German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once declared:

‘The Greeks are the charioteers of our own (meaning the German) and all other cultures, but…the chariot and the horses are almost always too poor a quality, not a match for the glory of the drivers…’ (Birth of Tragedy, Chp.15)
Of course Nietzsche knew exactly what he was talking about – he was a genius and a Professor of Classical Philology at twenty four. His book The Birth of Tragedy is a celebration of ancient Greek literature, and in particular, Greek tragedy.

As for the rest of us, well we live in interesting times. Too many of us focus on material success. No one however can deny the appeal of a beautiful mind and the success that comes with developing it. And if you take a look at beautiful minds throughout history, so many of them had studied Greek to some degree – some of them, like Nietzsche, were Professors in the field. Greece, Greek, and the Greeks, have always fascinated.

The New Testament, which has impacted civilisation more than any other book in history, was written in Greek. Greek shouts out from within the architecture of buildings throughout the Western world – from the Parthenon in Athens and the Pantheon in Rome, to the White House in Washington D.C. and Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance.

What is it about Greek? What is its lure? Why have so many people from so many places wanted to embrace it? It is no coincidence that disciplines like Medicine, Philosophy, Mathematics, Archaeology, Anthropology, Geology etc, have adopted Greek to elucidate and define themselves. It is because Greek has an inherently unique capacity to translate higher and very complex ideas.
Learning Greek increases your understanding of languages in general and consequently your understanding of others around you. You also automatically share in, and become a custodian of, something that goes back at least 4000 years. You are saying, ‘I am, and want to be, part of this ancient tradition’. Moreover, when you learn a second language, your mind expands in ways you could not have previously imagined. You enrich not only your vocabulary but your psychological make-up. You become a more layered, and hence more interesting person.

There are literally tens of thousands of words of Greek origin in the English language. By learning Greek, you also improve your English-speaking skills. Without this knowledge you will never know that ‘arachno-phobia’ means ‘spider fear, or fear of spiders’ and that the name ‘Phil-ip’ actually means ‘friend of a horse’. That platy-pus means ‘broad-footed’ and that ‘echidna’ comes from Greek mythology. You will be just like my primary school teacher who once told me that the silent ‘p’ in psychology is ‘just there and it is simply silent’. Well it isn’t, and you can only know these details if you study Greek.

For those of us who are fortunate enough to be exposed to Greek from a young age, by going to Greece, Greek school or yiayia and pappou’s house, it is admittedly much easier to learn. We quickly pick up the basics: ‘ti tha fas? Ehis fai? Ela na fas! For those who don’t have these things it is naturally harder but still possible if one has the passion and the interest. And it’s never too late. For example, if you have completed High School or are about to, and tertiary studies are an option, you might like to consider studying at La Trobe University, Bundoora. Both Ancient and Modern Greek have been taught there for twenty five years.

Learning Greek is not something to be flippant about or thumb your nose at. It is an honour, because it is the living language of those brilliant, ancient thinkers and the timeless civilisation that they produced; because so many non-Greeks throughout the world go to great lengths to study it in order to expand their mind and become complete as scholars. It is said that even Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg studied ancient Greek, and he is a person who certainly knows a thing or two about success. Perhaps it is time we got back to basics and promoted the Greek language and Greek Studies in this country. Talking about Greek in English forums certainly does help, but it is in fact action that is required. We need to once more think of ourselves as Nietzsche’s ‘charioteers’, because Greek really matters.

Greek was the language they gave me

A humble home by Homer’s shores…

My language is my sole concern by Homer’s shores

(From the Axion Esti by Odysseus Elytis)

For further information about studying Greek at La Trobe, please contact: greek@latrobe.edu.au
* Dimitri Gonis is a PhD student in Greek Studies, at La Trobe University. He can be contacted on: greekdiaspora@hotmail.com