Module 55
Narratology III: Focalization or Point of View and Text 2
© 2025 Philip S. Peek, CC BY 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0441.25
Module 55 Summary
In this module we continue learning about the narratological principle of focalization and examine instances of complex narrator-text.
Focalization or Point of View
Remember that focalization, the technical narratological term for point of view, is a selection or restriction of narrative information in relation to the bias, emotion, experience, knowledge, and perception of a narrator’s representation.1 The primary narrator is the primary focalizer of the main text. A secondary narrator is the secondary focalizer of the embedded narrative, and so on. Influence may occur in both directions.
Texts
Recall that texts have one or more of these elements: (1) simple narrator-text, (2) character-text, and (3) complex narrator-text. In (1) the primary narrator tells the story. In (2) a secondary narrator involved in the story takes over narration from the primary narrator, and in (3) there is a combination of (1) and (2). Oftentimes a sign of complex narrator-text is indirect question or statement. As noted already, whose perspective dominates is critical to how we evaluate narratives. With narratives that include more than one type of text, there is a complexity of perspectives that comes from many directions. Consider these examples of complex narrator-text.
Complex Narrator-Text
- In the Iliad, the primary narrator-focalizer has a secondary narrator-focalizer, a Dream, appear to Agamemnon in the guise of Nestor, promising him the false future that he was going to sack Troy on that day.
Homer Iliad 2.35-40, Embedded Focalization: Primary Narrator-Focalizer Mixed with Secondary Narrator-Focalizer, Complex-Narrator Text
ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας ἀπεβήσετο, τὸν δὲ λίπʼ αὐτοῦ
τὰ φρονέοντʼ ἀνὰ θυμὸν ἅ ῥʼ οὐ τελέεσθαι ἔμελλον·
φῆ γὰρ ὅ γʼ αἱρήσειν Πριάμου πόλιν ἤματι κείνῳ
νήπιος, οὐδὲ τὰ ᾔδη ἅ ῥα Ζεὺς μήδετο ἔργα·
θήσειν γὰρ ἔτʼ ἔμελλεν ἐπʼ ἄλγεά τε στοναχάς τε
2.40Τρωσί τε καὶ Δαναοῖσι διὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας.
Having spoken he departed leaving him there
Thinking in his heart about things they were not to accomplish.
For he said that they would sack Priam’s city that day.
Fool, he did not know what plans Zeus had devised.
For he was to set sufferings and lamentations
Upon Trojans and Greeks in the fierce combat.
The secondary narratee, Agamemnon, is asked to agree with the Dream and take the battlefield in hopes of victory that day. The primary narrator-focalizer calls Agamemnon a fool for not knowing of Zeus’ plans.
- Later, the primary narrator-focalizer colors his primary narration by offering a secondary perspective of the Trojans, who generally view Hektor as their sole hope for survival.
Embedded Focalization: Primary Narrator-Focalizer Mixed with Secondary Narrator-Focalizer, Complex-Narrator Text, 6.399-403
ἥ οἱ ἔπειτʼ ἤντησʼ, ἅμα δʼ ἀμφίπολος κίεν αὐτῇ
6.400παῖδʼ ἐπὶ κόλπῳ ἔχουσʼ ἀταλάφρονα νήπιον αὔτως
Ἑκτορίδην ἀγαπητὸν ἀλίγκιον ἀστέρι καλῷ,
τόν ῥʼ Ἕκτωρ καλέεσκε Σκαμάνδριον, αὐτὰρ οἱ ἄλλοι
Ἀστυάνακτʼ· οἶος γὰρ ἐρύετο Ἴλιον Ἕκτωρ.
Then she met him as did her maid
carrying in her arms their child, a tender babe,
Hektor’s beloved son, like a fine star.
Hektor called him Skamandrios but others
Astyanax for Hektor alone defended Troy.
The people call the child of Hektor and Andromakhe by the nickname, Astyanax (lord of the city), in honor of their view that Hektor is the sole defender of Troy. The primary narratee does not agree with this assessment, knowing that it is not Hektor alone who defends Troy. With this exchange, he sets up for his primary narratee a prolepsis (foreshadowing) that predicts that Hektor’s death marks the fall of Troy, which falls outside the story-time of the epic.
- In the Histories, the primary narrator-focalizer considers how Kambyses came to act in ways contrary to Persian norms.
