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Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek Book I
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Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Author: Maurice Balme, Gilbert Lawall
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
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Our Price: $26.91
You Save: $ 8.04 ( 23% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Author: Maurice Balme, Gilbert Lawall
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Average Customer Rating:
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Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek Book I Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 488.2421
EAN: 9780195149562
ISBN: 0195149564
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 380
Publication Date: 2003-03-13
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
Dewey Decimal Number: 488.2421
EAN: 9780195149562
ISBN: 0195149564
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 380
Publication Date: 2003-03-13
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
Editorial Review of Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek Book I
Combining the best features of traditional and modern methods, Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek, 2/e, provides a unique course of instruction that allows students to read connected Greek narrative right from the beginning and guides them to the point where they can begin reading
complete classical texts. Carefully designed to hold students' interest, the course begins in Book I with a fictional narrative about an Attic farmer's family placed in a precise historical context (432-431 B.C.). This narrative, interwoven with tales from mythology and the Persian Wars, gradually
gives way in Book II to adapted passages from Thucydides, Plato, and Herodotus and ultimately to excerpts of the original Greek of Bacchylides, Thucydides, and Aristophanes' Acharnians. Essays on relevant aspects of ancient Greek culture and history are also provided.
New to the Second Edition:
* Short passages from Classical and New Testament Greek in virtually every chapter
* The opening lines of the Iliad and the Odyssey toward the end of Book II
* New vocabulary and more complete explanations of grammar, including material on accents
* Many new exercises and additional opportunities for students to practice completing charts of verb forms and paradigms of nouns and adjectives
* Updated Teacher's Handbooks for Books I and II containing translations of all stories, readings, and exercises; detailed suggestions for classroom presentation; abundant English derivatives; and additional linguistic information
* Offered for the first time, Student Workbooks for Books I and II that include self-correcting exercises, cumulative vocabulary lists, periodic grammatical reviews, and additional readings
complete classical texts. Carefully designed to hold students' interest, the course begins in Book I with a fictional narrative about an Attic farmer's family placed in a precise historical context (432-431 B.C.). This narrative, interwoven with tales from mythology and the Persian Wars, gradually
gives way in Book II to adapted passages from Thucydides, Plato, and Herodotus and ultimately to excerpts of the original Greek of Bacchylides, Thucydides, and Aristophanes' Acharnians. Essays on relevant aspects of ancient Greek culture and history are also provided.
New to the Second Edition:
* Short passages from Classical and New Testament Greek in virtually every chapter
* The opening lines of the Iliad and the Odyssey toward the end of Book II
* New vocabulary and more complete explanations of grammar, including material on accents
* Many new exercises and additional opportunities for students to practice completing charts of verb forms and paradigms of nouns and adjectives
* Updated Teacher's Handbooks for Books I and II containing translations of all stories, readings, and exercises; detailed suggestions for classroom presentation; abundant English derivatives; and additional linguistic information
* Offered for the first time, Student Workbooks for Books I and II that include self-correcting exercises, cumulative vocabulary lists, periodic grammatical reviews, and additional readings
Customer Reviews of Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek Book I
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not very thorough or systematic
Review: The baby Greek reading selections do not adequately prepare a student; the vocabulary seems scattered and inconsistent with the layout of the grammar lessons; various themes are diced into uneven sized chunks; the material is not systematic, and you will find yourself flipping back and forth through several chapters just to clarify one point that should have been thoroughly presented in one chapter. The cultural notes, while they might have some interest for a budding classicist, do not actually help the student learn Greek and just waste paper. This book is nowhere near as thorough, useful, and valuable as the classic Hansen & Quinn textbook, Greek: An Intensive Course. It's not even cheaper, as you have to buy Book 2 to find the complete first year course.
The Athenaze series is an easy intro to Greek. But that only means you will learn the material less thoroughly, have a looser grasp of all the concepts, and not be sufficiently prepared to read the classics.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: As good an option as any
Review: I've read through many of the reviews of this book and find that most of my critiques and commendations of it have already been expressed, but I think a concise (non-partisan) evaluation of it could be useful for a prospective student. I worked through both volumes of this text during a two-semester-long, 5-days-a-week "Intensive Attic Greek" class at a large Eastern University. I had two diiferent professors who taught the class, both of them well-respected classicists in their respective areas. I also own (and have extensively consulted) the texts by Anne Groton (_From Alpha to Omega_) and Donald Mastronarde (_Introduction to Attic Greek_), and so I am qualified to evaluate the _Athenaze_ series.
The main advantages of this book [as I find them] are the following:
-- The student begins to read 'Greek' from the start.
--The book is designed to be 'friendly,' and is a refreshing change from the stoic scholasticism that permeates Greek pedagogy.
--The introduction of principal parts, etc. is staged, which can ease the burden of being overwhelmed by unfamiliar verb forms. Some might think this is a disadvantage, but I found it helpful.
--The text is interspersed with small [heavily glossed] snippets of 'real' Greek: selections from Archilochus, Sappho, Theognis, etc...as well as consistent segments from the New Testament. These selections become longer and more difficult as the book progresses.
