Teaching myself Greek

[MotherOfBoys]

I'd like to learn greek mainly to read the New Testament (our Pastor refers to it a lot) but I wouldn't mind being able to read in Epic or Attic greek (for Homer, Plato, Aristotle). I want to spend 20 or 30 mins a day on it. Occasionally more time for about a year commitment at first. Then after a year I'll commit to more or switch to latin. My son will start SSL or Prima Latin next year. One side goal is to not rush him because I would be on a different track. I know he would like to learn something new with mom so I thought we could learn latin together. In the mean time I'll learn greek. Does this sound doable?

 

What to use:

I was thinking of starting with Athenaze greek. I see two books. Maybe I can get through them by the late fall?

Then I would start Elementary Greek. I see three levels. I would think this would move faster in the beginning because of some overlap. Maybe finish this by Aug 2015?

I want the curriculum to be engaging and fun. I like little puzzles some days. :laugh: Also, I will probably have my boys try it when they get to that age. I see a benefit in demonstrating how to study something in front of the boys and they will watch any dvds with me probably. They can't leave me alone.

 

I don't know of anything to learn Epic greek. I did read on another thread to start with Epic then Athenaze and lastly Koine. Epic is the oldest and is the base. Attic is a base for Koine.

 

Can you help me with my plan?

[Kathryn]

Elementary Greek is a text for children. Athenaze is a college text. You have those in the wrong order.

[Corraleno]

Have you seen the Athenaze texts? IMO, trying to get through both books of Athenaze in a few months, while only working 20-30 minutes a day is simply not possible. Lukeion spends a year (32 weeks) on each book, and my son was routinely putting in 10-12 hours/wk on it. There is a lot of translation work in Athenaze, which can be very time-consuming. Even in college, they take a full year to get through both books, and that's a heck of a pace. Given the limited time you have to devote to the subject, and the fact that your primary goal is to read the NT, I would start with Elementary Greek.

[MotherOfBoys]

Elementary Greek is a text for children. Athenaze is a college text. You have those in the wrong order.

 

Elementary greek teaches a different dialect then Athenaze. One is Attic and the other is Koine. I was going to learn them in this order because Attic is the base for Koine.

[MotherOfBoys]

Have you seen the Athenaze texts? IMO, trying to get through both books of Athenaze in a few months, while only working 20-30 minutes a day is simply not possible. Lukeion spends a year (32 weeks) on each book, and my son was routinely putting in 10-12 hours/wk on it. There is a lot of translation work in Athenaze, which can be very time-consuming. Even in college, they take a full year to get through both books, and that's a heck of a pace. Given the limited time you have to devote to the subject, and the fact that your primary goal is to read the NT, I would start with Elementary Greek.

 

Thank you. I didn't know it took that long to get through Athenaze. So in 6 months I wouldn't be through one book.

[Calm37]

If you are interested in Biblical Greek, Bill Mounce has a wonderful text and all kinds of resources at his teknia.com site. I studied through about 20 chapters of this 10 or so years ago with a class at church. The text/workbook/lectures make it very doable. I have been hoping to start this course again soon myself.

[Allearia]

Have you seen the Athenaze texts? IMO, trying to get through both books of Athenaze in a few months, while only working 20-30 minutes a day is simply not possible. Lukeion spends a year (32 weeks) on each book, and my son was routinely putting in 10-12 hours/wk on it. There is a lot of translation work in Athenaze, which can be very time-consuming. Even in college, they take a full year to get through both books, and that's a heck of a pace. Given the limited time you have to devote to the subject, and the fact that your primary goal is to read the NT, I would start with Elementary Greek.

I agree with this. Additionally, you will learn to read the New Testament with Athenaze as well, I believe my son started doing so at the end of the first book. So you really have to decide how much time you are willing to put in. Elementary Greek would be a much easier intro if you just want to read a bit. If you are passionate about being able to read and study the New Testament in Greek, then Athenaze or another college text would be a better choice but you will have to be realistic about the time and effort that will be involved.