Herodotos, Histories 3.38.3-4, Embedded Focalization: Primary Narrator-Focalizer Mixed with Secondary Narrator-Focalizer, Complex-Narrator Text
III.38 [3] Δαρεῖος ἐπὶ τῆς ἑωυτοῦ ἀρχῆς, καλέσας Ἑλλήνων τοὺς παρεόντας, εἴρετο ἐπὶ κόσῳ ἂν χρήματι βουλοίατο τοὺς πατέρας ἀποθνήσκοντας κατασιτέεσθαι. οἱ δὲ ἐπ᾽ οὐδενὶ ἔφασαν ἔρδειν ἂν τοῦτο. [4] Δαρεῖος δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα, καλέσας Ἰνδῶν τοὺς καλεομένους Καλλατίας, οἳ τοὺς γονέας κατεσθίουσι, εἴρετο, παρεόντων τῶν Ἑλλήνων καὶ δι᾽ ἑρμηνέος μανθανόντων τὰ λεγόμενα, ἐπὶ τίνι χρήματι δεξαίατ᾽ ἂν τελευτῶντας τοὺς πατέρας κατακαίειν πυρί. οἱ δέ, ἀμβώσαντες μέγα, εὐφημέειν μιν ἐκέλευον. οὕτω μέν νυν ταῦτα νενόμισται, καὶ ὀρθῶς μοι δοκέει Πίνδαρος ποιῆσαι, νόμον πάντων βασιλέα φήσας εἶναι.
During his rule Dareios called together those Greeks who were at court and asked them for what amount of money they would be willing to eat their dead fathers. They replied that no amount of money would impel them to do so. Next Dareios called together the Kallatians of India, who actually do eat their parents, and asked them in the presence of the Greeks who understood what was said through an interpreter, at what price they would be willing to burn their dead fathers with fire. Shouting loudly, they bade him to mind his tongue. Such is the strength of custom. And I think Pindar said it best—custom is the king of everything.
The primary narrator-focalizer uses this story to explain how much power tradition has and draws from it the conclusion that Kambyses’ failure to follow his own Persian customs was a sign of his mental illness, whose root cause he is uncertain of. The secondary narrator-focalizers offer points of view congruent with the narrative of madness that the primary narrator-focalizer puts forth.
- In the Anabasis, the primary narrator-focalizer offers his primary narratee an explanation for why the secondary focalizer Kyros decides to revolt against his brother King Artaxerxes.
Xenophon, Anabasis 1.1.3-6, Embedded Focalization: Primary Narrator-Focalizer Mixed with Secondary Narrator-Focalizer, Complex-Narrator Text
ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐτελεύτησε Δαρεῖος καὶ κατέστη εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν Ἀρταξέρξης, Τισσαφέρνης διαβάλλει τὸν Κῦρον πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὡς ἐπιβουλεύοι αὐτῷ. ὁ δὲ πείθεται καὶ συλλαμβάνει Κῦρον ὡς ἀποκτενῶν· ἡ δὲ μήτηρ ἐξαιτησαμένη αὐτὸν ἀποπέμπει πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχήν. 1.1.4ὁ δʼ ὡς ἀπῆλθε κινδυνεύσας καὶ ἀτιμασθείς, βουλεύεται ὅπως μήποτε ἔτι ἔσται ἐπὶ τῷ ἀδελφῷ, ἀλλά, ἢν δύνηται, βασιλεύσει ἀντʼ ἐκείνου. Παρύσατις μὲν δὴ ἡ μήτηρ ὑπῆρχε τῷ Κύρῳ, φιλοῦσα αὐτὸν μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν βασιλεύοντα Ἀρταξέρξην. 1.1.5ὅστις δʼ ἀφικνεῖτο τῶν παρὰ βασιλέως πρὸς αὐτὸν πάντας οὕτω διατιθεὶς ἀπεπέμπετο ὥστε αὐτῷ μᾶλλον φίλους εἶναι ἢ βασιλεῖ. καὶ τῶν παρʼ ἑαυτῷ δὲ βαρβάρων ἐπεμελεῖτο ὡς πολεμεῖν τε ἱκανοὶ εἴησαν καὶ εὐνοϊκῶς ἔχοιεν αὐτῷ. 1.1.6τὴν δὲ Ἑλληνικὴν δύναμιν ἥθροιζεν ὡς μάλιστα ἐδύνατο ἐπικρυπτόμενος, ὅπως ὅτι ἀπαρασκευότατον λάβοι βασιλέα. ὧδε οὖν ἐποιεῖτο τὴν συλλογήν.
When Dareios died and Artaxerxes assumed the throne, Tissaphernes set Kyros against his brother by charging him with plotting against him. He was persuaded and arrested Kyros, intending to kill him. But his mother begged him to return him back to his province. As he departed in danger and dishonored, he made plans so that he would no longer remain under his brother’s power but would, if he could, rule in his stead. Parysatis, their mother, was devoted to Kyros, loving him more than king Artaxerxes. All visitors arriving from the king to him he returned having treated them so that they were his friends more than the king’s. And he took care of those in his province so that they were ready warriors and kindly disposed to him. He gathered his Greek force as secretly as he could so as to catch the king as unprepared as possible.
By reading this mix of perspectives, the primary narratee is able to understand why Kyros was initially in conflict with his brother, King Artaxerxes, and how later it was possible for Kyros to gather men around him, willing to assist in his revolt.
- In The Ass, the primary narrator-focalizer Loukios colors his tale by relating his travel companions’ perspective on Hipparkhos.
