Homeric Greek


Homeric Greek is the form of the Greek language that was used in the Iliad, Odyssey, and Homeric Hymns. It is a literary dialect of Ancient Greek consisting mainly of an archaic form of Ionic, with some Aeolic forms, a few from Arcadocypriot, and a written form influenced by Attic. 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. Some compositions in Epic Greek date from as late as the 5th century , and it only fell out of use by the end of classical antiquity.

Main features

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.

Phonology

Homeric Greek is like Ionic Greek, and unlike Classical Attic, in shifting almost all cases of long ᾱ to η.
HomericAtticEnglish
ΤροίηΤροίᾱTroy
ὥρηὥρᾱan hour
πύλῃσιπύλαις/πύλαισιgates

Exceptions include nouns like θεᾱ́, and the genitive plural of first-declension nouns and the genitive singular of masculine first-declension nouns.
For example θεᾱ́ων, and Ἀτρεΐδᾱο.

Nouns

; First declension
; Second declension
; Third declension
A note on nouns:
  • After short vowels, the reflex of Proto-Greek *ts can alternate between -σ- and -σσ- in Homeric Greek. This can be of metrical use. For example, τόσος and τόσσος are equivalent; μέσος and μέσσος; ποσί and ποσσί.
  • A relic of the Proto-Greek instrumental case, the ending -φι can be used for the dative singular and plural of nouns and adjectives. For example, βίηφι, δακρυόφιν, and ὄρεσφιν.

    Pronouns

SingularDualPlural
Nominativeσύ, τύνησφῶϊ, σφώὑμεῖς, ὔμμες
Genitiveσεῖο, σέο, σεῦ, σευ, σέθεν, τεοῖοσφῶϊν, σφῷνὑμέων, ὑμείων, ὔμμέων
Dativeσοί, τοι, τεΐνσφῶϊν, σφῷνὑμῖν, ὔμμι
Accusativeσέσφῶϊ, σφώὑμέας, ὔμμε

SingularDualPlural
Nominative—σφωέσφεῖς
Genitiveοὗ, εἷο, ἕο, εὗ, ἕθενσφωΐνσφείων, σφέων
Dativeἑοῖ, οἱσφωΐνσφι, σφίσι
Accusativeἕ, ἑέ, μινσφωέσφε, σφέας, σφας

Nominativeτίς
Accusativeτίνα
Genitiveτέο, τεῦ
Dativeτέῳ
Genitiveτέων

Verbs

; Person endings
; Tenses
; Subjunctive
; Infinitive
; Contracted verbs

Adverbs

; Adverbial suffixes

Particles

; Emphatics

Other features

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.

Vocabulary

Homer uses about 9,000 words, of which 1,382 are proper names. Of the 7,618 remaining words 2,307 are hapax legomena. According to classical scholar Clyde Pharr, "the Iliad has 1097 hapax legomena, while the Odyssey has 868". Others have defined the term differently, however, and count as few as 303 in the Iliad and 191 in the Odyssey.

Sample

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 πᾶσι· Διὸς δ’ ἐτελείετο βουλή·
ἐξ οὗ δὴ τὰ πρῶτα διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε
Ἀτρεΐδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς.

Theodore Alois Buckley :
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.

Authors