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  • Home
    • About Randolph-Macon >
      • Responsa de Academia
      • Directions
      • Campus Map
  • MMXXII Blog
    • MMXXI BLOG
    • MMXX Blog
    • MMXIX Blog
    • MMXVIII Blog
    • MMXVII Blog
    • MMXVI Blog
  • Materials
    • About the Academy
    • Welcome Letter
    • Student Packet
    • Meet the GLA Staff
    • Sample Daily Schedule
    • Calendar
    • DOE
    • Nefas
  • Apply!

ἔπε᾽ ἄγαν: Ancient Greek

6/17/2016

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χαίρετε, ὦ μαθηταί! Greetings, o students!

We may call ourselves the Gubernatoris Latina Academia Virginiae, but Latin won't be the only language you see in Ashland. Get ready to dive in to Ancient Greek! Following the examples of great Romans such as Cicero, Vergil, Augustus, and Marcus Aurelius, together we will learn to read and love the language of the Ancient Greeks!

The alphabet will be our first step to master: it may seem like a daunting hurdle, but I assure you that after our first day you’ll be reading Greek words like a pro - and you might have a new alphabet song stuck in your head. Our exploration will then blossom into nouns, verbs, adjectives, and the like. We will aim to read sentences and short stories - and even write some Greek ourselves!


The name of our Ancient Greek course, ἔπε᾽  ἄγαν ("words in excess"), is a play on our theme for Academy: μηδὲν ἄγαν ("nothing in excess"). The vocabulary of Ancient Greek is broad, and the forms are numerous. (Need I mention that Greek has not six, but SEVEN tenses? And THREE voices?) But we only have three weeks together, so we'll choose to focus on a sliver of all the Greek there is to learn. After all, even though Greek has words in excess, we must stay true to our theme and have nothing in excess!

But our title ἔπε᾽ ᾽άγαν will have another meaning for us. The Greeks used the word ἔπος to refer to both a "word" that you speak and a literary genre: epic poetry. And in the spirit of epic poetry, we will embark upon reading some of Homer's Iliad in the original Greek. As much fun as conjugations and declensions might be, I find that the most rewarding part of learning a language is to read from real authors!

This may all sound like a lot, but in the end you will find you have a greater familiarity with Ancient Greek. Ultimately our experience will bring new meaning to the phrase “It’s all Greek to me!”

- Magister Jefferson
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    Salvete Omnes!

    This blog will document the MMXVI session of the Virginia Governor's Latin Academy. After elections are held, the aediles will be responsible for its upkeep.


    Contact Us
    ​Email: valatinacademy@gmail.com
    Office Phone: (804) 496-1589
    Mailing Address:
    (student's name)
    c/o Governor's Latin Academy
    Randolph-Macon College
    P.O. Box 5005
    Ashland, VA 23005

    GLA Checklists
    Download these and use them to help with packing:
    GLA Clothing Checklist
    GLA Essentials Checklist
    GLA School Supplies & Optional Checklist


    Suggested Texts-
    NOT REQUIRED
    ​Again, these are not required and I would only get one from each category, if any.
    Latin Lexicons
    a.  Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency
    b.  Cassell's Concise Latin-English, English-Latin Dictionary
    c.  
    Collins Latin Concise Dictionary
    Greek Texts/Lexicons
    a.  Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners
    b.  Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon Abridged
    c.  
    Pocket Oxford Classical Greek Dictionary
    Translation Texts
    a.  Iliad
    ​
    b. Thyestes

    Daily Life Books
    a.  Everyday Life in Ancient Rome
    b.  Peoples of the Roman World
    c.  A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome
    d.  
    Daily Life in the Roman City

    Vestes Romanae
    You will need Roman clothing for several of our activities. You might not always have much time between these events, so you might want to bring more than one outfit.
    ​
    Patterns
    An Overview I & II
    Roman Dress
    Simple Tunica, Stola, and Palla Patterns
    Legio XX's Civilian Clothing
    Another Simple Dress Pattern
    Greek Patterns
    Simple Tunic and Toga Patterns
    Peplos Pattern
    Legio XX's Military Clothing
    Follow Jacquelyn's board Roman Garb on Pinterest.

    Officers of the Academy
    ​Consules: Mitch and Graham
    Censores: Liz and Blake
    Praetores: Bryant and Elizabeth Ne
    Aediles: Kathryn and Anshu
    Tribunes: Kirby Ann and Will
    ​Quaestores:  Analise and Ben G

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Virginia Governor's Latin Academy