Which text?

[berachia]

I hope to study the Ancient Greek course (and also Latin) offered by the OU in October and meanwhile want to make a headstart. I previously studied the Teach Yourself Ancient Greek course for a few hours and (although the OU uses the "Reading Greek" text) liked it enough to consider it again now as a starting point.

Which texts would you recommend, in lieu of them being superior to the above?

I would be inclined towards what is faster paced, what has the most and best reading material/translation-writing exercises, what does not shy away from Grammar, even if abstract and useful, what is somewhat comprehensive.

If any single text comes to mind, I would like to know of it. Thanks.

[jaihare]

I hope to study the Ancient Greek course (and also Latin) offered by the OU in October and meanwhile want to make a headstart. I previously studied the Teach Yourself Ancient Greek course for a few hours and (although the OU uses the "Reading Greek" text) liked it enough to consider it again now as a starting point.

Which texts would you recommend, in lieu of them being superior to the above?

I would be inclined towards what is faster paced, what has the most and best reading material/translation-writing exercises, what does not shy away from Grammar, even if abstract and useful, what is somewhat comprehensive.

If any single text comes to mind, I would like to know of it. Thanks.

Why don't you go with Reading Greek as suggested by your institution? It's a great text and a good place to start.

[berachia]

I have been somewhat persuaded by the view that Homeric is the most ideal starting point for those interested in Classical Greek in general and with this in mind had decided to begin with Pharr's text and the TY Ancient Greek ( given the fact that the course is contained within a single voulme and the RG series isn't and the fact that I can more easily acquire it I will in all likelihood study, at least initially, the TY).

More importantly I would appreciate your views upon beginning the study of greek simultaneouly with Homeric and Attic. I understand Attic is somewhat morphologically "digested" and here I cannot envisage any course for concern. Syntactical differences could though, I feel, perhaps, cause confusion but i'm guessing the differences are insignificant (??). Exactly how vast, or not, are the differences between the two?

[Homer74]

I would agree with jaihare that Reading Greek is a good place to start. We used it in college and there is a great focus on grammar and building basic vocabulary. If you know everything in the grammar book, you will have mastered the fundamentals of Attic grammar.

In some ways, Homeric Greek has a simpler grammar than Attic. For example, many of its forms are 'uncontracted', meaning that you can see the verb stem and the verb ending. Whereas in Attic these 'contract' to form new endings. However, the big obstacle in Homer is the vocabulary! There is a huge amount of vocab to learn! Some people claim that the vocab becomes easier because it is repeated, but this only applies if you are reading / learning the entire poem! Remember that the Iliad alone is 15,000 lines long.

We take the course in the following order:
1st year: Reading Greek and Prose Composition
2nd year: Homer (Iliad, Odyssey - excerpts), Herodotus (Histories - excerpts)
3rd year: Sophocles (Antigone), Euripides (Medea), Plato (Apology, Crito, Euthyphro)

Good luck with your study!

[epikeia]

[I read Textkit often but have posted little.]

About a year ago I decided to attempt to again study the classical Greek I'd started oh so many years ago in college. I've downloaded and purchased a number of items and worked through a few chapters of each of the following: White's First Greek Book, Crosby & Schaeffer, Athenaze, and Mastronarde. I've finally settled on Frank Beetham's Learning Greek with Plato: A Beginner's Course in Classical Greek. For me it strikes the right balance between interest and level of difficulty. Also, I'm interested in the classics, not New Testament, so that has influenced my choice.

[TrevorB]

If you are doing the OU course A275, then you will receive all the Reading Greek books as part of your course materials. If you want to do some preparation before you start, you might like to consider the "Greek to GCSE" books by John Taylor.