Ancient Greek: Lower Intermediate - Consolidation



Overview

This 10-week consolidation course is based on the syllabus of the previous two terms (most recently - Ancient Greek: Lower Intermediate - Part 2) and is primarily tailored to meet the needs of students who completed the weekly class, but new students who are at the appropriate level of proficiency are also welcome. Students who missed some classes during the first two terms and wish to catch up for the next level up in the next academic year are encouraged to join.

Ancient Greek is the language of philosophy, politics, mathematics, drama, and religion. This class is for students who have either completed Ancient Greek 2 or have prior knowledge of Ancient Greek from elsewhere.

In this class, we will be translating original (unmodified or lightly modified texts) from Greek into English while revising challenging grammatical and syntactical points (mainly, moods and tenses for regular and irregular verbs, participles and their syntax, cases and the role in the sentence). Moreover, we will build on the vocabulary covered during the previous two terms and get to know aspects of the life, literature, and culture in ancient Athens, through selected passages from Xenophon, Lysias, and Plato (among others).

This course will allow you to familiarise further with reading and translating original texts.

Programme details

Course starts: 15 April 2024

Please note: there will be no class on the 6th and 27th May due to the public bank holidays.

Week 0:   Course orientation

Week 1:   Case overview + prepositions

Week 2:   Verbal aspect + voice

Week 3:   Subjunctive and its uses

Week 4:   Optative and its uses

Week 5:   Participle and its uses (+ genitive absolute)

Week 6:   Impersonal verbs (+ accusative absolute), gerunds and gerundives

Week 7:   Purpose, fear, prevention

Week 8:   Cause, result, time

Week 9:   Conditionals

Week 10: Indirect speech

Certification

Students who attend a minimum of 70% of classes will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £251.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Anna Athanasopoulou

Anna studied Classics at the University of Athens, including a semester in Paris, France, before pursuing her postgraduate studies in the UK. She earned her MA from UCL and a PhD from Magdalene College, Cambridge. Currently, she supervises papers in Greek and Latin language and literature for the Faculty of Classics at Cambridge and teaches for the Department for Continuing Education at the University of Oxford. She has also previously taught a postgraduate course on Greek philosophical language at UCL. Her research interests encompass Imperial Greek literature (1st-5th c. C.E.), ancient and modern ecphrastic writing, text/image theories, as well as embodied, sensory, and ecocritical approaches to Classics.

Course aims

  • consolidate the grammar, syntax and vocabulary learnt throughout the first two terms,
  • become fluent in reading ancient Greek texts
  • read passages of original text to see the contructions studied in context 
  • revise more challenging aspects of the language that are appropriate for the level 

Course Objectives:

1. Read and translate original Greek texts.

2. Understand advanced grammar topics and recognise the phenomena in the texts.

3. Consolidate and enhance the extant vocabulary by recognising the formation of individual words and etymological affinities.

4. Building contextual knowledge about society and culture of 5th c. Athens

Teaching methods

In class we will read out, translate and analyse the vocabulary, grammar, and syntax of short passages. Homework will be assigned regularly in order to enhance the students' learning process.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to be able to:

1. Translate short passages from ancient Greek into English;

2. Apply their knowledge of Greek grammar, of word formation and of vocabulary;

3. Understand a Greek text as a product of a specific time and place.

Assessment methods

You will be set short, optional assignments to consolidate your learning and to allow you to progress at your own pace.

Application

We will close for enrolments 7 days prior to the start date to allow us to complete the course set up. We will email you at that time (7 days before the course begins) with further information and joining instructions. As always, students will want to check spam and junk folders during this period to ensure that these emails are received.

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an application form.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support