The


Classical Studies Specialization of the University of Patras

offers a wide range of compulsory and elective courses that familiarize students with contemporary methodological tools for the interpretation of the ancient Greek and Roman literary tradition.

Classical Philology is by nature an interdisciplinary field. It studies the surviving works of Greek and Roman literature through approaches drawn from history and philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychology, political science, cultural studies, and gender studies. The systematic study of texts and their transmission is also supported by specialized disciplines of Classical Studies such as papyrology, epigraphy, and palaeography. Finally, the new and rapidly developing field of Digital Humanities offers innovative interactive tools for understanding and exploring the texts and culture of classical antiquity.

Classical Studies are represented by a particularly active academic community both in Greece and abroad, maintaining a strong presence in the curricula of many universities around the world. The Classical Studies Specialization introduces students to the latest international developments in the field of Classical Philology through specialized conferences and seminars organized on a regular basis, research projects, and dedicated laboratories such as the Laboratory for the Study of Myth and Religion in Greek and Roman Antiquity.

Students of the Classical Studies Specialization consistently participate in international academic exchange programmes (Erasmus+, as well as Erasmus+ Placement internships). In addition, a significant percentage of graduates choose to pursue postgraduate studies in Classical Philology either within the Department of Philology of the University of Patras or at other highly regarded universities in Greece and abroad. Finally, the faculty members of the Classical Studies Specialization supervise more than 15 doctoral dissertations in cutting-edge research areas, in collaboration with faculty members from other universities.

Graduates of the Classical Studies Specialization have for many years been employed in both public and private education, producing work of high quality. They are also successfully active in the fields of tourism, culture, mass media, publishing, educational consulting, and public relations.

  • Ancient Greek Philology
  • Latin Philology
  • Ancient Philosophy
  • Ancient Greek History
  • Roman History
  • Papyrology
  • Epigraphy

— Μέλη ΔΕΠ Κλασικών Σπουδών

Καρακάντζα Ευφημία Καθηγήτρια karakantza@upatras.gr 2610969756
Λίπκα Μιχαήλ Καθηγητής lipka@upatras.gr 2610969762
Ράγκος Σπύρος Καθηγητής rangos@upatras.gr 2610969770
Σύρκου Αγγελική Καθηγήτρια syrkou@upatras.gr 2610969772
 
Παπαχρυσοστόμου Αθηνά Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια athinapap@upatras.gr 2610969768
Καζαντζίδης Γιώργος Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής gkazantzidis@upatras.gr 2610969755
Χαραλαμπόπουλος Νικόλαος Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής ncharalabopoulos@upatras.gr 2610969773
 
Οικονομοπούλου Κατερίνα Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια oikonomk@upatras.gr 2610969765
Τσιαμπόκαλος Θεοφάνης Επίκουρος Καθηγητής tsiampokalos@upatras.gr 2610969753
 

— Research Projects

Faculty members of the Classical Studies Specialization have participated as Principal Investigators in the implementation of the following research projects:

Agency through Contemporary Readings of Ancient Greek Drama: Milestones from Ancient Greek Tragedy to Modern Greek Poetry

Funding Body: Research Committee of the University of Patras
Scientific Coordinator: Athena Papachrysostomou, Tenured Assistant Professor

Doctoral Candidate: Georgios–Dimitrios Charitatos

The aim of the research project is to study the concept of human agency through a comparative and cross-genre approach covering three literary periods.

At the first stage, the notion of free will will be explored through examples from ancient Greek tragedy, and a synchronic analysis of these examples will be attempted. Secondly, the diachronic adaptation of these examples will be traced through the study of representative works of French interwar and postwar theatre.

The third and final axis of the project focuses on postwar Modern Greek poetry, a period during which numerous mythical intertexts reappear and are creatively employed.

