Politics 186b
Classical Political Thought
Bernard Yack
Olin-Sang 107 (6-2640)
Office Hours: Thursday 1:15-3:00, and by appointment
yack@brandeis.edu
This course is devoted to close examination of the most important works in ancient Greek
political thought. It includes works by poets (Aristophanes and Sophocles), a historian
(Thucydides), and Roman popularizers (Cicero, Lucretius, and Marcus Aurelius), as well as the
two giants of Greek philosophy, Plato and Aristotle. Lectures, class discussion, and paper
assignments will all focus closely on the readings and their implications for thinking about the
basic problems of political life. No knowledge of Greek or Latin is required or expected.
Required Readings
The following books will be available for purchase. All are required reading for the course. The
rest of the readings are contained a coursepack, marked (CP) on the reading list.
T. West, Four Texts on Socrates (Plato’s Apology, Aristophanes, Clouds), (Cornell Press)
Plato, Republic (Basic Books)
Aristotle, The Politics (Chicago)
Thucydides, History of the Peloponesian Wars (Modern Library)
Requirements
Students will be expected to prepare to discuss the assigned readings in class.
All students will write two medium length papers (around 8 pages), due on February 28 and
April15. In addition, there will be a final exam. Each of these three requirements will be worth
around a third of the final grade. Class preparation and contribution to discussion will also be
recognized and rewarded in the final grade.
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Class Schedule and Readings
January 13: Introduction
January 16: Plato, Apology of Socrates (from Four Texts on Socrates)
January 20-23: Aristophanes, The Clouds (from Four Texts on Socrates)
January 27-February 9: Plato’s Republic
January 27-30: Republic, Books 1-2
February 3-6: Republic, Books 3-6, plus the discussion of the cave, beginning of Book 7.
February 10: Republic, Books 8-9, Book 10 614a to end of book (“Myth of Er.”)
February 13: Aristophanes, The Assemblywomen (CP)
February 16-20: February Break
February 24-27: Sophocles, Antigone
March 3: No Class, first paper due
March 6: Aristotle, Politics, Book 1
March 10-13: Aristotle, Politics, Books 2-4, 7.
March 17: Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book 5 (CP)
March 20-24: Thucydides, History of the Peloponesian Wars, Book 1, pps. 3-51, Book 2, pps.
84-124, Book 3, pps. 147-73.
March 27-31: Thucydides, History of the Peloponesian Wars, Book 3, pps. 173-93, Book 5, pps.
330-38, Book 6, pps. 338-399
April 3-10: Spring Passover Break
April 14: Cicero, The Laws, Book 1-2 (CP)
April 17: No Class - Second Paper Due
April 21: Marcus Aurelius, Meditiations, (CP); Epictetus, Discourses, (CP)
April 24: Epicurus, “Letter to Menoeceus” (CP); Lucretius, The Nature of Things, Book 5 (CP)
April 28: Conclusions
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Contents of Coursepack
1. Aristophanes, The Assemblywomen (from Aristophanes, Four Plays, U. of Michigan Press)
2. Sophocles, Antigone, (from Sophocles, Three Plays, University of Chicago Press)
3. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book 5 (Library of Liberal Arts edition)
4. Epicurus, “Letter to Menoeceus” (from Hellenistic Philosophy, Modern Library)
5. Lucretius, The Nature of Things, Book 5 (Penguin edition)
6. Cicero, The Laws, Book 1-2 (Loeb Classical Library)
7. Marcus Aurelius, Meditiations, (selections from Penguin edition)
8. Epictetus, Discourses (selections from Hellenistic Philosophy, Modern Library)
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University Policies
1) Academic Honesty
[The following is a statement of university policy:] Students are expected to be honest in all
academic work. All written work for this course must include appropriate citation of the sources
used. See section 56c ("Avoid Plagiarism") of the Concise English Handbook for guidance. The
university policy on academic honesty is distributed annually as part of the Rights and
Responsibilities handbook. Instances of suspected dishonesty will, without exception, be
forwarded to the Office of Student Affairs for possible referral to the Student Judicial System.
Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the university. If you have
any questions about this, please ask.
2) Documented Disabilities
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to
have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see Prof. Yack after class.
3) Cell phones and Laptops
Use of Cellphones in Class is not permitted. Laptop use during class is restricted to class-related
activity.
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POLITICS 186b
CLASSICAL POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Professor Bernard Yack
Olin-Sang 108
(yack@brandeis.edu 6-2640)
Contents of Coursepack
1. Aristophanes, The Assemblywomen (from Aristophanes, Four Plays, U. of Michigan Press)
2. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book 5 (Library of Liberal Arts edition)
3. Epicurus, “Letter to Menoeceus” (from Hellenistic Philosophy, Modern Library)
4. Lucretius, The Nature of Things, Book 5 (Penguin edition)
5. Cicero, The Laws, Book 1-2 (Loeb Classical Library)
6. Marcus Aurelius, Meditiations, (selections from Penguin edition)
7. Epictetus, Discourses (selections from Hellenistic Philosophy, Modern Library)
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