Academic/Subject Departments

Greek (Ancient)

It is hard to overstate the importance of the contribution made by the ancient Greeks to Western Civilisation and Culture.

The influence of Greek architecture is everywhere to be seen. Much of our language for discussing politics, indeed the very concept of democracy has been inherited from the Greeks. Thinkers such as Socrates and Plato laid the foundations of western philosophy. ‘Tragedy’, ‘Comedy’, ‘History’ and ‘Epic’ are all genres invented by the Greeks and writers such as Sophocles, Aristophanes, Herodotus and Homer and they are still read today. Although they are read mainly in translation, the best way to get to grips with what the Greeks really thought and said is by reading them in the original.

Ancient Greek is offered as a twilight GCSE to those students who have a real and keen interest in the subject. It is a demanding course, suitable only for highly motivated students who have already shown their ability in Latin and are willing to show independence and initiative in their studies.