BA Program in the Archaeology, History, and Literature of Ancient Greece

A four-year BA program taught in English, devoted to the study of Greek Antiquity. The program is offered by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (based in its School of Philosophy). Aimed at international citizens, it offers a unique opportunity to study the culture of ancient Greece while acquiring first-hand knowledge of some of Greece's most important archaeological monuments and sites, such as the Athenian Acropolis and the Parthenon, Delphi, and Olympia. The program includes courses in Greek archaeology, ancient Greek history and literature, and modern Greek. With an academic tradition of more than 180 years, the Institution guarantees a high-quality undergraduate program, based on experiential learning and offers both systematic disciplinary knowledge and critical and creative thinking skills.

The BA Program in the Archaeology, History, and Literature of Ancient Greece brings together three collaborating disciplines from the field of Classics; the Program’s multi-disciplinary curriculum, taught by a diverse staff consisting of highly specialized academics and senior researchers, combines the strengths of the three disciplines in a single, innovative Degree.

Archaeology

The Program includes a systematic survey of prehistoric and ancient Greek archaeology and art. The first six semesters feature course topics such as Minoan and Mycenaean Prehistory, the social significance of ancient Greek art and iconography, the development of ancient Greek architecture and city planning, and the relations of the Greek world to the civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean, such as the Hittites, the Egyptians, and the Persians. The seventh and eighth semesters feature two seminars that afford in-depth study of specific archaeological topics. The Program places great emphasis on on-site classes in museums and archaeological sites in Greece, as well as upon hands-on instruction in the University Museum of Archaeology and History of Art and the University archaeological excavation at Marathon.

History

Roughly one-third of the Program overall consists of History classes: beginning with an Introduction to Historical Studies in the first semester, students are guided through Greek history with a series of courses on the Greek polis, Alexander the Great, and Hellenistic Greece, Greece, and Rome, history of religion and sports, as well as a more specialized course in the study of inscriptions and a seminar on the artistic and historical significance of Greek coins.

Ancient Greek and Latin Literature

The Program encompasses a wide range of courses on ancient Greek and Latin literature, across their main periods of development and their most important genres. Students also receive intensive instruction in the Classical Greek and Latin languages. Students get to know major authors and genres of Greek and Latin literature, including Homer and epic, drama, historiography (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon), philosophy and oratory, poetry, as well as the world of ancient papyri. Courses in religion and myth broaden their understanding of the Greek culture and its continuity into the Roman era. The study of literary masterpieces of the Roman world, with a focus on the interactions between Greek and Roman literature, enables students to understand the importance of the Ancient world for the Western tradition and our own, contemporary world.

1st Semester (Total ECTS: 30)

• 75101 Introduction to the Discipline of Archaeology (8 ECTS)
• 75102 Introduction to Historical Studies (8 ECTS)
• 75103 Ancient Greek Literature: An Overview (8 ECTS)
• 75104 Greek I (3 ECTS) + Latin I (3 ECTS)

2nd Semester (Total ECTS: 30)

• 75201 Aegean civilizations: a survey (8 ECTS)
• 75202 Ancient Greek Art: An Overview (8 ECTS)
• 75203 The History of the Greek Polis (8 ECTS)
• 75204 Greek II (3 ECTS) + Latin II (3 ECTS)

3rd Semester (Total ECTS: 30)

• 75301 Prehistoric Crete: Minoan Palatial Society (8 ECTS)
• 75302 Ancient Greek Topography and Architecture (8 ECTS)
• 75303 Greek Historical Texts: Thucydides (8 ECTS)
• 75304 Greek III (Intermediate Greek I) (6 ECTS)

4th Semester (Total ECTS: 30)

• 75401 Archaeology of the Mycenaean World (8 ECTS)
• 75402 Greek Art: Images and Meanings (8 ECTS)
• 75403 Studying Greek History through Inscriptions (8 ECTS)
• 75404 Greek IV (Intermediate Greek II) (6 ECTS)

5th Semester (Total ECTS: 30)

• 75501 Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean (8 ECTS) or 75506 From foraging to farming: The Mesolithic and Neolithic periods in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean (8 ECTS)
• 75602 Alexander to Kleopatra: History of the Hellenistic period (8 ECTS)
• 75503 Greek Drama: Texts and Images (8 ECTS)
• 75504 Greek V (Advanced Greek I) (6 ECTS)

6th Semester (Total ECTS: 30)

• 75601 Hellenistic Art (8 ECTS) or 75606 Archaeological excavation: theory and practice (8 ECTS)
• 75502 History of Ancient Greek Religion (8 ECTS)
• 75603 Greek Historical Texts: Herodotus (8 ECTS)
• 75604 Greek VI (Advanced Greek II) (6 ECTS)

7th Semester (Total ECTS: 34)

• 75701 Greek Athletics and the History of Sport (8 ECTS)
• 75702 Homer and Greek Mythology (8 ECTS)
• 75703 Reading Greek Papyri (8 ECTS)

Seminar *(10 ECTS)

* Seminars: For the academic year 2023-2024 the students can choose between two seminars:

• 75818 Greek Literature of the Hellenistic and the Imperial Period (Undergraduate Seminar) (10 ECTS) or
• 75810 Funerary Practices and the Archaeology of Ancestors (Undergraduate Seminar) (10 ECTS)

8th Semester (Total ECTS: 34)

• 75801: Roman Republican History and Literature (8 ECTS) or 75805: Roman Imperial History and Literature (8 ECTS)
• 75802 Greek Philosophy: Plato and Aristotle (8 ECTS)
• 75803 Ancient Greeks at War: Xenophon (8 ECTS)

Seminar * (10 ECTS)

* Seminars: For the academic year 2023-2024 the students can choose between two seminars:

• 75820 The Age of Augustus (Undergraduate Seminar) (10 ECTS) or
• 75814 Greek Colonisation (Undergraduate Seminar) (10 ECTS)