Modern Greek and Hebrew

Modern Greek and Hebrew occupy distinct but related positions in the history of Western and Near Eastern civilisation. Modern Greek is the living continuation of a language with one of the longest documented literary histories in the world, connecting antiquity to the present through Byzantine literature, Orthodox theology, and a rich modern literary tradition. Hebrew, revived as a spoken language in the twentieth century, is simultaneously a modern language of contemporary Israel and the ancient tongue of the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic literature, and a vast philosophical and poetic tradition spanning millennia.

Studying them together opens up questions about linguistic continuity, cultural memory, and the relationship between language and identity that neither subject raises quite so acutely on its own.

This four-year full-time degree at the University of Oxford is part of the European and Middle Eastern Languages programme, which enables students to combine study of a European language with one from the Middle Eastern tradition. In this pairing, you will develop genuine linguistic competence in both Modern Greek and Hebrew, alongside study of their associated literatures, cultures, and histories. The combination offers rich possibilities for exploring the cultural and historical links between the Greek-speaking world and the Hebrew-speaking world, connections that run from the Hellenistic period through Byzantine Christianity, through the Sephardi diaspora, and into modernity.

A typical entry tariff of 184 points applies.

Graduates from programmes in lesser-studied languages at Oxford carry a rare combination of linguistic specialism and the broader intellectual skills developed by humanities study at a high level. Careers in academia, translation, diplomacy, journalism, international organisations, the foreign office, cultural heritage, and publishing are all natural destinations. The specialism in Hebrew opens particular opportunities connected to Middle Eastern affairs, Jewish studies, and Israel-related professional and academic contexts.