The Sacred Way in the Agora, Athens
The Sacred Way in the Agora, Athens

Our Approach

Macquarie Ancient Languages School


The Macquarie Ancient Languages School (MALS) provides an opportunity to engage with ancient cultures through the study of their languages in a friendly and stimulating environment. MALS offers intensive courses in Greek, Egyptian, Latin (winter only), Coptic, Hebrew, and Akkadian. Our week-long sessions run online in January and July each year and are led by our team of dedicated tutors. Many are postgraduate students embarking on research in relevant fields or language teachers working in the secondary or tertiary sector.

The School employs methods designed to support adult learners (16 years of age and up) from a wide range of backgrounds. You may, for instance, be a university student wanting to begin your engagement with ancient languages or strengthen existing skills and experience. You may be someone who has always been wanting to learn one of the languages we offer or one of our many MALS veterans who enjoys exploring new texts with like-minded people.

MALS forms a key component of the Macquarie Ancient History Department's community outreach program. Whether you are new to the school or a returning participant we hope you will enjoy the friendly, supportive, and stimulating atmosphere of the School, of which we are very proud.

Upcoming Events

The MALS Winter Week 2023 will run between Monday 3 July and Friday 7 July. Please see the Current Program for more information.

History


The Macquarie Ancient Languages School began in 1983 as an intensive summer school in ancient Greek based at St Ignatius College (Riverview), Sydney. It relocated to Macquarie University in 1984. The School has expanded over the years and now offers courses in a variety of ancient languages associated with the teaching and research programs of the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University.

Our Story

tve-nov-2015

Trevor Evans

Director

Associate Professor Trevor Evans has been Director of MALS since 2015. He has a long association with the School, attending first as a student in the late 1980s and on many later occasions as a tutor.

Together with the late Professor Kevin Lee (Professor of Classics at the University of Sydney, 1992–2001) he also co-founded the Sydney Latin Summer School, which he co-directed in the period 1995–9.

Trevor is a linguist specialising in ancient Greek, especially in the post-classical (or Koine) phase of the language's development, and also has research interests in ancient and medieval Latin.

In the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie he is Director of the Ancient Languages Program and teaches ancient Greek and Latin.