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Roderick  Beaton

Professor Roderick Beaton

Emeritus Koraes Professor of Modern Greek & Byzantine History, Language & Literature

Contact details

Biography

Roderick Beaton grew up in Edinburgh where he first studied Latin and ancient Greek before going on to Peterhouse, Cambridge, to graduate with a BA in English Literature and a PhD in Modern Greek. He came to King’s in 1981, first as Lecturer in Modern Greek Language and Literature, and then from 1988 until his retirement in 2018 as Koraes Professor. For ten years he headed the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies (whose functions since 2015 have been taken over by the Department of Classics), and from 2012 to 2018 was Director of the Centre for Hellenic Studies.

He is a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA, 2013), a Fellow of King’s College (FKC, 2018), Commander of the Order of Honour of the Hellenic Republic (2019) and, from September to December 2021, has been appointed A.G. Leventis Visiting Professor in Greek at the University of Edinburgh.

Teaching 

Myth and modern literature; nations and nationalism in the Hellenic world; Romanticism and the making of modern Greece; Classical reception in modern Greece; and (at MA level) the history of the Greek novel in comparative context.

Expertise and public engagement 

I frequently appear in Greek national press and on national radio, as well as many online appearances. I am actively involved in the organisation of events in Greece, the UK and elsewhere to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution in 2021, and have already recorded extensive interviews for several TV and film documentaries on the subject.

I am available to the talk to the media about any aspect of current affairs or the modern history and culture of Greece or Cyprus.

For more details, please see my full research profile

Selected Publications

  • An Introduction to Modern Greek Literature (Oxford University Press, 1994, 2nd ed., revd, 1999)
  • George Seferis: Waiting for the Angel. A Biography (London and New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003)
  • Byron’s War: Romantic Rebellion, Greek Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2013)
  • Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation (London: Allen Lane/Penguin; Chicago University Press, 2019)
  • The Greeks: A Global History (London: Faber; New York: Basic Books, 2021)

Research

Centre for Hellenic Studies 2 Agios Achilleios Lake Prespa, Greece
Centre for Hellenic Studies

The Centre for Hellenic Studies is a unique grouping of academics with interests and expertise covering more than three millennia, from Aegean prehistory to the history, language, literature and culture of Greece, Cyprus and the worldwide Greek diaspora today.

medieval england main
Centre for Late Antique and Medieval Studies

Interdisciplinary centre for the study of late antique and medieval history, languages, philosophy, religion, literature and music in western and eastern Europe.

News

Professor Roderick Beaton publishes new book 'Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation'

Roderick Beaton, Emeritus Koraes Professor of Modern Greek & Byzantine History, Language & Literature at King’s College London, has published his new book...

Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation book cover

Events

18MayRoderick Beaton 1

Colloquium: Philhellenism and Greek Identity Formation in Literature, the Arts, and Scholarship

In honour of Roderick Beaton, Emeritus Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature, King’s College London

Please note: this event has passed.

22FebBy Peter von Hess, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5552937

1821: The Migration of Revolutionary Ideas (Pt 2)

Part two of panel discussions focusing on outbreaks of revolution during the Ottoman Empire

Please note: this event has passed.

15FebBy Peter von Hess - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5552937

1821: The Migration of Revolutionary Ideas

Part one of panel discussions focusing on outbreaks of revolution during the Ottoman Empire

Please note: this event has passed.

Research

Centre for Hellenic Studies 2 Agios Achilleios Lake Prespa, Greece
Centre for Hellenic Studies

The Centre for Hellenic Studies is a unique grouping of academics with interests and expertise covering more than three millennia, from Aegean prehistory to the history, language, literature and culture of Greece, Cyprus and the worldwide Greek diaspora today.

medieval england main
Centre for Late Antique and Medieval Studies

Interdisciplinary centre for the study of late antique and medieval history, languages, philosophy, religion, literature and music in western and eastern Europe.

News

Professor Roderick Beaton publishes new book 'Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation'

Roderick Beaton, Emeritus Koraes Professor of Modern Greek & Byzantine History, Language & Literature at King’s College London, has published his new book...

Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation book cover

Events

18MayRoderick Beaton 1

Colloquium: Philhellenism and Greek Identity Formation in Literature, the Arts, and Scholarship

In honour of Roderick Beaton, Emeritus Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature, King’s College London

Please note: this event has passed.

22FebBy Peter von Hess, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5552937

1821: The Migration of Revolutionary Ideas (Pt 2)

Part two of panel discussions focusing on outbreaks of revolution during the Ottoman Empire

Please note: this event has passed.

15FebBy Peter von Hess - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5552937

1821: The Migration of Revolutionary Ideas

Part one of panel discussions focusing on outbreaks of revolution during the Ottoman Empire

Please note: this event has passed.