Section Two

A
Background
Persia and the Persian Wars 1.27-39 (esp. 16 - Salamis)
Rhetoric 8.18
Grammar
Present indicative active -o®
Present indicative and imperative middle -o^ai, -ao^ai, -eo^ai, Po^ arcopia, xo^a, vavxn? (nom., acc.)
Genitive plurals meaning ‘of’
Uses of the definite article
More prepositions (napa, era, 5ia + accusative)
It is probably best to treat the middle endings as something separate. If navra and rcavo^ai are both met, there are likely to be questions about the distinctions between them and these questions are not answered in the Course until Section 5. If an interim explanation is required, it is possible to call the middle ‘a sort of reflexive’ - acting on yourself or in your own interests. It is, however, essential to stress that many verbs have a middle form only, cf. deponent verbs in Latin for those who know that language. The contracted forms of middle verbs should cause no problems if the rules for contraction have been assimilated.
If time is short, it is possible to pass over the -ora contractions; only a handful of verbs are common, and they seldom present difficulties of recognition. Future prose-writers will of course need the rules.
As for first-declension nouns, the full rules for the occurrence of -a- or -n- will again only be needed by those who wish to do a substantial amount of English - Greek translation.
Set up a grid as follows, revising or reviewing the active forms in class and writing them in before reading the text and eliciting the middle:
1 navra navo^ai noisra noi£op,ai opara 0eaop,ai
2
3 etc.

Discussion
There is a great temptation to spend too much time on the background. Some comment upon the invasion of Xerxes is essential - refer to the map - and upon the difference between the two narratives: the vague generalizations and high rhetoric of the rhapsode (based on Lysias’ Epitaph written 150 years after the event), and the ‘facts’ of the captain (though his account contains few solid facts about the battle). He describes events from the viewpoint of the individual without any concept of overall strategy - the same, indeed, is true of the accounts given by Aeschylus and Herodotus, on which the captain’s account is based.
CD
The whole of Section 2 is recorded on CD 1, tracks 20-3.
Commentary
p. 22 line
1 ppa8£w<;: ask for the part of speech.
£p/€Tai: ensure that the students distinguish the stem, and the ending. Then elicit the equivalent form of navo^ai (nav-ETai) and write it on the grid (if this verb is used as a pattern).
2 aXX^Xoui;: translate this, and fix the meaning by waiting for napa in line 3 and showing that nap’ a^n^a (ypa^axa = lines) gives ‘parallel’.
3 ^8£w<;: ask for the part of speech; cf. hedonist.
8iaX£yovTai: ensure the stem and ending are correctly split (this is not so difficult, since ^ey® has already been met). Use ‘dialogue’ to work towards the correct translation; comment again upon the vowel change ^ey-/^oy- (cf. note on p. 6.15).
4 8i£p/€Tai: cf. ‘I’ll go through the main points again.’
5 y^yv^Tal may have to be given, as also xa, Mn5iKa. Persia had been a province of Media; the rise of Cyrus and the growth of Persia led to the overthrow of the Median Empire. The Greeks still used ‘Medes’/‘Persians’ almost synonymously - compare the way the Persians in Aeschylus’ Persai and elsewhere used ‘Ionians’ for Greeks.
6 ^a/ovTai: use the picture to prompt guesses. toX^moi: usually guessed as ‘do’; accept, and modify it.
7 orcoooi mrcrouoiv: ask what you would want to know about a battle, e.g. ‘Who won?’ The right questions may guide students towards the idea of casualties.
10 p^TopiKa: elicit ‘rhetorical’ and establish the exact meaning in English.
11- 12 Note carefully xa nepi la^a^vva (rcpay^axa) as a very common idiom.
p. 23 line
8 v^oo^: What was Salamis? Locate -vna- in some names, e.g. Peloponnese, Dodekanese, Polynesia, Melanesia etc.
15 ^€T£pav: ask for the part of speech (%- stem).
ToX^av: refer back to Text p. 22.6. Important note: these references can apply to the Text, as here; or to the notes, on that place in the Text, in these Teachers’ Notes.
15 pappapoi: anyone who could not speak Greek and seemed therefore to utter nonsense-noises (bar-bar), cf. ‘talkrhubarb’ (fromriver Rha + barbarus, foreign).
16 icaoiv: the third person plural of ov5a first appears in the text here; it should be familiar from the Test Exercise.
18 KaXXioTov: try to take the meaning on from Ka^oc;: does -iax- suggest something? (apiaxoc;, ^a^iaxa.) rcofei: review and reinforce the difference between this and noiev here.
Section Two B
Background
Balanced, Gorgianic style 8.20 Use of ^ev ... 5e 8.10-11 Sacrifice 3.28ff.
