Introduction to Ancient Greek (Level 4)

Course Overview

Please note that each weekly session will be two hours in length and run from 6pm to 8pm (please disregard any other timings on this page).

Our Introduction to Ancient Greek short course is a study of the Ancient Greek language for complete beginners. Teaching will be based on a combination of grammar and translation, allowing you to understand the inner workings of the language and providing you with the necessary tools to read and translate simple passages. There will be new grammar points to be learned every week, as well as translation practice and simple English into Greek composition.

The aim of the course is to introduce you to the basic principles of Classical Greek. It provides a firm basis of grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary of the language, through which you will be able to read and translate into English simple passages of Greek prose. By the end of the module you will have gained sufficient knowledge of the language to be able to approach and successfully translate adapted passages of Greek prose.

Teaching is varied and interactive, including practice in reading and translating Greek in each class, using texts in the textbook and, later, taken from actual Greek documents, with some further practice on points of grammar and vocabulary. You will be encouraged, especially later in the course, to suggest Greek texts for use in class.

Assessment is via a three-hour examination (60%), take-home translation (20%) and 1.5-hour in-class test (20%).

As a student on this course, you will study alongside Birkbeck students enrolled on one of our undergraduate or postgraduate courses, giving you the opportunity to network with a range of Birkbeck current students whilst you learn.

This short course runs with classes over three terms every year starting in October.

This can be taken as a standalone short course or as part of:

• History and Archaeology (Certificate of Higher Education)

Credits: 30 credits at level 4