Latin Via Ovid: A First Course

by Jacob E. Nyenhuis, Norma W. Goldman

Using an introduction to mythology by the master storyteller Ovid himself, the authors have prepared a unique teaching tool designed to achieve proficiency at Latin in one year at the college level, two years at the high school or intermediate level. The volume provides students with imaginative, connected reading, beginning with introductory prose versions of Ovid's simple myth tales and progressing to the rich poetry of Ovidian Latin (with appropriate teaching aids) within forty lessons. The grammatical approach is traditional, but the central emphasis is on reading. In each chapter the reading appears first, followed by the vocabulary, the grammar, exercises, and etymology relating to the vocabulary. The exercises begin with a group of questions in Latin (based on the reading), to be answered in Latin. Each tale is preceded by a brief discussion in English of the story and its mythological significance. The myths retold by Ovid and the attractive format are conceived to impel the student into acquiring the skill to read the author in the original language. Accompanying recordings on CD and audio cassette are also available.

Genres: Language, Nonfiction, Reference, School, Classics, Linguistics, Poetry

524 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Jacob Eugene Nyenhuis is an American classical philologist.

Reviews

[Lancelot Schaubert]

Almost finished, but I can say not only is this the best Latin grammar I've encountered, it's the best grammar period: it makes the language imminently readable.

Other grammarians would do well to emulate this text.

[James]

The learning curve was very steep and my Professor, who has a Ph.D in Latin, thought some of the translations were skewed. It helped, but it would have been impossible to learn from without a skilled teacher to lead the class.

[Joseph]

This is a fun way to learn Latin....just in case you were looking for one. It's my favorite text to use in teaching Latin. Worthy. Instead of the frequently parched Roman material, the author builds the readings upon the Metamorphoses, which make for far more compelling reads, IMO.

[Anna]

DNF
Got so close though. Translated over two thirds with my Latin teacher.

[margaret]

starts out painfully simple but was good sight reading practice, though toward the end there were some very complex stories and syntactic structures which i enjoyed

[Pam a Lamb]

Fantastic! Very clear and concise. The appendices are laid-out in a way that is both helpful and intuitive. Learning from text is, I think, one of the easier and more rewarding ways to learn a language. This book does it well. I refer to it, even years later.

[Brett B]

Trying the e-book via the web to see how much of this Latin has stuck from earlier days. Surprising. I can understand easy stuff at least. Yes, Latin is still fun.

[Jeff]

One of my favorite Latin intro texts.

[Sandy Parsons]

If you want to learn English grammar, study Latin.

This book offers a very engaging way to study Latin.

[Jon]

This is an outstanding text!

[Clement Ying]

Standard textbook of Stanford University.