Christopher Brendan Reginald Pelling, (born 14 December 1947) is a British classical scholar. He was the Regius Professor of Greek, at Christ Church, Oxford, from 2003 to 2015. He was President of the

Hellenic Society The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, known as the Hellenic Society, was founded in 1879 to advance the study of Greek language, literature, history, art and archaeology in the Ancient, Byzantine and Modern periods. The first Presid ...

from 2006 to 2008. His research interests range over Greek and Latin

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

and

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

, and also over other areas of

Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving writte ...

, especially tragedy.

Biography

Educated at Cardiff High School, Pelling in the 1960s was a Senior Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford and then spent twenty-nine years as Fellow and

Praelector A praelector is a traditional role at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. The role differs somewhat between the two ancient universities. University of Cambridge At Cambridge, a praelector is the fellow of a college who forma ...

in Classics at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

. He broke new ground through applying literary analysis to historical texts, ranging from Tacitus to Plutarch. At the same time, he was a generous tutor, well regarded by students. He returned to Christ Church, Oxford in 2003 when he became Regius Professor of Greek. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 2009.

Radio and TV appearances

*2008-01-07, BBC Radio 3, The Essay – Greek And Latin Voices ::Chris Pelling (series co-anchor) explores how

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

's work on the Peloponnesian War furthers people's understanding of contemporary warfare, from Vietnam to Ira

*1997-12-16, BBC 2,

Timewatch ''Timewatch'' is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29 September 1982 and is produced by the BBC. The ''Timewatch'' brandname is used as a ...

- In Search of Cleopatra

Bibliography

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Press articles

References

External links

Business card
at Oxford University

Book review for ''Characterization and Individuality in Greek Literature'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelling, Christopher Members of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Fellows of University College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Living people 1947 births Regius Professors of Greek (University of Oxford)