This course introduces Ancient Greek as it was spoken and read in 5th-4th century BC Athens. By the completion of this course and its companion CLG 102, you will be reading Homer, philosophers, playwrights, historians, and more. You will be prepared to enroll in courses dedicated to Ancient Greek authors. In CLG 101 we will cover the alphabet (learned in 1-2 days), core vocabulary, and grammar, and begin to focus on Ancient Greek as a literary language and a window onto the dynamic cultural, social, and political world in which our authors lived.

This course aims to improve students' proficiency in classical Greek prose, expanding vocabulary and honing grammar and syntax, while simultaneously becoming acquainted with Plato's unique style of philosophic exposition through dramatic dialogues, such as we find in the Symposium.

This course will introduce students to Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, a work whose often formidable yet unforgettable manner of expression has made it a perennial touchstone of historical analysis, much as its author intended when he described it as a "possession for all time". We will read from Books II and VII, in Greek, including the deservedly famous funeral oration of Pericles, as well as some parts of each book in English.

This course will offer a multidisciplinary introduction to one of the most famous and influential of all Greek tragedies. We will discuss its major themes, investigate how it might have been understood by its original Athenian audience, and consider some examples of its reception in modern times. Most importantly, we will read the Greek carefully and at a pace that will allow us appreciate Sophocles' stylistic eloquence and literary art.