bury me with some good greek mythology books,greek history and some good books by famous philosophers like socrates,aristotle,Diogenes etc,its going to be my first time actually reading something knowledgable so help me out!Thankyou so much!
by abhiishitttt
2 Comments
Well… it’s not a beginner’s book, but Thucydides’ book History of the Peloponnesian War is a world classic.
And you gotta understand… this guy, at the age of 30 or so, back in 430 BC or whenever, decided that he had it in him to write a book that would be a “possession for all time.” In Greek the phrase was “ktema es aei.” And then he spent the next 30 years, the whole rest of his life, doing it. Writing his book. And when he was done — he never actually finished, what we have is the unfinished effort — guess what: he was right. It is. He did.
And so, you know… it’s gonna be a struggle, but once you get started I think it will pick up its pace, and you’ll discover: it really is a possession for all time. I would say give it a try. I would advise the Penguin Classics edition, with the intro by M. I. Finley. Finley was a very knowledgeable guy and had a lot that was interesting to say about the whole deal too.
*Mythology* by Edith Hamilton is the classic introductory book to Greek mythology.
*The Iliad* and *The Odyssey* by Homer are the most famous Greek epic poems (or anywhere, really). They cover a fundamental part of Greek mythology. There are many translations that are good for different reasons. Personally, I like Richard Lattimore’s translations, but Robert Fagles or Emily Wilson might be more beginner friendly.
*The Story of Civilization: The Life of Greece* by Will Durant is a great overview of Greek history, philosophy, and society.