Thrasymachus

[Lucus Eques]

Χαίρετε τε καὶ χαίρετε!

I recall first hearing about Thrasymachus here, and I would love to hear people's opinions on this text, as I might switch to it before going onto to Athenaze vol.II (Italian version).

Otherwise, does anyone have any PDFs of Thrasymachus or the like to share?

[Prometheus]

I like Thrasymachus (I also use Athenaze, Reading Greek, plus White's First Greek Book, supplemented by bilingual versions of Xenophon's Anabasis, and the New Testament for reading practice.) I haven't gotten very far in Thrasymachus, though. I kinda got side-tracked by the other books.

I especially appreciate the book's brevity and the 2-3 pages of selections of authentic Greek at the end of the lessons. The story is a bit juvenile, but it's at least different from the stories in Athenaze and Reading Greek. The grammar and vocabulary support are minimal, but there (the website, "Learning Greek with Thrasymachus", at http://www.vroma.org/~abarker/thrascontents.html has an accessible introduction to the grammar). The book places the burden on the teacher (or the exceptionally motivated and resourceful student), but it's helpful that the paradigms are included right after the units where they're introduced.

Are you thinking of using Thrasymachus to teach, or to study? (I have an ulterior motive in asking that question--I lost my study partner for Athenaze and would benefit from discussing that or any other book, lesson by lesson! )

Lee

[Lucus Eques]

Thanks for the info!

For study, not for teaching.

I'd love to exchange on Athenaze.

[quendidil]

Interaxus sent me a few excerpts from the book last year, if he doesn't read this post first, I'd be glad to forward it to you. Having bought the book since then, I might be able to take a few photos of the last few chapters if you want to see what level the book goes up to, since Interaxus sent me just the beginning.

[Lucus Eques]

That would be awesome! I'd appreciate that so much.

[1%homeless]

I give Thrasymachus a thumbs down for beginners and probably intermediate learners. The explantions for each chapter are sparse. Yes, it has authentic Greek, but you might as well just use plain text Greek that you can get for free because there is no commentary or guidance whatsoever. There are no answers for the exercises. It seems that this book was made for the classroom and not for self-study. I would say that many of the traditional books that you get for free at textkit are better. I personally favor Mastronarde's "Introduction to Attic Greek."

[Prometheus]

I give Thrasymachus a thumbs down for beginners and probably intermediate learners.....I personally favor Mastronarde's "Introduction to Attic Greek."

Mastronarde is a pedagogical grammar and Thrasymachus is a reader. As a reader (or a language-teaching method emphasizing reading), it seems more appropriate to compare Thrasymachus with Athenaze or Reading Greek. Personally, I find a trip to Hades a bit more interesting (from a safe distance) than reading about lazy slaves, girls who break pottery, and dogs that kill rabbits (OK, I'll admit that Athenaze gets better in later chapters!).