Basil Gildersleeve's long and colorful career as a soldier and professor of Classics is almost as interesting as his careful and foundational work on the structure and grammar of Ancient Greek and editions of several works in both Greek and Latin. This piece was written during his term editing the American Journal of Philology and traces the development of final clauses (dependent clauses begun with a preposition or particle) from Homer to the Athenian dramatists. Final clauses are a dynamic feature of the language and this paper delivers a nuanced and thoughtful analysis of the reasons behind the changes from author to author. This will serve an an interesting read for advanced readers of Ancient Greek, but also as a helpful piece for the intermediate student who wishes to refine his or her understanding of the language.