdhmastos.

dhthos.
/,

"A/3poftos,

'A/So^^roy, ahvoethetos.

aghymton.
,

dhvromos.

ahgrdmatos.

E
>^
is

intermediate between a and

_y

i."

Professor Sophocles states

requires the mouth to be moderately opened and the

breath to proceed horizontally. It is approximately expressed

that

it

by the English e in spend, ferry, or by the French e. In

ancient Greek we have the forms oxfyo's (ochthrds) for e'x#po?
In modern Greek the same forms are still preva(ecthros).
lent.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
ekihekdhzo.

*Ea$or,

ethaphos.

E8a>Xioi/, etholeon.

ekthekos.
e'kthemos.

'EKTrtVa^at, ekpetahme.

ekghenes.

'E/c7reo-(ra>,

e'kthexis.

ekp&so.

'E<7r^8ao>, ekpethdoh.
'EKirivco,

ekgrdhpho.

ekpenoh.

is

word
e,

the English e in the

lil
French
mch i,
t, or like
The followers of Erasmus pronounce 7} as a long
two e's, or as ay, for the following reasons.

pronounced
be.

or like

They say
rj

like the

that in

was introduced

all

the old inscriptions, before the letter

in the

Greek alphabet, we find invariably

AOEN (KOyvuv), MNEMA

BOYAE2 KAEOFENES IIPOTO2, etc.
an

e,

i.

e.:

(/xi/^/xa),

EIII

TE2

SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS.

146

Again, Cratinus wrote /?r) to represent the sound of the

Plato says " OVK rjra. e^pw/xc^a dAAa e TO
TraAcuoV."
Sextus says " o-voraAev TO 77 ytVerat e, ZKTaOtv Se TO

bleating of sheep.

Sextus seems to regard 77 and e as essentially

-yivrjrai rj"
one and the same letter. The other dialects generally express the Ionic

77

by

as, for

e,

instance, /Sao-tA^a, /?ao-iAea, etc.

Finally, the Latin language also renders the Greek 77 by an e.

These are, in short, the reasons which the followers of Eras-

mus bring
long

as their justification for

pronouncing the

rj

as a

Now,

in order that

we may

ascertain

how

the letter

rj

was pronounced by the

a/icient Greeks, it is of the highest

to consider, first, from what letters or sounds rj

importance
has resulted.
a')
1/770-09

from d, especially in the Ionic dialect:

= mo-os (Doric), Sevrcpr; = Sevrepd, etc.

ft)
/xaere,

vrjos

i/dd?,

from ae, especially in the Doric dialect: Ti/wjre = = opae, tfiv from aetv, xprJTai from XP* Tal "tyA-tos,
oprj
;

a-FeAto?.

ac'Ato?,

y} from
8') from

ca
ee

from

^pvcn/, xaA/o;, evyev?;,

877X69, ^ATTI^OJ/,

5A0ov,

^pvo-ea, ^aAKea, evyevea.

from

SceXos (8eFeXos), ee

ov, eeA^ov, etc.

e')

from

'nnroTT),

The

at, especially

fvcpycTr)^

letter

ters, it is

etc.,

among

from

/ecu

the Bosotians:
SeSv'x^at

tTTTrorat,

a scholar says, having resulted from such letevident that it was formerly sounded both as an
77,

(sounded as in be\ which pronunciation prevails among the

modern Greeks, and like the French e,
as in fete, which pronunciation still is prevalent among not
a few of the modern Greeks, as in >7/>o9, Krjp^ov), <T&-r)po(v),

greater part of the

/x.vpi'(ov), o-rrJKw,

e^r/o-a,

instead of ed^Ka,

(l)ir6vr](Ta,

other words which are pronounced just as

po(v) (setheron), Kept(ov) (chereon),

o-re/cw

and many

epds (xeros), o-tof-

(stecho), ZOeo-a (ethe-

Professor Mavrophredes says, the

sa), (e)7roV77o-a (eponesa).
ancient Greeks were wont to pronounce 77 like the French e,

SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS.

147

ay ONLY in those words in which 77

That this pronunciation was general among
the Greeks we have no positive evidence, neither do we
believe that it was so. Again, by the greater part of the
Greeks 77 must have been sounded as the French e (ferme),
that is, as the word KT) = /cat (pronounced /ce). Now, this
as in fete, that

resulted from

is,

like an

cc.

sound of 77 as an e has a closer resemblance to the letters ae,

it comes nearer
ea, at, from which 77 has resulted, and, besides,
to e (pronounced as in be), into which it afterwards passed
among the many. This change of the sound of 77 into an
seems to us to have been in use also in the Homeric times,
is evident from the words tSe = r}8e.
However, this pronunciation of ? as an t became still more prevalent about
i

as

and it must have been very common

Attic dialect, because in no other way
is it possible to explain the statement of Plato in Cratylus,
418, 68 a': "ot /xev apxaioraTOL iptpw rrjv ijw'pav e/caXow, ot 8e
the

fifth

century B.

also in the

ot Se

C.,

common

vw

Kara

rj^pav."

rrjv

Compare

&6(rw T?/?

68008779,

also in

404

8i8ovo-a

"
:

cos

But about the second and third centuries B. C. the pronunas an t became still more prevalent, and was
77

ciation of

generally adopted by all those speaking Greek, as is evident

from the following Hebrew words: Kithim, Levi, Charmi,
Lachis, Schilo, Gilo, Dison, Sihon, Him, which were writ-

ten in Greek by

KT/rt/x, ACVTJ, Xap/XTJ,

^rjw, Hpa?, in which

for i, and, besides, in the

o-wv,

Aa^?,

^T/Xw, F^Xcov, ATT-

we plainly see that was written

MS. of "'YTreptSov" we may often
77

see instances in which

Now, many

is interchanged with t.
77
of the reasons which the followers of Erasmus

bring to sustain their view of the sound of the letter

77

are

To begin with, their argument

by no means conclusive.
line of Cratinus,
the
well-known
concerning
"6
is

5' r)\idios tiairep

irpbfiaTOV

simply inadmissible, for

(3f) j3r)

X^ywv

jSaSt'^iet,"

how do we know

that Cratinus

SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS.

148

pronounced /3rj exactly after the Erasmian style? Again,

even if we admit that Cratinus pronounced fifj exactly as a
follower of Erasmus would have sounded it, what scholar
would be willing to accept the imaginary symbol of the inarticulate bleating of the sheep as the
rest the decision of the question,

ground upon which to

sound did the cul-

What

tured nation of Greece give to the vocal elements of their

language ?
Again, the Latin language renders
reason that it does not have an 77 in

rj

by an

its

for the simple

alphabet.

For

this

reason the Latin has crater for Kparyp and poenia for 71-007px, etc. Again, that 77 and et were very similar in sound is

rendered highly probable by the fact that they were interchanged, e. g. /CT^OS and TT^OS for /cavo?, fiovXrj and /?ov'Aet.
The ^Eolians and Dorians were wont to render by 77 the ei of
other dialects, i.
manner the

like

det'oX dt8o>

by

et

the

(Doric

from

77

e.

/xva/^ov, a-a/x^ov, T^OV, ^*o*'s ^tXi^fw, vo^rw ; in

modern Greeks write d^Swi/ instead of detSojy,

The Boeotians, on the contrary, rendered
(a&V).
of Other dialects,

i.

e. 4>i'Aet/u, yeAet/xt, tcrrei/u, ri'dct/u

dpi (777x1 and ^Eolic e/A/zt and r/u

instead of TTO^TOI?, and so on. Numerous

<i%7/>u, etc.), dyetoxa,

cfu), TTociras

examples might be brought to show the similarity of sound

of 77, et, and i for instance, in Homer we find 7761877, ^TJSet,
;

77t'8et.

Again,

ferent ways,

We

i.

we

find the

e. (T/CCTT^VO?,

same word written

o-KeTmi/os, OVCCTTIVOS

in three dif-

(1X77x775,

dAeu^s,

and
and
and
K(f>aXlvo<;, onra&rjvr]<;
Ka/xaatves, i/cw
(nraOivys, fce/xao-^ve?
and 77/^0), CTACTTTTTO) and OTKCTTTO), Ta7T775 and TOLTTL^ and so on. Now
Ross thinks that the substitution of 77 for e does not prove
that it was sounded like an ay\ for the Latin e, Geldart
and on the other hand
states, very often represented an
tended to become and therefore probably closely resembled
in sound the simple t.
So we have tristes from tristeis, written tristis. We have also the following words written with
et instead of e, i. e. omneis, treis,
parteis, etc.; and not only
dAtT775.

have, again,

o/x,/?pii/os

and

o/nftpyvos, Ke^)aX^i/os

SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS.

so,

149

but in the Byzantine period designatus became in Greek

an inscription found at
(thesegnathos). Ross gives

Sio-iyi/a-ros

which ipoW stands for ^poW. Professor Mullach thinks that the very close resemblance between t and rj
and CTTTJis evident in the parallel forms ^K<O and IKW, eiri'/JoXos
L
be
to
seems
Geldart
lengthened
simply
says,
/?oAos (where 97,
and the ictus), yiyas and
by the combined force of the accent
which two forms we have together in the BatrachoCarpathus

in

yryyei/ris,

myomachia,
Trjyevtuv avdpuv
TTtoas

from

Tn/Saw, ?JSe

and

fUfw^voL fyya yiydvrwv,

iSe.

Plutarch writes Palilia,

translated Kvprjvios, and Scipio into S/

Quirinus
the words /ca/uAos for /ca/^Ao?, eAa/crT/o-e for
though
Again,
cAaKTio-e in the New Testament are no doubt errors in orthogis

Aia.

raphy, yet they show, as Geldart states, the early prevalence

of the confusion of rj with i. Again, the scholiast on Eurip.

us expressly that before the time of Euclides

was used for 77, o for w. These facts conclusively show the

Phoen. 685
t

tells

very early pronunciation of rj as an

t.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
etliekds.

S,

'Hp.povi>KTiov, emeronecteon.
c

H/xe'pa, eme'rdh.

ethos.
,

'H8oi/i7,

ethephonos.

ethone.
,

eletheos.

emeromenea.

'Ho-v^ta, esecheah.
'H/LU'T^TO?, emetmetos.
'H/u/oi>os,

emeonos.

'HfjutiaXrjs,

emethales.

pronounced unquestionably like the French t, or like the

i in the words machine, marine.
Liddell and Scott mention that L was easily interchanged
with et, whence forms like etXw and tAAw. It was also interchanged with or written for 17, and we have instances in the
In fact
parallel forms of ^KO> and TKCU, eVrj/SoXos and c7ri/3oAos.

is

English

SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS.

150

Plato, Nigidius, Quintilian, Dionysitis of Halicarnassus, and

others so plainly indicate the pronunciation of t, that there
can be no dispute in regard to it.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
*lov6os, ionthos.

iothnephes.

s,

ipos.

lir7rop,avr)s,

ippomanes.

OS, ipn6s.

'iTTTro/xa^os,

ippomdhos.

'iTrnonoXos ippopolos.

ipnios.
/js-,

'lmro8p6pt.ov, ippothromion.

ippaste's.

lovXos, ioolos (pron. oo as in moon).

iTTTTGO't/OtOS',

'iTrniicos,

ipptisiwiOS.
,

ioplokamos.

'iTnroXotya, ippolopliia.

O and O
have nearly the same sound, and

this

sound

is

represented

by o in constant.
That we may accurately determine the original sound of w,
we must determine from what letter or letters o> has resulted.
Professor Mavrophedes remarks that w resulted*:
a')

[?)

from

from
from

(o/xoo-a, etc. from 6ovo/xaov, 6)fJio<Ta.

o
resulted
from a i. e. </>epw, Xeyw, etc.
as
just
dma-s / SwSe^a, Sanscr.
Sanscr.
A.e'ya-/u; W/AO-?,
i.

oo,
d,

e.

wvd/xa^ov,

(frepa-fju,

dvdda$CMl / TTTW^O-S (ver.

"

Jahr

/cat ei/ TO)

eTripp^/AariKO) eTTi^e/xart

pfTLKOV dt 7Tpofj\@V)
7TWS,

TW5,

0)9,

Trra^-, TrraK-, TTTT^O-O-W)

i.

S,

OTrep

o>pa,
e/<

Germ.

roO

6. KaX(09, /CttKCOS, O~O<oJ5, TTttl/TOJ?,

etC.

y) from ao n/>tcoyu,V, rt/xao/jtev ^pwvrat, xpaovrou, etc.

atSw, euSoa
S^Xcore, $rjX6r)T.
) from oa and 077
f) from av i. e. a>6i/ from at-tov (whence the modern Greek
av-yoV, ^y), wT-05 from au-ro? (whence the modern Greek avrtov, ear), 7rai\o9 (comp. TO, TraOpo? and paulus), ojAa, Doric rw
:

a^Xa^," etc.

Now we

must

from these examples, as well as from

such as in /coupos, orSpos
o, w, and ov,
wpos (Doric), Kopo?, opos (Attic), and many
infer

the dialectic changes of

(Ionic),

Ktopos,

SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS.

that the letter

others,

151

w did not always have the sound of

long o as in hope, but on the contrary a shorter sound like o

in constant.
different dialectic changes of <D, o, and ov, etc., such as
and
/xowos instead of Kopos and yuoi/os, are still common
Koupo?
in modern Greek. "We have, also, the forms rpayovSw for r/>a-

The

ywSw, rpayovSio-TT/s for TpuywSicrrrjs, etc.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
"Ob?,

'{}0r/u,os, othismos.

ozos.

'O^O'OTO/ZOS, ozostomos.

'fl^eco, otf/ieo.

*Oap, oar.

'QS/s,

"Oapor, oahros.

'Q/ZTJOTT^, omestes.

ovelias.
s-,

o/m.

'%ioXti/oz/,

omolinon.

'QXti/ir^y, olenites.

oymos.
othermah.

""O/iiXXa, 6millah.

othermos.

'Q/xta?,

'Qdvprrjs, othertes.

omias.

'QXfo-iVapTroy, olesikarpos.

Y
is

pronounced

like the

French

or like the English

in

machine, marine.

The most
that of the

Afterwards

French

The

ancient pronunciation of v was certainly like

w, or like the diphthong 0w.

German and Latin

it

deteriorated into that of the

German

u,
acquired the sound of i.
old pronunciation of the letter v as the

and

at last

u,

or the

it

German u

is

numberless modern Greek words, and it is

preserved
especially prevalent among the modern Athenians who pronounce ra-vpa instead of Kvpa (Kvpia) ro-vXicrrpa = KtAiVrpa, etc".
in

In

many

instances, as

Professor

Mavroph redes

original pronunciation of the letter v as ov

\pOV(TOL(f>L

XpV(T(i<f>lOV,

KpOVO-TttXAoV

still

= KpVVTaXoV,

states,

prevails,

KOVpKOVTL

(from Kvp/caw, KVKaoo), etc.

v
Again, the forms Spc'o?, Spvov (Hes. Epy.), /xoXt/3o? and
instead of
\v/38u.ivai (IA. W, 80), rpv^oXaa (Horn.)
KOJTOV

the
i.

e.

SOUNDS OF THE VOWELS.

152

well as the words

//.vorrtAAw and /ufrrv'AAw, /urvXo? and

and ruAttro-w, /SvfiXos and /Ji'ySAo?, PVTTTOJ and ptVrw,
0tov and i/a/x,i#iov, Trvo-Tcs and TTIO-TIS show how easily v was exchanged with t, and that the pronunciation of u as an t was
lA. v(7(7(o

not unknown to the ancients.

tion of v as an

century B. C.

was

we

still .more

find in

In Asia Minor the pronunciacommon, and about the sixth

"Sappho" and

"

Alcaeus" the forms

instead offtyofy in/r^Aos, V7rcp, virap.

M/fos, i^Ao?,
of
v as a long t, which was so comthe
Now,
pronunciation
mon in Asia Minor, began at an early period to spread into
iTrep, iTrap, etc.,

Greece, so that it became prevalent about the birth of Christ,

as is evident from the coins of Augustus (15 A. D.), of Tibe-

A. D.), and Nero (69 A. D.), in which we find HPOKPITI A$POAY2IA2 instead of n/ao/cptrot 'A<poS7ias. Again,

rius (37

'lovAia Se/Scurrov

Hyarryp instead of

vydrrjp

IMP.

NERO

Aug. P. M.; EYTHIMIYS (= Eu^tos), etc. Here we

may also remark the pronunciation of t and r) as an i.
Ca3sar

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
"YX^, He.

'YoTrpwpoy, ioproros.

Yios, i-6s.

'Yo,3oo-Koy, iovoskos.

O?, i-etos.
),

ilakdo.
s,

ietomantis.

'Y/jLvrjTrjpios,

imneterios.

'YXoro/xos, ilotomos.

CHAPTER

III.

DIGRAPHS.
PROFESSOR MAVROPHREDES claims that

originally

they

diphthongs, each having resulted from two different VOICES, but pronounced as " one syllable," except when-

were

all

oto/xat, oiw cv, ei5,

had the position and
On this supposition, he asserts, we
force of a consonant.
can easily explain the cutting off of t and v from eidv, atei', at-

ever they were purposely separated,

The

duo, cuwi/.

following vowels

KCU<D, TTOtew, 'AA/caics,

i?,

resulted
(.^Eol.),

and

e.

i.

dAr/$eta, C7rr/ceud(jo, cTrccrKevao-ev,

yawiyxat, KpaiTrdAry, TroAvKAeiros,

eav,

dei,

eiAwres,

from which

doT^r/Aos, /caw, Troew (Att.), "AA/cao?,

7novceFda>), AcarecrKeao-er/ (CK TOV

(from

eTTtcTKed^a)

(TKFacrev), ea/xept?

