Learn how to talk about the sights in Greece
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Iro: I’m Iro. |
| Judith: Judith here. Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 15 Visiting the Acropolis. Hello and welcome to GreekPod101.com where we study Modern Greek in a fun, educational formal. |
| Iro: So brush up on the Greek that you started learning long ago or start learning today. |
| Judith: Thanks for being here with us for this lesson. Judith, what are we looking at? |
| Iro: In this lesson, you will learn how to talk about the sites. |
| Judith: This conversation takes place at the Acropolis in Athens. |
| Iro: The conversation is between a man, a woman and their child. |
| Judith: Also, Ellie has a small role later. |
| Iro: The speakers are family. Therefore, they will be speaking informal Greek. |
| Judith: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUES |
| Άντρας:Εδώ πρέπει να είναι ο Παρθενώνας. |
| Γυναίκα:Ναι. Νίκο, εδώ είναι ο Παρθενώνας. |
| Παιδί:Τι μεγάλος που είναι! Εδώ ήταν οι Καρυάτιδες; |
| Άντρας:Όχι, στο Ερεχθείο. Οι Καρυάτιδες τώρα είναι στο καινούριο μουσείο της Ακρόπολης. Είναι όμως μόνο πέντε. Η άλλη είναι στο Λονδίνο. |
| Παιδί:Τι κρίμα! Μαμά, πάμε στο μουσείο; |
| Γυναίκα:Όχι, ακόμα. Δεν σου αρέσει η Ακρόπολη; |
| Παιδί:Ναι, πολύ. Είναι μεγάλη και όμορφη. Μου αρέσει η αρχαία ιστορία, αλλά μου αρέσει να βλέπω και τα μουσεία... |
| Άντρας:Από εδώ βλέπεις όλη την Αθήνα. Μεγάλη πόλη... |
| Γυναίκα:Και άσχημη, δεν υπάρχει καθόλου πράσινο. |
| Παιδί:Ναι, αλλά τα αρχαία κτίρια είναι όμορφα. |
| Άντρας:Γιάννη, πρόσεχε! |
| Παιδί:Ωχ, το πόδι μου! Μαμά, πονάω! |
| Γυναίκα:Έλα, δεν είναι μακριά. Συγγνώμη, το Στάδιο είναι ευθεία; |
| Έλλη:Δεν ξέρω, λυπάμαι. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Άντρας:Εδώ πρέπει να είναι ο Παρθενώνας. |
| Γυναίκα:Ναι. Νίκο, εδώ είναι ο Παρθενώνας. |
| Παιδί:Τι μεγάλος που είναι! Εδώ ήταν οι Καρυάτιδες; |
| Άντρας:Όχι, στο Ερεχθείο. Οι Καρυάτιδες τώρα είναι στο καινούριο μουσείο της Ακρόπολης. Είναι όμως μόνο πέντε. Η άλλη είναι στο Λονδίνο. |
| Παιδί:Τι κρίμα! Μαμά, πάμε στο μουσείο; |
| Γυναίκα:Όχι, ακόμα. Δεν σου αρέσει η Ακρόπολη; |
| Παιδί:Ναι, πολύ. Είναι μεγάλη και όμορφη. Μου αρέσει η αρχαία ιστορία, αλλά μου αρέσει να βλέπω και τα μουσεία... |
| Άντρας:Από εδώ βλέπεις όλη την Αθήνα. Μεγάλη πόλη... |
| Γυναίκα:Και άσχημη, δεν υπάρχει καθόλου πράσινο. |
| Παιδί:Ναι, αλλά τα αρχαία κτίρια είναι όμορφα. |
| Άντρας:Γιάννη, πρόσεχε! |
| Παιδί:Ωχ, το πόδι μου! Μαμά, πονάω! |
| Γυναίκα:Έλα, δεν είναι μακριά. Συγγνώμη, το Στάδιο είναι ευθεία; |
| Έλλη:Δεν ξέρω, λυπάμαι. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Άντρας:Εδώ πρέπει να είναι ο Παρθενώνας. |
| Judith:This must be the Parthenon. |
| Γυναίκα:Ναι. Νίκο, εδώ είναι ο Παρθενώνας. |
| Judith:Yes. Nick, this is the Parthenon. |
| Παιδί:Τι μεγάλος που είναι! Εδώ ήταν οι Καρυάτιδες; |
| Judith:How big it is! The Caryatids were here? |
| Άντρας:Όχι, στο Ερεχθείο. Οι Καρυάτιδες τώρα είναι στο καινούριο μουσείο της Ακρόπολης. Είναι όμως μόνο πέντε. Η άλλη είναι στο Λονδίνο. |
| Judith:No, in the Erechtheion. The Caryatids are now in the new Acropolis Museum. There are only five, however. The other one is in London. |
| Παιδί:Τι κρίμα! Μαμά, πάμε στο μουσείο; |
| Judith:What a pity! Mom, shall we go to the museum? |
| Γυναίκα:Όχι, ακόμα. Δεν σου αρέσει η Ακρόπολη; |
| Judith:Not yet. Don't you like the Acropolis? |
| Παιδί:Ναι, πολύ. Είναι μεγάλη και όμορφη. Μου αρέσει η αρχαία ιστορία, αλλά μου αρέσει να βλέπω και τα μουσεία... |
| Judith:Yes, very much. It's big and beautiful. I like ancient history, but I also like seeing museums. |
