I have written this article primarily as an overview for students who are studying Greek at A level and beyond; it may also be useful for their teachers. It covers the period from the Archaic age up to the beginning of Medieval Greek (c. 750 BCE to 500 CE). There is an emphasis on Classical Greek both within and beyond the Classical period, since the Classical form, or approximations to it, has never ceased to be learned, the only form of Greek of which this can be said. It has also left a sizeable imprint on Modern Greek, especially but not exclusively on its more educated forms. I hope though that the article will serve to draw the users’ attention to the many other forms of the language apart from Classical Greek. I know that I could have done with something like this when I was a student: I was hardly aware of the existence of the κοινή, except perhaps as a form of Greek used by Christian writers long after the end of the Classical period.

Over 2023, many universities and policy organisations in the higher education (HE) sector are working to create guiding principles and guidelines for the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in HE Teaching and Learning (T&L). Despite these guidelines, students remain unsure if and how they should use AI. This article discusses the AI information sessions held over the Autumn 2023 term in the Department of Classics at the University of Reading, which aimed to provide students with the knowledge and tools to make informed judgements about using AI in their studies. These sessions discussed the benefits and drawbacks of generative AI, highlighting training data, content policy, environmental impact, and examples of potential uses. Staff and student participants were surveyed before and after these information sessions to gather their opinions surrounding AI use. Although at least 60% of participants had previously used generative AI, 80% of participants were apprehensive of or against using generative AI tools for learning purposes following the AI information sessions. By providing staff and students with the ethical considerations surrounding generative AI, they can make an informed judgement about using AI in their work without misplaced faith or excessive fear.

Playing is connected at a deep level to how we learn, participate in and create culture, as it is dynamic, complex and even unpredictable just as learning is (Reinhardt, 2019). Even Plato in his Theaetetus recognises the importance of such a component in experiencing culture and knowledge. Could playing (or gaming) therefore be a useful didactical approach in promoting the study of ancient Greek around the world? From 10th May 2023 at 1 pm. until 1st June 2023 at 1 pm., an internet survey was conducted online by the researcher Irene Di Gioia through the use of Google Forms questionnaires. This questionnaire was distributed via different social networks and communication tools. The survey aimed to understand if people around the world are interested in the idea of learning ancient Greek via a video game and if so, which video gaming activities learners prefer. The goal of the survey was therefore to understand if a ludic pedagogical approach using Digital Game-Based Learning could theoretically represent an interest experience for learners or potential learners, and furthermore to investigate their feelings, prejudices, and motivations regarding the study of ancient Greek. From the analysed data the researcher will therefore develop a video game to teach ancient Greek language and culture, which comprises the focus of her ongoing PhD dissertation at Georg-August University of Göttingen (Germany) and Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (Italy).

It is generally accepted by scholars that the songs of Homer were first written in ~ 700 BCE; the text seems to spring fully formed into a still illiterate world, demonstrating in a sophisticated vocabulary the first example of the use of a new alphabet. The language used is a never-spoken construct; its construction represents the first use of an alphabet enabling words to be written. This paper aims to open a discussion on the means by which spelling emerged, either democratically or as the work of one man.

In the Marseille region in France, ancient Greek has been taught in pre-school and primary school for more than 20 years. The ‘Nausicaa’ Association was created in 1996 with an express purpose in mind. As Nausicaa was Odysseus' guide and helped him regain his dignity as a man and a king, so our association supports children in becoming more complete and richer humans, or so we hope. Nausicaa has grown enormously in the past 20 years, and currently operates in various schools in the South of France, in particular in Marseille and Aix-en-Provence. Around ten volunteers (teachers working in middle school, high school or retired) teach ancient Greek to pupils from pre-school to the end of primary school. All activities are done at school during class teaching time and in the school setting. This paper presents an outline of the activities of the Nausicaa Association and how it benefits pupils of all abilities in learning about the ancient Greeks and their language.

This article presents the method used in Elliniki Agogi, a private small school that teaches the Ancient Greek language as an extra-curricular activity. Over the 29 years of experimenting with educational material, methods, books and exercises, teaching Ancient Greek as a living language seems like the only method that really works for the students. It is immersive, experiential, educational and fun, but most important, it makes students love what they learn; by loving, they keep wanting to come back. By coming back, they repeat. By repeating; they learn. And by learning Greek as a living language, they never forget it. This is our school's aim: to make our students love the language. Experiential learning is highly valued and applied through visits to archaeological sites, and reviving important historical events. But this is only the beginning; playing, drawing, acting, foreign exchanges, educational trips, digital programs, collaborations with foreign institutions and educational organisations come alive in Elliniki Agogi, a small school that was founded 29 years ago in Greece and has joined worldwide efforts in changing the way Greek is taught in order to promote its true, timeless, precious wisdom. In Elliniki Agogi a combination of teaching Greek as a living language and activities that include play and fun, a method as old as time, shows exactly the reason way the words ‘play’ (παιδιά) and ‘education’ (παιδεία) derive from the exact same root word: παῖς (child). Educational material is also provided in order to further enhance and deepen children's knowledge.

