COURSES

THE GREEK LANGUAGE

The Greek Language is a unique phenomenon in the history of human civilization. It has the unique privilege of being spoken for at least 4,000 years and of being written for at least 3,500 years. It has melody, musicality, and harmonic alternation of consonants and vowels. The ancient Greek language is a source of wealth and the letters symbolize values. (C. Charalampakis, honorary professor of Linguistics at NKUA and member of the Academy of Athens).

“The words of the Greek language and their naming are not random events or agreements between individuals, but they come from the observation of nature, that is, of Creation. Nature created the first unity with two forces that are opposed to each other. The union of opposing forces constitutes a harmonious coexistence in a new body. The art of nature was also imitated by grammar. With one voiceless (consonant) and one vowel, the first syllable and thus the speech. The word “sour”, as common is the law of the world. Common does not mean inherent in all people, but diffused throughout the world and therefore recognizable. However, although the speech is common and it should be reflected in everyone’s thinking, the many live as if each one had their own logic.” (Heraclitus, ancient Greek philosopher, On Nature).

Plato in the dialogue “Cratylus”, refers to the “correctness of names” in order to demonstrate the relationship between the names and the knowledge. The words, as exact likenesses of things, were given by someone wise namer, and from words alone, the seeker of truth can reach the understanding of the essence of things themselves. They are, consequently, names made for teaching.

The published research of the scientific team of Ioannis Tsegkos is presented in the book “The revenge of tones”. They have shown that with the learning of ancient Greek, the visual functions, as well as the cognitive functions, such as Perception and Memory, mature faster. A positive effect on visuo-perceptual functions and cognitive abilities was found, which further results in positive school performance. Furthermore, this learning can act preventively in the appearance of certain learning difficulties (dyslexia etc.) and therapeutically when the difficulties have already appeared.

The result of the research of Doctor of Philology Irini Mavropoulou showed that the teaching of ancient Greek language in Primary Education, in the form of problem-solving, has a positive effect on the cognitive and moral development of children and the interpretive approach of the mother tongue is proposed, since it is consistent with the way the brain learns.

Australian University researcher Kate Chanock achieved to activate her student’s dyslexic brain in a way that improved reading, writing, the ability to use his native language, and in general the intellectual functions.

The letters of the Greek alphabet are small entities with meaning. With regard to their grapheme, they express the perishable and the mortal, like our body. As to their meaning, they express the immortal essence like our mind and our soul. The Greek letters are co-shooting, because they are bright arrows, they carry the divine concepts. They are significant because through their signal they praise, they glorify and they exalt the divine meanings. They imply because they put their concepts into our minds. They reveal because they become beacons to bring the supreme light to our minds. (Ensign Theologian, researcher – author, and assistant professor of Greek Historical Grammatology at the ALPINE University of Zurich).