Required texts:
From Alpha to Omega: A Beginning Course in Classical Greek, Anne H. Groton. ($40)
From Alpha to Omega: Ancillary Exercises, John Bruss. ($15)

Other resources:
Course web page, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/~amahoney/grk1_f05.html
Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu

Goals for the semester:
This is the first semester of a full year course in which you will learn the basic morphology and syntax of Ancient Greek, build a working vocabulary, and begin exploring Greek literature.

In the first semester, we will cover slightly more than half of the textbook. You will learn the most important noun and verb forms, the most frequent syntax rules, and the most common words of the language. Readings will be drawn from Aesop's Fables, the New Testament, and other easy works.

In the second semester, we will finish the textbook and go on to reading authentic Ancient Greek literature, starting with Xenophon's Apology, an eyewitness account of the trial of Socrates.

Workload and grading:
You will have a written assignment for each class, in which you will practice the grammar you are learning. There will be frequent quizzes (10 minutes, unannounced) and a two-hour final exam. The quizzes are in lieu of mid-term exams; we will spend roughly the same amount of class time on testing, but without the stress of studying for a major exam.

The grades will be computed as follows:
 

Schedule of assignments:
We will cover between two and three chapters of the textbook each week, moving faster through the chapters that you find easy, more slowly through those you find difficult.

The final exam will be Friday 16 December at 3:30.

Make-up exams will be given only in exceptional circumstances, and only if you make arrangements at least 24 hours before the scheduled time of the final exam. There will be no make-ups for quizzes.

General policies:
Attendance in class is required. Thoughtful discussion and group practice are part of the work of this class, and homework assignments will often build on class work. On the other hand, if you must occasionally miss class for a legitimate reason, I will assume you can get notes from a classmate and keep up with the work.

Homework assigments are due in the next class after they are assigned. Homework grades will be reduced for each day the paper is late. This is because homework is your main opportunity to practice the new ideas you are learning.

I call your attention to University policy against plagiarism and other forms of cheating.  Please refer to the Bulletin of Tufts University, p. 40-41, for details (under the heading "Academic Ethics").

Please note that except in the most extraordinary circumstances, I will not give "incomplete" grades.  As you know, an Incomplete means that you did not complete the work of the course, and it is the policy of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering that incomplete work must be completed within six weeks of the beginning of the next semester.

No extra credit work is permitted, and grades in this course are not "curved."

Selected bibliography:
This bibliography is limited to books in English that are available in Tisch Library.
W. S. Allen, Vox Graeca: A Guide to the Pronunciation of Classical Greek. Cambridge: 1987. PA267.A4 1987
Mary Beard and John Henderson, Classics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: 1995. PA3009.B4 1995
P. E. Easterling and B. M. W. Knox, The Cambridge History of Classical Literature, part 1. Cambridge: 1985. PA3052.G73 1985
Norma Goldman and Ladislas Szymanski, English Grammar for Students of Latin. Ann Arbor: 1983. PA2100.G64 1983
Gilbert Highet, The Classical Tradition. Oxford: 1949. PN883.H5
David Konstan, Xenophon's Apology of Socrates. Bryn Mawr: 1987. PA4494.A8 1987
Richard M. Krill, Greek and Latin in English Today. Wauconda: 1993. PE1582.G6 K7 1993
Wendy Moleas, The Development of the Greek Language. Bristol: 1989. PA227.M6 1989
J. J. Pollitt, Art and Experience in Ancient Greece. Cambridge: 1972. N5630.P54
George D. Thompson, The Greek Language. Cambridge: 1960. PA251.T5
Calvert Watkins, The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. Boston: 1985. P615.A43 1985, and newer edition in the Reference Stacks
W. C. Wilkinson, Preparatory Greek Course in English. New York: 1887. PA3054.W57

On-line resources
How To Study: pointers on doing the work of the course.
Topics for the year, by semester
Verb stems and principal parts, and how they work.
List of principal parts of verbs from Smyth's Grammar.
How to prepare a reading assignment: basic advice on gaining fluency.
A Greek Boy at Home, W. H. D. Rouse's elementary Greek reader (22 Mb PDF)
The Art of Reading Latin, also applicable to Greek
1000 Essential Greek Words, a core vocabulary list for elementary Greek; the first 100 with glosses.
English Grammar, explanations of basic concepts and technical vocabulary
The Intelligent Person's Guide to Greek, by Prof. William Harris of Middlebury College. This is a rapid overview of the Greek language, particularly good on the structure of the morphological system.
Unicode Greek on the Web, explanation of the emerging standard for representing Greek
Greek Grammar on the Web, a collection of links, with brief descriptions, to on-line resources for the study of Greek, from elementary to advanced
Let's Review Greek, a collection of easy and intermediate readings from the Cornell College classics department
Nifty Greek Handouts by Prof. Helma Dik of the University of Chicago. In addition to explanations of difficult bits of grammar, this collection includes a core vocabulary list for Greek prose: learn these 1200 words and know 90% of the words in the prose texts you'll read next.
More Handouts by Prof. David Sansone of the University of Illinois at Chicago. This group includes syntax: conditionals, temporal clauses, and moods in general.
Drills on forms, vocabulary, and syntax. Although these are keyed to a different textbook, they are useful with our book as well.
Handbook of meter, a short and sound introduction to Greek poetic meter.
Aesopica, animal fables in Greek, English, and Latin, collected by Prof. Laura Gibbs at the University of Oklahoma.
Perseus:  a digital library with an extensive collection on Ancient Greece
Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, the major corpus of literary Greek
Diotima:   Women and Gender in the Ancient World
Ancient Greece in Fiction:  a bibliography of novels and short stories set in the ancient world
American Philological Association (APA):  the professional association for classicists in the US
Classical Association of New England (CANE):  the professional association for classicists in New England
Tufts University Classics Department:  course descriptions and faculty listing