Why Should I Learn Ancient Greek? |
Books discussed: From Alpha to Omega by Anne Groton (2013), John's Gospel by St. John (c.100 AD), Euthyphro by Plato (c. 390 BC), The Iliad by Homer (c.800 BC)
"En arxn nv o loyoc," or "in the beginning was the Word," is how John's Gospel begins in the original language of the New Testament. The New Testament is but one of many works that is the product of Greek civilization. Greeks can claim that their written corpus is the foundation of Western civilization.
There actually was a time--not too long ago--where the point of education was to learn Greek. Greece for thousands of years has been the center of Western civilization, beginning with the Minoans on Crete through the Mycenaean period, all surpassed by the glory of classical Athens, followed by Alexander the Great. Alexander made Greek a world language, conquering vast regions of the Near East. The Hellenization of the Near East is why the later eastern half of the Roman Empire was Greek speaking, and hence the New Testament was originally in Greek. The heyday of Greek civilization belongs to classical Athens. The fifth century BC was a flourishing of the arts and sciences in Athens. Classical Athens was the setting of the Parthenon and the Acropolis, and the realization of a democracy from which few other cultures until recent centuries could attain. Greek is the mother tongue of world-shattering ideas. The shorthand SPA is a good way to remember the chronological order of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Socrates wandered the streets and patios of Athens, simply asking citizens questions that challenged social assumptions. This habit would get him tried and executed. On of Socrates' students, Plato, produced a titanic volume of philosophical works. One short example, Euthyphro, follows Socrates as he asks a priest, "What is holy?" Platonic philosophy has continued down through the ages to the current age, emphasizing the soul over the body. Whereas Plato looked inward to the soul, his student, Aristotle, looked out into the natural world. Aristotle represents the attempt of western man to label, measure, and order the natural world. A more distant period, the Greeks sieged the walls of Troy. The Iliad is not only an example of epic poetry, it is a standard form of it. Homer represents the beginning of the known written tradition of Greek, which extends almost three thousand years before the present. Greek is tied with Hebrew in its written antiquity.
Greek contains the largest and oldest corpus of written works in Europe. It can seem daunting. And what about that strange alphabet? The truth is that the alphabet is not that hard to pin down. If you give it fifteen minutes a day, you will be comfortable with the alphabet and the sounds within a week. No sweat. I learned Greek in college with Anne Groton's From Alpha to Omega. It is a nuts and bolts grammar, and I have retained as a reference since. She gives you enough grammar and vocabulary to begin reading actual Greek texts by the end of the work. I do recommend starting with easier texts. Greek has a massive vocabulary, and there are enough irregular verb forms to through you through a ringer if you start with a complicated text. The Gospels are great first texts to examine, because they are much lighter on grammar and vocabularly than older works. Homer is definitely more challenging than the Gospels. If Homer is Shakespeare, the Gospels are Goosebumps. John's Gospel in particular is a great place to start. "In the beginning was the Word" is, indeed, a great beginning. John's Gospel repeats the same imagery over long expanses of text, meaning that the vocabularly is quite controlled. Once you get a feel for Greek, you will be able to roll right through it. Plato might seem intimidating at first, but he often structures his works in dialogues, meaning that the flow is actually quite natural. Euthryphro is a slim work to try after you graduate from New Testament Greek. Homer is challenging. There are two things happening here that make it more challenging than the other examples. First, it is the older; in general, older language is actually more complicated. Second, it's poetry, and that means wordplay, metaphor, and imagery that is not necessarily linear. Homer is a great challenge but a great reward. Consider The Iliad your black belt test in ancient Greek.
Let's cut to the chase. Greek is worth the challenge. Greek has been the fountain of Western civilization for thousands of years, and the language has been a large part of that. The transmission of Greek--and the rediscovery of Greek--always enhances a civilization. And it will enhance every one of her students, leading to a personal renaissance. Greek was the oil of the Reformation and the Enlightenment. Luther translated Greek texts, and many of the Founding Fathers were students of Greek language and political philosophy. If history is a laboratory, Greek is then clinically-proven to enrich the arts and sciences, all the while leading to more democracy. Not bad, huh? So give Greek a chance. It will change your life. It has already changed whole civilizations. Updated August 2019 Back to the top of the page Return to Front Page