When Stanley J. Seeger gave Princeton $2 million for Hellenic studies nearly three decades ago, the giftâ??s income paid for two courses in modern Greek and trips to Greece for five.
Rare Greek coins paid for, in part, by a gift from Stanley J. Seeger include a silver grosso from the island of Chios, 1324-29, above, and a gold ducat, from Lesbos and Ainos, 1400-49, below.
But the Seeger money, which must be spent only on matters Greek, is now worth $33 million, multiplying through aggressive investing like the rest of Princetonâ??s endowment. So the university offers Greek, Greek and more Greek â?? 13 courses this semester, including â??The Image of Greece in European Cinemaâ? and â??Problems in Greek History: Greek Democracy,â? as well as trips to Greece and nearby areas for more than 90 students and faculty members last year. The history department recently hired its second Byzantine specialist. And the fund paid half the cost of a collection of 800 rare coins from medieval Greece.