The Faculty of Philosophy

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

The Faculty of Philosophy was founded in 1925 and opened its doors to 65 students in 1926. It was housed in the Villa “Allatini”, with desks and blackboards, made at the Papafeion Orphanage. However, in October 1927, following the initiative of the President of the Rector’s Council, Georgios Sotiriadis, it was transferred to the mansion of the Second Military Hospital of Thessaloniki, where the Ottoman School “Idadiye” had been housed until 1912. Today, it houses some of the Departments of the Faculty of Philosophy.

According to its Foundation Act, the Faculty of Philosophy consisted of two Schools: the School of Philology and the School of History and Archaeology and it offered five degrees (Philosophy and Education, Classics, Medieval and Modern Greek Literature, History, Archaeology). Since November 1935 the School has offered two degrees, the Degree in Philology and the Degree in History and Archaeology. In 1952, the course of studies changed with the first three years of studies being made common for all students, while in the fourth year, students select their specialization in one of the following fields: 1. Classics, 2. Medieval and Modern Greek Literature, 3. Philosophy, 4. History and 5. Archaeology. As of the third academic year, a new division into two Schools followed: The School of Philology and the School of History and Archaeology. The School of English Language and Literature started functioning in the academic year 1951-52, followed by the School of French Language and Literature (1954-1955), as well as the Schools of German and Italian Language and Literature (1960-61). At the end of 1963, the School of Philosophy was divided into four departments in the second academic year (the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Classics, the Department of Archaeology and the Department of Medieval and Modern Greek Studies). In 1971, the School of Philosophy expanded to include seven departments and the division was then transferred to the third year.

As of the academic year of 1982-1983 and onwards, law no. 1268 came into effect, some provisions of which were modified according to law no. 1566. The Faculty of Philosophy was established replacing the old School of Philosophy and the four schools of the Institute of Foreign Languages and Philologies became independent (law no.1268). In 1984-1985, the Faculty of Philosophy was divided into three schools: the School of Philology, the School of History and Archaeology, and the School of Philosophy, Education and Psychology. In 1993, the School of Philosophy, Education and Psychology was further divided into the School of Philosophy and Education and the School of Psychology. Today, the Faculty of Philosophy consists of eight Schools, each of which providing its graduates with its own degree.

The “Centre for Byzantine Research” (http://www.kbe.auth.gr/) was founded in 1966 on the initiative of a group of Professors from the Faculty of Letters of the Aristotle University (R.D. 413/1966, FEK 106 T.A). The Centre is a research organization which promotes the study of the Byzantine history, culture and civilization. It encompasses five Research Departments (Byzantine History, Literature, Theology, Archaeology and Art, and Byzantine Law). The Centre’s mission also includes offering research opportunities to young scholars and specialized researchers from Greek (domestic) or foreign educational institutions.