Classical Greek

Course summary

You are a problem solver, a lateral thinker and thrive on an intellectual challenge. You love the demands of reading an ancient language and relish the opportunity to read and discuss some of the greatest, if not the greatest, works of literature ever composed, in their original language. The course is intellectually rigorous and stimulating. A Level of Classical Greek enhances the study of Latin, History, Mathematics, Politics, English, Modern Languages and the Sciences. The A-Level Classical Greek course focuses on the study of the literature, history and culture of a society which profoundly influenced Ancient Rome and consequently our own. By studying Greek at A Level, you will develop a sensitive and analytical approach to language in general, in addition to a competence in Classical Greek. Over the two years, you will study a selection of prescribed authors from a range of genres including epic poetry, tragedy, and history. The verse set-texts for examination in 2025 focus on Greek epic and tragedy and comprise extracts from Book XVI of Homer’s Iliad and Euripides’ play Hippolytus. In Homer, you will read one of the most vivid episodes in the Trojan War – the area and subsequent death of Patroclus – while Euripides presents the tragic consequences of the illicit love of Phaedra for her stepson, the titular Hippolytus. The prose set-texts are extracts from the first book of Herodotus’ Histories and Plutarch’s Life of Antony. Herodotus, as the ‘father of history’, leads us through the earliest stories of the Mediterranean, while Plutarch presents us with a captivating biography of one of Rome’s most controversial politicians, generals and lovers!