On the Spot: Phiroze Vasunia
‘Which moment would I most like to go back to? The Achaemenid Persian court when Alexander the Great took over in the 330s BC.’
Why are you a historian of ancient Greece and Rome?
A combination of inspiring teachers and a few months in Greece converted me to the Classics.
What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?
There’s no justification for violence.
Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?
The works of E.R. Dodds, especially his edition of Euripides’ Bacchae.
What book in your field should everyone read?
Nothing to do with Dionysos? Athenian Drama in Its Social Context, edited by Jack Winkler and Froma Zeitlin.
Which moment would you most like to go back to?
The Achaemenid Persian court when Alexander the Great took over in the 330s BC.
Which historian has had the greatest influence on you?
Herodotus.
Which person in history would you most like to have met?
Plato.
How many languages do you have?
I speak English and should like to know a few others better than I do.
What historical topic have you changed your mind on?
I alternate between thinking that the Classics exerted a profound impact on European society and thinking that the influence is exaggerated.
What’s the most exciting field in history today?
The comparative study of ancient cultures such as Greece, Rome, Egypt, India, and China.
What is the most common misconception about your field?
That it is taught by old fuddy-duddies in tweed jackets.
Who is the most underrated person in history…
Sappho.
… and the most overrated?
Any number of Roman emperors, but I’ll go out on a limb and say Constantine.
Is there an important historical text you have not read?
Far too many. Raynal’s Histoire des deux Indes, for example.
What’s your favourite archive?
The Maharashtra State archives in Mumbai.
What’s the best museum?
The Musée Guimet in Paris.
What technology has changed the world the most?
Writing.
Recommend us a historical novel...
Gore Vidal’s Julian.
... and a historical drama?
Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love.
You can solve one historical mystery. What is it?
The trial and execution of Socrates: why did the Athenians hate him so much?
Phiroze Vasunia is Professor of Greek at University College London.
