100 ancient Greek words still used today

Take three words: θάλασσα (sea), άνθρωπος (human being) and ήλιος (sun). An ancient reader and a Greek child today write them with the same letters. That is the rule for this list: the modern word has the same letters as an ancient word and comes from it. Only the small marks above the letters differ. Editions of ancient texts print several (ἄνθρωπος, ἥλιος), while modern Greek has used a single accent since parliament voted for the change in 1982.

Three other things did change. First, the sound. The letter η was once a long open e and later became [i], so ήλιος now sounds like [ílios]. The letter θ was once a t with a puff of air, and today it is the first sound of English thin. Second, the writing. Accent marks came late: their invention is attributed to Aristophanes of Byzantium, about 200 BC. Athens used an older alphabet for official documents until 403/2 BC. Third, the dialect. Athenians usually wrote θάλαττα, the cry of Xenophon's soldiers in the Anabasis (4.7.24). Today's θάλασσα is the form found in Homer's Iliad.

The Triantafyllidis dictionary of Modern Greek traces these words back to Ancient or Hellenistic Greek, and the Liddell–Scott–Jones lexicon (LSJ) records the same forms. They are shown in modern spelling. Some have a spoken variant: ημέρα is often μέρα, and αδελφός is often αδερφός.

• Nature: θάλασσα (sea), ήλιος (sun), γη (earth), άνεμος (wind), βροχή (rain), ημέρα (day), ποταμός (river), λίμνη (lake), σκιά (shade), φως (light), βροντή (thunder), γέφυρα (bridge), ρίζα (root)
• Animals and food: λύκος (wolf), αετός (eagle), μέλισσα (bee), αράχνη (spider), μέλι (honey), γάλα (milk), κρέας (meat)
• People and the body: άνθρωπος (human being), στόμα (mouth), γλώσσα (tongue, language), σώμα (body), ψυχή (soul), αίμα (blood), λαιμός (throat, neck), αδελφός (brother), θεός (god), φίλος (friend), ξένος (stranger), μαθητής (pupil)
• Life and society: πόλεμος (war), ειρήνη (peace), ζωή (life), θάνατος (death), αλήθεια (truth), αγάπη (love), χαρά (joy), φόβος (fear), ύπνος (sleep), γάμος (wedding), τιμή (honour, price), νίκη (victory), νόμος (law), γράμμα (letter), λόγος (speech, reason), όνομα (name)
• Verbs and adjectives: γράφω (I write), ακούω (I hear), έχω (I have), τρέχω (I run), βλέπω (I see), θέλω (I want), μένω (I stay), καλός (good), μικρός (small), άγριος (wild), μόνος (alone), πρώτος (first)

The same dictionary labels these 30 words «learned» (λόγ.): they reached today's Greek through the written tradition. Many stand beside an everyday word: νήσος beside νησί, θύρα beside πόρτα, οφθαλμός beside μάτι, ιατρός beside γιατρός, κεφαλή beside κεφάλι. You still meet them. A street address can read «οδός Σταδίου», and the parliament is the Βουλή των Ελλήνων.

• Knowledge: ιστορία (history), φιλοσοφία (philosophy), τέχνη (art), επιστήμη (science), σοφία (wisdom), αρετή (virtue), μύθος (myth), αριθμός (number)
• Public life: δημοκρατία (democracy), δήμος (municipality), βουλή (parliament), κράτος (state), ελευθερία (freedom), πολίτης (citizen), στρατηγός (general), στρατός (army), μάχη (battle), τύραννος (tyrant), εχθρός (enemy)
• Things and people: σελήνη (moon), νήσος (island), οδός (street), θύρα (door), τείχος (city wall), χρυσός (gold), άργυρος (silver), σίδηρος (iron), κεφαλή (head), οφθαλμός (eye), ιατρός (doctor)

These words kept their letters, but compare the first meaning with today's:

• εκκλησία: the citizens' assembly; today, a church.
• σχολή: leisure; today, a university faculty.
• τράπεζα: a table, also a money-changer's; today, a bank.
• αγορά: a place of assembly and market; today, a market or a purchase.
• δρόμος: a race; today, a road.
• άγγελος: a messenger; today, an angel.
• πέτρα: a rock; today, a stone.
• φεύγω: I run away; today, I leave.
• πόνος: hard work; today, pain.
• ώρα: a season, the right moment; today, an hour.

This list is our selection, not an official one: Greek has many more such words. If you study Ancient Greek you can read all of them at sight. What takes practice is hearing them as Greeks say them now.