Lucian, The Ass 1, Embedded Focalization: Primary Narrator-Focalizer Mixed with Secondary Narrator-Focalizer, Complex-Narrator Text
καὶ ἐγὼ ἠρόμην τοὺς Θετταλοὺς εἴπερ ἐπίστανται ἄνδρα οἰκοῦντα ἐς τὰ Ὕπατα, Ἵππαρχον τοὔνομα. γράμματα δὲ αὐτῷ ἐκόμιζον οἴκοθεν, ὥστε οἰκῆσαι παρ᾽ αὐτῷ. οἱ δὲ εἰδέναι τὸν Ἵππαρχον τοῦτον ἔλεγον καὶ ὅπῃ τῆς πόλεως οἰκεῖ καὶ ὅτι ἀργύριον ἱκανὸν ἔχει καὶ ὅτι μίαν θεράπαιναν τρέφει καὶ τὴν αὑτοῦ γαμετὴν μόνας: ἔστι γὰρ φιλαργυρώτατος δεινῶς.
I asked them if they knew about a man living in Hypata. His name was Hipparkhos, and I carried for him a letter from home, requesting a stay at his house. They replied that they knew Hipparkhos; where in the city he lived; that he had sufficient silver; and that he kept only one slave and a wife, since money was his true love.
The primary narrator-focalizer uses his secondary narrator-focalizers’ assessment of Hipparkhos to characterize him as one primarily concerned with money. At this early point in the story, the primary narratee can agree or suspend judgment, waiting for the narrative to unfold before coming to a final conclusion about Hipparkhos’ stinginess.
- In The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, the primary narrator-focalizer imagines how Sally Hemings carved a life she wanted for herself and would not regret.
Annette Gordon Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, Kindle Location 5872, Embedded Focalization: Primary Narrator-Focalizer Mixed with Secondary Narrator-Focalizer, Complex-Narrator Text
Distortion of human feelings is not the same thing as the total destruction of them. Sally Hemings, though enslaved, was a human being. Working backward to 1789 from either her death in 1835 or Jefferson’s death in 1826, one can say that sixteen-year-old Hemings’s instincts about how she might best shape her future in the context of her particular circumstances and needs were as sound as her older sister Mary’s instincts about Thomas Bell, developing at the same time on another continent. Hemings could not have known this as she treated with Jefferson at the Hôtel de Langeac, but at the end of her life she would be able to say that she got the important things that she most wanted.
The primary narrator-focalizer imagines the thoughts of Sally Hemings, offering narrative from her perspective in concluding that Sally Hemings would have been satisfied with the life she chose to live.
- In Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic, the primary narrator-focalizer embeds the rationale of the Man, a secondary narrator-focalizer, and his strategy for increasing his trade in heroin.
Sam Quinones, Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic p. 166, Embedded Focalization: Primary Narrator-Focalizer Mixed with Secondary Narrator-Focalizer, Complex-Narrator Text
At the urging of another addict he took a trip down to Virginia, through Roanoke, Richmond, and Newport News. It was another large market, but the federal government had too many installations there. Langley and a naval base made him nervous. He went through Chattanooga, Tennessee—a town with a lively underworld, but too small. Mexicans in cars would stand out. He drove down to Pensacola and Jacksonville, but left.
The primary narrator-focalizer shows how the secondary narrator-focalizer discovered a ready market for his heroin anywhere there was already a market for Oxycontin. Plying his heroin trade like a Domino’s pizza delivery service, the Man and his Xalisco boys built their growing business by paying attention to customer service and offering quick delivery to their clients.
- In Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, the primary narrator-focalizer explains to his primary narratee the state of mind of the secondary narrator-focalizers, the renters of Milwaukee.
Matthew Desmond, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City p. 182, Embedded Focalization: Primary Narrator-Focalizer Mixed with Secondary Narrator-Focalizer, Complex-Narrator Text
Most renters in Milwaukee thought highly of their landlord. Who had time to protest inequality when you were trying to get the rotten spot in your floorboard patched before your daughter put her foot through it again? Who cared what the landlord was making as long as he was willing to work with you until you got back on your feet? There was always something worse than the trailer park, always room to drop lower. Residents were reminded of this when the whole park was threatened with eviction, and they felt it again when men from Bieck Management began collecting rents.
The primary narrator-focalizer offers the sentiments of the renters themselves who have a high tolerance for inequality, accepting without resentment the million-dollar annual income of their landlord as long as he takes care of the basic tangible problems that he is supposed to address.
- In Grace of Kings, the primary narrator-focalizer embeds the daydream of Kuni Garu, who imagines living a life devoted to luxury and indolence.
Ken Liu, Grace of Kings 410, Embedded Focalization: Primary Narrator-Focalizer Mixed with Secondary Narrator-Focalizer, Complex-Narrator Text
He would live like the emperor. He would eat out of golden bowls with jade spoons. He would smoke, in coral pipes, ethereal tobacco that had been cured and sifted a hundred times by specially trained monkeys who could climb the cliffs where the tobacco was grown, fed by dew. He would drink tea that consisted of the tenderest leaves, plucked by young children whose fingers were nimble enough to not break the buds prematurely and release their flavor.
