• Why Study Ancient Greek?
• Programs
• FAQs

Why Study Ancient Greek ?

• Ancient Greek is part of the Indo-European family of languages, and is on the Hellenic branch of that family. A very different form of the language, called Modern Greek, is spoken in Greece today.
• Ancient Greek was the language of some of the greatest authors and thinkers in Western civilization — such as Homer, Sappho, Sophocles, Plato, and Thucydides.
• Those who learn ancient Greek can read directly the words of great masterpieces in poetry, history, philosophy, etc.
• Students of virtually any field in the humanities and the sciences will find its origins in Ancient Greek literature.
• The Ancient Greeks created the first true "alphabet" through a remarkably efficient transformation of Semitic writing signs.
• This Ancient Greek alphabet became the basis for the Latin alphabet, which is used for countless modern languages today.
• Ancient Greek roots form the basis for many modern English words, especially for new terms created in the sciences.
• Greek history began with the Mycenean civilization of the Bronze Age and continues down to the modern Greek world, a continuity of civilization now in its fourth millennia.

Programs

• Visit the Department of Classics website for more information.
• Consult the A&S calendar for specific course offerings.

FAQs

1. How can one read the strange Ancient Greek alphabet? It’s Greek to me.
   It just takes a few days to get used to the signs of the Ancient Greek alphabet. As noted above, the Greek alphabet gave rise to the Latin script commonly used for many languages today, and in fact many Greek letters are very similar to letters in modern English.
2. Isn’t Greek just for geniuses?
   All university students should be capable of learning Ancient Greek. It requires steady work and much memorization, but an introductory course will lead the student along at a manageable pace. And as noted above, Ancient Greek should be of interest to anyone in just about any modern discipline.
3. Isn’t Ancient Greek a dead language?
   It is true that one cannot travel somewhere to speak Ancient Greek (including Greece), and the primary purpose of learning Ancient Greek is to read ancient literature. But Ancient Greek is spoken in Ancient Greek classes — not only to communicate about the language but also to enjoy its beautiful sound and rhythm.