Timothy John Guy Whitmarsh, (born 23 January 1970) is a British

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 the second A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. He is best known for his work on the Greek literary culture of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

, especially the

Second Sophistic The Second Sophistic is a literary-historical term referring to the Greek writers who flourished from the reign of Nero until c. 230 AD and who were catalogued and celebrated by Philostratus in his ''Lives of the Sophists''. However, some recent ...

and the

ancient Greek novel Five ancient Greek novels survive complete from antiquity: Chariton's '' Callirhoe'' (mid 1st century), Achilles Tatius' '' Leucippe and Clitophon'' (early 2nd century), Longus' '' Daphnis and Chloe'' (2nd century), Xenophon of Ephesus' '' Ephes ...

Early life and education

Whitmarsh was born on 23 January 1970 in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It ...

, Essex, England. He was educated at Moor Park School, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

prep school near

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...

, and at Malvern College, then an all-boys independent school. He took his undergraduate degree and doctorate at the

Academic career

From 2001 to 2007 he taught in the department of Classics and Ancient History at the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

where he remains an honorary fellow. He then served as E. P. Warren Praelector, Fellow and Tutor in Greek at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

, and Professor of Ancient Literatures at the University of Oxford. In October 2014, he succeeded

Paul Cartledge Paul Anthony Cartledge (born 24 March 1947)"CARTLEDGE, Prof. Paul Anthony", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010online edition/ref> is a British ancient historian and academic. From 2008 to 2014 he was the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek C ...

as the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge.

''Classics Confidential''

Whitmarsh appears in th
''Classics Confidential''
series in conversation with various classical scholars:
Exploring Abrahamic Religions
��in conversation with

Guy Stroumsa Guy Gedalyah Stroumsa (born 27 July 1948) is an Israeli scholar of religion. He is Martin Buber Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Emeritus Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions at the ...

, 30 July 2013
The Philosophy of Ancient Atheism
��in conversation with

David Sedley David Neil Sedley FBA (born 30 May 1947) is a British philosopher and historian of philosophy. He was the seventh Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Cambridge University. Early life Sedley was educated at Trinity College, Oxford where ...

, 9 August 2013
Monotheism, Disbelief and the Hebrew Bible
��in conversation with

Francesca Stavrakopoulou Francesca Stavrakopoulou (; born 3 October 1975) is a British biblical scholar and broadcaster. She is currently Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter. The main focus of her research is on the Hebrew Bible, a ...

, 20 September 2013
Socrates on Trial
��in conversation with

Bettany Hughes Bettany Mary Hughes (born May 1967) is an English historian, author and broadcaster, specialising in classical history. Her published books cover classical antiquity and myth, and the history of Istanbul. She is active in efforts to encourage ...

, 30 September 2013

Publications

His publications include ''Greek Literature and the Roman Empire: The Politics of Imitation'', ''Ancient Greek Literature'', ''The Second Sophistic'', and ''Narrative and Identity in the Ancient Greek Novel: Returning Romance'', ''Beyond the Second Sophistic: Adventures in Greek Postclassicism''.''Beyond the Second Sophistic: Adventures in Greek Postclassicism''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013. . *''Dirty Love: The Genealogy of the Ancient Greek Novel''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. *''Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World'', Faber & Faber, 2016

References

Living people British classical scholars Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Classical scholars of the University of Oxford Scholars of ancient Greek literature Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of classics Classical scholars of the University of Exeter 1970 births People educated at Malvern College Professors of the University of Cambridge {{UK-academic-bio-stub