Books

The Archaeology of the Soul: Platonic Readings of Ancient Poetry and Philosophy

– The Archaeology of the Soul: Platonic Readings of Ancient Poetry and Philosophy by Seth Benardete, edited by Ronna Burger and Michael Davis, South Bend: St. Augustine's Press 2012.
From the publisher: The Archaeology of the Soul is a testimony to the extraordinary scope of Seth Benardete’s thought. Some essays concern particular authors or texts; others range more broadly and are thematic. Some deal explicitly with philosophy; others… More

The Bow and the Lyre: A Platonic Reading of the Odyssey

– The Bow and the Lyre: A Platonic Reading of the Odyssey, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997.
From the publisher: In this exciting interpretation of the Odyssey, the late renowned scholar Seth Benardete suggests that Homer may have been the first to philosophize in a Platonic sense. He argues that the Odyssey concerns precisely the relation between… More

Aristotle’s “On Poetics”

– Aristotle - On Poetics. A translation by Seth Benardete and Michael Davis. South Bend, IN: St. Augustine's Press, 2002.
The original, Aristotle’s short study of storytelling, written in the fourth century B.C., is the world’s first critical book about the laws of literature. Although the work is 2400 years old, Aristotle’s discussions—Unity of Plot,… More

Encounters and Reflections: Conversations with Seth Benardete

– Encounters and Reflections: Conversations with Seth Benardete. Edited by Ronna Burger. With Robert Burman, Ronna Burger, and Michael Davis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.
From the publisher: By turns wickedly funny and profoundly illuminating, Encounters and Reflections presents a captivating and unconventional portrait of the life and works of Seth Benardete. One of the leading scholars of ancient thought, Benardete here… More

Plato’s Symposium

– Plato's Symposium. A translation by Seth Benardete with commentaries by Allan Bloom and Seth Benardete. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.
From the publisher: Plato, Allan Bloom wrote, is “the most erotic of philosophers,” and his Symposium is one of the greatest works on the nature of love ever written. This new edition brings together the English translation of the renowned Plato… More

The Argument of the Action: Essays on Greek Poetry and Philosophy

– The Argument of the Action: Essays in Greek Poetry and Philosophy by Seth Benardete, edited by Ronna Burger and Michael Davis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
From the publisher: This volume brings together Seth Benardete’s studies of Hesiod’s Theogony, Homer’s Iliad, and Greek tragedy, of eleven Platonic dialogues, and Aristotle’s Metaphysics. These essays, some never before… More

Plato’s Laws: The Discovery of Being

– Plato's Laws: The Discovery of Being. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
From the publisher: The Laws was Plato’s last work, his longest, and one of his most difficult. In contrast to the Republic, which presents an abstract ideal not intended for any actual community, the Laws seems to provide practical guidelines for… More

Sacred Transgressions: A Reading of Sophocles’ Antigone

– Sacred Transgressions: A Reading of Sophocles' Antigone. South Bend: St. Augustine's Press, 1999.
From the publisher: This detailed commentary on the action and argument of Sophocles’ Antigone is meant to be a reflection on and response to Hegel’s interpretation in thePhenomenology (VI.A.a–b), and includes, in addition, two appendixes dealing… More

The Tragedy and Comedy of Life: Plato’s Philebus

– The Tragedy and Comedy of Life: Plato's Philebus. Translation and commentary. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
From the publisher: In The Tragedy and Comedy of Life, Seth Benardete focuses on the idea of the good in what is widely regarded as one of Plato’s most challenging and complex dialogues, the Philebus. Traditionally the Philebus is interpreted as… More

The Rhetoric of Morality and Philosophy: Plato’s Gorgias and Phaedrus

– The Rhetoric of Morality and Philosophy: Plato's Gorgias and Phaedrus, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.
From the publisher: The Rhetoric of Morality and Philosophy, one of the most groundbreaking works of twentieth-century Platonic studies, is now back in print for a new generation of students and scholars to discover. In this volume, distinguished classicist… More

The Being of the Beautiful: Plato’s Theaetetus, Sophist, and Statesman

– The Being of the Beautiful: Plato's Theaeteus, Sophist, and Statesman. Translation and commentary. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.
From the publisher: The Being of the Beautiful collects Plato’s three dialogues, the Theaetetus, Sophist, and Statesmen, in which Socrates formulates his conception of philosophy while preparing for trial. Renowned classicist Seth Benardete’s careful… More

Herodotean Inquiries

– Herodotean Inquiries. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1969. New edition with "Second Thoughts." South Bend: St. Augustine's Press, 1999.
From the publisher: Herodotus’ Inquiries should be regarded as our best and most complete document for pre-Socratic philosophy. Without being a work of philosophy, its plan and intention cannot be understood apart from philosophy. Here an attempt is… More

Aeschylus’ Suppliant Maidens and Persians

– Aeschylus' Suppliant Maidens and Persians, Translation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957.
From the publisher: Aeschylus I contains “The Persians,” translated by Seth Benardete; “The Seven Against Thebes,” translated by David Grene; “The Suppliant Maidens,” translated by Seth Benardete; and “Prometheus Bound,” translated by David… More

Achilles and Hector: The Homeric Hero

– "Achilles and Hector: The Homeric Hero," Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago: 1955. Reprinted in St. John's Review in two parts: Spring 1985: 31-58; Part II, Summer 1985: 85-114. Also published by St. Augustine's Press (2005) in cloth and paperback.
Seth Benardete’s study of the Iliad, which initiated his scholarly career, bears the hallmarks of the unique turn of mind that characterized all his later work. In a brief Note written thirty years later, included in this volume, he looks back on what… More