Seth Benardete taught Greek and Latin poetry, history and philosophy at New York University. For more information on these courses, see The Seth Benardete Papers Collection Guide (.pdf).
| Semester | Description |
|---|---|
| Fall 1966 | Sophocles (G27.2965) Monday, 6:10-7:50 Readings of the plays of Sophocles as living theatre. |
| Spr. 1967 | Seminar in Greek Historians (G27.3242) Monday, 6:10-7:50 The historians to be studied are Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon: the design and intention of their works and their understanding of what we call history. |
| Spr. 1968 | Xenophon's Socratic Writings (G27.2935) Wednesday, 6:10-7:50 Study of Xenophon's Memorabilia, Apology, and Symposium, in an effort to supplement and correct the Platonic picture of Socrates. |
| Fall 1968 | Proseminar in Classical Philology (G27.1001) Monday, 8-9:40 A survey of the tools and methods used in classical philology: papyrology, paleography, stemmatization of manuscripts, editing of texts, source criticism (reconstruction of lost works, disentangling of diverse traditions), historiographical use of literary material. All topics are illustrated through specific examples, which are set as problems for the class to solve. Required of all candidates for A.M. |
| Spr. 1969 | Doctoral Seminar: Homer, Iliad I (G27.3902) Hours arranged Doctoral Seminar: Homer, Iliad II (G27.3904) Hours arranged |
| Fall 1969 | Doctoral Seminar: The Ancient Historians I [co-taught with Prof. Haywood] (G27.3903) Hours arranged Doctoral Seminar: The Ancient Historians II [co-taught with Prof. Haywood] (G27.3905) Hours arranged |
| [semester/year unknown] (1967-1969) | Ancient Political Theory (W27.0206) Not open to freshmen. An examination of the foundation of the ancient polis and its ancient interpretations. The course is centered on how political philosophy as a distinct subject emerged with Socrates, but the pre-Socratic and post-Socratic understanding of the city is neglected. As far as possible, only ancient sources are used, though they are supplemented by what modern scholarship has discovered, particularly in so far as these discoveries pertain to the religious foundations for the city. Aeschylus Seven Against Thebes is the first text studied, since it shows what the ancients from the start regarded as the problems inherent in political life that, in whatever way they were solved, always persisted beneath any apparent solution. Proceeding, then, through the Oresteia, as the first example of a solution, the course examines (among others) Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus, Aristophanes' Knights, Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics, Cicero's Republic and Laws. |
| [semester/year unknown] (1967-1969) | Thucydides, Peloponnesian War (W27.0914) The selected readings in Thucydides covered in this course are designed to show the full extent of the peculiarities of his style, and how far he diverges from both the genius of the Greek language and the historical trends of Greek prose writing. The differences, stylistic as well as conceptual, between the speeches and the narrative are studied intensively. An attempt is then made to connect Thucydides' style with his intention, to be both a recorder of the Peloponnesian War and its interpreter. The student is expected to do a paper on some aspect of Thucydides' style. |
| Spr. 1970 | Homer (G27.2981) Monday, 6:10-7:50 Essentially a reading course; as many books as possible are reviewed. Some glances, however, at the newly discovered world of the heroes and their ancestors. |
| Fall 1970 | Proseminar in Classical Philology (G27.1001) A survey of the tools and methods used in classical philology: papyrology, paleography, stemmatization of manuscripts, editing of texts, source criticism (reconstruction of lost works, disentangling of diverse traditions), historiographical use of literary material. All topics are illustrated through specific examples, which are set as problems for the class to solve. Required of all candidates for A.M. Doctoral Seminar: History and Archaeology I (G27.3903) [co-taught with Prof. Trell] Doctoral Seminar: History and Archaeology II (G27.3905) [co-taught with Prof. Trell] |
| Spr. 1971 | [not available] |
| Fall 1971 | [not available] |
| Spr. 1972 | [not available] |
| Fall 1972 | [not available] |
| Spr. 1973 | [not available] |
| Fall 1973 | [not available] |
| Spr. 1974 | [not available] |
| Fall 1974 | [not available] |
| Spr. 1975 | The Greek Thinkers (U) (V27.0700) |
