The Academy
The AcademyἈκαδήμεια
Plato's school, founded in the early 4th century BC in the grove of the hero Akademos outside Athens. This is where you learn.
Learn by reading
Pick this to read real Greek from the first day: one line at a time, with the grammar explained as it comes.
Real lines, from the sayings carved at Delphi to the first sentence of Aristotle's Metaphysics. Each lesson builds on the ones before, with a practice lesson after every three; the English waits until you have tried the Greek.
- 1The letters Σωκράτης Πλάτων ἈριστοτέληςBefore the first line: sounding out names you already knowNext
- 2Nothing in excess μηδὲν ἄγανCarved at Delphi, as Socrates tells it in Plato's Protagoras2 words
- 3Know yourself γνῶθι σαυτόνCarved at Delphi, as Socrates tells it in Plato's Protagoras2 words
- 4Everything moves on πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένειHeraclitus of Ephesus, as Socrates reports him in Plato's Cratylus5 words
- Practice: lessons 2 to 4First a quick check of the words from the first three lessons. Then three more real lines, from three other works of Plato, made almost entirely of words you have already met.Practice
- 5Life is short ὁ βίος βραχὺς,Hippocrates of Cos, the first of the Aphorisms3 words
- 6The art is long ἡ δὲ τέχνη μακρὴHippocrates of Cos, the first of the Aphorisms, continued4 words
- 7The measure of all things πάντων χρημάτων μέτρον ἄνθρωποςProtagoras of Abdera, the first words of his book4 words
- Practice: lessons 5 to 7First a quick check of the words from lessons 5 to 7. Then three real lines about long and short speeches, and about the gods, that use them again.Practice
- 8I do not think I know οὐκ οἶδα, οὐδὲ οἴομαιSocrates at his trial, in Plato's Apology4 words
- 9The unexamined life ὁ δὲ ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳSocrates at his trial, in Plato's Apology7 words
- 10An animal of the city ὁ ἄνθρωπος φύσει πολιτικὸν ζῷονAristotle, Politics, Book 15 words
- Practice: lessons 8 to 10First a quick check of the words from lessons 8 to 10. Then three real lines about persuading, speaking and being wise, from Plato and Diogenes Laertius.Practice
- 11Full of gods θεῶν εἶναι πλήρη πάνταThales' idea, in Plato's Laws4 words
- 12They say many fine things λέγουσι μὲν πολλὰ καὶ καλάSocrates on the poets and prophets, in Plato's Apology5 words
- 13All human beings desire to know πάντες ἄνθρωποι τοῦ εἰδέναι ὀρέγονται φύσει.Aristotle, the first sentence of the Metaphysics6 words
- Practice: lessons 11 to 13First a quick check of the words from the last three lessons. Then three real lines from Plato's Laws and two works of Aristotle that use them again.Practice
Practice and reference
Today's session
A few minutes a day: a lesson to refresh when one is due, one ending, one real sentence.
τὰ γράμματαThe alphabet
Every letter: how to write it, its name, and how it sounded.
ἄσκησιςPractice
Quick drills on endings, and parsing real words in real sentences.
παραδείγματαTables of forms
Every standard declension and conjugation, searchable and checked against real texts.
λέξειςVocabulary by frequency
The commonest words first, and how much of a text you can already read.
The grammar course
Pick this to learn the grammar in order, from the alphabet to Homer, each lesson with its own short test.
The grammar in full, for when you want more than the reading path gives. Read each lesson, practise it, then pass its test. A passed lesson comes back for a quick refresh after three days, a week, then a month, so what you learn stays with you.
- 1Letters into sounds γράμματαRead Greek words aloud, and meet your first line of Homer.5 words
- 2Breathings, accents and punctuation τόνοι καὶ πνεύματαThe little marks above the letters: which matter now and which can wait.3 words
- 3Who does what: the idea of case πτώσειςGreek shows each word's job with its ending, not its position.4 words
- 4The article: ὁ, ἡ, τό τὸ ἄρθρονThe commonest word in Greek, and your best guide to every noun's case.3 words
- Checkpoint I ἐξέτασιςLetters, case and the article: lessons 1 to 4 tested together.Test
- 5Second declension: λόγος, δῶρον ἡ δευτέρα κλίσιςThe -ος and -ον nouns: one set of endings for thousands of words.3 words
- 6First declension: ψυχή, χώρα, δόξα ἡ πρώτη κλίσιςThe -η and -α nouns, nearly all feminine.3 words
- 7The verb "to be": εἰμί εἰμίI am, you are, it is: the commonest verb, and a first taste of verb endings.5 words
- 8Verbs: the present tense ὁ ἐνεστὼς χρόνοςλύω, λύεις, λύει: six endings you will meet on thousands of verbs.5 words
- Checkpoint II ἐξέτασιςTwo declensions, εἰμί and the present: lessons 5 to 8 tested together.Test
- 9Hearing Homer's rhythm: the hexameter ἑξάμετροςLong and short syllables, six feet to a line, and the pause in the middle.3 words
- 10Prepositions: from, in, to προθέσειςSmall words of place and direction, and the case each one takes.6 words
- 11Adjectives: agreement and position τὰ ἐπίθεταἀγαθός, ἀγαθή, ἀγαθόν, and why "the good man" and "the man is good" differ only in word order.5 words
- 12Third declension: φύλαξ, σῶμα, πόλις ἡ τρίτη κλίσιςThe biggest family of nouns: find the stem in the genitive.5 words
- 13The past: imperfect and aorist παρατατικὸς καὶ ἀόριστοςThe augment ἐ- marks the past; the imperfect paints a scene, the aorist tells what happened.5 words
- Checkpoint III ἐξέτασιςMetre, prepositions, adjectives, the third declension and the past: lessons 9 to 13 tested together.Test
- 14Middle and passive: λύομαι μέση καὶ παθητικὴ φωνήBeing freed, and freeing for yourself: the two other voices of the Greek verb.5 words
- 15Participles: verbs that work as adjectives μετοχήλύων "freeing", λύσας "having freed": how Greek packs a whole clause into one word.5 words
- 16Infinitives: to free, to be ἀπαρέμφατοςλύειν "to free", εἶναι "to be": the verb used as a noun, and how Greek reports what people say.5 words
- 17The future: λύσω, ἔσομαι ὁ μέλλωνλύσω "I shall free": a σ before the ending, and the verbs that do it their own way.5 words
- 18Pronouns: I, you, this, who ἀντωνυμίαιἐγώ, σύ, αὐτός, οὗτος, ὅς, τίς: the small words that point, refer back and ask.6 words
- Checkpoint IV ἐξέτασιςVoices, participles, infinitives, the future and pronouns: lessons 14 to 18 tested together.Test
Practical guides
Which Greek?
Homer, Herodotus, the Athenians and the New Testament: how their Greek differs, and what to expect.
Guide 2τὸ λῆμμαHow a dictionary lists a word
Why you look up τίθημι to find ἔθηκε, how to read the head of an entry, and how to find the dictionary form yourself.
Guide 3λεξικάWhich dictionary?
The great Greek dictionaries, what each is for, and which ones you can use free online.
Guide 4ζήτησιςLooking a word up here
The reader's look-up and the Word Study page, step by step, and how to keep the words you meet.