In 1919, following the union of Transylvania with Romania, the newly established Romanian university of “Upper Dacia” founded the Faculty of Letters. From the very beginning, both classical languages and literatures were taught at this faculty, as evidenced by the description of academic activities in the University Yearbook for 1919–1920:
Classical Philology I (Latin), Associate Professor Vasile Bogrea.
• Semester I: Introduction to Classical Philology, 3 hours; Representative Figures from Ancient Literature, 2 hours; Proseminar: Horatii epistula ad Pisones, 2 hours.
• Semester II: Greco-Roman Culture, 2 hours; Interpretations from Ancient Lyric Poetry, 1 hour; Seminar: Greco-Latin Metrics, 2 hours.
Classical Philology II (Greek), Assistant Lecturer Ștefan Bezdechi.
• Semester I: History of Greek Literature in the 5th Century, 1 hour; Aristotle, Poetics, 2 hours; Proseminar: Greek Grammar, 2 hours; Readings from Xenophon, 2 hours.
• Semester II: Alcestis (Euripides), 1 hour; The Frogs (Aristophanes), 1 hour; The Theater of Euripides, 1 hour; Proseminar: Greek Syntax, 2 hours.
During the interwar period, one of the most prestigious Classical Philology departments in Romania operated at the University of Cluj. It was supported by a research institute — the Institute of Classical Studies — which also published the renowned journal AISC (Yearbook of the Institute of Classical Studies, Cluj). This section was served by notable specialists such as Vasile Bogrea, Th. Naum, Șt. Bezdechi, and Nicolae Lascu.
Due to changes brought about by the establishment of the communist regime, the Classical Philology section — deemed useless for achieving the ideals of the working class — was abolished. The professors were retired, and the students transferred to Bucharest. However, Latin and Ancient Greek continued to be taught as auxiliary sciences to students of Literature, History, and Philosophy. In 1967, the Latin B specialization was approved within the Faculty of Philology, where professors such as Frieda Edelstein, Malvina Pătruț, Virginia Macrea, Tiberiu Weiss, Elena Popescu, and Vera Mocanu worked to keep the spirit of classical culture alive despite the difficult conditions.
Building on this prestigious tradition and the excellent work of those dedicated to preserving and transmitting the values of Greco-Roman classical humanism, the Classical Languages section was reopened in 1990 within the Department of Romanian Language and General Linguistics. The following year, the Department of Classical Philology was re-established, initially composed of older faculty members trained in Cluj, along with graduates of Classical Philology from the University of Bucharest and, gradually, graduates of the new Cluj section.
After a period of growth — when undergraduate studies spanned five years — the department’s activity was gradually scaled down due to a reduction in teaching hours and the implementation of the Bologna system (with three-year undergraduate programs). In 2012, the Department of Classical Philology became the Department of Classical Languages and Literatures, currently composed of five members who engage in intensive teaching activities while also pursuing their scientific interests through publications: Vasile Rus, Bogdan Neagota, Carmen Fenechiu, Cristian Baumgarten, and Iulian Damian.
