International Byzantine Greek Summer School (IBGSS)

The Level 1 course is designed for those with no previous knowledge of Greek. It starts with the Greek alphabet and through intensive teaching over a two-week period introduces students to the basic morphology and syntax they need to take the first steps towards reading Byzantine Greek. They read extracts of actual Byzantine Greek texts from the start and will be able to translate simple Greek texts with the aid of a dictionary at the end of the course.

Course Structure and Approach

The course comprises ten teaching days of two teaching sessions each with additional tutorial support. In the morning sessions students concentrate on the grammatical structures, morphology and vocabulary of Greek. We do not presuppose knowledge of another highly inflected language (such as Latin) but introduce students gradually to the differences in how Greek and English ‘work.’ The emphasis is on understanding the principles, structures and categories of the language, and memorisation of tables and lists is kept to a daily minimum. Students become familiar with the declensions of nouns and adjectives, the most important pronouns, and the indicative, infinitive and participial forms of the present and aorist tenses. They also receive a taste of the future and perfect tenses and the subjunctive mood, learning how to recognize their forms.

In the afternoon sessions we read Byzantine texts. Full vocabulary is provided in the early stages, enabling students to concentrate on analysing the morphology of verbs and nouns to establish their syntactical relations. Later, students learn to judiciously use the Liddell and Scott Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon to establish the meaning of words and expand their vocabulary (purchase copies and a limited number of borrowing copies will be available during the Summer School).

Students get constant practice in reading Greek aloud. They are taught the modern Greek pronunciation, which is closer to the pronunciation of Greek in the Byzantine period than the Erasmian pronunciation generally used in teaching Classical Greek (which students may encounter towards the end of the course).

Assessment and Certification

Students complete frequent short written tests and receive formative feedback throughout the course. On sitting a written exam at the end of the course they receive a certificate of completion and (if desired) achievement (Pass or ECTS/US/UK grade). The course workload is equivalent to 5 credits in the European Credit Transfer System.

The Level 2 course assumes that students have successfully completed Level 1 (either last year or in the previous weeks: each year many students take both levels) or they have acquired an equivalent level of competence in Greek by other means (for example, in a university or secondary school course in Ancient Greek). Level 2 consolidates and completes the coverage of basic Greek grammar and introduces students to Bzyantine Greek texts in different genres, such as historiography, liturgy and hagiography.

Course Structure and Approach

The course is normally taught in two groups, Level 2 Intermediate and Level 2.5 Higher Intermediate, who cover largely the same topics and authors but at different speeds. Assignment to Level 2 or Level 2.5 takes place in consultation with the student, taking into account results in Level 1 or a diagnostic test on the first morning of the course.

The course comprises ten teaching days of two teaching sessions each with additional tutorial support. Guided by the members of our teaching team, who alternate between groups, students continue to revise and reinforce the material covered by the Level 1 course and learn the remaining basic morphology and syntax, including the future and perfect tenses, the subjunctive mood and rare optative. They also analyse principles of sentence construction, the uses of conjunctions and particles, and the subtleties and complexities of the participial system.

Most of all, however, students develop their ability to read Byzantine Greek texts through exposure to writing in various genres, and learn to appreciate differences in register and style. At Level 2, students encounter texts whose vocabulary, morphology and syntax are close to Classical Greek, but also literature which exhibits features of Modern Greek. Texts studied usually include selections from a historical chronicle (Theophanes’ Chronographia), the Liturgy of John Chrysostom, and a Saint’s life, as well as examples of Biblical and Classical Greek.

Students get constant practice in reading Greek aloud. They are taught the modern Greek pronunciation, which is closer to the pronunciation of Greek in the Byzantine period than the Erasmian pronunciation generally used in the teaching of Classical Greek. For students unfamiliar with Modern Greek pronunciation there will be a practice session at the start of the course.

At Level 2, students hone their skill in using a scholarly dictionary, and they are encouraged to bring their own copy of the Liddell and Scott Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (purchase copies and a limited number of borrowing copies will be available during the Summer School). By the end of the course students should be equipped to continue their study of Greek texts independently and to enlarge the necessarily limited vocabulary they acquire in this short but intensive course.

Assessment and Certification

Students complete occasional short written tests and receive formative feedback throughout the course. On sitting a written exam at the end of the course they receive a certificate of completion and (if desired) achievement (Pass or ECTS/US/UK grade). The course workload is equivalent to 5 credits in the European Credit Transfer System.

The Level 3 course is for learners who successfully completed Level 2/2.5 in a previous year and have followed this up with at least one year’s further study, or those who have acquired substantial familiarity with Greek by other means (for example, in university intermediate or advanced courses in Byzantine, Ancient or New Testament Greek). The course assumes a wide vocabulary and a good knowledge of the morphology and syntax of Greek. Grammar revision and extension are offered as needed, but the emphasis in Level 3 is on reading and discussion of a substantial amount of Greek, in different genres and from different periods, selected in consultation with the students on the course.

Course Structure and Approach

The course comprises ten teaching days of two teaching sessions each with additional tutorial support. Guided by the members of our teaching team, who alternate between groups, students read extracts from a range of Greek texts. For the Level 3 course there is no pre-set programme of instruction. Its purpose is to introduce participants to a wide variety of literature in different styles, registers and genres, as well as to samples of Classical Greek, late Byzantine vernacular and Modern Greek. On request, the course may also include introductory palaeography sessions, in which we transcribe and read facsimiles of manuscripts.

