Was an interlinear version of Aeschylus ever produced or is the dual language Loeb edition as close to that as it gets?
If no interlinear text exists, are there any resources on the web that provide the original Greek texts with some kind of reading assistance for English speakers?
I would also be open to foreign language versions, if there are any, either in Latin or preferably a modern language. Anything that aims to provide assistance to someone grappling with the original Greek.
Try this:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/collection%3Fcollection%3DPerseus:collection:Greco-Roman
Good old Rev. Giles produced an interlinear Aeschylus in the 19th century but I suspect nearly all copies are lost. My university has one of the volumes in its rare books vault but the edition dealing with the Oresteia is nowhere to be found. I think using the Loeb (pretty faithful from what I’ve seen) is your best bet.
Hi, I’ve seen interlinears of Aeschylus in the past, but can’t recall the editions as I’ve never studied them (I don’t use interlinears, and Aeschylus is too hard and dense I think to be able to be diced and spliced into this format).
Nevertheless here are some starting points:
I remember when I used to live in Paris seeing versions like this French one in the outdoor book market in the 15th arrondissement:
http://philoctetes.free.fr/eschyleperses.htm
For Italian, see if you can find the editions by the Società Editrice Dante Alighieri that have in the sub-title “testo, costruzione, versione letterale, versione libera” etc.: they are these little blue paperbacks that you can find in book markets in Italy for a euro or two (well, you could a decade ago). These contain an interlinear (la versione letterale in the sub-title). I have one on Plato’s Crito but the back cover says that there are editions for I Persiani and Prometeo Legato, which could get you started.
In English I found this:
However a quick look at the “Look inside” reveals that you should treat with caution: the initial translation of μέν as “Indeed” throws up a red flag…
There will be Greek-Latin versions I’m sure – sometimes the Latin faithfully tracks the Greek word-for-word (not always though). A little digging for editions that contain the words “Graece” and “Latine” in the title should get you started.
Cheers, Chad
The Vivarium Novum maintains a helpful list, with a link to a Greek-Latin volume of Aeschylus and Sophocles.
Interlinears? The words “crutch” and “pony” come to mind. They are the least helpful in learning and practicing the language. If you must have the English available while reading, the Loeb is much better. That way you can at least cover the English, attempt to work through the Greek, and then check your rendering of the Greek. Admittedly, Aeschylus can be tough, and having extra helps available, particularly if you are working through it on your own, but not Interlinears, please.
I love the idea of Greek and Latin versions. Why allow English to get in the way at all? Go for the Greek!
Si parlez-vous français, voici Septem contra Thebas: https://archive.org/search.php?query=aeschylus%20juxtalinéaire.
Thanks, Don! Your link to the French interlinear came just at the right time for me. I found a great deal on A. W. Verrall’s 1887 edition of the play and couldn’t pass it up. I haven’t even started reading Euripides yet, but I figured I might as well get a feeling for Aeschylus before I put the book on the shelf for later. Verrall has a translation of the play in the back of his addition, but the French interlinear is very helpful in parsing the text.
I was struck by Verrall’s comment on line 47, θέντες λαπάξειν ἄστυ Καδμείων βίᾳ:
Καδμείων is a good example of the pregnant force in Greek syntax. The genitive affects equally λαπάξειν (to empty), ἄστυ, and βίᾳ being successively privative, possessive, and objective, ‘to depopulate the Cadmean town in despite of her defenders.’
It hadn’t occurred to me that the same word could be interpreted in multiple ways in the same sentence using the various senses of the case.
Mark