Ancient Greek Spring 2023

At Polis, we teach at the same time Attic and Koine Greek. The teacher communicates in high Koine Greek which includes almost all Attic features and, when necessary, teaches the difference between the two dialects. Ninety per cent of all Greek texts of Antiquity were written in Koine Greek. These texts range from philosophy and medicine to poetry and novels, it is the original language of the New Testament, the Septuagint and many ancient Jewish and Christian texts. As many of today’s physical and social sciences originated with Ancient Greeks, knowledge of this language is the key to understanding the birth of Western culture.

All courses are taught using The Polis Method which immerses students in the target language from the very first class which allows learning in a more natural way. The Polis Method focuses on total immersion and speech fluency and we believe helps students acquire the language quicker than the traditional grammar translation method.

The course at Polis is intended to familiarize students with the language through natural learning methods. From the first day, all lessons are conducted in Ancient Greek using techniques based on the way children acquire their mother tongue, allowing the students to develop a keen intuition in understanding and speaking the language. The course is designed to provide speaking skills that, with practice, will allow the student to store new information in long-term memory, reading skills that will allow the student to approach original texts without reliance on translations and written exercises which will enable students to perfect their mastery of this ancient and beautiful language.