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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 March 2019
‘Why Classics matters’ is an important question and Neville Morley offers his answer in a slim volume published in Polity's Why It Matters series which is advertised as follows: ‘word-leading thinkers make the case for the importance of their subjects and aim to inspire a new generation of students’. Morley opens the book with a chapter entitled ‘What's Wrong with Classics’ and presents himself in the afterword as ‘a historian who does ancient stuff’, whose ‘ability to appreciate Latin poetry…or spot subtle intertextual references is, to say the least, negligible’ (126). His first chapter provides basic information about the standing and importance of classical languages in the Western curriculum from the Middle Ages to the present day and then focuses on the (much discussed) issue of gender and class: yes, Classics used to be the epitome of the aristocratic male education, not only in Britain (the main focus of Morley's book) but throughout Europe. This fact, and the trite topos of the sadistic at worst, mind-numbingly boring at best, Classics teacher is illustrated with many quotations from literature, from Eliot's Middlemarch to Tartt's The Secret History. From classical knowledge as cultural capital Morley pivots to Classics as ‘a weapon in the culture wars and the clash of civilizations’ (35) and to far-right internet memes, which leads him to the conclusion that Classics matters today precisely because it is dangerous and deeply problematic. At some point in this chapter he swerves into narrowing down Classics to mean ‘ancient history’ – approximately at the point where he remarks that classicists themselves have actually been ‘at the forefront of questioning traditional understanding of the classical word and how it should be studied’ (36), so his answer as to why Classics does matter mostly pertains to the study of ancient history (and, to a degree, reception):
But we do need people who know classical antiquity, who can compare it with other historical periods and cultural traditions, explore how it has shaped the present (for good and ill), and chart ways in which our societies can draw positive inspiration from it for the future. (40)
1 Classics. Why It Matters. By Morley, Neville. Cambridge, Polity Press, 2018. Pp. vi + 143. Hardback £35, ISBN: 978-1-5095-1792-3; paperback £9.99, ISBN: 978-1-5095-1793-0Google Scholar.
2 Forward with Classics. Classical Languages in Schools and Communities. Edited by Holmes-Henderson, Arlene, Hunt, Steven, and Musié, Mai. London and New York, Bloomsbury Academic, 2018. Pp. xvi + 276. 26 b/w illustrations. Hardback £95, ISBN: 978-1-4742-9595-6; paperback £29.99, ISBN: 978-1-4742-9767-7Google Scholar.
3 <https://classicsincommunities.org/>, accessed 30 November 2018.
4 In the Orbit of Love. Affection in Ancient Greece and Rome. By Konstan, David. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018. Pp. xii + 212. Hardback £19.99, ISBN: 978-0-19-088787-2Google Scholar.
5 Gods and Robots. Myths, Machines and Ancient Dreams of Technology. By Mayor, Adrienne. Princeton, NJ, and Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2018. Pp. xvi + 275. 75 b/w illustrations, 11 colour plates. Hardback £24, ISBN: 978-0-691-18351-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
6 Comedy and Religion in Classical Athens. Narratives of Religious Experiences in Aristophanes’ Wealth. By Barrenechea, Francisco. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2018. Pp. xii + 201. 3 illustrations. Hardback £75, ISBN: 978-1-107-19116-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
7 See Kozey, E. Hulme, ‘Another Peri technes Literature: Inquiries About One's Craft at Dodona’, G&R 65 (2018), 205–17Google Scholar.
8 Pierre Bonnechère assembled an international team working on the re-edition of the lamellae which will result in a fully searchable open-access database of the Dodona tablets: see <https://dodonaonline.com/>, accessed 30 November 2018.
9 The Shrine of Dodona in the Archaic and Classical Ages. A History. By Piccinini, Jessica. Macerata, Edizioni Università di Macerata, 2017. Pp. 203. Illustrated. Paperback €14, ISBN: 978-88-6056-547-1Google Scholar.
10 Greek Religion and Cults in the Black Sea Region. Goddesses in the Bosporan Kingdom from the Archaic Period to the Byzantine Era. By Braund, David. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2018. Pp. xvi + 314. 22 illustrations, 2 maps. Hardback £75, ISBN: 978-1-107-18254-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
11 Material Approaches to Roman Magic. Occult Objects and Supernatural Substances. Edited by Parker, Adam and McKie, Stuart. TRAC Themes in Roman Archaeology 2. Oxford, Oxbow Books, 2018. Pp. viii + 135. Illustrated. Oxford, Oxbow Books, 2018. Hardback £40, ISBN: 978-1-78570-881-7Google Scholar.
12 The Oxford Handbook of the Second Sophistic. Edited by Johnson, William A. and Richter, Daniel S.. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017. Pp. xii + 758. Hardback £97, ISBN: 978-0-19-983747-2Google Scholar.