#accentpaprika

[classicsenthusiast]

I am looking to beef up my classical literature collection, I have Trojan Women, The Odyssey, The Iliad, and The Aeneid, but I want to take some others with me when I head back to college. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! :D

Oh boy do I have a list for you! ;)

Well, for someone starting out their collection I’d recommend some

Aristophanes (he’s great fun in translation, check out Henderson’s translation called Aristophanes- Staging Women, it has a very unique cover. You can’t miss it.)

Then of course you’ll want to check out a good translation of Catullus or maybe Martial (Penguin editions are fine for someone who wants to save money, but look up different translations for a more authentic feel, or in case someone else writes it in a way you’d prefer.)

I really enjoyed Courtesans and Fishcakes by James Davidson (It has all the information you never wanted on food, sex, and more in Classical Athens.)

The Theban Plays (Oedipus books) by Sophocles are a must, as is his Philoctetes (one of my favorites).

Everyone needs at least one copy of Plato’s Apology (get a bilingual Greek/English edition if you want to be extra fancy.)

Euripides (the edition put out by The University of Chicago Press featuring Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus, and The Heracleidae is a great start)

and…

Pompeii by Robert Harris (a good fictional addition, as is his Cicero trilogy)

Just to name a few :)

[classicsenthusiast]

Hello! I hope I'm not too late for the first Ask Monday! But I just want to see if you had a favorite classics themed book? One of my professors looooves the novel I, Claudius so that is on my reading list. Do you have an suggestions? :)

I missed your message, but no worries! I can answer it now. I tend not to read Classics-themed fiction (one too many bad experiences) but there are a couple of great old-school general Classical history books by Stringfellow Barr that I'd recommend: The Mask of Jove and The Will of Zeus.