Lynette Gail Mitchell (born 1966) is Professor Emerita in Greek History and Politics at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

. Mitchell is known for her work on ancient Greek politics and kingship.

Career

Mitchell obtained her BA at the

University of New England (Australia) The University of New England (UNE) is a public university in New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1938, it was the first Australian university to be established outside of a state capital. Its main campus is located in the regional city of ...

and then moved to the UK on a

Commonwealth Scholarship The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. History The plan was originally proposed ...

in 1991. Mitchell completed her PhD at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

in 1994. She published her thesis as ''Greeks Bearing Gifts: the public use of private relationships 435-323 BC'' (Cambridge University Press) in 1997. Mitchell held a

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

Post-doctoral Fellowship and Junior Research Fellowship at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

. In 1998 Mitchell was appointed as lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the

becoming associate professor and then professor in 2013. She became the Director of the Centre for Mediterranean Studies in May 2007. Mitchell works primarily on ancient Greek politics and the relationship between Greek states, and between Greeks and non-Greeks, and on aspects of kingship. Mitchell has been invited to lecture on her work widely, including the 2009 Dorothy Buchan Memorial Lecture at the University of Leicester on ''Queens and consorts: securing the succession in archaic and classical Greece?'', the 2016 Douglas MacDowell Memorial Lecture of the Classical Association of Scotland on ''Kingship, law and democracy,'' a lecture on ''Monarchs in Democracy'' in 2017 for the Institute of Intellectual History at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, and a keynote lecture in 2018 at the 18th International Conference for Ancient East-Mediterranean Studies in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

(ICAEM 2018) on ''The politics of power: the rise and fall of the Deinomenid dynasty in fifth-century Sicily.'' Mitchell encourages wider participation in

classical studies 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 and Roman literature and their original languages ...

through various projects including the creation of ''Isca Latina'', a project for

state school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

students to learn Latin, and involvement in 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 ...

South-West Branch's annual Sixth-form Classics Conference.

Select publications

* with C. Melville (eds) ''Every Inch a King. Comparative Studies on Kings and Kingship in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds'' (Leiden, Brill 2013) * ''The Heroic Rulers of Archaic and Classical Greece'' (London 2013) * with L. Rubinstein (eds) ''Greek History and Epigraphy. Essays in Honour of PJ Rhodes'' (Swansea, Classical Press of Wales 2009) * ''Panhellenism and the Barbarian in Archaic and Classical Greece'' (Classical Press of Wales 2007)
'Tyrannical oligarchs at Athens'
In Lewis S. (Ed.), ''Ancient Tyranny'' (pp. 178–187). (Edinburgh University Press 2006) * ''Greeks Bearing Gifts: the public use of private relationships 435-323 BC'' (Cambridge University Press 1997) * with P.J. Rhodes, ''The Development of the Polis in Archaic Greece'' (Routledge 1997)

References

External links

University of Exeter staff pageInterview with Lynette Mitchell about her researchLecture on the gardens of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Lynette Living people English classical scholars Scholars of ancient Greek history British women historians Academics of the University of Exeter 1966 births Alumni of Collingwood College, Durham