Classic Chats: Grayson Perry on why he hates classical civilisation

Classical civilization often functions as a rigid, establishment cliché in British society, manifesting in the architecture of banks and town halls to project authority and traditional taste. Artist Grayson Perry challenges this orthodoxy, arguing that the discipline’s historical association with power and elitism often alienates those outside its narrow, intellectualized circles. While hosts Mary Beard and Charlotte Higgins defend the field’s revolutionary potential—citing its role in movements from the French Revolution to early gay rights advocacy—they acknowledge its problematic history as a tool for imperial administration. The conversation reconciles these perspectives by exploring the irrational and Dionysiac elements inherent in classical studies, suggesting that the subject remains a powerful, if contested, reservoir of human experience that can be reclaimed for creative expression and social critique rather than just passive reverence.