Classics Oppose White Nationalism
False Assumption: Ancient Greece and Rome represent enlightened tolerance incompatible with white nationalist ideas, so their invocation by nationalists constitutes misuse.
Written by FARAgent on February 10, 2026
In the 2010s, white nationalists adopted Greco-Roman symbols like the Parthenon and Spartan helmets, prompting academics to rebut them as misappropriations of tolerant antiquity. Curtis Dozier, Vassar professor, launched Pharos in 2017 to document hate groups 'appropriating' classics, assuming bad politics required distortion of enlightened sources.
Dozier initially used scholarly rebuttals against alt-right protesters and others quoting ancients. He gradually recognized not all dissenters misunderstood sources or were simpletons, shifting to blame ancient texts for aligning with right-wing views. His 2026 book The White Pedestal admits frequent congruence between classical ideas and white nationalism.
Critics like Spencer Klavan argue the book aids nationalists by confirming their historical knowledge, while scholars such as Arthur Melzer document ancient philosophers' esoteric conservatism and hierarchy. Mainstream classicists face mounting questions about projecting egalitarianism onto hierarchical ancients, though political interpretations remain contested.
People Involved
- In 2017, Curtis Dozier, an associate professor of Greek and Roman studies at Vassar College, launched the Pharos website. He did so as a proponent of the idea that hate groups misused tolerant classical sources for their politics. [1]
- Spencer A. Klavan, a reviewer in Commentary, warned that Dozier's later book might aid white nationalists. Klavan suggested it confirmed how classical texts aligned with their views. [1]
- Steve Sailer appeared as a villain in Dozier's book for challenging egalitarian readings of the classics. Sailer highlighted what he saw as the ancients' conservative leanings. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“In 2017 when he launched his website Pharos: Doing Justice to the Classics with the support of Vassar College, where he is an associate professor of Greek and Roman studies. Pharos invites contributors to write in if they “learn of a hate group appropriating antiquity,” suggesting that anyone using classical literature to support bad politics must be somehow misusing it.”— I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"
“Curtis Dozier’s The White Pedestal is a godsend to white nationalists. If ever they needed a book to encourage the false impression that “white nationalism” simply means defending basic virtues and acknowledging obvious facts, this is it.”— I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"
“I make a few appearances as a deplorable in a new book by a professor at Vassar: The White Pedestal: How White Nationalists Use Ancient Greece and Rome to Justify Hate”— I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"
Organizations Involved
Vassar College backed Curtis Dozier's Pharos website. The site promoted the notion that right-wing groups misused the classics, which it portrayed as models of tolerance. [1] Pharos enforced this view by inviting reports of such appropriations. It then offered scholarly rebuttals, framing them as distortions by extremists. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“with the support of Vassar College, where he is an associate professor of Greek and Roman studies.”— I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"
“Pharos invites contributors to write in if they “learn of a hate group appropriating antiquity,” suggesting that anyone using classical literature to support bad politics must be somehow misusing it. Early posts tried using scholarly rebuttal to respond to alt-right protesters in Spartan helmets and seedy pickup artists quoting Aristotle.”— I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"
The Foundation
The assumption rested on the belief that ancient Greece and Rome embodied enlightened tolerance. This idea supported rebuttals to nationalists, implying that their uses required twisting the sources. Critics argue this misled because the ancients often endorsed hierarchical and xenophobic views outright. [1] Ancient philosophers wrote esoterically, hiding conservative hierarchies. Elites cited these as egalitarian, but mounting evidence suggests they actually upheld inequality and authority. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
““The ancient world was anything but a paradise of tolerance,” he writes in his introduction, which is why evildoers don’t have to misquote or misinterpret classical sources to mine them for retrograde ideas: They are already there.”— I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"
“One finding from Melzer’s chronological list of quotations is that there is little of even Gibbon’s kind of Tory political cynicism on display until Boccaccio in the 14th century... Hierarchy was seen as a self-evident virtue.”— I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"
How It Spread
The Pharos website helped spread the assumption starting in 2017. It crowdsourced reports of hate groups invoking antiquity. Then it provided rebuttals that framed these as scholarly misuses by the right wing. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Pharos invites contributors to write in if they “learn of a hate group appropriating antiquity,” suggesting that anyone using classical literature to support bad politics must be somehow misusing it.”— I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"
Harm Caused
This denial of innate inequalities, drawn from ancient insights, contributed to professional fallout. For instance, James D. Watson's career suffered after he stated that talents vary genetically. Critics link such outcomes to the broader assumption's influence. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“We live in a society in which the fundamental truth’s — such as that talents are distributed unequally by genetics — are increasingly considered unfit for public discussion, and careers as eminent as that of as James D. Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, are destroyed for letting slip a lack of fidelity to the reigning taboos.”— I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"
Downfall
By the time Curtis Dozier published The White Pedestal, his stance had shifted. He admitted that ancient sources often articulate ideas congruent with white nationalism. Critics argue this exposes flaws in the original misuse assumption, though the matter remains debated. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Gradually, though, Dozier became aware of the uncomfortable fact that not every classics expert agrees with him politically, and not everyone who disagrees with him politically is a drooling simpleton. So where he couldn’t fault right-wingers for misunderstanding ancient sources, he instead started blaming ancient sources for being incipiently right-wing. ... “Any surprise that white nationalists take an interest in Greco-Roman antiquity,” he writes, “may give way to surprise at just how frequently ancient sources articulate ideas congruent with white nationalist thought.””— I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"
Sources
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[1]
I'm a Villain in "The White Pedestal"reputable_journalism