Up to this point in the series the ethics of the primary narrator-focalizer have been consistent and well-established. The life of wealth and ease Kuni Garu imagines is not one the primary narrator-focalizer values nor is it a likely one for Kuni Garu, given the way his character has been established, to pursue. Thus, the primary narratee can be fairly certain that Kuni Garu will not choose the path of indolence.
By mixing a variety of perspectives the primary narrator-focalizer creates a dialogue with his primary narratee asking her to fill in the spaces according to her knowledge, experience, and moral compass.
Module 55 Practice Translating
Translate the sentences below from Euripides’ Iphigeneia at Aulis (Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Αὐλίδι) lines 460-512. Use your memory to identify endings and their functions. If you forget an ending, consult the Adjective, Αdverb, Noun, and Pronoun Chart or the Verb Chart at the back of the book. If you forget a function, consult the Case and Function Chart in Appendix I. Check your understanding with the answers in the Answer Key, making sure that you understand why each word translates as it does. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.
Ἀγαμέμνων
τὴν δ᾽ αὖ τάλαιναν παρθένον — τί παρθένον;
Ἅιδης νιν, ὡς ἔοικε, νυμφεύσει τάχα —
ὡς ᾤκτισ᾽. οἶμαι γάρ νιν ἱκετεύσειν τάδε:
Ὦ πάτερ, ἀποκτενεῖς με; τοιούτους γάμους
γήμειας αὐτὸς χὥστις ἐστί σοι φίλος.
παρὼν δ᾽ Ὀρέστης ἐγγὺς ἀναβοήσεται
οὐ συνετὰ συνετῶς. ἔτι γάρ ἐστι νήπιος.
αἰαῖ, τὸν Ἑλένης ὥς μ᾽ ἀπώλεσεν γάμον
γήμας ὁ Πριάμου Πάρις, ὃς εἴργασται τάδε.
Χορός
κἀγὼ κατῴκτιρ᾽, ὡς γυναῖκα δεῖ ξένην
ὑπὲρ τυράννων συμφορᾶς καταστένειν.
Μενέλαος
ἀδελφέ, δός μοι δεξιᾶς τῆς σῆς θιγεῖν.
Ἀγαμέμνων
δίδωμι. σὸν γὰρ τὸ κράτος, ἄθλιος δ᾽ ἐγώ.
Μενέλαος
Πέλοπα κατόμνυμ᾽, ὃς πατὴρ τοὐμοῦ πατρὸς
τοῦ σοῦ τ᾽ ἐκλήθη, τὸν τεκόντα τ᾽ Ἀτρέα,
ἦ μὴν ἐρεῖν σοι τἀπὸ καρδίας* σαφῶς
καὶ μὴ ‹πίτηδες μηδέν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅσον φρονῶ.
ἐγώ, σ᾽ ἀπ᾽ ὄσσων ἐκβαλόντ᾽ ἰδὼν δάκρυ,
ᾤκτιρα. καὐτὸς ἀνταφῆκά σοι πάλιν.
καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἐξαφίσταμαι λόγων.
οὐκ ἐς σὲ δεινός, εἰμὶ δ᾽ οὗπερ εἶ σὺ νῦν.
καί σοι παραινῶ μήτ᾽ ἀποκτείνειν τέκνον
μήτ᾽ ἀνθελέσθαι τοὐμόν. οὐ γὰρ ἔνδικον
σὲ μὲν στενάζειν, τἀμὰ δ᾽ ἡδέως ἔχειν,
θνῄσκειν τε τοὺς σούς, τοὺς δ᾽ ἐμοὺς ὁρᾶν φάος.
τί βούλομαι γάρ; οὐ γάμους ἐξαιρέτους
ἄλλους λάβοιμ᾽ ἄν, εἰ γάμων ἱμείρομαι;
ἀλλ᾽ ἀπολέσας ἀδελφόν, ὅν μ᾽ ἥκιστα χρῆν*,
Ἑλένην ἕλωμαι, τὸ κακὸν ἀντὶ τἀγαθοῦ;
ἄφρων νέος τ᾽ ἦ πρίν, τὰ πράγματ᾽ ἐγγύθεν
σκοπῶν, ἐσεῖδον οἷον ἦν κτείνειν τέκνα.
ἄλλως τέ μ᾽* ἔλεος τῆς ταλαιπώρου κόρης
ἐσῆλθε, συγγένειαν ἐννοουμένῳ,
ἣ τῶν ἐμῶν ἕκατι θύεσθαι γάμων
μέλλει. τί δ᾽ Ἑλένης παρθένῳ τῇ σῇ μέτα;
ἴτω στρατεία διαλυθεῖσ᾽ ἐξ Αὐλίδος.
