The verdict is in! Learning about “deponent verbs” in Greek grammar turns out to be useful! For all those doubters out there, I have definitive evidence that learning “deponent” is useful. From this day forth I will no longer doubt the value of the category.

And the value of having learned “deponent” has nothing to do with reading Greek! It allowed me to read this line of English poetry without having to look up the word “depone”:

Hail Mary! able to depone

The inhuman tyrant from his throne:

“The Acathist hymn of the Holy Orthodox Eastern Church: in the original Greek text and done into English verse”

There you have it folks. The oft-maligned and battled-over term “deponent” serves great purpose. My life has been forever bettered by having learned it and, in having done so, been enabled to swiftly read through the text of this poem with understanding and appreciation.

If only having learned “deponent” would have helped me to read Greek with understanding and appreciation…