A tribute to Professor Pat Easterling on behalf of the Department of Classical Philology at the University of Athens

It is with great sadness that we were informed about the passing of Pat Easterling, Emerita Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge and holder of an Honorary Doctorate from the Department of Philology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, who was valued and respected by Classicists around the world both as a scholar and as a person.

Patricia Elizabeth Easterling spent the greatest part of her academic career at the University of Cambridge (Newnham College). After several years as Professor of Greek at University College, London (1987–1994), she returned to Cambridge as Regius Professor of Greek until her retirement in 2001, thus becoming the first –and so far the only– female holder of this post.

The scholarly output of Pat Easterling covers various aspects of Greek literature from Homer to Byzantium, focusing in particular on Greek tragedy and its reception, as well as Greek palaeography. Her numerous articles are marked by judiciousness, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of the ancient text. She left her mark in commentaries as a means for a close and in-depth study of classical works. In collaboration with E.J. Kenney, she founded the series of ‘Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics’ (‘Green and Yellow’) at Cambridge University Press, and for more than half a century remained editor of this series, to which she contributed with her exemplary commentary on Sophocles’ Trachiniae. She also left her mark through the volumes she edited, which soon became reference works, such as The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: I. Greek Literature (with B.M.W. Knox), The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy, and the pioneering (in its day) Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession (with E. Hall).

As supervisor of countless postgraduate dissertations and doctoral theses Pat Easterling guided her students with subtle comments and insightful queries, encouraging them to ask questions and pursue research from their own perspective, while she followed their subsequent career with genuine interest and affection. This interest was not limited to those she supervised, but she gave her time with characteristic generosity colleagues and scholars in Cambridge and beyond. She was particularly fond of Greece and Greek students, with whom she kept in touch even after they had completed their studies in the UK. Several Greek classicists who were her students, either in London or at Cambridge, went on to occupy distinguished positions in academia, in universities and institutions in Greece and abroad. In 1996 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from our Department.

Pat Easterling left an indelible mark in the field of Classics in terms of both scholarship and character, for she was a renowned scholar of Greek literature who remained modest and approachable. She will always be a role model for all of us who had the privilege of meeting her and becoming inspired by her unique combination of intellect and kindness. 

We would like to extend our warmest condolences to her family. Οὐκ ἀπώλετο, ἀλλὰ προελήλυθεν.