A New Introduction to Greek: Third Edition Revised and Enlarged [Hardcover]

Alston Hurd Chase (Author), Henry Phillips Jr. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674616006 | ISBN-13: 978-0674616004 | Publication Date: January 1, 1961 | Edition: 3

Major revisions in this widely used text include:
1. Larger typefaces for all Greek paradigms;
2. Greatly expanded vocabularies, both Greek-English and English-Greek;
3. New review exercises for each lesson in both Greek and English;
4. New appendices listing 75 irregular verbs with their principal parts and the prepositions with their meanings. At many points the expositions, notes, and lesson vocabularies are expanded and the English sentences revised.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alston Hurd Chase is Chairman of the Department of the Classics, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts.

Henry Phillips, Jr., is Professor of Greek, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press; 3 edition (January 1, 1961)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674616006
• ISBN-13: 978-0674616004
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #468,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Greek > Instruction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good grammar, November 21, 2004

By 

Jon Torodash (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A New Introduction to Greek: Third Edition Revised and Enlarged (Hardcover)

I was inducted into Greek through the Chase and Philips book in college under a knowledgeable instructor after having had much Latin, so perhaps my experience is not that of most readers. The book divides its content well, but chapter ordering could have been done differently. Out of 40 chapters, the Aorist passive and whole perfect system don't show up until 31 and 32 respectively and the relative pronoun is chapter 5's material. This is particularly problematic with the perfect system, because its morphology in Greek is highly irregular for several verbs and as introduced here, the reader has little regular practice before hitting literature. Imperatives and "eim'", "ei'mi", and "oida" are crammed in even later, creating the same problem. Nonetheless, paradigms and examples are abundant and clear. If I can find what I need in this book I will not bother to open Smythe.

Vocabulary is kept at a minimum but the list selected is pretty good for jumping right into Plato, Xenophon, Euripides, Demosthenes, or most any other Attic author, which I think is good for a grammar when trying to lay down concepts efficiently. It would be nice to see an attendant reader like the Oxford course has for optional increased vocabulary learning.

The Greek composition exercises really shouldn't be included. Chase and Phillips provide little if any instruction in writing Greek; you're meant just to guess it out from the grammar you learn with no explanation of style or common usage. I was assigned several of these in school and though I did well, suggestions from the teacher helped.

The treatment of Greek conditionals is shaky. The most common forms are explained well, but there is no section developing a unified picture of them, nor a full explanation of the sequence of moods, and there may even be some direct omissions. Smythe's delineation and classification is far superior.

There is no attention given to the Ionic or Doric dialects which compels me to advise against using this for anyone seeking foremost to pick up Homer, Herodotus, or the lyric poets if working entirely through self-study. This ia an ATTIC grammar: have no illusions about it.

Having learned Greek through this text, I feel I cannot accurately compare it to any other grammars since I approach them with too much foreknowledge to judge their full pedagogical efficacy. New Introduction to Greek presents most concepts very lucidly, has excellent charts/graphs in each chapter and fine appendices. Under expert guidance it is a very approachable for the serious student and makes a handy quick-reference tool for many of the major areas of basic grammar.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give it some time, June 26, 2001

By 

Richard R. Simpkins "Worlds Without End critic" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A New Introduction to Greek: Third Edition Revised and Enlarged (Hardcover)

When I first started with Chase & Phillips I became very frustrated. I was used to language courses that employed repition. This book contains little to no repitition.

As unpopular as the notion is, only hard work will get you through this book. Unlike other coursebooks, however, this one will remain useful after you have finished the course. The books lack of repition is due to its systematic introduction of key concepts. Its terse style gives you exactly what you need to know, when you need to know it. The way you progress when you follow this book page-by-page is uncanny. It was written 100 years ago and hasn't been updated much at all. There is very little that one could add. I am a third year student of Greek, and still use the one copy that I purchased years ago. It is no longer a textbook to me, but a reference tool. That is what lends this text so much versatility and longevity.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only ancient Greek instruction manual worth reading., October 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A New Introduction to Greek: Third Edition Revised and Enlarged (Hardcover)

Anyone seeking to learn to read and write ancient Greek needs this book, a little determination, and nothing more. If you are familiar with the only name in Latin instruction texts, <<Wheelock's Latin>>, this book will look familiar in layout and methodology. In comparison with another Greek instruction text I have utilized called <<Athenazde>> Chase and Phillips is better in almost every way: organization, methodology, and presentation. Don't waste your time with any other text, even if they may save you a few dollars--you will regret the loss in content and quality.