VCE Classical Greek flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Genitive absolute

A participial phrase whose noun or pronoun stands in the genitive and is grammatically separate from the main clause, usually translated 'when', 'while', 'since', or 'although'.

Accusative absolute

An impersonal construction in which a participle and noun stand in the accusative, independent of the main clause; common with impersonal verbs and expressions like paron and exontos.

Indirect statement in Greek

Reported speech or thought expressed either by hoti or hos with a finite verb, or by accusative plus infinitive; the infinitive tense is relative to the introductory verb.

Middle voice meaning

The middle typically marks subject-interest, reflexive action, or reciprocal action; many middles are deponent and must be translated as active.

Articular infinitive

An infinitive preceded by the neuter article (to, tou, to(i)), which lets the infinitive function as a noun in cases, often expressing purpose or result.

Conditional clauses

Ei with indicative states a factual or open condition; ei with optative is future-less-vivid; ei with past indicative in both clauses is contrary to fact.

Optative uses

In main clauses the optative expresses wish or potential, often with an; in subordinate clauses after past main verbs it marks indirect discourse or repeated action.

Homeric genitive -oio

The epic genitive singular ending -oio replaces Attic -ou, as in patroio for patrou; a key dialect marker when reading hexameter.

Unaugmented epic past tenses

Homeric Greek frequently omits the syllabic augment in past tenses, so aorist and imperfect forms appear without the e- prefix found in Attic prose.

Dactylic hexameter

Six metrical feet, each a dactyl or spondee, with the final foot shortened; the standard metre of Homeric and didactic epic.

Iambic trimeter

The spoken dialogue metre of tragedy and comedy: six iambic feet per line, with resolution permitted and caesura common after the third or fourth foot.

Tragic lyric register

Choral odes use varied lyric metres and Doric-coloured forms, shifting register from spoken iambic dialogue and often marking heightened emotion or ritual context.

Epic formula

A repeated phrase or epithet used to fit a metrical slot, such as 'swift-footed Achilles'; formulae are compositional units whose variation is significant.

Epic simile

An extended comparison in hexameter that develops beyond the initial point of likeness, often commenting on the narrative through its imagery.

Apostrophe in verse

Direct address to a character, god, or even an object, often by the narrator or chorus; it creates immediacy and can signal emotional or evaluative emphasis.

Verbal adjective -teos

A gerundive-type adjective in -teos, -tea, -teon expressing necessity or obligation, translated 'must be done' or 'to be done'.

Particle gar

A postpositive connective marking explanation or justification, usually translated 'for', 'since', or 'because'; it links a clause to the preceding statement.

Particle oun

A postpositive connective marking inference or consequence, usually translated 'therefore' or 'then'; it signals that a conclusion follows from what precedes.

Rhetorical question

A question posed for effect rather than information; with the negative ou it usually expects the answer 'yes', with me the answer 'no'.

Litotes

Understatement produced by negating the opposite, as with ou + a negative word; English renders the positive sense, often with emphasis.

Hyperbaton

The deliberate separation of words that belong together syntactically, such as an adjective from its noun, producing emphasis or suspense in Greek prose and verse.

Asyndeton

Omission of connectives between clauses or items in a list; it can convey speed, urgency, or emotional intensity, and contrasts with polysyndeton.

Prolepsis

Placement of a subject or object early in a clause in anticipation of a later construction, so the reader must hold it in mind until its governing verb appears.

Forensic rhetoric

Speech in a lawcourt, accusing or defending about past actions; its goal is justice and its arguments turn on evidence, motive, and character.

Deliberative rhetoric

Speech in an assembly advising or dissuading about future action; its goal is advantage, and its arguments turn on expediency and consequences.

Praeteritio

A rhetorical figure in which a speaker claims to pass over a point while in fact mentioning it, drawing attention to damaging material while seeming restrained.

Tricolon

A series of three parallel clauses or phrases of similar structure; it creates rhythm, completeness, and emphasis in Greek oratory.

Focalisation

The perspective through which a narrative is presented; in historiography it shapes whose viewpoint the reader shares and how causation is framed.

Dramatic irony

A situation where the audience understands the significance of words or actions that a character on stage does not, producing tension or pathos.

Messenger speech

A report of offstage action delivered by a messenger; its vivid detail, delay, and direct speech shape the audience's emotional response to violence.

Type-scene

A recurring narrative pattern in epic, such as arming, feasting, or supplication, composed of conventional elements; variation within the pattern carries meaning.

City Dionysia

The Athenian festival at which tragedies and comedies were performed competitively; its civic and religious context frames how the audience received the plays.