All applicants for Level 3 are invited to specify on their application form at least one text that they would like to study in the course. It may not be possible to honour all requests, but they will provide a guide to your interests and help us to plan the course. Sampled genres may include chronography and narrative history, oratory, liturgy and biblical texts, theology, hagiography, religious and secular poetry, official documents and letters. Those who attended Level 3 in previous years can be assured that a different set of texts will be studied in the current year.

Students at Level 3 will continue to practice reading Greek aloud in the modern Greek pronunciation, which is closer to the pronunciation of Greek in the Byzantine period than the Erasmian pronunciation generally used in the teaching of Classical Greek. For students unfamiliar with Modern Greek pronunciation there will be a practice session at the start of the course. Students are encouraged to bring their own copy of the Liddell and Scott Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (purchase copies and a limited number of borrowing copies will be available during the Summer School).

Those who are uncertain whether to apply for Level 2/2.5 or Level 3 need not worry unduly at the application stage. Applicants to these levels will be given a short diagnostic translation test on the first day and we aim to fit the course to the levels of experience of the participants as much as possible.

Assessment and Certification

At the end of the course students have the option of sitting a written translation exam consisting of unseen excerpts from the works studied in the course. The use of dictionaries and other resources will be permitted. Students receive a certificate of completion and (if desired) achievement (Pass or ECTS/US/UK grade). The course workload is equivalent to 5 credits in the European Credit Transfer System.

Dr Anthony Hirst (Course Director)

Anthony Hirst has directed the Byzantine Greek Summer School since 2006, first in Belfast and then in Birmingham and Dublin. He lectured in Byzantine and Modern Greek at Queen’s University Belfast until retiring in 2009 and was Manager and Academic Director of the Durrell School of Corfu from 2010 to 2013. He currently resides in London and France. Anthony’s monograph God and the Poetic Ego (2004) studies the use and abuse of biblical and liturgical texts in the work of three modern Greek poets. His publications also include translations of Modern Greek poetry and prose, edited volumes, and numerous articles, especially on the Alexandrian Greek poet C. P. Cavafy.
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Dr Martine Cuypers

Martine is Assistant Professor in Classics at Trinity College Dublin, where she teaches Greek language and literature, contributes to Masters courses in Literary Translation and Comparative Literature, and co-ordinates the Summer School. She studied Classics at Leiden University (Netherlands) and has worked as a teacher and scholar in Hamburg, Leiden, Groningen, Chicago and Washington DC. Her research focuses on post-Classical Greek literature and culture, from Hellenistic to Byzantine times. She has particular interests in Byzantine poetry, narrative fiction and literary scholarship. 
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Alastair Daly

Alastair completed the Joint Honours BA course in Greek and English, and the MPhil course in Classics at Trinity College Dublin, writing a dissertation about the poet Herodas, oratory and the comic tradition. Funded by the Irish Research Council, he is currently exploring how the Hellenistic poet Apollonius of Rhodes engages with comedy, and engages in humour, in his generally serious epic Argonautica.

Seán McCrum

Seán McCrum has taught at the Byzantine Greek Summer School since 2013, having attended it (in his native Belfast) from 2009. He is a graduate in Classics of Trinity College Dublin and has worked as an independent curator in many areas of the arts, including sound art.

Patrick Sammon

Patrick Sammon has taught at the Byzantine Greek Summer School since 2010. He learned Greek in Joyce’s alma mater, Belvedere College, and was a Foundation Scholar in Classics in Wilde’s Trinity College Dublin. Having served 35 years in the Irish diplomatic service (including two postings in Athens) he is now an independent scholar. His publications include Greenspeak: Ireland in her own Words (2002), The Ionian Islands: Aspects of their History and Culture (co-edited with Anthony Hirst, 2014) and essays such as ‘Oscar Wilde and Greece’ in the volume The Lure of Greece (2007).

Lisa Doyle

Lisa hold a BA in from Trinity Colllege Dublin and an MSc from the University of Edinburgh. Her research, supported by a Trinity Provost’s Project Award, focuses on the commentary notes (scholia) in the Medieval manuscripts of Apollonius of Rhodes’ epic Argonautica. As course administrator, Lisa is responsible for much of the practical running of the Summer School, including admissions, payments and scheduling. Lisa can be reached at ibgss.tcd@gmail.com.

Alexandra O’Neill

Alexandra started her Greek language journey at the University of Manchester. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Trinity College Dublin, focusing on the history of classical reception by European fascist movements.

Rory O’Sullivan

Rory hails from Cork and has BA in Greek English Literature and an M.Phil in Medieval Literature, both from Trinity College Dublin. His PhD research focuses on Thucydides and his reception.

The course fee for two weeks (Level 1 or Level 2/2.5 or Level 3) is €350.
The course fee for all four weeks (Level 1 + Level 2/2.5) is €700.

A limited number of bursaries are available for students who require financial support to attend this Summer School. Bursaries have in recent years been supported by the Belfast Byzantine Texts and Translations Fund, Trinity College Dublin Department of Classics, and the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies.

Apply

1. To apply, please download the application form (available below from January 2025) and send it to ibgss.tcd@tcd.ie by 15 May 2025. Late applications may be considered if places are still available.
2. If you require a bursary to attend this summer school, please send a message to ibgss.tcd@gmail.com (from January 2025) to request an application form. Only bursary applications received by 15 May 2025 can be considered for funding. Bursaries can only provide partial assistance for fees.
3. If your course application is accepted, you will be asked to pay a deposit of €100 to the PayPal account of Trinity College Dublin’s School of Histories and Humanities. This deposit guarantees your place on the course (and bursary, if applicable) and is non-refundable.
4. The balance of your tuition fee should be paid through PayPal before the start of the course.