Ancient Greek has three kinds of accent:
- acute (ά)
- circumflex (ᾶ)
- grave (ὰ)
The Law of Limitation
In Greek the accent must fall on one of the final three syllables. There are no exceptions to this rule.
The acute may stand on any of the final three syllables.
The circumflex may stand on any of the final two syllables.
The grave may stand on the final syllable only.
Note also: the circumflex may not stand on a short vowel; it must accompany a long vowel or diphthong.
James Tauber has a good visualised explanation of the law of limitation.
Terminology
Traditional grammars use the Greek terms of ancient grammarians to describe the accent of a word. The table below explains the meaning of these terms.
| Term | Type | Position | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| oxytone | acute | ultimate | δικαστής |
| paroxytone | acute | penultimate | ἀνθρώπου |
| proparoxytone | acute | antepenultimate | ἄνθρωπος |
| perispomenon | circumflex | ultimate | στρατιωτῶν |
| properispomenon | circumflex | penultimate | στρατιῶται |
| barytone | grave | ultimate | εἰς τὸν ἀγορὰν βαίνει. |
The Greek words are adjectives, so it proper to say, “The word ἄνθρωπος is proparoxtyone.”
(The ultimate syllable is the last; the penultimate is the second-to-last, and the antepenultimate is the third-to-last.)
Further reading
- Koster, A. J., A Practical Guide for the Writing of The Greek Accents, Brill 1976
- Noutch, Jack, A CLI application to test your knowledge of Ancient Greek accentuation
- Probert, Philomen
- J. K. Tauber, Notes on Greek Accentuation
- Ancient Greek Accents in Ten Rules – Antigone