| Άντρας:Από εδώ βλέπεις όλη την Αθήνα. Μεγάλη πόλη... |
| Judith:From here you [can] see all of Athens. Big city… |
| Γυναίκα:Και άσχημη, δεν υπάρχει καθόλου πράσινο. |
| Judith:And ugly, there isn't any green. |
| Παιδί:Ναι, αλλά τα αρχαία κτίρια είναι όμορφα. |
| Judith:Yes, but the ancient buildings are beautiful. |
| Άντρας:Γιάννη, πρόσεχε! |
| Judith:John, be careful! |
| Παιδί:Ωχ, το πόδι μου! Μαμά, πονάω! |
| Judith:Oh, my foot! Mom, it hurts! |
| Γυναίκα:Έλα, δεν είναι μακριά. Συγγνώμη, το Στάδιο είναι ευθεία; |
| Judith:Come, it's not far. Excuse me, is the Stadium straight ahead? |
| Έλλη:Δεν ξέρω, λυπάμαι. |
| Judith:I don't know, I'm sorry. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Judith: Okay. Let’s talk a bit about the Acropolis today. |
| Iro: The Acropolis of Athens is Greece’s best known monument and one of the most famous monuments in the world. The most important buildings such as the Parthenon were built after the victory against the Persians and are considered masterpieces of classical Greek architecture. |
| Judith: Unfortunately, these majestic buildings suffered much damage over the centuries. The temples were converted into churches by the Byzantines. And their artistic treasures vanished. Also, under the Ottomans, the Parthenon was used as a mosque, as a harem and as a powder storehouse. This is why it exploded in the war against the Venetians. |
| Iro: Nowadays, it attracts many visitors from all over the world. But it has lost some of its magnificence due to the marbles needing to be protected from the air pollution with open-air techniques. |
| Judith: The standard ticket price for the Acropolis and museum and the ancient market is 12 Euros or 6 Euros for citizens of the E.U. Also for children under 19, students, senior citizens tour guides and handicap people. |
| Iro: From November through March the entrance is free on Sundays. The Acropolis is sometimes closed due to strike. |
| Judith: That must be inconvenient. I mean, if I book my ticket now, I want to go see Athens in April. What happens? They just strike? |
| Iro: Yes. You won’t be able to see it and you will get frustrated, that’s it. |
| Judith: Well, and how soon do I know that there’s a strike? |
| Iro: The announcement of a strike is released one week before it occurs and sometimes strikes can last for several weeks. |
| Judith: That’s crazy. |
| Iro: Yes, but it’s true. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Judith: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is... |
| Iro: μεγάλος |
| Judith: Big. |
| Iro: μεγάλος |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: καινούριο |
| Judith: New. |
| Iro: καινούριο |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: όμως |
| Judith: However. |
| Iro: όμως |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: μόνο |
| Judith: Only. |
| Iro: μόνο |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: κρίμα |
| Judith: Pity. |
| Iro: κρίμα |
| Judith: This is neuter but it’s also used as an expression. “It’s a pity.” Next. |
| Iro: όμορφος |
| Judith: Beautiful. |
| Iro: όμορφος |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: αρχαίος |
| Judith: Ancient. |
| Iro: αρχαίος |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: ιστορία |
| Judith: History. |
| Iro: ιστορία |
| Judith: This word is feminine. Next. |
| Iro: πόλη |
| Judith: City. |
| Iro: πόλη |
| Judith: Again, feminine. Next. |
| Iro: άσχημος |
| Judith: “Ugly” or “bad”. |
| Iro: άσχημος |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: καθόλου |