σὺ δ᾽ ὄμμα παῦσαι δακρύοις τέγγων τὸ σόν,
ἀδελφέ, κἀμὲ παρακαλῶν ἐς δάκρυα.
εἰ δέ τι κόρης σῆς θεσφάτων μέτεστι σοί,
μὴ ‹μοὶ μετέστω. σοὶ νέμω τοὐμὸν μέρος.
ἀλλ᾽ ἐς μεταβολὰς ἦλθον ἀπὸ δεινῶν λόγων.
εἰκὸς πέπονθα. τὸν ὁμόθεν πεφυκότα
στέργων, μετέπεσον. ἀνδρὸς οὐ κακοῦ τροπαὶ
τοιαίδε, χρῆσθαι τοῖσι βελτίστοις ἀεί.
Χορός
γενναῖ᾽ ἔλεξας Ταντάλῳ τε τῷ Διὸς
πρέποντα. προγόνους οὐ καταισχύνεις σέθεν.
Ἀγαμέμνων
αἰνῶ σε, Μενέλα᾽, ὅτι παρὰ γνώμην ἐμὴν
ὑπέθηκας ὀρθῶς τοὺς λόγους σοῦ τ᾽ ἀξίως.
ταραχὴ δ᾽ ἀδελφῶν διά τ᾽ ἔρωτα γίγνεται
πλεονεξίαν τε δωμάτων. ἀπέπτυσα
τοιάνδε συγγένειαν ἀλλήλοιν* πικράν.
ἀλλ᾽ ἥκομεν γὰρ εἰς ἀναγκαίας τύχας,
θυγατρὸς αἱματηρὸν ἐκπρᾶξαι φόνον.
Notes
- τἀπὸ καρδίας = τὸ ἀπὸ καρδίας
- ὅν μ᾽ ἥκιστα χρῆν = ὅν μ᾽ ἥκιστα χρῆν* ἀπολέσαι
- ἄλλως τέ μ᾽ = ἄλλως τέ μοι
- ἀλλήλοιν = a dative dual. Translate with πικράν.
Adverbs, Conjunctions, Interjections, Prepositions, and Verbs
|
αἰαῖ (interjection) ah! |
θύω sacrifice |
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αἰνέω tell of, speak of; praise, approve; promise, vow |
ἱκετεύω beg, supplicate |
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ἄλλως otherwise; in vain (adverb) |
ἱμείρω long for, yearn after, desire + gen. |
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ἀναβοάω shout aloud, utter a loud cry |
καταισχύνω disgrace, dishonour, put to shame |
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ἀνθαιρέομαι choose ‘x’ in acc. instead of another |
καταστένω sigh over |
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ἀνθελέσθαι see ἀνθαιρέομαι |
κατοικτείρω (κατοικτίρω) have mercy, have compassion; feel compassion |
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ἀνταφίημι let go, let go in turn, let fall in turn |
κατόμνυμι confirm by oath; call to witness, swear by |
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*ἀποκτείνω (aorist: ἀπεκτάνην) kill |
Μενέλαος (-εως), -ου (-εω) ὁ Menelaos |
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ἀποπτύω spit out |
μεταπίπτω fall differently, undergo a change |
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γαμέω marry |
μέτειμι be among + dat.; have a share in or claim to ‘x’ in gen. for ‘y’ in dat. |
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διαλύω loose one from another, part asunder, undo |
νέμω distribute, allot, assign; pasture, graze; (middle) possess, administer |
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ἐγγύθεν from nigh at hand, nearby |
νυμφεύω lead the bride, give in marriage, betroth |
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*ἐγγύς near; next to, near + gen. |
οἰκτίζω pity, have pity upon |
|
ἕκατι by means of, by virtue of, by the aid of + gen. |
οἰκτίρω (οἰκτείρω) pity |
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ἐσοράω look into, look upon, view, behold |
ὁμόθεν from the same place |
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ἐκβάλλω break open; throw out, divorce |
οὗπερ where |
|
ἐκπράσσω do completely, bring about, achieve |
παραινέω exhort, advise, advise ‘x’ in dat. + inf. |
|
ἕλωμαι < αἱρέω |
παρακαλέω call to, summon; encourage |
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ἐννοέω have in one’s thoughts, to think, consider, reflect |
*παύω make to end, stop; (middle and passive) rest or cease from + gen. |
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ἐξαφίστημι remove; (middle) depart, withdraw; withdraw from + gen. |
πρέπω be clearly seen, be conspicuous; πρέπει it is fitting + acc. or dat. of person + inf. |
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*ἔοικα be like, look like + dat.; be likely, seem probable |
στενάζω sigh often, sigh deeply |
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ἐπιτηδές (adverb) advisedly; designedly, deceitfully |
στέργω love |
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*ἐργάζομαι be busy, work at; make; perform; do ‘x’ in acc. to ‘y’ in acc. |
τάχα (adv.) quickly; perhaps |
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ἐρεῖν see λέγω |
τέγγω wet, moisten |
|
ἐσῆλθε see ἔρχομαι |
τίκτω bear, beget |
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ἦ indeed, truly |
ὑποτίθημι place under, set before, offer, suggest |
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*ἡδέως (adverb) pleasantly, gladly |
*φρονέω think, be prudent |
|