(e/c

TOV cFa^ept?,

RoSS

insc. ined. 746), ydvv-

(from yaFi/v/xai, verb yav, yaF, Latin gaudeo), as well as

the Latin crapula, Polycletus, Helotes. In like manner from
In later years the sep//.e#ww, oTrvto), we have /xe$v<o, OTTVOD.
IJLO.L

arate vowels of the diphthongs were blended, so that they

to be pronounced like the Latin or German
ce (a),

came

became simple "monophthongs."

]]iit this change from
"diphthongs" to "monophthongs"
prevailed even in the times of Homer, because we have
ce

(o),

and

#,

and

TroAArJfri,

etc.

finally

$6770-1,

eve/oyeT?/?,

tTTTroTCU,

evepyerats,
etc., in

instead

of

/cotAaio-i,

TroAAatcr^,

in the Boeotian dialect

we have

ta/cart^?, ^ett?;?, Trs,

ypd^eo-^,

of

etc.,

Furthermore

SeSo^^T;,

et^o?, Tavayp^o?,

8ta/cariai5,

^etAtat?,

rat?,

etc.,

instead

Karao-KCvdcro-af,

which examples we plainly see that the

154

DIGRAPHS.

diphthong at is no longer a-t, but has fallen into an 77 or e,

and in later years it naturally acquired the sound of epsilon.

About the third century B. C. diphthongs had entirely become monophthongs, just as they are to-day with the modern
Greeks. We will now proceed to examine each DIPHTHONG
separately.

CHAPTEE

IV.

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

M
is

pronounced precisely

like

an epsilon, or like the English

in the first syllable of example.

was pronounced by the ancients like an e is

many words which are ordinarily
written with cu, in some cases for the sake of brevity, are
written with e, e. g. auopos (Plato) = ewpos, in II. #, 26
1)

That

at

evident from the fact that

"
A.r)aai/j.r]v,

in like

for

ra S

manner we have

e'oAAu),

eoAew.

"T
J

K' ai/re

p,TT|Opa TrdvTa yevotro

aio'AAw, atoAo?, in

"
;

Homer and

"
See also Homer's " Iliad

/?,

749

Pindar,

d"]i>irjves ZTTOVTO /jLeveirToXe/Aoi re IIepcu/3oi,"

where 'En^ves stands for Aiviave?. Again, we have <aiviVSa

and </)evtoA.77s, i/^e/ca? and i/^atKa?, dvcoyatov
cf>aLi>6\'r}<;
and dvwyeoi', Tt^opata and Tt^opea (an old name of a city in
Bceotia), XevKaua and A.VKea, aKTttta and d/crea, etc.
2) In prosody at at the end of a word is short, also in
scansion before a vowel. In such cases it could not have
been sounded as a diphthong.
for <ej/iVSa,

3) The translators of the Old Testament (280 B. C.) always render the long e of the Hebrews (tzere) by at, i. e.
Bat^X = Jletkel, Gen. xii.; at/xai/ = Theman, Gen. xxxvi. 11;
XatXwi/ = Chelon, Num. i. 9; Ati/dV = Enan, Num. i. 15; AtAet/x
= Elim, Exod. xvi. 1 etc.
;

4)

The poet Callimachus (250 B.

C.)

in

one of his

epi-

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

156
grams

distinctly represents the echo in v-a^i answering

),

TOVTO

avye vai\i

/caXos, /caXos

dXXa

by

irpiv eli

ffa<pu/s, TJ

5) Inscriptions of the second century B. C. bear KC 7reoi/ra5,

Kara/are, instead of KOL Trat^oi/Ttt?, Trai^ovTOJj/, KaraKetrat.

7reoi/Ta>i/,

6) Dionysius of Halicarnassus (30 B. C.) translates the

Latin Prcenestini by IIpej/eo-T^i/ot, and Strabo renders the

same by

npatveorti/ot.

In the Syriac translation of the Gospels at is rendered

the
long Syriac e in the words Kaicrapeta, npamopiov, 'Y//,eby
7)

vato?, etc.

On some

8)

coins of Nero, 69 A. D. (Occo. p. 13),

IIoTrTrEa instead

9) at

cegithus

of

rendered by

is

we

find

IIoTrTrata.

ce in

the Latin,

alytOo^ cegophtalmus

i.

e.

cegilops

atytAco^,

atyo^^aX/xo?, celurus

a.1-

cenigma = au/tyyua, balcena <aA.atVa, hycena vawa.

10) In Greek inscriptions belonging to the Roman period
we find representing at and vice versa.

Xovpos,

11) Plutarch indicated the true pronunciation of at by

rendering the Latin fenestra by the Greek <a/rrpa, Fenestella

3>a/o-T'AA.a(s).

12) Finally, Sextus (190 A.D.) distinctly asserts that the

sound at and ct "is simple and uniform": "'ETTCI ovv 6 TOV at

So also in Sanscrit
= bharatai =
bharate
vaida, ve$as
vai$as,
an
as
French
ai
is
In
e, e. g. mais,
^epcrat.
pronounced
etc.
Franqais, Anglais,
Kat

ci

<$oyyo? airXovs

etrrt

/cat

/xovoet8>Js."

we have veda =

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Am<o,

edzo.

Alicifa, ekizo.

Alavfjs, eane's.

Ai'Xii/oy, e'linos.

Aipeo-i?, eresis.

Ai'0o>, etho.

AiaKtSr;s, eakUhis.

AWovo-a, ethoosa.

At8c'o/iai, ethe'ome.

AiQioTris, ethiopis.

ethe'mon.

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

is

like

pronounced

follows

If

it.

is

it

157

of or av according to the letter which

followed by 6, , <r, T, then this digraph is
but before y, 8, A, v, p, and before vowels

sounded like af';

and other digraphs it is pronounced like av.
1) That the pronunciation of the diphthongs av, ev, and or,
in use by the modern Greeks, was the original pronunciation
of the ancient Greeks is evident from the fact that the v of
these diphthongs in many instances resulted from F (v), or
rather it occupies in many instances the place of F (v) e. g.
;

instead of

avo>s (^Eol. fas)

/caieiv, Aa/xTreiv,

O.FUTOS.

raFos, vaos; avros

=
The same

also /cAavVoo

aFros.

found in an inscription on the Island of Delos,

= TraFpos. In the*
Travpos (Lat. parvus) from TrapFo?

"Iliad"

X eva

in

from the root aFs or Fas;

like manner resulted from

A modern Greek scholar gives

KAaFtrto, vavos (^Eol.)

is

have

avo? (dry)

the same root.

word

avo-co?,

also

(77,

e ^ at

86)

we have

= X

^X eFa

e/F(Jt)

'

^evoxrtv (the aorist subj. of

'

X^Fat

'

evKi^Xos

F>oyXo9

Fa/c, whence Professor Mavrophredes says

We get e/cwi/, aFeicwi/, e/c^ri, dFcM^rc, ?yKa, ^/cicrro?, etc. ev^o/jiaL =
= Fexo/xat
= tFpos, from the root Fa (Fa), whence
i!/>o9
F^o/x,at

(from the root vaK,

we have

also avpa

Again, we have

and

ovpos, as

ftovXr)

well as

(^Eol. j36X.\a)

ovptog.

from the ancient /3oXFa

yowo? from SopFos = SoFpos yovFos = yoFi/os

ovAos (= oAos) from oAFos = oFAo? (Sanscr. sarva-s]\
= voFaros Kovpos and Kovprj (Ionic) = Ko
(^ocros) from vocrFo?
from KopFos, KOpFr; = KoFpo?, KoFprj, etc.
/cop>7
/3oFA.a, Sovpo?,

2)

The Latin language renders the diphthongs

by the monosyllables av and

i.

e.

favo = <avw
Plutarch) Travpo?, by
(Aava>)

ptvo? (^a^wptj/o?,

ew,

evoi,

evdV

and

transposition

(and by another transposition pravus).

also

av

cavneas =

evoe, eva^,

evax; E&os,

parvus

Oekonomos

Emus ;

gives

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

158
Evander ;

Sev^pos, 2e/%>os, Severus ;

Yirg., Ovid).
3) The translators of the

Aavo?,

Davus

(Plant.,

Old Testament about the third

century B. C. render the Hebrew vav sometimes by (3, sometimes by v, e. g. Aa/2tS and AaviS, ACVTJ = X/evi. And, vice
versa, the v of av and cv the Syriac translator of the New

Testament (about the first century A. D.) renders by vav.

Furthermore, many biblical names, such as Eva, AaviS, Evayare rendered in Latin Eva, David, EvanyeAiov, EvoSt'a, etc.
gelium, Evodia, etc.
" Cum M. Crassus exer4) Cicero writes (Divin. 11, 40)
citum JSrundisii imponeret, quidam in portu caricas Cauno
:

advectas vendens,

monitum db
turum,

si

CAUNEAS

clamitabat.

Dicamus, si placet,
: non
fuisse peri-

eo Crassum, caveret, ne iret

omini paruisset"

Comp. Pliny

(Hist. Nat.

XV.,

Professor Mavrophredes says: "A^Xov, on TO ovopa Cauneas (e. g. Kaweias icr^aSas) ev ir) MeyaAr/ 'EXXaSt 6/xo^>^oyyws TTJ
19).

<f>pdo-L

The

CAV(E)NEEAS ^ow w? /ca/co? oluvos e^eA,^^."

followers of Erasmus to sustain their pronunciation of

av bring forward that line of Aristophanes written to represent the barking of dogs. Now, it is curious to consider

Erasmus always call the sounds of animals to decide any points of Greek pronunciation. For instance, when they wish to settle the sound of (3, they bring
the well-known lines of Cratinus written to represent the
that the followers of

bleating of the sheep ; when they would fix the sound of ot,
they bring that line of Aristophanes written to represent the
grunting of hogs ; and now, between the hogs and the sheep,

they let loose the dogs to decide by their barking the sound
of av. To what a degradation the followers of Erasmus have
brought the divine language of Plato
!

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Before
Av6evTT)s, afthe'ntis.

0.

Av^/zfpo?, afthe'meros.

At'&S/^s-, afthepsis.

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

Before

Avgirpocpos, afxitrophos.

vgdvai, afxdno.

Before

Avgopeioxris, afxomiosis.

or.

O, afsteria.

easy afstale'os.

Before
AvrdpeaKos, aftdreskos.

159

Ava-rrjpos, afsteros.

r.

qftdrhis.

Before

y.

Before

8.

errjs, afteretis.

Avyovaros, dvgoostos.

Avyf], avge.

Avdfj, avthe.

avthdzome.

Before

AuSara, avfhdta.

X.

Ai/AwS/a, avlothia.

Av\ovp6s, avlourds.

AiiXos, avl6s.

Before
Avpiov, dvrion.

p.

avrizo.

Avpipdrrjs, avrivdtes.

Before Vowels.
Avevuav, avenion.

avereo.

6s, avilds.

Before Diphthongs.
aveno.

EY
is

likewise pronounced like e/or ev.

Before

^, K, f,

TT,

tr,

T,

<,

sounded like ef. Before y, S, 4> ^i f- *

^,
diphthong
and
before
and
vowels
p,
diphthongs, it is pronounced like ev.
the
Concerning
antiquity and genuineness of this pronunciaI/A

tion

this

is

we spoke

in detail

when

treating of the diphthong av.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Before
Ev6d\a}jLos, efthdlamos.

EvOdXavaos,
Before

efkdrthios.

0.

efthdlassos.

Ev0a\7rys, eftlialpis.

K.

EvKardyvoxj-ros, efkatdgnostos.
,

efkatdstatos.

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

160

Before

Evevoy,

Eveoroy,

efxenos.

Before
EwfTrXoy, efpeplos.

EvoraXqy,

efstatUs.

or.

efstraphis.

E>7r7rroy, efpeptos.

<r.

efstalis.

Before
fjs,

Evgrjpavros, efxirandos.

EvnevOfpos, efpentheros.

Before
fis,

efxestos.

EiW^avoy,

Evrperrros, eftreptos.

Before
v^pow;, e/rtfm.

efstephanos.

T.

Ei/rp^Toy, eftritos.

|).

Ev^wi/oy, ejfowos.

E^^wparoy, e/6ratos.

Before x-

E^apty, efharis.

efhdlkotos.

s,

Ewye,

Before

x|/.

Before

-y-

Ev^apio-r/a, efharistia.

efpsdmathos.

Etyrjtys, efpsiphis.

Before
EvSta, evtMa.

EvyaQfa

EvyXjyi/os, evglenos.

ev^fg.

evgathis.

8.

Evfiia/Saros, evthidvatos.

EvSiaftdhos, evthidvolos.

Before

E^Xoy,

Ev^copoy, evzoros.

evzelos.

Before
Ev\ip.vos, evlimenos.

|*.

Ev/xe'Xai/oy,

evmelanos.

v.

Evvis, e'vnis.

Before
Evpercoy, evreteos.

EuXoyoy, evlogos.

EfyieWrqy, evmene'tis.

Before
evnia.

e'vzonos.

X.

Et/Xoytoroy, evlogistos.

Before
Evpfyedrjs, evmeye'this.

Evfavos,

Etfi^/ia,

evnema.

p.

Evprjpa, evrema.

Evpeo-tre^i/oy, evresUechnos.

Before Vowels and Diphthongs.

E#a#Xoy, evathlos.
EvaifjLuv, evemon.

Euaepoy, evderos.

EvaSe, evathe.

Evaio-drja-ia, evesthesia.

Eva/a^i/roy, evesthetos.

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

161

HV

&

and 10 before
has the sound of if before 0, K,
w, er, r, <, x>
That yv
and
vowels
and
before
v,
diphthongs.
A,
8,
,
p
/*,
y,
,

and <ov were originally pronounced exactly as they are to-day

by the modern Greeks is evident from the fact that yv and
<ov are simply the Ionic forms of av and cv
yp^s, vrjvs, owros
= ypavs, vaus, avros dav^a, etc. It is, therefore,
Owvjjia (Ion.)
evident that the pronunciation of yv and o>v closely resembled
:

that of av, and

ev.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
s.

is

pronounced

before

y, 8,

&

like

A,

NT/Cff, nefs.

of before

/x, v,

p,

0, K,

YI and

w, o-, r,
x? ^ and like ow
vowels and diphthongs.

also before

<^>,

YH

are pronounced exactly like the modern Greek t or like the

English i in machine. Homer almost always makes the vt in
the word vtos a short syllable, e. g. II. & 130 8, 473 77, 47 ;
;

Again, the correctness of the modern Greek pronunciation of these vowel-combinations is supported by the two

p,

575.

forms of the words

//.0vo>

and

OTTVW,

which are

also written

Professor Mavrophredes asserts that this cannot be otherwise explained than by the assumption that the

oTTutw.
/xeflvajo,

words

pcOviia, oTn/tw,

mo? originally were pronounced yae^'w,

oTTijw, t>jos; afterwards the j (i) was cut out, especially between two vowels.
have many instances of this, and

We

day the modern Greeks pronounce //.vya = /w;"a, mea.

Finally, in old inscriptions, as well as on coins, the noun vto?

to this

is

very often written

VL

vos,

from which

it

becomes evident that

I.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Yios, e6s.

'Y^rroy, etos.

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

162

OY
is

pronounced exactly

like the

French ou or

like the

English

oo in the word moon.

The diphthong

ov

to this day with the

some

was originally a monophthong, as it

modern Greeks, and was pronounced

dialects like an o or like the Latin u.

from the

This

is

is

in

evident

and eighth centuries

simply by an o. Again,

fact that in the sixth, seventh,

B. C. the ^Eolians used to render ov

we have many

instances in which ov is rendered in different

= Kvpt'Stos = Kvptos ;
an
v, e. g. Kovpt'8tos (Homeric)
by
=
=
=
avovXto.
dcrvA.ta.
)
KOvpwOfiCL
ov8(Dp
vSoop
KvpwOf)
dialects

Again, the Latin and Semitic

Greek by

is

invariably rendered in

'lovVto?, Bpovros, ^c;

Finally, the fact that ov is never written separated into two sounds (ov), as we occasionally find ai), ev, a,
ot, etc., is a proof, Professor Mavrophredes believes, that ov
e. g.

ov,

'lovSas, 'IovS<uos, etc.

TOS, 'lov'Atos.

was a monophthong even

Greek language.

in the pre-historic period of the

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
oosia.

sj

Ov&Trorf,

oothe'pote.

Oudere/jwy, ootheteros.

ooteros.
ootesis.

01
is

pronounced

like oe in

ceconomy, or like an English

e.

