HSC Classical Greek Continuers study guide
HSC Classical Greek Continuers · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The HSC Classical Greek Continuers examination is a New South Wales credential for senior secondary students who have studied Ancient Greek as a second language and can read adapted and authentic texts with the help of a dictionary and commentary conventions. It suits candidates who want a formal record of their ability to translate Greek prose and verse, explain grammar and syntax, and discuss prescribed texts as literature in their historical setting. The HSC Classical Greek Continuers study guide has 6 sections and about 1,703 words.
01Translating and Comprehending the Prescribed Text
Translation in this section rewards precision, not fluency. Learn the set text clause by clause, noting for each: the head verb (person, number, tense, mood, voice), the case and function of every noun, and how particles and connectives link clauses.
330 words, about 2 min02Literary Analysis and Interpretation of the Prescribed Text
This section tests your ability to make an argued case about how the Greek creates meaning. You need a working vocabulary of literary terms and, crucially, the Greek words that support each claim: characterisation, dramatic irony, rhetorical questions, apostrophe, ring composition, simile and metaphor, word order and hyperbaton, sound effects (assonance, alliteration, hiatus), metre and rhythm, and narrative voice.
281 words, about 1 min03Unseen Translation: Greek Prose
Unseen prose tests method under time pressure. Expect Attic or koine narrative, often with a genitive absolute, indirect statement after verbs of saying or thinking, purpose and result clauses, conditional sentences, and participial phrases.
285 words, about 1 min04Unseen Translation: Greek Verse
Unseen verse is usually epic (dactylic hexameter) or tragic iambic trimeter. Word order is freer, particles and epithets are frequent, and you must accept poetic vocabulary and forms: unaugmented past tenses, Ionic and epic variants, syncopated forms, and the definite article used as a pronoun.
282 words, about 1 min05Grammar, Syntax and Vocabulary in Context
This section tests identification and explanation, not just translation. You must be able to parse any form in the set text or an unseen passage: tense, mood, voice, person, number, case, gender, and function.
264 words, about 1 min06Cultural, Historical and Literary Context
Context questions reward specific, relevant knowledge tied to the set text. You should know the genre and occasion of your text: for epic, the oral tradition, formulae, and heroic values (τιμή, κλέος, ξενία); for tragedy, the festival of Dionysus, the conventions of mask, chorus, and messenger speech, and the social world of the polis; for history, the author's method, speeches, and bias; for oratory, the courts and assembly, and rhetorical appeals.
261 words, about 1 min