Arthur Bernard Cook (22 October 1868 in Hampstead – 26 April 1952 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

) was a British

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and

classical scholar 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 ...

, best known for his three-part work, ''Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion''.

Early life and education

Arthur Bernard Cook was born in

Hampstead, London Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough ...

on 22 October 1868. He was the son of William Henry Cook MD (1825-1882) and Harriet Bickersteth (1830-1918) His mother's family were leading ecclesiastical scholars of the time, including

Edward Bickersteth (Dean of Lichfield) Edward Bickersteth (23 October 1814 – 7 October 1892) was an Anglican priest in the 19th century. Life Edward Bickersteth was born in Acton into a remarkable ecclesiastical family, the second son of John Bickersteth, sometime Rector of Sapcot ...

(1814-1892), Edward Bickersteth (bishop of Exeter) (1825-1906) and Edward Bickersteth (bishop of South Tokyo). (1850-1897) Cook was educated at St. Paul's School, where he won several academic prizes. He received an MA from the

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. The Chancellor's Gold Medal is a distinguished annual award at Cambridge University for poetry, paralleling Oxford University's Newdigate prize. Cook's poem ''Windsor Castle'' won the

Chancellor's Gold Medal The Chancellor's Gold Medal is a prestigious annual award at Cambridge University for poetry, paralleling Oxford University's Newdigate Prize. It was first presented by Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh during his time as ...

for poetry at Cambridge in 1889. In 1893, he was awarded a prestigious fellowship at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Career

From 1892-1907, Cook was professor of Greek at Bedford College, London. In 1900, he became Fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge. From 1907 to 1931 he was

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

of Classical Archaeology at

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 became

Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology The Laurence Professorship of Classical Archaeology at the University of Cambridge was established in 1930 as one of the offices endowed by the bequest of Sir Perceval Maitland Laurence. Cook was elected as a fellow of the British Academy for the humanities and social sciences in 1941. Professor Cook died in Cambridge on 26 April 1952.

Legacy

Cook is often considered one of the

Cambridge Ritualists The Cambridge Ritualists were a recognised group of classical scholars, mostly in Cambridge, England, including Jane Ellen Harrison, F.M. Cornford, Gilbert Murray (actually from the University of Oxford), A. B. Cook, and others. They earned this ...

, and although he did not produce theoretical works, he has been called "perhaps the most typical disciple" of

J. G. Frazer Sir James George Frazer (; 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. Personal life He was born on 1 Janua ...

.Lowell Edmonds, ''Approaches to Greek Myth'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990), p. 72.

Works

*The Metaphysical Basis of Plato's Ethics (1895) *Zeus. A Study In Ancient Religion. (1914-1925) ** Volume 1: Zeus, God of the Bright Sky, Biblo-Moser, June 1, 1964, (reprint) ** Volume 2: Zeus, God of the Dark Sky (Thunder and Lightning), Biblo-Moser, June 1, 1964, ** Volume 3: Zeus, God of the Dark Sky (earthquakes, clouds, wind, dew, rain, meteorites)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Arthur Bernard British classical scholars 1868 births 1952 deaths Laurence Professors of Classical Archaeology British archaeologists Academics of Bedford College, London Classical scholars of the University of London Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge