Ancient Greek as a living language. From the very first class.
Videos, vocabulary, and audiobooks fully in Ancient Greek. Grammar, literature, and language immersion from a Polis Institute graduate with a background in languages from Latin to Classical Chinese.
Graduate of the Polis Institute's 2-year Fluency in Ancient Greek program
Specializing in Attic prose, with teaching across Homer, Koine, and more
Background in six languages, from Classical Chinese to Latin
Teaching Philosophy
Why I teach Ancient Greek through the world around you.
Language Starts With Life
Traditional Ancient Greek courses have a strange narrowness to them. Students memorize paradigms, learn philosophical terminology, read about wars and politics. But when asked to describe what’s right in front of them, they struggle. The cup of coffee getting cold, the window to the left, the weather outside, objects they see every day, appear as if non-existent. I start from the opposite principle: language acquisition begins with the living appeal of the language, with direct reference to things the learner feels are natural and familiar. This is how we all learned our first language, and it works for Ancient Greek too.
Core Principles
100% Greek From Day One
Every class is conducted entirely in Ancient Greek, including your first one. You hear, speak, and think in the language from the start, not after months of grammar tables.
Attic Phonology & Pitch Accent
Learn the reconstructed pronunciation of classical Greek, including pitch accent: one of the least-taught and most rewarding aspects of the language.
Grammar Through Use
Grammar is introduced through stories, sentences, and conversation, not in isolation. By the time a form is named, you’ve already been using it.
How to Learn With Me
Free content on every platform, private tutoring, and group courses on the way.
Hear Ancient Greek Spoken
A sample of the videos I post on YouTube, all spoken entirely in Ancient Greek.
About Me
From Latin to Classical Chinese to Ancient Greek.
My name is Maciek Gdula (pronounced MAH-chek), or Ματθίᾱς if you prefer the Greek. I grew up in Syria, Poland, and the United States. I taught myself Latin as a teenager, studied history at the University of Nottingham and McGill University, and graduated from the highest level of Chinese at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where I also studied Classical Chinese. I speak six languages and have studied several more, including Spanish, French, and Japanese.