λέοντα
λέων, λέοντος, ὁ
lion
accusativesingularmasculine
| Nom. | λέων | λέοντες |
|---|---|---|
| Gen. | λέοντος | λεόντων |
| Dat. | λέοντι | λέουσι(ν) |
| Acc. | λέοντα | λέοντας |
| Voc. | λέον | λέοντες |
Every Greek word in Ostraka, in lessons, texts and games, opens a card with its dictionary form, its parse, its meanings and its paradigm.
The card names the form in plain English, aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular, each part in its own colour: case, tense, mood, voice, person and number.
A short definition first, then the senses of Liddell–Scott–Jones, and the whole entry when you want it. Logeion, Wiktionary and Perseus are one tap away.
The full paradigm by tense, voice and mood, with the form you tapped outlined, and the principal parts of every verb. Save the word and it returns in your daily review.
The reader is the centre of Ostraka. Everything else, the lessons, the games, the review, leads back to it.
Turn on the glosses and every word carries its meaning underneath. Add the parse too, or switch both off and read clean. Each sentence’s translation is a tap away.
Λέαιναlionessὀνειδιζομένηbeing tauntedὑπὸbyἀλώπεκοςa foxἐπὶforτῷtheδιὰthroughπαντὸςallἕναoneτίκτεινto bear·“Ἕνα,oneἔφη,she saidἀλλὰbutλέοντα.”a lion
A lioness, taunted by a fox for always bearing only one cub, said, “One, but a lion.”
Declensions and conjugations by tense, voice and mood, the form you tapped outlined. More than 4,000 words carry their complete paradigms, checked against the morphology of Perseus.
Present active indicative
| 1st | λύω | λύομεν |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd | λύεις | λύετε |
| 3rd | λύει | λύουσι(ν) |
Principal parts
λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα, λέλυμαι, ἐλύθην
A light theme like a sunlit catalogue page, and a dark one like black-figure pottery. Ostraka follows the appearance of your iPhone or iPad.
Λέαιναlionessὀνειδιζομένηbeing tauntedὑπὸbyἀλώπεκοςa foxἐπὶforτῷtheδιὰthroughπαντὸςallἕναoneτίκτεινto bear·“Ἕνα,oneἔφη,she saidἀλλὰbutλέοντα.”a lion
A lioness, taunted by a fox for always bearing only one cub, said, “One, but a lion.”
Λέαιναlionessὀνειδιζομένηbeing tauntedὑπὸbyἀλώπεκοςa foxἐπὶforτῷtheδιὰthroughπαντὸςallἕναoneτίκτεινto bear·“Ἕνα,oneἔφη,she saidἀλλὰbutλέοντα.”a lion
A lioness, taunted by a fox for always bearing only one cub, said, “One, but a lion.”
76 topics from the alphabet to Homer’s hexameter, each with a lesson, practice and a reading. Nothing is locked behind the topic before it. Units 1 and 2 are free.
Γράμματα καὶ φθόγγοι
The alphabet, breathings, accents and how Greek sounded. 8 topics. Free
Πρῶτα ὀνόματα
Cases, the article and the first two declensions. 7 topics. Free
Τὸ ῥῆμα
Present tense verbs, commands, negation and the little words that join thoughts. 5 topics.
Ἐπίθετα καὶ προθέσεις
Describing things, placing them, and counting them. 5 topics.
Ἡ τρίτη κλίσις
The largest family of nouns and adjectives. 6 topics.
Χρόνοι
The imperfect, future and aorist, and what aspect means. 5 topics.
Μέση καὶ παθητικὴ φωνή
Doing things for yourself, having things done to you. 6 topics.
Ἀντωνυμίαι
I, you, this, that, who, which and self. 6 topics.
Συναίρεσις καὶ παρακείμενος
Contract verbs, the perfect system and comparison. 5 topics.
Ἐγκλίσεις
The subjunctive, optative and imperative. 5 topics.
Μετοχαὶ καὶ ἀπαρέμφατα
The engine of Greek prose. 6 topics.
