Where to after the Odysesy and the Iliad?

Where do I go in the Greek classics after the Odysesy and the Iliad?

I thought they were both absolutely great!

But where do I turn now if I want to continue but don't want to read the Greek plays? I always have trouble reading plays of any era. I like to watch them, but I find them difficult to read.

Are there works out there in the Greek classics that are as exciting and riveting as the Odysesy and the Iliad?

Thanks.

Ur.

The Oresteia, of course. Byron referred to it as the "greatest thing the human mind has ever conceived." Then, of course, you'd have to read Euripides' riffs on it. They can be kinda fun, but the sequence really does have to be Aeschylus first. Then, there are the rest of the extant plays (I believe about thirty total) There are also a number of ancient Greek novels. (read, "ancient Greek brain-candy) The Golden Ass comes to mind. Chireus and Callirhoe.... There's a fairly good paperback collection of them in a box in my basement. I think the collection is called The Ancient Novel, or Greek novel, or something creative like that. They aren't as long as we think of novels being, now, but they give you a decent overview of day-to-day life.

Karhne is absolutely right.

The Oresteia of course.

Then some Sophocles and Euripides. Maybe some Aristophanes, and then some "nonfiction" like Herodotus

Ur, You don't like reading plays, so try these:

Herodotus The Histories
Thucydides The history of the Pelopponesian War
Apulius The Golden Ass
Xenephon The March Up Country (Anabasis)
Appolonius The Argonautica
Hesiod Works and Days

if you like poetry, there's the Greek Anthology

and of course, Plato:The last days of Socrates is a good place to start.

Many thanks; most appreciated.

Ur.

Or The Aeneid by Virgil. It traces Roman roots to the Trojan war. I was told in school that it can be seen as a sequel to the Illiad.

I started the Fagels translation of The Aeneid by Virgil and love it. Thanks.

Also thanks to tomcat I have on reserve Xenephon The March Up Country (Anabasis).

Should keep me busy for a while...

My gratitude to all....

I always thought the Aeneid was like "Jaws 3" ;)

I recall listening to a Teaching Company series about Greek Drama. I never knew how incredibly few of the ancient tragedies survived. Ah, to have the Library of Alexandria back again...

Or Posthomerica:The Trojan Epic by Quintus of Smyrna. It goes from the death of Hector to the Greeks leaving Troy. There's also The Voyage of Argo by Apollonius of Rhodes.

I went from Homer to Virgil and the Aeneid (Dryden translation); then back to Homer and the Fagles free-verse translation. Everyone should start with Pope, then pick a second translation.

Personally I would second Herodotus. His Histories show a very different (yet still "Greek") mind, than you'd expect after Homer. They are not "exciting", but nonetheless pleasant to read. Especially if you follow them up with Xenophon's and later Arrian's Anabasis to see how different Greek minds looked at the East at different times (the latter is Roman, though).

If you are interested in a bit of antiquarianism, I'd personally recommend Pausanias. His descriptions of Greece might not be a page turner, but I find them very moving.

I went to Herodotus after The Aeneid. Dryden's tanslation makes Virgil sound like Pope, and completes how Aeneas escaped from Troy with his aged father and his infant son. It is the logical next step after The Iliad if you're not into the plays.