THE PALLADION

In the beginners’ Greek course we work through one chapter of the textbook Reading Greek (Joint Association of Classical Teachers’ Greek Course, 2nd ed, Cambridge University Press, 2007) in each class. This approach helps participants become familiar with the Greek alphabet, reading and writing, the basic structures and grammar. In addition, we read sentences or (very short) excerpts from ancient authors to highlight the diversity of the ancient Greek language (dialects, periods, styles) and to prepare students for reading authentic Greek texts. The grammar volume of Reading Greek will be used for overview, memorization, and practice of the grammar introduced in each session.

Thucydides’ History, the  Greek “Sophists”, and the so called “political realism”

The reading course of Fall 2025 focuses on some core passages of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Plato’s Republic, and several fragments of the so called “Sophistic movement” (5^th century BC), to investigate together eternal problems of the foundations of human society, the nature of politics, and the role of morality in history. The very basic idea behind the text choice is that the so-called nomos (convention)–physis (nature) controversy and debate around “justice” in the 5^th century BC are expressions of the problems which we see regularly emerging in Thucydides’ History (cf. the Melian dialogue, the Athenian assemblies on the occasion of the punishment of Mytilene, Speeches of the Corinthians and Athenians in Sparta, etc.) and discover behind the the modern tensions between the “liberalist” and “realist” approaches to international relations and world politics. This way, by having a fresh look at the “amoralist” thoughts of the Greek sophists (Antiphon’s On Justice, Thrasymachus’ position in Plato’s Republic) and the argumentation and attitude of the anonymous Athenian ambassadors (Thucydides’ History, Book V), we can clarify the parallels and differences of the viewpoints to be found there, and find reference points for the understanding of most distressing problems of contemporary reality (e.g. the positions of Russia, USA, EU, and other actors in the acute conflicts in Ukraine, Near-East, Syria, etc.).

The reading course is open to everyone with a sound knowledge of Ancient Greek morphology (declensions, conjugation of ω-verbs, some basic vocabulary). In the course, we are going to read, analyze, and interpret passages of Greek sophist, Thucydides, and Plato, with an emphasis on the precise grammatical understanding and contextual interpretation of each sentence. Meanwhile, some more advanced grammar, like the passive voice forms, the perfect tense, the conjugation of the athematic verbs, and basic principles of Greek syntax will also be introduced.

Greek texts to be read this semester
(initial suggestion, to be changed in accordance with the participants’ interest and knowledge of Greek):

• Antiphon, DK 87 B44, I (On Justice)
• Iamblichus: Protrepticus XX. 123A-124A (= ‘Anonymus Iamblichi’)
• Plato, Republic 347e-349a (Trasymachus on justice and injustice)
• Thucydides, History, V. 87-98, 100-102, 105.1-2, 107, 111.3-5 (Athenian-Melian conversation)

Suggested modern literature

• G. B. Kerferd: The Sophistic Movement, Cambridge University Press, 1981 (In Hungarian: G. B. Kerferd: A szofista mozgalom, Osiris, 2003), esp. ‘Chapter 10: The nomos–physis controversy’.
• M. Anderson: Just prospering? Plato and the Sophistic Debate about Justice, Oxford University Press, 2024.
• D. Polansky: “Nietzsche on Thucydidean Realism”, The Review of Politics 77 (2015), pp 425-448.
• Szűcs Zoltán Gábor: “Politika egy tökéletlen világban”, Politikatudományi Szemle XXIII/4 (2014), pp 7-31.
• Stephen M. Walt: „International Relations: One World, Many Theories”, Foreign Policy No. 110 (1998), pp 29-46.