Simon Hornblower,
FBA (born 1949) is an English
classicist
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 ...
and academic. He is Professor of Classics and Ancient History in the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
and senior research fellow of
All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
.
Biography
Born in 1949, he was educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
, where he was a
King's Scholar
A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar (elected on the basis of good academic performance and usually qualifying for reduced fees) of one of certain public schools. These include Eton College; The King's School, Canterbury; The King's School ...
; at
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
, where he took a first class in Part I of the Classical Tripos in 1969; and at
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...
, where he took first-class honours in ''
Literae Humaniores'' in 1971 (
BA and hence subsequently
MA) and a
DPhil
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in 1978 with a thesis entitled ''
Maussollos of Karia''.
In 1971, he was elected to a Prize Fellowship of
All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
, which he held until 1977. From 1978 until 1997, he was university lecturer in ancient history in the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
and fellow and tutor in
classics
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 ...
at
Oriel College, Oxford
Oriel College () is 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 formerly claimed by University College, wh ...
, including one year, 1994/95, in which he was a member of the
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
. He moved to University College London, where in 1998 he was appointed professor of classics and ancient history. In 2006 he was promoted with the title
Grote Professor of Ancient History, retaining the title professor of classics.
He was elected a Fellow of the
British Academy
The British Academy 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 same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
in 2004.
Hornblower was elected senior research fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, taking up his appointment in Michaelmas Term 2010. At the same time, the
Recognition of Distinction Committee conferred upon him the title Professor of Classics and Ancient History.
''Oxford University Gazette'' Thursday 28 October 2010, No. 4932, Vol 141. Accessed 26 November 2010.
/ref>
Scholarship
His current interest is classical Greek historiography (especially Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
and Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
) and the relation between historical texts as literature and as history. He has published an historical and literary commentary on Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
in three volumes (Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1991, 1996, 2008). His latest sole-authored book is ''Thucydides and Pindar
Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...
: Historical Narrative and the World of Epinikian Poetry'' (Oxford University Press, 2004). He is also co-editor, with Professor Catherine Morgan of King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, of ''Pindar
Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...
's Poetry, Patrons, and Festivals: From Archaic Greece to the Roman Empire'' (OUP, 2007), a collection of papers by experts on historical, literary, archaeological and anthropological aspects of Pindar and his world.
Since 1979, he has been involved with the ''Lexicon of Greek Personal Names'' and co-edited ''Greek Personal Names: Their Value as Evidence'' (Oxford University Press, 2000), a role in which he co-operated closely with Elaine Matthews.
In 1996, he co-edited the third edition of the ''Oxford Classical Dictionary
The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...
''. In 2012, he edited the fourth and most recent edition.
Bibliography
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References
External links
Homepage at University College London
->
Page at All Souls
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hornblower, Simon
1949 births
Living people
People educated at Eton College
Academics of University College London
Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
Historians of antiquity
Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
British classical scholars
British historians
People associated with the History Department, University College London
Fellows of the British Academy
Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford
Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars
Classical scholars of the University of Oxford