Transparency Documentation for Perseus Search
Perseus Search is an AI-powered Ancient Greek word processing tool built for transparency and research purposes. This page documents our complete methodology, including the exact prompts we use, processing pipeline, and technical decisions.
All prompts and configurations shown below are the actual defaults used in production. Administrators can customize these through the admin interface for continuous improvement.
When you submit an Ancient Greek word, it goes through a three-step AI processing pipeline, followed by automatic lexicon link generation:
The AI validates whether the input is a legitimate Attic Greek word, checking for dialectal variations, rare forms, and compound words. If validation fails, the search stops here with a helpful message.
The AI analyzes the exact form you entered, identifying its grammatical features (person, number, tense, mood, voice for verbs; case, number, gender for nouns, etc.). This represents the morphology of the word as you typed it.
The word is converted to its dictionary form (lemma) and transformed into Beta code following Perseus Digital Library standards. This handles special cases like -μι verbs and deponent verbs. Lexicon links to Perseus, Logeion, and LSJ.gr are automatically generated using these normalized forms.
For words identified as verbs, Perseus Search offers AI-powered conjugation tables that display all grammatical variations across moods, tenses, and voices. This feature is available both in search results and on individual word detail pages.
When you search for an Ancient Greek verb, a "Generate Conjugation" button appears in the search results. Click it to generate a complete conjugation table showing the verb across indicative, subjunctive, optative, and imperative moods in active, middle, and passive voices. Generation typically takes 30-60 seconds as the AI computes all grammatical forms. An 80-second countdown timer displays in authentic Attic Greek numerals while you wait, creating an engaging experience. The conjugation displays inline below the search result without requiring page navigation.
When generating a conjugation, the AI uses a configurable prompt to produce complete conjugation tables. The output includes all grammatical combinations for the dictionary form of the verb, normalized to first person singular present indicative active. Administrators can customize the conjugation prompt through the admin dashboard for continuous improvement.
Model Selection: The system uses configurable OpenAI models, with the flexibility to optimize for accuracy and performance at each processing step.
Beta code is a standard ASCII representation of Ancient Greek text. Our conversion follows Perseus Digital Library standards:
Perseus Search is a research tool in active development. While we strive for accuracy, AI-generated linguistic analysis may contain errors or inconsistencies. We recommend:
This tool is designed for transparency and continuous improvement. If you notice inaccuracies, have suggestions for prompt improvements, or want to contribute to the project's development: