Greek (classical)

The language of ancient Greece, the study of which was required, along with Latin and Hebrew, in 17th-century English and colonial American schools and colleges, so that ancient literature, philosophy, logic and rhetoric, and Scripture could be examined in their original languages. Designed to prepare young men for the clergy, grammar schools and colleges required fluency in the three scriptural languages: Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Even with the 18th-century secularization of American schools and colleges, the study of Greek (and Latin) grammar and literature remained a requirement in the classical curriculum of most private secondary schools and colleges until the end of the 19th century, when the sciences and utilitarian courses gradually squeezed Greek out of the curriculum. By the end of World War I, it had disappeared from the curriculum of most secondary schools and was available only as an elective in a relatively small number of American colleges. In 2002, American colleges and universities awarded only 33 bachelor’s degrees, 8 master’s degrees and 1 Ph.D. in classical Greek.