[Corraleno]

Elementary greek teaches a different dialect then Athenaze. One is Attic and the other is Koine. I was going to learn them in this order because Attic is the base for Koine.

 

But Koine is easier to learn, because the grammar is simpler and the vocabulary is more limited, so if your primary goal is to read the NT, and you don't have a lot of time to devote to it, you may want to focus on Koine. If your main goal is to read Classical Greek literature and philosophy, with the ability to read the NT as a bonus, then Athenaze would be perfect — just keep in mind that it's going to take a much larger time commitment than half an hour a day for a few months.

[Kathryn]

But Koine is easier to learn, because the grammar is simpler and the vocabulary is more limited, so if your primary goal is to read the NT, and you don't have a lot of time to devote to it, you may want to focus on Koine. If your main goal is to read Classical Greek literature and philosophy, with the ability to read the NT as a bonus, then Athenaze would be perfect — just keep in mind that it's going to take a much larger time commitment than half an hour a day for a few months.

This.

[Alessandra]

But Koine is easier to learn, because the grammar is simpler and the vocabulary is more limited, so if your primary goal is to read the NT, and you don't have a lot of time to devote to it, you may want to focus on Koine. If your main goal is to read Classical Greek literature and philosophy, with the ability to read the NT as a bonus, then Athenaze would be perfect — just keep in mind that it's going to take a much larger time commitment than half an hour a day for a few months.

This.

 

If you learn Classical Greek, the NT will be easy. If you read the NT, I would recommend starting with Mark, as it is some of the simplest Greek. When I took Greek in college, we started Mark (as a group, in class) on the second or third day, right after learning the alphabet.

 

Later, as an adult, I took a course in which we read Romans. Paul's long sentences are just as troublesome in Greek as in English.

 

During Classical times, there were actually many dialects go Greek, also variations of the alphabet, but what has come down to us is the version spoken in Attica, because Athens was the home of so much writing. An easy place to start is Plato's Phaedo or other short dialogue.

 

Homeric Greek (epic?) is very, very different, not only in verb forms, but also in vocabulary. Plus, you are reading poetry. It is almost like learning a whole new language, lol.

 

ETA Another source of easy Biblical Greek is the Septuagint.

[MotherOfBoys]

Thank you all!

I just looked up Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek. That looks good and I like that there are videos available.

 

I want to put a year into this study for sure. I think I could get through Athenaze's first book by then. I think I need to decide on my goal. Is it just NT greek or is it classical too?

 

I see myself using the NT greek more than the classical right now, but when the kids are older that could change.

[MotherOfBoys]

Is there online videos or dvds for Athenaze?

[Hunter]

My son and I made some good progress self-educating Greek. Just shoot me, if I'd have had to use Athenaze first or as my primary text. It was an okay extra reader, after we had used a text with more explicit instruction.

 

I didn't like Mounce either, but I like it WAY better than Athenaze.

[Amy Jo]

I'm going for this approach. http://www.pocm.info/good_books_read_greek.htm

[MotherOfBoys]

Thanks Amy Jo. That page is interesting. It starts you out easier with a gradual increase. I think I like it.

[Hunter]

I agree with the website's humorous description of learning Greek, but prefer mostly other resources. I like the first part of the pages, better than the latter. But it's easier to describe a problem than offer solutions, isn't it?

 

I'm not confident my resources are better than the ones listed at the website–not at all. Use your gut, if you disregard the first advice (which I do agree with wholeheartedly) of NOT studying Greek, and get sucked in. Use the resources that work for YOU.

[Mrs. A]

I'm going for this approach. http://www.pocm.info/good_books_read_greek.htm

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing this. I recently began going through Mounce's book, and so far it's fine, but I appreciate knowing its weak points so I can be prepared. 

 

Hunter, I'd love to hear what are some of the resources that you like. I really have no idea what's out there and I like being able to be aware of my options. 

[eternalsummer]

We use athenaze (DD and I); it is slow going.  I think an adult who has a thorough knowledge of English grammar (or some other language's grammar) can go faster than we do, though; a lot of the time is spent teaching her the parts of speech :)

 

It is not something I expect to complete in less than 6 months.