International Byzantine Greek Summer School (IBGSS), Trinity College Dublin, July 15–26 (Beginners) and July 29–August 9, 2024 (Intermediate and Advanced)

The 2024 International Byzantine Greek Summer School will take place in the weeks of 15-26 July (Beginners) and 29 July-9 August (Intermediate and Advanced). All courses will run online in small groups led by experienced teachers. Each level comprises two weeks of full-time study, with two two-hour teaching sessions daily. 

Byzantine Greek is the dominant form of Greek written during the Byzantine Empire (AD 330–1453). The spoken language changed significantly in this period and came close to Modern Greek, but most Byzantine authors use conservative forms of Greek that looked back to Classical Attic, the Hellenistic Koine and Biblical Greek. Therefore much of the vocabulary, morphology and syntax of Byzantine Greek are not significantly different from Classical Greek, which makes this course a suitable preparation also for reading Classical literature and the New Testament.

The International Byzantine Greek Summer School (IBGSS), directed by Dr Anthony Hirst, moved to Dublin in 2016 after many years of success at Queen’s University Belfast (2002-11) and the University of Birmingham (2012-15). The course teaches Byzantine Greek at Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced level and allows early learners to engage with original texts from the start. Each level comprises two weeks of full-time study.

The course fee for two weeks (Level 1 or Level 2/2.5 or Level 3) is €350.
The course fee for all four weeks (Level 1 + Level 2/2.5) is €700.

A limited number of bursaries are available for students who require financial support to attend this Summer School.