Moses Hadas

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Moses Hadas (born June 25, 1900 in Atlanta , † August 17, 1966 in Aspen , Colorado ) was an American classical philologist .

Life

Moses Hadas studied Classical Philology at Emory University ( Bachelor 1922) and Columbia University ( Master 1925), where he then worked as an Instructor of Greek and Latin. At the same time he passed the rabbinical exam at the Jewish Theological Seminary . Hadas continued his studies with Charles Knapp and was awarded a Ph.D. PhD ; in the meantime he had worked as a lecturer at the University of Cincinnati (1928–1930).

After completing his doctorate, Hadas spent the rest of his career at Columbia University, initially as Assistant Professor of Greek and Latin. During World War II , he served in the Office of Strategic Services from 1943 to 1946 . Because of his language skills, he was deployed in North Africa and Greece. Upon his return home, Hadas was promoted to Associate Professor, in 1953 Professor of Greek. From 1956 until his retirement in 1965 he was Jay Professor of Greek . His research and teaching achievements were widely recognized: Columbia University presented him with the Great Teacher Award in 1956 and the Student-to-Teacher Mark Van Doren Award in 1964 . He received honorary doctorates from Emory University (D.Litt. 1956), Kenyon College (LHD 1958) and Lehigh University (LHD 1962).

Moses Hadas was married twice. From his first marriage to Ethel J. Elkus he had a daughter, Jane H. Streusand (1928-2006), and a son, David Hadas (1931-2004). The daughters Elizabeth Hadas and Rachel Hadas (* 1948) came from his second marriage to Elizabeth M. Chamberlayne .

Hadas dealt with a wide range of ancient literature. Through his handbooks on Greek and Latin literature, his studies of ancient drama , Hellenism , humanism and the history of the reception of antiquity, he conveyed the effects of Greco-Roman antiquity to the public. He earned particular merit through his numerous translations from Greek, Latin, Hebrew and German: In addition to ancient and biblical texts, he also translated relevant German specialist literature. Hadas was also fluent in Yiddish, French and Italian.

Fonts (selection)

  • Sextus Pompey. Columbia University Press, New York 1930 (also dissertation; reprinted by AMS, New York 1966).
  • A History of Greek Literature. Columbia University Press, New York 1950 (multiple editions).
  • The Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates. Harper, New York 1951 (edition with translation).
  • A History of Latin Literature. Columbia University Press, New York 1952 (multiple editions).
  • Ancilla to Classical Reading. Columbia University Press, New York 1954.
  • Hellenistic Culture. Fusion and Diffusion. Columbia University Press, New York 1959 (multiple editions).
  • Humanism. The Greek Ideal and Its Survival. Allen & Unwin, New York 1960.
  • Old Wine, New Bottles. A Humanist Teacher at Work. Trident, New York 1962.
  • with Morton Smith: Heroes and Gods. Spiritual Biographies in Antiquity. Harper & Row, New York 1965.
  • Imperial Rome. Time, New York 1965.
    • German edition: Imperial Rome. Time-Life International, Amsterdam 1966.
  • Introduction to Classical Drama. Bantam, New York 1966.
  • The Living Tradition. New American Library, New York 1967.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hadas, Moses
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American classical philologist
DATE OF BIRTH June 25, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Atlanta
DATE OF DEATH 17th August 1966
Place of death Aspen , Colorado