Living Greek in Greece High School

Course Description

Living Greek in Greece High School offers an introduction to the ancient Greek language specifically designed for high school students in the rich cultural setting of modern Greece. The program accommodates a range of language backgrounds: we welcome beginner participants who have never studied Greek, but we also offer linguistic enrichment for students who have had the equivalent of a year or more of college Greek. Students will encounter ancient Greek texts from a wide range of times, places, and intellectual traditions, including the works of Homer, Plato, the New Testament, and the Byzantines.

Learning Ancient Greek can help us understand and connect with other modern cultures, especially with Greeks today. For that reason, this program is committed to balancing time spent engaging with Ancient Greek language and exploring its continuing role in modern Greek culture including through food, music, language, literature, and dance.

The program lasts for two weeks in July. It includes traditional classroom sessions, informal conversational Greek sessions, and interactive visits to many places and sites of ancient and modern significance, such as Athens, Corinth, Nafplio, Epidaurus, and Delphi.

Prerequisites

Students of all high school grade levels, including graduating seniors, are encouraged to apply. No prior knowledge of Ancient Greek is necessary, but students who have had some Greek will also find the program challenging.

Classrooms and Housing

For the duration of the program, students and teachers live together in one facility. The first week of the program takes place in Athens, the second in Nafplio, Greece’s original capital located in the Peloponnese. Classes take place in modern classrooms in or near the housing facility, as well as in situ at archaeological sites, and other monuments and locations of cultural significance. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided daily either at our housing facility or at local restaurants.

Teachers

Sage Watkins

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Student Life Consultant

Sage Watkins

Sage Watkins has a Masters degree in Counseling, is a Nationally Certified Counselor, and you can generally find her in her natural habitat supporting middle school students in Franklin, Massachusetts. Some common activities include studying philosophy, writing, meditating, gardening, and trying to figure out the auspicia ex tripudiis from her 10 pampered chickens. Sage is passionate about trying a wide variety of hobbies and learning new things, as well as encouraging a love of learning in others!

Despite her later calling to work in mental health, Sage’s undergraduate degree was in Classical Languages (with an emphasis in Ancient Greek) with a certificate in Archaeological Sciences–and her love of Classics never went away. Within the field of Classics, she's particularly interested in Ancient Greek and Roman religion, mystery cults, magic, funerary traditions, and music (she built and plays a reconstructed Ancient Greek lyre!). Favorite authors include Plutarch (particularly for his Moralia) and Pliny the Elder.

Shea O'Connor

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Rome Office Assistant

Shea O'Connor

Shea graduated in 2020 from the University of California, Santa
Cruz with a double major in Literature and Creative Writing and
Classical Studies. She is currently studying at the University of
Denver to obtain a masters degree in Library and Information
Science. She is an alumna of 2019 the Living Latin in Rome
program.

Shea hopes to unite her passions of archival studies,
Latin, writing, and teaching by promoting access to Latin
scholarship in underfunded high schools bringing visibility to the
language and Roman history through her writing.

Nikoletta Kokosiouli

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Curriculum Designer

Nikoletta Kokosiouli

Born and raised in Athens, Nikoletta earned a BA in Classics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (UOA) and holds an MSt from the University of Oxford in Classical Languages and Literature. Her main research interests involve Ancient Greek Drama and Philosophy, and the reception of ancient literature in modern culture. In general, she is deeply interested in the history and archaeology of ancient cultures. She has worked as a school teacher of Ancient and Modern Greek Language and Literature, and she has tutored foreign undergraduate students in Ancient Greek and Latin. Apart from Classics, driven by her curiosity about the functions of the brain and human behavior, she earned an MSc in social Neuroscience and social Pedagogy from UOA. She is passionate about theatre and music, which she enjoys both as a member of the audience and as a vocalist.

Vukašin Miljković

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Curriculum Designer

Vukašin Miljković

Vukašin Miljković holds a Master’s degree in Classical Philology from the University of Belgrade, Serbia. His interests are wide, including, but not limited to philology (Greek and Latin classical prose, historiography, rhetoric), linguistics (in particular historical linguistics and syntax), and didactic methods (ancient language teaching). A proponent of the active study methods of Latin and Ancient Greek, he spent a year at the Accademia Vivarium Novum where he consolidated his knowledge of spoken Latin and Ancient Greek, as well as at the University of Ioannina, Greece, where he attained high proficiency in Modern Greek as well. As an undergraduate, Vukašin also took part in an exchange program organized by the US Department of State which enabled him to spend a year at the University of Texas at Austin, continuing his studies of Ancient Greek and Latin, as well as getting acquainted with Sanskrit. His teaching experience includes high-school level and university level courses in Greek and Latin (in TA capacity), both in classroom and online, summer school intensive courses, as well as conventional language courses. Currently, he is also studying Classical Chinese and Biblical Hebrew.

Finn Mehigan

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LGiGHS Director of Student Life

Finn Mehigan

Finn is a graduate of the University of Virginia, having received his B.A. in Classics and Linguistics there in 2017. For the last seven years he has been teaching fifth-grade and Latin at the Heights School in Potomac, MD, although he did take a brief, year-long interlude to live in Rome as one of Paideia's Rome Fellows in 2022-2023. He has attended a number of programs focusing on the active use of ancient languages, including Living Greek in Greece. His interests include ancient drama, epic poetry from Homer to Chesterton, and iconography. 