θιγγάνω (aorist: ἔθιγον)touch, handle, take hold of + gen. |
*φύω (aorist: ἔφυσα, ἔφῡν) produce, make grow; beget; (intrans.) grow, be, be born; be prone to + inf. |
Adjectives and Nouns and Pronouns
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ἄθλιος, -ᾱ, -ον pathetic, miserable, wretched |
ξένη, -ης ἡ a female guest, a foreign woman |
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Ἅιδης, Ἅιδου ὁ Hades |
ὄμμα, ὄμματος τό eye |
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αἱματηρός, -ά, -όν bloody, bloodstained, murderous |
Ὀρέστης, -ου ὁ Orestes |
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ἀναγκαῖος, -ᾱ, -ον necessary |
ὄσσε, -ων τώ (neuter) the two eyes |
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Ἀτρεύς, -ῆος (-έως) ὁ Atreus |
*παλαιός, παλαιά, παλαιόν old, ancient, aged |
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Αὐλίς, -ίδος ἡ, ὁ (acc. Αὐλίδα, Αὖλιν) Aulis, a town in Boeotia, on the Euripus |
παρθένος, -ου ἡ a maid, maiden, virgin, girl |
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ἄφρων, -ονος; -ον, -ονος senseless, foolish; crazed, frantic |
Πάρις, -ιδος ὁ Paris, son of Priam |
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*Ἀχαιός, Ἀχαιά, Ἀχαιόν Akhaian, one of the four major tribes of Greece (Aiolians, Dorians, Ionians) |
Πέλοψ, -οπος ὁ Pelops |
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βέλτιστος, -η, -ον best |
πικρός, -ά, -όν sharp, pungent; bitter, painful; spiteful, mean |
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γάμος, -ου ὁ wedding, wedding feast; marriage |
πλεονεξία, -ας ἡ greediness, assumption, arrogance; excess |
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γενναῖος, -ᾱ, -ον noble, fine |
Πρίαμος, -ου ὁ Priam, king of Troy |
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*γνώμη, γνώμης ἡ judgment, thought, opinion, purpose |
πρόγον-ος, -ον early-born, first-born; (noun) forebear, ancestor |
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δάκρυ, ------ τό tear; gum, sap |
*σαφής, σαφές clear, distinct |
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δεξιός, -ά, -όν on the right; fortunate; dexterous, skillful, clever; (f.) right hand |
σέθεν = σοῦ |
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δῶμα, -ατος τό a house |
στρατείᾱ, -ᾱς ἡ an expedition, campaign |
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*εἰκός, εἰκότος τό (adj.) likely, reasonable; (n.) likelihood, probability |
συγγένεια, -ᾱς ἡ kinship |
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Ἑλένη, -ης ἡ Helen |
*συμφορά, συμφορᾶς ἡ event; bringing together; fortune; misfortune |
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ἔλεος, -ου ὁ pity, mercy, compassion |
συνετός, -ή, -όν intelligent, sagacious, wise |
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ἔνδικος, -ον according to right, right, just, legitimate |
τᾰλαίπωρος, -ον suffering, distressed, miserable |
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ἐξαίρετος, -ον chosen, choice |
τάλας, τάλαινα, τάλαν wretched, unhappy |
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ἔρως, -ωτος ὁ love |
τἀμά = τὰ ἐμά |
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ἥκιστος, -η, -ον worst, least |
Τάνταλος, -ου ὁ Tantalos, son of Zeus and Plouto, father of Pelops, Niobe, and Broteas |
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θέσφατος, -ον spoken by god, decreed, ordained, appointed; (neuter pl.) divine decrees, oracles |
τἀπό = τὸ ἀπό |
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καρδία, -ας ἡ the heart |
ταραχή, -ῆς ἡ trouble, disorder, confusion |
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κόρη, -ης ἡ maiden, girl |
*τέκνον, -ου τό child |
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κράτος, -εος (-ους) τό strength, power |
*τύραννος, -ου ὁ tyrant, absolute ruler |
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μεταβολή, -ῆς ἡ a change, changing |
*τύχη, τύχης ἡ fortune, luck; fate, necessity |
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νήπιος, -α, -ον infant, childish |
φάος (φῶς), φάεος (φωτός) τό light, daylight |
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νιν = αὐτόν, αὐτήν, or αὐτούς |
φόνος, -ου ὁ murder, killing |
Module 55 Practice Parsing Greek Sentences
Parse each word of the below sentence.
