Hello! These are my favorite resources for learning Latin and ancient Greek.
I've tried to add variety to the list to give you, dear learner, plenty of options. If you get tired of one resource, don't hesitate to try something else. We learn best when we’re most interested!
Many of the resources below are free, or free to borrow at Internet Archive. Resources that cost money are marked with a dollar sign (💲).
There are many, many Latin enthusiast communities, but these are good starting points.
- Textkit
- Latin subreddit. Be sure to browse the links at the top ("Chat in Latin", "All the Resources", "How to Learn Latin").
- Humanitas holds online Latin immersion workshops, including a track for beginners. As long as you know the basics of Latin (see below) you can join in. It's a lot of fun because there are many "regulars" who show up every time, and after a couple of workshops you might be old friends already.
- Conventiculum Dickinsoniense is a similar workshop but in-person.
These are for reference. Skip down to "Latin grammar" for first steps.
- Logeion Latin and Greek dictionaries
- Perseus Latin Word Study Tool, handy for when you're not sure of the dictionary form of a word
- Godmy's Searchable Digitized Latin & Greek Lexica for Latin-Latin dictionaries
- English-Latin dictionaries: Smith & Hall and Numen
- Neo-Latin Lexicon
It's helpful to spend some time on grammar before moving on to easy reading and writing. Here are some options:
- 💲Latin by the Ranieri-Dowling Method. My favorite for its brevity. Here's a video overview by the author.
- Latin: A Structural Approach
- Latinitium's "Start Learning Latin" section has great tips on how to make your Latin reading productive.
- LLPSI: Familia Romana videos by ScipioMartianus
- LLPSI: Exercitia Latina
- 💲LLPSI: A Companion to Familia Romana if you want guidance on grammar.
- 💲LLPSI: Colloquia Personarum
- LLPSI: Fabellae Latinae and audio recordings
- 💲LLPSI: Fabulae Syrae
- Ritchie's Fabulae Faciles and "Perseus" audio recordings, "Perseus" grammar videos, "Hercules" audio recording
- Nutting's A First Latin Reader and audio recordings, which includes stories about early American history.
- Simple Latin Online Reading Resources
- 💲Latinum has lots of audio courses and books, all available via a Patreon subscription.
- 💲Latin novellas. There are tons of them, and some are available as audiobooks.
- 💲LLPSI: Roma Aeterna and audio recordings (or these by Alexis Hellmer which have great pronunciation but are a pain to navigate; here is the first one)
- 💲LLPSI: A Companion to Roma Aeterna
- Syntaxis 'Romae Aeternae', the new grammatical concepts explained in Latin.
- Ad Alpes and audio recordings at Latinum or at Latinitium (1, 2)
- Ciceronis Filius
Writing is just another way to internalize the language, so that your reading becomes more fluent. Here's a guide on how to get the most out of these Latin composition books.
Start with these:
- Bradley – Latin Exercises and answer key
- Bennett – First Latin Writer and answer key
- D'Ooge – Latin for Beginners and answer key
Then move on to these:
- North & Hillard – Latin Prose Composition and answer key
- "Bradley's Arnold" and answer key on this page (along with many other resources)
- 💲Colebourn – Latin Sentence and Idiom and answer key linked in this thread
Lots more Latin writing books with keys can be found here and here
Another good exercise is to write a daily journal in Latin. You'll need an English-Latin dictionary (links above).
There are lots of Latin podcasts and YouTube channels out there, but most are out of reach for all but advanced learners. Here are the few easier ones that I've found:
Here are other lists that I like, but which I chose not to incorporate into this list for the sake of space.
There are quite a few Ancient Greek enthusiast communities, but these are good starting points.
- Textkit
- Ancient Greek subreddit. Be sure to browse their resources page.
- Σύνοδος ἑλληνική
These are for reference. Skip down to "Greek grammar" for first steps.
- Logeion Latin and Greek dictionaries
- Perseus Greek Word Study Tool, handy for when you're not sure of the dictionary form of a word
- Ancient Greek grammar tables at Wikipedia
- English-Greek dictionary by Woodhouse
- Godmy's Searchable Digitized Latin & Greek Lexica for Greek-Latin dictionaries
It's helpful to spend some time on grammar before moving on to easy reading and writing. Here are some options:
- 💲Athenaze, vol. 1 (Italian edition) and audio recordings of a few chapters
- 💲Ephodion, vol. 1
- 💲Alexandros
- 💲Mythologica
- Lingua Graeca Per Se Illustrata
- 💲Athenaze, vol. 2 (Italian edition)
- 💲Ephodion, vol. 2
- JACT Reading Greek
- Beresford & Douglas – A First Greek Reader and 💲audio recordings
- Thrasymachus
- Moss's A First Greek Reader and audio recordings
- Stoffel - An Epitome of the New Testament and audio recordings of a few chapters
- Other easy readers at the Greek Learner Texts Project
- Cebes' Tablet and 💲audio recordings
- Greek comics and audio by Roberto Lionello
- Pharr's Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners and answer key
- Attic paraphrases of Homer if you want to keep reading Homer and practice your prose reading at the same time.
- Akropolis World News
Writing is just another way to internalize the language, so that your reading becomes more fluent.
If you want to type in Greek, either use TypeGreek or install a Greek keyboard layout.
Start with these:
- Sidgwick – First Greek Writer and answer key
- Arnold – First Greek Book and answer key
- Jackson – First Steps to Greek Prose Composition and answer key
Then move on to these:
- North & Hillard – Greek Prose Composition and answer key
- Arnold – A Practical Introduction to Greek Prose Composition and answer key
- Arnold – Second Greek Book and answer key
Lots more Greek writing books with keys can be found here and here
Another good exercise is to write a daily journal in Greek. You'll need an English-Greek dictionary (link above).