Humphrey Davy Findley Kitto, FBA (6 February 1897 – 21 January 1982) was a British

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

of Cornish ancestry. He was born in Stroud, Gloucestershire. He was educated at The Crypt School, Gloucester, and St. John's College, Cambridge. He wrote his doctorate in 1920 at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. He became a lecturer in Greek at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1920 to 1944. On that year, he returned to the

where he became Professor of Greek and

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in 1962. He concentrated on studies of

Greek tragedy Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...

, especially translations of the works of

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

. His early book, "In the Mountains of Greece", describes his journeys in that country, with no more than incidental reference to antiquity. His 1952 general treatment '' The Greeks'' covered the whole range of ancient Greek culture, and became a standard text. After his retirement, he taught at

College Year in Athens College Year in Athens (CYA) is a not-for-profit , 501(c)(3) educational institution founded in 1963 and incorporated in the State of Delaware. It is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and governed by a board of trustees. It offers its study abroa ...

(CYA), a study abroad program for foreign students in Athens, Greece.

Works

* ''In the Mountains of Greece'' (1933) * ''Greek Tragedy: A Literary Study'' (1939)
''Form and meaning in drama: A study of six Greek plays and of Hamlet ''
(1956) * '' The Greeks'' (1951; 1952), Penguin Books A220 * ''Poiesis: Structure and Thought'' (1966), Sather Classical Lectures * ''Sophocles: Three Tragedies: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra. translated into English verse by H. D. F. Kitto''

References

External links

* 1897 births 1982 deaths People from Stroud English classical scholars Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People educated at The Crypt School, Gloucester Classical scholars of the University of Bristol Classical scholars of the University of Glasgow Scholars of ancient Greek literature Translators of Ancient Greek texts Fellows of the British Academy 20th-century translators {{UK-academic-bio-stub