Περίοδοι
-μι verbs, purpose, result, conditions and more. 8 topics.
Πέρα τῆς Ἀττικῆς
Homer and his meter, Herodotus' Ionic and the Koine of the New Testament. 4 topics.
Every unit on one screen, each topic a shard that fills as you learn it.
Not sentences made up for a textbook: Aesop, Xenophon, Plato, the New Testament, Marcus Aurelius, Homer and Aristotle, annotated word by word, so every word opens its card and every sentence its translation.
Rounds of a minute or two that drill letters, forms, paradigms, vocabulary and word order, drawn from the texts you read.
Alphabet Sprint and Word Match are free; Ostraka Pro adds the other four.
Vote out the one that doesn’t belong
λόγῳ is dative. The other three are genitive singular.
ξ
Sixty seconds. Quick answers earn a speed bonus.
ἔλυσαν
Three right in a row raise the multiplier.
| Nom. | λόγος |
|---|---|
| Gen. | λόγου |
| Dat. | λόγῳ |
| Acc. | λόγον |
| Voc. | λόγε |
Tap each form into its cell.
λόγου, δώρου, λόγῳ, ἀνθρώπου
Voted out: λόγῳ, the only dative. Ten rounds.
Five pairs a round, three rounds.
“One, she said, but a lion.”
Ἕνα, ἔφη, ἀλλὰ λέοντα.
Put a real sentence back in order.
Lessons, right answers, readings, games and reviews all earn XP. Meet your daily goal to grow a streak; every seven days earns an olive branch that saves a missed day.
183
XP from one evening, against a daily goal of 50.
Today
Lesson
Practice
Reading
Game
Review
Total183 XP
Every level carries a Greek title, from Ἀρχάριος, beginner, to Ὀλύμπιος, Olympian. Achievements are struck as coins: 17 bronze, 16 silver and 11 gold, from “A first shard” to “Sing, goddess”, for finishing a passage of Homer.
Ostraka is free to download. Ostraka Pro opens the rest of the course, the library and the games.
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Is this Modern Greek? No. Ostraka teaches Ancient Greek only: the Attic of Plato and Xenophon first, then Homer, the Ionic of Herodotus and the Koine of the New Testament. Every text is polytonic, with breathings and accents.
Which pronunciation does it use? Restored Attic, as Greek sounded in the 5th century BC, is the default, and Koine is a setting away. Every word has a transliteration and IPA. Ancient texts are never read aloud in Modern Greek pronunciation; where your device’s voice can’t follow the reconstruction, the speak button is hidden.
Do I need to know any Greek? No. Unit 1 starts with the alphabet. If you already know some, start anywhere: nothing is locked behind the topic before it, and onboarding suggests a starting point.
What’s free? Units 1 and 2 with their lessons, practice and readings, the first six Aesop fables, two short New Testament letters, Alphabet Sprint and Word Match, daily review, and the dictionary with word cards everywhere. Ostraka Pro opens everything else.
Where do the texts come from? From open scholarship: the Perseus Digital Library, the Liddell–Scott–Jones lexicon, Diogenes and Morpheus for the morphology, and Lyceum’s annotated texts, whose glosses and translations are partly AI-assisted. Every source is credited in the app under Sources & credits.
Does it work offline? Yes. Lessons, texts, the dictionary and games are all on your device. The internet is used only for purchases and when you open a word in Logeion, Wiktionary or Perseus.
Do I need an account? No. There is no sign-in, and your progress stays on your iPhone or iPad.
Do I need a Greek keyboard? No. Exercises and games use choices, taps and word tiles, so you never type Greek.
Which devices? iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later. On iPad, Ostraka uses a sidebar and the larger screen for reading.
How do I cancel Pro? In your Apple Account settings, at least 24 hours before the current period ends. You keep Pro until then. The lifetime purchase never renews.
Ὄστρακα are potsherds. Athenian pupils practised their first letters on them.
Ostraka is coming to the App Store for iPhone and iPad, with iOS 18 or later. The first two units are free.