The Oldest Dead White European Males And Other Reflections on the Classics

New York: W.W.Norton, 1993 Book. Near Fine. Soft cover. " In three erudite essays originally delivered as lectures, Knox stresses the relevance of the ancient Greeks (the "dead white males" of the title) to the modern world. Former director of Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies, Knox defends the modern teaching of the humanities as "an education for democracy." While acknowledging the inferior status of women in ancient Greek society, he argues that women were a formidable presence in the household, and he finds in Greek epics, poetry and drama a wealth of assertive, active females. Knox portrays the Sophists, who taught rhetoric and poetry, as "the first professors of the humanities." It was the Sophists, not Socrates, who "brought theory down from the skies," he insists. He closes with an account of his year-long stay in Greece, where he found living ties between the country's ancient and contemporary language and culture. 144p.index. Remainder mark, else fine..