Mary Beard quotes

Mary Beard is a renowned English professor and classical scholar, celebrated for her expertise in Ancient Rome. Her books and television programs have made classical history accessible and engaging to a wide audience. She continues to shape the public’s understanding of the ancient world with her insightful research and commentary. Here are 50 of her quotes:

It is a dangerous myth that we are better historians than our predecessors. We are not. (Mary Beard)
The web is democratising and also the voice of people who don't think they have another outlet. And that voice can be punitive. View quote
Mary Beard
If women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power that we need to redefine rather than women? View quote
Mary Beard
Classics isn't about the ancient world. It's partly about the ancient world, but it's about our conversation. It's how we try to talk to antiquity. View quote
Mary Beard
I don't want to see a world in which women can communicate on Twitter, but their actual voices are not heard. View quote
Mary Beard
The building blocks of discrimination tend to be similar wherever you find them. View quote
Mary Beard
It wasn't until I got to Cambridge that I discovered active discrimination against women. View quote
Mary Beard
I was really good at Latin at school, and because I was good at it, I got more interested and got better at it. View quote
Mary Beard
I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger - every time I speak on radio or television. View quote
Mary Beard
What I find very interesting is, we're not enthralled by the ancient world, and we've escaped all kinds of ancient preconceptions and assumptions and prejudices. But, nevertheless, we still make that connection between authoritative speech and male speech. View quote
Mary Beard
I think most people gain some sense of how to look at a painting, but no one ever teaches you how to look at a piece of silver. (Mary Beard)
The reason why the British theatrical tradition is world-leading in Greek drama is because there is a flourishing tradition of people rethinking Greek tragedy. View quote
Mary Beard
We have never escaped a certain male cultural desire for women's silence. View quote
Mary Beard
Barring some sociopaths, probably, there is nobody who doesn't care about their appearance. View quote
Mary Beard
My day job is working on Roman history and ancient Roman history. View quote
Mary Beard
I'm exploring the long history of women, first of all, being silenced and, secondly, not being taken seriously in the political and public sphere. It's a call to action through understanding and through looking at ourselves again and trying to reformulate the whole question of women and power. View quote
Mary Beard
I don't think that we are completely dominated by what we have inherited from the past, but it is the case that as far back as you can go - just to Homer, but also to the literature of Rome, the literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance - what you will find is that women's voices are not taken seriously. View quote
Mary Beard
My mom was born before women had the vote in general elections in England. View quote
Mary Beard
However judicious academics may be - not like me - they are all taught to see through crap. View quote
Mary Beard
You can hardly be a classicist and not be interested in theatre. View quote
Mary Beard
The history of art is not just the history of artists; it is also the history of the people who viewed art. And that wider perspective can help us see some of the reasons why the art of the ancient world should still matter to us. (Mary Beard)
You cannot easily fit women into a structure that is already coded as male; you have to change the structure. View quote
Mary Beard
When it comes to silencing women, Western culture has had thousands of years of practice. View quote
Mary Beard
One person's barbarity is another person's civilisation. View quote
Mary Beard
Gender is a key marker of power and powerlessness. Most of the structures of how our world works are biased in terms of men. View quote
Mary Beard

Mary Beard

Mary Beard - Image
Photo: UC3M (youtube), CC BY 3.0
Occupation: English Professor
Born: January 1, 1955
Quotes count: 50

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