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11
Readings
The Alphabet Song of Callias
Callias was an Athenian comic poet of the fifth century B.C.E. This choral song comes from a comedy called the Alphabet Tragedy ( ). , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
The letters we call epsilon, upsilon, omicron, and omega were at this period called , , , and . Epsilon or (end of line 1) is called the gods letter because of a large E dedicated to Apollo at Delphi. The scholar Plutarch wrote a treatise on this monument (Moralia 392, called ) in which he gives various explanations for the E, which also represents the number 5. Especially charming is the suggestion that it is a greeting to Apollo. Instead of using the usual Hello, in Greek, , Apollo greets those who come to his temple with the inscribed words (know yourself) and the worshiper answers with the word which means you are. (also, in another form, ) the is added before some of the letters to maintain the rhythm. Line 4: being next to; and; to, up to. After singing the alphabet, the chorus in pairs went through the letters, making syllables by combining each consonant with each vowel in turn and in this way imitating the favored method of teaching young Greek children how to read. , ... ( is Greek for etc.)
12
Introduction
2. Vowels: .
[ of these (refers to ). . . . (in sentence 3) point to two parts of a contrast or items in a list.]
3. .
[ is/are called. because. (acc. obj.) voice, sound. from themselves. [it/they] produce/s.]
4. Longs/shorts: , , , , , , , .
[ of the . . . (gen. pl.). long. and, plus. short. of variable quantity (sometimes long and sometimes short).]
5. Diphthongs: .
[ (they/there) are.]
6. Consonants: .
[ the remaining, the rest.]
7. , , .
[They are called consonants [] because they do not have a sound [] by themselves, but arranged with the vowels they produce a sound.]
8. Mutes: .
[: a-privative: a-, un-, non-, without, -less + -.]
11. , , .
[ is/are called. because. each one of them. from, of. consists (+ of).]
12. Accents: , , . .