--Contrary to some reviewers' comments, _Athenaze_ DOES include reference charts for grammar paradigms. The confusion is that the first volume includes only material covered to the end of that volume, while the second includes both. This is logical. Personally, I find the format of the paradigms to be easier to follow than those in Mastronarde book, though the _Athenaze_ charts are less thorough (not covering 3rd-person imperatives, for example, or the Dual). However, some paradigms are not included, and must be hunted up in the body of the text...notably the -MI- verbs, and the forms of 'oida.' This is annoying, but purchasing a supplementary grammar (the Oxford grammar is a fine one) will solve this easily.
Now, for my critiques:
--Like all books, the text should be supplemented by a competent teacher. I tried (and failed) to teach myself Greek using this and several other texts. After attending classes for the past year, I've realised that NOTHING substitutes for the assistance of a well-trained Professor. This cannot be stressed enough. Someone can do a decent job of learning the language with this series, but unless they have exceptional fortitude and wit, will be unable to move to a 'real Greek' text, aided only by a lexica and commentary.
--The second book (compared to the first book) is disproportionately weighted with difficult grammar, introducing the Perfect System, the Subjunctive, the Optative, Aorist Passive, Future Passive, Indirect Discourse, -MI- verbs... This stuff can be tough sledding, and require far more work than concepts introduced in the first book.
--I thought the treatment of Indirect Discourse to be too brief. Even with supplementary instruction from the professor I struggled with these concepts, because the _Athenaze_ examples were too brief.
--The chapter vignettes, though meant to charming, are fairly prosaic (as must be expected when working with so limited a vocaublary). In a classroom, the tedium can be broken by poking fun at the story, but reading this on your own might be a strain. Also, the drawings that precede each chapter are terrible, but [mercifully] end by the second voume. These may seem like superficial criticims, but I challenge anyone to find a student who's used this book and not been distracted or puzzled by these oddities.
Those are the main points. Overall, _Athenaze_ is a good text, but it should really be supplemented by a teacher. I found the 'filler' material to be interesting and diverting, and the book provides many opportunites for practice reading. It seems as competent as any other available text, and provides a valuable choice for people who learn best by 'immersion.'
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Ok along with other books and a good tutor
Review: This book is good as long as you also buy Workbook I and another grammar book and have a tutor who can fix all the trick questions they ask. It is designed to not give you all the answers and force you to think (get frustrated) and then ask the teacher. If you're brilliant you can figure out some of their trick questions by looking in the back or a chapter or two ahead. There are no answers to any of the exercises, so if you're doing a self-study without a tutor good luck figuring out if you answered correctly.
If you have the time to devote to it, get Workbook I (which does have the answers)and have a tutor to help explain the answers to the trick questions, and have a complementary and better grammar book you can refer to,then this is a really good book; but by itself- nada.
Of course, you could also just buy the teacher's version and get every execise correct... :)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: great book
Review: this is a great introductory book for ancient greek. For example, having worked through Book I and half way into book II, i turned to an original greek text and suprisingly i was able to make sense of it. I reccommend that one gets the workbook component so that one can look up their answers in the answer key, as the book alone does not contain answer keys. This might seem like a problem, but once I worked my way through the Book I workbook (which has an answer key) i became confident enough with greek so that i did not need the workbook with this second book in the series. i also recommend "All the Greek Verbs" or "Tutti Verbi Greci"; this book will help with parsing verbs. Obviously memorizing the stems for each verb in each of its voices and moods would be the best, but this is an arduous task..."All the Greek Verbs" helps with those tricky verbs. My last word of advice is to MEMORIZE THE VOCABULARY!!!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek Book I
Review: A recent retiree, I've resolved to fill a void in my education and learn to read ancient Greek. I was looking for something fairly friendly, as this is not a trivial language to learn. Balme and Lawall have managed this quite well, and one is soon translating simple and charming stories and absorbing some of the culture of ancient Athens. I enjoyed Catherine Balme's excellent illustrations. I feel that if I can muddle through this, then any student can. I would find a CD illustrating correct pronunciation to be helpful; perhaps the authors will consider making one for folks using the text away from the classroom.
-Jerome Hudson
Review Summary: Not very thorough or systematic
Review: The baby Greek reading selections do not adequately prepare a student; the vocabulary seems scattered and inconsistent with the layout of the grammar lessons; various themes are diced into uneven sized chunks; the material is not systematic, and you will find yourself flipping back and forth through several chapters just to clarify one point that should have been thoroughly presented in one chapter. The cultural notes, while they might have some interest for a budding classicist, do not actually help the student learn Greek and just waste paper. This book is nowhere near as thorough, useful, and valuable as the classic Hansen & Quinn textbook, Greek: An Intensive Course. It's not even cheaper, as you have to buy Book 2 to find the complete first year course.
