I have just turned my attention to Homer, Odyssey, after spending the last few years reading Plato. I was nervous about learning a new dialect. I thought I’d look at Herodotus first, though again I was nervous that learning a new dialect might contaminate my burned-in knowledge of paradigms in Classical Greek. But lo! Herodotus turned out to be a very easy transition. I was in short time able to sight read some of his sentences. So, full of self-love, I turned to Homer, and lo! he was very difficult. I’ve been at him for several weeks now, and have only managed about 30 lines, even with Steadman’s estimable help. The common view is that Homer is not difficult. I will persist (since I’ve invested in all three of Steadman’s Homer books), hoping that it will become as easy as Plato.
“as easy as Plato” is not a phrase one often encounters. Homer does take some getting used to—so many different words!, so many different forms!—but the basic structure of each sentence tends to be much more straightforward than in Plato. Best to read it line by line. You can pause at the end of each line and take stock, and perhaps anticipate what comes next.
Yes, a bit hyperbolic. I based it on this, that in the time it takes to read ten lines of Homer, I can read one Stephanus page of Plato.
The best way to get started on the Odyssey is to get P A Draper’s An Odyssey Reader, selections from Odyssey Books 1-12. This is a companion book to her Iliad 1, and has the same virtues, in that she parses and gives the meaning of pretty well every word. Steadman is good, but Draper is better.
Thanks. My order for it is arriving today.
Good. But could I ask you to come back after six weeks or so and tells us what you think of this book? It’s all very well for the more experienced people such as myself to give advice, but the real test is what actual beginner users felt when they used it. Thanks in anticipation!
Let me assure you that once you get over your initial difficulties Homer is much easier than the other authors you mention.
I’m starting Draper’s Illiad 1 after a year of Plato and two months of Herodotus. Will report.
Sorry to be rather bossy, but I’m a teacher and I force my students to vocalise, i.e. read their Greek and Latin aloud (this is oral poetry, after all). And to help students vocalise Homer we have the priceless recording of Iliad 1 by Professor Stanley Lombardo on Youtube.
I suggest that, whenever you begin a new section, you should start by listening to Lombardo’s audio and then speak it out loud yourself. Repeat three or four times on each section. Hopefully, by the end of your two months you should be able to recite Iliad Book 1 as well as Professor Lombardo.
(The audio is 57 minutes long. To help you find any passage quickly, I have attached below an index of timings.)
Note: I originally made this index in Excel and copied it into Word. When I upload the Word file, the index loses its formatting. I’ll have another go (any helpful suggestions much appreciated).
Thank you for this impirtant suggestion, ehich I will follow.
Before this thread is wholly taken over by DavidCart, I take the liberty of repeating my advice about reading Homeric verse:
Best to read it line by line. You can pause at the end of each line and take stock, and perhaps anticipate what comes next.
That’s what I’m doing. I’ve read the first 50 lines of Draper’s Illiad 1. In her version, at least, it’s been a lot easier than I expected. The syntax is even simpler than Herodotus. I was thinking of continuing to read silently until I have a better sense of the forms and then start reciting with the aid of the recpording recommended by DavidCart and also Iliad Book 1
Great! And I think you’d do well to start reading metrically right away now. The rhythm is not hard to get the hang of and it doesn’t take long to get into the swing of it, whether you begin by listening to a few lines of Lombardo or someone else.
It might help if you can distinguish heavy syllables from light ones, but that comes quite naturally with a little practice, and the meter itself tends to resolve any difficulties. Just aim for the caesura towards the middle of the line: μηνιν αειδε θεα | …, (51) αυταρ επειτ᾽ αυτοισι | ….
Stupid question, but when you say you are going to read silently, I was wondering how you sounded the Greek in your head when you read silently? I presume you must be pronouncing it in your head, so where did you originally get that pronunciation of Greek from? Are you copying someone who you heard speaking Greek and using his/her pronunciation, or have you invented your own pronunciation?
When I read silently, I don’t sound the Greek in my head, just as I don’t sound in my head English, French, or Latin read silently. I have, however, now had four semester-long courses in Ancient Greek in which the teacher has required the students to pronounce the AG before translating it into English. I think I just follow the pronunciation given in my first Greek textbook, Molin & Williamson. I’m not very good at the recitation, but the teachers have corrected only my most egregious errors (like pronouncing an iota subscript).
I should add that I’ve recently started chanting out loud to myself the principal parts of verbs. I’m finding that very helpful for memorizinf.