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/lit/ - Literature

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10763749 No.10763749 [Reply] [Original]

I need to read some shit. I haven't read a book in too long.
I want to read some ancient greek literature, I just want to know where the best place is to start. Should I start with the whatever its called, the greek story with troy, and once eyed monsters and fucking whatever its called. Or do i start with like the history of the place, or the government types, or the various philospohies?
Or maybe some greek theaters and plays, to get a better understanding of morals or whatever

>> No.10763796

lmao I love how you describe it. that story about troy and one eyed monsters and whatever the fuck it's called

Uhhhh first off read Edith Hamilton's Mythology so you have a good overview of all the legendary figures and gods in ancient Greece. If you really want you can read any sort of historical textbook on Ancient Greece as far as overall history but the stories Greece put out pretty much stand on their own once you know who the gods are.

Next up read Iliad and Odyssey, those stories about troy and cyclopses and all that shit. After that read the plays about Oedipus by Sophocles and the Oresteia by Aeschylus. From there you should have a pretty solid understanding of Greek epics and drama so just go wild and pick whatever interests you.

>> No.10763804

>>10763749
read lysistrata. it'll make you like things again

>> No.10763814
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10763814

>>10763796
so basically start with the gods and who they are, so I don't miss the point going over my head? No?
Are the story of the gods, and the general history of Greece, intertwined, or can I just read it separately?
Otherwise thanks

>> No.10763842

>>10763796
If you want to learn nonfiction/philosophy as well, start with Plato. Read Meno, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Symposium, The Republic, and then Phaedo, in that order.

After that read some of Aristotle: Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, and Poetics.

Preferably you would read everything these dudes wrote but if you just read these you'd have a solid understanding of them.

Afterwards feel free to read any history books about Epicurus or Pythagoras, the latter was especially influential on Plato and Aristotle.

Underrated and underrepresented is Euclid's Elements. It's a straight-up math book, specifically geometry and algebra, but it's really fascinating to know to how to construct advanced geometrical figures using nothing but a compass and straightedge. It goes to show how really satisfying math and logic was, and how important it was to the Greek people.

>> No.10763846

>>10763814
Basically yes, start with the mythology just to give you a clear understanding of what all the gods are in charge of, mainly because the Iliad, which is hands-down the most important story in Greek history EVER, references a shit-ton of gods and deities and legends without diving into too much detail because it assumed the audience at the time knew who all the gods were. The mythology book gives you that sort of mindset and a background on everybody so when you come across that part in the Iliad you won't be dumbfounded but be on a level playing field as anybody else listening to it in that time period.

>> No.10763851

Just fucking jump in. You’re not in school. It doesn’t matter who you “start with”