The Colour of Classics: The Weaponisation of the Classical World in the Formation of White, British Identity

This project exposes how Classics and classical historiography played a role in the formation of white identity during Britain's empire, and the contemporary colonial consequences of that. It will do this primarily through an artistic lens by examining both the whitewashing of the classical past as well as classically-influenced paintings in contemporary settings. My arguments will also discuss other socio-political issues in relation to Classics, such as the idea of 'Western Civilisation' and how Classics today can confront its problems with white supremacy and decolonisation.
It is an open secret that the classical world was not a white one, yet the image that is conjured up in public imagination is one filled with the white protagonists of European mythological paintings. Since its formal inception in the eighteenth century, Classics was used as a weapon of empire and was wielded to promote Britain as the paradigm of the 'the West'. There is no shortage of evidence that demonstrates Britain's obsession with the classical past, from a parliamentary debate from 1816 that insisted the Parthenon marbles spoke of Britain's 'national character' to wider comparisons between Greater Rome and Greater Britain. But there were colonial consequences of this. The existence of a 'British' identity relied on comparison, and in this case Britain was identifying itself against its colonies. Britain became what its colonies were not: white, Christian, and 'Western'. Classics evolved along the same imperial ideologies, the consequences of which are still apparent today. From the negative reception of BBC's Troy, where a black actor played Achilles, to Mary Beard's declaration that Classics is 'apolitical', it is clear that Classics still has a problem with race.
Several scholars have explored this issue. Barbara Goff provided me with my first insight into the issue, alongside Phiroze Vasunia and Rebecca Kennedy. However, this topic is relatively fertile and scholarship is emerging from new sources, from pieces in Eidolon on contemporary issues in Classics to Sarah Bond's piece on whitewashing in the New Yorker. As such, it is an exciting time to study reception, but there is still a gap in the scholarship that this thesis fills. Many have offered postcolonial readings of Britain's empire and Classics, but visual evidence is secondary to the main arguments. Conversely, those looking at classical influence over British art stop before the consequences of whitewashing can be discussed. Thus this project aims to answer one broad question: What was the relationship between Classics and whiteness during Britain's empire and how has that affected the perception of the classical world today? It will do so by exploring several key themes that work together to unravel the Classics' colonial past: the influence of white marble sculptures on ideas of beauty, emerging scientific race theories, the popularity of the Grand Tour, ideas of Greater Rome and Greater Britain, and the changing image of Classics in the last decades of the empire, for example.
This thesis comes at a turbulent time in Britain. It is a time where identity is at the forefront of political thought. In debates about Brexit, one question is always brought up: what does British mean? Unfortunately, the resulting answer is always steeped in whiteness. While this white identity has been scrutinised is almost all academic fields (one successful recent example is Roediger's The Image of Whiteness), Classics has remained relatively silent on the issue, and the field is reluctant to uproot its white supremacist roots. I want to challenge this field and unpack the role Classics has played in forming a British identity, and in doing so, pave the way for future scholars of colour to finish the job we started.