Hi, I’m from America. I live in an aria of California that might as well be considered it’s own country (the city counsel of a town neighboring mine once voted to impeach Bush). I first started learning Koine Greek to read the new testament in the original language as a part of my search for the spiritual truth (still looking). I also plan to learn Attic and Homeric Greek mostly to read the writing to the earliest philosophers in their own words. I am also currently learning: German, Spanish, and Old English.
I’m from the Midwestern United States. I was very into Greek and Roman mythology when I was young, and gradually became more in love with the language and less so with the stories as I grew older.
Hi.
Swth\r
Thats ok. But lets think of something else. As you have already seen, people all over the world struggle to learn ancient Greek, while we, in Greece, hate this lesson in high school so badly…
In Japan too, high school students don’t like ancient Japanese class (as well as all the other classes ! Students just hate studying anything. If they study anything, it is only for the sake of entrance exam for the university.), and only senior people who begin in the later half of their life to appreciate Japanese culture try to learn by their own will Ancient Japanese and literature. Young people who by their own will learn Ancient Japanese would be only those who major Japanese literature in the university.
Swth\r
But I am quite impressed by all these people, from Asia e.g., who try to learn those two languages and cultures…
There are people who love foreign countries, foreign cultures more than their own country.
Surely you know people who only listen to American music and consider the music of their own country uncool and clumsy.
I am of such kind, so I am interested in Greek and other European things, although there is another reason, that I was from the first interested in philosophy.
elakbar
Can you tell me please from which countries you are and why you learn ancient Greek? I am Greek and i want to see the reason why you learn and why the Greeks donot want to learn.
I began studying Latin and ancient Greek because I want, if possible, to become a scholar of philosophy.
I study them only by myself by grammar and with the texts I can get by internet and books, without a teacher, but there are kind teachers on the internet. I learned English only by myself with grammar till high school (I am maybe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and can’t concentrate on and listen to the speaker’s voice, so I didn’t get any knowledge at school), so I’m used to reading grammar by myself.
I have attended school in Greece and university in Germany. I have attended language courses in both countries.
I think in Greece we moan too much. I always heard and read that the greek educational system is a waste of time, because one has to learn like a parrot useless knowledge. And there is nothing worse than that and it is not true either.
Modern methods are good for producing interest, but one can never avoid memorising, exercising and recapitulating.
As a pupil of grammar school I loved learning ancient greek maxims, but reaching A’ Λυκείου (10th out of 12 years of school), I was convinced I would learn only “false” or “useless” ancient greek. So I postponed it. The fact that our pregnant teacher could not be successfully replaced and out of 50 units only 20 were taught normally and in the end when she returned we learned another 10 superficially, wasn’t helpful either. I never understood why all deputies, every fortnight a new one, refused to go any further and persisted recapitulating what was done.
In B’ Λυκείου most of us passed the exams, because 14 out of 20 points don’t require knowledge of ancient greek. However if we had to translate an unknown text 90% would have failed.
To learn accidence one can use dice or dices and it is very good if one tries to translate his translation back to ancient greek. And one should repeat doing the exercises he has already done. And one can see texts as solutions and create fill-in-the-blanks exercises for tenses, moods, prepositions etc.
I’m originally from Italy but I’ve been living in California since 1997. I decided to learn Ancient Greek about 5 years ago. I thought there was a gap in my education, since I studied Latin in school but not Greek. I also wanted to read Scripture and the Fathers in Greek. I figured that if I mastered Attic, κοινή would be easy in comparison. Therefore I bought the Reading Greek course from Amazon (1st edition) and slowly but methodically went through it. I don’t study a lot because I have many interests and limited time (and brain!
), but I do a little every day. Now I’m translating from English into Greek using Sidgwick’s First Greek Writer (thanks to Textkit). Contrary to what books generally teach, you may be pleased to know I decided to use the Reuchlinian pronunciation (or modern Greek)! 
Sorry, but what do you mean by using dice?
I’ve used this method - you put stickers on each of the sides with a particular case or form (1st, 2nd, 3rd person singular and plural; or indicative/optative/subjunctive, etc.) and roll the dice to randomly generate sets of endings. Kind of like making flashcards.
Hi-I’m from Ottawa, thinking about moving to California, or New Mexico, U.S. I read Homer (the inaccurate old Rowse-or is it Rouse?- translation) for H.S. English & I knew sort of instinctively-this is a new universe. So I majored in Classical archaeology at college & I’ve been trying to improve my Greek since then. My first instinct was confirmed when I first visited Greece @ 6 years ago (I’ve been back since). There is a lot there I really don’t like (don’t have time to list all of it), but also a lot I love. For me Hellenic studies has become my drug of choice & the key to that is studying the language. Also trying sporadically, to learn modern Greek-what do you call it-Demotic? That was a really great question-I liked reading all the responses! Paige.
I don’t use stickers, but the use is as random generator.
Geia sas,
Kserw oti ta ellhnika mou den einai kai toso kala, alla tha prospathisw na sas pw thn gnwmh mou:
Eimai Aystraloellhnas ths deyterhs genias sthn Melbournh, kai ws ma8hths toy B’ Lykeioy thelw na pw oti nomizw to problhma den einai mono thn didaskalia ths Arxaias glwssas sthn Ellada, alla genika me ta paidia ths shmerinhs genias poy phgainoun sxoleio. To blepw edw, alla anti Arxaia, to idio problhma yparxei gia ta Neollhnika. Ta paidia den theloun na ta mathoun… giati? den ksero. Den niazontai. tha legame sta agglika “they dont care”…
Sthn Italia thelw na kserw… mathainoun ta paidia latinika opos sthn Ellada mathainoun Arxaia? Kai AN ta mathainoun… theloune kai ta mathainoun? h ki aytoi exoun to idio problhma me mas?
Sthn Melbournh edw mono 5-6 atwma kanoun arxaia ellhnika ka8e xrono sto sxoleio. Xalia… (den kserw gia to panepisthmeio alla, telos pantwn…) aytoi poy ta kanoun einai sta kalytera sxoleia ths polhs. Ki aytoi, agglosaksones einai…
I’ll try to summarise that:
I wonder if the problem isnt with the teaching of the subject? but the attitude of the students? Not many high school students really care about classics these days, obviously those who do, take it as a subject. If the students dont care, and dont want to learn ancient greek then; they wont lol.
hmm i wonder if in Italy they teach Latin through high school compulsory as in Greece?
aannyyyway back to origional topic;
Started learning ancient greek after my yr 10 Modern Greek teacher introduced us to a little. Ever since then ive been in love 
I learn it because i enjoy it. I think thats the main reason.
John.