The Athenaze series is an easy intro to Greek. But that only means you will learn the material less thoroughly, have a looser grasp of all the concepts, and not be sufficiently prepared to read the classics.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: As good an option as any
Review: I've read through many of the reviews of this book and find that most of my critiques and commendations of it have already been expressed, but I think a concise (non-partisan) evaluation of it could be useful for a prospective student. I worked through both volumes of this text during a two-semester-long, 5-days-a-week "Intensive Attic Greek" class at a large Eastern University. I had two diiferent professors who taught the class, both of them well-respected classicists in their respective areas. I also own (and have extensively consulted) the texts by Anne Groton (_From Alpha to Omega_) and Donald Mastronarde (_Introduction to Attic Greek_), and so I am qualified to evaluate the _Athenaze_ series.
The main advantages of this book [as I find them] are the following:
-- The student begins to read 'Greek' from the start.
--The book is designed to be 'friendly,' and is a refreshing change from the stoic scholasticism that permeates Greek pedagogy.
--The introduction of principal parts, etc. is staged, which can ease the burden of being overwhelmed by unfamiliar verb forms. Some might think this is a disadvantage, but I found it helpful.
--The text is interspersed with small [heavily glossed] snippets of 'real' Greek: selections from Archilochus, Sappho, Theognis, etc...as well as consistent segments from the New Testament. These selections become longer and more difficult as the book progresses.
--Contrary to some reviewers' comments, _Athenaze_ DOES include reference charts for grammar paradigms. The confusion is that the first volume includes only material covered to the end of that volume, while the second includes both. This is logical. Personally, I find the format of the paradigms to be easier to follow than those in Mastronarde book, though the _Athenaze_ charts are less thorough (not covering 3rd-person imperatives, for example, or the Dual). However, some paradigms are not included, and must be hunted up in the body of the text...notably the -MI- verbs, and the forms of 'oida.' This is annoying, but purchasing a supplementary grammar (the Oxford grammar is a fine one) will solve this easily.
Now, for my critiques:
--Like all books, the text should be supplemented by a competent teacher. I tried (and failed) to teach myself Greek using this and several other texts. After attending classes for the past year, I've realised that NOTHING substitutes for the assistance of a well-trained Professor. This cannot be stressed enough. Someone can do a decent job of learning the language with this series, but unless they have exceptional fortitude and wit, will be unable to move to a 'real Greek' text, aided only by a lexica and commentary.
--The second book (compared to the first book) is disproportionately weighted with difficult grammar, introducing the Perfect System, the Subjunctive, the Optative, Aorist Passive, Future Passive, Indirect Discourse, -MI- verbs... This stuff can be tough sledding, and require far more work than concepts introduced in the first book.
--I thought the treatment of Indirect Discourse to be too brief. Even with supplementary instruction from the professor I struggled with these concepts, because the _Athenaze_ examples were too brief.
--The chapter vignettes, though meant to charming, are fairly prosaic (as must be expected when working with so limited a vocaublary). In a classroom, the tedium can be broken by poking fun at the story, but reading this on your own might be a strain. Also, the drawings that precede each chapter are terrible, but [mercifully] end by the second voume. These may seem like superficial criticims, but I challenge anyone to find a student who's used this book and not been distracted or puzzled by these oddities.
Those are the main points. Overall, _Athenaze_ is a good text, but it should really be supplemented by a teacher. I found the 'filler' material to be interesting and diverting, and the book provides many opportunites for practice reading. It seems as competent as any other available text, and provides a valuable choice for people who learn best by 'immersion.'
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Ok along with other books and a good tutor
Review: This book is good as long as you also buy Workbook I and another grammar book and have a tutor who can fix all the trick questions they ask. It is designed to not give you all the answers and force you to think (get frustrated) and then ask the teacher. If you're brilliant you can figure out some of their trick questions by looking in the back or a chapter or two ahead. There are no answers to any of the exercises, so if you're doing a self-study without a tutor good luck figuring out if you answered correctly.
If you have the time to devote to it, get Workbook I (which does have the answers)and have a tutor to help explain the answers to the trick questions, and have a complementary and better grammar book you can refer to,then this is a really good book; but by itself- nada.
Of course, you could also just buy the teacher's version and get every execise correct... :)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: great book
Review: this is a great introductory book for ancient greek. For example, having worked through Book I and half way into book II, i turned to an original greek text and suprisingly i was able to make sense of it. I reccommend that one gets the workbook component so that one can look up their answers in the answer key, as the book alone does not contain answer keys. This might seem like a problem, but once I worked my way through the Book I workbook (which has an answer key) i became confident enough with greek so that i did not need the workbook with this second book in the series. i also recommend "All the Greek Verbs" or "Tutti Verbi Greci"; this book will help with parsing verbs. Obviously memorizing the stems for each verb in each of its voices and moods would be the best, but this is an arduous task..."All the Greek Verbs" helps with those tricky verbs. My last word of advice is to MEMORIZE THE VOCABULARY!!!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek Book I
Review: A recent retiree, I've resolved to fill a void in my education and learn to read ancient Greek. I was looking for something fairly friendly, as this is not a trivial language to learn. Balme and Lawall have managed this quite well, and one is soon translating simple and charming stories and absorbing some of the culture of ancient Athens. I enjoyed Catherine Balme's excellent illustrations. I feel that if I can muddle through this, then any student can. I would find a CD illustrating correct pronunciation to be helpful; perhaps the authors will consider making one for folks using the text away from the classroom.
-Jerome Hudson