Study Ancient Greek in Siracusa goes On-line
August 3rd – 8th 2020
“KNOW THYSELF” is among the most famous sayings from ancient Greece. Have you ever wondered how it sounds in the original Greek? If you would like to familiarise yourself with the language of Homer, Plato, Pindar and Pythagoras, join us at the Exedra-Fonte Aretusa “Ancient Greek ‘Aperitivo’ Course”, now on-line because of the Covid 19 crisis. The online course will consist of 7 x 90-minute classes which will take place between the 3rd and 8th of August. Since this is a taster session, we have decided to focus on the text of Plato’s Apology in a way that will allow all of you to participate regardless of your familiarity with Greek. Plato’s Apology, is one of the best-known works of ancient Greek literature, in which the voice of Socrates can be clearly heard. We will examine not only the language, but also the philosophical argument
and Socrates’ novel rhetorical approach to the Athenian court, which condemned him to death but made his ideas famous. The classes will include reading the text from the original and then translating it by focusing on the most important syntactical constructions and bringing up the grammar when necessary. At the same time, we will provide a philosophical and intertextual commentary which will focus on the rhetorical techniques and construction of philosophical argument of the text — the aim is to be
able to understand the main ideas and the general philosophical concepts used by Plato and Socrates without too much concern for the language. In this way, we believe that all of you, from absolute beginners to advanced learners of Greek, will be able to get something out of the classes and enrich them with your participation.
Further to that, grammar and syntax handouts will be provided electronically before the beginning of each class (beginner and intermediate), in order to make sure that you will be able to identify the main linguistic points of each section we cover. We believe that this format will help us overcome the possible difficulties of online teaching and will ensure that the classes will be enjoyable and beneficial for all. We are looking forward to seeing you in our virtual classroom! The course is suitable for adult learners at any level, from absolute beginners to more advanced readers. Join us for a magical journey through Greek language and culture e designed to help us know ourselves—and ancient Greek—a bit better! “ΓΝΩΘΙ ΣΑΥΤΟΝ”