History and Modern Greek

History and modern Greek is a combination that gives you access to one of the longest continuous literary and cultural traditions in the world, paired with the rigorous analytical and archival skills of historical study. Modern Greek is the living descendant of ancient Greek, carrying within it traces of classical, Byzantine, and Ottoman heritage, and spoken by a nation whose twentieth-century history, including war, occupation, civil conflict, dictatorship, and European integration, is among the most dramatic of any country in Europe. History as a discipline trains you to ask how and why things happened, to evaluate evidence, and to construct well-reasoned accounts of the past.

At the University of Oxford, this four-year full-time programme allows you to pursue both subjects with the depth that Oxford's tutorial system makes possible. You will develop genuine competence in modern Greek, learning to read, write, and discuss in the language, while engaging with its literary tradition from the nineteenth-century War of Independence to contemporary fiction and poetry. The historical component may range across ancient, medieval, and modern periods, developing your skills in the analysis of primary sources, historiographical debate, and scholarly argument.

Oxford's combination of small-group teaching, library resources, and academic intensity means you will be challenged to think independently and precisely from the start of your studies.

Graduates from history and modern Greek programmes go on to careers in academia, diplomacy, journalism, heritage, publishing, the civil service, international organisations, and law. The modern Greek language opens particular opportunities in relation to Greece, Cyprus, and the eastern Mediterranean region, while the historical training applies wherever analytical reasoning and communication skills are required. Many graduates continue to doctoral research in history, Byzantine studies, or modern Greek literature and culture.