Would reading a book about their society and history be good

Reading greek mythology before reading the Iliad is like watching Bible Stories for Children before reading the Bible, don't actually fucking do it and stop telling others to do it.
Also we barely have history from pre-homeric times so tough fucking luck with that.

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>>9444108
Whatever interests you the most.

>>9444122
Right. You're a fucking moron.

The average person knows almost nothing about Greek mythology. They do not know who Hephaestus is, they do not know the stories behind him. The ancient Greeks would have been very familiar with their mythology in a way that we are not today. For the modern man a certain amount of background reading is required before they can jump into Homer. Otherwise they will not understand what they read.

You NEED to know who the Greek Gods are. You NEED to know the stories behind them. The Iliad is a very complex work and should be treated as such. It is NOT something you can pick up and understand without having done the background reading.

OP I suggest picking up a university textbook on mythology and skimming through that.

>>9444201
Nigga. Nigga the Iliad tells you those stories.
Nigga you can't be serious wit me.
Nigga.
Nigga the Iliad, along with the Odyssey, is considered the base of Greek Religion. The Iliad doesn't draw FROM greek mythology, the Iliad is the one great CREATOR of greek mythology,

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>>9444108
The meme guide includes a recommendation for a book on the history of the Trojan war which contains not only details of the conflict but also information about the society of that period.

>>9444238
Greeks grew up with these stories. Monuments to the gods were all around them. Is this the case for the modern person? Do your neighbours know who Perseus is?

Is is clear to me that you have never seriously studied a book.

>>9444238
DUDE JUST READ WAR AND PEACE YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW WHO NAPOLEON IS NIGGA TOLSTOY INVENTED THAT SHIT NIGGA

>>9444108
Im reading this in conjunction with Pomeroy's Brief history of ancient greece. definitely recommend

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>>9444108
Read the first book on the list of (pic related). Sarah B. Pomeroy, A Brief History of Ancient Greece. Which can be found here

http://gen.lib.rus.ec/

you may have to do some searching to find it and one or two pages are missing from the pdf if I remember correctly. also ill link another great book you should read in my next post.

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>>9444108
>>9444503
(pic related) is The Texts of Early Greek Philosophy: The Complete Fragments and Selected Testimonies of the Major Presocratics. There are two volumes both of which can be found on

http://gen.lib.rus.ec/

again, you'll have to do some searching but this book is indispensable, its literally the complete fragments of actual texts that the greek philosophers wrote. good luck

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>>9444122
gayest thing ever said, kys

op, see pic related

>>9444122
>>9444238
This guy is right. If one is somehow unable to understand what's going on in the Iliad from context, that is by merely reading it closely, they shouldn't be reading it at all. That is not to say a reference book on mythology isn't useful; after all, there is a lot more in Hamilton's Mythology that can be inferred from the Iliad. Not to mention it's interesting and fun. It's not required reading, though. The Iliad will offer what it has most valuable even to the reader who is ignorant in the backstories of its characters.

I'd recommend reading Hamilton, and then reading Homer alongside Vandiver's TTC courses which will give you additional context and analysis as you go along.

>>9444201
>The average person knows almost nothing about Greek mythology.
Is this actually true? I read tons of 'myths and legends' books growing up and had a passable background knowledge of them from an early age. Seems kind of sad if other people on a board dedicated to reading didn't.

>>9445421
Most people, at least in North America, have knowledge of Greek mythology that essentially amounts to knowing that "Zeus is the one with the lightning, right?"

>>9445421
Agreed. Even if the Iliad itself didn't recount several stories about, to use that guy's example, Hephaestus within its pages, I've known him and his major stories since childhood. Also, it's absurd to act like the Iliad wouldn't have been the first or one of the first sources from which the Greeks became immersed in their mythology. If you really feel some part of the story isn't making sense, use Wikipedia. It's better written and more thorough than Hamilton's bullshit book anyway. But the way you should probably do it is by reading the Iliad and Odyssey, moving on through Hesiod, the lyric poets, the orators, and the playrights, then rereading. Hell, reread them more often than that - you aren't going to squeeze them dry the first few times no matter how many garbage prep books you waste your time on.

>>9444108
Just FYI, that's more of a reference book than anything else.

>>9445421
I got lucky with God of War coming out when I was a kid and loving the game and the mythology. So I got into the Greeks at a young age, and feel like a lot of other people did too. But then, I was the average kid who hung out with a little of everyone and I know I couldn't talk to half them about The Greeks. Like the first guy who replied, they just know Zeus and Hades and maybe Cerberus or Poseidon or Medusa if you describe them. But I'm sure a lot of people haven't. Hell I'm certain a respectable fraction of visitors to this board are bots or people paid to visit for all sorts of employment, most likely self.

>>9444238
>Nigga (x4)
''No''