Greek/History of Art

Ancient Greek and history of art is a combination of exceptional intellectual reach, bringing together one of the foundational languages of Western civilisation and the discipline that examines how human beings have made, understood and been shaped by visual objects across cultures and centuries. Greek opens direct access to the earliest surviving works of European literature: the poetry of Homer and Hesiod, the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the comedies of Aristophanes, the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, and the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. History of art examines the visual dimension of human experience, asking how images and objects function within the societies that produce them and what they reveal about beliefs, values, power and imagination.

At the University of Glasgow, this part-time programme follows the Scottish Honours structure, giving you a broad foundation in both subjects before moving into more specialised Honours study. In Greek you will learn the language from the appropriate entry level, building reading competence that allows you to engage with original texts, and you will study Greek political and social history, philosophy, religion and art alongside the literary tradition. In history of art you will develop analytical and critical skills across a wide range of periods, traditions and media, from ancient sculpture and architecture to contemporary visual culture.

A year abroad is built into the programme.

Graduates from this combination go on to careers in museums and galleries, heritage organisations, auction houses, arts publishing, education, academic research, cultural policy and journalism. The combination of classical language expertise and art-historical analysis is particularly valued in contexts concerned with the ancient world, including classical archaeology, art history research, museum curatorship and classical studies. Many graduates also pursue postgraduate study in art history, classical studies, museum studies or heritage management.