You might try the Loeb Classical Library, described at Wikipedia here and found at this website here. (The rest of this post is about how I searched for this prize.)
Finding these works in the original was not easy ...
So over the last few Christmases (not to mention birthdays), I've accumulated some copies of Greek-language works in the original, for the purpose of practicing the Ancient Greek that I have learned. I actually had a hard time finding these Greek-language copies, as you might expect, since the market for these versions isn't a terribly large one in this day and age (although it was once very popular and very prestigious). But I did actually find them, after looking in several of the wrong places first. Since I imagine others might be in the same predicament as I was, I thought that I might share my story for readers who are interested. I hope that they might hear of the difficulties of finding copies of these works, and how they were surmounted in a long search for the prize. (This search gave way more surprises than I would have expected.)
Socrates, one of the people that I wanted to read about in Greek
When I had used a search engine, I didn't realize I had found it ...
I had never taken a Greek class before I started my search, and still have not taken one since that time, either. Thus, I had no professors to tell me where to look, and decided to go online to use a search engine. I went through one webpage after another trying to find them, and compared many versions on Amazon to see if they had the original Greek or not. When they listed a translator, though, I stopped investigating that version right then and there; thinking that if it had a translation, it must not have the original Greek. So when I first came across the Loeb Classical Library, therefore, I initially ignored it, because their versions all listed translators for their works. It turned out that this was a mistake, because these versions actually had the original Greek in them side-by-side with the translations they mentioned. Thus, the prize had been under my nose the whole time, and I didn't see it.
I kept searching, and never realized that I was on the right track ...
Ironically, I continued searching elsewhere in less fruitful places, and became increasingly disheartened at my seeming lack of progress. After a while, I started to think that I would never find the original Greek for the authors that I sought, and would give up temporarily in my search only to resume it later with the same result. I ran across a website called LoebClassics.com which had the text of them online, but which allowed only so many free viewings per month, and charged its viewers for any additional viewings. Not sure that I wanted to pay this monthly fee, I kept on looking, with newly-acquired hope about it being "out there somewhere."
Plato, author of many of the Greek works that I was then seeking
The "eureka" moment: The English translation was side-by-side with the original!
One day, I was just comparing versions without regard to whether they listed translators for their versions (just for my own amusement), and I came across the print version of the "Loeb Classical Library" on Amazon again. Or more accurately, a collection of different print versions of various works from Ancient Greece; with one Amazon page for each volume. When I read the reviews, I discovered with some pleasure that these versions had the original Greek in them side-by-side with the translation! This explained the mystery of how they could accurately list a translator at the top of the webpage, and yet still have the original Greek in them nonetheless. After this "eureka" moment, I had finally come to the end of my search, and it had been several months (possibly even years) with little or no progress in my search.
Basic information about the Loeb Classical Library (for those who don't know)
Specifically, the versions that I found had the Greek on the left-hand page and the English on the right-hand page. This made it easy to read the two languages side-by-side, so that I could compare a translation to the original as needed. I found the long-awaited copies of the specific works that I had wanted, and read the Wikipedia page about the Loeb Classical Library to get some more information. There was all kinds of information available, including a list of Greek and Latin authors that were included in the collection. Works in Greek had a green cover, it said, while works in Latin had a red cover. And the variety of each kind of work was astonishing, with works in all kinds of genres that showed the breadth of classical learning. (Literature, philosophy, history - all there waiting for someone to read them.)
Xenophon, another author whose Greek text I would later seek
My personal experiences with ancient history
I am not trying to convince anyone to buy these things, I should make clear, since I know the market that I represent is in a small minority. But I mention this as a personal experience with the subject of ancient history; and hope that it might prove (at least somewhat) interesting for others; even if they are not in the market themselves.
Socrates
φιλοσοφοῦμεν καὶ φιλοκαλοῦμεν (English transliteration: "philosophoûmen kaì philokaloûmen"), or "We are lovers of wisdom and beauty."
*****
Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate marketer, and can sometimes make money when you buy the product using the link(s) above.
If you liked this post, you might also like:
Falling in love with Classics: How I rediscovered Ancient Greece and Rome
Why I am learning Ancient Greek
Learning the basics of Ancient Greek from a book
Some thoughts about classical education
Some thoughts about philosophy education
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment