Why are White Nationalists obsessed with Ancient Greece and Rome!?
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Battle of Thermopylae
15 min read
The article discusses how 'Molon Labe' from this battle appeared on flags at the January 6th Capitol riot, and how Spartan imagery is central to white nationalist appropriation of classical history. Understanding the actual historical battle provides crucial context for how it's been mythologized.
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Great Replacement conspiracy theory
14 min read
The article extensively discusses Renaud Camus's Great Replacement theory, its connection to classical texts, and how it spread from French intellectual circles to Tucker Carlson's audience. This conspiracy theory was identified as the top predictor of January 6th participation.
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Plutarch
13 min read
The article names Plutarch as one of the ancient writers who promoted the 'fantasy version of Sparta' that white nationalists now draw upon. Understanding who Plutarch was and his enormous influence on Western education explains how these classical narratives became embedded in culture.
Why do so many men “think about the Roman Empire”? And why does that meme matter more than we realize?
In this live conversation, I sat down with Professor Curtis Dozier, a classicist at Vassar College and author of the forthcoming book The White Pedestal: How White Nationalists Use Ancient Greece and Rome to Justify Hate (Yale University Press, January 6, 2026). What started as Professor Dozier’s attempt to debunk historical distortions by extremists became a much more uncomfortable discovery: there is plenty of material within ancient texts that genuinely supports white nationalist talking points.
I’m fighting to document these racist strategies before they’re normalized as just another mode of white supremacist indoctrination.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Meet Professor Curtis Dozier (00:00:00 – 00:07:00)
Professor Curtis Dozier teaches at Vassar College and specializes in how ancient Greece and Rome have been used throughout history
His upcoming book, The White Pedestal, examines how white nationalist movements draw on classical antiquity to justify their ideology
Professor Dozier’s academic journey began with Latin literature and expanded into studying how extremist groups deploy ancient texts
When he first started this research, he expected to find obvious historical distortions by white nationalists
Instead, he discovered that many white nationalists understand ancient texts quite well because there is genuine material in those sources that supports their politics
This uncomfortable realization forms the core argument of his book
2. Why Does Everyone Think About the Roman Empire? (00:07:00 – 00:13:00)
The viral meme about men constantly thinking about the Roman Empire reveals something important about our culture
Professor Dozier maintains a Google alert for mentions of the Roman Empire and shares examples from the past week: comparisons to American decline, Argentina’s economy, the Kansas City Chiefs, and even an Adult Swim cartoon
References to ancient Rome and Greece saturate our culture, making these civilizations fertile ground for white nationalists
White nationalists know that audiences already take ancient history seriously, so invoking it lends credibility to their ideas
Rome is typically invoked as
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