I’d like to read and dvelve into Plato’s works. So far I have read Apology with the help of Geoffrey Steadman. Now I would like to read it again and after I have read it, I would like to continue other texts by Plato. But I don’t know which one to choose.
How do you rank Plato’s work by difficulty level?
The Crito would be a good choice to start with, then perhaps the Ion, and when you’re ready for something longer and more challenging, the Phaedo or the Symposium. The Apology, as you probably know, is not at all typical of Plato’s work, since it’s not a dialogue. And be warned: much of the rest of his work is extremely difficult.
The Socratic dialogues in general are your best choice. My personal favourite for intermediate learners is Book 1 of Republic, for which there is a Steadman commentary.
Apology is not always easy, but is very rewarding: Socrates’ speeches are quite conversational in form.
There are enthusiasts for Symposium as an intermediate text, but it includes elaborate speeches, which can be hard work.
Thanks for the answer.
I also thought that I will continue with Republic or Crito. These texts are said that are easier than other Plato’s work but I don’t know if I will have read both, how can I improve my greek skills to read the harder works?
Should I learn the all words of Apology, Crito and Republic? What is the best eay to reach a higher level? I also used translation when I read Apology. Sometimes I feeled more confident with it.
Many people are enthusiasts for vocabulary aids like anki decks. Personally, I don’t find rote memorization easy. I rely on reading and re-reading and re-reading to learn words in context. But I only read Plato, so this method might not generalize well.
I make extensive use of translations in my reading of Greek, often referring to several different translations to get a grip on tricky passages. If you’re an independent learner, this is necessary, and you should not feel uneasy about it.
Yes, I am already an independent learner.
I used to learn with teacher until I reached intermediate level but I have been reading texts on my own for 2-3 years. Plato is very difficult for me, so I can’t ignore the translations.
I think Anki is good, but the biggest problem is that the new words I learn in seperation not in textual contexts. I will use your method to learn new vocabulary.
And when you read a text and get a stuck, do you immediately start looking in dictonary or do you turn to translations?
Sorry for my English, I from Hungary and I am not the best in this language.
If you have any advice I would be happy if you shared it.
Dictionaries are essential. So are good translations. The rest is just hard work.
If you want to learn to read Plato, I would recommend against using translations, or to use them as little as possible. For unknown words, use a dictionary. In case of grammatical or semantic difficulty, ask here.
I strongly disagree. Translations provide invaluable feedback and error-correction to independent learners
Of course translations can be useful for providing feedback, but only after you’ve made what sense of it you can first, without looking at any translation in advance. Otherwise you’ll never learn to read.
I don‘t use immediately translations if I don’t understand what I am reading.
Since I am already independent learner, I don’t get any feedback on wether I understand the doubtful part correctly or not. So I use translations in this case.
Thanks. I will ask in this site here If I get stuck.