Advice requested

[Montcombroux]

I have been working at learning Greek for quite a long time but only recently have I been able to devote more time to the study. I have gone through Samuel G Green's NT Greek, J. W. White's First Greek Book and am reading Xenophon, off and on, in the Loeb edition. I am also working on North and Hillard's Greek Prose Composition but since my only goal is to be able to read Greek I have been attempting to understand the Greek in the key and checking my work with the English in the text. I am in the final stages of N & H and must confess to be still having difficulties with the verbs. On the suggestion of someone on Textkit I acquired a copy of Lucian's Dialogues of the Gods by Hayes and Nimis (and the partial key) and find it most enjoyable.

Excuse the lengthy preamble. My request is for suggestions as to the best path ahead once I've finished N & H.
Thanks
Michael

[daivid]

If you enjoy Lucian why not stick with him? There quite a few commentaries out on Lucian like the one you have from Hayes and Nimis and if you stick with Lucian you getting to know his vocabulary and his idioms so it is a good idea to stick with the same author for a while.

If on the other hand you want a change then you will need to tell us something about what you would like to encounter. Without that everyone will just tell you their favorite author and not what you need.

[Montcombroux]

Thanks, Daivid, for your suggestions.

tell us something about what you would like to encounter. Without that everyone will just tell you their favorite author and not what you need.

Yes, I can see that, though knowing other people's favorite authors is also helpful.
In addition to wanting to acquire a moderate level of reading ability, I would like to be able to read in the original some of the authors I taught in English back in the day I was a high school teacher, authors such as Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles, and satirists like Aristophanes.

[mwh]

Why not dive straight into Euripides then? There are Bryn Mawr commentaries on some of his plays. Or use one of Loebs (David Kovacs, not the older ones). Be sure to try to understand the Greek before looking at the translation, or you'll never learn to read Greek. You'll familiarize yourself with tragic style as you go along. The spoken parts, mostly in iambic trimeter, are much less difficult than the sung parts (in "lyric" meters), and much of the dialogue should be within your competence. The Alcestis (not a typical tragedy, as you'll know) may be a good one to start with.

Or if that’s too big a jump for you, you could follow daivid’s advice and read some more Lucian with elementary commentary. Or some Plato. Or anything at all really. I expect you’re tired of Xenophon, and it will be good to mix things up a bit. How about some Herodotus, say? (Ionic dialect, but not all that different from Attic, which itself is basically Ionic.) Or Gorgias’ encomium of Helen, perhaps. That would make a good lead-in to Euripidean rhetoric. Others will have more concrete suggestions.

That’s an interesting use you’re making of North and Hillard, and I imagine it could work well. You could extend it to Sidgwick if you wanted. No surprise that you’re still having difficulties with verbs. Verbs are the second most difficult things in Greek, the first being particles.

[Montcombroux]

mwh
I find your post, along with Daivid's, helpful in deciding what route I should take. On the verb front, have come to the conclusion that there is no equivalent in Ancient Greek of the helpful <501 (or similar number) Verbs Fully Conjugated> series that exists for many modern languages. Too bad because I find myself staring at a verb in a text without a clue what it might be. And, of course, my Liddell & Scott is of no help. Yes, Xenophon is helpful but one can overdose on him the way Latin students react to Julius C.
I guess it's a question of head down and plow on.

[jeidsath]

On the verb front, have come to the conclusion that there is no equivalent in Ancient Greek of the helpful <501 (or similar number) Verbs Fully Conjugated> series that exists for many modern languages. Too bad because I find myself staring at a verb in a text without a clue what it might be. And, of course, my Liddell & Scott is of no help.

For learning, here is a nice list of paradigms for common verbs: http://sphinx.metameat.net/sphinx.php?paradigms

For help looking up verbs consider: Marinone's "All the Greek Verbs" or Bodoh's "Index of Greek Verb Forms"

[C. S. Bartholomew]

RE: Verbs

There used to be a color coded one page "The Greek verb system : seven color chart"[1] published by some baptist seminary eons ago. It was still available not too long ago at a local college but I didn't get my hands on fresh copy. This chart was not koine only, it covered many forms not found in NT or LXX. It was the best tool I ever used for comprehending the verb system. Sadly after 30 years the yellows and pinks have gone the way of organic dyes exposed to ultraviolet so my copy is no longer readable.

Of course there are online verb sites, but I don't read greek online. I found the one page (large paper) chart better for grasping the structure of they verb system than the multi page versions. The socrates.berkeley chart is probably somewhat more comprehensive than the one page chart.

socrates.berkeley.edu
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~ancgreek/ ... #verbpdgm1

The late Rodney Decker has a Verb Reference Chart for the Omega Conjugation http://ntresources.com/blog/wp-content/ ... rt_LKG.pdf. I don't find this presentation of the data particularly lucid.

[1] I found the chart on WordCat here is the record
The Greek verb system : seven color chart

Author: L R Elliott; Milford L Baker; Songer. Robert K.
Publisher: Berkeley, CA : Bibal Press, 1990.
Edition/Format: Image : Chart : English
Database: WorldCat
Rating:
(not yet rated) 0 with reviews - Be the first.
Subjects
Greek language, Biblical -- Verb -- Charts, diagrams, etc.
Greek language, Biblical -- Verb.

[rmedinap]

mwh
I find your post, along with Daivid's, helpful in deciding what route I should take. On the verb front, have come to the conclusion that there is no equivalent in Ancient Greek of the helpful <501 (or similar number) Verbs Fully Conjugated> series that exists for many modern languages. Too bad because I find myself staring at a verb in a text without a clue what it might be. And, of course, my Liddell & Scott is of no help. Yes, Xenophon is helpful but one can overdose on him the way Latin students react to Julius C.
I guess it's a question of head down and plow on.

FALSE, there are some equivalents, I've listed them before, some of them free on the internet.

[Montcombroux]

[/quote] FALSE, there are some equivalents, I've listed them before, some of them free on the internet.[/quote]

Thank you. I stand corrected (and chastened )

I have ordered the Marinone as I like to have a paper book on my desk. But the online resources are useful too, and I am grateful for the help.

[daivid]

mwh
I find your post, along with Daivid's, helpful in deciding what route I should take. On the verb front, have come to the conclusion that there is no equivalent in Ancient Greek of the helpful <501 (or similar number) Verbs Fully Conjugated> series that exists for many modern languages. Too bad because I find myself staring at a verb in a text without a clue what it might be. And, of course, my Liddell & Scott is of no help. Yes, Xenophon is helpful but one can overdose on him the way Latin students react to Julius C.
I guess it's a question of head down and plow on.

You might try out http://www.lexigram.gr/lex/arch/#Hist0 It has an excessive amount of adverts and as it it is modern Greek you will need to use it with an online translator. However it is quite good at guessing the right verb even if you make a typo when you enter it.