Is this a decent reading order for the Greeks? Excuse the shitty spelling and formatting. I tried to logically combine the three different Greek reading orders I see bandied around on /lit/.
I'm fine with reading loads, just want to make sure it's in a logical progression.
The * means "not strictly essential"
what's all this secondary material trash read originals first
read the illiad and the odyssey first, then drama/plato/presocratics, then whatever random bullshit you want
>>7576307
I want a good background and frame for everything.
>>7576314
even then don't start with mythology
at most read the ancient greece cultural history. the odyssey and the illiad. don't bog yourself down in secondary material tbqh, it won't help much once you get a good grasp on athenian culture.
>>7576326
What about the Aenid?
>>7576333
you mean the aeneid? i have no idea why you're reading that alongside all the greek stuff, that's a latin poem...
>>7576333
it's spelled "Aeneid" first. Second, that's roman lit, not greek, so don't read that as part of "greeks" meme. also dont' listen to >>7576307 -- secondary material is key to understanding and developing an informed opinion, based on actual contemplation and research, as opposed to simple speculation on your part. also, developing a good technique/method for reading secondary material in conjunction with primary sources will help you as you move through the canon.
>>7576299
fuck u nigga... u must start with presocratics
As other anons have said, you might be a bit overloaded and wouldn't be missing much if you cut some of the secondary material.
In general there are three areas you want to hit when it comes to the Greeks: the Poetry, the Drama, and the Philosophy. The poetry is easy, Hesiod recommended and Homer obviously required. Major dramatists youll want to read are Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes. And the philosophy is the pre-socratics into Plato into Aristotle. I guess some big pre-socratics worth looking at are Heraclitus, Parmenides and Protagoras.
You can also throw in history, because Herodotus and Thucydides are pretty great.
>>7576344
>>7576371
Just seemed a good spot for it because of the subject matter. And I'm typing on a phone; hard to spell correctly.
>>7576371
Yeah I really wanted to have a full experience with the secondary and primary material.
Can you expand on the dual reading idea? Do you mean just sequentially working through relevant secondary material while you're going through the primary material? I suppose I can do that although it's complicated. I'd rather just read book to book but I'm willing to try anything.
>>7576395
>As other anons have said, you might be a bit overloaded and wouldn't be missing much if you cut some of the secondary material.
Yup, I was kind of hoping for specific call-outs of books to remove from the list from the thread but I'm enjoying the current discussion regardless.
>In general there are three areas you want to hit when it comes to the Greeks: the Poetry, the Drama, and the Philosophy. The poetry is easy, Hesiod recommended and Homer obviously required. Major dramatists youll want to read are Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes. And the philosophy is the pre-socratics into Plato into Aristotle. I guess some big pre-socratics worth looking at are Heraclitus, Parmenides and Protagoras. You can also throw in history, because Herodotus and Thucydides are pretty great.
Sounds great!
>>7576393
So I should read The First Philosphers - Oxford World Classics before anything else? Or before Homer at least?
>>7576398
In terms of dual reading, I wouldn't look at it as a simultaneous act (unless, of course, it is a reading guide, in which case it may be necessary). If it is particularly difficult subject matter, ie expansive works of biblical exegesis (maimonides, for example), systematic philosophy (hegel, for example), I would go to secondary sources first. If it is not, for example, The Odyssey, or Plato, I would read the primary first. It all depends on your comprehension level and possibilities, in my opinion.
>>7576618
Homer predates the pre-Socratics.
>>7576618
no read homer first
literally before anything
homer is like their bible, you're gonna miss a lot of shit if you read anything before homer
Start with this
>>7577213
Unless he'll be pursuing academic research
>>lol no
Order really does matter; I read all Plato's pieces on the death of Socrates and then The Clouds and thought it was hilarious, then I tried The Frogs and had no idea what was going on.
>>7577273
Plenty of people learn Greek (and latin, french, Hebrew, German &c) outside of full time academia. If OP is so interested in reading so much of the core lit of the Greek world, he should consider basic greek textbooks. This text taught me greek. I know that it works