Oekonomos thinks that it was sounded in some dialects as

ov = u Italian or like the Latin ce, and in some as the French

passing into i. This is highly probable from the fact that

the JEolians used ot instead of et, e. g. oVoi/oo?, oVetpos.
1) The Latin language renders ot by ce, e. g. (Eta = Otra,
Croesus = Kpoto-o?, CEnops = Olvoi]/, GEdipus - OtStVov?, (Eneus
= Oti/ev?. Professor Mavrophredes says that the diphthong

was at an early period pronounced among the ancient Romans just as the German o, and consequently 02 became, or
ce

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

passed into an

CB

yj

This

(e).

fact that Quintilian says

"
:

163

highly probable from the

is

CE scribendum

esse

non prqfe-

rendum, omnes edocent"

2) The Alexandrian, the Copt, and the Latin translators
of the Bible from the third century B. C. to the third century A. D. always render the Hebrew o by means of the

Greek

ot,

and, vice versa, they render

ot

by means of

Now, that oc had also the sound of v, which is still

among the modern Greeks is highly probable from
ment of

o (ce).

prevalent
the state-

Thlicyd., B. 54: "'Ei/ ru>Se TW /cat/ow ota etKo's, avpvrr

rovSe rov CTTOVS <j>d(TKOVT<; ot 7rp<rj3vTepoi aSeo-$ai.

o-&r]<rav KOL

'"Hei
eycVero

fj^kv

ow

5w/jta/c6s iroXefnos Kai Xotp-bs #/* avrtj),'

epi? rots di/^pwTrots

/AT)

AOI/AW

a>vo/x,ao-$at ev

rw

tTret

TWV TraXatwv, aAAa Xijidv ei/c/cryo-e 8e eTTt roO Trapwros XOL/JLOV

So that it becomes evident that there existed beftpqtrOau"

VTTO

and At/^os a SAMENESS of sound, and not an

of
Now, of all sounds the one which
meaning."
identity
has a closer resemblance to t, or rather an identity of sound
tween

Act/no?

"

with

it, is

v,

judging also from the

fact that

Demosthenes

(fourth century B. C.) writes 'AvejaiVas instead of 'Avt/xo/ras,

and from many other examples which we noticed when

treat-

ing of the letter v we must infer that the letter v in several

dialects was written instead of ot, and hence it is evident

was equal to ot or t (ot = v = t). Again, that ot at an

early period had exactly the sound of a simple t is evident
from the fact that about the first century B. C. we find writthat

it

ten on a coin of Julius Caesar, IQNI2TH2 for OIQNI2TH2.

Again, on another coin of Augustus we find ZIPOKPITI for

HPOKPITOI.

AtW

6 Kao-o-tos

^OvX.7TLKLOV<S
O-O.I/TO

TrpocrprjiJia

iro0iK<xs
7j

t;

" OTt

e/c

r>}?

relates that

rovr e^ovres, dAX'

o/Maw/Ma? ^o-e^ow."

also that

Nero

irOlT]TlKOl fK TTpOJOVdiV

oirj

period was pronounced as

v
t.

t,

et?

(60 A. D.) killed

tTTLKaXoVfJieVOl OVK

TO.?

two
67TCW-

rov Nepwvos vtKas ras

= v,
plainly see ot

Now, we

because confessedly v in that

About the second century A. D.

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

164

on some coins of " 'AvrawVov rov Tliov " the word et/coo-Tov is
ot, and the noun 'Avroovtvos four times is
found written by et (ANTONEINO2), hence it results that
ot = et = t, etc.
four times written

that

Now,

subscriptum of the

a, #,

was always

a>

silent is

evident from the statement of Strabo (about the birth of

u IIoAAot
^oopis rov t ypcu^oixrt ras SoTt/cas /cat e/c/^aAwhich the " <ucrt/cr/i/
XOVO-L ye TO e$os <frvo~iK.r}v airiav OVK ex ol/ '"
airtav OVK e^oi/" simply means that it was unpronounced.

Christ)

Again, that the t subscriptum, long before Strabo, was silent

we may conclude from the way the ancient Romans rendered
the words tragcedus, comcedus, citharcedus, ode^ rapsodus^
prosodia, palinodia, herons, patrons, in which the simple

sound of o

is

equivalent to the Greek w.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
,

wkathe.

Oi/cos, cckos.

QtKeioTrpayia, cekeopragia.

E,
English i in the words machine,
pronounced
a time in which CL was pronounced
was
there
That
as e-t, appears from the statement of Plato, Cratyl. 402, e
like the

is

marine.

" Toi/ ovv

ap\ovTa r^5 8wa/x,ea>s Tavrrjs Oeov wvo/>iao-e Iloo-eiSwva, ws
iroo-C-8-o-|i.ov oi/ra, TO 8e e eyKetTat to-tos cvTrpeTreias ei/e/ca."

However, the et at a very early period passed into the pronunciation of a simple e, judging from the fact that et was
rendered by * in the Latin language, e. g. Nilns = NetXo?,
crocodilns

rotonia =
eXeyeta,

K/oo/coSetAos,

XetpoTovta,

litania =

Epaminondas

spira -

AtTavei'a.

o-7retpa,

Chi-

'E7ro,/xetvoSv8a5,

ironia =

etpw^eta, elegia

In a Latin author

we

find

"
:

quoqne apnd antiques post E pronebatnr, et El diphthongum

fo.ciebat, quani pro omni I longa scribebant, more antiquo
Grcecornm" Again, that et had the same sound as even
t,

rendered highly probable from

the fact that in the very best period of the Latin language

among

the ancient

Romans,

is

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

i

was substituted

Thus we have

for ei.

idus,

the older forms being eidus, preimus, etc.

Greeks, on the other hand, often rendered the

by

e. g.

ct,

eiSovs, ei8ots

et

as a simple

Homer

find in

primus,

The

etc.,

ancient

i of the Latins
Plutarch translates the words idus, idibus by
(older form eidus). The very ancient identity of

the sound of

we

165

eiScbs,

is

ei8ma

established from the fact that

(II. p,

128

t,

fa

263

Od.

a,

428, etc.), as well as 28vZd (II. <r, 380, 482 ; v, 12 ; Od. ^ 92,
have t8vios, "Svoe, as well as e'Suot. Again,
etc.), t short.

We

we

and
and

and yiW
and
fpiKrj) <7Ti/5os
crn'/Jos, 8eto>
^u-at, Aet^ci)
At^co, epet'/oy
and Siw, Trei&o and TU^W, <#etp and ^>^lp, and so on.
Plamoudes relates that ^Esop (572 B. C.) pronounced crei
= t).
just as o-v (v
find the forms et/ceXos

and

t/ceXos, yetVo/xai (II. K)

Aristophanes (450 B. C.) has a pun in

we

find

a\\o t/xartov;"

The

(Boeotian,

SiaTreivw/xei/)

fjieipaKvXXiov t/xaTtOKAeTrrryv ev
err

Sicwi-ai/a/Aes

and 810,73- u/o/z/. In Diogenes Laertius

another pun on dAA.' t/xartov and aAet/A/xartoi/ " 'I8wv

instead of

TW

y^aAavcto) l^ry,

'cV aX^i^aTiov

fj

translators of the

Old Testament rendered the Hebrew

dim by the Greek atAeiJu,, and in several other old Greek passages we find TrpwTOTOKta and Trpcororo/feta, TrapayetWrai and
ap<rets and
aptrt?, vct/co? and VIKO?.
Dionysius
of Halicarnassus clearly regards not only et but also at and
av and 01 "as undivided syllables," or, in other words, considers them as simple monophthongs.
Strabo renders by et
the Latin *, e. g. Ligeris, Aetpry? (XcnVe), Liris, Aetpts. The

TrapaytVercu,

Syriac translator of the Gospels renders a by t, e. g. iki =

In the New Testament we find erm and evri, vTJo-rets and
VCLKOS

and

The

VIKOS,

etc.

writer Athena3us says of the Attic courtesan Thais

(third century B. C.)

C7T6 TtS

O.VT'TJV

rjpOJTO,

TTOL

ats Trpo? ypao-wva

7TOp7;Tat,

Thais, whilst saying Atyet

meant

atyt (= ypao-wvt);

the pun

is

166

SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

'

in the similarity of

sound between a and

as Eustathius

t,

says (Bas., p. 367). Plutarch translates the Latin i by a, e. g.

Lusitania, Avcrmxveia ; Honor i/^Qvupti, Pinarii, Ileii/apioi.

On

a papyrus

ciens poetes

musee

(-n-a/aa

Grecs,

Latronne)
tires

d"*un

we

royal, Paris, 1841

others the same

word written

find at times "eVi</>" and at

"eVei</>,"

the similarity of sound between

Familiares, IX. 22) says
tii

ad cum

dicimus ?

'

"
:

Fragments inedis d'anpapyrus appartenant au

and

ei

thus demonstrating
Cicero (Epist. ad

t.

Cum

BINI

loquimur TERNI nihil flagiobscenum est, greeds quidem

Nihil est ergo in verbo / quando et ego grcece

tamen tibi dico, RINI, idque tufacis, quasi ego grcece
non latine dixerim" Hence it is evident that /3iW had the
same sound as bini. Nigidius says " Grcecos non tantce ininquies.
scio, et

arcesso qui OY ex O et Y scripserunt, quantce qui EI

et I ; illud enim inopia facerunt, hoc nulla re coacti."

scitice

ex

and inscriptions words have been found

which are also written with t, i. e. TPIHOAEI-

Finally, on coins

written with

TON, ETEIMH2EN, NEIKH, ArPinHEINA^, TEIMHTH2,

2ABEIN02, AOrrEINA, NEIKO2TPATOS, XEAEIAONI^,
NEIKOIIOAEITON, etc. Notice also the Boeotian forms
dveyeipt, XaXt?, etc^

instead of

etc.
di/cyetpa, AaXets,

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION,
ty,

eameni.

Elpaweia, eronia.

EipKTrj, erkte.

LIB RA K Y
UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA.
CHAPTER

V.

THE CONSONANTS.
B
is

pronounced

like

v in vase.

Latin

They

b.

The

Erasmus

ft

of the Greek words not by v, but by

that verse of the Comedian Cratinus,

ft

in

followers of

was, origin ally pronounced like the

claim that the ancient Romans rendered the

maintain that the letter

which (they say)

it is

b.

Again, they quote

evident that Cratinus and his fellow-

citizens, the Athenians, pronounced the ft as a #, and rj as an e,

because the sheep in bleating say not /ft} (according to the
pronunciation now prevalent in Greece), but bee, be. They

claim also that Cicero wrote in one of his letters that the

Greek fiivei has the same sound as the Latin bini. These
seem to me to be the only reasons which the followers of
Erasmus bring to sustain their pronunciation of the letter ft.

Now,
words

Romans represented the ft of many Greek

own v. Oekonomos brings the following

the ancient

like their

volo ; /?6o>, /?to>, /JtFco, vivo; y?tora,

voro; ft6pa, vorax; /iWvw, venio (perhaps this is derived from /?e'o>, whence we have /3eto/>tat =
/Saw, /?aiW>, /5evco)
/?aSo>, Vddo / ftia (/?is, Fie, ??), VIS / i/ii/r
The ancient Greeks used also to renvi/?o?, nix nivis ; etc.

examples:

vita;

ft6\w,

/2e'Aco,

ftopw, ftopos,

der the v of the Latins by /?, for instance Valentianus, BaSeverus, 2e/3r}po5; Octavius, *OKray8tos; Veturius,
Aventini, 'A/Sej/r^ot (Plutarch). In a few instances
;
:

THE CONSONANTS.

168

the v was rendered in Greek by ov; for instance, Varro =

Bappwv or OvdppiDv (this latter peculiarity is for the sake of

euphony, Ovappwv being more euphonic than Bappon/).

From what has been said it appears probable that in the
old Latin tongue (which may be termed either the daughter
or the sister of the .^Eolic dialect), so long as the pronunciation of the emigrant ^Eolians remained unaltered, so long the
letter b was pronounced exactly as the modern Greeks pro-

But afterwards, the Latin language being

/?.
the
other
tribes of Italy,
tribes which were
adopted by
barbarous and hence unacquainted with Grecian phraseology,
nounce

their

the pronunciation became rather harsh and rough, as their

manner of speaking, and hence among them the Greek J3

gradually degenerated into the sound of b. To this reason,

as a modern Greek states, must be attributed the fact of the
use of b instead of
i.

e.

v, as is often seen in ancient inscriptions,

bixit instead of vixit, serbus instead of servus, amabile

and benemeritus instead of amavile and venemeritus. In

one of the laws of Numa which has been preserved by, Festus we read Jobis instead of Joms.
Traces of the pronunciation of

ft

are to be found in the Spanish language,

vene, vestia, for bene, bestia;

the so-called Gascons.

and

i.

e.

in

French, especially among

But Jacob Creatin, one of the most

devoted followers of Erasmus, in his "De Sono Literarum

Gragcorum" admits that the ancient pronunciation of (3 was
not so

"ei/Tovos Kat fiofjiprjpa

"

as the present.

Liddell and Scott likewise admit that the pronunciation

was softer than our #, like the Spanish or modern Greek for

As for Cicero's statement, no one can assure us

that the letter b had in his time exactly the pronunciation
now prevalent among the followers of Erasmus. Again, it is
instance.

probable that Cicero wished simply to show the similarity

which exists between these two words, as respects the length

of the syllables (in pronouncing). And, as a scholar affirms,

two words were not pronounced by Cicero in a speech,

these

THE CONSONANTS.

169

but simply written in a letter, whence it may result that

Cicero wished simply to show the analogy in writing which
exists between these two words, rather than their sound or

As

pronunciation.
"'05'
it is

for the

TjXidios &<rirep irp6(3aroi>,

evident that Cratiims used

it

77 fir)

Xtyw

padifa,"

because he had no other

by which he could express the sound made by a sheep.

For the same reason Aristophanes, when he would represent
the noise made by pigs, wrote KOI, KOI (instead of got, goi\
because the Greek language has no letter so harsh in sound
And when Aristophanes would represent the croaking
as #.
letter

o^he
keksf
wrote
fore

it

frogs,

Or,

Do the frogs ever say vreJcJcerepresent the cackling of hens, he

the hens make such a sound ? There-

he wrote /?peKe*e.

when he would

Do

Tiri/co/xTTpou.

seems to

the sound of

ft

me
by

that

it is

absurd to attempt to determine

to represent the bleating of

word used

sheep. For we must confess that the attempts to render the

"
noises of animals by the articulate sounds of /xepoVan/ dv#pware very unsatisfactory.
Now, if we consider that the

TTOH/"

in

Greek

Aa/3tS

by

Comum,
coin of

fiav,

that the

name of F (vau) was written

Hebrew bau was rendered in the noun

ft that Strabo (p. 213, c) renders the Latin

NO^OV/XKO/XOV/X,

Nero bears the

Novum

and that about the year 69 A. D. a

inscription

OKTABIA 2EBA2TH,

the genuineness of the pronunciation of

beyond question.
Finally, as a modern Greek

/?

as veta

is

proved

says, the nature of the

most

sweetly sounding of all languages by no means admits the

harsh sound of (3. Just pronounce according to the Erasmian

method the words

/3ow, /3SaAAei, /3Se'AAa, ^ov/?ptoo-rti/,

and you will acknowledge that the 'Grecian Minerva

would never have accustomed her lips to such awkward attitudes when she would not learn to play on the flute because

j3pa<f>a,

it

compelled her to

inflate

her cheeks so ungracefully.

The

THE CONSONANTS.

170
reason

ody

why

so

many

students are unable to discover the mel-

Greek pronunciation

so characteristic of the

is

to be

attributed simply to the Erasmian system of pronunciation.

What melody can there be in pronouncing "bebrabeumenos"
or the

word

^eySoo-rpv^w/xeVos

(bebostruchomenos)

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION".
s,

vekeselenos.

BXa/3?y, vldvi.

BXuoroy,

Bt/3Xioypa0os, vevleogrdphos.
Bt/SXiz/os-,

vevlenos.

vlastos.

BXao-(p/7/xia,

BXao-rai/co, vlastdno.

vlasphemia.

BXaa-^/ioy, vldsplumos.

BXaa>, vldzo.

BXav/riy, vldpsis.

BXaTrrco, vldpto.

Bios, vios.

BXa/3d*, vldvos.

BaXcra/zoi/,

vdlsamon.

T
same sound of ghdh, but
a, o, <o,
and more guttural than the ga of the Western nations.
Before e, v, t, v, ev, ot, y is pronounced like y, and when followed by another y, or by *, ^, or ^, it takes the sound of v.
That the letter y was a guttural soft semivowel is evident
from the fact that Homer has y as an aspirate before some
words, as ala for yaia; also in other Greek words, as twos
(ennos) for yiWos (yenos}. In modern Greek we get Aew (Je'o)
av, ov has nearly the

before
softer

for Xeyo)

(Ugho), -rrpa^a (prdhma) for Trpay/x-a (pragmah).

Professor Gandel remarks that many words in the Septuagint, especially such words as Taa and To/xoppa, prove almost
to a demonstration that the present pronunciation of y by the
modern Greeks must have prevailed in the time of the translators of the

Septuaginty

We said that y, when followed by another y,

evident from the

the sound of

v.

Romans used

to write such

This

is

Greek words,

i.

*,

way

e.

in

or x takes
which the

ayyeAos, angelus.

Again, in very old inscriptions we find that the Greeks were

wont to write y before K, whilst the Romans express the

sound of the

ZATKAH

is

letter

y by

v, i. e.

written in Latin

in a

very old coin the city

ZANKLE'

THE CONSONANTS.
in, in

very old

MS. we

of

/coAov

K'

stead of

ayaBov ; ey

ei/

xP

were wont
and ^ not only in syn-

see that the Greeks

to write y instead of v before y,

" ev
7rapa$m,"
thesis, but also
v>

171

K,

i. 6.
KaXoy
instead of iv

K*

aya$ov, instead

xPv

/capo? (eV /capos aio^,

'y

>

fa/ao?,

in-

Homer), whence resulted the

noun ey/cap, ey/capos (just as the old grammarians

were wont to read this Homeric passage). Now, many of
the followers of Erasmus blame the Greek grammarians
is
because they said that the letter v before y, *, and
synthetic

in the synthetic words into y.

" of
changing v into a y and
say,

"

changed
they

like v?

Must not the

What

is

the use,"

then pronouncing

always remain a v?"

it

We say, No!

