Preface

At a time when Greek accents are increasingly passed over in the classroom, even by teachers of the Classical language, a new tool for learning Greek accentuation may seem pointless. The opposite is true. Accents are an integral part of the Greek writing system inherited from antiquity. Ignoring them in the early stages of learning may seem an easy option, but sooner or later the lack of knowledge will be missed by anyone who continues with Greek. For advanced research and publication their use is indispensible. It may also be thought that there are enough guides already. But the existing handbooks, though good in their way, do not really meet the need, as is explained in the bibliography.

This book began life as a short course for an informal class held at Macquarie University, Sydney, in 2004, and gradually grew from that. I am grateful to the members of that first class for providing the occasion to construct such a course and for the contribution they made by their enthusiasm and their questions. A first edition in A4 format was printed in 2005 under the auspices of the Ancient History Documentary Research Centre (as it then was) at Macquarie University. Alanna Nobbs’s support of that enterprise is gratefully acknowledged. I am happy to record again my thanks to John Sheldon for checking through that edition before publication and offering many helpful comments. Subsequently the course was used with classes a number of times, each providing opportunities for improvement. The review by Trevor Evans in Classicum 33.1 (2007): 31 contributed further, and subsequently Trevor discussed several issues with me and helped me resolve them. He has kindly read the revised version in full, a labour I much appreciate.

In this new edition, no major changes to the structure have been needed. Only improvements to the layout and minor additions to the content have been made. Two new sections have been added, Traditional Accent Terminology and Illustrations, intended to provide useful information—and visual pleasure—regarding the history of Greek accents. I am grateful to the publisher, Zondervan, for showing an interest in the work, and especially to Chris Beetham, Senior Editor, for his enthusiastic support from the beginning, his ongoing encouragement, and his important input at copy-editing