When I had to read Homer, or Plato, or Shakespeare, the teachers always had us buy books with very extensive footnotes. If there was an expression I didn’t understand, or a Goddess whose name and role I didn’t recognize, they came in very handy. They never offered any deep interpretation, which I think is a good thing. I’ve never liked being told what I was “supposed” to be seeing in a poem, play, or novel.
On the other hand, I guess that if you have a version of the text with no helpful footnotes, Cliffs Notes might be a bit of help for the background info.