In 1988 I took an incredibly intense Attic Greek class; by the end we had read Plato’s Ion and Euripedes Medea. I thought I was going to write a philosophy thesis with my new-found Greek, but my life went otherwise.
I’m trying to get my skills back, and I want them to stick this time. I’m working from the Mastronarde “Introduction to Attic Greek” text, which doesn’t seem much mentioned here, but which is working for me… but to the point…
I’m getting a little jumpy. I really want to start reading as soon as possible. I remember about 70% of my Greek, which is not enough to jump back into the Ion, but enough that I’m very impatient to at least stumble through a text. Any recommendations for what to bite off first? I don’t need to be able to read quickly; but if every clause stumps me, I’ll probably not enjoy it.
Hi bschuth. If the grammatical rules are still hidden in your brain somewhere, I recommend you read Thrasymachus by Peckett and Munday. It’s a textbook written as a story entirely in Attic. It starts off with very simple grammar, and adds more grammar each chapter. It’d hopefully come back to you as you read.
You’d probably want to skip the first few chapters, because they are irritatingly simple. But apart from that, it’s good. It might be better than wading through an authentic text before you’re ready.
Thrasymachus – I forgot about that entirely! A couple years back I bought it but never got around to using it. If I can find the box it got packed in, I might be in business. Thanks!
