Greek

You’ll love this course if you are a Greek linguist who’s keen to develop their language skills and understanding of ancient Greece still further. With the opportunity to learn Latin and the chance to study the classical world through artefacts, ideas and past-deeds, there’s lots to learn on this course.

As those of you who have studied the language to A-level standard will know, learning classical Greek provides insights not only into ancient culture but also into the workings of language in general. This course is designed to develop your language skills still further by focusing on the study of ancient Greek texts. Over three years you’ll become a specialist in both the language and literature of the ancient Greeks with the opportunity to add Latin into your skillset too. For those who have a curiosity that extends beyond language and literature, there’s the option to study classical archaeology, ancient philosophy as well as ancient history and classical literature in translation.

As a student of Greek you will be part of our Classics Department, where the quality of research that informs our teaching and a friendly, individual approach which shapes the way we guide our students combine to create an unbeaten academic experience.

• Become a specialist in both the language and literature of the ancient Greeks.

• Half of your course focuses solely on developing your language skills.

• Study texts’ social, cultural and historical contexts.

• Gain analytical, communication and reasoning skills.

• Enhance your language skills by learning Latin too.

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1. You will take one from the following:

• Beginner’s Greek

• Intermediate Greek

• Greek Language and Reading

Year 2. You will take one from the following:

• Intermediate Greek

• Intensive Greek

• Aspects of Modern Greek Language and Culture

Year 3. You will take one from the following:

• Intensive Greek

• Aspects of Modern Greek Language and Culture

• Further Aspects of Modern Greek Language and Culture

Optional Modules

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

Year 1

• Beginner's Latin

• Intermediate Latin

• Latin Language and Reading

• Introduction to Greek Literature

• Roman Literature of the Republic

• Roman Literature of the Empire

• Introduction to Ancient Philosophy

• Individual and Community

• Greek History and the City State

• Key Themes in Roman History

• Studying Classical Antiquity

• Introduction to Greek Archaeology

• Introduction to Roman Archaeology

Year 2

• Hellenistic Epic: Apollonius of Rhodes

• Imperial Greek Poetry: Epic & Epigram

• Homer (in Greek)

• The Tragedy of Euripides

• Greek Dramatic Texts II (Comedy)

• Herodotus

• Plato (in Greek)

• Imperial Greek Literature

• Greek Historiography (in Greek)

• Greek Erotic Poetry in Greek

• Homer (In Translation)

• Greek Drama (In Translation)

• Cinema and Classics

• Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Art and Power in Augustan Rome

• Virgil’s Aeneid: The Empire in the Literary Imagination

• Gender in Classical Antiquity

• Greek Law and Lawcourts

• Greek History to 322 BC

• Spinning the Past: Greek Historiography from Herodotos to Diodoros

• Augustus: Propaganda and Power

• The Roman Republic: A Social and Economic History

• The Rise of the Roman Empire: An Economic and Social history

• Historiography of the Roman World

• Body and Soul in Ancient Philosophy

• The Good Life in Ancient Philosophy

• The Built Environment in Classical Antiquity

• Greek and Roman Art in Context

• Understanding Pompeii and Herculaneum

• Perspectives on Roman Britai

• Second Year Projects

Year 3

• Hellenistic Epic: Apollonius of Rhodes

• Imperial Greek Poetry: Epic & Epigram

• Homer (in Greek)

• The Tragedy of Euripides

• Greek Dramatic Texts II (Comedy)

• Herodotus

• Plato (in Greek)

• Imperial Greek Literature

• Greek Historiography (in Greek)

• Greek Erotic Poetry in Greek

• Cinema and Classics

• Roman Oratory

• Ancient Literary Criticism

• Roman Drama (In Translation)

• Greek Lyric, Eros and Social Order

• Nature and the Supernatural in Latin Literature

• Greek Literature under the Roman Empire

• Studying Ancient Myth

• Culture and Identity from Nero to Hadrian

• The Roman Novel

• Gender in Classical Antiquity

• Greek Law and Lawcourts

• Augustus

• The Roman Republic: A Social and Economic History

• The Rise of the Roman Empire: An Economic and Social history

• Alexander the Great

• The City from Augustus to Charlemagne: The Rise and Fall of Civilisation

• Body and Soul in Ancient Philosophy

• The Good Life in Ancient Philosophy II

• Understanding Pompeii and Herculaneum

• Perspectives on Roman Britain

• City of Rome

• City of Athens

• The Archaeology of the Roman Near East

• Extended Essay (Dissertation)

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/classics/greek/

The course has a modular structure, whereby students take 12 course units at the rate of four units per year. The second year project unit and the third year dissertation are compulsory but all other the end of each year. Your final year dissertation will also count towards your degree award.

You will be taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars and individual tutorials, depending on the subjects studied. Outside classes, you will undertake group projects and wide-ranging but guided independent study, including completing language exercises and reading prescribed and open material. Private study and preparation are essential parts of every course, and you will have access to many online resources and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle. When you start with us, you are assigned a Personal Tutor to support you academically and personally.

In your final year the Classics department provides ongoing support for your dissertation work, which usually includes:

• Lectures and practical sessions on Dissertation Research Methods e.g. planning your topics, carrying out research, using specialist resources, finding information in print and online, and managing your search results and references. These sessions are run in conjunction with the Library Service and are generally also open to second year students.

• Short departmental writing ‘surgeries’, in which academic staff offer general writing support if you are experiencing problems and/or if you have specific queries.

Most modules contain an element of assessed coursework, such as an essay, presentation and/or assessed seminar participation marks, which contributes to the final examination mark awarded. The results of the first year exams qualify you to progress to the second year but do not contribute to your final degree award. The second and final year results do contribute to the final degree result, with the final year work counting double that of the second year.