Criminally random thread(purely academic):

[Imperator]

I know this could be regarded as "spam" so I humbly beg your pardon- I only ask this here because there seem to be plenty of Greek scholars (and maybe teachers, if I'm lucky) about. I'm interested in learning Ancient Greek (so I can translate the classical stuff, from Plato to Polybius and Plutarch) but haven't a clue where to start. I bought a book, and it gave me all the letters but isn't very good at pronounciation and page 2 is in all Greek so it isn't at all what I, as a beginner, need. Does anyone know of a good self-taught Greek textbook for the total beginner? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
And sorry again for the bizarre thread

[Kull]

Some helpful tips in here.

[cdbavg400]

I used Mastronarde's Introduction to Attic Greek. If you know your english grammar rules, this book will be extremely helpful. Make sure you do the exercises too; learning ancient greek can't be done overnight, especially on your own. Even after finishing this book, you probably won't be reading ancient texts on their own yet.

P.S. I may be biased though, since is the only book I've used. But it worked for me!

[Obelics]

here in the Classic Lyceum (high school, from 14 to 18 years old) we studied classic greek and made versions, but when i was at school, my rating in classic greek never went upper than 6=sufficient (from 1 to 10, this was the rating range till 10 years ago) and now i have completely forgot it. I still have some manuals from the lyceum age, but they are in italian. Im thinking of taking it back and try to see if i can manage to make better than my times at school, but looking at this school manuals now, it is like to start from zero for me...

aaargh! why i've not studied it seriously at school
im so regretted

[Imperator]

thanks a lot! I'll try to get my hands on on of those books then! But I suppose what I really ought to do is take a class ...anyway, thanks guys for the quick answers!

[blacksnail]

Imperator, check your Private Messages.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Mastronarde is a good one to try and start with, if you're motivated enough. Plus it's not too expensive.