Help with questions, please
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 12:34 am
Hello! I am self-taught with Pharr's wonderful book, and I'm about to start Chapter 13. I've been doing a review in advance, and come up with several questions that have me stumped. Does anyone know the answers to these? Thank you! possum
1) Ἀχαιοισι θυμω -- there is an iota subscript under omega. Does this mean "to the Achaeans to the spirit"? If it's "to the spirit
of the Achaeans", shouldn't it be Αχαιων ??
2) I saw a capital I written with a straight line preceding it, and on top of the line was a breathing and an accent. What is the
meaning of the straight line?
3) Is contraction of vowels in Homeric Greek the exception as opposed to the rule, as in Attic Greek?
4) There are several words where the iota has a dot on either side; what does this mean?
5) When is εν used, as opposed to ειν?
6) pi seems to have more expiratory force than chi, so why is it classed as a smooth mute? Shouldn't it be a rough mute?
7) What exactly is the difference between a root and a stem?
How do I know whether an initial sigma or vau has been lost (leading to contraction)? Is it just a question of individual
word memorization?
9) If the meaning of compound verbs like απο-λυο is identical to just the verb λυο, then why have them?
10) Why is the feminine genitive plural of the relative pronoun 'η "ων", and not "αων"?
11) Are prepositions used mostly for emphasis, or is there a specific rule to their use? If a word is dative, you know a
phrase would be "to the dance", and if it's genitive, it likely means "from the dance", so I'm not sure why prepositions
are used.
12) Six of the contractions don't make sense to me, I just can't figure them out.
o + αι = αι
why not omega w/iota subscript?
o + ει = οι
why not omega?
ι + ε = long iota - why?
o + η iota subscript = οι
why not ω iota subscript?
υ + ι = long upsilon - why?
ε + ο = ω
why not ευ?
Again, thank you all for your help with this.
1) Ἀχαιοισι θυμω -- there is an iota subscript under omega. Does this mean "to the Achaeans to the spirit"? If it's "to the spirit
of the Achaeans", shouldn't it be Αχαιων ??
2) I saw a capital I written with a straight line preceding it, and on top of the line was a breathing and an accent. What is the
meaning of the straight line?
3) Is contraction of vowels in Homeric Greek the exception as opposed to the rule, as in Attic Greek?
4) There are several words where the iota has a dot on either side; what does this mean?
5) When is εν used, as opposed to ειν?
6) pi seems to have more expiratory force than chi, so why is it classed as a smooth mute? Shouldn't it be a rough mute?
7) What exactly is the difference between a root and a stem?
How do I know whether an initial sigma or vau has been lost (leading to contraction)? Is it just a question of individual
word memorization?
9) If the meaning of compound verbs like απο-λυο is identical to just the verb λυο, then why have them?
10) Why is the feminine genitive plural of the relative pronoun 'η "ων", and not "αων"?
11) Are prepositions used mostly for emphasis, or is there a specific rule to their use? If a word is dative, you know a
phrase would be "to the dance", and if it's genitive, it likely means "from the dance", so I'm not sure why prepositions
are used.
12) Six of the contractions don't make sense to me, I just can't figure them out.
o + αι = αι
why not omega w/iota subscript?
o + ει = οι
why not omega?
ι + ε = long iota - why?
o + η iota subscript = οι
why not ω iota subscript?
υ + ι = long upsilon - why?
ε + ο = ω
why not ευ?
Again, thank you all for your help with this.