Attica: Intermediate Classical Greek: Readings, Review, and Exercises

by Cynthia L. Claxton

Effective as either a primary or secondary textbook, Intermediate Classical Greek fills a gap in the available materials by simultaneously providing a much-needed grammar review and an introduction to primary texts that students will be working with in the second and third year of study. Through comprehensive exercises, extensive explanatory notes, and an ancillary website with additional materials, this text gives students the skills they need to become comfortable with advanced second-year literary material.

Genres: Language

369 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2013

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent review that focuses on primary texts -- Xenophon, Antiphon, and a bit of Euripides. A lot of care was taken in the design of this book, and it was clearly written for students. (Autodidacts know that most language textbooks are in fact not written for students. They are written for teachers. This one is delightfully different.) I might have made more of the book had I followed the author's specific recommendations -- she suggests that the student approach the readings, grammatical review, and exercises in a prescribed way, and that this will facilitate the student's mastery of the language. I did not follow this approach and had a blast anyway. Maybe next time.

I love annotated texts that minimize dictionary time (i.e. that facilitate my laziness) and Attica does its solemn best to thwart this tendency, but the annotation and grammatical commentary is still extensive. A thorough glossary that includes every term used in the text (including the translation appropriate for the context, which frequently requires some digging to find) graces the end of the book.

The passages from Xenophon and Antiphon aren't always a thrill a minute, (aside from the argument in Antiphon for "enhanced interrogation" which might appeal to certain elements in modern society) but the texts were selected with a specific purpose in mind. As a review of introductory classical Greek, it's fantastic.

[Jonathan Ginn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this a while back, but only just now rating and reviewing it.

This is my former Greek teacher's textbook. Claxton used our second-year undergraduate Greek class to test pilot an early manuscript and I loved it. The book is a brilliantly conceived Greek reader designed to help bridge the gap for intermediate students seeking to dive into actual classical Greek texts. It offers plenty of useful grammatical and syntactical notes, while providing brief review lessons along the way.

It's a pity the book seems so hard to find at a reasonable price because it really is an excellent text.