The Annual European Student Competition "Exploring the Ancient Greek Language and Culture" is an international competition

Competition

Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...

 held in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. It takes place yearly, and is to be considered among the most important high-school student competitions in classical languages held in Europe.

Organisation

This competition is organised by the Greek Ministry of National Education and Religious

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 Affairs, and more specifically the Directorate of International Relations in Education and the Pedagogical Institute. Co-organisators are the Hellenic Language Heritage, the Society of Greek Philologists, the European Cultural Centre of Delphi

Delphi

Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...

, the Organization for the Internationalization of the Greek Language

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

and the Pan-Hellenic Association of Teachers for the Greek Language and Civilization.

Aims of the competition

The aim of the annual competition is the promotion of classical studies among those students of high schools in whole Europe where the Ancient Greek Language is taught. Furthermore, the organisators's intetion is to emphasize the importance of classical studies throughout the acquisition and the study of the Ancient Greek world, to highligh the “European dimension” of ancient times, to emphasize the ties between the everlasting ideas and values of classical antiquity with the fundamental values of European history and civilization, to promote the Ancient Greek language as a means of expressing humanitarian ideas and values, in an era, when classical studies in Europe are declining, and last but not least to strengthen the classical studies in European schools by exchanging experiences between students and teachers.
The participants of the competition are students of the third grade of Greek Lyceums in all European countries, except Greece and Cyprus, and students of the last grade of High schools in all European countries, equivalent to the last (3rd) grade of Greek High schools, except Greece and Cyprus, as well as those of Mexico.

Prizes

The prizes are the following:

• 3. Certificate of Distinction
• 2. Honorary Mention.
• 1. The best student from each participating country is invited to a journey through Greece lasting a whole week, which is organized by the Hellenic Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs.

Winners

Jahr	First place	Second place	Third place
2007	Matthias Bartl, Austria	Sofija Hohnjec, Serbia	Adrien Dieudonné, France