Studying the Ancient Greek and Roman Worlds at Berkeley

The department teaches and studies the languages, cultures, histories, philosophies, literatures, art, and material culture of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. It is home to exciting and welcoming undergraduate major programs and maintains a rich and varied schedule of undergraduate courses, including a full curriculum of ancient Greek and Latin language instruction. Its PhD programs in Classics and Classical Archaeology are enriched every year by the arrival of new future leaders in the study of the ancient world, and for generations their graduates have gone on to renew or remake their fields. Itself a teeming center of intellectual vitality on campus, the department is affiliated with internationally important research units directed by its faculty, including the Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, the Sara B. Aleshire Center for Greek Epigraphy, and the Nemea Center for Classical Archaeology. The department organizes many events of interest and hosts many visits, most notably the storied annual Jane K. Sather Professorship of Classical Literature.


Featured Courses

Spring 2027
Jackie Elliott

Introduction to the history of medical theory and practice in the ancient Mediterranean world and beyond.


Spring 2027
Sherry Lee

This course offers an introduction to Ancient Greek comedy.


Spring 2027
Trevor Murphy

This course presents an overview of the highlights of Roman civilization with particular emphasis on major literary works & how they reflect Roman culture. 
 

News

We are excited to announce the publication of an eye-opening article on inclusive pedagogy written by Kristina Chew, drawing on her many years of experience teaching Greek and Latin while raising an autistic child. The article was just published in The Classical Outlook, a leading journal for language pedagogy in our field. 


We are pleased to announce that Alex Kilman (AGRS PhD 2026), together with Flavio Santini (AHMA), will be offering a class in elementary Latin at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQRC) via Mount Tamalpais College, a tuition-free liberal arts college for students incarcerated at SQRC. Flavio has discovered that this will be the first time  Latin has been offered at SQRC since the 1870s!

Events

Jan
28
2027

The first lecture in Yopie Prins's Sather Lecture Series, Sappho Echoes.

Feb
11
2027

The second lecture in Yopie Prins's Sather Lecture Series, Sappho Echoes.

Feb
25
2027

The third lecture in Yopie Prins's Sather Lecture Series, Sappho Echoes.

Mar
11
2027

The final lecture in Yopie Prins's Sather Lecture Series, Sappho Echoes.


Explore Ancient Greek & Roman Studies in summer 2026!

Courses offered (sadly, not open to cats):

AGRS 10A: Introduction to Ancient Greece • May 26 - July 2 • MTWThF 10am- 12pm
AGRS 10B: Introduction to Ancient Rome • July 6 - Aug. 14 • MTWThF 10am-12pm
AGRS N28: Greek and Roman Myths • July 6 - Aug. 14 • MTWTh 2-4
AGRS 150 Medical Terminology • July 6 - Aug. 14 • offered  online

 

cat with postcard