I’ll just say Hylander is spot on with his comments. I started with Homeric Greek and finished the textbook just a little over a year ago and with it Book 1 of the Iliad. I immediately started in on Book 2 and have continued on through the books to where I’m now reading Book 19. I read the Iliad every day for an hour (more or less, usually more!). Before I start, I do a quick review of an Anki deck of Homeric Vocabulary, which contains more than 1700 of the more frequently used words. Initially, it took me roughly 45 minutes to review the selected vocabulary (you learn 20 new words a day and revise previously learned words at intervals based on their weighted difficulty). Having now “learnt” all the words in the deck, I’m in “maintenance mode”, so reviews take about 10 minutes. To learn the deck took about 3 months (I started this exercise around book 12). Having done that, I can pick up the Odyssey and read a section without having to look up every other word in the lexicon. As for the Iliad, a year ago I could read about 30 lines an hour. A year later, I manage 60-75 lines an hour on the first readthrough of each book along with reading Leaf’s commentary (I’m using Leaf & Bayfield’s red MacMillans). On the second readthrough, I can do roughly a 100 lines an hour and for that I use Willcock’s commentary, so that I can get more recent information. All in all, I cover a book every 2 to 3 weeks. At that rate, I expect to finish the Iliad by April. It will have taken me roughly 18 months to read the entire poem (pretty much twice). Applying this approach to the Odyssey, which is a somewhat shorter poem, it would probably take me less than a year. If you were to confine your reading to the story of the Wrath of Achilles, it would probably require considerably less time. Benner’s book, “Selections from the Iliad” does just this and is designed to be read over the course of 2 semesters. The only problem is that being published in 1905, it doesn’t include the results of more modern scholarship, although I think his notes are still very helpful for an intermediate student. (That’s why I read Willcock’s commentaries)
I’ve found that after a while, reading metrically becomes quite natural. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Dactylic Hexameter, the metre of the epics, is probably the easiest metrical scheme to master, just dactyls and spondees. I did what Hylander suggests and wrote out and scanned the first hundred lines. My textbook also added the exercise of memorizing the first 20 lines of the Iliad, basically just memorizing one line at time. I have found it an excellent way to gain an appreciation of the metre of the poem and to internalize the syntax and vocabulary, so I’ve carried on with it and have the first 75 lines memorised. My goal is to be able to recite the first 100 lines and then take on BoJo! (Just kidding!) These days, I recite it (very quietly, well, more like whispering, really) as I take my ten minute walk down to the centre of town. The cadence of my gait helps me maintain the rhythm of the poem as I walk.
I’m sorry if this is a bit long-winded, but it’s hard to compress the experience of the past year’s reading into a couple of short paragraphs. I wanted to give you a description of my approach and its results, which so far I see as quite positive. I see Seneca has also made some helpful comments. Seneca has, I think, quite a broad knowledge of the field and is especially good at suggesting pertinent secondary literature. Personally, I’ve found Mark Edwards’ _Homer: Poet of the Ilad_gives an excellent overview of Homeric scholarship, especially for a beginner. Good Luck to you and I hope you enjoy this very worthwhile journey.
Happy New Year to one and all!