Learn Hardcore Greek: Αφού έφαγα, διάβασα λίγο και μετά χαλάρωσα στο σαλόνι. - After I ate, I read a bit and then relaxed in the living room.

This is different from another common use of αφού, where it means since or because (expressing a reason), e.g. Αφού είσαι εδώ, έλα να με βοηθήσεις = Since you’re here, come help me.

In your sentence, it clearly introduces the time when the following actions happened, not the reason.

Why is it έφαγα and not έτρωγα? What’s the difference?

Both come from τρώω (to eat), but:

έφαγα = aorist (simple past) → I ate (once / as a completed event)
έτρωγα = imperfect past → I was eating / I used to eat

Here, the speaker is listing completed, sequential actions:

έφαγα – I ate (finished event)
διάβασα – I read (for a while, but seen as one whole completed action)
χαλάρωσα – I relaxed (and that’s the result)

Using έφαγα fits this narrative of discrete steps.
If you said Αφού έτρωγα, it would sound odd here, because έτρωγα emphasizes an ongoing or habitual action, not a completed one that clearly precedes the others.

All three verbs (έφαγα, διάβασα, χαλάρωσα) are aorist. Is that on purpose?

Yes. Greek typically uses the aorist to narrate a series of completed past actions:

έφαγα – I ate
διάβασα – I read (a bit)
χαλάρωσα – I relaxed

This is similar to using simple past in English to tell a story:
I ate, (then) I read a bit, and then I relaxed…

If you changed them to imperfect:

έτρωγα, διάβαζα, χαλάρωνα

you would sound as if you were describing ongoing states/habits or background actions, not a neat sequence. For example, διάβαζα = I was reading / I used to read, not simply I read (once).

Why don’t we see εγώ (I) anywhere? How do we know it’s I did all these things?

Greek usually omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person.

The endings -α in:

έφαγα
διάβασα
χαλάρωσα

all mark 1st person singular (I). So εγώ is understood and not needed:

(Εγώ) έφαγα, διάβασα λίγο και μετά χαλάρωσα…

Adding εγώ would only be done:

for emphasis: Εγώ έφαγα, όχι εσύ = I ate, not you, or
for contrast in a longer context.

In neutral narration, Greeks leave it out.

What does λίγο do in διάβασα λίγο? Could it go somewhere else?

λίγο is an adverb meaning a little / a bit and modifies the verb διάβασα:

διάβασα λίγο = I read a bit / I read for a little while

Other natural positions:

Λίγο διάβασα και μετά χαλάρωσα στο σαλόνι.
(Possible, but sounds slightly more marked/emphatic: I only read a little…)
Διάβασα λίγο και μετά χαλάρωσα…
(Most neutral and common.)

You wouldn’t normally separate διάβασα and λίγο too far; they form a tight verb phrase.

What is the role of μετά here? Isn’t Αφού έφαγα already about time?

They each handle different parts of the timeline:

Αφού έφαγα → sets the starting point: after I ate
και μετά χαλάρωσα → adds a next step: and then I relaxed

So the full flow is:

After I ate,
I read a bit,
and then I relaxed in the living room.

You could remove μετά and say:

Αφού έφαγα, διάβασα λίγο και χαλάρωσα στο σαλόνι.

This is still correct, but μετά makes the sequence clearer and more natural, much like then in English.

Why is there a comma after έφαγα, and could the order of the clauses be reversed?

The comma separates the subordinate time clause from the main clause:

Αφού έφαγα, (subordinate clause: after I ate)
διάβασα λίγο και μετά χαλάρωσα στο σαλόνι. (main clause)

You can reverse the order:

Διάβασα λίγο και μετά χαλάρωσα στο σαλόνι αφού έφαγα.

Grammatically, this is possible, but it sounds less natural and a bit clumsy; Greeks usually prefer Αφού… at the start when it means after like this. Also, when αφού comes in the middle, it more easily shifts toward the since/because meaning, which is not intended here.

What exactly is στο in στο σαλόνι? Why not just σε?

στο is a contraction:

σε (in, at, to) + το (the, neuter singular) → στο

So:

σε το σαλόνι → στο σαλόνι = in the living room

This contraction is mandatory in normal speech and writing; you don’t say σε το σαλόνι.

Other examples:

σε + τον κήπο → στον κήπο (in the garden)
σε + την κουζίνα → στην κουζίνα (in the kitchen)

Why is it σαλόνι and not something like σαλόν or σαλόνα? What gender is it?

σαλόνι is a neuter noun (ending in -ι), so its nominative/accusative singular is το σαλόνι.

Basic forms:

το σαλόνι – the living room (subject or object)
του σαλονιού – of the living room
στο σαλόνι – in the living room

Its gender and ending are simply part of its dictionary form, like το σπίτι (the house), το παιδί (the child). There is no form σαλόν or σαλόνα in standard modern Greek.

Could we change the word order, for example to Μετά διάβασα λίγο και χαλάρωσα στο σαλόνι? Is that okay?

Yes, that’s fine and natural. Some possible variations:

Αφού έφαγα, μετά διάβασα λίγο και χαλάρωσα στο σαλόνι.
Αφού έφαγα, διάβασα λίγο και χαλάρωσα μετά στο σαλόνι. (less usual, but possible)

Greek word order is quite flexible as long as the logical sequence and stress are clear.
The original sentence:

Αφού έφαγα, διάβασα λίγο και μετά χαλάρωσα στο σαλόνι.

is just a very typical, smooth way to say it, with μετά immediately before χαλάρωσα to highlight that final step.