Funding Body: Research Committee of the University of Patras
Scientific Coordinator: Dr Andreas Antonopoulos

Advisory Committee: Angeliki Syrkou (Department of Philology, University of Patras), Ioannis Chatzilygeroudis (Department of Computer Engineering & Informatics, University of Patras), James Diggle (Cambridge), Eric Csapo (Warwick), Antonis Petrides (Open University of Cyprus), George W.M. Harrison (Carleton-Ottawa), & Ralf Krumeich (Bonn).

The present research project aims at the creation of an English-language Digital Database dedicated to the life and works (tragedies and satyr plays) of the minor tragic poets of the 6th and 5th centuries BC.

These poets include both the pioneers of ancient Greek drama and the contemporaries and competitors of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides — the only three tragic playwrights whose complete works have survived.

Website:

https://fragtrag.upatras.gr

Encoding and Transformations of Scientific Knowledge in Greek and Latin Encyclopedic Works of the Imperial Period (1st–3rd Century AD): Scientific Discourse, Reading Communities, and Empire

Funding Body: Research Committee of the University of Patras
Scientific Coordinator: Aikaterini Oikonomopoulou, Assistant Professor

Doctoral Candidate: Dimitrios Papadopoulos

Doctoral Dissertation Title: The Zoology of Pliny the Elder and Claudius Aelianus: The Transmission and Organization of Zoological Knowledge in the Historia Naturalis and De Natura Animalium.

The aim of the research project was the innovative assessment of Greek and Latin encyclopedic works written during the first three centuries of the Roman Empire (1st–3rd century AD) as crucial vehicles and transmitters of scientific knowledge and tradition in the ancient world.

More specifically, the project focused on the contribution of such works to the transmission of biological and zoological knowledge, examining for the first time in a systematic and comparative way the textual techniques of compilation, citation, organization, and communication of scientific knowledge that they employ.

Funding Body: Research Committee of the University of Patras

Scientific Coordinator: Menelaos Christopoulos, Professor

Postdoctoral Researcher: Dr Andreas Antonopoulos

Within the framework of this project, the postdoctoral researcher prepared a critical edition of the text for the second half of Sophocles’ satyr play Ichneutae (lines 221–458), along with an analytical commentary on lines 221–280 of the work.

At the same time, in collaboration with the Scientific Coordinator, he organized a three-day international conference on satyr drama entitled Greek Satyr Play: Reconstructing a Dramatic Genre from Its Remnants (Department of Philology, University of Patras, 1–3 July 2016).

Plutarch’s Erotikos and the Role of the Erotic Tradition of Philosophical and Rhetorical Discourses in the Formation of New Erotic Models during the Imperial Period (1st–2nd Century AD)

Funding Body: Research Committee of the University of Patras
Scientific Coordinator: Aristoula Georgiadou, Associate Professor

The project examined the role of Plutarch’s Erotikos in the formation of “new,” according to Michel Foucault, erotic models during the Imperial period. Plutarch’s treatise was studied within the framework of the philosophical and rhetorical tradition of Imperial-period discourses (e.g. the marriage discourses of Musonius Rufus, the Orations of Maximus of Tyre, the Erotes of [Lucian], the erotic discourse of Cornelius Fronto, etc.), as well as in relation to the progymnasmatic exercises of the period (Libanius, Nicolaus, Theon), erotic epigrams, and the ancient novel (especially Achilles Tatius’ Leucippe and Clitophon).

Institution: Department of Philology and Ohio University, USA

Scientific Coordinator: Menelaos Christopoulos, Professor

Research and educational collaboration between the Department of Philology and Ohio University in the United States. The programme includes:

A) A series of teleconferences during the academic year, involving faculty members and students from both departments, focusing on research topics related to Classical Philology and its reception.

B) A five-week summer school hosted at the facilities of the Department of Philology, featuring parallel instruction in Ancient and Modern Greek by professors from both departments (University of Patras and Ohio University), combined with weekly excursions to local and regional monuments of ancient and modern Greek culture.

The summer school also offers international students the opportunity to receive linguistic support during and outside class hours from undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Department of Philology.

Website:

http://ohioupgreek.upatras.gr

— Laboratories

Laboratory for the Study of Myth & Religion