Greek/ Theatre Studies

Greek and Theatre Studies is a combination that places ancient drama at its centre, but extends outward in two highly productive directions. Ancient Greek as a discipline gives you direct access to one of the world's most significant literary and philosophical traditions in its original language: you will read Homer and other poets, the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the comedies of Aristophanes, historians such as Thucydides, and philosophers including Plato and Aristotle, engaging with texts that have shaped Western thought for over two millennia. Theatre studies situates the study of Greek drama within a broader engagement with performance as a form, examining how theatre works, how plays create meaning in the live encounter between performers and audience, and how dramatic traditions have developed across cultures and centuries.

At the University of Glasgow you will study across four years on a full-time programme, with a year abroad that extends your academic experience internationally. Greek study involves learning or developing the ancient Greek language, enabling you to engage with dramatic, poetic, and philosophical texts in their original forms. You will explore Greek political and social history, religion, art, and philosophy alongside close reading of the texts themselves, giving you the contextual knowledge to understand Greek drama not as timeless literature but as a product of a specific historical moment.

The theatre studies strand develops your critical and practical understanding of performance, from ancient staging conventions to contemporary theatrical practice.

Graduates of Greek and theatre studies enter careers that draw on the analytical, linguistic, and cultural skills the degree develops. Teaching at secondary and university level, in both classical subjects and drama, is a common direction. Arts administration, theatre and arts journalism, cultural programming, and heritage work are further paths.

Many graduates pursue postgraduate study in classics, ancient history, theatre studies, or performance, where the combination of textual rigour and theatrical understanding provides a distinctive research foundation.