Helen F. North

Helen F. North (1922-2012) was an American classical scholar and an expert on Greek and Roman literature.

Early life and education

North was the daughter of James H. and Catherine (nee Debbold) North. A native of Utica, she was educated at Cornell University, where she studied Classics, gaining a Bachelor's degree in 1942, a Master's in 1943 and a doctorate in 1945.[1]

Career

North taught at Rosary College, Illinois, before becoming a faculty member at Swarthmore College in 1948, where she remained until her retirement in 1991.[1][2] During this time she also held visiting teaching appointments at Barnard College, Columbia University, Vassar College, and Cornell University,[3] where she gave the Charles Beebe Martin Classical lectures in 1972. The subject of the lectures was 'The Shield of Amphiaraus: Reflections of Greek Ethical Doctrine in Literature and Art', and they were later published as her book From Myth to Icon (Cornell University Press, 1979).[4]

She had a longstanding connection with the American Academy in Rome, beginning with her appointment as a World War II Fellow there 1942; she later served on the Board of Trustees (1972-1975 as ex-ofiicio member and elected trustee of the Advisory Council to the Classical School, then from 1977-1994 as a regular member of the Board). She was also a Resident there in 1980, then chaired the Committee on the Classical School (1981-1995). In 1995 she was awarded the Academy's Centennial Medal for her contributions to the welfare of the organisation.[5] From 1975-6 she was also a staff member at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, where she was also Chair of the Committee on Publications from 1980-1982.[6]

In the course of her career she received several major academic awards, including a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Fulbright Fellowship, and awards from the Ford Foundation, and National Humanities Center as well as two awards from the Guggenheim Foundation.[3] She was president of the American Philological Association in 1976.[7]

In 1969 she received the Goodwin Award of the American Philological Association for her first book, Sophrosyne: Self-Knowledge and Self-Restraint in Greek Literature (1966).[3] She also received honorary doctorates from Trinity College Dublin, Fordham University, La Salle University, and Yale University.[8]

After her retirement she remained connected to Swarthmore as Professor Emerita, and the Helen F. North lecture was founded in her honour in 2001.[9]

Selected publications
  • 1966. Sophrosyne: Self-Knowledge and Self-Restraint in Greek Literature (Cornell Studies in Classical Philology xxxv, Cornell University Press)
  • 1979. From Myth to Icon: Reflections of Greek Ethical Doctrine in Literature and Art (Cornell University Press)

References
  1. Downey, Sally A. "Helen F. North, 90, Swarthmore classics professor". inquirer.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  2. "Annual Helen F. North Lecture". swarthmore.edu. 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  3. "helen-f-north". swarthmore.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  4. https://www.oberlin.edu/sites/default/files/content/arts-and-sciences/departments/classics/documents/classics_martinlectureshistory.pdf
  5. "Features | American Academy in Rome". aarome.org. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  6. Meritt, Lucy Shoe (1984). History of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1939-1980. Princeton, New Jersey: American School of Classical Studies at Athens. pp. 301, 310. ISBN 0876619421.
  7. "Past Presidents". Society for Classical Studies. 2010-05-21. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  8. "Helen North—Brilliant, Gracious Scholar - Swarthmore College Bulletin". Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  9. "Annual Helen F. North Lecture". swarthmore.edu. 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
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