/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.17373721]

Do I actually need to read this before the Greeks
I'm not very far in but it seems incredibly dry

[Anonymous No.17373727]

no you don't

and yes it's incredibly dry. it was designed as a high school reading assignment.

[Anonymous No.17373728]

>>17373721
ngmi

[Anonymous No.17373729]

>>17373721
No. You can just start with Homer or Hesiod if you want. Secondary sources are foré brainlets.

[Anonymous No.17373734]

>dry

Silly buzzword

[Anonymous No.17373802]

>>17373721
I’m reading it now too and it’s pretty dry. I’ve skipped some parts where I knew I would remember much and am just focusing on impactful tales. Just got through the story of Dionysus and it was very interesting and enjoyable.

[Anonymous No.17373810]

why would anyone read about something before reading something

[Anonymous No.17373820]

>>17373810
Sometimes the background information is necessary. Reading Homer without reading a decent introduction is just a dumb idea because you will not fully understand it.

[Anonymous No.17373842]

>>17373721
Hamilton is a retard and constantly just writes her opinions instead of retelling the stories

[Anonymous No.17374036]

>>17373721
You don’t necessarily need to read that specific book, but you do need to make yourself familiar with the canon of Greek myths. For the purpose of getting the context for the western literary tradition it’s way more important than reading either Plato or Aristotle. You are reading that so you can pick up allusions to mythological stories and figures which are all over the western canon.

[Anonymous No.17374094]

why do you people always complain about shit like this. Just read it. It is like 400 pages. Stop being such a lazy midwit.

[Anonymous No.17374115]

>>17374094
not even that. you can skip the final sections of norse mythology if it doesn't interest you.

[Anonymous No.17374138]

Bulfinch > Hamilton

[Anonymous No.17374153]

>>17373721
No. The percy jackson guide to greek mythology will accomplish the exact same purpose. Just familiarize yourself with the more popular myths and the important gods and you’ll be fine.

[Anonymous No.17374214]

>>17374138
How is Bulfinch better?

[Anonymous No.17374231]

>>17373729
hesiod is dry but at least a net gain in having read, unlike OP imo.

op will probably give broader knowledge though

[Anonymous No.17374235]

>>17373721
No. Total shit book

[Anonymous No.17374312]

>>17373721
This book will make you hate mythology.

[Anonymous No.17374716]

I finished that book last week, and I've just started the illiad. To be honest, it wasn't bad for giving me an other view but compared to the illiad, it's dog shit. I'm glad I read it, but you could probably get just as good an overview of Wikipedia for the majority of the myths. Then dive straight into the illiad.

[Anonymous No.17374740]

>>17373721
lol just read what you want my man. If you don't understand something, Google it.

don't listen to /lit/ tards who wasted their time studying dry shit they don't actually care about for social capital on an anonymous image board

[« Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ » No.17374787]

Graves > all

Yes, you do have to read

[Anonymous No.17374855]

lol it's funny seeing everyone say this is dry. i stopped reading about 40 pages in a couple months ago because it was like reading a really boring wikipedia article. I'm gonna give Fry's Mythos a shot.

[Anonymous No.17374915]

I remember reading this book as an adolescent and loved it. I don't think the prose was speculator but the stories kept my interest. Didn't really have wikipedia then

[Anonymous No.17374936]

>>17374153
I haven't read that exact book but I was about to say that reading Percy Jackson is unironically all you need.

[Anonymous No.17374974]

>>17373721
If you can't even manage to read this little pop book about myths you will not manage to read the Greeks

[Anonymous No.17375002]

>>17374716
I just finished it today and I feel exactly the same way. I even suggested just using wiki instead in my review lol.

[Anonymous No.17375021]

>>17374974
That’s like saying if you can’t appreciate eating shit you will never appreciate eating a home cooked meal.

[Anonymous No.17375034]

>>17374855
Yeah that one looks interesting. I think after reading Hamilton I’m just going to dive into Iliad. Need me something high end after that.

[Anonymous No.17375739]

>>17373727
This^
Fun for kids

Really just the shadows cast on the walls of the grecian cave thanks to the noble lie

>tfw you leave Eleusis and the saturnalia finally makes sense

[Anonymous No.17375904]

>>17373721
Just watch Hercules, you'll be good.

[Anonymous No.17375955]

>>17375739
What

[Anonymous No.17375961]

I read this book in 7th grade, like 20 years ago, in the library for fun after age of mythology came out. I thought it was based as fuck and very silly. Y’all need to learn to enjoy reading.

[Anonymous No.17375981]

>normals dont know that u should read what makes your heart sing