Christopher James Rowe

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 17 March 1944) is a British

classical scholar Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Classics and Ancient History of

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, England. He is a former President of the

Classical Association The Classical Association (CA) is an educational organisation which aims to promote and widen access to the study of Classics, classical subjects in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1903, the Classical Association supports and advances classical ...

, and was appointed OBE in 2009 for "services to scholarship".

Early life and career

Rowe was born in Cambridgeshire, England on 17 March 1944, the son of Daniel Francis and Edith Mary (Ashford). From

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

he obtained a BA, then an MA and, in 1969, his PhD. His doctoral thesis, written under the direction of John Easterling, was published as ''The Eudemian and Nicomachean Ethics: a study in the development of Aristotle’s thought.'' (1971). Rowe began his career at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, England in 1968 as an assistant lecturer, 1968, rising to become professor of ancient philosophy and Greek (1989–1991) then Henry Overton Wills Professor of Greek (1991–1995). He joined the University of Durham in 1996 as Professor of Greek and served as Head of Department 2004–2008. He retired as emeritus in 2009.

Thought on Plato

Rowe translated into English and gave an innovative interpretation of Aristotle's ''

Nicomachean Ethics The ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (; , ) is Aristotle's best-known work on ethics: the science of the good for human life, that which is the goal or end at which all our actions aim. () It consists of ten sections, referred to as books, and is closely ...

'' and Plato's dialogues '' Theaetetus'' and ''

Sophist A sophist () was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught ''arete'', "virtue" or "excellen ...

''. Rowe's work includes consideration of the political ideals of Plato's ''

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

'' in relation to the details of political practice described in the ''

Statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

'' and the ''

Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

''. (critical recension) In the volume ''Plato and the Art of Philosophical Writing'', Rowe argued that "Plato remains throughout essentially a Socratic". He delivered the

Stephen MacKenna Stephen MacKenna (15 January 1872 – 8 March 1934) was a journalist, linguist and writer of Irish People, Irish descent. He is perhaps most well known for his important English translation of the Greek-speaking philosopher Plotinus ( 204/ ...

lecture at Dublin University in 2009. In years prior he had also been invited to talk about mythology in primary schools.

Selected publications

* with George Boys-Stones ''The Circle of Socrates: Readings in the First-Generation Socratics'' (edited and translated) Hackett Publishing, 2013, * ''Plato, Republic (new translation, with introduction and notes)'' Penguin, 2012, * ''The Last Days of Socrates (translated with introduction and notes)'' Penguin, 2010, * ''Plato and the Art of Philosophical Writing'' Cambridge University Press, 2007, * Written with Terry Penner ''Plato's Lysis'' Cambridge University Press, 2005 A complete listing of works (as of 2014) can be found via Rowe's faculty pages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Christopher Living people British classical scholars Classical scholars of the University of Durham British scholars of ancient Greek philosophy Plato scholars Officers of the Order of the British Empire Greek–English translators Presidents of the Classical Association 1944 births Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge