Robert John Barnes

Research Assoicate
Robert John Barnes headshot

Contact

Location Old Library

Areas of Focus

Greco-Roman intellectual history, aesthetics, comedy, religion, magic, classical reception

Biography

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.