Plato's Apology: Greek Text with Facing Vocabulary and Commentary

by Geoffrey Steadman

Each page of this commentary contains 10 lines of Classical Greek from John Burnet’s 1903 Oxford Classical Text of Plato's Apology of Socrates with all corresponding vocabulary and grammatical notes arranged below the text on the same page in English. A running vocabulary list of words occurring 10 or more times is included in the introduction, and an alphabetized list of the same words is included in the glossary. Once readers have memorized the core vocabulary list, they will be able to read the Greek and consult all relevant vocabulary and commentary without turning a page.This volume also includes a Greek-only section (35 OCT pages formatted according to Burnet's edition) so that instructors can ask students to translate in class without relying on the vocabulary or grammatical assistance on the commentary pages.

Genres: Philosophy

187 pages, Paperback

Published July 29, 2020

Reviews

[Andy]

A great reader for intermediate students. It takes a lot of patience since some passages are easy going but many are quite difficult and have a complex syntax with lots of omitted words. However the Apology is one of the easier texts of Greek philosophy. The layout and the notes are especially well done and help a lot.
I would advise starting with easier literature like for example the New Testament and its surrounding apocrypha or Lukian. Afterwards the Apology or Xenophon's Anabasis should be great entry points into first hand reading of the literature and philosophy of the classical era.

[Christopher Hutson]

My third-year Greek students began with koine Greek, so this was their first foray into Attic. At the mid-point of the semester they were undaunted by any optative Plato threw at them. Steadman was a helpful guide. I would recommend any of his Greek readers for students.

[Yente Austerlitz]

.... Θάττον γαρ θανάτου θει!

[Richard]

Like all Steadman texts, the book has perfect structure for classroom use. (I look forward to punishing my Greek students with this specific edition because I am a diseased man.)

Like all Plato, the Apology is a delight. Learn Greek to understand him better! (I look forward to punishing my Greek students with Plato because I am a diseased man.)

Spoilers: it doesn't go well for Socrates!

[Brian]

Steadman’s setup and notes are just so meticulously done. A perfect learner text. Worth buying in paper, not only to support his work but also to make it easier to flip and back forth between text and review notes.

[Sara]

My dude did not actually apologize for anything (I am being annoying, I know what apology means in Greek).
As always, Steadman provides everything I need to get through some Greek quickly and with understanding!

[Serge]

Summer of Greek

[JoAnn Zhang]

“οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνδρὶ ἀγαθῷ κακὸν οὐδὲν οὔτε ζῶντι οὔτε τελευτήσαντι, οὐδε ἀμελεῖται ὑπὸ θεῶν τὰ τούτου πράγματα”
so moving and evocative and Steadman makes it easy to get through in the original