" Sia

rwv <f>06yy<j>v TrpoafioXriv"

rrjv (according to Aristotle) 0,77877
= tepa/capea? and
Finally, the forms yepaKapatas and yepa/ov
we might enumerate show that the letter
tepaKwi/, and others

y ought never to be sounded

like the

hard y of the English.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
FaXttKTOTToo-ia, glialaldoposiali.

FaXarm, ghalateah.

F^aXe'oy, yethaleos.

yevmah.

FaXaKTooo-ts-, ghaldktosis.

FeC/xa,

Twos, ghonos.

Tfixris, ye/sis.

TovoKToveco, ghonoktone'oh.

TVO-TIKOS, yefstikos.

Fo/x^oy, gomphos.

Felcroi/, ye'son.

/to,

ghoneah.
gholeos.

0$-,

os,

ghoniasmos.

Fai)po9, gdvros.

Feiroi/ia, yetoniah.

Foi,

i/ee.

"Ayyapos, dhngharos.
'Ayyetoi/,

ahngheon.

Favpa^, gMvrax.

Ayye\ia, ahnghelia.

Tav\6s, ghavlos.

'AynvXos, ahnghelos.

Fowos, ghoun6s.

*AyKvpa, dhnglierah.

Fovi/ara, ghotinatah.

rowoTraxys, ghounopahes.

Twos, yenos.
;,

i,

yentiane.

yenemah.

Trjdtov, yethion.

'AyicuXo/ccoXoy, ahnghelokolos.

"Ay^is, dhnxis.
'Ay^tro/coy, ahnchitokos.
'Ay^or;, ahnchoe.
'Ay^oi//;,

ahnch6ne.

'Ay^oraros, ahnchotatos.

THE CONSONANTS.

172

is

The

like th in this, that.

pronounced

stead of

as in Ko>/x/xa88ctv, Xa88otro,

use of

/x,oi;cri88et

(=

0-8, 88, 8,

yiaSSovre?, </>atpi'8Se/ (o-<aipietv), /xa88av, xprySSerai, etc.;

(Zcvs), crSuyos, crSeuyAa,

ct/cao-8w, etc.

8vw,

o<r8os,

Kw/xa(r8(0,

AU9,

8v/xov,

etc.,

in-

/xv^t^ct), TrAa-

</>poi/TtcrSa>,

28evs

ovo/x,u(r8u>,

which forms were

in

tribes of ancient Greece, such as the Spartans, the Megarians, the Boeotians, as well as the ^Eolians

use

among many

and Dorians,
tion of 8 used
tribes

As

proves most conclusively that the pronunciaby the modern Greeks was prevalent among the

we have enumerated,

long before the time of Alexander.

had a "hissing sound"

(o-vpwrriKos), its dialectic substi-

tute 8 should have a similar sound (6//,oio'<0oyyos) ; but if 8

were pronounced as a d, it could never be interchanged with
.

But we cannot agree with Oekonomos that the pronunciation

of 8, as pronounced by the modern Greeks, was prevalent
"
throughout Greece," in the very acme of the Hellenic language.

On

the contrary,

we have

reason to believe that this

(douce\ so to speak, pronunciation of 8 was simply diaThere are many words in modern
lectic and not general.
Greek, in which 8 sounds exactly as a d, from which it seems
soft

to us that originally the pronunciation of 8 as a d was not

uncommon among the ancient Greeks. For instance
:

pronounced

Aei>8poi>,

"
"Avdpas,

"

dndros.

"

andriotes.

"

andriomenos.

*Av8pos,

Now, whenever

the letter 8

is

preceded by a

v,

the modern

c?; in every other case it has its soft

different changes of the letter 8 into various

Greeks pronounce

The

the'ndron.

dndras.

soundly
consonants are

it

still

as a

prevalent in modern Greek.

Greek we get the forms

o-av8aXov

for o/3cA.ds, Aci>s for Zeus,

changed into

In ancient
o-a/xy&xAov,

dpt^Xos for dpufyAos,

8e'A.oo

for

THE CONSONANTS.
0e'A.(o, 77800

for

yrj#co,

173

we

In modern Greek

etc.

get ,opKaSiov for

SopKaSiov, yie/oos for Siepds, etc.

In giving

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNpIATION.
these examples we thought that it might be of

interest to the scholar to give a

few words peculiar to the

it must not be sup-

conversational style of the Greeks. Now,

posed that these words or forms are in

common

use in the

language of literature and of educated men. The cultivated

language for the most part, as Geldart affirms, preserves the

grammatical forms of the age of Thucydides, avoiding most

of the innovations of the later Attic dialect, as, for instance,
or Xeppovr/<ros for Xepo-dvr/cros. The scholar
by using the modern Greek pronunciation and observing the following peculiarities chiefly

OaXarra for

Od\ao-(ra,

familiar with classical Greek,

noticed in the language of the common people, will find himself able to converse easily with those to whom the Greek is
vernacular.
Strictly speaking there are but four cases in the lan-

a')

guage of the PEOPLE. The Nominative, Genitive, Accusative,

and Vocative.
and words like it make in the Genitive rfc Soa?,
j3') 8o'a
and are declined as follows
:

S.

8oa

Mova-a

G.

86as

Movcras

A.

doga(v)

Movcra(v)'

N. V.

Honor.
S.

N. V. Tt/^
G.

TI/JL^S

P.

N. A. V. Sou(
G. doa>v

MoOo-at(s)

Mov0>v

Opinion.

TV&M
Tva>/j,r]s

A. Tikis')
P. N. A. V. Tijatu'O)
G.

y)

made

host of nouns belonging to different declensions are

thus, Ta/xta?, "A/Vus, Maprts or

to follow but one

174
etc.

by

THE CONSONANTS.

are in the Singular

number

cutting off the sign of the

all

declined alike

Nomi. ative

-?,

namely,

in the Genitive

and Vocative, and changing it to v in the Accusative. This

dropped in pronunciation when the phonetic laws of the
language admit it (Geldart).
All adjectives in os have three endings 05, 77, ov. When
8')
is
os
preceded by a vowel, the Feminine ends in a. The acv is

cent of adjectives in os always retains

its

original place:

THE CONSONANTS.
P. N. A. V. Trarepes

G.

The

classical forms,
?,

etc., are

ry/xets

/3a<nXees
/3acriXecoi/

Trarepooj/

however,

6 -rrar^p, Trarepos,

and

more prevalent.

still

Of the pronouns

&)

175

often appears as

e/xe

often becomes

e/xets,

and

e/xeVa, o-e

as

eo-c

and

in the Accusative both

and /xas. The latter, used as an enclitic, supplies the

place both of ^/xag and vj^Juxv. 'Y/xets becomes <ms and eVei9,
Accusative and enclitic possessive ems, o-a?. The article, as
enclitic and proclitic, is used for the personal pronoun in
as

oblique cases (Geldart).

Personal Pronouns.
S.

N.

eyo>,

G.

e/ie'ra,

ya>.
tiozX

A.

a-fi/a,

(TOV.

(Ttva,

ere.

P. N.

G.

A.

(pas,

f)p.as,

The verb d

is

/xas.

thus conjugated

S.

ef/zat,

P.

ei'/Me^a,

ecra?,

eras

eVay,

tras

etcrat,

ia0,

five.

Imperfect Indicative.
S.

P.

Future Indicative.
S.

P.

Also,
S. ^e'Xa) elarQai,

^eXfi? flcrQai,

QeKfi ei(r0ai.

P. 6e\op,fv ficr&ai,

OeXere

6e\ovv

eiio-^nt,

Subjunctive.
S. ^/zat,

^o-at,

^i/e.

P.

r)0<7,

rjvc.

rjp.f6a,

THE CONSONANTS.

176

Future Subjunctive.
S. rjBfXa ei<r$ai,

fjdf\cs eia~6ai,

fjQfXfv elcrOai.

P. r)6f\ap.fv fladai,

rjdeXfre eur&u,

rjdikav flvdai.

Also,

P. 6a fjpeOa,

6a

^<r^e,

6a

rjvav.

Imperative.
S. eo-o,

as fa.

P.

as fa.
Infinitive.

Present

efo-0ai

or ecorac, only after the auxiliary 0eAo>.

Participle.

Present ovras, indeclinable.

ypd<j>ow ; for eypa^ov we have eypa<a ; for
In the passive ineypai^e?; for eypai/^are, eypai/^ere.
stead of ypd<f>rj or ypdfat. We find ypdfaarai ; for ypa^>OjU,e^a, ypa-

becomes

?,

In like manner for Xeyo/^e^a we find Aeyo/xeo-re,

and various other forms down to the tragic

/,

For

eypd<f>@r]V

jw,vj for

we

get

eypdffaOrjKa

Acyo-

for eypou^T^ev,

ypd(f>@r]<raV, cypdffrOrjKav.

In the present tense of contracted verbs in aw,

w,

the third

often uncontracted, as dyaTraet for ayaTra.

Tt/^wo-t
person
sometimes
as rt/x,ow or TI/AOWC.
appears
TL/JLOV^I/ appears
is

sometimes

for ri/xw/xev.

Such are the main features of modern Greek accidence.

Professor Geldart states that even with these peculiarities
the modern Greek may be called the logical result of ancient

Greek.

and

m,

"

eo-eVa,

mum

For turning to the pronouns we observe that e/xeVa

for e/xe and o-e, preserve the original v (in Sanscrit

and tvum) of the Accusative. 'Eyaets is referred to by

As to the
c) as an older form for ^/xets.
and proclitic use of the article it is (except for the

Plato (Oat. 418,

enclitic

THE CONSONANTS.

177

accent in the latter case) the same as the Homeric usage,

eo-KOTwcre, he killed him ; dTreo-uXT/o-e TOUS, he spoiled
them. Passing to the verbs we find in Xe'yow (Xeyowi) or
e. g. TOT/

Xeyowe the traces of the old form Xeyoim

(tx VL > Professor Gel-

dart thinks, is quoted by Hesychius as a Cretan form). In

the passive voice the forms Xeyeo-cu, 2d person present, Xeyoare so plainly Archaic
fittcrTe or Xeyd//,e#a, as well as Xeyo/xetfev,

forms that they need no explanation. In St. Paul's Epistle

Romans we have Koa^ao-at, thou boastest. In the im-

to the

perative aorist active Xe'c for Xeov is Homeric. As to the

imperative aorist passive Xeov, I cannot but agree with Dr.
"

that it is the classical middle 1st aorist imperative

of a verb in pi used as a passive, there being no middle voice
in modern Greek.
Few who compare such forms as crracro

Mullach

with the corresponding modern o-rao-ou, Seov, etc. will be able

to doubt this."
now proceed with our examples of pro-

We

nunciation

(com. for 8Ki/uo>),

thechno.

thamdskenon.

prune,
a small tree,

thendrdke.
thcrno.

Aepvco, to strike,
Afo-TToira, mistress,

thespena.

A^oStSao-fcaXos, a teacher of a

common

school,

thedvolos.

Aia/SoXos-, devil,
Ata/SoT/Toy,

themothithdskalos.

theavoetos.

famous,

Aiayooyi), conduct,

theagoye.

Classical.
Af^//ii;Xoy, theximelos.

Aiaa-rjKoo), theasekoo.

AtaTrorrioy, theap6ndios.

Aidvoia, thednea.

Aian\T]<T(ra), theapleso.

Aicz^erpoy, thedmetros.

Ata7TLiJ.7r\TjfiLi,

theapimpleme.

Aiappu&ai/, thearrethdn.
Aia.arjfj.aivo),

theasemeno.

Aiepxop.ai, thee'rchome.
Ai/catos-,

thekeos.

AtKatoTroXts, thekeopolis.

is pronounced like z or like the French s in the word rose.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Sextus Ernpiricus say that

THE CONSONANTS.

178
results

pae,

from

o-S,

not

So-.

Thus the forms

'A0?Jvae,

rj/?ae, Ov-

evidently resulted from 'A^vao-Se, ry/3acrSe,

The followers of Erasmus maintain
ftva^rjv.

xa/*tte, ySv^v,

@vpao-&

xa/xao-Se,

from So-. It is quite probable that they were

misled by the supposed resemblance to the Latin 2. It is
worth while, however, to consider that Quintilian remarks
that

results

"

The Latin language has no

by which to translate the

Greek
because the
of the Greeks sounds melodious and
sweet, but that of the Romans, rough and unmusical and
the sweet-sounding words Zuirvpov and Ze^vpos, translated in
Latin Zopyrum and Zephyrus, emit but a harsh and barletter

barous sound."

However, the truth

is that not only the Erasmians, but

Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Sextus Empiricus are alike
mistaken in their views of
The letter
is not a double
.

from the following Homeric pasZe'Xaav; 634, of re Z^KwOov

S, 103, 121,

consonant, as is evident
sages:

II. /?,

aarrv ZeXcfys

824,

01 Se

Od.

I.

24, vX^crcra ZdicwOos

etc., in

which

has

the force of a single letter and, consequently, does not render

the syllable long by position. Nor does it seem etymologically to have resulted from So-, because if this was true we

Ought to have from the forms

cAirtoVt, TroScri, rJATriSo-a, e'/co'/uSo-a,

and not, as we have, eA/Trt'o-t,

Finally, Professor Mavroph redes says
that the only forms in which
seems to have resulted from
two letters, e. g. o-S, are simply those mentioned by Dionysius
etc.,

eX7rti, 7rot', r^ATTi^a, eKo/xta,

woo-/, -^ATTto-a, cjco/uo-a.

and which we have already enumerated.

Schleicher also
of
notion
discards
the
pronouncing as So- or o-S.
completely
The ancient Greeks used to boast of the pretty sound of
(Dion. Comp. 14, p. 172, Scaf.), and a comparison of the Greek
pronunciation with that of the Western nations will convince
anybody that the modern Greek pronunciation is by far the
softer, and consequently it distinctly verifies the statements
of both Quintilian and Dionysius. The forms
Tpta), /xacrSos,

THE CONSONANTS.
are

still

prevalent.

179

Again,. the Ows (0eos) and Aiev?, Lat.

Deus, for Zeus, apifyXos for apt&fXos, etc. show how easily the
letter
passed into 8. These different changes are very com-

mon

in

modern Greek and we

also get the forms

8taraw for

The change of o- into

etc.
Siarayuo, TttAa&os for FaXayto?,
as mentioned by Licldell and Scott, is evident from the
,

examples

Zt^iV/y, ^LJ3wfj

Z^tvpva, 2/x,vpj/a

Professor Geldart says the fact that

o-

etc.

before

invariably

in modern Greek ought to prove the identity of

sounds as
But Professor
in ancient and modern times.
the sound of
since
the
letter o- does
be
Geldart must certainly
mistaken,

and with the exception of

before
not always sound as
the word ^/jLvpvrj, where the sound of o- approximates that of
//, ;

we know

of no other instance in modern Greek where the

For instance, the words S/^i/os
sounded like a
and
2/xvpvaios (smerneos) show decidedly that the
(smenos)
if there are any instances in
letter o- is not sounded like a
which a- sounds like a before /x, these instances are certainly
dialectic and not general. On the contrary, the similarity of
the changes of the letter in ancient and modern Greek, and,
,

letter

cr

is

its pronunciation by the modern

in ancient and
Greeks, prove the identity of the sound of

moreover, the softness of

modern

times.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
Zu>ov,

zoon.

animal,

ZavTavos, alive,

zondanos.

Zvdos, beer,

zetlios.

Zwrjpbs, quick, lively,

zoeros.

Zf]TT]fjia,

the

question; TO 'Ai/aroXiKoi/ ^rq/xa,

Eastern Question,

Zeoroy,

Zop<d8i

77,

ov,

(77

loss,

t6

anatolikon zetema.

zdhare.

Za^apt, sugar,

warm,

zestos.

Aopjcas),

zorkdthe.

damage,

zemiah.

THE CONSONANTS.

180

Classical.
ZaMHTTao-iov, zoostdseon.

Zofapos, zopkerds.
Zrj\rjfj.a)v, zelemon.

Zcaoyovos, zoogonos.

zelomanis.

Zoxxjfxiyoy, zoophdgos.

ZrjXofjiavrjs,

Za>poy, zoros.

ZrjXorvnos, zel6tepos.

zoster.

like th in the

is

pronounced
changed into
in

instance,

a-

in

words

Aristophanes, Thucydides,

have, for
and several other

ariyrjv,

dyacros, opera,

crv/xaros," SctSe/cra

'Ao-ttvatot,

'*;,

We

dialect.

authors*' the forms creAei, (rerw, (rrjpoKrove,

" TO> o-tw
'Aaara
TTOS,

was

thin, thicJc^ think.

the Laconian

instead of the forms

fle'Aei,

fleroo,

'A$ai/a, etc., roO ^cov ^v/xaros,

In modern Greek

we have

^poKTOi/,
eoSc'/cras,

eoTro/xTros,

d/cavTo-o^otpos for a.Kav66xoipo<s,

etc.

Besides this pronunciation of th the letter

must have been

also originally sounded among some tribes of ancient Greece

like rrj, judging from the fact that this pronunciation of TV) is
this day preserved in a number of "words, especially
"
" ev
rots o-wSvaoyxots
^T, <r, (TT, instead of x^> ^>^j o"^ j for in-

even to
stance

eplecteka,
'S-,

instead of
"

echte's,

"
,

phtdno,

"
,

egrdphteJcah,

egnoristeka,

"
,

'AcrQevtjs,

astenes,

"
os, ochtros,

Again, in the Latin language

is

rendered by

A, e. g.

