Greek

Greek opens access to one of the most remarkable literary and intellectual traditions in the history of the world. The Greek language of the classical period was the medium in which Homer composed the Iliad and Odyssey, in which Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides wrote their tragedies, in which Aristophanes created his comedies, in which Herodotus and Thucydides invented history, and in which Plato and Aristotle developed philosophy as a discipline. Reading these works in the original language, rather than in translation, is to encounter them as their authors shaped them, with all the precision and resonance that translation inevitably loses.

At the University of Glasgow, this four-year full-time programme develops your ancient Greek from its foundations, assuming no prior knowledge, to the level needed to engage independently with primary texts in their original form. You will read across the range of ancient Greek literature, engaging with poets, tragedians, comedians, orators, historians, and philosophers according to the options you choose, and developing the linguistic, literary, and historical skills to interpret these works within their cultural and intellectual contexts. The programme includes a year abroad, which may be spent at a partner institution with its own classical studies tradition.

The typical entry tariff of 152 points reflects the academic preparation the programme requires.

Graduates develop exceptional skills in linguistic analysis, close reading, historical reasoning, and the interpretation of complex texts. These skills are valued in publishing, education, law, heritage, museums, academia, and a wide range of other professional and scholarly contexts. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in classics, ancient history, philosophy, or related humanities disciplines, and the foundation in ancient Greek thought and literature is a distinctive and durable intellectual asset.