The American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Ancient Greece. Pitch Accent in Ancient Greek by Richard Crowell. Note: You can read Greek intelligently without mastering the material presented in this section. If you plan to travel back to classical Athens in a time machine, some of this information may help you make yourself understood in the marketplace. Then again, it may not. We know much less than we would like to admit about the spoken language, particularly during the Golden Age of Athens. The system explained below is primarily based on the practice of scribes in the 9th century CE — a point in time as far removed from Plato as it is from the present day.
The epigraphic evidence (variant spellings for words painted on pottery or carved into marble) offers some insight into the pronunciation of individual letters but sheds no light on the actual music of the language. Be that as it may... we will pretend that there is certainty, and plunge on. The Basic Rule of Accentuation: Word accent depends on the length of the last syllable of a word. θυγάτηρ μέγιστον The Music of Language άνθρωπος δῶρον.
Ancient Greek Online by Richard Welland Crowell PhD. Grec ancien.