Ther-

must be insitus, Thyesta, Theopompus, ^Egisthus.

reader
notice
how
to
to
the
faithfully the modern
teresting
Greeks have preserved the pronunciation of their ancestors,
It

THE CONSONANTS.

181

so that traces of the various dialectic sounds of the letters are

in use.

still

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
ia,

aunt,

thea.

Gp^/ma,

threskea.

religion,

s,

chamber,

tlidlamos.

Opovos, throne,

thronos.

s-,

tumult,

tho'revos.

Gu/xoy, anger,

themo's.

threnos.

Qpffvos, lamentation,

Classical.

QvpoKoneco, therokopeo.

GjyXvyXojo-crop, theleglossos.

Qr)\v8pias, thelf.thrias.

Gupo/coTro?, therokopos.

e/7\ao>, theldzo.

Gvp<raxQf)s, thersachthis.
Ovvvos, thenos.

QVKTOS, thektos.

before

ov is

a, o, w, av,

pronounced

like

k\ but before

e,

t,

v,

17,

and before liquids it becomes much softer and has

, 01,
at,
This letter was interchanged in ancient
a guttural sound.

Greek with r\

for instance,
7TOK6

we have

Tt/x,wv

Kt]uo)v

(Ji?mcm),

So

modern Greek we have the forms

in

for

o-TiA/2oa>

thus, x^o'os

and

(skilvoo)

cpKvdpiov

The

KI/OO?,

o-/aA/3oo>

(phJcedriori) for <prvdpiov

old Attics often changed x into K:;

(stelvoo),

(phtedreon), etc.

(Timori) for

(poke) for TTOTC (pote), /ag for rts (^5).

etc.; this peculiarity is still prevalenfr-

modern Greeks. The change of * into /?, as menamong

tioned by Liddell and Scott, is more rare as in TTJKW, Lat. tathe

beo.
in

In a few instances

ancient as well as in

TT

and

found interchanged
but
these forms are
times,

K are also

modern

comparatively rare.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
KopSe'XXa, ribbon,

korthela.

Kop(o?, bosom,

korphos.

THE CONSONANTS.

182
Kop/u

(cra>fjLa),

Kou/3aX&>, to

Korra

komie*.

body,

move furniture,

koovald.
kota.

(opi/i#a), hen,

krevdte.

Kpcj3art, led,
Classical.

KXr^typnv, klepsiphron.

Ka0ap7raa>, katJiarpdzo.
Ka&'Xica), kathe'lko.

KXe^ivoos, klepsinoos.

kathexis.
,

KXc^-ippvros, klepsiretos.

kdthema.

pronounced like an Z. Of the so-called liquid letters the

both the oldest and hardest, but X is what Profes"
sor Mavrophredes terms " /xerayei/eo-repos
(more recent) and

is

letter p is

"

"

(softer).

/AttXa/ooTepos

ness to

"

X.

"'HSwei /*/ yap

Halicarnassus.

rpa^wet

yXuKvrarov
(?r.

The

letter

Plato attributes gliding or slipperisays Dionysius of

The sweetest of semivowels,"

o-w^. ovo/x. 14.)

is

(TT)V CIKO^V)

Se TO

/cat co-Tt

TO

Kat

and

words y and X are interchanged, i. e. /xoyis and

changes are not uncommon in modern Greek.

That the

letter

is

p. 1106.

Compare Eusthatius,

often written instead of v

p, e. g.

<piVraTos for ^X0oi> ^>L\raro<s, Kpi/5avos for K\ipavo<s.

from the

ccrrt raiv

TOJV 6//,oyevcoi>
yev-

^#oi/

In some

/xoXis.

These

not as old as the letter p is evident

more generally used in the old

fact that the latter is

languages, such as are related to the Greek and Latin, as well

as from its extensive use in many hard and, so to speak,
are indebted to Professor
rough-sounding dialects.

We

examples which decidedly

prove that instead of the Greek and Latin Xav0dV<o, lateo /

Mavrophredes
<Xeya),

lupus /

for the following

fulgeo /

XetTra),

linquo

TrXe/cw,

0X05, TOV OCTKLKOV, sollus /

TroXvs, TToXt?,

etc.

we have

plectO / TreXcKUS, XVKOS,

latUS / ^Xto?, SOl /

TrXaTT;?,

the Sanscr.

rahdmi

(cy/caTaXetVo)),

bhragami, rek'dmi, prnah'mi, para$us, vrkas, sarvas, prthus,

In like manner we get
surjas (from svdrjas), parus, puri.

THE CONSONANTS.

183

Greek from the one root Kpv the two words K\VO) and d*pofrom the root irpa (TrXrjpovv) we have
w/xat (= a-K-poF-a-o/xat)
from pay, dpKeco (dpr/yw) and dXeeo
and
7ri/A7rpr7/Ai
7ri/x7rX?7/>u
from /*apy (Sansci\ mrg'} we have d/xepyw (modern dpyu,e'yw)
and d/xe'Xya>; from the root pv/c we have X^os and p^x vo?
(this latter form is peculiar to the inhabitants of the island
from yap we get yapuw (yT/pvoo), ypajo-o-a = yXtoo-o-a
of Ohio)
in

the Tsakonian dialect) and ycXdw, etc. These examples

show that p is an older and harder letter than X.
(in

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
AOO-TTT;,

mud,

Aarpe/a, adoration,
co,
i,

faint,

Idspe.

Aepo'i/o), to soil,

latrea.

AVOJ/O), to dissolve,

iipothemo.

AUTTJ;,

lerono.
leono.

sorrow,

lepe.

lemdni.

lemon,

Classical.

Aaorpofos,

leplikania.
),

laotropJios.

AavOdva), lanthdno.

lepo.

Ae'crjStoy, lesvios.

Adnr}, Idpe.

Aa-napos, laparos.

Ado-avov, Idsanon.

M
m

There is no dispute concernin man.

like
of
this letter and the same dialectic
the
ing
pronunciation
changes which occur in ancient Greek, such as /x into TT and
is

//,

pronounced

into

/?,

i.

e. /^pord?, /xopros, etc.,

are not

uncommon

in

ern Greek.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
Mfrai>, meanwhile,

metaxi.

etc.

to translate,
,

metdphrdzo.
mesdnecta.

midnight,

Mera/3d7TTco, to paint over,

,

-,

man of no

length,

importance,

metavdpto.

mithaminds.
me'kos.

mod-

THE CONSONANTS.

184

Classical.
minitis.

t,

mitis.

MrjvvTpov, minilron.

mistor.

miriome.

minima.
j,

i,

miniskos.

Mrjrpa, mitra.

mitiome.

Meya0u/zos, megdthimos.

N
is

like

pronounced

in now, never.

There

is

no difference

of opinion as to the pronunciation of this letter, and the

changes, such as v into y before the palatals y, *, x

euphonic

and

and

v into

before another

A,

/x

before the labials

and

v into p before

/?, TT, <p,

another

^,

and

p, etc.,

v into

are

A.

still

prevalent in modern Greek.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUUCIATION.
Modern Greek.
r,

sink,

water,
NITTTO), to
p,

wash,

baby

(silly),

nerohetes.

Ni^i, nail,

nelii.

neron.

Novi/os, godfatJier,

nounos.

nipto.

Nuoraa>, to be sleepy,
Ne*pds, a dead man,

nechrds.

nipios.

nistdzo.

Classical.
.

ndrkissos.

Nap/ci<ro-os,

Na/^a,

NaoTroAor, naopolos.

wa^e.

Nao<puXa^, naophe'lahx.

ndma.
v,

NapSirT;?, narthitis.

NapSop, ndrthos.

nanion.

3
The common sound of this letter is that of a; in axiom, but
much harder. After y, v, /* it generally has the sound of gs,
e. g. TOV
eVov (pronounced o^ gsenori).
The pronunciation
and ^ by the modern Greeks entirely verifies the
of 4
,

statements of Dionysius of Halicarnassus and of Phrynichus.

"
Dionysius says
Tpion/ 8e wron/ rwv aXXwv ypa/x/xarwv a &rj StTrAa
:

KttA.tTat, TO /xev

/xaAAoK v;8wet r^v

O.KOVJV TCOV

erepwv

TO

/>tev

yap

THE CONSONANTS.
TOV

SLCL

K,

TO Se

Sta rov

i^

IT

rov o~opiypJov

185

a7roSi<$a)(n, 1/aA.wv oi/rwv

"Nam multo molliorem

dfjL^orepw ..... Phrynichus says:
sonem habet ty quam PS vel BS sicwtf en/o ^ melius (molliusf)
sonat, sic etiam x quam GS vel cs. Its dialectic changes,
in the ^Eolic and Doric, of the conespecially transposition
sonants which form , as ^1^09, i</>$>ptov, Dor. cna<os, CTKL^V,

are obsolete in

modern Greek.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
),

to vomit,

Sypaivo*, to dry,

xiros.

Seo-Kerraoros, uncovered, xeske'pahstos.

xenos.

SeTrepva),

os, dry,

Sotvus, sower,

xire'no.

xerno.

to surpass,

xeperno.

Classical.

Sdvdos, xdnthos.

Svvos, xinos.

EavOoovXos, xanthooulos.

Svvrjwv, xinion.

xenotimos.

si

SuXo^a^ff, xilophanis.

xenotropheo.

n
has the power of an English JP, but when it follows
or v
takes the sound of b. In modern as in ancient Greek it
//,

sometimes interchanged with soft

the aspirate </>, as Travos,

/?,

as in TroAAw, /3oAAw,

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
<j|

Kapa<f)pov>,

to despise,

Uapcia, cheek,
HapfK\t](riov,
IlapaTroprt,

paria.

a country-church,

a back-door,

Ilapatra), to give up,

,

grandfather,
everywhere,
a),

paraphron6.

to neglect,

a brave young man,

pareklesion.

paraporti.
pareto.

pdpos.

pandou.
paravle'po.

palikdri.

it

is

and

THE CONSONANTS.

186

Classical.
paratrive.

r),

IIapaxop8<'a>, parahorthizo.
Ilapa^ea), paraheo.

parateposis.
),

paratrope.

Hape'*, parek.

IlaparpT/Tos, pardtretos.

is

IIapeK/3euV(, parekveno.

Ilaparpe^o?, paratreho.

Hapex/Sacris, pare'kvasis.

naparpe<a>, paratrepho.

IlapeK/SoXjj, parekvole.

napcn/raXta>, parapsalizo.

IJapevo^Xiyo't?, parenochlesis.

Hapa^aXXw, parapsdllo.

Uap^o\rj

pronounced

like the

English

r,

paremvole.

but with more

force.

Plato

says that in the utterance of p the tongue is in a state of

vibration. Dionysius calls it a "rough letter":
"Tpa^wet Se

TW

TO p Kal eori
The letter p

ofjioyev&v

yewatorarov."

was always sounded Aarc? at the beginning of

a word, with the exception of the two words papos and pdpiov
("Y/AI/W cis Ar;/x,, 450), both of which have the smooth breathThis

ing.

evident from the fact that the letter

is

p,

when

at the beginning of a word, always had the rough breathing,

as well as from its doubling when preceded by a vowel, e. g.
ptTTTw, paTTTto, pryros, epptTTToi/, cppai^a, appr/To?.

scholar inti-

mates that the rough breathing received by this reduplication

a certain " solidity and concentration."
Hence it becomes evident that the rule of the grammarians
" To
pw eav 8i(T(rov yevrjTai eV fJ-eo"fl X.eei, TO /xei/ TrpwTOv i^tXovTat, TO &

Scvrepov SacrvvfTaL

TO

etc., \f/i\ovrai 8e

Xe^ews
eo-Ttv

17

ets 8ao~v

8ao-eta

X7/y.
"

much of

otov

7rtpp>7/xa,

appwo-T09,

/xev TrptoTOv, SIOTI ovSeTTOTt <rv\\a/3rj

is

To

8e Beurepov 8ao~v^eTat, SIOT

not after

all,

as a

modern Greek

inti-

Because, whilst the letter p at the

of
a
word, both by its rough breathing and hard
beginning
renders
the
final vowel of a preceding word in the
sound,
mates,

a rule.

dactylic hexameter and the iambic trimeter of the dramatists

as well as in the anapaBsts long by position, as in II. w, 755 :
"
" IToXXd
eoO
pvffTdfca-Kev

irepi

<rij[j.'

crdpoto

THE CONSONANTS.

187

often happens that for the sake of the meter in the same
word the letter p is not doubled though a vowel precedes it,
as is evident from the Homeric peov, epee, d/x^tprV^ ; also in
it

Soph. Antig. 950

" Kal

and

in Aristoph.

ecr/x.

often, as Professor
;

that

is

yovas

and so on.

655, otdpuf/o^

The rough breathing of

signification

XPVO O P * TOVS|"
"

Znjvbs ra/iiei/eoTce

p at the beginning of a

word has

an etymological
Mavrophredes
to say, it takes the place of some omitted
asserts,

= Sanscr. sarpami, Lat. serpo / po<eo>,

consonant,
Lat. sorbeo ; p-faw^i, Lat. frango ; piyeo>, Lat. frigeo ; piV(s),
Sanscr. ghrdna-m; pi7ros = Lat. scirpus ; poSov, .^Eol. /?poSov;
e. g. peVtu

= Fpivo's ; peyx<jt> = FP Vx w ^ a ^' ru9^ / e ^C.

In modern Greek, although p is pronounced more strongly
than the English r, the rough breathing of the letter p at the
beginning of a word is entirely lost.

pu/o?

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
'Pa;^;, back,

rdhe.

'Po^aXi^co, to snore,

rohalizo.

'Podaiuvov, peach,

rothdkinon.

'Pov^iKa, clothes,

roohikd.

'Pona\ov, a club (to strike with),

rdpalon.

seamstress,

rdptria.

Classical.

rathemia.
'PaStos, rdthios.
'Pao-o-a),

rosso.

'PcKfriSoOrjKr),

raphithothcke.

'PaTrrrjs, rdptis.

'PaTrroy, raptds.
*Pa/i0i7, ramphe'.

*Pdpvos, rdmnos.

Pao-/xa,

rdsma.

'Pcn-u, re'po.

pronounced like s in soon, see. Plato

and Dionysius a hissing and disagreeable

is

calls

a-

letter.

an aspirate,

THE CONSONANTS.

188

A scholar says
semivowel

y,

(/?,

this is

Greek

like a

in

not

letter

o-

before a

sounded like a
So also
S,
X, /A,
before
the
same
ras
TOT;?,
consonants; TOVS

/3a<TL\L<s TTJS yJJs

modern Greek the

v, p) is

in the proclitics

But

that in

02/2 vaseles tez ghes.

The

so.

letter

a-

does not sound in modern

The statement
This pronunciation is

before the letters mentioned.

"modern Greek"

is

too broad.

simply dialectic and not general. Now, the letter o- was prolike a
among some tribes of ancient Greece especi-

nounced

ally before the letters y, 8, /?, and before the* liquids A, p, p.

Thus, we find in many inscriptions belonging to the first

century A. D.

many words

written with a

e. g.
Z//,apaySo9,

Z/avpv??, Z/u/cpos, Z/^eVai.

also in his " CK

-717

81/07

a.7roo-7rao-avTt

/cat

Kat

"

and saying, "on

as complaining of
juapTvpetTC /xot

TWV ^XOV^O/TOJV

instead of a

The

a^eXo/xeVw

represents the letter

o-

8' di/e^ucaKoV et/u

avroi, /xrySeTrore eyKaXeo-avrt TO)

Trao-av

a-

writer Lucian

Tr)v

^r

Sjivpyiiv."

Compare

We

Eustathius (pp. 217, 228) and Sextus Empiricus, etc.

must not omit to mention that we have no proof that this
o- was prevalent among the tribes
of ancient Greece, and in the very best period of the Hellenic
language. Now, this dialectic pronunciation of o-, which pre-

dialectic pronunciation of

some sections of modern Greece, certainly proves that

modern Greeks have not only preserved the pronuncia-

vails in

the

tion of their ancestors, but even their dialectic variations.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
,

to twist,
,

bet,

strepho.

2roXoj, a fleet,

ste'hema.

^vy^va-is,

a confusion,

sfolos.

senhesis.

2rep<5, to deprive, sterro.

Classical.

2/aprao>, skirtdo.

SKivdapifa, skiniharizo.
2*ti/8aAafioff, skinthdlamos.

2*apa0oi>, skirdphion.

2*ipas, skirds.

2ic\T]p6s, skleros.

THE CONSONANTS.

pronounced like t
sounded like a d, as

is

of the letter r as

in

tell,

ei/ro/xos

d after

v is

189

After

task, tin.

v it is generally

= endomos.
very

old,

This pronunciation
judging from the fact

that in an old Latin inscription (see Scalig. Yetust. Rom.)

we find "Sta Travrwv" written dia pandon. Again, as regards
"
"
"
"
expression of sound and euphony the reader, if he proline:
nounces the following Homeric
" IloXXd 5'
T
&VO.VTO,, K&TavTO.,

irdpavrd re, 56%/ua

will observe that the sound of T as a

"
"
"
majestic and expressive."

after

TjAflov,"

v is

much more

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION".
Modern Greek.
TOKOS, interest (on money),

tokos.

TtVoTf, nothing,

te'pote.

TtTToreVtos,

good for nothing,

tepotenios.

Ti/zow, rudder,

temdni.

Tp/o>, grind,

trezo.
),

tsakdno.

to catch,

Classical.
Tapao-o-to,

Tapo-oa), tarsdo.

Tapaf-is, tdraxis.

is

tardso.

Tapo"os, tarsos.

pronounced

tarve'o.

like

ph

Taptxe'/iTropos,

in philosopher.

tariheniboros.

