"Some white supremacists have been drawn to classical studies out of a desire to affirm what they imagine to be an unblemished lineage of white Western culture extending back to ancient Greece" - Margaret Talbot's article in the New Yorker. 

Now is one of those wonderful times in my academic career when I can link all three of my majors together. Race is a social construct! It's not even real. The fact that we, as a society, have chosen to draw lines in the sand and to put one race above the rest is something we made up. Yes, there are historical reasons why, but guess what? Those are made up too! Who decided that white people should be the best? White people. Who had the power at the time to do that? White people. In the second article, there's a quote that reads, "Ancient persons did not engage in the construct of biological racism." Yes, there were people known as barbarians, and yes, there were slaves, but that was mostly a result of countries' lack of power in war. Many of them were from the same continent. 

It's not surprising to me that the study of the classics is a predominately white field. Especially when the narrative of history is focused on white people (white men, to be more specific). Even things so common as artwork and statues have been used to portray the superiority of white people. These pure, white marble statues are considered the ideal beauty standard or the epitome of beauty. This is yet another modern notion! In the Odyssey, as noted in the New Yorker article, Odysseus became black-skinned when returned to his state of "godlike good looks". If men were pale, or as we would call them 'white', they were seen as lesser men. Men having dark skin was a sign of them working outside. There's a lot to be said about the way people have interpreted ancient times as a time of high intellectual prosperity and then going and immediately associating it with being white. 

P.S.: The colors on the statues are so fun. It's a little gaudy, but it's a way that artists got to have fun with it, you know? It reminds me of how many moms nowadays are trying to raise 'aesthetic babies' or 'beige babies' and making all of their toys overwhelmingly neutral (I have a lot to say about this as well). Colors are awesome, and it's a sign of artistry, making it much more fun to look at. I love the way details were able to be highlighted. It emphasizes features like stage makeup on actors.