Homeric Greek is the form of the Greek language that was used in the Iliad, Odyssey, and Homeric Hymns. It is a literary dialectofAncient Greek consisting mainly of an archaic form of Ionic, with some Aeolic forms, a few from Arcadocypriot, and a written form influenced by Attic.[1] It was later named Epic Greek because it was used as the language of epic poetry, typically in dactylic hexameter, by poets such as Hesiod and Theognis of Megara. Compositions in Epic Greek may date from as late as the 5th century CE, and it only fell out of use by the end of classical antiquity.
Homeric Greek | |
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Early form | |
Greek alphabet | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
grc-hom |
In the following description, only forms that differ from those of later Greek are discussed. Omitted forms can usually be predicted from patterns seen in Ionic Greek.
Homeric Greek is like Ionic Greek, and unlike Classical Attic, in shifting almost all cases of long ᾱtoη.
Homeric | Attic | English |
---|---|---|
Τροίη | Τροίᾱ | Troy (nominative singular) |
ὥρη | ὥρᾱ | an hour (nominative singular) |
πύλῃσι | πύλαις/πύλαισι | gates (dative plural) |
Exceptions include nouns like θεᾱ́ ("a goddess"), and the genitive plural of first-declension nouns and the genitive singular of masculine first-declension nouns. For example θεᾱ́ων ("of goddesses"), and Ἀτρεΐδᾱο ("of the son of Atreus").
A note on nouns:
Singular | Dual | Plural | |
---|---|---|---|
Nominative | ἐγώ, ἐγών | νῶι, νώ | ἡμεῖς, ἄμμες |
Genitive | ἐμεῖο, ἐμέο, ἐμεῦ, μεῦ, ἐμέθεν | νῶιν | ἡμείων, ἡμέων, ἀμμέων |
Dative | ἐμοί, μοι | ἡμῖν, ἄμμι(ν) | |
Accusative | ἐμέ, με | νῶι, νώ | ἡμέας, ἧμας, ἄμμε |
Singular | Dual | Plural | |
---|---|---|---|
Nominative | σύ, τύνη | σφῶϊ, σφώ | ὑμεῖς, ὔμμες |
Genitive | σεῖο, σέο, σεῦ, σευ, σέθεν, τεοῖο | σφῶϊν, σφῷν | ὑμέων, ὑμείων, ὔμμέων |
Dative | σοί, τοι, τεΐν | ὑμῖν, ὔμμι(ν) | |
Accusative | σέ | σφῶϊ, σφώ | ὑμέας, ὔμμε |
Singular | Dual | Plural | |
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Nominative | — | σφωέ | σφεῖς |
Genitive | οὗ, εἷο, ἕο, εὗ, ἕθεν | σφωΐν | σφείων, σφέων |
Dative | ἑοῖ, οἱ | σφι(ν), σφίσι(ν) | |
Accusative | ἕ, ἑέ, μιν | σφωέ | σφε, σφέας, σφας |
Nominative | τίς |
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Accusative | τίνα |
Genitive | τέο, τεῦ |
Dative | τέῳ |
Genitive | τέων[clarification needed] |
'
In most circumstances, Homeric Greek did not have available a true definite article. Ὁ, ἡ, τό and their inflected forms do occur, but they are in origin and usually used as demonstrative pronouns.[4]
Homer (in the Iliad and the Odyssey) uses about 9,000 words, of which 1,382 are proper names. Of the 7,618 remaining words 2,307 are hapax legomena.[5][6] According to classical scholar Clyde Pharr, "the Iliad has 1097 hapax legomena, while the Odyssey has 868".[7] Others have defined the term differently, however, and count as few as 303 in the Iliad and 191 in the Odyssey.[8]
The Iliad, lines 1–7
Μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος
οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί’ Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε’ ἔθηκε,
πολλὰς δ’ ἰφθίμους ψυχὰς Ἄϊδι προΐαψεν
ἡρώων, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσιν
οἰωνοῖσί τε δαῖτα· Διὸς δ’ ἐτελείετο βουλή·
ἐξ οὗ δὴ τὰ πρῶτα διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε
Ἀτρεΐδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς.
Theodore Alois Buckley (1860):
Sing, O goddess, the destructive wrath of Achilles, son of Peleus, which brought countless woes upon the Greeks, and hurled many valiant souls of heroes down to Hades, and made themselves a prey to dogs and to all birds but the will of Jove was being accomplished, from the time when Atrides, king of men, and noble Achilles, first contending, were disunited.