| Fall 1975 | [not available] |
| Spr. 1976 | Greek Drama: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides (U) (V27.0143) |
| Fall 1976 | Herodotus (G) |
| Spr. 1977 | Intermediate Greek: Herodotus (U) Advanced Latin (U): Georgics and Eclogues (V27.0871) Advanced Greek (U) Horace, Odes & Epistles (G) |
| Fall 1977 | Greek Drama (U) Thucydides & The Age of Pericles (G) |
| Spr. 1978 | Greek Drama (U) Advanced Latin (U): De Rerum Natura Aeschylus (G) |
| Fall 1978 | The Greek Thinkers (U) Plato, Republic (G) (V27.0878) |
| Spr. 1979 | Ancient Political Theory (U) Aristotle, Poetics (G) |
| Fall 1979 | The Greek Thinkers (U) Sophocles (G) |
| Spr. 1980 | Greek Drama (U) Ancient Political Theory (U) Tacitus (G) |
| Fall 1980 | The Greek Thinkers (U) Advanced Greek (U) Herodotus (G) |
| Spr. 1981 | Greek Drama (U) Ancient Political Theory (U) Advanced Greek II (U) Aeschylus (G) |
| Fall 1981 | (none) |
| Spr. 1982 | Greek Drama (U) Ancient Political Theory (U) Advanced Greek (U) Lucretius (G) |
| Fall 1982 | Intermediate Latin: Cicero (U) Greek Drama (U) Sophocles (G) |
| Spr. 1983 | Greek Drama (U) Greek Thinkers (U) Tacitus, Annales (G) |
| Fall 1983 | Intermediate Greek: Plato (U) Greek Drama (U) Advanced Latin (U): Sallust, Bellum Catilinae; Tacitus, Agricola Intro to Classical Studies (G) |
| Spr. 1984 | Greek Thinkers (U) Petronius & Apuleius (G) Homer (G) |
| Fall 1984 | Greek Thinkers (U) Advanced Greek (U) Euripides (G) |
| Spr. 1985 | Advanced Greek (U) Cicero (G) |
| Fall 1985 | Greek Thinkers (U) Advanced Greek (U) Sophocles (G) |
| Spr. 1986 | Intermediate Latin (U) Advanced Greek (U) |
| Fall 1986 | Ancient Political Theory (U) Advanced Greek (U) Virgil, Aeneid (G) |
| Spr. 1987 | Advanced Greek (U) Greek Lyric Poetry: Pindar (G) |
| Fall 1987 | Intermediate Greek (U) Advanced Greek (U) Plato (G) |
| Spr. 1988 | Intermediate Greek (U) Herodotus (G) |
| Fall 1988 | Seminar in Classical Studies I (U) Advanced Greek (U) Petronius, Satyricon (G) |
| Spr. 1989 | Advanced Greek (U) Sophocles (G) |
| Fall 1989 | The Greek Thinkers (U) Advanced Greek (U) Thucydides (G) |
| Spr. 1990 | Ancient Political Theory (U) Plato (G) |
| Fall 1990 | Advanced Greek (U) Ovid (G) |
| Spr. 1991 | Ancient Political Theory (U) Advanced Greek (U) Aeschylus (G27.2963) |
| Fall 1991 | Advanced Greek (U) Thucydides (G) |
| Spr. 1992 | Advanced Greek (U) |
| Fall 1992 | Intermediate Greek (U) The Greek Thinkers (U) Advanced Greek (U) |
| Spr. 1993 | Advanced Latin (U) Advanced Greek (U) Hesiod (G) |
| Fall 1993 | Advanced Latin (U) |
| Spr. 1994 | (none) |
| Fall 1994 | Ancient Political Theory (U) Aeschylus (G) |
| Spr. 1995 | Seminar in Classical Studies: Ancient Rhetoric (U) Advanced Greek (U) |
| Fall 1995 | History of Ancient Law (U) Latin Rhetoric/Stylistic (G) Comment: The second half of the course focused on a close reading of style in Ammianus Marcellinus. -T.L. |
| Spr. 1996 | Advanced Latin (U) Advanced Greek (U) |
| Fall 1996 | Advanced Greek (U) Petronius & Apuleius: Roman Novel (G) Comment: Only Apuleius' Metamorphoses was taught. The class read the whole text from beginning to end. -T.L. Conversations of the West: Antiquity and the 19th Century (at N.Y.U.'s Morse Academic Plan) (V55.0404.008) |
| Spr. 1997 | Ancient Political Theory (U) Advanced Greek (U) |
| Fall 1997 | Intermediate Greek: Plato (U) Advanced Greek (U) Conversations of the West: Antiquity and the Enlightenment (at N.Y.U.'s Morse Academic Plan) (V55.0403.008) |
| Spr. 1998 | Advanced Greek (U) Caesar & Lucan (G) |
| Fall 1998 | (none) |
| Spr. 1999 | Greek & Roman Epic (U) Aeschylus, Persians (G) |
| Fall 1999 | Ancient Political Theory (U) Herodotus (G) |
| Spr. 2000 | The Greek Thinkers (U) Advanced Greek (U) Greek Poetry from Homer to Hellenistic Period (G) |
| Fall 2000 | Advanced Latin (U) History of Ancient Law (U) Sophocles, Philoctetes (G) |
| Spr. 2001 | Advanced Greek (U) The Greek Thinkers (U; cancelled) |
| Fall 2001 | Greek and Roman Epic (U): Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Paradise Lost Conversations of the West: Antiquity and the Renaissance (at N.Y.U.'s Morse Academic Plan) (V55.0402.027) (course completed by Prof. Holly Haynes) |
| Spr. 2002 | Vergil, Aeneid (G; cancelled) |
Sources: N.Y.U. Classics Department, GSAS Bulletins (1966-1971), Washington Square College Bulletin (1967-1969), Vince Renzi and the students of Seth Benardete. Special thanks to Nancy Smith-Amer and the Bobst Library N.Y.U. Collection for their help in assembling this list.