Greek and Roman Studies University of Peradeniya

Overview

Discover the Department of Classical Languages by applying to the Greek and Roman Studies BA programme at University of Peradeniya

• The Department of Classical Languages is an amalgamation of two previously individual Departments, viz. Department of Western Classics and Department of Sanskrit.
• The Department of Western Classics which taught the subjects of Greek and Latin was one of the earliest Departments of the Faculty of Arts of the University College when university education began in Sri Lanka. At this time a very large number read Greek and Latin and many of those joined the Civil Administrative Service of the Island and served with exceptional record. With the raising of the status of the University College to that of an independent university in Colombo (1947) the Classics continued to read widely though numbers reduced due to the emergence of new disciplines.
• With the shift to Peradeniya in 1952 the department had a staff of 4 members. When it was found that, with the introduction of Swabhaha in schools, numbers taking Classics reduced still further, a new course called Western Classical Culture was introduced (in 1961) alongside Western Classics, Greek and Latin. This course undertook the teaching of the culture and civilization of Greece and Rome through English translations. With this new development the course again began to show a steady increase. However, in 1974, despite strong protest from the department itself and the Faculty of Arts at Peradeniya in general, under Osmund Jayarathna reorganization, the Department of Western Classics was uprooted from its habitat and was transferred to Vidyalankara Campus in Kelaniya.