a day ago
Christopher Rowe obituary
My father, Christopher Rowe, who has died aged 81, was a classical scholar specialising in the philosophy of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. He completed his final work, a translation into English of his edition in Greek of Aristotle's Eudemian Ethics, after being diagnosed as terminally ill with a glioblastoma in September 2024. The edition appeared in 2023, and the translation of it will be published in September 2025.
Christopher's skills as a linguist, translator and philosopher enabled him to make celebrated contributions in this centuries-old field of study, which he believed had resonance in the modern age. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, in their different ways, argued that philosophical thinking is necessary if we are to live a successful, happy life. Capitalists, the privileged, or people of whatever sort will have nothing of what they really want until they ask the simple question: 'What is it all for?' It was this thinking that guided Christopher in his studies, his politics and his personal relationships.
Born in the town of March, Cambridgeshire, to Mary (nee Ashford), and Daniel, both teachers, Christopher was the second of six children, all of whom remained in close contact throughout his life. Christopher attended Christ's Hospital school and then went to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1962. There he met Heather Knight, a fellow classicist from Girton College, whom he married in 1965. She was a critic, supporter, sounding board and cheerleader for Christopher throughout his life.
In 1966 he joined Bristol University, where he was later appointed HO Wills professor of Greek. In the 1980s he was a founder member of the International Plato Society. In 1992, Christopher was invited to Madison, Wisconsin, where he began working with Terry Penner, whom he regarded as 'the most important philosophical influence' on his life.
In 1995, Christopher became professor of Greek at Durham University, where he had a Leverhulme research professorship. His colleagues speak widely of his steadfast support of younger academics, and he would travel to places as diverse as Georgia, Brazil, South Korea and Japan in order to do so.
Christopher and Heather loved to travel, often with friends they had made from around the world, and, for the last 50 years, regularly visited Puglia, in Italy, where his brother lives. Moving to Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, in 2019 to be nearer to my sister, Sarah, and her family, they were regarded warmly by all, from neighbours to cafe owners and stall holders.
Family was Christopher's overwhelming priority. He felt his greatest achievements were his children and his grandchildren, and people speak as much about his humility, generosity and kindness as his scholarly achievements. Perhaps he succeeded in living the 'good life' Aristotle wrote about.
Christopher is survived by Heather, Sarah and me, his grandchildren, Sadie, Micky and Mia, and his siblings.
