Peter Derow

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Peter Sidney Derow (11 April 1944, Newport, Rhode Island – 9 December 2006, Oxford, England), MA, PhD was Hody Fellow and Tutor in Ancient History at Wadham College, Oxford and University Lecturer in Ancient History from 1977 to 2006. As a scholar he was most noted for his work on Hellenistic and Roman Republican history and epigraphy, particularly on the histories of Polybius.

After an A.B. degree at Amherst (with Peter K. Marshall[1]), he read for Greats as a second B.A. degree at Oxford in 1965–1967, achieving a First. At Oxford he was taught by, among others, W. G. (George) Forrest [2], who was a lasting influence. He completed a Ph.D. at Princeton on 'Rome and the Greek world from the earliest contacts to the end of the first Illyrian war', for which Professor J. V. A. Fine was his Advisor; in the preface to that work, he acknowledged the additional inspiration he had drawn from Professors T. J. Luce and C. Bradford Welles. After a spell of teaching at the University of Toronto, he returned to succeed Forrest at Wadham when the latter was elected to the Wykeham Professorship of Ancient History at New College. In 2002–2005 Derow was also Director of Graduate Studies in ancient history for the Oxford Faculty of Classics.

He was a contributor to the Oxford Classical Dictionary in matters relating to the Hellenistic world, and wrote the brilliant chapter on ‘Rome, the fall of Macedon and the sack of Corinth’ for the 2nd edition of the Cambridge Ancient History (volume 8; 1989). Later he co-edited (with Robert Parker) a memorial volume for George Forrest, Herodotus and his World (Oxford University Press, 2003).

Probably his best-known work was a volume of translated sources for Hellenistic history, co-edited with Roger S. Bagnall. First issued in 1981 as Greek Historical Documents: The Hellenistic Period (Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press), it was somewhat overshadowed by M. M. Austin’s comparable (and excellent) collection of sources, The Hellenistic World from Alexander to the Roman Conquest (Cambridge University Press, 1980). But ‘Bagnall & Derow’ had a distinctive tone, with its greater emphasis on inscriptions and papyrus texts, and it found favour with many students and teachers who used the two volumes together. Long unavailable, it was finally reissued in a successful second edition in 2004, as The Hellenistic Period: Historical Sources in Translation (Oxford: Blackwell). It was typical of Peter Derow to combine cutting-edge research with a passion for communicating his learning to the widest audience.

Peter was also an extremely popular and enthusiastic tutor at Wadham, whose inspiration and support helped many undergraduate and graduate students to prosper, succeed and ultimately, encouraged many to continue on in ancient history and literature. His friendly and engaging tutorials were the stuff of legend on his famous purple couches where debate and argument were encouraged. The famous classics drinks parties made Wadham history and are fondly remembered by one and all as a testament to his good nature, humour and, above all, commitment to his field and his students. One of Peter's greatest attributes was his life-long enthusiasm for his subject, which saw both Greek and Roman historical/literary students pursue their ambitions, and for which Peter was always delighted with their successes. Besides his exceptional research in Hellenistic history, Peter Derow will also be remembered for his compassion, friendship and support for the new generation of academics that now carry on his tradition in the study of the ancient world.

Peter was a strong supporter of the campaign to return the Parthenon (Elgin) marbles to Athens, Greece [3] and was one of the original members of the Marbles Reunited campaign.

He died unexpectedly on 9 December 2006 from a heart attack, after collapsing in Wadham College. His funeral, attended by a great many colleagues and former students, was held in Wadham College Chapel on 16 December 2006.

[edit] Select Works

"The Arrival of Rome: From the Illyrian Wars to the Fall of Macedon", in A. Erskine (ed.), A Companion to the Hellenistic World (Oxford: Blackwell, 2003), pp. 51–70.
(with R.S. Bagnall) Greek Historical Documents. The Hellenistic Period (Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1981).
(with R.S. Bagnall) The Hellenistic Period. Historical Sources in Translation (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004). ISBN 1-4051-0133-4
(ed. with R.C.T. Parker) Herodotus and His World: Essays from a Conference in Memory of George Forrest (Oxford: OUP, 2003). ISBN 0-19-925374-9
"Herodotus Readings", Classics Ireland, Vol. 2 (1995), pp. 29–51.
"Historical Explanation: Polybius and His Predecessors", in S. Hornblower (ed.), Greek Historiography (New York: OUP, 1994), pp. 73–90.
(with W.G. Forrest) "An inscription from Chios", Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 77 (1982), pp. 79–92.
"Kleemporos", Phoenix, Vol. 27 (1973), pp. 118–134.
"A New Inscription from Chios", in G.E. Malouchou and A.P. Matthaiou (eds.), Χιακον Συμποσιον. Εις μνημης W.G. Forrest (Athens, 2006).
"Pharos and Rome", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Vol. 88 (1991), pp. 261–270.
"Polybios and the Embassy of Callicrates", Essays Presented to C.M. Bowra (Oxford: Alden Press, for Wadham College Junior and Middle Common Rooms, 1970), pp. 12–23.
"Polybius", in T.J. Luce (ed.), Ancient Writers: Greece and Rome, Vol. 1 (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1982), pp. 525–539.
"Polybius", in S. Hornblower and A.J. Spawforth (eds.), Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd ed. (Oxford: OUP, 1996), pp. 1209–1211.
"Polybius, Rome, and the East", Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 69 (1979), pp. 1–15.
(with J.T. Ma and A. Meadows) "RC 38 (Amyzon) reconsidered", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Vol. 109 (1995), pp. 71–80.
"The Roman Calendar, 190-168 B.C.", Phoenix, Vol. 27 (1973), pp. 345–356.
"The Roman Calendar, 218-191 B.C.", Phoenix, Vol. 30 (1976), pp. 265–281.
"Rome, the Fall of Macedon, and the Sack of Corinth", Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd edition, vol. 8 (Cambridge, 1989), pp. 290–323.