William Roger Paton

First page from W. R. Patton's book Greek Anthology, 1927

William Roger Paton, usually cited as W. R. Paton (9 February 1857 – 21 April 1921)^[1], was an author and translator of ancient Greek texts and poets, mostly known for his translation of the Greek anthology. He was of Scottish origin.^[2][3][4]

Early life and family

He was born on 2 September 1857, Old Machar (Aberdeen, Scotland),^[5] son of John Paton (1818-1879) and Eliza Deborah Burnett (1823-1860) .^[6]

His father, John Paton (Esq., of Ferrachie and Grandholme or Grandhome^[7]), was educated in Eton College and was in military, initially in the Aberdeenshire militia as major and later colonel and deputy lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, as well as a magistrate. His mother Eliza Deborah Burnett was the daughter of Thomas Burnett of Kepplestone, also from Aberdeenshire. They married on 11 June 1844^[8] and they had five children, four daughters (Mary-Louisa, Ida-Margaret-Helen, Sarah-Matilda and Elisabeth-Bertha) and one son (the fourth child), William Roger, born at 10 Chanonry, Old Aberdeen, on 9 February 1857. His mother died three years later in 24 February 1860 at the age of 37^[9][10]. In 1862, his father married Catherine Margaret, daughter of Col. Lumsden.

Education

He was educated in the same college as his father, in Eton College, Oxford. He studied at Oxford^[11] from 1871 to 1873, boarding the Edward Peake Rouse's house and later on at Oscar Browning's. On 23 October 1876, at the age of 19 he became a student at University College, Oxford, where he took his 1st in "Classical Moderations" in 1877. The next year, in 1878, he changed direction, starting legal studies for the bar at Middle Temple, London. Later on he returned to Oxford and obtained his 3rd in Classic «Literae Humaniores» at 1880. Even though he was not called to the bar, he continued to be involved with Middle Temple until 1884.^[1][12]

Later on, in 1900, the University of Halle awarded an honorary to Paton.^[13][1]

Marriage and life in the South

He was married in 1885 to Irene Olympiti (1869/70–1908 Paris, daughter of Emmanuel Olympiti, mayor of Kalymnos), a woman from the island of Kalymnos who had a plot of land in Myndos (Gümüşlük) but he later moved to Chios and Lesbos so that his sons could attend high school there.^{[2][14][15][16][17]}

He had two sons and two daughters: George Paton (13 August 1886 – ?), unmarried, Thetis Paton (21 November 1887, Woodside – ?) , who married Costakis Svinos in Smyrna, John David Paton, (1890 – 1922), who married Fenella Crombie from Scotland, and Sevastie or Augusta Paton (1900, Myndos – 1989), who married Baron János Kemény, Hungarian author, theater director and dramatist.

He appears as a resident of Vathy, Samos from 1897 to his death, 1921, from a number of periodicals which show this address and some of his published letters.^[18] He was a resident in Samos since he got married again with Clio, a woman from Samos, after his wife Irene Olympitis death.

He died on 21 April 1921 in the town of Vathy, Samos.

Timeline

• 1857 birth at Old Machar, Aderbdeen
• Oxford for studies
• 1885 (28 y. old) married Irene Olympitis
• 1886 (29 y. old) birth of his son George
• 1887 (30 y. old) birth of his daughter Thetis, Woodside, Aberdeen
• 1890 (33 y. old) birth of his son David
• 1890 signs letter from Aberdeen
• 1897 Vathy, Samos
• 1900 (43 y. old) birth of his daughter Sevastie or Augusta, Myndos
• Chios/Lesvos for high school for his sons
• 1921 (64 y. old) died at Vathy Samos

Works

He published the following books:^[19]

• The inscriptions of Cos (with E.L. Hicks), Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1891 in
• Plutarchi Pythici Dialogoi tres , , 1893
• Anthologiae Grecae Erotica, London, David Nutt, 1898,
• Inscriptiones insularum maris Aegaei praeter Delum, 2. Inscriptiones Lesbi, Nesi, Tenedi, Berlin 1899

• The Greek anthology with an English translation, The Loeb Classical Library^[20]
  • The Greek anthology with an English translation, vol. I by W. R. Paton, published by W. Heinemann (London), G.P. Putnam's sons (New York) 1916 (edition 1927) see also (contains books I–VI of the Greek Anthology). Also available in και
  • The Greek anthology with an English translation, vol. II by W. R. Paton, Published by W. Heinemann (London), G.P. Putnam's sons (New York) 1917 (edition 1919) also see (contains books VII–VIII of the Greek Anthology)
  • The Greek anthology with an English translation, vol. III by W. R. Paton, Published by W. Heinemann (London), G.P. Putnam's sons (New York) 1915 (έκδοση 1925) δες και (contains book IX of the Greek Anthology)
  • The Greek anthology with an English translation, vol. IV by W. R. Paton, Published by W. Heinemann (London), G.P. Putnam's sons (New York) 1918. see also (contains books X-XII of the Greek Anthology)
  • The Greek anthology with an English translation, vol. V by W. R. Paton, Published by W. Heinemann (London), G.P. Putnam's sons (New York) 1918 also see (contains books XIII–XVI of the Greek Anthology)

• Histories of Polybius, Loeb Classical Library, "Polybius, The Histories", six volumes: Greek text with English translation by W. R. Paton^[20]
  • I (L128) Books I-II (1922) ISBN 0-674-99142-7
  • II (L137) Books III-IV (1922) ISBN 0-674-99152-4
  • III (L138) Books V-VIII (1923) ISBN 0-674-99153-2
  • IV (L159) Books IX-XV (1925) ISBN 0-674-99175-3
  • V (L160) Books XVI-XXVII (1926) ISBN 0-674-99176-1
  • VI (L161) Books XXVIII-XXXIX (1927) ISBN 0-674-99178-8

• Plutarchi Moralia (translation), with other authors, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1925

His works are extensively quoted as the main references both for the Greek Anthology as well as for Polybius.

References