Department of Philology // University of Patras

Studying Classics at Patras

The Classics study programme includes both compulsory and optional modules in order to equip students with the skills they need to approach ancient Greek and Latin texts. This includes not only teaching the necessary language skills but also, most importantly, familiarising students with contemporary methodological techniques in order for them to understand the complex cultural phenomenon that is Greek and Latin philology. The main task of the discipline referred to as Classical Philology is to carry out scientific study of works of ancient literature and other written texts in order to describe, comprehend and interpret them with scientific accuracy. Ancient Greek and Roman literature are the offspring of the communities in which they developed and, simultaneously, the heir to the older written tradition from which they originate. As such, to comprehend and to study ancient Greek and Roman literature requires knowledge of a plethora of social and historical factors. To acquire such knowledge demands not just an understanding of history and philosophy but also requires a supplementary awareness of such specialised archaeognostic fields as papyrology, epigraphy, palaeography, as well as social anthropology and the study of myth and religion. The Department of Philology's Classics section at the University of Patras attaches particular significance to the knowledge associated with these fields, which it supports via research programmes and special research laboratories, such as the Papyrology Research Laboratory, which is now being established, and the Myth and Religion in Ancient Greece and Rome Research Laboratory, which is particularly active in this field of study (for further information see http://mythreligion.philology.upatras.gr).

Teaching and Research Staff of the Classics Section

  • Aristoula Georgiadou (Mrs.), Associate Professor
  • Menelaos Christopoulos (Mr.), Associate Professor
  • Michail Lipka (Mr.), Assistant Professor
  • Spyridon Rangos (Mr.), Assistant Professor
  • Efimia Karakantza (Mrs.), Lecturer