Love this and have reposted as I basically did that same thing when I worked through Greek tragedy last year as part of my personal curriculum! (And then went to watch some in Athens because I loved them so much..!)
I suppose the one thing you miss out on by approaching them by theme is the particular understanding of the playwrights themselves? Each of the three have quite strong writing identities and you feel that when you read them I think
Hi Erik - I found this post to be very helpful in my recent study of Greek mythology; I started with the Theban cycle, then moved to the Trojan cycle and included the other stuff towards the end. It was quite an experience - thanks for the help!
When I post about my exploration of tragedy, I'll have a link to this post about the reading order, since that was central to my approach. I'd like to also include a link to your podcast episodes about the tragedies (I didn't listen to all of them, but the ones I did were helpful). I don't know much about Substack or podcasts; is there a feature similar to Youtube playlists or blog tags or categories so I can capture those specific episodes?
This is wonderful, thank you. I’ve read quite a few while studying but I really want to read them all and had an idea to read them in the order they were written, but this gives me a good option.
As someone who wants to dip her toes into greek tragedies but don’t know where to start, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m not sure yet. I do plan to read some of the Roman ones, but I’m going through the Immortal Books in chronological order, so I haven’t reached them yet. I can let you know in a few years.
This is super helpful. I recently read a few of the plays. Agamemnon was unbelievably intense for me, and then I followed it up with the Orestia plays. I might have been better served by switching them up!
Thank you for this article. I recently read all the plays chronologically but your suggestions make more logical sense and I'll follow these ideas the next time I read the plays, which I'll no doubt do at some point in my life.
Hi Karen - Thank you for your comment. Hmm, you bring up a good point. I should create podcast episode playlists in YouTube by tragedy cycle. I don't have them organized in that fashion right now, but you could search within my YouTube account for specific videos - https://www.youtube.com/c/BooksofTitans
I'll see if I can set some time aside to better organize those videos. Thanks for the suggestion!
i just saved this post and I think I'm going to print it! the hardest part of getting into Greek mythology is that it feels like a puzzle, with stories spread across dozens of works. knowing where to start from and how to navigate the chaos makes all the difference.
(and I'm glad I didn't make a mistake by starting with homer's odyssey!)
They'll all break your heart. Regardless of order.
Love this and have reposted as I basically did that same thing when I worked through Greek tragedy last year as part of my personal curriculum! (And then went to watch some in Athens because I loved them so much..!)
I suppose the one thing you miss out on by approaching them by theme is the particular understanding of the playwrights themselves? Each of the three have quite strong writing identities and you feel that when you read them I think
Hi Erik - I found this post to be very helpful in my recent study of Greek mythology; I started with the Theban cycle, then moved to the Trojan cycle and included the other stuff towards the end. It was quite an experience - thanks for the help!
When I post about my exploration of tragedy, I'll have a link to this post about the reading order, since that was central to my approach. I'd like to also include a link to your podcast episodes about the tragedies (I didn't listen to all of them, but the ones I did were helpful). I don't know much about Substack or podcasts; is there a feature similar to Youtube playlists or blog tags or categories so I can capture those specific episodes?
As someone who has been staring at his collected Greek Plays anthology (unread) on the bookcase for 9 months, this is greatly appreciated...
This is wonderful, thank you. I’ve read quite a few while studying but I really want to read them all and had an idea to read them in the order they were written, but this gives me a good option.
As someone who wants to dip her toes into greek tragedies but don’t know where to start, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Thank you so much for sharing!
Wow, this is a treasure. I’m so glad I found this post. I’m planning on reading through them all this summer and I’m very excited now. Thank you!!
Let me know how it goes!
Curious if you consider the Roman remakes of Greek tragedies to be worth our time. I'm a bit partial to Seneca's philosophy-infused redos.
I’m not sure yet. I do plan to read some of the Roman ones, but I’m going through the Immortal Books in chronological order, so I haven’t reached them yet. I can let you know in a few years.
Thank you. A long time since I read any, & I think I've been out off by not knowing where to start.
This is super helpful. I recently read a few of the plays. Agamemnon was unbelievably intense for me, and then I followed it up with the Orestia plays. I might have been better served by switching them up!
Yeah, I had trouble starting with Aeschylus.
Thank you for this article. I recently read all the plays chronologically but your suggestions make more logical sense and I'll follow these ideas the next time I read the plays, which I'll no doubt do at some point in my life.
Very helpful, thank you!
Hi Karen - Thank you for your comment. Hmm, you bring up a good point. I should create podcast episode playlists in YouTube by tragedy cycle. I don't have them organized in that fashion right now, but you could search within my YouTube account for specific videos - https://www.youtube.com/c/BooksofTitans
I'll see if I can set some time aside to better organize those videos. Thanks for the suggestion!
i just saved this post and I think I'm going to print it! the hardest part of getting into Greek mythology is that it feels like a puzzle, with stories spread across dozens of works. knowing where to start from and how to navigate the chaos makes all the difference.
(and I'm glad I didn't make a mistake by starting with homer's odyssey!)