Ancient Greece and Rome are often celebrated as the foundations of Western civilization, democracy, and political thought. But what happens when these revered historical traditions are mobilized to legitimize exclusionary and authoritarian politics? In this episode of the Review of Democracy podcast, we speak with Curtis Dozier, author of The White Pedestal – How White Nationalists Use Ancient Greece and Rome to Justify Hate (Yale University Press, 2026), about the enduring political power of classical antiquity.
Drawing on years of research into extremist appropriations of the ancient world, Dozier explains why white nationalists are so drawn to Greece and Rome, how concepts such as race, hierarchy, decline, and Western civilization are anchored in selective readings of the classical past, and why these interpretations resonate far beyond the political fringes. The conversation explores the surprising continuities between extremist and mainstream narratives about antiquity, the role of historical prestige in legitimizing political projects, and the ways in which the classical tradition has been used to justify slavery, imperialism, exclusion, and domination. At the same time, Dozier reflects on the responsibilities of historians and classicists today, arguing for a reorientation of the field that takes seriously the political afterlives of ancient texts and foregrounds the diverse experiences often excluded from traditional accounts.
This is a timely discussion about the uses and abuses of history, the construction of collective identities, and the urgent need to think critically about how the past continues to shape our present.
Curtis Dozier is an Associate Professor and Chair of Greek and Roman Studies at Vassar College. He is also the Director of Pharos: Doing Justice to the Classics.
The interview was conducted by Alexandra Kardos. Alina Young edited the audio file.
Photo credit: John Abbott
