I read the Iliad 5 years ago in French, and always thought that reading it in the original Greek must be even more enjoyable. My aim is to be reading the Iliad in Greek in a not so distant future. I am aware of the differences between Homeric Greek and classical Greek. So of course I am learning from Pharr’s homeric Greek. It is a very abstract and pedantic book. You can really feel it’s age from the very strict and dogmatic approach he takes to bring you from lesson to lesson. The themes that are treated in the translation exercises are also very abstract. Perhaps this is necessary to grasp the Iliad, and to get you to think with the mentality of the protagonists in the Iliad.
On the other hand, I started using the Athenaze books. I am still early in book 1. It has a very modern approach, and I must say that following the adventures of Decaepolis in his fields with his slave partner is very funny and entertaining. It is an efficient way of learning the basics of ancient Greek. Sometimes the english meanings are problematic to me, as my primary language is french, so using the Bailly Greek to french dictionary is necessary in a few occasions.
Now I was able to translate the Pharr exercise (lesson 5) on a single thirty five min public transport commute to work. Before using the unrelated Athenaze, the previous lessons used to take me much but much more time to do this.
So here is my strategy, to reach lesson 13 and ff in Pharr, which at last bring us the famed and much praised Iliad. Go through two chapters in Athenaze per week, then go through about one chapter in Pharr in the same week. Learn the vocabulary in both books, and learn the declensions of nouns and verbs as required in both books. With english words that are sometimes awkward, obtain the french translation from the “Grand Baillyâ€.
Learning ancient Greek is now a passion that connects me to my ancestors, and also to the basic roots of modern culture in literature, philosophy and science.
