Introduction

The frequency of animal life in the Universe must be some function of how often it arises, and then how long it survives after evolving. Both of these factors may be significantly influenced by the frequency and intensity of mass extinctions, brief intervals of time when significant proportions of a planet's biota are killed off. They are killed by one or some combination of too much heat or cold, not enough food or nutrients, too little (or too much) water, oxygen, or carbon dioxide, excess radiation, incorrect acidity in the environment, or environmental toxins. Based on the history of Earth's life, mass extinctions seemingly have the potential to end life on any planet where it has arisen.

Mass extinctions do more than threaten biota. They may also play a large part in evolutionary novelty. On Earth there have been about 15 such episodes during the last 500 Myr, five of which eliminated more than half of all species then inhabiting our planet. These events significantly affected the evolutionary history of Earth's biota: for example, if the dinosaurs had not been suddenly killed off following a comet collision with the Earth 65 Ma, there probably would not have been an Age of Mammals, since mammals were held in evolutionary check so long as dinosaurs existed. The wholesale evolution of mammalian diversity took place only after the dinosaurs were swept from the scene. Mass extinctions are thus both instigators as well as foils to evolution and innovation.

Introduction

Solon's visit to Croesus (translated from Herodotus Histories 1.29–33)

When Sardis was at its most prosperous, all the teachers (σοϕισταί) of the Greek world paid a visit, including Solon the Athenian … On arrival, he was entertained by Croesus in the palace, and after three or four days slaves at Croesus' command showed him around the treasury in all its greatness and magnificence. When he had dutifully examined and admired everything as best he could, Croesus asked him, ‘Guest from Athens, we have frequently been told of your wisdom and of the sight-seeing journeys you have undertaken all over the world to foster it. Now then, I find myself quite unable to resist asking you if you have ever seen anyone who is the happiest (ὄλβιος) man in the world.’ He asked this hoping that he himself was the happiest. Solon did not flatter him, but spoke the plain truth. ‘Yes, O King, Tellos the Athenian.’ Croesus, astonished at this reply, acidly asked the reason for his judgment. Solon replied, ‘First, Tellos’ city was prosperous, and he had fine sons, and he saw children born to them all, and all of them survived; second, he was as well off as a man can expect, and his death was glorious. For in a battle between the Athenians and their neighbours in Eleusis, it was he who rescued the situation, routed the enemy and died gloriously.

This book is written to be used in step with Reading Greek (Text) of the Joint Association of Classical Teachers' Greek Course. In it will be found:

1. A: Section-by-section grammatical explanations and exercises to support the reading of the twenty sections of the Text (pp. 1–368). While we recommend that the Text is tackled before students turn to the grammar and exercises, no harm will be done by taking a different view.

2. B: A Reference Grammar, which summarises and sometimes expands upon the essential features of the grammar met in the Course (pp. 369–464).

3. C: A number of Language Surveys which look in detail at some of the more important features of the language (pp. 465–496).

4. D: A Total Vocabulary of all words that should have been learnt – this has been appended to the Text as well – followed by a list of proper names (pp. 497–520).

5. E: A vocabulary for the English-Greek exercises (pp. 521–528).

6. F: Indices to the grammar and to Greek words (pp. 529–543), originally constructed by Professor W. K. Lacey and his students at the University of Auckland, New Zealand and here revised.

It would be impracticable to produce an exhaustive grammar of the whole Greek language. We have therefore concentrated attention on its most common features. Students and teachers should bear in mind that the first aim of this grammar is to help students to translate from Greek into English.

Introduction

The reason that Euelpides gave for leaving Athens was that he and Peisetairos had been unjustly found guilty in a law-suit. Whatever the actual rights and wrongs of the matter, the Athenians' reputation for litigiousness was notorious throughout the Mediterranean. Pericles (Περικλῆς) had introduced pay for dikasts (δικασταί, jurors) in c. 461 BC, so that even the poorest might be encouraged to take part in the democratic process of judging their fellow-man, and it would appear that some men were happy to scrape a living out of serving as dikasts. The courts handled not only judicial business, but political cases as well: their power was, potentially, enormous, and could be wielded to deadly effect. There was little ‘procedure’ in the courts; certainly no judge to guide dikasts and clarify the law; no question of the dikasts (usually 501 Athenian males) retiring to discuss what they had heard; few rules of evidence; and no cross-questioning of witnesses. The dikasts listened to both sides, and voted on the issue at once. In such an atmosphere, the law could easily be abused.

In Wasps, Aristophanes presents his vision of the ‘typical’ Athenian dikast, and leaves us to ponder its implications for the administration of justice in Athens.

In World of Athens: the law-courts 6.39ff.

Law-court mania in Athens

It has been estimated that, when allowance is made for festivals, ἐκκλησίαι and so on, juries might sit on between 150 and 200 days in the year … If we are to believe Aristophanes' Wasps of 422, some elderly Athenians had a passion to serve.

Introduction

These selections are adapted from the speech Κατὰ Νεαίρας, The Prosecution of Neaira (attributed to Demosthenes), given by Apollodoros in the Athenian courts about 340. Neaira is accused of being non-Athenian and of claiming marriage to the Athenian Stephanos, and so usurping the privileges of citizenship. Citizenship at Athens was restricted to the children of two Athenian citizen parents, legally married, and it was a jealously guarded privilege. Apollodoros was therefore able to bring the charge as a matter of public interest, in a γραφή. He sketches Neaira's past to prove that she is an alien, but also makes great play of the fact that she was a slave and prostitute as well, thus making her ‘pretence’ to Athenian citizenship all the more shocking; and goes on to show that Stephanos and Neaira were treating Neaira's alien children as if they were entitled to Athenian citizenship. This evidence gives Apollodoros the occasion to claim that Neaira and Stephanos are undermining the whole fabric of society.

Apollodoros had a personal interest in the matter as well, for he had a long-standing feud with Stephanos, as the start of the speech makes clear. If Apollodoros secured Neaira's conviction, she would be sold into slavery: Stephanos' ‘family’ would be broken up (and Neaira and Stephanos, formally married or not, had been living together for probably thirty years by the time of this case) and Stephanos himself would be liable to a heavy fine; if he could not pay it, he would lose his rights of citizenship (ἀτιμία).

Introduction

The extracts from The Prosecution of Neaira may have given you one impression of the responsibilities, dignity and status of Athenian women, and of other women, seen through the eyes of one man. In the following brief extract, taken from Greek drama – the circumstances and conventions of which place it on a far different level from a speech in a courtroom (though both are written to win – the one a case, the other a dramatic prize) – you may receive a quite different impression, and one no less important than that given by Neaira.

The god Apollo, sentenced by Zeus to live a life of serfdom to a mortal (because he had killed Zeus' firemakers, the Cyclopes), serves his time under the human Admetos and, finding Admetos a pious man, tricks the Fates into offering him a reprieve from imminent death – on the condition that another will die in his place. Only Admetos' wife, Alkestis, can be found to take his place. The day has now come on which Death is to take Alkestis away.

In World of Athens: Greek tragedy 8.49ff.; women, marrriage and the home 5.9ff.; death and burial 5.78ff.