Do you celebrate classical architecture? Or do you appreciate Platonic or Aristotelian philosophy, or seek to practice stoicism as taught by the ancients? Perhaps you’re inspired by stories of ancient Greek heroism, epitomized by Achilles before the gates of Troy, the Spartans at Thermopylae, or Alexander the Great’s victories against the Persians? You’d better beware — according to liberal propaganda efforts, you’re probably a white nationalist.
According to Curtis Dozier, an associate professor of Greek and Roman studies at Vassar College and director of the website “Pharos: Doing Justice to the Classics” which “documents appropriations of Greco-Roman antiquity by hate groups,” conservatism is awash in appreciations for the classical world that are actually cover for white nationalist narratives. Based on the title of his new book, The White Pedestal: How White Nationalists Use Ancient Greece and Rome to Justify Hate, you might think Dozier is focusing his attention on people such as Nick Fuentes, Richard Spencer, or the crazies at the Neo-Nazi website stormfront.org. But in fact Dozier — and a panoply of prominent liberal institutions — aim to cast a much wider net.