Customizable Ancient Language Courses with Instructor Support
Learning a language like Latin or Ancient Greek will not only open a window into the ancient world but also serve as a foundation for life-long discovery. At Metis Classics, we’re dedicated to making this world of discovery accessible to anyone who desires to embark on the journey.
Why Choose Metis Classics?
Focus
Unlike large organizations that offer numerous classes on a variety of topics, we focus on one field, the Classics, and on our mission to help individual students achieve their personal goals. Whether your goal is to increase your knowledge of the Latin roots of the English language or to translate lengthy passages of ancient literature, our personalized approach will lead to your long-term success.
Learning Outcomes
Learning a language is not a passive pursuit. Although we provide you with tools such as video lectures and vocabulary flashcards, we go well beyond the basic offerings that constitute the entire learning programs of many large organizations. You will actively engage with the language on a variety of levels through a detailed learning plan that corresponds to well-respected textbook and that progressively guides you toward fluency, but that also allows you to choose your level of engagement and pace of learning.
Instructor Support and Course Customization
It’s the rara avis (rare, strange bird) who is able to learn an ancient language through self-study alone. Unless you have unlimited time to devote to the subject, an unsupported approach has little chance for long-term success. All our courses are designed to provide a baseline of individualized instructor support that will meet the approval of most budgets, with written feedback on your core translation exercises from each chapter and a direct channel of communication to address inevitable questions. In addition, optional videoconferences with your instructor give you with the opportunity to review extended translations and to tailor the course to your individual needs and goals.
The Metis Difference
Metis (Ancient Greek, mῆτις) was a word that meant wisdom, but, more specifically, a type of subtle, cunning wisdom, the embodiment of which was the wily hero Odysseus, whose wit and subtle use of language allowed him to escape many predicaments. The primordial goddess Metis (Mῆτις), mother of Athena, also exhibited this type of wisdom, learned from practical experience and artfully applied to dynamic and individual circumstances. This Greek word is often contrasted with tékhnē (Ancient Greek, τέχνη, the root of the English word technical), which, simply stated, is universally applied through a rigid set of rules. We think the choice between the two is clear with respect to language and translation. By choosing Metis and by actively engaging with your language studies in a variety of contexts, you will gain the practical experience to apply your learning on a level that is most appropriate and most beneficial to you.