Roberto Salazar

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Roberto Salazar

Roberto Salazar is an experienced polyglot language coach and nomadic classicist, with a passion for teaching Latin and Greek as spoken languages, and an impossible desire to speak all tongues imaginable, and to teach them to those who want to learn them.

He has taught Latin, Greek, Arabic, German and more in different places around the world, including various Paideia programs, online and on site. A former fellow of the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris, where he studied Classics and Philosophy, he's currently writing a PhD dissertation on the reception of Greek tragedy in the Arab World, Modern Greece and Latin America. He has also done research on European Classical Reception and Neo-Latin.

He has published fiction translations into French and Spanish from various languages including Swedish. In 2017, he was the head literary curator for the French-Colombian Year.

That's probably why he's still scrambling to complete his PhD at the University of Versailles.

He currently lives between Athens, Cairo and Saint Denis, France.

Gene Cunningham

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Curriculum Design Manager

Gene Cunningham

Gene currently manages the development of Paideia’s self-paced online Latin and Greek curricula. He is also the head teacher for Living Greek in Greece (High School). He holds an M.A. in Ancient Philology with an Emphasis in Teaching Ancient and Modern Languages from the Polis Institute in Jerusalem, and a B.A. in Classical Languages from the University of California, Berkeley. He has been involved with the Institute in several roles since 2012, when he first participated in Paideia’s courses in Europe, including Living Latin in Rome, Living Greek in Greece, and Living Latin in Paris. He was then one of Paideia’s first Rome Fellows, and eventually served as Assistant Director for European Operations, in which capacity he directed logistics for Paideia’s Travel Programs and Classical Tours.

Transportation

The institute will provide a chaperone on a direct flight to Athens from New York City's John F. Kennedy Airport and back. Students may book a ticket on this flight, or travel directly to Athens, where they will be met at the airport by Paideia staff.

Chaperoned transportation to Living Greek in Greece High School will also be arranged for students attending Living Latin in Rome High School prior to the program's start.

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Tuition and Fees

The cost of Living Greek in Greece High School is $5500. This amount includes tuition, housing, meals, site visits, course materials, and transportation to and from Athens International airport. Airfare is not included, and must be booked by students individually.

Online Option for 2025

The Paideia Institute will also be running an online intensive summer Greek program for high school students called Living Greek Online High School. This is a separate program from the in-person program in Rome and follows a different curriculum. Details of the online summer program will be announced in January 2025.

Scholarships

The Paideia Institute is able to offer a number of full and partial scholarships to participants with demonstrated financial need. Please visit our scholarships page to learn more. Scholarship applications must be received by March 1, 2025.

Request an Application

Please submit your completed application, which includes a submitted teacher recommendation form, by March 1, 2025. Applications received after March 1 will be considered on a rolling basis while space is available.

Request an application

What People Are Saying

“With LGiGHS I got to explore a new country and language in a way I have never before. Each day we learned about the Ancient Greek language and history, all while being able to view important archaeological sites pertaining to the texts or the events we were learning about. Even having no prior knowledge of Greek I got so much out of this program which I would not have been able to get without the help of Paideia. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in learning the language or history, it is truly a life changing experience and you will never forget it!”  - Claire Hunt ‘24

“Every second of the Paideia program was fun, educational, and valuable. The programming was amazing, with everyday full of site visits, classes, discussions, and the best food I've ever eaten. From swimming over ancient ruins to talking about morals and ethics with students from all around the world, the program is a wonderful way to deepen a love of ancient history, culture, and language.” - Eloise Biddle-Gottesman ‘24

“LGiGHS was a transformative experience that completely immersed me in the world of ancient Greece, linguistics, and archaeology. Although I came in with no knowledge of Ancient Greek or Latin, I felt at home right away, and was able to interact with the language and history in no time! I also met people with the same academic interests as me which was really encouraging. Would definitely recommend this program to anyone with any interest in history, language, or art at all!” - Davis Dietzen ‘24

“This program is one of the best experiences someone interested in Ancient Greek can partake in! From the history to the language to the people, this experience was incredible and I would recommend it to everyone, not just those who already know Greek. - Anna Maria Panagopoulos ‘23

LGiGHS was one of the best things I could have chosen to do over the summer. After already having an interest in classics and linguistics, I immediately wanted to apply as soon as I learned of the program’s existence. Each day was filled with both fun and educational activities, like site visits and traditional restaurants. Each part of the trip seemed to be carefully coordinated so that each student would get something out of it, without it feeling exhausting or overwhelming. Every member of the staff was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. This trip leaves you with a different perspective of the world, in its both ancient and modern history, as you explore ancient sites, experience modern culture, speak both ancient and modern Greek, and appreciate much of the wonderful aspects of the country. I would recommend this program to anyone with an interest in classical studies, linguistics, ancient history, and/or art history. - Zac Schmidt ‘23