Are there any good online courses for learning Greek?

[obella]

Are there any good online courses for learning Greek?

Either free or for a cheap price - I have also heard of Rosetta Stone (not the Egyptian granodiorite stele), the language learning program, and am wondering is it worth the money?

[pster]

Rosetta Stone doesn't have Ancient Greek, their Latin is much shorter than their other languages, and it is definitely definitely not worth the money. As far as I know, there are no "online courses." What there are are a smallish number of excellent specialized sites. If you seriously want to learn Greek, buy the Middle Liddle, buy a Smyth, maybe buy a Mastronarde, and buy the one text you most want to read. Just start reading that text. Learn your way around the Smyth. Maybe use the Masronarde if the Smyth seems too much in the beginning. But just master that one text. It's not German. Most likely, you are never ever going to be able to have a verbal conversation in Attic. It's all about the texts. Might as well jump in with the one you like the most. The rest is delay. I deeply regret not doing exactly what I just described. Others will no doubt have different views and I don't want to open the debate about how to learn the language. Good luck.

[Grochojad]

If you seriously want to learn Greek, buy the Middle Liddle, buy a Smyth, maybe buy a Mastronarde, and buy the one text you most want to read. Just start reading that text.

Couldn't disagree with you more, that way of teaching/self-learning is what makes a lot of people give up, when they realize that Greek is not that easy(true) and start thinking that it is extremely difficult(false). I admit that for some it is the best way, but for the most reading graded texts and then picking up classics is what really works. Don't give an advice that isn't necessarily the best as the One and the Only.

[pster]

If you seriously want to learn Greek, buy the Middle Liddle, buy a Smyth, maybe buy a Mastronarde, and buy the one text you most want to read. Just start reading that text.

Couldn't disagree with you more, that way of teaching/self-learning is what makes a lot of people give up, when they realize that Greek is not that easy(true) and start thinking that it is extremely difficult(false). I admit that for some it is the best way, but for the most reading graded texts and then picking up classics is what really works. Don't give an advice that isn't necessarily the best as the One and the Only.

Well, a few years ago, I would have been more agnostic. But if you look at the people who have learned ten plus languages, they focus on memorizing one literary text. If you go to the forum at http://how-to-learn-any-language.com, you can find some discussion. Look for the Schliemann thread. They don't use graded texts. Moreover, they seem to have all reached the conlclusion that this method is optimal independently. And, no Greek text reads like the passages in the graded texts, so they don't prepare you for real texts. Lastly, I doubt that you know anybody who has actually tried memorizing, say, Homer, out of the gate, let alone "a lot of people." Schools don't teach that way. So, I am pretty skeptical of their being any support for your claims.

[Grochojad]

Well, a few years ago, I would have been more agnostic. But if you look at the people who have learned ten plus languages, they focus on memorizing one literary text. If you go to the forum at http://how-to-learn-any-language.com, you can find some discussion. Look for the Schliemann thread. They don't use graded texts. Moreover, they seem to have all reached the conlclusion that this method is optimal independently. And, no Greek text reads like the passages in the graded texts, so they don't prepare you for real texts. Lastly, I doubt that you know anybody who has actually tried memorizing, say, Homer, out of the gate, let alone "a lot of people." Schools don't teach that way. So, I am pretty skeptical of their being any support for your claims.

I know the site and their forum, but there appears to be a small difference between "hardcore language learners" and the people who just want to grasp Greek.

I've tried reading Sanskrit, with only some basic knowledge of it, but for me reading a text that I cannot understand at least in a large part just doesn't make any sense thought I spent hours doing so(I only improved my ability to read Devanagari).

[ragnar_deerslayer]

Michael W. Halcomb has his Νοουμεν Ελληνικα series for learning Koine Greek on YouTube. He's up to 23 3-5 minute shorts, and a new one has been appearing nearly every day. I think they're great, but they teach how to speak/understand Greek, not how to read it.

The Institute of Biblical Greek also has a "real" online course (using Athenaze), but I don't know anyone who's taken it, so I can't vouch for its quality.