In some parts of an-

cient Greece, especially in the Peloponnesus, the letter < was

often used instead of K ; therefore it is highly probable that
e
was originally pronounced by some as a K; that
to say, like the Latin q. In many ancient inscriptions we
find the letter cf> used instead of K, as for instance op<ov = op-

the letter
is

KOV,

Mev(Ti<paTOvs =

THE CONSONANTS.

190

which we advance concerning the

a
of
K) is rendered highly probable from
(as
pronunciation
the etymology of some words. For instance the word irdakin to the Sanscr. pakdmi; in the
<po>v, a scholar asserts, is

Now,

this hypothesis
<

word

Av<o8o/3K05

we

see that the

akin to

first part, XVKO-S is

the Sanscr. vskas, Lat. lupus, which perhaps came from luquus; in this example we see plainly that $ = to the Latin q.

Whether

among

as a K
there are any traces of the pronunciation of
modern inhabitants of Peloponnesus, we have not
<

the

been able to ascertain.

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
&6d(rip.ov, arrival,

phthdsimon.

$Xoya, flame,

$6r]va, cheap,

phthend.

3>uAXaSioi/,

4>a>Xfa, nest,

(TO), cup, phletzdni.

phloga.

pamphlet, phildthion.
plioled.

Classical.
,

philakoloothos.

phildthelphos.

&&QVOS, phthonos.
/,

&i\r)peTp.os, phileretmos.

3>iXo%)ia. philotheria.
^iXoSouTroy, philothoopos.

philemon.
y,

<$>tXap/uaros, pJiildrmatos.

phUenthotos.

4>iX65a0j/oy, philothaphnos.

&i\dpyvpos, phildryeros.

is

pronounced

more

like the

English h in the word house, or much

in the word haben.
x an(^ K are

German h

like the

often interchanged both in ancient and modern Greek, e. g.

= SeKo/xat; we also find it interchanged in modern
Sexojjiai

Greek

after

a-,

as o-/ao> for

EXAMPLES OF PRONUNCIATION.
Modern Greek.
halnd.

Xaprt, paper,

Xa/xevoy, lost,

hamenos.

Xax/^ta,

Xapa, joy,

hard.

Xavvos, lazy,

w, to spoil,

a mouthful,

harti.

hapsid.
hdvnos.

THE CONSONANTS.

191

Classical.
Xoi>7,

Xvoos, hnoos.

hoe.

Xopftorovos, hortholdnos.

Xoipdsj herds.
Xvoaa>, hnodzo.

*
sounded

like

TTO-,

e. g.

Modern Greek.
os,

roasted,
kase,

pseto's.

aXi'St, scissors,

psalithi.

psonizo.
Classical.

0?,

psaphards.

sao.
-,

psdmathos.

^apA6r), psamdthi.

^aXXco, psdllo.

CHAPTER

VI.

COMBINATIONS OF CONSONANTS.
r
before

*,

y,

before

K,

as in

ft

pronounced like v (ng). For example:

ankeon ; before y, as in
dyKiW, pronounced

is

in ayi?, propronounced dng-gelos ; before ft as

anhone.
in
as
dnxis
before
nounced
dyxovr;, pronounced
;
x?

ayyeXog,

MH
in

middle syllables

is

pronounced

like

mb

as a/x7reAog, pro-

nounced dmbelos.

NT

occurs only in middle syllables in pure Greek words ; when

v ends one word and r begins the next, the latter takes the

sound of d\
TOV ra^ov,

for example: rov ravpov, pronounced ton ddvron /

pronounced ton ddphon.

K
middle of a word and after y or

v in the same word or

words partakes of the sound of y (very soft)
for example, eyfce<^aXos, pronounced eng-gephalos / TOV KT/TTOV,
pronounced ton ghepon.

in the

in consecutive

n
at the beginning of a word which follows one ending with v
is sounded like a b ; for
example TT)V TroAu/, pronounced ten
:

COMBINATIONS OF CONSONANTS.
bolen.

sound of b
tembanon.
rv^ovov^

It likewise takes the

of a word

e.

g.

after

/x

in the

193
middle

(dialectic pronunciation)

pronounced like a z or like the French s in the

example: before /?, as in o-/3ecmjp, pronounced
zv ester ; before 8, as in 'Atr8pov/3as, pronounced aztfirouvas /
before p, as in 'lo-parjA, pronounced izrael.
before

is
/?, 8, p,

word rose;

for

CHAPTER

VII.

EXAMPLES OF MODERN GREEK PRONUNCIATION.

FOR the purpose of connected illustration, and that the
'modern Greek pronunciation may be presented to the student
as definitely

and

clearly as possible,

we

give here selections

from ancient and modern Greek authors, putting under each

word of the original text the English symbols required to
represent accurately the modern Greek method:

From Xenophon's "Anabasis."

"E-TTciTa

Mpita
^acreptoi/

yap v/xas /cat TOVS rtov Trpoyovan/ rwv

toos
ton proghonon ton
ghar emds ke
/ctvSwous, Iva ctSr/TC ws ayaOoLS T v/uv wpoo-TJ/cet etrat
8e,

ava/x,v^<ra>

thai,

anamniso

emeteron kinthinoos, ena ithetai os aghathis te emin

proseki inai
T (TVV TOtS ^OtS KOL K TTOVV SetVWV Ot aydOoi. 'EA^OVTWV

(TCU^OVTat

sozonde

te

sin

tis

theis

yap Ilepcrwv Kat TWV

men ghar Person ke ton

fjiev

OVVTWV
\oondon
crav

san

ke ek pdni thinon e aghathi.

arvv avrols TrayaTrX-^^et oroAa)

sin

TOIS 'A^ryva?, VTroo-Trjvai

tas

Athinas,

airrovs

/cat

aftoos

ke

ipostene

cv^a/xcvot

ry

efxdmeni

te

a/Us

pamplethe

'Apre/xtSt

Arthemithi

Tocravras

^t/tatpas

K.araOv(Tiv

polemion

tosdftas

himeras

katathisin

ekanas

et'peti/,

ws

OTrocrov? Kara/cavotcv

oposoos

ry ^ew,
te

theo

katakdnien

evrin, ethoxen

ke nin apothioosin.

aftis

kaf

eniafton

TWV
ton

CTTCI

OVK et^ov

epi

ook

eSo^ev avrot? /car Iviavrov TrevraKocrLas 6vciv,

Kat vvv airoOvovo-iv.

d<^>avt-

os aphani-

avrots 'AOrjvaiot ToA/^cravres iviK-r]Athinei

tolmisandes enikeaftis

TToAe/xttov

tKai/as

stolo

Mthondon,

pendakosias

thi'in,

ihon
/cat ert

ke eti

EXAMPLES OF MODERN PRONUNCIATION.

"

From

Telefton

TOVS

x P OT ^Xva<s

oon epi

toos

hirotechnas

o'uScv eTTtcrra/xej/a),

ws

oothen epistameno,

os

IJLI

TToXAa

/cat

/caXa

ke

kala

mi polla

UXeiTttvos 'AiroXo-yfa SwKpdrovs.

CTTI

TeAevrwv ovv

ros

rrjv

/xev

men ook

kalos

megista

OVK

OVK

e^ei;-

epsef-

ijTrurra^v

KOL

/xov

Taw*;

ipistdmm
aVSpe? 'AOrjvaloL, ravrov

ke

moo

tafte

eyw
a egho

o dndres

tehnin

jU-eytcrra

all\

KaXois

evrisi-

tootoo

ai

Texyyjv

evprjcroL-

ethin oti

gK

ke

aXA',

ke

tootoos thai

ipin,

ook

Athinei,

OTrep Kal ot Troi^rat,

oper

TOVTOVS 8e y TjScw 6Vt

ciTreti/,

epistamenoos.

epistando

amdrtema

emafto

eTrtcrra/xei/ous

^TrwrravTO

a/xapr>7jua,

yap
ghar xinithin

t/Aavrw

ed.

TOVTOV

aV

isan.

'

KCH

dXX'

sophoteri

fi

O-OTJV,

v)<rav

epos

sthin,

cro(coTpdi

195

piete,

/xot

eSo^av

e^eti/

me ethoxan ehin

tafton,

/cat

ot

dya^oi Brjfjaovpyoi

8ta TO

ke

aghathe themioorghe.

thia te

e^cpya^eo-^at

CKacrros

fj^iov

/cat

T*

aAXa

TO,

exerghdzesthe

ekastos

exioo

ke

alia

ta

Kat avrwv avrr/

o~o^>wTaros etvat,

ke

ine,

sofotatos

a/ton

afte

17

TrX^/xeActa

e/cetVryv

plimmelia

ekinin

rrjv

<TO$iav

aTreKpvTrrev

WOT*

e/xe

efjiavrov

ai/eptorav

vTrep

TOV

^m

5o/"^

apekripten.

6sV

erne

emafton

anerotdn

iper

too

hrismoo

potera

thexemin an ootos

osper

eho ehin, mete

te sophos

a
o^ ten
Ktl/Ot

ekinon
'

?e

)(OV(TW
ehoosin

<9^/w?.
fJLOL

so/tan

tV

ehin.

mete

jrf K

<*-'

amathls ten amdthean, e amphotera a

pW

(
*<lJi.-Y)V

OVV

/XaVT(5 Kttt

apekrindmin oon emafto

ke

TW XP^O"/^,
to

hrismo,

OTt
oti

XvcrtreXot wcnrep exw ^(tv.

lisiteli

osper

eho ehin.

From a Greek Newspaper, October

18, 1876.

To 8oy/>ia TT}? crwray/AaTt/c^s ^ecopta? txi/Tt/cetrat /cat ets r^v tfrvcrw

To thoghma tis sintagmatikis theorias andikeie ke is ten phisin
TOV dvOpwirov Kat et? T-^V (frvcnv TWV Trpay/xaTwv. *H Sevrepa /tcyaXi;

00 anthropoo ke is ten phisin don pragmdton.

theftera megdli
O ^ovSwa^tts r^s o-wray/jtariKTys ^ewptas cu/e 17 ai/TtTrpoo-coTrcta.

thinamis

tis

sentagmatikes

theorias

ine

andiprosopia.

voo-

EXAMPLES OF MODERN PRONUNCIATION.

196
\vri]<s
leftes

t%i aTroXvTOv e^ovcriW

ehi

evos e/cttTo//y>ivptov
tf#0's

ekatommirioo

rov 8i/catov;

SuiOeoy

T-^V TI/XT/V rrjv Treptovcrtav

tin

perioosian

TrXeov aV$pa>7r(ov, ^u>pt9 va 77 vTTOYpeco/xevos va

ke pleon anthropon, horis na e epohreomenos na

/cat

Bwo-y Trepl TOVTOV Xoyov.

those peri tootoo

va.

exoosian na thiathese tin dimin

apoliton

logon.

'Evvovo-t TOLOVTOV crv/x^8oAatov 01 avOpwTroi

Ennooosi tiooton
simvoleon
e dnthrope

KrySepv^crts eV erwray/xaTiK^ TroXtreta tvc ot vTrovpyot.

Kevernisis en sindagmatike
ene e epoorge.
politia

^oo thikeoo?

TlptinvTrov fteyaAov TrpwOvTrovpyov ev

ccrrt

'AyyAm

6 XopSos OvaX-

esti o lorthos Oodlmegdloo

prothipoorgoo en Anklia
" CTTI
Trept ov Xeyct <rvyypa<f>cv<s TIS o Tt
r^s KU/3epj/>jcre<D? roO

Protepon

oo

?'

rj

Oodlpol
Se ort

#^

oti

"

"

avrov IK

"

o ti

tis

singrafefs

kiverniseos

tis

epi

too

8ia<f>@opa Kar^vr^cre orvarTrjfJia Sttupyavtcr/xevov," erepos

sistema
thiafthord katindise
thiorganismenon" eteros

ovSets Ko.6* oXov TO BacrtXetov r^5 'AyyXtas vTretrr^pt^ev

Vasilion
oothis katV olon to
tis
Anklias
ipesterizen
TrfTroiO-qo-ew;."

a/ton ek

leyi

pepithiseos"

Modern Greek Prayer

offered before performing the

Sacrament

of the Eucharist.

Apros

Zonys, CLiwvL^ovcrrjs yevecrvo)

Artos

Zois,

eonizoosis

evo-TrXay^ve Kvptc,
efsplachne

Kirie,

/cat

TO

genestho

JJLOI,

TO 2wyu,a o~ov TO aytov,

me,

to

Soma

soo

to

dghion

Tt/xtov AT/xa, /cat voo-wv TroXirrpoTrwv aXe^ry-

ke to timion

ma,

ke

noson

politropon

alexi-

terion.

Be/?r;Xa>0et9, Ipyot? aTOTrot? 6 SetXatos, TOT) crov a^pavTOt;

Vevelothis,

erghis

atopis

thileos

too

soo

achrdndoo Soma-

TO5, /cat 0etov At/x,aTO5, ava^tos VTrdp^o), Xpto~Te -nys fjitrovo-Las,

tos,
p.

me

ke Thioo lEmatos,

andxios

epdrho,

Christe

tis

metoosias,

a^tcuo"ov ..... Aa/cpvan/ yaot Trapdcr^ov Xpto"Te pavtSa?,

Thakrion me pardshoo

axioson.

TT}S

/cap8ta?

/xov

^'s

karthias

moo

rj<s

is

TOV PVTTOV

Christe ranithos, ton

ripon

/ca0aipovo-as,

ws

ai/

evofvetSoTw?

/ce/ca^ap/xei/o?,

katheroosas,

os

an

efsinithotos

kekatharmenos

EXAMPLES OF MODERN PRONUNCIATION.

19 J

Aetrrrora, lv rfj
pisti

proserhome,

ke phovo

Thespota, en te

metalipsi

ton Thion

thoron soo.

Ets
/5

Kat

a</>eo-iv

yevtcrOdi

dphesin genestho

/u,ot

TUV

7TTat(r/>taT(ov,

me

ton

ptesmdton,

ctov At/xa, cts IIvev/xaTOs 'Aytov re

:7%/o#

J^'ma,

Pnevmatos Aghioo

te

TO a^pavroy <rov
to dhrandon soo Soma

Koii/toj'c'av,

Kat

cts

atwvtov

kinonian,

ke

is

edition

KOL TraO&v feat Q\L\}/ewv aAAorptWiv.

iorjv <j>i\dv6p(D7r,
zoin Jildnthrope,
ke pathon ke thlipseon allotriosin.

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.
BREATHINGS.
e

two breathings. The rough breathing (spiri'

and
the smooth breathing (spiritus lenis). They
asper)
'
'
indicated by the marks
placed over the initial vowel.

THERE
tus

are

are

Words beginning with

a diphthong take their respective

breathings over the second vowel awfy^os, etSos, cvSw. But

in the improper diphthongs L never takes the breathing, even
:

when it stands upon the line 'fitSelov = wScioj/.

The following words have the rough breathing:
1. The initial consonant p: thus, prJTwp; except 'Papo?,
Earns ; 'Papios, a, ov,from Raros, Rarean : esp. the Rarian
:

plain near Eleusis 'Papos, a child of premature birth / but

pp appears in most editions pp: TraXtppoia.
2. All words beginning with v
thus, vSwp, vcXos.
;

3.
4.

The
The

articles

6, ^, ot, at.

relative

OtO5, OCT05, T^AtKOS,

pronouns and the relative adverbs

tt>?,

os,

17,

o,

OTTOS, ^VtVtt, CtC.

5. The personal pronouns of the

Plural and the third person Singular

first
:

and second person

^/xets, ov, ot,

c,

etc.

The

possessive pronouns which are formed from the

stem of the personal pronouns ^/xeVepo?. So also the reflexive
pronouns of the third person tavrov, cairnys.
7. The numerals ct?, t, cTrra, e/carov, and all their deriva6.

tives, e. g. eviatos,

REMARK
sified,

and

1.

The

/3So/^09, cTrraKOo-tot.

following words, which are alphabetically clashave also the rough breathing

their derivatives

APPENDIX.

202

"AXta, a festival of the Rhodians.

a favorite

aftpa,

Ion. for

'AXt'a, as,

slave.

afipbs, graceful.

ayios, devoted to the gods.

a\ia, Ion. dX/;,

dyvbs, holy, sacred, etc.

'AXtai,

"Ayvcw or "Ayvwv,
proper name).

Hagnon

(a

an assembly.

Halice,

S>v,

(a city).

'AXiapros, Haliartus (a city).

'AXias-, the territory

o?, reverence.

oyoy,
dyco for a eya>.
afie, 3 sing. aor. 2 of dvddva>, Horn.

alias.
i/ie

a fisher.

vs,

to gather.

t'^o),

nether world.

adov for Zadov, aor. 2 of &v8dva>.

of

dXt/3Sua> for dXtdua), to smA: in

inf. dSeli/.
0877?, the

Halia (a

'AXi'i;,

Nereid).

Halizonium (a

'A\i0fparr}s,

Halithersis

city).

(a proper

name^.
,

Dor. for

'AXiKapvaacros, Halicarnassus.

TJO'VTTVOOS.

ddvs, Dor. for rjSvs.

to

aopai.
aifjia,

stand in awe

dXtfci'a,

blood.

Alcoves, ow, the

(in-

H&monios

(a

proper

name).

