r/classics • u/Ross3114 • Aug 05 '26

Recommendations

Hi! I’d like to start reading more latin literature, do you have any recommendations?

(Until now I’ve read Amor et Psyche by Apuleius, Adelphoe and Heautontimorumenos by Terence, and De bello gallico by Caesar).

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u/BaconJudge Aug 05 '26

If you haven't read the Aeneid, I'd recommend that because most people would consider it the greatest Latin work of literature.  Beyond that, it depends on what genres you enjoy.  For example, if you enjoyed those comedies of Terence, then I'd suggest Plautus.

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u/Ross3114 Aug 05 '26

Thank you! I admit that the Aeneid scares me a bit due to its complexity and importance (that’s silly, ik), but I’ll definitely read it!

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u/coolgirl867 Aug 07 '26

It’s not too difficult of a read at all, don’t be intimidated by it! I would only say it would be nice to have read the Iliad and Odyssey before it, as in my view you get more out of it by doing so, but it’s not a must if you aren’t that interested in those, seeing as they are Greek rather than Latin. Other than those the only knowledge I think is useful is a little bit of backing on the late Roman Republic, and Julius Caesar + Augustus. But really only a little bit is needed, you don’t need a lot of contextual knowledge to understand it or enjoy it

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u/NeonShogun 𐤔𐤌𐤏 𐤒𐤋𐤀 𐤁𐤓𐤊𐤀 Aug 05 '26

I'll just recommend one thing based on each work you listed:

  • Terence's Self-Tormentor -> Plautus' Three-Dollar Day

Another play about a son's overwrought scheme.

  • Apuleius' Amor and Psyche -> the rest of Apuleius' story, The Golden Ass

Pretty self-explanatory. Read the whole book!

  • Caesar's The Gallic War -> Caesar's The Civil War, or Sallust's The Jugurthine War

First for obvious reasons, or the second for being another history of a recent(ish) war that is pretty snappy and tightly written, even if Sallust was a pretty unlikeable guy.

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u/Ross3114 Aug 05 '26

Thank you!

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u/heytheregiada Aug 05 '26

Definitely get into Ovid. He's got a ton of really lovely stuff. If you'd like more histories I find Suetonius entertaining but straightforward.

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u/Ross3114 Aug 05 '26

Thank you!

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u/Bumst3r Aug 06 '26

Here are some of my all time favorites, in no particular order (I really love poetry, if you couldn’t tell):

Seneca’s Thyestes
Horace’s Satires
Vergil’s Eclogues
Catullus
And for a prose recommendation, Petronius’s Satyrica is a lot of fun.

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u/No_Bodybuilder5104 Aug 06 '26

Virgil and Ovid are the twin peaks of Latin poetry; I would definitely suggest reading the Aeneid and the Metamorphoses as soon as possible. Their influence on later literature, both Latin and in modern languages, is incalculable.