An Introduction to Ancient Greek: A Literary Approach

by C.A.E. Luschnig, Deborah Mitchell

C.A.E. Luschnig's An Introduction to Ancient A Literary Approach prepares students to read Greek in less than a year by presenting basic traditional grammar without frills and by introducing real Greek written by ancient Greeks, from the first day of study. The second edition retains all the features of the first but is more streamlined, easier on the eyes, more gender-inclusive, and altogether more 21st century. It is supported by a Web site for teachers and learners at

Genres: Classics, Language, Nonfiction, School

392 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1976

About the author

C.A.E. Luschnig a.k.a. Cecilia Eaton Luschnig

Reviews

[Fred Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a long history with this book. I used the last preliminary edition (offset, spiral bound, green paper covers) when I first studied Greek in college. The first actual published edition (Scribner's) came out shortly after that. I got the second edition recently. I haven't taught Greek in almost five years and that was koine. The paradigms are fading; occasional reading doesn't keep up all the details and certainly not any active knowledge of the language. So time to go through Luschnig again, reciting the pardigms and doing the exercises.

The outline is still pretty much the same as I remember. Fourteen long lessons, that should have been divided into at least twice that number. Pretty good explanations of grammar, good lexical notes, a lot of short bits of real Greek literature to read. Not enough repetition in the exercises as you go along. Not the worst ancient Greek textbook; not sure that I would call any of them really good. It's okay and it's what I am used to. When I taught Greek to theology students, I used John Dobson's Learn Biblical Greek; natural language method, light on grammar, but good for adults who want a basic reading knowledge of NT Greek in the shortest possible time. Dobson is definitely not the best for anyone who plans on doing serious work in Greek, but it worked for my audience.

After I work through Luschnig, I really should read through a serious Greek Grammar.

[bihter sabanoglu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because of the author's rather harsh style of addressing his reader, at each sentence I had to picture myself sitting on a bench at the Peripatetic school at the Lyceum and being shouted at by Aristotle on whom I naturally have a crush... Ah, it has been 10 years since I have started to study Ancient Greek with this book and I am still getting introduced but it is tons of fun.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really bittersweet end 😭 overall a pretty good textbook and very useful to have a full first year in one volume,

χαῖρε, ὦ first year greek 💔

my only wishes:
-all the paradigms formatted consistently instead of changing where sg/pl or whether paradigms are seperated by tense :/
-more pictures! more narratives! more real examples! the best parts were the ends of the chapter with real examples, historical context, pictures, + backstory
-when quoting someone in the readings, say what work/poem/story is being quoted and give some context! it helps!
-the homework exercises being number-letter-number makes it really hard to figure out which sections to do, wish it was more consistent or made more sense

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book to self teach myself attic Greek. It is heavily focused on being able to read large chunks of Greek text as quickly as possible. Here's how the book is laid out:

Alphabet, pitch, relative pronouns, 1st and 2nd declension nouns, and active and passive voices are all covered in the introduction and 1st chapter.

Primary texts (with plenty of notes) are given at the end of each chapter after grammar and constructed examples are given.

By Chapter 5, demonstrative pronouns, the future, aorist, and imperfect tense are covered, and the 3rd declension

By chapter 10, all forms of the pronoun have been given and all 6 principle parts, as well as adjectives and participles.

The final 4 chapters covers moods, contract, and -mi verbs.


Maybe it's hard to subjectively rate this , but I really like the way this is laid out. It's very bottom heavy, drilling you extensively on the parts of Greek you have to memorize and then adding in more subtleties as you work your way through the book. When you are 2/3 the way through the book, you can recognize the voice and tense of almost every verb form and get a general gist of what's being said if you have a dictionary handy. I was able to read Xenophon and the New Testament without much trouble and less-successfully navigate The Apology by chapter 10.

I give it less than 4 stars because necessary information is hidden on C.A.E. Luchsnig's website in the form of study guides. The chapter on participles was not well written and I had to use a different textbook to make sense of them. I also wish that there was an answer key provided to some exercises since i used this for self studying.

I'd recommend this for someone whose primary interest lies in broadly reading Greek texts and not so much focusing on specific parts of the grammar. It was a great introduction to the Greek language for me goals.

[Mairwen Minson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to learn ancient Greek. I love the selections of ancient prose that Luschnig included.

[Cozy · Rating 4 out of 5]

it taught me the alphabet and part of the language structure and then I lost interest but the format was well done.

[Matteo Ponzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would we do without our Luschnig. She takes a very traditional memorization heavy approach, so if your into immersion this might not be for you.

[Jeanette 📚🦊🏹 justjeanettelee_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this textbook all year for my study of Ancient Greek, both component A (Introductory level) and component B (Reading level) and I've got to say, one of the more well structured language textbooks I've used. I've used Coptic and Latin as well, and both weren't nearly as helpful as this textbook was for my understanding and continual development of my favourite ancient language to date.

Filled with useful exercises and vocabulary lists, as well as easily explained lessons and facts, this textbook is a definite essential for those wanting to learn the language.

However, it is more useful as a guide to write and read the language, rather than speaking it.

[Pam a Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright in terms of pedagogy. Explanations are clear, but not well-organized, especially the vocabulary sections. I found it really frustrating that the principal parts were only taught to us one at a time as well. It was difficult to refer back to various sections I'd already covered because of how haphazardly things are spread out. This is a good book, but I'd recommend Hansen and Quinn to anyone hoping to learn Ancient Greek instead.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is relatively not very thick, meaning easy to carry, yet densely packed with materials. There are numerous practice sections, including many passages of classical texts to decode, but no answers given.

[Arkar Kyaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book focuses on reading ancient Greek more than writing or speaking it. The examples are fun and excerpts from ancient authors are cool. Overall, I learned how to read ancient Greek so the book fulfilled its purpose.

[Regina Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good. Easy to get too in library and online, needed for Ancient Greek class.

[Larry Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greek group finished today. They’re doing well. Onward.