Welcome to the website for Greek 101:
Introduction to Ancient Greek!

Greek 101 is the first semester of a yearlong introduction to Attic Greek, the spoken and written language of Athens’s Golden Age in the fifth century BCE.  Attic Greek (that is, the Greek spoken in Attica, the territory around Athens) is the language of Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plato, and many other luminaries. Learning Attic Greek is also excellent preparation for reading the Greek dialects used by Homer, Sappho, and the writers of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) and the New Testament. Although Ancient Greek is no longer spoken, it was a living language for two and a half millennia before evolving into the Greek that is spoken today. Since a language is intimately linked to the culture in which it developed, as we learn Greek we will learn about the people who used this language: in the theater, in the courtroom, in the stadium, in the fields, at dinner, in the nursery, at the altar, in the fields, and in the bedroom.

Learning a language in adulthood can be a challenge, but the reward is rich. After one year’s time, you may begin to read the seminal epics of Homer, charged verse of the Greek Lyricists, matchless plays of Athenian dramatists, searching dialogues by Plato, histories by the “Fathers of History,” startlingly modern satires by Lucian, rollicking ancient romances, Christian and Jewish texts, and much, much more.

Announcements and Featured Items

John's drop-in hours are now: Monday 8-9pm & Thursday 7-8pm in Meneely 204.

Drill & Review Sessions are held: Monday, 7-8 in Meneely 305 and Tuesday, 2:30-3:30 in Science A209

Practice the alphabet, dipthongs, and digraphs
Practice reading the names of the Olympian Gods