All Greek to me

[Jobi1]

Has anyone taken on any of the big beasts of Greek antiquity? I never previously have, and it's one of those areas that you feel you really should explore. They sometimes come up in projects I'm working on, and indeed the last author I was working with is a self-confessed Thucydides fanboy, so on his recommendation I've bought a copy of the Lattimore translation of The Peloponnesian War, and as recommended by another author I worked with a while ago the Waterfield translation of The Histories of Herodotus. Not sure exactly when I'll get round to tackling them, but now I own them they will on my shelf demanding attention until I do!

I'm sure these will be enough for me for a good while, but are the others that people have particularly enjoyed or would recommend?

[Sits]

I read The Histories around 15 years ago after having my interest in all things Classical inspired by a short course at Sydney Uni. Translation by Macauley, updated by Lateimer. Recommended would be a strong word; you have to want to read it.

Plutarch and Polybius I read some of, based on what was required for the course I did. Quite enjoyable, especially some of the Lives.

Thucydides I found a struggle to be honest.

Last but not least I put an audiobook of The Iliad and The Odyssey on my iPod and listened to them on a holiday about ten years ago. For these texts perhaps it was a better choice than reading a hard copy as they’re quite repetitive in places (probably in the nature of books originating from oral tradition). The narrator is key for something like this and this one - John Lescault - got the tone just right. I emailed him a thank-you and got a lovely reply.

[ursus arctos]

There are to my mind excellent annotated translations of both Thucydides and Herodotus that I kept in my office for tines when I really want d a break from my professional life and are still there. I find the maps to especially

https://www.simonandschuster.com/boo.../9781416590873

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/b...salind-thomas/

We tend to collect translations of Homer the way we collect translations of Dante.

[Amor de Cosmos]

The Greeks I mainly read for my Masters. Big chunks of Plato: The Republic, Phaedrus, The Symposium and The Socratic Dialogues. Plays, which are all relatively easy reads, included Euripedes Medea, real horror show but unforgettable, and Sophocles Oedipus Rex, and Antigone. My all-time fave, which I still return to, is Sappho's Verses. Each is short but very old and equally mysterious, mainly because they are not intact which, I'm certain, only adds to their attraction.

[Discordant Resonance]

I read The Histories around 15 years ago after having my interest in all things Classical inspired by a short course at Sydney Uni. Translation by Macauley, updated by Lateimer. Recommended would be a strong word; you have to want to read it.

Plutarch and Polybius I read some of, based on what was required for the course I did. Quite enjoyable, especially some of the Lives.

Thucydides I found a struggle to be honest.

Last but not least I put an audiobook of The Iliad and The Odyssey on my iPod and listened to them on a holiday about ten years ago. For these texts perhaps it was a better choice than reading a hard copy as they’re quite repetitive in places (probably in the nature of books originating from oral tradition). The narrator is key for something like this and this one - John Lescault - got the tone just right. I emailed him a thank-you and got a lovely reply.

The Introduction to the Penguin Classics version of The Odyssey is interesting in that regard, as it suggests many of the tropes in the text, such as "faithful Penelope", the "rosy-fingered dawn", etc, are innate, and inherently inseparable from the adjacent nouns, rather than implying that Penelope is always faithful to Odysseus, even while simultaneously leading the Suitors on a merry dance.

[ursus arctos]

I always thought (and was taught) that they were aides to bards reciting the text orally

[Nefertiti2]

Big fan of the audiobook of Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey, read by Claire Danes

[Lang Spoon]

I'm reading the De Selingcourt Herodotus again, this time on the Kindle. Thankfully Penguin still have that available, I don't think I could stomach whatever Tom fucking Holland (or more likely, his underpaid assistants) might have done to it on their latest edition. Anyway, it's a hell of a lot of fun.

[slackster]

Seeing the thread title and forum slot, my first thought was what decent modern novels set in Greece have I read (rather than the Ancients)? You know: yer Durrell’s and de Berniéres, etc. I think Victoria Hislop’s The Island about that actual leper colony on Spinalonga was the last one (it’s ok but certainly no must-read).

[Lang Spoon]

https://gwern.net/doc/borges/1932-bo...icversions.pdf

I love this Borges essay and the uncertainty of translating the Classics. That it's a translation from the Spanish adds another highly appropriate layer of uncertainty. I think the copy I once had was titled "Some versions of Homer".

[Jobi1]

Big fan of the audiobook of Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey, read by Claire Danes

The Wilson has been on my to-read list since it came out. One day...

I do enjoy a modern take on old stuff - Simon Armitage's version of the Odyssey is great; similarly, I loved Ted Hughes' (arsehole as he may be) Tales from Ovid so much it's one of the only books I've bought multiple copies of to give to others.

[Nefertiti2]

I love the Wilson and hearing it read is the best way to absorb an oral text. Completely extraordinary and complex narrative structure-with flashbacks- cutaways, parallel action and beginning near the end of the journey. Definitely worth investing int he audiobook

I can't stand Simon Armitage though i'm afraid.

[Levin]

I've read translations of the Iliad and Odyssey. Plain text translations lose me in the more repetitive parts, like some of the battles in the Iliad.

I've only consumed the more historical things through non-fiction that synthesizes them. Actually, no I tried to read The Republic and got very stuck quite early on.

Sadly incomplete is War Music by Cristopher Logue but I cannot recommend it enough as a version of the Iliad. Something new yet the same. Very much full of life and death.

I saw Juliette Binoche in Antigone a while ago at the Barbican. I left quite disappointed, not only because the staging wasn't great but mostly because it had a translation by Anne Carson and I'd conned myself into thinking they were going to do Antigonick rather than a straight translation. Antigonick is very good.

I've probably seen more adaptations on stage than read classics actually. I've been reminded of seeing the very very good Welcome to Thebes at the NT.

[Jobi1]

Combining the last couple of posts, I see Emily Wilson has a translation of The Iliad coming out in September, which I imagine is going to be well worth a look.

[Jobi1]

I love the Wilson and hearing it read is the best way to absorb an oral text. Completely extraordinary and complex narrative structure-with flashbacks- cutaways, parallel action and beginning near the end of the journey. Definitely worth investing int he audiobook

Further on this, I've never tried an audiobook (unless you count Ivor the Engine when I was about 5 years old), so this would be quite a place to start! But is there a way of accessing such things without using Audible, should one be the kind of person who generally tries to keep Amazon's tentacles out of their daily life?