Identify the part of speech of all words. For interjections, identify them. For nouns, give case and function. For verbs, give person, number, tense, mood, and voice. For adverbs, identify them and state what they modify. For conjunctions, identify them, noting whether they are coordinating or subordinating. For prepositional phrases, give the preposition and the preposition’s object. For adjectives, identify the case and state what noun or pronoun they agree with in gender, number, and case. If the adjective is used as a noun, give case and function. If the adjective is a participle, identify it as an adjective and state what it modifies. When parsing, remember to the Case and Function Chart in Appendix I.
αἰνῶ σε, Μενέλα᾽, ὅτι παρὰ γνώμην ἐμὴν
ὑπέθηκας ὀρθῶς τοὺς λόγους σοῦ τ᾽ ἀξίως.
ταραχὴ δ᾽ ἀδελφῶν διά τ᾽ ἔρωτα γίγνεται
πλεονεξίαν τε δωμάτων. ἀπέπτυσα
τοιάνδε συγγένειαν ἀλλήλοιν* πικράν.
Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.
Module 55 Practice Identifying Clitics and Full Words
Translate this sentence so that you understand it well. Read the sentence out loud, trying your best not to translate into English. Pick out the clitics and the full words and then check your answers with those in the Answer Key.
αἰνῶ σε, Μενέλα᾽, ὅτι παρὰ γνώμην ἐμὴν
ὑπέθηκας ὀρθῶς τοὺς λόγους σοῦ τ᾽ ἀξίως.
ταραχὴ δ᾽ ἀδελφῶν διά τ᾽ ἔρωτα γίγνεται
πλεονεξίαν τε δωμάτων. ἀπέπτυσα
τοιάνδε συγγένειαν ἀλλήλοιν* πικράν.
Module 55 Top 251–550 Vocabulary to be Memorized
Adverb and Verbs
ἁλίσκομαι, ἁλώσομαι, ἑάλων (ἥλων), ἑάλωκα (ἥλωκα), ------, ------ be taken, captured, seized
ἐρωτάω (εἰρωτάω), ἐρωτήσω, ἠρώτησα, ἠρώτηκα, ἠρώτημαι, ἠρωτήθην ask, question
κατασκευάζω, κατασκευάσω, κατεσκεύασα, κατεσκεύακα, κατεσκεύασμαι, ------ equip, furnish; construct
κινέω, κινήσω, ἐκίνησα, κεκίνηκα, κεκίνημαι, ἐκινήθην move; set in motion; urge on
σχεδόν about, almost; near, hard by; similar to + dat.
Adjectives and Nouns
ἀμείνων, ἄμεινον better, stronger, braver, more capable
βαρύς, βαρεῖα, βαρύ heavy, grievous, tiresome
ἥλιος, ἡλίου ὁ sun
σύμμαχος, σύμμαχον allied
σωτηρία, σωτηρίας ἡ safety, deliverance; saving
Module 55 Reading Morphologically by James Patterson
The Optative Mood
The formation of the optative varies. As a general rule, it depends on whether the verb is thematic, in which case it uses the optative marker /οι/; athematic, in which case it uses the optative marker /ιη/ or simply /ι/; or alpha formation, in which case it standardly uses the optative marker /αι/. To the optative marker, athematic past time personal markers are added. However, the use of these personal markers does not mark the optative as a past time verb. Past time is a feature only of the indicative. Instead, the use of past time personal markers is due to a pre-historical classification of these markers as primary, or basic.
The Progressive Optative
The progressive optative of thematic verbs, as well as of /νυ/μι verbs, is formed by adding /οι/ to the progressive stem, followed by mostly expected athematic personal markers (/μι, /ς, /ø, /μεν, /τε, /εν in the active). The progressive middle/passive uses athematic personal markers otherwise associated with past time verbs (/μην, /σο, /το, /μεθα, /σθε, /ντο). Again, this does not make the optative past time. The time of the optative is determined by the context of the sentence. The use of what became past time personal markers is, rather, a purely grammatical feature of its formation.
Progressive Optative Active: Thematic Verbs
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λεγ/ø/οι/μι > λέγοιμι |
λεγ/ø/οι/μεν > λέγοιμεν |
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λεγ/ø/οι/ς > λέγοις |
λεγ/ø/οι/τε > λέγοιτε |
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λεγ/ø/οι/ø > λέγοι |
λεγ/ø/οι/εν > λέγοιεν |
Progressive Optative Middle or Passive: Thematic Verbs
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λεγ/ø/οι/μην > λεγοίμην |
λεγ/ø/οι/μεθα > λεγοίμεθα |
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λεγ/ø/οι/σο > λέγοιο |
λεγ/ø/οι/σθε > λέγοισθε |
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λεγ/ø/οι/το > λέγοιτο |
λεγ/ø/οι/ντο > λέγοιντο |
In the progressive optative of athematic verbs (namely, the optative of /μι verbs, except those in /νυ/μι), /ιη/ is added to the progressive stem in the singular active and /ι/ to the progressive stem in the plural active, as well as in both numbers of the middle/passive. Mostly expected athematic personal markers are used (/ν, /ς, /ø, /μεν, /τε, /εν in the active; /μην, /σο, /το, /μεθα, /σθε, /ντο in the middle/passive):
Progressive Optative Active: Athematic Verbs
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δι/δο/ιη/η > διδοίην |
δι/δο/ι/μεν > διδοῖμεν |
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δι/δο/ιη/ς > διδοίης |
δι/δο/ι/τε > διδοῖτε |
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δι/δο/ιη/ø > διδοίη |
δι/δο/ι/εν > διδοῖεν |
In later Greek, /ιη/ appears also in the plural, and the more familiar athematic third-person marker /σαν may be used in place of /εν.
