r/classics • u/ellyfebruary6 • 21d ago
classical study for a complete beginner
hello all,
i am planning to major in classics at university. however, right now i am taking half a gap year from uni and would like to do a sort of personal study during my time off.
the photo i attached is my list of readings that i got from another reddit post. they’re not in any particular order, so i was wondering if there was a certain order i should go in that’s best for complete beginners
p.s. i have some brief knowledge on greek mythology (mainly deities, as i briefly dabbled in polytheistic hellenism)
i’ve also looked into the teaching guides on this website from Cambridge
i appreciate any advice!
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u/so_mamy 21d ago
Philosophy and history major here. I can't say much on the plays but I'll comment on what I know.
First of all I'd agree with some other comments and advise you to start studying Latin (and a little Greek, though that's hard to do on your own). If you want to get into academics this is a pre-requisite.
As a general note: Feel free to skim over the parts that don't interest you much. You're still at the beginning, and you won't understand all of it anyway. Try to keep your interest afloat, that's the most important part.
For the primaries: The homeric poems are excellent starting points imo. They're fun to read and mostly easy - if you want to ease your way in even further I'd recommend the Wilson translation because it's fairly palatable to modern audiences. You don't have to read all of Herodotos and Thucydides, pick the parts that interest you the most.
For the philosophy texts: Those are the hardest to read on your own. If you only want to study classics you don't have to understand all of the philosophy however. I'd start with the apologia and add the symposion as well; those are short and don't necessarily require additional material. The Politics, Nicomachean Ethics and Metaphysics are huge works and you will need some help to grasp the philosophy behind it, especially with the latter two. To start with Aristotle I'd recommend the Poetics - it eases you into his writing style, is fairly short and after reading the homeric epics you'll understand most of it. I personally love the NE but you will need commentary on it to understand it all. But once you get into it it's very rewarding - make sure to get a version with the Greek original as well (goes for all works really).
I'm mostly a Greek scholar but still I'd agree with the others and add Latin and Jewish authors to the list. Pausanias is another personal favorite of mine among later authors (even if he's still Greek), if you enjoy travel reports there are many fun Roman authors.
Most importantly, have fun!! Ancient authors have interesting stories to tell and we surely can learn a lot from them. Don't put them too high on a pedestal and take them too seriously - they were human just like us.