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Asking For Plato's Forgiveness. Floyer Sydenham: A Platonic Visionary Of 18th-Century Britain, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Asking For Plato's Forgiveness. Floyer Sydenham: A Platonic Visionary Of 18th-Century Britain, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Floyer Sydenham (1710–1787), the eminent British Platonist, has been unduly neglected in the interpretative historiography of the modern Platonic tradition. Amid a climate of indifference, he set out to offer the first complete English translation of the Platonic dialogues, begging for subscriptions that never materialized. He died in debtors’ prison on April 1, 1787. Between 1759 and 1780 he managed to translate nine dialogues incorporating a large number of explanatory notes and linguistic emendations to the existing texts. Set in the context of the intellectual and discursive tradition of the era, Sydenham’s Platonism expanded on Lord Shaftesbury’s teleological views of …
Ottoman Cyprus: New Studies In An Obscure Field, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Ottoman Cyprus: New Studies In An Obscure Field, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
This article examines, from a philosophical and political perpective, a number of approaches to the history of Cyprus under the Ottoman Empire, and exposes the major difficulties and unsolved interpretative issues in such attempts.
A Bibliographical Guide To Nineteenth-Century British Journal Publications On Greece, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
A Bibliographical Guide To Nineteenth-Century British Journal Publications On Greece, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
The first idea for this guide sprung from an investigation into the reception of modern Greece by Victorian classical scholars, i.e., their understanding, first, of the political affairs relating to the Revolution of 1821, and, second, of the major constitutional, civil, and cultural changes that took place during the nineteenth century. Examining the lists of contents of the numerous monthly Victorian periodicals soon led to the realization that there existed a remarkable record of review articles and contributions on Greece with a full range of opinion on major contemporary issues, such as politics, education, travel, religion, culture, and historiography. The …
Bishop Connop Thirlwall: Historian Of Ancient Greece, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Bishop Connop Thirlwall: Historian Of Ancient Greece, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
The purpose of this article is to revisit and reappraise Connop Thirlwall’s much-neglected 8-volume History of Greece (London, 1835-1844). It is shown that the historical work of the great classicist and theologian represents the practical embodiment of the spirit of transition between partisan and “scientific”, as called at the time, historiography. Constituting a bridge between the old and the new, and having fulfilled its role, Thirlwall’s work was destined to sink into oblivion, virtually obscured in the shadow of George Grote’s Greece.
A 'Legend' In Crisis: The Debate Over Plato's Politics, 1930-1960, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
A 'Legend' In Crisis: The Debate Over Plato's Politics, 1930-1960, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
From the early 1930s to the early 1960s many scholars, whether liberal-minded or socialist ideologues, Marxist or scientific positivists, classical scholars or political theorists and historians, have shown a widespread consensus in discrediting and assailing the man and political philosopher Plato. Such an extensive assault led the ‘Platonic Legend’ to an unprecedented crisis. Philosophically, it was a reaction to the undisguised Platonolatry coming from Oxford and the school of the British Idealists. Ideologically, the appropriation of Plato by Nazi apologists fostered further this vehement indictment. But a lot of other causes worked to the same effect. The general anguish and …
Historians On Alexander The Great And Macedonian Imperialism, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Historians On Alexander The Great And Macedonian Imperialism, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
The history of classical scholarship abounds with examples of metaphors that function as organic links between past and present. As vehicles for contemporary emulation or allies of particular moral and political ideologies, interpretations of ancient life have mirrored the anxieties and controversies of their times. Alexander the Great has been a prominent figure in such historically contextualized interpretations. A comparative study of the reception of this legendary hero by two leading nineteenth-century historians, George Grote and Konstantinos Paparrigopoulos, provides a platform for reflecting on the influence that different versions of Hellenism have had on the construction of historical narratives. Two …
Reconsidering The Platonic Cleitophon, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Reconsidering The Platonic Cleitophon, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
This article unravels the riddle of the Platonic "Cleitophon" through an examination of S.R. Slings' "Plato, Clitophon" (Cambridge University Press, 1999). It examines the history of the reception of this dialogue from the 19th century to present day Platonic analytic and interpretative approaches.
Victorian Cyprus: Society And Institutions In The Aftermath Of The Anglo-Turkish Convention, 1878-91, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Victorian Cyprus: Society And Institutions In The Aftermath Of The Anglo-Turkish Convention, 1878-91, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
The essay brings to light neglected and widely unknown sources on Cyprus from the late Victorian period and fills a literary and bibliographical lacuna in this respect. The account on Cyprus is here informed by the keen and critical eye of the Victorian politician, scholar, traveller, or ambitious businessman, and no consistent use is made of public records and documents. Of their works, some were compiled chiefly from already existing sources but some were noticeably fascinating and essential guides for those interested in finding out more about contemporary Cyprus. It cannot be overlooked that nineteenth-century Britain was a journalising society. …
In Defence Of The British Constitution: Theoretical Implications Of The Debate Over Athenian Democracy In Britain, 1770-1850, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
In Defence Of The British Constitution: Theoretical Implications Of The Debate Over Athenian Democracy In Britain, 1770-1850, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Writing a history of ancient Greece, in periods of political turbulence and transition, involved the construction of an edifying platform for civil conduct. Britain, 1770-1850, was one such period. In examining Athenian democracy the British historians of the late eighteenth century, like William Mitford and John Gillies, found a convenient channel to articulate their private political preferences and antipathies, thereby accentuating the ideological antagonism of the post-revolutionary age. Athenian liberalism was deliberately drawn from oblivion only to be set as a constitutional example to avoid, whereas the merits of the mixed British constitution were distinctly exposed. The British Utilitarians, by …
The Development Of Platonic Studies In Britain And The Role Of The Utilitarians, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
The Development Of Platonic Studies In Britain And The Role Of The Utilitarians, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
The British utilitarians are not generally considered explorers of classical Greek thought. This paper examines the contribution of James Mill, John Stuart Mill, and George Grote to the development of Platonic studies in nineteenth-century Britain. Their understanding of Platonic philosophy challenged prevalent interpretations, and caused a fruitful debate over long neglected aspects of Plato's thought. Grote's Platonic analysis, which comes last in order of time, cannot, of course, be considered in isolation from the relevant debates in Germany. Grote, the erudite historian of ancient Greece, paid considerable attention to the arguments of the German classicists, put forward in many cases …