Progressive Optative Middle or Passive: Athematic Verbs
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δι/δο/ι/μην > διδοίμην |
δι/δο/ι/μεθα > διδοίμεθα |
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δι/δο/ι/σο > διδοῖο |
δι/δο/ι/σθε > διδοῖσθε |
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δι/δο/ι/το > διδοῖτο |
δι/δο/ι/ντο > διδοῖντο |
The Aorist Optative
While the optative is athematic throughout its formation (because personal markers are added directly to the optative marker without intervening connecting vowels), the verb’s formation in the aorist indicative determines its formation in the aorist optative. Asigmatic verbs that are thematic in the indicative use the /οι/ optative marker in the active and middle (e.g. indicative ἐπίθομεν is optative πίθοιμεν). Asigmatic verbs that are athematic in the indicative use the /ιη/ optative marker in the active singular, and /ι/ in the active plural and throughout the middle (e.g. δοίην active, δοίμην middle). Thus, so far the aorist optative is formed the same way as the progressive optative—sans, of course, the use of progressive aspect markers.
In place of /οι/, the sigmatic aorist normally uses /αι/ in the active and middle. However, in the active an alternate marker /ει/ is common in the second-person singular, third-person singular, and third-person plural. To these are added personal markers typical of the alpha formation. Thus second singular /ει/ας, third singular /ει/ε, and third plural /ει/αν.
The aorist passive optative is formed the same way, with /θη/, regardless of whether the verb is sigmatic or asigmatic in the active and middle. The /θη/ passive marker combines with the optative marker /ιη/ in the singular, producing -θειη-, and with /ι/ in the plural, producing -θει-. The η of the aorist passive marker shortens to ε before the ι of the optative marker. As in the progressive passive optative of athematic verbs, in later Greek /ιη/ may be used also in the plural, in which case /σαν is used instead of /εν as the third-person plural marker:
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Sigmatic Aorist Active Optative |
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ποιε/σ/αι/μι > ποιήσαιμι |
ποιε/σ/αι/μεν > ποιήσαιμεν |
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ποιε/σ/αι/ς > ποιήσαις or ποιήσειας |
ποιε/σ/αι/τε > ποιήσαιτε |
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ποιε/σ/αι/ø > ποιήσαι or ποιήσειε |
ποιε/σ/αι/εν > ποιήσαιεν or ποιήσειαν |
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Sigmatic Aorist Middle Optative |
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ποιε/σ/αι/μην > ποιησαίμην |
ποιε/σ/αι/μεθα > ποιησαίμεθα |
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ποιε/σ/αι/σο > ποιήσαιο |
ποιε/σ/αι/σθε > ποιήσαισθε |
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ποιε/σ/αι/το > ποιήσαιτο |
ποιε/σ/αι/ντο > ποιήσαιντο |
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Asigmatic Aorist Active Optative |
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πιθ/οι/μι > πίθοιμι |
πιθ/οι/μεν > πίθοιμεν |
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πιθ/οι/ς > πίθοις |
πιθ/οι/τε > πίθοιτε |
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πιθ/οι/ø > πίθοι |
πιθ/οι/εν > πίθοιεν |
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Asigmatic Aorist Middle Optative |
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πιθ/οι/μην > πιθοίμην |
πιθ/οι/μεθα > πιθοίμεθα |
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πιθ/οι/σο > πίθοιο |
πιθ/οι/σθε > πίθοισθε |
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πιθ/οι/το > πίθοιτο |
πιθ/οι/ντο > πίθοιντο |
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Aorist Passive Optative |
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ποιε/θη/ιη/ν > ποιηθείην |
ποιε/θη/ι/μεν > ποιηθεῖμεν |
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ποιε/θη/ιη/ς > ποιηθείης |
ποιε/θη/ι/τε > ποιηθεῖτε |
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ποιε/θη/ιη/ø > ποιηθείη |
ποιε/θη/ι/εν > ποιηθεῖεν |
The Perfect Optative
We may predict forms of the perfect optative (e.g. λελοίποιμι, λελοιποίμην), but it is more likely formed periphrastically (e.g. λελοιπὼς εἴην, λελειμμένος εἴην).
The Future Optative
The future optative adds /οι/ to the future stem and uses the same athematic personal markers as the progressive optative. It is more common in later Greek.