Halimede (a Nereid).
Halimus (a deme of the

Attic tribe Leontis).

aXios for ^Xtos
aXios
fidraios, fruitless.
1

or aipos, oO, prob. any scratching point, as of thorns.

alfjios

p,

Hamus

(a mountain).

winning.
Aaye /Ae <ee/A

eto, /o

o?,

5a(/xo)i/,

"AXto?, Halius (a proper

oXis, in ^eop.s.

edge.

knowing,

dXio-yeo),

eo,

AXr6S?7/Lioff,

Hcemon (a proper name).

1

a taking, conquering.

cupeffts,
aipca>, to

a\as,

winnow.

grasp, to seize.

salt.

aXerai,

Ep. for

aXiyrat, subj. aor. 2

of aXXo/xat, to leap.
c'coy,

adv. from dXiJy, Hipp.

taken.

Halisodemus (a poet).

aXXo/icu, to spring, leap.

aXfi7, sea-water.

"A\p.os,

Halmus (a proper name).

a purple robe.
dXovpyi'ff,
aXovpyos dyed with sea-purple.
dXoa)

dXe/a, Jishing.

to pollute.

dX/(r/co/Ltai, to fe
c

au>o>, <o si/i , to

name).

'AXiVapra, Halisarna (a city).

o/i

skilful
Ai/xa>i>,

i^Xi/aa.

Halicyce (a city).

^Etolia).

Hcemoneans

habitants of Haemonia).
Alfjiovios,

oii/,

'AXiKvpva, Halicyrna (a region of

a basin for*Uood.

atfiviov,

Dor. for

'AXt/cvai,

of.

dXtV/co/xat.

aXy, a <jrram or Zwm/>

oAvo-ty,

of salt.

a chain.

'AXwa, a festival of Ceres.

APPENDIX.
one who works on a thresh-

r,

Harma

dX,

for

Ep.

a chariot.

ap/za,

ing-floor.

203

aor. 2 of dXio-Ko/zcu.

tory).

= dXeoeij'd?, wsec/ in a thresh-

dXauos

= 'AXwas,

Theocr.

Dor. for

dXa>/cai'Ti,

name).
to

Ep.

for aXeorai, inf. aor. 2

of dXi'ovco/zeu.
aXcoi/, <oi/oy,

77,

dep.

Harpalus

dXiWo/zeu.

wor&

to

on

dXa>,

subj. aor. 2 of

rojoe.

a hedge.

e^ia,
,

y,

proper

name).

adv. at once.

a/j,a,

(a

Harpalycus (a proper

threshing-floor.

Ep. for

dXdxa,

(a proper

name).

off.

Harpalion

uXcos.

threshing floor.
aXtoy

carry

'ApTraXiW,

name).

dXoJi/at, inf. aor. of

dXa>i>evo/zeu,

city).

Harmonides (a proper

155.

7,

eaXa>Kacrt, 3 pi.

perf of dXiWo/zai.
dX&>/zei/ai,

Harmatus (a

to join.

ing-floor.

'AXans-

(a city).

Harmatus (a promon-

3 sing. subj.

usu. in plur., the

Hama-

dryades (nymphs).
y, a yine trained on two

in Elis).

Harpina (a place

'ApTroKpa.TT)s,

Harpocrates (a proper

name).
iW,

Harpocration

(a

proper name).
"Apnviai, the Harpies.

poles.

a/uaa, a ^eayy wagon.

c

Hamaxia (a

A/zat'a,

fastidious.

a tying.

city).

E.

adv. together.

},

d'/ziXXa,

contest.

ea5a, perf 2

afus (KOI a/zty), a s^zp.

perf. of d\i(TKop.ai.

a &no.

a/i/za

di/Sai/a), to

for

please.

dn-aXo?, tender.

cavrjcpopos,

everywhere.

aTrai/TT/,

aTrdi/rore,

always.
a7ra, once.
Cs-,

simplex.

to

eavos,

r),

fasten.
hunter's net.

inf.

perf.

of

thin, light robe.

for wearing.
from ^/zat, Ion.

earat, 3 pi. pres.

for

fd(p0r),

543,
,

bv, fit

rjvraL.

eavroC, ^f,

o/a Zamp.

zc^:

/eei/ai,

dXttr/co/zai.

of himself.

Horn., only found in E.

and ^,419.

e/38o/zos, ?Ae seventh.

y,

204

APPENDIX.
Hebrew. N. T.

"Efipaios,

Hebrus.

"Eftpos, the

fdavos,

of

epith.

in

oil

Horn.,

tyu.
eipevos, part. perf. pass, of evvvpi.
aor. 2 opt. mid. of

pleasant.
cdva, nuptial gifts.

tiy/u.

c8os, stool.

of fofuii.

eeWaro, 3

sing. aor.

mid. Ep. of

Ep. of

sing. plpf. pass.

3 sing. aor. 1 of

rjKf,

Ep.

erjvSave,

for

rjvbavf,

sing.

impf. act. from dv&dv<o.

masc. and

?o ov.

fern, his, her,

of

him, of her.
tBrjv, aor. 1

mid. of

mid. of

ela-a,

Att.

iTjfju.

Ep. for eW, constantly.

'Etta^n, Hecuba.

from

ftX7, ^Ae 5wn'i*

t,

warmth.

perf. pass,

from

aor.

act.

from

2 act.

and

than clXxvaa.

and

mid. of
/,

v,

^o), to

of.

sixteen.

Hector (a proper name).

"E/crcop,

etXo/i^j/, aor.

meadow-nymphs.

eXeiai,

eX/ta>.

pass, of eX*a>.

fiX^a, less usu. aor.

eX*a>

CKGW, willing.

aor. 1 act. of
v,

every one.
each of two.

by means

from cXtWo.

Ion. 3 pi. plpf. pass,

proper

a hundred.

v,
,

eXt o-o-o).

(a

afar.

infii.

poet, for cAry/*a.

Hecamede

name).
ficas,

pass,

Hecale (an Attic borough).

'EKap.r)8r),

Ep. for eavor.

eiai>o$,

infii.

I put, placed,

'Eicd\T),

0v, Ep. and Att. poet. gen. for

part. a6r. 2 of

f1a>s.

ITJfU.

el\ov

eiy,

tiro, 3 sing. aor. 2 ind. (also opt.)

etc.

e'or, his,

Ep. for

cj;Acf,

pia, civ, one.

eio-dpnv, aor.

sit.

fern, of

prison.

clpKTrj,
(Is,

flcra,

eb/iat, to

W.

shut in.

ipyvvfjii, to

evvvfu.

crj,

aor. for

Ep.

efos-,

e&pa, a chair.

cearo, 3

poet, for eve/ta.

fdovfj.cn, fut.

fate,

elpev, 1 pi. aor. 2 opt. for cuf/icy of

EXeioi, the Helei (a people of

Aetoy, the dormouse.

Helen.

atpe'o).

rarer form

for

6fi\6-

Helenus.

e\(<T0ai, inf. aor. 2

a sunshiny place.

eX?;, /Ae 7^ea/.

wind.

fXj/,

ff,

Helot.

Jress.

Ara-

bia; Strabo).

mid. of cupe'o>.

3 subj. aor. 2 of utpcco.

Ion for eXy.
,

Helice (a proper name).

APPENDIX.
Helicon.

'EXt/ean/,

cXKos, a

(<al (parr)), dew.

twisted.

turn round.

es,

draw.

foyios,

ivet,

and

CJJLCV

aor. 2
ffjievos,

evoff

Ion. for

eo-o-<Bi/,

opt. aor. 2 act.

and

pi.

fo-rao-ai/,

a year oW.

evorrjs, unity,

eorao-t,

(r)s, in order.

Ep. gen. of the

3 pers. for ov.

ol,

Ep. dat.

for

syncop. of

from u

sing, of pers. pron. ov

and Ep.

Ion. imp.

ciro(j.ai,

eoO.

cicrrcop,

fpfta,

IO

for os,

joe^r.

eratpo?, a

rj,

comrade.

$e

o^er.

at hand, ready.

to

find.

from
<j)66s, boiled,

dressed.

to follow.

CTTTO, seven.

ZpKos,

to-rq/u.

3 sing. plpf. pass, of

evvvp.i.

from

a fence,

a prop, support.

fpfjiT}Vva>, to interpret.

of

to entertain
hospitably.

e OTO,

erepo?,

cov, Ion.

inf. fut.

a feast,

cf],

syncop.

perf.

pi.

^Ae hearth.

cols, dat. pi.

cos,

syncop. of

plpf.

pi.

eorrare, 2 pi. perf.

of.

coprr),

from

c<TTT)Ka, perf. act.

pers. pron.

Ep. gen. from coy for

from cos.

eolo,

to-rjj/u.

syncop. of

perf.

pi.

fy/u.

part. aor. 2 mid. of fy/u.

evwfju, to clothe one's self in.

co,

of tonj/zt.

syncop. from

inf. perf.

cpevai, poet, for flvai, inf.

(xai ej/oy),

rj

fovdpfv, effTapfvai, Ep. for eorai/at,

low ground.

from

proper

(a

toraa, pf. 2 of to
eo-ra/ca, transit, perf.

cupeeo.

^EXo?, Helos (a city).

eXoy,

esp.

name).

the Hellespont.

cXoifj.r}v,

loose,

bees.

Hesperus

"Eo-Trepos,

a worm.

mid. of

let

anything

fwnepa, evening.

a Greek.
is,

tTj/m.

stalk.

swarm of

eXXe'/3opos, hellebore.

eXoifu,

o-/xa,

cXKvco, to

c\fj.ivs,

imp. aor. 2 from

wound.

'EXXcy, Greece.

v,

to creep.

!Xi, anything

Hermes.

^?,

cXivvat, to rest.

cXicrao), to

205

ecu,

gen.

the

and

ace. sing,

from

dawn.

cat, Ion. subj. aor. 2 of trjfju.

ew, dat. from cos, Horn.

cc

APPENDIX.

206
a day

f(o\os,

old.

ea>pa/ca, perf. act.

W,

tamed.

fjfjiepos,

from opaeo.
toapa, 3 sing. imp. act.

from

impf. from r
a half-ass,

fjfjiTjv,

i.

T)p.iovos,

optioo.

so long as.

from

perf. pass,

H.

a mule.

e.

half.
a7rro>.

Ion. for at/ia>Sta.

a darter.

ia,

Lat. pubescere.
manhood,

fjpdo-Kot,
77/3?;,

fjv,

from

ace. sing. fern,

relat.

pron.

Off.

ripe.

Hegemon (a proper name).

/,

Hegeso2us

'Hyrjaraios,

(a

proper

i7//a, as,

name).
Hegesandridas (a

proper name).
'Hyrjvidvag, Hegesianax (a proper

the liver.

T^Trap,

*Hpa, Juno.
Hercules.
,

name).
'Hyrjo-iKXens, Hegesicles (a

proper

name).
Hegesinus (a proper

name).

'HpoSi/cos ,

'HpoSoros,

Hegesippus (a proper

to

go before.
from oe.

T)8vs, fjdfla, r)8v,

r^o-a,

aor. 1

proper

r;Xi, in the

r)<r6at,

as.

rJSw.
r//xat.

sing.

aor.

prime of life.

dim. from

inf. flit,

inf.

of

from

from

irj/u.

r^/xat.

2 sing, imper. from

&e worsted.

r/eraao/icu, ^0
rjo-o-tov,

sun.

r^crrat,

77X0?,

little

nail.

T^O-TO,

to

be less.

3 sing,

from

3 sing. impf. of

r)\ns,

nail.

fj(Tv\oS',

rj/icu,

to

be

fj(TO>,

epa, day.

(a proper name).

'Ho-ioSos, Hesiod.
j^o-o,

set.

from

Ep. 3

rj(reiv,

age.

fjXio-Kos,

(a

2 sing, from

(in Phocis).

/ am come.

rjXtos, the

Herodotus

sweet.

oftrjfjii.

r/AiW, as big

aor. 1

r^o-ai,

fJKKTTos, the least.

i)AiKL<i,

proper

'Ho-atas, lesaias.

Mt. Pledylius

'H8v\eiov,

T?KG>,

(a

a hero.

to delight.

r]Ka,

Herodicus

Her odes

name).
i,

proper name).

name).

'H-yj/o-iTnror,

fern,

(a

'Hpeas, Hereas (a proper name).

name).

'Hyrjo-ivovs,

Heracon

'Hyncrias, Hegesias (apropername).

the bitted bridle.

r;,

adv. when.

rjviKay

'Hyrjo-ai/Spi'Sa?,

ra, the reins.

fjvia, i<ov,

calm.

f Ut.

Of

l?7/U.

"Hcpaio-ro?, Hephaistos.

rj/iai,

Horn.

APPENDIX.

207
longing.

from

3 pi. pres.

lacri,

for

trjfu

iea<ri.

Lat. hibiscus, a kind of

marsh-mallow.

ipitTKosj

to

I8p6a>,

order

ira, in

Hippocoon.

oQ)!/,

sweat.

aKprj,

from idpvs for idpara.

and Att.

of

7/M.

pres. part,

iepcvai,

for

tcv, JEiol.

from

and mid. from

pres. pass,

irjfjLt

Ep. pres.

inf.

tr)p.i.

fyfu.

from

ITTTTOS,

horse.

to stand.

io-Ti;/it,

'lanaia, Histicea.
los,

Histiwus.
the chief offerer.

tf'j/at.

for larav, 3 pi. impf.

from

'KTTIOV,

sail,

io-ropia, history.

ir)p.i.

'Ifpa

Hippolyte.

vTT],

tTrra/xat, to fly.

if is, iflcra, lev,

te'/ufi/,

Hippolochus.

iSptos, sweat.
ift, 3 sing. impf. Ion.

promontory of Hip-

polaus.

tSpwa, pustules.

te/iuu,

Hippocrates.

I8pva>, to seat.

idpu, ace.

that,

'imrias, Hippias.

(vrjaos),

Hiera, one of the

IO-TOS,

ship's mast.

Lipari islands.
lepa, a hawk.

O.

icpbs, sacred.

idvG> (tC40 )?
Irjfju,

to set

make

to sit, seat.

iKavbs, able.
,

6Tr]s,

to

subj.

68r)y6s,

aor.

pron.

the demonstr. pron.

Lat. hicce, hsecce, hocce.

to arrive.

a suppliant.
sing.

demon str.

it.

68e, iySe, roSe,

come,

076, rjyf, royf, the

he, she,

agoing.

from

a guide,

oftomopos, a traveller,
odbs, street,

odev, whence,

to arrive.
t<o), to

come.

olov, neut.

i\aos (Att. tXecoy), soothed.

IXdpia,

a festival of mirth.

t\ap6s, cheerful.
i\a<r6r]Ti,

aor.

tXdo-ifo/Mu, to
i\r)Ka>, to
1/j.as,

pass.

olos, a, ov,

oX/cay,

imp. of l\a-

appease, soothe.

be gracious.

a leathern strap.

apiece of dress.

from

ofoy.

av

oiovavci, for olov

such

ft,

just as

if.

as.

merchantman.

oX/cea), to

draw.

oX/uoy, a round, smooth stone.

oXoKaure'oo, to bring a burnt-offering.

0X09, whole, entire.

oXcuo-ts,
,

a making
a noise.

ivhole.

APPENDIX.

208

of 6pa<u.
6pia>, to divide (as a border),
of an oath.
op/cos, Ae witness

opaprrj, adv. together.

an assembly.
6fj,r,yvpts,
6/AJ)Xt, of the same age.
"Opijpos, Homer.

6p/iea), to fte
rj,

to

similar.

os,

opos, one and the same, common.

rj,

o,

who, etc.

as great as.
oo-wpai, every hour.

a 7oo/.

OOTIS, whosoever.

adv. whenever.

OTT\OV, implement.

orai/,

onoQfv, whence.

OT, when,

adv. whither.

of what

OTTOCTOS,

/, oi/,

on, for

oTroTfpos,

which of two.

&8e, Att. <5i,

w/itXXa, a

manner.

in w/ia

or

2 sing. pres. mid. of

opaco.

hence

wptos, timely.
a>s,

inf.

REMARK

o5e, in this wise.

wpatos, beautiful, etc.

opfjai,

^Eol.

from

kind of game.

&pa, hour, season.

6paa>, /o see.

op//Lii,

because.

as many.

OTTOU, zt'Aere.

op/;ai

that,

sort*

whensoever.

OTTOTCLV,

OTTCOS,

a safe anchorage,

oa-os,

opo>s, nevertheless.

cnrolos,

to

6o-?7/iepat, daily,

opms, equally.

OTTOI,

bring

oaios, hallowed,

together.

owX?),

a anchor.

attack, violent pressure.

oppos, a necklace,
opos, a boundary, limit,

o/iOKXeo>, tO call OUl.

6/LtoC,

3 pi.

cap/^i/ro,

perf. pass, of 6p/uaco.

hostage.

s,

Ion. for

op/ifaro,

a throng of people.

in motion, urge.

6p/zaa>, to se

the whole.

6(j.ds,

mid.

3 sing. impf.
opTjro or opijro,

smooth.

6/LtaX6s, level,

opdpiov, temple of Jupiter.

to meet.
o/iapreto,

and Dor.

for 6poo>,

opfjv.

2.

When

adv. /^MS, so, etc.

adv. eyen a.v, JMS
,

adv.ybr, so

as.

that, in order.

two words have the same form, but are

of dif-

ferent meanings, the ancient Greeks often indicated the difference

by placing a breathing over the vowel or p in the middle of a word ;
thus, fo-fjXaro (aorist of ffcroXXopuu, eVaXXojucu), but tV/jXaro (aorist of
,

KOTv\\rjppvros (KOTV\TJ

pe'co),

but KorvX^pvros (KoruXj/ dpva>).

APPENDIX.

209

ACCENT.

