If you’re looking to brush up on—or otherwise deepen—your Ancient Greek, consider joining the Greek Reading Group.
The origins of the Greek Reading Group go back to 2005, when it became apparent that a few PhD students were anxious to gain a full understanding of the texts they proposed to include in their theses. At that time, students presented the Group with texts, and the Group puzzled them out.
This continued for a while until there were no more texts to puzzle out, and the Group turned to reading complete works. Over the past two decades, the Group has read works by a large number of Greek authors, including Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Menander, Plato, Demosthenes, and others. Much time is spent discussing and appreciating the extraordinary language the ancient authors employ.
The Group comprises former students of Greek and, from time to time, some present students keen to maintain their knowledge of the language. It meets on Zoom once a fortnight at 4:30 pm on a Tuesday afternoon, broadly during semester time, for an hour or so to read, translate, and discuss. There is no requirement for any member to translate, though most do. It is not easy to spend time alone reading Greek, and the Group offers an accessible avenue for reading Greek in company.
The Group is always open to new members. Anyone interested is invited to contact Anthony Alexander
Image: Muse, perhaps Clio, reading a scroll (Attic red-figure lekythos, Boeotia, c. 430 BC)