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Homeric Vocabularies: Greek and English Word-Lists for the Study of Homer

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The greatest obstacle to reading Homer in Greek is the sheer density of the vocabulary. That is to say, Homer's vocabulary is
enormous. As an attempt to help the student of Homeric Greek acquire a good grasp on Homer's vocabulary, this little book is useful yet not as useful as it could have been.

The book contains word lists covering words that occur up to ten times in the Iliad and Odyssey. Unfortunately, there are serious faults with the word lists. As one reviewer has already mentioned, the verbs give only the present indicative active; with a verb such as audao (to speak, say, utter (something)(to someone)), this is no problem, since the verb only appears in a few tenses in which context and form always guarantee one's recognition of it. However, there are countless verbs which undergo such dramatic changes in form from one tense to the next
that knowing the present indicative active alone is well-nigh useless. Thus, principal parts should have been provided for such words.

Also, there are many words whose meaning changes from one context to the next. The definitions provided for such words in the word lists are almost useless, since they only equip the reader with an understanding of them in certain contexts.

One last criticism: There are a number of words which really do not need to be included in these word lists. Words like kai, de, and alla are so common and so basic that only the most intellectually challenged of Greek students would need to practice them.

So the book is useful for the absolute beginner in Homeric Greek, but its defects become more and more obvious the more
one progresses in one's learning. It's a shame that no one has come up with a better alternative to these word lists. Personally, I would love to see a full vocabulary guide to Homeric Greek such as one can find for the vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, in which principal parts and variant meanings are included, and in which all of Homer's vocabulary is covered down to those pesky hapax legomena (words used only once).

This wordlist is of inestimable value to all those few yet thrice-blessed who still learn to read Homer in Greek. By the time you finish it, you will have at least a nodding acquaintance with every word that appears ten times or more in the Iliad and Odyssey. That may indeed leave a trireme of unknown words, but trust me, knowing the most frequent ones makes it much easier to get the gist of a passage before running to the lexicon. If you are learning Homer from Pharr--as nearly everyone does--this is a good reference to consult to see which words in his chapter vocabularies are worth committing to your active memory. (I wish that Pharr had marked the words of infrequent occurrence. Wright should have done this in his "revision" but he didn't really revise Pharr much at all.)

There is only one shortcoming, though I do consider it a serious one: the list of verbs does not include principal parts, and the noun list does not give genders or stems. You could easily write in the article and genitive forms for the nouns, but good luck trying to fit the five remaining principal parts of a verb on the same line as its entry. So no matter how you solve this problem, you will still need to look up nearly every word. That's an onerous task to inflict on a beginner. With a class of students, though, I suppose the teacher could divide up the drudge-work.

I found "Homeric Vocabularies" to be very useful while I was learning to read Homer in Greek. Using this book as a reference, I have been able to learn a fair number of vocabulary words used in the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey." The most helpful aspect of this book is that the vocabulary words are ordered in groups according to its frequency of occurence in the Epic Poems. By learning the vocabulary words from this book, I have been able to read through more of the Greek text without pausing to look up a word. Overall, the book is practical, easy to use, and an excellent reference for anyone learning to read Homeric Greek. (Finally, it's a great companion to "Homeric Greek" by Clyde Pharr et al.)

I will disagree with the reviewers that fault Owen & Goodspeed for the lack of principle parts and alternate definitions; for me, the strength of this little volume was the ability to carry it tucked in a pocket and quickly drill vocabulary when I had a few minutes. Anyone reading Homer should have a good lexicon and use that for examining meanings and forms; if you memorize the contents of Owen & Goodspeed, you'll be able to quickly identify words and, if necessary, look them up for other meanings or unusual forms.

If you build your vocabulary, the lexicons/dictionaries will become your friends instead of your taskmasters as you read Homer. Use this handy, helpful little gem (making your own flashcards) while you go through Pharr's primer.

You will never again find as easy, portable, inexpensive or invaluable a tool for learning the vocabulary of a single author. And since Homer was used as the foundation of Greek education, understanding Homer wil enlighten and enlarge your understanding of other authors immeausurably. What are you waiting for?

For a novice, reading a foreign language can be truely frustrating, as he finds himself continually resorting to a dictionary that contains thousands of irrelavant entries. Any possible pleasure from reading a new passage, even as elementary as a nursery rhyme, can quickly dissapate. "Homeric Vocabularies" helps to put some of that pleasure back into reading by providing all of the vocabulary you will ever need for Homeric readings in one concise volume. The lists of Homer's vocabulary are arraged by part of speach (verb, noun, adverb, etc.) and by the occurance rate (500-2000 times, 200-500 times, etc.), keeping the reader from getting lost in the trees of the forest. The lists are easy and fast to review because they are simple; some may say they are too simple because they do not include all of the verbal parts. But, if one later meets a verbal form that he can't recognize, he can always fall back on "A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect" by Richard John Cunliffe to solve the problem quickly. The purpose of "Homeric Vocabularies" is to allow us to familiarize ourselves with the relevant vocabulary as quickly as possible so that we can we can get on with reading and do it with an enhanced sense of enjoyment and appreciation.

I used this years ago in college and just got it off the shelf as I prepare to take up Homeric Greek again for fun.

This was a great help when I first needed it for both 'Odyssey' and 'Iliad' readings. I can certainly agree with those who want principal parts and more definitions, but that's why you also need Liddell and Scott's or Cunliffe's 'Lexicon...' My sticking point is that nouns could've been given a definite article and a genitive ending, even so supplying them yourself (as I did) is a great exercise.

What is so nice about this book is the great number of words listed for you and especially its portability. Take it every where; use it any time!
What Owen and Goodspeed wanted to do is provide vocabulary as simply as possible. And they succeeded.

If you wish to read any language, vocabulary is necessary. The listing of words by frequency and parts of speech helps one to focus study time where it will bear the most fruit.