This paper presents a study of the formal current L1 curriculum for lower secondary educationin Greece. The aim of this study is to examine the ways literacy is defined and language is conceived bythis curriculum. For this purpose Hasan’s (1996) literacy classification/taxonomy (partitioning into recognitionliteracy, action literacy and reflection literacy) was used. Curriculum was chosen to be studiedbecause it is a fundamental, formally established educational text, deeply political. The analysis showsmany internal inconsistencies of the curriculum under study. Besides, the way action literacy is promoted(through its close connection to the recognition literacy) reveals a strong tendency of the curriculum forknowledge reproduction and social conformism. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findingsand some thoughts not only about the said curriculum but also about the wider society whose product itis.