Advanced Topics
Once you have finished the Core sections, you can choose one or more of the remaining sections depending on your interests. These are deeper dives and are not required for a general understanding, but they allow you to explore particular directions in the field.
The specialization tracks are:
-
IV. Homeric Greek
Focus: epic poetry (Iliad and Odyssey), older dialect, and poetic meter. -
V. Greek Drama
Focus: tragedy and comedy, theatrical performance, and the chorus. -
VI. Lyric & Hellenistic Poetry
Focus: shorter lyric poems (Sappho, Pindar) and later Hellenistic poetry. -
VIII. Historiography
Focus: historical writing (Herodotus and Thucydides). -
IX. Koine & Post-Classical Greek
Focus: the simplified Greek of the Hellenistic and Roman periods, including the New Testament and other later prose.
Homeric Greek
| Subject | Resource |
|---|---|
| Homeric grammar | Pharr, Homeric Greek (Archive.org scan) |
| Iliad & Odyssey | Chicago Homer + Perseus (Chicago Homer primary; cross-reference Perseus) |
| Meter | West, Greek Metre (Archive – abridged intro edition) |
Greek Drama
| Genre | Resources |
|---|---|
| Tragedy | Sophocles & Euripides (Perseus + commentaries) (Perseus primary; commentaries via DCC where available) |
| Comedy | Aristophanes (Perseus) |
| Performance & chorus | Open Yale – Greek Drama lectures (integrated in Ancient Greek History series) |
Lyric & Hellenistic Poetry
| Subject | Resource |
|---|---|
| Lyric (Sappho, Pindar) | Perseus Lyric Corpus (Sappho & Pindar via Perseus authors) |
| Hellenistic | Theocritus (Perseus) |
| Meter & form | West, Greek Metre |
Historiography
| Author | Resource |
|---|---|
| Herodotus | Perseus Histories |
| Thucydides | Perseus Peloponnesian War |
Koine & Post-Classical Greek
| Subject | Resource |
|---|---|
| Koine grammar | Robinson & Pierpont Morphological NT (Byzantine text with morphology) |
| NT Greek | |
| Video instruction | BiblicalTraining.org (Bill Mounce Biblical Greek series) |
| Hellenistic prose | Polybius (Perseus) |