Robert John Barnes

R.J. Barnes studies submerged intellectual traditions in antiquity and pays special attention to the tidal zones between ancient religion, comedy, and philosophy. His current book-length project traces the history of the Greek concept of enchantment from Homer to the end of the Hellenistic era. Connected with this are two chapter-length publications on the Greek idea of soul movement (psychagôgia) -  “ψυχαγωγία in Philodemus” (2022) and “Gorgias on Speech and the Soul” (2023) - and a forthcoming chapter on the invention of new scripts and scribal techniques by ancient practitioners of magic. He also works on the interactions between comedy and philosophy and has recently published a book chapter titled “Epicharmus, Sicily, and Early Greek Philosophy" (2023). He teaches on a wide variety of topics, including Greco-Roman magic, ancient sports, mythology, comedy, the origin of writing, classical reception in America, and, recently, electioneering in the Late Roman Republic.