Supplication 3.35-6 vPpic; 4.17
Commentary
p. 24 line
1 Much needs to be given here (except ©ea, cf. theology - noting, however, the feminine ending). The invocation to the Muse, goddess of memory, was to ensure the poet got right the facts relating to adventures long ago (it is nothing to do with ‘inspiration’ in our sense). It became a long-lasting poetic convention. It is worth giving the students the opening lines of the Iliad both for comparison, and for first acquaintance with the rhythm of the Homeric hexameter.
1 anopovoi: anope® is always hard to translate. Once the idea of ‘not know what to do’ (with no direct English verbal equivalent, although phrases ‘be flummoxed’ and ‘be in a quandary’ come close) is established, point out that this is a very useful verb. (NB: a + nop- = ‘no resources’ is at the root of it.)
^opowrai: cf. claustrophobia, hydrophobia, agoraphobia etc.
3-10 Many words are here which have been met before but not yet learnt (e.g. KvSuvoq, 0uma, eu%o^ai) - mostly from Text p. 16. Refer back to find the meanings. 10 aya0ov ... £teu0Epia: this use of the neuter = ‘a good thing’ is very common.
9 5oai: cf. Onocoi (Text p. 22.7).
10 iK£T£iai will need explanation, supplication not being a modern concept. The central idea is that the suppliant formally puts himself or herself at the mercy of someone else - human or divine - and thereby sets up a relationship which obliges the one supplicated to offer something in return, e.g. protection, victory etc.
17 rcaTp^8a: elicit the idea of ‘father’, and ‘fatherland’ should follow.
18 vppiv: not pride but (i) violence, aggression and (ii) intentional humiliation. rcX,^0o<;: cf. plethora.
Section Two C
Background
Herodotus and history 8.41-2 Aeschylus’ Persians 8.49, 60 Religion and patriotism 3.44; 5.83 ayrav and competition 4.1-2
Commentary
p. 26 line
1 ov8£v X&yEi: explain the literal meaning and give an appropriate idiom, e.g. ‘ He is talking rubbish! ’
7 yEu8^: cf. pseudonym and the numerous pseud- compounds. 
10 Eala^ivo^axn?: elicit the meaning from the elements. Note the pride in the epithet, cf. Mapa0ravo^a%n; (Text p. 136.7).
17 ^ou$av £/w: the vocabulary translates this as ‘keep quiet’. Add not ‘keep silent’, but more ‘take things easy, settle down, calm down, keep a low profile’ etc.
p. 27 line
17 £v0a Kai £v0a: it is best simply to give the meaning.
18 a^a £w: this can be deduced by reference to vv^ earlier.
19 oalniy^: see the picture. Salpinx is also used as an anatomical term for a tube, e.g. Eustachian and Fallopian.
^/€i: tell students to transliterate the first person singular of this verb and watch their surprise!
20 TOTp&v: some may know that Peter means ‘rock’ or ‘stone’, so they may easily guess this (refer to Matthew 16:18 if they do not). Mention also petrify, petrology etc., and perhaps add that petrol (neTpo; + oleum) also derives from it (as being found in subterranean deposits of rock).
25- 7 Aeschylus, Persai 402-5. Show students the original text.
26 yuvaiKa^: cf. gynaecology.
ayrav: cf. protagonist, agony (the final struggle before death).
Section Two D
Background
Interventions of the gods 3.7-10 Sea-battles 7.34ff.
Salamis 7.39
Greek unity 1.37, 1.33, 46ff.
Greek cram; 4.16
Use of past to throw light on present 8.28
Commentary
p. 28 line
2 0€axai: ask what you do in a theatre (cf. audience - audio). Discuss the different design of modern theatres.
2 ^atvexai: prompt the meaning via ‘phenomenon’.
5 KOO^M: cosmos = the ordered state of the universe; cosmetic = something which produces an ordered state of the face. The opposite of KOC^O; is %ao; (= void).
6 xa^iv: cf. taxidermy (= arranging, not stuffing, skins). For derm- cf. hypo¬dermic, pachyderm.
9 oi ^£v ... oi 8£: stress as ‘some ... others’, as given in vocabulary Two D p. 29
19 ^xapo^: cf. metabolism and other ^exa- compounds indicating change (metathesis, metamorphosis etc.).
20 opovoowiv: elicit by contrast with ^Roi, then explain the constituents, viz. o^o- and vovc;, cf. homeopathy, homogeneous, homonym etc. Homosexuals are not necessarily men!
pioowiv: cf. misogynist; explore the ^iao- root further.
Supplementary exercises
Transformation exercises from active to middle and back, singular to plural and so on, are useful. It is also worth giving the feminine definite article a thorough revision with the new feminine nouns, so an expansion exercise here will help, as well as transformations of the definite article + noun. Work on, e.g., ^ arcopia, o vauxn? especially.
When you are dealing with the present tense, any verb from the learning lists will be suitable, whether regular or not. There is a list of irregular verbs by section on p. 149 of these Notes.