Off-Campus Study > Program in Greece

"As a business major, I first passed up the idea of the Program in Greece because it had nothing to do with my major.  But then I decided that was exactly why I should grab this opportunity to (literally) widen my horizons.  I'll always be glad that I did!"

On entering the magnificently vaulted Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae: "Wow, I'm standing inside my art book!"

"This course is totally unique... It is in a foreign country, and the studying and learning I do is not simply from books but from traveling and 'hands on' experience.  In the past three years I have been in college, I think I have learned more during these past three months in Greece."

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The program in Greece offers a general introduction to the rich legacy of ancient art and archaeological remains in the Aegean world, from Minoan palaces and Classical temples to Byzantine mosaics and Medieval fortresses.  Classes are held at archaeological sites and museums.  The shaping principle of the program has been to explore the historical and artistic resources which are uniquely accessible in Greece and around the Aegean Sea - not simply to transplant a traditional-type course to a classroom in Greece. 

The program involves extensive travel.  While each course includes some time in Athens, the major portion of each course is spent in blocks of travel-study away from Athens at important sites on mainland Greece and on the Greek islands.  During the entire 3-month experience, students are immersed in the local cultures.  Since first offered in 1970, it has attracted students from virtually every liberal arts major, including those in the natural sciences.

The program provides a foreign study experience with a minimal prerequisite and no language requirement.  It satisfies Lake Forest College's cultural diversity requirement.  Students can earn credit in a number of departments: art, sociology and anthropology, and history (by arrangement) - as well as classical studies. 

The on-site program is structured in three sequential 3 1/2 week courses, each carrying four semester hours academic credit.  Students may enroll for all three, or for the first two.

Lion Gate, Mycenae (Agamemnon's Palace)image

Parthenon, Athensimage

Osias Loukas, Central Greeceimage

Greek Civilizations 202: Greece in the Bronze Age

Study of Minoan and Mycenaean cultures, e.g., the settings of Homer's epics, with visits to such sites as King Minos's palace at Knossos and Agamemnon's citadel at Mycenae.

 

Greek Civilizations 203: Greece in the Classical to Roman Ages

Study of some of the most important sites in Greek history, such as Dephi (the site of Apollo's oracle), Corinth (where , St. Paul read one of his famous letters), Delos (the legendary birth place of Apollo and Artemis), the Athenian acropolis (the site of the Parthenon).


Greek Civilizations 204: Greece in the Byzantine to Medieval Ages

Study at major sites of the Byzantine Empire, such as the monasteries at Meteora, perched on their rocky fingers, and the fortress and monasteries of Mistra, one of the busiest cities of the Byzantine world.


A four-credit hour preparatory course is provided on the Lake Forest College campus during the 7 1/2 week first half of spring semester, from mid-January to early March: Greek Civilizations 201 "Ancient Greece: Life, Thought, and the Arts."  Along with this course, students may arrange an independent study in one of several departments.

For more information, e-mail Lou Lombardi at lombardi@lakeforest.edu