Christopher Rowe, emeritus professor of classics at Durham University and well-known scholar of ancient philosophy, has died.

Professor Rowe was an influential philosopher, classicist, translator, and textual editor of Aristotle and Plato. He is the author of Plato and the Art of Philosophical Writing, among many other works, which you can learn more about here.

Rowe joined Durham University in 1996, retiring in 2009. Prior to that, he was a professor of philosophy and Greek at the University of Bristol. He held various visiting appointments, in Europe, the United States, and Canada. He earned his and graduate degrees from Cambridge University.

At various points in his career, Rowe served as president of the International Plato Society, Chair of the Council of University Classical Departments, President of the Classical Association, and President of the Hellenic Society, and received numerous honors, including a Leverhulme professorship and emeritus fellowship. In 2009 Rowe was named Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to scholarship.

His colleague at Durham, Phillip Horky, writes of Rowe, “He was most proud of his contributions to our understanding of how to live a good life, which he modeled for us all.”

He adds, “There will be no public ceremony, but his ashes are to be conveyed to Stagira, birthplace of his beloved Aristotle.”

Christopher Rowe died on July 24th, 2025.