Plato's Republic I: Greek Text with Facing Vocabulary and Commentary

This is the most useful book. It has the text, a useful facing vocabulary with grammatical notes. It is well set out and easy to read--the Greek text is very clear--and the facing pages do away with cumbersome dictionary and other searches. All the extraneous things one needs to do in reading the usual plain Greek text have been obviated and although one still needs to learn carefully and methodically no energy is wasted on tiresome distractions. I also have Steadman's Plato's Symposium in the same series and heartily recommend it as well. Moreover, the price is eminently reasonable.

I love the simple and effetive way of reading Attic Greek, as presented by the author. It simplifies the outline of the course, enabling us to read and memorize the lessons with its auxiliary tools like the flashcards that are freely availabre on the author's web site. Bisides, it is based on the 20th century Jonh Burnet greek text.I recomended especially because its affordable price.Orlando Nogueira

As a beginning student of Classical Greek with a desire to read the primary sources for Ancient Philosophy I am thrilled with Professor Steadman's presentation. The running vocabulary coupled with the alphabetical list of frequent vocabulary provide essential practice tools especially for an inexperienced student like me. I look forward to future volumes!

Steadman's Greek textbooks are excellent participants in my education. They make Greek and leisure reading finally coincide! My one criticism: why the first book of the Republic? It's not the meat of the Republic's argument, nor is is the theatrical tour-de-force Steadman suggests. Regardless, it's a great edition of an OK piece of Plato.

This is an excellent resource for students or teachers of Plato. The dialogue introduces the reader to the context of the entire Republic and gives him insight into Socrates' strategy through his own thoughts.

Very satisfied.

Thank you Geoffrey Steadman! A delight.

Book I of Plato's Republic is standard reading for students of Greek literature. But the transition from the end of a first-year course, with its artificially simplified reading selections, to real Greek written by native speakers, is often difficult. Steadman's methodology doesn't make that transition easy -- no one can -- but it goes a long way toward removing unnecessary obstacles.Since this edition is available as a pdf at [...], I'll keep the description brief. Steadman includes what he calls a "core vocabulary" for Republic I: all words occurring more than five times. This core vocabulary is organized first by page, then alphabetically, which means that students can drill the most frequent vocabulary words for each page _before_ they begin reading. All vocabulary words occurring five or fewer times are glossed on upper half of the facing page. The lower half of the facing page contains the commentary, which, as Steadman notes in the front matter, is primarily concerned with grammar rather than culture. In my experience, the commentary covers almost all of the difficulties I had with understanding the text -- from small things like the meaning of particles and interjections to big things like the complicated structure of certain sentences. Every so often -- maybe once every two pages or so -- I consult a translation, but only after doing as much as I can with the Greek text by itself.I started reading this edition after almost completing the JACT course (Reading Greek: Text and Vocabulary and Reading Greek: Grammar and Exercises), which I used to refresh my memory of my two years of Attic Greek in college. I've found it quite doable. It's hard work -- after all, it's Greek -- but Steadman makes Plato accessible to intermediate students, which is quite an accomplishment. I highly recommend this edition, and Steadman's other commentaries (available at his website above), to students who have completed a good first-year course and wish to expand their reading facility in Greek.UPDATE: I'm within a few pages of finishing Republic I. I've followed Steadman's advice in rereading each section before starting a new one. I usually read two new pages and reread the previous two. I don't consult a translation the first time through, and even then, only if absolutely necessary. Most of the time, Steadman's commentary is sufficient for me to get the general sense of the text without needing my Loeb, but it's nice to check and make sure I didn't miss something. In the front matter, Steadman says he tried to err on the side of giving too much help rather than too little, and I credit that policy with helping me get through my first extended encounter with Plato. Though Greek will never be easy, I'm much better equipped to read Attic prose than I was before.