Division of Ancient Greek Language and Literature

The Division of Ancient Greek Language and Literature has admitted undergraduate students since 1998 and is one of the longest-established and most productive academic units of its kind in Turkey. The division approaches the ancient Greek language and the literary, historical, philosophical, and epigraphic heritage it carries both through a systematic foundation in grammar and textual reading and through contemporary scholarly methods.

The division's core focus encompasses written sources in Greek produced across a broad chronological range from Homer to the Byzantine period. These sources are not limited to literary texts: inscriptions, papyri, coins, and other primary documents form an integral part of both teaching and research. Students are trained to read and interpret these texts with deep competence in ancient Greek, and to analyse the historical and cultural contexts of Anatolia and the wider Mediterranean world.

MIssIon

The division's primary mission is to train researchers and specialists equipped with the linguistic, philological, and historical expertise needed to engage with ancient Greek sources within the cultural context of Anatolia and the broader Mediterranean world. To this end, the division exposes students to a wide range of primary materials, encompassing not only literary texts but also inscriptions, papyri, coins, and other documentary evidence.

Conscious of being situated at one of Turkey's universities closest to the ancient Greek cultural heritage of Anatolia, the division regards fieldwork as an inseparable component of academic training. Through the surface surveys, museum studies, and epigraphic projects actively conducted by its academic staff, the division aims to be a centre that contributes to the international scholarly community, produces original knowledge, and communicates that knowledge both to the world of scholarship and to the wider public.

The division's most distinctive feature is the integration of Classical Philology training with the discipline of epigraphy. This approach equips students not only with the ability to read texts but also with the practical skills of identifying, documenting, and interpreting inscriptions in field conditions. The researchers thus trained begin their academic careers not merely through library and archival work but through active fieldwork in Turkey's rich archaeological landscape.