THE

The

accents are three.

acute

the grave \ and the

',

The

acute can stand only on one of the last

three syllables of a word ; the circumflex, on one of the last
two ; and the grave, only on the last syllable.
circumflex

~.

In case of a diphthong, the accent stands over the second

VOWel thus, Travo-w, ravra, eKCtWj?, *et, etc.
The acute may stand either on a long or a short syllable
;

thus, Tpe'xw, Xoyovs,

The

acute only can stand on a

a long ultima ^KOV^ yAoW^s.

e'/ceu/ovs.

long penultima, followed by

When the Nominative and Accusative of un contracted nouns
:

are accented on the ultima, said cases are oxytone: fj

When a
a
r^ v X aP < vi
atwv, 6 KapTro?.
Ttjar/j/, f) x P^
*-

accented on the antepenult, said syllable

tone /^curtAcvovTos.

is

TI/*,?},

T^V

word

is

always proparoxy-

Words ending

in ev

and

are perispomensi; thus,

When

when accented on
except

tSov, tov,

the ultima,

and

ov.

the Vocative of nouns in eus and w of the third de-

clension ends in cv and

if

ov,

e*, TTOV-

01,

accented on the ultima

said case
o>

/foo-iAcu,

must be perispomenon
w

aiSoi,

O-OLTT^OI.

When

the Genitive and Dative of nouns end with a long

syllable, said cases must be perispomena if accented on the
ultima r^s TI/A^?, rfj TL/JL^ TOV KapiroV) r<3 KapTrw, rwv TI/XWV, rots
I

contract ultima is always perispomenon, if the acute

stood on the penultima before contraction rt/xw (rt/taw), TrXaAdverbs in w?, if accented on the ultima, are
KOVS (TrXa/coets).
:

perispomena:

REMARK
sative of

1.

many

KoAois,

The

monosyllabic words

dpvs, (rOy, ov?, vrvp,

REMARK

2.

vo-e/3oj5.

circumflex stands on the Nominative and Accu;

criccop, efs, Trap, TTO.V,

The

JJLVS,

etc.

circumflex stands also on

adverbs and conjunctions; thus,

Try, not, TroO, nai?, etc.

thus, ypavs, vavs, $ovs, ^ovs,

eu, <ei),

o>,

many

monosyllabic

au, vvv, ovv, yovv, ^,

/xwi/,

APPENDIX.

210

In accenting a word, a syllable long by position is treated

;
thus, Aei?, rats (but 7rpai9, 7rpay/xa, because the let-

as short

words is long not by position, but by nature).

have the effect of short vowels on the accent
of the penult and antepenult Avovrat, av^pawroi, TroAirat, v^troi,
ter a in these

Final

at

and

ot

etc.

Not
adverb

however, in the optative mode:

at home.

so,

When
di/0pco7rou,

the ultima

is

TT^ew?,

long, the antepenult

is

and the

not accented

The Genitives Singular and

avOpw.

some nouns of the

TroAecov,

TraiSevot

ot/coi,

third declension are exceptions,

Plural of
e. g. TroAew?,

TrT^eofl/.

Primitive words accent the syllable belonging to the root

Derivative words accent the syllable which
thus, <t'Aos.
;

specifies or defines;

thus,

Hence we have

a</>iAos.

</>iAiKo's,

the following rules:

Whenever a new syllable
is

thrown back

When

if

new

thrown forward

is prefixed to a word, the accent

the ultima permits it ; thus, Av'w, fXvov.
syllable is affixed to a word, the accent is

if

the ultima requires

it;

e.

g. 7rapaSeiy/Aa,

Final
and ^, after a short vowel, exclude the acute
from the antepenult, but not the circumflex from the penult ;
thus we have ^At, but w/cTo<vAa instead

SPECIAL RULES (FIRST DECLENSION).

Endings.

The

following Masculine nouns in

7/5

are of the

first

declen-

sion:
1. Proper
patronymic nouns in 8775
Atreus ; Nco-ropwfy?, son of Nestor.

2.

Common

nouns

in

-n/s

thus,

thus, 'ArpetS^?, son

TroAiVry?,

of

citizen ;

robber.
3.

Nouns (common

or proper)

compounded with verbs;

APPENDIX.

211

a geometer ; /^t/SAioTrwA???, a book-seller. Exnouns

compounded with ^atvo/iat, to appear ; thus, 'A/otcept
oT-o^ai/rys, Aristophanes ; Ac&^an??, Lexiphanes ; and a few
thus, yew/xeV/^s,

foreign nouns.
4.

Nouns compounded with Feminine nouns of the

declension

thus, 'OAv/ATnovt/o/s

Olympic games ;

'Apxt&'/o;?

(VLKYJ),

(Si'/oy),

a conqueror in

first

the

chief judge.

Accent.
1.

Nouns of

this declension

form the Genitive Plural

per-"

ispomenon.
Three masculines have an irregular accent in the Gen. PI.:
PI. xpWTlt>v (but xpWT
Gen. PI. of
X/jcrT?7s, u'surer, Gen.

the adjective

xPW^ good), x^

Gen. PI. xAowwv (but y\oww,

vos, epith.

"7^ living or feeding alone,

Gen. PI. of the adjective yXovou/I

of gold in Hesychius (Lexicographus), and enprtat,

PI. er^o-tW.
So also the Feminine d</>ur/,

annual winds, Gen.

anchovy, Gen.

PL

(but d^vwi/, Gen. PI. of the adjective

d<uu>i/

OL^vrfs, dull).

2. Adjectives whose Masculine is of the third declension

have the Genitive Plural Feminine perispomenon thus, 6 <0et9, 17 Tv(0ta-a, T<OV ru<0eio-a)v.
Adjectives whose Masculine
is of the second declension accent the Genitive Plural Femi;

nine regularly (rule 1st)

ay to?,

ot aytot, Ttov

dyiW,

17

dyta, at

aytai, TWJ/ dytcuv.

Case-Endings.

Nouns ending

pure or pa and a few proper nouns

Leda, TeAa, Gela, <l>tXo/ArJAa, Philomela, 'AvS/oo//,e'<$a,
Andromeda, and contract substantives and adjectives in a
1.

in a

like A.rj8a,

retain the a in all the cases of the Singular number.

2. Masculine nouns in a?, with the
exception of the Genitive Singular, follow the
3.

same

rule.

Masculine nouns of this declension form the Accusative

Singular by changing o- of the Nominative to v.

nines by affixing v to the Nominative Singular.

The Femi-

APPENDIX.

212

Masculine words in

4.

But nouns

in

rr)<s

and

779

73-779

form the Vocative Singular in 77.

and names of nations and words

compounded with

TrwAw, to sell, Tptfiw, to rub, /xerpco, to measw

t
be
ure, apx
first, <0i/ov/j,at, to purchase, and Aarpevw, to serve,
form the Vocative Singular in a short thus, 7roAn-a (Nom.
>

flf

7roAiT779,

/36/3Aio7rwAa

5.

in a

(Nom. ye<o/AeTp?79, a geometer)

(Nom. /^AioTrwAr/s, a book-seller) etc.

citizen)

yeu>/x,eTpa

few Doric nouns in as form their Genitive Singular

by omitting the termination

thus, HvOayopas TOV Hv@a-

Doric Gen. HvOayopao,

foreign nouns and
nouns of the Hellenistic Greek form their Genitive Sin-

yopa, o Aeon/iSas TOV AewvtSa (from the

Acwvi'Sao).

many
gular

In the same

way many proper

thus, TOV 'AwLfia, TOV 'OpoVra.

Quantity of Final

The

following Feminine words

Nominative Singular long
1. Adjectives whose Masculine

in a

a.

have the

final

a of the

thus, aytos, sacred,

rus,

dytoi.

and nouns which

thus, oTio?,

8109,

Except

of the second declension;

Lat. matu-

is

TreTretpo?, TreVetpa,

suffer contraction

ola (of Jupiter), holy,

(of or from Chios), Chian.

2. Paroxy tone nouns in ta

thus,

in the

pure;

KOLKLO.,

penultima;
Xio?, Xia

Xii'o?,

wickedness ;

a-o^ia,

wisdom.
3.

Dissyllabic nouns in eta and nouns in eta derived from

verbs ending in evw; thus,

/tveca,

memory ;

ySao-iAct'a,

kingdom

jy

All oxytone nouns ; thus, xtt a/

^-a^ta, speech.
>
Dissyllabic nouns in pa which have a vowel in the penultima; thus, wpa, hour / 07Jpa, ?Ae chase. Except Trpaipa, a
4.

5.

prow ; x^Tp ^^ earthen pot ; o-</>vpa, a hammer.

Paroxytone nouns in oa and ca; thus, xp'> ^Ae skin;
Trod, grass ; ^Aed, a^ apple-tree; Teyea, Tegea.
7. Nouns of more than ^00 syllables in ata
thus, eAata, ^Ae
olive-tree ; Kepata,
Aorw. Except the names of a few cities;
ship's
6.

thus, 3><oK<ua,

Phoccea ; nAarata, Plataea.

APPENDIX.
following words have the a short
Feminine adjectives whose Masculine

The
1.

213
:

declension

thus,

Tras, Trao-a,

is

of the third

every (whole}.

All disyllabic nouns in <ua; thus, /xata, good mother ;

an old woman.
ypcua,
a which are derived from common
3. Common nouns in
2.

nouns

in cvs; thus, iepeu?, Upeia,

^avSpeia,
4.

in

779

5.

a priestess ;

'AAe^avSpcus, 'AAe-

Alexandria.

Abstract nouns in

ta

which are derived from adjectives

of the third declension; thus, evyevijs, evyeVeia, nobility.

Abstract nouns in ota derived from adjectives in oos, ovs ;

thus, ewoos,

evvov<s,

cwom, ^ooc?

toiT?.

So also the oxythus, pviay a ^/.

;
tone nouns opywa, strictly the length of the outstretched arms ;
6.

ayvta,
1.
17;

Substantives in via

a way.
All nouns which in the Genitive Singular change a into

thus, Mo9cra,

Muse;

yXwo-o-a,

tongue.

which have a diphthong in the

a
thus,
o-^atpa,
Tretpa, a trial.
sphere;
Except
penultima;
at$pd, a clear (bright) sky ; $ai'Spa, Phazdra; avpd, breeze;
Aavpd, cm alley ; o-avpd, a lizard.
9. Nouns in rpta and retpa derived from nouns in r^s and
thus, Trooy-nys, TrotTirpta, a
TpML and all proparoxytone nouns
8.

Dissyllabic nouns

in pa

poetess;

frequ. an epith. of protecting god-

a-oar^p, o-wretpa,

desses; Tpa7rea.

SPECIAL^RULES (SECOND DECLENSION).

Accent.
1.

Nouns compounded with

tracted, are
TreptVAov,

hearted.

and

TrAoo?,

even when con-

thus, TreptVAoo?, TrcpiVAov?,

TrcptTrAooi',

& sailing round ; ewoos, cvvov?, cwoov, ewov, kindThe termination oa, however, always remains un-

contracted

REMARK.
contracted

paroxytone

voos

cwoa, cvTrAoa.

"OySooy, /Ae eighth, and Xt#odo?, a stone-mason, dre never

but aiTi'oo?, hostile, dopvgoos, spear-polishing, and

APPENDIX.

214
a

are contracted

pitcher,

stem

thus, dvrit-oos, diwiovs, dvri6ov, dvrtt-ov,

These nouns, however, sometimes drop o of the

Trpo^oov, Trpoxov.

thus, avrios, ftopvl-os-

Peculiarities of Gender.

nouns

Many

1.

nification,

horse,

e.

vyo?, the scale ; 6

rj

of the Masculine or Feminine gender in

the Singular are Neuter in the Plural; thus, 6

z,

sig-

ITTTTOS,

a mare.

Many nouns

2.

changing their gender change their

vyos, the yoke,

g. 6

iTnros,

rj

in

fetters ;

KthcvOos,

fj

TO.

KeAcv#a,

SCCT/AO?,

a road (ways)

TO.

"
;

SPECIAL RULES (THIRD DECLENSION).

Accent.
1.

Monosyllabic substantives are oxytone,

a wild beast;

month;

e.

g.

^v, a

a hand.

Orjp,
Nouns, however,
^e/p,
which have lengthened their stem-vowels, or whose Nominatives are contracted from barytone or oxytone nouns, are perispomena; thus, //,vo?, /xvs, a mouse; Trvpo?, 7n}p, fire; (ooaro?,

w?), ovs, the ear.

Two

nouns, TO

(fxp>

(from

<^a>t9,

a man) and

8as (from Sai?, afire-brand), are oxytone.

REMARK. The vowel which results from contraction, if accented,

must be perispomenon thus, yca-yi), earth. ^Except, (a) when the
vowel stands before a long ultima ; (b) when it stands before the
;

antepenult

e.

oxytone,

and

(c)

when

the second of the contracted vowels

is

g. eVraeoy, e<rra>y.

Monosyllabic words of this declension accent the Geniand Dative of all numbers on the case-ending; the other
cases are accented on the stem.
Except,
(a) Participles of one syllable, which always accent the
2.

tive

Stem,
(b)

e.

g. 0a5, 0eWo9,

The Genitive

Own,

Oevra.

Plural of the following nouns

boy, girl, Trai'San/; rj Sa?, torch, SaSwv;

Kpa?, the head (Nom. obsolete), Kparan/;

a slave;

Tpw?,

a Trojan,

T/xowv; TO

^>ais,

rj

Trat?

<ok, blister,

ofo, ear,

dmm/;

light, ^XOTCOJ/; dws, the

APPENDIX.

215

jackal, 0oW ; 6 o-/J?, moth, o-eW. The word <<OTOOV (of men)
has for its Nom. Sing, c/>w?, Gen. Sing. ^WTOS.
(c) Some words which have been contracted from disyllabic stems, e. g. cap, spring, Gen. capos or ^pos, Dat. eapt or f/pi.
4.

Nouns whose

final stem-letter is 8 are

oxytone thus,
Except the noun cpts, strife, cptSo?, and
Feminine common nouns in ns, whose Masculine ends in
eATi-t?,

Ao/?e,

thus, 6

eATrt'Sos.

Trpoc/^T/;?,

prophet,

rj

Adjectives.

Adjectives are either of three endings, of two, or of one.

The following adjectives in 05 are of three endings:
(a) Verbal in ros and TCOS ; thus, ACKTOS, rj, 6V, chosen.
(b) Adjectives in i/cos, Aos, vos, po?, and Aco?, e. g. voyu-iKo?,
IK!;,

tKov,

a lawyer /

o-ty^Ao?, A-j, Aov, silent; Setvo?,

vrj,

vov,

fear-

causing shame; etc.

(c) Comparatives and superlatives
thus, AvTr^porepo?, orepa,
orepov; AvTTTjpoTaTOs, ordrrj, orarov, from AvTnypos, sorrowful.
Except a few superlatives which are found of two termina-

ful;

awrxpos, pa, poV,

tions

poets and Attic writers

among

AoKpis (Thuc.

e'

101),

TT/V \nrarov

thus, Svo-eK^oAwraros

o-PX^ (Dion. Hal.

17

'Pv/x. ap^.

oAowraros

63^ (Od. 8, 442).

following adjectives in 05 are of two endings:
(a) Compounds and those which are derived from verbs

r' 1),

The

already compounded

thus, 6

/cat

17

OO-KOTTOS TO aorKoirov,

impru-

dent.
(b)

Positive and comparative adjectives in

Sat/xwv TO evSatjuov,
(c)
v?,

Many

and

wi/:

/cat

rj

ev-

happy, prosperous.
compounded from substantives in

adjectives

ovs; thus, 6

/cat

y ev^apt?, TO c^x aP l

charming ;

/cat

t?,
17

TroA^TTov?, TO 7roAv7row,

(d)

Words

many-footed.
compounded with ye'Acos and

Kepa?,

which are

also declined
according to the second Attic declension ; thus,
o Kat 17
TroAvyeAxoc, TO TToAvyeJW, rov TroAvyeAw Kai iroAvyeAwTO?,

laughing much.

APPENDIX.

216
The

following adjectives are of one ending:

(a) Adjectives which

stantives keep the latter
thus, 6

/cat 77 aVais-,

REMARK.

have been compounded with subunchanged even after composition

;

childless; /xaKpo^etp, long-armed.

The Genitive and Dative

Plural of these adjectives are

found among the poets in the Neuter gender

also.

Feminine Endings of Adjectives in

The

os.

following adjectives, in os of three endings

Feminine

form their

(a) In t), if there is no vowel or p before the termination ;

thus, ctya0os, aya&J, kind.
() In a, if they end in a pure or in pos, poos, and pcos ; thus,
,

ayios, dyia,

holyj Ka#apds,

/ca#apa,

proper, dean.

Neuter Endings.

form their neuter in ot/; thus KaAo's,

Adjectives
The
KaXov, good.
following form their neuter in o:
in os

(a) aAAos, aXXrj, aAAo, another;

avrd, self (Lat. ipse)

ille)

OVTOS, avr?7, TOVTO, this, that.

os, $, o,

who, which;

avros,

CKCIVOS, tKetViy, eKetvo, there (Lat.

avrrj,

/caXi},

Demonstratives of quality, quantity, and age form their

neuter in the following manner TOO-OVTOS, roa-avrr], roa-omo(v),
:

such

(in

such

(in quality)

age or

quantity or number); rotoOros,

roicurny,

size).

Cambridge

Totovro(i/),

-njAiKovros, T^XtKavTTy, TT)\LKOVTO(V),

Electrotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow,

& Co.

such

(in

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