Degenerate feet, even when forbidden in isolated words, can arise within phrases due to resyllabification. In particular, when a stressed monosyllable of the shape C0VC (where V is short) undergoes resyllabification in Latin and Ancient Greek, it yields a degenerate foot. While degenerate feet were tolerated in prose, they were avoided in hexameter verse. Even though a degenerate foot is a kind of light syllable, a light metrical position could not contain a foot. Verse evidence is used as a window onto the general prosodic structure of each language, revealing that speakers productively recognised degenerate feet and distinguished them from other prosodic categories.

This article describes some of the main features of classical languages and history learning at the primary school level in England at the current time. It briefly examines the context and education policy background and government and teachers' beliefs in the value and status of classical subjects, especially the Latin language as an aid to learning other languages and as a support for developing and improving students' English literacy. There is some overlap with the literature review co-authored by Holmes-Henderson and Kelly for the British government (Holmes-Henderson and Kelly, 2022) and a recent piece by myself about provision of teaching and resources in the Bulletin of the Council of University Classics Departments (Hunt, 2022a). I hope to develop further some of these ideas and draw out some discussions about resources, pedagogy and learning aims for possible future directions of classical languages learning at the primary level.

This paper explores how to syntactically parse Ancient Greek texts automatically and maps ways of fruitfully employing the results of such an automated analysis. Special attention is given to documentary papyrus texts, a large diachronic corpus of non-literary Greek, which presents a unique set of challenges to tackle. By making use of the Stanford Graph-Based Neural Dependency Parser, we show that through careful curation of the parsing data and several manipulation strategies, it is possible to achieve an Labeled Attachment Score of about 0.85 for this corpus. We also explain how the data can be converted back to its original (Ancient Greek Dependency Treebanks) format. We describe the results of several tests we have carried out to improve parsing results, with special attention paid to the impact of the annotation format on parser achievements. In addition, we offer a detailed qualitative analysis of the remaining errors, including possible ways to solve them. Moreover, the paper gives an overview of the valorisation possibilities of an automatically annotated corpus of Ancient Greek texts in the fields of linguistics, language education and humanities studies in general. The concluding section critically analyses the remaining difficulties and outlines avenues to further improve the parsing quality and the ensuing practical applications.

In November 2022, ChatGPT 3.5 was released on a public research preview, gaining notoriety for its ability to pull from a vast body of information to create coherent and digestible bodies of text that accurately respond to queries (OpenAI, 2022). It is able to recognise the grammar and vocabulary of ancient languages, translate passages, and compose texts at an alarmingly accurate and rapid rate. For teachers, this AI has had mixed reviews. Some fear its ability to produce well-written work effortlessly, while others are excited by its abilities to push the boundaries of current teaching practices. This paper explores how well ChatGPT explains grammatical concepts, parses inflected forms, and translates Classical Latin, Ancient Greek, and Classical Sanskrit. Overall, ChatGPT is rather good at working with Classical Latin and Sanskrit, but its abilities with Ancient Greek are deeply problematic. Although it is quite flawed at this time, ChatGPT, when used properly, could become a useful a tool for ancient language study. With proper guiding phrases, students could use this AI to practise vocabulary, check their translations, and rephrase grammatical concepts.

This essay presents the methods, as well as the pedagogical effects, findings and results of introducing Ancient Greek in the curriculum of children between three and 12 years old as evidenced over 27 years in the method of Elliniki Agogi. Elliniki Agogi is an award-winning private educational institute established in Greece in the mid-1990s at a time when the teaching of Ancient Greek was questioned and dramatically reduced from the public curriculum. Its aim is to safeguard learning that has its roots in Ancient Greek and to continue to introduce students to the Greek civilisation and its language, using effective, entertaining and artistic methods. This endeavour was based on specific pedagogical models; by learning through experience and through a communication-orientated educational process. With concomitant, cautious organisation and preparation of each lesson a diversified educational curriculum is created that connects the students to their distant past while experiencing positive emotions, filled with ethical paradigms that contribute later to master a fully-shaped personality. 27 years later, studies have come to prove the positive influence of learning Ancient Greek in children's linguistic and mental abilities. The following study conducted is distinctive in the detailed pedagogical method it provides and validates the importance of teaching the Ancient Greek language to children as early as possible.

This paper explores the merits of learning classical languages in an informal environment. It is argued that voluntary clubs offer a variety of benefits for students and teachers and may help promote the longevity of the discipline. For teachers, clubs can be a flexible way to teach Greek or Latin to the next generation in schools that may not be willing to offer one or both languages as subjects in the formal curriculum. For students, clubs can be an opportunity to learn freely and forgivingly in a relaxed and non-pressurised environment; an informal Greek club can help develop the skills of students formally learning Latin. Language clubs can also be used to make Classics more accessible into the future, as dated ideas of Classics being exclusive to only the most privileged and bright students can be disposed of. In this paper the author shall draw on her own experience as well as the experiences of students and teachers in Australia and abroad.1