r/classics

Hey. I'm new to the world of classic literature and I would love to know where to actually start. My first experience with classics was in a school where I had to read Sophocleses Antigone (which I enjoyed) and parts of the Odyssey and Iliad from Homer (which was difficult for me in that moment).

Last month I was looking for some sources for my essay about origins of poetry and I found Poetics by Aristotle. I read it and I thought that I want to know more about classics. I want to discover this world.

My question is: what were your beginnings like, what have you read and what do you recommend? I'm open to tragedies, comedies, philosophy etc.

Thank you for reading.

I mostly got into the Greek world through Rome, but I've always stayed very much Athens and Argos-friendly. I would explore the myths stemming more from Argos and the House of Atreus / Trojan War-Odyssey.

I decided to wander into the tragedians and poetry with one mission. Thebes.

I already know Sons Atreus and the early Argive myths, but not Thebes.

What a wild ride this city is. I mean the origin with Cadmus bearing the dragon's teeth and the Theban men spring into action, up comes this city of Thebes. Here we have the birth of Dionysus, god of wine, born of Zeus and Semele, daughter of Cadmus.

The wreckage of Pentheus, grandson of Cadmus, to the destructive torture of the Maenads.

Later we have the foul deeds of the Labdacids. Laius, who raped the son of Pelops, here a curse got placed and Laius was killed by his own son, Oedipus, who slept with his own mother. This man who blinded himself and went off in misery.

Then we get the iconic Seven Against Thebes and with the two brothers. This tragedy by Aeschylus is incredible. Euripides has a play on it and so does Statius of Rome.

And then lastly, the destruction of the city, the war of the Epigoni.

In this whole city's mythos, one character really clicked with me, Tiresias, the blind old sage that has lived for many generations. This Tiresias is very fascinating.

Hi — I'm interested in reading the Anabasis of Alexander but many of the copies I'm finding online look a bit fringe (I want a good readable translation, not one of those sketchy Amazon ones that looks like it was printed on someone's home printer and is full of misprints). Any recs for good versions/translations?

Hello!

I've been getting into reading Classical literature recently, and I was wanting some recommendations on what to read next.

I read the Iliad, and I LOVED it. I'm not normally big on war texts, but I really, really enjoyed it.

Next, I read the Odyssey, and, to be honest...fuck Odysseus. All my homies hate Odysseus. If Odysseus has no hater, I am dead. Not my favorite read.

I'm about halfway through the Aeneid now, and I'm enjoying it so far! I don't love it as much as the Iliad or loathe it as much as the Odyssey. I'm having a pretty good time!

As I'm approaching the end, though, I'm wondering where I should go next. I've heard of Ovid's Metamorphoses, but I'm not sure if it's a similar style to the things that I've read. Other than that, though, I'm not sure where to start. I know that if I go to the bookstore to try to look, I'll end up spending...all of my money. Does anyone have any pointers of good Classical lit that I might like?

Thank you!!

I studied classical studies at uni, but haven't looked at a book relating to it since I left (3 years ago), and I kinda miss it. Especially literature and philosophy. Anyone have any articles/book/ other written media they enjoy reading that helps them keep up with their knoweldge?

Where does a casual reader start when it comes to the classics, particularly interested in becoming more acquainted with the foundational texts of history across Mesopotamia, Near East, Greeks & Rome.

Is there a chart or reading plan to show the recommended journey through history and perhaps the recommended translations for each book?

What are the best short overviews (5-10 pp.) of c. 5th cent. Greek history and Roman history (Imperial to Augustan)? I've recently been trying to learn more about these. Are there any that sketch the major events and trends and bring out the main themes? I have been reading the Oxford Anthologies of English Literature and the scholar at the beginning always gives a very incisive overview of the history and literature of the period at the beginning. I was looking for an equivalent--I love classical literature but want a bit of backgrounding. Thanks!

Hi I created a reading list in which I want to read Ovid’s Metamorphoses, however I’m thinking between two translations. The penguins classics, or the Oxford World Classics one.

I just wanted to read beyond my A-Level course, and I was introduced to it by someone, and I found the narration style and the context around it fascinating!!

So please let me know which one, since I would love to read it!!

I'm wanting to read The Iliad and Oddsey.

I planned on reading the Emily Wilson translation, however I'm suspect that it may be warped to favor "modern day sensibilities". However, I may be playing into the fearmongering of right wing people.

Regardless, after finding I read a modern Roal Dahl release which had the word "fat" redacted from it, I just don't want to deal with any BS.

Is the Emily Wilson translation true to the source material, or should I stay clear from it?

I quit my day job as a lawyer last year to go back to uni for a BA in classics, and, man, I'm really looking for some reassurance, because my friends and family all insist that I made a huge mistake. I am quite good at greek and latin, I love the field to death and I'm willing to work my ass off towards getting a PhD.

EDIT: Thanks for the mostly helpful answers. Alas, even in the face of reasonable counterarguments and insurmountable obstacles I remain unwaveringly delusional. Grad school it is. Some clarifications:

1. This is not a shitpost

2. I am 24 and a full time undergrad student (i.e. unemployed)

3. I detested law school and would rather kill myself than go back to practicing law

4. Money is not my biggest concern: university is free in my country, and I plan to mooch off my middle class parents till I'm at least thirty

5. I am set on getting a PhD, but if things do not work out I would not necessarily mind not working in academia.

Cheers, and maybe I'll come back to this post in five years' time to see how things have changed

Hey guys, I’m planning on studying Classical Civilisation at UOM and I really need an A in Classics this year. My Paper 1 (World of the Hero) actually went really well, but I have Paper 2 tomorrow (Greek Theatre), which is definitely my weakest paper. I also have another subject exam on the same day. I’ve had to prioritise revising for the other subject because I’m struggling with it even more, but now I feel SO unprepared for Greek Theatre and I’m honestly really stressed because the grade boundaries are quite high.

Does anyone have any good resources, revision notes, essay plans, key themes/quotes, or literally anything helpful for the plays:
- Frogs
- Oedipus Rex
- Bacchae

Thank you so much in advance, it would genuinely mean a lot 😭

After reading a text, it's so easy to forget what I've read. This made me wonder, how did the ancient Greeks and Romans deal with this issue? I know that they had superior memories since they trained their memories from a young age. But even with that, a single book has so much information it's difficult to even capture 10% of what I read after a couple week pass. I'd assume they would've dealt with this problem too. And since they had less copies to go around so books had to be borrowed instead of owned, a lack of papyrus to take extensive notes on since it was so expensive, how would they have tackled a text without being able to go back to it once returned, and a very limited amount of notes taken? How would ancient scholars be able to get the most out of a text while having a limited time to borrow it? When asked, I get hit with "they reread it alot, they read slow and thoughtfully" and "they used the method of loci to store info into their memory". Ok, but that really doesn't explain how they read the text thoughtfully, and how they could remember verbatim so many passages. People like Plutarch, Athanasius read so many works and could quote so many random passages verbatim, it seems implausible that they took the "slow and thoughtful" rout. It seems they had a system where they could rapidly read and digest texts and churn out passages from memory. Has anyone here actually read any works regarding how the ancients studied texts and could explain how they did it?

Whether you are a student, a teacher, a researcher or a hobbyist, please share with us what you read this week (books, textbooks, papers...).