Welcome to the Open University Learning Ancient Greek site. This page contains a range of resources to support your study of the Ancient Greek language, whether you are a complete beginner or already making your first steps towards learning the language.

New to Ancient Greek?

If you are thinking about learning Classical Greek, or simply curious to learn the ancient Greek alphabet, then try the Open University website, Introducing Ancient Greek. This site allows you to familiarize yourself with the letters and sounds of Ancient Greek, gives you practice at forming Greek words, and introduces you to simple Greek sentences.

Study time: 2-3 hours

Getting Started on Ancient Greek

Getting Started on Ancient Greek is a free, interactive course is aimed at complete beginners, covering all the basics you need to get off to a flying start with the language. By studying it, you will become confident with the Greek alphabet, acquire a small vocabulary and also begin to understand the basic structures of Ancient Greek and how it works as a language.

In the course you get to meet many examples of ‘real’ Greek found in ancient inscriptions and on ancient coins and vases as well as in literary texts and explore the contexts in which people in the ancient world would have interacted with the Greek around them. On the course’s landing page, you will also find a short animation giving you ‘Four Reasons to be an Ancient Greek Lover’.

Getting Started on Ancient Greek is designed both a self-standing course and as a lively introduction to the language for students intending to embark on formal study of the language at school or university.

Study Time: The course is divided into 8 sessions, each requiring around 2-3 hours of study.

Studying with Reading Greek

The Open University has also produced free materials for students using the Reading Greek series of textbooks (JACT/Cambridge University Press).

Reading Greek: A Supplementary Study Guide for Teachers and Learners provides reading tips, study hints, additional exercises and orientation to support the study of Reading Greek Sections 1-9. It is suitable for both independent learners and those studying in a class. (A word version of this document is also available for download).

The Language Reference Book for Reading Greek Sections 1-9 is also designed with Greek beginners in mind. It sets out in clear form all the tables of verbs, nouns and adjectives met in Reading Greek Sections 1-9, provides summaries of key grammatical concepts, and aims to answer some of the specific, more complex, questions raised by students. It also contains a list of all the learning vocabulary met in these initial sections of Reading Greek.

Reading Greek: Online Vocabulary Tester

The Open University has previously collaborated with the Eton College Greek Software Project on an Interactive Vocabulary Tester which allows users to test themselves on the vocabulary in Reading Greek Sections 1-9.

(Note that after clicking on Vocabulary: Reading Greek (§1-9), you can choose to be tested on the learning vocabulary of either individual or multiple sections of Reading Greek by going to ‘word class’ and selecting ‘range’ from the drop down menu.)

Reading Greek: Interactive Quizzes

The interactive quizzes below are also designed for students studying Ancient Greek using the Reading Greek series of textbooks (JACT/Cambridge University Press). These quizzes allow you to test yourself on the grammar you meet at different stages of the course.

Just click on the links to begin. Each quiz will open in a new window. You can attempt each quiz as many times as you like, using the feedback to improve your score.

Quiz 1 (covering up to Section 1D of Reading Greek)

Quiz 2 (covering up to Section 2D of Reading Greek)

Quiz 3 (covering up to Section 3E of Reading Greek)

Quiz 4 (covering up to Section 6B of Reading Greek)

Quiz 5 (covering up to Section 6D of Reading Greek)

Quiz 6 (covering up to Section 7H of Reading Greek)

Quiz 7 (covering up to Section 9J of Reading Greek)

Understanding Ancient Greek and Latin Texts

Discovering Ancient Greek and Latin allows you to gain an understanding of what studying an ancient language like Greek or Latin involves. For anyone who reads classical literature in translation, it also provides an insight into how sentences in Greek and/or Latin are structured, as well as the challenges involved in translating ancient texts into English.