Philip Davies
Assistant Professor in Ancient Greek History, Faculty of Arts
Contact
Biography
Born and raised in Plymouth, I completed my B.A. in Ancient and Modern History and M.St. in Greek History at Magdalen College, University of Oxford. I first came to Nottingham in 2009 to do a Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Stephen Hodkinson on the subject of 'Individuals and Institutions: Status in Spartan Society in the Classical Period'. This was followed by a period as a Teaching Associate in Nottingham's Department of Classics, and a three-year Research Fellowship in Munich at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, supported by Germany's Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. I returned to Nottingham permanently in 2019.
I will be on research leave in Spring Semester 2022/23.
Expertise Summary
My primary area of research is Classical Sparta, and its representations in our predominantly non-Spartan sources. I have a broader expertise in Greek history of the Archaic to early Hellenistic periods, Greek historians, and the writing of ancient history. I have also undertaken research on the History of Classical Scholarship.
Teaching Summary
I teach on a numbers of topics relating to Greek history and historiography, particularly of the Classical Period. Modules I have convened include: Sparta; Herodotus; Thucydides and the Peloponnesian… read more
Research Summary
My primary area of research is Classical Sparta and its representations in our predominantly non-Spartan sources. This was the subject area of my Ph.D. thesis, on status and institutions within the… read more
Recent Publications
2020. Plutarch’s Sparta: Intertextual and Experiential. In: THOMAS S. SCHMIDT, MARIA VAMVOURI and RAINER HIRSCH-LUIPOLD, eds., The Dynamics of Intertextuality in Plutarch Brill. 513-524
2018. Plutarch, Lysander, and a Disappearing Heraclid Reform Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies. 58(4), 523-541
2017. The Cinadon Conspiracy as Literary Narrative and Historical Source. In: ANTON POWELL and VASSILIKI POTHOU, eds., Das Antike Sparta Franz Steiner Verlag. 221-243
I teach on a numbers of topics relating to Greek history and historiography, particularly of the Classical Period. Modules I have convened include: Sparta; Herodotus; Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War; Greeks and Persians; Kingship in the Greek Experience; The Ancient City.
First-year students are likely to encounter me as the convener/lecturer for the Greek sections of Interpreting Ancient History, a core module exploring Greek history and historiography which features case-studies focussing on the Political and Social Development in the Archaic/Classical Period, Conflict and Diplomacy in Classical Greece, and Writing the History of Alexander the Great. I am also frequently involved in teaching Beginners Greek.
Current Research
My primary area of research is Classical Sparta and its representations in our predominantly non-Spartan sources. This was the subject area of my Ph.D. thesis, on status and institutions within the Spartiate community, which will be published as a monograph with Bloomsbury Academic in the near future. Also within this subject area is my current research project, 'Plutarch's Sparta':
Plutarch has traditionally been a key source for the study of Sparta. However, in recent decades scholars have become increasingly conscious of the centuries which separate this Roman-period author from the Sparta he describes - a gap at points spanning 500 years, or more. Consequently, researchers have become more sceptical of Plutarch's testimony regarding Sparta, giving preference to more contemporary sources. In light of these developments, I aim to provide a detailed examination of the ways in which Plutarch's historical, cultural and intellectual context shaped his understanding of Sparta. I consider the source traditions upon which Plutarch drew, but also wider questions such as the influence which Plutarch's neo-Platonist thought had upon his presentation of Sparta, and the impact of the vision of classical Sparta propagated by the Sparta of Plutarch's own time. My analysis will not only create a more nuanced basis for Spartanists and other historians to engage with Plutarch as a source, and contribute to wider Plutarch scholarship, but will provide valuable insight into the reception of Sparta within antiquity, and the complex process by which Greeks living under the Roman Empire accessed and constructed their own history.
2020. Plutarch’s Sparta: Intertextual and Experiential. In: THOMAS S. SCHMIDT, MARIA VAMVOURI and RAINER HIRSCH-LUIPOLD, eds., The Dynamics of Intertextuality in Plutarch Brill. 513-524
2018. Plutarch, Lysander, and a Disappearing Heraclid Reform Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies. 58(4), 523-541
2017. The Cinadon Conspiracy as Literary Narrative and Historical Source. In: ANTON POWELL and VASSILIKI POTHOU, eds., Das Antike Sparta Franz Steiner Verlag. 221-243
2017. Equality & Distinction within the Spartiate Community. In: ANTON POWELL, ed., A Companion to Sparta Wiley-Blackwell. 480-499
2017. Out of the Archives: Oxford, the SPSL, and Literae Humaniores Refugee Scholars. In: SALLY CRAWFORD, KATHARINA ULMSCHNEIDER and JAS ELSNER, eds., Ark of Civilization: Refugee Scholars and Oxford University, 1930-1945 Oxford University Press. 77-95
2013. 'Kalos Kagathos' and Scholarly Perceptions of Spartan Society Historia. 62.3, 259-279