Why Study Ancient Greek?

"I would make them all learn English: and then I would let the clever ones
learn Latin as an honor,
and Greek as a treat." ---Winston Churchill
Ancient Greek! The language of Aeschylus, Aesop, Alexander the Great,
Archimedes, Aristophanes, Aristotle, Euclid, Euripides, Hippocrates, Homer,
Pericles, Plato, Ptolemy, Sophocles, Thales, Thucydides, Xenophon, and lots
of other famous characters from our Western heritage. It's also the language
of the Greek New Testament.
Why Study Ancient Greek? First: If you are interested in ancient Greek
literature, you could be reading it in the original language. So much is lost in
translation! Second: Vocabulary building and improved grammar
comprehension in English—Spelling and syntax in English improved. The
reason? Ancient Greek is the foundation of many English words, from alpha
'adamant' to zeta 'zodiac'. In fact, roughly 60% of all English words and 90%
of technical and scientific terms are derived from ancient Greek and Latin.
And, if you are interested in a career in law or medicine, you will benefit
enormously from the vocabulary building you will gain in the ancient Greek
classes.
How is Ancient Greek Different? Ancient Greek lives on in modern Greek, but
we learn ancient Greek primarily to read and study ancient texts written
originally on papyrus (papyrology), on stone monuments (epigraphy), or coins
(numismatics). A person who studies ancient Greek & Latin literature is called
a philologist. From ancient written sources we have a good idea of what the
dialects of ancient Greek sounded like, but you will not be learning how to
speak Greek in this course; rather, you will learn the grammar and syntax
through oral and written drills. The goal of a course in ancient Greek is to
learn enough grammar and vocabulary to be able to read ancient Greek
literature: poetry, prose, and the Greek New Testament.
Are there other ancient non-spoken languages to learn? Yes! Many other
ancient (pre-modern) languages are taught at universities around the world:
Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic, Pali, Persian, Old Tamil, Coptic, Hittite, Sumerian and
Akkadian Cuneiform, Egyptian Heiroglyphics, and Old English. Many of these
languages are taught at our neighboring institutions: U of I, and U. of
Chicago.
Many of IWU's best students in majors as diverse as English, Computer
Science, Biology, Music, Religion, and Philosophy have taken Greek. Some of
their comments include:
"I read English very differently now--I am much more aware how my own
language works and see nuances of meaning that I never noticed before." "I
recommend this course for pre-meds because of the vocabulary building.
tachycardia? echolalia? osteophyte? Got 'em covered."
"As a computer science major I am amazed at the similarities between the
language of computers and the language of the Greeks." "I've always been
fascinated by Greek culture, and learning the language has helped me to
understand their lasting contribution to our own."