Greek · English · C1–C2
Advanced Greek stories, with the English alongside (C1–C2)
Poe, Bierce, Hawthorne, Melville and Twain in Greek: dense, stylish prose, with the English original there for the sentences worth a second look.
13 free advanced stories in Greek
Each one opens in your browser with no account, the Greek and the English side by side, paragraph by paragraph, shortest first. Every story is also a free Greek–English ebook for Kindle, Kobo or any e-reader: downloading needs a free account, no payment (which file to pick).
Open the advanced Greek–English stories in the library, where you can search them and switch to another level or pair.
- C1
Το οβάλ πορτρέτο
The Oval Portrait
Edgar Allan Poe · Greek · 5 min
- C1
Το μαρτυριάτικο πρόσωπο της καρδιάς
The Tell-Tale Heart
Edgar Allan Poe · Greek · 10 min
- C1
Το βαρέλι του Αμοντιλιάδο
The Cask of Amontillado
Edgar Allan Poe · Greek · 10 min
- C1
Η Μάσκα του Κόκκινου Θανάτου
The Masque of the Red Death
Edgar Allan Poe · Greek · 15 min
- C2
Ο ξακουστός πηδηχτός βάτραχος της επαρχίας Καλαβέρας
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Mark Twain · Greek · 15 min
- C1
Τόμπερμορι
Tobermory
Saki · Greek · 15 min
- C1
Η Ωραία Κοιμωμένη στο Δάσος
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
Charles Perrault · Greek · 20 min
- C1
Το πείραμα του δρα Χάιντεγκερ
Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment
Nathaniel Hawthorne · Greek · 20 min
- C1
Ο μαύρος γάτος
The Black Cat
Edgar Allan Poe · Greek · 20 min
- C1
Περιστατικό στη Γέφυρα του Όουλ Κρικ
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Ambrose Bierce · Greek · 20 min
- C1
Η Κίτρινη Ταπετσαρία
The Yellow Wallpaper
Charlotte Perkins Gilman · Greek · 35 min
- C1
Ο μύθος της Κοιμισμένης Κοιλάδας
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Washington Irving · Greek · 1 h 15 min
- C2
Μπάρτλεμπυ, ο γραφέας
Bartleby the Scrivener
Herman Melville · Greek · 1 h 15 min
What advanced Greek stories are like
Advanced stories are dense on purpose: Poe’s narrators circle their own guilt, Bierce bends time, Melville’s Bartleby prefers not to. The Greek carries that style with long sentences, rare words and a literary register.
At this level you rarely need the English for the plot. It is there for the phrases that are hard to pin down, and for comparing how the same effect is achieved in two languages.
How to read Greek at C1–C2
Read the Greek as literature
Read at your normal pace and let unfamiliar words go when the meaning is clear. Stop only where the style or a turn of phrase interests you.
Use the English for nuance
When a word could mean two things, the English shows which one the story needs. That is where advanced readers still learn the most.
Read aloud
Literary Greek has rhythm. Reading a paragraph aloud, then checking its English, trains your ear as well as your eye.
More on the method in how to read a parallel text.