| Judith: Not at all. |
| Iro: καθόλου |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: προσέχω |
| Judith: “To be careful” or “to look out”. |
| Iro: προσέχω |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: πόδι |
| Judith: Foot. |
| Iro: πόδι |
| Judith: This word is neuter. Next. |
| Iro: πονάω |
| Judith: To hurt. |
| Iro: πονάω |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Judith: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Iro: The first phrase we’ll look at is "το καινούργιο μουσείο της Ακρόπολης" means “the new museum of the Acropolis”. "Της Ακρόπολης" “of the Acropolis” is the genitive, a form that we haven’t met yet. Just ignore it for now. We’ll explain it in one of the later lessons. |
| Judith: Next we have the expression "Τι μεγάλος που είναι!". It’s an expression like, “wow, how big it is”. Literally, you’re saying, “what big which it is” but don’t let that disturb you. Expressions like these are meant to be learned by heart. To form your own expression, replace "μεγάλος" with any other adjective. For example "Τι όμορφος που είναι!" “how beautiful it is”. |
| Iro: Καρυάτιδες, Ερεχθείο and Στάδιο are all words of sights in Athens. |
| Judith: Καρυάτιδες are known as caryatids in English. They are sculpted female figures taking the place of columns. The Ερεχθείο is known as Erechtheion in English. It is one of the Ancient Greek temples in Athens. Finally, Στάδιο is Athens’ big stadium. |
| Iro: I’d like to draw your attention to the use of the word "και" in the phrase "μου αρέσει να βλέπω και τα μουσεία." Here it doesn’t mean “and” so much as “also”. “I like to see the museums, also” in Greek "και" means “and” and “also”. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Judith: The focus of this lesson are adjective endings. Let’s have a closer look at adjectives. most of the time, Greek adjectives will have the exact same endings as the nouns that they describe. |
| Iro: For example, "ο όμορφος κόσμος" or "το νόστιμο φαγητό". The same happens in the plural the accusative and all other forms. |
| Judith: However, there is an issue with feminine forms. The feminine forms of adjectives can follow the pattern of words like γυναίκα. But there’s also a second pattern that they could follow based on the ending -η and mirroring feminine nouns such as πόλη. This leads to phrases where the adjective and the noun suddenly don’t have the same ending anymore. Like, "η αρχαία πόλη" or "η όμορφη γυναίκα". Basically, the feminine adjectives either end in -η or in -α. |
| Iro: So when you’re learning a new adjective like μεγάλος, you have to memorize whether the feminine form will end in -α or -η. In the case of μεγάλος, the feminine form is μεγάλη, but for καινούργιος it’s καινούργια. Όμορφος leads to όμορφη, but αρχαίος leads to αρχαία. |
| Judith: To help with the memorization, we will include forms in the notes field of the vocabulary list. For μεγάλος you will see "ος, η, ο," meaning that the masculine ends in -os, the feminine in -i and the neuter in -o.Very soon, you’ll be able to predict which ending words will take. That just about does it for today. Like our podcast? |
| Iro: The like our Facebook page too. |
| Judith: Get lesson updates, our Greek word of the day and news on Facebook. |
| Iro: Just search for GreekPod101.com and like our front page. |
| Judith: And if you like a lesson or series on GreekPod101.com... |
| Iro: Let us know. |
| Judith: By clicking on the like button next to a lesson or series. |
Outro |
|---|
| Judith:So, see you next week! |
| Iro:Γεια σας! |
Comments
Hide