3 The genitive case
The genitive case has a range of uses, but to begin with, think of it as the ‘of’ case. Here are more examples, with the genitive ending highlighted:
- ἄγγελος θεοῦ a messenger of god (or god’s messenger)
- φόβος θανάτου fear of death
- βουλή Ἀφροδίτῆς a plan of Aphrodite (or Aphrodite’s plan)
Note that although Greek possesses a definite article (‘the’), it has no indefinite article (‘a’ or ‘an’). This often needs to be supplied in an English translation.
- Vocabulary
- θάνατος, ὁ death
- φόβος, ὁ fear
Note that it is the word ending, not the order of the words, that affects the meaning. φόβος θανάτου and θανάτου φόβος mean the same thing: ‘fear of death’.
You saw earlier that in English, if the noun is plural the apostrophe and the ‘s’ swap places.
- god’s messenger (singular: one god)
- the gods’ messenger (plural: many gods)
Greek noun endings also vary according to whether they are singular or plural. The genitive plural ending of a noun always ends in -ων.
- φόβος θεῶν fear of gods
Activity 2 Test your learning – genitive case
In Greek, which noun could be expressed using a genitive case?
1. The mother of Achilles
2. The daughter of Zeus
3. The defeat of Athens
4. Sparta’s victory
5. The gods’ quarrel
OpenLearn - Getting started on ancient Greek
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