VCE Classical Greek cheat sheet

Identify the main verb first: Greek finite verbs carry person and number, so locate subject in the nominative from the ending.

Genitive absolute: a participle plus noun/pronoun both in the genitive, grammatically separate from the main clause; render as 'when/while/since X did...'.

Accusative absolute occurs with impersonal expressions (e.g. impersonal verbs, exontos, paron); translate impersonally, not as a direct object.

Middle voice often signals subject-interest or reflexive action; deponent verbs look middle/passive but are active in meaning.

Article as pronoun: ho de, hoi de, ta de commonly mean 'and he/they/these'; check whether an article stands without a noun.

Optative in main clause expresses wish or potential (with an); optative in subordinate clauses after past-tense main verbs shows indirect discourse or repeated action.

Temporal particles: epei = when/since, heos = until/while, prin with infinitive = before; prin with finite verb after negative = until.

Indirect statement after verbs of saying/thinking uses hoti/ho(s) with finite verb, or accusative + infinitive; keep the tense of the infinitive relative to the main verb.

Particle pair men...de marks contrast, not 'on the one hand/on the other' mechanically; do not translate men in isolation.

Homeric dialect markers: genitive in -oio, dative plural -oisi/-ois, infinitive -menai/-men, unaugmented past tenses, and nu-movable.

Epic forms: te and amphi as conjunctions/prepositions; ke(n) for an; ei with optative for future condition; hina with subjunctive for purpose.

Tragic lyric uses Doric alpha for Attic eta (e.g. pothos/pothe), and choral odes shift metre and register from iambic dialogue.

Iambic trimeter: six iambic feet with resolution allowed; spoken dialogue; caesura after the third or fourth foot often marks a pause.

Dactylic hexameter: six feet of dactyl or spondee, final foot spondee/trochee; a spondaic line is a marked effect.

Metrical pause (caesura) frequently coincides with a rhetorical break; note enjambment when sense runs past line end.

Apostrophe to a character or the gods, and gnomic statements in the aorist, are common choral devices; keep them in present or timeless English.

Verbal adjectives in -teos express necessity ('must be done'); in verse they often carry moral or ironic force.

Track connectives (oun, gar, de, mentoi, alla) to map argument structure; oun marks inference, gar marks explanation, mentoi marks contrast.

Note particles of emphasis (ge, de, mentoi, d(e) au) and their effect on tone; they rarely translate directly.

Rhetorical questions expect a stated or implied answer; check whether the negative (ou, me) signals a 'yes' answer.

Identify the speaker and addressee at each shift; Greek often omits pronouns, so endings and vocatives carry this information.

Asyndeton (omission of connectives) can signal speed, urgency, or emotional intensity; polysyndeton slows and emphasises.

Hyperbaton (separation of words that belong together, e.g. adjective from noun) is a stylistic choice; note what is enclosed.

Litotes uses ou + negative word or double negative for understatement; render the positive sense in English.

Prolepsis: an anticipated subject or object placed early in the clause; recognise it to avoid misreading clause boundaries.

Establish genre and occasion: forensic, deliberative, or epideictic rhetoric each has distinct aims and expected audience responses.

Identify narrative voice and focalisation; in historiography, speeches are composed by the author and reveal character and causation.

Note structural markers: prooemium, narrative (diegesis), proof (pisteis), and epilogue; each performs a function in the argument.

Rhetorical figures: antithesis, tricolon, anaphora, praeteritio, and rhetorical question; name the device and its effect on the audience.

Contextual evidence: Athenian democracy, lawcourts (dikasteria), festival setting, and the Peloponnesian War inform interpretation; cite the text for claims.

Characterisation is built through reported speech, juxtaposition of opponents, and authorial comment; track how the author shapes sympathy.

Topoi (commonplaces) such as ancestral deeds, service to the city, and contrast with enemies recur; note when an author varies or subverts them.

Distinguish authorial aside from narrated event; Thucydides' methodological comments are separate from his narrative.

Dramatic structure: prologos, parodos, episodes, stasima, exodos; note where choral odes mark turning points or comment on action.

The chorus functions as internal audience, moral commentator, and sometimes partial participant; its stance can shift across the play.

Tragic irony arises when the audience knows more than a character; note words with double meaning for characters versus audience.

The messenger speech reports offstage violence; its narrative technique (delay, vivid detail, direct speech) shapes emotional response.

Homeric epic: formulae, epithets, and type-scenes (arming, feasting, supplication) are compositional units; note variation within the pattern.

Epic similes extend beyond the point of comparison and can comment on the narrative; identify the tenor and vehicle.

Context: Athenian dramatic festivals (City Dionysia), civic ideology, and the audience's shared mythic knowledge inform interpretation.

Meter and register shift between dialogue (iambic trimeter) and lyric (varied metres); register change often marks heightened emotion.

Allocate time proportionally: translation passages reward accuracy of syntax and vocabulary over stylistic polish.

Before translating, parse every finite verb (tense, voice, mood, person, number) and identify its subject from endings.

Mark clause boundaries first (participles, relative pronouns, hoti, epei), then translate clause by clause.

Leave a blank rather than invent a meaning for an unknown word; context and etymology often allow a defensible guess.

For commentary questions, state the device, quote the Greek, then explain its effect on the audience; each point needs textual support.

Translate particles and connectives consistently; a missing de or gar can change the logic of a whole sentence.

Check that English tense choice reflects Greek aspect: present stem = progressive/repeated, aorist = simple/complete, perfect = state resulting.

When asked for literary analysis, link form to meaning: word order, sound, and metre are evidence, not decoration.